BEFORE'S and AFTER'S

Don't you just love "Before and After" stories and pictures? A person loses weight or has a makeover and starts out looking less-than-stellar (to put it generously), and then with a new eating/exercise program or using the skills of a professional stylist or make-up artist they look better, and are likely, much happier. . . . at least for awhile.

Recently I put my hair into the very capable hands of my friend and stylist extraordinaire, Kim Buckelew. Not only is Kim my friend, she is also a former junior high chorus student, a friend of my daughter's, and her parents are long-time friends to Steve and me. Not only do I LIKE Kim and enjoy her personality, I also trust her to do what's best for me and my hair. As you can see from the pictures above, she took me from pitiful to at least acceptable in just a couple of hours. Yay, Kim!

This appointment and these pictures got me to thinking about other "before and after" times in my life. There were those three special occasions when I was "great with child" one day and holding a beautiful infant the next. Also, the three times we built houses. We've gotten so excited on the day the foundations were dug but even more excited 6-8 months later when the house was complete and we were finally able to move in. In all of these incidents, we were eager for people to hurry up and come and see . . . the babies and the houses.

The most wonderful before and after story from my life happened the day I accepted Jesus as my Savior and was saved. I have already shared the details of that in a blogpost from several months ago entitled "New Revelations from My Childhood." Since I was only 8 when that happened, the outward signs of change were probably not very noticeable, but the inward changes were eternally important. I remember being so happy that I wanted everyone to know, especially my aunt and my cousin who happened to also be my best friends.

I'm sure you've read the dramatic story of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus into Paul the Apostle. In Acts chapter 9 we can read about this man who dedicated his life to persecuting followers of Christ, then met Jesus on his way to Damascus and became one of the most ardent preachers and missionaries for the cause of Christ in history. He himself was persecuted many times because of his conversion/transformation, but his commitment to telling others about Christ remained unwavering.

Listen to the graphic details in the story of the demon-possessed man who was healed by Jesus told in Luke 8:26-39.

Then they (the disciples and Jesus) sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. and when He (Jesus) stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!" For He (Jesus) had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.

This man was in a terrible condition. It must have been gut-wrenching to look at him and hear his pitiful cries. Jesus drove the demons out of him, and the change was amazing. Word spread quickly and people came from all around to see for themselves if the stories were true. Now notice the way the healed man is described.

Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.

The people who saw what happened were afraid of someone and something so powerful, so they asked Jesus to leave their area. But, the healed man -- the one with such a wonderful "after" story -- begged Jesus to stay with him.

But Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you." And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

Isn't that the test of a real "after" experience? Don't we want the world to know who did it or how it happened or what good thing we have as a result?

Do you have a Before and After Story about what Jesus did for you? Are you sharing it with all who will listen?

Do you know this song? If so, sing it with me:

"I'll tell the world that I'm a Christian.

I'm not ashamed His name to bear.

I'll tell the world that I'm a Christian

And take Him with me everywhere.

I'll tell the world how Jesus saved me

And how He gave me a life brand new.

And I know that if you trust Him

That all He gave me He'll give to you.

I'll tell the world that He's my Savior.

No other one could love me so.

My life, my all is His forever

And where He leads me, I will go."

Confession Time: Today I Completely "Missed It"

As I type this morning, I am embarrassed, convicted, remorseful and eager to make amends. In my haste and eagerness to get to a Bible study OF ALL THINGS, I have been short-tempered and impatient. I even left (hopefully) uncharacteristically terse messages on the answerphone of a person I had never even met. And, to add to my sense of "Connie, what were you thinking?" -- I was doing my daily Bible reading between my bursts of un-Christ-likeness. Perhaps I can relate just a tiny bit more to how Peter must have felt when he heard that cock crow right after the third time he said, "I do not know the man!" The Scripture says that "he went out and wept bitterly." Matthew 26:75
Our tankless gas water heater has been behaving badly for over a week. Generally speaking, this is a great device that we learned to appreciate when we lived in Ecuador. What could be better than lower electricity bills, unlimited hot water and energy-saving-type tax credits? Right? As always, when something works well, you look like a genius. When it doesn't, you get pretty disgusted -- quickly.
We had one repair person out last week who "put a Band-aid on it," but who needed to talk to "the person over him . . . . who needed to talk to the manufacturer . . . who needed to talk to the installer . . . ." You know the drill. Anyway, it got to be Friday afternoon before the right person contacted me and made an appointment for 9:30 a.m. on Monday morning.
It was absolutely not his fault that I forgot that I was planning to start attending a Monday morning Bible study at my new church at that very time. Okay. Maybe it was a LITTLE BIT his fault that he didn't show up until almost 10:30, but still he didn't deserve the tone of my voice in the cell phone messages I left him. No, I didn't use any profanity or bad language, but neither was I kind, and I confess to you that I am sorry about that.
Fortunately, when he arrived a few minutes ago, he graciously accepted my apology. Actually, he even brought another man with him, and they are working diligently as I type. I am confident that the problem will be resolved before the sun goes down, and Steve and I will enjoy hot showers early tomorrow morning. And, it looks like NEXT Monday morning is the time God has appointed for me to start that new Bible study.
Now I've confessed this to you and to God. I hope you will learn from my mistakes and missteps.
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9

BREAD, GLORIOUS BREAD!

Can you tell that I enjoy Broadway musicals? This title, of course, is borrowed from a song in the musical Oliver, entitled "Food, Glorious Food."

Is there anything more tantalizing than the smell of bread baking? Am I the only person who doesn't wait for it to cool before slicing into a warm loaf and experiencing a few moments of total bliss as I savor those first bites? Pictured above is my first attempt with Cinnamon Swirl Bread. As I type this blogpost, I have another loaf rising.





One of my Christmas presents this year was a Cuisinart Convection Breadmaker. Yes, I know. For some of you, that represents cheating, and I will admit there is a lot of satisfaction to be had from kneading until you can't knead anymore. :) But, whether I'm doing it the hard way or just following the precise instructions and pushing the Start button, the final product is still wonderful and very satisfying.





I catch myself laughing out loud whenever I recall the time I tried to make homemade cinnamon rolls in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador. Something about the high altitude made that dough rise and rise and rise. I started with a recipe for 24 rolls, but I ended up giving rolls to everyone in our building. I caught just a glimpse of what the disciples must have seen during the "Feeding of the 5000" event.





Speaking of Ecuador, one of my favorite treats while living there was the presence of "Panaderias" (bread stores) on every block. I quickly learned the morning schedule for the one just a few steps from our house in Quito, and several times a week I was there to get Pan de Agua (literally, water bread -- crusty on the outside, soft and delicious inside) and Pan Integral (similar to our wheat/multigrain breads here in the States) fresh from the oven. A special benefit of those breads was the fact that no preservatives were added, thus the need to buy it fresh and often. The loaves were small and inexpensive, so there were no worries about blowing the budget -- just "the diet." :)





Did you know that the word "bread" is found 360 times in the Bible -- 280 in the Old Testament and 80 in the New Testament? Many of those times it refers to all foods in general and not just the mixture of flour/grains, water, and yeast. From this we can surmise that the making and eating of bread goes back for thousands of years. Bread represented a way to sustain life. It even fell from heaven for years in the form of manna when there was no time for daily baking by the Israelite women.





A part of the Lord's Prayer instructs us to pray: "Give us this day our daily bread." Matthew 6:11 Maybe the Ecuadorians "get this" better than we do when they go to the bread stores and get just enough for that day, recognizing that piling up or hoarding more will do no good because it will just spoil and ruin. It takes a strong element of trust to believe that what a person needs for tomorrow will be there, and for them, it is also an economic necessity because many of them only make a day's wage -- working one day at a time as work becomes available. How many times do we project far into the future when we give God our grocery list of prayer requests? How much different it would feel to merely ask God to provide whatever we need for the current day, knowing that "whatever we need" could well include healing or friendship or encouragement or guidance, rather than just physical food?


Jesus goes even further in John 6:35: "Jesus said unto them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst." In every area of our lives, He is the ultimate and supreme Need-Meeter. What a delectable, savory, tantalizing and amazing Truth that is!!

My next loaf of Cinnamon Swirl Bread is about to go into the oven. If you leave right now, you can arrive in time to watch the butter melt on a warm slice. Come join me for some "bread, glorious bread."

Beep! Beep!

For all of you who have ever moved into a new or different apartment or house, you realize that an adjustment period is necessary in order to become familiar with the sounds of all the gadgets and appliances of the new place. And, the more gizmos you have, the more different sounds there are that require a response, an action, or at least an acknowledgment.



In our current house, the first appliance to "act up" was the dishwasher (see panel above). This particular dishwasher has an apparent aversion to anyone opening the door before the drying cycle is completely finished. The first time Julie and her family came for dinner a beep-with-an-unknown-origin was occurring about every 30-45 seconds. It doesn't take long for something like that to become VERY annoying. Thanks to our son-in-law Brian, with considerable knowledge of electronics, we were finally able to pinpoint that the dishwasher needed to be reset because I had broken its cardinal rule. Relief!



