Cherish the Food

The sweet, tangy, salty scent drifted into my nostrils and the smooth gooey sauce tantalized my tongue, the carrots were cooked just right. I had never had such a strange combination of flavors in one dish that created such perfection.
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Red wine and dark soy sauce....

Sound gross? Yeah. It is definitely one of the most random delightful, savory combinations I have ever tasted. So good. Amazing. Delicious. Mind-blowing.

Try this on for size...
In a pan cook up some chopped up chicken in lemon, garlic, white wine, black pepper combination and then add your capers. Once the meat is sufficiently cooked and tender, add it into a pot of cooked penne pasta and add your alfredo sauce. Mix the left over lemon, white wine sauce in and BAM! Italian in your face.

OOO!! More beta carotine for you!

Cut carrots into smallish wedges and coat in olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, cayenne pepper, and either Indian seasoning (for a more exotic flavor) or Chipotle seasoning (for a more smokey fall flavor). Roast on each side in an oven for 20 min a side. Then die as you savor each sweet, smokey, spicy wedge of healthiness.

Mmmkk. So I live in China. Better add something Chinese to this list....
Noodles- I love noodles. So much. So cook those nice thin rice noodles in a pot of chicken flavored water. On the side in a frying pan cook up some eggs with some fresh chopped garlic, salt, and cracked pepper. Then take the eggs out and in the same pan cook up some fresh tomato chunks. After the tomatoes are soft mix all the ingredients in with the noodles and serve as your favorite cold evening comfort food- almost as good as mac'n'cheese.....

.....almost.

Wait! There's more!!

You know, every time I went to the fair as a child, someone got an elephant ear- they were amazing. I loved them. I loved them so much. Just before moving over seas, my sister and I went to the Florida State fair and me, not knowing when the next time I would be at an American fair decided to go all out and get multiple cups of sweet tea, popcorn, cotton candy, a turkey leg, funnel cake, and I do not even remember what else. My sister thought I was crazy, but I thought, "Hey, might as well enjoy it while I have it in front of me!!" (My bank account was not too thrilled with me though by the time I left the fair that night)...
Well. Someone had the amazing idea to make elephant ear pull apart bread. Hello. Brilliant much?
The whole process takes a bit of time, and I am not too keen on baking, but wow.
Warm, gooey, cinnamony, sugary goodness makes the wait SO worth it. Especially with a cup of coffee in hand and eggs in a basket on the side- gives that sweet/salty combination that makes for a killer breakfast!

K, so I'm done raving about how much I love food. I think you get the picture. The point of my passionate explanation about all these uh-mazing dishes is this... Some Chinese friends told me as I was going on about their wine/soy sauce brilliance, to "Cherish the food".

Jokingly, I told them I liked the phrase so much that I was going to title my next blog that. Well, here it is. :) No, really though. We were talking how people do not view cooking as an art so much any more. There is not that creativity poured out over the stove or oven any more. It's, "quick, whip something up cause we are too busy to enjoy something truly good and nutritious!"

I hate that. I love to enjoy savory, good-for-you food. I love it so very much.

Then I started thinking about it. And I transferred the thought away from food into the rest of my life. What do I cherish? What do I savor? I am quite passionate about my cooking, but am I that passionate about my Jesus? I am passionate about music, but am I passionate about Scripture memory? I am passionate about sports, but am I passionate about studying the Word and diligently searching to be more like Christ?

I know the answers to most of these questions. I know that I love my Jesus, I know that I long to know Him more. I know that I desire to drink of the well and drink in His wisdom to shape and guide my life. But I also know that there is a lack of diligence in my life.

Just like it takes practice, courage and work to perfect a recipe, instrument, or sport, so it takes practice, courage and work to maintain a good relationship with God. Keeping in mind that in ourselves dwells no good thing, so always giving credit to our Creator for the grace to grow more like Him...And just like I do not always get a recipe right, and occasionally I make a bad pass on the field (but only occasionally :P ), and sometimes I play the wrong note or chord, I do not always get it right in life. But that is okay- My Savior loves me anyway and just like when my roommates give me a second chance in the kitchen, my Father gives me many chances at whatever He gives me to do. (Best part about Him, though is that He walks me through the whole process. :)

Back to the phrase, "Cherish the food". I always thought this phrase meant, "savor, enjoy, embrace..." the food....then I found out that it means, "be thankful and do not waste the food because we did not always have an abundance of food" (referring back to historical events in China when food was scarce). This also should impact our view of God. Cherish Him. We did not always have His light in our lives. We were once lost in darkness, we did not know what it was like to have His Word in our hearts, lighting our paths, revealing our insecurities and giving promises abundantly.

"Hallelujah, all I have is Christ, Hallelujah, Jesus is my life!"

Cherish the Word.
Cherish Christ.

The Calm

When winds are raging o'er the upper ocean,

And billows wild contend with angry roar,

'Tis said, far down beneath the wild commotion, 

That peaceful Stillness reigneth evermore.

Far, far beneath, the noise of the tempest diet,

And silver waves chime ever peacefully,

And no rude storm, how fierce soe'er it flieth, 

Disturbs the Sabbath of that deeper sea.

So to the heart that knows Thy love, O Purest,

There is a temple sacred evermore,

And all the babble of life's angry voices

Dies in hushed silence at its peaceful door.

