Japanese-Style Fruit and Cream Cake

This was my project for today :) I got a food scale so I am able to measure ingredients by weight. I baked the cake, Elise spread the cream, I prepped the fruit, and Shelley did most of the fruit arranging.

This is cake as I think it should be :) Just a hint of sweetness, creaminess from the whipped cream, and lots of fruit. As far as cakes go, this is probably about as healthy as it can get. It’s not loaded down with fat and sugar, at least not in comparison to the Western decorated cakes.

Here is the recipe for the cake portion, found on the happysweet.com site, translated into English. I kept the measurements in metric except for the oven temperature.

Japanese-Style Sponge Cake

Ingredients (for 1 layer)

• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 45g sugar
• 40g cake flour
• 20g cornstarch
• 15g unsalted butter, melted

Instructions

1. Sift the flour and cornstarch together and set aside. Preheat oven to 355F. Prepare 8 or 9-inch round cake pan by spraying pan with nonstick spray, lining bottom with parchment paper, and spraying nonstick spray on the paper.
2. Crack eggs into large mixing bowl. Using hand mixer, pulse to break apart yolk and roughly mix together. While continuing to pulse, slowly pour in sugar and mix.
3. Turn mixer to high and beat egg and sugar mixture together until it is nearly white and fluffy, about (I’m guessing here because I didn’t time it) 7-10 minutes. The mixture should be fairly stiff to to where you can draw a figure-eight with the batter and it will remain on the surface for several seconds.
4. Sift the sifted flour/cornstarch into the whipped eggs. Using a rubber spatula, carefully fold the flour into the eggs. Use a slicing motion to fold while slowly rotating the bowl.
5. Once the flour has been folded and batter no longer has a powdery appearance, add the melted butter and fold by gently scooping from the bottom.
6. Pour batter into prepared cake pan. From about a height of 2-inches, drop the pan onto a hard surface. This helps remove any large air bubbles in the batter.
7. Place pan in preheated oven and bake for about 15 minutes until surface is golden brown (Japanese: color of a fox) and tester comes out clean.
8. Immediately remove cake from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Japanese Dessert Recipes

As recent posts show, I’ve been venturing into dessert making over the last little bit of time. Triggered by a friend’s comment on Facebook, I did some searching about for recipes of Japanese cakes and eventually came across a site called Happy Sweet (it’s all in Japanese, btw). There are close to 150 recipes for desserts, both Japanese and Western (many with distinctly Japanese adaptations). Now I’ve got to see what strikes my fancy and for which ones I can find ingredients.

Still sunny and warm

The weather forecast wasn’t quite right, it seems. A few days ago clouds were forecast to come in today and start cooling down, but it looks like that’s been pushed out another 36-48 hours. Today, thus, remains sunny and warm, and unlike the last few days there isn’t much of a breeze. The official observation shows 70 degrees at this time (2 p.m.).

I rode out to Blind River Rapids, about 15 miles out, and then back for a total of just over 30 miles in just under 2 hours. This stretch of warm and dry weather has allowed me to put in miles on the bicycle like I used to be able to do back in Portland. I rode 22 miles last Wednesday, 16 miles on Thursday, 19 miles on Friday, and 30 miles today. I think this is the first time in 3 years that I was able to put in that many miles all within a week.

After the Wednesday ride my knee was a bit bothered, but it appears that my legs are already adjusting to the longer distance and time. After today’s ride I don’t feel any problems.

I also realized that the highway is now paved all the way to the South Ferry Terminal at around milepost 26. I haven’t actually been on that road since it was paved, so I don’t know what it’s like, but theoretically now I can go out and back for almost 60 miles – good enough for a century training if I ever feel inclined to participate in another one somewhere down south.

Wildflowers finally blooming

Since today was “rest day” I took a walk (rather than bicycle) to the Post Office to pick up the mail. Along the way I found the muskeg to be in bloom, though this year due to the lack of rain, it didn’t seem quite as green as it did last year. The muskeg pools don’t look much like pools anymore – just big mud holes.

Sermon: 1 John 1:5-2:2

(Click HERE for MP3 sermon audio.)

1 John 1:5-2:2

Today’s sermon is about darkness and light, sin and salvation. I discussed definitions of sin and how that can lead to proper and improper understandings about salvation. The fact that a person recognizes sin in their own lives and desires to do something about it is actually an evidence that they are in a saving relationship with Christ.

Sermon: 1 John 1:1-7

(Click HERE for MP3 sermon audio.)

1 John 1:1-7

This was the sermon from last Sabbath (May 30). The main point is that Christianity has some foundational elements founded in Jesus Christ. They must exist together or else whatever remains is no longer Christianity.

Cake is much better on a not-so-full stomach

I just had another slice of yesterday’s cake.

Yesterday, I was already rather full from the Mexican food dinner and was kind of forcing myself to eat the cake. Today, I had just returned from 16 miles on the bicycle, had a bit of lunch, and then had the cake when I wasn’t already feeling full.

The cake tasted much better. It is definitely a very chocolaty, dark, bittersweet cake.

Now I’m pleasantly full, getting a little drowsy, and I want a nap…

Chocolate Cake and Birthday

Today is Shelley’s birthday. I started making a chocolate cake last night. The recipe is from the June 2009 issue of Bon Appetit. The recipe is Giant Chocolate Cake with Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache. I didn’t use the edible flower bit in the recipe for decoration/garnish because I couldn’t find any to use.

I made the ganache this morning. Since I don’t decorate cakes, Elise decorated the cake this afternoon.

We ordered burritos and enchiladas from the Mexican restaurant and had that for dinner, followed by cake and ice cream.

Trick candles in use…

 

The cake turned out to be not too sweet (even with the 2 cups of sugar!), moist, and the ganache was decadently chocolaty. This is the second cake I’ve made from scratch. Yeah, from scratch costs more and takes more time than mixes, but the quality is definitely superior.

It’s hot…

The official airport station shows 68F at the moment. I was out on my bike earlier on the south side of the island and it was much warmer there, probably in the mid- to upper-70’s. It was plenty warm for just short sleeve jersey and shorts (the first time I was able to do that in over a year, I think). I went out and back for a total of 21 miles, averaging 16 mph. The trip out was tailwind so I was able to hit 31 mph going out of town and 32 mph on a descent into Twin Creeks. The return trip was stiff headwind all the way back. There were plenty of dandelions and lupines blooming alongside the road.

The weather is supposed to stay this way through Saturday, then start cooling off on Sunday with showers returning Monday evening.

Recipe: Cold Cucumber Yogurt Soup

We are experiencing warm days this week, so I created a cold cucumber soup. I looked at a few similar recipes, then threw together one based on several of them.

The rest of the family’s reaction to this soup? “Startling.” It has a potent kick to it due to the tartness from both the yogurt and the lime, and also from the Serrano chili.

Serves 6

Note

• If you have a large blender, you may be able to combine all ingredients at once. Otherwise divide and blend in batches.

Ingredients

• 3 English cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped
• 2 cups plain, unsweetened yogurt
• 2 cups water
• 20-30 mint leaves (from about 4 sprigs)
• 6-8 fresh cilantro sprigs, leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp. grated ginger
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. salt
• (optional) 1 Serrano chili, seeded and roughly chopped
• Juice from 1 lime

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender. Pulse several times to break large chunks apart, then puree for a minute or so until soup is liquefied.
2. Let cool in refrigerator at least 30 minutes.

Muskeg Meander

Today is the start of a week of sunny and warm (and possibly HOT) days. In order to try to stay awake (see previous post on reason why) and to see the progress of blossoms in the muskeg, I took a short jaunt out back. It really does seem like flowering is much later this year. Last year, the entire muskeg was in full bloom when the skunk cabbage still had its flowers. This year, the skunk cabbage flowers are nearly faded and the rest of the flora are just now coming into bloom.

Recipe: Sliced Tomato Salad with Feta Cheese

This dish is something I threw together as I looked around the kitchen, basement, and refrigerator.

