Flamebroiled Donuts

We went to Sunday School today with Hubster's family. His dad teaches the class, and today the lesson was on choosing to please God when it means displeasing men. Specifically, the lesson was applied to a work situation where an employee must go against his boss's wishes in order to please God. The text was taken from the book of Daniel, and it focused on Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who refused to worship the statue of their boss, King Nebuchadnezzar.

Later, after Sunday School, during the offering in the service, I wrote a little note to Hubster. "Where was Daniel when his friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, were all thrown into the furnace?" I scribbled it quickly onto the paper, before passing it over to Hubs. He glanced at the note, pulled out his pen and immediately began writing his answer. Now, I'd puzzled over this question by myself for twenty minutes, so I was a little miffed that he knew the answer so quickly. I chalked it up to his private Christian school education and leaned over to read what he was writing. He shielded his answer with his hand as he continued and cast me a devious grin.

So I waited. Eventually, he finished chicken scratching on my church bulletin and I was allowed to read what he wrote:

"Daniel had to run down to the Krispy Kreme to get breakfast for his Sunday School class. He got back just as the fire was starting to die down."

Two points for Christian school! Does anybody else have an answer?

Music and Lyrics

I'm sitting here in front of the computer typing while Bri uses my arms as armrests and gleefully plays with the mouse buttons. Forgive me if there are a few typos!

My life could honestly be a Broadway musical these days.

I've discovered that my students will behave if I threaten them with my singing. So I've been bursting out in random song throughout the day. (Picture cheesy melodramatic versions of "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic). They cover their ears while begging for forgiveness. I'm so mean!

After school this week I've been staying for flagline practice. We have over 80 girls lined up to audition at the end of the week. They've been working on their two routines. The captains chose the music so my musical week has a little R&B mixed in too!

And at home, I've taken to singing to the Brimeister when I need my hands free. She is quite content to sit in her bouncy seat and listen to my renditions of favorite hymns and the occasional country song. She gets really excited when I look her in the eye and sing to her. It's really sweet.

In my free time (insert sarcastic grin), I've been thinking about an idea for Bible Study curriculum. I want to write it myself. Each week would focus on the lyrics of a different song. Specifically, we would pull out the roots of contemporary Christian songs. I want to choose a different style each week. The main focus will be the words. Not so much the tune. I know certain songs will be preferred by each person and hopefully we will tackle at least one favorite for each person. I think I'll begin the Bible Study with a bowl of potato salad and a printout of this post from Jeana at Days to Come!

Penny for your thoughts

In a few weeks I expect to host a ladies small group Bible study in our home. In my previous experiences with Bible studies I was always a participant. Never a leader. Since this is my first time, I'm sort of unsure about what we should do. Here are a few ideas I've had. Let me know what you think about them or if you have any suggestions about Bible study throw those in too!

1. Journal time- I thought it would be neat to open with time for silent reflection and journaling. For five minutes we would write down anything on our minds. It might be grocery items, prayer requests, thoughts about the day or the angry things I wanted to say at the driver who cut me off on the way.

2. Q & A - This won't be a lecture format. It will be discussion oriented. I'm not sure what book we will use. That's still up in the air.

3. Infants welcome - Allowing babies to come is sort of a risky move. They came be pretty distracting. However, I've found that if I can't bring my baby to an event I'm probably not going to go. She's just too young to find a sitter. And finding a sitter once a week would add up really fast.

What ideas do you have? I can use a lot of help!

a new view of Christmas

So this holiday season has been very different from years past. First of all, there's a little bundle of joy who feels much more joyful when she's in my arms and that does make it difficult to string ribbon around the tree. And second of all, well, I'm just plain tired! Now, don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE decorating for Christmas. But this year it just feels like a chore. And I feel guilty for saying this, but in the back of my head I keep thinking 'You're just going to have to take all of this back down in a few weeks. Is it really worth it?'
Isn't that terrible?

But then I think about how much Christmas means to me. I can only imagine how intimidated Mary must have been knowing that she would be the imperfect parent to a perfect child. I mean, goodness I'm intimidated by being a mom as it is! Can you imagine having to constantly worry about messing up God's firstborn son?

