A History Lesson

Those that know me, know that I teach World History at the local high school. There's a history lesson I've been wanting to post here on this blog and one I've been putting off for quite a while, but I feel compelled, even driven, to go ahead...

You see, there's a line, that's been drawn down through the ages. And on that line, there stands an old rugged cross. And on that cross, there's a battle that's raging, for the gain of man's soul or its loss.

On one side, march the forces of evil, all the demons and devils in hell. On the other, the angels of glory. And they meet, on Golgotha's Hill.

The earth shakes, with the force of the conflict and the sun refuses to shine. For there hangs God's Son in the balance, and then, through the darkness He cries!!!

IT IS FINISHED!!! The battle is over!!! IT IS FINISHED!!! There'll be no more war!!! IT IS FINISHED!!! The end of the conflict!!! IT IS FINISHED!!! And Jesus is Lord!!!

Ok, so by now, some you might have recognized that these are the lyrics from "It Is Finished," made famous by the Gaither Vocal Band. Historians, not just the Gospels, write of the accuracy of the earthquake and the eclipse that occurred at the time of Christ's death, but there might be those who question, much like my students, "What does something that happened thousands of years ago have to do with today and more importantly, me?"

That's why the second verse is so important:

Still in my heart, the battle was still raging. Not all prisoners of war had come home. These were battlefields, of my own making. I didn't know, that the war had been won.

But then I heard, that the King of the Ages had fought all life's battles for me. And that victory was mine for the claiming. And now, praise His Name I am FREE!!!

IT IS FINISHED!!! The battle is over!!! IT IS FINISHED!!! There'll be no more war!!! IT IS FINISHED!!! The end of the conflict!!! IT IS FINISHED!!! And Jesus is Lord!!!


That's how it matters to you and to me. I know that there are those that doubt that God could ever love them because of all the things that they might have done or even continue to do. But it doesn't matter, He fought all life's battles, He paid the price, and now, praise His Name, we're free. That battle is over, IT IS FINISHED, Satan has lost and Jesus is Lord.

That brings up another lesson.

There are some Christians (and others) that refuse to watch Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ because of the violent depiction of Christ's death. They complain, and maybe rightly so, that it is too violent and too over the top, questioning why it must be so.

Why? Go watch the History Channel or the Discovery Channel or any of the others. There you will find some revisionist historian arguing that Christ really didn't die on the Cross, that He only fainted and was removed by the disciples and nursed back to health (or some other ludicrous explanation).

Are you serious?

That's why The Passion of the Christ had to show the brutal beating that Jesus endured, to show that ONLY three days after that He was made whole, save the scars in His hands, feet, and side. Think about this, would his disciples have followed a beaten and broken Christ, knowing that their belief could be a death sentence? No, they'd seen Him beaten and crucified, dying one of the most horrible deaths known, and yet three short days later, He stood amongst them, alive and WHOLE!!!

My only complaint is that the movie glosses over the the Resurrection, for without it, the Crucifixion would be just one of thousands that the Romans doled out. In fact, Crassus had crucified over 6,000 of Spartacus' followers on the Appian Way. For the reasons mentioned above, the Resurrection is as important, if not more important, than the Crucifixion.

So why do I choose this time to give you this lesson. In the words of a Kris Kristofferson song:

Try me Lord, if You think there's a way, I can try to repay, all I've taken from You. Maybe Lord, I can show someone else, what I've been through myself, on my way BACK to You.

A Little Cheese with that Wine

I've recently made a discovery, a cheese discovery, that I'm compelled by all that is good to share with you.

Pecorino Romano.

A had a recipe for braciole that called for this specific type of cheese, so I set out to locate it. Luckily, the local Wally-World actually carried it. However, it is a tad bit expensive, so when the recipe took far less than I'd purchased, the Scot in me was determined to find other uses.

So first, I sprinkled it on some zuccini that I'd grilled with excellent results. Tonight, however, I grilled my world-famous steaks and decided that they might could benefit from a little extra zing. So just before I pulled them off the grill, I sprinkled just a touch of the Pecorino Romano on each steak.

Now my steaks, in my own humble opinion and the opinion of dozens of others that have been fortunate enough to sample them, are truly a work of art. I've spent years creating the perfect blend of herbs and spices and mastering the art of grilling. Anytime you can get another man's wife to tell him that your steak is better than his, then you've accomplished something.

So what did the Pecorino Romano do for the steak?

Oh.

My.

God.

It took a really good steak and created a masterpiece worthy of Rafael or Van Gogh or... or... or...

