Leader of the Free World

I've seen many posts this morning that talk about the struggle we all feel as Christians when considering our momentous day yesterday. But this one by Thabiti Anyabwile helps me to see it in a wonderful way. If you don't know him, you need to. Click his name to get to his blog.

Thabiti Anyabwile

I am rejoicing this morning more than I was for my friends who like him woke to a day that others said may come, woke to a day where the promise of America is as true for them as for my girls...and woke to a day where the one who stepped into that role is one who is opposed to so much that they live for in Christ. "God help us, please help us."

Leader of the Free World

Woke up this morning
and the leader of the free world
was a black man.

Woke up this morning,
got myself dressed,
and marveled at what's happened in this land.

Brushed my teeth in the mirror,
smiled at a face made silly with tooth paste.

No more black face comedy,
there's a black man in the White House,
and so much of the world is subject to his tastes.

What will it mean,
to now be a black man in the free world?

Will anything change,
will everything change,
a million ideas in my mind all in a swirl.

I don't even write poetry.
But I woke up this morning
and a black man was the leader of the free world.

Prose won't do it for me,
describe this ended longing.
Can you believe an African-American leads the free world,
with a beautiful brown wife and two little girls?

My country tis of thee,
sweet land of liberty,
land where my fathers died,
land where black mothers cried,
land where we were so long denied,
on every mountainside,
freedom rings.

Barack Hussein Obama,
son of a black man and a white mama,
now leads the free world.

Heaven knows the plot twists of this drama.
God help us, please help us.
Protect every unborn boy and girl.

Can't wink at some things,
even as the joy is irrepressible.
The confluence of emotions are inexpressible.

Gil Scott Heron had it wrong:
The revolution has been televised, has been televised, has been televised.
And a black man is the leader of the free world!

I never believed my mama,
when she said I could be anything, even president.
But now the White House has a new resident,
Barack Hussein Obama.

Goes to show what I know.
On a cold January day, my mama was proved a prophet.
In God's economy, nothing could stop it.
And this morning, a black man is the leader of the free world.

Through me

We know Jesus has remembered us through you.

The words were spoken by a pastor in Uganda in response to a team from Covenant Life Church who went to spend a couple of weeks preaching and serving the people near a church they support.

I can picture the scene. Uganda differs some from Nigeria in topography, but not much in hope, so I can see the dirt and brush surrounding this small group of people who have been waiting on Jesus. I can see their eyes shining as they pray in Jesus Name. I can feel their hands that clasp so hard to show their gratitude. I can hear the sounds of hope that sprang up throughout the villages that the building where they would be taught about Jesus would finally be built. And I can see through it all their countenances changed because Jesus had remembered them.

Those words penetrated my heart today as I think of all those around us who are longing in their hearts to know...to really know...that Jesus remembers them in their poverty, pain and suffering... in their tiredness, discouragement and grief... in their loss, disease and brokenness.

We all have those moments when the promises of God are true...but far off, it seems. We believe in His love, provision and care...but how different to know...to really know. It changes everything, doesn't it? So, how is it that we know?

Sometimes, He's so gracious just to touch out hearts...that quiet moment when our hearts settle, our minds clear and all seems steady for a moment.

Sometimes, His Word opens before us and we see...truly see...this Word that is for us, that calls to us to remember who He is, what He has done and what He has committed to do because of His Son, Jesus Christ...and our eyes clear and we see Him and so are changed one degree.

But sometimes...sometimes...seeing, we do not see...hearing, we do not hear...and in those moments all seems dark. Who has heard us? Who will help? Does Jesus remember me?

Those words are our sounding call...our trumpet blast...our call to arms...our signal to go, go, go.
In those words are the starter's gunshot to have beautiful feet. Feet which go, support, preach, teach and tell. Feet which love, heal, help and bind up. Feet which hold, hug, feed and provide.

