The pleasures of sharing a meal

For those of you that don't know me, one of the things I really enjoy is food. I love cooking, baking, grilling, eating, potlucks, buffets, fine cuisine, colorful food, strange food, and the best: sharing a home cooked meal.

Some would agree, that growing up in Hispanic culture, food marks a big part of its traditions and family life style. Even though culture may be changing now, if you are a female who grew up in a Hispanic home, you were taught about food. You helped mom when it was time to fix dinner, you observed and learned and maybe passively but some how you started picking up on how to cook food; techniques and recopies. You accompanied her to do the grocery shopping, and you picked up on how to ask for meats at the butcher, how to tell if something is ripe, what meals can be maid on a budget etc. All that had to do with food, you learned. Most importantly however is the practice of being raised around the dinner table and the sharing of a meal and conversation. I don't want to make a blanket statement here and say that all girls are raised like this; families are different obviously, but this was, at least speaking for myself and many of my friends the way we were raised. As you can see then, food to me has been one of the constant joys in my life. Surely I knew that whether it was sunny, or stormy, whether mom felt well or not, whether we were poor or rich, whether it was a special occasion, or just another ordinary day, that there would be food on the table and that we would sit around the table and share; share a meal, share how our day was.

I have been very blessed, in having been able to partake in such a wonderful family, and to have been blessed with such delicious nourishment. From those of you that know me, know that my parents are divorced, and well not saying that family life was always a bliss, but one thing is for sure, I am blessed in having been able to have shared those meals with my family. I even have friends sometimes remind me of times that they shared a meal with my family, I may not remember, my mom may not remember, but the mere fact that they remember, tells you how meaningful sharing a meal can be. Not only is this true of friends having dinner with my family, but I also remember spending countless times eating at a friends house, always feeling welcomed.

I enjoy food for many reasons. First of all I really take pleasure in cooking because I have the power to create. I can prepare a feast, or soup for one. I have the ability to make art with food. If we think about it, food appeals to many of the senses. It can be colorful. It can be noisy, take that crackling candy for instance, or the whistle of a kettle. It can smell good. It can taste good, and have different textures. Another reason why I enjoy cooking is the fact that you can bring someone pleasure. It makes me and many moms and dads and people that love cooking, bringing satisfaction to someone's taste buds happy. Another reason that I enjoy cooking is that it gives me an appreciation for everything my mom taught me, all those times she dragged me to the grocery store as I threw a temper tantrum, all those times she made me help with dinner, and those countless times that we prepared food that was mostly eaten on special occasions. I enjoy cooking because it gives me a reason to invite someone over for dinner and company. It gives us an opportunity to be hospitable.

Hospitality is a major theme in religious context. Hospitality often entails food. Worship, thousands of years ago, took place in the home; this would entail the practice of washing your guests feet at their arrival, and of sharing a meal around the table. Consider Jesus' last supper and the common practice of communion. What would it be like to have been that “chosen” person where Jesus and his disciples dined for the Last Supper?

“Something holy happens around a dinner table that will never happen in a sanctuary. In a church auditorium you see the backs of heads. Around the table you see the expressions of faces. In the auditorium one person speaks; around the table everyone has a voice. Church services are on the clock. Around the table there is time to talk.” Lucado Pg 56.

“Even more, open your circle. Be certain to invite not just the affluent and successful, “but when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed” Luke 14:13-14

Max Lucado, in his book: Outlive Your Life, offers us some insightful advice on how to be hospitable. He encourages us to offer an invitation. It could be anyone, this person may be a single person who eats alone every night, it could be an elderly neighbor who may receive very little meaningful contact with anyone, or a teenager who feels left out. He invites us to be someone's hospital. Not only can we feed their bellies but we can also feed their soul. Lucado instructs us to make that invitation and not to worry about the detail.

