by Christine on January 3, 2010
Tried out some new IPhone Apps on some photos taken with my iPhone
Boston
Photogenie iPhone App
Gingerbread
Polarize iPhone App
Boston
Photoshop Mobile (PS Mobile) iPhone App
Eye on Boston
iPhone App Experiment ColorSplash
Christmas Decorations
iPhone App Experiment TrueHDR
Gazebo in Snow
TrueHDR Experiment with iPhone App
Winter Bench
iPhone App Experiement – PS Mobile
Christmas Decorations with Color
iPhone App Photo Experiment with ColorSplash
IMG_0271
iPhone App Experiment with Polarize
Winter Swing
iPhone App Experiment with Format126
Snowy Swing
iPhone App Experiment with PS Mobile
Posted via email from Chris Dattilo’s Posterous
by Christine on January 3, 2010
by Christine on November 14, 2009
This is where it starts – pastured raised organic Chickens
Old laying hens, Chicken feet & necks, Water, Veggies and all day – makes a great stock
Freeze lots of stock and then thaw as needed in hot water
Add some diced vegetables
Save bones and scraps for next bone broth or stock making day
Add chicken and veggies to rich chicken stock
Here it is – 30 minutes later. A delicious, organic, rich in gelatin, healing Chicken Soup. With lots left for the rest of the week.
Posted via email from Chris Dattilo’s Posterous
by Christine on November 9, 2009
by Christine on October 6, 2009
Two items came across my desk this morning leading me to opposite emotional responses. First, I felt beaten down and depressed; yet another critical cultural value is being challenged by the administration who is not committed to the fundamental principles on which our country was founded. And this time – it involves children. Robert George a Princeton law professor, bioethicist and one of my favorite writers called my attention to his campaign to oust Kevin Jennings from the Department of Education:
Children don’t need to be learning about homosexual practices in elementary school,” says George. “They don’t need to be learning about sexual practices of any type in elementary school. But Kevin Jennings, people who are associated with him, have been promoting just that. Jennings is the author of a foreword of a book called ‘Queering Elementary Education.’ Well, we don’t need elementary education to be ‘queered.’
Washington Independent
More at this short YouTube video:
Preserve Innocence . . . Oppose the Jennings Nomination
The second item was John Piper’s post this morning reminding me I am to be happy pointer to the final pointer – the glory of Jesus Christ: “We will be glorified for the glory of God.”
Ahh, happiness in the midst of discouragement, joy in the midst of grieving, glorying in the glory of God in a world full of sadness? This second reminder bores in amidst the constant pinging of my Inbox with updates on pro-life defeats, compromised sexual ethics, schools committed to the queering of elementary education. Ping, ping, ping… Yet I am reminded “The Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Isaiah 60:19″ May I be a happy pointer to this glorious truth, while I write my congressman, work for pro-life issues, and support fundamental values in the public schools. The victory is HIS (and ours).
by Christine on October 4, 2009
What does seeking out locally available, sustainably raised, organic chicken eggs have to do with being a Christian?
If you read that line and thought, “Oh no, she’s going green, next the theological ground under her feet will slip down the liberal slippery slope.” Well, you can be the judge of that; but let me give you 5 reasons why it is good to seek out locally available, sustainably raised, organic eggs if they are available in your area.
- God has given us dominion over all creatures for our good and His glory. Genesis 1:28-31
- This does not mean supporting chicken cruelty, e.g. debeaking, overcrowding, no sunlight (even cage-free), no access to pasture/grubs/insects (even free-range), squalid conditions etc.
- God has made us stewards of His creation. Genesis 1:28-31
- This does not mean polluting unnecessarily. Chicken poop run-off, hormones and antibiotics when not necessary are not only dangerous for us, but pollute the environment.
- God has called our bodies the temple of the Holy Spirit and we are to take care of ourselves. I Corinthians 6:19-20
- Pastured raised eggs are much, much better for you.
- God has called us to care for the sick, the poor, and the oppressed. Matthew 10:6-8
- Fair wages for labor. Illegal immigrants working in dangerous conditions for sub-standard pay is all to common in industrial egg production.
- God is exalted when his creation declares His glory. Psalms (many)
- Chickens running around in grass, pecking grubs, basking in sunlight, nesting is safe homes, being fed clean (organic if possible) grain free of drugs, drinking pure water, and enjoying their chickeness (stop laughing, first at look at the chickens being chickens below).