Feet that bring the message...The Lord has heard your cry and remembered you. I come in Jesus Name. I come because He came. He remembers and He cares and He has provided for you. Remember Him. Praise Him. Hold on to Him. His mercies are new. His promises are sure. Remember Him for He has remembered you.

Do you hear it? Isn't there one near you? One who's lost someone. One who's suffering. One who's sinking under despair. One who's gasping for a moment of peace. Isn't there one?

Isn't there one far from you but whose heart you can hear beating from here? One who stands on foreign soil, but whose pain is close to you. One who is surrounded by land you've never seen, but whose troubles have pierced your life as well. One who lives as you live, loves as you love, fears as you fear, longs as you long. Isn't there one?

Make my feet beautiful, Lord. Open my ears to hear the cry, the call to go, go, go. Give me eyes to see and the confidence to believe, to expect that I will be met with what I need to meet what I find. Make me over, Lord, into the likeness of Your Son whom You sent to gather those who would go. Remember me that I might remember you so that others might know that you remember them through me. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Hope

You got any tissues at hand? Get 'em.
Yeah. I know there are a couple of guys that read this that have already moved on without a though. Tears? Whatever.
Don't say you weren't warned.

There are some games in which cheering for the other side feels better than winning.

by Rick Reilly

They played the oddest game in high school football history last month down in Grapevine, Texas.

It was Grapevine Faith vs. Gainesville State School and everything about it was upside down. For instance, when Gainesville came out to take the field, the Faith fans made a 40-yard spirit line for them to run through.

Did you hear that? The other team's fans?

They even made a banner for players to crash through at the end. It said, "Go Tornadoes!" Which is also weird, because Faith is the Lions.

It was rivers running uphill and cats petting dogs. More than 200 Faith fans sat on the Gainesville side and kept cheering the Gainesville players on—by name.

"I never in my life thought I'd hear people cheering for us to hit their kids," recalls Gainesville's QB and middle linebacker, Isaiah. "I wouldn't expect another parent to tell somebody to hit their kids. But they wanted us to!"

And even though Faith walloped them 33-14, the Gainesville kids were so happy that after the game they gave head coach Mark Williams a sideline squirt-bottle shower like he'd just won state.

Gotta be the first Gatorade bath in history for an 0-9 coach.

But then you saw the 12 uniformed officers escorting the 14 Gainesville players off the field and two and two started to make four. They lined the players up in groups of five—handcuffs ready in their back pockets—and marched them to the team bus. That's because Gainesville is a maximum-security correctional facility 75 miles north of Dallas. Every game it plays is on the road.

This all started when Faith's head coach, Kris Hogan, wanted to do something kind for the Gainesville team. Faith had never played Gainesville, but he already knew the score. After all, Faith was 7-2 going into the game, Gainesville 0-8 with 2 TDs all year. Faith has 70 kids, 11 coaches, the latest equipment and involved parents. Gainesville has a lot of kids with convictions for drugs, assault and robbery—many of whose families had disowned them—wearing seven-year-old shoulder pads and ancient helmets.

So Hogan had this idea. What if half of our fans—for one night only—cheered for the other team? He sent out an email asking the Faithful to do just that. "Here's the message I want you to send:" Hogan wrote. "You are just as valuable as any other person on planet Earth."

Some people were naturally confused. One Faith player walked into Hogan's office and asked, "Coach, why are we doing this?"

And Hogan said, "Imagine if you didn't have a home life. Imagine if everybody had pretty much given up on you. Now imagine what it would mean for hundreds of people to suddenly believe in you."

Next thing you know, the Gainesville Tornadoes were turning around on their bench to see something they never had before. Hundreds of fans. And actual cheerleaders!

"I thought maybe they were confused," said Alex, a Gainesville lineman (only first names are released by the prison). "They started yelling 'DEE-fense!' when their team had the ball. I said, 'What? Why they cheerin' for us?'"

