God's Shameless Love for the Poor

Today as I type this post I feel as though I am trying to take just a little sip of water out of an open fire hydrant.  There are so many stories that I will never get the chance to tell.  My heart and mind are processing so many things at one time that I am having a hard time sleeping at night even though I am beyond exhausted when my head hits the pillow.  I can honestly say that this trip is one of the hardest things I have ever done but absolutely one of the most meaningful. 

Yesterday I got an email from Amanda and she asked me if I could keep my eyes peeled open for a special child for her to sponsor.  So, Amanda, what do you think about Latangi?

Is she too much or what?  I met her today on one of our home-visits in an extremely poor village.  She totally could have fit in my suitcase but I figured Living Proof wouldn’t completely support kidnapping so I relented.  Amanda, you would have seriously died.  Her Mother has the daunting task of raising four children singlehandedly since her husband died three months ago of a heart attack.  Latangi, her Mom, and two of her siblings sleep in two tiny beds in a one-room 8x8 bamboo structure while her older brother sleeps on the hard cement floor.  She currently has no sponsor with Compassion and while her Mom works during the day she is left all alone.  She is four years old.  Four years old and left alone all day to do heaven knows what.  Just think, Amanda, if you sponsor her, Compassion International will provide the opportunity for her to be in school under the umbrella of the local church studying and learning skills during the day to dramatically boost her chances of survival.

There are hundreds of faces, hundreds of Indian children, who are just as precious and in just as dire circumstances who are in need of sponsors.  You can take a look for yourself here or you can just click on the Compassion India banner on the left of our margin.  The Compassion East India office partners with the local churches in a rigorous selection process to choose children who are in the greatest need of sponsorship.  They are generally among the poorest of the poor in their area.  I can assure you, every child you browse through on the Compassion website has a story that has the potential to change your life. 

Today the Compassion East India office briefed us on some administrative issues.  I’ve always wanted to use the word “briefed” because it makes me feel so Jack Bauerish.  And now I have and it was fun.  Anyway, each child has his or her own binder and inside that binder is a thick stack of papers that record everything from medical records to the complete log of child/sponsor correspondence.  My new and absolutely hilarious friend and fellow blogger Pete Wilson and I were shocked to see that one of the children had been co-sponsored by two High School girls.  Can you imagine?   Instead of buying an expensive designer handbag or a new pair of heels, these two seventeen- year-old girls combined their money to bring some hope to a child in India they have never even met.  It just downright blew our minds. 

Can I just tell you that the more I fall in love with the people in Calcutta the more grateful I am that we serve a God who cares deeply about the poor?  I could list verse after verse as far back as Genesis all the way through Revelation that reflect God’s concern for the poor and oppressed. I could quote the striking and slightly scary beatitudes in the gospel of Luke like “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” but right now I am far too consumed with Isaiah 58, especially the first eleven verses.  My Mom and Amanda both encouraged me separately with this chapter before I set off last week and I have been meditating on it throughout the week. 

These verses have spoken to me in so many distinct ways over the past few days but I am especially stricken by Isaiah’s definition of true religion.  I hope you'll take some time to study this passage on your own but in brief, the people of Israel cry out with frustration because they do not feel that God is responding to their pious fasting.  The text goes on to convey that, in fact, God really isn’t all that impressed by their outlandish religious demonstrations like bowing their heads in “humility” or laying in sackcloth and ashes. 

No. 

His definition of fasting is cast in remarkably different terms.  If the people of God want to fast in such a way that they just might get God’s attention then they need to start being agents of justice in a broken world.  They need to stop believing that humility before God and apathy toward their fellow human beings, especially the poor and oppressed, could ever co-exist.  They need to loosen the chains of injustice.  Set the oppressed free.  Share food with the hungry.  Clothe the naked.  The incredible part about this passage is the promise that if the covenant people of God would really truly fast in such a mind-boggling and earth-shaking way, then light will break forth like the dawn.  The Lord will turn his ear toward them and His very glory will be their protection.  I take so much heart in the fact that our God is a God who loves the people in Calcutta who are bound by the tight grip of poverty.  That He thinks that caring for them is essential, that it is at the very core of our personal and corporate spirituality.  What a vivid picture of the bountiful and impartial love of God.

Now I think we all know that God does care deeply about the poor.  Scripture is blatantly clear about it but why do you think that God cares so deeply for the poor?  Why would Jesus say, “Blessed are the poor” or why would James ask his readers “Did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom”?  What is, in your opinion, at the bottom of His love for the poor? 

I am personally still thinking this through but I read something recently that Richard Bauckham wrote and it really rocked me.  He said, “Poverty, in a sense, exposes the truth of the human situation in its need of God.  It dispels the illusion of being self-sufficient and secure, with no need of God.  The poor are those whose material condition enables them to see more clearly than most the human need to be wholly reliant on God.  It is in this sense that the biblical poor are understood as paradigmatic in their faith.” (Richard Bauckham, Wisdom of James, disciple of Jesus the Sage, 190).   I’m not sure how exactly to explain it, but this statement really resonated with me.  Perhaps Jesus speaks of the poor as the paradigmatic people of God because the poor, kind of like the chronically ill, are most likely to recognize their utter need for God’s saving power.  Perhaps the Lord commands the rich (which in context of our global economy is you and me, even the poorest among us) to empathize and identify with the plight of the poor and care for the needy so that they too can glean this truth. Humankind in its totality is completely dependent on God’s power and provision.  There are no exceptions.  All material wealth is fleeting and fading quickly.  

What do you think? 

I can’t wait to read your thoughts and opinions.  I cherish you all.  I mean it.  I’m so grateful for all of your different personalities and perspectives.  I’m deeply privileged to walk this journey with all of you.

One of my favorite shots of the children's little shoes: (P.S. Keely Scott, Compassion Photographer, rocks my face off)

Subrata and me.  He wants to be a Policeman when he grows up so that he can take care of his Mom and she never has to go to work anymore.  She cleans houses and he wants to do all the work for her so that she will be able to relax at home.  He is seven.  Seven-year olds shouldn't have to think about taking care of their Moms.  But Subrata does.

A precious girl named Rinky Roy's little box where she places the treasures her sponsor has mailed her.  She has the best sponsor ever.  Her sponsor faithfully mails letters and has even bought her clothes and paid for a piece of furniture in their little tiny home. Rinky's sponsor repeatedly tells her how much she loves her.  Rinky loves to study and has dreams to be a Doctor.  Tell me Compassion International didn't have something to do with that. 

Me talking with the little women about their favorite movies.  They all apparently love Jurassic Park I, II, and III.  Who would have thought?  When did the third one come out anyhow?

Speechless for the first time EVER but compelled to type.

Greetings from Kolkata (Calcutta)!

We finally made it. 

That statement deserved its own line. Seriously. It takes some time to get to the other side of the world.  Thank you, thank you, thank you for your prayers.  We have felt them and we have been in need of them. 

As our final flight descended down toward Calcutta, commonly but perhaps slightly unpersuasively called “the City of Joy”, I was shocked by the lush landscape. Calcutta has a tropical climate and is completely covered with Palm trees. Who knew? The sight was totally not what I expected. I couldn’t wait to get outside and see it up close. But, then we walked off the plane.

And. It. Was. 120. Degrees.

Suddenly tropical weather took on an entirely new connotation.

Shortly after checking into our hotel we headed off to visit Mother Teresa’s burial site, a must for anyone and everyone visiting Calcutta regardless of theological or denominational tradition. Mother Teresa’s tomb is on the grounds where the “Missionaries of Charity” order is still alive and well. I fully expected myself to be emotionally moved by this particular moment. But I wasn’t. Let’s just say that my spirit was willing but my flesh was weak. I was hunched over on a bench because I was completely and utterly spent. The twelve and a half hour time difference (ummmm…where does the half come from? anyone?) and the two days of traveling without sleep and eating only a handful of Cliff bars suddenly wasn’t working for me anymore. And wait, did I mention the 120 degree weather? Apparently Calcutta hasn’t had this kind of heat wave in nearly 30 years. Even the locals are impressed (not the good kind) by the intensity of the heat. I was afraid that I would go down in history as the obnoxious American who puked in Mother Teresa’s burial room. Luckily that nightmare did not actualize and I finally gathered myself together enough to walk around the grounds. 

