“ For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of indecent behavior” I Peter 4:3

As July comes to a close we are experiencing the height and heat of summer here in South Carolina. Even from where I sit in my kitchen I can hear the croak and buzz of frogs and insects from outside. They love the summer heat, creating a cacophony of joy/noise (you decide!) all summer long. The reverse is true for my husband, who hates the summer heat and is already planning next summer’s ‘getaway from the heat’ trip!

While I don’t mind the heat, the summer trips serve as a brake pedal, forcing a stop to the constant rotation of work, allowing time to experience life from a different perspective. Changing up the daily routine helps me get outside myself, my agenda, my chores, me, me, me. One would think that a vacation would increase me centeredness, but for me it opens my eyes to the larger world God created.

As we traveled the sounds of croaking frogs, ringing telephones, urgent messages, deadlines and timelines faded into the distance. Different sounds took their place; strange and wonderful sounds. Street noises drifted into our hotel rooms, music and conversations definitely not in southern American English. Deadlines became metro schedules, but if we missed one another was on the way. Timelines included dinner, never earlier than 7PM, lasting well into the evening. Evenings stretched forever as the sun stayed aloft until nearly 11PM. From food to activities, everything about the trip was different from life at home.

The concept of breaking with the norm and doing things differently reminds me of the passage from Peter listed above. Peter was speaking to new converts in the faith, people that were just discovering the good news of Jesus; people learning about forgiveness and salvation and mercy. Peter wanted them to be aware that life in Jesus meant freedom from sin; they were no longer to be slaves to sin. Change was coming.

It is so easy for me to live life in a rut; cooking the same things day after day, complaining about the same things day after day, sinning the same way day after day. I have great excuses and reasons why things don’t change, but the truth is really that change is hard. It requires effort and work and faith that God can change things. It requires a willingness to change, a willingness to believe that change is not only necessary but will be a benefit.

What Peter was telling those early Christians was that their lives of bad behavior; immorality, debauchery, drunkenness, etc…, needed to give way to a fuller, better life in Christ. He is echoing Paul in II Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” The new is better than the old; freedom from old, bad behavior allows for full, free living. The old lifestyle must croak, my third use of the term!, and give way to a new lifestyle.

What bad behavior are you stuck in? Maybe it’s terribly sinful and awful, maybe its just laziness, or maybe you have become complacent or allowed Satan to deceive you into thinking you can never change. I wish I could send you on a long vacation to France so you could see that change is not only possible but desirable. I cannot. God , however, can take you where you need to go to begin to realize that He loves you, He has a plan for your life, and that in Him the time is past for your old, bad behavior. Now is the time to prayerfully make changes that will free you to live a new life in the love of God.

God uses both vacations and crises to help us realize we are in a rut that we need to jump out of. Allow Him to speak to your heart today. Listen to what He is whispering, and then have the faith to jump out of your rut and live a new life.

Meals in France did not consist of McDonalds and fast food. Sidewalk tables, menus and fresh baguettes set the tone for leisurely lunches. Available almost everywhere, Croque Monsieur and Croque Madame are lovely gourmet ham & cheese sandwiches. Hot and bubbly they bring this comforting food to a new level.

This is my first try at Croque Monsieur and Croque Madame. I found the following recipe from Food & Wine by Nicole Hopper. This is a great, easy upgrade to ham & cheese, taking it from cold lunchbox fare to worthy dinner.

Croque Monsieur or Madame

By Nicole Hopper

• 4 slices Italian or French bread
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened, divided
• 1 tablespoon Gold Medal flour
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 4 ounces Gruyère cheese, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for garnish
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 4 slices cooked ham
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped, for garnishing
• 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt, for garnishing

1. Preheat oven to broil with rack about 8 inches from heat source. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Spread 1 side of bread slices evenly with 1 tablespoon of the butter. Place bread slices, buttered side down, in skillet; cook until toasted and golden, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer bread to a work surface. Wipe skillet clean.
2. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a small saucepan over medium until foamy. Whisk in flour; cook, whisking constantly, until light golden. Gradually whisk in milk; bring to a simmer over medium, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to low; cook, whisking often, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Add 1/4 cup of the grated Gruyère cheese and whisk until melted. Stir salt, pepper, and nutmeg into this mixture. (If not using immediately, cover surface of sauce directly with plastic wrap for up to 1 hour.)
3. Arrange 2 of the bread slices on a work surface, toasted side down. On each slice, spread 2 tablespoons cheese sauce to evenly to cover the surface. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup grated Gruyère, and top with 2 ham slices. Spread mustard evenly on untoasted sides of remaining 2 bread slices; place, mustard side down, on top of ham-topped slices. Spread remaining cheese sauce evenly on top of sandwiches, then top with remaining 1/4 cup grated Gruyère.
4. Transfer sandwiches to a rimmed baking sheet, and broil in preheated oven until cheese has melted and top is bubbly and browning in spots, 3-5 minutes.
5. If you wish to have a Croque Madame, melt 1 tablespoon butter in cleaned nonstick skillet over medium-high. Crack an egg into skillet; cook, undisturbed, until whites are set but yolks are runny, about 3 minutes. Place egg atop sandwich.
6. Top both the Croque Monsieur and Croque Madame with chives, flaky sea salt, and additional pepper if desired.