Trotters and Collards

• Pork trotters, 2 each (mine were grass fed!!)
• garlic, 8 cloves
• vegetable stock, 1 box
• collard greens, 2 bunches, cut in strips
  
• juice of one pink grapefruit
• juice of one meyer lemon
• water to cover

How

1. Place trotters, peeled garlic cloves, vegetable stock, and fruit juices in crock pot.
2. Add enough water to cover trotters.
3. Cook on low for at least five hours.
4. Add collards to crock pot.
5. Cook until collards are tender.
6. Strain, separating bones.
7. Reserve stock for soup, etc!!
8. Enjoy.
9. Makes enough for two generous servings and works as a main dish for low protein folks or a side dish for higher protein folks.

Proposed Changes

• Use 1/2 c cider vinegar (or so) to more adequately break down meat and bones.
• Salt and pepper to taste.
  

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Spiritual Companioning as Fulfilling Design

made partial reflections
with wholly contingent imaging
longing to be who we are

made real reflections
needing real communion
longing to know and be known

Informants

• Imaging the interpenetrating Trinity
• Longing for communion

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Love Sacrifices, Gives, Relates

spiritual battle
for me
by him

God saw
made the end

and now
a Man is on the Throne

in him
I win
love purified


Informants

• Palm Sunday's focus: triumph and worship
• Jesus Died--A Really Big Deal!

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Choosing to Worship in Toddler's Wobble

like the toddler's scribble
I set my worship at your feet
and you
hang it proudly on the frig

meager attempts
accepted
continuous improvement
encouraged

Informants

• Isaiah 1:1-3 and Isaiah 66:18-24

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Statistics Does Not Make Us Into Gods

arrogant or ignorant
all too human
futzing about in correlations
seeking causation

though contingent
still
partial perspective
brings intentional conclusions
level of certainty
of passion

Informants

• The need for explanation and causation
• Correlation as direction and magnitude of relationship

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The Celtic Soul Friend (Micro Review)

Claim: To be a Celtic soul friend--a place of sanctuary for another--encourages growth in wisdom and depth.

Broad, insightful history, uncovering practical significance.

Disclosure: If you purchase an item through the affiliate link, I receive a percentage of amazon's profit.
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joy is not an emotion

sounds odd, I know
for it feels like one

it's a decision
to see God's perspective
even when it makes little sense to do so

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Are soul friendships organic or planned? Yes!

creativity transforms culture
revealing Christ over, in, through

centered
the Body gathers
connections emerge

nurturing practices
tradition informed by change
over millennia
in the moment

Informants

• framework to develop, connections to encourage, and practices to nurture relationships in intentional community
• intentional community as intentional Christians

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Capered Meat Loaf with Bacon, Cheddar, and Brussels Sprouts

Note: do read the "What would I do differently?" section.  This meat loaf looks darn good, but the taste was...um...somewhat lacking: recipe needs lots of work.

• grass-fed beef, ground, 3 lbs?
• capers, chopped, 1 small jar
• caramelized Brussels sprouts, chopped, ~1 cup
• garlic, chopped, 8 cloves
• garlic powder, 1 T
• goat cheddar, sliced, 2 sq inches
• thyme, dry, 1 T
• bacon, 1 pkg
• grass-fed butter, 2 T

How

1. Rehydrate thyme and garlic powder in liquid of choice.  I used the liquid from the capers. This was an ERROR...too salty.
2. Saute garlic cloves, Brussels sprouts, and capers in butter over very low heat. When slightly brown, remove from heat and allow to cool.
3. While those are sauteing, mix the re-hydrated garlic powder into the ground beef.
4. When the sauteed vegetables are cool, you are ready to assemble.
5. Line a loaf pan with bacon strips.  Feel free to be creative. Reserve a few strips for the top. I used 3 decoratively, but wish I'd used more: the top dried out a bit and this may have helped.
6. Layer the re-hydrated thyme on the bottom.
7. Place 1/3 of the ground beef on thyme layer, pressing flat and to the edges.
8. Layer the sliced cheddar next.
9. Place the second 1/3 of the ground beef on top of the cheddar, pressing flat and to the edges.
10. Layer the sauteed veges.
11. Place the third 1/3 of the ground beef on top of the cheddar, pressing flat and to the edges.
12. Place a final layer of bacon on top of the loaf.
13. Bake at 350 F until an internal temperature of 170 F.
14. Remove from oven and allow to rest before you slice.

What I would do differently

• Nix the caper juice: wow! on the salt.
• Cover the meatloaf with bacon all 'round and maybe bake covered at the beginning.
• Add something to the ground beef to retain fat: the texture is a bit dry.
• Add more garlic.
• Maybe mix fresh herbs in the meat??

By the way, in case you're wondering about the name, while bacon is prominent on the outside, the flavor is definitely dominated by capers. Now you know.
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Who do you say I am? --Jesus

not lunatic
not liar
but Lord

reliving Israel's life
a proved Redeemer
dynamic reiteration of power
abounding evidence
fulfillment through horizons
to finality

One Lord
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Sharing What we Find in Open Hands

decisions
expressions of lengthwise knowledge
wisdom enacted, it's
processes exposed
modeled
and applied

explanations
expressions of informed instruction
wisdom shared
full disclosure in
intentional communication

Informants

• The place of wisdom, transparency, and informativeness in educational research.
• The processes of decision-making and explanation in educational research.

