Derek's space

Serves 6 people

 

 

50g/2oz butter

175g/6oz frozen spinich

1x medium size onion, finel chopped

25g/1oz flour

300ml/1/2 pint of chicken stock

568ml/1 pint of milk

salt & pepper

pinch of grated nutmeg

30ml/2tbsp of fresh single cream

 

 

1-Melt the butter in a large pan, & gently saute of the spinich & onions

for 5 minutes. Now add the flour & stir thoroughly : remove from heat.

 

2-Add the chicken stock, return the pan to the heat & boil, stirring continuously

until evrything thickens. Now carefully pour in the milk & bring back to the boil,

stirring. Cover the pan & simmer for 15-20 minutes; season to taste.

 

3-Puree the soup in a blender, & thinen with milk if to thick, re-heat gently.

 

4- Serve wirh chopped Basil or croutons, & pour a little bit of cream in each bowl.

Serve 6 people

 

 

30gr/1 1/2 oz  butter

1x large leek, sliced

2x cloves of garlic, crushed

1x bunch of fresh spinich

 

4x potatoes, peeled & chopped

4x cups/ 1/12 pints of vegtable stock

1/2 cup of our cream

 

 

1- Melt the butter in a large pan, now add the leek & cook over a medium heat

for 10 minutes until soft. Add the crushed garlic & cook for a further minute.

 

2- Wash the spinich, discard the stalks, & shred the spinich. Add to the pan, with

the potatoes & stock & bring to the boil, reduce the heat down to a simmer cover,

& cook for 30 minutes, until the potatoes are soft.

 

3- Ato cool a little for ease of handling,before processing in batches until smooth.

Return to the pan & gently re-heat, without allowing the soup to boil. Stir in the

sour cream & season to taste. Serve with chopped basil or croutons.

 

Serves - 4 people

 

 

25 gr/1 oz of butter

1x small onion chopped finely

675 gr/1 1/2 lb of fresh spinich roughly chopped

1.2 ltr/2 pints of vegtable stock

50gr/2 oz of creamed coconut

Freshly groundnutmeg

300 ml/1 1/2 pints of single cream

Salt & pepper

 

 

1- Melt the butter in a large pan, over a moderate heat. Now saute the onions

for a few minutes, until soft. Add the spinich, cover the pan & cook gently for 10

minutes, until the spinich has wilted & reduced down.

 

2- Pour the spinich mixture into a blender of food processor & add a little of the stock.

Blend until smooth.

 

3- Return the mixture to the pan & add the remainig stock & the coconut, with salt & pepper

& nutmeg to suit your taste. Simmer for 15 minutes to thicken.

 

4- Add the cream to the pan, stir well & heat through, but do not allow it to boil. Serve hot

with either chopped chives or crouton.

 

 

LIVING WATER (Text Version)
An Outreach Publication of the Church of Christ

The Gift

Oseola McCarty spent most of her life washing and ironing clothes for the well-to-do of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Miss McCarty always dreamed about becoming a nurse, but had to drop out of school after the 6th grade to help support her mother, grandmother and an aunt. She continued to “take in laundry” until arthritis in her hands forced her to retire from washing and ironing in December 1994, at the age of 86.

McCarty's lifelong work ethic and generous heart drew global attention after it was announced in July of 1995 that she would will $150,000 of her life's savings to the University of Southern Mississippi to provide scholarships for deserving students in need of financial assistance to continue their education.

Where had she obtained that kind of money? She had lived frugally, saved carefully, and invested wisely. In the beginning, she said, she charged $1.50 to $2 a bundle, but, with inflation, the price rose. "When I started making $10 a bundle -- I don't remember when ... sometime after the war -- I commenced to save money," she recalled. "I put it in savings. I never would take any of it out. I just put it in. It just accumulated."Amazingly, she had saved the $150,000 -- representing about 60 percent of her life's savings -- washing and ironing other people's clothes for 75 years.

At the age of 87, Miss McCarty decided that there was something better to do with her savings than spend it on herself. “I thought it best to give it to some child to get an education,” she said.

People in Hattiesburg call her donation ‘the GIFT’," Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times correspondent Rick Bragg wrote after interviewing McCarty in August of 1995. Miss McCarty received scores of awards and other honors recognizing her unselfish spirit including the Presidential Citizens Medal, the nation's second highest civilian award, presented to her by President Bill Clinton during a special White House Ceremony. She also won the United Nation's coveted Avicenna Medal for educational commitment.

She was embarrassed by all the attention, but when asked by reporters why she had done what she had done, she borrowed some familiar words: “It’s more blessed to give than to receive – I’ve tried it.” *

Miss McCarty was quoting Acts 20:35 – “And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

Miss McCarty’s generosity reflects not only the WORDS of Jesus, but also His LIFE and His DEATH. Jesus “gave Himself for our sins” (Galatians 1:4) so that we might have forgiveness and the hope of an eternal inheritance in Heaven (1 Peter 1:3-5).

These blessings are included in “The Gift” of salvation that He will give to those who respond to Him in loving obedience. To receive His Gift, one must believe in Him (Acts 16:30-31), turn from sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Him before men (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).

Because of the indescribable generosity (grace) of God, THE GIFT is available to you!

Won’t YOU accept it on His terms?

-- David A. Sargent, Minister
davidsargent1@comcast.net

LIVING WATER (Text Version)
An Outreach Publication of the Church of Christ

For Goodness Sake...

Last month the American Humanist Association unveiled a $40,000 holiday ad campaign to promote its ideals to others. The AHA has produced ads that are currently appearing on Washington D.C. buses proclaiming,“Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness’ sake.”

Many will recognize some of these words (“be good for goodness’ sake”) as those from the song, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” The campaign is designed to counteract the association of the Christmas holidays with traditional religion. Fred Edwords, spokesman for the humanist group, explained their intentions saying, “We are trying to plant a seed of rational thought and critical thinking and questioning in people’s minds.”Speaking of rational thought and critical thinking, consider the following question:

“From where does morality originate?”

The answer is that morality either comes from matter, man, or God....

Morality cannot come from MATTER. What can a rock teach us about good and evil? Obviously, nothing!

The AHA and others suggest that morality must come from MAN. The AHA defines humanism as “a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism, affirms our responsibility to lead ethical lives of value to self and humanity.”But still there are the issues of “What is ethical?” and “What is moral?”

It is undisputed that man has a sense of “ought.” Every person has a conscience that operates based upon the standard that he/she has accepted for one’s conduct. From where did this capacity for what one “ought” and “ought not” to do originate?

Friends, our sense of “ought,” our consciences, are evidence that we were created by a Moral Creator. This Creator the Bible calls, “God.” As American Family Association President Tim Wildmon has stated, “God in His Word, the Bible, tells us what’s GOOD and BAD; RIGHT and WRONG. If we are each ourselves defining what’s good, it’s going to be a crazy world.”

God has given us not only the capacity to know what’s right and wrong, He has also given us the Standard of Morality: His Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

As we compare ourselves with THE Standard of Morality which reflects the holiness of God Himself, we come to a painful realization: we are not good! "There is none righteous, no, not one … There is none who does good, no, not one. For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:10, 12, 23).

But God is Good AND Loving. He sent His Son to die on the cross as payment for our sins (Ephesians 1:7). He is ready and willing to forgive our sins if we will believe
in and trust His Son (Acts 16:30-31), turn from our sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Him before men (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). Then, out of gratitude for what He has done for us through Christ, God wants us to go about doing GOOD, as He has defined it (Ephesians 2:10).

Trust and obey Christ for your soul’s sake. Then be good, for God’s sake!

-- David A. Sargent, Minister
davidsargent1@comcast.net

LIVING WATER (Text Version)
An Outreach Publication of the Church of Christ

He Saved Others...

Sean Dusinberre and two of his sons, Joshua and Dylan, were on their way home last Tuesday, November 18, after a trip to Buffalo to watch the Bills play the Cleveland Browns on Monday night. Snow covered the ground on this cold day in rural western New York.

Suddenly, the Pontiac Grand Am in which they were riding slid off of the snowy road over the top of a short steep hill, veered to the right, vaulted over newly planted rows of tiny pine trees, and bolted down a snow-laden grassy slope into a 12-foot-deep manmade pond.

Reacting quickly, Sean kicked out the driver’s-side window of the car, pushed 13-year-old Joshua out into the murky, frigid water and then followed him to the surface with 3-year-old Dylan on his back. Joshua reached the bank of the 100-yard-wide pond and after coughing up water, ran screaming for help. When emergency crews arrived, they found Dylan floating in the water, performed CPR, and rushed him to a nearby hospital.

There was no sign of the boys’ 37-year-old father. He had collapsed back into the water and drowned. Divers found his body in the silt about four hours later.

He saved his sons, but he could not save himself. “He was a hero in saving his two sons,” stated Ontario County’s undersheriff, David Tillman. “He certainly put the lives of his kids first.”

As Jesus was dying on the cross, the chief priests of the Jews mocked Him saying, “He saved OTHERS; but He cannot save HIMSELF” (Mark 15:31). Their words were partly true.

By dying on the cross, Jesus purchased the salvation of all that would trust and obey Him. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24).

“He saved OTHERS” is a true statement. His atoning death will cover the sins of those who: believe and trust Him (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Him before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) in His name for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).

“He cannot save HIMSELF” was NOT a true statement. When one of His disciples drew his sword to prevent the angry mob from taking Jesus away to be crucified, Jesus said, “Put your sword back in its place … Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:52-53).

He COULD have saved Himself, but He DIDN’T!

WHY NOT?

He could not do BOTH! He could not save others AND Himself. Had He aborted the rescue mission to suffer and die for sinful man and saved Himself, ALL of humanity would have been lost!

He thought of US first! He gave His life for us so that we might be saved from our sins.

Won’t YOU submit your life to this Loving Savior so that you, too, can be saved?

-- David A. Sargent, Minister
davidsargent1@comcast.net

Church of Christ at Creekwood

LIVING WATER (Text Version)
An Outreach Publication of the Church of Christ

Safe Landing

Jim O’Neill, 65, a pilot with 18 years of experience, was flying solo earlier this month in his four-seater Cessna from Glasgow, Scotland, in route to Colchester, England, when he suddenly realized that his flight instruments had become blurred. Initially, he thought that the bright sunlight had obscured his view, but his vision didn’t improve. Medical tests later revealed that he had suffered a stroke, caused by a blood clot that was pressing against his optic nerve, causing him to go blind in one eye and leaving limited vision in the other. Flying at 15,000 feet, O’Neill’s situation became an immediate emergency.

O’Neill contacted flight traffic control and was put in contact with the North Yorkshire Royal Air Force (RAF) base. By then, O’Neill’s Cessna has descended to 4,500 feet, veering off course, and in serious trouble. RAF air traffic control operators made six attempts to talk him down to a runway at a nearby airport but failed each time. Even though it was the middle of the day and the skies were clear, the stricken pilot was unable to see two runways as he repeatedly flew over them. Flight controllers then directed him to RAF Linton-on-Ouse, a former RAF bomber base. Here there was a very large runway. After two more failed efforts to guide O’Neill by radio to the correct location, RAF air traffic control called for back-up.

Royal Air Force pilot, Wing Commander Paul Gerrard, responded to the call. In his Tucano T1 jet trainer, Gerrard flew alongside the retired businessman and, aided by radar controllers, managed to guide O’Neill safely to ground.*

We can ALL relate to Jim O’Neill, because each of us has been ”blinded” as a result of our sin (cf. 2 Cor. 4:4) and are headed for sure DESTRUCTION (Matthew 7:13-14).

We need GUIDANCE in order to obtain a safe landing! Jeremiah the prophet described our situation saying, “O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps” (Jeremiah 10:23). The book of Proverbs says it this way: "There is a way that seems right to every man, but in the end, it leads to DEATH!" (Proverbs 16:25).

But because of His great love for us, God sent Jesus to our rescue... (John 3:16). Jesus came to our side and provided instruction for a “safe landing.” In order to be saved from sin and have eternal life in heaven, we must follow His instructions. He has instructed us to believe and trust Him (Acts 16:30-31), turn from our sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Him before men (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized (immersed) in His name for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). If we will continue to follow His instructions, He will lead us safely to LIFE eternal (1 John 1:7).

Although we have been blinded by sin, we do not have to despair! A divine Pilot has been sent to our rescue. We need to trust Him! He will lead us to a safe landing IF we follow His instructions.

Won’t YOU?

