Simple pasta and chicken dish...

I don't know the quantities, but if you love to cook, you'll understand "cooking by feel"...

Boneless chicken breasts (about 1lb-1-1/2lb.)
Any type of pasta you have (8oz.) (I used spiral rotini) like this:

Chopped broccoli
26oz. canned spaghetti sauce (I used the grocery store brand)
Olive oil (or) (I used) Grapeseed oil

Various spices:
- garlic powder
- salt
- crushed basil leaves


Star pasta boiling in enough water to cover it in a pan.

While pasta cooks, heat a good sized pot (I used a 6 qt. pot), with a bit of oil in the bottom. How much oil is "by feel"... you'll use this to sear and brown the chicken,

While the pot is heating (or before) chop the chicken breast into 1/2" chunks. When the pot is hot, add the chicken to the pot.

Add the various spices to the pot to taste ("by feel...") (I don't measure things, I cook "by feel")

When the heat of the pot + the chicken is at a good temperature, add 2oz. of water, this creates steam and finishes the meat off very fast. It also helps the spices absorb into the meat.

You can either heat the broccoli in a pan, or... here in the states I used a microwave oven to heat it to temperature.

Once the chicken has turned white, it should be about done. At this point, add the heated broccoli. Open the 26oz. can of spaghetti sauce and dump it into the pot. Let the heat rise again in the pot.

By about this time the pasta will be ready to take out of the water. To test it, you might take a small piece in a spoon and taste it to see if the texture is right. If it is done, then dump the pasta into a colander to drain off the water.

Once the water is drained, add the pasta to the pot.

Stir well and serve.

Its very easy to make and has a good nutrition value.

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If it has a white, creamy sauce, they might call it chicken "alfredo" (A sauce for pasta incorporating butter, cream, garlic, and Parmesan cheese), with a red sauce like I used it might be called chicken "marinara." (A sauce made from tomatoes, onions, and herbs,) Both (I think) are Italian words...

This dish is a "marinara" type, but I used rotini pasta, and added chopped broccoli.

There is also a dish they call "fettuccinee alfredo" which uses the thick spaghetti-like noodle called fettuccine. I've learned with pasta, its all the same noodle, just different shapes. :-)

Bottom line is... its all delicious.

It seems some people have an agenda, not to get along and edify others, but to come here and stir up sensational babblings in order to "troll" the "Christian Singles" forum.

-----------------------

2nd Timothy 2:14-16

v14 Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.
v15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
v16 Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.

-----------------------

What's written in the last 7 pages of goo here is basically argumentative garbage. It is of no use for edifying, teaching out of love, but rather feeds the flesh and the lust of "being right."

Its ugly, selfish, and quite distasteful.

Witnessing grown adults bashing each other with words is NOT what I think Jesus has in mind for a right path for us to take.

Grow up and get a life, and stop beating each other up in God's name.

I didn't see any kind of a tribute here, so I thought I'd start a thread to say goodbye to this baby boomer and rock guitarist.

Wikipedia has a nice entry on him:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronnie_Montrose

Quite the list of who's who in the "sessions" section.

One of his famous songs here, with (yup) Sammy Hagar on vocals:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk52nGxF-jc

His first album "Montrose" (self-titled) is considered by many to be an essential rock guitar album of all time. i.e. "required reading" for any rock guitarist...

Bye bye Ronnie, the world of rock and roll won't be exactly the same without you.



GG49

Ronnie Montrose, Bad Motor Scooter....

R.I.P. Ronnie, 03-03-12.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk52nGxF-jc

...1974.... Sammy Hagar on vocals........

Comedy >> would be "The Blues Brothers."

Loved all of The Lord of the Rings movies...

"Batman Begins" kicked butt... as did the sequel (finally the REAL Dark Knight...)

All three of the Spiderman movies (they are alreadey re-booting the series with all new characters... Sally Fields as aunt Mae, and Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben... sounds like its gonna suck)

Any Bruce Lee movie... favorite was "Enter the Dragon"

The Fifth Element

Pitch Black and Riddick with Vin Diesel (hey Hollyweird, we need more Riddick movies...)

