I'm pretty sure God ordained the "Fall of Man" so we could cook some animals in a mean chili recipe

Normally my posts are more theologically based but I decided to branch out.
This recipe won me the chili cook off at Halloween time. Secret ingredients = beer and chocolate. I wish I could call it a Sixsmith original but I stole it. The recipe book it came from said it won a $20,000 prize.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lb. lean chuck, ground
1 lb. lean pork, ground
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 cup finely chopped onion
8 oz. hunt's tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 can beer (12 oz.)
3 Tablespoons chili powder
2 Tablespoons instant beef bouillon (or 6 cubes)
2 Tablespoons cumin, ground
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons oregano leaves
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon coriander, ground
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon Louisiana hot sauce
1 teaspoon cornmeal
1 teaspoon flour
1 teaspoon warm water


Directions:

1. In a large saucepan brown 1 1/4 pounds of the ground meat (the beef and the pork), drain the fat.

2. Remove meat (the beef and the pork). Brown the rest of the ground meat, drain all but 2 tablespoons of the fat.

3. Add the garlic and onion, cook and stir until tender.

4. Add the other half of the meat and the tomato sauce, water, beer, chili powder, bouillon, cumin, paprika, oregano, sugar, coriander, cocoa, and hot sauce. Mix well.

5. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, covered , for 2 hours.

6. In a small bowl, stir together the cornmeal and flour, then add the warm water and mix well.

7. Stir into chili and cook, covered, for an additional 20 minutes.

The Christian life is not a performance, rather it is an indulgence

Sinclair Ferguson:
"from the New Testament's point of view, those who have almost forgotten about their own spirituality because their focus is so exclusively on their union with Jesus Christ and what He has accomplished are those who are growing and exhibiting fruitfulness. Historically speaking, whenever the piety of a particular group is focused on OUR spirituality that piety will eventually exhaust itself on its own resources. Only where our piety forgets about itself and focuses on Jesus Christ will our piety nourished by the ongoing resources the Spirit brings to us from the source of all true piety, our Lord Jesus Christ."

"Tis the Season to Be Polite

Of course we know that “Merry Christmas” is offensive and that even “Happy Holidays” is religious because it conveys that certain days are holy-days and therefore needs to be omitted for political correctness. But let’s not stop there when there’s still so much to be offended about. “Season’s Greetings” is ofensive in so much as we only use this phrase during the winter season, which implies the other seasons are not a worthy time for greetings or making general acquaintances. The “End of the Year Party” theme needs to be thrown out because it offends all those who may not use the Gregorian Calendar. If you think about it, should we really be sending out such a metaphorical slap-in-the-face to those who prefer the Chinese calendar or some other indigenous form of time tracking? And what about the tribal folk who use no calendar at all? Any mention of winter or a season or a holy day is nothing less than an insensitive disregard to their unfettered sense of timelessness.
But hold on, I’m not finished.
You may at least think you can say “Happy Day” at this point but then you’ve managed to insult those who may not be happy. Think about how insensitive that reference to happiness is to those who are terminally ill or are stuck in slave labor or are starving to death.
At this point you’re probably holding onto the audacious idea that it’s safe to say “Day” to someone. Shame on you. Why should “Day” get all the credit? What about “Night?”
I’m sorry, but your best bet is to remain at your domestic residence, avoid greeting anyone, and avoid the habit of merchandise exchange that is common during this time of year because slave labor makes up a significant percentage of retail items.