It was a strange experience for boys who most people cross the street to avoid. "We can tell people are a little afraid of us when we come to the games," says Gerald, a lineman who will wind up doing more than three years. "You can see it in their eyes. They're lookin' at us like we're criminals. But these people, they were yellin' for us! By our names!"

Maybe it figures that Gainesville played better than it had all season, scoring the game's last two touchdowns. Of course, this might be because Hogan put his third-string nose guard at safety and his third-string cornerback at defensive end. Still.

After the game, both teams gathered in the middle of the field to pray and that's when Isaiah surprised everybody by asking to lead. "We had no idea what the kid was going to say," remembers Coach Hogan. But Isaiah said this: "Lord, I don't know how this happened, so I don't know how to say thank You, but I never would've known there was so many people in the world that cared about us."

And it was a good thing everybody's heads were bowed because they might've seen Hogan wiping away tears.

As the Tornadoes walked back to their bus under guard, they each were handed a bag for the ride home—a burger, some fries, a soda, some candy, a Bible and an encouraging letter from a Faith player.

The Gainesville coach saw Hogan, grabbed him hard by the shoulders and said, "You'll never know what your people did for these kids tonight. You'll never, ever know."

And as the bus pulled away, all the Gainesville players crammed to one side and pressed their hands to the window, staring at these people they'd never met before, watching their waves and smiles disappearing into the night.

Anyway, with the economy six feet under and Christmas running on about three and a half reindeer, it's nice to know that one of the best presents you can give is still absolutely free.

Hope.

HT: My big brother!

Serious cold

Now, come on. I know some of you are cold, but let's all get a little perspective.




HT: Between Two Worlds

If God gives you time

You've got to check out the Cake Wrecks site today from the side bar to your right. The post today is one she often does which compares what people asked for from bakers...and what they actually got. Makes me feel better about my own wedding cake disaster.


Stephen Altrogge and his dad, Mark, run a blog called The Blazing Center which challenges me every day. (They are also listed to the right in the blog roll.) Today they are giving away lots of really good books for free to those who subscribe.


So, if you are saying to yourself, Subscribe? What? Again, here's a primer from Google.


One of my favorite guys to listen to is Ligon Duncan from Jackson, MS. I actually read him more than listen to him because he is one of the few that posts the entire text of his sermons online. A few days ago he blogged answering the question how to pray for your pastor. You'll really appreciate this list of ways and I know many pastors who would be humbled and grateful if we would pray for them in these ways.


Not to be outdone, I found this list from John Piper written in 1995 that answers the question What should we pray for? How about praying like the early church prayed? If this list is any indication, they took prayer more seriously and spent more time doing it than we do. See what you think.


And in the "what we really need is more time wasters" category...these are a couple of our family's newest fascinations...Eyeballing Game...and Bubble Shooter. That last one relaxes Wayne. Whatever.

Recipe Swap

We've got the seniors from TBC coming over each Wednesday of this month, so I bought some extra baking supplies so I could make the normal brownies, chocolate chip cookies, etc. to go with the salty snack. But our grocery story had an after-holiday sale on some baking goodies so I picked up some mint chocolate chips (yummy in a chocolate cookie recipe last week) and some cinnamon chips. What to do with those? Regular chocolate chip cookie recipe and just substitute?

That's why I love Google. I just inserted the words cookie and cinnamon chips and got a bunch of offering, but lots of them were comments about this recipe from a site called Stephanie's Kitchen. For those of us always looking for new, good recipes, this may be a great find. Already, I'm tempted to try the Andes Mint Cookies next week!

For now, if you like cinnamon and chocolate, I think you'll really like these. When you bite in, it's a very good, but strange taste. Chocolate...almost a spice cake taste with it...chewy...yummy. The more I eat, the more I like it! Give it a try sometime and pass on links to your favorite places to look for recipes...I'd love some new ideas.

