Category: life (Page 9 of 10)

From Hard to Habit

February 21, 2014 / Michele Minehart

I made Mongolian Beef and Broccoli for dinner the other night. Not that you should throw me a parade, but it’s a great dish – one of JJ’s favorites.

When I first discovered the dish, it was delicious but challenging. It took 4 or more pans. 2 cutting boards. A few prep bowls. The timing was atrocious.

Now, the meal fits into our regular rotation and doesn’t make me flinch. I start the rice plenty early. I start the sauce and let it simmer, then chop the veggies before slicing the meat (and we’ve discovered that chicken is just as good as beef, though it’s a great recipe for using up some sub-par cuts). You steam the broccoli, not cook it until it’s mushy.

As I reflected on my ability to make the dish nearly without recipe, I realized that it wasn’t hard, it was unfamiliar. Unknown. Scary. I stepped lightly because I wasn’t sure of the ramifications of making a mistake.

I find something similar when I run a new course: it takes forever. I’m thinking and second-guessing the entire way. After a few times, the time seems to fly. I can tell exactly how up or down I am on time by passing certain markers.

Thus is life. We enter new stages, phases, places and experiences with apprehension. Getting adjusted sometimes seems hard, but what if we start believing it’s not hard – it’s new. Once it becomes habit, it’s actually pretty enjoyable.

We should give ourselves a bit more permission. Remember it’s new shoes are rarely comfortable to start – you have to break them in first. New jobs, new friendships, new ministries, new children, new schools – it might seem hard. But add it to your rotation and it might become familiar and even second nature.

Bonus track: Mongolian Beef & Broccoli
Sauce:
Saute in oil 4 cloves of garlic, minced + 1 tsp (fresh!) ginger, minced for a few minutes. Add:
2/3 cup soy sauce
2/3 cup water
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
3 tbsp. arrowroot powder or corn starch
Bring to a boil, then simmer – stir frequently.

Cut meat (any steak, thin-cut roast or even chicken pieces. We’re trying to reduce meat consumption, but there’s enough sauce for 3 breasts or one large steak) into strips or bites and saute until cooked through.
Add sauce and 2 heads broccoli (chopped) and 1 can water chestnuts. Cover and steam until broccoli is bight green.
Serve over rice.
Feeds our family of 5.5

Brittany Spears, Dating and Hearing God

January 13, 2014 / Michele Minehart

My junior year of college I took a class on the History of the Jewish Holocaust, by far the most enriching of my college career. Because I’m a nerd, I typically arrived early. Over time I chatted with fellow nerd and nice guy, Merrill. He was in J-school and we’d shared a few other classes.

One particular day I was reading The Post and saw a review of the Brittany Spears movie and made some comment. Merrill inquired if I was going to watch it. “HA! No, thank you. I don’t think she has much talent in her original trade, let alone acting,” I said (or something similarly snarky).

Later – and not just later that day. Like several days later. I’m a quick one – I recollected the conversation to realize he hadn’t asked if I was going to watch the movie – he asked did I want to go see the movie.

Like, with him.

Oops. So that explains the awkward change in conversational tone in the days following.

I totally rejected him without even knowing or intending to do so. I’m one of the few people I know who can get asked out and not even realize it. (If you’ve done this, please share in the comments of the blog. Please let me know I’m not alone). The funny thing is: I totally would have said yes. He was a nice guy and I didn’t keep a long list or potential suitors. I would have enjoyed an evening out, even if spent with Brittany Spears.

I have to wonder: have I ever done this to God? Have I ever thought he was saying one thing, only to give a completely sarcastic response? Have I missed what He asks me to do because I think the task sounds ridiculous?

Probably. That’s because I’m so focused on the activity. I doubt Merrill really wanted to see Brittany Spears, though perhaps he was a closet fan. The invitation wasn’t one of content, but one of relationship.

“God doesn’t speak to me,” I hear people say. Well, perhaps that’s because we think that when he asks us to go somewhere, you laugh in his face. Perhaps you think it’s about the task before you rather than the person beside you. We don’t hear what He’s truly asking.

I don’t advocate adapting a Yes, Man attitude – we need not do everything asked of us, just like I wouldn’t date any ol’ fella. But how many good and worthy requests slip by us unnoticed because we roll our eyes at the prospect of an evening spent doing that?

Let us be listeners, not just about the task at hand, but of the voice who is inviting us to share the experience.

The great outdoors

June 21, 2012 / Michele Minehart

Growing up, I wasn’t the “outdoorsy” type. I opted instead for a book on the couch (I know…. I didn’t even read outside) or, when forced into manual labor, I took on kitchen and cleaning duties. I once let my sister seal the driveway while I made spaghetti. I brought them out some lemonade.

Even when exposed to majestic surroundings, it translated to commonplace for me. Huge mountains to see 7 states? Yeah. Okay. Waters so clear you can see hundreds of feet below? Well, that is better than pond water. And the gorgeous and colorful fish that inhabit it? Barely worth a comment. After a little bit of snorkeling I’m ready to get back on the boat and read my book.

Boats and books. That’s my forte. We spent several summer vacations on Lake Cumberland and my 2nd Family would tease that “there’s Shell, at the front of the boat with her nose in a book.” I rarely skied (I found it quite boring back there, but that’s related to my lack of adventurous spirit to go outside of the wake and risk busting my butt). At times I was covered head-to-toe with towels and hats to prevent worsening a burn. In short, the outdoors and I took combative positions.

Not much has changed. My husband begs me to join him outside on the porch in the evenings while I prefer my cozy chair and a good blog.

A friend just remarked about her trip to Gatlinburg and the huge amount of commercialism there; her words: It’s like a carnival threw up all over the natural beautiful landscape.

While I lament the fact we’re teaching our kids to be entertained rather than enjoy the beauty of the natural world, I have to admit my own contribution to the situation. I’m an armchair everything – when it comes to sports, life, parenting, theology…. I’d rather sit and contemplate than get up and participate. My preference seems to lie in figuring out the best way to do things and then telling others how to go about it (hellllloooooo management?).

I would rather read a good story, or think about writing a good story, than live a good story. Or so it seems. I’m allowing the rest of the world to entertain me instead of becoming an interesting character in my own. The most interesting thing I can add to conversation is, “I recently read….”

While I stand behind the value of being well-read, it’s time for me to also become well-lived. I need to allow my surroundings to become as inspiring as the characters or concepts I find on the page. The storm rolling in could speak messages as strongly as the 5-point blog post if I listen. Or perhaps even hearing from my kids and they way in which they experience the world, instead of learning how to help them best interpret it, may feed my soul.

Category: life (Page 9 of 10)

From Hard to Habit

Brittany Spears, Dating and Hearing God

The great outdoors

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