Two HEALTHY Super Bowl Snack Recipes

I've been on a quest to find some healthy alternatives for next week's big game. And even though "Deflate-gate" has had me angrier than I care to admit, I know my family will want snacks. It's sort of a tradition. Last year, Abbey handled most of the cooking and it was amazing, healthy, and even better because I didn't have to fix it! But this year, I'm on my own for finding healthy options.

I almost put in a request to Liana Shanti to ask her to develop a Super Bowl recipe book. Her Rawganic Vegan recipes are always tasty and usually fairly easy with very few "weird" ingredients. [weird = difficult to acquire in the Midwest U.S.A.] She must have read my mind, because although a booklet has yet to arrive in my inbox, she recently shared a delicious dessert hummus recipe that I made today and received a hearty thumbs up from three of the four who tried it.

The Double Fudge Chip Hummus (mine pictured above) has just enough sweetness, in addition to substantial protein from white beans and nut butter, to make this an awesome alternative to pancreas-overwhelming fruit dips you find in the store.

My favorite magazine, Urban Farm, also came through with the Hungry Locavore's Orange Salsa recipe. I made both of these today and let's just say lunch was pretty awesome!

If you have any tried and true football snacks that are healthy and delicious, please share in the comments below. While the boys in our clan will chow down on their favorite Buffalo Chicken Dip (yuck!), the girls and I will be highly anticipating our tasty whole food and vegan alternatives.

My Co-worker

As I've been making my way through 1 Thessalonians I kept coming across some wording that struck me as odd, yet I'm certain it's intentional in the way that Paul, Silas and Timothy chose to write it.

"and we sent Timothy, our brother and God's fellow worker in the gospel of Christ; to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith." (1 Thessalonians 3:2)

Note what it does and does not say: Timothy is their brother and God's fellow worker. Other versions use "fellowlabourer" (KJV) and "God's man for spreading the Message" (The Message). 

I confess, I don't often think of myself as God's co-worker. I think of other Christians as my fellow labourers. But what if I saw them all as my brothers and sisters only? 

I would probably be more gracious, forgiving and tolerant of the little things that being human crop up and annoy or frustrate us. We're all much more forgiving with family. Usually.

And instead of thinking of trudging along with other flawed humans as my partners...what if I actually believed that God's plans hinged on me showing up for work?

Aside from the obvious problem of getting fired (because God would never fire us), there are people depending on you for your "goods and services". If no one showed up at the local Amazon warehouse, we'd all be doing without a whole lot of stuff.

And what happens when one (or a handful) of people are left to do all of the work while everyone else huddles around the water cooler or breakroom just wasting away the day? In the real world, the "few" would probably be resentful, angry and ready to quit. But just for the sake of argument, let's say they are gracious, absolutely love what they are doing, wouldn't trade their job for the world, and find great personal meaning and fulfillment in what they believe is their calling? 

To be honest, the loyal, hardworking labourer can only carry the dead weight for so long. If we're talking about a multi-billion dollar company that spans every corner of the globe, has about 2 billion employees and only about 2 million of them or less are actually doing any work, that means .1% (0.001 or one-thousandth) of the employees are actively engaged in the job to be done. And since there's the global-potential to reach 7 billion "customers", that is 1 co-worker for every 3500 potential clients. If we were Hunger Games people we would say "the odds are definitely not in your favor." 

Anyone out there with a client-base of 3500 people that they need to introduce to the product, peak their interest, sell them the goods, and then provide life-long customer service if need be? Yet, this is exactly the burden we place upon those who are working in the Kingdom if we even have 2 million workers in the fields. Jesus told us two thousand years ago that "the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." (see Matthew 9:37, NASB) It seems not much has changed in those two thousand years.

Now, while I've crassly placed salvation and God's plan for all of mankind in the context of business, goods, sales and everyday life, I do so for what I hope has become an extremely obvious point:  We take God's grace and Love for granted.

What employer would allow 90% or more of His workers to fill pews, wax philosophical and armchair-coach-away the problems of the world and how they would solve them "if they only had a chance"? That would be the most gracious, loving, kind and longsuffering employer you would ever have.