The story actually begins last night when Shelley asked me to do a clean OS install on her notebook PC. Since I tend to be meticulous about things like that, I started by doing a full image backup, then the clean install, then all of the system updates, and then security software and its associated updates. In the end it was close to 3 a.m. when I finally finished the job and went to bed. I got about 4 hours of sleep altogether.

Understandably, I was quite tired by the time late afternoon/early evening rolled around and I really didn’t feel like working through lengthy dinner preparation. I got out a couple boxes of prepackaged Betty Crocker potato casserole mixes and put it together, but just that one item just didn’t seem appropriate for supper. There were a few leftover deviled eggs from yesterday and that would add to the variety, but the problem was that both the potatoes and the eggs were yellow. I try to avoid monochromatic suppers.

I knew there were a couple of fresh tomatoes in the basement. I also knew they had to be used within the next day or two. I thought that since I was using the oven, perhaps I could do something that involved baking the tomatoes… As I pondered that option, a number of different tomato salad dishes I’ve had in the past began to float around in my thoughts. Well, why not try a combination? was my conclusion.

(Start of recipe…)

I started with the tomatoes (I had two medium) and arranged them on a plate. I sliced into paper-thin slices a little bit of onion (about five slices through an onion half) and layered them on top of the tomatoes. I sprinkled a bit of fine sea salt over the entire surface, then dressed it by liberally drizzling honey, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar over the top. I found some feta cheese so I sprinkled that liberally on top. I still had some fresh basil leaves (about 8 medium), so I sprinkled basil chiffonade over top. Voila! It was done. Supper was no longer just yellow.

Around here we don’t always have much choice in the quality of available ingredients. This salad relies on the quality of each ingredient. Try to use the best you can find: sweet, organic tomatoes; red onion; good quality sea salt; first, cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil; good balsamic vinegar; good quality cheese; etc. You get the idea.

You can probably substitute mozzarella for the feta. Just make sure you get it in the fine or craft cheese section rather than the dairy section. You want fresh mozzarella instead of the dry, cardboard like stuff. If you get the small balls, you might dice it up into smaller chunks and sprinkle them on top. If you get a large ball, you can slice it and arrange them with the tomato slices.

Happy Kitties

Today is the first time since Stripey got sick that I’ve seen the two cats together like this. That would make it at least three months and probably longer than that, since none of us really know when Stripey started to get sick and went into seclusion.

Planning Fall Family Trip to Japan

This fall the whole family will be visiting Japan for a period of about 2 weeks. I purchased the tickets this afternoon, so it’s pretty much a done deal – non-refundable tickets. Total cost for all four of us runs around $5500 from Petersburg to Narita. The trip over requires an overnight stay in Seattle. The trip back does not (unlike my trip this month which did because it was paid for by miles and I didn’t have much of a choice in selecting flights).

I also purchased travel insurance, given that this trip is still five months away and a lot can change between now and then, not to mention the unpredictable nature of travel in SE Alaska.

I discovered it is important to check quotes and not just necessarily accept the first quote that is offered. The travel website offered a policy for about $295 during the initial checkout steps. That seemed steep so I went directly to the insurance provider’s website and got a quote: $144. After I had purchased the tickets, the confirmation page showed a new quote: $241. Hmm… I went with the $144 directly from the provider. The $295 policy included a Concierge feature that I really don’t need. Other than that I could not find any differences in coverage.

Random Shots

Here’s my AeroGarden with brand-new plantings.

The cress this morning…

The cress this evening…

 

Our other cat, Vivvy.

Key Lime Pie and Some Random Notes

I made a version of Key Lime Pie (abbreviated as KLP in rest of post) today. Authentic KLPs uses key lime from the Florida Keys, egg yolk, and is not baked. However, as the linked Wikipedia article notes, most KLPs are baked today because raw eggs are frowned upon, particularly in the United States. (I suppose they’d be fine in a place like Japan where raw and undercooked eggs are still part of the cuisine.)

Last week in an e-mail from Cook’s Illustrated I found a recipe for a no-egg, no-bake KLP originally published in Cook’s Country. As much as I’d love to give you the recipe here, I can’t.

I went out and purchased the ingredients. I returned home and realized I should have written down the quantities in my shopping list. I was short the limes by a count of 5 to 7. So after finishing the Graham Cracker crust, I went out to purchase the remaining limes. It was dry on the way out. By the time I reached the store a few minutes later, it was pouring. I was on the bicycle. It poured the trip back. A few minutes after I returned home, the sun returned.

The hardest part in making the pie was juicing six limes. It took the most muscle and time. The rest was easy, throwing ingredients into the food processor, one by one, until it was a nice custard-like texture.

On Facebook, when I noted the difficulty of juicing the limes, one of my high school friends suggested a technique he’d invented: using a chef’s knife to juice the limes. On initially hearing it, it sounds a bit dangerous, but after reading the explanation it doesn’t seem too bad. The pressure is applied to the back side of the blade (not the point or the sharp edge), and the blade is angled down so that the juice goes down into a bowl instead of down your arm.

I tasted a bit of the filling that was left in the bowl and it was pretty good. The girls had the rest and they thought it was good, too.

I cleaned up my AeroGarden’s first planting (from last Christmas). It is now newly planted with Japanese herbs. Apparently this herb set wasn’t very popular because it is no longer sold and what stock remains is being sold at the AeroGarden Outlet web site. I just noticed that the cress is already sprouting after 2 days.

Shelley is preparing to attend Petersburg High School this coming year. She went down to the school to start registering for classes.

Trees are starting to flower…

Our Stripey is doing well. He looks and acts like he did before.

Few more photos about town

I walked into town to pick up a few grocery items. Here are a few sights along the way.

Didn’t get sermon audio today

So sorry… I forgot my digital voice recorder and didn’t have the computer with me. I tried the voice note function on the BlackBerry, but the quality was so poor on playback that it isn’t worth putting up.

The topic was an introduction to the Epistles of John --

• John wrote the letters to address some problems with false teachers and their teachings
• John wrote the letters to remind Christians of Christ, the foundation of their faith
• John wrote the letters to help Christians discern between true and false teachings
• John wrote the letters to provide Christians with confidence and assurance in their faith

Anyway, that was the essence of the sermon. I don’t have notes or even an outline since today was the first time I attempted preaching without any. I read about it in Leadership this week and how doing so can help the preacher better connect with those listening, and how the preacher can be better led by the Holy Spirit all the way through the delivery. In sermons with notes and/or outlines, and particularly with those that are manuscripted, the sermon is “done” when the last word is written, but in a sermon without any kind of notes, the sermon is not “done” until the final word is spoken. A preacher often feels he cannot deviate much from a scripted sermon, but in an unscripted sermon he is free to go where the Spirit leads at delivery. Those were some of the positive elements.

Some of the problems with this kind of preaching (because no notes are prepared even during the preparation phase) is that some might be tempted to skimp on the preparation. However, this kind of preaching takes at least as much preparation as a scripted one, and perhaps even more. Another problem is that speakers who have difficulties putting together a logical discourse may find it difficult to tie up the sermon at the end. Finally, this type of preaching may not be for speakers with a tendency to ramble because, well, the tendency to ramble and hit too many topics without making a point can be great.

I’ve been doing more of preaching closer to this over the last several months (though with basic outlines and/or a short page of notes), and have felt that some of those have felt more connected than ones I’ve spent hours outlining and manuscripting. The Leadership article gave me the courage needed to go all the way. The problem with taking even a basic outline and notes is that I found myself pausing to read through them to see if I missed anything, and if I did, try to figure out how to put the missed item back in without affecting the flow of the sermon up to that point.

Anyway, this is probably something I’ll be doing more, and next time, with a voice recorder.

Springtime in Petersburg

Yes, spring is finally here in Petersburg. The muskeg seems to be slow in flowering this year. I seem to recall it being in full bloom by mid-May last year, but this year the flowers are only just beginning to open up.

The following gallery traces today’s errand route from home, along the Narrows to the Trading Union, then from the Post Office back to home.

Little Norway Pageant

Since returning home, I’ve spent quite a few hours sleeping. This weekend is the Little Norway festival weekend, but I haven’t been to it except for the pageant.

