Blessing and Suffering - Part One

There is something about having friends who suddenly abandon their Christian faith that makes a person revisit their own beliefs... That's not to say that I'm questioning my faith (been there, done that, got my feet firmly planted), but that I'm tweaking the way I present it.

But before I get there, I've been thinking about the word “blessing” a lot lately.  It's not a new topic for me, as I've written about it before. It's been written about by others and we've been asked to stop using that word. (I'm sure some of you have read "The One Thing Christians Should Stop Saying.") We seem to toss it around flippantly without really understanding the word:

“I was blessed to get that job.”
“We're blessed with three kids.”

“What a blessing you are to our family!”

“We've been blessed with so much.”

I don't think it's wrong to attribute physical, tangible things to God. After all, every good and perfect gift comes from the Father (James 1:17). Of course, if you read that verse in context (D'oh!) it's speaking more towards the eternal. But there are verses that speak of physical blessing.

Proverbs 5:18 may make you blush when you read it with the surrounding verses... “May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.” It's saying that having babies with your wife is a blessing. (Psalm 127:5 says something similar; “Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of [children].”) It doesn't get more physical than that!

God, in prophecy to the land of Israel, in Malachi 3:11-12, says that physical prosperity is cause for saying one is blessed. “I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.

So it is certainly scriptural to call ourselves blessed when positive, tangible things happen, but it goes beyond that. In fact, as I read through and look at the various ways that the word “blessed” is used, it seems to indicate a God-given joy for the one who is blessed, rather than a feeling of having much.

In all of this pondering, I kept coming back to The Beatitudes. I think that I may have totally misunderstood them over the last 30-some years that I've been reading the Bible. I've been reading and comprehending them backwards.

Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

I always felt that there should be a sense of pride or exultation when the first line of each Beatitude happened to me, because it meant that I was being blessed. As if, somehow, the blessing was in the beat-down. “I am merciful, therefore I am blessed. I get involved in arguments and make peace, therefore I am blessed.”

I had it totally backwards and flat-out wrong!

I'm sure you already know this, but I'm a bit dense at times, so let me write it all out here, just to make sure I've got it straight.

It's actually saying something like:

Even if you have a weak spirit, you will be blessed with the kingdom of heaven.

Even though there will be times of mourning, take heart, because you'll be blessed with comfort.

Even though you are meek, you will be blessed with the inheritance of the earth!

In those times when you feel far from God and are searching for him, you will be blessed with his overflowing spirit.

When you resist the urge to get revenge, you will be blessed with the same mercy you showed others.

When you rid yourself of worldly filth, you will have the blessing of truly seeing God's beauty.

When you make peace and dispel discord, God blesses you by calling you His Child.

In those times when trouble comes to you for doing the right thing, you will be blessed with the kingdom of heaven.

When your faith in Jesus is being assaulted, you are blessed because you are following in the footsteps of the spiritual giants who have gone before you. And, just like them, your reward is in heaven.

Blessed!

So, what are the real blessings here?

Kingdom of heaven

Comfort

Inherit the earth

Filled with God

Shown mercy

Seeing God

Called a child of God

Kingdom of heaven

Reward in heaven.

These blessings have little to do with physical, tangible comfort and more to do with the eternal. (I should note here that inheriting the earth does seem rather physical in nature.)

A scripture that is often misused to say that things will be hunky-dory in this life is Romans 8:28. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” It seems to be saying that followers of God will have good things happen to them in this life. That doesn't line up with the rest of scripture. Jesus tells his disciples that there will be trouble in this world, but to take heart as he has overcome the world. (John 16:33)

When you read Romans 8:28 in context (you'll need to back up to about Romans 8:18 to get some context) you see that it is speaking more to the eternal than the temporal:
v 18 - our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us

v 21 - in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

v 23 – we... groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.

v 28 - called according to his purpose...

v 29 - to be conformed to the image of his Son

v 30 - those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

v 32 - He who gave [his Son] up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? [Is that “all things” in a physical way, or “all things” in an eternal way?]