Any and all Planet of the Apes movies (60s versions, and the two new ones that came out within the last few years)

All Star Trek movies except for the first one "The Motion Picture"... I just hate that movie... and as a certified identifiable Trekkie from way back, I should love everything Star Trek, but not movie # 1... and... the 2009 movie is so dang annoying with all the glare they used in all the camera angles... ughhh... just make a movie and quit with the glare and spot-light burns directly to the filming camera... plus, there is no way in H___ Uhura and Spock are going to be together... no way...

Anything with Charleton Heston or Clint Eastwood or Sean Connery

We could have a pre-quel (instead of a sequel), one of those movies that takes us to a place BEFORE any of the first episode movie happened.

George Lucas did it with the Episode 1-2-3 of Star Wars thing... X-Men did it with "X-Men: First Class"

Would be a script that was pre-Neo... or could show us how Trinity found Neo and sent him those first messages ("Follow the white rabbit..."), maybe show how and when Morpheus was freed from the Matrix, maybe show the first generation of the matrix Agent Smith talks about, that was a "perfect world" of which people rejected, because mankind needs imperfection...

Still never saw how the machines took over the world.....

Hugo Weaving has been a favorite actor of mine ever since he was "Agent Smith" in The Matrix...
- voice of Megatron - Transformers
- Red Skull - Captain America
- Elrond - Lord of the Rings I-II-III
- V - V for Vendetta

Watched every episode, all seasons. Found a bittorrent download that had every episode of all 6 seasons. So I started at the pilot, and watched every one.

I thought is was very creative, never knew what to expect.


..."not Penny's boat..."

Well, since I don't have a TV (and haven't had one since 2002...) no cable, no commercials, weeee a free mind outside of the brain-wash box... -- I use a 37" Toshiba LCD for my computer monitor, so I guess I'd have to say... "Mingle is."

Bad girl?

Margaret Hamilton as The Wicked Witch of the West in (1939) "The Wizard of Oz."



"... and d'your little dog tooooo"

Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrence in (Staley Kubrick's 1980) "The Shining"

Revelation 3:16 (NIV) -- So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

The nature of man is NOT to do what God asks. Man's nature is to head for sin like a speeding hotrod drag racer. On the journey to a right relationship with Christ, some folks like to take the road of least resistance, which ends up being a compromised, liberal, "I'm gonna believe whatever I decide to believe", "Lukewarm" stance.

Its a portion of their human nature that hasn't yet been nailed to the cross. Unfortunately, there are some who go about attempting to teach others about "their" view on the scriptures, howbeit they seem to be the only ones who believe in some particular way.


2 Peter 1:20 (KJV) -- Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

There is also a thought that there is wisdom in numbers, or I have heard it said "wisdom is in the counsel of many." Such as:
Proverbs 11:14 (KJV) -- Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety. --or-- Proverbs 15:22 (KJV) -- Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.

A couple things, too... we are bid to NOT forsake the assembling of ourselves together..

Hebrews 10:24-25
v24 - And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
v25 - Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

I know for years I was a "lonewolf Christian"... I would tell people I was a Christian, but I had a big blob of goo in my heart against what I called "organized religion." And in those days there were many things I started to "believe" that had nothing to do with God or the Bible. I even began to dabble in Voodoo and Wiccan things. Looking back, I know I was lost. I was outside of any good counsel group of believers, and I had gone astray. Praise God that he brought me back to the fold.

From the 2 Peter 1:20 verse above, I noticed I would sometimes make up my own version of beliefs toward certain scriptures. But that is not God's way. There is but one God, and one Church, one Christ, one Baptism, ... and there is really only one true faith-walk that aligns with the scriptures. There are not many paths, but only one path, there are not many saviors, but only One Savior for all. Living outside of God's Grace and will for my life, I believed all kinds of things.

I might say that these other-beliefs had become idols, gods (with a small "g") and they became for a time a matter of personal and selfish pride. I thought I was "enlightened" (not knowing I was deceived). Somehow I had gotten off the narrow path and had taken a turn down a wide path to destruction.

One cannot just pick-and-choose which portions of scripture to believe, then discard the rest of the book. It doesn't work that way.

The concept is to stand, as if a warrior, wearing God's armor. (Ephesians 6:10-17)(Isaiah 59:17) I truly believe the correct path is to live a "no compromise" walk with Christ. I think getting there is a lifetime achievement. Something we say often is that "failure is not final." Its just a saying, but there is a lot of truth in that.