The upside to being a new mom, though is that this year I have a new perspective on Christmas. It's not just a yummy smelling, warm fluffy season filled with pretty cards, cookies and presents anymore. I actually know what it would feel like to have to ride on a bony donkey for hours while pregnant. Yowsers! And I can just see Mary waiting in sweaty agony to hear that beautiful first cry from the newborn baby Jesus after a grueling delivery. Not to mention the fact, that I now wonder how Mary must have reacted to A) all the strangers coming to gawk at her family and B) all the unasked for advice that I'm sure they probably felt inclined to share with her. Personally, I don't think I would have handled it very well if a bunch of stinky sheperd men showed up to see me in the hospital. And, hello? Wise men, or stalkers? I would have been a little freaked out! Somehow, the story just seems so much more vivid now. Almost like I was missing a few pieces to the puzzle.

So, I don't mind that it takes me a little longer to decorate this year. And I'm telling you now that I probably won't have everything packed back up by January 1st. But that's okay. I bet Mary would totally understand. Everything's just harder with a baby!

Sunday Ponderings

Today was the first time that we've left our Bridoodle in the nursery at church. In the past we've toted her around everywhere we went and usually I would have to dart away to feed her in the middle of the lesson. So it was a really special and unnerving experience. It's amazing how distracting it is to have your child with you in a social setting. I was constantly sitting on the edge of my seat anxiously awaiting her next lusty cry. Because I do that everyday, it didn't really bother me. But sitting in the service today, holding Hub's hand and singing some really moving songs was like a religious experience. I mean seriously, it was like a date! Not a normal married date, either. But one of those electrical, I- can't- believe- we're- finally- alone- by- ourselves, kind of dates. Like we had when we first started dating.

In addition to the thrill of being footloose and fancy free, I found that I could concentrate on the lessons so much better. The sermon and our Sunday school message really flowed into each other so that it seemed like one continuous lesson. The subject for both was looking ahead to tomorrow. The sermon dealt with expecting amazing things from the Lord (Joshua 3:5) and the Sunday school lesson dealt with not being anxious (Matt. 6:25).

I tell ya what, both of these topics were meant for me. It's difficult to expect amazing things from the Lord. It requires faith and makes you feel foolish in front of your peers. Can you imagine how Noah and Joshua and David must have felt when they were given such amazing visions of what was to come? I bet they were scared to death! The verse in Joshua tells us to consecrate or commit ourselves to the Lord so that we can be a part of the amazing things to come. As a new parent I've really been convicted that I should be more committed to the Lord. Instead I seem to be self-reliant and very anxious. I want to do everything myself instead of waiting for the perfect timing of God. Today I was reminded to trust God with the safety of our family and to commit to serving Him in the plan He has for us knowing that He has something amazing up ahead.

Practicing for New Year's

Since January usually catches me by surprise I have, in the past, tried out possible resolutions a little early. Two years ago I practiced making the switch to diet coke. The secret was to order a large diet coke at the movie theater. After the opening scenes my tongue would go numb and stop protesting the icky sweetness of aspartame. It only took a few movies before I'd mastered the taste of diet coke. I made the switch quite easily on New Year's and I stuck to my resolution too!!!! I did have to switch back to regular sodas when I found out I was pregnant (over a year later) but I plan to be a diet girl again one day. (While I'm nursing I don't want the caffeine to keep me and the munchkin awake at night!)
Anyway, I've been working on a few life improvements, so to speak. Here's the list in no certain order.

*Working Out- I want to at least take a walk each weekday. And do crunches. (This has been a resolution for me about a gazillion times. I've made it to February before, but that's my personal best).

*Memorizing Bible Verses- When I was in high school the super cool thing to do in youth group, was to memorize chapters, yes I did say CHAPTERS, of the Bible. I don't have the time or the brain power to do that now. Although it was fun back then! But I would love to memorize a verse a week. For my practice I'm starting a weekly Memory Verse Monday post so that y'all can keep me accountable and maybe you might want some practice too...

*Littler Lists- I got this idea from Hadias's post on simple homemaking. My daily lists are almost always overwhelming. She suggests only listing six items per day. If there are more items then add them to tomorrow's list. Today I started on this one and it has made me feel so productive. I'm already half way through my list and I'm not overwhelmed!!