Far, far away, the roar of passion dieth,

And loving thoughts rise calm and peacefully,

And no rude storm, how fierce soe'er it flieth

Disturbs the soul that dwells, O Lord, in Thee.

-Harriet Beecher Stowe

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Possibly my new favorite poem right now. I was reading a devotional on Philippians 4:7 this weekend and it talked about an ultimate calm beneath any tumultuous circumstance. They called it the "cushion of the sea". Paul calls it the "peace that surpasses understanding", meaning the ultimate peace in your inner being that assures you that while your world is seemingly spinning violently out of control, you are still safe in the Father's arms,

This peace is a peace that cannot be explained. It "surpasses understanding" as Paul says, it guards our hearts, our feelings, our emotions our thoughts, and our minds. Every part of our human existence is affected by this peace. While many people respond to their situations with fear, uncertainty, anxiety, anger, frustration, or depression, we have the knowledge of the love of Christ that will perfect us unto every good and perfect work.

I am so thankful as I look at my own life to see that ultimate guiding peace that has been limitlessly supplied by my gracious Father. Regardless of the time of life: the age, the school, the house, the church, the city, the country, the continent... I have been comforted and held in the palm of His hand- in the shadow of the Almighty God.

And so we see that we do not walk this path alone. We walk it guided and cared for by our loving Shepherd. The same One who if we stray is faithful to lead us back to the fold, will protect us even when we are stubborn, and love on us no matter what we have done. What an awesome thought of our omnipotent, holy God as our loving Shepherd!

This being said and marveled on, I think it is important to remember that these truths apply to those who find their home in Him. Stowe writes,

"And no rude storm, how fierce so'er it flieth, disturbs the soul that dwells, O Lord, in Thee."

Note that last phrase..."disturbs the soul that dwells...in Thee" The only way we can dwell in Him is by finding Him where He is and choosing to stay there. Choosing to meditate on His words, choosing to find safety in His promises, and then choosing to hide ourselves in those truths. Capturing every thought and bringing them unto the subjection of our loving Father.

It is here that we find peace. It is here we find understanding. It is here that we find true fulfillment and joy.

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the Shadow of the Almighty."

Altar to God

The Israelites were instructed to build altars in the places where God made Himself very real to them.

Wherever He provided what they needed.
Wherever He conquered their giants.
Wherever He saved their lives.
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I went to Haiti about a year and a half ago. I remember that trip being one of the most difficult trips out of the country that I ever took.
The country was hard, the people were hard, and the team did not seem as unified as I had wanted. I was asked to go as a leader on the team and took that very seriously. I wanted to do the best I could for God in that position. I wanted to facilitate a good experience for each team member and see the most work done at the orphanage we were at as possible.

Needless to say, things did not go quite as I had expected, planned or hoped for.

We were met by difficulties at every corner. Financial difficulties getting there, luggage difficulties once we got there, language barriers and lack of communication caused things to go "spiraling out of control". By the end of the trip, I saw God's hand moving, I saw Him working and I slowly learned to let go of my plans and ideas. Just before we left, I noticed some beautiful smooth stones on the ground. I bent over and picked them up. Dirty? Yes. But something prompted me to clean them off and take them home.

Every country I visit I take a souvenir home to remember it by. Haiti being....well, Haiti, did not have many souvenirs. I took the stones to remember what God had done in Haiti and in my heart in Haiti. I stacked them up in my room and it became my altar to God's faithfulness. Since then, I have thought about altars many times and marked moments in my life that serve as an altar to His grace.

Yesterday I went to my old apartment here in China to visit some friends. My first real "home" when I got here. I almost instantly got all sentimental as I thought back to all the many memories I had there (I was only there for 3 months, but a lot can happen in 3 months!!!). I walked out to the balcony and looked over the familiar scene, smelled the familiar smells, and heard the familiar sound of children playing in the street. In the background I heard songs being played of God's faithfulness to His children.

As I looked out over that familiar scene, tears welled up in my eyes. I thought back to the many trials I had faced while in that apartment and how God had always been faithful to carry me through. I thought of how many things He taught me since I left that apartment and looked at the person I have become since I first set foot in that little apartment. Tears spilled out as I thanked God for His grace and love and mercy to me in the last eight months. I could not think of a thing to say, but "Thank you". 

The one thought that kept coming back to me was, "I would not trade any of this for anything in the world. I do not wish that it had happened any other way."

All the time that I was experiencing trials and months of growth and deep  weeding in my heart...all the times I wished there was another way to grow....All the times I thought He did not know what He was doing...He was right there, at work in me, and holding my hand beside me.

I was talking to a friend earlier that day about my experiences in the last year with working in the States and my journey here to China and the familiar Jeremiah 29:11 came up.

"For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."

I am so thankful for a God, Father, and Friend who already knows my next move, who is planning to give me a life that glorifies Him and one that is full of hope. Now, whenever I go back to that happy apartment that is so much like home to me, I will remember it as an altar to God's faithfulness to me and His people here.

He is so good. He is so faithful. He is so loving. He is so gracious.

He deserves our remembrance! I would encourage you to mark out altars to God of remembrance for His sovereignty to you. It will amaze and humble you, and strengthen you as you face the trials of today.

He will never leave His children. He will never forsake them. He never has. He never will.