We (as Christians) are all in some stage of growth in our walk with God. We don't get "Perfect Pants" just by accepting Jesus. The first day of our Christian walk the angels are rejoicing, a few days later they might be fighting a spiritual battle on our behalf. Ephesians 6:12 states -- "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." There is warfare in heaven on our behalf as these things of life are wrestled with. We might see a struggle in our physical existence, but the true battle is in spiritual places.

Unfortunately some of these "wise" (cough-cough) "teachers" spring up with a "Ph.D." following their name, and then proceed to claim and pronounce most anything and everything. The Bible has something to speak of those who teach or attempt to teach the scriptures:

------------

1 John 4:1-6 (NIV)
v1 - Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
v2 - This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,
v3 - but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
v4 - You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
v5 - They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.
v6 - We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

------------

The Bible tells us there are false prophets in the world, and as early as the days of these scriptures being written, the spirit of the antichirst was already in the world.

2nd Peter 2 devotes a whole chapter in the discussion of false prophets.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2 Peter+2&version=NIV

From verse 1... "...They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves."

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The Christian of today, in order to live a no-compromise walk with Jesus, must pray daily (or as the Bible says, pray without ceasing - 1 Thessalonians 5:17 ), one must study the scriptures and test the spirits, not every person that stand up to proclaim God's message is from God, one must assemble with other believers as God created us as social creatures, not "lone wolves." (...It is not good for the man to be alone... Genesis 2:18). God's next act after creating Adam was to notice he was alone, and to create another person to be by his side. Plus the verse above about not forsaking the assembling of yourselves... (Hebrews 10:25). There is strength in numbers, and numbers that gather together with a common faith, not every one believing as he or she determines. An enemy divided will fall. (Matthew 12:25) It is the Christian who stands alongside his fellow Christian that will succeed in their walk with Christ. The sheep that goes astray might just get eaten by the wolves.

Pray, ask for God's guidance, and know that there are false teachers out there spreading heresies and all types on non-truths.

Amen, sister, amen !!!

There is much more important things two people can learn to connect with besides sex. I have given this a lot of thought in my own life. One thing I came up with is that once you engage sex it also engages hormones and body chemicals designed to bring people together for the purpose of reproducing the human race. These chemicals in the body are very strong, and can be confused as "love." They can also blur the judgment and can be as strong as a narcotic.

What is more important is the ability to learn to love one another. What, if for some reason, your partner is in an accident and cannot make love anymore, do you just dump them and go find the next catch that can satisfy your urges? That's kind of a blunt way to put it, but I am trying to make the point that there is much more to life and love than sex. The marriage vows of "for better, for worse...in sickness and in health" DO NOT state... "if they can't have sex with me any more, I'm going to drop them like a hot potato..." That's probably NOT going to be in the marriage vows, for good reason...

I think one of the reasons the divorce rate is so high in our country is because people have this pre-conceived notion that you have to sleep together in order to be in love. They have to do a "quick fix" to their lust and jump into bed on the first or second date. I think what happens in these instances is that the sexual hormones and powerful narcotic-like chemistry engages at the "infatuation" level of a couple's relationship, and once sex is engaged any meeting or thought of the person is confused as "love" when it is actually and many times in the mind and through these powerful hormones and chemicals, just lust of the flesh.

What I have learned is that there are different levels of a man/woman relationship. There is the inital meeting, then it can grow into an infatuation (a.k.a "puppy love"), you can begin to like many things about the person, you enjoy their company, you build a meaningful friendship, you realize you are falling in love (beginning stages) but deep, life-long-love comes later, after much hard work, attentiveness to values and decisons, but does not need to be connected to sex. Deep, meaningful love does not come overnight. And I think many people get married during the infatuation ("puppy love") stage, having engaged their sexual drives, and through decision making blurred by the chemistry engaged way too early by going to bed with each before you even really know each other. One day you wake up and relaize, outside of good sex, that you can't stand this person. At that point, you call the divorce attorney.

If you honestly love one another, the bedroom intimacy is going to spark, regardless of the timing "when." Later is much better than sooner, knwoing the human body, and knowing you will enlist powerful narcotic-like chemicals if you engage in intercourse. "The two shall become one flesh..."... there is much to this Biblical truth. You do join, both physically, and I think also spiritually at that moment, becoming one. The biological purpose is for making babies, not for the satisfaction of your lust. Outside of marriage it is the satisfaction of your lust, if a baby should come, then what? You reap what you sow...

