The Celtic Ozarkian

Tullamore Returns to the Celtic Ozark Music Scene

2011-08-23T04:57:00.001-07:00

Tullamore, one of my favorite celtic ozark music groups will be returning to the SW MO Celtic Heritage and Music Festival on September 10, 2011. Read more....http://ping.fm/Qv0v1

Living the Summer Indoors

2011-08-04T05:33:00.000-07:00

OK, living the summer indoors has its down side. Some of the historic places to go, like Silver Dollar City and White Water, are just no fun when it is this hot. This is despite the fact that both locations have water rides. Even in the Lazy River, your head can fry.

This time of year, I love going to places like Roaring River State Park, and doing some fly fishing. Well, you had better be up early to do so, and be waiting on the morning horn. If you are lucky enough to get somewhere that allows waders, you can fish a little longer. Fishing is almost out of the summer game.

Forget about frisbee golf in Springfield, MO, unless you get out early. The heat can just drain you.

So what do you do for fun? Night fishing.......way down deep.

Guess I'll go back to playing on Facebook now. Stay cool, and conserve electricity where you can. We don't need rolling black outs.

Ray Province
The Celtic Ozarkian

Dealing with Death in the Ozarks

2011-07-31T06:55:00.000-07:00

This week, we were given the news that the daughter of one of our friends in the Ozarks had died. She passed away from a tragic outdoor accident involving a lightening strike, water, and a canoe. The whole town is hurting with her. So, the question is: how do we deal with death in the Ozarks.

One of the answers that I have heard involved rational thinking about how to have avoided the issue. We should not be on water, in a canoe, during a storm. But that answer left me a bit shallow, though I do remember learning this safety rule as a Boy Scout. "Get off the water." It still leaves me feeling a bit shallow, though, because we don't know what this group did to avoid the problem. We don't even know how far away a storm might have been. We just know the canoe was struck by lightening. Rationalizing on what could have been done does nothing to help us deal with the death.

Another answer involved trying to figure out what to do in the post tragedy. The young woman's daughter must be cared for now. The family must make plans: funeral, dinners, etc. It is part of what we do to deal with death in the Ozarks.

The thing that makes me most happy, though, is knowing the whole community will grieve with the family. In small ways, we will all try to do something to let the family know we hurt with them. There will be shoulders to cry on. There will be hugs to be had.

It takes a community to do grief counseling...

Ray Province, The Celtic Ozarkian

Canning Your own Green Beans

2011-07-29T17:19:00.000-07:00

I finally had some time tonight to get the information up on the Food Supply Gardening website on how to can green beans using a pressure cooker. This was a sacred ritual in my childhood home this time of year. My dad and mom would bring grandma up, and they would have us all snapping green beans for what seemed like an eternity. Eventually, grandma and mom would get to squabbling, and Dad would have to break it up. Grandma would always listen to whatever Dad said, which made my mother very mad.

Canning green beans was a family ritual. It is a shame that more families don't do that now. It was a time to bond as a family, and also put away food that we would eat all winter. I didn't know what a canned beans from the store tasted like till I was out on my own.

Mom made the green beans later with onion, salt, pepper, and some bacon fat. A little bacon grease went into the beans also. What a deal. She said the Methodist women made the best green beans in the world, and she was right.

Give them a try,

Ray Province
The Celtic Ozarkian

Do Some Fall Food Supply Gardening

2011-06-26T17:09:00.001-07:00

The month of July officially starts the beginning of the fall food supply garden. And food supply gardening does not stop, just because summer is coming to an end. In fact, many parts of the United States will have good weather well toward Christmas.
In the Ozarks, it is certainly got enough, but it will not be too hot to start the process of growing food in the fall. There are garden plots to prep and fertilize, seeds to propogate and start, etc. So, get yourself a cool glass of sweet tea or lemonade, and let’s grow some food this fall. Knowing how to grow your own food supply would not be complete, if we let go of several months of growing season.
Read on at http://ping.fm/1Qg0E

Joplin Tornado and Possible Help From Your Garden

2011-05-23T17:13:00.001-07:00

Dear Friends,

As you know our Ozark neighbors in Joplin have been hit by an EF-4 tornado. So many folks have no home to live in. A large number of wonderful volunteers have made their way to Joplin to help their neighbors. All these people will need to be fed.

If you are starting to get produce out of your garden and live close to Joplin, please consider donating any extra produce that you have. Some outlets will include local churches and food pantries. The situation is very dynamic at this point, so there will be many opportunities provide food. It is amazing how healing a bit of normalcy can be in this type of devastation. A fresh spinach salad or fresh leaf lettuce can bring back some happy memories plus provide much needed nutrition in a suddenly torn apart world.

If you still have garden space, consider tossing in some extra tomato plants, green beans, squash, and herbs. There will be a need all summer to help these folks. It will take time to pick up all the debris, get new houses built and get the infrastructure back to normal. People who normally helped local food banks and church-based relief activities may now find themselves in need of help. It is time to pay it forward if you can.

If your garden is too small to provide any extra that is okay. I am sure our neighbors would appreciate your prayers. The numbers of people who lost their life is absolutely mind numbing. Their families will need the comfort that only the Great Healer can provide. Unlike the produce which is perishable and needs to be grown close to the disaster, prayer has no expiration date. It can be transported over many, many miles without any wilting or spoilage.

Thank you for considering planting an extra row of crops to help. Thank you for your prayers and help. While I don’t live in Joplin, my heart aches for my neighbors and I so appreciate any comfort you can give these folks. Blessings to you and yours.

Ray Province, the Celtic Ozarkian
www.celticozarkian.com

Ten Thousand Missouri Gardens

2011-05-19T04:22:00.001-07:00

If you live in Missouri and have a garden, do I have the website for you. The state of Missouri is trying to get 10,000 new gardens registered across the state. This project started small with a goal of 1,000 gardens several years ago. That goal has been met so it is on to bigger and better goals.

All gardens are welcome to be registered. You don’t need a huge truck garden to feel comfortable in this group. Any garden is welcome to apply. Whether you are growing food for your family, or flowers to feed the birds and butterflies, take a look at this site.

Actually, that is one of the reasons I love gardening. I can grow great tasting food for my family and have a little corner that produces food for the birds. I love growing sunflowers for the birds. Some people place net bags over the heads of the growing sunflowers to keep the seeds safe. I however, just let the birds eat them whenever they want them. It doesn’t necessarily make for the prettiest sunflowers, but I feel good about feeding the critters. It is my garden and I can grow it my way.

If you haven’t started your garden, it is not too late. In fact we are moving this summer so I don’t have a summer garden in this year. For the first time in forever, there are no fresh tomatoes coming from my labors. However, we will be settled in time to start a fall garden this year.

I may get in a few tomatoes before it is all said and done, but I plan to buy the majority from farmers markets this year. However, I will be planting rosemary and thyme as soon as possible. Then as the summer starts to cool, I will be planting lettuce, spinach, peas, and some corn salad or mache.

If you don’t have space for a garden, consider growing a small garden in pots. Herbs love to grow in pots, and there is nothing like fresh cut herbs to brighten any sauce or salad. I love to grow rosemary both inside the house and in the garden. I keep a pot of rosemary on the window sill for a quick snip for a sauce, a dice to throw in a loaf of bread that is rising to bake, or to toss a couple or sprigs on a baking chicken. It is so fast and easy and really makes a huge difference. I even just brush the leaves gently to release a wonderful aroma as I am standing at the sink doing dishes. All of that from one little pot of rosemary that I got on sale at my local nursery at the end of the season.

If you have a garden space but it has been too wet to get your tomatoes in, have no fear. Go ahead and plant your tomato plants now. It is really to late for seeds, but tomato plants will catch right up with your neighbors in the coming hot days. In fact, we have still had some pretty cool nights that have slowed down the growth of any tomatoes already planted.

Now is a great time to get beans and squash in the ground. If you can just find a day when the ground is dry enough, it has been a bit rough in this part of the Ozarks this year. But that is the life of a gardener. Too much rain, not enough rain, hail, and strong winds always make being a gardener a challenge! Speaking of challenges, here is the website I promised. Sorry I got so wordy; I just love all aspects of gardening. http://ping.fm/M1DNO

5 Reasons Why People are So Unhappy

2011-05-15T05:58:00.000-07:00

Today we will look at 5 reasons why people are so unhappy. We will be looking today at some verses from Luke 10: 26-28 to help us. When asked about what it takes to be able to live forever, Jesus replied:

26“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

27He answered: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”

28“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

Jesus was sharing about the requirements to have eternal life. What the crowd may, or may not, have realized is that eternal life was also there. If we are going to live forever, that time period starts a new every day, and we get a chance to live by the words of Jesus.

So, let’s look at some reasons why people are so unhappy in our day. Keep in mind the priorities that God set for our lives.

People that are so unhappy often focus only on outcomes, versus the process of getting there.
We often spend all our energy on outcomes. But when we stop and love, we often are not concerned with highly goal driven outcomes. We are focused on being in the moment with that person, and doing what we need to get done.
People that are so unhappy often see failure is not a stop sign, instead of a sign post. It’s like the old saying, “if at first you don’t succeed, quit.” In the eyes of love, failure tells us we need to find another path to travel. Doing the same thing consistently, with the same unsuccessful outcome, is a big factor for people who spend a lot of time unhappy with life.
People that are so unhappy often think rejection is just about them. Most of the time, they are wrong. Ideas, concepts, plans get rejected all the time. Even Jesus rejected certain ideas and principles. For whatever reason, we think we are so important that the rejection must be about us. In love, have a five minute pity party, and move on.
People that are so unhappy have a constant internal battle of the mind and heart. In other words, unhappy people lose the ability to follow their heart. Often, the voice inside us is the right one.
People that are so unhappy are often never grateful for anything. When we can put our love of God and humanity ahead of ourselves, we can remember to be grateful for all the good we see every day. It’s like the old Neil Armstrong song, “Wonderful World.”Practicing these 5 reasons why people are so unhappy is the hard part. So, try this plan: try practicing just one of the 5 reasons why people are so unhappy every day. Make it a goal to practice the opposite behavior, whether you emotionally believe in it or not. Over time, the act of changing your attitude and beliefs will change you.

Here’s to your happiness,

Raymond C. Province, M.Div.

St. Patrick's Day Celebration Buffalo Missouri

2011-03-09T17:03:00.001-08:00

Come enjoy some Irish Celtic food and entertainment at the St.
Patrick's Celebration being held on Friday evening, March 11th at the
O'Bannon Center on Ramsey St. in Buffalo, MO. The fundraiser is for
the ninth annual SW MO Celtic Heritage Festival and Highland Games.

Dinner begins at 5:00 PM with a dinner consisting of Corned Beef and
Cabbage, Bangers & Mash, Irish Stew, Irish Soda Bread, and an
assortment of Celtic desserts, coffee and tea for $7.00 per plate, or
advance tickets are $5.00 per plate. Following the dinner will be an
auction offering over 40 Branson show tickets and attractions and
round off the evening with Celtic entertainment beginning at 7:00PM
There will be music by Jon Reneu, Sarah Hook, Irish music by Nancy
Daily Green, Irish dancing; Bagpipes by Daryl Dickerson and an
appearance by the infamous, Scotty the Fox. All these entertainers
will be performing at the 9th annual Celtic Festival which will be
held here on Sept. 9th and 10th.

Broccoli in the Celtic Ozark Garden.

2011-01-20T05:13:00.001-08:00

It is time to think about broccoli in the Celtic Ozark Garden. BROCCOLI (Brassica oleracea Cymosa) is a yummy vegetable that deserves a place in any Celtic Ozark Garden. I hope that you will consider adding it this spring. Here are the basics you need to know.

The big heads of broccoli you see in your store is of the 'Calabrese' type. By far, it is the most popular type of broccoli grown. Buy seedlings if you have never grown broccoli before, as you will have a better chance of good growth. If you want to get experimental, you will need to start your seeds soon. You can start the seeds 8 weeks before your last frost, to give them time to grow. You’ll need plenty of sun, as the shoots emerge. You can also plant the seeds a month before your last frost, and let them take in the garden. Sow the seeds directly into the soil about ¼”, and let them do their thing.

Modern hybrids are fast growing, and if they are subjected to prolonged stress of drying, they may form tiny heads prematurely, and the plants come to nothing. That is why I always recommend that you use an heirloom style seed. You may not get a head of broccoli the size of a football, but you stand a better chance of getting a nice overall crop.
You need to provide a fertile soil and don't let the soil become dry. You can look through the archives of my blog for my soil recipe for raised bed gardens. I touched on this subject in the last blog. Add plenty of lime for the broccoli, as they like a pH 6.5 to 7.5. That is their 'ideal' range.
Plants growing in Spring, especially late spring, are prime targets for the green caterpillars that come from the white butterflies in your garden. A light netting can help to keep the butterflies off your broccoli. In about 90-100 days, your crop should be ready to go.

Sprouting broccoli can also be a good alternative crop to grow. Not many people grow this heirloom variety. You can find green, purple and white varieties of the plant. We like the white variety, because it looks a bit like cauliflower.
Spring is the time to grow this one. Sow the seeds directly into the soil, as noted above. You will need to watch for insects. But here is the cool payoff: your crop should be ready to eat in around 45-60 days. The small heads of the sprouting broccoli plants make it easy to go and pick just a portion for supper. You’ll have to grow plenty for freezing, as this crops is easy to use every day, leaving less for real food supply type considerations. Ah, but what a feast in the meantime.

