Mar 30, 2018

Eli Eli Lama Sabachthani?


God, God why have you forsaken me? That is the question Jesus himself uttered upon the cross the day he died. He felt completely and utterly alone. We did that.

Crucifixion is not only a death meant to be as painful as possible but also the utmost humiliation. A person crucified was the lowest of the low, criminal, and their bodies hanging were a warning to those who saw them. He suffered that.

A sacrifice was needed and he accepted that responsibility.

He died so that we will live.

Good Friday isn't good because it's fun or easy.
Good Friday is good because without it we are lost.


Mar 21, 2018

Bob Gip's Cole Slaw - A Sister Weaver's Collection Recipe




We had it with ham and cheese hoagies.

This is one of those recipes in Sister Weaver's collection that would be great for a church picnic or a family reunion during the dog days of summer. It is cold and has a deliciously sweet tang and serves a crowd! The only thing I didn't do was freeze it the way the directions said to, so if you do let me know how it turns out. We still enjoyed it after just tossing the cabbage in the dressing and with only half of the recipe made there was still enough left over for the next day.The simplicity and freshness of it was a nice change to the heavier and more traditional mayo-based slaw of my childhood. One son liked it and he doesn't like mayo based anything! At any rate, it's good eatin' and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

The back of the card reads Cold Slaw Frezzer

CoLe Slaw
20 or 25 Cups 6 lb) Greated
3 TBS. SALT Mix over Cabbage
let set one Hour. Then drain

         Boil 5 1/2 Cup Sugar
         2 1/2 Cups Vinegar
         2 Cup water. Set a side to cool

         pour over Cabbage + Freeze
                          
                          Bob Gips recipe Bar Owner        


Notes: I didn't freeze because I had no room to. I did make the full vinegar and sugar mix so I'd be able to use it later but used only one cabbage. Note to self, label things so helpful kiddos don't dump out things you want to save.....at least he washed the container.

Mar 16, 2018

The Churchmen - Netflix review


On Netflix, I ran across the French TV series Ainsi soient-ils, (titled The Churchmen in English), about four nights ago. It's a two-time Sèriemania Best Series Award winner and winner of the Best Film Award at the Internation Catholic Film Festival and I can see why. There are three seasons, and each episode is about an hour. The only reason I'm not completely finished is it's not in English and I have to read subtitles. I find myself having to scroll back now and again because I was distracted. (I refuse to miss anything.) This one is binge-watching worthy and I have done so to the best of my homeschooling mommy abilities. (Read I have kids to teach during the day and at night I deal with the normal sleep fighting we all do.) That said this series is amazing! It really gets into who the seminarians are as people and not just cookie cutter caricatures. It's gritty without being base and you feel as if you really know them and go through their struggles with them. I highly recommend watching, but fair warning it is not for people sensitive to mature content. It hits on human frailty without sugar coating it. I certainly do NOT recommend this one for kids, and only the most mature teens.

