I love traditions for many things Christmas related and Christmas meals is part of that, but I love many different traditional Christmas foodie delights so we rotate. Last year, or even the last couple we have done the traditional Latin American Christmas Eve meal of Tamales, which I love. This year my mom sent me a recipe for Seafood Lasagna and I knew immediately that I was going to eat that on Christmas. This is the first ever meal for which I received a round of applause, so I think it is worthy of a try. It isn't hard to do. I hope to lead you effortlessly through the steps- I had to majority edit the recipe because I spent so much time trying to figure out what went where that it took longer than it really needed to. So here it is for you, a Christmas gift from our family to yours- a new wonderful recipe for you to try. I'd say it would be good all year, really who doesn't love a good pasta dish!?!

Seafood Lasagna
Edited and amended from this recipe.

5 Tablespoons of Butter
1 Lb. of Wild Alaskan Salmon/Wild Alaskan Halibut (or 1 lb of seafood of choice)
4 Cloves of  Garlic (chopped)
1/4 Cup white wine (or chicken stock)
1 Tablespoon of Lemon Juice
5 Tablespoons of Unbleached White Flour
3 Cups of Milk
1 Cup of Whole Cream (You may omit this and add an extra cup of Milk instead)
2  Cups of Parmesan Cheese (grated)
1  1/2 Cups of Mozzarella (grated)
16 oz. Ricotta Cheese
10 oz. Spinach (frozen works as well thawed and drained)
1 egg
1 box Lasagna Noodles (cooked or use the no-boil variety)
2 Teaspoons salt (to taste)
1 Teaspoon of Pepper (to taste)

Directions:
1. Heat 1 Tablespoon of the butter in a pan and about 1 clove of chopped garlic for few minutes or until tender. Add your seafood of choice into the pan and sauté until cooked.  Careful not to burn. Remove the seafood from the pan onto a plate and set it aside.
2. Into the pan where the seafood was cooked add the white wine and lemon juice to deglaze the pan, and simmer to reduce by half.
3. Return the seafood to the pan and toss to coat evenly when coated remove pan from heat and set aside.
4. In a large sauce pan melt 4 Tablespoons of butter. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, or for about 1 minute. Stir in flour and and allow to cook for a few minutes.
5.Very slowly whisk in the milk. Whisk and pour so you don't get a clumpy white sauce.  Once milk is added simmer until it thickens, for about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and mix in 1 cup of the parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste.
6.In separate bowl add in the ricotta, spinach, egg, 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese, 1 cup of mozzarella and a cup of the white sauce. Combine.

Assembly:
7. Pour 1 Cup of the white sauce into the  bottom of a 9 by 13 baking dish. Cover the sauce with a layer of noodles in the baking dish.
8. Pour half of the cheese/spinach mixture over the noodle layer. Then cover with a layer of noodles.
9. Layer in all of your seafood from the pan, pour 1 cup of the white sauce over the seafood. Place a layer of noodles over this seafood layer.
10.  Add a layer of the remaining cheese/spinach mixture. Add a final layer of noodles on top of that.
11. Pour the remaining white sauce over the noodles. Top with 1/2 cup of Mozzarella and 1/2 cup of parmesan sprinkled as the final topping layer.
12. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until bubbling on the sides and golden brown on top, about 45-60 minutes.

Seafood

Cheese/Spinach Mixture

White Sauce

Notes: I used 1lb of fish Brad's uncle gave us a couple of days ago, this recipe works well if you have left over salmon or other fish you want to use up, as it freshens it up and doesn't promote any of the dryness common to re-heating fish.

What is a traditional dish you enjoy? Do you make it or does someone else in your family? Lets talk traditions, new ones and old.

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There are so many lies we tell ourselves, our children and everyone that we come in contact with. Seriously, when did God say He wanted the people that to serve Him to be happy? Or that we deserve to be comfortable? That His blessings always come sugar coated in the form of a gift, and not a trial? What Bible are you reading!?!?!

