Prayers of the People from January 24

The transcript from the prayer I offered yesterday at the 11 a.m. service (a few people asked to look at it). I think I'm going to keep praying it throughout the week.

Mighty God,

We come before you today humbled by your awesomeness.

You laid the foundations of the earth, marked its dimensions while the morning stars sang together, and all the angels shouted for joy.

You shut the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, made the clouds its garment, brought the proud waves to a halt.

Indeed, Mighty God, you are in control of all creation.

We recognize this even in light of recent happenings in Haiti.

Though we don’t understand this pain and destruction, you have shown that are in control.

And it is our prayer that you are working even the devastation now upon Haiti into good.

We know the pain in Haiti breaks your heart, and it breaks our hearts now.

You have told us to rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance character; and character, hope; and hope does not disappoint us, because you have poured out your love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

This is the prayer we pray for our Haitian brothers and sisters,

That they would find a way to rejoice in their suffering,

And you would turn that joy into hope.

And indeed, for all those here in the congregation, in our city, our nation, and our world, who today are suffering, that through your amazing love, suffering would yield hope.

We pray for Haitian leadership, that you would raise up the righteous to bring restoration and reconciliation to Haiti.

We recognize in our own lives the times that you have broken us down, only to make us new creations. We pray for those among us today who feel broken down… who are facing deep fear… who are know at rock bottom…

That you will fill them again with life, hope, and peace.

We pray, Mighty God, that you would fill us with a fearless spirit to face our own suffering with joy.

And we pray that this joy would spread, multiply, and bring joy to the lives of the people we interact with, even today.

Jesus, you told us that nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, that there will be earthquakes in various places, and famines—but that these are the beginning of birth pains,

Birth pains signifying that a time is coming when men will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

And for this, we join with creation groaning for your return, for your kingdom here on earth, when all things will be reconciled and put right.

We thank you, Mighty God, for becoming a humble servant and offering your own life for our eternal salvation, that we may see the day when you do reign in great power and glory.

We pray this in the mighty and healing name of Jesus Christ…

Snow Day!

Today had some highs and lows. With the snow came class cancelation for Duncan. On a normal Friday, this would mean we get to spend the day together! However, there is a Officer/Staff Retreat at North Avenue this weekend, so I had to traverse the icy roads and get a few things ready for the retreat today. Unfortunately, on the way to the car, I, of course, slipped on the ice and slid down the few steps from our front door to the parking lot. While I am okay (other than a sore back side), I did manage to dump my tea all over myself. This was sad for many reasons. One, my tea was good, and then gone. Two, some of the tea hit my new coat. I think I got most of it off, but I think it's going to require a good dry-cleaning. Three, I fell on my new purse and ripped a seam a bit... and of course, it was covered in tea. It's in the dryer now, and I'm hoping I can hand-stitch it into repair. But the situation is still sad. However, as I am okay, I guess I can't complain too much.

On try to leave the apartment number two, I brought Duncan with me. So I guess we did spend the whole day together! I'm nearing the end of "Not For Sale," and it's just an incredible book. So, I think I'm doing a good job on the Book List. Here's the upcoming reads:

JAN: Not For Sale
FEB: One Hundred Years of Solitude
MAR: Pillars of the Earth
APR: East of Eden
MAY: The Red Tent
JUN: Sex, Drugs, & Cocoa Puffs
JUL: Brother Karamazov (will probably stretch longer than month :))
AUG: The Prodigal God
SEP: The Cost of Discipleship
OCT: Anna Karenina
NOV: Simple Church
DEC: Pilgrim's Progress

Some of these might switch in order, but that's the list!

Lastly, today is the birthday of my awesome dad. I love him so much, and I'm glad to be able to celebrate him today!

What has the world come to?

This is the question I keep asking myself with every page I turn while reading "Not For Sale." I walked out into the living room tonight and said to Duncan, "How is God okay with this?!" to which my wise husband said, "He's not." Then I replied, "Why won't Jesus come back? Aren't things bad enough now?" to which Duncan, again so wisely, responded, "that statement could be said for any day in history." Touché, husband, touché. I guess this seminary education makes you more rational about these things... or something.

I'm only halfway through the first chapter in "Not For Sale," though NFS did do an amazing presentation at North Avenue not too long ago. The book is just making the plight of modern-day slaves more real... real people, with real names, and real emotions, and incredibly devastating stories. So, while I'm too far into the book yet, I recommend it. Get it on Amazon here. Check out the Not For Sale website here.

I'm also recommending you check out NightLight Jewelry (here), an organization built around bringing hope through employment and outreach to sexually exploited women in Thailand... see the pretty goods below! And thanks to Mom for gifting some pretty earrings to the Meadows women this Christmas from NightLight!