The Churchmen takes you on the journey of Yann LeMeguer, Guillaume Morvan, Emmanuel Charrier, Raphaël Chanseaulme, and Josè Del Sarte, five seminarians entering the Capuchin Seminary in Paris France. The head of the seminary and the father figure to the seminarians is Fr. Fromenger. All the seminarians have things that you will love them and despise them for, some more than others I imagine. (Personally, my favorites are Yann, Guillaume, and Josè.) You will find homosexuality, pedophilia, and other hot topics brought up in this series, but what I absolutely love about it is that these struggles do not define who they are. We are given complex characters with heart and substance, not a worn out clichè. Like us they have those things they hate about themselves, the things they don't see but are clear to those around them, and the things that they get hung up on that keep them from Christ. This series is a reminder that priests are men, flesh, blood and very mortal with the same temptations and tribulations as we all have, but with the very real pressure of representing God to the masses. There are also aspects of their sacrifice to the Church that, as a military brat, I recognize and can appreciate. Priests don't get to chose their job as easily and we lay people. Like soldiers, they can put in requests, but ultimately they have to go where they are commanded to go by the hierarchy. Priests sign up for this not in a two, four, six, or even a twenty-year contract. They will die priests. They give up the right to a wife and family and take a vow of chastity. If the US military did this we wouldn't have a military at all. I, like most faithful, love, respect, and appreciate the sacrifices our priests make, but not everyone shares this sentiment. There are many that have a knee-jerk opposition to the Catholic Church and those that represent her. The Churchmen shows how hard it can be for them both, old and young taking on responsibilities they don't feel ready or qualified for and how heartbreaking the reality of the priesthood can be to our idealistic new priests. This series brings it to the forefront just how much control of their own life they truly do give to His service. Here in the southern US, I've faced a little of the ignorant intolerance even other Christians have for the Catholic Church, but how much more our priests face! With every scandal, they are all painted with the same brush and hated through no fault of their own. This series brought home for me just how much our priests, young and old need us. They need our support, our love, and our prayer as much as we need theirs.

Please join me by taking a little time each day during this last part of Lent to pray for beloved priests.


Mar 15, 2018

Ouidia's Peach Salad - A Sister Weaver Collection Recipe



While I'm sipping on my sacrilegious, because it's not sweet tea, and typing this we are expecting a warming trend here in the 70° range. This has prompted me to start looking for recipes that won't make me wanna die this summer. After 5 years in PA, I love these temps! It's just before what my body now considers summer (temps between 80° and low 90°s). As a result my unacclimated hiney is going to enjoy what little bit of what passes for spring here with windows and doors wide open. At any rate, it's prompted me to look through her collection for summer foods that can beat the heat. There I found this sweet little retro gelatine dessert.  This admittingly, is in the 'do I reeeeally want to try this' category, but not so scary that I would feel bad about waste if it did flop. The buttermilk did make me pause, but I really needed to use up the other half of the huge tub of whipped topping before I, or one of the kids ate it. (Admit it, you do it too.) The biggest difficulties I faced were finding peach flavored gelatine and the way it looked. (It looked like a pastel peachy rice pudding.) Fortunately, I found the gelatine tucked away in a corner in Wal-Mart (I used the Great Value brand.) and I kept in mind that some of my favorite foods are ugly. (Escargot, however tasty is NOT pretty.) This little throwback recipe was really good and I think a great place to start if you want to explore retro recipes. I know we enjoyed it.




Peach Salad

Warm 1 Can Crushed Pineapple (Not drain)
Dissolve one large package Peach Jelo in this,
Add 1 lg, Cool Whip + 2 Cup buttermilk.
Chill till firm
Ouidia 

Notes:
I used a 14 oz. can of crushed pineapple, 2 regular sized boxed of the peach gelatine, half of the 1 lb. whipped topping tub, and full-fat buttermilk. 

I warmed the pineapple with the juice and a little more than quarter of a can of water added( it didn't seem like quite enough liquid) over a med stove before adding the gelatine and other ingredients. 











Mar 13, 2018

Women of the New Testament: Tamar




When a woman is mentioned in the bible I pay attention but when a woman is included biblical genealogy I immediately want to know not just why. I also want to know what about her makes her special. When she is in the genealogy of Christ himself I HAVE to know why. We just aren't a common voice in the patriarchal history of Christianity, so when one of us makes that cut I want to know all I can about her. What makes her special, what is it about her that stands out, what makes her tick, what did she do, why did she do it, and most importantly, what is God saying here? I want to know.

Tamar

Her story begins in the old testament book of Genesis in chapter 28. She is also the very first woman mentioned in the new testament, found in the Gospel of Matthew 1:2. She was the daughter-in-law of Judah, married to his son Er, his firstborn. When she was sent to her father's house by Judah after the deaths of both Er and Onan, she went, to wait on Shelah to come of age. Now, according to the tradition of the time, any children she had with Onan would be credited to Er. After Onan died the next brother was Shelah, and any children she would have had with him would likewise be credited to Er, her first husband. She waited dutifully as asked. Now, as a parent, I understand why Judah was in no hurry to give her to Shelah after losing both Er and Onan. I admit I'd probably be hesitant also. Tradition, being what it was, gave her the right to do so despite any misgivings on his part. Ultimately Judah didn't follow through and she took action. She didn't pressure him, and she didn't harass him. She waited. After Judah finished mourning his wife and went back to work (in fields to sheer his sheep) she dressed as a harlot and waited for him. He saw her and wanted her. The payment was to be a young goat from his flock. Since he didn't have it she took his seal, cord, and his staff until he could bring it to her. In other words, she took three forms of identification to hold onto until he brought payment. Not knowing who she was he agreed and had sex with her. When he went to give her the goat he'd promised she was gone. Which, in my opinion, makes it pretty clear she knew exactly what she was doing. She knew he wouldn't have payment on hand, and that he would likely proposition her. He asked around for her, but no one else had seen a prostitute in the area. He decided not to press the issue because he didn't want to be laughed at by his peers. Now, when it came to light that she was pregnant, this same man, who had sex with her, wanted to have her burned for prostitution. Our girl though, as she was being brought out to face his wrath, showed him his signant ring, cords, and staff proving he was the father. He admitted her righteousness was above his as he didn't give her to Shelah in accordance with tradition. When it came time for the birth of her twin sons the event was unusual. Zerah's hand come out first, and a scarlet thread was tied to it by the midwife. However, he pulled his hand back in and it was ultimately Perex who was born first. Their conception and their birth both were unusual and it is Perez that's in the direct lineage of Christ as a result.

 Now we know the who, what, why, and the how I want to know what God is saying through her. The Catholic Study Bible states that she and the other women are included in the genealogy because their unions were strange and unexpected "culminating in the extreme irregularity of the Messiah's birth of a virgin mother" (pg.1136). That is not all I took away from her story though. Through her, I have learned that a marriage or even two that don't go the way your heart longs for doesn't mean that God can't and won't use you. When you have to return home, as an adult, embarrassing as it is, even though you may not have done anything wrong, you aren't finished in God's eyes. Sometimes we are forced to wait longer than we thought for God's plan to become visible to us, even when we thought we knew our role. Waiting is so hard! When we wait for someone that doesn't keep their promise we ultimately have to make a decision to either stay where we are or to take some sort of action. Never take your eye off God during this time. Know who you are in Him and He will not steer you wrong. When He says it's time to do, then take heart and DO! You will be okay. The path may be unconventional, and even appear scandalous to those who are on the outside looking in. (We all have dealt with people who have wronged us in this way and are probably guilty of it ourselves from time to time.) However unconventional the path may be, if we keep a correct heart, we will not be overlooked by God. He will reward us, in His time, in His way. God bless, and keep the faith.

*Disclaimer I'm no theologian. I'm just a 40something single mom doing the best I can in the world that I find myself.

Mar 12, 2018

Corn Pudding - Remembering Sister Weaver

Sister Jones

This is the second recipe I've made from the bag of recipes I received from Sister Weaver all those years ago. If you want to know more about how I ended up with the bag you can read about it in my blueberry pie post, here. This recipe from her collection is for corn pudding and is credited to Sister Jones. I don't know Sister Jones personally, but I do know she can cook!

First I have to apologize for not having a picture of the final product...........we kinda ate it before I remembered to get one. Fingers crossed that you take that as proof it was amazing. Everyone here loved it, including my cream corn haters. Many of the recipes I've made (that I'll be posting soon) have surprised me. None of them are difficult, but a few are in that retro "do we reeeeally want to try this" category. This was one of them. I don't know if it's supposed to be dessert or side dish so I guessed and it was part of our meal. I will double the recipe next time as there just wasn't enough for the 5 of us eating.