Wow, just wow!

So if you can find some Pecorino Romano, do yourself a huge favor and pick some up. It's worth every cent.

As far as the wine, the wife and I have been sampling a few that we though we should share. We tend to like our wines just a little on the sweet side, so if you don't, well... you might not like these. Here's a few of our faves:

1) Messina Hof Beau "Tribute to Beauty" - Tastes like fresh cherries dipped in dark chocolate. DO NOT chill, but serve at room temperature. Chilling kills the flavors and leaves this wine flat. This is our favorite, but we can't afford to drink it all the time. Around $9 at WM.

2) Llano Sweet Red - Another that is better at room temperature. Not as rich as the Beau, but still a good, rich, yet slightly sweet, red wine. Around $6 at WM.

3) St. Genevieve Sweet Red - A lot like the Llano, but at less cost. A good everyday, stand-by wine. Around $4 at WM.

4) Sutter Home Sweet Red - See #2 & #3. Around $5 at WM.

5) Twin Springs Sweet Red - This one benefits from being chilled. Very, very sweet, but without the tartness of a white zinfandel. Even people that proclaim they HATE wine love this one. Around $5.50 at WM.

Trying to please everyone...

... ends up pleasing no one.

Wednesday is Savannah's b-day, so Cas and I thought we'd treat her to a day at the mall with a friend, complete with shopping and a movie.

At least that was what we intended.

Somehow the other kids managed to get involved, to the point that we took Nate and Joe and Katie and one of her friends. This meant having to cut back on the time spent just with Vanna, as well as cutting back on the money spent.

So it ended up being a ho-hum day for everyone, instead of a very, very special day for just one...

Posting drunk, and I know it...

Too much wine (wow, did we really consume three bottles) will loosen the tongue and the keyboard.

So where to start.

I'm apparently in trouble with the one passed out on the bed behind me, snoring loudly BTW, because I told her that her @$$ was bigger than my computer screen.

Not that I expect her to remember it in the morning, but I know that her @$$ is bigger than this 17" screen. H#ll, the 9-year old step-daughter's @$$ is wider than 17 inches, much less anyone that has been through puberty or child-bearing, but try to tell that to a DRUNK wife.

Oh well, I've been in worse trouble.

Product Ponderings

Every once in a while, I'll come across a consumer product that makes me think

Whiskey

Tango

Foxtrot?

I had such an experience a few months back at the local Sam's Club. Now on the surface, this product seems innocuous enough, but on further reflection, I'm puzzled about its intended use.

The product I speak of is Ultra-Strong Charmin.

Now at first, this product's intended purpose would be quite clear, but when you really, really think about it, you start to wonder. See, I understand the purpose of Ultra-Soft Charmin (ultra-spicy burritos, anyone?), just not Ultra-Strong Charmin.

Seriously, do some people have poop so toxic that the regular Charmin can't handle it?

Maybe they use it to sand furniture?

Or maybe when a buddy's truck gets stuck in the mud, they'll tell 'em, "Nah, don't worry 'bout a chain, gotta roll of Ultra-Strong Charmin over here!"

This Means War!!

Those sadistic b@$terds with Al-Qaeda may have created the most nefarious weapon to ever threaten the average American male.

Building on such terror tools as flying hijacked planes into buildings and the infamous shoe bomb, they've gone a step further and created a weapon that will have every man in America quivering in fear: the exploding boobie.

As reported by British intelligence (which may or may not be an oxymoron, I'm not sure), plastic surgeons with Arabic sympathies from all over the globe are flying home, ostensibly to implant explosives in the chests of female volunteers.

Strip clubs, Spring Break, and Mardi Gras will never be the same. Now when a pretty girl starts to flash her t!t$, men will dive for cover instead of gawk and stare.

Where's JFK when you need him? As a man who had a fine-tuned appreciation for a nice set of h00ters, he'd be launching nukes at this latest threat. Heck, even Clinton would've "risen" to the occassion...

A Cold Day in Texas

We're expecting snow today, which according to forecasters is the earliest recorded instance of snow in this area. So much for global warming, huh?

Anyway, checked the outside faucets last night to make sure they were wrapped, which they weren't. I'm not worried about the other pipes, which are in the attic and are very well wrapped and are buried in blown-in insulation. Cas was at WM already, so I called and asked her to pick up some insulating wrap.

Seems like everyone else had the same idea.

So what to do? I came up with the ingenious plan of wrapping the faucets in plastic WM bags and then putting a coffee can over them to hold the wrap in place and keep it dry.

I didn't even use duct tape...