Grill er Done!

     With summer upon us, it’s time to get to grillin’. I don’t know too many folks who don’t like grilled hamburgers. We just seem to gravitate toward the grill and that irresistible smell of barbequed burgers. Other than freshly popped popcorn, the aroma of burgers on the grill is one of my favorites.

     But sadly, too often we end up with nothing more that piping hot hockey pucks instead of juicy burgers begging for a bun and all our favorite toppings.

     I’m guilty! I’ve grilled a few burgers which looked, felt and tasted more like blue rock than barbequed burgers. Even the dog wouldn’t touch em!
     Here’s a few tips I’ve found to help grill the best burgers on the block….. Begin with good meat. Good hamburgers are made from ground beef with some fat in it! An 80/20 fat content works well. (Ground sirlion or ribeye are perfect!) The less fat, the drier the burger.
     Chill the meat for about a half hour, then form into patties. Try to avoid overworking the meat. Don’t pound it into shape and avoid compressing the meat too much. This makes your burgers tough. Put a dimple, or a little well in the center of each patty and put them back in the fridge for another half hour or so.
     Get you grill HOT. The idea is to sear the burgers, not slow cook em like a Sunday roast. Scrape you grates – apply some vegetable oil to them. Put your burgers on the grill and leave em alone for about 5 to 6 minutes. If they stick to the grill, you haven't let them sear long enough. Flip em and let them cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, or until done to taste. The thicker the longer. Thin, preprocessed patties will cook a lot quicker (and are drier than homemade).

     Never press down on your burgers on the grill! This only squeezes out the juices, and the juices are the flavor. It’s OK to turn the burgers to get the grill markings, but do smash them with your spatula. (Unless of course, you enjoy burning the hair off your arms from the flames...)

     Just before they are done, put some sliced cheese on the ones who want it. When done, place burgers on a CLEAN plate or platter and let them rest for two to three minutes before serving.

     Have a variety of toppings and plenty of them. Enjoy! As soon as it quits raining – I’m grillin er done!

     Blessings, and pass the ketchup and onions.
     See you Sunday.....

Pastor Eldon

Volunteers & Ideas Needed

We are looking for volunteers and ideas to help with our Summer Children's Sunday School Program.  Charlene is taking the summer off, so anyone interested in helping, please contact Pastor Eldon ASAP.

We are also seeking volunteers and ideas for an Oxford Turkey Days Parade float.  What a fun idea.  If you have any ideas and/or would like to help, please let Pastor Eldon know ASAP @ pastorfab7@aol.com.

THUNDERING GLORY

I get a little excited during this time of year because I know we are into Thunderstorm season!  I must admit that I enjoy watching thunderstorms. There’s just something about a t-storm that intrigues me. Especially when I can watch it begin to form and continue watching as it goes through the stages of development, until it reaches a point where I need to run for cover, or it passes by and beyond my sight.

     Like most of you, I don’t like severe storms, with the 60 plus mile an hour winds, golf ball size and larger hail, and the threat of tornadoes. But they too have a fascination about them.

     Maybe thunderstorms fascinate me so because, in their own right, they display the glory of God in all His power and wonder. Take the lightning for instance, Lighting represents God's glorious and awful majesty. King David used lighting both figuratively and poetically. In Matthew lighting signifies the coming of the Lord. "For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be." (Matt. 24:27)

     The wind - again is symbolic of God’s power. Wind is also translated as pneuma, or breath - as in God breathing life into Adam. Pneuma is also used in terms of the Holy Spirit. In John 20:20 Jesus - "breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

     Clouds, in Hebrew, were used as a symbol of the Divine presence, as indicating the splendor of God's glory. In the Old Testament, Yahweh’s presence is made manifest and his glory shown forth in a cloud. In the New Testament, we read about "the Son of Man coming on or with clouds" and being received up by the clouds. The glory of the Lords second coming is indicated in Rev 1:7 - "Behold, He is coming with clouds....."

     When I see it rain and feel the cool drops on my outstretched hands, I'm reminded that rain is a sign of life all throughout the Bible. Even in Noah's day - for though there came a flood, new life was born. In Lev. 26:4 God says: "then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit."

     Hail and Whirlwinds are both use to denote God's anger and punishment. They remind us that God will have His way and righteousness will prevail.

     And when the clouds have passed and tempest is over, there comes - a rainbow. A beautiful witness of God's divine faithfulness. A reminder of the covenant between God and man. (Gen 1:15) Ezekiel likened the glory of God to "the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain." (Ezek 1:28).

     The next time you see a thunderstorm, remember that after the rain, and lightning, and the wind, there remains a rainbow. And, the next time you see a rainbow, remember the words of Rev 4:3 - "and there was a rainbow around the throne [of God]."

May God's rainbow be about you, now and forever!

Pastor Eldon

Two New Pages!

Just when you thought it was safe to see the blog, I post two new pages.....

'Praise the Lord and Pass the Potatoes'   and   'Over Coffee.....'

These pages are for you to share your thoughts on and enjoy.

Who said a blog can't b fun??? 
Simply click on the link under Pages to the left.