I noticed that the rest of the team had climbed a narrow set of stairs and so I followed them and I could not believe my eyes. There was Mother Teresa’s tiny little bedroom that would make a college dorm room seem opulent. It was in that tiny little room that Mother Teresa had lived for about forty years and it was there where she also died. While her tomb didn’t move me like it did others, her little tiny room did. Not only because the room spoke of a life of simplicity and earthly discomfort but also because it reflected a life of unimaginable dedication in one consistent direction. An entire lifetime devoted to serving the unloved and untouched of our world.

I was struck by a quote of Mother Teresa’s that was posted in the museum area. It said, “Make us worthy, Lord, to serve our fellow-men throughout the world who live and die in poverty and hunger.” What a simple yet weighty statement. It directly contradicts our entire world system: a system that shows unabashed impartiality to the rich, famous, and the beautiful people. A system that so quickly labels off the poor and diseased as lazy, weak-willed, and unfortunate. I pondered the quote in my heart last night but I experienced the profundity of it today when we entered our first project, one of Compassion’s several child development centers in Calcutta.

I was so not prepared for what went down when we climbed out of the van. The children were lined up in a drum-line in matching uniforms and they proceeded to march us into the project grounds where we were each presented with a beautiful sunflower. My chin was quivering so fast that I could hear my own teeth clattering over all the noise. The spectacle did not end there, however. We continued to watch the children perform demonstration after demonstration for us, dancing and singing songs like:

God’s love is so wonderful
So high you can’t get over it
So deep you can’t get under it

I thought to myself something in the same vein of Mother Teresa’s statement. Just a whole lot less profound sounding. I thought, “Who am I that I would be esteemed by these precious children who have dealt with more in their few years than I probably ever will in my entire lifetime? And for whom I have done so relatively little?” But then in the middle of my self-loathing episode I realized I was giving myself way too much credit. These children weren’t performing for me or even for the ten of us. They were performing for their sponsors. For them, the ten of us are the closest thing they will ever see that resembles and embodies their sponsors. They won’t likely get the opportunity to meet their individual sponsors in this lifetime.

Several of you commented on my last post that you are already sponsors of a Compassion child. Sponsors, let me speak to you in particular for a moment. I want you each to know that today was as much for you as it was for me. I may have gotten to witness it, but those kids weren’t clapping, singing, and celebrating that ten random and goofy looking Americans came to visit them. They identified with us because we represented to them their individual sponsors. Let me tell you, no let me assure you- your sponsor child knows your name. Not just your first name. Your last name, too. They lined up with drums to usher you into the place you’ve financially provided for them. A place of hope. A place where that abstract verb “to dream” becomes something that just might be tangible. A place where they hear for the first time that they have dignity and worth before the Most High God. They treasure the letters that you write to them. They don’t toss them in the trash. No, they store them in a safe place. And this will really get you. If you sponsor a child in India, you’re probably the only one who has ever told your child, “I love you.” Our Compassion India specialist told us that in the Indian culture, particularly among the poor, parents do not express love to their children. She said, “Even though the parents really do love their children, they don’t show it. Rarely does a parent actually come out and express their love for their child.” Can you imagine? Let it sink in. You, even though you might think you’re just a little sponsor person who hastily filled out a form during a concert, are most likely the only adult who has blatantly expressed love for this child. A real living and breathing child.


One of the children presenting us with a sunflower:


The Compassion kids in a drum-line ushering us into the project. Unbelievable. 

All 295 of the children in the project we visited today.  225 have been sponsored.  70 are still waiting for sponsors:

The kids and me playing with bubbles. They LOVE them: 

A family I fell in love with.  The little girl named Susmita is 13 years old and her Father died in an accident and then her Mother walked out on her.  Her uncle and grand-mother, sickly and frail, currently take care of her.  Susmita followed us out of the neighborhood as far as she could because she didn't want to say good-bye.  It broke my heart. And it made my day:

This picture speaks for itself. Period. The end. 

Come Away with Me

I’ve been waiting for just the right time to tell you that I (Melissa) am going, along with four other bloggers, with Compassion International to Kolkata (Calcutta), India. The "right" time has quickly turned into “oh my word, SERIOUSLY, we are leaving Friday!!!” And so here you have it. The five of us will be led by a handful of staunch Compassion-folk on an exciting adventure; a journey I can only guess will be filled with moments of piercing sadness but also bursts of laughter and stimulating conversation. A journey that engages and confronts all of the senses in an unexpected way and that makes an impression that lasts not just a week or two, but for a lifetime. I will be attempting to put this journey into words for you straight from Kolkata on this blog next week, April 26- May 2.

The first day I learned of this opportunity to go along with Compassion to Kolkata, I knew I was supposed to go. Period. Sometimes the Lord makes something unmistakably clear. I won’t ever forget the seriousness in Shaun Groves’ voice as he said, “Take your time making your decision, Melissa.” He said, “I’ve never been to Kolkata but from what I’ve heard, this may be one of the more difficult trips.” Now, I’ve heard the dude speak and sing and I thought he was supposed to be funny. Well, he wasn’t throwing the jokes. He actually sounded really serious. Even so, I didn’t have to take my time making the decision. It was just one of those moments. I take that back, I did have to ask Mr. Fitzpatrick what he thought first and he said, “You’ve gotta go. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.” I was actually stunned by his absolute selflessness. Well, let’s just say that the closer it gets to Friday the less I am seeing him effuse this virtue. Actually he is getting quite controlling. Every time I so much as cough he looks at me like, “And you’re going to Kolkata?” *Grin.* I guess it was easier for him to imagine it all when it was still months away.

Let me tell you, over the past month I have gotten some crazy reactions from people about my going to Kolkata. Most people look at me like I’ve lost my mind and I know exactly what they’re thinking… “Why not Paris or Amsterdam or somewhere even slightly pleasurable?” I want to say to them, “Life isn’t all about fun.” But I don’t. I just keep my mouth shut. And anyway, they obviously haven’t met any of the team I am going along with. It’s an entertaining group of people. A group that I suspect could have a little tiny bit of fun even in the darkest of places. Can’t keep the sarcasm from dripping off my computer screen when I glance over their emails. Oh, and I even had one girl tell me that India is “impossibly filthy” and that I need to watch out for the rats. The negative reactions were becoming tiresome, so I was pleased when the popular, Oscar-winning movie "Slumdog Millionaire" finally came out on DVD. The timing was totally ordained for us, don’t you think? I finally started getting some positive responses from people. You’ve gotta love pop-culture. I’ve been conveniently leaving out that we aren’t going to Mumbai and that Compassion International probably cares very little about us getting to meet the beautiful Latika in the flesh.

In spite of all the strange reactions I have gotten, there really are no words to express my excitement about going to Kolkata. I know that I am going to see poverty unlike anything I have ever seen before, but at the same time, who better to see it with than Compassion International - one of the world’s most effective Christian relief organizations? We aren’t going just to sit back and observe the poverty. We’re going with an organization that actually has the resolve to try and do something about it. I don’t know exactly what to expect and I’m trying not to assume much. My heart’s desire is just to go - to go with my heart and mind open. And by the way, I actually get to meet two of the children that Colin and I sponsor through Compassion. Like I actually get to have lunch with them.

I will tell you more about the details of our itinerary as next week unfolds, but for now I just wanted to tell you the news and ask for your thoughts and prayers as we prepare ourselves to head out this Friday. If you would be so kind and thoughtful to pray, here are my personal prayer requests:


1. Pray that my own cynicism wouldn’t rob me of a blessing. I’ve gotta be honest, I feel sort of faux for going on a trip like this. I’m not a missionary. I’m not an activist. And I’m certainly not a nun. I have the “comfort” (whatever significance that word really holds) of knowing I’m coming back to the United States in two weeks. That is the honest truth. And so I fight my own self-defeating thoughts. Thoughts like, “Melissa, you’re really nothing more than a tourist, nothing more than a weak poser wannabe missionary going over to Kolkata and acting like you’re some Mother Theresa type.” Since I have an all-or-nothing personality, I tend to feel defeated if I can’t go all out. For example, since I am not taking a vow of poverty or moving to work in Kolkata for the rest of my days, it makes me want to shrink back from doing anything at all. My own personal fear of false piety could keep me from entering into this experience and I don’t want it to. I want every fiber in my being to be impacted. Pray for me - that I’m not my own worst enemy.

