The Word gives us hope. John says that when we receive Jesus, we get adopted into God’s family! We have a number of adoptive and blended families at Crossroads. How exciting that we, too, have the opportunity to be adopted into a forever (eternal!) family. Take some time to say a prayer for our Crossroads kids of all ages today.
How not to boil eggs
Bacon and eggs for breakfast is a low-carber’s dream meal. If I don’t have time to fix bacon & scramble eggs in the skillet, I usually whip up a smoothie in the blender or I microwave a quick Egg Beaters omelet with shredded cheese & whatever leftover meat I have handy. Today, I thought that I would be clever and make boiled eggs, but I was a bit pressed for time and didn’t want to have to fix them on the stove.
How I usually boil eggs is to place them in a pot of water on the stove and bring it to a boil, let them boil for a few minutes, then turn off the heat and let them finish cooking internally in the magical way that eggs do.
If the stove is good, then the microwave is better because it’s faster, right? Wrong.
Did you know that if you try to boil eggs in the microwave, they can explode with such force that it blows open the microwave door?
I’m surprised the force of it didn’t break my Pyrex dish. Water, egg glob and shell covered the entire interior of my microwave, as well as a pretty big splotch on the kitchen floor. It would have been a cool science experiment if it hadn’t been my breakfast, and I was already running behind. The older two will be disappointed that they missed the explosion; they had already left for school.
Needless to say, I had a smoothie this morning.
Thursday’s prayer prompt
The following is a brief prayer prompt, which is part of a weekly devotional that I’m writing for my church. You can pray for your own church family, if you like – just substitute your congregation for Crossroads. 🙂
The Word was rejected. Think about your life before you knew Jesus, or perhaps before you came to Crossroads. Why do you think people reject Jesus’ message? Think about someone you know who doesn’t know Jesus. Ask God to help them be receptive to his love. Invite them to Crossroads with you on Sunday.
What’s in a Word? (Prayer Devotional for Jan. 23)
This is the second post in a weekly installment of prayer devotionals that I’ve begun writing for my church. Since we are already partially through the week, I will include the daily prayer prompts through today.
What does it mean when someone says, “I give you my word”? We take their statement as a promise. Giving someone your word means making a commitment to do what you say you will do. When witnesses have to give a testimony in court, they speak an oath to be truthful. When two people get married, they commit to one another verbally. In a simpler time before computers and credit cards, business deals were often made with a word and a handshake. When we talk to God, we voice our prayer. Words are powerful.
This week, we talked about committing to read the Bible. Let’s look at a few things the Bible has to say about God’s word:
- In his second letter to Timothy, Paul shared his experiences about being imprisoned for the sake of the gospel message, and he reminded Timothy that “… God’s word is not chained” (2 Timothy 2:9b), which encouraged him to keep his faith during trials. Isn’t it wonderful to know that the gospel message – God’s word – is alive and strong, no matter how hard the enemy tries to squelch it?
- The author of the book of Hebrews warned us about treating God’s word flippantly. We are instructed in chapter 5 to learn the basic truths of God’s word and help others understand it, as well. Otherwise, it says that we are like babies who still drink milk when they ought to be eating solid food. Being spoon-fed might sound appetizing for a while, but we’d miss out on the delights of the buffet!
- Moses and the ancient Hebrews learned the hard way that God’s word is serious instruction. The book of Exodus (check out chapter 24) tells us about how Moses received what we know as the 10 Commandments from God, yet time and time again, the Israelites disobeyed the Lord. God’s commandments back then are just as valid today. Will we obey?
God’s word is more than just print on a page. The apostle John used “the Word” as a metaphor to describe Jesus. We’ll use John 1: 1-14 as our prayer guide this week:
(Sunday) The Word was in the beginning. Our lives are calculated by the date we are born and the date we die. There is a beginning and an end. Although we celebrate Jesus’ birthday at Christmas, we don’t actually know his birthdate. Besides, in ways that confound our human brains, Jesus already existed! The Bible tells us that he was with God in the very beginning of time. Think about your life in the timeline of history. You were created for a purpose. Ask God how you could honor him with your life.
(Monday) The Word was with God; the Word was God. One of the things that I find appealing about our community is how relational it is. People move here and plant roots; they start family businesses and get involved in the local community. Isn’t it neat to know that God the Father and Son are also in a family business? Think about the folks who sat near you at church this week. Even if you don’t know them well, take some time today to pray for them and their families. (And if you don’t know them, take a moment next Sunday to meet them!)
(Tuesday) Through the Word, all things were made. Perhaps you have freckles and wish you didn’t, or maybe you have curly hair and wish it was straight. There are countless details that we criticize about our looks, but did it ever occur to you that God made you in his own image? The first chapter of Genesis tells us so! Take some time to thank God for creating you. Marvel at his love for you.
