The Joys of Crockpot Cooking

"Some issues are microwave issues, and others are crockpot issues." ~ Me

Today, I was meeting with one of my employees, and in our discussion there were some questions regarding the office procedures and proposed changes to these procedures.   There has been some discouragement in the past (and some present disappointment) because of delays in the process.   This is when the wisdom above was thrown out into the airwaves.   

Confession:   I think that "wait" is a four letter word. 

This "wisdom" is nothing that I would every want to hear, so why did it come out of my mouth?   My speculation (and sneaking suspicion) is that the Holy Spirit is really trying to get my attention.   If I had a dollar for every time I've heard statements like "The journey IS the destination", "Your time is coming, just be patient", "God's timing is perfect", or "You need to learn to be still and just wait on the Lord", I would be a very rich woman.   Well, maybe not rich, but probably into the next grade rather than repeating this one over and over.     

There is a very distinct difference between a meal prepared in the microwave and one in the crockpot.    While fast and "convenient" in the microwave meat becomes chewy, veggies limp, and everything else just plain yucky (not to mention full of radiation).   But when you put the same ingredients in a slow cooking crock pot, and turn the heat to low, the flavors meld together, the meat is moist and melts in your mouth, the veggies become delicious, and the scent permeates the entire house.     Delicious, perfect, healthy....in 8 hours.     

I think that life events are the same way.    When we're kids, we can't wait to reach the next milestone:  "When I'm 13",  "When I'm 16", "When I go to college", "When I'm an adult".    Those feelings don't go away when we grow up, they just take on different forms:  "When I'm married"  "When I have kids"  "When I get that promotion" "When I get a bigger house" "When I retire".     What is it that makes us think that the next thing is the best thing?   Why do we despise the process?    Maybe because it's uncomfortable to spend the time in the heat?    

Having been promoted prematurely in both the church and corporate worlds, and dealing with the "radiation fall-out", I know that there is grace to grow quickly.   However, just like a fine wine or delicate cheese, there is value in "age" and "process".    There is health, flavor, aroma in the process.  And, I know it doesn't take the heat away, but it's worth staying in the crockpot.   Let's agree to press into the process, and I give you permission to grab my ankle and pull me back in if I try to jump out prematurely.   

I'm an Alien!!!

"Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ" ~2 Cor 5:19


It has been crazy at work lately.   There have been reductions, pilot projects, and re-organizations, and so many things up in the air.   For those who may not know me, one of my primary gifts and personality traits revolves around planning.  So you can imagine the unknown quickly throws this "planner" into some distress.      
In the midst of all this craziness, our pastor and some guest speakers have been talking about the Shalom (peace) of God, and living from a place of peace rather than searching for peace.   And to be honest, it's been a little confusing.    I really want that, but then I work in the "real world" and life is just crazy.  So how does all of this work?   
As I pondered and prayed, I heard the words "diplomatic immunity".      I'm not an attorney, and I'm not completely well versed in the legalities of all that entails, but my basic understanding is that ambassadors from another country are not bound by the laws of the country they are living in, but rather by their homeland's country.    (Now, I know there are exceptions to this in the natural, but go with me for a little while.)  
Ephesians 2:19 tells us that we are citizens of God's household, and Philippians 3:20 says that our citizenship is in heaven.   And as quoted above, 2 Corinthians 5:19 indicates that we are ambassadors for Christ.   
So, what if the "real world" that we live in, isn't really our "real world"?    What if we don't have to abide by the laws of the world, but rather we are accountable to the Kingdom of Heaven, where we are citizens?    
The "laws" of the world are fear, anxiety, stress, immorality, shame.  The "laws" of Heaven are peace, joy and righteousness.    We have diplomatic immunity here.  We get to live in the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth!    This is how we live from the place of peace.    Wherever we set foot is our "embassy" and therefore becomes sovereign property with our sovereign rules.   It's a fruitful place (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self-control) and a beautiful place, a place that will woo many to defect!  

But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God's instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted. Friends, this world is not your home, so don't make yourselves cozy in it. Don't indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. Live an exemplary life among the natives so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they'll be won over to God's side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives.  
~1 Peter 2:10-12



***PLEASE DO NOT READ WHAT I'M NOT WRITING!    We are still called to submit to authority, which means we need to honor our governments, our church authorities, our parents, our bosses, etc.   1 Peter 2:17 tells us to "fear God and honor the king".   God is a God of order and authority, and there are blessings for us as we remain under authority.  In the natural, ambassadors build diplomatic relations by honoring the local authorities, even when in disagreement.   We, too, can honor those that God has placed in authority, all while living under the sovereign rule of His Kingdom.

The Green Monster....

CONFESSION:  I entertained the Green Monster today. 

I'm not talking about the giant wall at Fenway Park that has become known as a homerun killer, but the Green Monster of Jealousy.    I didn't only entertain the Green Monster, I flagged him down, called to him and begged him to come home with me, and then had a drink with him and wallowed in my self-pity.     

The good news is that he didn't stay for long.   The bad news, my heart is now undergoing surgery to repair the damage he left behind.   