2. Pray for Colin’s peace of mind. It is his responsibility to care for me; so naturally, he is a little concerned about my safety and whatnot. Please pray the Lord would have something unique in this experience for him as well, even though he will be in the States. He is, after all, as involved as I am with Compassion. He was actually the one who suggested that we sponsor our first Compassion child, Aimar, who lives in Colombia. It wasn’t even my idea. In that moment, I was actually more concerned about hiding our cash under the hardwood planks of our apartment. Right next to the one hundred pound bag of rice and ginormous jar of peanut butter. Kidding. Sort of.

3. Pray for my health. Please pray that my own physical weaknesses would not be a hindrance to me or to the team. I’ve had a series of intense migraines for the past few months, and while I plan to stuff Excedrin Migraine in every crevice of my suitcase, please pray for a supernatural release from these migraines. Even if it is only for this two week period. (Praise Him - He has given me a release in the past week, but I do pray that they will not return during the trip).

Oh, and I almost forgot, I need your advice. I am taking little care packages for both of our Compassion children in Kolkata. As you know, Colin and I don’t have our own kids, so I need your help. I have no idea what kids like. I consider myself an adult person and buying for kids does not come naturally to me. We have a nine-year-old boy named Manot and a twelve-year-old girl named Pramila. What do nine-year-old boys like? And what do twelve-year-old girls like? Now, I don’t want to rush over to India in a naïve Santa-Claus costume with a bagful of toys. I’m not going to put on a red superwoman cape and presume I could save their day. I can’t save their day. But at the same time, I want to make their day. I want to make their day special without making them feel overwhelmed or intimidated by too many gifts. In your opinion, where is the line? Do you have any thoughts? Ideas?

Palm Branch Nostalgia

I love Holy Week. Beginning with Palm Sunday. I’ve always loved Palm Sunday.

As a little girl I remember sitting in Sunday school class waiting with great anticipation for “big church." Not just because I scorned that our church wouldn’t allow me, seven-years-old at the time, to matriculate into my Mom’s adult Sunday school class. And not even because the allotted big church hour was a sure-fire promise of an extended arm-tickle from the hands of one or both of my parents who were clearly trying to keep me sedated during the service. I’ve just loved the theatrics of Palm Sunday from the beginning.

You see, on Palm Sunday, the choir at Houston’s First Baptist Church would come flooding out of all entryways into the sanctuary carrying and waving massive palm branches. I can still picture them in their formal robes down to the floor streaming through the aisles. Yes, I said aisles, for ours was a sanctuary with multiple aisles. A whole bunch of them. I never have understood what all the fuss is about a center aisle. The more aisles the merrier. In my mind, if you’re really a good Southern Baptist, you want more aisles for the invitation at the end of the sermon. It’s less about pretty weddings and more about evangelism, church growth, and Lottie Moon. That's how we roll.

Fast-forward fifteen years. Times have changed in typical fashion and since I have been out of my parent’s house, I have not attended even one church that has incorporated palm branches into their worship service on Palm Sunday. It’s funny because I tend to think of myself as sort of an old soul, yet I always attend contemporary churches. And I love contemporary churches, I might add. I also really like palm branches. This has created something of a dilemma for me.

An aside - so, last week was a bad week. Now, I didn’t say horrible, but it was relatively bad. I was having some severe migraines that were keeping me tied to the bed, which I hate. Then, my car got hit while it was sitting parked on the street. Hit and run. Go figure, right when we’re trying to pay Uncle Sam. Colin duct-taped it back together so we’re okay now. I then tried to gather myself enough to walk outside so that I could hunt and gather some food, so as not to fail my little family unit. I went to the store, bought all my groceries, and when I got home my rotisserie chicken was raw. It was raw. I have never even heard of a raw rotisserie chicken. Nearly threw me over the edge.

So back to the dilemma. Since I had a relatively stinky week, I knew that another Palm Sunday without palm branches would simply be too much for me to bear. So, we decided this past Sunday to search for the most liturgical church in our area. One that might just have some palm branches. Palm branches are the theme of this blog if you have not gathered it.

Have I told you how much I love the Lord? Sure enough, the congregation had gathered fifteen minutes early in the parking lot so that the branches could be distributed to each congregant. As we walked in the sanctuary, the congregation in its entirety were waving their palm branches. It wasn’t quite like I remembered it, but I didn’t give a rip. I was thrilled. I wanted to make a scene, a scene like David made with the ark of the covenant. I wasn’t planning on stripping off my outer garments (2 Samuel 6:20). But I wanted to make a scene. And I’m not even the especially demonstrative type. I’m actually quite reserved. In our family my mom sort of takes the cake in the dramatic worship department. And we let her. Well, she doesn’t ask for permission. But anyway, there is just something about Palm Sunday. It just moves me. I'd like to think that if I would have been in Jerusalem over two thousand years ago, I would have joined with the multitudes and gone out to meet the living and incarnate God, King Jesus, with a palm branch. Now I probably would have been too stubborn or even too self-conscious, but I like to think that I would have cried out “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD, even the King of Israel!” For, He was and is and is to be worthy of such outlandish and royal acknowledgment.

Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t think all churches everywhere need to have palm branches for people to hold on Palm Sunday. I just like it when they do. It is a tradition that I love. I tend to like it when we in our modern day churches try to engage the text and enter in. Palm Sunday is an example of experientially engaging with the text of John 12:12-13 and chiming in with those ancient voices. The modern fused together with the ancient - that’s what’ll get me going all mystical on ya.

Well, at the end of the Palm Sunday service I noticed the sweet lady next to me had several palm branches. So I gently and sneakily took one for myself to keep as a reminder for me during Holy Week. Colin keeps saying I stole her branch. But I didn’t steal her branch. She had like five. I just wanted one. One stinking palm branch to cover up those bleak palm-branch-missing years. Now I realize I should have probably asked her, but I blame my thievery on the Excedrin Migraine.

Oh, and as a side-note, Amanda just called me. She bought Annabeth’s first Easter dress. I’m not bitter. I promise.

Sigh.

This year I am nostalgic for all things Easter and all things Houston and my family. The Fitzpatricks don’t have the luxury of going home to Houston this year - I’ll say it again, we just paid Uncle Sam! And he is seriously grouchy. But, what I would give to buy a pair of outdated white patent leather shoes and a matching floral pastel dress and white hat with Amanda again - if only to embarrass her. She never was much for us matching. She was always too cool.

So if you’re still out there and you haven’t fallen asleep from my various tangents in this blog, then I would love to know what you love most about Holy Week. What is one of your favorite traditions in your home church? Something you look forward to year after year? It doesn’t have to be dogma or even something exceptionally reverent, though it might be; but it could just be something fun or sweet that your church does year after year to build community or even just to set apart this week as unique on the church calendar.


A peek at Easters past...

Annabeth comes from a long line of bow heads.


Look at my face! Is all my nostalgia really a hallucination?


Here we are with our Memaw. And I think that's the Impala Amanda mentioned a few days ago.


I called my sister and said, "Look at the one of us in the hats." Then Amanda pointed out that we are, in fact, wearing hats in every picture together. Also, notice her purple quilted Bible carrier.


Happy Holy Week from The Matching Hat Sisters!

A Couple of Hard Cases

Greetings Blogworld... from the great and beautiful city of Atlanta.

I just had the most surreal moment. I was standing in a coffee shop a few minutes ago (no big surprise) when I heard the song “Somewhere in the Vicinity of the Heart” by Shenandoah and Alison Krauss. Have you heard it? I kid you not, I was teleported back to my 8th grade dance. I had forgotten how awkward yet glorious that historical moment was. Awkward because I was still sporting my braces but glorious because a person’s first big school dance is a rite of passage. Good or bad, it remains a milestone. I mean, I spent a month in a tanning salon preparing for that dance! I still remember exactly what formal dress I was wearing and even what my corsage smelled like. My date and I were attempting to two-step to this very passionate country tune. We were very much wrapped up into the song, so much so that I think I may have even put my head on his shoulder. Who doesn’t get caught up in the moment under a disco ball? You laugh…but this was a big move for an innocent thirteen-year-old girl with very well known parents. In between our very emotional embraces I would glance to make sure my homeroom teacher wasn’t looking because I knew darn well she was going to tell my Mom. Total downside of having your homeroom teacher doing your mother’s Bible studies. Okay, I digress, but today as I listened to the lyrics now from the perspective of an adult, I about died. Please take a minute to read the first two verses of this song:

Thousand miles
Of lonesome highway
Drinking gallons of coffee in a little cafe
Brought me here, and it's so good to find there's someone who's got
The same story as mine

Just look at us, we're a couple hard cases
So how'd we end up where we are?
Somewhere in the vicinity of the heart
I feel somethin hittin me awful hard
I don't know where it's gonna lead
I just know it starts
Somewhere in the vicinity of the heart

When I heard these lyrics again today I nearly went into hysterics. To think that a couple of suburban kids who had never so much as kissed were honestly identifying with these lines is completely absurd. But there we were. We were identifying, alright. Just a couple of hard cases looking for someone else with a similar tumultuous relational past.

