That Was a First

I had this really odd experience this morning.  It was about 5 Am and for some reason I woke myself up laughing.   I had this hilarious dream (which I sadly can't remember anymore) and I just couldn't stop laughing.  I can honestly say that has never happened to me before.  I wish I could say the rest of my day was that good, but... well it wasn't a bad day, just not as funny as my dream.

Has this ever happened to anyone else?  What was your funniest dream?

Community

I had this sort of "ah ha!" moment last night reading Brueggemann.  He was writing about the challenges of Biblical Interpretation in an increasingly pluralistic society, and in a post-modern world where, "a perspective has the power to makes sense out of the rawness of experienced life, even though it cannot be 'proven' or absolutely established" (Texts under Negotiation p. 10).

So I am reading this and I come to his line, "In Christian faith, the specific form faith takes is of a certain ilk, practiced from a certain perspective that one embraces in the face of other, rival perspectives.... This posture does not claim to be objectively true, but it claims to be a position where one will stand at cost and at risk, so that in the end, the test of its validity is non longer logic or fact, but the expenditure of one's own life, which is the only thing that has final worth" (p. 10)

My first thought as I read this was, "This is why the witness of the believer Believing Community is so important." Yes folks, I caught myself half way through the word believer, and realized that it is not about how well I live out the Christian life on my own.  It is all about how I live out my Christian walk in community.  I really can't think of a more Anabaptist thought.  For me this marks a bit of a change.  Not that I haven't thought that community is important, but as I read more and more I am being reminded that when the Bible says "you" it usually means the church, not the individual.

Wishing

I want to go snowboarding.  Watching the Olympics hasn't helped.  Even if I can't pull a Double McTwist 1260... or even make it down the hill without snowplowing the whole way, I am still inspired by it.  I want to go down a mountain on my board.  The worst thing is we are actually pretty close to some really good mountains.  However, due to space we left all our boards and boots in storage, and we just don't have the money for lift tickets and rentals.  *Sigh* So instead I will just look at these pictures of what Niki and I could be doing instead of homework.

Beer Butt Chicken

So today I made supper on the BBQ.  When I was working at Cargill the guys all talked about how this is the absolute best way to have chicken.  So I bought a Foster fresh chicken and turned on the BBQ.  I have to say, it was the best chicken that I have ever had.  The skin is crisp and tasty, and the meat is incredibly juicy and moist.  So if you are interested here's how to do it.

1) Get a can of beer, or in my case I used a Pepsi can and just filled it half way.  (the other day I found some Molson Canadian in the store so I used that.  I've heard that you can also use Pepsi... and a Dr. Pepper could be really good as well)

2) Use a can opener and cut off the top of the can.

3) Make a nice dry rub.  Today I used some brown sugar, garlic powder, chili powder, oregano, parsley, Montreal steak spice.  I mixed it all together and then put a few scoops in with the beer in the can.  Use the rest to rub on the chicken.  It is also important to remember that the skin won't let a lot of flavor through so you have to rub it in between the skin so it is right on the meat. It is messy but pretty fun.  Once you have done that, sit the chicken down on top of the can.    

4) Preheat the BBQ to about 300 place the chicken down on a pan and start cooking with indirect heat.  Today it took me just over an hour until it was done.

This is what it looked like when I was done.  It was INCREDIBLE!!!! 








You can see the can inside of the meat.  It was so much fun to come out and look and see how it was bubbling and sizzling.   I highly recommend this as a new way to cook your chicken.

Brew, Books, Bikes

I bought a new blend today.  It is a seasonally available coffee from Mexico. On the bag it says that it has a Milk chocolate and Hazelnut.  I am very excited to make myself a pot tomorrow morning.  Today was a great homework day. I finished reading The Art of Reading Scripture - by Davis and Hays and All Right Now by Tim Geddert.  So much reading to do this semester finishing a book is always a good feeling, and two makes me feel like I am doing really well.  Tomorrow will be another day of work, but maybe I'll try my hand at writing something as well.  

Today I also headed over to the DMV (since it was closed) and did some riding around their motorcycle test track.  I'm doing a little practicing so that I can get my full license.  Good times, I love riding on a warm sunny day. 

Not that I have time...

Not that I have any time for reading right now, but went to a book sale to day and found four great books that I bought... only cost my 5 bucks for them all.. There were a few more that looked interesting so I might go back for them later... but for now this is what I picked up.

 
The Epistle to the Philippians - Karl Barth

The Upside Down Kingdom - Donald B. Kraybill

Jesus Matters - Ed. James R. Krabill and David Shenk

Christ and Culture - Richard Niebuhr

Oh Canada!

The other day in my North American Religious History class we were discussing the differences between Canada and the United States (of which there are many).  As the sole Canadian in the class I thought that the best way to explain the differences was like this...

February

February!  Did you know that February means spring in California?  It's true, the trees are budding, the flowers are starting to bloom, and the fruit trees are producing like crazy.  February is a wonderful month to be living down south.  February is also a great sports month.  First there is the Superbowl which means a great party with friends, and the night before the Superbowl is the start of Nascar season.  Also this year the Olympics are on this year, although with all my homework I am just hoping to catch a few of the hockey games, and maybe some snowboarding.

February is also Valentines, so gentlemen... you've been warned.  The question is how much to do?  Niki and I are going to stay pretty low key.  One of the results of struggling with infertility as a couple is that it makes Mother's day incredibly difficult.  As a result we are more aware of the pain that some of these holidays can cause on those who don't have a special someone in their life.  So I'll probably try and do something for Niki, but nothing to big.  May 14th... that's the day to go big!