For your amusement and pleasure let me share two recent videos I made.
First, here is a short clip of chickens being chickens at the farm where I buy my pastured, organic, delicious and healthy eggs.
Secondly, I ran a comparison test of a “cage-free, all natural, vegetarian” egg from the store vs. a “pastured egg”. Can you tell the difference?
BTW, today I picked up 3 organically-raised, pasture-fed Cornish Cross Chickens, and 1 Red Bro. Chicken or eggs, it’s all good!
by Christine on September 27, 2009
My friend Melanie linked to an interesting post about Orthodox Jews swinging chickens on Yom Kippur. The story is set in Brooklyn, NY where an Orthodox Jew can buy a chicken in the days before Yom Kippur, hold it by their wings and wave it three times above his head. While doing this he’s says the prayer of Kapparot. This prayer asks that his sins will be transferred to the bird and he will escape the divine punishment that he deserves. But,…
“The main part of the service,” he says, “is handing the chicken to the
slaughterer and watching the chicken being slaughtered. Because that is
where you have an emotional moment, where you say, ‘Oops, you know
what? That could have been me.’ “
No surprise, the story looks at the animal cruelty angle. This of course misses the point.
Yom Kippur is the ‘Day of Atonement’ with the central themes of atonement and repentance. Jews consider it the holiest day of the year and observe this holy day following strict prohibitions as outlined in Leviticus. There is approximently 25 hours of fasting and prayer as well as the additional prohibitions added through Jewish oral tradition (Mishnah). Yom Kippur is typically filled with a day full of services. These services remember back to the time when the Temple in Jerusalem stood and there was sacrificial worship. During sacrificial worship, sacrifices included two (daily) lambs, one bull, two goats, and two rams, with accompanying mincha (meal) offerings, wine libations, and three incense offerings (the regular two daily and an additional one for Yom Kippur). Jews look forward to the rebuilding of the temple, when they can once again make the sacrifices. So as Melanie asked, where does the chicken swinging come in, she doesn’t recall chickens being mentioned in the Torah (first five books of the Bible)? I thought, maybe, it’s a poor substitute for lambs, bulls, goats and rams? Which of course are not allowed in Brooklyn.
This brings me to the grape juice. In communion we remember (although communion is more then remembrance) the atonement. Christ’s once and for all sacrifice on the cross for our sins. His blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. Christ was the atoning sacrifice that all the temple rituals and all the sacrificial worship in the Old Testament pointed to. We remember the atonement as we eat the bread and drink the wine, until He comes again. The wine symbolizing Christ’s shed blood. Unlike the Jews, we are not waiting for the temple to be rebuilt and the sacrifices to be restored with a year after year ‘Day of Atonement’. Christ forever atoned for our sins, he is the new temple, the unblemished lamb that was slain, and the perfect sacrifice.
So why do we celebrate communion with grape juice? Why not wine? Is this like the chicken swinging of Orthodox Brooklyn Jews a poor substitute for a solemn occasion? What does your church use for communion, do you use wine? What are your thoughts?
by Christine on September 18, 2009
Are there too many women in the church? Is it possible that the very presence of women and their kingdom activity are deterrents for men to respond to the gospel or get involved in ministry? Carolyn James asks these question in a provocative post that recaps her conversation with John Piper about women’s involvement in their local church.
John Piper responded expressing his concern abou the feminization of the church. Like Carolyn said in her post, this expression often gives me pause. I’ve heard Michael Horton on the White Horse Inn express the same concern. Maybe you’ve heard the complaints about the trend in contemporary Christian music to write ‘Jesus is your boyfriend’ type lyrics that would make any man uncomfortable? Or you’ve heard about the emphasis in church groups to ’share your feelings’, a very womanly behavior that often excludes men?
I’ve heard these concerns and have been concerned about these troubling trends as well. But this doesn’t answer Carolyn’s question. “Are there too many women in the church?”
Did Paul worry about ‘feminization’ when he planted the church in Philippi with a committed team of women? Can women, ‘can anyone’, do too much for the kingdom? And if men are holding back, is the solution to restrain or sideline women? Or does not the very scope of our mission in the world mean we should be calling both men and women to serve God heart and soul and to do it together?