I have to laugh, if not I'd cry, when I hear people tell their kids that God will never let them go hungry. Really? Why not? Maybe because you are American, or because you have a credit card, you have a wealthy family that will take care of you or so much in savings that you could buy your way out- but certainly not because God said it to be true. How can we say this when most of the world is hungry, and many of them believe in Christ? We tell our kids these lies, these lies that God is going to keep and then wonder why they find God so different when they hit those college years and God just doesn't come through the way we promised He would. He never promised, we did that all for Him. We are liars, thus making Him one by association.

What about trials? Okay, brace yourself: trials are the single biggest blessing from God- when do you hear that? They are though. They are the times when you are closest to God, the most dependent on Him and the least secure in yourself and what you have to offer. God cuddles, embraces and would love to fill in every gap of need with Himself- but we so seldom allow that or even want it, we have other things that make us "happy". Even those of us who brace for trials have a problem, we power through them, beat them back by our own strength reading self-help books, coping and "getting stronger because of it"- that is not what God intended either. God just wants us to give up, to surrender to Him the day no matter what it has, to not trust ourselves, to not power through but just to lean into Him and not resist His embrace. Through each trial HE should become stronger in us. Why? because the bigger you are, the smaller your God is,  "He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less" (John 3: 30).

Why are so many disillusioned with us churchies? Well because we tell them "God is going to make your life better", and when they see the trials that come they think we are the biggest liars there ever were- and God gets clumped into our sorry little lot. But why do we feel the need to add a spoonful of sugar to our message? WHY? I guess maybe it is because we don't trust the real God. We have made God who we want Him to be, we've stolen the divine nature of Jesus Himself and allowed ourselves to make up who He should be in our heads. We rob God, ourselves and those we come into contact with when we do this- but it is a church epidemic. We don't let God make us, we make Him. It is easier that way.

We are mis-representing Christ, we are preaching the modern day gospel, the gospel that it would be easier to believe, a God that would be easier to love, and a life that would be worth crap even on the best of days. There are so many well intentioned but incredibly ignorant preachers, teachers and church-goers who steal God's glory, Jesus' power and the divine mystery of the Holy Spirit and give you a placebo, one that leaves the taste buds with a fruity taste but with nothing substantial to nourish the spirit within each man that cries out.

God does heal, He does desire us to be filled with faith, He longs for our love, He desires to be our hope, He wants us to trust Him- but not because He is predictable, or loving on OUR TERMS but simply because He is God and we are clueless. He is God, He is not how our minds entrap and create Him, He is God and I have just recently come to terms with the fact that I know so little about the one I should know the best.

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I ordered a kit from Invisible Shoes. They send a square of 4mm vibram rubber material (to cut your own shoes from) and the chord. Then you can head to their website for  instructions and videos as to how to get all set up, and for the runner to figure out what form of tying works best for them.

I have run in my huaraches twice so far. Each time I wear them for the first 10 minutes of my run and then switch to another pair of shoes (that are also very minimalistic-cross country flats) for another 3 miles or so. The idea is to eventually work up to using them for the entire run. It is amazing how much running without support improves a lazy running form (which describes me perfectly). I can already tell a difference in how I am running.

In the past I have boasted of  a good overstride, landing on my heel thus enabling a longer stride, I thought it was a good thing. I thought that it made me run faster, that overstriding would be more effective and use less energy long-term. That really is not true, the only thing I would win at by overstriding is a race to see how FEW steps a person could take from point A to point B. Overstriding is a widespread problem, that causes injury in the joints and feet.  Shoe companies are adding more and more padding to the heel of their shoes so as to put a big band aid on the problem, but it would be better if we who do it would just learn to fix it.

But why these weird contraptions anyway? Are you really surprised? I mean I am a dreaded runner after all! Ha. I have been interested in barefoot running for a little while, maybe mostly curious about it but not interested in changing something that was working for me. Lately though it has intrigued me more and more.  And then the only thing that kept me from it is that each time I did a search I found myself annoyed at the price tag on these supposed minimal running shoes, or vibram five fingers! Should barefoot running and/or minimal support running really cost as much or MORE than the others? That just doesn't sit right with me. The cost of barefoot running should be nothing or close to nothing.