Amy was introduced as this year’s Poet Laureate during the pageant, and so I had to attend. Here are some photos and a video of Amy being introduced and reading one of her poems. The mic was a bit high for much of her reading so it is nearly impossible to make out what she is saying. The awful acoustics of the gym didn’t help either.

Amy also got to help out in the presentation of the 49-star flag (when Alaska became a state).

While in Japan I acquired a new compact digital camera: the Ricoh CX1. I am very impressed with both ability and quality of capture at low light levels. I am also very impressed with its ability to handle multiple white balances. The interior of the gym was lit by multiple color temperatures, but the camera was able to handle the difficult situation quite well. Overall, this is probably one of the best, if not the best, compact digital camera available today.

(Click image for photos.)

Click HERE for video (Windows Media, 4.9 MB).

Few more galleries added

A few more galleries were added to A Trip to Japan, May 2009.

Japan Photos

13-May: Photos have been categorized and moved to subalbums.

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Unsorted photos from the last several days in Japan can be viewed at A Trip to Japan, May 2009

These are not necessarily in chronological order.

In Japan

After making it to Seattle on Wednesday, I made the flight on Thursday and arrived in Tokyo Friday afternoon.

The flight was rather uneventful and long. In-flight entertainment is now on-demand, something that has changed since I last traveled overseas 9 years ago.

We arrived an hour earlier than scheduled. That was good because due to the current flu scare, health officials (in masks and gloves and disposable gowns) came on board to examine all passengers before clearing us to unload. That took about an hour. (Flight attendants said it took two hours the prior day.)

Once I got off, the rest was a breeze. I was out through the checkpoints in another 15 minutes or so.

Because I was able to get out so quickly, I was able to get on a bus earlier than the one planned. The travel through the city was, as expected, long due to congestion.

I arrived at Kichijoji station where I met my parents and drove the short distance home.

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Travel Delays

I was supposed to fly out of town yesterday. Supposed to, but didn’t happen. Not because the weather was bad. In fact, the weather couldn’t be better. No. The plane never made it out of Juneau. Some mechanical issue, I was told. First estimate was 30 minutes. Then it turned into an hour. Then 3 hours. And then the flight was cancelled. At least I was able to wait it out at home.

That was the second and last flight of the day. Which meant I would fly out the next day, today. And the flight from Seattle to Tokyo would not happen today, but tomorrow.

The cancellation came out just after the deadline to cancel the Seattle hotel. I called them. Their reservation server was being upgraded. They said they’d call back. Which they did. And they were nice enough to change my reservation to today. Without any penalties, if I understood correctly. Which would be really nice. Because I don’t want to have to gather all the documentation for a travel insurance claim.

The flight status now says the morning flight from Seattle is on schedule to Ketchikan. I’ll believe it when it gets here.

Odds and Ends…

You’re right, there really haven’t been much in the way of updates and posts on this blog lately. The rhythm of life gets pretty similar once you’ve lived in the same place for more than 2 years.

We are getting some wonderful spring weather – dry and sunny. This week, in fact, might be closer to summer-like with temperatures in the 60’s. ‘

I will be missing that because I am heading out of town to see my parents over in Tokyo, which I hear is even warmer. I have an overnight in Seattle in both directions. On the way back I have a long layover in Portland as well.

I’ve been a little busy taking care of a few things before I leave. One of the big things was getting ads and promos set up around town for a personal finance workshop to be held next Tuesday and Wednesday by our Conference treasurer and her CPA husband. Another things was making sure everything was up-to-date as far as the ministerial association secretarial duties are concerned.

Our cat, Stripey, continues to look well (whew!) and has become a regular nuisance (again). We’re trying to keep him from overeating, but with two cats, that’s not easy to do. We have their food dishes in separate parts of the house, but Stripey tends to wander towards Vivvy’s dish and munch on it.

Last week I was given a small bag with four, fresh king salmon filets. Over the course of the next few days I pan-grilled them and savored every one. I’ve had good salmon over the years, but these were simply outstanding. This was a case where simple was best --  just some kosher salt sprinkled prior to grilling – to savor the fine and delicate salmon flavors. I’ve never been a big fan of sauces on fish, even though that seems to be the American way…

With spring here, Amy is back to gardening. Tonight she is busy putting together little seed starting planters from discarded chocolate milk containers, filling them with dirt, and seeding them.

I received a call from our Conference President this afternoon. The news is that the district pastor in Wrangell has decided to retire (well, he’s retired, but really retire now, I guess). The Conference is looking to place a full-time pastor in the Petersburg-Wrangell church district. Change is always interesting, at the least, and could be stressful if things (style, personality, etc.) don’t match well… We will see how all this pans out.

I’ve been packing off and on the past couple of days. I’ve got one large suitcase, a messenger bag, and a small camera bag. Those of you who know me might recall that I hate to travel. I don’t mind getting to where I’m going and being there, but I don’t like the process of travel. Someone really needs to spend more research money and time on Transporters…

Sermon: Foundation, Part 2

(Click HERE for MP3 sermon audio. Click HERE for PowerPoint slides.)

This is the second half of my discussion of the Parable of the Builders found in Matthew 7:24-26 and Luke 6:46-49. My sermon draws primarily from the Lucan version.

Sermon: Foundation, Part 1

(Click HERE for MP3 sermon audio. Click HERE for PowerPoint slides.)

This week and next, I will be discussing the Parable of the Builders found in Matthew 7:24-26 and Luke 6:46-49. My sermon draws primarily from the Lucan version.

The sermon began with the singing of “The Wise Man Built His House…” song. The audio recording begins in the middle of the song.

Stripey is on the mend

Stripey made his way down from Shelley’s room today and decided to stay downstairs to enjoy a bit of the sun coming into the dining room. Our other cat, Vivvy, who had been sniffing and hissing ever since Stripey got sick sniffed but did not hiss. She had also been avoiding him, but for the first time in many weeks we observed the two of them sitting within two feet of one another.

Either Vivvy is getting used to Stripey’s scents, or Stripey’s distress-related pheromones are diminishing. Whatever it may be, Stripey is looking much more like his old self again. He’s also behaving more like his old self – trying to find plastic and plants to chew.

I forgot the vanilla

I was just now reviewing the recipe for the cake and realized I had omitted the vanilla extract. I sure didn’t miss it though.

Spring days are here

Both yesterday and today were warm (well, 45-6F) and sunny days. Both days I went out on my bicycle twice: once to get some groceries downtown, then again later to pick up the mail using a longer route around the city loop.

The city has been diligently working to sweep up all the sand used on the streets during the winter, and most of the main roads are looking pretty good. Today I took my road bike out for the first time since last summer. It was great to shed probably 15-20 lbs. of bike and fly around the loop.

My first (successful) cake

Most of my cooking does not involve baking, particularly when it comes to desserts. I’ve baked some cookies with pretty good success. But I’ve tried cakes once or twice with pretty mediocre to disastrous results. I’ve always followed the directions given on the mix, and for some reason things didn’t seem to turn out very well. I’m also not a big fan of cakes. I find the frostings and decorations rather distasteful – too sticky and too sweet, and just maddeningly sickening for the most part.

The April 2009 issue of Bon Appetit had an article on cakes that actually made cakes look and sound good. All of them are from-scratch recipes. Today just happened to be the birthday for one of our church members, and Elise just happened to work last night and tonight, rendering her somewhat unavailable for baking cakes (she usually bakes the cakes).

Flipping through the different cakes, I found one, Lemon Cornmeal Cake with Lemon Glaze and Crushed-Blueberry Sauce, that appealed in multiple ways: fairly simple (no layers, no elaborate frosting), a simple sugar glaze, and flavored with lemon (a favorite of our birthday girl) and blueberries.

I followed the recipe meticulously, and in the end everything turned out flawlessly. It wasn’t overly sweet, it had a nice blend of fruitiness, and the presentation was quite attractive.

I suppose I should practice some more cake making with some of the other recipes in the same article. There’s one that uses candied ginger… That sounds pretty good.

