Note to self ... Slow down enough to recognize this wonderful season of thanks. There is so much to be thankful for.
I have been watching my calories pretty closely these last several days and I am thinking about baking a pumpkin pecan cheesecake ... featured on the cover of this month's Southern Living. I am still struggling to get ice cream off my mind. Ice cream seems to me to be my biggest temptation and most potentially destructive downfall. Ice cream with the novelty of chocolate syrup ... who knew? Ice cream would ruin my diet and likely spoil me for more appropriate fare. My husband has asked me to bake a pecan pie along with the cheesecake ... . I will prepare the traditional feast. One and Two will not be joining us this year, and V is already making her lists as she is excited about helping cook. I enjoy Thanksgiving wafting through the house, reminding us to be thankful of the many blessings.
Today's message was very poignant, profoundly moving. The sermon, from Psalm 104, was titled "In His Hands". The Pastor created a picture of a walk in these woods, around here, as the colors change ... he painted a place of awe and wonder at the work of God's hands, and described those hands as being over us and under us ... holding us. My notes are in a different room, and I will come back to this post with the references he cited within the scriptures. The sermon culminated in the pastor saying that at sometime, sooner or later, one asks if those hands, God's hands, can truly be trusted. Then he talked about the nail scars in the hands of Christ. "Hands" was the pedal point, and I thought he did a very nice job of prompting thoughtfulness and thankfulness. The sermon was very much like Louie Giglio's talk on the majesty of God. It was, for me, a very good experience. My husband experienced it as more of a performance ... it lacked some vital element for him. He said it did not seem like a message to the congregation from God via a pastor, rather a clever presentation of biblical ideas. He said people respond differently based on what they become accustomed to within a spiritual context. I very much like the adventure of sharing worship outside our "box", and I am thankful that my husband is willing to explore different Christian worship settings. He said next week we will worship with the Pentecostals. My mother is Pentecostal and I know I don't prefer the Pentecostal paradigm. She became more comfortable with what she calls "Full Gospel" churches when I was about thirteen. She and my dad didn't see eye to eye there and it became a bit of a problem in our home. That was a problem that time ran out on. Her unwillingness to follow his lead and his easygoing approach to spiritual matters laid the ground work for some of my private grief. I didn't want to be like my mother. I am a bit uncomfortable with visiting a church that will probably overwhelm me. Or it might be just the thing. Good thing L is setting the agenda, because I would probably skip the Full Gospel churches all together.
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed-not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence-continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. – Philippians 2:12-13 (NIV)
... (my Dad's take on Christianity ... it's all good ... people "work out" their salvation in highly individual ways)
Recently, I have felt a pull towards trying to drum up some thankfulness for the gift of my mother. I believe she was the mother that God chose for me. My lack of appreciation is not something I am proud of. She was definitely awesome at a lot of admirable things ... and, I'm thinking of her as one of God's favorites. We are making plans to go visit her at Christmas time. I know she will be pleased.
Southern Living's Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake
(... Praline topping separate recipe)
Ingredients
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
5 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
4 (8-oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
Praline Topping
Garnishes: coarsely chopped Pecan Pie-Glazed Pecans, fresh sage leaves
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 325°. Stir together first 4 ingredients in a bowl until well blended. Press mixture on bottom and 1 1/2 inches up sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
2. Beat cream cheese and next 2 ingredients at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until blended and smooth. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Add pumpkin and lemon juice, beating until blended. Pour batter into prepared crust. (Pan will be very full.)
3. Bake at 325° for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until almost set. Turn oven off. Let cheesecake stand in oven, with door closed, 15 minutes. Remove cheesecake from oven, and gently run a knife around outer edge of cheesecake to loosen from sides of pan. (Do not remove sides of pan.) Cool completely on a wire rack (about 1 hour). Cover and chill 8 to 24 hours.
4. Remove sides and bottom of pan, and transfer cheesecake to a serving plate. Prepare Praline Topping; immediately pour slowly over top of cheesecake, spreading to within 1/4 inch of edge. Garnish, if desired.
Try This Twist! Sweet Potato-Pecan Cheesecake: Substitute 1 1/2 cups mashed, cooked sweet potatoes for canned pumpkin. Proceed with recipe as directed, baking 1 hour or until almost set.
Praline Topping
Ingredients
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation
Bring first 3 ingredients to a boil in a 1-qt. saucepan over medium heat, stirring often. Boil, stirring occasionally, 1 minute; remove from heat. Gradually whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Let stand 5 minutes, whisking occasionally. Use immediately.
Southern Living
NOVEMBER 2011
Additional notes ...
The Apostles' Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Maker of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;
He descended into hell.
The third day He arose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost;
the holy catholic church;
the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body;
and the life everlasting.
Amen.
... was read or recited by the congregation as part of the service. Standing beside my husband I felt him tense during this time. He is very uncomfortable with responsive readings and certainly anything which may be chant like. Could he in the privacy of his heart affirm these beliefs? Most assuredly ... all except that little line about the holy catholic church. While we were preparing lunch together and visiting I brought this up saying the word catholic in the creed is not big C Catholic, any more then baptism is big B into the Baptist fellowship. I said I understand the phrase to mean "the church; followers of Christ, past, present, future. He looked up the definition, but ... I know he is uncomfortable with the whole thing. The Lord's Prayer recited is a-o-k, this catholic stuff is rather unsettling. I note this here because I see it as an illustration of a larger matter of difference. There are people who will absolutely plant a fence post or even a whole line of fence posts on their convictions of what is right or wrong. Lines of interpretation and understanding, sometimes eternal truths, sometimes just denominational dogma, are fastened to those posts creating fences which are boundaries ... protected by some internal cowboy on a horse riding the line, repairing breeches, securing the pastures, asserting ownership ... all that. Keeping what is valued "in" ... keeping the "bad guys" out.
On the books in Austin, Texas:
Law Summary
Wire cutters can not be carried in your pocket.
In the days of the old "wild west", cowboys would cut barbed wire fences of property owners in order to allow their cattle herds to pass through. To prevent such acts, an ordinance was passed.
That's the idea I'm trying to express ... boundary management is not a bad thing. And interpersonally ... spiritually ... it is important to form and maintain beliefs and values. But, there's got to be a way to make room for your neighbors to drive their cattle up to Ft. Worth ... to market. ... and ... you just might want to trade a few heads of cattle thereby strengthening your herd with diverse DNA. ... Shoot coyotes, let the law take care of the rustlers ... and maybe have gates here and there in your fence line.
By now, at 52, I pretty much know what I think and why I think it. I also believe people who think differently have reasons for reaching the conclusions they are at. I think it's okay to make room for their "ways". I don't have to be "right" for everyone, what I have to do is accept responsibility for myself ... I really should be preparing to answer for myself. That is a core belief of mine. I should be working out how I want to answer the questions that I know will be forthcoming. I am already answering some of those questions with how I spend down the moments of my life. Whether it is pretty or not, my actions speak my beliefs and my values. To me, it doesn't matter one bit how a group "does" communion ... if it's done every time they meet, once a quarter, wine and unleavened bread, a loaf, saltine crackers broken, grape juice ... distributed from fancy silver platters, plastic cups, directly from the hand of the pastor ... none of that matters to me. Maybe it should (I really mean that ... maybe I lack convictions). What matters to me about the sacrament of communion is that Jesus, the Son of God, came as a man and lived a life that asks his followers to "Do this in remembrance of me". Communion is symbolic of what Jesus did for me ... and you ... it is intimate and personal. How it is presented within a group seems beside the point to me. It's about checking oneself in relationship to others, past/present/future, and in relationship with Christ. Communion is symbolic of what Christ calls his followers to do ... in remembrance of what he has done for us.
As for the other, I understand fence lines. I understand the violation represented by wire cutters. I think it is just awesome that we are getting to experience worship with different congregations ... I am glad to live in a country during a time when so many church doors are open. It is just great to see the similarities expressed across the various Christian denominations and interesting to see some of the differences. I felt at home with the Church of Christ congregation. The visit with the Baptists felt awkward because there seemed to be an overt push (agenda) to position women in leadership roles. There are many examples of strong women in the scriptures and I understand how women have felt discounted by religious practices ... It's a tough path to cut. I see leadership as servant-leader ... humility is a difficult garment to wear ... seems to get stepped on a lot and pulled from one's shoulders. Leadership can easily digress to tyranny, leadership can easily become all about the ego of the leader, rather then the common good/goals of the led.
"Leadership is getting someone to do what they don't want to do, to achieve what they want to achieve." - Tom Landry
I felt at home with the Presbyterian congregation. I loved how they lingered after the official part of their service was over. They have community. Ours was the first car out of the parking lot!
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