Posts tagged The MonT-SteR
Your old men will dream dreams
0I don’t really consider myself an old man, but I do find that God speaks to me through dreams quite a bit.
I haven’t written about it here, but my grandfather passed away near the end of May. As I wrote in my journal, it was “a moment I’ve been dreading most of my adult life. But it’s here, and so is God, and because of that, it’s okay. Granddad is not suffering anymore. He’s with the Lord. And I will see him again.”
The night after he died, I had the following dream. I have always known Granddad to be a believer, so as his health declined I never fretted about his eternal estate. After sharing this dream with my parents, they told me that as Granddad breathed his last in this world (after having suffering for so long), he had a smile on his face.
Here’s the dream:
I saw a sprawling property with multiple buildings and fields. It was very pleasant—the sun was shining brightly, the trees were green and swaying in the breeze, and the day was comfortably warm. The sky was a blazing, rich blue, full of bright white puffy clouds. Granddad was outside tending the property, preparing one area for some sort of race that he was hosting (I had the sense that it was a children’s event – the track he was creating was small). He was clearing debris from the field. He was not a young man – he looked older. Not as old as he did as of late, but the way I remember him in his 60′s. But he was hale, and spry as a man in his prime. He strode briskly around the property, shirt off, gloves on his hands, work boots on his feet. At one point, there was a stump in the ground he needed to clear. With incredible, superhuman strength, he grabbed it with both hands, effortlessly snapped the trunk way from the roots, and hurled it aside. As I observed this, I thought, “I’m in my 30′s and there’s no way I could do that!” I was concerned for his heart condition as I watched him work so hard, but nobody around me was worried. I looked at his face, and he looked back at me briefly – he was not smiling, but he seemed intent on his work. And deeply content.
Tilapia Po’Boy recipe
0So, my wife buys these breaded tilapia filets from Sam’s Club. Usually, she bakes them in the oven until they’re crispy on the outside, and I enjoy them with thorough doses of vinegar (I’m not really a seafood person).
Well, she had somewhere to go this evening, and graciously cooked up some of these tilapia filets for me to eat while she’s out. This time around, however, the ol’ take-it-with-vinegar routine just didn’t seem appetizing. So, in the fine Monti tradition of improvisational gastronomy, I experimented with what we had on hand in the kitchen.
The result was (IMHO) delicious, and a welcome change of pace. If you’re trying to get more fish in your diet and in a rut, try this for a quick and tasty meal.
Tilapia Po’Boy
Ingredients
- 1 breaded tilapia filet, baked until exterior is golden brown and crispy
- 3 slices of onion, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 long hot chili pepper, coarsely chopped
- 1 roma tomato, chopped
- 1-2 t. soy sauce
- 1 T lemon juice
- 1/2 t. Tabasco sauce
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 small pat of butter
- Shredded Monterrey Jack or sharp white cheddar cheese
- Salt
- Pepper
- Crushed red pepper
- 1 Small Italian sandwich or hoagie roll, or (better yet) some ciabatta bread or about 4″-6″ of a Louisiana baguette (whatever you use, be sure to toast it)
Directions
- Heat the olive oil and butter in a non-stick skillet.
- Over medium heat, add the onion and long hot chili pepper. Stir to make sure the oil/butter covers everything.
- Sautee until the onion becomes translucent.
- Add soy sauce, Tabasco, and lemon juice. Add salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste. Stir.
- When this mixture has sauteed for just a moment more, fold in the tomato. Stir thoroughly. Continue to sautee until the tomato wilts a bit, then remove from heat.
- Take your toasted roll/bread, and spread a little mayonnaise on the inside. Place the baked tilapia filet on the bread, and spoon the sauteed vegetable mixture on top. Sprinkle just enough shredded cheese to give it a bit of a tang, and enjoy.
YUM! I never enjoyed a fish sandwich this much. Some suggested variations:
- Put a little Cajun seasoning (like Tony Chachere’s or Slap Ya’ Mama!) in the mayo, or substitute it for the salt and pepper in the sauteed veggie mix.
- Flatbread or a tortilla could make this a tasty wrap.
- If you want a healthier cheese option, feta might be a good choice.
Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Blessings,
Rob
aka The MonT-SteR
Voiceover recording FAIL!
0While recording voiceovers for a training video at work this week, I got real frustrated. I use something akin to a Porta-Booth to do recording. While it does a good job approximating the quality of a full-blown soundbooth, it makes reading copy and controlling the computer a tad difficult sometimes. I just couldn’t get situated, and so goof-ups were frequent and hard to recover from.
Witness the EPIC MonT-SteR Consternation&trade!
Blessings,
Rob
aka The MonT-SteR
MonT-SteR Cookin’
1I just made my own guacamole for the first time based on a recipe by Dr. John La Puma. I customized it considerably for my own tastes, so I’m claiming this recipe as my own.
MonT-SteR Guacamole
Ingredients
- 3 avocados
- 2 small tomatillos
- Half a small onion, finely chopped
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 2 Serrano chile peppers
- 1 Roma tomato, diced
- 1-2 tsps each of lemon and lime juice
- 1 tbsp of sour cream
- Salt to taste
Directions
- Mash up the avocados until they’re a nice green paste (yucky visual, I know).
- Add the onion, garlic, tomato, and tomatillo.
- Cut the chile peppers in half from top to bottom. Then, take a spoon and scoop out the seeds (this will reduce their spiciness a good bit — thanks to Dr. La Puma for this tip). Mince the peppers and add to mixture.
- Add the sour cream, and the lemon and lime juice. Salt to taste. Stir thoroughly.
Enjoy on tortilla chips, as a sandwich spread (especially on a deli-sliced turkey sandwich with brown mustard — YUM!), or as a vegetable dip.
Let me know what you think!
Blessings,
Rob
aka The MonT-SteR
Introducing Baby MonT-SteR #2
2
Here, friends, is the true reason for the recent dearth of postage on the MonT-SteR REPORT. I am a daddy all over again.
Our second son, Mark Christian Monti was born on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 at 8:11 a.m. He weighed 8 lbs. 7 oz. and measured 21 in. long at birth.
Christi was nothing short of magnificent. Due to some complications, our first son (Robert) was born by c-section. Christi’s goal was to deliver Mark naturally, but finding an OB/GYN practice that would allow a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Caesarean) was tough. We eventually found one, and although they labeled Christi’s pregnancy high-risk from the start (and made no pretense about their skepticism with regard to Christi’s ability to deliver Mark naturally), she never wavered. Her labor was very intense and painful due to the fact that she had both back and front labor, but she persevered.
I married an amazing woman. And now we have an amazing family of four. I have two, count ‘em, TWO sons, and I couldn’t be happier.
Thank you, Jesus, for showing your grace and faithfulness to our family again.
Blessings,
Rob
aka The MonT-SteR
Things that make you go hmmmm….
0I received an e-mail update today from a local ministry, urging prayer for tomorrow’s election. The message contained the following titillating tidbit:
Well, now, just who is this mysterious former senator? Would his first name happen to be George? And, if so, did this discussion regarding the efficacy of prayer (or the lack thereof) vis-a-vis elections come before or after the infamous “macaca” incident? If before, I wonder if Jim Webb’s predecessor might now reconsider his stance on prayer?
Just a thought…
In other non-political news, the entire MonT-SteR CLAN goes to the baby doctor tomorrow to find out whether or not BabY MonT-SteR #2 will be a boy or a girl. I’m so excited!
I’ll post the results of our ultrasound tomorrow…
Blessings,
Rob
aka The MonT-SteR
Darth, I mean DEARTH of postage
1The MonT-SteR has been on a bit of a hiatus lately for a couple of reasons:
- We had to make yet another trip to the ER this past Friday, because Christi was experiencing troubling symptoms again. Thankfully, all is well. As a bonus for our trouble, we got to see an ultrasound of the baby, who was REALLY cute! I’m hoping this was the last of these little excursions…
- Your One and Only Favorite, Friendly Neighborhood MonT-SteR™ was recently diagnosed with mild sleep apnea.
