"The Commandment"

"In the final chapters of the Book of Joshua we hear Joshua's last words to the people. He sets a vocation before the people and asks them once again to choose the Lord. He says, "Stand firm...and fulfill all that is written...never turning aside from it to right or left" (23:6, JB). Then he says to obey the commandments, which we immediately think refers to the Ten Commandments. The commandment, in fact, is to trust the one God. That is the commandment they are called to live by. It is in that relationship that they find their power. "Do not utter the names of [other] gods. Do not swear by them" (23:7, JB). To our world God says: Do not put your trust in gods that cannot save - your looks, intelligence, money, your home. Do not put your trust in your children, wife, husband, your high position. They cannot save you. What is your money going to do for you? God is security, the rock of our salvation. No one has trusted in God and ever been put to shame."
- Richard Rohr, from The Great Themes of Scripture

Chicken curry goodness

On Saturday, I decided I wanted to make a big chicken curry from my new cookbook, which, by the way, is awesome. The cookbook has lots of recipes and they are easy to follow, and some of them even have stories to go with them. There is a section for "Curries in a Hurry" (my style of cooking) and a lot of chutneys and appetizers too. I am going to have a lot of fun with it. Maybe I will even learn to like daal. Anway, for this (sort-of) inaugural curry adventure, I selected "Madras-style Chicken Curry". There were 20+ ingredients, so a trip to Talin Market was in order. My basket contained methi, black mustard, cumin seeds, coconut, cardamom (!) and even some nuttella (my weakness). The recipe was quite easy. I had to cut up the chicken first and remove the skin and fat. That took a while. Then I had to marinate it in turmeric, salt and yogurt. I put all the spices, garlic and onion in the blender and then cooked them in oil for a few minutes before adding the chicken. That had to simmer for a while and then it was done. Really only 4 steps! I had two friends over and we all agreed it was good. There will be more curries to come, I think!
In other news, I also saw an awesome and inspiring and convicting documentary about fair trade and coffee, called Black Gold. GO SEE IT! I also went hiking with Krista, Lucky the Dog and Nick. We hiked up Embudito trail (that's the one at the top of Montgomery Blvd.) for a while and then came back. Which is what most people do on hikes. It was beautiful, which is hardly surprising.

43 things

The other day, I came accross the 43 Things web site. It gives you an opportunity to write down some things you would like to do or accomplish and then you can form a community with others who have similar goals. it's kind of cool, I guess. Go read my list and make your own! Should I add something I have forgotten?

Green Vehicles

Recently, I have been thinking about hybrids a lot. Last week, I had a guest speaker come and talk to my class about hybrids, and specifically his own Prius. I was SOLD. Mostly, it was the 55 MPG combined Hwy/city rating, but it was also the regenerative breaking (how come no one has thought of this before?) and the 70% less fog-forming emissions than the average new vehicle. Did I mention the sweet interior and the keyless entry? I want one. I started looking into them, and they are clearly beyond my budget, but I think that as soon as my truck is paid for, I will start saving specifically for one. Who knows, by that time, the electric car might have come on the market again! Albuquerque just landed the bid to have Tesla (the electric car company) build a plant here. Yay! The Sierra Club recently released a list of the 12 greenest cars, and although a hybrid is not at the top, where are we really going to get natural gas to power up our cars. Besides, natural gas is just as non-renewable as oil. Not a good long term option, in my opinion. And neither is Ethanol, while we are at it. I have been a little freaked out about peak oil in the last few weeks. It seems that my brain has been bombarded with the message that "it's running out!!!". Today, I watched the End of Suburbia. It's a little "fire and brimstone" for me, but there is a good, and sobering, underlying message that we need to find an alternative. Maybe hybrid cars are not the most radical solution, but they seem better than ethanol, and if enough people got them, peak oil might come a little slower. (Or has it already come? 000h). In the mean time, I will just keep dreaming.

January 26 things

Here are my January 26 things pictures :

1. Photography

3. Small spaces

9. Travel

10. 2

11. In the sky

13. Keys14. Season19. Temptation

23. Water

26. A bridge

Pomatomus progress

I have been surely (but very slowly) making progress on my first Pomatomus sock, so it's finally time for a picture that's worth something. I really like the pattern - it's not hard if you pay attention. The yarn is perfect to work with and the colors are gorgeous - it's Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn. I am on my last pattern repeat before I start the heel flap.

I also just wanted to post this beautiful mountain-at-sunset picture. Of course, it was even more vibrant in real life, but it's still wonderful. Have I ever mentioned how much I love this town?

Isn't the snowy icing beautiful?!!!

Looking ahead in movies

This weekend, I went to see "The Last King of Scotland". I was surprised at how likeable Idi Amin was, as a character. It was difficult to hate him utnil towards the end. And then at the end, you really do hate him, perhaps even more since he is so likeable at the beginning. Forest Whitaker did a great job playing an African dictator too. He was surprisingly convincing. I also liked James McAvoy as Nick Garrigan, the young doctor from Scotland. He played an emotional and turbulent role very well, and he's not bad looking either.
While I was there, I saw a preview that almost left me in tears, I was so excited. Late last spring, I read The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. It was a powerful book that really captivated me. It was one of those books that I hated to finish. It means a lot to me personally. So imagine my excitement when I saw Gogol Ganguli on the screen! There is a movie coming out!!!!! I think I will see it the day it opens! Gogol looks almost exactly how I imagined him, although his parents don't. Oh, I can't wait!

I also saw the preview for Amazing Grace, and it looks like a non-cheesy Christian film. FINALLY! I am excited to learn more about William Wilberforce, and how he used his passion and conviction to abolish slavery in England. This has been a good couple months for movies, and the trend shows no signs of stopping.

One of the best of Richard Rohr

"Faith Is Faith Is Faith"
Knowledge of God cannot be proven, processed, reasoned, justified or legitimated. This God-knowing and God-energy always risks being misunderstood (as God also risks) and risks being misinterpreted (as God puts u with) and even risks being not appreciated (as God also feels). To live in faith - which is to live with God - one has to risk looking and feeling like nothing - nothing that can be possessed, bargained for, developed, controlled, sold, bought, measured, merited, applauded, or even rightly communicated. Faith, finally, is beyond the world of power, function and purpose. I must say it or I would deny the entire history of faith from Abraham to Jesus to Francis of Assisi to our own Donny Flowers and Erwin Wolke: Faith is beyond any reasonable and objective process that even good people can devise. There is no community program or structure, no matter how perfect or how much we own it or invest in it, that will ever make biblical faith unnecessary. Faith is faith is faith. And God can only be known by faith (see Romans 3-5). I wonder why religious people so easily forget that? Faith is finally to stand in nothingness, with nothing to prove and nothing to protect, knowing itself in an ever-alive charity that urges us to surrender, to let go, to give away, to hand over, to forgive, to walk across, to take no offense, to trust another, to lose oneself - while being quite sure that we are going to find ourselves afterward. A consumer-oriented, functional and materialistic age finds faith almost impossible. We want religion, but we surely do not want faith. Because if faith is nothing, the faithful person is a nobody. In our shallow culture, trust is called naïveté. Forgiveness always looks like being soft and conceding to the enemy - even speaking the truth will not win you any votes or look patriotic on the evening news. Faith is nothing in this age and culture. Faith always has been nothing.
- Richard Rohr, from "Image and Likeness: The Restoration of the Divine Image"