*Becoming G rated- It's not cool to be PG-13 anymore. I need to censor what comes out of my mouth in front of my baby. And honestly even when I'm away from her I want to be G rated too. Or maybe PG. I need to practice, like I said.

So, these are a few things I'm working on. How about you? What are you looking to change in 2008? Hopefully, with a few trials and lots of errors now, I'll be able to make these changes stick in January!

We're Dedicated Baby!

This morning our families drove two hours to watch our little girl be dedicated to the Lord. An hour before church, the Hubster and I were not sure we were even going to go at all! We were pulling our hair out listening to Bri scream. She would not stop crying and we were very frazzled. I started to think that maybe getting up in front of the whole church with a screaming infant did not sound like fun. No sir! To pacify her, even though it was early we went ahead and fed her and that calmed her down. With much trepidation we left the house and searched for a parking space at church. Ironically we spent more time driving around the parking lot than we spent on the way to church. And as soon as we had joined the other babies in the waiting room, Bri started crying again. Time for a diaper change! So I raced around to the nursery and quickly changed her diaper. And now I was starting to think we would surely be the loudest family on stage. Everyone would look at us in dismay. "What terrible parents!" they would shout to each other over her deafening cries. Yup, I had the whole drama unfolding in my mind as I sprinted back to the line of parents waiting to walk into the church. However, our darling girl was a fabulous performer. She was at peace through the entire event up front. No one would ever suspect that we'd been sweating bullets just minutes before we were on stage. And she was calm during the sermon. And she slept through lunch! It was a miracle :o) And lots of fun too! Mimi and Grandpa were there along with Nana, Papa and Aunt Beth. We were proud parents indeed. And, hey, as long as she behaves in public it's okay if she screams at home. She's already learning to be a good Southern girl!

My Monday Question

Normally my friend Scott asks a question on his blog every Monday but this week he must not have had time. So I'm going to borrow his idea this week. I saw a 60 minutes report yesterday on the "pleasure gospel" of Joel Osteen. It didn't sit right with me. But I had a hard time explaining the difference between this brand of preaching and the concept of Christian hedonism as presented by John Piper. So I'm curious as to what you think.

What is the role of pleasure in Christianity? How should we view blessings vs. monetary gain vs pleasure?

Beautiful Rain

I'm sitting with my laptop next to my kitchen window watching the rain come pouring down. The window is open by about 2 inches and the smell is just heavenly. Our dog is pacing around the house growling at the thunder but I love watching the water fall from the sky. It's refreshing. When I was younger I used to hate rainy days. It wasn't so much that I wanted to be outside. It was more that I craved the sunlight and felt moody whenever rain darkened the sky. I always tried to nap through rainstorms if possible.
I suppose I've become a grown up now because I see rain as free water for our front yard (which is very brown from the drought we've had all summer). My pregnancy this summer shifted our priorities a lot. I decided not to worry about watering the yard and instead my goal (according to my husband) has been to refrigerate the house. (Yes, honey, I turned the A/C off before I opened the windows.)
This seems like a perfect opportunity to bring in some spiritual parallel or something super wise but this evening I've got nothing extra to add. I'm content to just admire God's handywork.

This World Calls Me Poor

Money ... money ... money... It seems like all week I've been dealing with balancing numbers and dollars. At home we're trying to adjust to the expenses of childcare so that we'll be ready when the baby comes. And at school I'm trying to decide what to do with my allotted amount of science supply funds while simultaneously trying to juggle the flagline uniform purchases from the band account. It's a mess! On top of all of this I've really been thinking about my approach towards my impoverished students. Last year I was mostly blind to the home lives of my kids. I was in survival mode. But this year I want to reach out to those kids and try to make a difference. Poverty's kids are at-risk of dropping out of high school and getting into lots of trouble when they do. The streets around our schools host lots of gang fights. This year we have more students coming in from surrounding school zones which means lots of opposing gang members under one roof. It will be interesting. My education classes this summer dealt extensively with the hidden rules of poverty and how these rules will affect the classroom.