Spring is the time people in cooler areas should sow sprouting broccoli. It is grown through the summer and carried over winter, for an early spring production the year following sowing. The advantage of sprouting broccoli is that, while it is not cauliflower, the white forms produce cauliflower like curds more easily than growing cauliflower itself, and the multiple small heads means that the serving sizes are right, with no waste. The disadvantage is the long time it sits around in the garden before it does anything.

There are a couple of other varieties of broccoli, but I will confine this installment of my blog to the two types I use. Good luck with your broccoli crop, and I will blog more soon from the Celtic Ozark Garden.

slainte,
Ray Province
The Celtic Ozark Garden
www.celticozarkian.com
www.celticozarkgarden.blogspot.com

A Tradition of Celtic Jams

2010-12-13T04:45:00.001-08:00

The Irish and Scottish people that settled the Ozarks area of Missouri and Arkansas have had a long history of making some of the world's best jams and jellies. In fact, that tradition continues into modern times in the Ozarks. So, let's take a trip down Ozarks Jam and Jellies Lane.

The traditions of Celtic Jam makers can be seen with the love the Ozarks have for blueberry, blackberry (also called Braeberry), and strawberry jam. You can also see the influence with local berries like gooseberry and elderberry. Orange Marmelade and Lemon Curd are also popular Celtic jams to be found in the Ozarks.

The process typically makes use of real fruits that are picked and then made into jams or jellies right away. It is possible, though, to make jams or jellies from frozen fruit. Pectin is used to make the product thicker, and real sugar is used to sweeten the product. High fructose corn syrup varieties just don't taste as good, and many people are now avoiding the long term effects of fructose.

Besides making the product taste good, the sugary environment also helps to preserve the product over time. The environment is not condusive to bacteria, mold, etc. You may often still see old Ozarkians just scrap the mold off the top of old jams and jellies and eat them. It may look grose, but it probably will not be a health issue. Any product sold in the state of Missouri or Arkansas should have an expiration date to be safe, though. Unopened jams and jellies last a long time. That is part of the reason our Celtic ancestors made the items: they lasted a long time, and provided a nice bit of carbohydrate to a meal.

In modern times, people in Missouri and Arkansas just like the taste of home made jams and jellies that are made in the Ozarks. If you do not live in the Ozarks, take a moment and order some. You'll enjoy the fine Irish and Scottish jams and jellies of the Ozarks.

Slainte,
Ray Province
The Celtic Ozarkian

Ray Province is an IT Programmer by trade, and owener of www.celticozarkian.com and co-owner of www.ozarkscelticmarketplace.com . He frequently writes about Irish and Scottish history in the Ozarks. You can reach him at contactus@celticozarkian.com or @celticozarkian on Twitter.

Social Media Marketing Still Has Value

2010-12-11T06:26:00.001-08:00

There are many people today asking questions about whether or not social media marketing still has value. There are so many people that have jumped on the Facebook and Twitter bandwagon. Can using these types of sites still help my efforts?

Part of the answer to this question lies on who you are marketing to on a regular basis. I am not sure that the youth of the world ever expected the Baby Boomer generation to like Facebook as much as they do. Limited PPC ads on Facebook still work well for the Boomers. You might have to look a little harder for younger people though. Facebook still works for the very young, but their influence on the buying market is limited.

Twitter, to me, is almost hopeless as a medium for direct sales. You have to be willing to pay your dues on the social media site, make friends, engage in conversation with people. Many business people don’t want to put in this kind of time. Outsourcing the work can help. Talking about hot topics can also help you get noticed. If all you want to do, though, is throw link bait, don’t waste your time.

So where are people going on the social media sites these days? Here is a list of sites that may help you out.

Facebook.com: as I mentioned, it was initially intended for college students — it branched out, and now allows everyone membership. 500 million members. Most of these are Baby Boomer age any more.

MySpace.com: 130 million members. This site is massive, boasting the largest membership of any social networking site on the Internet. There is also a lot of crap on MySpace. You can reach a lot of people though.

Linkedin.com: 75 million members — a powerful tool for business networking.This site is worth the time spent. Go out and get to know people. Even your employer is probably watching this site now.

Friendster.com: 90 million members. Friendster was considered the top online social networking service until around April 2004, when it was overtaken by MySpace. Demographic studies indicate users are from 17 to 30 years old. The younger generation still likes this site for social contact. Keep that in mind.

Stumbleupon.com: Boasting over 10 million users, StumbleUpon is a web browser plugin that allows its users to discover and rate webpages, photos, videos, and news articles. A great way to get website promotion. Bought by eBay for $75 million in May 2007, this is a great site to promote an Ebay business.

del.icio.us: The website del.icio.us (pronounced as “delicious”) is a social bookmarking web service for storing, sharing, and discovering web bookmarks. The site was founded by Joshua Schachter in late 2003, and is now part of Yahoo!. This is a good site to hit to get search engine recognition on the nation’s number 2 search engine.

digg.com: Digg is a website made for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the Internet, by submitting links and stories, and voting and commenting on submitted links and stories, in a social and democratic spirit. It is more of an intellectual site though. It reminds me a lot of writing for HubPages.com.

Orkut.com: Orkut is an Internet social networking service run by Google and named after its creator, Google employee Orkut Büyükkökten. It claims to be designed to help users meet new friends and maintain existing relationships. Now has a membership of 100 million. I really think this is the site of the future. I know I have really been trying to hit this one harder.

Yahoo! 360° (a.k.a Yahoo! Days) is a personal communication portal similar to orkut and MySpace — it is currently in the beta-testing phase. It integrates features of social networking, blogging and photo sharing sites. I think this site has merit for the future.

Xanga.com: 27 million members. Xanga is a free Web-based service that hosts weblogs, photoblogs, videoblogs, audioblogs, and social networking profiles. I really like this site, and it has received a lot of attention of Mashable.com in recent months. Take a look.

Care2.com: Over 9 million members. Care2 is a social networking website that was founded to help connect activists from around the world.

Ryze.com: 500, 000 members. Ryze.com is a free social networking website designed to link business professionals.

So, don’t count social media marketing out of your overall marketing for your website. Good luck with your social media campaigns.

Stanley and Livingstone Men's Line comes to Ozarks Celtic Marketplace

2010-11-27T06:35:00.001-08:00

The Stanley and Livingstone line of men's products and gifts have been added to the Ozark Celtic Marketplace family. The news men's line features distinctive smells and sensations that are designed to appeal to himself. We also wanted to honor the Welsh heritage of Stanley.
The line features a Mists of the Falls scented bath soap for men. We have worked on the scent for some time, getting it just right. After much testing, we think we found the perfect smell for soap, that is appealing to both men and women. Lads, we don't want you to smell like a girl.
We have noticed for some time that the old art of shaving with brush and soap is starting to make a comeback. So, we have also added our Zambezi Spice Men's Shaving Soap. It is a distinct plend of scents, mixed in a shea butter soap, that will leave your face feeling clean and fresh.
We also added a Cherry Pipe Tobacco Scented candle for men. Most of us can remember the people in our lives that smoked pipes, in times gone by. In fact, both Stanley and Livingstone were know to smoke a pipe now and then. We have captured the pleasing smell of cherry pipe tobacco, in a way that keeps the real "smoke" out of your home.
Thanks much to the people who have helped us research this new line, and have given kindly of their thoughts and ideas.
Till next time,

Ray and Dale
Ozarks Celtic Marketplace

Time to Clean the Celtic Ozark Garden

2010-10-24T06:58:00.001-07:00

The Ozarks has been very lucky this year. We have not had a killing frost yet. However, it looks as though that will happen this next week. So, for the Celtic Ozark Garden, it is time to clean.

All the left over plant life that has not been sent to the compost pile will go there. I also like to shake the soil out of the roots of those plants, prior to going to the compost pile. Once done, I like to break up all the soil, and get out as much of the roots as possible.

Once this is done, it is time to add fertilizer to the soil. I have written before about my Soil recipe. That is what I still use. If you want to check out that article, go to http://ping.fm/xKI61 and you can read the article on how to make it. I like to fertilize now, because the elements have time to fuse into the soil all winter. This also helps to insure that the soil will not contains large clumps of fertilizer, that could potentially burn delicate plants.

I am also going to pull the basil in my garden today. It is more than due, as the basil is very unhappy with the weather. I will pick the leaves, and place them in a paper sack. Then, I will punch some air holes, and tie the top shut. The sack will go to a dark place in the garage, until the leaves are dry and ready to use for seasoning.

Finally, the last of my green beans seed pods need to be picked and stored for the next garden year. I always try to leave some behind for this purpose. The pods are now yellow, dry, and shriveled. This is how I want to share them. Leaving them on the vine has also helped to insure that they will not get moldly and rotten.

So, go spend a day in your Celtic Ozark Garden. A little clean up can be good exercise. Slainte va to all.

Ray Province is a retired minister and now IT Programmer in the healthcare industry. He is the owner of The Celtic Ozarkian, a website that chronicles all things Celtic and Ozarks in Missouri and Arkansas. You can check out the site at http://ping.fm/CX8ya, or you can reach Ray at contactus@celticozarkian.com, or @celticozarkian on Twitter.

Raising Chickens for Eggs

2010-10-24T06:41:00.001-07:00

Springfield just recently passed ordinance that allows residence to raise up to 6 chickens for egg production-no roosters allowed. There is just nothing like a good fresh egg for breakfast! There are so many good reasons to raise your own chickens for eggs. However, chickens are not low maintenance critters.

First, let me say that I have never raised chickens in the city. We allowed our chickens to free range when we lived in the country. The chickens had about 5 acres to roam over to gather bugs and just generally be chickens. We did coop them up at night and in really nasty weather. We allowed our chickens to stay on a natural cycle of day light and dark. We only left a light on in the coop for warmth on really bitter nights.

Having given that disclaimer, raising chickens is fun and we still miss them. The eggs had a wonderful taste and had a much richer, deep yellow yolk. Since we free ranged our chickens, cleaning the coop was only a weekly job. We had hay in the coop floor and then composted the hay and droppings.

Starting a new chicken coop in the winter months may be more of a challenge than the average urbanite will be willing to undertake. Unless you are starting with full grown laying hens, spring is really the best time to start a new coop. Chicks do not tolerate even moderately cool temperatures. If you start them in the fall or winter, there will be lots of work involved in keeping them warm.

Also, egg production is a function of the amount of light available to the chicken. So production will naturally fall off in the fall and winter, and then increase again in the spring. If you are going to fool the chickens and leave the lights on in the coop to increase production, you might as well just by your eggs from the store. Now is the time to gather information, understand the ordinance and all its nuances and gather your supplies. Starting your new chicken project in the spring makes so much sense.

Coops are one of the most important aspects of raising your hens. You can easily make your own coop; there are several good designs on the internet. Here is just one example: http://ping.fm/On0WE . Another option is a chicken tractor which is a portable coop. We started with a chicken tractor, but then added ducks and guinea hens to our growing chicken brood. They quickly out grew the tractor space. But a chicken tractor is a great idea if you have any interest in letting your chickens safely free range your yard. This link will show you a couple of designs: http://ping.fm/PMi9O

Pre-made coops are also widely available. Hostetler Feed and Farm Supply in Buffalo, Missouri has a nice supply of hand made coops. It is worth the drive to check them out. The Amish Furniture and bulk store in Branson also has some small coops. These are only two of the many places around Springfield to purchase your coop.

You will have to feed your chickens in the winter months when there are no bugs to eat. In the summer, you can back off on the feed a bit and let the chickens eat bugs and greens. Your chickens will always love fresh green when they are available. Thinned garden plants and any grubs that we found while gardening always went to the chickens. We always tossed a little calcium supplement to keep the shells strong. Fresh water is an absolute must, as is fresh bedding.

As you can see, this is rapidly becoming a big project. You will need to have a place to store the chicken feed that will keep the rodents out. A place to store the bedding to keep it dry will be needed. And a plan for changing the bedding and what to do with the waste is essential before you start. Be sure to keep abreast of the rules regarding waste composting and disposal. At this point there are limits on how much waste can be composted.

Be honest with your self if raising chickens is for you. If you decide that the answer is yes, you are in for a great treat. Once you get into a routine with the chickens, the rewards are great. Fresh eggs that are generally higher in folic acid and lower in cholesterol than store bought eggs. Plus you are in charge of what your chickens eat or donâ€™t eat. It is rewarding to know that there are no antibiotics in your morning scramble.

