I’ll have to say: the Chocolate Espresso Pecan pie is absolutely wonderful.  I definitely recommend giving it a try; this is the second year in a row I’ve taken it and it’s been the first or second to be completely gone both years!  It’s especially satisfying since I have an incredibly horrible time getting pecan pies to turn out and this one always sets up perfectly!

Sour Cream and Raisin pie is an old-style pie -   I gave it a new twist this time though by using a brown sugar meringue instead of a regular one (simply replace the white sugar with an equal amount of packed brown sugar - it really works!)  It started to sweat by the time I took a picture, but I’m quite happy with how it turned out:

This year the “new thing” I wanted to try was the salt water taffy though.  What a blast!  I’ve made regular taffy before (with varying degrees of success) but every batch I’ve made with this turned out great - it’s practically fail proof!  You can find the recipe here, and it’s small enough that you can pull it by yourself (although it makes around 90 pieces!)  I thought I’d share some pics (from the third batch -the first was root beer, the second was butter rum and the third peppermint). Oh, and I used a full dram of candy flavoring not the recommended 1/4 dram — definitely a good choice.

If you every want to have a get together with some people and do something different - this would be a great group activity.

To top the evening off we raised almost $5000 for local charities and had a great night of food and fun!  Wish you could have been there (I’ve only met a few of you in real life and would love to change that eventually) - maybe next time!
Grace and peace,

`tim

The point of the post, however, was this: I am sick of the hubris exhibited by colleagues and religious professionals in the name of Christ.  Take the latest in the increasing stack of propeganda I’ve received in relation to the upcoming election.   It started out…

[name deleted] a Pastor and teacher of the Holy Infallible Word of God in the city of Allegan; given this privilege not by men but by Jesus Christ our Lord and God the Father who raised him from the dead.  Not I alone but all those who are with me in this battle for the defense of truth in the country God blessed us to be a part of….

The November election is fast approaching…

It appears to me that [name deleted]  has bought his seat on the family Court…

There is no greater need in our country than for God’s leaders to stand for Him with the courage that He will bring us victory…

Now, I’ll be the first to admit, none of the above is strictly speaking incorrect (minus the unwarranted accusation of purchasing the position).  There is a certain sense in which it is true (minus, again, the accusation).  But who writes like that these days?  No one (I think), unless they view themselves as comparable to the biblical authors.  Such language is intended to place oneself and one’s opinions on the level of scriptural authority and beyond debate.  Hubris.  It is nothing short of hubris.

Honestly, isn’t it about time leaders in the church started exhibiting some of the humility Jesus so clearly had?  That’s not to suggest that he was “wishy washy” or “wimpy” but never did he behave with such self-puffery and neither should we.

Well, that’s what I think anyhow!
Grace and Peace,

`tim

The cool thing about this scarf is that it’s entirely local - in other words, it’s made from yarn “grown” just a few miles from here by Barb and her husband of Marr Haven Wool (Barb is mhyarn on Ravelry).  I originally purchased the yarn for the Labyrinth I knitted last fall/winter and when I had some left over went back and bought a little more so I could make a scarf out of it.  It’s a little rough and smells slightly of lanolin (it’s very lightly processed so retains some of it’s natural oils), but I like it.

Details:

• Needles: US8
• Fiber: 100% Marino-Rambouillet Wool, Worsted
• Color: Natural (Undyed)
• Model: Carina (our lovely Italian Greyhound)

Grace and Peace,

`tim

Especially interesting is the section called “Put Away Falsehood” which I find particularly helpful since so many of them are things I’ve actually heard people I know parroting.

Grace and Peace,

`tim

Today I received a DVD in the mail called “Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West.”  It’s sent out by a group called “The Clarion Fund” (of whom VERY little is available on the web).  It’s disturbing, but ironically not in the way they intended it to be.  The intent, obviously, was to scare Americans into a near-frenzy about the impending destruction of the west by radical Islam.  The underlying thesis is that Islam is a religion of extremism and that Muslims are dangerous.  Fundamentally, the DVD suggests that Muslims are modern-day Nazis.  I’m not blowing this out of proportion; the connection between Islam and Nazism isn’t even hidden - it isn’t insinuated - the video draws a clear equal sign between the two.

Of course, there’s a small-print caveat at the beginning of the film noting that “most” Muslims are peace-loving people.  And yes, they spend a few moments talking about how “most” Muslims are “liberal,” “democratic,” “moderate” (a variety of adjectives are used) and not extremists, but the rhetoric throughout the film makes very little distinction - it is not remotely balanced.  This is what’s so disturbing: An entire religion portrayed as if its extremes are it’s norms.

Are the extremes detestable.  Of course!  But come on - none of us want the world to judge us and our beliefs by those on the violent extremes of our own religious communities.  We’d better hope not, anyhow…  Think of the horrors actively supported (or passively embraced through knowing silence) by Christians over the centuries.  Our history is no less plagued by extremism, torture, brain-washing, and yes… the attempt to eliminate entire people groups sometimes even with the promise of eternal glory for those who are “martyred” in the process.

What frightens me is not that there are radical Muslims but that the world basically stands by and allows all Muslims to be portrayed as such.

I, for one, know better.  If you’ve never even met a Muslim, it’s time.  Be pro-active about it.  Go to your local mosque.  Search out your local Muslim Students’ group.  Don’t allow yourself to be manipulated by fear-mongering propaganda.

Grace and Peace,

`tim

Bit of substance: I had a weekend!  Really.  Those of you who don’t work weekends and aren’t ministers might not get this but this is exciting to me.  I get five weekends off a year (4 for vacation and 1 for education).  This year two of those were spent on Ragbrai which means that I have three weekends this year where I can pretend to have a normal life with my family   One took place over the past two days (one was spent on a family event last spring and the third is taking place in October).  No sermon preparation.  No teaching.  No preaching.  No fretting over whomever I managed to offend or whomever thinks I should have done or said something different.  No wondering who’s going to call me this week upset because I offended them.   Just a normal, joe-schmoe weekend.  Ahh… it’s nice.

(Oh, and if you’re wondering why I don’t take “weekends” during the week - it doesn’t work that way.  First, of course, because my wife works and is, therefore, on the “normal” schedule.  Equally as importantly, though, because weekends don’t happen during the week.  Weekend sales don’t take place on Monday.  Weekend trips/events/parties/etc. don’t happen on Thursday.  I take “time off” but “time off” isn’t a weekend… does that make sense?)

Less Substance:  Some of you may know that I’ve often wondered about “green” issues.   For example, obviously the verdict is mixed about cloth baby diapers - sure, they’re not plastic, but when the whole life cycle is taken into consideration, the balance of opinions seems to be that disposables and rewashables have roughly the same environmental impact.  It doesn’t necessarily make sense, but it seems to be true nonetheless.  Diapers aren’t my point though.  I’m really interested in coffee cups.  Paper… ceramic… styrofoam.  Specifically, I want to know the real green comparison between styrofoam cups and ceramic ones.  Both take immense amounts of energy to make.  Both sit in landfills for centuries… nay… millennia (seriously… archeologists study pottery shards - ceramic!)  So, ignoring the fact that some people think styrofoam is just evil, what’s the real comparison?  Nobody seems to be able to answer that for me.  Here’s the closest I’ve found. Just thought I’d share.

***The above post was written over the course of several breaks***

***just thought I’d save you the trouble and publish it all togehter.***

Grace and Peace,

`tim

I’ll also note that I fully understand Focus on the Family is a large enough institution that one corner doesn’t necessarily understand what’s going on in another corner, and even more importantly, I undestand that sponsoring a forum doesn’t mean you approve of everythign everyone in that forum does or sells or says.  HOWEVER, Obama Waffles?!

See AP Article Here.

