Lord of the Fries

I have experienced an new culinary delight. Keeping up to it's tradition of fried foods the south has created a new fried delicacy: Fried banana pudding.
Yum! As a cousin to deep fried candy bars, and deep fried oreos, this deserts extended the challenge to Joe American's never ending quest of "Can I dip this in batter and fry it in grease?" Answer: Darn right I can!
Some of his better known discoveries of things that can be deep fried are the corn dog, chicken, and potato wedges. But Joe American has also deep fried bacon, hot dogs, and surprisingly, ice cream.
It seems crazy in this day when 65% of our population is overweight. It's horrible! It's a shame! It's an outra-...Err...What's that you say?...Deep fried twinkies?.... Ummmmm...Excuse me while I get off my soap box.... I need to go and get my spot in line.

Respect My Author-itah!!!!!!!

Do y'all know Eric Cartman? Yes I'm talking about the little fat kid on South Park. Sometimes as I flip through the channels I catch a commercial for South Park with Eric Cartman in a police uniform screamin,' "Respect my author-itah!!!!" Not sure what the episode is about, but the commercial sure is funny. It always makes me think of this analogy I heard once. It goes like this:
Policemen… women...er… police officers are given authority in our towns to do certain jobs. We have to respect their authority or we fall subject to the appropriate consequences. For example, they might stand in the street and direct traffic, or put on their flashy lights and pull our car over. And we have to do what they say because they have been given authority to do these jobs.
Well, if we were kinda sneaky, we could dress up in a police uniform and wave flares around and get drivers to go in new directions if we wanted to. We don't actually have the authority to do so, but some unsuspecting driver just might not know any better and fall for our silly prank.
In the same way Satan often tries to "fake the funk" to get us to do things we really don't have to do: get sick, worry, fall into fear, give into temptation, doubt God etc. I just picture him as this short, little Eric Cartman screamin', "Respect my author-itah!!!!!!"
He tries to get us to believe he's still the king of this world.

"I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them-because they are mine to give to anyone I please." (Luke 4:6)

Satan once had author-itah, (oops! Sorry.) authority over this earth. God had originally given authority over the earth to Adam at the time of creation, but he it was handed over to Satan in the garden. So God found a righteous man, by the name of Abraham whose bloodline bore Jesus Christ. And the Bible says time and time again that Christ, as God's son, re-claimed the authority from Satan.

"The time of judgment for the world has come, when the prince of this world will be cast out" (John 12: 31)

"My Father has given me authority over everything." (Matt 11:27)

Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. (John 13:3)

"It has happened at last- the salvation and power and kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ! For the Accuser has been thrown down to earth… And they have defeated him because of the blood of the Lamb…" (Rev. 12:10-11)

Cool! So what did Jesus do with it, after he reclaimed it? Take it with him back to heaven?

Nope.

He gave it to me.

And you.

And your momma.

And every born-again believer.

"Yes," He told them, "I saw Satan falling from heaven as a flash of lightning!" And
I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk
among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. But don't
rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered as
citizens of heaven." (Luke 10:18)

So we have the authority to heal the sick?

Yup. (Matt 10:1)

The authority to know God?

Yup. (Matt 11:27)

The authority to take the message of repentance to all the nations?

Yup. (Luke 24:47)

The authority to tell people everywhere of what God has done for them?

Yup. (Rom1:5)

The authority to teach and encourage people?

Yup. (Titus 2:15)

Even the authority to cast out demons?

Yup. Even that. (Mark 3:15)

That's a lot or privileges. We need to take this seriously! Recognize the lies of the Devil and stand firm in your identity. Don't fall for his tricks and tell him who has really has the author-itah!

Full Circle?

I was looking over my blog today, and the very first post I ever put on here in May 2005 was about Swaziland. I wrote it just 2 weeks shy of a year ago. It's about waiting and waiting. And subsequently, the other posts written in the following months are all about direction, waiting some more, and learning from the experience. Looking back almost one year later, I can see His fingerprints all over the situation.
Now as I prepare to go permanently, I'm feeling a lot of the same things all over again, but this time in a more confident way. Waiting it tough, but it's not so bad,- in fact I can see it's good for me. Direction is sometimes hard to accept, but always for the best.

Hell Hath No Fury...

A short while ago, I heard a story about a husband who was trying to protect his wife and kids. They were in a dangerous situation and the man, being a good husband, defended the family against the attackers. Good for him. But as I was listening to this story, I remember thinking, "We'll I'd be out there with him! Who'd be protecting him while he's protecting me?"
I know I'm not very strong and don't have many street skills but I'm scrappy! Something within me thought, given that situation, I'd be right up in the mix protecting my man, screamin' "I gotcha back, baby!"
(Picture, a younger, thinner, whiter Madea.) Kinda of a silly thought huh? I've always felt this way, but society seems to think it's foolish so I never said anything. I guess if a man is trying to protect me, I should let him, - play the role of the damsel in distress for once in my life. Right? Ummm…. Maybe not. I just might be more feminine than you think.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say there is something instinctive about women fighting on behalf their loved ones. Now of course we recognize any woman would fight to protect her children. Don't mess with momma bear's cubs, - we all know that. But a mate?

