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We are the light of the world.
We know it’s true because Jesus, the true Light, told us so. We know it’s true because He gives us His light. Why? To shine it. To scatter the darkness. To light the Way to Him, to the Father. To guide the people stumbling around in the shadows of the world.
The shadows…here. They’re not just in the world, are they? Those shadows plague our churches too. Our communities. Our families.
Our hearts.
We’ve all felt them. Sensed them. Cursed them. Given in to them. We know the teeth of fear, of pain, of rejection, of anxiety. We know the hammer blows of judgment and prejudice. We’ve experienced the claws of hatred and bitterness.
Aimed at us. And coming from within us.
We know. We know the darkness. We know it because it surrounds us and sneaks in. We know it because in some ways, it’s more comfortable than the light. It doesn’t make us squint our eyes or shield them from harsh truth. In darkness we can just rest. Or…not. In darkness, we can do what we want, and no one can see to tell us we’re wrong. Darkness lets sin creep in. Darkness lets sin flourish.
We never like to think that the darkness is here. Not within us, not within our families, not within our churches. Darkness is out there. The WORLD is full of darkness.
And it is. But why, then, isn’t our light able to banish it? If the darkness is all without and inside is nothing but light, why is our light not chasing away the darkness? That’s how it works–it only takes one match, one flame, one candle, one lamp, one star in the night to make the darkness retreat. If we are living in that Light, why is it still so dark? More, why does it seem to be getting always darker?
Because we’re not doing our job. Our lights are under bushels of selfishness and judgment. Our lights are hidden behind shutters of tribalism and greed. We see the darkness as an enemy, but we don’t know how to combat it…because too often, we’re too busy fighting the other light-bearers over whether their torches or lamps are trimmed properly. We’re too busy lecturing the darkness for being what it is. We’re too busy philosophizing about how anyone who steps out of our little box is lost, without realizing that our own oil is running low, that are wicks are flickering, that it’s getting dimmer and dimmer.
But we are the light of the world, my friends. We are the light because He gave us His Light. If the world is dark, it’s not the fault of the world–it’s the fault of the people who aren’t illuminating it. Are we hiding our hope away? Are we cursing the darkness instead of shining into it? Are we closing our light off from those who need it most, guarding it jealously?
We all do that. But we don’t have to. We can call upon the Spirit who breathes light and life into our souls. And we can step out into the darkness, ready to shine for Him.
This slightly sweet unleavened bread is a quick and simple recipe…and a crowd-pleaser! Perfect for a Passover meal or communion.
16
15 minutes
30-45 minutes
Side, Bread
Inroduction
When I was a kid, the church I attended frequently had a meal together on Holy Thursday, and unleavened bread was served…but not just any unleavened bread. It was sweet. It was delicious. It was a recipe I had to recreate for myself when I was an adult!
The nature of unleavened bread demands that it be quick, and this recipe is no exception. It’s a simple matter of warming and mixing the ingredients, rolling it out, cutting it, and baking…but oh, the results! A slightly sweet bread, dense and chewy, perfect for pairing with a Passover charoset (apply clay), cheese, honey, butter, or even peanut butter, this one will soon be a favorite of everyone in the family!
Ingredients
Unleavened bread would have been served with every Passover in my Biblical stories and is particularly mentioned in A Stray Drop of Blood and At His Feet.
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Traditional Neopolitan or New York style crust topped however you please.
2 Large Pizzas
1 hour
24-72 hours
Dinner
Inroduction
Well over a decade ago, I made it my mission to master pizza making. I wanted to be able to turn out pizzeria-quality pies from my kitchen, and I wanted to be able to do it on demand. I wanted the results to be consistent and to make my picky kids declare it delicious.
Happily, after years of trial and error, I managed to do just that. This pizza recipe has a delicious New York or Neopolitan style dough that works up perfectly every time, and is SO flavorful from the long rest time in the fridge. And that’s the secret: you MUST make this dough ahead of time and let the flavors develop. At least 24 hours, but up to 72. After it’s done its slow rise in the fridge, you can freeze it if you make a double batch or end up postponing your pizza night. When you’re ready to make them, just let it defrost in the fridge overnight. When it’s time to stretch the dough, be generous with the flour! Put each dough round into a bowl of flour and turn it to coat it fully on all sides before you begin working it.