Okay, so it's your turn- I want to know what takes you back to the past? What was your best or funniest memory at a middle school or high school dance? To what songs did you dance?

Meanwhile...Melissa needs a Mentor

Happy 2009 my fellow blog sisters… I know this is probably an anticlimactic salutation since it is already January 7th and all of us are back in the hectic swing of life. I don’t know about you, but I love a new year and all of the hope that it represents. It’s sort of like a new binder or a new journal. I love blank pages. I even love the smell of blank pages. Well, on our drive from Houston to Atlanta I was full on in my dreamy state thinking of all the lofty things that I want to get right this year…like, I am going to pray WAY more often or I am going to call people rather than text them (already buried that one in the grave). And then it happened…GASP. Colin said to me, “Darling, we need to talk about the budget I have planned for us for 2009.” Budget? And then I opted for the semantic argument which I hoped would stop him dead in his tracks by saying, “What exactly do you mean by that word, budget? Can you exegete that for me?" He ignored my question entirely and later handed me twelve envelopes with labels for January- December 2009. Yep, folks, Mr. Fitzpatrick wants me to gather each of my receipts, no matter how mundane (like a pack of gum from the convenience store), and place them in the month-appropriate envelope. And he is going to review them. Can you imagine? I haven’t been this terrified since I took my SAT’s. Now, don’t get me wrong the two of us don’t spend heaps of money (we simply don’t have heaps of money) but Colin’s point is that we can do better. Apparently a new year is about living more skillfully, more wisely. And so, in light of me being the very submissive wife that I am, I have gotten my heart in gear and I am really trying to jump on my husband’s bandwagon. I even ran out of Nordstrom right after I met my friend for lunch at Nordstrom Café…I kid you not, I was like Joseph fleeing from Potiphar’s wife in Genesis 39. One more minute in Nordstrom and I would have been a very fashionable sheep fattened for the slaughter. Sigh. You really should have seen that jacket I passed up. It was oh so fine.


Okay so this is my specific question for you: How can I save money at the grocery store? Obviously I know how to avoid the Mall (though at times it appears to draw near to me) but I am downright lost as to how I can save serious bucks at the grocery store. What do YOU do to save money on groceries? How do you make your food last the longest? Do you have any tips or any secrets to offer me? If your resolution for 2009 was to mentor a fellow-sojourning woman this year, now is your chance. Mentor me. Please? I would have asked my Mom who is normally the ultimate mentor but as it is she avoids the grocery store at all costs.


Are we almost to 2010 yet? I’m exhausted.

Melissa's Fall 2008 Top Ten

Greetings blog-land! I do believe it has been months since my last entry and I could not wait another minute to say hello. Seriously, I miss all of you fine women! Unsurprisingly, my Mom has been working me harder than ever before over the past few months. The name of the game has been ‘focus' and 'more focus' and so unfortunately my blog time was obliterated. So, in an effort to catch up with you, I’ve composed a list of my top ten Fall 2008 highlights. You’ll find that they are in completely random order. I know, how predictable, right? So here goes:

1. Living Proof Christmas Pictures. Have I mentioned how awful our Christmas pictures were last year? They were beyond hideous. The weather was so humid in Houston that not even photo-shop could cover the multitude of our hair sins. Well, this year we were determined to have better results. All was going well until my Mom looked at me half-way through and said, in front of everyone, “Melissa, check your barn-door.” This was my Mom’s archaic way of telling me that my zipper was wide open. Yes, apparently, my fly had been open throughout the entire first half of the photo-shoot. So much for earning respect from my fellow LPM staff!

2. Seeing a true Autumn season for the first time in my life. I walked around my neighborhood in Atlanta last weekend with tears in my eyes. The trees were raining leaves in all kinds of glorious colors. I will ponder that moment in my heart for as long as I live, a moment when I was content with merely having a set of eyes to see the beauty of God’s creation.

3. Reading Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense by N.T. Wright. What a great and refreshing read. Here is just one quote I love, “the Bible isn’t simply a repository of true information about God, Jesus, and the hope of the world. It is, rather, part of the means by which, in the power of the Spirit, the living God rescues his people and his world, and takes them forward on the journey toward his new creation, and makes us agents of that new creation even as we travel” (191). Just a glimpse into this wonderful book.

4. The Siesta Fiesta in San Antonio still makes the list! Not only did I have such a wonderful time seeing many of you in the flesh, but I am still pondering the profound implications that the theme of inheritance has for us as the covenant people of God. I have a feeling that we have barely scratched the surface of that one. What a great time of fellowship, worship, and the Word!

5. Walking into my home in Atlanta last week to find an embarrassing display of flowers and a new sweater from Colin Fitzpatrick. The best part was that it was completely unexpected. I mean, we weren’t in a fight or anything! I never knew that a little bouquet of flowers could mean so much. I’m learning more and more that little thoughtful things make the big things in marriage a whole lot smoother. I love my husband madly and I’ve had so much fun settling down into ‘normal’ life with him.

6. Auditing a Hebrew Reading class. We have translated Deuteronomy, some of the Psalms, and are scheduled to translate some of 1&2 Kings for next week. That is a whole lot of Hebrew, let me tell you! It has been so fun to be back in the formal classroom. My strength as a Biblical Research Assistant would be greatly diminished if I did not keep up with my Hebrew and Greek reading skills.

7. Driving to Macon, Georgia to visit our very own Georgia Jan. She is even more charming in person than she is in blog-world. We ate at a quaint little French-country restaurant called “The Back-Burner.” If you live near there, I strongly recommend it. Georgia Jan is my kind of woman- she can cook and talk some Scripture. A rare woman, indeed.

8. Teaching LIT. My Mom and I have been co-teaching a class for 17-25 year old women. This Bible Study is unlike anything we’ve ever done at Living Proof. For better or worse, I planned and outlined the study. It has been fun to actually see it run its course, in spite of how absolutely over-ambitious it was. I am really proud of my Lit ladies. They’ve paid attention to all kinds of tedious things, including transmission issues, translation theory, and biblical genres. And that is only a start. Just in case you may be interested, we asked them to do the following for their bonus project:

• Choose any passage (about 5-9 verses) of interest, preferably a passage that you are not overly familiar with.
• Read the passage several times, at least twice out loud.
• What book of the Bible is your passage in? Who is the author? Who are the Recipients? What is the occasion and genre of the book?
• Compare your original Bible translation (whether it is NIV, NASB, etc.) to other translations- use at least three or four translations. Make note of the significant changes/differences in a chart or some other helpful way.
• If there is a word that sticks out to you in your original Bible translation, use a concordance to do a word study on that word. What is the Hebrew or Greek word that your English translation is rendering? Where else is it used?
• Are there any topics/places/concepts in your passage that are unfamiliar to you? Use a Bible Dictionary to look up unfamiliar concepts and to answer general questions.
• After you have done as much of the leg-work as you know how or have time to do, then consult one or two solid commentaries on your passage.
• Conclude with how these resources contributed to your understanding of the passage. (P.S. I just noticed that I created an outline within an outline. I am annoyed by my own self. Anyhow, I really am so proud of the Lit girls. Some have already turned in their assignments. I could have cried reading one of them today. I was astounded by the spiritual insight. We all bring something important and different to the interpretive table, with our various experiences and backgrounds. It is beautiful. I can’t wait to read the rest of them.)

9. Making the entire Thanksgiving menu in Mid-October for our next-door neighbors. I made my very first Turkey! I labored for two days straight. I stuffed it with fresh sage and quartered onions and all kinds of stuff. I also made two different kinds of stuffings, a traditional cornbread stuffing and an apple-rye stuffing. Both were divine. Did I mention that my husband has gained ten pounds since we got married? Blush. I’m so proud.

10. Waiting in anticipation for my sweet niece that is coming into the world this February! Glory to God in the highest! I got her the cutest little diva boots. I am not sure Amanda went for them, though. Boo. (Amanda says: Whatever! I LOVED them!)

Enough talk about me, though, what the heck have y’all been up to? What have been the highlights of Fall 2008 for YOU? So please, de-lurk and tell me how you are, if only for the sake of proper social reciprocity!

