Jacob is about to enter the Promised Land. He will be one of the venerated Patriarchs of the faith. But before Jacob can become Israel, the man must be broken. Jacob needs to learn that his life is to be one of continual striving with God, but doing it with full dependence on God. He will learn that with God there is a continual heat from the refiner’s fire, but through the adversity there is an unspeakable joy in the journey. And though God probably won’t be wrestling with any of us physically like He did with Jacob, there is a continual tension of finding our greatest peace when we are most intimate in close communion with God. At times we struggle, but in the pain we learn to submit to His will, allow Him to expose our defects, yield to the wounds He creates and then trust Him that the pain is for our greatest good as the “old man” is further put to death. If we act in the flesh and run away or defend ourselves or blame others or whine and complain, we’ll never experience this. As creatures so prone to follow our selfish instincts, there is a serenity that comes when God wrestles us to the ground, breaks us further of our pride and reminds us that our sufficiency is only in Him.

Randy Smith

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Meats, Grains	Chinese	Poultry, Main dish, Chinese, Nuts, Ethnic	4	Servings

INGREDIENTS

3		Chicken breasts,
		Boned and skinned
1/2	lb	Chinese pea pods
1/2	lb	Mushrooms
4		Green onions
2	c	Bamboo shoots, drained
1	c	Chicken broth,
		Or bouillon cube dissolved
		In water
1/4	c	Soy sauce
2	tb	Corn starch
1/2	ts	Sugar
1/2	ts	Salt
4	tb	Salad oil
1	pk	Cashew nuts
		(about 4-oz)

INSTRUCTIONS

Slice breasts horizontally into very thin slices and cut into inch squares.
Place on tray.  Prepare vegetables, removing ends and strings from pea
pods, slicing mushrooms, green part of onions, and the bamboo shoots. Add
to tray.  Mix soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Heat 1 tablespoon of
oil in skillet over moderate heat, add all the nuts, and cook 1 minute
shaking the pan, toasting the nuts lightly. Remove and reserve. Pour
remaining oil in pan, fry chicken quickly, turning often until it looks
opaque.  Lower heat to low. Add pea pods, mushrooms, and broth. Cover and
cook slowly for 2 minutes. Remove cover, add soy sauce mixture, bamboo
shoots, and cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Simmer uncovered a
bit more and add green onions and nuts and serve immediately. Serves 4.
MING'S DYNASTY - Glendale, CO.
From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini

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