So all of this has me thinking about what it means to be poor. One of my all-time favorite songs (by Caedmon's Call) is narrated by an Ecuadorian lady who is raising her sons alone in a hut with a dirt floor and meals of dried corn while her husband is fighting in a war. She says "This world calls me poor, I bore my babies on this floor, but [God] always provides sure as the sun will rise. So I sing Him songs of praise, cause I know He keeps me in His gaze. Jesus is all I need." It brings tears to my eyes to hear her because I know that I am so spoiled myself. If I don't get to go out to eat at least once a week then I'm complaining. And yet spiritually I know she is far richer than I am. There's a verse in Matthew that says "Where your treasure is there your heart will be also" (also found in Harry Potter 7 oddly enough). I'm afraid I care too much about being rich on Earth and not enough about being rich in my love for the Lord.

The Pursuit of Happiness

Have you ever stopped to consider what it really takes to be happy? I've been pondering this idea lately. I've heard lots of answers. Some say lots of money, or owning the perfect assortment of things. (All of you studying for Step 1 probably just went through the cranial nerves, didn't you "some say marry money but my brother...") Anyway, focus for a second. I think the answer is not in the circumstances around you. You don't have to have money or health or family or a good job or certain posessions to be happy. I've seen people of all walks of life in all stages of health, etc and it didn't seem to change the optimism and vibrance of the people who chose to have positive attitudes. In my life I've seen the greatest happiness when there was the greatest combination of hope and grattitude. May 15th 2004 was definitely the happiest day of my life. I was so thankful for my parents who invested so much love and energy in me and for my sister who made the best maid of honor a girl could ever ask for and most of all for my groom, the most wonderful man I've ever known. And I was so full of hope for the future with him and for the difference we could make in the world together.
Over the course of my life however the greatest source of my happiness has been Jesus Christ. I cannot even quantify the amount of grace and forgiveness and love that He has lavished upon me in such a deep and personal way. My heart continually yearns to be closer to Him and to know Him more. My hope is so fixed upon His promises that it fills me constantly (like the reserve volume in the lungs). And so I have concluded that Jesus holds the deepest source of happiness because no one deserves more grattitude or offers more hope than He.

Discipline

This week I have found myself in the midst of several disciplinary dilemnas. All week I procrastinated instead of studying for my exam (which I took this morning) so that yesterday I was overloaded with piles of information. My long day of studying led to an early night's sleep during which I was awakened twice by our beloved dog's bratty howling. (Honestly she picks the worst times!) Upon arriving home from the exam I recoiled at the domestic disarray that I returned to. Everything is dirty and stacked up in piles. These three separate situations have left me in a quandary as to the nature of discipline and how it can be harnessed in our lives.

One of the most intriguing fruits of the Spirit in my opinion is the fruit of "self-control" and yet of the set it is the one I lack the most. My attitude seems to be one of passive ease that allows circumstances to dictate how I react. If I don't feel a desire to study then I wait for that future (Utopian) time when I will. Then when the studying builds up and my life is chaotic I have to put aside other tasks (like the dishes) so that I can catch up on the studying. My lack of discipline and laziness turn easy tasks into emergencies.

I don't have an answer for my quandary. As easy as it is to say that I will just become disciplined, I think that it's more complicated than that. My fear however is that as a future parent I will be unable to train my children to be disciplined. My own reaction to our dog's misbehavior varies so often and compounded to that my husband and I have totally different perspectives on the magnitude of each of her misbehaviors. How will we ever present a united front when training our children? It's a good thing that we have many years before we have to figure that out. :o)

Easter promises

"Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:22-23



About this time last year I had finally convinced Hubs that we really needed a puppy. Filled with exhilaration at his begrudging consent, I jumped on the task determined to have an Easter puppy. I spent the entire Saturday before Easter crossing puppies off my list. It needed to be a blonde cocker spaniel just like Candy and Madison. And I really wanted a girl but she couldn't be too old because I wanted to have that baby bond. In my mind I had already fallen in love with this helpless little puppy and I put all my energy into finding her so that I could bring her home. In fact I knew her name before I ever even saw her.

It's amazing to me that Jesus spends His time and energy seeking after me the way that I sought after Lilly. Fully knowing that I can never find my way to Him on my own doesn't seem so scary because I know He will find me. Even if I accidentally wander off (sheep do that you know) I know that Jesus will come scoop me up and hug me close again and take me back home.