Then, the oven taught me that it has a beep when the pre-heat temperature is reached, as well as a polite timer beep.

The refrigerator door beeps if it is left ajar or if you want to change from ice to water or set the freezer temperature to a setting other than the recommended one.

The alarm pads (shown below), by both the front and back doors, sound 5 quick beeps whenever anyone comes in or goes out -- something the grandchildren delight in hearing over and over and over. :)

On a recent cold morning, this tankless water heater remote unit beeped continually whenever we turned on a faucet letting us know that there would be no hot water downstairs. Those beeps, naturally, led to a frantic call to the plumber/installer.

But, probably the most annoying beep in my house occurs when the timer on the microwave goes off. Under no circumstances will it stop until someone touches the "Off" button. I am convinced it would sound for days on end if no one happened to be home to stop it. The timer on the oven sounds a discreet beep and then stops. But not the microwave. Oh my goodness! It is rude and insistent, yet I find myself using it often because I know I won't be allowed to ignore it.

As I have thought about all of these beeps -- which amazingly seem to be on the exact same musical pitch -- I have wondered why we don't have spiritual warning beeps in our lives to remind us or warn us when we are headed toward sin, bad decisions, or actions we will regret. Wouldn't it be helpful if a beep sounded just before we said something unkind about another person? Before we lashed out in anger? Told a lie? Took our husbands for granted? Put guilt trips on our children or family members? Drove above the speed limit? Accepted too much change from a cashier? Interfered when our words weren't welcome or necessary?

Or what about if a beep could go off in our heads when we're in the voting booth about to pull the lever for a candidate that would represent harmful causes? Or if we were about to make a bad purchase or financial choice that would jeopardize our future? A warning beep could come in mighty handy.

What if we could set timers that would not be silenced until we had completed our daily Bible reading and prayer time . . . had finished exercising . . . or had chosen healthier foods at mealtimes?
What would it be like if we could hear a series of quick beeps whenever a lost person was within our reach? Would we ignore it?

Well, in reality, we DO have a beeper-of-sorts for all of these situations. It's called the Holy Spirit. When Jesus is our Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit lives inside of us, and, if we allow it, this Holy Spirit guides, corrects, convicts, teaches us and prevents us from going down harmful paths. The secret is in tuning into the Spirit's voice (those incessant beeps) and responding in the ways we've been taught in God's Word.

"And I(Jesus) will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you. . . . But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you." John 14: 16-17, 26

Our Christmas 2010 Cast of Characters

As the time and date on this picture attests, everything was ready and waiting just moments before the first welcome headlights appeared from Arkansas. Laura with her husband David and children Nathan and Megan made the long trek from Ft. Smith on Wednesday, December 22. When they drove into the driveway, I could finally proclaim, "Christmas is here! Christmas is here!" We had a quiet dinner and cookie-decorating session with the kiddoes before everyone headed to bed. Ahhhhh. A house with people upstairs.

By early afternoon on the 23rd, Matt and his wife Katie with their sons Luke and Seth arrived from Wynne, Arkansas (via Birmingham where they had been with Katie's family). Shortly after that, Julie with her husband Brian and their four daughters came in from Huntsville and my Dad (better known as Gramps) and sweet Stepmom June arrived from Troy. Suddenly, the house was buzzing and VERY lively!

3-year-old Maggie found a comfortable spot in the den to enjoy some juice. She was a little under-the-weather on this occasion, but at Thanksgiving she announced to her boy cousins that she was a princess, so they needed to kiss her. They refused to comply, but her Cousin Megan was willing. :)

Matt and his wife Katie enjoyed some adult conversation with their brothers-in-law before dinnertime while Seth and Maggie worked on decorating the Mele Kalikimaka tree. Matt pastors Wynne Baptist Church, and Katie manages Matt, their boys, and all the challenges of being a pastor's wife. She's a jewel.

Penelope got a new pair of sunglasses to enhance her pretty Christmas dress. She's a little blonde-haired, blue-eyed waif who can slip away quickly and quietly if we're not careful to count noses on a regular basis. She's beginning to talk a lot but still needs an "interpreter" for a lot of her words.

My Dad (Gramps) looks remarkable to be 83 years old. Don't you think? We are all so blessed by his good health and very sharp mind. He keeps us all straight . . . still! Standing next to him is Julie's husband Brian, something of a Paul Bunyon look-alike. :) He has his own electrical substation repair and maintenance business called AMP -- in case you need anyone for that kind of job.

