Listen to Life

Listen. Simply, here is the heart of the Rule of St. Benedict. Listen to life. Get out of the front yard, leave the plastic ornament world, and join the adventure tour. Enter the mystery. God is still able to surprise us. God, after all, is still God, and we are not. The world is indeed full of mystery...

If we learn nothing else from St. Benedict, he would have us remember this: When the bells ring, listen. When the young speak, listen. Listen to the prayers of the poor. Listen to the baying, the singing, the praying, the mourning, the laughing. When the music plays, when the night stands still, when loss cuts into your gut, when joy lets you leap over the tallest building in a single bound, pay attention to the moment, to all the moments and all the people and every breath you take beneath the ancient sky.

It would be spiritual apartheid to suggest that God is heard only in monasteries, only among Benedictines, or only through Benedictine spirituality. The Irish speak of a tradition of "thin places." It is believed among them that there are sequestered, sacred places on earth where, if you listen very carefully, you can hear God more clearly and feel God more closely than you thought possible....

Make a habit of reminding yourself several times a day to try and be more attentive. It might be as simple as writing "Listen" into some of the empty lines of your planning book or calendar. It is often between the lines and in the empty places where we hear God.

(Taken from Benedict's Way: An Ancient Monk's Insights for a Balanced Life by Lonni Collins Pratt and Father Daniel Homan, OSB) For more on the Rule of St. Benedict, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_St._Benedict

I started reading this devotional book, Benedict's Way, on my sabbatical in November, and as soon as I finished it, I started over. Today I finish it for a second time. I will miss it for awhile... but it launched me on a great new path of listening in the quiet and in the noise, in the profound and in the mundane, for the voice of God. I often hear Him in His Word, the Bible, but now I hear Him in birdsong, in friendship, in the news, in books, in music, in conversation... God is always talking to us. But we are rarely listening.

Next devotional I'm going to use: Listening to Your Life by Frederick Buechner. Stay tuned.

Cauliflower Conversion

Even though it's not Thursday, I have another great recipe to post because I got some great cauliflower at Fairview yesterday. This one has converted two cauliflower-hating friends into big fans, and Cari Stone has told me she cooks this regularly for her family after having it at my house. Look at all the spices in this recipe - fantastic!

CAULIFLOWER with GINGER & CILANTRO
serves 3-4

a piece of fresh ginger, 2 1/2 by 1 inch, peeled & chopped OR 2-3 tsp minced ginger
1 lg head fresh cauliflower
(1 c frozen peas if you want)
3-4 tb vegetable oil
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp red or green hot sauce, or 1 fresh hot green chili
1 packed cup coarsely chopped cilantro
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp garam masala
1 tb lemon juice
2 tsp salt

Put the ginger into a blender with 4 tb water and blend until smooth.

Cut off thick, coarse stem of cauliflower & remove all leaves. Break large flowerets into smaller ones. Try to preserve as much of stems as possible.

Heat oil in wok or 10-12 inch skillet over medium heat. Add ginger paste and turmeric. Fry, stirring constantly; after 2 minutes add chile sauce or green chili and cilantro. After another two minutes, put in cauliflower (and peas). Cook and stir for 5 minutes. If necessary, add 1 tsp warm water at a time to prevent sticking.

Now add cumin, coriander, garam masala, lemon juice, salt and 3 tb warm water. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes, then cover, lower flame, and let cook slowly for 25-35 minutes, stirring gently every 10 minutes. The cauliflower is done when it is tender with just a faint trace of crispness along inner spine.

Serve over steamed basmati rice or with any kind of lentils and raita.

Taken from "An Invitation to Indian Cooking" by Madhur Jaffrey. This is a hilarious old school Indian cookbook that I saw was just re-issued. It's worth getting.

Thursday Recipe

I've gotten some feedback that my recipes are a hit, so here's my weekly Fairview recipe. It is VERY good. (But then again, why would I post a recipe for something that tastes lousy...)

JAPANESE NOODLES with BOK CHOY and TOFU
1/4 c soy sauce
2 tb balsamic vinegar
2 tb honey
2 tb sesame oil + 2 tsp oil
2 tsp cornstarch (OK, this sauce is awesome - use it for any stir fry)
8 green onions, chopped (optional ingredient)
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tb fresh ginger, minced and peeled
1 head bok choy - bottom third discarded, leaves sliced and diced (not too small)
12 oz extra-firm tofu, cut into cubes
12 oz package udon noodles or linguine, freshly cooked

Fry up tofu in skillet over medium heat with 2 tsp oil.Whisk soy sauce, vinegar, honey, only 1 tb oil and cornstarch in small bowl to blend. Keep turning them over in skillet till edges are a little crusty. Set aside.