Oatmeal Chocolate and Cinnamon Chip Chipsters
recipe by stephanie
makes 4 dozen

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups quick cooking oats
2 cups cinnamon chips (I found Hershey's brand)
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat 1 stick (1/2 cup) of the butter in a mixer until smooth. Add sugars and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. In a seperate bowl, add flour, baking soda and salt and whisk until combined. Add the remaining butter (1 stick) to the flour mixture and using your hands break up butter into flour until well combined and the butter is at least pea sized within the flour. Slowly add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture until well combined. Stir in oats, cinnamon chips and chocolate chips. Chill for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Scoop onto baking sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned.

Tip: I baked 2 dozen and scooped the remaining dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in the freezer until frozen and than place in a ziplock freezer bag and bake at your own convenience! Fresh cookies any time you want!

The god of our many understandings

On my RSS feeder are a lot of blogs that I regularly check to see what's going on in the world. I'm pretty bad about keeping up with things. For example, until I got a call from a friend about some missionary friends of ours in Lebanon, I had no idea that any conflict was happening in the area...well, other than what happens daily there.

Anyway, one of my favorites is Al Mohler's. He's an unbelievably brilliant man whom God must have gifted with more hours in his day than mine has. It couldn't be that he's just smarter, more talented, more focused, more disciplined, right? Exactly. So now that God blessed him with those hours, he uses them to run a seminary, write books, preach, do conferences, a daily radio show and, of course, blog. Sigh...

I had heard rumblings about the furor Obama had caused by asking an evangelical (loosely termed) to give a prayer at the inauguration. But I hadn't heard until recently that he'd also asked an openly gay Episcopalian Bishop to do the same. Not a shock though. I mean, we all know that this is the true diplomat president. They said of him that during his days as Harvard Law that there was no one who was able to appease both sides more than Obama. He was friends with the conservatives and the liberals. Which, I'll admit, simply says to me that he stands for nothing at all.

So, I wasn't surprised to hear that he found someone to appease the left. He also got the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington to sing. Nobody's really surprised, right? Well, then, what's left that might shock us? How about a bishop from a mainstream, traditionally Christian denomination that doesn't even plan to pray a Christian prayer? Yeah. That'd do it for me. Naive, aren't I?
Dr. Mohler wrote about it today and led me to this article...The New York Times reports (emphasis mine):

Bishop Robinson said he had been reading inaugural prayers through history and was “horrified” at how “specifically and aggressively Christian they were.”

“I am very clear,” he said, “that this will not be a Christian prayer, and I won’t be quoting Scripture or anything like that. The texts that I hold as sacred are not sacred texts for all Americans, and I want all people to feel that this is their prayer.”

Bishop Robinson said he might address the prayer to “the God of our many understandings,” language that he said he learned from the 12-step program he attended for his alcohol addiction.

"This will not be a Christian prayer"? Then it's not prayer at all...it's talking out loud with your eyes closed. But I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to hear it. The god of our many understandings is very in right now. The big word is anthropomorphism. It simply means talking about God in human terms which is the only way we can. But what it comes to mean inside of us is that we make Him in our minds like us...only bigger, better, stronger, faster, more loving, more helpful, more like we want to be. He's our superhero God.

Which only becomes a problem when you read Scripture...

Isaiah 40:18...
To whom then will you liken God,
or what likeness compare with him?

Isaiah 40:25...

To whom will you liken me and make me equal,
and compare me, that we may be alike?

Isaiah 46:5...
To whom will you liken me and make me equal,
and compare me, that we may be alike?

The repetition should make the point to us...but how about one more? And just to show you I actually read other books besides Isaiah...

Acts 17:29 (emphasis mine)...
Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think
that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone,
an image formed by the art and imagination of man.

The issue is highlighted by the end of Isaiah 40:25 and 46:5. We make God "alike" with what we compare Him. He's like us. Which flips completely what we are told throughout Scripture. He is not the created one. We are. He is not created in our image. We are created in His. We are like Him...in small, small echoes. He thinks...so, I can think...but not like He thinks. He feels...so, I can feel...but not like He feels. He moves, speaks, purposes, plans, understands...so do I...but not like He does.

