Old Fashioned Brunswick Stew

Jimmy and Pat Matthews still make a big iron pot of Brunswick stew, much like their ancestors did. Jimmy cooks it in his workshop, using a huge wrought iron pot set in a homemade propane heating unit made with a tobacco barn burner.

He starts with thick strips of pork side meat, and cooks it for almost 2 hours, squeezing out the grease with his long wooden paddle as it cooks. He continues adding chicken broth or water and stirring, as needed, throughout the day. He adds the vegetables in stages, with what needs longer to cook going in first. Today's order was butter beans, corn, garden peas, onions, potatoes, cooked chicken pieces, and stewed tomatoes. He seasons all this with black and red pepper and salt to taste. The whole process takes about 6 hours. He makes this huge batch, gives some to friends and family, and freezes the rest to use later.

Brunswick stew is thought to have originated early in the South. Both Brunswick County, Georgia, and Brunswick County, Virginia, claim to be the original site. Of course, North Carolina also has a Brunswick County that was formed in 1764.The first stews likely used squirrel, rabbit, 'possum or other wild game. Today's stews are more likely to use chicken, especially in the Virginia area or beef or pork, more favored in the Georgia area. Of course you can use any meat or vegetables you prefer. The traditional stew used limas or butter beans, corn, okra, potatoes, and tomatoes.

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The Church's Business

"Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth" (Colossians 3:2).

Let me preference this by saying, I understand I may have limited knowledge here, because, as a pastor's wife, I'm basically a lay person. But I'm also reminded that God used and still uses many common, untrained people. He looks for followers and leaders who are willing and obedient, ones who will rely on Him.

Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood" (Acts 20:28).

It bothers me that I'm seeing and hearing more and more church leaders who are treating church as a business venture. They talk of things like marketing techniques; restructuring services for a more modern, upbeat audience; and toning down traditional preaching to include more time for contemporary music. And yet, I never hear them mention God, Christ, or the Holy Spirit in any of it. Numbers seem to mean more to them than substance.

"And hath put all things under his [Christ's] feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church" (Ephesians 1:22).

Some of the church facebook pages even list the church as a "business," instead of "church/religious organization." I admit, I just don't understand this way of thinking. 

"We find the Christian life difficult because we seek for God's blessings while we live according to our own will" (Andrew Murray, Power in Prayer, kindle loc. 564).

I know a church who commissioned a study to see how they could be more effective. Two years later, they have about half as many people attending, and many seem to have lost their passion for the Lord. I think the study inadvertently caused the leadership to shift their focus from God to implementing suggestions from the study, and trying to do things on their own, without consulting God. 

"If we but yield ourselves entirely to the Spirit and let Him have His way with us, He will manifest the life of Christ within us" (Andrew Murray, Power in Prayer, kindle loc. 1948).

Some leaders also seem to be making other decisions based on what they think is best without asking God what He wants. I believe the business of any church is to follow God and to put Christ as the center of everything. None of the things mentioned above are wrong, if they're where God is leading, and He may very well lead churches to do these things. However, we need to let Him do the leading. The Church today needs to take its Biblical principles to the world instead of allowing the world's principles to infiltrate the Church. The Church's business is to be about God's business.

Let's pray about it.

"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus thoughout all ages, world without end, A-men" (Ephesians 3:20-21).

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Happy Valentine's Day!

1909

Valentine greetings may be older than you think. In the Middle Ages lovers would sing or say Valentine's greetings, and Geoffrey Chaucer's circle encouraged it. Written ones began appearing in the 1400's, and paper valentines, more like we know them, in the 1500's. One such early valentine is on display in the British Museum.

1875

Paper valentines were exchanged in Europe, instead of gifts and became extremely popular in England. Later gifts, especially flowers or candy, were included. In the 1800's, factories began making

valentines. At first, black and white pictures were hand painted by the workers, but by the middle of the century, lace, ribbon, and other embellishments

were added to make them fancier. Toward the end of the 1800's,

they were being completely manufactured by machines. In America, Norcross became one of the first companies to produce valentines at the turn of the century. When school children also began exchanging valentines, as well as family members, the valentine card industry really took off.

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Friday the 13th

If you've looked at the calendar, you know that today is Friday, the Thirteenth. I don't believe in superstitions, but I find their history and folk culture interesting. Did you ever wonder how this day came to be thought of as unlucky? There's actually no evidence of it until the 1800's, but the background was formed much earlier.

