Externally Processing My Way Through Life

We're trying to recover today. My parents were in town this weekend, so the kids schedule has been WAY off. My children are schedule oriented kids, and they don't seem to take too kindly to having it disrupted.

I'm looking forward to this week. Mainly because I have a lot to do. I like having a lot to do. My personality kind of thrives on it. However recently I've been trying to find the perfect balance of having the level of activity that I enjoy, and the amount of down time to spend with the kids, making sure they are kept happy, and keeping our house running. It's definitely a balancing act, and one I more than occasionally get frustrated it at, but as of late I'm trying to view it as a challenge and make it all work.

Plus I get to "cater" an event for 40 people at my house. I realize that makes me a little bit of a nut that I am excited about that, but I enjoy cooking, and serving, and hosting, and this involves all three. So yeah! Plus I think I'm going to make these super yummy coconut cupcake recipe that was in Bon Apetite this month that I've been dying to try.

Add in a meeting, 2 small groups, and a bible study and we're hitting the ground running. I'm sure as soon as spring returns tomorrow (we've had 50's and rain for the last 3 days!) that will help me feel a little more motivated.

Having my parents in this weekend, I got to make some fun stuff. I made my mom a birthday cake that was a chocolate cake with raspberry meringue butter cream filling and covered in chocolate ganache. We had a dijon and brown sugar crusted salmon one night with lemon rosemary roasted potatoes and asparagus, and then last night I made pot roast, which if I do say so myself is the best pot roast I've ever had.

I think maybe I should have renamed my blog food and theology, because those are my two biggest passions that I seem to discuss the most on here. That said, onto the theology!

I love it when God is trying to open my eyes to something, he will more than often communicate with me in more than one fashion. I've been doing the Daniel study by Beth Moore, and this past week went over chapter 9 of Daniel (this is what I will be referencing, to make sense of what I am saying, you may want to read it). To sum up the first part of the chapter, Daniel interprets the scripture from Jeremiah prophesying the captivity of Judah, upon realizing the desolation in store for his people, he began to fast, pray and implore God to have mercy on His people (Israel).

The interesting part (besides all the cool stuff I learned about prayer, but another time...) is that during the course of his prayer he uses the phrase "we" about 13 times. This is primarily a prayer of confession. Daniel had walked faithfully with God for his lifetime, and in this prayer Daniel confesses sins ("we have done...") that he himself has not committed.

"...he still counted himself among the transgressors of Israel. Daniel interceded for the masses as one sharing the blame for their sins. He did not put himself above the people.

God favors those who humble themselves as fellow transgressors, not those who piously place themselves above those in pitiful need of prayer.

I think Daniel could count himself among the transgressors of Israel because he was wise enough to know what was in him... even if it hadn't always found it's way out of him."

Beth Moore

The last quote in particular is my favorite. Admittedly when I first read the chapter I was confused as to why Daniel was confessing to sins he himself did not commit. When I first read the last quote I had to stop a minute and really think about it.

I would not be willing to take ownership of sins that I had not physically committed, in fact it's all too often a stretch for me to own up to the thoughts and feelings that I know I have inside of me. So that quote hit me pretty hard as to the place of pride that I was living in. It also made a Relient K song that I loved, but had been a little theologically (read, my pride wasn't willing to admit it was theologically sound because I would be convicted) unsure of take a new level of understanding.

The song is Forgiven, and here is the chorus:

Cause we're all guilty of the same things
We think the thoughts whether or not we see them through
And I know that I have been forgiven
And I just hope that you can forgive me too

Well I didn't want to admit that I am guilty of some of the same things that others are. Now that my pride has deservedly taken a beating. I realize that I need to be much more willing to own up to what is in me, and be much more thankful that, by the grace of God and only by the grace of God it has not found a way out.

Maybe I need to do some collective confessing for the masses too. There were entire nations saved by this form of prayer...