But here's the beautiful part: He doesn't consider Himself your employer, He is your fellowlabourer.

He's right there in the trenches with you, cheering you on, delighting in your successes and commiserating in your trials and pain. He meets you around the water cooler when you need to debrief and He discusses the next step and the vision in the "business" plan when He's groomed you and you're ready for the next adventure in your career. And no one could be any prouder when you reach "retirement" and hang up your briefcase. Nothing's changed in the company manual in over 5000 years and it will remain the same long after you've reached your Reward.

So here's the question that is begging to be asked:  When your loved ones gather around for the "retirement roast", what will they say of you? Will they mention your financial portfolio? Will they reminisce about your good intentions and ideas? Will they put a gold-plate on the pew that you warmed? Or will your children "rise up and call you blessed" (see Proverbs 31:28, NASB)? Will there be anyone to shake your hand in the Promised Land and say, 'if it weren't for your work, your labor of love (see 1 Thessalonians 1:3), I would not be here?'

It's time to work. No matter what you think the sacrifice may involve, it pales in comparison to the joy and blessings that will be received. Paul went so far as to say, "for now we really live, if you stand firm in the Lord." (1 Thessalonians 3:8) 

I'm ready to "really live"...aren't you? So let's go back to the Manual and ask our Co-worker to show us the next phase of His personal Vision for us and as Nike reminds us "Just Do It"!

"Welcoming Justice" by Loving Our Neighbors

Over the course of Abbey's Mission Year, she has required curriculum discussions with her team. My friend and I are reading as many of the books as possible because they have been carefully chosen to address issues that our under-resourced communities face:  racism, injustice, poverty, subpar educational options, and more.

Welcoming Justice by Charles Marsh and John Perkins grabbed me from the beginning simply with its subtitle, "God's Movement Toward Beloved Community". Community...it's what every dissatisfied Christian I encounter is longing for. It's what God created us to crave. God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit live in community with one another in a way that we cannot even put words to. Thus, it is hard-wired into each and every one of us. 

What we wealthier Christians often don't realize is that our impoverished neighbors we condescend to "help" have much to teach us about living in community. One of the first people Abbey encountered in her new Third Ward neighborhood of Houston was a grandmotherly woman who assured her that she would look out for them and they should look out for her. 

John Perkins was on the front lines of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. Reading this book (co-written with Charles Marsh) during the recent outcry coming from places like Ferguson and New York City, helped remind me exactly whom should be at the forefront leading the charge against injustice, inequality and demeaning of our fellow man. "God's movement is the most powerful source of social change in our society." (p. 23)

Marsh reflects on where the Civil Rights Movement went wrong, lost momentum and left unfinished the work it had begun. "Removed from its home in the church, the work of building beloved community withered and died." (p. 25)

"It is unlikely that anyone has ever read Nietzsche's The Antichrist or Derrida's Dissemination and been inspired to open a soup kitchen. ...Still, my research has shown me that only as long as the Civil Rights movement remained anchored in the church--in the energies, convictions and images of the biblical narrative and the worshiping community--did the movement have a vision." (Philip Yancey, Foreword, p. 13)

One of the most profound quotes to me is when Marsh refers to Martin Luther King Jr.'s prophetic vision for the future of America: "King resolved that America's only hope lay in repentance--in a repentance that took the form of willingness to be a servant nation to the poor of the earth. Sadly, King would not live to say much more." (p. 27)

Is it too much to infer that our deeply-rooted issues of reconciliation vs. racism and forgiveness vs. condemnation could be addressed if we would handle more wisely the God-given resources, blessings and abundance that undoubtedly have been given to our nation? Almost 50 years after the assassination of MLK Jr., we have never been farther from becoming "a servant nation to the poor of the earth". In fact, our spending and misallocation of natural and man-made wealth keeps more people in the world bound in the chains of slavery and unfathomable poverty now than when slavery was actually legal in our land.