Much Love,
Melissa

A Very Special Day

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY DARLING AMANDA!

I don't know how to change the font on a blog post or use a color but, if I did, I'd make these words HUGE and BRIGHT RED so see them that way in your precious imagination.

Well, young lady, you surely did change your mother's life. After being told I'd have infertility problems and need surgery to correct some female issues, I thought marriage had made me physically ill as I stood over the toilet only two months after our wedding day. It had been the shock of my life. Oh, I do love your Daddy but, boy, were we young and, boy, were we dumb. I told your grandmother that I wasn't feeling well and thought marriage was not agreeing with me and she was the first to diagnose my delicate condition. And with great laughter and joy. She adored you, Honey. You came at a difficult time in my family's life (has there ever not been a difficult time, come to think of it??) like a daisy pushing its way up amid a heap of rubble. All sorts of broken pieces found their way back together somehow. We had someone to spoil. To laugh about. To tend to.

You stole all our hearts. So smart. So loving. You talked like an adult by the time you were two. My mom tried and tried to get you to say you loved her more than your other grandmother (shame on her!) but you wouldn't budge. You insisted that you loved everyone the same. But I know it wasn't true. You liked me best. Grin. You, Darling Child, were the most welcome shock this family has ever had. I have never loved a person on this earth more than you. Nothing has ever left me more defenseless. You inspire me, act silly with me, tickle me, and simply make me want to be a better woman. I am so proud of you. Of the woman of God you've become. Of the mommy you are. Of the friend you are. The SERVANT I see you becoming.

As your little sister often says, "You gotta love the Noogs." You will always be the Noogs to us. And who on earth knows why? Where do we get these ridiculous nicknames, anyway??

Happy Birthday, Darling. I wish so much I were home with you. Thank you for making room for me to be here in New England. I'll be home before you know it and we will celebrate...and shop, Baby. We will SHOP.

I.Love.You.With.All.My.Heart.
Mom


Noogs- I can't wait til we are all together and we can party it up! There is no one else like you. You're the only slightly sane one in our family. I am not sure where we would be without you. Not far, for sure. We love you madly! As this picture below symbolizes, I always have and always will look up to you. Love, your sister.

The Results are in...We're Twelve

Howdy there Ladies!

I could go on and on and on about how fun it was to meet so many of you face-to-face. For those who were not at the Siesta Fiesta, please trust me when I say that we have the best and most diverse blogging community you can even imagine. Truly.

I have been obsessing over two things this week: 1) Lit- the upcoming Bible Intro course (TOTAL OBSESSION) and, 2) Colin’s company-wide Chili Cook-Off. I have always loved chili-cook-offs. So, I’ve spent most of the week slaving in the kitchen, trying desperately to come up with the “perfect” chili recipe. Well, after hours of anxiety this morning, I have just been informed by my husband that the official results are in.

Our chili, chili number 8, placed third.

I hate third place. No, I loathe third place. Third place is a euphemism for the cold, hard, truth. Our chili was simply the very worst of the best. To use biblical language, our chili was metaphorically a “lukewarm” chili. And nobody likes a lukewarm anything. Not even Jesus, according to a very allegorical & fanciful interpretation of Revelation 3:16.

This was word-for-word the very mature text-message conversation that Colin and I had about an hour ago:

Colin: 3rd place babe!!! People are like, “What’s in that!!!? That’s awesome!”
Melissa: 3rd Place is the worst.
Colin: Not it’s not. 8th is! The Judges didn’t even taste it with the onion, cilantro, or sour cream, babe.
Melissa: Who won then?
Colin: Paul, Chris, Us.
Melissa: Silence. (Didn’t feel like texting back...two MEN won!!!)
Colin: It’s gone! Everyone thinks our chili is the best! There were only like 5 judges. Our chili is the one that's disappearing the fastest! The real test is which crockpot has the least left at the end!
Melissa: Silence. (Still don’t feel like texting back)
Colin: Everyone keeps saying they love the chili. For real, babe. It’s gone. People here want the recipe.
Melissa: I refuse to duplicate a recipe for a third-place and third-rate chili.


We’re like twelve-year olds, and playing house. This really is dangerous, folks. And babe, if you're reading out there, I hate to break it to you, but it's a mean world, for the judges' decision was the only one that carried any weight.


Love,
An Ex-Chili-Cook-Off Lover

P.S. Colin just called and assured me that the decision was “rigged” and that ours was the best. Oh, and apparently we won a ribbon. A RIBBON. Seriously.

Keeping it Real & Reverence for God

So, I’ve been reading Leviticus. Yep, you read that correctly, Leviticus.

Many of you have graciously inquired in your posts about how I approach biblical research. At some point, I would love to type out a step-by-step process and post it for you, but for now I will simply say that my first step before consulting any biblical resource is always to read the book of the Bible that I am studying in full, all in one sitting. Sometimes I even read the text aloud. I do this because I find that I gain a much better comprehension of the book if I read it all in one sitting than if I break it up into little segments over a longer period of time. After I read the whole book in its entirety a couple of times, I go back and study the chapters, then the verses, and finally the various phrases and words. In brief, my methodology being a very simple-minded woman is to start with the whole so that I can understand the parts.

Well, the last couple of nights I have read Leviticus in full because for the life of me, I cannot remember the last time that I read it. I think it was during my first year at Moody Bible Institute in Old Testament Survey. And mostly I was reading it to get the grade, if you know what I mean. Okay, I was only reading it to get the grade! Anyway…I know reading a book of the Bible in its entirety might sound daunting at first, but ya’ll, Leviticus is only 27 chapters, which means that it took me less than two hours to read it the first time and just a little over an hour the second time. This is not that much time if you think about it, considering we spend at least two-three hours a day feeding ourselves and almost half that much time blow-drying our hair and putting on make-up. If a book can’t be read all in one sitting, then the next best thing is to break it up over two sittings. You get my drift!

Back to Leviticus…Since we are living on this side of the cross of Jesus Christ and are not “Levites” per se and are certainly not camped out in the Sinai wilderness, what relevance does Leviticus have for us? Perhaps the main theme of Leviticus can point us in the right direction as to how we can apply this significant text. In quick summary fashion, the book of Leviticus gives instructions to the Israelites about how to be holy before a holy God, and how to live amongst the people of God and even foreigners in a way that reflects this holiness. The Hebrew noun that is rendered “holy” in our English texts is used in its various forms over 120 times in Leviticus. Since I am a little slow sometimes, I really love it when an author slams a term, phrase, or theme over and over again so that I simply cannot miss it or disregard it. But, what does it mean for God to be holy? I love how one of my favorite professors, Dr. John Walton puts it: “God’s holiness is not a separate attribute but the result of the sum total of all of his attributes- including but not limited to his sovereignty, omniscience, love, and righteousness. Holiness is a term that implies comparison. God is holy in relation to the people he created. When God asks his people to be holy as he is holy, he means we are to maintain distinctions between ourselves and the world around us by imitating God himself” (The Essential Bible Companion, 19).

I am sure there are a number of good applications that we could make from Leviticus, but I can only mention a few that hit me between the eyes as I re-read Leviticus. First, Leviticus reminds us that it takes incredible sacrifice to eliminate or wipe away the effects of our sin so that we can be in the presence of God. Bottom line: Sin is serious. This is convicting to me personally because somehow over time I have worked-up a nonchalant relationship with my sin. For example, when I sin I tend to do so in a way that deliberately predicts the grace that I will receive immediately when I confess. I personally do not have to participate in any intricate process for my sin to be obliterated, so I think to myself, “there is now no condemnation for those of us who are in Christ Jesus” and that nothing can separate us from the love of Jesus Christ (Romans 8). While these things are certainly true, the New Testament reiterates that grace should never cause us to feel some sort of stagnant peace with our sin (see Romans 6:1,15; Hebrews & James, also). As Christians each of us have been given the confidence to enter the “holy place” by the blood of Jesus (Heb. 10) and though we may not offer up grain offerings or animal sacrifices like the ancient Israelites did, we do well to recall often that our merciful standing before our holy creator God required the sacrifice of Jesus Christ’s flesh. Texts like Leviticus 10:1-3 provide a good corrective to my inappropriate abuse of God’s grace through Jesus Christ. If you don’t have a Bible with you, that text presents two sons of Aaron as offering unwarranted incense before the Lord. Aaron’s two sons, Nadab and Abihu, were immediately consumed (a.k.a killed) by fire that came out from the presence of the Lord. The Lord’s words that follow directly after this incident give me goose-bumps. He says, “By those who come near me I will be treated as holy, And before all people I will be honored.” And then the text follows, “So, Aaron, therefore, kept silent.”