For those reasons I chose to try the huaraches. They are modeled after what different indigenous tribes have run in for a long, long time. If they work, these would be much better than buying the other shoes....so for now I am just trying them on for size, and we'll see how my toes hold up.

The best part of all? When I run I feel like an ancient runner in a Greek marathon- I can almost see these running sandals sprout wings.

At least they are cute, right?!

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The last several days have been interesting, I often walk toward the computer just out of complete habit and slide it onto my lap from the table and then back realizing I don't even know what I am doing. It reminds me of when I am working with our youngest son on not sucking his fingers (security thing he has done since 2 months old), it is a mindless, habit, just a go-to for him just as the computer is for me. The computer may not be your thing, but think about it for a second and figure out if it is food, relationships, entertainment or what fills you but leaves you lacking-what is your filler bad habit.

The first step in breaking a bad habit is to look at why you find this action so compelling. In other words, what's the payoff for doing this seemingly negative thing? Since you've already classified this as a "bad" habit you may be tempted to say there isn't one. But look closer. There is always a payoff. Let's say your bad habit is yelling at your kids. What's in it for you? You let off some steam and feel a little better for the moment. Or you have a bad habit of leaving the dishes unwashed? The payoff could be that you get to spend more time on the Internet! (Bad Choices, Bad Habits by Nancy Schimelpfening)

According to Nancy (let's just call her by her first name) there is a pay off which is why you practice the behavior, but also there is a trade off. The trade off is what you are loosing by exercising your go-to bad habit. Using the example from above, yelling at your kids, it is obvious what the trade off is: low self-esteem, guilt, shame, sadness, the tearing of bonds, anxiety, stress, and emotional pain. When you act on this bad habit, you are choosing your outburst of relief over your children's well being, and really even your own. When you break it all up like that it is pretty clear that bad habits, although habits should be broken because a new pattern needs to be established. Each time you are faced with a choice between the bad habit pay off and the trade off, and now you'll realise that it is a choice even though it is programmed a certain way you can work to break that. Wise choices are not easier, but they are wiser.

Bad habits are started up for a reason, once you understand that you can form good habits in their place- a positive go to so that you don't keep going back the the bad habit. Make an active choice, one that you can feel good about. Habits aren't bad, bad habits are bad. Instead of releasing your frustration in yelling choose to go for a run in the evening! It isn't bad to need a release, but you can choose where to channel it.

Once a different habit pattern is established the only way you'll meander back is if you are in denial about the original model of pay off and trade off mentioned above. If you find yourself justifying a bad habit go back and remind yourself of the reasons for not indulging, there are repercussions-some bigger some smaller but bad habits are labeled bad for a reason.

Just writing this and reading up on bad habits, I have almost wanted to write a list of things that I do on a regular basis and attack them all. But I need to have wisdom and in faith come at these bad habits one at a time with God's guidance.

Take Action: Jot down the habit you want to deal with, pick one to start with. Pray about it and ask God which one He'd have you work on first. Write out your list of "pay offs" and "trade offs". Remember it isn't easy to break a bad habit, there is a reason it was there in the first place. Establish a substitute good habit in its place.

Are you realising, as I am that you have bad habits that need to be broken in order to live more fully?

A Journey in Simplicity

Starting Out
Fasting for Simplification and Re-Sensitization
The Moment of Truth

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Those of you who read the dreadlock girl's blog on a regular basis know that she is not, in fact, an American. Now wait, wait, hold on. Before anyone goes calling Immigration Services, let me clarify. Bethany is, of course, a U.S. citizen, but her heart belongs to Spain, where she grew up. And because of this, she has a tendency to display some very un-American characteristics at times, one of the most prominent being a rabid passion for a strange sport called football. We call it soccer here in the U.S so that we don't get it confused with another sport involving big beefy guys in tights throwing a ball around and wrestling with each other. But if you try to call football soccer in just about any other country, you will get your face kicked in.