"Perkins showed that the activist and organizer will only cease to patronize the poor when they live in community with them and approach them in a spirit of compassion and the willingness to serve. "Living involvement," Perkins said, "turns poor people from statistics into our friends." (p. 29)

This is what I see happening as people move outside their comfort and safety zones and serve with Tent Day and allow God to wreck their lives. We begin to smell like the sheep that we desire to lead to the Shepherd, not because they are foul-odoured, but because we begin to recognize the fragrant offering that rises from 'loving our neighbor as we love ourselves.' (see Matthew 22:36-40)

"Patronization is a worry only when outsiders fail to discern the gifts of the poor--their loyalty, fragility, creativity and holiness--and deny the importance of black leadership. When this happens, outsiders are quick to impose their own plans on the poor and slow to see the wisdom in the local story."

Wednesday afternoon I sat across the table from my friend who this week has been immersed in our Homeless Hosting ministry at First Church. As we sipped our hot tea on that very cold afternoon, she told me stories of the men, and I could see how God is growing her. 'I think some of them are angels,' she said. Since the author of Hebrews told us that in showing hospitality to strangers, in this case homeless men, we unknowingly entertain angels...she may be right.

What I do know is that loving on, giving to, and growing with our under-resourced neighbors will draw us closer to seeing those "angels" than in any other place.

You Never Know What a Little LOVE Will Do

My friend, Jennifer, recently wrote a blog post about how impacting three little words were in her life. I never dreamed how meaningful this would be to Jennifer when I began signing my emails to her this way, I only knew how deeply I had felt them a handful of years earlier.

You see, I had a wonderful Pastor during a deeply dark time in my life that signed his emails this way: You are loved. I admit now that it was a jolt to my disappointed and non-trusting heart. I mean, what man signs his emails to female congregants this way?

A man who every week during his sermons told hundreds of people that they will always be Loved, Accepted, and Forgiven...that's who?

I sat on those three words in the years to come, longing to share them with someone who deeply needed them as much as I had. Jennifer was the first, and then the Holy Spirit reminded me that everyone should know that You are loved.

Letters of "business" or formal information don't receive this sign off from me, but when I feel I know you well enough to receive it with the Spirit in which it is given, I say "good bye" with the precious reminder that was given to me all those years ago.

I'd love to be inside someone's head the first time they see these three words from me. It's interesting to see friends reply with what I am sure are honest and heartfelt phrases like "Love you lots," "Love you too," or just "Love, (insert name here). Sometimes I want to poke my head through the screen and say, "No! It's not I who loves you...well, I do, but that's beside the point...no...You are loved. Because you are loved by the Creator of the Universe and His Son who died for you and His Spirit that resides in you...You are loved."

Do we get this?? I mean really get it?

I pray we do, and Pope Francis reminded me why this morning:  "For if we have received the love which restores meaning to our lives, how can we fail to share it with others?"-- The Joy of the Gospel

There is a "Love Trail" so to speak. There are a lot of tributaries that have flown into my path along the way, helping to fill me up with God's gracious Love until it overflows. But on this little stream, I was blessed to pour life-pumping Love into Jennifer because my Pastor had poured it into me, and someday I hope to meet and thank the ones who poured Love into him.

But ultimately, I know where the Love Trail leads...all the way back to a cross that should have been mine. The steaming blood that cascaded down the splinter-ridden beams has never stopped flowing. Don't be the dam that holds back the reservoir. It was never intended to be contained or controlled. Let the Love overwhelm you and overflow out of you. You just never know what a difference three little words can make.

And by the way...

You are loved.

Angela

WIJD: #FCCGodStories

[What Is Jesus Do-ing?]

One of the things Jesus is doing is prompting myself and others to share God's Stories with anyone who will listen. February 1st at First Church of Christ in Burlington, we begin a six week discussion of Shane Claiborne's book, Irresistible Revolution. We hope to have passionate, life-changing conversations about living out God's Kingdom "on Earth as it is in Heaven" (see Matthew 6:9-13), but we're continuing the discussion throughout the week on our Facebook group First Church of Christ - God Stories. 

Anyone can join us in the discussion. We're keeping the group private because anyone that asks to join will have to agree to some guidelines that simply remind us to treat others with respect, grace and Love...above all else...Love...but we welcome all seekers, sojourners and saints.

I found it interesting today to come across an article that talks about how Facebook creator and billionaire Mark Zuckerberg is beginning a Facebook book discussion on his page. Zuckerberg believes that books help you explore topics and immerse yourself in ways that no other media does.