I’m just relieved Aaron kept silent.

Sometimes we can get so comfortable in our theological constructs that we need to read something shocking to awaken us from our spiritual slumbers. One of the things that the wonderful and legendary Dr. Greg Beale used to say in class at Wheaton was: “Sometimes you need to comfort the afflicted, but other times you need to afflict the comforted.” I have this phrase written in the front page of my Bible because I have found it very useful in my own walk with the Lord. Sometimes I am so broken and so desperate for hope that I need to meditate on a comforting passage in Scripture, but other times these dry bones need a rebuke so that they can dance once again.

My second application is perhaps a little more questionable, maybe even controversial, and has proved difficult for me to form into words. Forgive me in advance for my lack of precision. It tends to characterize my generation more than it does my Mom’s generation. It has to do with my generation’s all-too-often nonchalant relationship to our holy Creator. While I am sure we could exposit this for hours, I just want to give one main example. Lately I have overheard several staunch believers publicly utter words like “I am so ticked off at God" but the word used wasn't 'ticked', if you know what I mean. I’ve heard even more crass statements than that one to describe this same sort of thing but do not feel comfortable quoting these words on a blog because most of them involve swear-words. I am sure you can imagine the type of thing I am referring to. Most of these people connect their confession of anger toward God with “being authentic” and “keeping it real”. I am getting the feeling that there is some sort of underlying and unquestioned assumption that “keeping it real” and “being authentic” means sharing and expressing to others most everything that our soul emotes, even in its darkest and most wicked places. A few times I have actually gotten the sense that some might even parade their anger toward God as some sort of boast of their own authenticity. Something about this makes me unashamedly queasy. One of the reasons crass comments like “I am so ticked off at God” bother me is that they sound suspiciously similar to the rants of the rest of the world which continually condemn God for everything gone wrong, minor or major. We should be set apart from the world, especially in our confessions of God’s faithfulness and justice.

Having said all of this, I do think my generation’s love and passion for authenticity is tremendously commendable, I am just not sure it is always fleshed out appropriately. I think the reason we prize authenticity is because the temptation of the generations before us might have been toward quietly bottling up their anger with God while serving Him ingenuinely in their local churches. But, I guess my question is, in our desire to “keep it real”, “to be authentic”, and to flee far from hypocrisy, are we disrespecting our God? And if so, where is the line?

I don’t think there are any simple answers and I am certainly not out to offer solutions, because I simply don’t have them. I do think, however, that the thin line here lies somewhere between the paradox so eloquently described in Matt Redman’s words in the song “Face Down”. The lyrics go something like this, “Welcomed in to the courts of the King, I’ve been ushered in to your presence…Lord, I stand on your merciful ground, yet with every step tread with reverence.” The paradox that we experience as a Christian is this: we may stand on merciful ground, but we do so ever mindful of God’s other-ness. The paradox gives us the luxury to confidently pour out hearts before our God who is our refuge and with whom we have a personal relationship through Jesus Christ. The paradox, however, never allows us to do so in a crass or unacceptably colloquial manner that undermines the holiness of God. The hard truth is that we are going to endure times that we feel God is absent or even that He is forsaking us in a certain situation but we should be careful how, when, and to whom we verbalize it. Perhaps, in smaller matters that mostly have to do with our distrust in God, we may need to repent of our unbelief. In matters of great disasters that leave our heads completely spinning in devastation, perhaps we should first confess to Him our anger and grief in our personal prayer lives or maybe even with an individual and very trusted accountability partner. He obviously knows when we are angry with Him, so we should confess this to Him, plead with Him, and pour out our hearts to Him in truth, but must we always publicly express our displeasure toward God? Perhaps you have better answers and solutions than I do, but I do fear that our crass expressions may expose our disrespect for an almighty God more than they expose our personal authenticity.

Jesus promised that in this world we will have trouble, so let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful (Heb. 10). And when those moments come that we feel abandoned by God, let us take heart knowing that for now we see in a mirror dimly, but there is going to be a day when we will see face to face. Yes, sister, one of these days, we shall know fully (1 Cor. 13:12). God simply has not revealed all of the information we need to be able to judge and assess all the trials in our lives and all the suffering in our fallen world. We may never understand the trials we go through on this side of glory. Consider Job’s sufferings and how he never once knew the reality behind his suffering. We, the readers of Job know why he suffered, but he himself never knew and after forty chapters of questionings and turmoil, all Job could do was utter to God: “Behold I am insignificant…” and “I know that Thou canst do all things…I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know…But now my eyes see Thee, Therefore I retract and I repent…(Job 40-42). I believe that when we know in full, we will declare God just and true, and that perhaps we will wish that we hadn’t been so quick to condemn Him for all our earthly trials.

“Great and marvelous are Thy works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Thy ways, Thou King of the nations. Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? For Thou alone art holy; For ALL THE NATIONS WILL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE THEE, For Thy righteous acts have been revealed.”
Revelation 15:3-4

Anxiously waiting for ALL of God’s righteous acts to be revealed,
Melissa Moore Fitzpatrick

Typical Monday Randomness

Howdy dear Ladies!

I say "howdy" this morning with complete and utter integrity because I have spent the last three days in the promised land that is the Lone Star State. Colin and I flew out of Atlanta on Friday to San Antonio and then drove deep into the Hill Country of Texas for a very close friend's wedding...and what a wedding it was! We met up with the rest of the Moore clan and many other wonderful people for a long-awaited day. It was a grand celebration.

Speaking of grand celebrations...many of you are celebrating the final week of the "No Other Gods" Bible Study. Congratulations to each of you for finishing strong!

Oh, and we wouldn't leave you without any pictures from this weekend!

Three Moore-Girls with the Mister:



Beth with the most obedient younger daughter:



Our 19th attempt at getting the Mister to look at the camera:



Mom was leading the dance-pack:



Beth, Melissa, and life-long friend Papa Seelig:



The Fam (minus Curtis who wasn't able to join us):



Colin and Jackson, The Fitzpatricks always attempt to bribe with gifts for the Mister:

While Edouard Drops By Town

Hey, Siestas! While many of you are doing the usual thing, a lot of us in the Houston-Galveston area are holed up in our homes waiting for Tropical Storm Edouard to drop by town. (What was someone thinking? If it's coming to Texas, it would be more aptly named Tropical Storm Bubba. If you must call it "Edouard," please roll a very long "r.") I was planning to take a much needed day off but I'd intended on doing it at the Galleria shopping with AJ while our darling Jackson was at Mother's Day Out. As it turns out, most of the LPM staff has been instructed to stay home and only a few that live just down the street from the ministry are going to the office. It's really not a day for getting your shopping bags to the parking lot of a large mall. It's that kind of day when your umbrella turns inside out (I hate when that happens) and you nearly do the Mary Poppins.

So here we are at the Moore home, rain peppering against the windows: Keith, Amanda, Jackson, Beckham (very large sweet, sweet Golden Retriever), Queen Esther (AKA: Star - 3 month-old very happy, very active Border Collie), Angelina (AKA: Geli, Keith's 2 month old German Shorthair - ADORABLE and has the cutest antics. She acts a lot like a bucking bronco at this point) and Little Fig (no trouble at all, mostly just causes AJ a few waves of nausea at this point). Curtis is speaking at a camp so he's missing all the action. Amanda adds: Pics of the puppies are coming soon! They're on my laptop but it's at my house.

These are some highlights from the morning:
*Amanda very sweetly and patiently to Jackson at the breakfast table with his fruit cocktail: "Son, when you need to wipe off your hands, can we use a napkin instead of your hair?" (There's not a bit of fresh fruit in the house. That's why he had to have fruit cocktail. I hate having to feel guilty. And I hate fruit. Come to think of it, I do have cherries but Amanda swears they were the very things that caused the Great Diaper Blow-out of 2008.)

*It is 10:40 and AJ is on her third breakfast. Amanda adds: First my toast and canadian bacon, then Jackson's uneaten toast, and finally some Cocoa Pebbles.

*The TV is messing up because of the storm so we're watching Lion King. Jackson loves it. It only took Amanda a record 17 seconds to start crying. That "Circle of Love" opener gets her every time. Amanda adds: Um, that would be "Circle of Life."