Sermon: Buried and Resurrected

(Click HERE for MP3 sermon audio. Click HERE for PowerPoint slides.)

This sermon discusses the burial and resurrection account found in Mark 15:40-16:8 and the change in the role of women that occurs between the two episodes.

Hope Isn’t Hope

Nearly every week, our Sabbath School discussion stumbles over semantics and meanings of words. This week, I’m sure, will not be an exception.

The topic for this week is “hope.” What is hope? Is it optimism or positive thinking?

In today’s use of the term “hope,” we often use it in phrases as…

• I hope it won’t rain tomorrow.
• I hope I pass the exam.
• I hope I don’t catch the flu.
• I hope I win the lottery.

… and so on…

As can be seen, in today’s usage, “hope” is best described as an expectation that something positive that will happen, but of which the chance of coming to pass is at best uncertain.

What is the proper understanding of “hope” as used in the Bible?

Answers.com provides as its last definition entry for the word hope, “Archaic. Trust; confidence.” Here we find a clue to the proper understanding of “hope” as found in the Bible. In biblical usage, hope is not optimism or positive thinking, or of looking for a positive outcome in an uncertain environment. Rather, it is absolute confidence that the thing hoped for will come to pass, even though there are no previous occurrences and present circumstances may be against it.

When we approach the Bible with today’s definitions (not just limited to the word “hope” but just about all theologically significant terms), it is no wonder we get all confused and end up misunderstanding what the Bible is trying to communicate to us.

Good Friday Service

Here are notes I used for my part of the service.

John 19:25-27 –

25 but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!" 27 Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

“But…”

• Some translations omit; others use now, and…
• But seems to be the most appropriate term
• But what?

24b So the soldiers did these things…

• Stripped Jesus, mocked him, beat him, crucified him
• Divided his possessions among them
• Cast lots for his tunic
• Treated him as just another unfortunate criminal

“But” in comparison to the soldiers, there were those who stood by Jesus.

28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished…

Jesus accomplished something significant in giving John to his mother, and his mother to John.

“Behold your son… Behold your mother…”

• Similar words used in betrothal
• Betrothal: A change in relationship
• Formation of a new community based on Christ and the cross – beginning of the church
• John’s crucifixion account is very brief – soldiers and women + John
• World’s principles (represented by soldiers) divide; Christ’s love unites – this is the main point John is making in his crucifixion account

Matthew 12:46-50 –

46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. 48 But he replied to the man who told him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

• Promise of new type of family based on spiritual ties starting to be fulfilled
• A prediction that new family will face pressures from outside
• And a demonstration of how new family is to handle such pressures – care for one another

The best witness that we can bear for Christ is to demonstrate Christ’s love in action as we care for one another. As we do so, we demonstrate a clear contrast between the relationships of the world that are found apart from God, and the relationships that are based upon God’s love.

(All texts from the English Standard Version.)

Stripey is much better

(knock on wood…)

It looks like I haven’t posted an update here on Stripey.

After a day of Heparin treatments, Stripey was able to stand on all fours without collapsing. The morning after that, he was almost back to his former self. And now he shows very little sign that he had any problems.

We caught the problem early enough, and we were fortunate to have the vet in town during both of Stripey’s medical emergencies.

Faith or Experience?

Since this week’s Sabbath School lesson is on the topic of faith, I thought this was apropos and it made me chuckle.

Easter Weekend

Every year, this is one of the busier weekends. Last night we attended a Seder at the Presbyterian Church. I’d never been to one before and it was an interesting and uplifting experience. Last week during our Ministerial Association meeting, the Lutheran pastor talked about their Easter traditions and why they do what they do. He described how the main events begin Thursday night as those who attend become participants, going back in time as it were, to re-experience Christ’s Passion in order to more fully understand and engage God’s love demonstrated through Jesus Christ. The Catholic priest talked about how, in the past, they would spend many hours leading up to Sunday sunrise reading through passages of scripture that discuss God’s plan of redemption and deliverance, culminating with a sunrise resurrection service. After listening to some of these traditions described and the reasons behind them, I came away with a sense that those of us in the non-liturgical, non-traditional churches could be missing something by avoiding them, whether due to ignorance or fear.

We will be attending the Good Friday service tonight at the Lutheran church, and I will be taking part by speaking, this year, on Christ’s 3rd word on the cross, "Woman, behold your son... Behold your mother" (John 19:25-27).

Tomorrow I will be speaking on the burial and resurrection passage found in Mark’s gospel.

And on Sunday, we’ve been invited again to the Presbyterian Church for their breakfast, egg hunt, and worship service. There is a sunrise service at the beach at 7 a.m. preceding all this, but whether or not I’m awake for that, I don’t know. At the Ministerial Association meeting, the others tried to nominate me to organize it since I’m the only one who doesn’t have services on Sunday… Hmm… :)

And finally, if you are one who struggles (or even if not) with the idea of God sacrificing his Son on the cross, you might want to head over and read an article at Crosswalk.com: http://www.crosswalk.com/spirituallife/11601827/

Stripey’s medical woes continue…

Whether due to complications from his liver disease and medications or from something else, Stripey has developed thrombosis causing circulation to his lower body to be blocked. He is unable to use his hind legs normally.

We first thought perhaps it was a toxin (neurotoxin perhaps) due to ingesting too much plastic from grocery bags, because he threw up a whole bunch of it right after he began to act funny.

The vet was out for a couple of hours this afternoon, and so we were trying to remain calm (without much success) while we waited. I called the vet in Juneau but his only advice was to go see a vet ASAP.

On our way to our Tuesday evening supper, I decided to swing by the vet office, just in case. The door was locked, but just as we were about to pull away, I saw the vet come out and quickly talked with him. The kids and I were dropped off at the church and then Elise went to get Stripey and take him to the vet.

Apparently Stripey has a heart murmur and that could have helped contribute to the clot that traveled down. He received a dose of Heparin, and Elise came home with two more injections to give him over the next day in the hopes that it will somehow loosen things up and restore circulation.

During his liver episode, Stripey was very calm and quiet. But in this new case, he is quite vocal and unhappy. It must be awful having lost circulation, unable to get about normally, probably not having all his sensations in his legs, not knowing what is going on, and unable to comprehend that all the pokings, proddings, shots, etc. are an effort to try to help him.

I sure don’t need more sermon illustrations from suffering and pain, and a possible tragic incident, but Stripey’s cases are pregnant with them.

Memorial service

Yesterday afternoon we held a memorial service for one of our church members, Steve Hittle, who passed away a couple of weeks ago.

Here is the audio of the service (about 1 hr. in length).

• Welcome and Prayer
• Scripture and Hymn
• Eulogy and Remembrances
• Homily -- “By the Seashore”
• Vocal Solo
• Closing Prayer

Sermon: What Shall I Do?

(Click HERE for MP3 sermon audio.)

Luke 20:9-19. This is the parable of the landowner and tenants, which Jesus told after he was questioned about his authority to challenge the religious establishment. Is the story about the tenants and their judgment, or is it about the landowner who must respond to the rebellious tenants? What was Jesus trying to communicate to his audience about himself and his Father?

Stripey’s feeding tube came out

Not intentionally, however. He was being fed when suddenly he bolted and Elise was still holding on to the tube. The tube tore the sutures and came out partway. After a call to the vet, we unwrapped the bandage around Stripey’s neck and pulled out the tube.

Elise is going to try to find some medical supplies that can help us continue to give Stripey his medication and lessen the chances of him spitting it out.

Stripey is doing quite a bit better. The last blood test result showed improvements in liver function.

Spring day

Snow fell last night, but today looked and felt more like a spring day. Last night after our supper at the church, I went to get my jacket, but could not find it. I did, however, find that one of our members had left his coat behind. Putting one and one together, I came to the conclusion that he probably didn’t realize he had grabbed the wrong jacket. (He can be excused – he’s 90 years old.) I called when I returned home and said I would go pick it up in the morning, which I did.

