Oyster dressing

Ok, I'm going to brag on my wife a bit. You see, yesterday was Thanksgiving, and Ann made the most yummiest oyster dressing. I think she's surpassed even my mom's skills in this area. But here's the coolest part about the dressing: Ann makes it even though I'm the only one who likes it. Neither she nor the kids care for oysters, so when she puts in the extra time to make it, she's doing it for just one person. Plus, she still has to make cornbread dressing for everyone else. My wife's the best.

Oyster Dressing

1 stick butter
1 onion -- chopped
5 stalks celery -- chopped
14 ounces pepperridge farm stuffing
1 can oysters -- chopped
1/4 cup parsley, fresh
1 teaspoon basil
2 teaspoons sage
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 eggs
6 cups turkey stock

Melt one stick of butter and saute in onion and celery. In a large bowl, mix pepperridge farm stuffing with water on package. Add fresh oysters. Add parsley, basil, sage, salt, paprika, eggs. Mix well. Add turkey stock. Add enough to make stuffing sloppy. Stuff turkey and bake as per turkey directions. Put remainder of dressing in casserole and bake one hour.

If only my husband were better...

Ok, read this blog post about one lady's experience in a Bible study where the wives were complaining about their husbands. This raises an interesting question. Given that all husbands are bad--whether it's a small bad like leaving dirty laundry on the floor or a big bad like beating them when drunk--does a bad husband make a wife sin? Of course this works equally well the other way around--does a bad wife make a husband sin? In fact, we can ask this of any relationship. Does a bad parent make a child sin? Does a bad boss make an employee sin? Does a bad neighbor make a neighbor sin?

Do you want the Bible's answer? Here it is: "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence." (2 Pe 1:2-3, NASB95) In Christ we have everything we need for godliness. A godly wife is a great asset to my godliness, but she's not required. Godly children are a great asset to my godliness, but they are not required. A godly boss and godly neighbors and so on are all wonderful, but they are not required. No one around me can make me sin. The Bible forbids this type of blame-shifting that permeates our culture (even our Christian culture). So where does the blame for my sin reside?

Here's the Bible answer: "But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders." (Mt 15:18-19, NASB95) My sin is the result of my own wicked heart. And this is why I need the gospel. And so we find that Christine's conclusion is absolutely correct: "Being conformed into the likeness and image of Christ, living the gospel daily, and removing selfish pride from your life is essentially the ulitmate preparation to living with and respecting and loving a husband."

Starbucks

Around here they've introduced a new seasonal drink - maple frappuccino. Who knew that putting pancake syrup in coffee could be so good?

Emmy's kindergarten graduation

Emmy finished kindergarten this week, so on Thursday we had a small graduation ceremony and celebration. Dad and Mary and our intern friends, the Shaws, came over for the event. Ann prepared a short program where Emmy had to demonstrate some math, grammar, and reading skills. The finale was quoting several verses from Hebrews 11. Then we had some snacks and opened a few presents. I'm very proud of both my daugher's learning and my wife's teaching.

Scripture Memory

Is God prompting you to memorize more Scripture? Here's an approach to extended memorization of Scripture by Dr. Davis, the pastor at First Baptist in Durham, NC.