chicken salad....mmmm

I thought I'd try to be funny and write about chicken salad. Chicken salad in and of itself is not funny, but I tried to find a way to make it funny by sticking it in the description of my blog, which of course has nothing to do with chicken salad. I felt somewhat deceptive though, in claiming that my blog is devoted to improving chicken salad, when I really have no intention of attracting chicken salad connoisseurs, who would be awfully confused and perhaps disappointed if they came across this blog in hopes of seriously seeking to improve their chicken salad. Don't get me wrong, I genuinely enjoy a nice heaping scoop of chicken salad mashed between two pieces of whole wheat bread, and if you ask my wife, I can whip up a batch of some pretty delectable chicken salad. So if you like chicken salad, if you've never tried it but have always been curious, if you are entering your county fair's chicken salad contest, then you've found what may be the only blog post devoted to such a delicacy...and probably the last. So enjoy my recipe and if you so desire, send me yours and let's make chicken salad fun again...

1 large chicken breast
2 heaping tbs. of mayo
1 diced Roma tomato
1/3 cup chopped green onion
Salt & Pepper

• Season chicken breast, cook over med. heat in skillet.
• Shred chicken, add ingredients, stir well and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Serve on toast, sun-dried tomato or spinach wrap, or pita bread.
• mmmmmmmm............

If this is in no way funny, please, do your best to blog bash this post as much as possible without being a potty mouth.

grace obligated...?

I recently started reading a novel by Philip Caputo entitled, Acts of Faith. The story is based on the atrocities taking place in Sudan, as seen through the eyes of a mercenary "with a conscience" who leads an organization that flies in humanitarian relief to starving Sudanese. The book opens with Fitzhugh (the mercenary pilot) being interviewed by an American journalist, and he says, "...there is no difference between God and the Devil in Africa." He then proceeds to color this statement with the story of a priest who tenaciously sought to heal the political and spiritual corruption in Kenya only to find himself defeated by a malevolent politician; his apparent suicide on the side of an isolated road finding the Kenyan people at yet another loss for the elusive and foreign concept known as 'peace.'
Fitzhugh's line gave me fuel for pondering: Is there a sense of confusion between God and the Devil in America? How often do we confuse products of loving the world [e.g., cravings of sinful man, the lusting of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does (see, 1Jn. 2:16)] with products of loving the Triune God [selflessness, submission, and unity among diversity (see, Phil. 2:1-18)]? Another way to put it may be that grace in the American mindset has become synonymous with obligation; 'As an American, I am obligated to own property. As an American, I am obligated to free education. As an American, I am obligated to supersize...anything. As an American, I am obligated to peace.' It is so easy to mistake such things as the results of following God rather than vices under the control of the Devil. It is so easy to believe that grace is obligated to us rather than given to us by God, at a cost, with the intention of our response, at a cost: faith.
As a litmus test for myself, I sometimes put myself in the shoes of someone like Fitzhugh, someone living in a place where peace is nothing more than a word, an elusive quest, a thirsting in a dry land. When I'm in such a place, I ask myself, as a Christ follower, "Who or what would I be loving in such a place?" Is it easy to confuse the Devil with God in America? Maybe easier than we thought.

Denison Marrs - Transatlantic intro and Every Star

This is one of my all time favortie bands. The first 5 minutes of this are excellent!

Fortress of Purity

"How can a young man keep his way pure?" Ps. 119:9-16 addresses the seemingly elusive quest for anyone who has an ounce of endorphins racing through their post-pubescent brain.
I've often wondered, 'What the heck does it mean to be "pure"?' This is a topic that comes up anytime a group of guys seeking to follow Jesus get together and talk about something more worth while than Fantasy Football or prime rib or the best uses of Gold Bond. But what is it that gives the male driven mind the long lasting fortress of a lifestyle of purity?
After reflecting on this passage recently, I discovered that the Hebrew word for "pure" is actually a root word meaning "to be transparent" and it is related to another word meaning "to be bright." I thought about this and realized, as a Spirit indwelled person our purpose is to reflect and reveal the person of Christ and in order to do this best we must be 'transparent.' In other words, we need to be who we truly are in Christ-a new creation, a heart that has been completely re-hauled. But when sin creeps into our lives this mucks up the transparency of our Spirit filled selves.
So, our motivation for purity should always be that we would be more "bright" in our reflection of our Savior and this is best seen when we're "transparent," when our lives are so infiltrated by the guidepost of the Word and awed by the sight of His transparency as seen in the life of Jesus, then the fortress of purity is strengthened.

would Jesus drink my coffee?

Since I find myself becoming more and more addicted to coffee, I looked into this whole fair trade issue because I've heard that coffee farmers are severly effected by this. There is a documentary out called Black Gold that I would really like to see but can't figure out how (no listings in Dallas). If anyone has seen it or might know how I could see it, let me know.

As believers, people who are called to participate in bringing people to the worldwide Redeemer, what is our role in demonstrating redemptive behavior through even the most minute tasks that have worldwide ramifications, such as buying a cup of joe? As a follower of Jesus, should we have a conviction about the fair treatment of the many men and women who harvest our espresso beans? I'm not saying that buying fair trade products will transform the hearts of Ethiopan coffee farmers, but I'm just wondering if such a conviction is valid. When Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:33-37, did he imply that our "neighbor" was just somebody within arms reach or is it those in need whom we become aware of regardless of boundaries, regions, and ethnicity? As globalization becomes more and more of a reality, I believe we must face that question. Would Jesus drink my coffee?

...so what does that mean?

Well I've joined the blogosphere and the first thing that came to mind when I had to fill in the title of your blog spot was "That's Not Mayonnaise." So what does it mean? I recently finished an extremely eye-opening course on The History of Christianity in America at the seminary I attend, taught by Dr. Jeff Bingham. In it, we were exposed to the atmosphere of the times in America during the First Awakening (1730's & 40's). And that's where the mayonnaise started getting...well, not so mayonnaisey. During this time, being a part of the community was part and parcel of being part of the local church. People started finding it easier and easier to put on their church clothes, read their church books, speak their church lingo, and eat their church food. Soon, people were clinging to church culture rather than to the church Head (Jesus Christ). Now the mayonnaise, even though it looked and smelled like mayonnaise, was not mayonnaise. It was what several pastors during the time, like Theodore Frelinghausen, Gilbert Tennent, Jonathan Edwards, and George Whitfield called, "perfunctory orthodoxy," or "that's not mayonnaise." So, thanks to the creative student who gave Dr. Bingham this analogy, I start this blog with that in mind. All too often I find myself eating perfunctory mayonnaise, even handing out those little packets of perfunctory mayonnaise, which are packaged and distributed by many American Evangelical churches today. It's a lot easier to follow the American version of Jesus than it is to follow the NT version of Jesus. I just want to be the first to admit it for myself and hopefully be a solution to the problem by saying, "Hey, That's Not Mayonnaise!"