Allow me to elaborate on that second item. For the last several months, I have had ZERO energy. More recently, my brain has been in an uncomfortable fog for a good portion of each day. I made a trip to the doctor complaining of fatigue and what I call “fuzzyhead,” and they sent me to a sleep disorder specialist to have a sleep study performed.
To make a long story short, I have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). When I sleep, the soft tissue in the back of my throat collapses, closing off my air passage, which in turn causes me to stop breathing. In order to make sure my body is getting enough oxygen, my brain has to wake me up during the night to force me to breathe. My sleep study showed that my brain was having to interrupt my sleep about once every four minutes to keep me breathing. No wonder I’ve been so tired!
In essence, OSA forces my body to operate at a higher metabolic rate during the night to get enough oxygen to my vital organs. For me, the unhappy side effect of this phenomenon has been an increase in blood pressure, combined with general fatigue due to poor sleep quality. So I have had little energy or enthusiasm for blogging — it’s been all I can do to attend to family and a few church matters after dragging myself home from work in the evening.
Thankfully, I received a CPAP (continuous positive air pressure) machine last week (you can see me at right with my mask on, bearing an uncomfortable resemblance to Darth Vader) to treat my apnea. In essence, this machine forces a continuous stream of air through my nose into my air passage to keep it from collapsing while I’m asleep. It’s taken some getting used to, but it’s working. I can tell that my sleep quality has improved, and I’m far more bright-eyed and bushy-tailed during the day. My brain doesn’t feel like it’s in a fog anymore, and my wife LOVES the fact that she doesn’t have to listen to me snore when I’m wearing it.
Anyway, friends, I share all this to explain and apologize for the silence around here in recent weeks and months, and to state that things ought to be picking up on tMR in the near future. I find that my energy level in the evening is increasing, and it’s a gratifying feeling.
Look out, blogosphere. The MonT-SteR is back, and he’s mad…. Well, I’m not really mad. I was just trying to be cool, actually funny — not cool — and, er, um… oh, never mind.
Blessings,
Rob
aka The MonT-SteR
Go MonT-SteR, it’s your birthday…
1That’s right, friends. As of today, The MonT-SteR is yet another year into the thirty-somethings. Here is a l-o-n-g installment of From the MonT-SteR’s Mouth, where I pontificate on being midway through this decade of my life and rant on some apologetical issues that have been front and center in the public recently.
Blessings,
Rob
aka The MonT-SteR
An Executive Decision
0Well, friends, it has been nearly 6 months since I last made a post to The MonT-SteR REPORT. Time flies, doesn’t it?
I’ve been painfully cognizant of the fact that my eagerly anticipated 100th blog post has been forthcoming for so agonizingly long. In fact, I’ve even received a stray e-mail or two from friends and readers of tMR who asked, “Hey, Rob, what gives? Where’s that eagerly anticipated 100th blog post? I’ve been on pins and needles since May, and let me tell you, IT HURTS!”
Actually, those e-mails didn’t go quite like that, but you get the idea.
The truth is, friends, that Your One and Only Favorite MonT-SteR™ has been suffering from two ailments that are detrimental to blogging:
- I’ve been SUPER busy.
- I’ve been running low on creative energy and inspiration.
So while I’ve had grandiose plans for my 100th blog post, I’ve lacked the wherewithal necessary to git `er done (so to speak).
This has been a sore trial, because there is always plenty of theology, politics, current events, issues, life, the universe, and EVERYTHING to discuss — but I refused to allow myself to get sidetracked from what I had in mind for my 100th post. Six months later, my 100th rant is still only a twinkle in my eye, and tMR has been deafeningly silent.
Well, I’ve reached a decision. That 100th blog post will appear on the site in due course. I’ll even call it my 100th post (even though this is actually post #100). But I want to be free to talk about what strikes me, inspires me, angers me, saddens me, or generally ruffles my rhubarb on a day-to-day basis. I don’t want to be mute for another 6 months.
So, it’s official, friends. The MonT-SteR is once again entering the fray — and just in time for the election. *WINK!*
It’s good to break the silence. Hope my handful of readers feel the same way.
Blessings,
Rob
aka The MonT-SteR
Happy Birthday, tMR!
0As of today, The MonT-SteR REPORT is a venerable 3 years old.