Heat remaining tb of oil in wok or large pot over medium heat.

Add onions, garlic and ginger and stir 30 seconds. (Ginger might spatter, be careful). Add bok choy and saute until it begins to wilt, about 2 minutes.

Mix in tofu, then noodles, then soy mixture. Stir until sauce thickens and coats noodle mixture, about 1 minute. Season with salt and sesame seeds.

Pray the suffering church in Zimbabwe

The Religious Liberty Commission has urged 'the Churches of the Anglican Communion to join with the Anglican Church of Southern Africa in observing Wednesday 25 February 2009, Ash Wednesday, as a day of prayer and solidarity with the Zimbabwean people.' Furthermore, they are calling on ALL believers to lift up the church in Zimbabwe.

Go to http://www.assistnews.net/STORIES/2009/s09020085.htm for more info.

Really - allow your heart to feel the things that Jesus feels. Our brothers and sisters in Christ are suffering for calling on His name. Let's pray for them.

Marking Time

Since November, I have been using a devotional titled Benedict's Way. It is a lovely, simple book that gives thirty devotionals related to the Rule of St. Benedict, a set of teachings used by most monastic orders to give structure and direction to their spiritual communities. I picked it up in my pursuit of greater intimacy with God and a desire for more simplicity in the way I ordered my life.

Today's reading, titled "Marking Time," really spoke to me as I passed through a significant marker yesterday:

We can't control time, but we can mark it. ... Rather than trying to manage time, Benedict asks us to embrace it, to walk into it, to hop on the bucking bronco and ride it until our last gasp of air. (223)

God, today I say yes to another day and all its opportunities. Tonight I say thank you for another day and all its opportunities. I am in a cycle of seasons that seems to be taking me somewhere. Help me remember that time is an ally and not an enemy. These seasons that come and go are taking me to you. Give me faith to hold on to that knowledge. Amen. (225)

This week, Christians will mark time with the beginning of Lent this Wednesday, Feb. 25. Think about marking some time between now and Easter, to prepare your heart and mind for what God will say to you. Make the soil of your heart ready to receive the seeds of his grace.

Leaving

As I exit the pastoral ministry at Santa Barbara Community Church, there simply are no words for what I’ve been feeling and experiencing these last few days. The profound sense of love, of loss, of joy, of sadness, all arm-wrestling inside of me at the same time… It just makes want to go to bed. But ultimately, I believe and embrace the fact that I have been deeply blessed to have known so many, so well, for so long.

During a graduation commissioning service one year at church, I said that when a graduate leaves, it is not as if I had a room for him or her in heart which will just get filled by another student once the graduate moves on. Rather -- it is as if my heart has many rooms; and in each heart room, the bed is made and the light is on, ready for that student to come and visit when they call or come home. It was always available. It has been extraordinary to watch a wealth of people grow up – physically, emotionally and spiritually. I just beam with delight at the thought.

Yet I also cannot deny that to have kept this many rooms ready in my heart has been tiring at times - but it has always been worth it. I have never tired of loving so many, so much. I know this is Jesus in me. A human heart is not capable of loving this many people. I know my own heart isn’t able to do this, anyway.

So to “leave” this church family now is beyond difficult. I ache over all the relationships I have. Each one is real and true. Each person sets off a slide show in my head whenever I see them. I feel the laughter, the tears, the huge experiences and memories, again and again. I am so thankful to have a good memory – I can recall so many amazing details!

The depth of things I'm hearing from people is overwhelming. I cannot take it all in. People are writing the dearest things in cards and emails. I am fortunate to get to hear it. Thank you Jesus. So much. You are far too kind in allowing me to hear people's hearts. This is but a tiny nibble of how You must feel! It nearly crushes me. How do You do it?

As I leave this body of believers, I step into so many unknowns, I feel like I’ve been launched from a cannon out into a giant canyon. I have no idea if I have a parachute, a bungee cord, or a net to catch me. Or nothing! It is exhilarating and utterly terrifying at the same time. Only your hand Lord is there. Please catch me. And take care of those whom I love. You love them far, far more than I do.

I loved you so much that I was delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but my life as well, because you had become so dear to me. (1 Thessalonians 2:8, slightly adjusted ☺)

So I Never Saw the Movie...

...but I heard this quote today on Garrison Keillor's Writer's Almanac and it just works:

"Deliver me from Swedish furniture.
Deliver me from clever art.
May I never be complete.
May I never be content. May I never be perfect."
The nameless narrator of Fight Club
written by Chuck Palahniuk