(Wednesday) In the Word is life and light. John 1 says that the Word is the light of the world, and the darkness cannot overpower it. Imagine being in a room so full of light that there are no shadows. We all have sinful places—shadows, if you will—in our lives that we’d like to keep hidden. Ask God to reveal those shadows/sins to you, then take time to ask his forgiveness. Jesus triumphs over darkness!
Gale-force God (Prayer Devotional for Jan. 16)
This is the first in a weekly installment of prayer devotionals that I’ve begun writing for my church. Since this one has already passed, I won’t include the daily prayer prompts that followed.
I remember when Hurricane Alicia barreled through Houston in ’83—we hunkered down at home with pine trees bending like taffy and no electricity for days. It was a frightening experience. I think about Hurricane Rita coming on the heels of Hurricane Katrina—many people were still displaced from the first disaster! Now, with the anniversary of the devastating Haiti earthquake still fresh on everyone’s minds, a question arises: Why would God put us through such hard times, especially when we’re still recovering?
One of my favorite Bible characters, Elijah, went through a stormy situation that makes Alicia, Rita and Katrina pale in comparison. Elijah was a radical prophet of God, but he had run away because he feared for his life. While he was hiding in a cave one night, the Lord spoke to him:
“The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.”
1 Kings 19:11-13a [NIV]
Could you imagine standing there while the very presence of God caused the ground beneath your feet to tremble? Elijah also withstood what sounds like gale-force winds, not to mention a fire! Yet, after that tremendous display of his mighty power, God revealed himself to Elijah in a soft voice.
Elijah’s experience reminded me that God isn’t always where we most expect Him to be. His Spirit can work in our lives in tangible, dramatic ways, but also in subtle, behind-the-scenes fashion. No matter what our situation might be right now—whether chaos or calm—let us be radical like Elijah and seek God’s presence in the coming week.
Weekly devotional tidbits
As you’ve probably figured out by now, I am not always consistent with daily posts. I usually just write when an idea hits me and/or the mood strikes. Well, it looks like I’ll have more to write about now!
I’ve started down a new road of ministry at my church, and it is forcing me to write – at least on a weekly basis. We are revamping our church website and making better use of social media (particularly Facebook). We are also challenging our church family to pray. As part of that effort, I have begun writing a weekly devotional with daily prayer prompts. We will post the prompts on the website and cross-list them to our Facebook page. I’m excited about what God will do with this!
We are in the second week now, so I thought I would follow up this post with the first two weeks’ devotionals, then I’ll [try to remember to] post the daily prompts as brief blog entries. Many of the prompts are specific to our church’s ministries, but you could tailor them to your own (or pray for us – that would be great, too!).
Constructive feedback is always welcomed. 🙂
Before & After
I finally got up the nerve to face the music and submit Before/After pictures for a contest that Medi-Weightloss Clinics is running this month. I’m not at my ultimate goal weight, but I’ve lost 79 pounds to date, so I figured I’d go for it! Here’s the text of my entry:
I’ve always been strong; even at my heaviest, I could still bench press 110 lbs and inverted-leg press 730 lbs (yes, that’s a seven! 😉 ) Unfortunately, I packed on so much weight during my childbearing years that my energy level was totally zapped, I couldn’t exercise like I wanted to, and I was embarrassed to play with my kids because – let’s face it – I jiggled like Santa Claus.
After going through Medi, I’ve lost 79 lbs and fit into clothes that I haven’t worn since college! Better yet, I love being able to play basketball & football with my five boys!! Mom doesn’t jiggle anymore. 😉
And … here are my Before & After pics:
Ang Before
The finalists will be featured on Medi’s Facebook page, and the winner will be featured in their magazine. Runners-up will receive gift cards for use at Medi clinics. Whether I win or not, it has already been a fulfilling experience because of the encouragement that I’ve received … some from total strangers who saw my pics on Medi’s Facebook page (all entries have to be posted there). My overall FB settings are very strict privacy-wise, so it was a stretch for me to put myself “out there” like that. If someone else can see my progress and find it inspiring, though, then it’s worth a heaping dose of humility on my part.
Ang After
Gender pay gap still exists
In my research methods class, we had to review data for a specific industry/sector (of our choosing) and determine whether a gender pay gap exists — and if so, how drastic it is. I received positive feedback from my prof (woot!), so I figured would share my findings here:
Using 2009-10 survey data collected by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and published in The Chronicle of Higher Education, I calculated the gender pay gap among professors at public colleges and universities in the State of Georgia (25 institutions).
