Well, the smoker worked well.  Thanks to Ian I had a good handle on how to use it and some of the things to watch for.

Ken and Josh do a lot of smoking and barbecuing.  Their skills have challenged me to be better at mine.

I have been grilling for decades.  Through the years I became better at it and expanded to actually barbecuing – Ken was doing that before I realized the difference.

Smoking is different, still.  You can smoke the meat to give it flavor from the wood and then cook it; or, you can smoke it in conjunction with barbecuing it.  I prefer the latter.

I have never used a pellet smoker before, but I know Josh produces tasty meals using his.  So when a different brand came on sale I wanted to try it – it was less expensive, to begin with than the great set up Josh has, but it was also on sale which made it worth trying.

Ken uses gas with wood chips for the smoke, he too turns out great meats, but I wanted to go the pellet smoker route.

This is the first time I have been able to set my temperature for the meat I am smoking – before I had to constantly monitor and work the coals.  Still have to monitor and make sure everything is working okay, but it holds its own much better and I don’t have to be concerned as much.

Decided to do a whole chicken to get used to the smoker, if I lost the meat it wouldn’t cost much AND I only had to smoke it a couple of hours, vs 5-10.  I brined it, injected it with butter and put it in – the smoker maintained the temperature throughout the two hours I cooked, and the meat came our pretty and nice and juicy. 

AND delicious; actually it wasn’t any different than what I have produced in the past with my Webber or other grills – however, it was easier without having to worry about maintaining temperature, since this smoker monitors the temperature and adjust the burning of the pellets to keep it steady.

Too early for me to tell if I am going to be totally satisfied, but it is a very good start.

Carla’s boss raises a number of animals, chickens, ducks and geese included.  She brings them to work to give to employees and Carla always gets the most.

Didn’t really care for the goose eggs, but the other two are okay.  Today, at Carla’s request, I am baking a cake with some of the duck eggs, haven’t tried it before, but the batter tasted okay, so we shall see.

Psalm 8:3-5  When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

⁴ What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

⁵ For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

What is man, that thou art mindful of him?

It is estimated that right now there are well over 7 BILLION people on the earth; and it is continuing to grow with births out numbering deaths.

In addition there were billions of people who lived before us.

God created the entire universe, planets, suns, moons, etc.

Why should He be concerned about me?

It is like me being concerned about some flea in Africa.  One single flea of billions in the world, probably billions in Africa – or America – or any country - alone; not going to affect me much and I never think about it – or wouldn’t have if I hadn’t looked for a comparison.

Of course I didn’t create him.  But God created man in His own image.  Man was meant to converse and serve God from the very beginning.

But still, why should God be concerned about me, as an individual out of all the billions of people who are on earth today?

First, because I have accepted His Son, Jesus the Christ, as my Savior.  Just as the Jews have a special place in God’s heart those that have accepted and proclaim Jesus as the Christ and Savior have a special place in His heart.

But something more important is at work here, we are not just special, we are family.

Family.  FAMILY!

Romans 8:16-17 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

¹⁷ And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

We are children of God the KING!

We have the privilege of our Father being the Creator, the absolute and final authority on all things.

While we may not consider ourselves in the same league as Peter, Paul, Mark, Mary or many other great leaders in Christ’s church we are still the children of our great Lord, God and King.

He has imparted His wealth and love to each of us.  We have the honor of being able to approach Him at any time.  We don’t have to make an appointment, wait for Him to stop, or go through rituals and earthly people to have immediate access to Him.

WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF THE KING!

I remember, well, the photographs of young John Kennedy in his father’s office, peeking out from under the desk.  He had full access to his father who was one of the most powerful men in the world at that time.

WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF THE KING!

Not only is God, our Father, the most powerful being in our time, but in all time, not only in our country but all of the earth.

Not only on earth but the entire universe and heaven itself.  And because of our status, through Jesus, we have the GOD GIVEN right to come to Him at any time, day or night.

And He has promised to listen to us. 

To send His Holy Spirit to comfort and guide us. 

Not because we are great or worthy of His love, compassion, or mercy, but because we became a part of His family when we accepted Christ, we became the brother of Christ.

WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF THE KING, our FATHER!

And He always has time for His children.

And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ;

We have been adopted into the most powerful family in the Universe; God’s family.

And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ;

What a great gift God gave us in His Son, not only salvation, but direct unfettered access to Him.

WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF THE KING!

Later, Art :-)