cookout with the Kirks

I had a great lazy afternoon/evening at a cookout hosted by friends this weekend. LH carried out a picnic theme, using borrowed supplies from her mom. What a creative way to serve watermelon! It's a bug! 

They decorated with tissue flowers, which I didn't get a good picture of, jars, and pretty paper straws. 

Two of the guests brought three flavors of sangria they had made with homemade liqueurs. I didn't taste them, but they were beautiful! 

I didn't try the lawn games, either, though there was cornhole and a frisbee game. I tried for an action shot, instead. 

LH eats gluten free, which made for a fun baking challenge for those of us who decided to take desserts. I have been trying to eat healthier, especially cutting carbohydrates, so I was happy to have an event for which to give paleo cookies a go. 

By the way, could someone tell me what exactly paleo means? Between my best efforts to eat low carb and natural and having friends who don't tolerate gluten, I find myself making a lot of "paleo" recipes, but when my SIL asked me to define paleo, I couldn't. However, I do know what gluten is. (Thanks, LH, for this reference.)

LH's brother in law made these doughnuts using leftover coconut flour passed from Lindsay to LH to him. They passed on the flour because after using it to make gluten free foods, they decided they didn't like it. Well, he made doughnuts with it, and they were FABULOUS. I wanted the recipe but was scared to ask for fear that there's cups and cups of sugar. 

Lindsay made gluten free candy shaped cookies above and these Eiffel tower cookies. I sure do miss Paris! 

LH made pretty, pretty Pinterest-y dipped strawberries. 

Can you tell that sweet treats were the most photogenic aspects of the party? Isn't that always the case? The company was great, and the other food (hot dogs, pulled pork, salads, fruit) were delicious, too. I wish I had taken pictures of people and the gorgeous house! 

Thank you for including me, Kirks!

growing older and the gospel

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I'd be back soon with some thoughts on growing older and my goals. Truthfully, I've been working on posts for a while, and I just can't get it quite right. So I'll start here.

As I've written before, I'm not crazy about birthdays. There's nothing I hate more than people singing happy birthday to me! Especially the last few years, birthdays have been worse. And better. Some things get better with age, and I'm beginning to understand what others have told me about the mystery of the gospel.

Each year, I grow in deeper relationship with my Savior. I've come to realize recently that we don't ever get past the gospel. Jesus justifies us when He calls us and we rely on Him for our salvation. Sanctification, however, is a life long process. I want to be like Jesus, but I know I will never be like Him while I live on this earth. Only when I am in Heaven in my new body will I be fully sanctified. 

Why, then, did I think that I wouldn't sin so much now? Why did I think I would be past this point? Why did I think there was something more to the Christian life, beyond the gospel?

I realized that I'm not the only one that thinks that way when I heard my pastor say the same thing in his sermon two weeks ago. (view it here; Acts 9 from March 2; watch it all, but he mentions this after about 29:20)

The gospel applies to everything. If you are in a Bible believing church, you probably hear the term "the gospel" in reference to many things. Whether or not you hear it all the time, it's important to stop and remember what the gospel is. How would you explain the gospel in your own words? (I love hearing different perspectives; please comment!)

In my own words, the gospel is (or should be) the lens through which I view everything. God has always existed, and He created man in his own image, for his own delight. Man sinned, rebelling against God, and thereby introduced death into the world. We all sin (Romans 3:23), and the cost of sin is death (Romans 6:23). God sent his son, Jesus, to live a perfect life that we could not live. Jesus was God's plan for redemption from the beginning. He came to the earth both fully as a man and fully as God. He bore the wrath for our sin on the cross, descended into hell, and rose from the dead. Jesus defeated death and made a way by which we could be saved. He is the only way (John 14:6). He calls to us and we respond (Romans 10:9,10), but is only by his grace that we may be saved, not of ourselves (Ephesians 2:8).

God credited me with Christ's righteousness, not because of anything I have earned. I know I cannot and do not work to earn salvation, so why do I think I should work to earn his love after I've been saved? Although God adopted me into his family, I am still human. I have sinful desires, and I sin. There will never be a point I reach in my earthly life when I don't sin.

But I should not despair. My sin has been nailed to the cross. Jesus paid it ALL. Yes, I continually repent. In doing so, I see my sin more clearly and then see God's love for me more clearly. I need Him EVERY hour. The more I realize that, the more I seek Him, and the closer I get to Him. He wants us to go to Him with every concern, every need. Perhaps that's why we don't ever get it perfect on this earth. If I didn't need Him any more, I wouldn't get to enjoy Him. So, every passing year, that relationship gets sweeter.

To be continued ...

let's talk radio

If you live where I do, you may have noticed that our radio stations aren't as plentiful and wonderful as you may expect from a city of our size.  Or you may be laughing at me for even talking about radio.  I mean, we all listen to our iPods in the car, right?  

Well.  I drive a hand me down car without a USB port, and I can't even put new music on my iPhone because I can't get the new iTunes because I don't have Snow Leopard because my MacBook is old and my "applications store" icon disappeared.  I'm not even sure what all of that means, and by the way it's a miracle that I write a blog because I am 875 years old when it comes to using technology.

But back to the radio.  I spend a bit of time listening to the radio on my commutes around the county, and doing so has solidified my belief that I am completely out of touch with pop culture.  "Pop" music is disgusting cacophony.  Even the country station -- why is there only one?! -- sometimes plays rap.  Once in a while, they play the Luke Bryan winner winner catfish dinner song sandwiched between Taylor Swift and some old Tim McGraw, but then comes someone singing about a chrome piece tucked in the console, and I've already changed the station.  Sometimes I want to call the DJ and request the Alan Jackson Pandora station.  For a couple of weeks, I stuck with the local college radio station; now that's desperate.

Eventually the terrible music lead me to my very last option (probably even after silence): talk radio.  My new favorite companion on a road trip is some preaching on the radio.  I shake my head at the stupid financial decisions people have made when they call in to Dave Ramsey.  I catch up on the news and hear about new books coming out that I suddenly want to read.  Y'all.  I nod my head to the preachers on the radio, even "mmhmm"ing along with them, and (!!!) sometimes even "praise God!"  I actually TELL people about books I think we should read or what I learned from the sermon.  I asked my dad what his favorite station is the other day, and now I've picked up a new one to fill me in on politics.

I am old, and I am not embarrassed.

What do you listen to in the car?  What's your take on talk radio?