English teacher: peek and peak

Today's English lesson deals with the pet peeve of one of my readers: misuse of the words peek and peak. These words are, like many others, problems only for writers, not for speakers. They're homophones--that is, they sound exactly alike. Speakers can use the words interchangeably, and their listeners are responsible for hearing the right word. But writers must choose the correct word to use.

Peek is primarily a verb that means "to take a quick look." It can also be used as a noun that refers to the act of taking a quick look something.

Examples:

Peek into the nursery and see if the baby is still asleep.

Take a peek at our darling new puppy!

Peak is a noun that means "the pointed top of a mountain." It can also refer to the highest point of something.

Examples:

We want to visit Pike's Peak.

He is at the peak of his career.

Peak can also be used as verb that refers to reaching a high point or as an adjective describing a high point.

Examples:

The writer's popularity peaked in the 1960's.

The hotel is always booked during the peak season.

Even when used as a verb or an adjective, peak refers to a high point. Perhaps it will help remember that the word you need here is the one with a high point in the spelling:

peAk

And to peek is something you do with your two eyes, just as there are two e's in the word.

Hope this helps you to keep these two words straight! As always, I'd be happy to answer any specific questions you may have. If there's a grammatical issue you'd like for me to write about, please let me know. If there's a particular question you'd like for me to answer right away, email me (richella (at) gmail (dot) com).

On making sacrifices

A couple of weeks ago I told you about my dear friend Sonya who displayed real love and great sacrifice by donating half her liver to a desperately ill friend. I am so happy to tell you today that Sonya is back at home and doing well. She'll spend this spring unable to lift anything heavier than 10 pounds and suffering from considerable fatigue, but overall she's doing great. What's more, her friend and liver recipient is doing really well. Of course, they both must recover from all that goes with major surgery, but already Sonya's friend is already much healthier than before the transplant. Isn't it wonderful what God and His friends in the medical community can do?

As I've prayed for Sonya over these weeks, I've found myself so touched by her willingness to do this. To be separated from her family, to suffer pain and sickness and fatigue, to undertake such risk--what a sacrifice! I know Sonya well, and I know that the love of Christ is what compels her. A powerful force, that love!

I'm a little ashamed to admit it, but there's one more thing I've thought as my mind has dwelt on Sonya these past couple of weeks. This is not pretty, but it's true: I've felt jealous of her. Can you imagine? Jealous of someone who's spent the last two weeks hundreds of miles from her family, enduring great pain, suffering through devastating nausea, barely able to eat? Sounds ridiculous, but it's true. Why? Because of the way her spirit rests in God. Because she faced even this remarkable journey with the knowledge that God was leading her, and she was content to take even this dramatic step.

Why doesn't God call me to do something dramatic? I've wondered. Why can't I serve Him in some earth-shaking way? Sonya's service saved the life of a wonderful, Godly woman. Why can't I do something like that? Something that really counts??

And then, very gently, God brought me back to His word. One more time, He reminded me of what He's asking me to do right now.

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship (Romans 12:1, NIV)."

Photo courtesy of www.greatpassionplay.com

Or as The Message puts it:

"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering."

My everyday, ordinary life. My errand-running, dinner-cooking, dishes-doing, clothes-washing, child-rearing, husband-loving life. Placed before God as an offering.

You know the problem with living sacrifices, don't you? Just when you've put them in place, living sacrifices can jump down off the altar. So they have to be offered again every day.

But you know what? That daily grind--that offering of myself, that placing myself before God, however broken I may be--it pays off. Read Romans 12:2 from The Message:

"Fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."

Photo courtesy of nottshistory.org.uk

So, with nothing dramatic to offer, I'll put my life back on the altar. And I'll look forward to a little more change from the inside out.

Dinner for Real: Crustless Quiche

I hope you're enjoying the Dinner for Real series. I've had several people contact me and tell me that they've tried one of the recipes and liked them. This makes me so happy!

Today's recipe is one that I've pulled out many times when I've waited too long to think about dinner--those days when I forget to get something out of the freezer, or I've been away from home all day and didn't have time to put something in the CrockPot. You know the kind of day I'm talking about, don't you? Please tell me I'm not the only one who has days like that!

I'll be completely honest here. My children are not fans of quiche. I think that's because what's billed as quiche at restaurants is usually full of things like broccoli or spinach--more green than anything else!

My kids wouldn't touch that with a ten-foot pole, let alone a fork. So when I make quiche, it's a much simpler affair. And while I love quiche in a pastry shell, I usually make mine crustless, which cuts out a measurable number of calories, fat grams, and carbohydrate grams.

Crustless Quiche
Ingredients:
8 whole eggs
2 cups cheese, grated (I use half cheddar and half Swiss or Gruyere--use whatever you like!)
1 cup milk or cream
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
salt and pepper to taste
bacon, ham, or sausage, or any combination thereof

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare pan (I use an 8 inch square Pyrex dish) by spraying with non-stick cooking spray.
Cook meat of your choice and drain fat. Cut or crumble into small pieces.
Beat eggs. Add cheese, milk, and baking powder. Mix well. Stir in meat. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until toothpick insert in center comes out fairly clean. Do not overbake--the quiche will continue to cook some from residual heat after you remove it from the oven.

We like to have this with grits and fruit or green salad. Or sometimes I prepare broccoli or asparagus for my husband and fruit for the rest of us. I'm sure you could add veggies to the quiche if you like--we prefer to have a meat and cheese pie and keep the veggies on the side.
What do you make on those days when you have to come up with dinner on one of those days?