Since I was going to go out along the south side of the island, something I rarely do, and the day being promising for photos, I took my camera along. On the way out, the skies were a bit too overcast, but on the way back it had cleared up to where there were both sufficient blue sky as well as clouds.

I haven’t taken much photos this year because after two winters, everything looks about the same during the third winter. Here’s to make up for some of that. Click on the image to enter the gallery.

Sweet Potato (Yam) and Ginger Soup

Since about February our church has been getting together every Tuesday evening for supper. There’s always bread, and most often a soup to accompany it. I try to make the accompaniment go with whatever items are on sale during the week, and try to find some informative article related to them.

This week, sweet potatoes are on sale, both the yellow and the orange kind. (I just learned that what Americans call “yam” is not a true yam, but another variety of sweet potato.) There’s always simply baking the yams in an oven. I prefer a slightly more complicated version that maximizes starch conversion into sugar. I’ve made gratins with it.

Well, what about a soup?

I suppose I could have gone to one of the recipe sites or one of my cookbooks to find recipe for one, but what’s the fun in that? I wanted to see how different methods of preparing the sweet potato, and how different combinations of ingredients affect the end result. So with that in mind, I brought together --

• Fresh sweet potatoes (yams)
• Canned sweet potatoes (to see if they would be acceptable substitutes for fresh)
• Carrots
• Ginger
• Vegetable oil
• Butter
• Salt
• Ground cumin
• Garam Masala

I cooked the sweet potatoes in the following ways --

• Baked (peeled, sliced, covered)
• Boiled #1 (bring to fast boil, simmer until done)
• Boiled #2 (simmer at low-ish heat until done)
• Opened a can

All the above were then pureed and liquified in a blender. I steamed some carrots and pureed them also. Each puree was seasoned with a bit of salt.

I started with just the sweet potato purees and had Elise and the girls taste test them. I then added the carrot puree to one and had them test. I then added grated, fried ginger (2 kinds, one in plain vegetable oil, the other in butter) and had them tested. I added the cumin, another test; then sprinkled the garam masala for another. I mixed in a bit of cream for the final test.

It was definitely a fun experience, both for me, the cook, and for the testers.

The result? I thought that because we prefer the more complex baked sweet potato, it would work too, in a soup. But I was a little surprised to discover that for soups, a more plain, true sweet potato flavor is preferable. So as far as preparation, Boiled #1 was the winner.

However, there is an exception. As more complex spices were added, the baked, then pureed preparation began to balance the flavors out better.

I recommend passing on the canned sweet potatoes. It has a “processed” flavor to it and doesn’t have the complexity or the freshness that the freshly prepared ones do. It might do in a pinch, but not recommended.

The addition of carrots was a mixed bag. It didn’t work when it was just the sweet potatoes and the carrots by themselves. Once ginger and cumin was added, the preference for it became equal to just the sweet potatoes.

As for the ginger preparation, the ginger-butter combination appeared to have a slight edge by giving the soup a mellower flavor.

So for tomorrow night, assuming the store has adequate stock of fresh sweet potatoes, we will be having sweet potato and ginger soup, prepared as follows:

1. Peel and large dice sweet potatoes. Place in large pot and add enough water to barely cover them. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower heat, cover and simmer until done, about 20-25 minutes.
2. Carefully pour contents into a blender and puree until smooth. (If a large amount, you may need to divide and do this multiple times.) You may need to add more water if the puree is too thick. Clean out pot and fill with contents of blender.
3. In a small skillet, melt 1 tbsp. butter, then fry ginger for about a minute. Add butter-ginger to sweet potato puree.
4. Thin out soup, if needed, with more water (or chicken stock). Add salt to taste. Bring back to a simmer.

No sermon from yesterday

Pastor Brown was in town, and originally a memorial service was scheduled in the afternoon. So I had him take the morning sermon so that I could work on the afternoon homily. Well, plans changed and the memorial service was pushed out a week. We did not change the morning service, however.

I have sermon plans ready for the memorial, the community Good Friday service, April 11 (Easter weekend) and 18 (intro to a new series on the epistles of John), but I don’t yet have one for this Sabbath. I’m sure something will form in the next few days.

Stripey is much more himself today

And not all in a good way…

It’s good that he’s more alert and active. I caught him dashing up the stairs. He’s roaming about the house in a curious fashion.

It’s not good that he’s back to locating plastic bags and chewing on them. And it’s not good that he discovered my herb garden and took the chives down to a stubble (because chives can be rather toxic to cats and dogs), and started working on the thyme and dill when I caught him.

I don’t think he ingested enough of the chives to be a problem. I couldn’t find an exact problem amount for chives, but for onions, the number I found on some vet literature was 5g/kg of the cat. There wasn’t 20g of chives, and I found most of the big pieces of chives scattered about the area. We don’t need yet another Stripey emergency… sigh…

Just when you think winter is gone…

… The snow returns.

Yes, we’re hovering right above freezing point and the snow is coming down again. The city crews are back sanding the roads.

We did, in fact, have a few days of almost spring-like weather this week – both fair skies, and the typical, Petersburg rain. We’ve also had days where we’ve had everything – from bright sun, to rain, to heavy, wet snow.

Stripey went to the vet yesterday afternoon to have blood drawn to send away for follow-up testing. Because of the bandage all around his neck protecting the feeding tube, the vet couldn’t get a draw from the neck, even after two attempts and quite a bit of digging around for the vein. Stripey did not enjoy this experience. On the third attempt the vet went for a vein in the leg, which was immediately successful. The reason for preferring the neck is that usually, the draw is much easier and faster.

Although Stripey’s appearance seems to be less yellow to our eyes, the vet could see from the ears and eyes that the billirubin levels are still high. Stripey seems to be more active, is eating, and was even caught snitching some yogurt from an open container that was left unattended for just a minute.

Sermon: I Am the Lord, Your Healer

(Click HERE for MP3 sermon audio.)

God is said to be a refuge (or protector) and a healer. Yet we experience troubles, illness, problems, death. Where is God in all of this? Why doesn’t God shield us from the problems of this world? This sermon contains some of my thoughts as I try to deal with the problem of suffering and the apparent conflict with statements in Scripture.

(Psalm 46:1; Exodus 15:26; Matthew 13:14-15; 1 Peter 2:24; Revelation 22:2; John 3:16-18; John 4:46-53)

Hina-ningyo

March 3 was Girls’ Day in Japan, celebrated with replicas of traditional dolls. My mom put a set together but didn’t get them done in time for them to be sent. We got the package today and set it up and had our girls pose for a photo.

Stripey is Home

Yes, Stripey is back home this evening. He came home with a case of special wet food, four different medications, syringes for tube feeding, instructions, and a big vet bill.

He is definitely more himself than when he went away over a week ago. He seems much more alert and physically stronger.

He needs to go to the vet in town in about a week for another blood draw and checkup. Our little, adorable money-pit…

Heavy Snow, All Day

Now that Spring is almost here, we are getting some of the heaviest snow of the winter. There is a good foot, perhaps more, of new snow over the last 24 hours. It is just hovering around the freezing point, so the snow is more of the wet, sticky, heavy kind.

Stripey was supposed to come home today, but the Juneau ground crew called the Petersburg ground crew and they called me, asking if I wanted Stripey loaded up or not. After considering the poor and variable weather we’ve had all day, I made the call to return him to the vet for another day. It was a good thing, because if he had been loaded up, he would be on his way to Seattle right now – not where any of us want him. We will try again tomorrow, and hope for better weather conditions.

Kitty’s return delayed one day

Stripey did not come home today. He will be on tomorrow’s afternoon jet. A little over $1400 for the week-long stay and treatment. This whole episode looks like it will run about $2000.

But it will be nice to have him back – and maybe our other cat will settle down a bit. She’s been very noisy this past week – much more so than usual. I’m pretty certain she knows Stripey is missing and she doesn’t know why.

Stripey may be coming home tomorrow

I got a call from the vet this evening saying that Stripey’s condition continues to improve. The most likely diagnosis is cholangiohepatitis.

