Two Salad Reruns from Kathy's Kitchen

Well, both of these certainly look like they’re good to revisit.

 

Summer Salad From Kathy’s Kitchen

 

August 5, 2022

 

I got this recipe from Marilyn, who was my boss. We’re eating salads more often these days, and I’d love if you’d share favorite recipes with me.

 

Just reading this one makes my mouth water.

 

SEVEN LAYER SALAD,

 

Ingredients:

One head or bag of lettuce

One bag frozen peas (frozen or fresh broccoli can be substituted.)

One large onion chopped well

One pound of crisp bacon crumbled

One to two cups shredded mozzarella cheese

4 to 6 hard-boiled eggs sliced

one to two cups Miracle Whip

paprika

parmesan cheese

 

Directions:

Put lettuce in a large salad bowl.

Layer frozen peas on top of the lettuce

Layer onion on top of peas.

Layer bacon on top of onions.

Layer mozzarella cheese on top of bacon.

Layer sliced eggs on top of cheese

Spoon Miracle Whip over entire top of salad.

Sprinkle top with paprika and parmesan cheese.

For best results cover and refrigerate overnight.

Or cover and shake well. Or serve it up just as it is.

 

Summer Fruit Salad from Murray’s Kitchen

 

August 1, 2025

 

Combine chopped apples, sliced grapes, sliced bananas and berries of your choice. Murray used blueberries, and we loved it.

 

For dressing use honey, lemon juice and mayonnaise to suit your taste. This was a big hit in our home. 

Guest Author, Diane Samson

 

I love Diane’s books. They are fascinating and important.

 

 

I’m thrilled to be a part of Kathy’s blog! Kathy has proofread several of my novels in my Young Adult Fantasy series, Gems of Fire, as well as my new release, Gems of the Sea, which is the first in a next-generation series called “Gems Rising.”

People often ask me what inspired me to write. I was once at a writing conference where the speaker asked if the inspiration for us being there began with one book: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. At least 75 percent of the people in the room raised their hands. I was no exception.

The Narnia works were so powerful to me as a child and in simple terms, I remember as a 10-year-old wanting to make others feel how those books made me feel. And it wasn’t just the feeling—it was the life lessons gleaned from those pages.

I heard a pastor once mention that the reason we love stories is because the great ones echo the great story, or the one true story of the Bible, namely the gospel of Jesus. He claimed that even in various cultures throughout the world, all the myths that move people the most echo that one great true myth.

I took a class in college called Biblical Themes in American Literature. The professor made a similar point. While not allegories, these stories, many of which are classics like Steinbeck’s East of Eden, carry types, whispers, are echoes of Biblical stories. Many times a type of Christ will be seen such as in the British literature classic A Tale of Two Cities where Carton gives up his life at the guillotine so the people he loves may live.

In How Harry Cast His Spell, John Granger makes the point that Harry Potter is inherently a Christian work. The only wizards who use any form of true dark magic are the dark wizards, for one, but ultimately the Harry Potter story demonstrates the story of Jesus in that the power of love conquers death. This theme is hit over and over throughout from Harry’s mother’s protective “spell” of love to Harry himself willingly laying down his life for his friends.

J.R. Tolkien made this very point to C.S. Lewis and was one reason C.S. Lewis converted to Christianity. Tolkien argued that the myths Lewis loved were based on the one true myth, the one great story told throughout the pages of the Bible, leading up to the cross and not ending there—one day Jesus is coming back.

The prince coming to rescue and return life to a sleeping bride is the story of our hope in Jesus returning to rescue us. The story of the warrior who slays the dragon is a type of Jesus who ultimately will conquer Satan and rule the world. And of course the story of the one who sacrifices himself to save others goes without saying. Jesus is the story under every other story, Tolkien argues. And every great story whispers His name.

The books Wired for Story and Story Genius by Lisa Cron hits the same points, although she doesn’t come from a Christian point of view necessarily. She says our brains are literally wired for story. She argues that humans evolved around campfires, learning survival skills from stories. (Uncle Bob ate those berries and died…or Aunt Sally provoked a bear and look what happened, etc.)

Over time, the telling of stories was how we learned—at first to survive, and then later out of a desire to stem curiosity and learn about our world.

Two things can be true at once. Our brains can be wired for story and the ones most meaningful have echoes of the one true story embedded inside them. Perhaps it’s no accident that Jesus taught in parables—though sometimes confusing for us, His audience seemed to glean every word of his parables, often taken from the surrounding environment.

My stories contain Biblical themes, but I’ve never written them as allegory or trying to teach anything specific. I’ve always wanted anyone—of any faith— to enjoy them first as stories. And if they find a greater story lying beneath, all the better.

 

website: 

www.dianesamsonauthor.com

 

 Gems of the Sea Link: 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H6CJTMD3

 

 

Psalm 33, Joy from God

Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him.

Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.

Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.

For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.

The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses.

Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him.

For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.

But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.

From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind;

from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth—

he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.

No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength.

A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save.

But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,

to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.

We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.

In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.

May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

 

Father, we have so much reason to be joyful and to praise you. All that you have done to show your love for us. All the strength you have to fill us with awe. Thank you that you desire to have us as your people. 

Crying Out to be Gawked at, Rerun

This first appeared on my blog in September of 2015. Precious memories

 

 

“Somebody should really wash all this stuff.” That’s a note I remember from almost twenty-eight years ago, when Murray and I lived in our first apartment on Willow Way. I was pawing through the dirty clothes one day and found a braille note left in there for me. Another Day I found a note taped to a light switch saying: “This is art. It’s crying out to be gawked at.”

 

Over the years, I’ve found many others from Murray, in my lunch and in other more unexpected places. He often wrote out words to songs for me—such as one about how everything that’s happening is happening at the zoo—and other sweetie notes.

 

When I was working, the kids were smart and knew that the best place to leave a note for me was taped to the coffee pot. That was the first place I’d go in the morning, even before I took a shower. Rebecca often left me notes, usually telling me to wake her up either before or after my shower, depending on how late she had stayed up and how much studying she still needed to do.

 

A note from Sarah warned me not to go into the girls’ room that morning. They’d been up late the night before, putting their bunk bed together, and it was still sticking out in the middle of the room. That must have been before Murray asked me to stop waking everybody up to say good-bye before I left.

 

Many of these notes I now find in my Bible, especially Rebecca’s coffee pot notes, because I’d sit down and read my Bible while I drank my coffee. I’d slip the notes into the page I was reading from that day. Now they’re a nice surprise when I read those chapters again. Most of Rebecca’s notes ask me to wake her up, usually with “please!!!” included, sometimes a threat of what she’ll do to me if I don’t wake her up on time. A note from Caleb lets me know he was leaving early for work before any of the rest of us got up, because he was filling in for “a dude.”

 

I love finding these as I’m reading my Bible, but I know there are many other notes packed away in other places. I look forward to finding them someday, and I don’t think about it often, so it will be a surprise and a joy when I do. And it will always be art, crying out to be gawked at.