Laura's husband David is particularly fond of Facebook games right now -- Farmville and Frontierville -- in case you want to sent him some "gifts." On a normal workday, he works with prosthetics and orthotics. Laura teaches math for two on-line universities and is the MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) coordinator at her church.

Here is Julie holding Rosemary and my stepmom June Collier is holding Penelope. Rosemary arrived with a pretty outfit on, but, well, accidents happen and her clothes needed to be dried for a few minutes. Julie wears many hats. Besides homeschooling Allie and meeting the needs of her growing family, she is also active at Whitesburg Baptist and has many friends. Her home is a constant hub of hospitality.

Rosemary must be hoping that some new clothes are in some of the packages with her name on them. Her latest trick is waving. We're just beginning to uncover the nuances of her unique personality.

Nathan LOVES trains, so Granddaddy "just happened" to have a train set they needed to assemble together. They were both intent on their job while Megan quietly kept them company.

Sisters in the kitchen!! Don't I have pretty daughters??? They are both SO busy and live so far apart. Moments like this are rare.

5-year-old Luke is a great kid and a model kindergarten student. We like keeping up with the score during Auburn games. He got a camera from Steve and me and made hundreds of pictures starting the minute he opened it. He loves to arrange things and lets me know if my decorations need tweaking.

Nathan, Megan and I spent a little while decorating sugar cookies to be enjoyed by the rest of the crowd. I readily confess that tasting was involved, too. Megan particularly likes "doing it herself" and is convinced that she can do anything her brother Nathan can. :)

The first thing we needed to do when Seth arrived was celebrate his 4th birthday, which is actually on December 20. He was particularly glad to get this Cam Newton #2 jersey. I suspect he'll be wearing it on January 10 when Auburn plays for the National Championship. If you ever meet him, ask him to show you how his Daddy preaches and also ask him Cam Newton's phone number. :)

Before we opened presents, we had a short "program." Well, if your Grandmomma was an elementary music teacher I bet you'd have a program, too. Now wouldn't you? First, Allie read to us from Luke chapter 2 -- which was very impressive to the other grands. Then, we sang some Christmas songs, and Allie played "Jingle Bells" on her violin. She is pretty much self-taught and does a remarkable job (says the very biased grandmother).

Now, here's something that is not easy to do -- getting all 8 grandchildren in one place at one time so we can make their picture. We didn't promise that they would stand still, but aren't they beautiful? Going from Steve's lap to mine, you have Penelope, Megan, Luke, Allie, Seth, Nathan, Maggie and Rosemary is in the floor in front of Allie. Just think by next year there will be 2 or 3 MORE!!!! Julie's 5th child is due in June, and Matt and Katie will be adopting one or two children from Ethiopia within the next 5 or 6 months.

Julie's family left a little while after the presents were all unwrapped. Laura's and Matt's families spent the night and then headed on to their in-laws on Christmas Eve morning. Steve and I were alone for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, but we were savoring the moments we'd had, remembering the funny things said and done, and thanking God for His amazing blessings to us. What a treat to wake up to the beautiful snowfall on the 25th!

On Christmas Night, we hosted a gathering of my mother's siblings and their offspring that has gone on for as long as I can remember -- so, at least for 60 years. The icy roads kept a few at home, but 44 managed to make their way to our house. My Aunt Gloria brought her famous dressing, and my Aunt Joyce brought her much-anticipated creamed corn. My Aunt June came with a ham, and my Uncle Milton sent the shrimp. The others brought scrumptious casseroles, salads and desserts.
I am blessed to be a part of such an outstanding extended family -- all are godly people, pillars of their churches, and so loving to each other.

Steve and I consider our children, in-law children and grandchildren to be gifts from God, and we are so grateful to be a part of their lives. We love them unconditionally.

I have been aware this year of friends and acquaintances who faced this holiday season without a loved one who was with them just last year, and I have prayed for peace and comfort during this painful, sad time.

I don't want to ever take for granted the joys of this past week. So, now, in the next few days I'll put the decorations away and make my resolutions for 2011, and like Mary in the Bible, I'll "treasure up all these things, pondering them in my heart." Luke 2:19

Pea Pickin' Cake

Well, there are no peas in this cake, so I'm guessing that the name comes from the fact that it is "Pea Pickin' Good." Did you grow up with that expression as I did? I found the recipe in the Sharing the Legacy cookbook recently compiled by the ladies of First Baptist Church in Decatur, AL. specifically for the purpose of supporting the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions (Southern Baptist Convention.)