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Wasting Time With God (Micro Review)

Claim: Enjoying God's presence, especially in the disciplines of meditation and question asking, deepens our relationship with him.
Practical and passionate, guidance with ample examples.


Disclosure: If you purchase an item through the affiliate link, I receive a percentage of amazon's profit.
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Spiced Roast Lamb Chop with Sauteed Cabbage

 

• lamb shoulder chop, 2
• coriander, 2 t
• cumin, 2 t
• turmeric, 1 t
• garlic, 6 cloves
• coconut oil, 3 T (or more)
• savoy cabbage, shredded, 1 head
• pink salt, to taste

How

1. Heat oven to 400 F.
2. Grind spices and rub on chops.
3. Place chops in oven-safe pan.
4. Cover pan with foil.
5. Back 15 minutes, then uncover and bake until done.
6. Remove chops from pan.
7. Add shredded savoy to pot and add drippings from chop bake.
8. Add coconut oil as needed.
9. Simmer in oil until cabbage is tender and succulent.
10. Add salt to taste.

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Blueberry "Ice Cream"--quick, easy, yum

• frozen wild blueberries
• heavy cream

How

1. Pour blueberries in bowl.
2. Pour cream over berries.
3. Consume. Yum!

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Slow-Cooked Beef and Tomato with Garlic and Thyme

• stew beef, 2 lbs
• garlic powder, 1 T
• thyme, dry, 1 T
• canned tomatoes, 2 cans
• pink salt, to taste

How

1. Add beef to slow cooker.
2. Sprinkle garlic powder, thyme, and salt on beef.
3. Pour tomatoes over beef.
4. Cover and slow cook on high for a couple hours or so.
5. Remove tomatoes and beef from slow cooker.
6. Transfer stock to stove-top pan.
7. Reduce by at least half for a luscious gravy.

Disclosure: If you purchase an item through the affiliate link, I receive a percentage of amazon's profit.
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What did I do with my leftover lamb fat?

From Drop Box

I had some leftover lamb fat after my lunch.  Not wanting it to go to waste, I went hunting on campus.  Ending up at our cafe, The Eagle's Nest, I nabbed a very green banana and a bit of guacamole-tomatillo sauce.  The results were a great finish to a great meal.
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Can We Trust Temptation's Solution?

connected
this changes that
body and soul trusting
demanding no more proof

relationship, connection, creation
suffice

let life proclaim
his control
his supply
his rule

Informants

• More than Shamrocks and Green Beer
• Temptation – What Did Jesus Do?

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Toward a More Honorable Analysis

more than numbers
data are people
helped or harmed
known or ignored

so

handle with care
decide with moderation
know the risk
measure the effect

Informants

• The need for care and moderation in Educational Research
• The fact of findings and populations in Educational Research

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Practicing the Presence of People (Micro Review)

Claim: The principles of relating to God in contemplative prayers correspond to our relations with people.

Thoughtful, meditative work, guiding the reader to learn love.


Disclosure: If you purchase an item through the affiliate link, I receive a percentage of amazon's profit.
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Yearning for the Gracious Gaze

habits
unfortunate choices
and yet
i do not feel his face turn away
i do not beg his returned gaze

cognition
has skewed the balance

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Brussels Sprouts Roasted in Bacon Fat

From Drop Box

Tossed these in some bacon drippings and roasted them in the oven (~350 F) until the loose leaves were browned. Simple and fabulous.
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The Truth is, it's Hopeless without Him

Creator
wholly other
became us
wholly connected
wholly given

suffering shared
Father, Son, Spirit
God
sending and sent

we
knowing
declare and live
Christ alone

Informants

• God as the solution--his grace
• Saint Patrick's Breastplate

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Honorable Research is Tough

details fly about
we try and catch the patterns
translate them
through numbers
to truth
explaining, improving

remember
we might be wrong
they are unique

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Sacred Companions by Benner (Micro Review)

Claim: Spiritual friends and spiritual directors journey alongside us and help us attend to the voice of God.

Thorough definition from an informed amateur's perspective.



Disclosure: If you purchase an item through the affiliate link, I receive a percentage of amazon's profit.
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From where we usually sit, it makes no sense

promises of redemption
years of struggle
his command remains
and we are left
sitting under the prophets
sitting under the Messiah
learning hope
learning praise


Informants

• Isaiah 61-62
• TNBS 3/2/10

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Definition: Church

...a community of virtue in which we develop and live out dispositions that tend toward human flourishing in Christ by the Spirit for the Father.

Informants

• Dissident Discipleship by David Augsburger
• Discussion prep with classmate, Sam

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Oh, that women's history would match God's intention

humanity, responsible
for God's world
to the Sovereign Creator
unto God's good ends

through gendered ways of being,
being who we are
in glorious diversity.

Informants

• This guy had a religion problem--do you?
• Women's History Month

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