I've realized a major change God has been working in my heart over the last couple years: Through my family's situation of need my eyes have been opened--literally for the first time--to Scripture passages about God's instructions to us about helping those in need. I've realized, and confirmed with a few theologians in personal conversations, that Scripture does lay out a clear path for us:

1) Give tangible help to those in our immediate and extended family who are vulnerable and needy

2) Give tangible help to members of our local congregation who are vulnerable and needy

3) Give tangible help to our family of believers who are spread around the world who are vulnerable and needy

4) Give tangible help to our unbelieving neighbours (locally and globally) who are also vulnerable and needy

The change that happened in me is a total reversal of my values. I used to be a lot more self-absorbed, into entertainment, spending a lot of time in my imagination, and tons of time doing goofy things with friends. Although these things are not intrinsically bad, I know that one day, after I'm no longer needed by my parents, I'm going to spend my free time helping others a great deal more than I will on the pursuit of happiness, diversions, entertainment, and so on. I know this because of how I feel these days when other people give up their leisure time to help my parents. They are an answer to our prayers, and one day I want to be the answer to many other peoples' prayers too.

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Blog Tag is a game I've just been introduced to today! Another blog I read from time to time introduced me to the concept of "literary lucky-dipping." It's similar to "a different kind of quiz" - a game we played a while back at a message board I frequent, which some of you will recognize below:

1. Grab the book closest to me.
The closest book to me at the moment is The Treasure Principle: Unlocking the secret of joyful giving by Randy Alcorn.

2. Quickly turn to page 123,
Problem: this book finishes at 120 pages. So I grab the next closest book - The Maker's Diet by Jordan S. Rubin.

3. Find the fourth sentence from the top of the page, and --
Mhmm...

4. Post the next three sentences:

While I do not consider myself a miracle worker, I do have great confidence in my Teacher, affectionately called "the Great Physician," who heals all our diseases (Ps. 103:3). Nothing matches His wisdom concerning His creation, including the ideal human diet and natural treatments for our most common ailments. Before you examine the 'nuts and bolts' of the Maker's Diet, I wanted you to consider its effect on these people who were desperate for any glimmer of hope in their health situation--including my own grandmother, who prayed for just a few more months of life!

I still haven't finished this book; instead I've been leafing back and forth through the pages, reading about nutrition history, checking out the recipes, pondering his theories, and eyeing his 40-day health plan, all in a delightfully random approach that I like to take with some things in life. I'll track down the remaining unread pages sooner or later and finish it up. ...Now, if you were to ask my husband, he'd tell you that I can be a little impatient. True, I couldn't read the rest of the book before skipping ahead to the recipes. Oh well...

5) Tag an indefinite number of people to do the same (so, it could be '0').
Judy, Tina, ellie, photogal938, cheriet, twiga92, kalipay, Jeffrey74, Julie, and anyone else who wants to join in! =)

~*~

Serendipity!

I just devised the most amazing Beef & Vegetable Egg Drop Soup, and here it is for anyone interested in giving it a try:

Broth Ingredients:
- 1 package Bak Kut Teh soup seasoning (it's Chinese/Malaysian; the kind we have looks like an overgrown tea bag, and consists of a bunch of mild herbs and seasonings that flavour broth the same way a teabag flavours tea; Bak Kut Teh bags can be purchased at your local Chinese market)
- 1 tablespoon beef broth (broth without MSG is highly recommended)
- 2 tablespoons red curry paste, mixed with 1 cup warm water (if you hate spicy food you can replace this with a can of tomato soup)
- 2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
- 6 tablespoons soy sauce (we have Indonesian salty soy sauce, purchased at a local Chinese market; it's quite different from generic soy sauce commonly available at grocery stores)
- 5 tablespoons fish sauce (just enough of this stuff will give your soup the tiniest hint of something 'different', NOT 'fishy')

Soup Ingredients:
- 2 cups diced chicken, beef or the meat of your choice (raw or cooked meat is fine)
- 7 cloves of garlic, diced (less if you don't like garlic)
- half an onion, chopped
- 1 tomato, sliced
- 1.5 cups broccoli, chopped
- 1.5 cups celery, chopped
- 1 cup cooked rice (Jasmine rice is highly recommended for its flavour; Uncle Ben's is an absolute no-no)
- 2 raw eggs

Instructions:
- Place the Bak Kut Teh in a large pot of water and bring to a boil
- If you're using raw meat, dice it, and place it in the water
- After boiling the soup for about 15 minutes place the garlic, onions, broccoli, and celery in the water and boil for another 10 minutes
- Add the rest of the broth ingredients, along with the cooked rice, sliced tomato, and if you have cooked meat you can add that at this point as well
- Add eggs to boiling soup and stir. The more briskly you stir, the smaller the egg pieces will be, whereas if you do not stir after adding the eggs you will end up with two poached eggs in your soup. So, while stirring at your desired speed let the soup simmer for another 10 minutes or so.

Serve and ENJOY!

Picture a woman standing at the stove cooking lunch. What comes to mind?

a) A mother in her apron fixing lunch for kids and hubby?
b) A sleepy student throwing a meal together before rushing off to class?
c) A busy career woman trying her hand at a homemade meal for a change?
d) Or do you think of yourself (if you're a woman) creating a work of genius?

The correct answer is d)!! And I had one of those rare moments in my kitchen today as I concocted genius in a pot! (Note: I don't really take myself so seriously, and in moments like these I can't help but laugh at myself as I sit here writing.)

So what was this marvellous work of art I created? Check it out:

- 1 can of Heinz tomato soup - emptied into a pot and slowly heating on the stove
- 1 can-full of water and/or plain soy milk - added to the soup
- 1 large garlic clove - chopped and added to the soup
- 1 large tomato - diced and added to the soup
- 1 teaspoon each of parsley, basil, rosemary, and garlic powder - all added to the soup

Slowly heat the soup until it begins to simmer. Take a minute to make everyone in the house enjoy the aroma and praise you for your genius. Remove it from the stove and top it with a tiny bit of your favourite cheese (cheddar, parmesan, gouda, etc.) or with a drop of sour cream, and be sure to take enough for yourself before the others get their hands on it!!