Monday, November 24, 2008

Holiday Preparations - Part I - FOOD

One of my favorite things about this time of year is.. well, a LOT of things.. Since I'm eating right now, I'll start off with the FOOD. I dont' know about ya'lls houses but at my house - we go ALL OUT when it comes to Thanksgiving, Christmas and even New Year's Day meals. Everyone in the family has a specific dish that they are assigned to bring/make. Mom usually covers the turkey and the pumpkin pies (but mom's pies don't hold a candle to Grandma's.. anyway..), Dad makes the salads - regular salad, pasta salad, strawberry jello salad and his delicious chocolate layered dessert. My sister is in charge of the mashed potatoes -- mainly to insure that we have them EVERY year -- there was this one year where we picked up our Thanksgiving dinner to go to an extended relative's house, we get there and lo and behold -- NO MASHED POTATOES!! A few of my cousins and I STILL reminisce about that year.. LOL. My job is the broccoli/rice/cheese casserole. I have already made my first batch of the year - a test run, if you will, over the weekend. We had a massive Thanksgiving feast last Friday night at Bible Study -- our leaders are AWESOME! They turned their one bedroom apartment into a dining area that seated 30 (yes 30 people!). We had a really great time but there was sooo much food leftover! I guess that's my next favorite part of the food is the leftovers - we usually eat on this food for days and then personally, I've had my fill for the year. I LOVE Thanksgiving food but too much of a good thing in this case, is a bit much...

Also, as of today, I have a 7 pound smoked turkey in my freezer. Apparently, my boss started a "tradition" last year of giving all the employees a turkey for Thanksgiving and we got ours today. I have no idea what I'm going to do with this thing!! I mean, I plan on eating some of it but not all by myself. Looks like I'll be surfing recipes.com or Rachael Ray or Bobby Flay to find some turkey recipes to use with it. Any suggestions? (I know there are a few closet chefs out there that read my blog)

COUNTDOWN: 4 more days until Christmas music (which may be my 2nd favorite thing about this time of year..) more later...

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Does God Know What He's Doing?

We've made it! Wednesday, November 5, 2008 -- The election is over and America has spoken - Barack Obama is the President-elect of the United States of America. There was no question about it once the votes were in. We didn't have to wait until all hours of the night or even still sit here in the days and weeks following election day wondering who our new leader would be. The American people - made up of all ages, races, genders, sexual orientations, religions, etc. - had the opportunity to participate in making history. That is the beauty of America and more importantly of democracy - look around at other nations and their election processes and you'll see that most of the rest of the world does not have the ability to make that much of an impact in the future of their country like we do.

Leading up to D-Day (decision day), I heard countless people (a LOT of them professing Christians) say "Whatever happens, God is in control" or "God's will be done." (or something to these effects). Why today do I hear some of these same people grumbling and complaining about the outcome and truly expressing their overall dissatisfaction with the way things went down yesterday. A couple of things to remember: a) You voted right? Your voice was heard whichever candidate you placed your support behind and b) GOD IS SOVEREIGN and TOTALLY IN CONTROL of this thing. Who are we to question HIS knowledge and authority. He KNEW the outcome before we even voted!!! (and actually long before that..)

From a Christian perspective, we have no option but to submit to the authority that God has placed over us in this situation. In Romans, Paul says:
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. Romans 13:1-2

Notice a few things in this passage: the word EVERYONE. Everyone=Everyone -- that means you and me and whoever else. Also, rebelling against this authority is rebellion against God. I dont' know about YOU, but I don't want to knowingly turn away from God. Therefore, I must humbly accept what God has done and is doing with this situation and continue to read, study and align myself with God's word.

Mike Huckabee's Blog said this this morning (and I agree):

He was not my choice, but he will be my President and I will pray for him to lead this great nation with God's help and grace. He will face serious challenges to lead our country and he will need all Americans to give him a chance.

God knows what He's doing. Has He ever been wrong?