But this is the question:

Can you love someone enough to NOT engage the powerful chemicals that might influence your thinking and blur your judgement? That is what abstinance accomplishes. Plus you love them enough NOT to cause them to sin. If you cause them to sin just to satisfy your lust, how is this love?

Friendship is 1,000 times more important than sex. Can you even get along with this person on a day-to-day friendly level? Longevity in the relationship is going to depend on it. Friendship is going to include some compromise. Down the road you are going to need to compromise some of your thoughts and things, and the other person will have to make compromises, just to make the relationship work. No bond of any two people can survive if one or the other cannot compromise. I am not talking about compromising ethical or moral things. I mean... let's say you (the girl) likes pizza, and he (the guy) likes spaghetti... its a stressful week, and you just gotta have pizza... but he just doesn't want pizza this week. Do you fight, argue and complain about pizza, or do you as a couple agree (decide) to make some kind of concession or compromise?

If he is not even your friend, chances are in conflict he is going to be an even worse adversary and vice versa. But friends will find a way to get along. Honor is one blessing of friendship. You might honor him just enough to give in and not have pizza. Or, he might honor you, even when he can't stand the idea have having pizza this week, and give in from his side and call the pizza place. But what I want to point out is, without friendship, sexual attraction means nothing at this decision making level. In fact it would most likely be used as a weapon againts each other in the onsuing conflict. One party or the other might make the comment "you ain't getting any tonight." Thus sex becomes a weapon.

Where is the love in that?

Love is based in friendship, not sex. When we are old and gray, and our bodies no longer follow the same lusts of our youth, it is the bond of friendship that will follow us to the two rocking chairs on our front porch. My parents were married for 62 years. It was their friendship and love for one another that kept them together.

Do you like doing things together with your new partner/friend/boyfriend/girlfriend, etc...? Or does one or the other utterly despise some activity the other likes. For example, maybe one party likes to shop or hunt or some kind of thing that the first party can't stand to do. How does sex solve THOSE differences? It does not, and cannot. Sex does not create a decision-making force in the relationship, but if engaged it can sorely influence how you think and act around a person. It can affect the decision making process in a contrary motion to moral decision making.

Sex is for the next, deeper portion of the get together. Figuring out who it is you want to spend the rest of your life with is a long term investment. It seems in our society we are encouraged to "live for the day" and get the "quick fix" to everything. But wealthy people will tell you it is the wise, long term investments, nurtured over many quarters and through many diverse times and economic situations, that bring the most stability. Not the one-night-stand financial ventures.

In some ways, I am telling my own story here. I got married when I was 35. I wasn't living God's way, and on our first date we hit the bedroom, and it was "lust at first sight". About 7-8 months after we were married (we only dated 7 months), I realized that if I had dated this woman for about one year, I never would have married her. There were many realities that hit after the initial sexual "honeymoon" of hormones and chemicals died down. 5 years later it ended in a bitter divorce. I decided to get counseling, and figure out why I had made these choices, and some of the stuff I wrote in the paragraphs above comes from trying to understand my own human body and my sexual urges and what causes me to make decisions, and the chemistry involved between man and woman once certain sex-drive decisions are connected to the man/woman relationship.

I made another decision for myself, too...

I decided NOT to jump right back into another love relationship until I had healed from the one that went bad. I notice the temptation for many people is to try to heal the bad love with a new love. (Sometimes called "being on the rebound..."). I did try that, and when the 2nd relationship went terribly bad only a few months after the divorce, then I had two heartaches in my chest, not just one. It just didn't and doesn't work. Not to mention the baggage from the first un-healed heartache I drug into the 2nd relationship.

This is a thought I also have... I have not met them yet, but right now I am already loving my future partner by what I am doing wth my life. I am trying to find my healing (still) and I am determined to be the best Christian man I can be before I go jump back into some "dating game." In so doing, I am trying to be a better, more healed person, for the future person that I know I will spend the rest of my life with. It is more important to me to please God than to please my flesh or make decisions outside of God's plan for my life that might please some woman. I must first get a grasp of my own walk with God, then someday I might find a good Christian woman to develop and form a relationship with. So today I am making my life better, and making my future better by being patient, comitting myself to God's plan, walking a no-compromise Chrsitian walk, and when God decides the timing, I'll meet someone. The RIGHT one. Not just some infatuation-level "lust at first sight." The relationship must start on a common Biblical ground, or for me it would be a no-go.