Let's Do Website Analytics

2010-08-28T07:09:00.001-07:00

Letâ€™s do website analytics! Every good website developer, amateur or professional, needs a strategy for website analytics. One of the big topics that was covered during the recent Search Engine Strategies San Francisco 2010 Conference dealt with making better use of analytics. It is amazing how much data can be overlooked by not taking time to dig deep into the information provided. It is also even more amazing how many websites use no analytics at all. Often, a simple look at the source code of a website will reveal no html code for analytics.
One level of doing good website analytics is to make note of the websites that are referring traffic. It is advisable to develop a spreadsheet of those websites, and make note of every time a referral happens. If a website is still small, it may be fine to do this monthly. Place the names of the month and year across the horizontal grid of the spreadsheet, and the website names on the vertical grid.
Another good tactic is to note the number of pages from within a specific website. Certain websites may be feeding traffic from multiple pages. Note the pages that produce the most traffic, and try to target material toward that specific page. In a kind of reverse fashion, the levels of pages on any website should also be watched, to see which pages are getting the traffic. Many people fail to look past the traffic that is hitting the home page.
These tactics can really help a website developer understand where traffic is coming from. However, there is still another layer in this social media era that needs to be considered, if one is to do good website analytics. The actual people that are sending traffic to a website also needs to be noted. Sometimes, on sites like Twitter, people are clicking on a link to a specific website that was placed on a particular Userâ€™s Twitter page by retweet, direct message etc. Good analytic software like Google Analytics will be able to show the specific User page that was used as the referral. Hence, you know the specific user, because the referral came from their User Twitter Page.
Once specific social media websites have been identified as referring sites, it becomes advantageous to do research on how wide a market those sites reach. A specific referral to any given website might have come from a Twitter User Page with only 40 or 50 followers. But another referring page might have 8000 followers. Finding ways to frequently target the large Twitter page can help drive traffic to websites. To get a start on this strategy, try a website like Klout.com. There are others as well. A strategy for website analytics needs to involve, as a minimum, these layers of analysis.
Raymond Province is an IT Programmer in the health care industry. He frequently writes about search engine optimization, website development, and writing good website content. You can reach him at celticozarksolutions@gmail.com or @celticozarkian on Twitter.

SEO Questions That Make Me Crazy

2010-08-22T17:29:00.000-07:00

Slainte to all my readers here at Celtic Ozark Solutions. My name is Ray Province. I work here at Celtic Ozark Solutions, specializing in search engine optimization rich content for websites. But I am also passionate about doing good search engine optimization. I will, no doubt, be a life long student.
I want to focus this edition of my blog on some of the questions that still make me crazy. These can be hard questions to answer, but I will do my best. I hope you enjoy the conversation.
The first of these questions is why my website does not rank number one in search engine optimization. That’s a fair question to ask. First of all, my website has not aged enough yet. Second, I always put working on my website as a low priority anymore. I make sure I have my client’s work done first. Then, I come back and work on my site.
The biggest reason, though, has to do with the name of my company. Celtic Ozark Solutions. When you are searching for SEO related topics, you will typically expect to find those words in the name of the company. SEO Book is one of my favorites. To be frank, though, I don’t care. I have always wanted to own a company named Celtic Ozark Solutions. So, there ya go. The bottom line is, I am getting good business anyway, doing many other things right.
The second of the questions that make me crazy has to do with the fact that people think I should be working for Google, in order to understand how to do search engine optimization. That is simply not the case. I recently did an article on Design, Build, and Validate that talks about the process of how I manage to move people up the rankings with SEO. It is an experimental process that measures results. You can learn to do anything that way.
The other issue is that, if I worked for Google, I would not be allowed to have a company working on SEO. Pay per click is too big a money maker for them.
These are just a couple of those questions. When I am feeling philosophical again, I’ll write on some more. In the meantime, I need to go back to work.
Ray Province is an IT Programmer in the healthcare industry, and owner of Celtic Ozark Solutions, a company that specializes in SEO, SEO rich content, and website development. You can reach him at celticozarksolutions@gmail.com or @celticozarkian on Twitter.

8th Annual Celtic Heritage Festival 7 Highland Games

2010-08-21T19:33:00.001-07:00

The 8th annual Celtic Heritage Festival & Highland Games will be held at Buffalo, MO on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 10th and 11th, 2010. It is one of the premier Celtic Hertiage events in the Ozarks every year. Here is the scoop on this year's festival.

The festivities will begin Friday evening at 6:00 PM with the Calling of the Clans. There will be plenty of entertainment to boot on the main stage that evening. There will be Clan tents, vendors, food, and entertainment all evening. The Friday night activities are a real deal. they are free to the public, and will give you a chance to purchase their advance tickets for Saturday's events.

Purchasing advance tickets will save you $2.00 at the gate, so take advantage of the free Friday night festivities also. There are some new activities and events this year. New is the Scottish Sword Show with cultural information about sword fighting, the archery group are returning also. There are also new vendors and clan tents too. Don't forget the Highland Games on Saturday, beginning at 9:00 AM It is always a pleasure to cheer on your favorite Highland athletic. We look forward to seeing you there.

Ozarks Weather Has Been Hot

2010-08-14T05:12:00.001-07:00

The last month of Ozarks weather has been hot. Several summertime heat records have been broken. In Springfield, we have bumped along 100 degrees for several weeks. It sure makes me wish we had the summer weather of the last couple of years.

Today, we have yet another heat advisory and warning. So, there are several things to be on the look for today in the Ozarks. Try to confine outdoor work to the early morning and late evening. The temps are at least coooler then. Be on the look out for heat exhaustion, in yourself and others. Drink lots of water and little alcohol. (Sorry, even the Irish/Scots cut back on this hot a day!) Also, watch pets. Make sure they have water. We even put out an extra water dish for the animals that kind of roam our part of little Fair Grove, Missouri.

Please also, if you have older family members, check on them a lot. Many of these folks do not run air conditioning in the summer. They can dehydrate just as quickly. Ozarks weather has been hot, but we can beat the issues by sticking together.

Watch your gardens also. They really need water this time of year. We have been lucky to get a little rain the last two days. That really helps, cause plants love the warmer water temp. Cold water tends to shock vegetables.

Stay cool, fellow Ozarkians!

Ray Province, the Celtic Ozarkian
http://ping.fm/itGu7

Israel Kamakawiwo'ole Lives On in Music

2010-07-02T19:13:00.001-07:00

Iâ€™ve had a chance this week in Oahu to get back in touch with my love of traditional Hawaiian music. For me, that journey always begins with the music of IZ. IZâ€™s real name is Israel Kamakawiwoâ€™ole. He had the voice of an angel. It is such a shame that he left us at such a young age, passing away from complications of a respiratory disease in 1997.

Israel and his brother Skippy formed the Makaha Sons of Ni'ihau with Louis "Moon" Kauakahi, Sam Gray and Jerome Koko. The group changed around a bit through the years, especially with the death of IZâ€™s brother Skippy. They became prominent on the traditional Hawaiian theme scene in 1991, when IZâ€™s album Kaâ€™anoâ€™I won Hoku awards for Contemporary Album of the Year. The Makaha Sons of Ni'ihau's "Makaha Bash 3," won Group awards the very next year.

Interestingly enough, it is a two song medley of his that means the most to me. Many people have heard the combo â€œSomewhere Over the Rainbow/Itâ€™s A Wonderful World.â€ I many respects, I believe those two songs summed up IZâ€™s wish for a world that lived by a true spirit of Aloha. Take a look into the heart of the singer in this section of verse (you may even know the melody):

Someday I'll wish upon a star, wake up where the clouds are far behind me

Where trouble melts like lemon drops

High above the chimney tops is where you'll find me

Somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds fly

And the dreams that you dare to, oh why, oh why can't I?

Israel had fought a battle with drugs, weight, and depression in his life. Yet, he always dared to dream of a world that was beautiful, and noble, and good. He claimed for himself the spirit of Louis Armstrongâ€™s song, when he declared the world â€œwonderful.â€ I especially feel that in the verse about children, when he sang:

I hear babies cry and I watch them grow,

They'll learn much more than we'll know

And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.

For many, the spirit of aloha talks of a spirituality where people learn to live together in a spirit of brotherhood. When youâ€™re in the Islands, you have many cousins, as you are part of the ohana of Whole Island. But Israel tried to take us a little deeper in his music. The spirit of aloha causes us to love ourselves also, and work to be a better person each day. We are only able to live aloha as we can first love and forgive ourselves, as our life journey leads us on.

Israel Kamakawiwoâ€™ole will live on in his music. And his music will live on in me, as I live aloha everyday with my cousins everywhere.

Mahalo.
Ray Province
The Celtic Ozarkian
http://ping.fm/pmZOH

The Spirit of Ohana

2010-06-30T19:48:00.001-07:00

We have had a chance to make a trip back to the Islands this summer. Hawaii is a magical place, full of beautiful ocean views, tree, flowers. But that is not what appeals to me most, as I grow older. The Spirit of Ohana is what makes the trip worth it.

There is a spirit of Ohana I witnessed on a trollie ride to Hilo Hatties. A mother, and her three small children, were riding the trollie. Depending on where you go, you can ride the trollie for free, or just a tip to the driver. For her, it was a way to make tough times work better.

For me, it was a chance to play "peek a boo" with her one year old on our 30 minutes ride to Hilo's. The beautiful child made me feel young again. Even her mother laughed, when she figured out who her child was laughing at. I have granddaughters that age. The spirit of Ohana is in the young.

There was a spirit of Ohana in the ukelele music of a local who played at the Barefoot Bar and Grill last night. He picked up on the fact we could sing with him,sometimes in Hawaiian. He brought a sense of Ohana back to me, as he sang his version of Iz's "Somewhere over the Rainbow." Iz left this world in 1997, but still touches my soul. Whereever you are Iz, there is such a place.... Mahalo.

We had a chance to teach our new Hawaiian friend to say "yeehaw" like a real hillbilly, and gave him some local lessions on the pronunciation of "Missouri". And we all laughed about a journey up the road to Hana. He remarked, "did you ever figure out what we were supposed to find there?" The spirit of Ohana lives in the stories we told, though we grew up 3000 miles apart.

And there is the spirit of Ohana with my own extended family here in the Islands. We get to take Dad back to Pearl at 83 years old. It was the place that began his Marine career, as they prepared to leave for Japan. Not long afterwards, they went to the Chosin Reservoir in Korea. Last night, he remarked to us all "I'm so glad I came back." It might help you to know that he can no longer see the beauty of Oahu, as his sight has diminished.

I invite you all to look for the spirit of Ohana all around you. Til next time,

Ray Province
The Celtic Ozarkian
www.celticozarkian.com
www.celticozarksolutions.com

Irish Music Be Praised

2010-06-20T09:33:00.001-07:00

I was listening to some hillbilly Ozark music today. I am reminded that we Ozarkians owe a debt of thanks to the Ulster Irish who settled the Ozarks in the 19th Century. Thanks to all.

Early settlers of the Ozarks quickly picked up on the fiddle music . The jigs so common in hillbilly dance are also connected to the Celts. The Reels also have a link in Irish music.

Add the washboard, jawbone harp, and other Ozark instruments, and you have a genuine Irish Ozark music connection. We did not much with the pipes, or penny whistles though. But you can hear old Celtic rythmns in the music.

Thanks to the Celtic folk who came with a fiddle in hand, and a dream in their heart.

Raymond C. Province, M.A.
Celtic Ozark Solutions

Raymond C. Province, M.A.
Celtic Ozark Solutions

Location:U.S. 40,Columbia,United States

Ramp Up Your Presence

2010-06-10T17:53:00.001-07:00

So you are ready to ramp up your social presence in the webosphere. Well, here are some sites that can help you get going. They are 40 of my favorite social sites on the web. I also use these to help my customers. No tricks here.

The reason most people fail on these sites, though, is that they never use them. Weird, right? They may set some up, add a couple of bits of data, or a link or comment, and they are done. They just sit back and wait for the new contacts to come rolling in. Wrong!