Stripey is apparently getting more active and tearing at bandages and things. If he remains stable overnight, he could be on the plane back home tomorrow afternoon.

Sermon: Unreasonable Love

(Click HERE for MP3 sermon audio.)

We can try to use all the words and all theology to try to explain God’s love for us, but I believe it cannot be comprehended by reason, because it is beyond reason. God’s love can only be understood by the heart as we experience it, in receiving and in giving.

Sermon: Move On

(Click HERE for MP3 sermon audio.)

This concludes the discussion on the power of God-given dreams and how we can live God’s dreams for us.

The series is based on a set of sermon notes, provided by Thomas Nelson, which goes along with the book Wide Awake by Erwin R. McManus.

The Biblical materials for this sermon are found in Matthew 25.

Stripey doing better

That is tonight’s report from the vet. He says that Stripey showed some interest in food and was more interested in interacting with people. They will check the billirubin levels again tomorrow and continue to observe over the weekend.

This is the first bit of good news for Stripey!

Blood Tests, X-Rays, Ultrasound, IV Fluids, Feeding Tube

All for our cat, Stripey… Cost so far – about $1600.

The vet in Juneau has ruled out obstruction. The next tests will try to determine which internal organ is having problems. He thinks it is either the liver or the gall bladder.

I slept 2-1/2 hours last night, worrying about Stripey. I spent most of the night playing online games in order to try to distract myself.

Elise is in Wrangell for a few days. She left on the ferry this morning about 4 a.m. She says there isn’t as much snow on the ground there – a couple of inches compared to the foot or two in Petersburg.

Not sure yet what is wrong with Stripey

This evening I got a call from the vet in Juneau. They ran some tests and the result cast some doubts on the possibility of an obstruction. They will run another X-ray in the morning, and if that doesn’t turn up anything, they will run an ultrasound to check on some internal organs…

This is turning out to be very costly…

Flight to vet is free…

Which is nice. But we do have to pay for the return flight.

Stripey got booked onto this morning’s Petersburg to Juneau flight as live animal cargo. Elise borrowed a small kennel (and a very nice one at that) from a co-worker.

Thinking about the whole thing, it is never good that something like this happens, but it was good that it did when it did. The vet just came into town, and this was before the airport closure. If it had happened later this month or next month, Stripey would have had to ferry over to Wrangell, and then fly to Juneau.

And in weather news, we are getting lots of snow again. Temperature is in the high teens.

Kitty Saga continues

The blood work results came back and the vet here suspects an obstruction. That means Stripey needs to go to Juneau for surgery. This is going to be one expensive, mongrel kitty.

It was too late to send him out on today’s flight, so he will be going out on tomorrow’s flight.

In other news, winter is back with temps this morning in the single digits again. We’ve had quite a number of sunny, clear, and cold days over the last month. Lots of people are waiting for spring to arrive.

Kitty Blood Tests

There was no callback from the message I left at the vet, so after I took Shelley to her piano lesson, I drove over to the vet’s office and stopped in to make an appointment.

Elise took Stripey in for tests. The good news is that the tests for some of the worst kinds of feline viral diseases came back negative. The bad news is that Stripey is still sick and the blood had to be sent out to a lab in Everett, WA. Total cost: about $260. The lab results won’t come back until next week.

There’s not much else to do but wait and hope that things don’t suddenly take a turn for the worse.

Our cat, Stripey, is sick

Yes, a sad bit of news. For probably about a week (maybe more, it’s hard to tell) Stripey has been coughing up greenish stuff. Since he’s always been one to chew on odd things and throw stuff up, we didn’t think much of it. But tonight we all noticed how much weight he has lost. Apparently whatever is his illness, he hasn’t been eating.

I did a quick web search of some feline diseases that could have these symptoms, and it ranges from fairly benign to “your cat won’t make it” severity. I hope it’s the former and not the latter…

I called up the veterinarian’s number tonight and discovered that they just arrived in town and will be here for 4-6 weeks. So even thought the news is bad, at least things are not all bad. Our only other choice would have been to send Stripey off to Juneau.

Recipe: Black Beans and White Cauliflower

… Or Black & White.

This is one from a couple weeks ago when I had some cauliflower and wanted to do something other than Cauliflower & Kidney Beans Curry, or Cauliflower Macaroni & Cheese, or Balti-Style Cauliflower – my usual dishes involving cauliflower.

I wanted something relatively simple. Black beans and rice came to mind, and I figured why not add the cauliflower to it and see what happens?

I tried this both in a large sauté pan as well as a slow cooker. The slow cooker version didn’t turn out quite as good due to the cauliflower overcooking a bit. I haven’t had much success yet with cauliflower in the slow cooker. What I provide here is the regular, stovetop version.

Serves: 6-8
Cook and prep time (does not include time for beans to cook): 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups dry black beans, sorted and rinsed
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 3 dried, red hot chili peppers
• 1 large onion, diced medium
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 1 Serrano pepper, optionally seeded and sliced
• 1 red or yellow bell pepper, diced medium
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tbsp. red chili powder
• 1 large head cauliflower, cut into 1-inch florets
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 14-oz can diced tomatoes with juice
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions

1. Soak and cook beans as directed by package. Drain and set aside.
2. In a large sauté pan, heat oil over medium heat. When hot, drop in dried chili, stir and fry for a few seconds. Add onion and garlic and continue to stir and fry until onions are soft. Add Serrano and bell peppers and fry another 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the ground cumin and chili powder, stir and fry 30 seconds. Add cauliflower, water, and about 1 tsp salt. Stir, then bring to a rapid simmer, cover and cook for about 15 minutes until cauliflower becomes tender but not too soft.
4. Add the tomatoes with juice and the cooked beans. Add another teaspoon of salt and freshly ground pepper. Stir to mix well and blend flavors. Bring back to a simmer, cover and continue to cook another 5-10 minutes until cauliflower is soft. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Mix in fresh cilantro and serve.

Sermon: Do You Know Who You Are?

(Click HERE for MP3 sermon audio.)

This continues the discussion on the power of God-given dreams and how we can live God’s dreams for us.

The series is based on a set of sermon notes, provided by Thomas Nelson, which goes along with the book Wide Awake by Erwin R. McManus.

The Biblical materials for this sermon are found in Luke 2:41-52; Exodus 3:11-14; Hebrews 12:1-2.

Plug: Comment on Sabbath Keeping

On Adventist Perspective, Andy Hanson writes in part, responding to the current issue of Adventist World,

Why is it then that Adventist students are made to feel that they are in some way desecrating the Sabbath if they attend a class and take an examination? When I read about a student who has to give up a career because he or she has been taught that to take a final examination on Sabbath is an unpardonable sin, I want to scream…

For the rest of the blog post, go here.

Recipe: Butternut Squash and Yellow Split Peas Curry

Originally this was something I threw together because I had a butternut squash sitting around that needed to be used. I wanted to do something that wasn’t too complicated, though you might think otherwise when you glance at the list of ingredients. I also had a bottle of red curry powder that I purchased about a year ago when we were done in California.

The first time I prepared the whole thing in a large saucepan. Yesterday, I sautéed part of it, and then threw everything else into a Crockpot and left it to cook while we were at church.

Serve with rice.

---

Serves: 4 – 6
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes (or 10 minutes plus 4-8 hours in a Crockpot)

Ingredients

• 1 small (about 2 lbs.) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and large diced
• 1 cup dried yellow split peas, sorted and rinsed
• 1 T. vegetable oil
• 1/2 t. black or yellow mustard seeds
• 1/2 t. whole cumin seeds
• 2 dried red chili peppers, crushed (about 1 tsp. pre-crushed)
• 1/2 cup ground meat or vege-burger (optional)
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 inch fresh ginger, minced
• 1 serrano chile, seeded (optional) and sliced
• 1 t. ground cumin
• 1 t. ground coriander
• 1/4 t. ground cardamom
• 1/4 t. ground turmeric
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 to 2 t. salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup loosely packed chopped, fresh cilantro (optional)

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, cook split peas according to package directions, about 20-30 minutes.
2. In a large saucepan or covered sauté pan, heat oil over medium heat. When hot, drop in mustard and cumin seeds and fry until mustard seeds start to pop, about 1 minute. Add crushed red peppers. If using ground meat or vege-burger, add and and brown. Add onion, garlic, ginger, and serrano and fry until onion begins to soften.
3. Add ground cumin, coriander, cardamom, and turmeric. Fry another minute, stirring frequently.
4. Add broth and butternut squash. Add more water if needed, to nearly cover the squash. Add salt and pepper. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to fast simmer. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes until squash begins to get tender.
5. Drain cooked split peas, then add to squash. Continue to simmer and cook for another 10-15 minutes until peas break down and squash also begins to break down into a thick sauce.
6. Remove from heat and mix in fresh cilantro, if desired.