One of those preparatory things is going to be sharing a Christian character with this person. Sharing prayer, Bible study, and a common faith (be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers - 2 Cor. 6:14). She will be and must be a Christian woman. As a Christian man I feel very strongly in that I should honor her in NOT pressing her toward sexual means. Because in so doing, I feel I would be dragging her down a road to sin.

There is a spiritual principle that will remain in effect whether we are saved or not... "you reap what you sow"... folks might want to dabble in sin as Christians, but the payment back in return is that you will reap a like bad harvest somewhere down the road. There is no avoiding this truth. The same is true of the good we do. You will reap a good harvest if you plant good seeds. Its all about an investment, and waiting on the Lord.

I am learning new ways to deal with my finances lately. Last fall I went to a Dave Ramsey "Financial Peace University" (FPU) 12-week session at our church. It really opened my eyes to financial things, and to things that we as Americans go through in our society pertaining to debt and being "expected to be in debt" (Google Dave Ramsey, he's awesome). One thing FPU taught about finances is...

1) You can be a red-faced, feet-stamping person who just says "I want it, I want it, I want it now"... and you go into debt up to your eyebrows with credit cards, car loans, you name it. You just "gotta have it."

or

2) You learn to live debt-free, and conduct all of your business transactions with cash. (He shows folks in the FPU sessions how to live debt free according to Biblical principles...etc...)("The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want"...Psalm 23:1)

Apply this thought to the sex drive... (who or what is driving your "wants?") ...you can want it and have it now, but you know it is sin. And we know the wages of sin is/are death. Its like going into debt voluntarily. Sort of like using a credit card to go into debt everytime you jump in the sack.

or

You learn to trust God that the investment of yout time is like "money in the bank" toward the relationship. You concentrate on more important decision-making things like friendship, and put sex on the back burner.

One great benefit of this is... if you later decide this person is NOT the one you want to spend the rest of your life with, then you haven't sinned in the bedroom with them either.

And phooey on the men out there that want every woman to think the only way to "love" is through the immediate bedroom experience.

I beg to differ, and I will stand as a Christian man, here to tell you that I for one do not agree with that deception, nor am I going to allow any future relationship I might involve myself in to travel that path. Not on my own strength, but through the strength God will give me to remain on His perfect path.

No compromise Christianity.

This is the form of Christianity we see in the Bible. In the world around us we see the "lukewarm" folks and we might be deceived by them and think the lukewarm way might be the "OK" path to take. Not.

I'll give you just one good, powerful scripture on this...

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James 1:27 (NIV) -- Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

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Notice it includes care giving to widows and orphans... but includes keeping oneself from being polluted by the world...

It is the keeping of oneself from being polluted by the world that is our biggest challenge.

We can only do it with God's help. On our own we are lost, sinners, without hope. With Christ, in Christ, we have all things.

God bless,



GG49

Peter Pan,

You said "Also, don't take anyone's word for anything, prove it for yourself."... this is actually scriptural. It is encouraged in the Bible that we study the scriptures and prove what any person say who stands and attempts to teach someone about the same.

Such as your comment about the death of Jesus on the cross as being "pagan."

I think the problem theologically you are going to have there is that no where in the scriptures will you be able to prove that this death was a pagan ritual.

Also, the Bible tells us no scripture is meant to have any private interpretations.

The same book tells us wisdom is found in the counsel of many.

I can see where you are coming from with some of your comments, but some I think are not scripture-based beliefs, but something you have made up to explain a reason for a disagreement.

Perhaps if you could show me, with scripture verses, how the death of Christ on the cross is pagan. (???) If you cannot show me your belief as a Christian-other, etc. as it is based in the scriptures, then is what you believe Christian, or some other type of religion?

Show me in the Bible and by using the Bible what you believe. The Bible is the only authority on the Christian walk. If any other religious texts are used, it is not Christian thought.