Next: Cheese. Use whole-milk mozzarella as your main cheese. Skim mozzarella doesn’t melt the same and will burn too quickly under the high heat necessary to crisp up the crust to perfection. I usually put down a light layer of whole milk mozz and then fill in with a 6-cheese Italian blend.
I usually make my own sauce too, so that’s part of the recipe, but if you’re running short on time, a jar of marinara or pizza sauce works just as well. If you make your own, remember to do so early in the day so it has time to cool. If hot, the sauce will melt the dough.
The final trick: preheat your pans along with your oven, especially if you’re using stones (recommended)! A hot pan gets the bottom of the crust crispy at the same rate as the top, eliminating the problem of uncooked, soggy dough in the middle of your pizza.
Ingredients
Instructions
Recommended Equipment
For the dough
For the crust preparation
For the sauce
For the toppings
In Shadowed Loyalty, Sabina and Lorenzo enjoy a few slices of cheese pizza from Pompei’s, a pizzaria still in operation today! Though these days “Chicago pizza” means deep dish, not so in the 1920s. They still would have been eating the classic Neopolitan crust that is now deemed “New York style.”
My characters in A Royal Tea enjoy a good pizzaria pie too!
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We’ve probably all come across those cutesy, old-timey signs, right? “Ye Olde Sweets Shoppe” or the like. Cutsey and old-timey because they’re using spellings no longer in use, which our modern eyes immediately recognize as coming from the 18th century or earlier.
What most of us don’t realize is that in this case, “Ye” is not pronounced like yee, the also-old-timey word for you. Nope. Wanna guess how it’s pronounced?
Like “the.”
Cue the lightbulbs…and the questions. Why, you ask, would we pronounce it in the familiar way but spell it with a Y?
Answer: it’s not actually a Y. It’s a combination-letter called Thorn. Way back in the days of Old English, this letter, which came from Scandinavia and to English by way of Scotland, was used for the “th” sound. It looked a bit like a p with a tall staff.
As Old English turned into Middle English, using this digraph became more and more popular, especially with short words like “the” and “that.” But at the same time, the writing of the letter became less and less distinct. That p-looking thing became more of a y-looking thing. And rather than take up horizontal space with the whole word, people started using a superscript e to write “the.”
This persisted for a good long time…but during that time, printers became more and more popular. Only, printers didn’t like creating separate type for all the combo letters that were around. So instead, they used a “standard” letter to represent the digraph. In this case, they used a Y for the “th”-sounding thorn.
And that, my friends, is why so many things say “ye” when they really meant “the.” It never would have been pronounced with a y-sound…it was just a typesetting shortcut for what everone knew was a th-sound.
Fun tidbit: Icelandic is the only surviving language that still has the letter thorn!
This traditional Cornish take on a classic meat hand-pie is a savory meal that will transport you straight to Land’s End.
8
30 minutes
1.25 hours
Dinner
Inroduction
I ate my first Cornish pasty at Land’s End in Cornwall, looking out at the rugged coastline. I came home on a mission: must…recreate…this…recipe! I tried many different crusts. A few variations on the filling. And I can say in all honesty that this is the closest of all them to authentic Cornish fare!
The crust needs a little tang, but the orange juice doesn’t just provide that, it helps give it a stretchy consistency while rolling, but it still bakes up flaky, with a perfect amount of chewiness. You’ll likely encounter debates on what “proper” Cornish pasty filling should include…these days there are many varieties, and you can certainly try fillings that suit your tastes. I found that the absolute “traditional” ingredients listed here are delicious, even though I don’t usually like turnips. They provide a nice bite without being overpowering.
Ingredients
For the Crust
For the Filling
This recipe was included in the back of There’s No Place Holmes, and pasties are also mentioned in A Name Unknown and enjoyed by all the locals in the Secrets of the Isles books too.
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