i've been thinking. i know...miracles never cease...

So, I've been pondering prayer / approaching God /
"living by faith" / my heart's desires...
the past couple of months...
and this post and subsequent ones
will probably be a bunch of questions,
observations, scripture, which will lead to
a bunch more questions...no doubt.

I'm a "face value" person...
meaning I take things pretty much at face value.
It can be a positive trait...
I see with relatively simple eyes...
as well as a negative one...
black and white can be grossly unloving.

It serves me that I'm not morbidly introspective,
but sometimes "face value" means
I struggle to see "another side,"
I struggle to ask "but what about...?" questions,
I struggle with being critical, judgmental,
impatient, unmerciful and unloving...
and I call myself "Christian"?

Now...I'm totally aware and wholeheartedly believe
that my being "Christian" is absolutely and only about
God filling me with faith to believe
who Jesus Christ is and to trust
in his sacrifice on the cross on my behalf.
Yes, he suffered God's wrath, which I deserved,
for my sin...critical, judgmental,
impatient, unmerciful and unloving
sin.

He did what I could never do...
he satisfied God's just punishment
intended for me.

All I know is grace.

Galatians 2:20-21 says,
"I have been crucified with Christ.
It is no longer I who live,
but Christ who lives in me.
And the life I now live in the flesh
I live by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me and gave himself for me.
I do not nullify the grace of God,
for if righteousness were through the law,
then Christ died for no purpose."

How often do I
nullify the grace of God
by trying to earn righteousness
through the law...
by what I do, or don't do...
by trying to be what ends up being
my definition of "a good person."

Take the parable of the two men
who went to the temple to pray...
one a Pharisee and one a tax collector.

Luke 18:9-14...
"He [Jesus] also told this parable
to some who trusted in themselves
that they were righteous,
and treated others with contempt:
'Two men went up into the temple to pray,
one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus...
'God, I thank you that I am not like other men,
extortioners, unjust, adulterers,
or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.'
But the tax collector, standing far off,
would not even lift up his eyes to heaven,
but beat his breast, saying,
'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!'
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified,
rather than the other.
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

The Pharisee, obviously a very religious man,
saw himself as deserving...even entitled
to God's attention and blessing.
After all, look at all he did and who he had become.
He was an expert in religious law...
meticulous...self-disciplined...determined...
a user of God.

The tax collector was not "religious."
He was probably a very wealthy man,
after all, he padded his pockets
by charging people more taxes than the government required.
He was a take charge kind of guy...
a self-starter...self-motivated...determined...
a user of people...

yet, he came to see himself as undeserving and totally in need
of God's mercy.

Isn't it interesting that the one Jesus said went home justified
was not the religious man
but the tax collector.

The Pharisee...the religious man...
really didn't recognize his need for a Savior
because he thought he was so good at keeping the law...
so how could God not be crazy about him?

The ironic thing is...
the law was given to expose sin,
to show how God could not be reached by good performances.
It was given to magnify the holiness of God...his "other-ness"...
his unattainability by human measures.

But, true to man's sinful nature...
man accepted the challenge and set out to prove
that he could, indeed, attain righteousness through the law
by "becoming like God"...
the lie we've all been believing since Genesis 3.

The tax collector...the secular man...
recognized the true state of his heart before the Holy God
and did the only thing he could do...
he begged for God to be merciful.

Jesus said he "went down to his house justified."

I wonder what his life looked like after that day?
What should my life look like as a follower of Christ?

Of course, he was just a character in a parable...
he and the Pharisee weren't "real" people like me...

Or are they?

51, 2 and 9. you can't put a value on memories...

Three ladies and a baby...
around 51 muffins,
2 pans of caramel apple sticky rolls,
9 pans of cinnamon rolls...

These are the ingredients
for a well-spent Saturday!

Yesterday, which was Saturday,
I was blessed beyond my ability to express.
Bethany (our daughter) and Loren (our daughter-in-law)
and Hudson (our grandson...the CUTEST...the SWEETEST...
the CUDDLIEST...but, I digress) came to our house
for a day of baking.

Now...I love to cook...though I don't spend as much
time in the kitchen as I used to when the kids were all home.
But, kids coming home is the best reason
to dust off the mixer and fire up the ovens!
It's even better when it's two of our sweet daughters
coming to cook with me!!

All of us (our three daughters and me) are huge fans of
The Pioneer Woman's cinnamon roll recipe...

among other things...don't even get me started about
Tequila Lime Chicken! Oh. My. Goodness...
smack yo mama good!  ...digressing again;
if you are familiar with The Pioneer Woman, you understand...
of course, if you've ever heard me tell a story, you understand
tangents...I'm easily enticed...
though I never grasped them in geometry or algebra...
if Ms. Killough had only associated them with story-telling
I might have made an "A"!...okay, at least a "B"...

I'm back now.  ...can't guarantee for how long.

With the change of seasons and the crispness of the air,
what could be better than piping hot
Pioneer Woman cinnamon rolls and a glass of milk...
while watching "Anne of Green Gables"...
one must never forget Anne...with an "e"...

So...we were agreed upon our mission
and we were ready and armed to carry it out.

This was some of our weaponry.

We were a well-outfitted brigade!

    

This was our ammunition.

It was right on target!

     

Loren manned the mixer for this round...

Bethany was all about technique...

    

"See...it's all in the wrist!"

   

"Good posture while stirring is essential in the kitchen."

    

"Y'all come back now...ya hear!"