V 35 - Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

V 36 - “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

And the big summary at the end of this discourse which says:

v 37-39 “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

So, to summarize so far... Blessing is often used in the Bible to speak of God-given joy, rather than a feeling of getting something from God. But, when the word “blessed” refers to us receiving something, it is often of eternal value, rather than temporal value.  The few times that it is a tangible, temporal, earthly thing, the blessing is still in the God-given joy just as much as it is in the physical gift.

...Which brings me back to the beginning of this discourse.

Read Part Two to read more on how our misuse of the Bible can lead people away from God.

Chicken Day

The following pictures depict a fun day at the chicken farm.

Well, it was fun for us. Not so much for the chickens.

Look away if you do not want a biology lesson on the innards of a chicken.
Look away if you do not like to see chickens being "processed."

Continue through these pictures if your curiosity is piqued.

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This poor chicken had no idea what was ahead of her.

She was placed head-down in this bag, with her head poking through the bottom. Mr. Farmer slit her throat and let her bleed out. We were fascinated.

Once she had bled out, we dipped her in scalding water for about 45 seconds. This made it much easier to pull the feathers off.

The feathers came off really easily.

Mrs. Farmer took out all the entrails and showed us what was what.

The heart is on the left. The lungs are bright red, on the right. Gizzard at the top, liver in the middle on the left, and so on.

She thought the feet were pretty cool.

Chicken Number Two. Now that we've seen the process, we'll get our hands dirty.

Giving her a hint of what's to come, I guess.

He can do this!

It was such a cool experience! We are grateful to have such great friends who were willing to let us invade their farm to watch this whole process. The kids had a blast watching the whole thing and getting their hands dirty. And now we know a little more clearly what it takes to put a chicken on our table.

For the Weary Mom, Part 2

(This is meant to encourage those who are discouraged, not to discourage those who want their children to master necessary skills. Learning and growing is incredibly important, but when we are feeling down, it's good to remind ourselves of the greater good we are instilling into our children.)

(You can read more words to the Weary Mom here.)

A friend of mine was feeling down yesterday as she struggled to get one of her children to learn something that's being taught at school. It got me thinking about what we tend to focus on as parents and teachers.

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Which is more important...

Being able to read a book or being able to love others?

Knowing how to tie your shoes or knowing how to hold the door for the person behind you?

Knowing you can count by 3s or knowing you can count on the people around you?

Holding in the tears when a silly little thing gets you down or being able to pour out tears when compassion moves you?

Picking up a math book to learn the next step or picking up a friend when she's fallen down?

Time spent at a desk or time spent with family and friends?

Playing that piano piece perfectly or playing What Time is it Mr. Wolf with all your cousins?

Pleasing your teacher or pleasing God?

~

I'm sure I could go on, but you get the idea. We have the world around us telling us what should be important, from the moment our child enters this world to well past the moment they leave our homes. Instead of worrying about what they haven't yet mastered (after all, who by worrying can add a day to his life?) it's good to remind ourselves of the things that really matter to us in this brief, temporal life.

So keep at it, weary Moms and Dads! In those moments when you feel inadequate, remember that you are the Mom or Dad that God put in this child's life, and you are there for a reason. Don't beat yourself up for what you haven't yet taught your child. Remind yourself of the good you've done, and the learning that *has* been accomplished, and use that as fuel to keep you going.

Unintentional Weight Loss

As I've already written, our family is trying to make better food choices. I read in Skinny Chicks Eat Real Food about the different processes that are involved in the manufacturing of packaged foods and I was totally turned off of breakfast cereal. Aside from being full of sugar (which I already knew and had resigned myself to), the manufacturing process actually strips the cereal of any nutritional value that was left (or added, by way of supplement). So we are eating the equivalent of sugary cardboard when we eat our Honey Nut Cheerios.

Well, no longer! I knew we needed more fibre and I knew that breakfast cereal wasn't the healthiest option, so it was pretty easy to switch to Loaded Oatmeal for breakfast. Since mid-May we have been eating oatmeal for breakfast. For every serving, I cook 1/2 cup rolled oats with 1 Tbsp ground flax seed, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, and 1 cup water over the stove. I usually add a handful of frozen blueberries for each serving as well. Sometimes we add maple syrup. Sometimes we don't.

