Jubilant Grilled Cucumber 
and Asparagus Salad

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, 

faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12

Food for the Palate

Ingredients:

Asparagus, one large bunch

2 English Cucumbers, 

1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved                                                    

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped 

                                                                                            

Dressing:

1 large lemon, zested and juiced

3 Tbsp olive oil

2 tsp dried thyme

2 garlic cloves, minced                            

3 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

 

Instructions:

Wash your vegetables and prepare them by cutting your cucumbers length wise (don't peel them) and then cut them in half and put them in a bowl. Trim ends off of your asparagus and add to the bowl. Drizzle your vegetables with olive oil. Place your asparagus and cucumbers on a hot grill and turn them over after only 2 minutes. Grill for another 2 minutes on the other side. Take them off of the grill and place back in your bowl.

Cut your grilled cucumbers and asparagus at a slant into 1 inch size pieces and add back into your bowl. Cut your tomatoes in half and add to the bowl. Mix all of the dressing ingredients together and pour it over the vegetables and toss well. Add your fresh chopped basil and enjoy! Tasty to the Palate!

Food for the Soul

For some reason when I look at the picture of this delicious salad it makes me smile. It just looks like a bowl full of joy to me. It must be because of my love and appreciation for the earthly bounty that our Heavenly Father has so graciously given to us to enjoy. Either way, it says a fresh, joy-filled bounty of yumminess to me!

Merriam-Websters Dictionary defines joy in this way: "The emotion evoked by well-being success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires." They also define the word "happiness" as "a state of well-being and contentment-Joy." Wow! Is that ever the opposite of what God's Word teaches us as Christians. While I can agree that "happiness" is an emotion that is evoked by our circumstance and those things that make us happy, usually because we are getting what we want, I have a hard time applying that same definition to joy, especially as a Christian.

Some of you may disagree with me, but I am going to say it anyway. Joy is not an emotion. Joy is a choice. It is a choice to respond to life's difficult situations with an inner peace and contentment, even when life doesn't make sense. Why do I believe this? Because according to Scripture, the Lord is the originator of true joy. Galatians 5:22 tells us that; "The Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy........" When we are going through difficult times, the process of growing in our faith is all about learning to respond to the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit. This doesn't happen overnight, and we certainly cannot attain it on our own. It comes from having the Holy Spirit living in you and finding comfort, strength and wisdom in God's Word. True Joy is a conscious awareness that God is at work in our lives and that He has a concrete purpose for why we are going through experiences that make no sense at to us at all. 

Romans 12:12 says, "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."  Being joyful when things are difficult doesn't come naturally for us as humans. But being in God's Word teaches us that He is compassionate, trustworthy, fair and all-knowing. Most of the time, God's ways are not my ways. Joy is the foundation of faith that comes from Christ alone. Because of what Jesus did for us on the cross and the empty tomb, and because the Holy Spirit lives within us, we have a joy that surpasses any and all circumstances in Him. 

Mel Walker, a writer for the magazine Christianity Today says it like this, "Simply put, Biblical joy is choosing to respond to external circumstances with inner contentment and satisfaction because we know that God will use these experiences to accomplish His work in and through our lives." I completely agree with Mel's definition even though I don't always feel content and satisfied when I am going through difficult times. When I get discouraged and temporally forget that God's plan is "to prosper me and not to harm me, plans to give me a hope and future", I have to go back to the Bible and cry out to Him and continue to do so, until He either changes the circumstance or He changes me.  

I found an amazing quote by a man named Hudson Taylor that sums up true joy, especially when we feel lost and neglected by God. Mr. Taylor was a missionary to China for many decades. He experienced poor health, the loss of his wife, four of his children, and thus he experienced a mental break down. But he never lost his joy in the Lord. Mr. Taylor sums it up perfectly, so I will leave you with his words; "It is the consciousness of the threefold joy of the Lord, His joy in ransoming us, His joy in dwelling within us as our Saviour and power for fruit-bearing and His joy in possessing us, as His Bride and His delight; it is the consciousness of this joy which is our real strength. Our joy in Him may be a fluctuating thing: His joy in us knows no change." Now that is real joy! Satisfying to the Palate!