Rossini

According to Chaucer in his Canterbury Tales, Friday was considered a bad day to start a trip or a new project since at least the 1400's. Another literary reference comes in 1869 from a biography by Henry Sutherland Edwards. He wrote about Rossini, who died on Friday, the 13th. Speaking of Rossini, Edwards writes, "He was surrounded  to the last by admiring friends; and if it be true that, like so many Italians, he regarded Fridays as an unlucky day and thirteen as an unlucky number, it is remarkable that on Friday 13th of November he passed away." So, apparently by this time, some saw both Fridays and the number 13 as unlucky. I guess putting the two together made a double whammy.

Some people have also tried to link Friday, the 13th, with Christ. They say there were 13 people at the Last Supper, 12 disciples and Jesus. Then, Jesus was crucified on the next day, which was a Friday. I guess if you're looking to find connections, it not hard to make them.

Thomas W. Lawson

Perhaps a better place to look is at Thomas W. Lawson's novel, Friday the Thirteenth, published in 1907. More modern examples are John J. Robinson's Born in Blood from 1989 and Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code from 2003. Of course, there have been movies also.

At one time, people often tried to avoid the number 13, and a few still do. For years, high-rise buildings would not number a floor, an apartment, or a room thirteen. Instead, the numbers would go from twelve to fourteen. Even recently, the Stress Management Center

 and Phobia Institute in Asheville, NC, says an estimated 17 - 21 million people in the U.S. profess a fear of Friday, the 13th, making it the most feared reoccurring day in history. I've always found it, like any other day, can be a great day with the right attitude.

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Finley Law Office

The cute little building below is on the National Register of Historic Places. It sets at the corner of Broad Street and North Street, across from the side of the old county courthouse (now the Wilkes Heritage Museum) in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. In fact, the building is now owned by the museum, and they have it for rent.

The building is as small as it looks. It was built by Thomas Brown Finley as his law office around 1880. He later became a judge and lived from November 6, 1862, until April 3, 1942, in the Wilkesboro area, except for a short time he left Wilkes County for some of his education. Just by standing outside and looking at it, I got a sense of that long ago time, and, in my imagination, I was living the history.

The building itself is in the gothic style of architecture. I'm surprised that someone hasn't snatched it up to rent. Perhaps the limited square footage is the problem, but I could see something like a craft shop or a bookstore in it.

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Monopoly

Most of us grew up with the Monopoly board game. I certainly did, and my grandsons still like to play with me. This year, Monopoly turns 80. 

It was developed in the 1930's from the evolution of a board game known as "The Landlord's

Game." This older version was patented in 1904 but is believed to exist at least since 1902. Parker Brothers manufactured the first Monopoly games, but Hasbro now produces them.

To commemorate their 80th anniversary, Monopoly is being reproduced to resemble the 1930's version. In addition, the French division is putting real money in 80 of their boxes, and at least one will have all real money, equal to $23,498 or 20,580 euros (give or take some for fluctuating conversion rates).

To celebrate, maybe we should dust off our Monopoly boxes, or, as Hasbro would love, run out and buy another and set it up for a few games. The only problem I see for me is that it usually takes a long time to finish a game.

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Woodenware

In colonial times, households used more items made of wood than we do today. Craftsmen or family members carved special wooden objects, especially implements for the kitchen.

Very early on, there were no dishes, and a family ate from a common pot set in the middle of the table or from trenchers. A trencher was a long wooden dish,

resembling a dough tray or a small trough and was usually shared between at least two people. Sometimes, even cups were made from wood.

Rolling pins were also important and used to roll out things like biscuits, cookies, pie crusts, and certain pastries. Some of them even had designs carved

in them to give the treat a design. A marzipan was mainly used to make candies resembling flowers, birds, animals, or other shapes for the holidays.

Another common wooden implement was the butter mold. The first ones were just a stamp used to press a design in the lump of butter, but these became half-pound or pound wooden cups with a design in the bottom and a handle to push the butter out into a dish. Some were square and plain, but the most common were round. The designs were usually a sheaf of wheat or some type of bird.

Other items included things like bowls, spoons, stirring paddles, mortar and pestles, etc. Different sizes of wooden boxes and chests stored various and sundry items like candles, tea, and spices. Some of them were also carved with special designs, depending upon the skill of the maker.

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