Remember this: “What is common to you is a banquet to someone else. You think your house is small, but to the lonely heart, it is a castle. You think the living room is a mess, but to the person whose life is a mess, your house is a sanctuary. You think the meal is simple, but to those who east alone every night, pork and beans on paper plates tastes like filet mignon. What is small to you is huge to them. Open your table.” Lucado Pg 58

Another one of my favorite examples in the religious context is that of Mother Teresa. “I didn't bring more rice that evening because I wanted them to enjoy the joy of sharing.”

Take time to be personal, in a society that is now impersonal, efficient, and isolated. Everyone walks around with headphones, separating themselves from society, texting away, surfing the net, on an electronic world, making banking transactions with machines. Be personal, open up your home. The following are good practices in how to open up your home. Issue a genuine invitation, make a big deal of your guests arrival and lastly address the needs of your guests.

I would hope that after having read this, you would consider my advice and make that invitation. Secondly, some of you maybe can answer this for me, because I can't find the answer, I can posit some ideas as to why, but just wondering: why is the host of the Last Supper not mentioned by name in the Bible?

This blog was brought to you by the one and only Hide Michel, previously known as Hide Flores. Wife, sister, daughter, niece, cousin, grand-daughter, friend, lover of all that is good. Stay tuned for more blogging.

Life is like a film production

Live life as if you were directing a production

Be emotional, be intense, be dramatic. Don't be afraid to put your self out there. Always strive to show your best face. Always be in character. Edit your actions and thoughts, cut out destructive behavior, get rid of abusive relationships. Shine light on new ideas, big projects. Be creative, make art! Most importantly make choices, you choose how to direct your life; your production.

Life is about making choices, like a director, you choose what comes, what goes, what needs more emphasis, what needs to be toned down. You have a choice of how to live your life, why not choose the good?

IT'S QUIET. It's early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. The world is still asleep.
The day is coming.
In a few moments the day will arrive. It will roar down the track with the rising of the
sun. The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day. The calm of
solitude will be replaced by the pounding pace of the human race. The refuge of the early
morning will be invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met.
For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day's demands. It is now that I must
make a choice. Because of Calvary, I'm free to choose. And so I choose.
I choose love . . .
No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will
love God and what God loves.
I choose joy . . .
I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be
cynical . . . the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than
human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an
opportunity to see God.
I choose peace . . .
I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.
I choose patience . . .
I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my
place, I'll invite him to do so. Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank
God for a moment to pray. Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments, I will face
them with joy and courage.
I choose kindness . . .
I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And
kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.
I choose goodness . . .
I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will
boast. I will confess before I will accuse. I choose goodness.
I choose faithfulness . . .
Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will
not question my word. My wife will not question my love. And my children will never
fear that their father will not come home.
I choose gentleness . . .
Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice may it be only in
praise. If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of
myself.
I choose self-control . . .
I am a spiritual being. After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what
will rot, rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be
impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by
Christ. I choose self-control.
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek his grace.
And then, when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest.

~ When God Whispers Your Name, Max Lucado

Hide's Mad Tea Party

This blog is a mixture of genres. Fiction and non fiction/ history. The layout is as follows. I am sharing a meal with five people of my choosing. It can be anybody, real, fictional, dead or alive. I did a little bit of research, most of this information I have previously read in books and just remember, or I took off Wikipedia. Yes I understand that Wikipedia is not necessarily considered a good source to cite, but given the fact that this is one: my blog, two: a fictional hypothetical instance, and three: most of the stuff that I have quoted or stated I have previously read in reliable primary source, but this isn't school so I don't feel like taking out the books and citing, did enough of that in grad school. Oh yeah fourthly, if you don't believe something than look it up lazy. Having said that, lets move on to the setting.

Just for kicks and giggles, I would imagine myself at the table of the Mad Hatter having tea, surrounded by excellent company including that of the Mad Hatter, Van Gogh, Einstein, Mother Teresa, da Vinci, and Dali. Not sure how the conversation would go down, but that's reserved for another blog . I have composed a short summary of these figures, their accomplishments and some of the qualities I admire in them. I have also come up with a series of questions that I would ask each of these figures if I had the chance. Here we go!

