Struffoli

It's Christmas time, which means tradition time.

On Christmas Eve I watched the Worthy's bring home plates and plates of struffoli. They brought American cookies to Italians, and Italians gave them struffoli. Lots and lots of struffoli.

I actually like it when it is made good. But you can't eat a whole ton of it at one time. It's a little much.

This morning the Nonni next door brought over some struffoli for me and Grace. And this was the best looking struffoli I've ever seen. It's so cute. It's pretty good too. I just thought I would share it with you.

GUMBO

I've talked about it for quite some time now. But the truth is, I've been scared. I've been wanting to make a gumbo, but fearful that I would fail, and knowing that I didn't have the exact ingredients, I've been putting it off.

It's cold now, perfect gumbo weather, and I've been telling Jason I would make one for him. So Friday, I set out to make my very first gumbo on my own.

It starts with these

Where I'm from, there are two trinities. The Holy one, and then this one

By this point, there was a real good smell

patiently waiting it's turn in the pot

look, I did it!

Yes. It was rather delicious.

I have done it. I have fulfilled my rite of passage. Now I can go back to Acadiana.

Over-stocked

So we got some stuff today, and it's a little but of a lot

let me show the details

and our cabinets...

Yea, so, wow.

Traditions

How often do we participate in some sort of tradition without having any clue as to why we do it? I don't know the answer to that question, but it is probably very often.

Today I was sitting in a church reading a book on spiritual warfare, and I saw a man come in with a bag of nativity pieces. (The Neapolitan nativity is a big deal, maybe I should do a blog on it...) He brought his bag of pieces over to one of the priests who was sitting in the confessional. He lined all the pieces up on the ledge and then the priest blessed each one of them. I'm assuming the nativity pieces were gifts for people. I've gotten many gifts before that are extra "special" because they have been blessed. But, as I watched him, I realized that he really didn't care what he was doing. He was just doing it because that is what you do. He probably has never even questioned why he does that. I continued reading about the hold Satan has in the lives of people who don't know God.

Tonight I was back at that same church. I saw a lady walk down the aisle and stop right in the middle of the church. She knelt down and touch some mosaic three times and stood each time to do the sign of the cross. Why? Has she ever thought why?

At what point did this culture and church become so blind to truth that tradition has completely taken over?

God's Perfect Timing

Today was eventful and fully unexpected. One of the things I love most about going through life walking with God. I can't help but stand in awe of who He is after days like these.

Recently God has been showing me more and more about the urgency of the gospel. I don't have time to waste. In fact the gospel is so urgent, that my life should be consumed by it. But the reality is not so. I tend to be more consumed with myself; with my agenda; with my wants, needs, and desires. I often wonder when I will begin to act upon the things I know to be truth. When will I truly grasp the urgency of the gospel? I don't know. I don't know if I ever will fully grasp it. But I will keep trying.

Yesterday, I needed to go to the post office. Without thinking, I ventured to the post office at around 1 pm on the first of the month. NEVER, I repeat, NEVER go to the post office on the first of the month. The whole city will be there. Or actually, GO. Go to the post office on the first of the month, because the whole city will be there; waiting. Waiting for their turn, with nothing to do. I walked in only needing to mail a simple envelope. I walked out an hour and a half later, with a new friend and having shared my life and story with her. God's timing is perfect. Why did I go to the post office on the first of the month without thinking about it? Because God thought about it.

Today I woke up late. I went out to get a coffee first thing, knowing that if I didn't I may not set foot in the bar I should frequent everyday. On my way home I passed by Grace walking down the street. We never pass each other on the street. Today we did. We did so right next to a little eccentric tea shop. We walked in together thinking it would be for just a second, but then we saw a stray dog. Actually though, it was not a stray dog. It belonged to Jenny. Jenny is the Australian lady who lives in Naples that we met in the tea shop. Who we proceeded to share the gospel with and share our views/beliefs of Christianity with. Though Jenny disagreed with everything we said, we said it anyway. We spoke truth to her and she heard it. Why did the random events of us passing each other on the street, walking into this shop, and talking out loud about the stray dog happen? Because God wanted it to.

My prayer is this: that I would stop being so consumed with myself, with my agenda, with what I want, with what I don't want, and with how I want things to happen. God has perfect timing. But I miss out on half of what He is doing because I can't see past my own eyelashes.

I'm practicing to see more of Him and less of me.