You really need to be commenting on, uploading and ranking different newsworthy articles. You can also create a member profile that directs traffic back to your company's Web site. You need to ask people questions, respond to other peopleâ€™s comments. Social media branding is not about â€œset it and forget it.â€ So, If you are not going to put some time into these sites, donâ€™t waste your time! Hire someone to help you. Better yet, letâ€™s have a discussion about what my company can do to help you!
1. Reddit: Upload stories and articles on reddit to drive traffic to your site or blog. You will need to use this one often. Make the uploads relevant to your business. A great cupcake article wonâ€™t sell your power tools!
2. Digg: Digg has a huge following online because it is really easy to use. Visitors can submit and browse articles in categories like technology, business, entertainment, sports and more. As a technology company, it is one my my favs.
3. Del.icio.us: Social bookmark your way to better business with sites here. This is always a good one to tag when you have added fresh content to your website.
4. StumbleUpon: You'll really get some great mileage out of this site by adding the toolbar add on. Then, you can mark great info as you browse the web. Donâ€™t just use this one to mark your stuff.
5. Technorati: If you want to increase your blog's readership, consider registering it with Technorati, a network of blogs and writers that lists top stories in categories like Business, Entertainment and Technology.
6. Ning: After hanging around the same social networks for a while, you may feel inspired to create your own, where you can bring together clients, vendors, customers and co-workers in a confidential, secure corner of the Web. Ning lets users design free social networks that they can share with anyone. You could very well build the next Facebook of your niche.
7. Squidoo: According to Squidoo, "everyone's an expert on something. Share your knowledge!" This is the best site in the world for building pages about your business.
8. Furl: Make Furl "your personal Web file" by bookmarking great sites and sharing them with other users by recommending links, commenting on articles and utilizing other fantastic features.
9. Tubearoo: This video network works like other social-bookmarking sites, except that it focuses on uploaded videos. Businesses can create and upload tutorials, commentaries and interviews with industry insiders to promote their own services.
10. WikiHow: Create a how-to guide or tutorial on wikiHow to share your company's services with the public for free. It makes you look like a mini encyclopedia.
11. YouTube: Video is getting watched more and more each day. You really need to be making videos and video blogs about your company. (called vlogs).
12. Ma.gnolia: Share your favorite sites with friends, colleagues and clients by organizing your bookmarks with Ma.gnolia. Clients will appreciate both your Internet-savviness and your ability to stay current and organized.
Professional-Networking Sites
Sign up with these online networking communities as a company or as an individual to take advantage of recruiting opportunities, cross-promotional events and more. These are the sites to really talk about business on. Youâ€™re not trying to be everybodyâ€™s friend. Build some real business connections.
13. LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a popular networking site for professionals to meet and network around business.
14. Ecademy: Ecademy has one of the best chat rooms around for connecting with business. And, it will be more productive than just Facebook.
15. Focus: Focus is a business destination where business professionals can help each other with their purchase and other business decisions by accessing research and peer expertise. Most importantly, Focus provides open, quality information for all businesses that is freely available, easily accessible, and community powered.
16. YorZ: This networking site doubles as a job site. Members can post openings for free to attract quality candidates. In return, you can also look for work, if you are still working while building your fortune!
17. Xing: An account with networking site Xing can "open doors to thousands of companies." Use the professional contact manager to organize your new friends and colleagues, and take advantage of the Business Accelerator application to "find experts at the click of a button, market yourself in a professional context [and] open up new sales channels."
18. Facebook: is rapidly becoming one of the biggest sites in the world. Just be careful not to push business too quickly here. Give people some free help to establish yourself as an expert in your field. Also, build a business Fan Page. Leave your personal page for your friends and family.
19. Care2: Care2 isn't just a networking community for professionals: It's touted as "the global network for organizations and people who Care2 make a difference." If your business is making efforts to go green, let others know by becoming a presence on this site.
20. Gather: This networking community is made up of members who think. Browse categories concerning books, health, money, news and more to ignite discussions on politics, business and entertainment. This will help your company tap into its target audience and find out what they want.
21. MEETin.org: Once you've acquired a group of contacts in your city by networking on MEETin.org, organize an event so that you can meet face-to-face.
22. Tribe: Cities like Philadelphia, Boston, San Francisco, New York and Chicago have unique online communities on tribe. Users can search for favorite restaurants, events, clubs and more.
23. Ziggs: Ziggs is "organizing and connecting people in a professional way." Join groups and make contacts through your Ziggs account to increase your company's presence online and further your own personal career.
24. Plaxo: Join Plaxo to organize your contacts and stay updated with feeds from Digg, Amazon.com, del.icio.us and more.
25. NetParty: If you want to attract young professionals in cities like Boston, Dallas, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Orlando Fla., create an account with the networking site NetParty. You'll be able to connect with qualified, up-and-coming professionals online, then meet them at a real-life happy-hour event where you can pass out business cards, pitch new job openings and more.
26. Networking For Professionals: Networking For Professionals is another online community that combines the Internet with special events in the real world. Post photos, videos, rÃ©sumÃ©s and clips on your online profile while you meet new business contacts.
Niche Social-Media Sites
These are the sites you want to use to build a link to other professionals in your business.
27. Pixel Groovy: Web workers will love Pixel Groovy, an open-source site that lets members submit and rate tutorials for Web 2.0, email and online-marketing issues.
28. Mixx: Mixx prides itself on being "your link to the Web content that really matters." Submit and rate stories, photos and news to drive traffic to your own site. You'll also meet others with similar interests.
29. Tweako: Gadget-minded computer geeks can network with each other on Tweako, a site that promotes information sharing for the technologically savvy.
30. Small Business Brief: When members post entrepreneur-related articles, a photo and a link to their profile appear, gaining you valuable exposure and legitimacy online.
31. Sphinn: Sphinn is an online forum and networking site for the Internet marketing crowd. Upload articles and guides from your blog to create interest in your own company or connect with other professionals for form new contacts.
32. BuzzFlash.net: This one-stop news resource is great for businesses that want to contribute articles on a variety of subjects, from the environment to politics to health.
33. HubSpot: HubSpot is another news site aimed at connecting business professionals.
34. SEO TAGG: Stay on top of news from the Web marketing and SEO (search-engine optimization) industries by becoming an active member of this online community.
General Social-Media Sites
These are the great old standbys that have been helping people build an online presence for years. Donâ€™t leave them out of your portfolio.
35. Wikipedia: Besides creating your own business reference page on Wikipedia. You can also add expert articles on your subject matter.
36. Newsvine: Feature top employees by uploading their articles, studies or other news-related items to this site. A free account will also get you your own column and access to the Newsvine community. Kind of like a news press release.
37. 43 Things: This site bills itself as "the world's most popular online goal setting community." By publicizing your company's goals and ambitions, you'll gain a following of customers, investors and promoters who cheer you on as you achieve success. It is also a great site to help you build a folowing for your company. Hit this one around once a month.
38. Wetpaint: If you're tired of blogs and generic Web sites, create your own wiki with Wetpaint to reach your audience and increase your company's presence online. You can easily organize articles, contact information, photos and other information to promote your business.
39. Twitter: Is a social networking and microblogging service that allows you answer the question, "What are you doing?" The secret to Twitter is adding personal stuff, as well as professional stuff.
40. Yahoo! Answers: Start fielding Yahoo! users' questions with this social-media Q&A service. You can become an expert for the Yahoo gang.
Well, here are 40 sites that can help you ramp up your social presence. Donâ€™t forget, though ,that you will need to spend time each day on some of these sites. My recommendation is that you do 30 min a day. Youâ€™ll be happy with the results.

Ray Province is an IT programmer and owner of Celtic Ozark Solutions, an IT company specializing in website content, social media, and SEO. You can check us out at www.celticozarksolutions.com.

Springfield Catholic Irish Girls Win State Soccer Title

2010-06-06T05:19:00.001-07:00

For the first time in history, a Springfield MO team won the State Soccer Championship. Hard fighting Springfield Catholic showed all their fighting Irish to become that team. They beat St. Louis based Trinity Catholic to claim the Class 1 crown.

St. Louis has long been a stronghold for girls soccer. In fact, the team from Trinity beat Catholic last year for the title. So, this was a real grudge match for the girls.

The Mint Zulep

2010-05-23T13:19:00.000-07:00

I have a spearmint plant in my garden that has now grown to 16 square feet. It is a weed of a plant. So, I am always looking for good recipes that involve spearmint. One can only drink so much spearmint tea. One of my favorites summertime drinks is a good Mint Julep. So, I wanted to pass on a recipe for it.
2 oz of Burbon whiskey
4 sprigs of mint
1 tsp powdered sugar
2 tsps of water.

Muddle your spearmint sugar, and water in a Collins style glass. Fill the glass with crushed ice, then add your burbon. Stir with a tea style spoon. The place a spearmint leaf on top for decoration.

Enjoy

A History of St. Patrick

2010-03-17T08:29:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day folks. I have you all have had a chance to celebrate today. Just be careful tonight. Here in the Ozarks, St. Patrick's Day is one of the biggest nights of the year for DUI arrests. That would be no fun.

St Patrick is most commonly known as the patron saint of Ireland. The interesting thing is that he is not actually Irish by birthright. He served in Ireland, and became an ex-officio Irishman.

Patrick was born in approximately 370-395 C.E. There are differing views about the exact year and place of his birth. According to one school of opinion, he was born about 390 A.D., while the other school says it is about 373 AD. His real place of birth is said to be in either Scotland or Roman England. His real name was probably Maewyn Succat. Patricius was his Romanicized name. The name Patrick was kind of a nickname.

Patrick was the son of Calpurnius, a Roman-British army officer. He grew up in a very normal fashion for that time and place in the Empire of Rome. However, one day a band of pirates landed in south Wales and kidnapped him. They sold him into slavery in Ireland. He was there for 6 years, and was in prison most of the time. During this time, Patrick became very religious. Legend contends that he had a vision of God, which told him to escape on a ship.

He was able to finally escape, and made his escape to Britain and France. There he joined a monastery and studied under St. Germain, the bishop of Auxerre. He spent around 12 years in religious training. When he became a bishop, he dreamed that the Irish were calling him back to Ireland to tell them about God. The Confessio, Patrick's spiritual autobiography, is the most important document regarding this. It tells of a dream after his return to Britain, in which one Victoricus delivered him a letter headed "The Voice of the Irish."

So he set out for Ireland with the Pope's blessings. There he converted the Gaelic Irish, who were then mostly Pagans, to Christianity. He was confident in the Lord, he journeyed far and wide, baptizing and confirming with untiring zeal. And, in a diplomatic fashion he brought gifts to a kinglet here and a lawgiver there,but accepted none from any.

Indeed, Patrick was quite successful at winning converts. Through active preaching, he made important converts even among the royal families. And this fact upset the Celtic Druids. Patrick was arrested several times,but escaped each time. For 20 years he had traveled throughout Ireland, establishing monasteries across the country. He founded schools and churches. He helped to develop a solid group of native Irish clergy, and he fostered the growth of monasticism, established dioceses, and held church councils. A good deal of the Catholic roots of Ireland came as a direct result of his work in Ireland.

Patrick's doctrine is considered orthodox and has been interpreted as anti-Pelagian (against a notion of free will playing a part in a person's salvation.). Although he is not particularly noted as a man of learning, a few of his writings remain importantt: his Confession, a reply to his detractors, and several letters. The Lorica ("Breastplate"), a famous hymn attributed to Patrick, is also around. By the end of the 7th century, Patrick had become a legendary figure, and the legends have continued to grow through the years, not unlike the legend of William Wallace in Scotland. There are lots of legends associated with St Patrick. It is said that he used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the concept of the Trinity. The biggest legend, though, is associated with the so-called curse of God he placed upon poisonous snakes. He is also credited with having drove all the snakes from the Emerald Isle.

St. Patrick's mission in Ireland lasted for around 20 years. So, he really was able to get a lot done in a little bit of time. He passed away on March 17, 461. So, that is where we get the date. The celebration is now more secular than religous. Not as many people celebrate the holy day associated with March 17th. Many pagan symbols have also now been associated with the holiday: the leprechaun, shamrocks, the Blarney Stone, and the like.

Happy St. Patrick's Day,

Ray Province, The Celtic Ozarkian

Ray is a retired minister and now IT programmer. He owns Celtic Ozark Solutions, and It company specializing in website content and development, SEO, and social media integration. He also writes on all things Irish and Scottish at http://ping.fm/qCfGw

Change Yourself from the Inside Out

2010-03-13T08:27:00.000-08:00

We all have people that we admire. They can even become status symbols for us. They can provide you with hope and inspiration to change yourself from the inside out, as it were.

The problem with our society today, though, is that it is possible to have the appearance of health, wealth, and happiness. This is especially true of famous, rich people, who have the money to hire people to manage their brand and identity. One need not look past the saga with Tiger Wood to realize this. His team is working hard to show the world he is a changed man.

When we find ourselves in need of change, we often start in the same way. We change our house, we change our car. We try to “look the part” until we can “be the part.” If we just get the right types of possessions, it will change us.

Just look at the problems, though, the lottery winners endure. Many of those people end up broke, not too long after acquiring their fortune. They were able to change the outside, but did not have the inward change needed, the maturity needed, to handle that kind of money.

So, it is time to change yourself from the inside out. You will need to be sure, however, what it is you want to become. Are you going to follow the trends of the world. In that world, busy-ness, power, oneupmanship are often the kind of traits admired.

Abundant life is only going to be found in God. As we change ourselves from the inside out, we will develop a deeper connection with God. This connection will cultivate the inner maturity needed to handle whatever comes our way. Don’t wait on someone or something to change you.

We’ll talk again soon,

Raymond C. Province, M.Div.

The Race of Life

2010-02-14T08:26:00.000-08:00

You are involved in the race of life. Put another way, you are in the race of your life. This race started the day you were born, and will end on the day you die. No one knows exactly how much time this will be. But one thing is certain: you will get to make a lot of decisions about what you do with that life. As the Psalmist said, “Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should (Psalms 90:12) TLB.

The call to life a life of joy and abundance has been around for a long time. For example, Moses told the children of Israel “I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction…Now choose life.” The sad truth is, many will not.

Jesus said something very similar: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10)” There is a way that we can all, then, learn to live life in the fullest. So, what is that way?

The first step is recognizing that we will die. Many people try to live their life in denial of this fact. Embrassing it can help us to treasure the days we have. You only get so many.
The second step is to choose life. Inside all of us is a dream of what we want life to be, that ebs and flows with time. It can help to guide us, if we are willing to listen.
The third step can be best thought of in a question: if you had only one month to live, what would you do with your life? Would you see old friends, mend fences, prepare yourself for what comes after death?
Sit down today and take a piece of paper and pen, and write out what you would do with your one month to live. Make a change in the race of life. Then give yourself a challenge. Try to accomplish as much of that dream as you can in the next thirty days.

Raymond C. Province, M. Div. is a retired minister and owner of A Higher Faith.com, a website dedicated to living a life of faith. You can reach him at celticozarksolutions@gmail.com, or @celticozarkian on Twitter.

Just in Time

2010-01-26T08:25:00.000-08:00

In 1 Timothy, chapter 2, we hear that Jesus came to our need just in time. In other words, there was no better time for him to have done his work. What a concept!

Some people might call this perfect timing. Almost every day, something seems to happen to me just in time. Yet, I still get impatient. I want to control the timing. I just want God to be the conduit. How often I must mess up some really good blessings, just so I can control timing.

On a different note, I know I will meet someone this week that will need me to be there just in time. God can use me to be there. If I am all wrapped up in controlling my time, I may miss these moments
as well.

