Hot Hesed!

It was one of the first things I learned about Steven's mom.

She makes the best salsa.

And so, you can imagine my excitement when she asked me to make it with her this year. Like my grandma's tamales, this salsa is a deep act of hesed. Not only is most of it grown from her own garden (something so foreign to us city-folk), but the entire process takes alllllllll day. No joke. We started at 2 and I left "early", before everything was done, at seven.

Steven excitedly asked me when I came home what I'd learned and when I'd be making my next batch. And while I wasn't exactly sure when my next salsa extravaganza would be, I did learn a few things. I learned that my mother-in-law is not just the best at making salsa, she's pretty great at a lot of other things too.

She's a great communicator. She's a great listener. She's a great worker, always running around doing big and little things for anyone and everyone. She's a great teacher, always directing others back to Jesus and His Word. She's a generous woman with a big heart for people. And basically, she's the best mother-in-law I could have ever asked for.

I knew all these things before we made salsa together, but it's always nice to be reminded of God's goodness in your life.

All in all, by the end of the day I not only learned a whole lot about country cooking, but I was also blessed to spend a wonderful afternoon with my beautiful mom-in-law. Good food, good company. It doesn't get much better.

Margie's Homemade Salsa :)

Fresh tomatoes from the garden. Washed and ready to go.


Put the tomatoes in boiling water to steam.


You boil them until the skin "pops" like this...


Once the skin "pops", it'll come right off. No tomato skin in salsa is allowed!


Rough chop the tomatoes--til you reach 16 cups!


Put the huge pot of tomatoes over the stove on medium heat. And start adding the flavor! A whole bundle of cilantro (Even though lots of people hate this flavor, you cook it enough that it's not too strong. It just adds a little kick.)


Onions.


The rest of the characters. Corn, beans (lots of em!), tomato paste.


Oh! Can't forget the jalapeno and cayenne peppers! (The Sauder boys always complain that the salsa isn't hot enough, so we left in all the seeds this time)


YUM. Gotta let is boil for a bit so the salsa thins out.


Add some canning salt and some sugar...


Then it's on to canning!


Put the jars in a big pressure cooker--with a little bit of water.


Then you just gotta wait. Wait for it to go all the way up to 15 lbs. Once it does, then you adjust the temp so it stays at 15...and then slowly goes back down to 0. (Margie says you have to wait til it hits 0 or else the lids will NOT seal and you'll want to punch yourself for wasting so much time.)


Finally time to take em out!


Leave them on a cooling rack and viola! THE BEST SALSA IN THE WORLD :)

Thank you, Walmart.

There I was. Hanging out in the book aisle of Walmart, just wasting some time by myself. (Wow, do I sound cool...) Anyway, after perusing all the food magazines, I turned to the books--particularly the Christian book section. Not thinking I was going to come across anything too exciting, my eyes were drawn to this little orange book.

Radical. Taking back your faith from the American Dream.

Sounded interesting. I took it off the shelf. But before I sat down to read it, another book caught my eye. This one was a little more flashy, with a boisterous title.

It's your time. Activate Your Faith, Achieve Your Dreams, and Increase in God's Favor.

I was confused. I knew both were Christian books, yet both seemed to be saying entirely different things. One encouraging me to take back my faith from the American Dream, the other telling me to activate my faith by achieving my dreams. How could these two books be representing the same faith?

And so, with both books in hand, I plopped down in the middle of the aisle and started reading. Two different books with two very different agendas, both claiming to represent the same Gospel message. Needless to say, I was very intrigued.

"I could not help but think that somewhere along the way we had missed what is radical about our faith and replaced it with what is comfortable. We were settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves." -Radical.

"God promises your payday is on its way. If you'll learn to be a prisoner of hope and get up every day expecting God's favor, you'll see God do amazing things. You'll overcome every obstacle. You'll defeat every enemy. And I believe and declare you'll see every dream, every promise God has put in your heart, come to pass." -It's Your Time.

"We are starting to redefine Christianity. We are giving in to the dangerous temptation to take the Jesus of the Bible and twist him into a version of Jesus we are more comfortable with...A Jesus who brings us comfort and prosperity as we live out our Christian spin on the American dream." -Radical.

"A global recession has forced many to postpone their dreams and cancel their plans. You may have lost your job. You may have lost your savings, maybe even your home. It could be that you have health concerns or relationship problems. Maybe you are frustrated because it's taking so long to get where you want to be in your life. Yet now is not the time to talk yourself out of your goals and dreams. Now is not the time to get discouraged. You may think, as I did climbing that trail, that you're not even halfway there. You may feel you have so far to go. But the truth is, you don't know. Your dream may just be up around the corner. You may think it will take another two years. But if you stay in faith, who knows? It may just be two more months. You are closer than you think. I believe it's your time." -It's Your Time.

My head was spinning. As I went back and forth between the two books, my emotions were all over the place. One minute I was fired up about losing everything for the sake of gaining Christ, to not be fooled by desires of this world. The next I was being comforted that my dreams of owning a big yellow house were actually okay and that God wanted to give me such earthly blessings.

One minute I was believing in a self-denying faith. The next, in a self-indulging one.

And I felt like God was calling me out. Of all places, right there in the middle of Walmart.

You see, I blog about a self-denying faith. Because I truly believe that's what Jesus calls us to. And while there are moments that I would like to think that I obey His higher calling, these moments are too far and few between.

In all reality, the majority of the time I live a self-indulging faith. Even though I know it's disobedient, unbiblical and purposeless. I buy into the christianized American Dream and really do live like "it is MY time" far too often.

I'm such a hypocrite.

And I began to see my hypocrisy play out in a vision. I started picturing and wondering, what if Jesus came back and simply observed my life from an outward perspective? What would he see? Would he see a radical disciple who has given up security, money, convenience, and even family to follow Him? Or would he see a sell-out? A fake? A dirty prostitute who whores herself after every desire of this world?

The thought and humbling truth of the vision sent shivers down my back and tears down my face. I imagined Jesus spitting me out of his mouth. I imagined Him saying, "You are radical in words, yet lukewarm in your actions. You have gained the world, but have forgotten me. My child, I wish I knew you."

Ugh. The things you learn in Walmart. If I would have known my ugliness and hypocrisy were going to be called out like that, I would have never walked down that aisle. But there I was, learning tough truth in the most unexpected of places. I hate, yet love it when God does that.



Lord, help us. We do not know how to live a life of radical faith. We have made your calling cheap and easy. And a lot of the time, we don't care. Show me how to live and believe according to your Word, not by the world around me. Raise up examples of what You expect of us. Show me, forgive me, teach me, mold me. Help me, this blog, my life, not be a hindrance to the Gospel, but a way to show people that You are worth more than whatever this life has to offer. Help me, Lord Jesus. Help me take back my faith from the American Dream.