Paganism is not Christian, and I challenge you that no where in the Bible are you going to find any passage of scripture that tells that the death of Jesus on the cross was pagan.

Jesus was God in the flesh, so it wasn't technically a human sacrifice, it was God laying down his life for us in a way that we can communicate and understand the meaning. He gave his life, no person took it from him. In a pagan sacrifice, the victim is taken by force, and slain by force. This was not the case with Christ's willing sacrifice for all.

What are some of your common meats and vegetables? Also, what types of bread/pasta/rice/carbohydrates is common?

Here, my most common meat is chicken, can often find good sales on chicken. Beef is also common here, steaks, roasts, many different cuts are available at the market. Pork is also available, most commonly in some type of chop, either boneless or bone-in. Also we have ham that is a type of processed pork, and bacon.

For vegetables, it varies upon what folks want to buy. I favor broccoli, carrots, many dishes have onions and garlic, tomatoes, celery, others I can't remember right now, LOL.

I use several types of rice, regular white rice, but also use some red rice and black rice. The texture and flavor of red or black rice is delicious. We can also buy several varieties of bread at the market. Mostly loaves of multi-grain bread (for me) but also white bread (uses bleached flour...). Also pasta is available. Usually the pasta here is pre-made and bought in a box, you boil it to the consistency you need while cooking. Many different shapes of the same pasta are available.

I do a lot of cooking using a skillet and a stir-fry method. I may sear my meat, and add spices while it is in the skillet, then add a dash of water, then cover it... give it just a few moment, and the spices attach to the meat because of the steam from the water. (Just a small amount of water, like 1/2oz. (15ml)... splash that in the skillet and cover, it creates steam and cooks the meat faster.

Many times to this I will add some type of chopped vegetables. Perhaps the meat is boneless chicken or some type of beef, I might choose broccoli.

I use several different kinds of spices. Garlic is available as garlic powder, I also buy whole cloves depending on the dish. Cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt, crushed basil leaves... those go good on most any meat. I also use cumin, paprika, ginger, turmeric, and a few others I can't remember right now. Which spice I use depends on the dish or creative way I might throw something together.

To the above dish... meat = beef, vegetables = broccoli, spices might be = garlic powder, Cheyenne pepper, crushed basil leaves, maybe salt...

All is prepared fairly fast in a 10"-12" (25-30cm) skillet. A cover is used on the skillet to hold in the steam. Usually spooned right from the skillet to a plate or bowl.

:-)

Chicken can be substituted in the same dish, with the same ingredients.

Might add some chopped onions or any combination of other vegetables to stretch the dish and make it serve more portions/people.

Might be served with rice.

I've given some thought to the odd-shaped fore-headed guy they say is "the missing link" for evolution, etc. Seems they found just one such deformed person's skull some where on the planet (can't remember where right now...).

In my (I suppose "un"educated opinion) it just seems like the person who once walked with such deformity, today we would say they had (perhaps) a "birth defect." So, they were born with some kind of shriveled head or huge forehead....

Knowing only a little about human nature, I can see why they only found one, and that he/she was off by themselves some where. Because it is human nature to scorn and reject those that are "different." So, I have always thought this "missing link" (etc.) was simply a person born with some type of birth defect, and was scorned into solitude by whatever culture he/she lived around.

But these Darwin types use something called "speculation" to create the whole "missing link" thing...

...To me it seems obvious and quite simple to figure out, it was a person born with a deformed head that society chased to some far reaching place.

Its sad the same wretched, deformed person has to be the subject of so much scientific prodding and speculation, even to the point of being used to tell folks God does not exist, that we all just "evolved..."

Jesus wept.

God told Adam and Eve specifically to... "go forth and multiply."

It wasn't a suggestion...

...there is no way to multiply if men are with men and women are with women. What is going on instead is a fulfilling of the lust of the flesh. Not perpetuation of mankind, not "go forth and multiply." Thus it is a form of an opposite to what God has told human beings to do. In this we can see it is a wrong choice.

So is over-indulging in food. The word for that is gluttony.

So is sleeping with your neighbor's wife/husband. The word for that is adultery.

The Bible has many truths and much guidance toward what God does expect us to do.

When we part from the path God asks us to choose, it is called sin. There are many forms of sin, and every form of sin equals death.