    

While muffins were baking and

cinnamon roll dough was rising 

we enjoyed some lunch together...

soup and croissant-wiches...

a wonderful combination!

Hudson enjoyed some delectable rice cereal

and gnawing on his momma's finger...

He's cut one bottom tooth and is working on its next-door neighbor.

Nothing feels quite as good as chomping

on Mommy's finger at times like this!

   

After lunch it was time to get back to cooking.

Here I am making the caramel for the 

caramel apple sticky rolls...

   

It was hard to get Loren away from the mixer...

    

...but, Bethany didn't put up too much of a fight.

She was happy to be in charge of quality control.

 Hudson was happy to help, too...

    

"Say what?!

Caramel apple sticky rolls? You got any in a Gerber brand?"

    

 No, Hudson.  Gerber doesn't come anywhere close to these!

But, you get a few more teeth and you'll be able to!!

    

Yeah, yeah, yeah...

you just have no idea how strong this tooth nub is!

How about some of those?

   

Nope.  I'm sorry, little man.

These muffins are being delivered to someone else.

But, when you get a little bit older

you can sink your teeth (plural) into some of these...

   

The Pioneer Woman Cinnamon Rolls 101...

heaven in a pan!

    

"Psh...you just give me one now!  I'll show you what I can do!"

  

When all was said and done,

we accomplished our mission...

share a day and bake together.

It was the "together" part that I enjoyed most.

The baked goods will be long gone

before the sweet memories fade.

God willing, the memories will only grow sweeter...

"We love because He first loved us."  1 John 4:19

a taste of pumpkintown. pure delight...

In our sleepy little town
nestled in the TN Valley
things come alive when Fall arrives.

The first weekend of October
is set aside for what has become
the annual Pumpkintown Festival:
A Celebration of History, Harvest and Heritage.
Pumpkintown was a former name
of our fair city.
 
Something to make you stop and say, "Hmmm..."

These kinds of events are not
Sweet Husband's "cup of tea" but
he was kind and indulged me last Saturday.
We became part of the throng that was
2010 Pumpkintown...
strolled around the town square
looked at vendor booths of
jewelry, turned wood, hand woven baskets,
and, of course, lots and lots of FOOD!

You do not know what agony and angst
came over me as we approached and passed
each vendor selling funnel cakes...
sweaty palms, drool, glazed eyes,
incoherent mumbling...
not a pretty sight.
But, I'm allowed only one funnel cake
per year and I burned my one shot
during National MooFest last May...
another one of our annual fun festivals.

We live in a happenin' little town, I'm tellin' ya!!

I took some photos (with my phone) of some of the sites
we saw last Saturday at Pumpkintown.
Perhaps you'll be so enticed by what you see
you'll come to help us celebrate 2011 Pumpkintown!
It's quite irresistible...

There were all sorts of dogs walking around with their owners.

This was a bullmastiff that Sweet Husband and I fell in love with.

He was HUGE!! ...and as friendly as he was large.

Part of the entertainment for the day was

"The Mutt Strut"...

there were dogs dressed up in all sorts of costumes.

My favorite was the group of pit bulls...

dressed up like Dorothy, the scarecrow and the lion

from the Wizard of Oz.

Their owner was dressed like the tin man.

I tried to get a photo, but they were bookin' it 

down the yellow-brick-road faster than I could shoot.

   

 There was a petting zoo for the little ones.

This precious little guy was in the zoo trying to escape

all the little hands that were grabbing for him.

In the "zoo" were also a monkey, a goose, a puppy,

some guinea pigs, a calf, a cat, and

I don't remember what else.

I do know that I've never seen that many animals

and little kids in what was probably an 10' x 10' pen.

I'm betting the animals were exhausted at the end of that day!

    

 Here's "Velcro Boy".

It was so hot that day...I poured sweat just watching

this kid in that thick black suit.

He seemed to be having a blast throwing himself

onto the wall and sticking.

...like I said...irresistible.

     

 We walked to the large grassy area off the town square

and found some wonderful Indian exhibits.

There was a real tee-pee set up and

these Indians were demonstrating native dances.

They got some people from the crowd to join in.

I have a pic of the Indian playing a drum

and chanting for the dancers to dance...

but, it didn't want to post the correct way.

My computer illiteracy shines at times like this...

     

So...after the Indian dances, these half-dressed guys

came running out onto the field

and they were carrying sticks with nets at one end...

kind of like a really short lacrosse stick.

    

There was a little ball and they started trying

to get it in their nets.

    

They didn't want this guy to have it.

I think he was upset...

or he stepped on a sticker.

This is not a game for the tender of foot...

     

...no, this is a very rough game.

Kind of like rugby, football, and lacrosse all in one...

except you play half-naked, barefooted and

with little short sticks.

One of the Indian ladies I talked to in a jewelry booth

told me the name of this game...stick ball.

She said it is a rough game only for the boys...

the ladies are too smart to play.

I heard that!

    

We also encountered some Civil War soldiers.

There were re-enactments that took place...

we missed them...

but aren't these fine looking soldiers?!

...it bears repeating...irresistible!

   

 After Sweet Husband and I had saluted the soldiers,

danced with the Indians, strutted with the mutts,

eyeballed all the wares, pet the pig and his friends...

we were famished.

So we enjoyed some BBQ courtesy of 

Trinity United Methodist Church...

they were celebrating their 100th Anniversary!

I think it's quite evident that the celebration was a success!

So...have you already gotten your 

calendar out and marked the first weekend in October 2011?

Now that you've seen what you're missing...

how could you think of being anywhere else?!?