It is easy to make and very light -- which would be good to serve after the upcoming heavy meals. I only had two decent cake pans, but the recipe calls for 3 layers. If possible, I think that would be the way to go.

Cake:

1 box Butter Recipe Golden Cake Mix

1 small can Mandarin oranges, undrained

4 eggs

1/2 c. vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. In large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, oranges, eggs, and oil. Pour batter into 3 well-greased cake pans. Bake for 23-25 minutes. Cool.

Icing:

1 lg. can crushed pineapple, undrained

1 small box vanilla instant pudding

1 lg. Cool Whip, thawed

In large bowl, combine pineapple with pudding mix. Fold in Cool Whip. Spread between layers and on the top and sides of cake. Refrigerate.

Happy Eating!

"Just the Right Amount of Wrong" -- Is that possible?

Giant Christmas ornaments shaped like Vegas showgirls?? Are you kidding me?

Acres upon acres of slot machines and gaming tables?

Hour after hour of putting money in and waiting for the bells and sirens signaling a big win . . . that never really comes.

Much to my consternation, I find myself this morning in a place I would have preferred to spend my entire life without ever visiting -- Las Vegas, Nevada, a city that is proudly nicknamed "Sin City." Steve is here for a state-of-the-art veterinary symposium. He is being taught by the best in his profession. He likes it when I travel with him, so here I am, the week before Christmas, when I should be home baking, finishing all the shopping, watching Hallmark holiday specials, and making sure the pipes don't freeze. There are several good newses in all of this. One is that the weather here is warm and sunny, whereas back home folks are facing record low temperatures. The natural scenery of mountains, desert sand, and cacti is beautiful and very different from North Alabama. Another piece of good news is that I'm known for being able to entertain myself. I refuse to be bored, and I love "scaring up a plan," as my oldest child likes to describe it. Steve is having all of his meals with colleagues at this symposium, except for tonight when we'll have a date. I've been researching shuttle schedules and good restaurants within walking distance of their stops and have a fun route planned for this evening. We should be able to get some exercise AND enjoy a delicious dinner.

The big bad news, of course, is the whole atmosphere, attitude and focus of this lavish, sensual, and yes, sinful city. My purpose today is not to debate the pros and cons of gambling. My worldview has been heavily influenced by an almost 40-year marriage to The World's Most Conservative Man and the belief that God desires that we be good stewards of all He has given us. My mind just doesn't work this way. The reasoning escapes me. I keep wondering which is more disturbing -- the young couples quickly getting off the plane shouting, "All right! Let's do Vegas!" or the elderly people with their walkers and wheelchairs maneuvered beside the slot machines? And the alcohol consumption. It matches the sign in the lobby -- "Let it flow, let it flow, let it flow."

The retail stores don't have much in common with my financial reality either. Yesterday as I was strolling one of the huge malls, I picked up a purse on one of the sale racks to get a closer look. Price tag? $995.00!!!!! And, I'm sure it wasn't the most expensive one. Give ME the money to go INSIDE the purse instead, please.

A billboard slogan we passed on the way from the airport a couple of days ago has stayed on my mind. As is true in many cases, the picture was suggestive, but the words were what grabbed my attention. "JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF WRONG" How could anything be further from the truth of God's Word? How could any words be more contradictory to what I tried to teach our children? Could there ever be "just the right amount of wrong" in ANYTHING? Doesn't the word "wrong" here mean sin? Does a perfectly-adjusted degree of sinfulness exist, according to God's standards?

I have been convicted this week about holiness. God's perfect holiness, yes, but also His instructions that we, too, are to be holy.

Leviticus 19:1-2 "Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, 'You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.' "

1 Peter 1:15 "But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior."

What does it mean to be holy? The definitions given include the phrases "to be separate," "set apart," and "consecrated to God." A quote from Lynne Chapman, an editor for Christian Living, says it this way: "We have never been holy, perfect or pure on our own and we cannot work hard enough to be deemed holy. We are sinful. God's mercy was extended to us when Jesus Christ died on the cross as payment for our sins. He took our sins and we received His holiness. In view of that mercy we are holy -- set apart for God's purpose."

My prayer for today and for the rest of our time here is that God will guard my heart, that He would give me the strength to resist sinful temptation, and that He would allow me to be salt and light in this very dark place. Already, my clothes and manner of dress stick out somewhat, and my prissy Southern-ness is obvious to everyone with whom I speak. Now, "let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer."