New International Version New Again?

According to a news story I just read, the top-selling Bible in North America will undergo its first revision in over thirty years, modernizing the language in some sections and promising to reopen a contentious debate about changing gender terms in the sacred text.

The New International Version of the Bible will be revised to reflect changes in English usage and advances in Biblical scholarship.  The revision is scheduled to be completed late next year and published in 2011.  The NIV was first published in 1978 and more than 300 million NIV Bibles are in print worldwide; its publishers and distributors say the translation accounts for 30 percent of Bibles sold in North America. 

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Persimmon Pie

A plastic bag full of persimmons appeared at our doorstep while we were out one October morning.  An attached note explained that the bag contained fresh persimmons and that the fruit was sweetest when the skin was slightly wrinkled.  Those wrinkles should have been my first warning.  Never having eaten a persimmon before, I was intrigued by the small round fruits.  How did one prepare them?

I remembered how a newlywed once called my mother for cooking advice.  The woman was having trouble preparing an old family recipe for stewed chicken.  “Mrs. Parke, the recipe says to put the chicken in a kettle, cover with water and simmer for two hours.”  The directions seemed simple enough.  My mother asked what the difficulty was.  “I can’t get the chicken into the kettle.  It won’t go past the spout.”  Suddenly we realized that the young woman was trying to squeeze the chicken into a teakettle!  Now it was my turn to seek advice.  Because my mother was no longer alive, I called an older experienced cook, Ruth, to see if she could suggest a recipe that would use the fruit.  In her eighties, she had a lifetime of wisdom.”  Oh, my husband Bob loved persimmon pie!  He always ordered it whenever we went out!”  Ruth continued, “I’m sure I had a recipe for it once.  I’ll look for it and get back to you.”  The next day Ruth called to say she couldn’t find the recipe.  That should have been my second red flag.  Instead, I pushed ahead.

I typed “persimmon pie recipe” into the search field of the browser on my computer, and sure enough, the browser promptly provided a link to a recipe.  I printed it out and headed to my kitchen.  The recipe called for two cups of persimmon pulp.  There were no directions on how to transform the whole fruit into said pulp, but I washed the fruit, removing the stems and a sharp little thorny stub at the base of each fruit.  Did I need to remove the skins?  The recipe didn’t say.  (Was that yet another red flag waving on the horizon?)  I reasoned, when the whole fruit was only the size of a walnut, what pulp would remain if I tried to remove the skin?  I decided to leave it on.  As I began to mash the fruit into pulp, however, I discovered that each little persimmon contained several large seeds.  Some had as many as five seeds, and by the time I carefully removed these obstacles, what remained in my mixing bowl was something less than the required 2 cups of pulp.  Persevering, I added the remaining list of ingredients – sugar, cornstarch, milk, and an egg.  The result was a mixture that looked like custard with peach-colored flotsam floating on top.  The mix might not be attractive, but it smelled palatable.  I poured the whole business into a fresh unbaked pie crust and tucked it in the oven.  An hour later, the sweet fragrance of persimmons flowed out from my kitchen to the living room where my husband was reading.  We both were anxious to taste the results of my labor.

After allowing the pie to cool, I carefully sliced a piece for each of us and carried it to the table.  How can I describe the flavor of this exotic dessert?  Honestly?  The crust was tender, flaky, and delicious.  The filling?  It was sweet and chewy.  Especially chewy.  Chewy, like caramel-flavored bathing caps.  I called my friend Ruth once again and invited her to come try a piece of my pie.  “Tell me, Ruth,” I asked as we sat at the table, “what was it that your husband liked about persimmon pie?”  My friend smiled.  “Oh, Bob never actually got the pie when he ordered it.  No restaurant ever served it.  He just ordered it to tease the waitress.”  I should have guessed.  Bob was notorious for playing jokes.  When Ruth had told me the day before that she once had a recipe for persimmon pie but could no longer find it, I should have been suspicious.  And now, after tasting my pie, I understood why.  Proverbs 12:11 “A hard-working farmer has plenty to eat, but it is stupid to waste time on useless projects.”  (NLT)

Not To Be Dramatic But…

By Darren Marlar 

One good thing about losing your full-time job is that you suddenly have time to do those things you’ve always wanted to do.  The sad thing about losing your full-time job is that you suddenly have no money to do those things you’ve always wanted to do.  There’s a painful irony for you.  Fortunately, what I wanted to do didn’t require money.  For me, losing my position last week meant I could finally get involved at church, and yesterday I had the opportunity to audition for the drama team.  For those of you who spent all of your time on the football field in high school, I’ll try to clarify.  To audition means to try out.  I had to try out for the drama team.  Fortunately I didn’t have to wear shoulder pads or tight pants.  (Did it never bother you guys that you were wearing the same thing that girls in the 80’s found fashionable for themselves?)

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My Metabolism Retired Before I Did!

By Kathi Macias 

I don’t get it.  I used to be able to skip lunch and lose five pounds.  Now I skip lunch and just end up scarfing down dinner at two in the afternoon.  What’s up with that?  And hey, I know I’m not the only one!  A friend of mine recently lamented, “Inside me there’s a skinny lady crying to get out, but I can usually shut her up with chocolate.”  The late Barbara Johnson used to quip, “I’m still a perfect size 10.  I just keep it covered up with a couple layers of fat so it won’t get scratched.”

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