I hope that when my life has come to a close that I will have been the loyal faithful friend to Jesus that my Lilly has been to me. I hope I bring Him the joy and delight that comes from watching someone laugh and play and grow. I hope that I will have a "sincere heart in full assurance of faith" and that I will hold fast to the Hope that comes from the Lord without wavering.

Jesus in the Grocery Store

Earlier this week I made my usual pilgramage to Kroger and since I had more items than would reasonably make it through the self check out I stood and waited at an old-fashioned conveyor belt to let someone else ring up my food. A chubby white boy in front of me unloaded several heavy items for his gruff and frazzled mother who barely restrained herself from snarling at him. Despite her sour mood the young black clerk scanning her groceries remained polite and charming. As they left and I unloaded my own cart of canned goods he and I struck up a conversation. It seemed to me that he was having a hard day, however his attitude was so cheerful that I couldn't help but ask what kept him upbeat. His response was a humble gesture. He simply made a cross over himself with his right hand.

"You mean Jesus?," I asked "Are you a Christian?"

"Exactly," he answered.

My own perspective was overshadowed by the exam looming ahead of me at the end of the week. He asked if I had prayed about it. This seemed remarkable to me. Long ago in college I stopped praying for tests as a general habit and only briefly mentioned them the night before to God as I was going to sleep. I guess it seemed that something so trivial as a test should not be brought up in prayer when there were more important issues at hand. My check-out guy went on to say that he wished he'd prayed more in college for extra motivation to study. He knew that the Lord would have blessed him if he had only asked. I found myself marvelling at his humble dependency on the Lord. I suppose my pride played a major role in my test taking strategy. Then as I left he thanked me for witnessing to him. I walked out to my car shaking my head in surprise and thinking about his advice.

Tonight I made a late night run for post-exam celebration food and guess who was manning the self check-out lanes. Since our earlier conversation I did spend time praying about the exam. And I prayed for motivation to study as well. As I told him this in the middle of the grocery store he smiled a big wide smile. "I really felt the Lord with me this week, and I had a new diligence about studying. I met all the goals that I set and I met them on time!" Today as I sat taking the exam I found myself humming a hymn and feeling at peace (which has never happened before). It's amazing that God still works in both the minutiae and the big decisions of my life. To echo my favorite grocery store clerk, "Praise the Lord!"

third world America

As the news reports convey more aspects of the damage done by hurricane Katrina I am appalled and grief stricken. It seems unbelievable that a whole city could be removed from the face of the earth in such a sudden unrelenting fashion. This sort of thing only happens in movies. There were two medical schools that were completely wiped out and those students have nothing left. I know it is selfish to imagine this gruesome situation from my own perspective but it seems to be the only way I can get my mind around the full extent of how life-altering it has been to thousands of people. There are thousands without jobs, homes or transportation not to mention food, clothing and water that is safe to drink. There are still people dying because no one has reached them with safe water. They're dying on American streets of dehydration. I feel so guilty carrying on my normal routine. I'm eating a healthy balanced meal for the third time today while thousands are packed into the Astrodome and are getting one, maybe two meals per day if they're lucky. I've heard that officials are so desperate for medical personnel that they're even asking students to come. And other than food and water the biggest request from the refugees has been for Bibles. Some of my classmates are considering going out there next week and bringing as many used Bibles and supplies as we can all pile into our cars. At the least I will be praying for the victims and their families. I don't think I'll ever complain about gas prices again.

evolution

In the attempt to be more "artful" in my blogging, as well as to write about things close to my heart I've decided to tackle a rather controversial issue. First of all let me say that I believe in the Bible (as a literal piece of work not as a collection of thoughts on God) and that that belief gives me a foundation for how I see the world and it is not contradicted by science. I'm about to share how the things in the Bible and the things I've learned in school have shaped the way I believe about evolution [1]. You are more than welcome to offer your own beliefs and how they shape your opinion of this evidence. You're also welcome to point out where you see that my facts or logic are wrong according to your own belief system.