The reason God sent His son to Earth was for the sacrifice on the cross, his death, then his resurrection. We that believe on His son will be saved. They call this being "born again."

There is no sin so deep that God cannot reach. Drunks, heroin addicts, prostitutes, drug dealers, if and when the person is taught the scriptures in love, and they confess their sin and turn from it, and they don't do it alone, God sends his Holy Spirit as a comforter and a guide... with God, failure is not final.

I think we live in a society (at least in America) where the secular culture is accepting to homosexuality. This is a wrong choice from the Christian perspective because those who have studied the Bible know that homosexuality is not a choice that God wants us to make. Therefore making that decision puts you at odds with God. Not because we as Christians wrote and say so, but because the book we look to for guidance tells us so, the Bible. That is our authority on making right and wrong choices.

We are also taught not to have respect of persons. There is a parable where one rich man is treated well, and a poor man is treated not well. That is not a correct way to deal with people.

Let me ask... if there is some type of sin that you are struggling with, and if people attacked you about it, how would you feel? If people kept pounding at you day and night... would it nor seem as if they hate you, not that they love you? How do you treat someone that you know is lost in sin, in a way that they will see the light of Jesus and come around? Abuse and misuse I would not say is "of God." Neither is allowing someone to live in a wretched manner. Think of how we might be tempted to feel when around an alcoholic, but don't we believe God can reach the alcoholic?

What of the glutton? It is equally just as deadly of a sin as any sin for all sin is death. The wages of sin is death. It does not separate out any specific sin there, it just says sin's wages are death. All sin.

So the challenge is to love someone who is homosexual, and not hate them. Somehow you must figure out how to teach them with love, not abuse. We are taught in the scriptures to teach in love.

I do not condone drug addiction, alcoholism, or any other shortcoming of a human being. Christ died for us all. Christ also died so that the homosexual person could find him and begin to change and make correct choices.

Sexual pleasure is much like a drug. It has a powerful effect on the person. It taps into hormones and the body's chemistry in a powerful way. Much like a drug. This is also why so many men and women swarm to the bedroom on the first few dates they go on, being deceived that physical pleasure between a man and a woman equals love. It does not, and a one-night-stand is not in God's plan, either. But those that fall to this type of sin can also be brought into a right relationship with Jesus.

I was just reading in Mark where they lowered a paralyzed man down in to Jesus on a mat. He told him his sins were forgiven. They bickered about it, so he said, what is easier, to forgive sins or to say get up and walk? So he told the man to get up and walk. And he walked out to the amazement of all.

He is this same Jesus today, no matter what paralyzes us. Whether we are lost in sin, or we are bitter toward those who we think are lost in sin. I don't think either one pleases God.

But it is as simple as Jesus said, love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, and mind... and love your neighbor as yourself.

No where did he say to ever hate people fro any reason.

We must reflect on how we approach those that we know according to the Bible are not doing something right. But it might be a toothpick in their eye, and a huge log in our's... so always look in the mirror first.

And pray without ceasing.

Maybe we could share cooking techniques and recipes/ingredients?

Keep right on motoring through the New Testament (NT) after Acts. You will read about a man named Saul who became Paul in the book of Acts when Jesus called him. (He was quite a character as a non-Christian...). You might know this, but he wrote many of the books we have in the NT. Some of the next books after Acts have a lot of comforting and instructional points.

John was important because he was said to be "the disciple whom Jesus loved." Not that Jesus didn't love the others, but there was a very close bond between John and Jesus, like if you have several close friends, then one super-close friend. In different portions of the scriptures, John was found sleeping with his head on Jesus' chest. If you could think what friend you have would be that close...

The Gospel of Mark is also a really good one. I started reading that this morning. Mark is a very plain writer, and is nice to read. Actually I love them all. :-)

Luke, as you might know, was a physician, so he seems to write the most detailed in his accounts.

Matthew starts out with a long list of (in KJV" "begats"... so-and-so begat so-and-so... so to get through all of that is a bit tough if someone is sitting down to read for the first or beginning times. But it is Matthew we find many of the great parables and what is called Jesus' "sermon on the mount."

Its always inspiring to see someone truly desiring to read the Bible. Its a fascinating book with much meaning and has life-changing possibilities.

God Bless.

Hi Napodan, I see you are from Nigeria, too. God bless. :-)