We must, must be led back to an understanding of God that puts Him as definer and us as defined. He as originator and us as derived. He as the Potter and we merely clay in His hands...having the right and ownership to do whatever He wills. God speaks to us clearly from Isaiah 29:16...

You turn things upside down!
Shall the potter be regarded as the clay,
that the thing made should say of its maker,
"He did not make me";
or the thing formed say of him who formed it,
"He has no understanding"?

We have turned things upside down. We have looked at the One who made us and proclaim to Him what He will be...how He may move...what He may feel and think. But what He really thinks is...

Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it,
or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?
As if a rod should wield him who lifts it,
or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!
Isaiah 10:15

And our response? Will you join me during the inauguration next Tuesday? Pray to God. Ask Him for mercy in light of what He'll hear. Turn to Daniel 9 and read it. Get the feel for what we need by listening to him pray. And pray. Please, pray. Say with me...

But now, O LORD, you are our Father;
we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
Isaiah 64:8

Reminds me I'm misty

James 4:13-15

Come now, you who say,
"Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town
and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"—
yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring.
What is your life?
For you are a mist
that appears for a little time
and then vanishes.
Instead you ought to say,
"If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."

One year in 40 seconds from Eirik Solheim on Vimeo.

HT: Josh Harris

Updated: Has the right Scripture reference now!

Rebel

I love a good sale, especially when it's on something I really love. And this is one of those. Right now at Amazon you can buy the all of the tracks of Lacrae's Rebel for only $5.

If you enjoyed the songs from this post, I promise you'll love the album. I've listened again and again. As you'll see this is for download only...you don't actually get the CD in the mail. Think about giving up your Starbucks for a day and buying this instead.

HT: Challies

Recipe Swap

I'm not sure what to say about this cheesecake recipe that would get across to you how incredible it is. Tangy, sweet, creamy perfection. Though my husband wouldn't agree because he's a huge chocolate fan. If you're like him then you might stick with this one. But if you like lemony goodness, give this a try. You'll love it.

Lemon Cheesecake

Lemon Curd:
Juice and peel of 2 lemons
6 Tbsp butter
1 c sugar
3 eggs

Crust:
5 oz Nabisco Barnum's Animal Crackers (Should make about 1 cup.)
3 Tbsp sugar
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
1 1/4 c sugar
1 Tbsp grated lemon zest
1/4 c lemon juice
1 1/2 lbs. cream cheese, softened for 45 minutes
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c heavy cream

For the Lemon Curd: Grate peel from lemons careful not to remove pith. Put peel, juice and sugar in a small sauce pan. Stir over moderate heat until sugar is dissolved. Do NOT boil. Add butter and stir until melted. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Whisk eggs and pour lemon mix over eggs. Stir well and strain back into pan with a fine strainer. Stir constantly over low heat until mix thickens and just reaches boiling point. Again, do NOT boil. Place in a container and chill until needed.

For the Crust: Heat oven to 325 degrees. Crush cookies into fine crumbs either with a rolling pin in a ziploc bag or in a food processor. Pour into bowl and stir in sugar. Add butter and stir until evenly moistened and it resembles wet sand. Pour into a 9 inch springform pan and press down firmly and evenly over bottom of pan. Try not to get any on the sides. Bake for 15-18 min. until fragrant and golden brown. Cool pan on wire rack to room temperature, about 30 minutes. When it's cool, wrap outside of pan in two 18 inch square pieces of heavy foil and set pan in a roasting pan

For the Filling: Mix 1/4 cup sugar with lemon zest until sugar is yellow. Add remaining cup of sugar.

In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until softened. While mixing, add sugar mix in a steady stream and then increase speed and mix until it is creamy and smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed and add eggs 2 at a time, beating 30 sec. after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl. Add lemon juice, vanilla and salt and mix very briefly until just incorporated. Add heavy cream and again mix just until it's incorporated.