With our better breakfast choices, we've noticed changes... The kids have fewer tummy aches (thank you fibre!), we're all nice and regular (thank you fibre!), and my hubby and I have actually lost weight! Weight loss was not our main goal. We really just wanted to be eating foods closer to what our bodies were designed to use. We wanted to let our bodies work properly so we could have better overall health. Like a car that works well when it's been tuned up or a computer that runs quicker when it's been defragmented and cleaned up, our bodies can heal and hold off diseases better when we're letting our systems work efficiently.

A few days ago, my husband commented that he was five pounds down from the high end of his weight spectrum. (We all fluctuate in our weight, and he noticed he was consistently on the low end recently.) I told him it was likely due to all the renovations and extra exercise he's been getting. (I mean, come on... When you eat three scoops of ice cream as a bed time snack every night, you're not really going to lose weight, right?)

Getting dressed one morning recently, he told me that he had to use a hole on his belt loop that he hadn't used in many years.

This morning he told that he was down another five pounds.

He has dropped ten pounds without trying. We aren't eating refined white flour or sugar as much as before, but we also aren't counting calories or doing big workouts. We eat good, healthy food that has gone through minimal factory processing when we're hungry.

I haven't gone down ten pounds like he has, but I am lower on the scale than I have been in about three years. Again, it's not about the weight. It's about being healthier. But, I think the scale is telling us that our body is finally feeling free to get rid of some of the extra bulk that we didn't really need.

As one friend has told me, we don't even realize how awful we feel until our bodies finally start to feel better consistently. I'm curious to hear from others... Have you made any simple, easy changes to your eating habits that have made a noticeable difference in how you feel or how your body operates?

Mounds of Stuff!

Ah, summer... School's out, work is done, and it's time for the beach, right?

Well, maybe not.

We planned this little renovation project where we kind of, sort of, tore out the entire kitchen (including one of the walls) and the flooring and are putting in a brand new kitchen.

It's a good thing we like eating out!

Anyway, with long hours going into a renovation and school being out here at our house, my kids are going stir-crazy. (Their friends are still in school, so they count down the hours until 3:30 when kids start showing up at the neighbourhood park.) I'm finding myself way busier than in the last few months.

Add to that a little impromptu editing (watch for the updated edition of my friend's book to come out... I edited it!) and some big-time preparation for a week of Family Camp (preparing four days of lessons, picking music, getting campfire talks ready for the little kids, and putting together crafts and devotions for the cabin of girls I'm bunking with)... Well, it seems I just haven't made time to share things on here!

You wouldn't believe the number of times I've composed posts for this blog in my head. Just today I was sweeping up some drywall crumbs from the patio before dinner (so we could eat on that same patio) and wrote an entire post in my head about these delicious cookies we've been enjoying lately.

And, well, I guess that stuff up there that you just read is my way of getting to the point that I really do want to write these days. I just haven't made time.

Anyway, my daughter wrote recently about our new attitude towards food. I am making a great effort to avoid highly refined food products. White sugar and white flour have barely been used in this house since we got back from our mid-May vacation. We're enjoying many more veggies and fruits and I'm looking at new desserts for when we're hit with the sweet tooth.

(The one thing we haven't totally given up is ice cream. It sure was a nice treat for our last day of school on May 30!)

So where was I? Right, eating less processed foods.

I found this lovely recipe for something called Paleo Disappearing Mounds Cookies. Don't get thrown off by the "Paleo" part. I'm not much into one diet or another, I just like Mounds bars. So when I heard that these cookies were better for me than other cookies, I wanted to give them a try.

I've made them four times now and am ready to share my slightly-altered but better-for-you version. (Bear in mind that you can adjust this recipe all you like. It won't bother me. You can even use all the sugary stuff that you have in your house. I'm not eating them; you are.) This recipe has no sugar. And it has no processed sweetener. It is totally, naturally sweetened.


Wanda's Mounds Bar Cookies

1 egg

1/2 cup ground almonds

1/2 cup natural, unsweetened peanut butter 

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut

3 Tbsp cocoa

1/2 cup pureed dates*

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 350 F (or 335 F, if using a convection oven.)

