Bacon strikes again. My father-in-law has recently been (quite successfully) baking bacon, rather than cooking it on the stove. It’s crispier and somehow more succulent and tasty. Mmmm… bacon. We do it that way now, and it looks like this:
Cook it on just under 300 degrees for anywhere between 45-60 minutes. Yes, it takes about an hour to get it right. But if you time it to be ready with the rest of your breakfast, it’s worth the wait.
And, yes, you may pin this. Just use the button on the right at the bottom of this post.
I would like to thank the snow for making such a breakfast possible this morning.
This week in Greek Isaiah in a Year covers Isaiah 20 and 21–two full chapters! And this time, I’m including an English translation–one that is in the public domain by R.R. Ottley.
Here is the schedule and text for Monday through Friday, using again the text from Ottley’s Book of Isaiah According to the Septuagint. Ottley is also here in Logos (reviewed here) and here as a free, downloadable pdf in the public domain. The full reading plan for our group is here (pdf).
20 1 In the year when Tartan came to Azotus, when he was sent by Sargon king of the Assyrians, and warred against Azotus and took it,
2 Then spake the Lord to Isaiah, saying, Go, and take off the sackcloth from thy loins, and loose thy shoes from thy feet, and so do, walking naked and barefoot.
3 And the Lord said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot, three years there shall be signs and wonders to the Egyptians and Ethiopians.
4 For thus shall the king of the Assyrians lead away the captivity of Egypt and of the Ethiopians, young men and old men, naked and barefoot, uncovered, the shame of Egypt.
5 And the Egyptians shall be ashamed and discomfited concerning the Ethiopians, upon whom the Egyptians had trusted, for they were their glory.
6 And they that dwell in this isle shall say, Behold, we had trusted to flee unto them for help, who could not be saved from the king of the Assyrians; and how shall we be saved?
21 1 As a tempest passeth through the desert, coming from a desert, from the land. Fearful
2 is the vision, and hard, that was proclaimed to me. He that setteth at nought doth set at nought, and he that transgresseth doth transgress.
The Elamites are upon me, and the envoys of the Persians are coming against me. Now will I mourn, and will comfort myself.
3 Therefore are my loins filled with faintness, and pangs have taken hold of me, as her that travaileth; I did wrong, so as not to hear, I laboured earnestly so as not to see.
4 My heart wandereth, and my transgression overwhelmeth me; my soul turneth to fear.
5 Prepare the table, drink, eat; stand up, ye rulers, and prepare shields.
6 For thus saith the Lord to me, Go, set thee a watchman, and whatsoever thou seest, tell it.
7 And I saw two mounted horsemen, one mounted an an ass, and one mounted on a camel. Hear with diligent hearing,
8 And call Uriah to the watch tower of the Lord. And he said, I have stood continually by day, and over the camp I stood the whole night,
9 And behold, he himself cometh, mounted on a two-horse chariot. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen: and all her mages and the works of her hands are crushed into the earth.
10 Hear, ye that are left, and are in anguish, hear what I have heard from the Lord of Hosts: the God of Israel hath proclaimed it to us.
The vision of Idumæa.
11 To me ye call from Seir, Watch ye (the) battlements.
12 I watch at morning, and through the night; if thou inquire, inquire, and dwell beside me.
13 In the forest shalt thou lie down at evening, in the way of Dedan.
14 Bring water to the thirsty to meet him, ye that dwell in the and of Teman; meet ye with loaves them that flee,
15 Because of the multitude of them that flee, and because of the multitude of them that wander, and because of the multitude of the sword, and because of the multitude of the bows that are bent, and because of the multitude of them that are fallen in the war.
16 For thus said the Lord to me, Yet a year, as the year of an hireling, the glory of the sons of Kedar shall fail,
17 And the remnant of the bows of the strong sons of Kedar shall be few; for the Lord, the God of Israel, hath spoken.
See here for more resources and links to texts for Greek Isaiah.
And here are the Week 16 readings above, but in pdf form.
“My First Hidden Pictures” and “That’s Silly!” are two favorite features of the magazine. It says it’s for ages 2 to 6, but it’s hard to imagine any two-year-old tracking with it. Better for slightly older kids.
It comes from the National Wildlife Federation. Given our five-year-old’s penchant for all things animal kingdom, this one is a hit. Today we learned from the April 2013 issue that giant tortoises can live to be 150 years old. Whoa.
From the Cricket Magazine Group, Ladybug is the next age level up from Babybug (see below). Max and Kate are a fun ongoing storyline each month. Our five-year-old transitioned to this a year or more ago when he was getting too old for Babybug.
The awesomeness of this magazine caught us all unaware–I’d never heard of it before a grandparent-sponsored subscription began arriving in the mail. The March 2013 issue theme is “The deep blue sea.” Our five-year-old did the “make a fish” project on his own right away, with some scissors and glue. The magazine’s “Ocean Zones” section this month introduced us to the sunlight zone, the twilight zone, and the midnight zone, each of which support interesting and diverse kinds of life.
I just found out that Click is part of the same family as Ladybug and as…
Babybug is really sweet. It is “for babies who love to be read to and for the adults who love to read to them.” (It’s good for toddlers, too.) Kim and Carrots is a favorite each month, and always seems to be appropriately themed for the time of year. Simple yet engaging illustrations go with memorable and fun-to-read poetry. No part of the magazine is more than three pages, so not a long attention span is required. It’s not uncommon for us to ask our two-year-old to pick some books to read, and for him to come to us with three Babybugs.