Scrape down sides one last time and pour into springform pan. Fill roasting pan with enough hot tap water to come halfway up sides of pan. Bake until center jiggles slightly, surface is no longer shiny and thermometer reads 150 degrees. It should take about 55-60 minutes. Turn off oven and prop open door wooden spoon handle or potholder. Allow cake to cool like this for 1 hour. Move pan from roasting pan and foil and place on a wire rack. Run a knife around the edges of pan to loosen sides of cake and cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.

Spread enough lemon curd onto cheesecake while it's still in the pan to reach just below the top of the pan. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Notes:

• Microwave lemons for 15-20 seconds to get more juice.
• 5 oz of cookies is 2 of the small boxes or about 75-80 cookies.
• The cheesecake won't get brown at all.
  
• You can make it the day before, but the longer it sits, the soggier the crust becomes.
• To make cutting easier, place cheesecake overnight in the freezer. Remove about 1 hour before serving and use a sharp knife dipped into hot water and wiped clean between each slice.
  

The angel of the Piper

Well, I can't decide how to react. You won't be surprised to hear that John Piper is one of my heroes of the faith. After all, I'm about to start a study of one of his books. I listen to him, read his stuff, have driven miles to hear him talk many times...love it. So, I guess it's good to be reminded that he's just a guy...a guy who wears red pants, really large jackets and makes sure the edges are perfect. Hilarious.

Walking partners

Thursday after Bible study some great women asked me to join them for lunch. Not that big of a deal, though I don't do it often because we've got school work waiting on us at home. What made it special is they are women I've been walking this journey with for 10 years but don't see so much now. You know how that is, right? These were the women I talked to every other day at least. The women whose children mine played with. The women I cried with, complained to, prayed with...who listened...laughed...hugged...helped. Just walking together through this life.

But the kids grow up and start school. Jobs are begun. One goes back to college. One becomes an aide at her elementary school. We still attend church together, but that's 3,000 people. Gets hard to see each other much less catch up. You still love each other. Still smile when you see them. Rejoice at the big stuff. Call over the hurts. But not the day to day stuff.

Then Thursday I saw them across the room after the study and they made their way over to exclaim that they're crashing another friend's house and I need to come. Too good to pass up...plus, I admit it...I wanted to see Angela freak out at all of us showing up unannounced! Yes. I'm that friend. And yes, she did. Kept cutting me looks that told me how much I'd be hearing about it later. Fun, fun, fun. Truthfully, though, Angela loves people so (though she'd like a little heads up from me next time!), she was very glad everyone came over.

As I sit here now, I was reflecting on how easy it was to be together. How different everything is around us and how much the same it is when we all sit together. We caught up on the various issues which have moved from potty training and spanking vs. timeout to college plans, teen attitudes, dating and cars...and whether the gray hair should be left alone or colored! (I still can't decide what I'll do when that hits...can't really see the hair coloring making the budget!) And we talked about what it's like when God starts you over on that road when you least expect it! Yikes.

They know me. They know what I'm like, what I like and what will set me off. They know my fears and my struggles and what to ask that hits right at my heart. They remind me of former days and how much Christ has taught me. They encourage me, challenge me and poke fun of me all at the same time. They are still working hard to honor the Lord. They are still pressing on to serve their King. They still love their husbands, bless their children and do good where they go. Isn't that such grace?

So, we sat for a couple of hours...talking, eating, monitoring little ones (okay, a couple of them are younger than me), probing, questioning, advising, encouraging, and laughing, laughing, laughing. Though only Angela has remained as a daily presence (for which I am so grateful...), I am overwhelmed by the grace of friends. They remind me that I'm not alone. That this body was given to make sure we all get there. Their faces reflect my Savior's...their words spur me on in the race...their joy makes my heart glad...their sorrow makes me more aware of everything outside of myself. But most of all, they remind me that we are all in this together. What a treasure it is not to walk alone.