Changes for Crockpot

• Skip step 1.
• Perform step 2 as given above.
• Place results of step 2 into Crockpot.
• Add split peas and ingredients in steps 3 through 5 into Crockpot. Cook at high for 4-5 hours, or low for 7-8 hours until peas and squash are soft.
• Add cilantro before serving, if desired.

Sermon: The Necessity of Focus

(Click HERE for MP3 sermon audio.)

This continues the discussion on the power of God-given dreams and how we can live God’s dreams for us.

The series is based on a set of sermon notes, provided by Thomas Nelson, which goes along with the book Wide Awake by Erwin R. McManus.

The Biblical materials for this sermon are found in Matthew 14:24-31 and Philippians 3:13-14.

Messy Weather

I haven’t posted much in the way of updates, because frankly, there isn’t a whole lot going on that is noteworthy.

The temperature has been bobbing above and below the freezing point, meaning we’ve been getting both lots of snow and lots of rain. With the snow and ice damming up the street drainage, the water has nowhere to go. That means when the temps are above freezing with heavy rains, the basement floods. When the temps go below freezing, all that water freezes and there’s snow on top of ice. And then when the temps go above freezing again, all the stuff starts to melt and everything gets really, really messy and ugly.

I think the temps stayed below freezing today and we got a little sun. The landscape was pretty nice.

Last Tuesday evening we started a new weekly event at church: a supper get-together where we, well, get together, cook, and have supper. We want to host discussions on topics such as health, finances, cooking, and so on that can be of help to the community. We still have some kinks to work out, but our hope is that people from the community will begin to join us.

Tomorrow and Wednesday the mental health services in Petersburg is providing suicide intervention training. Elise and I are attending the training.

Sermon: Who Will You Become?

(Click HERE for MP3 sermon audio.)

This continues the discussion on the power of God-given dreams and how we can live God’s dreams for us.

The series is based on a set of sermon notes, provided by Thomas Nelson, which goes along with the book Wide Awake by Erwin R. McManus.

The Biblical materials for this sermon are found in Genesis 37-46; Acts 10; and Ezekiel 37.

Sermon: Our Best Dreams

(Click HERE for MP3 sermon audio.)

For the next few weeks I will be discussing the power of God-given dreams and how we can live God’s dreams for us.

The series is based on a set of sermon notes, provided by Thomas Nelson, which goes along with the book Wide Awake by Erwin R. McManus.

The Biblical material for this sermon is found in Mark 10:35-52.

All I Didn’t Want for Christmas Was My Two Back Teeth…

That’s not quite how the song goes…

The reason is that I got two upper wisdom teeth removed yesterday. In December one of them began to crumble away and so with a quick appointment to the dentist, I scheduled a time to get that one and the other one removed. And that happened to be yesterday. Fortunately there was no pain associated with the tooth during the intervening time.

I was rather tense during the whole extraction process. First came four injections of local anesthesia. Then the dentist used all sorts of different tools to cut and grab, twist, pull, and break. Both teeth seemed somewhat stubborn in coming out, but they both came out, and other than the stress of watching and feeling it being done, there was no pain involved.

Twenty-four hours later, the extraction sites seemed to have stopped bleeding, so that is good news. It means I shouldn’t need antibiotics.

This last Sabbath was Religious Liberty emphasis Sabbath. This year, rather than crafting my own sermon or adapting the supplied one, I used the supplied one on video.

Our kitchen hot water pot appliance broke last week. It was many years old, and the seal on the air bladder finally tore. It didn’t look repairable and trying to get a replacement for something that old was probably not very productive, not to mention time-consuming. I looked in Amazon.com and saw a number of water pots. I ordered one of the smaller (i.e., less expensive) ones and was happy to get it shipped free.

It arrived much more quickly than I had expected. It has more buttons and settings than the old one. Actually, the old one didn’t have any buttons… just a big thing to push on the top of the lid. The new one is electronically controlled, different temperature settings, and uses an electric pump to dispense the water. What I like best is the ability to reboil the water to bring it up to boiling temperature. I couldn’t use the water from our old one for coffee because the temp was too low.

The weather here has been wacky. Last week there were a couple spring-like and almost summer-like days. Then it got quite cold again. Yesterday and today things warmed up so that we had both rain and snow, and even a little bit of sun.

The AeroGarden is doing pretty well. I harvested a bit of dill tonight and sprinkled some on the soup that we had. I also had to trim the chives a bit because they were getting too tall in relation to the other plants.

Also over the weekend I received a replacement SIM card for my BlackBerry. I didn’t get around to activating and installing it today. But now I did and the BlackBerry is working again.

Yesterday I filed for this year’s Permanent Fund Dividend. There’s incentive to file early and online – the PFD is received earlier.

That’s the excitement going on around our place.

Sermon: Daniel, Darius, Lions, and Prayer

(Click HERE for MP3 sermon audio.)

This past Sabbath’s sermon discusses Daniel 6 in the context of prayer.

The first few minutes of the sermon is not present, as I forgot to turn on the recorder.

A respite from winter

And what a respite that was. It was almost summer-y.  Temperatures approached 60 degrees, the skies were clear, and the sunshine was warm. We rarely get those kinds of days, even during actual summertime. It was like that from about Saturday through yesterday.

The temps have dropped today though, and clouds have rolled in. The forecast says winter will be back.

It was funny to have such warm weather and see roads covered in ice. On Sunday I bicycled up (with studded tires) up to the grocery store to restock, after our week away, our refrigerator and pantry. It was the warmth, lack of exercise the last several weeks, or a combination, but I was winded and light-headed after I got there. It took a few minutes to recover before I was ready to start shopping. One of the staff from the hospital saw me there and wondered if I was okay…

Yesterday, once more, I bicycled to the other grocery store to pick up a few items I had forgotten the previous day. This time I was fine. It’s almost as if my body suddenly realized it needed to readjust to physical activity.

Tropical Storm

Or it sure seemed like it. One of the weather stations in Anchorage reported a high of 49F today. The wind gusts were strong, blowing trees around and down. By this evening most of the main roads were pretty much clear of all ice and down to bare, wet pavement. Side streets and parking lots were another matter though. They were still very slick with water over ice.

We went out one more time this evening. Elise wanted to get some fabric for her little project. We also needed to get another container to put stuff in for our flight back. Within the state of Alaska, we can still check in 3 pieces of luggage per person without incurring additional fees. We got a small plastic tote and a luggage strap.

Tomorrow morning we are headed home. I’m more than ready to end living out of suitcases.

Freezing Rain

We didn’t think we’d actually make it to the Conference office this morning. Overnight the temperatures rose and the snow turned into rain. But in the morning, it was still cold enough so that the rain turned into ice upon hitting the ground. We scraped the ice off of the van and attempted to make our way to the office. The traction on the van is horrible and the windshield wiper doesn’t work. We made our way onto the roads and discovered how slick things were. I tried the freeway, but above 30 mph the windshield turned opaque from the rain, so I immediately went onto the next exit. That’s where even more troubles hit.

