A Ledger of Love

Have you ever pondered why Eve and Adam disobeyed God? They were not satisfied with what God had provided for them. They were ungrateful, wanting more. Human kind follows in the steps of the First Parents exhibiting the sin of ingratitude. How well do we give thanks always for all things to God as instructed in Ephesians 5:20?

Ann Voskamp’s friend challenged her to make a list of 1,000 things for which she was thankful; thus, the title of her book 1000 Gifts.
It is pretty easy to see the big picture items like family, health, housing, food, perhaps an extraordinary answer to prayer, but what about small things? To capture 1000 gifts from God in writing or photos, requires being aware and focused on the moments of our days. Why should we even bother to enumerate and give thanks to God for a beautiful sunset, a kind word from a friend, a close parking spot when our energy is flagging?

Because the practice of giving thanks is the way we realize the presence of God in all of the moments of life. It builds and undergirds our relationship with God. Gratitude for the seemingly insignificant plants the seeds for what Ann calls hard thanksgiving, the times of loss, pain, suffering that we all experience in our fallen world. With day after day bathed in thanks, we touch the pulse of God’s love for us and we build a relationship of trust that gets us through the hard times and creates a willingness to say “Thy will be done” to the Heavenly Father. We can give thanks in everything because there is a good God working all things unto the purposes of His plan.

Will you start a ledger of God’s love for you? Take paper and pen or camera and record His gifts throughout your day. Ann has many suggestions on her Joy Dare calendar on her blog. Here are some samples: 1 gift that made you laugh; 1 gift that made you pray; 1 gift that made you quiet. Something above you, something below you, something beside you.

God is evident all around us.

Psalm 136:3-7
v.3 Give thanks to the Lord of Lords; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
v.4 Give thanks to Him who alone does great wonders; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
v.5 Give thanks to Him who made the heavens with skill; for His lovingkindness is everlasting.
v.6 Give thanks to Him who spread out the earth above the waters; for His lovingkindness is everlasting.
v.7 Give thanks to Him who made the great lights; for His lovingkindness is everlasting.

Go out and embrace the beauty and goodness of God through the act of thanksgiving.

Abraham Lincoln

A new movie about Abraham Lincoln opens in theaters this weekend. You can read more about the Spielberg movie in the Smithsonian Magazine. Spielberg bought the rights to Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book Team of Rivals before it was even completed. If you have read the book, you realize it is a hefty tome. As the screenwriter started his work, it was soon realized that such a complex person as Lincoln would require coverage that led to a much-too-long film if it was to accurately capture the man and not just be a sketchy caricature. (Be sure to click on some of the other links about Lincoln in the digital article as well.)

The director finally decided to focus on the efforts to pass the 13th Amendment. Lincoln realized his Emancipation Proclamation was on somewhat shaky footing and needed to be represented in the Constitution itself to ensure it wasn’t overturned. The passing of the amendment was also in the final months of Lincoln’s life so it allowed a condensed look at the president leading up to his assassination. This achievement is covered in only a handful of pages of Goodwin’s book. A lot of the “rivals” were active in this time, but many of Goodwin’s great explorations of them are not in the movie. What is fascinating and covered in the magazine article are lesser characters that time has overlooked.

I’m not sure I will see the movie right away, but it is on my to-see list. Since I go to a movie theater maybe twice a year, if that, you can see I think this is a worthwhile movie. In a time when our country seems so divided, it is good to reflect on our history of Civil War and how we moved beyond that divisiveness but at great cost. Lincoln had a heart’s desire to heal the nation, yet he was willing to stand up for emancipation.

Messy Meatloaf

For years, when I made a meatloaf I used one with quick oats in the recipe. It seemed rather dry and except for the BBQ sauce topping rather bland. I eventually gave up and bought the microwavable meatloaves when they went on sale and I had a coupon. Certainly faster, and they tended  to be juicier than my home loaf. However, last night I decided to try a recipe using bread instead of oats. This recipe was in my Dallas church’s recipe book put out by the Women’s Fellowship. It was very moist and quite tasty. BUT it fell apart when I tried to slice it even though I waited about 8 minutes. I noticed when we finished eating and I sliced the left-overs that it had firmed up a bit more, but it still tended to fall apart. Any suggestions? Should I have waited even longer? Should I have used more binder (bread)? I did bake it in a silicon loaf pan rather than the glass pan. Would that matter much? I would be interested in hearing about your favorite meatloaf recipe.

 

2 lbs. ground beef

4-5 slices white bread, toasted and finely crumbed to make 1 cup

3/4 cups milk

1 egg

3/4 cup diced canned tomatoes, drained

3 Tbsp. finely chopped sweet onion

3 Tbsp. finely chopped green pepper

3 Tbsp. finely chopped celery

1 1/2 cups ketchup, divided use

2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine the bread crumbs, milk and egg; mix together with a fork. Let stand for 10 minutes. Add meat, tomatoes, onion, green pepper, celery, 1/4 c. ketchup, salt and pepper. Mix together with your hands. Put into a 9 x 5 x 3 inch glass pan pressing lightly. Shape into a loaf. Pour 1 cup of ketchup over the whole top. Place the loaf into the preheated oven. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Let stand in juices until cool and firm.

God’s Blessing and Blessing God

When it is said that America needs to repent and turn to God so He can bless it, what does that mean? Do we expect to be shielded from the ups and downs of global economic cycles? To avoid natural disasters such as Hurricane Sandy? To have prosperity in an abundance of material possessions?

In OT Hebrew the word “bless” comes from a root meaning  to kneel, i.e., to recognize and value the person being blessed. When the Psalmist sang “Bless the Lord, O My Soul”, he is not suggesting that we somehow enrich God, but that we appreciate the attributes of God and express praise for all that He is.

The Patriarchs uttered blessings over their sons. They recognized and verbalized characteristics of each child and encouraged that child to reach his full potential.

God’s “blessing” to have us reach our full potential may include suffering. His glory (the expression of His character and attributes) sometimes shines brightest thru us in bleak times. God has chosen to use flawed human beings to display His glory. Hard as it is for us to accept, God even uses flawed politicians to accomplish His purposes. God is in control. We have only limited influence in our culture and country; we do have total control, however, over whether we as individuals submit to the Holy Spirit who works thru us to display God’s glory.

We do not turn to God so that we can prosper, but so that His glory is displayed. “God bless America” is not a magical incantation to bring wealth and an absence of trouble, but an invitation to help us reach our full potential to bring glory to Him no matter the circumstances.