Will you take a look at this - no wonder we should focus on pure unprocessed food - I 'found' some breaded fish filets in the freezer and set to 'peeling' them - removing the breading. When I saw the actual size of the fish pieces, I realized that most people would hesitate to pay that price for what would be a much smaller package of product, yet we are willingly often paying more for filler, coating, and unhealthy additions to real food.
All that breading was actually on the three pieces shown. The smaller photo is the actual three pieces of Cod, carmelized with onions.
Unexpected company coming tomorrow, so will see if I can challenge myself to eat healthy while treating some teenage boys!
Peeling breading off fish and reading and examining the PAPA prayer by Larry Crabb has impacted my daily thinking on prayer. How?
Well, a friend asked me today what I knew about prayer and it was a good opportunity to review the difference between petitional (Santa Claus) prayer and relational prayer. How do I coat my prayer?
Chapter 8 has a more intimate tone and much more scripture. I wish the book had started here. Crabb relates how "second-things" (blessings/results/answers to prayer) are good, and quotes Deuteronomy 8:10-14 when God was talking to Israel about getting to the Promised Land: "When you have eaten, and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you." But they/we are also warned further on in the passage to "be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God...otherwise when you eat and are satisfied (when your prayers are answered i.e. perhaps children obey, spouses relate etc)... you will forget the Lord your God who brought you out of slavery."
This is key to taking our spiritual relationship that huge step closer to focusing on the 'first-thing' - WHO we are praying to - WHO we are communing with. Let's not forget that like the fish above, it is all too easy to coat the real 'first-thing' with all sorts of "attractive" or appealing second-things that we really want. Have you heard Rich Mullin's song - where he sings to the Lord, how so often when we get things from God, we want one thing more, and the chorus rings with this truth as Rich sang to the Lord, "You're my one thing." I could give you a dozen things - or more - that I REALLY want in my life right now - or in the lives of my children, grandchildren, or other loved ones. So my question to myself has to be are they - are those things - my FIRST thing - or is it knowing God, walking with Him, abiding with Him? It's comforting for me to realize that He knows and wants those things for me and for my family far more than I ever could. It's also challenging - and more on that tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment