Sports Center Church
Several weeks ago I was thinking about the daylight saving time switchover and how people were going to be late to church... if you were coming at 9:30am but forgot to change your clock then you would get here at 10:30am which meant you missed the 9:30 service and had 30 minutes to wait for the 11:00am service. So I was wondering what to do so people wouldn't be late. I was watching Sports Center one morning and had a great idea! Why not do church like Sports Center. Sports Center starts at 10:30pm every night and repeats every half hour till 10:30am. It doesn't matter when you start watching, as long as you watch for 30 minutes, you see the whole show. You could do church the same way. Start at 8am and repeat it every hour till noon… Non-Stop Church!! The sermon could start at the half-hour. So if you came at 8:27 or 9:27 or 10:27 it would be the same thing. If you like the sermon to come first, come at 10:30. If you like it to come last, come at 10. You could structure church any way you want it. And here's the best part: You would never be late as long as you got here by 11am. No rush to get your kids ready, if you had to be someplace you could just come early and stay till you had to leave. You wouldn't have to race people from other churches to your favorite lunch spot, you could come to your own 10:45 service that gets out at 11:45 which puts you 15 minutes ahead of everybody else. No traffic lines to get in and out because everybody comes and leaves at different times, It's like Walmart: come when you want, stay as long as you want, leave when you want. I thought it was a brilliant Idea. I told them we could be the first Church in the world to do it. NO! … I asked Eli, he said ..No! …. I asked all of my other pastor friends. Each one laughed and said… NO! It appears that there's someplace in the Bible or a past Pope or a King of England or a Roman ruler that said that church has to have a start and a finish and it has to include music and a sermon and a few other things or it's not church. I know as soon as this gets out another church is going to steal my idea. It will probably grow to be the biggest church in America and they'll call it "Church Center"…. Tell me if you think this is the greatest idea you've ever heard!!...
God's like that, he's non-stop, always-on, no waiting, always ready any time you are. You don't have to dress up, be in a special place, speak in old English, wait for Sunday, make an appointment, nothing. He's ready right now….
Maybe I should get copyrights on Non-stop Church… It's going to be big!!
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Cooking 220 - 2 pans, 2 burners, 20 minutes:
With a big glass of sweet tea and some chips on the side, this would be hard to beat today... Of course, you could add a hunk of pan-fried salmon to the middle, a little dab of sour cream, oven roast the cauliflower stems, and eat them like chips. It could be a big meal with just a few extra things.
Tortilla Soup With Roasted Cauliflower 'Rice'
This is from Martha Rose Shulman. She is one of the food writers for the New York Times and a great cook.
INGREDIENTS
1 small head cauliflower
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder or medium-hot chili powder
½ medium onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon mild or medium-hot chili powder
2 plump garlic cloves, minced
1 (14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
1 ½ quarts chicken stock, vegetable stock, or garlic broth
6 corn tortillas, cut into strips
¼ cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
¼ cup crumbled queso fresco or feta
Lime wedges for garnish
PREPARATION
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Line a sheet pan with parchment. Lay cauliflower on its side and, using a sharp chef’s knife, shave off thin slices of the top of the florets so that the cauliflower falls apart into rice-like bits. Shave enough to acquire 3 cups cauliflower “rice.” The volume will reduce quite a lot after roasting. Place on a parchment-covered baking sheet and toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt to taste, and 1 teaspoon chipotle powder or chili powder. Place in oven and roast for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until cauliflower is thoroughly tender and some bits are lightly colored but not burnt. Remove from oven and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a heavy soup pot over medium heat and add onion. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add a generous pinch of salt and chili powder and stir together for a minute, then add garlic and continue to cook, stirring, for another minute, until fragrant. Add tomatoes, stir well to deglaze the bottom of the pot, and cook, stirring often, until tomatoes have cooked down and smell fragrant, about 10 minutes. Add salt to taste. Add stock or broth, bring to a simmer, cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.
While the soup is simmering, toast tortilla strips in batches in the microwave. Place in a single layer on a plate and microwave at full power for 1 minute. Turn strips over and microwave for another minute. Repeat if necessary for 30 seconds, or until crisp and light brown. Set aside.
Using an immersion blender, blend soup until smooth. Bring back to a simmer and stir in cilantro. Simmer for 1 minute. Taste and adjust salt. Stir in lime juice.
Distribute toasted tortilla strips and cauliflower “rice” among soup bowls and ladle in the soup. Top with crumbled cheese and serve.
Advance preparation: The soup keeps well for 2 or 3 days in the refrigerator and can be frozen. Wait until you are ready to serve to add cilantro for the final simmer. The tortilla strips will keep for several hours.
Variation: For an enriched soup, beat 2 eggs in a bowl. Whisk in a ladleful or two of the hot soup. Stir back into the simmering soup and serve as above.
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How about saving a kid's life!!
When you give Platelets it's like giving St Jude $700 - $1000. If we don't give them, they have to buy them.
Giving Platelets is like giving blood, it just takes longer (1 1/2 hours) and you get all of your blood back (so you can do it every week if you want). I know it's a long trip to go all the way down to St Jude, but you may be saving a kid's life. plus you get to watch a movie while you're there. Call Kim at 901.595.2024 and she'll set up an appointment and treat you like family. Just tell her you're from Hope.
Directions: From Poplar, turn north on Third Street, then right on Lauderdale/Jackson Ave (first right after you go under the expressway). Enter through the north guard gate (you'll see the Danny Thomas Pavilion. Gold top).
Tell the guard at the gate that you are here to donate blood. The guard will instruct you where to park. You will then enter the hospital by the red side door closest to the blood donor parking lot. The Blood Donor Center is in the southwest corner of the hospital on the ground floor.
Appointment times are generally available Monday through Friday from 8:00am to 4:00pm. Except on Tuesdays, they start at 9:15am.
See you this weekend. Bring a friend. It's going to be great!!!
Mack