Control rarely happens just in time to do anything. That is because my perspective is too small. I can't always get out of my own world to clearly see yours.

Raymond C. Province, M.A.
Celtic Ozark Solutions

Hillbilly Spiced Beets

2009-07-22T16:51:00.000-07:00

Here is the recipe from Robin's aunt, that we talked about on our garden video on growing beets.

Spiced Beets

4 cans of beets, or 8 cups of fresh beets from the garden. Cooked and diced.
3/4 cup of vinegar
2/3 cup sugar
2T pickling spice Put in a bit of cheesecloth or a tea ball works well. Don't want the spice just floating free.

Drain beets, boil the juice and ingredients 20 minutes. If using fresh beets, add a cup of water. Remove the spice. and cook for another 10min. The remove from heat. and cool. Enjoy

Ray Province
The Celtic Ozarkian

A Social Gospel for the Internet

2009-05-31T08:23:00.000-07:00

I spend a lot of time working and playing on the Internet. Social media sites have given us all a brand new way to connect with one another. One of the great joys of my life is being able to find old friends on sites like Facebook, MySpace, Plaxo, and others. It has become part of my community of friends and family. The fact that I have not personally meet everyone I was chatted with on the Internet means nothing. As people begin to adopt more software like Skype, we will see even more of one another.
As a Christian, I believe I have a responsibility to share my faith in all things. This would logically include my interactions over the Internet. There are far too many people abusing this electronic form of community. Good role models need to be available. I know that my friends from other faith traditions share this view. I would content we all have a social mandate to share the love of God in our interactions on the Internet.
In today’s times, there are at least two distinct philosophies on how we go about “sharing the Good News” in any setting. On the one hand, we have what I like to call the “methodology of the mouth.” We share personal convictions about being Christians, and we ask others to consider doing the same. We ask others to become Christians through the acceptance of Jesus’ role in cosmic history. This role is very evangelical in nature.
On the other hand, we also share our love of God in what I like to call a “social gospel.” It refers to our actions, and our beliefs working hand in hand with one another. This type of philosophy says that our actions must match what comes out of our mouth. It ways that Jesus did more than show people a way to salvation.
These two philosophies are not mutually exclusive. Indeed, they should work in consort with one another. It is simply a way to help one understand where the emphasis is often placed. It is like putting a magnifying lens on a small flow, so you can see it better.
Here are some things we can all do to better share a social gospel across our blogosphere:
1. We can remember that God created this world, and we have been left in charge of its care. Until we know exactly when God plans on coming back, we have been asked to be the world’s caretakers.
2. We can remember that God came to redeem our world, and we have been asked to continue that path of redemption in our actions and words.
3. We can joyfully accept the blessings of community, sexuality, marriage, and the family. In our current times, I believe we need a broad definition of family: we all need to raise our neighbors children by example. We need to be careful what we share on the Internet, what we forward in emails, etc. You never know where that will end up.
4. We can commit ourselves to the rights of men, women, children, youth, young adults, the aging, and people with disabilities; to improvement of the quality of life; and to the rights and dignity of all persons. We can participate in the on going discussions of these topics in our favorite blogs, chat rooms, new pages, etc. We can blog about them, write articles on them, make videos about them, etc.
5. We can be an advocate the right and duty of persons to work for the glory of God and the good of themselves and others and in the protection of their welfare in so doing; in the rights to property as a trust from God, collective bargaining, and responsible consumption; and in the elimination of economic and social distress.
6. We can use the Internet to promote peace throughout the world, to the rule of justice and law among nations, and to individual freedom for all people of the world.

Ray Province

Ray Province is a retired minister and IT programmer in the healthcare industry. He writes about issues effecting life in the Ozarks at The Celtic Ozarkian. You can reach him at contactus@celticozarkian.com or @celticozarkian on Twitter

Easter Morning

2009-04-19T08:21:00.000-07:00

It is Easter morning, and we find ourselves waiting for Jesus. We always celebrate the fact that Jesus of Nazareth “rose from the grave” in a bodily resurrection on this date. This has become the tradition.
I suspect, though, the the disciples were doing the same thing on the first Easter morning that we are doing now: waiting on something to happen. It is in the “waiting”, I believe, that we can find a great lesson about Easter morning. Let us consider how it is we wait upon Jesus.
We may wait like the disciples waited. Jesus was dead, and the disciples were in fear for there own lives. Despite the fact that Jesus had taught them of his inevitable death and coming again, they simply missed the point. I am not sure anyone was truly expecting Jesus to come again. We was laid to rest, and the women would come on the first Easter morning to finish preparing his body. Mary is even astonished at his coming, as she becomes the first to see him. Maybe be come today like Mary and the disciples: astonished at the story.
We may wait like little children. I can remember growing up in a Methodist Church. It was full of people dressed to the hilt. The place smelt like Easter lillies, and was dressed in purple. It was what we had always done, but still did not make complete sense. Even the songs took some time to learn. I can remember singing an old hymn with the words, “up from the grave he arose, with a bunch of dirt between his toes!” On some level, it was easier to remember, and made more sense. Maybe we come today like kids, not quite understanding the message.
We may come today like Thomas Thomas “the Doubter” may be the way we come to Easter morning. I would not call Thomas a doubter as much as I would call him a scientific sceptic. The biblical passage about Thomas says it all: Thomas wanted proof! Wanted something he could see with his eyes, or touch with his hand. Maybe we come today wanted some kind of scientific evidence. Only only issue here is that there is none. You can almost find more evidence to the contrary, via the many conspiracy theories that evolved through the years. Here are just a few: Jesus did not die, but was snuck out of town, Mary went to the wrong tomb, the gardener moved Jesus, the disciples moved Jesus because they needed him to appear as if he had risen! Get the idea?
In all these ways, we can come to the Easter morning we celebrate today. I have no doubt I will sit next to people who will bring all these perspectives to what we celebrate today. These are very normal perspectives.
Our Issue Is that there is only one way to come to Easter. Whether by accident or intent, Easter can only be celebrated through the eyes of faith. We cannot use our best powers of reason, observation, intuition and get ourselves back to God. Rather, we must come in the eyes of faith to how God has been revealed in the resurrection.
We are confronted with the stories of faith, and asked to accept them. This is not blind foolishness, though. We are asked to believe in faith as God’s spirit makes it become real for us. Just as there is no real value to the Bible without a living God behind it, there is also no Resurrection without the power of the living God that made it happen. God expects us to come to Easter on God’s terms!
There are many things in life I believe in that I cannot prove. There are many things I accept that I do not completely understand. So, today, I come to Easter morning through the eyes of faith, to allow God to speak to me on God’s terms. I have never been disappointed.
Happy Easter
Ray Province
Ray Province is a retires minister and owner of The Celtic Ozarkian and This is Life in the Ozarks, which chronicle life in the Ozarks. He is an IT programmer by trade, and also freelances in website development, SEO, and social bookmarking strategies for internet marketers. You can contact Ray at contactus@celticozarkian.com or @celticozarkian on Twitter.

Beta Blend Salad

2009-04-19T06:02:00.000-07:00

Here is a salad for those of you looking to get some more beta-carotene in your diet. This important nutrient is typically lacking in the diet of Americans this time of year, as it is hard to get quality vegetables all winter. Hope you like it!!!

The Salad:

1 large golden beet
8 long fingerling carrots
1 yellow tomato
1 bag of spinach
4 leaves of purple or flowering kale (what you can find)
4 leaves from the dandelions in your yard!

The Hillbilly Touch is in the Dressing!
1 pkg of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing made.
2/3 cup of cashews
2 cloves of garlic (1 if you are a wimp!)
1/8 tsp of Greek Seasoning Salt
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp of fresh thyme
1/2 tsp of fresh oregano

You can arrange the salad as you like. Add the additional ingredients to the Hidden Valley Ranch dressing, and you are ready to go!

Human Suffering

2009-03-22T08:19:00.000-07:00

I recently taught a Sunday School Class on the topic of human suffering. Just like people that have lived for thousands of years, we still find ourselves perplexed by the reality of human suffering.

We find ourselves perplexed because of the classic contradiction of ideas that Leibniz call "the theodicy." I put the concept together this way: 1) We all taught that God is all knowing, loving, powerful, etc. 2) We find ourselves in a world of suffering. No matter what one's answer might be, this is the classic formulation of the answer.

Here are some of the classical answers to the question: 1) God is not all powerful, and does not have the ability to stop all suffering, 2)God is not all loving, 3)God uses suffering as a way to punish us for wrong doing, 3) a kind of theory of atonement, i.e. we must make up for our sins---and if we do not we are punished. None of these make anyone feel particularly good.

This is always made the most sense to me: 1)we have the freedom to choose, 2)God lets us "wrestle' with our proverbial "demons", even to the point of tragedy, 3) the world operates by a series of "physical laws' which cannot be changed all the time, 4)this life is not the fulfillment of my "existence; there is more to come.

So, I do blame humanity for the Holocaust. We could have done more to stop it. I do not blame God for the hurricane that destroys my home. That same hurricane is cooling global water tempuratures. I do blame myself for the bad choices I make. Finally, I deal with much suffering in this way: I have a choice not only to "act" correctly, but I have a choice to control how I think and feel about the bad that happens to me.

I invite you to comment with your thoughts.

Ray Province

Ray Province is a retired minister and owner of The Celtic Ozarkian, a website that chronicles life in the Ozarks. He is an IT Programer by trade, and freelances in SEO, website developments, social bookmarking, and blogging on things he loves.

Did Paul Found the Christian Movement?

2009-03-15T08:18:00.000-07:00

I ran across an article recently on the apostle Paul. In short, the article contended that Paul may have had a bigger influence on the Christian movement than Jesus of Nazareth. Needless to say, the article got my attention.

This type of thinking about the role of Paul in early Christianity is not new. I have seen the same argument from Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and others from the so-called “enlightenment era.” I can even remember sitting in a philosophy class in college studying the same argument from a German philosopher named Nietzsche. If you are so inclined, do a Google search on the “historical Jesus” or “historical Jesus movement” and check out what they have to say on the matter.

There are several issues, which have been “branded’ to Paul, that help to keep this age old argument alive: the so-called anti female, anti marriage, anti gay, and anti Semitic movements. Almost all literature I have ever seen from someone with this sort of political slant will fall back on the teachings attributed to Paul for “biblical’ support of the cause. A second issue that has lasted through the years is the concept of “predestination.” This issue, steeped in the Pauline tradition, asks “how free will do I have to accept or reject God?” A third issues centers around the idea of human beings coming into the world as “sinners” from the get go. The original sin of Adam and Eve has left a mark on us all, and continues down through the ages via our progeny. Finally, the fact that Paul never spent time with Jesus continues to be a point of debate. As one might recall, Paul meets a glorified Jesus on the road to Damascus.

I think it is fair to say, based on the accounts we have, that Paul and the original twelve disciples did not get along well. I am not sure I would have trusted the sincerity of Paul conversion either! The stories from the book of Acts inform us that a “peaceful co-existence’ finally comes to fruition between the original twelve and Paul. This may be part of the reason that Paul becomes the missionary to the Gentiles. To me, this issue can be overplayed. If we do not wish to look to Paul for the answer on why the good news came to the Gentiles, we need only look as far as the folks with which Jesus interacted and ministered.

If you look at the writings left to us about early Christianity, you have to take Paul into account. There are 13 letters in the New Testament attributed to Paul (though most scholars today would tell you only 7 are Paul’s). We have none from the hand of Jesus himself. There is just a lot of stuff missing. Even Paul makes mention of other works that have not survived the test of time.
Given that, the letters of Paul are as close to Jesus as anything we have. The work in our canon of Scripture gives us the best look at the life and ministry of Jesus we have. I also try to remember that, like any good movement, thought and beliefs evolve over time. The early writings of Paul are very close to the stories told about Jesus in the gospels. I am not surprised that time allowed for fuller thinking, even in an educated Paul (take a look at Romans for instance.)

Like it or not, the gospel took root quicker in the outlands, in the Diaspora. The early Jesus movement took on a life of its own. To me, every person who help spread the news in this critical point in history is just as responsible for the shape of Christianity today. I would even contend that all of us in the 21st Century are doing the same thing. I think I’ll keep a spot in my heart for Paul, and pray the history remembers me as well.

Ray and Robin Province are the owners of The Celtic Ozarkian website, dedicated to issues surrounding life in the Ozarks. You can find us at: http://ping.fm/W0mRn or http://ping.fm/Js7VE
Ray is a retired minister who is currently an IT programmer in the healthcare industry, and freelances in SEO and website development. Robin is a semi retired ICU nurse who now works in coding and compliance in the healthcare industry. She is the co-owner of http://ping.fm/SdbiZ

How To Spend A Day With God

2009-03-02T08:16:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share some information on how to spend a day with God. It is a plan for more than just a time of prayer. It is an attitude that can allow you to have quiet moments with God throughout the day. Here it is:

1. Thanksgiving
Begin with thanksgiving. Psalm 100:4 tells us, "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise." Thank Him for His patience and forgiveness. Thank Him for the privilege of coming into His presence. Thank Him for what He has done in and through your life in the last year. Take time to list what God has done for you. Be specific. Think through every area of your life.

2. Confession
Ask God to search your heart. Psalm 139: 23,24 Confess any sins the Holy Spirit reveals. Psalm 19:12 Remember the certainty of forgiveness. 1 John 1:9 Make certain you are walking and praying in the Spirit. Ephesians 5:15-20

3. Praise
Become still before the Lord. Psalm 46:10 Consider who God is. Psalm 103 Praise Him for His attributes. Psalm 145 Rejoice in your fellowship with Him and that He delights in you. Proverbs 15:8 Read passages of Scripture and pray them back to God. Psalms 146 - 150 Sing to the Lord.

4. Intercession
Pray your way around the world with unhurried, detailed intercession for others. Ask God to reveal the world to you from His point of view as you read Psalm 33. Begin with your non-Christians, friends, relatives, neighbors and others the Lord puts on your heart. Pray that the people who have never heard about Jesus would have an opportunity to hear and understand the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 Pray for those in authority - federal/national, provincial/state and municipal/county government leaders.1 Timothy 2:1,2 Pray for Christians ,using Paul's prayers in Philippians 1:9-11, Colossians 1:9-12, Ephesians 1 :16-19. "By intercessory prayer we can hold off Satan from other lives and give the Holy Ghost a chance with them. No wonder Jesus put such tremendous emphasis on prayer!" - Oswald Chambers

5. Personal Life Evaluation
Ask for understanding as you read an entire book of the Bible. Record insights God gives you. Ask God what He thinks of your life. Wait. Listen for His answer. Evaluate the use of the time, talent, treasure, education and experience God has entrusted to you. Are they glorifying to God? Do you need to change what you are doing? Discuss with the Lord your joys, your sorrows and decisions you are facing. Find promises and directives in the Bible which you can record.
"The greatest answer to prayer is that I am brought into a perfect understanding with God, and that alters my view of actual things." - Oswald Chambers

6. Concluding Your Day With God
Praise and thank God for the fellowship you had today. Schedule the next "Day with the Lord" in your appointment book.Share with someone about your day.

Ray and Robin Province are the owners of The Celtic Ozarkian website, dedicated to issues surrounding life in the Ozarks. You can find us at: http://www.celticozarkian.com.
Ray is currently an IT programmer in the healthcare industry, and freelances in SEO and website development. Robin is a semi retired ICU nurse who now works in coding and compliance in the healthcare industry.

The Garden of Eden: The Doubting Thomas Theory

2009-01-19T06:23:00.000-08:00

I have spent a considerable bit of time preparing a Sunday School lesson this week on the Garden of Eden. My inspiration comes from two sources: 1)The recent collector's edition, "Secrets of the Bible", from U.S. News & World Report, and 2) the even better book by Eric H. Cline, "From Eden to Exile." I do not intend to regurgitate them. Rather, they form the basis of this article. If you want to check them out, please do so. There are no "hyperlinks" here to follow!

There has been considerable effort placed into the task of trying to "locate" the Garden of Eden. There are many theories that can take one on a grand journey from the Nile River in Egypt, through Arabia, southern Turkey, Iran, and yes Iraq. On a wild ride, one could even come to Jackson County Missouri, not far from my beloved home in the Ozarks! Being Celtic in background, I personally would have placed the garden in Ireland!

As far as location goes, I have been quite fine approximating the location of the Garden somewhere along the path of what has been called "the fertile crescent." Cline makes some good argument to me for postulating the location there. Early archaeological evidence has shown us that this was one of the first places on earth to: domesticate animals, plants grain crops, develop towns and cities. Personally, I would also add the development of fermented beverages to the list, lest we allow the Egyptians all the credit!

At the end of the articles and book, we are left we the same question: "where is it?" As the old television commercial used to say, "the world may never know!" We simply cannot pin down the actual location of the garden with any certainty. Anyone surprised?

Why do we need to know "for sure?" It has nothing to do with "story" of the garden. Like many oral traditions, including modern ones, the story is a blend of myth and fact, pseudo evidence, that aims at making a point. In this case, we are to learn lessons about trust, relationships, truth telling, and the like. There is a lesson about "the sinful nature of humanity" here as well. We all have to face our Jungian "dark side." How did we get so sinful? Has God truly condemned us? These type of questions are the "meat and potatoes" of the story. I am not at all surprised that one can find parallels to the story in cultures all around the fertile crescent.

To need to "know for sure" that the garden existed is part of what I call a "doubting Thomas theory" to theological understanding and true biblical faith. It is as though we have this need to prove to the world that Christianity was right! Considering the fact that even Jesus did not convince everyone of his purpose, one may be in for long ride---trying to prove to the world the "truth' of the Bible, or the stories contained there in.

What is truth? Who is right? I am not qualified to answer that question. I can find enough source of truth, for me, in the what the ancient stories of the Garden of Eden are attempting to teach. One can learn much from history. After all, humanity has been making history for a very long time.

slainte,

Ray Province

Ray Province is a retired minister and owner of the The Celtic Ozarkian website. He writes on issues related to life in the Ozarks. He resides in Fair Grove, Missouri-the heart of the Ozarks. He is currently a IT programer in the healthcare industry.

Surviving the Food Budget

2009-01-13T17:35:00.000-08:00

We wanted to share some ideas that can help beat the cost of groceries these days. I am not sure what you are seeing in your area, but lower gas prices have not helped the grocery bill any. The rising cost of food, blamed on the cost of transportation, was not changed. So, we have to be as smart as the food industry.

Grocery stores all over the Ozarks run specials on meat that will soon be out of date. It helps the grocery store contain their costs, and gives the buyer a good deal. How’s that for a new Celtic tradition? We see this all over Springfield, Missouri. I am sure you will see it in your neck of the woods.
Make a list of what you need for staples. Then add what you may need to make a meal of the sale meat. If we find chicken on sale, we have a plan on what meals to make from it. We do the same with pork and beef. It takes an extra minute or so, but it is worth it.
Consider adding in some meatless dinners. We like to do eggs and toast for dinner, once in a while. It is not very Irish, but it is very hillbilly! I suspect there are others that would join me in eating breakfast for dinner. Grilled cheese and tomato soup is another perennial favorite at the Province home.
Use coupons. They save money, if you shop with them wisely. In some stores, like our Walgreen Drug, you can get extra discount on the coupons.
Watch the grocery ads in your area. We recently needed some hamburger for a pot of chili, and had a range of $1.69 to $3.29 for the same 75/25 burger. Not a bad trade off, considering we routinely shop at both stores that represented the spectrum of price.
Look for discount days at your grocery store. One of our favorite stores offers 10% off the whole bill on Tuesdays for Senior Citizens.

According to some recent statistics I read, from the USDA, the average family with teenage children spent $602.80 per month on groceries, on average. I don’t know about you, but I want to keep all that I can. If this will not work, I want to get all I can for the money!

Slainte,

Ray Province

Ray and Robin Province are the owners of The Celtic Ozarkian website, dedicated to issues surrounding life in the Ozarks. You can find us at: http://www.celticozarkian.com.
Ray is currently an IT programmer in the healthcare industry, and freelances in SEO and website development. Robin is a semi retired ICU nurse who now works in coding and compliance in the healthcare industry.

What Do We Know About the Bible?

2009-01-04T06:02:00.000-08:00

I was spending time this a.m. preparing a new Sunday School lesson, and thought this might make a good blog for discussion. What do we know about the Bible? It is fair to say that opinions and attitudes about the Bible have changed dramatically in my life time (the last 50 yrs., oh my!) Yet, belief in the Bible as "God's Word" remains very strong. Why?

1. Part of the answer to these questions comes from recent finds in the world of ancient literature. From the findings of the scrolls at Qumran through the great finds in Iran and and Iraq, we now have new information about the ancient Middle East. Further, those texts are starting to be translated--leaving us new "food for thought."

Biblical archeology has also been hard at work. We know much more about ancient cities, encampments, old battle grounds etc. Many of these finds help us understand that there are many historical places "that are actually there in all point of fact!"

Our attitudes about the Bible have also changed. As I went to seminary years back now, we were wrestling with "JEPD", the "death of God movement," "biblical, critical interpretation of the Bible", etc. One of my favorite seminary memories came from a day when a student asked my old New Testament professor why Paul was so hard on women, asking them to be quiet and subservient. She quoted the now infamous text in the book of I Timothy as proof of point. My professor's response: "Paul didn't write Timothy!" That was the end of the discussion. It was much later when she found out that he held women in high esteem! We just wanted to get on with the lecture!

2. So, how was the Bible created? Unfortunatetly, we will never know the full answer to this, because we don't own some original, ancient text called "The Bible." In actuality, the Bible is made up of a serious of "books" or "texts" that span thousands of years of ancient history. To make matters worse, we do not have original copies of any of these texts either! Budding archeologist unite! The quest continues!

We also depend on the "traditional interpretations" of the Bible for help to understand them. These stories and texts on "how to interpret" the Bible are critical to meaning. Modern scholarship tried to strip the old interpretive messages away, in order to find greater meaning. Hence, a new problem was created! Once stipped of any traditional meaning, the Bible became a "scrap quilt' of little pieces of text that shared little in the way of meaning. There was no great secret to "the meaning" that was found in Biblical, critical disection. The tradition came hand in hand with the texts!

3. So, who wrote the Bible? The answer is simple: a lot of people! Having said that, we ought to take note of some other points: most the so-called "authors" of the Bible were illiterate, and would have required help to write anything down. In addition, ancient cultures did not abide by our idea of "ownership." We copyright everything. Ancient cultures would attribute "authorship" to the main characters of a story! Whether or not a biblical character actually penned a story is irrelevant, from their standpoint! Finally, it also seems apparent to me that these ancient books contain actual, remembered "sayings" of the characters! So, that was another reason ancient cultures could have attributed "authorship" of a text to it's main character! "Who wrote it" is, at the end of the analysis, a rather hollow question to ask of any book in the Bible. The meaning is much more critical to understanding.

4. What does all this mean? Again, we are confronted by the "mystery' of Scripture in the asking of the question! Meaning is in the eye of the beholder! However, this is true only to a point!

Modern scholarship cannot, with any final authority, tell us what is "divine" or "not divine." That role cannot, and will never, belong to the field of modern academic research on the Bible. This role is left to the reader.

From the point of faith, we can also realize that the true authority and meaning of the Bible comes from a living God that reveals truth in the words written down. I don't intend to offend my brothers and sisters in the "biblical inerrancy" camp! Even if God dictated every word of Scripture to those who penned the words, it does not mean the reader would "get the message right!" Indeed, the Bible is full of stories of people who "just didn't get it!" You have to have a God behind Scripture, revealing truth, to help it make sense! No sense of modern scholarship can take this away either!

We also need the traditions of biblical interpretation to remain. We need these stories and lesson to help us make sense of the Bible. They are a package deal! To divorce tradition from Scripture is to risk being lead down paths best left untraveled.

That's what I need to "know" about the Bible.

slainte,

Ray Province
The Celtic Ozarkian
www.celticozarkian.com

Mary and Martha: A Bible Lesson

2008-12-21T06:29:00.000-08:00

Bible Lesson: Luke 10:38-42

38 Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named)Martha welcomed Him into her home.
39 She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord's feet, listening to His word.
40 But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me."
41 But the Lord answered and said to her, " Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things;
42 But only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."

1. Martha initiates the welcome. She invites the group home. What do we suppose Mary might have been doing? Do you think she was consulted?
2. Mary who went and set at the feet of Jesus to listen and converse. What do we suppose might have been the conversation between Mary and Martha from Mary’s side?
3. Jesus says, “only one thing is necessary.” What was it?
4. Mary chooses the “good part.” What is that?
5. Jesus also says it will never be taken from her.
6. How do we go about choosing the good part?
7. In this tough economy, many people are struggling to provide Christmas this year.
What can we say to those people about “only one thing is necessary.”

For more help with Sunday School Lessons, visit http://ahigherfaith.com

Celtic Bubble and Squeak

2008-12-17T18:01:00.000-08:00

Try this lovely recipe some night. It is as Irish as it comes.

Ingredients:
1/2 medium head cabbage, sliced
3 slices bacon, diced
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 cup cubed cooked ham
1 tablespoon butter
3 cups potatoes - baked, cooled and thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan, cook cabbage in a small amount of water for about 5 minutes, or until tender. Drain, and set aside.
2. In a well-seasoned cast iron skillet, cook bacon and onion until onion is soft and bacon is cooked. Add ham, and cook until heated through. Add butter, then mix in the cooked cabbage and potatoes. Season with paprika, salt, and pepper. Cook until browned on bottom, turn, and brown again.

A Scottish Style Christmas

2008-12-14T08:14:00.000-08:00

Finding yourself struggling to find meaning in Christmas this year? You are not alone! The economy has made it very difficult for many people to enjoy Christmas this year. Even in a good year, Christmas can be depressing for many. Part of the reason behind this rise in instances of depression among the general population certainly comes from the season (seasonal effective disorder). However, I believe a good deal of the depression can also come from having a wrong perspective on the season.

The Scottish people may have something to teach us this season. From almost the beginning of the Protestant Reformation until into the the middle of the 20th Century, Christmas was a banned celebration in Scotland. Christmas did not become a national holiday until 1958. It is not that the Scots are anti-Christian! Rather, the event of the birth of Christ was taken as a time for reflection on the beginning of the Christian year. There was not a lot of "hoopla" involved.

In more modern times, the Scottish have embraced Christmas trees, a turkey dinner on Christmas Eve, yule logs, etc. However, the celebration is simple. Even the food stays simple.
AND THIS IS THE MESSAGE!!!! Simple is the way to go!

In my own family, we often have 4 or 5 potential "Christmases" to attend. Whew! That is exhausting! That is why we have simplified the Christmas Eve/Christmas Day we spend at home. Little flair, some nice food, lots of time to spend together visiting.

slainte,

Ray Province

Celitc Shortbread for Christmas

2008-12-14T05:26:00.000-08:00

Slainte,

Thought you might like to try a very simple recipe that is very traditional for Christmas in Scotland. We have, however, put our family "twist" on the recipe. It is a great treat with a warm glass of tea! Here we go!

Ingredients:

1 lb. of real butter (Dairy Farmers of America Unite!)

5 cups of flour

1 cup of sugar

2 tsp of Almond Extract

Some colorful Red and Green sprinkles for Christmas

Recipe:

Make sure the butter is soft. Just set it out on a counter for a couple of hours prior to baking.

Mix the butter and sugar throughly with a mixer. Add the almond extract and mix again just long enough to mix the extract. Start adding flour 1/2 cup at a time. Mix thoroughly. After about 3 cups of flour, your mixer may not be able to hold up, so you will have to mix by hand. When you are down to 1 1/2 cups, pour the mixture out on a clean, lightly floured hard surface and finish the process by kneeding the flour in. It is truly a labor of love!

Once your batter is thoroughly pounded to death, it is ready to bake. Place it in an ungreased, unfloured pan to a depth of 1/2". We use glass, square pans (9"x13") a lot. We also use aluminum pie pans (just for a different look!) Take a fork and poke holes all the way to the bottom of the pan. This will prevent bubbles from forming in the batter. It doesn't ruin the taste, just the presentation. Sprinkle your batter with the sugar sprinkles of choice. Bake at 350 deg. for 10 minutes, then bake at 300 deg for 30-40 minutes. When done, you'll have a lightly browned, sugar cookie type look. Cool. Eat.

The thinner the batter, the drier the cookie will get. So it becomes a matter of taste on how dry you want the batter. Dry also makes it a bit easier to dunk the cookie!

Hope you enjoy this wonderful treat.

Mary and Martha Sunday School Lesson

2008-11-30T08:13:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share a series of Sunday School Lessons in quick order this season. You are welcome to copy, edit, and share with others. All I ask is that you keep my name in as the author, and point them back to this blog.

Mary and Martha: A Story for Advent

Bible Lesson: Luke 10:38-42

Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me." But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her"

For a full copy of the lesson: http://sites.google.com/site/celticozarkian2/faith-and-religion

What is Advent?

2008-11-23T08:11:00.000-08:00

If you ask any Catholic, they will tell you the season of Advent is a period of penance and preparing their heart for the coming of the Baby Jesus. But although not part of the Holy See’s opinion on Advent, the advent wreath, advent season and the family activities helps families stay focused on the real meaning of the season, Jesus, and not the commercialism Christmas has become.
Advent seems very needed in the present time but would you believe this liturgical season started back in in the fourth century. In its original for it was a period that was to prepare for the Epiphany and it was not originally part of the Christmas season. The Epiphany in the early days of Christianity was the celebration of the Baptism of Jesus but in the more modern time became associated with the arrival of the Wiseman to see the Christ Child. It was during this season originally that people would be baptized and came into the church. They 40 day period was for fasting and preparation. This process has been moved to Easter in the modern time.
In the Sixth Century, St. Gregory the Great was the first person to tie Advent to Christmas but didn’t do it the way was now observe the season. He was suggesting that the period was better served to wait for the second coming as opposed to the annual reemergence of the Christ Child.
Once Christmas was assigned the date of Dec 25th it only seemed to make sense to tie advent to this date and make this the penitential period before Christmas. Advent is primarily a Christian Season and observed by Catholics, Orthodox, Anglican/Episcopalian, Lutheran, Methodist and Presbyterian. The Protestant and Evangelical Christians are more and more using this season to keep their congregations focus on Christ. Many of the Eastern Christian Churches do go with the 40 days model for Advent as opposed to the 4-week model.
The protestant participation in Advent is seeing a rebirth in the last few years. Many are now using Advent within their churches. But what is most last effect of Advent is the focus on Faith. Each day and each week as the candles are lit on the advent wreath when done as a family allows for the focus shifted from gift giving to a daily reminder, pray or story about Jesus, the birth of Jesus, the promise of Jesus from the Old Testament or one of the points from the Jesse Tree stories.
In The Western churches, advent begins four Sundays prior to Christmas Day. If Christmas eve is on a Sunday that does count for the last Sunday of Advent and the Christmas Seasons starts after 4 p.m when the Services of Christmas start. In the Eastern Orthodox Churches, they begin Advent on Nov 15th and run for 40 days.
As any family battling to balance Faith in today’s culture Advent and the use of an advent wreath gives families the perfect way to keep Christ the focus and centerpiece of Christmas.

Pot Roast

2008-11-19T12:46:00.000-08:00

Nothing is better on a cold day than a roast in the oven. And it is so easy!!

1 pot roast (size to fit your family)
1 large can cream of mushroom soup
2 pkg dry onion soup
aluminum foil

Place a piece of foil in a 13x9 pan large enough to completely encase roast. (I usually have to piece 2 pieces of foil together)
Place roast in center of foil. In bowl mix together soup mixes with about 1/4-1/3 cup water and stir together. Mixture will be thick. Pour over roast and seal foil up over roast. Bake at 325 for 3-4 hours. The soups will make a yummy gravy!!
If you want veggies with your roast here is what I do:

4-8 potatoes
peeled carrots
1 onion chopped
butter
garlic salt
Greek seasoning
baking dish to fit amount of veggies

If I am using Yukon gold 'taters, I don't peel them, sometimes I peel the others, sometimes not. Fix them however you like them and cut into bite sized chunks. Cut the carrots into bite sized pieces (we love carrots so I use a whole bag, adjust to your taste). Place a layer of potatoes in your baking dish and then season lightly,top with layer of carrots and onions and then repeat being sure to season the layers of potatoes. Put a couple of pats of butter on top or olive oil and cover with lid or foil. Raise temp of over to 350 for the last hour of cooking time on pot roast and let veggies cook for 1 hour. Serve with roast and gravy.
Some folks add the veggies to the roast to bake and that is okay too, we just like them separate better.

How Do We Know the Bible is from God?

2008-11-18T08:09:00.000-08:00

How do we really know the Bible is from God? For many faith traditions, the Bible represents the in errant "Word of God." For some, the Bible is little more than wisdom literature. What does all that mean, anyway?

There are many ways to know subjectively, very little objectively. From a personal standpoint, I can find God in the Bible from the eternal truths it teaches, truths that are intertwined in many religions. An example of that could be "it is good to tell the truth." I can be compelled by the traditions of my church, which has been in the process of sharing the stories of God since the time of Christ. I can know that the Bible is the Word of God because Jesus attested to such.

In the case of inerrancy, I could believe that God divinely inspired people of faith to write each and every word exactly as they appear in the Bible. No one attests to God penning the material personally. It is more like Divine dictation.

For the others, the Bible was written by humans for humans. It stands along side the many wisdom books of the ages. There is simply not enough "objective" proof to show that any of it was written by God, or dictated through others for that matter.

So, do we just chalk the argument up to faith? If I believe it is the Word of God, then it is? Not necessarily. There is a manner in which we can think about the Bible as being the Word in an objective fashion. The late theologian, Karl Barth, elaborated on it.

We can know the Bible is the Word of God, because God has revealed it to be so. Indeed, God has made himself known in the person and work of Christ, in the Bible, and in the preaching and declaration of the Bible. We have never completely found God in any other manner, precisely because God wants it that way! How is that for a mind bender? This "knowing" happens because of the Holy Spirit at work in all of us. It is kind of simple, but very profound: we just know!

I have never seen a quark. I do, though, believe they exist. One day, someone may be able to let me see it with my Missouri State Sho-Me eyes! For me, the same holds true for God.

Spanish Rice

2008-11-12T10:40:00.000-08:00

This is a great way to stretch a pound of burger. 4 generous servings plus leftovers

1 lb ground beef
1 cup rice
1 onion- chopped
2 cloves garlic- chopped
2-3 (14.5 oz)cans of tomatoes
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp garlic salt
pepper to taste
hot sauce to taste

In a skillet brown the beef, onion, and garlic. I dump them all in together and cook the meat until browned and the onions are transparent. Drain any grease. Add rice and tomatoes. The canned tomatoes are whatever was on sale- if they are whole you need to break them up into small pieces. You will need 2 cups of liquid to make the rice cook up, so if the tomatoes look dry, add a can of tomato sauce ( for one of the cans of tomatoes) or water, which ever you have. If you add water, you will need to add more seasonings. I used water last night so I added 1/2 tsp of cumin, 1/4 tsp thyme and 1/2 tsp or so of garlic salt and a nice grind of pepper. I also added 3-4 shots of green Tabasco sauce. Cover and let simmer until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed- about 20 mins.

Chicken Marango

2008-11-11T08:43:00.000-08:00

1/3 chicken from chicken and noodles recipe-chopped( about 2 cups)
1 can tomato soup
1 can golden mushroom soup
1/2 large onion chopped
1 small package elbow macaroni
1 clove garlic chopped
butter/oil

Cook noodles according to package directions. While noodles are cooking brown chicken slightly, add onion and garlic and cook until onions are soft. Add soups with just enough water to make a nice sauce. At this point you can add mushroom, veggies, pearl onions, etc. (We like ours as is) I taste for seasoning at this point. Serve over noodles. We also like this over rice.
You can use left over turkey in this recipe.

Quick Chicken Fried Rice

2008-11-11T08:15:00.000-08:00

This is one of our favorites! Don't have a wok? Neither do we, a big skillet works just fine.

1/3 chicken from chicken soup recipe, chopped
1/2 large onion chopped
1 cup rice
2 eggs
1 can chicken both (or bullion cube)
1 cup frozen peas
3 cloves garlic ( we love the stuff- but you can adjust to taste)
butter/oil
Soy Sauce

Measure broth and add water to make 2 cups, bring to boil and cook rice per package directions in broth. You can use water and a bullion cube or just plain water is fine too.
While the rice is cooking, brown chicken lightly in butter/oil, add onion and garlic and cook until onions are transparent. Push to side and add more butter if needed (just a little) and scramble eggs in the pan stirring continually to break up into small pieces, add peas and mix with other ingredients in pan. Add cooked rice and fry until all ingredients are combined well and rice slightly browned. Season as desired- we add a couple of good shakes of soy sauce.

Quick chicken cassarole

2008-11-11T08:01:00.000-08:00

1/3 cooked chicken from chicken soup recipe, chopped ( you can also use left over turkey)
1 bag frozen broccoli
1 small bag macaroni
1/2 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 can cream of chicken with herbs
oil or butter

Cook noodles according to package directions. While noodles are cooking, brown chicken in skillet in butter/oil. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is transparent or a little brown. Do not brown garlic. Add soup and about 1/4 cup water to thin and broccoli. Cook until broccoli tender. You can adjust the water as needed and season to taste. Drain noodles, add to mixture, stir and serve! I sometimes let folks add the sauce themselves. If you have more time you can make this a little soupier, put cheese on top and bake until the cheese is bubbly.

3 meals, one chicken

2008-11-11T07:39:00.000-08:00

Just like everyone else we are belt tightening here in the Ozarks. Our favorite way to do that is to make 3 meals out of one whole chicken. All the recipes will be posted on this blog. Pick your favorite three and have a go!
To make these meals as fast as possible, I shop sales and keep these items in the pantry all the time. This week soup is on sale so I bought several cans, and do the same with pasta, cake mixes, etc.
I always keep these items in my pantry:
chicken broth
Soups:
cream of chicken
cream of mushroom
golden mushroom
tomato
dry soup mixes
pasta of all types
spaghetti sauce
canned veggies
frozen veggies
frozen noodles
garlic salt
Greek seasoning
onions
garlic
carrots

I love to catch stuff on sale or buy in bulk. We have a Sam's club where I get rice, soups, pasta. Stuff that will keep in bulk. You do have to comparison shop, sometimes you get the better deal buying smaller amounts(just lots of it) If we have a sale that is great with a limit on it, I have been known to buy my limit, take it to the car and then buy it again. Not exactly cheating, because I always remember something I have forgotten and get it too!
So stock your pantry and enjoy your chicken dishes!!!

Temple Israel ArtFest & Bake Sale

2008-11-09T17:27:00.000-08:00

Temple Israel in Rogersville, Missouri held there Annual Bake Sale and Meat Sale today, November 9th, 2008, from 10a until 3p. In addition to bake goods, pastrami and corned beef, the synagogue had it's art sale. It was a wonderful day to come and shop, and share in some wonderful food. I am full of bagels, lox & cream cheese, smoked salmon, rugelach! Later in the day, we had a killer pastrami sandwich on rye, with swiss cheese and a pickle. Not your everyday hillbilly food. However, Temple Israel has been part of the local Ozark Community since 1930, so they are as hillbilly as the rest of us.

There will be another great event in the Spring, so you will want to keep this website handy: www.templeisraelartfest.com! We hope you will plan to attend.

