Thinking in difficult directions
The thing about thinking about things like God being in control (see The Mustang 3) is that you can go in directions that you don’t necessarily want to go.
Like… what if you started pondering the two trees in the Garden of Eden. If God didn’t want Adam and Eve eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and did want them eating from the Tree of Life, does that have implications for the way we live? Does that mean that God does not want us to relate to the world in terms of Good and Evil? But isn’t that the way God and the universe is ordered? But wasn’t it different in the Garden? But…
See what I mean?
For several years before I became a vegetarian I actively refused to hear or think about animal welfare in food production. I had an inkling that it would take me in a direction that I didn’t want to go – away from meat. I was right, and eventually it did. But I’m much happier now that I have followed the direction of that thought than I was when I was resisting.
Are you resisting any directions of thinking because you have an inkling those thoughts will require you to change? I challenge you to grab your bible, be brave and go think the difficult thoughts you have been avoiding.
28 August 2008 Jeff Gill
tags: food,
humans,
kingdom of god
How I succeed at barbecues
Yesterday, the Gill family was at the first i61 barbecue of 2008. i61 barbecues are famous for immense quantities of fun and food. Friends who accept the invitation to come usually find that before too long they are part of us and inviting their friends to barbecues.
People often ask me two questions at i61 barbecues. The first is: Did you make these chocolate chip cookies yourself? I reply, Yes, with an appropriate amount of honesty. The second question is: Can I have the recipe? Today, for the first time ever, the answer is, with a complete lack of modesty, Yes, you can have what is probably the best chocolate chip recipe in the world.
The ingredients are listed in a mix of American and British measurements, so you might need to use this.
Get a big bowl, and put this stuff in it:
- 300 g butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 eggs
Mix them all up. Don’t taste it yet; it’s too slimy and gloopy.
Now add this stuff:
- 1 1/2 cups plain white flour
- 1 1/2 cups wholemeal flour. This is important.
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- a bit of salt
Mix again. Tasting is good to do now.
Chop up 300 g of really good chocolate, 2/3 milk chocolate and 1/3 70% cocoa plain chocolate. If you are living in North America and you are tempted to use chocolate chips or anything that has Hershey’s written on the label, resist. Put the chocolate in the bowl and mix one last time.
Grab some dough, make a ball and put it on an ungreased baking sheet. Repeat about 35 times. Bake all those little balls for about 9 minutes at 190°C.
Eat all that you can within a couple hours. Store the leftovers in an airtight container.
Your results may vary.
You’re welcome.
5 May 2008 Jeff Gill
tags: church,
community,
food