During this season, it's important to remember the real reason for the season. It's not about presents or even traditions. It's not about angrily claiming the right to say CHRISTmas. It's not about lights or candles or trees. It's not about politics or a culture war. (don't get angry, keep reading) It's not about human charity or even love as we know it or can even conceive of it.
It is about an uncomfortable sacrifice. It is about God choosing to leave the glory of Heaven and come down here to become one of us and live through the trials of humanity. It is about God in all of his majesty, who was known as a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night to His people, humbling himself and choosing to take the form of a baby born in the most meager of circumstances.
It is about God's realization that if He wanted to win our hearts, majesty alone would not do it. Becoming a kindred spirit and experiencing our pain would be the way to win us over. My dad tells a story of a missionary friend from Africa who tried to explain the idea of the Holy Spirit to his congregants. He couldn't really explain the idea of a comforter adequately, so he explained the idea of the Holy Spirit as "the One who lies beside you in the ditch."
As we celebrate Christmas, remember that all of the trappings that we have added on to this holiday season are still pretty great, and they should be observed and enjoyed with family and friends; however, when you have a moment alone, reflect on the beautiful miracle of mercy that was Jesus coming to earth. God incarnate coming here to lie beside us in the ditch all to win our hearts and our trust so that we would follow Him. Remember that it was for you that He chose to do these things, and the gravity of knowing that your Creator loves you so intensely that He did not want to allow you to live in this world with pain, sin, and sadness without taking it on Him self.
If you are having a painful Christmas season, there is Someone there shouldering the burden with you. If you are having a joyful Christmas season, there is Someone celebrating alongside you. He urges you to do the same for your brothers and sisters as well. Shoulder someone's burden or share their joy today, forgive someone, knowing that you are following Jesus in His model of how to be human. Do it as a sacrifice and your act of worship today as a reminder of how we should live every other day, too.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
What they will serve at the marriage supper of The Lamb, I think...
Ok, so I promised a blog about the miracle that is The Spice Market in Midtown. Located inside The W Midtown, it is a very hip restaurant that delivers food well worth the price. Most of these hip places are all image and no substance, but let me assure you, with The Spice Market, you will get substance. Seriously.
Let me begin by saying that the first inkling I got that this was going to be a delicious experience was when she took our drink orders, and I asked for ginger ale. She said they had house ginger ale that was made from fresh grated ginger. I was up for it, so I tried it. OH MY GOSH, it was unbelievable. Very strong ginger flavor, but let me say that if I'd had this in my hands during morning sickness, I'd have never felt ill! It burned so good. Mmmm.
The next delectable goody that she brought out was fried lentil chips with tomato jam. They were rather like fried naan with a tomato chutney, but even crispier and lighter. Very delicious. They were complimentary as an opener. We ordered our meal: spiced chicken samosas with cilantro yogurt sauce as an appetizer, chicken and coconut milk soup, and chargrilled chicken in kumquat lemongrass dressing.
The cilantro yogurt sauce for the samosas was the most delicious condiment that I've ever eaten. When we were done dipping the samosas, we ate the rest with a spoon! The flavors were artfully balanced. There was no one overwhelming or overpowering flavor in the entire dish. The pastry was like a phillo dough and very crispy and light. The chicken was seasoned lightly, and all of it was complemented nicely by the ginger ale. Mmmm.
On to the soup. It was delicious and not unlike your standard tom kha that you would order at a Thai restaurant. It was very chunky, almost too chunky for a spoon. Very hearty, and the flavors again were so artfully balanced. It was not like most chains or even small Asian restaurants where you just kind of get what you get. It tasted like someone tried very hard to make your eating experience a joyful one.
Then the main event: a HUGE helping of the kumquat lemongrass chargrilled chicken. It had a caramelized crispy coating on the outside, and was covered in cooked kumquats and lemongrass dressing. It was a sweet and sour mix that was strong but at the same time very delicate. Again, I marveled at how well balanced the flavors were. I am almost offended sometimes by the way that a lot of restaurants just lean on garlic as the primary seasoning because everyone seems to love it. It's just lazy to me to do that, and this restaurant seems to agree with me! Instead of leaning on a garlic heavy recipe, they used the bright flavors of the citrus overtones to blend with the sweet caramelized crust along with ginger and a touch of garlic and pepper. It had a nice heat to it that didn't burn so much as smolder. It left me with a very pleasant aftertaste that I was sad to lose! Did I mention that the ginger ale was, again, very complementary to the flavors in this main dish?
This savory dish was so nicely paired with sweetness that dessert was unnecessary (and also it was huge, so we couldn’t have eaten one if we had wanted!), however, I plan on returning to this restaurant and having one of their pastries because they are made on site by a pastry chef.
The attention to detail and careful use of spices and flavors has made a lifelong fan of me. I cannot wait to eat there again for my birthday in February!
Let me begin by saying that the first inkling I got that this was going to be a delicious experience was when she took our drink orders, and I asked for ginger ale. She said they had house ginger ale that was made from fresh grated ginger. I was up for it, so I tried it. OH MY GOSH, it was unbelievable. Very strong ginger flavor, but let me say that if I'd had this in my hands during morning sickness, I'd have never felt ill! It burned so good. Mmmm.
The next delectable goody that she brought out was fried lentil chips with tomato jam. They were rather like fried naan with a tomato chutney, but even crispier and lighter. Very delicious. They were complimentary as an opener. We ordered our meal: spiced chicken samosas with cilantro yogurt sauce as an appetizer, chicken and coconut milk soup, and chargrilled chicken in kumquat lemongrass dressing.
The cilantro yogurt sauce for the samosas was the most delicious condiment that I've ever eaten. When we were done dipping the samosas, we ate the rest with a spoon! The flavors were artfully balanced. There was no one overwhelming or overpowering flavor in the entire dish. The pastry was like a phillo dough and very crispy and light. The chicken was seasoned lightly, and all of it was complemented nicely by the ginger ale. Mmmm.
On to the soup. It was delicious and not unlike your standard tom kha that you would order at a Thai restaurant. It was very chunky, almost too chunky for a spoon. Very hearty, and the flavors again were so artfully balanced. It was not like most chains or even small Asian restaurants where you just kind of get what you get. It tasted like someone tried very hard to make your eating experience a joyful one.
Then the main event: a HUGE helping of the kumquat lemongrass chargrilled chicken. It had a caramelized crispy coating on the outside, and was covered in cooked kumquats and lemongrass dressing. It was a sweet and sour mix that was strong but at the same time very delicate. Again, I marveled at how well balanced the flavors were. I am almost offended sometimes by the way that a lot of restaurants just lean on garlic as the primary seasoning because everyone seems to love it. It's just lazy to me to do that, and this restaurant seems to agree with me! Instead of leaning on a garlic heavy recipe, they used the bright flavors of the citrus overtones to blend with the sweet caramelized crust along with ginger and a touch of garlic and pepper. It had a nice heat to it that didn't burn so much as smolder. It left me with a very pleasant aftertaste that I was sad to lose! Did I mention that the ginger ale was, again, very complementary to the flavors in this main dish?
This savory dish was so nicely paired with sweetness that dessert was unnecessary (and also it was huge, so we couldn’t have eaten one if we had wanted!), however, I plan on returning to this restaurant and having one of their pastries because they are made on site by a pastry chef.
The attention to detail and careful use of spices and flavors has made a lifelong fan of me. I cannot wait to eat there again for my birthday in February!
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