Football Away Game Soup – Minestrone

 A damp fall day, where yellow leaves fall and beautiful orange pumpkins stand out bright against the golden browns of the season, is the perfect season for hot minestrone soup. This hot soup full of veggies and swirly pasta is hot in the Crockpot and ready to savor.

Have you ever sat down with a group of strangers, soon to be friends, and reveled in the differences and similarities? I have had that opportunity not too terribly long ago. It is such fun to find that our differences are not as wide as we originally think, and that our commonalities are so much greater. Sitting down over a meal and sharing a little bit of our lives can create something beautiful and sustaining. 

 

Minestrone is a great fall soup that is full of the mix and match of fresh ingredients still available in the Midwest as the temperature cools. There is not a right or wrong mix, just add your favorite ingredients and enjoy. 

In a hot skillet, add Italian seasoning and one pound of ground pork. Stir the pork in the skillet, until it is cooked. I prefer to let larger chunks of the ground pork remain unbroken, adding an additional texture to the soup later. Let the pork cool and add it to the Crockpot. 

On a cutting board, coarsely chop one pound of carrots. Slice mushrooms into large slices and garlic into small slivers. Peel and cut large chunks of zucchini. Slice a dozen cherry tomatoes in half and quarter two large sweet onions. Add the vegetables to the Crockpot and stir. Open up a favorite jar of spaghetti sauce and add it in. Mix everything together. Then, pour beef broth into the Crockpot to make the desired thickness of soup. 

Turn on the Crockpot and let the soup cook.  When all of the vegetables are tender it’s time to prepare the pasta. Heat water in a large saucepan until boiling, I chose campanelle because of its fun curly shape. Once the water is at a full boil, and bubbling along merrily, add the pasta. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.  After the pasta is completely cooked, add it to your hot soup.  Use a large spoon to mix everything up, pull out your favorite soup bowl and enjoy.  Or even better, share it with someone else!

Football Away Game Soup – Minestrone 

1lb. ground pork

1 lb. carrots

1 package of mushrooms

1 medium zucchini

2 large sweet onions

1 jar spaghetti sauce

1 large can beef broth

Italian seasoning

Garlic

12 cherry tomatoes

1 box campanelle pasta

Family – Global and Eternal

It’s been a while since I have written.  Busy times here; and there are places to go, people to see, gardens to weed, dogs to pet, songs to sing and work to do.  Last week I was ending a wonderful trip to see family.  Again much was packed in, busy times and all!  A few quiet moments slipped in though, making themselves welcome amongst morning coffee and beautiful morning skies.  Quiet moments lead to time to think, and my thoughts were full of thankfulness for a global and eternal family.

Since I was traveling, I wasn’t home to go to the church in my community.  Instead, I had the opportunity to worship with my Church family in a different location.  Standing in a room full of strangers, I loved to think how we were all worshipping the same God together, even when we don’t know about each other.  God knows, and we will have eternity to get to know each other.  

Stranger

I have moved seven times, over four states. That is plenty of times for me to grow a strong dislike for moving boxes and moving companies and moving in general. Each location held challenges, unique opportunities, difficulties, and potential. Some of the places were fairly easy to adjust to and others were much more difficult. But, overall I have had my fair share of days when I felt like a stranger and an outsider in the midst of people who belonged and fit.
“To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia….” (1 Peter 1:1). To the strangers, here we have this addressed to the strangers, those who don’t quite fit in the world around them. But, why are they strangers? I would imagine that many of them grew up and lived their entire lives in that area.
Stranger danger, it’s what we teach children in order to help them recognize the difference between friend and foe. If God’s children, or elect, are strangers in the world, then we must be designed to be at home with each other or within the body of Christ.
As a stranger, as a migrant of sorts in new communities, it can be a lonely thing. Not just getting lost trying to find new grocery stores, but needing the fellowship of the family of friends. But, Peter did not stop with acknowledging the strangers in the world, instead he goes on by saying “…who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood,” (1 Peter 1:2). I don’t want to go into the difficult theology here, but want to point out one thing.
The words through, for, and by. Let me say it this way, “…who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood,” (1 Peter 1:2). Through sanctification or growth in grace through Jesus is provided. This is a promise that the Holy Spirit will work with us through these things for growth. What is the purpose of this growth? To obey and be saved. Obedience to Jesus is to be a Christ follower, listening to and acting in such a way that we are obeying what Jesus tells us to do. Sprinkling by his blood, forget the arguments of sprinkle versus dunk and go to the next word, by. This is not sprinkled by the water sprinkler, garden hose, or shower. This is a sprinkling by the blood of Christ, the blood that saves us from our sins. So, a stranger is acknowledged as such, a stranger to the world. Separated out by the work of the Holy Spirit, obedience to Jesus, and being saved by his blood.
Fellow strangers, don’t forget the next part. “Grace and peace be yours in abundance,” (1 Peter 1:2).