I learned something fascinating about a pressure cooker, and that is pressure cooking can help you maintain a healthier lifestyle. First of all, it uses only 1/3 the energy of normal cooking methods, and because very little water is used in pressure cooking, and because the pressure cooker is a "closed system," few vitamins and minerals are lost to the cooking water, or dissipated into the air. Vegetables are not exposed to oxygen, and therefore they retain their vitamins, minerals, and color. In fact, the cooking times for most foods in the pressure cooker are approximately 1/3 the times for those same foods cooked in traditional manners and are even faster than a micro-wave.

The reason that fascinates me is because oftentimes life really is just like a pressure cooker. If we respond to pressure in the right way, it can make us better, and it can make us stronger. Now, even the disciples knew what it was to be under pressure.