The greatest differences occurred within the two lowest ranks: Instructor and Assistant Professor. Among these faculty members, women made $1,850-$2,400 less than men did in median annual salary. Associate Professors and Professors made $200-$500 less by the same calculations.
I also calculated the mean (average) salaries for each faculty category, which showed a similar trend. However, the gaps at the Associate Professor and Professor level were much larger ($1,798-$1,940, respectively). Granted, the mean may not account for outliers at either end of the spectrum—those making much more or much less than others.
GA faculty pay gap graph
One possible explanation for the discrepancies between genders could include differences in work experience, which was not tabulated in the AAUP survey. It would stand to reason that faculty with more years of experience would make more. However, the rank of Assistant Professor is often an entry-level, tenure-track faculty assignment, and I do find it disconcerting that the largest pay gap occurred at this rank. A difference of $2,400 per annum equates to a significant disparity over the course of a career.
Kuaizi (“chopsticks”)
We had a hoot at dinner tonight. Most of the boys have tried using chopsticks before (it’s part of their family heritage, after all), but only No. 2 has really mastered the technique. They had beef lo mein for dinner (no recipe to share, sorry – it came from the frozen section … Yours Truly had leftover grilled fish & green beans), and I taught them one of the few sentences that I can still remember how to say in Chinese: I want chopsticks. Wo yao kuaizi. I offered them a pair of chopsticks to use if they asked me for them in Chinese. :p
Everyone was a good sport, but it’s funny to see how their individual personalities surface even in a silly task like using chopsticks.
- No. 2, of course, was more than happy to
show offdemonstrate the proper use of chopsticks. He is very competitive by nature, so this didn’t surprise me. - No. 3 lives on No. 2’s heels, always wanting to be in the same place, do the same thing, get the same privileges, etc. He would have sat there until his food got cold, because, by golly, he was going to figure it out! He did get the hang of it after a while, and he beamed with pride.
- No. 1, Mr. Independent, tried a couple of times to use the chopsticks, but he opted for a fork because it proved to be the best medium to shovel copious amounts of food into his mouth in the least amount of time. (His appetite now makes me cringe to think of what all five of them will be like as teenagers!)
- No. 4 pouted when his food fell between his chopsticks, so he resorted to poking/stabbing the food and being generally silly until I suggested that he eat with a fork. The desire to eat won out over any desire to achieve. :p
- No. 5 does not seem to have quite the same competitive streak as Nos. 2 & 3, but he definitely wants to hold his own. He also wants attention, so when he figured out how to do it, boy, the whole room knew! LOL
Dad demonstrated how to hold the chopsticks, and although he’s explained it before, I thought it was particularly helpful this time because he described it in ways they could really understand:
- Make a Spock sign with your hand.
- Rest one chopstick between your fingers (where the Spock sign splits … or the Mork from Ork sign, if you aren’t a Trekie), and let the other end rest in the crook of your thumb.
- Hold the other chopstick like a pencil.
- Use your pointer finger to squeeze the “pencil” chopstick but hold the other one still.
He had their rapt attention at “Spock sign.”
Not to be outdone (they did inherit their competitive streak from somewhere!), I had to brag a little and show them that I could eat salad with my chopsticks. Teeheehee.
Entreprenooing
The 11yo and I had a few hours of quality time earlier this week. He has been helping out with a tutoring program that our church hosts, and although there hasn’t been much need for him to work on homework problems with other kids (we are blessed to have several adult volunteers, as well), he does spend a lot of time playing games with them and reading to the little ones. I’m so proud of him and his heart for service!
Anyway, we treated ourselves to dinner before tutoring, and while we were sitting together, he asked me out of the blue: “Hey, Mom, does Baylor have any classes in entreprenooing?” I tried not to giggle and told him that Baylor actually has a whole program in Entrepreneurship. He was stoked! He then informed me that he still plans to open his own restaurant, so he will take a class in entrepreneurship, cooking and engineering (for fun).
I asked why cooking, and he said that a good restaurant owner needs to know how to cook everything on the menu, obviously!
Obviously.
I didn’t have the heart to tell him that Baylor doesn’t have a culinary arts program, but later on I thought to myself that he could study nutrition in the Family & Consumer Sciences program … especially when he learns that the department is full of girls! (He couldn’t care less right now, but something tells me that he’ll care a lot more when he’s 19! 🙂 )
Coincidentally, I ran into both the deans of Engineering and Business at a symposium on campus yesterday, so I told them about my 11yo’s big plans. They got a laugh out of it. I resisted telling them that they’re going to have to fight over him come 2018! 😉
Baylor Class of 2022, Sic ‘em! (Ok, NOW I feel old!!!)
faith, sweat & tears 