Well check this out. In the book of Deuteronomy, in the list of family regulations, there is this rule for the Israelites:
"…If two Israelite men are fighting and the wife of one tries to rescue her husband by grabbing the testicles of the other man, her hand must be cut off without pity…."
Deut 25:12
(I swear it's in the bible. You can't make this stuff up!) So you realize this had to have been an issue if they were making a rule against it. Right?

So I'm not alone in feeling this way? Oh no no. In the book I'm currently devouring, Captivating, by John and Stasi Eldredge they point out an interesting fact about the creation of Eve:

…When God creates Eve, he calls her an ezer kenegdo. "It is not good for the man to be alone, I shall make him [an ezer kenegdo]" (Gen 2:18 ALTER). Hebrew scholar Robert Alter, who has spent years translating the book of Genesis, says that this phrase is "notoriously difficult to translate." The various attempts we have in English are "helper" or "companion" or the notorious "help meet." Why are these translations so incredibly wimpy, boring, flat…disappointing? What is a helpmeet anyway? What little girl dances through the house singing "One day I shall be a help meet?" Companion? A dog can be a companion. Helper? Sounds like Hamburger Helper. Alter is getting close when he translates it "sustainer beside him."
The word ezer is used only twenty other places in the entire Old Testament. And in every other instance the person being described is God himself, when you need him to come through for you desperately.

There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens to help
you…Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD? He
is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. (Duet.33: 26,29)

I lift my eyes to the hills-where does my help come from? My help comes from the
LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. (Ps. 121: 1-2)

May the LORD answer you when you are in distress: may the name of the God of
Jacob protect you. May he send you help. (Ps.20 1-2)

We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our Help and our shield (Ps. 33:20)

O house of Israel, trust in the LORD- he is their help and shield.
O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD- he is their help and shield.
You who fear him, trust in the LORD, - he is their help and shield (Ps. 115:9-11)

Most of the contexts are life and death, by the way, and God is your only hope. Your ezer. If he is not there beside you…you are dead. A better translation therefore of ezer would be…"lifesaver." Kenegdo means along side, or opposite to, a counterpart.

You see, the life God calls us to is not a safe life. Ask Joseph, Abraham, Moses, Deborah, Ester- any of the friends of God from the Old Testament. Ask Mary and Lazarus; ask peter, James, and John; Ask Pricilla and Aquila- any of the friends of God in the New Testament. God calls us to a life involving frequent risks and many dangers. Why else would we need him to be our ezer? You don't need a lifesaver if your mission is to be a couch potato. You need an ezer when your life is in constant danger…
…That longing in the heart of a woman to share life together as a great adventure-that comes straight from the heart of God, who also longs for this. He does not want to be an option in our lives. He does not want to be an appendage, a tagalong. Neither does any woman. God is essential. He wants us to need him-desperately. Eve is essential. She has an irreplaceable role to play. And so you'll see that women are endowed with fierce devotion, and ability to suffer great hardships, a vision to make the world a better place. (P.31-32)


Oh yea! I loved reading that. I've always wanted to be girly. I guess I have been all along! ;0)

Return of the King!!!

I went to Swaziland after reading a children's book that stated quite clearly: There are no lions in Swaziland. HRUMPH! that was enough to make me want to call the whole thing off. But I went anyway and you can imagine my excitement when we traveled to Hlane Park for a safari and read that lions had been re-introduced in '94. Hurrah!!!!
So here are a few safari photos. Lots of cutie cubs, a cheetah (which I spotted. no pun intended...well maybe a little) a lovely warthog who had just finished her mud bath, and my new favorite,- the rhinos!!!!
It was one of my favorite days on the whole trip. The weather was great, and the trip was so much fun. One the way out I got to see a lot of the country side and on our way to lunch two warthogs darted in front of the car. That's something you never experience here in the states! Thanks Patrick for not hitting them.

part II

A warm meal, and a warm heart

One of the coolest things I did was visit the care points. We arrived in time at one to participate in feeding the kids.
As we arrived they were gathered together singing praises and then prayed to bless the meals.
They first lined up for pap (pronounced like pop. It's mealy poridge from corn) and then I served the beans and veggies over it.
Most kids had little bowls or tupperware to eat out of. But the one that tore me up was a boy who brought a pencil box. I almost lost it. It's such a small thing that my students take for granted, and yet it's the only thing this boy had to eat from.
I showed my students this picture and they caught it right away. They also noticed that most kids didn't have shoes.
They've been facinated with all the stories, trying to grasp the idea of their poverty in Swaziland. If nothing else, I hope they can understand how truely fortunate they are for what the basics they have,- parents, food, and clothes. They amaze me with their compassion. One little girl decided she was going to go to Swaziland with her parents.

No way!!!! Yes, Way!!!

I honestly beleive I prayed a Hardee's into existance in Virginia. But I can't take credit for this one. Swaziland has Kentucky Fried Chicken. And I must say it's better than in the US. If that's not a sign from God that I need to return, don't tell me what you think is.