“As we advance in life it becomes more and more difficult, but in fighting the difficulties the inmost strength of the heart is developed.” - Van Gogh

Famously known for having cut off part of his left ear lobe, Van Gogh was a suffering artist. He was afflicted with mental illness. Some posit bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, temporal lobe epilepsy among others. His work makes use of vivid colors and great emotion.

Surprisingly, Van Gogh was a Christian man. He wanted to be a pastor and preach. During his ministry he lived a life of squalor; sharing in the pain of those he preached to, sleeping on straw in a small hut and eating meagerly.

I would like him at my table because not only do we share an aspect of craziness, not to the same extreme, but to some degree. Secondly I see him as a figure who suffered a great deal and his paintings clearly and vividly portray this. Also it is nice to know that if a crazy man such as Van Gogh attempted ministry why can't I. I have been giving ministry some though, and it gives me comfort to know that God uses people of all walks of life. I appreciate his honest attempt at ministry in sharing the hardships of those he preached to. Strong, honest and humble.

If I could ask Van Gogh a question, it would be:

• If today's medication and medical treatments were available to you, would you make use of them, if so, how would it have affected your art, and in what way?

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“"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." - Einstein

Father of modern physics, and author of the theory of general relativity. Thought enemy of the German regime, and found on a magazine; a list of names : “Not yet hanged.” America welcomed Einstein, as he escaped Nazi controlled Germany.

“I made one mistake when I signed the letter to president Roosevelt recommending that an atom bomb be made.” Einstein did not want to risk Hitler having possession of nuclear weapons and opted in the aid of the development of the atomic bomb, also known as the Manhattan Project. Einstein strongly felt however that “war was a disease.”

Einstein was a humanist and supporter of ethical welfare. Einstein received instruction in both the Bible and Talmud. Agnostic in the view of a personal God, he believed in a God closer to that described by the philosopher Spinoza; everything is one substance. “I prefer an attitude of humility corresponding to the weakness of our intellectual understanding of nature and of our own being."

I would like to dine with Einstein because he was a brilliant man. I would ask him to explain to me the concept of time, and explain his theory of relativity. He seems to be so knowledgeable and imaginative when it comes to how the world works. I would like to hear what he has to say about the cosmos and other dimensions.

If I could ask Eistein one question, it would be:

• Is time travel possible, if so what kind of of machine would have be invented, and would you create one, why or why not?

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“Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work.” Mother Teresa

For over 45 years Mother Teresa ministered to the poor, the sick, the orphaned the dying, the unwanted, those shunned and who had become a burden on society. Mother Teresa is responsible for the founding of 610 missions in 123 countries. Mother Teresa, born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu took on this name after the patron st, of missionaries Therese Lisieux, on the day she took her vows. Since someone in her convent had already taken that name she opted for the Spanish spelling Teresa.

One day she got “the call with in the call”"I was to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them. It was an order. To fail would have been to break the faith." The first year she went out, with nothing, having to beg for food and supplies. Soon enough she caught the attention of Indian officials. Mother Theresa eventually developed houses for the dying, hospices for those who suffered from HIV/AIDS, leprosy , she opened counseling services for children, soup kitchens and schools all over the world.

Mother Teresa's philosophy was that suffering brought you closer to God, she believed that it was a gift to be able to share in Christ's suffering. This philosophy greatly affected the way her missions were administered and therefore was criticized by some. She did not believe in administering pain medication, even to those who were dying and in great pain, nor did she make much use of modern medical care. Her primary mission was to bring people to Christ with humanitarianism as a bi-product.

There have been several criticism raised against her two main critics include Colette Livermore who wrote a book about leaving the missions, and Christopher Hitchens. Even though I was taken by surprise and a bit disturbed with some of the charges made against her, I will not dispel them here but will leave that to the readers discretion. I rather celebrate the good she brought about, and her devotion to sharing in the suffering of others, giving them care, love, and a feeling of being wanted.