Community Coop

Please check the Page Link at left for our New Page - Community Coop.  If you have anything you wish to buy, sell, trade, or if you are looking for something or for someone to help you with something - click on the Community Coop Page!

Tribute to Mothers

My Mom Always Said....

Besides Jesus Christ, the greatest blessing in my life has been my MOTHER! She has always been there for me, helping me, guiding me, supporting me – and sharing her infinite wisdom with me….. Here are a few words of wisdom she gave me - - -

Money does not grow on trees.  Don't make that face or it'll freeze in that position.  If I talked to my mother like you talk to me....   Always change your underwear; you never know when you'll have an accident.   Be careful or you'll put your eye out.  What if everyone jumped off a cliff? Would you do it, too? You have enough dirt behind those ears to grow potatoes!   Close that door! Were you born in a barn?   If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.    Don't put that in your mouth; you don't know where it's been!   Be careful what you wish for, it might come true.   Don't eat those, they will stunt your growth.   What's meant to be, is meant to be. (Mom only used this when something bad happened or when you experienced a disappointment.)  It doesn't matter what you accomplish, I'll always be proud of you.   I hope that when you grow up, you have kids "Just Like you"!   Because I'm your mother that's why.   This is why we can't have nice things.   If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times.   Eat your vegetables, those children in China would be happy to have some broccoli to eat!   If you fall out of that tree and break you leg , don't come running to me.   Cheer up, the worst is yet to come. (Usually said in advance of grounding.)   Someday your face is going to stick like that.   Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.   Yes, I *AM* the boss of you.   Because I said so.   Just wait till your father gets home.   No dessert till you clean off your plate.   I brought you into this world and I can take you OUT !!   I've got eyes in the back of my head, that's how…   Get that thing out of your mouth! (or nose).   Just you wait until you have kids of your own - then you'll understand!   I slave for hours over a hot stove and this is the thanks I get?!   Honestly... You'd lose your head if it wasn't screwed on! Bored! How can you be bored?   I was never bored at your age.   If you’re bored, I can find something for you to do!!!   Who'll end up walking, bathing and feeding it...?

May God bless our mothers, now and forever!

A Word About Flowers...

A Word About Flowers…..

     I always look forward to springtime when the flowers begin to grow and bloom. I love walking around and looking at the many different types, and varieties of flowers and the settings in which they are growing.

     I try to notice the distinct colors and shapes, from the very delicate to those which are so robust and hardy. Sometimes I can even remember those which are annual and those which are perennial.

     In verses 15 through 17 of Psalms 103, our lives are compared to that of flowers.  Like the beautiful flowers of the fields and in our gardens, our lives are frail, and are subject to the winds and storms of life. We need watered and fed. We bloom for a while and when the wind of time passes over us, we are gone.

     But verse 17 reminds us “the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him …..” It is through God’s Word, prayer and the gathering and fellowship of the saints we are fed and watered. It is through our faith in Jesus Christ that we too become perennial and our lives bloom forever.

     May you blossom as the flowers in your garden – and may the beauty and glory of the Lord be seen in you this day and forever!
Pastor Eldon

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to Dan & Mailnda Hunt on the birth of their new son - Houston Daniel.  Houston was born Monday May 3 at Phelps Memorial Health Center, Holdrege, NE.  He weighed 8 lbs. 11 oz. and was 21 1/4 in. long.
Both Malinda and baby Houston are doing fine!

When You Are Down.....

     Like many of you, I receive scads of e-mails. Most of them seem to be the 'forwarded' type. You know the ones, where you have to scroll through two or three pages of 'forwarded' e-mail addresses before you get to the meat of the matter. And when you finally get to the body of the e-mail, it's interesting - but basically a 'read & delete' proposition.  (I admit - I don't forward very many of them.)
     However, there does come an occasional 'forwarded' e-mail that catches my eye and spurs something inside of me. One such e-mail was a rather long one, but there were two lines in it that really struck me. They read:
     "When you are DOWN to nothing….. God is UP to something!" And, "Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, and receives the impossible."
     These caused me to think about when I have been down - either physically, financially, emotional or even spiritually. Though I may not have seen it at the time, as I look back, I can see how God was working in each situation. And every time I thought I was down to what I thought was nothing, I now can see that God was up to something.
     I confess, what I thought God should have been up to wasn't exactly what He was doing. Instead of filling my checkbook or wallet, or immediately healing me from an illness, I now know that God was UP to something far better. He was UP to filling my heart and mind and healing my spirit and soul!
     It is by focusing on God, and what HE is up to, that my faith grows in Him. It is through faith in Jesus Christ that I can now refocus my attention from the 'I’m down and drowning' cycle to the 'Lord, this might look ugly now, but I know You will make something beautiful from it' position of faith.
     In 1 Corinthians 10:13 Paul tells us: "God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it."
     Like Jesus' forty days in the desert, God is with us too, and He is always UP to something in our lives. It is by faith we see, believe, and receive.  May you receive all God is up to in your life!

May God bless and keep you.....
See you in Church Sunday!
Pastor Eldon