So far in medical school I've memorized (and subsequently forgotten) a stack of notes that measured close to three feet on the intricacies of the human body. It is absolutely amazing how complicated our bodies are. Anatomically speaking it's inconceivable that the 6,446,131,400 people in the world today all have the same basic layout. All of their muscles, arteries, nerves, bones and veins from their calcaneus to their parietal foramen are in the same general area with only minor variations. But digging deeper than that, it's astounding how the body actually works. Let me illustrate. Our bodies have a pump (the heart) that works for an average of 70 years without once taking a break or getting a tune up. Can you imagine a machine that could do that? What if everyone drove the same car for 70 years without it ever stopping ~ not to mention breaking down, or getting tuned up?!? The blood that the heart pumps has hemoglobin molecules in it that are specifically designed to carry O2 and CO2 in the right quantities to enable gas exchange in the lungs. If by some chance you get a disease (such as COPD) that causes you to have respiratory acidosis meaning your blood's pH drops too low, then you have receptors that alert the kidneys. The kidneys then start excreting hydrogen ions to make the pH more basic and they also take on more bicarbonate buffer to neutralize the hydrogen ions that are left. Your kidneys return the pH to normal so that gas exchange continues to occur. All the systems are interrelated and work together in unison.

So the bottom line is it's extremely complex. And that's really just skimming the surface. I could talk about how nerves transmit signals, how the enzymes are made and then work to digest food in the gut or to carry out oxidative phosphorylation, how hormones dictate pubescent development, not to mention how energy is produced in enormous quantities daily, how proteins are broken down and remade, how DNA is used to make everything from antibodies in your blood to taste bud receptors on your tongue and the cells in your eyes that let you read this page. It's mind-boggling.
The organization and efficiency of the body defy the theory of evolution. It's like saying that you could get this house of cards from simply throwing decks of cards up in the air millions and millions of times [2]

In Genesis chapter 1 it shows the order that God created everything in. First came light, then water and land, then vegetation, then time/seasons, then fish, birds, and livestock. Then he created man.

Now science has shown the remarkable resemblance between the genomes of fish, birds, animals and humans. This is interpreted as evidence of evolution. I however see this as evidence of creation. God took the same building blocks and created many different species. Just like an artist can take the same paints and create many different paintings, or a potter uses the same clay to make many different bowls, God took the same nucleotides and amino acids and made many different living things. Each time he made something new he made it a little better. He made plants that had to live on land. The He decided to make some things to live in the water. Then He thought it would be cool to make things that didn't have to live on land or in water. The point is that the similarities of different species do not negate the idea of intelligent design.

I have many more points but this is getting really long. So I'll end with this quote from one of my professors, but I may continue on this subject later.
"Privately, I'd say that if I found a watch on the ground - I would assume that it was designed by somebody, built by somebody, and put there for a purpose. Our bodies (as we learn in medical school) are vastly more complicated than a watch ... Don't get frustrated. Scientists used to think the world was flat."



Resources
[1]
http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v22/i1/creation.asp
[2] http://bigpicture.typepad.com/writing/design/

Religion

I resent the fact that because I am a Christian others assume they know what I believe and where I stand on almost every issue. It's frustrating to be thrown into the big pot of Christiandom and told why I am wrong by people who don't know me at all. No I am not perfect~ I'm a hypocrite who can't get her act together. I will freely admit that my attitudes and actions are far more often sinful than saintly. But that's why I became a Christian in the first place. Not because Christianity would magically cure me and make me a "good person," but because I knew I'd never attain perfection myself. Jesus attained it for me. It seems like there are a lot of fingers being pointed at the church and a lot of people calling names. Why is that?
What's really frustrating though is knowing how to respond. My gut instinct is to point my finger back at the insulting blog and say "Well! You're just a cotton-headed ninny muggins!" However, I'm sure that's not the reponse that Christ would have. And although I am a poor reflection of Him (visualize one of those state border Rest Stop bathroom mirrors that are basically a sheet of buffed metal ~ that's me imitating Christ) I still know that an argument on behalf of myself will not convince anyone of my merits. So how does one respond to these insults? I'm sure you know what I'm referring to. Someone quotes Bush or Jerry Falwell and then goes off on a tirade of how stupid and insensitive Christians are. How do you reach through the internet and communicate to someone that despite the fact that those words made you bleed inside, you still love the person behind the blog?

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." James 1:27