-- David A. Sargent, Minister
davidsargent1@comcast.net

LIVING WATER (Text Version)
An Outreach Publication of the Church of Christ

What We Can't See

For millennia the mystery of disease had puzzled mankind. Various theories had been put forth as to why people became ill, such as spontaneous generation, evil spirits, an imbalance of bodily “humors,” and bad air caused by eclipses and comets, among other conjectures.

Anton van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723) of Delft, Netherlands, was employed in the textile business there where magnifying lenses were used to perform thread count in cloth. He began to hone his skill in grinding and polishing miniature lenses of high curvature, and magnifications of several hundred power. His curious mind led him to prepare specimens of the natural environment and examine them through his new lenses. These revealed, to his amazement, a new world of life, including what he called “tiny animals.” van Leeuwenhoek thus became the first person to ever see bacteria and is commonly called “The Father of Microbiology.”

When people such as Louis Pasteur in France began to assert that such microscopic organisms might cause disease and steadfastly insisted that surgeons sanitize their hands and equipment before surgery, they were often met with resistance and even ridicule. Many scientists and physicians found it ridiculous that something so tiny could harm a human being and would viciously attack proponents of such “quackery.” Doctors such as Ignaz Simmelweis of Vienna, who insisted that doctors cleanse themselves before delivering babies, were made outcasts in the medical community. Of course, in time, Simmelwies, Pasteur and others would be vindicated as the danger came to be realized.*

Sin can also mislead people in a very similar way bacteria did in times past. Indeed many today view sin as a harmless and meaningless threat to their well-being, ridiculing and scorning those who point out its devastating effects on human existence. Despite the age-old euphemism, wisdom leads us to realize that....what we can’t see … CAN, in fact, hurt us!

“For the wages of sin is DEATH, but the gift of God is ETERNAL LIFE through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). God loved us so much that He gave His Son to die on the cross to save us from the devastating effects of sin (John 3:16). He will save those who respond to this amazing gift of God’s grace on His terms: believing in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turning from sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confessing Christ (Romans 10:9-10), and being baptized (immersed) in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).

Although we may not see its effects immediately, sin WILL ultimately DESTROY us!

But God has a remedy: the BLOOD of Jesus. YOU can be cleansed of sin
-IF- you will respond in trusting obedience to His will.

Won’t YOU?

 

LIVING WATER (Text Version)
An Outreach Publication of the Church of Christ

Alive and Well

On July 31, 1976, Colorado’s Big Thompson Canyon experienced one of the most deadly flash floods in American History. 144 people were believed to have perished in the flood. That number is now 143 after Darrell Johnson, one of five assumed victims whose bodies were never found, was found alive and well...

Johnson was believed to be staying in a small cabin in the Big Thompson Canyon when the flash floods washed away the cabin and 417 other homes. Even though his body was never found, Johnson was counted among the dead.

Recently, however, as plans were being formulated for a memorial plaque to commemorate the names of all of the victims, residents of the Canyon tried to locate the victims who were still unaccounted for so they didn't list any survivors among the dead. That's when they found Darrell Johnson ALIVE and well in Oklahoma. The 63-year-old Johnson told a news reporter that he didn’t know he had been counted among the 144 victims until one of the residents called him last year.

Johnson and his family had indeed rented a cabin in the Canyon just prior to the flood. But because they found the condition of the cabin unsatisfactory, they left the cabin after just one night. In just a few hours after their departure, the resort – including the shabby cabin – was washed away. *

Although many may not recognize it, each of us is considered “DEAD” due to our sin. The Apostle Paul wrote to Christians in Ephesus: “you were dead in your transgressions and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). Sin is deadly because it separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2) and dooms the sinner to the “SECOND DEATH” (Revelation 21:8).

It is God’s will, however, that we recognize our deplorable condition due to sin and – like the Prodigal Son, desire to leave it! (Luke 15:11-32)

Because of His GREAT love for us, God has provided a Way out of sin and its condemnation of death. He has extended His grace to us through the gift of His Son (Ephesians 2:4-9). Jesus paid the price for our sins on the cross (Ephesians 1:7). Although we are DEAD in our transgressions and sins, God can make us ALIVE through Christ (Ephesians 2:5).

God will raise us up to walk in newness of life when we: believe in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31),turn from our sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of our sins (Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3-4).

We are DEAD in sin, but we can be found alive and well in Christ!Are YOU in Christ?