Mix all ingredients well. Spoon 1 Tbsp of dough at a time onto parchment-lined cookie sheets. Roll and flatten slightly with a fork or spoon or hammer or anvil or the palm of your hand or some other flattening agent.

Bake in preheated oven for 6-8 minutes. If you make these bigger, cook them longer.

At 1 Tbsp a piece, this recipe makes about 24 cookies.

I made this recipe with 1/2 cup of unrefined, organic sugar today. My husband enjoyed the cookies that he ate. Then I made them with pureed dates (which was super-easy to make - I'll fill you in after these messages) and my husband said he liked them better. If you recall, this is the husband who HATES dates.

*So, to make the pureed dates/date paste, just take a handful of dates, maybe 3/4 cup, add 1 Tbsp of water, and spin them through a food processor. If you want to make more at once, add more water. It's pretty simple. And sweet.

There you have it! A guilt-free treat for the Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, and Sugar-Free people in your life. (You can make them vegan by substituting for the egg with 1 Tbsp ground flax seed and 3 Tbsp water.)

There's no need to sacrifice on taste when you can make these!

Knock-Off Kashi Granola Bars - guest post

Hi, my name is Riley. I am 10 years old. I like purple. My mom asked me to write to you about how we are eating different foods. We are eating different foods because it is healthier.  Some of the changes we are making are to not eat as many white flour products or white sugar products, and to eat more fruits and vegetables. We are also eating more fibre and Omega-3 fatty acids.  Mom is reading a book called “Skinny Chicks Eat Real Food;” that is where she got the idea of eating so healthy.

We eat oatmeal for breakfast most mornings. We put big, fat blueberries in the oatmeal, and it makes our oatmeal purple. One time, for lunch, we had salmon sandwiches. We are eating 1/2 cup of fruit every day, if we have fruit, and also 1/4 cup of pecans. Today we are making some Knock-Off Kashi Dark Chocolate Coconut Bars. Here is the recipe:

Knock-Off Kashi Dark Chocolate Coconut Bars

Ingredients
2 cups oats
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 unsweetened coconut

1/4 cup ground flax seed
1/2 cup honey
pinch pink Himalayan salt

Topping 
340 grams (3/4 lb) chopped dates
6 tbsp water
6 tbsp cocoa

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper.
2. Toast oats, pecans and coconut for 5-10 minutes until just starting to turn brown.
3. Combine oats mixture with flax seeds, honey, and salt.
4. Spread mixture evenly over parchment paper.  Pat down and bake for 10-15 minutes.
5. Combine the dates and water.  Microwave for about two minutes to soften dates.  Add cocoa and mix very well.
6. When oats are cool, spread date mixture over the top.  You may need to wet the spreading tool (spoon, knife) so the date topping doesn't stick. Over and over.  Just keep a bowl of water handy and keep wetting your spoon.

Makes 16 bars.

You can add chocolate chips to the granola bars if you want.  We didn't this time.  Instead we put 1/4 cup of natural peanut butter in the mixture.

So far, I like eating this way because Mom buys more fruit for us.  And did you know that blueberries are the healthiest fruit around?  That's why we have big, fat juicy blueberries in our oatmeal.

I hope you like our recipe.  We think it's very tasty.

Wise sayings

I tend to avoid overly-used, common proverbs, simply because I get tired of hearing them and I figured my kids would too.  So when my oldest spilled some milk just now, I shrugged and told him to just clean it up. Then, in a silly voice, I said, "There's no use crying over spilled milk."

"Have I ever said that to you before?" I asked.

"I don't think so."

"It's an old saying to help people understand that once the milk is spilled, there's not much point in crying about it because crying doesn't unspill it.  So, you might as well just get over it and clean it up."

My boy, nodding, "And that's just what I'm doing."

Thinking a bit more about wise sayings, my 11 year-old continued the conversation.  "You know, a wise man once said, 'What's for dinner?' Wise men don't always say wise things."

We don't have a drum set, so there was no rimshot.

He also pointed out that one could say to another, "Wise things!" and still not be incredibly wise.

I have quite the philosopher/comedian on my hands.