Old Fashioned Recipes Are Still The Best Cooking Medium

2008-11-07T18:44:00.000-08:00

By: Antonin Bardot

It seems like every day offers up a new medium online or on television for recipe lovers. On cable, channels dedicated to cooking have cropped up, and individual programs offer in-depth look at specific types of cooking, cuisine and recipes. And on the Internet, there are even more resources for new and old-fashioned favorite recipes, as well as forums and communities that let you search and share recipes with other amateur cooks.There are more resources than ever available to recipe lovers everywhere, and new recipes that no one has ever heard of are invented every day. Yet even in the face of all of the new recipes and cooking styles, good old-fashioned recipes still remain the number one favorite of Americans as well as people in other countries, as well. While our cooking tools, implements and ingredients have changed dramatically over the last century (think of the microwave and fat-free ingredients, for instance), the favorite recipes are still those that were cooked up well over a century ago.Old-fashioned favorite traditional meals still make up the majority of the meals that are cooked for families across the United States and other nations around the world. While the way we cook may have changed, the food that we eat really hasn't. Although it may be presented in different ways, the old-fashioned favorites are still showing up in recipes just as frequently as they were a century ago. And can you really blame anyone for enjoying old-fashioned cooking and recipes more than the new-age, bland, strange food that is served up in some new restaurants?The best-tasting recipes are the ones that our grandmothers and great-grandmothers treated their families to many years ago, and some people count family recipes as their most prized possessions. They commit these family recipes to memory and pass them on to their children as heirlooms that are to be treated with reverence and respect. In fact, even suggesting a small change to grandma's traditional recipe is enough to anger some of today's cooks in their own home kitchens. But wait: what about new fat-free and healthy eating crazes that have captured much of the nation?For some, it is heresy to transform traditional family recipes into fat-free or healthy versions, but luckily it is still indeed possible to create those traditional recipes while using healthier ingredients. Thankfully, many new healthy ingredients taste much the same as our traditional less healthy counterparts, so most people won't notice much of a difference. But just to be safe, it is probably better not to mention to the most traditional diners that you went out of your way to make their meal a little healthy. Let them eat and enjoy, and the healthiness of your traditional recipe can be your own secret!
Article Source: http://www.freerecipearticles.com
Aaron Cherry is a big time chef.

Persimmon Time is Coming

2008-11-02T14:54:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite fall treats are persimmons! They grow wild all over the Ozarks, and are easy to pick! The biggest trick is beating the deer to the persimmons! The persimmons really don't get ripe til after a good, hard freeze. We had that this last week, so it won't be long til it is time to find and pick some. Until that point, a persimmon can put a pucker on your lips like no sour candy can! Oooo.

Try your hand at this wonderful jam recipe. It is a winter treat!

Persimmon Jam
2 Quarts ripe fresh persimmon pulp
1 Cup sugar
1 Cup orange juice and the grated rind of 1 orange

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a 4-quart enameled or stainless steel pan and cook over medium-high heat,stirring often until thickened, usually about 20 minutes.Pour into sterilized half-pint jars and seal at once. This recipe makes 6 half-pint jars.

Good eatin!

Ray Province
Hillbilly cookin'

Chicken Pot Pie with Cornbread Crust

2008-10-25T05:28:00.000-07:00

I saw this recipe on the Oprah show, and just had to share. It is a recipe created by Cristina Ferrare, who has cooked for the big O a long time. With cold weather coming to the Ozarks, this just sounded like a great meal. It would also be a good recipe to make to use up left over baked chicken. Write us and tell us what you think.

This is a feel-good meal! It's traditional without a catch but very satisfying—not to mention easy and fast.
Ingredients:Filling:
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 medium Onion , chopped
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1/2 cup frozen sweet petite peas
1 potato , diced and boiled
1 1/2 cup chopped, cooked carrots
1/2 tsp. salt
Cracked pepper
Dash of Tabasco® sauce Crust:
3/4 cup white or yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup milk
1 large egg
2 Tbsp. canola oil
To make filling: Preheat the oven to 400°. Spray a 2-quart casserole with cooking spray. In a large sauce pan, heat olive oil and unsalted butter together. Add onion and sauté until tender, about 4 or 5 minutes. Add in flour until blended. Slowly stir in 2 cups of heated chicken stock, whisking well. Cook mixture over medium heat until thickened and bubbly, about 4 minutes. Stir in chicken, peas, potato, carrots, salt, pepper and Tabasco®. Pour into a 2-quart casserole dish coated with cooking spray and cook until heated and thickened. Spread evently into an ovenproof dish. To make crust: In a bowl, stir cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Stir milk, egg and canola oil until well combined. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Spoon the batter evenly on the filling. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 22 to 25 minutes.

A Different Take on Baptism

2008-10-23T08:01:00.000-07:00

I grew up in the United Methodist Church! For those not familiar with our beliefs on baptism, I can sum it up: 1)infant baptism yes, 2)baptism at an older age yes, 3) we pour, sprinkle, and immerse! Kind a got the whole gambit covered! The baptism, for most, comes as an infant from having some water sprinkled on the head. If a person joins the UMC from another faith tradition, we accept the baptism as valid. Baptism is a "God act" of marking us as God's own.

In recent days, many of our churches are installing a baptistry (a king of small pool that can be used for full immersion baptism). Many of our youth are finding the experience meaningful. Why? Not as many children are being baptized in our churches as infants. Many of our faithful were not a regular part of church themselves as children and young adults!

All is good, hopefully. In this attempt to help a new generation find meaning in baptism, I hope we do not lose our emphasis on: 1) excepting as valid the baptisms of others; 2) offering all possibilities previously mentioned. It fits for me: open minds, open hearts, open doors! I invite you to respond.

Ray Province, The Celtic Ozarkian

Chicken and noodles

2008-10-23T06:41:00.000-07:00

It has started to get chilly here in the Ozarks and that always makes me think of comfort food! What better way to welcome the family home than to have them come in the house and smell a big pot of chicken and noodles on the stove? Unfortunately, this is not a 30 minute dish, but the left over chicken can be. So you need to start this one when you have at least 2 hours to get supper on the table. Here is what you need:

1 whole chicken (what ever is on sale)
1 onion (yellow or white- what ever is cheaper)
1 package of noodles- more on that later
1 can of chicken broth- optional
bouillon cube-optional
carrots and celery- optional
garlic salt
pepper
Greek seasoning

Remove any innards from the chicken- I don't use the giblets in my soup because we don't care for them, but I do use the neck. You can save the giblets for other uses, or I sometimes lightly saute them for the dogs to eat. In a large stock pot or soup pot place your rinsed chicken (inside and out) neck and broth if you are using it. Now you need to add about 4-6 cups of water, enough to give you plenty of soup to cook your noodles in later. Add salt, pepper and Greek seasoning to taste. I start with about 1/4 tsp each of the salt and Greek seasoning and a good dose of the pepper depending upon your family's taste. If you don't use the broth you will need more salt and seasoning. Chop the onion and add to the broth mixture.
If I have carrots in the house, I give them a chop and toss them in, if I don't have any, I don't make a special trip to the store. You want about 1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped carrots. I never add celery because again we don't care for it, but if your family likes it toss in some. The nice thing about using the vegetables this way is that you get all the vitamins that are cooked out in the broth since you are eating that too!
Bring to a boil and then simmer until the chicken is done-about one hour. Remove the chicken and the neck from the broth and put on plate to cool.
Taste your broth and adjust any seasonings as needed. Also, check to make sure you have enough liquid to cook your noodles. If not add more water or broth as you desire. You can also add water and a bouillon cube if you like to adjust the taste. Now is a good time to skim extra fat from the broth if you desire.
Now here is the really fun part, the noodles. I use lots of different kinds of noodles depending upon my mood for the day. The choices are almost endless. Last night I used wide egg noodles, but we also love the freezer kind. I sometimes get Amish noodles from the bulk store and my Mother always made her own. (I am not that good) Pick what ever your family loves!
Return the broth to a boil and add your noodles and cook according to package directions. If I am feeding a whole bunch, I make lots of broth and add the whole package. If there are just a few of us I cook just enough for that meal and maybe a lunch for me later.
While your noodles are cooking, take the meat off the chicken. the neck takes a little work for not much meat, but every little bit helps in this day and age. The skin and bones go in the trash, and all that wonderful chicken meat is left. I add about 1/3 of the meat in the noodles as they are cooking or at the end which ever comes first. If you like yours with more meat in it, add more!!!
When your noodles are done, your soup is ready to serve. Yumm!!
And you have left over chicken for another meal or two. We like to make fried rice with some, or for a quick meal, I add some of the chicken to spaghetti sauce and then serve over elbow noodles. Add a tossed salad and you are good to go. Easy, fast meals that are so yummy

Robin's Banana Bread

2008-10-18T18:43:00.000-07:00

Who says old bananas are good for nothing! As the fall slowly sets into the Ozarks, it becomes time to do some wonderful, homemade breads. This one is a family favorite!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of melted butter
1 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 tsp. of baking soda
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 cup of sour cream
1 cup of mashed banana (the older the sweeter!)
9"x5" loaf pan

Let's get to it:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together butter, sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Combine dry ingredients. Stir into butter mixture. Beat until smooth. Fold in bananas and sour cream. Bake for 1 hour, or until the bread passes the dry toothpick test!

Eat and enjoy!

Hillbilly French Onion Soup

2008-10-15T17:56:00.000-07:00

Try this one out next time you want to make a simple, but elegant soup. It is so simple, you can even make it on a camp out! A little homemade bread, and some wine, and you got yourself somethin'.

Ingredients:
1 aluminum foil pot pie size pan.
1 small onion cut into fourths (Vidalia Onions of the summer are the best)
1 beef bullion cube
1 pat of butter
1 sheet of aluminum foil big enough to wrap your soup dish.
1 piece of cheese big enough to cover the little pan. (Swiss or Provolone are my favorite)

Preparation:

Place the onion, bullion cube, and butter in the pan. Add 1/4 cup water for soup. Place cheese on top. Cover in the aluminum foil. Place in a 350 degree oven for an hour.

How's that for simple! This is a great kid friendly recipe also. Enjoy.

slainte!

Ray Province
Ozark Hillbilly Cookin'

A Rhetoric of Hate

2008-10-15T07:42:00.000-07:00

To some extent, I am glad the last of the Presidential debates takes place tonight. When the political gloves come off, it can get ugly. The problem for this, this year, has been the hate rhetoric.

I am still in shock over the the scenes I have seen of good, common folk calling for the death of one of our political candidates for President. Why would anyone think that would be okay? No doubt, there may be others who would call for the death of the other candidate as well.

No one should have to die for us to exercise our constitutional right to elect a new President. The differences in political opinion keep us strong. Being Irish, my family will even give you a good argument! In the best of our arguments, no one has had to die.

Eight plus years ago, our country witnessed a peaceful transition of power that was settled by the Supreme Court. Al Gore and George W. Bush both sat on shaky ground. Neither had a clear mandate to declare victory in the election. It took a bit to settle, but our country got it done. George W. Bush became our President. No one had to die.

As a people of faith, it is imperative we raise our voice to this type of rhetoric. We need to call the hand of any who would head down this most ugly road. It is a matter of principle to me. It is a matter of faith.

Ray Province
The Celtic Ozarkian
www.celticozarkian.com

Black Bean Soup from the Hills!

2008-10-09T10:54:00.000-07:00

We are starting to gets some nights in the low forties in the Ozarks, so it is time to get the soup to cookin'. Try this Ozark favorite on for size, with a good book and fire!

Ingredients:
1 lb dried black beans
1 lb spicy stuffed sausage that can be cut into pieces.
3 large onions-finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic-finely chopped (yes, we like garlic!)
3 green peppers -finely chopped
1-2 hot peppers-finely chopped (don't be a chicken!)
1 tbs wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
3 Bay leaves
A pinch of ground basil, freshly ground black pepper, and salt (all of this is to taste)
1 cup of cooked rice of your choice
Directions:
Wash the beans. Place beans in large pot and cover with cold water, and let set over night. Next day, dump the water, and fill to cover again with cold water. Cut sausage into 1" pieces. Dump them into the pot, and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Saute your veggies in the olive oil, then add the mess to the pot. Add Bay leaves and the Basil. Cook until the beans are tender. Remove 1 1/2 cups of black beans and place in a blender with salt and pepper. Add the wine vinegar. Blend until it forms a paste (I like to call it gunk!). Add back into the soup, and blend all well. The soup is ready to go.
Serving:
Place 1 tbs of rice in a bowl, and pour hot soup over the top. Mmmm. Set the Tabasco out for the hearty! This recipe serves 8-10 civilized people, or 2 hillbillies! Enjoy!

Frozen Whiskey Sours!

2008-10-09T10:44:00.000-07:00

There's more to good Ozark drinks than moonshine! Try this little number out for your next party, but remember to drink responsibly!

In large container that is suitable for freezing combine:

1 cup of whiskey
1 cup of sugar
6 cups of water
1 large can of frozen concentrated lemonade mix (Minute Maid is my favorite)
1 small can of frozen Orange Juice Concentrate (again Minute Maid rocks!)
2 cups of hot weak tea (make the tea with only one tea bag)

Freeze, stirring often to turn it to slush, drink!

There

Welcome to Hillybilly Cookin!

2008-10-07T11:12:00.000-07:00

We have created this site to have a place to share recipes of all types! We will be specifically sharing the best of Ozark Hillbilly cookin, but we won't ever turn our nose up at a good food! We hope you enjoy!

The neat thing about most good Ozark cookin is that it is peasant food! Most of the recipes are cheap to make! Plus, anyone livin' in the Ozarks can tell you that the best food comes from the peasants!

Robin Province
Born and raised in the Ozarks
www.celticozarkian.com