Yes, football is a very, very big deal in many other countries that are not America. I mean, they are really serious about it. Deadly serious. The last time we were in Spain I tried to joke with Bethany that I was going to walk around downtown Madrid wearing a jersey for the Barcelona football team (Madrid and Barcelona being arch rivals). Bethany gave me the look the she reserves for when I am being dumb and explained that if I did that, I would be dragged into a back alley and beaten to a pulp. I laughed. Bethany did not laugh, because she wasn't joking.

By simple virtue of the fact that no one cares about soccer in America, I had not, until recently, ever really watched an entire soccer game. All of that changed a few weeks ago, however, when the 2010 World Cup started. I watched almost every single game up to and including Spain's victory over Holland in the final. Hours and hours and hours of soccer. I have watched this much soccer because my wife wants to watch it and I love her and also because I want to eat and wear clean clothes, and I won't get to do either of those things if my wife is not happy with me.

But having watched this much soccer over the last several weeks, I have developed a certain appreciation for it. Following is a list of three things that I find particularly endearing about this strange sport. At first glance, these may seem like criticisms. But they aren't; they are merely appreciations for some of its wonderful oddities. Because if soccer is anything, it is most certainly odd.

Three reasons I think I might like soccer:

1. No one ever has any idea what's going on. Soccer has no instant replay rules and no time outs. When the ref doesn't like something, well, that's all there is to it. He pulls out a little card or waves a little flag and whatever he says goes. He doesn't have to give any reasons for the calls he makes. He could be running down the field and think to himself, "You know, I really don't like that guy's hair. I mean, who wears a hair band these days? What is this, the 70s? That's it, I'm giving him a yellow card." And bam - yellow card. No explanation. No arguing. You'll notice that after the majority of calls in a soccer game, everyone looks confused. All of the players on both sides, the coaches, the fans. Even the refs. They don't know why they made the call half the time either.

Stoppage time is even better. Theoretically the refs are keeping track of how much time is wasted during the game on account of substitutions, injuries, the players styling each other's hair, etc. Then, at the end of each half, an appropriate amount of time is added to the game to make up the difference. But anyone who watches more than a couple of games quickly realizes that the refs are not really keeping track of anything. When the end of a half is approaching, they pull some random number out of the air and slap it on. As a result, no one ever has any idea when the game is going to end.

Soccer players have really transformed flopping, as it is commonly called, into an art form. It's always fun to watch a player throw his arms up in the air, scream like he's been shot, do three somersaults and sprawl on the ground clutching his leg and then, when looking at the replay, realize that no one actually touched him. After the ref issues the opposing team a yellow card, the player, who has been lying on the ground writhing in apparent agony, will suddenly hop up, dust himself off and continue playing as if nothing happened (and nothing, in fact, did).

Flopping is a great way to liven up otherwise long and uneventful stretches of a soccer match, which leads to my final point . . .

3. No one ever scores. This is one of the most incredible things to me about soccer. The players run their guts out for more than 90 minutes, and one team wins because their striker kicks the ball at exactly right second, usually when the opposing goalie has just taken a quick break to pick his nose or something. And that's it - the score is 1-0 and the game is over. All that effort for one point.

Now what makes the almost non-existent scoring in soccer fun is that when someone does score, people get really, really excited. I mean, they get so excited that their eyeballs explode out of their heads. Take all of the excitement that has been expressed over every single baseball World Series in history and you will have about two thirds of the emotion expressed over one goal in the World Cup. You can pretty much justify anything - setting cars on fire; throwing hand grenades; dumping cans of paint on people - if it's in the name of celebrating a goal. (Just to clarify, I do not do a majority of the things on that list when I am celebrating a goal).

And in the end, I think that's probably why I am at, at least nominally, a soccer fan. It's such a passionate sport, and it's hard not to get caught up in that passion. Watching the World Cup final the other day, I actually did feel like a part of  huge global community - a very loud, rowdy and belligerent global community. So, there's a good chance that I will keep watching soccer - to stay a part of that community. And also so that my wife will keep making me food and washing my clothes.

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