I don't know why I like this guy so much.  Ok, I wouldn't say that I "like" him, but then why do I invite him over and over and over?     I was pondering this today, after I kicked him out and my heart was flayed open.  I saw that I had become the spoiled brat who whines to her Daddy that her brother's portion is bigger, and that's not fair; or the kid who complains that she got the blue lollipop, but she wanted the red.    

Why?   I think there are 2 roots at play here.    First is ungratefulness.   The truth is, I have so much to be grateful for.   Aside from the obvious (salvation), I have an amazing man of God that I get to share life with, I live comfortably in a city that I like, I have cute pets, a good job, and I know how to read (which puts us in the top 11% of richest people in the world).     I wonder if we, as western believers, have put so much stock in the material blessings, that we have started to focus on everything we don't have.    Maybe it's just me, but I've noticed a "yeah, but" attitude.  "Yeah I'm blessed, but not as blessed as Bob."    "Yeah I have a job, but not the one I want."  "Yeah I have a husband, but he's not....(fill in the blank)".    "Yeah..., but..."     You've heard the verse, "He who is faithful in little will be given much"?    What if (and this is not a scholarly thesis of the word "faithful", just a hypothesis) the verse read "He who is grateful for little will be given much."     Is thankfulness part of faithfulness?    I venture that it is not only a part, but crucial.    There is no motivation for faithfulness without gratefulness.    Why would there be?   Faithfulness is a response of a thankful heart.    So, maybe, just maybe, there was a reason that Paul exhorted us to give thanks in all things?

The second, and most ugly, root is doubt/distrust.    I hate that I even have to confess this, but today's meeting with the Green Monster was nothing more than me believing the lie that God is not at work regarding the purposes in my life.     It looked something like this:   My friends get to go on this exciting ministry trip, and I don't, and I want to.    Do you hear the "waaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh" in that statement?  Gosh, this sounds trivial.    But alas, I digress.    It really boils down to one question:  "Will you trust that I am working on your behalf, even when you don't see it?"    It's really easy to say "yes", but a lot harder to say "yes" honestly.    It's so easy to get distracted by the chaos of a life that looks nothing like you thought it would look, while God seems lost in the background.     Does that sound heretical?   Maybe it is....but then, these are my confessions.      

Fortunately, the story doesn't end here.    This is simply where it begins.    1 John 1:9 tells us that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.   This means that not only does he forgive me for cheating on Him with the Green Monster, but He goes in and repairs all the damage the Monster left behind.     He is so faithful, so amazing, so gracious....

Let's Get it Started....

Do you ever just need to start something, but the task at hand seems bigger than the energy or time you have to handle?    Do you ever want to be Scarlett O'Hara and say "I don't want to think about it today; I'll think about it tomorrow."?  Let me introduce myself...I am this person.    Take, for instance, this blog.   I have had "Confessions" in my heart for more years than I want to say, and I have made up every excuse in the book (and then some).  But the truth is that I lay in bed each night with posts twirling around in my head and conviction in my heart.  So let's get this party started.

A few months ago, I was in Germany, and I read a passage in Mark 11.   In verse 12, we see that Jesus was hungry, so he went to a fig tree, but there were no figs on the tree.   Mark makes it very clear that it wasn't fig season, so the implication is that it really should have been no surprise that there were no figs on the tree.   However, in verse 14, Jesus cursed the tree and said "No one will ever eat figs from you again."    I've read this passage many times, and I must confess that it's always bugged me.   It doesn't seem "fair" that Jesus would curse a tree for not bearing fruit when it was not fruit season.   But what if it wasn't about the tree at all?   What if He was just showing us that the game has changed?   In 2 Tim 4:2, we are exhorted to "be ready in season and out of season".   Jesus told the disciples to look unto the fields for they are ripe for harvest.   In John 15, Jesus talks about us being grafted into Him, and the fruit we should be bearing (and the resulting pruning).       Is it possible that the expectation is for us to bear fruit always?   Is that even possible?    I put before you that it is not only possible, but also expected - not in a legalistic, strike-you-with-lightning-if-you-don't kind of way, but in a this-is-who-I-created-you-to-be kind of way.    You see, when Jesus left the earth, He promised a helper, the Holy Spirit, who has come to live and work in and through us.   And Galatians 5 tells us that the Spirit is fruitful.  All we have to do is allow the Spirit to move in and through us and to respond as He leads, and there will be fruit.  Easy enough, right?   

What does this have to do with my procrastination?    Simply put, I can no longer hold on to my "somedays" and remain unfruitful.   I can't tell the Holy Spirit that I don't "feel" like being fruitful today, so I'm just going to be "leafy" instead.   I can't wallow in the fact that life isn't turning out exactly the way I thought it would, while hoping that "someday" something will change.    

The season for fruitfulness is now. 

What does that require?   Complete yieldedness to the One who knows all, sees all.  

My response?   Yes, Lord.   

Starting tomorrow...

(heehee - just kidding.  Was wondering if y'all were still with me!)