(Please remember I am having to use a cheap camera right now, and that when I write the recipes here I am writing them as written. I feel it's important to remember that some of these women had limited education, but still managed to find time to not only provide for their families but to share their abundance and their recipes with God's family as well.)

Corn Pudding"

2 Eggs                                                                   1 Cup Milk (Not quiet full
1 tb flour                                                               1 tb Vanilla
3 tb Butter                                                             1 Can 16 oz cream corn
1/2 Cup Sugar
Mix All ingredients, except corn. Blend Well, Add corn, pour into a greased baking dish,
Pr Heat oven Bake 320 for 40 mins

*Notes:

I made this with large eggs and real butter. Since the recipe didn't call for the butter to be melted I just used it at (almost) room temperature. I quite literally just dumped it all into a mixing bowl, adding the cream corn last. Then poured it into the greased pan and baked until the edges started to  slightly brown. In my oven, it wasn't quite the 40 minutes called for.

This was very sweet and had a very distinct vanilla taste which went surprisingly well with the corn flavor. I used an 11x7 inch baking dish. It probably would have done better in an 8x8 square brownie pan, as it was quite thin. I'd definitely double the recipe if you want more than 4 good sized servings.



Mar 9, 2018

Something Happened at Mass


from http://cruzblanca.org/hermanoleon/


Something happened at Mass a few weeks ago that gave me food for thought. My daughter, who is just a little like me, stubborn, decided she was going to stay seated and try to bar me from the Eucharist and a blessing for Darian. I gently moved her legs and let her stay there. She was stunned, but we were holding people up and with Darian taking his first communion this year I didn't want him to miss it. Moments before I'd told her to quit playing with the kneeler and making noise. Her refusing to budge was to make me mad in return. I neither got upset nor did I punish her in any way. I simply allowed her to make her choice and to deal with the effects of it. At first, Darian was upset and pointing saying we forgot her. I told him she was fine and pointed out how we could see her at all times and that I wasn't going to force her to come with us. He looked thoughtful then he got his blessing from Father and I received the body and blood. Upon getting back we resumed our places in prayer when she began to cry.  She was honestly sorry, and a part of me felt bad for her. She wanted to get her blessing, we all do, but the moment had passed. She would have to wait for the next one. She was lucky, while we waited for our ride Father passed us by and gave us one. She was so happy and I was happy for her.

How often we do this to ourselves! Simply choosing to sit when God has a blessing waiting. How many have we missed because we were being petulant over something we did to ourselves? We act up, we daydream, we get stuck in our "feels", or whatever and as a result, we aren't paying attention to what He is doing for us. He won't force himself upon us and He has more than met us halfway. Whatever the reason we miss so much because we aren't obedient and act like tired toddles. When our kids are misbehaving we love to quote the fifth commandment to honor your father and your mother, yet here we are breaking it with our Heavenly Father. We are His children, created foremost to show God's goodness, and to share in His everlasting happiness in heaven. (Baltimore Catechism Lesson One) How often we forget how simple our calling is, and yet we struggle! People watch us. They see how we react and those that love us are often afraid when they are moving forward and we get left behind. We are also failing those who look to us as an example, if they see us acting this way what message are we sending? Not a good one. Who is to say how many people we inadvertently hurt because they see us stagnant, or because they, out of misguided loyalty, choose to stay with us in our sin? I for one don't want to think about it, the number is too high. The good news is that even when we are stubborn and refusing Him, He is still waiting for us to repent so we can be with Him and have our blessing at last. 