On a lighter note, Duncan and I don't have cable, so our TV viewing options are limited. We do get some NBC Sports channel. The event we've been watching, perhaps too much of, is the ski jump. It's amazing! Picture tiny men speeding down a huge hill at 60 miles per hour and then jumping 400 feet!! Oh my, they actually land on their feet. We can't pull ourselves away! It has brought much joy to the Meadows home this week.

And lastly, I realize that I haven't stuck to my commitment to ending each post with a photo of Moki, so just refer to this older photo:

This is close to the Moki pose we have deemed "Reverse Meatloaf." Meatloaf is when a cat is laying on it's stomach with all its legs tucked under the body... so it looks like a meatloaf. Yes, you get it. Reverse meatloaf is when cat is laying on back with arms tucked into belly (note, above photo Moki is not in correct posture as legs are not tucked in). Pretty much every time I have looked over at Moki this past week, she's been in reverse meatloaf. It's always funny. Every time. More photos to come soon!

Recommendations

One of my unlisted resolutions was to update the blog more so that friends and family could keep up with us better.

So, here is update #2 of 2010, already!

One of Duncan's Christmas presents was a cookbook I picked up at Ten Thousand Villages: Global Vegetarian Cooking:



We tried our first meal last night, and it was delicious! Mushrooms with yogurt (okay, when I first read that, I thought, ew! But it did sound like something Duncan would like). This is a Kenyan dish in which "tomato and yogurt flavors complement each other, and mushrooms go well with the sour taste."

I picked up all of the fresh produce on our grocery list this week at the Dekalb Farmers Market. YUM! Here's the recipe if you want to give it a try:

Heat the oil in a heavy pan and sauté the 1 onion, finely chopped, before adding the 1 lb of finely chopped mushrooms. Increase the heat and fry them for 2-3 minutes.

Now add the four (we only used two large) tomatoes and continue to cook for 3 minutes, stirring all the time. Remove from the heat and let the mixture stand to cool for 2 minutes.

When ready, stir in the 1 cup of yogurt or buttermilk and add salt. Return the pan to the heat and cook gently without boiling (or the yogurt will curdle) for 5 minutes or until the ingredients are well combined.

We ate ours with bread and tortilla chips, though we think next time we'll serve it over rice or pasta. The final product is stew-like in consistency. Though the recipe calls for finely chopped, we think we could do bigger pieces as well. This is a simple, inexpensive meal that will serve 2-4. Enjoy!

My second recommendation is a book that anyone remotely interested in poverty alleviation needs to read: When Helping Hurts. Available on Amazon.

This book outlines some essentials in poverty alleviation, the way we interact with the poor, and how to help the poor "reconcile the four foundational relationships so that people can fulfill their callings of glorifying God by working and supporting themselves and their families with the fruit of that work." This an interesting and eye-opening read for anyone, but especially recommend this book for anyone involved in short-term missions.

This book was recommended to me by friend and colleague Phil Cobb who is the Urban Ministries Coordinator at North Avenue. You can read his blog here to see what's happening in Urban Ministry at North Ave.

We'll be trying some other new recipes this week and will pass along anything else that is yummy!

We're ready for you, 2010!

Happy New Year!

We were lucky enough to usher in this new decade with dear friends, the Youngs. It was a low-key celebration, but a great way to start the year!

We officially started 2010 this morning with breakfast at Thumbs Up Diner after a walk into downtown Decatur. By the way, if you haven't been, Thumbs Up has the absolute best breakfast in Atlanta. Indeed, Kav's omelet, complete with spuds, cheese, veggie sausage, and pico de gallo, is like a slice of heaven of earth. Then, add a side of cheese grits and a coffee-hot-chocolate-whip-cream combo, and you've nearly hit unspeakable euphoria! So, yes, this was a great way to start a new year!

And of course that walk into town counted towards the new year resolution to exercise more.

Speaking of resolutions, we have a few: for Whitney, to exercise more, read my Bible more, and do a better job of not over-scheduling myself. For Duncan--Find a hobby (perhaps related to exercise, boxing is a possibility), do more for others, do more for self, and be more assertive.

2009 was a wonderful year for the Meadows: full of friends, family,faith-growing, and new passions found. Looking ahead in 2010, we hope all of this will continue! We both have plans to stretch ourselves in new ways, and the year is slated to include a chaplaining experience for Duncan and a trip to Africa for both Meadows. We'll be celebrating year two of marriage, and we're moving ever closer to that "next chapter" of life, though we still aren't quite sure what that will be. We have a few ideas, but announcements will be made later this year (maybe even later this month!).

Thanks to all who have made 2009 so great!

Whitney (and Duncan)