biscuits & gravy

i love biscuits & gravy. there's just something about those hot, fresh buttermilk biscuits & that hot, thick, sausage gravy with just a touch of pepper. i'd be hungry right now if it weren't for the fact that i just had a plate of them!

what is it about food that make us feel like we just have transported to the 7th level of heaven? if you're like me, each meal on your list of "comfort foods" has special memories linked to it. for me, biscuits & gravy reminds me of a family vacation that we went on to southern missouri. my great aunt & uncle hosted us & uncle charles made homemade biscuits & gravy almost every morning! pumpkin pie reminds me of grandma bette, oreo cookies takes me to grandma lorraine's, and the list goes on...

we connect these foods with times in our lives with warm feeling, loving memories. we look back on those times with fondness. if your life is anything like mine, you look forward to those brief moments of food bliss that seem to bring some semblance of sanity.

life is crazy right now. we've got issues with the election, housing markets going down the drain, the stock market reads like a heart monitor on a heart attack patient, gas goes down, wars go on, people are loosing jobs, companies that were the "pride & joy" of america are going bankrupt...

i was just reading some of Jesus' last words to his disciples before he took off to heaven. they (the disciples) were so confused about what was going on & what Jesus was trying to explain that was going to happen that he finally just had to stop and say:

"I told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world!" (John 16:33)

in other words, life is going to be crazy. the 1 place we will find warmth, security, stability, peace & comfort is in our connection with Christ. He's (Jesus) is my "biscuits & gravy" in this whacked out world.

i wonder if biscuits & gravy sales have gone up in the last 3 months.

Funny Friday

let me know how many days this is stuck in your head.

i'm ready to do... something.

so what happens when you have the situation, circumstances, and time just right to do something really mind-blowing... and then you have nothing. you just sit there, staring blankly at the screen, wondering if there is any more M&M's in your desk drawer.

so that's where i'm at - i'm ready to do... something. do you ever get that itch? to do something? i want to be creative. i want to get my hands dirty. i want to be able to step back and be able to see what has been accomplished. i'm ready to do... something.

that's when i realize that this maybe the time to step back and see what is done.

do you know what i enjoy? house painting - more specifically, painting a room. my wife has had me do this many times & what i like the most about painting a room is that in just a matter of minutes, you can stop and see what you have done. if you're like me, you want to finish as fast as possible. but it's in the brief moments when you are refilling the paint tray that you glance up & see how much you have done.

today i'm ready to do... something. but maybe it's time to stop. turn off the tv, ipod, and cell phone and consider what is done.

and then i came across Job 37-38. i got to Job 37:14 - "Job [insert your name here], are you listening? Have you noticed all this? Stop in your tracks! Take in God's miracle-wonders! Do you have any idea how God does it all...?"

so here's the deal: i'm ready to do something - stop, consider, and thank God!

who is God to you?

i'm putting together a new series that i will be starting on Oct. 12 and i'd like your input. if you would, answer this one question for me:

if you could describe who God is to you in one word, what would that be?