This Week’s New Articles

Answer to the travel picture on Home Page: Machu Picchu, Peru

In my latest romantic suspense, Sweet Double-Cross, the hero (Kirt Mayfair Winslow IV) and heroine (Trudy Fields) seek to find their place and purpose. They both face two of life’s major decisions—following the right career path and finding the right marriage partner. They are pressed to decide while fighting for survival.

But what about real life? How do we find our place and purpose as we navigate day to day living?

I believe finding the answer to the question is less like using a Global Positioning System (GPS) app and more like gem mining.

Our family loved to vacation in North Carolina, and we had great fun trying our hand at gem mining. You get a bucket of dirt scooped out of the earth in areas known to hold a variety of gems. Then you sit at a flume line of running water and sort, sift, and wash small portions of dirt in a sifting pan and see if hidden gems are revealed.

To me, reading the Bible is often like gem mining. I pore over the pages and sift through the content in search of special truths tucked in the pages. 

Through reading, research and personal experience, I have gleaned a four-step process that offers a way to tap into God’s individual purpose for us with the acronym GEMS.

Giftedness—Identify your giftedness or the way you tend to operate naturally.

What is your personality type? How do you tackle day to day living? How do you think? Relate to others? Solve problems? What is your standard operating procedure? What is the way you go about completing a task—orderly and organized or thinking on the fly? How do you function best? There are many personality-identifying systems. Two that are useful: Why You Act the Way to Do by Tim LaHaye and Linked Quick Guide to Personalities by Linda Gilden and Linda Goldfarb.

Ephesians 2:10 states: “Weare his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

1 Peter 4:10 shows a similar message: “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”

Exploration—through prayer, studying scripture, and seeking Godly counsel in order to best utilize our strengths and weaknesses.

(Please come back next week for Part 2)

Author bio:

Sally Jo Pitts is a former private investigator, licensed lie detection examiner, and retired high school guidance counselor with over twenty years of teaching experience in family and consumer sciences. She combines her education and detective know-how to bring inspirational fiction to the page. Married to her late law enforcement husband for 48 years, she resides in the Panhandle of Florida. Connect with her at https://sallyjopitts.com/author.

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In my work-in-progress novella, Zen of Tea, Mrs. Chao treats her guests with a famous Cantonese dessert known as “sweet mud soup” (more properly called Black Sesame Soup, 芝麻糊, zhī má hú). This humble yet luxurious treat is a beloved comfort food in southern China, particularly in Guangdong, where it’s enjoyed as a warming dessert or a snack. When one of my critique partners admitted they’d never heard of it, and asked for the recipe, I was delighted to share it.

The name “sweet mud soup” might sound odd, but it perfectly describes the silky, dark, almost volcanic appearance of the dish. Its flavor, however, is unforgettable: nutty, fragrant, sweet, and soothing. If you’ve never made it yourself, it’s surprisingly simple and can be done at home with just a few basic ingredients.

Black Sesame Soup (Cantonese Sweet “Mud” Soup): Serves 4–6

Ingredients:

• 1 cup black sesame seeds
• 2½ cups water
• 4–6 tablespoons sugar (to taste)
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons water (for slurry)
• Pinch of salt (optional, for depth)

Instructions:

1. Grind the seeds: Put the black sesame seeds into a spice grinder, coffee bean grinder, or high-speed blender. Grind to a fine powder—almost like flour. The finer the grind, the smoother your soup will be.
2. Prepare the base: In a medium saucepan, combine the black sesame powder and 2½ cups of water. Whisk to combine. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Stir frequently to prevent lumps.
3. Sweeten: Add the sugar (start with 4 tablespoons; you can always add more to taste) and a pinch of salt if desired. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5–8 minutes. The mixture should become darker and aromatic.
4. Thicken: In a small bowl, dissolve 2 tablespoons of cornstarch in 2 tablespoons of water to make a slurry. Pour the slurry into the simmering sesame soup, stir and cook for another 2–3 minutes until the soup has thickened to a texture similar to thick cream or gravy.
5. Serve: Ladle the hot soup into small bowls. Traditionally, it’s enjoyed steaming hot and eaten with a spoon. If you wish, garnish with a drizzle of coconut milk.

Notes:

• The sugar can be white, rock sugar, or even brown sugar for a deeper caramel taste.
• Leftovers can be refrigerated and reheated with a splash of water if the soup thickens too much.

This comforting, aromatic soup is perfect for bringing warmth to a rainy evening—just ask Mrs. Chao’s guests in Zen of Tea!