*I've given Jackson some multicolored stick notes to amuse himself and the room is well wallpapered in them. If you really squint, it kinda has that stained glass look. Now Jackson's mad. A green one is stuck to his heel.

*I'm hungry but I can't think of what I want to eat. Since Edouard decided to drop by at the very last minute, we just weren't prepared with the great snacks I prefer for a long hold up. Most of what's in the kitchen are the extra ingredients we didn't need for our LPM lunch feast by Melissa last week. Today we can eat all the Ricotta Cheese and dill weed we want. (Don't call CPS. We have plenty of Jackson food. It's me I'm whining about.) Amanda adds: I'm not gonna lie. I got excited when I saw Spaghetti-O's with meatballs in the pantry this morning. That's what I'll be having.

We love you. We hope you love us. Especially today. We need love.

UPDATES: (I know you are sitting on pins and needles.)
*Yes, Mr. Ed it is. Very good, Siestas. Very good indeed. I should have thought of that myself. I was late taking my vitamins this morning or I would have.

*Many rousing rounds of hide and seek. Oh, the joy Bibby brought Jackson when she hid in the dog crate.

*Keith went to the store! What a man!!! Groceries galore!! Fruit for the Mister: Grapes, nectarines, strawberries. Snacks for AJ and me: moon pies, stuff for queso. Real food for Keith to actually cook. Ick.

*AJ is eating spaghetti-o's with meatballs.

Please, stay tuned. This is liable to be a nail biter.

*Yes, that's exactly what we'll do with the Ricotta. Almond flavoring and almonds. Yep. Great idea. Y'all are brilliant. I'm not doing that tomato thing though. That would require cooking. And my oven mitt is out on the bike seat.


UPDATE FROM MELISSA IN ATLANTA:
UM, I JUST GOT OFF THE PHONE WITH MY MOM. I ASKED HER HOW SHE WAS DOING AMIDST THE TROPICAL STORM/HURRICANE EDOUARD AND SHE ANSWERED LIKE A THIRTEEN YEAR OLD. SHE SAID, "WELL, I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOO BORED, MELISSA." AND THEN SHE SAID SOMETHING THAT REALLY SCARED ME. SHE SAID, "OH, AND I JUST BAKED A CAKE." YOU KNOW WITHOUT A SHADOW OF DOUBT THAT MY MOM IS BORED TO TEARS WHEN SHE BAKES A CAKE FOR NO GOOD REASON. WELL, I GOTTA GET BACK TO MY RESEARCH...SOME PARTS OF THE COUNTRY ACTUALLY HAVE TO GO TO WORK TODAY. LORD, THAT THIS EDOUARD WOULD PASS SO THAT I COULD GET SOME OF MY BRAIN CELLS BACK.

Beth: WELL, THEN ALL OF YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT THE REASON I AM SO BORED IS BECAUSE AMANDA AND JACKSON ARE SOUND ASLEEP AND HAVE BEEN FORRRRRRR-EVERRRRRRRRRR. AND YOU MIGHT AS WELL ALSO KNOW THAT I HOME MADE CHOCOLATE ICING FOR THAT CAKE, TOO. IT LOOKS LIKE THEY'D SMELL IT AND WAKE UP. MAYBE I'LL TRY TO TAKE A NAP, TOO. OR MAYBE I'LL JUST HAVE ANOTHER CUP OF COFFEE.

3:00 PM. Amanda and Jackson still asleep. Watching Rachael Ray. (Why? Because I just baked a cake, didn't I???) Did you know you can get Ecoli (sp?????) from your purse?

7:40 PM. 20 minutes before Jackson's bedtime. All three dogs look like very happy drowned rats...and smell like them, too. Keith is watching the hunting channel acting like the rest of us aren't here. He earned that right after making King Ranch Chicken for all of us for dinner. And used every pan in the kitchen. I'm sending those to Washington State, too. All of our hair looks like lightening struck the house and we were all holding golf clubs. Amanda and I are in the corner of the kitchen floor playing matchbox cars with a two and a half year old who does not appear to be in the remotest ballpark of sleepy. We knew we were descending into delirium when, a few minutes ago, we broke out in an impromtu duet of the 80's version of "Pass It On" with our best Tiny Tim voices. To which Jackson yelled, "NOOOOOOOOOO!"

Oops. The matchbox car just broke.

Amanda's having more cake.

It's the circle of love.

...And yet another Common Meal!!!!

This week’s common Meal!

Greetings my LADIES! I hope that each of you have had a wonderful and blessed weekend! I just arrived back to Atlanta after a fantastic week with my family and Living Proof co-workers in Houston. We had such a blast. Apparently I lost my mind and volunteered to cook lunch for everyone at the Ministry on Friday. I had no idea how much time and energy it would take to cook for twelve people and realized I had been overly-ambitious when I was still up at 1:00 a.m. on Friday morning. Well, I persevered and we ended up having one of the funniest and most enjoyable lunches I have ever had at Living Proof. This really had very little to do with the quality of the food but everything to do with the magic that happens when a bunch of women gather around a table crowded with food. Funny women are absolutely my favorite people in the world. One of my co-workers, Susan Kirby, is seriously one of the most interesting and hilarious people I know. She is over thirty-years older than I am and I honestly would rather have a conversation with her than most women my age. I hope this week’s recipes spark as much fun and honest conversation as ours did at Living Proof this past week.

This week’s main dish is going to be taken from the “No Other Gods” workbook on pages 160-161 (read all of pages 160 & 161). The recipe looks awesome by the way and I am also planning on making it for my really good-looking husband sometime soon. Kelly Minter calls the recipe “Cathy Lorenzo’s Authentic Italian, Ridiculous, Over-the-Top-Will-Make-You-Cry Chicken Cutlets” (see page 160) along with “Mom’s Sauce” on page 161. Can’t wait to see how it comes out! My guess is this authentic Italian sauce will leave your house smelling divine!

I am including two desserts for you to choose from. Obviously the cake is more intense than the take-it-and-go bars but both recipes are very good.

Peanut-Butterscotch Crunch Bars (makes 16 bars)

These no-bake-bars are wonderful! They are glorified Rice-Krispy treat sort-of bars, if you know what I mean. I got this recipe from a ridiculously good cook-book called “The Summertime Anytime Cookbook” by Dana Slatkin. I sent these with Colin to work and they delivered a serious blessing.

1/2 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup smooth, salted peanut butter
6 cups Special K cereal
1 cup milk chocolate or semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips

1. Lightly grease a 9x12 inch baking dish.

2. In a large saucepan over low heat, dissolve the sugar into the corn syrup, being careful not to let the mixture boil.

3. Dissolve the peanut butter into the sugar mixture, turn off the flame, add the crushed cereal, and mix well.

4. Spread the cereal mixture evenly into the prepared baking dish.

5. Over a double boiler or in a microwave, melt the chocolate and butterscotch chips together. Spread the topping over the cereal mixture and let it stand at room temperature until firm, about 1 hour. Cut into 2x3 inch bars.

Melissa’s Notes: Cut the bars with a very hot knife and then store them in an airtight container and they will keep beautifully for up to 1 week.

Swiss Chocolate Cake

This recipe is very important to me because a woman very dear to me made this and it was the first and the last chocolate cake that I have ever liked. This is a chocolate cake recipe designed even for white- cake-only-lovers.

For the Cake:
1 Swiss Chocolate Cake Mix (if you cannot find Swiss Chocolate use any choc. Cake mix)
1 small box instant vanilla pudding mix
3 eggs
1 ½ Cup Milk
1 cup Vegetable Oil

Mix chocolate cake mix with pudding and eggs; add milk and oil. Bake in 3 round cake pans at 350 degrees for 25 – 30 minutes. Cool layers thoroughly before icing. (I take a bread knife and split the layers to make 6 thin layers but you can do a 3-layer cake if you would rather)

For the Swiss Chocolate Icing:
8 oz. Cream cheese, softened
1 cup Powdered Sugar
12 0z. Carton cool whip topping, thawed
½ cup Finely Chopped pecans
2 Regular sized Hershey bars, grated

Cream sugar and cream cheese together until smooth. Add Cool Whip, pecans and Hershey bars. Spread icing between each layer and on top only. Chill until you are ready to serve.

Melissa Notes: I like to ice the cake really thin so that I can ice the whole cake but if you don’t have enough icing to do ice the entire cake then just ice the top and let the brown layers show through. I think it is prettier to ice the whole cake, but either way, your taste-buds will be pleased with you.