I want Mother Teresa at my table, because I would like her to share with me how she found the strength to preach and minister, when for a large part of her life she felt abandoned by God. I would like to learn from her how to push forth a cause when one feels not the love, the care or even believes in what they are pushing forth. Obedience, Mother Teresa thought to be important, the Bible however tells us that it is important we wrestle with God, that we question things, so that we can learn and understand from them. God doesn't mind us doing this as long as we are obedient and follow him for the right reasons. I would like her to give me her thoughts on this.

If I could ask Mother Teresa two questions, it would be:

• How do you turn someone in need of help away with grace?

• How can you preach something so strongly that you sometimes don't believe or have faith in? How do you deal in the struggle with faith?

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“Life is pretty simple: You do some stuff. Most fails. Some works. You do more of what works. If it works big, others quickly copy it. Then you do something else. The trick is the doing something else.”- da Vinci

The archetype of a Renaissance man Leonardo da Vinci was a man of many crafts:polymath, painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer. Not only that but he was good looking too!

Famously known for having painted the Mona Lisa. Da Vinci is known to be one of the greatest painters of all time. This painting is loved by many because of the elusive smile, divine almost, the delicateness of the brushstrokes leaving a flawless canvas, no over painting or editing of any kind. He also studied the effects of age, and human emotion on the physiology, something he learned to portray in his paintings.

Da Vinci was very imaginative and creative, he filled journals with drawings with detailed descriptions, he was one of the first to draw a fetus. Among many of the things he designed was a helicopter, musical instruments, even a bridge as part of a civil engineering project. One thing he wold do, is purchase caged birds, and then he would set them free.

I would like da Vinci at my table because I feel that his mere presence would be a delight. It would be nice to delight in someone who has divine gifts, someone who imagines, creates, and solves problems with grace.

If I were to ask da Vinci one question, it would be the following:

• What would you consider are the 3 trades that everyone should learn to do?

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“In order to acquire a growing and lasting respect in society, it is a good thing, if you possess great talent, to give, early in your youth, a very hard kick to the right shin of the society that you love. After that, be a snob.” - Dali

Dali: pompous, unpredictable, crazy, creative, excessive, best known for his bizarre surrealistic paintings. He was admired for the use of paranoiac-critical method, in which one accesses the subconscious for the attainment of greater artistic creativity. He was among one of the first to experiment with holography.

Dali often brought attention to himself more through his actions than his works. His flamboyant mustache exemplified his attitude towards life. He partook in unusual and grandiose behavior. There was a time when he showed up to a lecture in a divers suit, “I was plunging deeply into the human mind.”

One of his famous paintings is The Persistence of Memory. Its a painting of soft, melting pocket watches. This painting typically interpreted as a rejection of the notion of time being rigid or deterministic. Another one of his crazy but famous creations is the lobster telephone which is a combination of a a working telephone with a plaster lobster. It was created so that the lobster's genitalia was aligned with the part of the phone in which one would speak into, and hence aligning the lobster's genitalia to the mouth of the person using the phone. The lobster and telephone for Dali, had strong sexual references. Why he chose to combine these two items is not sure, all we know is that one cannot confuse these two objects, only in the mind can this be done, and if possible in the mind then why not in art. This object clearly exemplifies surrealism.

Dali would be welcome at my table because he colored outside the lines.

The question I would ask Dali is:

• Why did you choose a lobster and a telephone as your subjects?

YOUR TURN

After having read the blog, feel free to answer what you think any or all of these figures would respond to the questions I asked them, or more creatively what the other figures at the table think the answer is to the questions being asked. For example: I asked Dali, why he chose a lobster and a telephone for his subject. You could answer: Dali chose the lobster and the telephone because Dali is crazy.... blah blah blah, or two: you can answer: Mother Teresa thinks that Dali chose the lobster and the telephone as subjects because... blah blah blah, have fun be creative, most important, share your answer and post it in the comments section. I apologize in advance if any of this offends anyone, but again this is fictional in a sense and its all happening in my head.

