Olive Oil 100% pure

Posted on August 3, 2014 by PJ

I love extra virgin olive oil. I could drink it. Because of its health properties, I have been researching the best brands. Surprise! Most of the oils out there aren’t pure at all. No matter what the label says. So how is a Mediterranean girl to know what to purchase? (I’m going somewhere with this so don’t quit reading now.)

Here are just a few tests to find out if it’s really pure:
4. Put it in the fridge and it should solidify
3. Put it in an oil lamp and it should burn
2. Look for an olive estate seal, or name on the bottle
1. Buy from a local grower, the source

According to tests, 75% of the extra virgin olive oil sold is fake: adulterated, something else besides olive oil is added. Because of this, the benefits of using extra virgin olive oil are lost.

Matthew 5:8 blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

I’m thinking, like that fake EVOO, there have been things added to my life that have nothing to do with Jesus: Religion, knowledge, possessions, and titles (etc. etc. etc). If I cling to Jesus only, I should be able to pass a few tests.

4. In the cold places, when I’m numb and I can’t feel Jesus, I would like to say I am full of faith, still standing on a solid foundation. Let the storms come and I can’t be moved. But, most of the time what really happens is that I melt down, and using those additives, hastily try to put myself back together. I usually end up like that silly snowman on Frozen. Parts in all the wrong directions.

3. When the Light is needed in dark places, I should be able to burn bright. Instead I often flicker out and join the darkness. I end up with that proverbial basket over my head. But His Word is a separating sword, a lamp, if I stay in it, the Truth will set me free to shine again.

2. When the world looks at me, I hope they see Jesus and His seal is upon me as His daughter. But sometimes I feel I’ve been run through the washer so much that the seal has peeled off the bottle. I say I have no evidence, but forget the bottle is embossed with His name. Nothing can separate me from His love. I’ve just been showing off the temporary religious seal instead of the permanently embossed one.

1. Jesus is the only source I get my supply from. He is the author and finisher of my faith. His word is Truth and Holy Spirit is His distributer. Any other voice or influence is suspect, selling the cheap stuff just to fill a bottle.

So when I look at a bottle of olive oil, I hope to remember I am the ‘good stuff.’

Onomatopoeia

Posted on June 23, 2014 by PJ

I adore words. Big words, little words, words that sound like rocks…?! nvm

In the cool of the mornings I like to sit on my back deck and hang out with Jesus. Most of the time the sounds of the forest call out to me and share His love.

Intrigued by the sounds this morning, I tried to capture them in words. What was that crazy word that is a word that sounds like what it is?…. Oh yeah, the coolest word ever – onomatopoeia – tada!

Jumbo juicy raindrop – plop
Charming cherry cardinal – trill
Passive perching squirrel – chirrup
Whispering willow leaves – swish

Just to make sure I got that word right, I looked it up on the fount of all wisdom, the internet. The definition got me stuck in a thought.

Onomatopoeia means more than I expected: making or creating names. I remember reading a couple of stories about people who did just that.

On the other hand, words that sound like real-life sounds are called echomimetic. Those words are imitations or echos of sound.

You know, Christians are stuck in echomimetic mode. Yup, we copy the past, each other, the music, the experiences, the jargon… Face it we are copycats. Not much new going on here, kind of an echo of past glories without the original Glory.

But God is still in onomatopoeia mode. He calls those things that be not as if they are. He makes all things new. He created the world with creative words and gave Adam the commission to create names for all living things. He used creative methods for healing, delivering and teaching. Not once did He copy his previous method.

I want to live an onomatopoeia life. Start each project with fresh creative eyes, as if it had never been done before. Create an atmosphere of hope and love with my words. The only constant i need is Jesus.

Oh, BTW, did you know there is an onomatopoeia dictionary? Really, there is http://www.writtensound.com
Aren’t you glad you read to the end?

Quiet on the Set

Posted on June 21, 2014 by PJ

I love adventure movies. I prefer them to chick flicks any day. Who doesn’t like a good adventure? Globe trotting Heroes, creepy villains, epic story lines, mysterious occurrences, mass mayhem and death, clueless bystanders, exciting chase scenes, crazy cinematography, and of course a pot of gold at the end (or the lost ark.)

I believe we love adventure movies because we were created to live our lives as an adventure. Instead we’ve been tricked into living vicariously through Indiana Jones, while safely eating popcorn.

Everything about God and His story screams adventure. But you already know all that. Pick any person in the Bible… Adventure. John Huss, Charlemagne, Joan of Arc, Martin Luther (both of them), Smith Wigglesworth, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera… Adventure.

Lately, I’ve decided to see my life as an adventure. Woah, that totally changed my perspective. It has been awesome just hanging out with Jesus and watching Him work through me and despite me.

But right now I’m not thinking about all those exploits. I’m thinking about the in-betweens. The parts that never make it to the big screen. Waiting for set changes, waiting for make-up and wardrobe, waiting for others to complete their scenes… Waiting, waiting, waiting.

The adventure was moving right along when someone yelled, “Cut! Reset, back to 1.” Again?! We have to do that whole scene over again?! Or worse, waiting for the extras to get it straight before you even walk on the scene. Waiting for the adventure to get rolling again is the hardest part.

So here I sit in my director’s chair, munching on popcorn, missing the thrill of the chase. Suppose I’ll take this time to go over the script again. I guess the waiting is an adventure in itself.

Quiet on the set, filming resumes in 3, 2, 1… Action!

Nothing like the smell of compost in the morning

Posted on June 1, 2014 by PJ

The gardener at the Miksh house in Salem keeps a compost pile. He also grows the most beautiful assortment of vegetables, herbs, fruits and flowers. In fact, that garden is gorgeous.

I love taking the young students to see the gardens. The gardener enthusiastically shares his knowledge with the children. I also love to show the kiddos the compost pile.

Why? Because it’s cool to show them that there is a safe and natural way to fertilize the soil. Plus, kids love poop. In their world it’s a conversation stimulant.

If I were to dig through that pile – and I won’t- I’m guessing I would find the mess of dead things, past dinners, scraps and scattered feline deposits all stacked on top of each other. Garbage, really – but when all the messy past is piled up and sprinkled with Time it becomes the best fertilizer. And those gardens could not hold such beauty and nourishment if it weren’t for the dead and messy scraps of the past.

Fertile, the root word of fertilizer, duh, means to make fruitful. And boy is that garden full of fruit.

So the next time I lament over the ugly, messy, dead things in my past, I’ll think about compost. Without those leftovers, I would not be fruitful person I am today. All of that garbage actually prepped my heart for growth. Yup, it stunk to high heaven when I was wading through it, but Time and Holy Spirit changed the composition to fertilizer. He makes ALL things work together for good. Now the scent of life takes its place.

… God said unto them, BE FRUITFUL, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat… And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (Genesis 1:27-31 KJV)