Taste and See [for Yourselves]

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.
Hebrews 5:12-13

You know what I hate? I hate that this world demands evidence of every claim made by anyone, but that few actually go out to seek that evidence on their own. In our culture of instant self-gratification the "give it to me now" attitude often gets in the way of truth. This is frequently displayed in our culture, but I see it most often when I am sharing my faith with others.

It's no secret, on my blog or anywhere, that I am a Christian. This is never really a problem with anyone until I show my faith isn't only emotional, causing me to act on compassion and "do good", but also intellectual. Actually, people seem to most often have a problem with the intellectual part of Christianity.

Last week, for example, I found an image posted by an atheist friend on Facebook that depicted a timeline of how the Bible was made. The cartoon was not terribly inaccurate, many of the dates for different steps in the translation and compilation of the Bible were correct, but the motive and many of the "facts" were just completely wrong. I left a comment pointing out a specific part that wasn't right and said that the person who created it had obvious knowledge of events but was not educated in them.

Here's the deal: when I point out to people that things they believe about Christianity and the Bible are wrong and try to clarify meaning, they just don't believe me. For years I thought that they didn't believe me because I was uneducated and they thought perhaps they knew more about my faith than I did. However, I'm now seeing that even though I go to a Christian school and study the Bible, theology, and the history of Christianity, people still call BS when I try to clarify to them what true Christians believe. Now, instead of saying that I just don't know enough about what I believe, people will tell me, "that's just what they want you to think."

The past few years, this past year in particular, I have had the wonderful opportunity to learn under people who have traveled to Jerusalem and other parts of Israel to walk where Jesus walked and see the culture and the land first-hand. I have met men who have learned from the world's top theologians, and I have heard the testimony of a professor who worked hard, even lost a job, to bring the Dead Sea Scrolls to the public. The truth is out there, evidence is out there. Go look and see for yourselves!

Because the evidence is not hidden and the history is no secret, I do not apologize for my unfaltering faith. I will continue to unashamedly speak what I know, not because I merely believe what someone told me, but because I have done research. And I will continue to absorb as a sponge everything I need to know, from a historical and literary perspective, but also from one of faith in Him who makes the blind see and makes all things new.

The Need for Rest

 As promised, I have some pictures. They're growing! They're growing! I'm such a proud little gardener. My plants are growing.

Poor lighting this time of year + flash not working = I hope you can see the greens!

The garlic cloves are having a little trouble, and so are the sweet chili peppers our friends the E.L.'s got as a housewarming gift. (I call them the E.L.'s because they're getting married, and once they're married their initials will both be E.L.). But as you can see, the tomatoes are coming in quite nicely! It's almost time to transfer them to a larger pot =) Now I just have to figure out how on earth to harvest these things.

I have also been up to my cooking again, and this meal just looked so good I had to take some photos of it! I was slow-cooking a ginormous ham in the crock-pot and had to cut off a chunk so that it would fit. I baked it that night and we had it for dinner, and put the rest away for easy meals for the rest of the week.

 Mr. Wonderful just couldn't get over this meal! My very own recipe =)

 

Oven-baked garlic ham: (Note: I did not measure anything, please forgive me)
- Hunk of ham, fat side facing down in oven-safe cookware
-Fill less than halfway with water
-Cover entire ham in a sprinkling of crushed garlic
-Sprinkle on some herbs de provence (not enough to overwhelm)
-A pinch of black pepper

Heat oven to 400 F. I cooked my ham for about an hour and a half, turning it halfway through. Cook it until it reads 140 F on a meat thermometer.

Now, in my last mini-post I mentioned hating Black Friday. I know that sounds kind of whiny or judgmental, but I really do. And it's not just because people die by being trampled or because of all the craziness that takes place that day. I think that sales are good, my husband and I hit them up as much as possible. Saving money is important. But I just realize that it's not even a day people go out and buy things they particularly need. For many, it's just a day to go out and buy a bunch of things and feel less guilty about spending money because it was "on sale." Let's be honest, unless you're buying electronics, the sales aren't even that great anyway. Is it really worth leaving your family on Thanksgiving, a day we're supposed to reflect on the things in life we're grateful for, to go buy more stuff to fill our homes with?

My mother, who has a hard time turning down a day of work, went in early Thanksgiving morning to get the store ready, then went home in the afternoon just long enough for dinner, then went back to her store to work at least a twelve hour shift, and came home sick and exhausted. She, and many others, did this just so that consumer America could shop. I just can't understand why stores were allowed to open so early this year. Black Friday should remain on Friday, but it has now infringed on Thursday, which is clearly not Friday, but a holiday that we as Americans should observe. Next year, take a day to reflect, a day to be thankful, a day to rest. I believe rest is important from a Christian standpoint, sure, but whether you're a believer or not, there's a reason God calls us to rest. Plainly put, it's good for you. In a world that says go go go, get get get, just stop and take some time to rest your body and mind, and think of the things you've been taking for granted.

Blog #23, done! May you find rest this week.

A Little Update

I am only here to tell you that I am far too tired to update today. Not that you knew or anything, but I decided to take the week off my blog, meaning today, as the beginning of the new week, I should update. I do miss writing on here. But oh, I am really just so tired.

Coming soon:
-Why I hate Black Friday
-Pics of the new car (yes, that's right, new car)
-Pics of my beautiful plants which are successfully growing!

Also, I'd just like to let you all know that words cannot describe how much I love my husband. Meaning that how good God is to me is completely inexplicable.

Blog #22, done (phew). I hope your Thanksgiving break was filled with things to be thankful for.