The other day in conversation about a number of good things that are being left undone in churches, I responded by saying, “Maybe God is allowing these things to go undone so that the situation will get so bad the men will have to get involved.” In other words, I was implying that God is letting people and needs go uncared for in order to teach a more important principle – the church will not survive without men. Only in situations of last resort will God call upon women, because men in service to the church are God’s first choice.
I recant!
Maybe you go to a very ‘manly’ church, as I do. There is no indication of feminization in any corner. You sing manly hymns, only men serve as ushers, there are no women deacons (even unofficial) or elders, women serve only at the piano or in the nursery during worship. Feminization is not a concern. Yet I feel at some ‘manly’ churches women are having to restrain their gifts, step to the sidelines or whisper in their husbands (if they are married, they have widows and single women) ears. Is this God’s plan? Or, as Carolyn asks in closing, does not the very scope of our mission in the world mean we should be calling both men and women to serve God heart and soul and to do it together?
by Christine on September 17, 2009
I’m Presbyterian. My faith fathers include Calvin and Zwingli. These reformation saints were known as ‘men of the word’. Through the ordinary means of preaching the word and the sacraments, we receive the grace of God. We do not need the mediation of saints, priests or icons. But what about art? Can the grace of God be revealed to us through art?
Zwingli zealots were famous for going into churches, stripping the walls and floors of sculptures and paintings, then white washing the walls. The church was to remain bare – the focus on the Word of God and the simplicity of the Lord’s Supper (wooden cups and plates). Direct access to God through our mediator Jesus Christ was preached. We can worship God in a High School gym or a lovely chapel – art is not a means of grace. Therefore I am thankful for Zwingli, his injunctions to cleanse the churches from idolatry, and his focus on the Word of God and the sacraments as a means of grace. But this heritage has left many prostentant churches voiceless in the world of art.
Here is part 1 of an excellent video series that is exploring the questions of Christians, the church and art. It is well worthy your time and I hope to blog on Part 2 later. I’m interested in your thoughts and comments.
by Christine on May 30, 2009
Cynicism dulls our souls. We’re surrounded by cynicism. Nothing is as it seems and everyone has an ulterior motive. Paul Miller in his book, A Praying Life addresses cynicism. He points out that cynicism has been with us since the garden.
Satan’s first recorded words are cynical. He tells Adam and Eve. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God” (Genesis 3:5). Satan is suggesting that God’s motives are cynical. In essence, he tells them, “God has not been honest about the tree in the middle of the garden. The command not to eat from the tree isn’t for your protection, God wants to protect himself from rivals. He’s jealous. He is projecting an image of caring for you, but he really has an agenda to protect himself. God has two faces.”
I’m a natural cynic. It’s something I find easy to be proud of, to wear as a badge of honor. Politically, I’m cynical of Democrats… and Republicans. What are they looking for in that bill? What do they “really” mean when they say, “This is good for you”? Nothing is to be believed or trusted.
Politics is one thing, but cynicism can also deaden our hearts towards God. I question God’s goodness. Small doubts turn into big doubts and nothing seems as it appears. I no longer trust God’s promises, and certainly doubt his provision. Cynicism erodes, slowly – drip, drip, drip at my soul. How is it that cynicism sneaks up? Paul Miller says:
… Cynicism is an easy sell. Because cynicism sees what is “really going on,” it feels real, authentic. That gives cynicism an elite status since authenticity is one of the last remaining public virtues in our culture.
Authenticity often clothes itself in cynicism. It’s easier to be cynical then to be truly authentic. When I’m cynical I feel smarter, wiser, cooler. Add a little pride to the mix, and my cynicism is ready to critique and analyze every scripture, every doctrine. I keep myself, my heart, aloof from the penetrating truth of scripture, the implications of following Jesus, the simplicity of a child-like faith.
To be cynical is to be distant. While offering a false intimacy of being “in the know,” cynicism actually destroys intimacy. It leads to a creeping bitterness that can deaden and even destroy the spirit.
What’s the cure? Well, if being cynical I’d say “who knows?” Thankfully though, scripture breaks in and points to a simple trust in God who is my refuge and my fortress. I only need abide in the shadow of the Almighty, the shelter of the Most High.
He who dwells in a the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” (Psalm 91: 1-2)
Do you find yourself fighting cynicism? How do you battle creeping cynicism? I’m interested to hear your thoughts.
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