The two most powerful warriors are patience and time- Leo Tolstoy

Today's post is about patience, anxiety, and the waiting. First and foremost, happy Ground-Hog's day, Punxsutawney Phil has predicted an early Spring :)

Maybe it's a stretch but I find it a bit ironic that today is Ground-Hog Day, anticipation fills the air as Phil usually predicts many more weeks of Winter . Today I woke up and realized that I had to make payments on my credit cards, I felt irritated, impatient and anxious, knowing that I would have to use rent money to make my payments. I felt impatient at the fact that both my husband and I don't have jobs yet, I felt angry because I felt that there was no effort being put into finding jobs. Of course being the great husband he is, he tried making me feel better, making me laugh and made me some coffee. At first it irritated me that he was taking the situation lightly, concurrently trying to keep it together, trying to keep from getting angry or from it ruining my day. I took a few deep breaths, and did some reading. I referred back to passages I have read that remind me of the importance of patience.

On several occasions have I come across this idea of a fast everything nation. Our society demands access to information at crazy speeds, today dial up service is snail speed, today there is drive through for pharmacies, liquor stores and of course fast food. Our philosophy is that of a fast food nation. We expect and demand everything at our fingertips. But if we take a moment to reflect that centuries ago it would take days to transfer information, news, and goods, but today, I can let my grandpa in Mexico know that I am getting married, he can purchase tickets at a click of a mouse and be there with me that same day if he wanted. In a frustrated world, rather than responding with a fast food attitude why not take a breath,; try to understand first rather than be understood.

One of my favorite verses from the bible is “Be still for the Lord and wait patiently for him.” - P.S. 37:7

Don't forget ask, and you shall receive, so, if we pray for patience, surely God will provide you with opportunities in which you will be able to exercise it. We must remember that God's purpose is greater than our pain and has a greater purpose than our problems.

This weekend I had an opportunity to talk to and older couple who was celebrating their 50^th wedding anniversary. In our conversation I was presented with a simple but befitting truth; “take one day at a time.” This advice couldn't be more bona fide.

“Don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will have it's own worries.”- Matthew 6:34

God liberated his children from slavery and created a path through the sea. He gave them a cloud to follow in the day and a fire to see at night. And he gave them food...

Each morning the manna came each evening the quail appeared. “Trust me. Trust me and I will give you what you need.” The people were told to take just enough for one day. Their needs would be met, one day at a time. Lucado p. 34

I would like to challenge you to reflect on an experience that has tested your patience, what made this situation difficult? Secondly list several ways in your everyday life in which you can exercise your patience, eg. waiting in line for groceries, spending time with your kids, etc.

Sources: Everyday Blessings by Max Lucado

Checklist for Life, the ultimate handbook – Thomas Nelson Publishers

Synthesizing and Understanding Energy

We all need a way to materialize or make tangible our thoughts, ideas, feelings etc. This blog will serve many purposes.

* Express feelings
* Network
* Idea sharing
* therapeutic
* .....
* .....
* ..... etc, etc, feel free to add any

At first glance it may seem as this blog is superfluous in optimism , but don't let that deter you from reading further or following this blog. We don't always feel happy, excited, or even feel anything. There are times we feel disturbed, distanced from people, angry, or alone, but it is times like these that we can analyze, understand and grow from. At times it may even feel as though there is a storm with in us, or total loss of control of our emotions. It is times like these we can be productive or imaginative. I know that it is times like these where we need to harness all that negative energy, and synthesize it to give us something new, whether it be an understanding of a relationship, an insight into a problem we are experiencing, a new idea etc.

Being labeled Bipolar by some doctors I think is just a reason to prescribe medications that suppress our feelings... but isn't that just a prescription for dehumanizing people? I think I just need to find ways to manage and cope and live with my emotions, and harness them for something good rather than destructive behavior. After all one of the things that makes us human is having such an array of emotions. These emotions serve a purpose, they tell us what is going on with our selves in relation to other people and the world. So yes this blog will be dark at times, it will be excessive in optimism, it will be creative and inquisitive; I am not prescribing any one format or purpose for this blog, but rather a way for me to express myself, connect with others, find my gifts and talents, and a way to understand this world.