(It’s also not uncommon for me to walk in to the living room from the back of the house and see my five-year-old curled up on the couch with a New Yorker.)
How about any of you who regularly read to children? What magazines do you recommend?
“North American Field Song,” by the Innocence Mission:
Lyrics:
Raincoats, Finlandia,
Raincoats and lakes.
The best words, I take along
in my field bag.
Across the morning, the beautiful air,
I will be aware.
I’ll speak if I dare,
and
Stay calm,
stay calm, stay calm,
stay calm in the meantime,
Stay calm,
stay calm, stay calm,
through the red and the green light,
stay calm.
No one can be so embarrassed as me,
I say to these trees,
where I walk with my head down.
Across the morning, the beautiful air,
I will be aware
my Father is there
and stay calm….
With a puff of white smoke from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel and to the cheers of thousands of rain-soaked faithful, a gathering of Catholic cardinals picked a new pope from among their midst on Wednesday — choosing the cardinal from Argentina, the first South American to ever lead the church.
The new pope, 76, Jorge Mario Bergoglio (pronounced Ber-GOAL-io) will be called Francis, the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. He is also the first non-European leader of the church in more than 1,000 years.
With a puff of white smoke from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel and to the cheers of thousands of rain-soaked faithful, a gathering of Catholic cardinals picked a new pope from among their midst on Wednesday. The name of the new pope, the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, by tradition would not be revealed until he appeared on a balcony on the front of St. Peter’s Basilica.
No name yet, but that will come soon. More here for now.
Here is a prayer from The Valley of Vision, titled “Need of Jesus.” (More on this collection of Puritan prayers is here.)
Lord Jesus,
I am blind, be thou my light, ignorant, be thou my wisdom, self-willed, be thou my mind. Open my ear to grasp quickly thy Spirit’s voice, and delightfully run after his beckoning hand; Melt my conscience that no hardness remain, make it alive to evil’s slightest touch; When Satan approaches may I flee to thy wounds, and there cease to tremble at all alarms. Be my good shepherd to lead me into the green pastures of thy Word, and cause me to lie down beside the rivers of its comforts. Fill me with peace, that no disquieting worldly gales may ruffle the calm surface of my soul. Thy cross was upraised to be my refuge, Thy blood streamed forth to wash me clean, Thy death occurred to give me a surety, Thy name is my property to save me, By thee all heaven is poured into my heart, but it is too narrow to comprehend thy love. I was a stranger, an outcast, a slave, a rebel, but thy cross has brought me near, has softened my heart, has made me thy Father’s child, has admitted me to thy family, has made me joint-heir with thyself. O that I may love thee as thou lovest me, that I may walk worthy of thee, my Lord, that I may reflect the image of heaven’s first-born. May I always see thy beauty with the clear eye of faith, and feel the power of thy Spirit in my heart, for unless he move mightily in me no inward fire will be kindled.
Here is the schedule and text for Monday through Friday, using again the text from R.R. Ottley’s Book of Isaiah According to the Septuagint. Ottley is also here in Logos (reviewed here) and here as a free, downloadable pdf in the public domain. The full reading plan for our group is here (pdf).
Bible translators stand at the intersection of the biblical world and their own, with the task of communicating an ancient text in a contemporary language. The Greek translator of Isaiah provides interesting examples of the issues and problems this task presents. For instance, he sometimes substituted the more familiar names of local Greek deities in place of the long-forgotten names of pagan Semitic deities being denounced. Is it “right” to substitute contemporary terms that would clearly communicate the message to the readers in place of ancient terms and idioms that would be accurate but meaningless? Where do accuracy and clarity meet in “getting it right”?
Sharpen your knife and your priestly reflexes: are you ready for the Ultimate Rule Book? Leviticus!
Play the role of a busy priest working to keep God happy by sacrificing choice offerings of sheep, goats, and bulls with frantic speed and slicing precision. Combo your actions and the rewards get BIBLICAL!
Three sacrificial services a day, seven days a week. Can YOU make it to Shabbat? Download Leviticus! and start swiping to find out!
That’s the real description of this real iPhone and iPad app: Leviticus! It sounds like Fruit Ninja meets the Hebrew Bible.
I don’t think Leviticus can be wholly reduced to a rule book (it is also all about covenant), and I don’t think sacrifices are best described as just an attempt to “keep God happy,” but there is a lot of detail in Leviticus that most of us struggle through when (if) we read it.
Here’s a screen shot. Not for the weak of stomach, though neither is Leviticus the book:
Titled Leviticus!, the game, as its title suggests, is both irreverent and deeply faithful to the source text—all that business about doves and cows and purity is right there in the book. But whereas Leviticus is too thick with rules to make for a very compelling read, it’s perfect when played.
As irreverent as this game first seemed to me, it may actually help one better understand the book. At least, that’s one of its purposes, according to the creator:
And education is at the heart of [Sarah] Lefton’s efforts. The game, she hopes, will do more than just amuse. “We brought something to very visual life that’s normally left on the page,” she said, “and that a lot of people just never study.” Believing that Jewish literacy and digital literacy make for excellent bedfellows—learning how to code and create applications that, in turn, are designed to enhance Jewish education and engagement—she now has future plans that involve not only the production of more games like Leviticus!, but also workshops teaching students and educators how to create their own Jewish-themed software.
The app is free, and found here. I don’t have an iPhone or iPad, so if anyone reading this downloads and tries it, I’d love to hear more about what you think. And it’s not April 1, so, as far as I know, the app is real.
