Friday, January 1, 2016

The Beginning of Wisdom

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever. Psalm 111:10 NASB

WISDOM! I pondered and prayed about what I should blog about in 2016—or if I should even continue to blog. I prayed, Lord give me wisdom. And then suddenly that was my topic! It was confirmed a couple of times. My doctor had retired and I had to establish care with a new doctor. After discussing several conditions of aging…I’m getting OLD…I half-heartedly joked, “What else do I have to look forward to?”  Dr. M. smiled and said, “The advantage of age is that you get to share your wisdom!” There it was…WISDOM. My Sunday School class also prayed for me…and wisdom was mentioned without me even suggesting it! Aha! So let’s look at Wisdom together this year. I’d be honored if you’d respond with how God has graced you with wisdom in your life experiences.

How do we get wisdom? This verse today tells us that the beginning of wisdom is fear (or respect) of the Lord. God is the source of wisdom. Without giving Him our respect we won’t have the wisdom that we need in life. Praise Him for that…for all things, for He is worthy of our praise.

Praising the Lord and deeply respecting Him is a good way to start the New Year…a good way to start every day. Do you have plans to focus sometime of your day on the Lord every day in this new year? Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3.   

Prayer ~Lord God, please give me wisdom as I begin this new year of 2016. Show me how to apply Your wisdom to my life, following Your commandments, that I can love others for You.

Friday’s Feast at the King’s Table
As usual every Friday is Feast Day—Feasting at the King’s Table. We can’t live on just spiritual food …nor can we live on bread alone. We’ve got to have some meat, veggies and fruit…and some good soup during this cold weather! This Chinese Hot and Sour Soup is one of my husband’s favorites.

Hot and Sour Chinese Soup
5 dried wood ear mushrooms
4 dried shiitake mushrooms
8 dried tiger lily buds, if available
4 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup diced bamboo shoots
½ inch of fresh ginger, peeled and micro-grated
1/3 cup lean shredded pork
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, or rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons water
8 ounce package firm tofu, cubed
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion, for garnish
Dried red pepper flakes, optional, to taste (usually no more than a pinch
Clear rice noodles, if desired
Soak the dried mushrooms and tiger lily buds in warm water for 20 minutes. After trimming off any tough stems, slice the mushrooms. Pull the tiger lily stems apart.
Place the mushrooms, tiger lily buds, stock, bamboo shoots, ginger and shredded pork into a saucepan.  Bring to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes. Soften the rice noodles in warm water, and add to the soup, if desired, about the last 3-5 minutes of the simmering time.
Stir in soy sauce, sugar, salt, white pepper, vinegar and, if more “heat” is desired, add the red pepper flakes. Combine cornstarch with 3 tablespoons water. Add a little of the hot soup to the cornstarch, and then return all to the pan. Heat to boiling, stirring. Add the tofu, and cook 1 to 2 minutes.
Just before serving, turn off the heat. Stir the egg in gradually, over a fork or slotted spoon, making ribbons of egg in the hot soup. Mix in sesame oil. Garnish each serving with scallions.
© 2016 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.

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