Recognizing everything I said in the previous paragraph, it’s possible to assume that Focus on the Family and “American Values” (I’ve put it intentionally in quotation marks!) have nothing to do with it, don’t agree with it and consider it aweful taste and inappropriate.  HOWEVER, clearly they don’t think it inappropriate enough to say so on their websites.  I searched them both.   Neither one condemned the waffle fiasco.

I live and work in the mecca of the religious right.  It’s simply the air many in SW Mighigan breathe.  But this is absolutely unbelievable.  A joke?  “Tongue in cheek?”  Come, on people, we’re not that stupid.  This is obviously intended to capitalize on the racism, culturalism, lies and carefully-crafted-but-not-quite-lie deceptions that have simmered mostly-below-the-surface during this campaign.
This is the meanest campaign I’ve ever seen and the behavior of those who call themselves Christians is both hateful and dramatically unChristian.  Faithful people, the world over, should be ashamed.  Truly… Ashamed and, frankly, indignent.

Grace and … well… not “peace” … not this time.

`tim

This is the yarn I won at The High Fiber Diet, but I coupled it with a strand of black essential sock yarn from Knitpicks to darken it up a little and make it thicker (the pattern uses worsted weight).  For those who pay attention to these things, I used double pointed needles the whole way through (size US7 for the band and US8 for the body of the hat).  I biffed the cables a couple of times but with the dark color, you can’t see most of them.

One note: my version of the pattern had a little error in line 21.  If your copy of the pattern only shows 22 stitches, add 2 knits to the end of the pattern (during each repeat) and it’ll work out wonderfully.

JJ says my pictures look a little like mug shots… I actually like this one though (despite needing to trim the van dyke - which I did this morning):

Grace and Peace,

`tim

Have you ever done that?

Try it some time.  You take an old potted plant that’s dried completely out and pour a couple of cups of water into it.  It goes straight through.  If the dirt were damp, it’d simply soak in, but if it’s COMPLETELY dried out, it pours straight through (often overflowing the little plate underneath it).  That’s what happened to us.

It has been SO dry around here that, when we got 7-9 inches of rain in a few days, it just poured right through (didn’t soak in) and rushed promptly into our basement.  This is only the second time it’s ever happened to us here (the first was in June… same basic idea).  It’s awful.

I know, not as awful as a lot of people are experiencing.  I feel for them.
Here’s another thing I’ve learned: If you shop-vac all the water up out of the basement at one point, that doesn’t guarantee it won’t keep coming back in.  Indeed, it does.  Every time I get the floor semi-dry, it comes back again.

Going on 150 gallons so far, but it seems like it’s slowing down…..

Grace and Peace,

`tim

Prayers, Organized by Myers Briggs Categories

ISTJ: Lord help me to relax about insignificant details beginning tomorrow at 11:41.23 am e.s.t.

ISTP: God help me to consider people’s feelings, even if most of them ARE hypersensitive.

ESTP: God help me to take responsibility for my own actions, even though they’re usually NOT my fault.

ESTJ: God, help me to not try to RUN everything. But, if You need some help, just ask.

ISFJ: Lord, help me to be more laid back and help me to do it EXACTLY right.

ISFP: Lord, help me to stand up for my rights (if you don’t mind my asking).

ESFP: God help me to take things more seriously, especially parties and dancing.

ESFJ: God give me patience, and I mean right NOW.

INFJ: Lord help me not be a perfectionist. (did I spell that correctly?)

INFP: God, help me to finish everything I sta

ENFP: God,help me to keep my mind on one th-Look a bird-ing at a time.

ENFJ: God help me to do only what I can and trust you for the rest. Do you mind putting that in writing?

INTJ: Lord keep me open to others’ ideas, WRONG though they may be.

INTP: Lord help me be less independent, but let me do it my way.

ENTP: Lord help me follow established procedures today. On second thought, I’ll settle for a few minutes.

ENTJ: Lord, help me slow downandnotrushthroughwatIdo.

Amen.

Grace and Peace,

`tim