There were numerous power outages around the city and we were right in the middle of one. Traffic control was not working, so in the busy morning rush there were 4-way stops all over the place. Combine that with slick roads and cars having difficulties getting started, it made for very slow progress. If that wasn’t bad enough, the offices are located among some hills. That means the roads there are up and down. At some intersections, the slowdowns were caused by vehicles unable to get up the hill, stuck in the middle of the intersection, and sliding off the road. There were many moments when we thought we would be one of those stuck and unable to continue. But with very slow driving, and easy throttle, and lots of help from the van’s traction control, we inched our way through the intersections, uphill starts, etc. and finally, to our great relief, made it to the offices without any incident.

A couple evenings back we went to Office Depot to purchase some office supplies. Just about a week before our trip to Anchorage, I received a “please come back to Office Depot” mailing with a $25 off of $25 coupon. That was very convenient timing and so I got to use that coupon.

Last night we stopped at Fred Meyer for a few things including a fleece sweatshirt for me. I thought I packed one, but could not find it when I arrived. I suppose there’s a possibility it was swiped from the luggage, but it’s more likely that I had pulled it out at home and forgot to put it back in.

Tonight, a room freed up at the Conference office so we drove out to the Korean church (driving another van with studded tires – much better traction – and working wipers) to transfer our belongings. We stopped at Costco and purchased a few more things including a couple Blu-Ray videos and Sonicare electric toothbrush.

In Anchorage

This past Friday Elise and I flew up north to Anchorage. Our flight was delayed a couple of hours because the snow was coming down thick and heavy in Petersburg. It was held in Ketchikan as well as Wrangell for the weather to clear up a bit in our city. But we finally took off, and as we were taking off, it looked like the snow had changed over to rain. (Today – Monday – the forecast for Petersburg was “torrential rain.”)

The flight up was uneventful and we arrived in Anchorage, a couple hours late. We were picked up and Elise went to the Shpherdess retreat in Palmer while I went to one of the Conference officer’s house for a quick bite to eat and travel up to Palmer for a seminar.

We didn’t make it though, because (from the looks of it) not too long before us, about 20 minutes from Palmer, there was a big accident. Officials closed the entire highway for investigation. We sat there and waited for about 40 minutes before deciding to take the off-ramp right in front of us and turn around. We returned to Anchorage. I loaded up my luggage into the Conference van and drove it to the guest rooms at the Korean SDA Church which will be home for a week.

In the morning, I discovered that the SIM card on my BlackBerry was once again disabled. The phone in the room didn’t seem to work, so I ended up using Skype to call support to see if there was anything that could be done. It looks like Anchorage AT&T cell service and my phone do not get along. (It probably needs a new SIM card.) Once it was determined that nothing could be done, I quickly had a bit of breakfast and started off to Palmer to attend church there.

Both Friday and Saturday were very, very cold – bitter cold… So cold that people who live up here were complaining and looking for warmer weather. I didn’t realize how cold –20 to –25F could be. The drive to Palmer takes about an hour. The inside of the van was finally starting to feel a little bit above freezing cold by the time I parked it at the Palmer church.

It was a change to be in a church of a couple hundred, and where I had no responsibilities. Overall it was nice to just sit and relax. The potluck afterwards was nice also.

The van I’m driving has very poor traction. It does have traction control and it comes on rather frequently. I have to make starts gingerly and leave a mile (okay, maybe not quite that much) of stopping distance… A few times I missed a turn or something and hit the brakes and… it wouldn’t stop. It kept going and going… Not exactly a pleasant experience.

Later Saturday evening I headed to a nearby mall to the ACS mobile phone store to purchase a new phone. I was hoping for something fairly cheap, but they didn’t have any of the cheapest (refurbished) phones in stock. I ended up paying out a total of $140 for a prepaid phone + service. The transaction took a while because I wanted to get a Petersburg local number. And then I found out that an old prepaid number we had about a year ago was available. The salesperson tried to sell that number but couldn’t get it to work. She sold me the next higher number, and then discovered she was able to change it to the old number. So I got my old number back!

While getting the transaction done, we chatted – or shall I say, she asked about what I was doing in Anchorage and in Petersburg. I told her I was here for some church meetings and that I pastored a church back home. She asked about some of the differences between Seventh-day Adventists and other Christians. Since she asked, I mentioned that we worship on Saturday rather than Sunday, and I also talked about how our view of death and what happens afterwards is different. It turns out she is a Catholic. Would I have approached things differently if I had known that to begin with? I don’t know. I don’t think I said things in a particularly offensive, judgmental, or “we’re right and everyone else is wrong” kind of tone, and she didn’t appear to be turned off. That all got me to thinking that maybe the SIM card dying turned out good, at least in a way. However, I am not going to be bringing the BlackBerry to Anchorage again, or at least not with the SIM card installed. I don’t need any more SIM cards destroyed and $140 “divine encounters!”

On Sunday Elise returned from her retreat. After picking her up we went to Wal-Mart (not in any way my favorite store, but not much choice here) and picked up a few items of clothing, a small automatic coffee maker, cups, stirrers, hot chocolate mix, and 4 gallons of drinking water. The reason? Because the tap water is awful! And I wanted something to make hot water. We searched the shelves of Wal-Mart for a hotpot or something that could boil water, but couldn’t find anything other than a coffee maker. So that’s what we have. I have no idea what we’re going to do with it when we go home. Leave it or take it back with us?

Sunday evening there was a banquet for the pastors and administrators. It was hosted by the Samoan church and held at the Anchorage Junior Academy. The youth of the Samoan church provided the evening entertainment. It consisted of cultural rituals, ceremonies, and dances. The final event consisted of many of us being “dragged” out to participate in the dance. So now you can say that Adventists in Alaska dance!

The food was quite good. Some of it resembled Chinese, others resembled something closer to Indonesian. For the records, Samoans are NOT vegetarians. Many of the dishes featured or contained chicken and there was one good curried baked salmon dish.

The pastors’ meetings started in earnest today. Our guest speakers are the Central California Conference President and his wife. The topic is prayer. Coming into the meeting I had some questions, reservations, and trepidations about what exactly would be presented. Seminars on prayer can go in so many different ways, and I didn’t now how it was going to go. Going through the meetings today, however, I am feeling a lot better about it.

The temperatures have warmed up and one of the weather station says we hit 31F today. It’s now just cold. But no longer the kind of cold that makes you want to stay inside.

So this is how things have been going the last few days.

Sermon: Do Not Lead Us Into Temptation

(Click HERE for MP3 sermon audio.)

The seventh and final in a series on the Lord’s Prayer, this sermon discusses Matthew 6:13, “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

New Year’s and Snow

Our New Year’s was quiet. Elise worked New Year’s Eve. The rest of us went to a party hosted by the drama/speech class instructor. Amidst the food and games, each of the class members gave a speech they had worked on. Some were serious, a few humorous, and others light-hearted. Shelley gave a speech on the employment of stealth in order to accomplish good or evil. For food, we brought some chocolate chip cookies and a little bit of mochi in a soy-sauce/sugar glaze. Most people who tried it though that it was interesting, but good.

Yesterday evening I grabbed some pre-packaged seasonings and mixes that had come from parents and relatives and put together a Japanese-themed supper of omelet, chirashi-sushi, miso soup, and oshiruko with mochi.

Last night was the coldest night we’ve had so far this winter. The temperatures were down into the lower single digits. It’s come up to about 10 degrees now. It was clear last night, but heavy clouds and fog have rolled in and we’re in the middle of a snow storm.

I haven’t been out much the last few weeks. Part of it has to do with the cold. I went out a couple days ago to the Post Office on the bicycle. It was okay for the most part, but it was cold. The loose snow in some parts made for a bit of sliding and dexterous riding. But I think I’d rather have this than the wet, mushy slush. I’m sure that we’ll have that kind of surface soon enough after this cold weather passes.

The little sprouts in my new AeroGarden have been coming up. The thyme, purple basil, Italian basil, chives, and dill are up. The parsley and mint still have to show their faces.

I’ve been practicing flying the R/C helicopter about, and have gotten fairly good at controlling it. It’s still a challenge though.

That’s more or less life in these parts. Elise and I will be in Anchorage starting in about a week, and staying for a week. There are some church meetings, and the Conference decided they wanted us there so they purchased our flights. We get to go from cold to colder.