+In the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Heavenly Father, I ask you to forgive me all the times I have failed you and have failed my children by my own stubborn will. Please help me to be a better child to you, and a better parent to them. + In the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Mary, Mother of us all, pray for us.
St. Monica, pray for us.
St. Anne, pray for us.
All the angels and saints, pray for us.
Thank you, + In the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Mar 5, 2018

Sister Weaver and Blueberry Pie



A few years ago a very dear friend passed away. She wasn't up for having young children under foot and I never seemed to find the time or a babysitter. I regret not making more time with her. Sister Weaver, a Pastor's wife, was one of the very best of God's southern ladies. She didn't agree with me becoming Catholic, but unlike so many, she didn't distance herself. In my pain from what felt like a mass Exodus in my life she never once stopped loving me, just as I was, just where I was. In time she actually gifted me with not one, but two of my favorite Christian images. Whenever I look at them I remember her and the love she had for everyone. When I showed up the first time to Prattville First Assembly of God wearing all black, a band t-shirt, horrible makeup, and all things heavy metal, she was the only one that welcomed me openly, holding and patting my hand, telling me how glad she was to have me there.....and she meant it. I thought she was nuts, sweet for sure, but nuts. After a few years of attending (not by choice in those early days), she was the one I relied on when it came to what a Christian woman was to be like. She always backed her reasons with scripture and always stressed the importance of reading the Bible, prayer, and memorizing scripture. She actually lived her faith, not just at Church, but every day and in everything she did. The Bible says we are to learn from our elders, now that I am grown and no longer young I can only hope that I will attain her level of grace. When she passed and her family had gone through the pain of going through her things, Mama Higgins, her spiritual daughter, and one of the ladies who prayed me into Church asked for the bag of old recipes written on the backs of pieces of paper, napkins, old receipts and index cards. She knew how much I loved to cook and she thought I might like them to remember her by. She was right. I have finally gotten around to actually cooking some of them, and they are bringing back memories of the days I spent smoking behind the church, wearing the most obnoxious outfits I could, and just being a teenage pest trying to shock the little ol' southern ladies of Prattville First Assembly of God. (btw I don't recommend it, they are tough. They WILL smile (smirk?) and nod to each other, right in front of you, when they see your kids acting just like you. You might outlive them and your kids may never know what you were like, but you won't be allowed to eeeever forget....bless your heart.). God love the little ol' southern Christian ladies of the world. They are a rare gift indeed.

These recipes are very much the types of things you'd find on any given Sunday afternoon during a church potluck from my youth. I have found some scribbled on receipts that dated to the 70's and 80's. Much of the scrap paper is yellowed with age and the pencil faded and hard to read making me believe they are possibly even older. I will do my best to recreate them here with a picture of the actual recipe and what I managed to do with it, good or bad. Where a name is given I'll be sure to give credit. The recipe will be posted as written with notes on anything I may have done that wasn't specified in the original. Please forgive the poor quality of the photos as things are tight and I'm having to use an older camera. I hope you enjoy this recipe and the ones that follow it as much as I do and will have recreating them. God Bless.
                               

                                             
BLUEBERRY PIE:
(No name)


Crust              2 sticks butter
                       2 cups plain flour
                       1 cup chopped pecans
Melt butter mix in flour & pecans. Press into 10x14 Pan Bake at 300 until brown around edges. let Cool.

Pie Filling

8 oz. Cream Cheese
1 lb. Confectioners Sugar
                     Mix till smooth & creamie.
                     Stir in 1 large Cool Whip
Put on the cool crust and then Add 1 can of Blue berry pie Filling on Top


 *NOTES:

 1. I didn't have a 10x14. I only have a smaller pan, so I used what I had. The crust still came out thin enough to not be an issue.

2. I did have more than enough filling left. (They will be used to dip strawberries in tomorrow during the kids' snack.)

3.  I also didn't use the large tub of Cool Whip. I only used half of it as I don't remember seeing tubs quite as large as the large ones these days. (I could easily be wrong, but it seemed too much.)

4. Things I might do differently next time are adding a splash of vanilla to the cream cheese and Cool Whip layer and to chill it before serving.