Tomato Crack Recipe

Ok, if you are reading this and you are coming here because you clicked the link on my YouTube video then PLEASE grant me one request!!!! If you use this recipe, you MUST shoot a response video chronicling your experience making Tomato Crack.  It doesn't have to be a play-by-play like mine.  Maybe you just show what your final product looks like.  I don't care how extensive the video is! I just wanna know that people out there tried it!! :)

Also, here is the link to the video where I make this dish if you want a visual step-by-step presentation on how to make this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNvi3gZ4q5M 

Ingredients:
Grape Tomatos
Garlic Clove
Olive Oil
Fresh Basil
Garlic Salt (Optional)
Bread Loaf

1) OPTIONAL!!! I choose to cut off the tops of the tomatoes.  I don't like the hard little parts on the top of them in my final product.  So I just slice them off individually into a trash can first.

2) Place these tomatoes on a cookie sheet or something similar.

3) Peel the skin off of the garlic and place is on the pan/sheet with the tomatoes

4) Preheat the oven to 350 and set the pan/sheet in the oven for about 30 min.  This is an estimate.  What you are really looking for is the tomatoes the get really mushy.  Poke them with a knife to test this.  When they seem to be very soft, take them out.

5) Scoop out all the tomatoes and place them in a bowl.  This is where you will take a spoon or any other utensil you see fit and smash the tomatoes until you get the consistency you like. (You are looking for something similar to salsa)

6) Dice up the garlic into small pieces and mix it all into the bowl with the tomatoes.

7) Slice the fresh basil into small strands and mix in as much as you see fit into your bowl.

8) OPTIONAL!!! Add some garlic salt.  As much as you see fit.

9) Slice up the loaf of bread into pieces that are fit for dipping/scooping.

10) Enjoy :)

A Servant of Christ Jesus

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus... (Rom. 1:1a) 

Not an SLD (Spiritual Life Director here at LU). Not an RA. Not a pastor. Not a theologian. Not a scholar. Paul introduces himself in one of the most humble terms he could have used in the Greek language.

*The term "servant" here would have been doulos (phonetically).  This is a position of extreme humility.  Not a servant of the nature of the great servants like Moses and Abraham.  More of a bond servant.

He does go on to explain his authority as an apostle, but he starts off by claiming complete humility. I want to be like this. I don't want any title getting in the way of my ability to be completely and utterly humble before my creator.  I am better than no man.  I am the chief of all sinners. I have no right to any pride about who I am or what I have done. I only have room to boast in what grace God has poured out and how God has allowed me to see Him work. I must make my boast in Christ alone. As I opened up my Bible to start digging into Romans, I figured I'd skip the greeting since I had read it so many times, but I still glanced at the first couple words.  Those words, as you can tell, smacked me across the face. God will never be done using a passage to speak to you. Even as I read deeper into that verse, I see Paul's claim to apostleship and the fact that he had been set apart (...call as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God). I believe I can identify with him there. I know I have been called and set apart by God for His word and building His kingdom. I only hope that I will keep my eye focused on Him. I don't want to get so focused on the calling that I start to ignore the wishes of the caller.  I need His blessing and strength to help me stay completely humble in any position that He places me in.

Let's talk miracles...

Now, you hear about things happening that absolutely blow your mind, but you don't really see them that often.  Let me just say that God BLEW MY MIND yesterday!  I am not going to get into the whole story of how until later when the shock of it is no longer fresh.  Why that matters is very hard to explain...but just trust me here.  God has WORKED!!! He decided to work through something insane, tragic, and painful...but He REALLY worked none the less!  He just never ceases to amaze me.  You never know how God will work through your pain.  There have been so many times in my life that I know He will use my pain for the betterment of myself, others, or the kingdom, but I very rarely get to see the payoff so vividly and clearly played out in a situation of direct connection to my life.  Please believe that God is working through your situations! Don't give up on that! He is there! He is watching! He is working! He is carrying you when you don't even know it! He is working in ways that you could never even imagine!

Praying for Some People

I have never sat down with someone and lead them to Christ. There! I have admitted it! I know i have played a part in the salvation of many people, but I have never had the opportunity opened to me to be able to personally lead someone to Christ.  Now, this was meant to be much more than just a confession of a "Christian shortcoming," so I'll get to the point.  I am praying that God will send me people that need Him. I have way too many friends that are saved.  Don't get me wrong!  Those are GREAT friends to have! I don't want to lose any of my Christian friends.  I just pray that God would put people in my path whom I can share the gospel with.  I also pray for the insight to see those people when they cross my path, because I'm sure there are people in my life right now...I'm just not seeing them.

Welcome to the Blog

I have been working and working to get a decent blog up for a while.  I am happy to say that this is where my blog will be for the time being.  I would like to have a more professional look but I'm working with the resources I have for right now.  I don't have the money to hire anyone and I am so out of practice that anything I make will look like junk.  Anyway, I am excited to start posting and letting you guys know what I am up to, what I am learning in God's word, and how I feel about different issues.  I should have new posts going up a few times a week, but I am not making any kind of schedule.  That is exactly why I could not continue doing what I was doing on YouTube.  So thanks for taking the time to check out the blog and I hope you will stick around and follow it as I continue to post new content!