I mentioned last month that tMR would be shifting its focus a bit in the days to come. Well, those days have arrived. An e-mail I received from a friend sums up the need for change:
Things in culture land are growing more nasty. I glanced at your blog earlier today. It is refreshing by contrast. However, it looks to me that you like to mount your charger and sally forth with gusto to whatever excites your pet peeves. I agree with all you write, but I do not think you pick the most significant targets all the time. [Frontpage.com does a much better job in this respect. I wish you would read up on Islam, Russia, China, the war on terror, the economy, the threat of nuclear terrorism, etc. and comment on those topics. Of course, that assumes you have tons of time to expend on researching issues for your blog, which you don't.] Emotional exasperation with liberal nitwits seems to be the dominant note you strike, though your frustration at times is tempered with mercy and sweet reasonableness. The irenic note in the cultural wars is appreciated. I also wish you could work in the gospel some place so that those who are undecided between the Antichrist spirit and Christ can make the right choice. It is the gospel — not conservative political commentary — that is the power of God unto salvation. That’s your true calling, not superficial cultural apologetics. May God grant you the spiritual passion to make your message life-giving and compelling.
I received this e-mail at the end of July, and by the time it arrived in my inbox I had already considered that the focus of my blog had gone askew; my friend’s missive only confirmed what I had been feeling.
In 2002, tMR struck out with a specific purpose in mind. I stated that purpose in my original post, and I quote it again here:
- I enjoy writing, and I enjoy helping other people to my opinion.
tMR will function as an outlet for me to express some of my ideas, opinions, and heartfelt emotions on current events, personal matters, and metaphysical topics. I am a Christian, and since I am adjured by Christ’s command to love God with all my heart, strength, and mind, tMR will endeavor to reflect a genuinely Christian, Biblically-centered worldview.
- As a Christian, I want tMR to demonstrate a couple of things to surfers who may bump into my site:
1) Being a man or woman of faith does not mean that you check your brain out at the church door. Although Christian theism hinges upon truths which deal with the immaterial and/or the supernatural, it is not irrational. Faith is not the antithesis of reason — the two go hand in hand, guiding and informing one another. God made us whole persons; we can’t reflect all that He made us to be if we live as though faith and reason are mutually exclusive.
2) Being a man or woman of faith doesn’t mean that you can’t have any fun! I plan to have fun with tMR. Lots of it. I can be Mr. Serious, but I have a definite goofy side. Just ask my wife.
- Above all else, I hope to persuade those who visit my site to consider and accept the claims of Jesus of Nazareth — Son of God, Savior of all mankind. I know that Jesus is a controversial figure. I’ve alienated good friends by talking about Him. I’ve angered people by taking Him at His word that He is the only Way, Truth, and Life, and that none can come to the Father but through Him. But He has changed not only my own life, but those of countless billions across the past 20 centuries. I’d be crazy not to share something so wonderful, so fundamental to my own existence and well-being, with those I care about or encounter on a day-to-day basis.
Regretfully, I’ve fallen largely short of these goals. There are many posts I’ve made over the past three years that I’m proud of, some not so much. In either case, I’ve spent way too much time on my blog kvetching about liberalism and the political outrages du jour. My friend is right — it is the gospel of Jesus Christ that is the power of God unto salvation, not conservative Christian political commentary.
Does this mean I won’t talk about politics ever again? No — I don’t think I’m capable of making such a promise. What it does mean is that my blog needs to be more God-focused. The Bible is a deep book. Lifetime upon lifetime has been spent mining its treasures, and they have never been exhausted. Mine is yet another lifetime called to be spent in like manner, and tMR is supposed to be an outlet for that adventure. Today, I’m rededicating it to that end.
To the readers of tMR who have come and gone over the past 3 years, thank you for visiting this little space on the Web. Please be sure to visit from time to time in the future. Things are about to get good around here.
Jesus, I humbly offer this blog to you anew. You are the one who gave me the inspiration for it to begin with. I pray that in the days to come it will be a tool in your hands — ever sharper and more precise — to bear much fruit for your kingdom. May my thoughts and meditations be pleasing in your sight. Amen.
Blessings,
Rob
aka The MonT-SteR