Hmm?? I think we're on to something.

My hope...my prayer...for the FCC God Stories folks is that between the pages of the stories of the lives of God's people who are living out His Kingdom, we find the courage, the passion, and the joy to join Him in His work.

WIJD

What Would (Is) Jesus Do-ing?

Most of us have heard the phrase "What would Jesus Do?" Some of us probably even still have a plastic bracelet bearing the initials WWJD thrown into the back of a junk drawer somewhere.

While the question has merit, this year I want to ask WIJD...What Is Jesus Doing? I want 2015 to be the year where God's Kingdom "on Earth as it is in Heaven" becomes a reality that I see daily.

This Spirit-inspired task is a daunting one, it will take more discipline than I can muster in my own power, and it will challenge and perhaps shake the very core of my American-church faith.

Shane Claiborne writes, "Few things have more transformative power than people and stories." (Irresistible Revolution). If you'll join me as I dig into God's Story, read the stories of God's faithful and interview those who are already on the frontlines of His Kingdom work, and begin to join God in places where He is already working, I promise you will be transformed too. (12/24/14)

Today as I reflect on these words that poured out of me as I sat in my car and waited for Abbey to complete her gift shopping in Target on Christmas Eve, I cannot begin to relay to you all of the various affirmations that God has used to confirm that this is the theme for me in 2015. I haven't made a New Year's resolution in a few decades...and I've never kept one...but God's Holy Spirit is faithful to often direct me into themes that He wants to explore in my heart, mind, body and soul.

2014 was a year of attempting to become chemical free and I think I'm about 75%+ there. It's involved making homemade alternatives to shampoo, conditioners, toothpastes and using essential oils, herbs and teas for stress and pain relief. Did it take time? Yes. Did it take effort? Yes. Did it cost additional money? Sometimes yes...but often it was less expensive or free.

Wouldn't it be amazing if at this time next year I could share with you that I see God actively working in 75%+ of each and every day? Call it a resolution, a goal, a theme or the impossible...but He has me chomping at the bit...ready for the challenge.

While I can't possibly convey every situation that has brought me to this place...because some of them extend back in time over a decade...I can share a few highlights that I hope encourage you to join me on this leg of the Journey:

• Our church (2000+ members) is presently reading through The Story together. This version of the Bible tells God's Story and how it has prevailed throughout history.
• In a series of meetings with our Serve Ministry Leader at First Church of Christ, I had the "idea" that people learn best through and are inspired by the stories of others, so why don't we create short videos showing where God is already working and trust Him to inspire others to join in.
• During this same set of meetings, we chose to begin reading Irresistible Revolution as a Serve Team to dig into a narrative of how Jesus is fleshing out His work in others.
• While contemplating how to educate people in our congregation about needs in our community and how we can meet those needs, this idea of sharing a book discussion to the whole church arose and we began sifting through a lengthy list of what book to start with because Irresistible Revolution might be too challenging for most...yet this book rose to the surface and that's where we'll begin.
• The paragraphs at the beginning of this post poured out of me on Christmas Eve, because I read that amazing quote from Shane Claiborne while I waited.
• What is the title of my blog for pete's sake?
• Too many more to relate here.

So we're diving in...we've created a private Facebook group for church and online participants who want to read Irresistible Revolution and join in the conversation. I'll also be posting quotes from books, sharing videos of God's Kingdom work and trying to engage you in this Journey. Follow me on Twitter (link above), find me on Facebook, come to our Sunday morning book discussions (message me for details), join us in our LifeGroup or at Thursday morning Bible study at FCC, message me to meet for coffee, join us in serving at Tent Day, the Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky, homeless hosting this winter at FCC or any of the other possibilities that will arise throughout the year...but most of all fall on your knees and implore the Almighty, the Savior of your soul and His Holy Spirit that is alive, active and living in you to show you where He is already bringing His Kingdom "on Earth as it is in Heaven."

I am so ready! Aren't you??

p.s. I almost forgot!! We'll be using the hashtag #FCCGodStories for Kingdom-work inspiration. What better way to show how God is "trending" everyday??!