P.S. Since I REALLY love you, I cannot help but to include those of you who are meeting for brunch. So, here is a fun brunch recipe!

My Favorite Hash Brown Quiche (adapted quite a bit from “Stop and Smell the Rosemary” cookbook)
Serves 6 to 8

24 ounces frozen uncooked shredded hash browns, thawed
5 1/3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs, beaten
½ cup half and half
½ teaspoon seasoned salt
4 ounces PepperJack cheese, shredded (1 cup)
4 ounces Gruyere cheese, shredded (1 cup)
1 Large Shallot, finely diced
1 cup diced ham
Fresh or dried parsley for garnish

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Press hash browns into quiche pan. Blot with paper towel to remove all moisture. Brush with melted butter. Bake 25 minutes. Remove from oven. Reduce oven to 350 degrees. Combine eggs, half and half, and salt. Mix the cheeses, ham, and the diced shallot and place mixture in hash brown shell. Pour egg mixture over top. Bake 40 to 50 minutes. Garnish with parsley.

P.P.S. I am attempting to find an awesome Chicken Salad recipe. I LOVE Chicken Salad and I am always making new recipes to find the best one. So, if you have an outstanding recipe for Chicken Salad, don’t be shy and selfish with it, post it on your reply!!!

Much LOVE,
Melissa

Oh and I wanted to add the most recent picture of The Fitzpatricks. Five great months of marriage and counting....

Melissa’s Soapbox of the day…

If you haven’t gotten the memo…

It is really “hip” to be “green." To be “green," for the purposes of this blog entry, is to be environmentally sound or beneficial. There are a million ways that this very fashionable word can be defined, so I want to make sure that I limit the definition. We also need to do that with our revered term “Siesta." Mom, can you do that? I know you’re hurting for things to do. Now back to the point. Being green is hip. So hip, in fact, that organic produce and spaceship looking automobiles have become the next best thing since white high-top Reeboks and leg-warmers in the 80’s.

These days I never feel cooler than when I walk into “Whole Foods” with my reusable bag made from 80% post-consumer waste. My fellow organic shoppers and I gaze in dismay as “the others” walk out of the store with several brown paper bags that they will undoubtedly throw away after just one use. Gasp.

And as I make my way out of Whole Foods, I sneak away quickly so that none of the other eco-friendly shoppers can see me get into my big SUV with a Texas license plate. I have to be careful exiting the parking-lot, so as not to run over their three-foot scooters. I then make my way back to my apartment, and I sense freedom. I am sure that none of them can see me anymore. I approach my front door, set down my 80% post-consumer waste bag, and I do the following things: 1) I flip on almost every light switch in the house. 2) I drink a bottled water to refresh me from my hard work. 3) I crank up the air-conditioner full-blast. 4) I throw the bottled water in the trash, without even thinking about recycling. 5) I throw away all of the little plastic bags that the fresh produce comes in because I just want the mess out of the kitchen. 6) I clean up everything with paper towels. The really thick kind (only Viva brand). 7) I take a second shower for the day, because I feel gross. 8) I throw a load of two towels in the washing machine and each towel has only been used once.

The dead-honest truth is that after I get my approval-fill for the day at the local Whole Foods, I go right back to my over-consumptive ways. I can only think of one word for this: HYPOCRISY. Big time. Though my husband does not know about my self-righteous and childish behavior at Whole-Foods, he told me a few weeks ago, semi-lovingly, that my answer to most everything around the house is: “just throw it away." Ouch. That hurts. And the worst thing about it is, it’s true.

Well, the Lord has really been confronting me not only about my wastefulness but also my apathy about taking care of the world I live in. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised that when I walked into church on Sunday morning the title of the sermon was “God is Green." I will say honestly that the title “God is Green” sort of creeps me out. There is something about this blanket statement “God is Green” that I don’t feel comfortable with. I don’t really want to equate anything with the person of God that can be interpreted as a peppy political agenda. It seems like an easy way to claim and market that God is on board with our current passion. I thought to myself, “Perhaps my semantic disagreement with the sermon title can help me be cynical enough not to receive this holy chastening I am about to get…I mean, good grief, my husband has already left me limp.” The problem is that not liking the sermon title did not rid me of the responsibility to listen to the pastor’s words. One thing I always want to be willing to do is to approach the Bible with an open and willing heart, ready to change any actions that are incongruent with what the text says. And I’ve got to admit, this preacher kept his finger in the biblical text, and presented a clear and timely word for Christians to be better and more informed stewards of the earth. Well, conviction came, even in spite of a catchy sermon title. I even went home that Sunday and did some more research about what the Bible says about the relationship between the people of God and the environment.

Here are my top three reasons for wanting to get more informed about how I can do my part. I know there are a million reasons, but these are simply the ones that are most significant to me:

1. Theologically, taking care of the earth is significant because creation is one of the ways that God reveals himself to mankind. The preacher on Sunday equated damaging or destroying the earth to ripping a page of the Bible. His point is this: God reveals himself in creation (Psalm 19), so when a person is a poor steward or caretaker of the earth, he or she suppresses God’s revelation in creation. I thought this was an interesting comparison. Obviously, God’s general revelation in creation is not salvific, so it is not exactly the same as tearing a page out of Scripture, but he certainly has a point. Since people look at the wonders of the earth and often see the beauty of God, not taking care of it is simply foolish. Since God’s revelation through the creation is a sort of apologetic to all of humankind, we need to be careful not to suppress its witness.

2. In the creation account in Genesis, God gives man dominion over the earth. He says, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness, and let them rule over…all the earth, and over every creeping thing” (1:26). He then takes Adam into the garden “to cultivate it and to keep it” (2:15). Some have interpreted this sort of dominion language as some sort of beastly mastery over the earth. This is a blatant misinterpretation of the text. As the preacher said on Sunday, “We do not beat the earth into submission.” As Philip Hughes says, “God, in short, gave man the world to master, but to master to the glory of the Creator, by whom man himself, to be truly human, must first be mastered” (Philip Hughes, The True Image: The Origin and Destiny of Man in Christ). The earth remains God’s earth, and we are simply stewards over it. A very important part of our function as human beings then is to carefully rule over the earth as the Lord God would see fit. Stewardship in general is a very significant theme throughout Scripture, especially in the gospels, and should be applied wholistically to each of our lives (see Matthew 25).

3. Christians have been known to argue that since the earth is just going to burn up in the end-times, our efforts to save it are futile. This is not only a very negative application of eschatology, but it is a good example of how our theology affects our behavior. My very favorite professor Dr. Douglas J. Moo has briefly discussed this sort of attitude in an article called “Nature in the New Creation: New Testament Eschatology and the Environment” that was published in Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 49 (2006) 449-88. Dr. Moo is in my humble opinion in the very top tier of New Testament evangelical scholars. His point here is that apathetically thinking “the earth is just going to burn up anyway” flies in the face of the “biblical mandate for Christians to be involved in meeting the needs of the world in which we now life”. As Dr. Moo remarks, “I may believe that the body I now have is destined for radical transformation; but I am not for that reason unconcerned about what I eat or how much I exercise…To be sure, our efforts must always be tempered by the realization that it is finally God himself, in the future act of sovereign power, who will transform creation. And we encounter here the positive side of a robust eschatology. Christians must avoid the humanistic 'Green utopianism' that characterizes much of the environmental movement. We will not by our own efforts end the 'groaning' of the earth. But this realism about our ultimate success should not deter our enthusiasm to be involved in working toward those ends that God will finally secure through his own sovereign intervention.”


So there they are, the top three arguments that beckon me to change my ways, even if it is inconvenient. In case you haven’t noticed, this blog is RANDOM. In many ways, this blog is a reflection of what it is like sitting at the Moore-Jones-Fitzpatrick family dinner table. RANDOM. The conversation goes from the intense to the absurd, the devastating to the triumphant, and the controversial to the mundane, all in record time. Oh and if you get this memo before we run onto the next random subject… don’t just jump on the eco-friendly bandwagon because it’s cool or trendy, but please don’t rebelliously avoid it for the very same reasons. At the end of the day, do it because as Christians we should be at the forefront of those who care for God’s earth. Perhaps acting as good stewards and taking excellent care of this earth for God in the here and now will somehow prepare us for a time when we will reign along with God in the new creation (see Revelation 5:10; 20:6; 22:5). So, if you are like me, a complete dummy when it comes to eco-friendly consumption, let’s take it upon ourselves to learn a little more about caring for God’s earth. I think I’ll start by trying to figure out where the closest recycling center is.