Ron Sexsmith’s “Gold in Them Hills” always comes on shuffle for me when I really need to hear it. I don’t love the music video, but I always try to link to the official videos when I can.
If you are looking for some new music, I am cultivating another TCL spotify list this year. I try to chose one song from new albums that I like and update it from time to time with new releases.
Posted in music
Less than two weeks until Holy Week starts! Here are some new Holy Week / Good Friday printables to supplement your Holy Week and Easter at Home Just click on them and you’ll be able to save or print them.
Of course, there are ideas in the Holy Week and Easter at Home post for different ways to celebrate at home. Some of ideas require starting a few days before Palm Sunday, so it may be worth planning out in advance. And I always welcome your suggestions and love to hear how y’all are observing or have in the past.
Posted in free printables
This post is about basketball. You have been warned. Commencing obsessive fan mode:
I teared up a little when I watched Kendall Marshall address reporters last night and while I read Adam Lucas’ column when I should have been sleeping. I wasn’t mourning because the likelihood that this team will hang a national championship banner from the rafters is much slimmer now than it was 24 hours ago. I was sad for Kendall, a fantastic player and from all accounts, a really nice kid. Marshall, like so many before him, embodies the class that makes Carolina basketball. The Carolina Way is real, and it creates a team-first atmosphere that attracts players we are proud of.
Considering the NCAA sanctions against UNC’s football team that were handed down last week, that may seem a little naive. The expectation when Butch Davis was hired was that we would get much better, very quickly, and that’s not an easy burden for any team to carry. The size of a football team also makes it more difficult to execute Dean Smith style recruiting, getting the players who fit the philosophy the best, rather than just the best players available. There were certainly individuals who did wrong (both players and staff.) But as an institution UNC handled what came to light with grace and humility, and that’s the Carolina way, too. Hopefully we’ll learn something from the whole mess.
I’m obviously very proud to be a Tar Heel. And that’s not going to change even if we lose next weekend. I may shudder at the thought that State (STATE!) might even be the ones who knock us out. (May God grant us His favor that this not come to pass.) We’ve lived through worse as fans, like the 8-20 season I endured as a student. Be sad for Kendall, but don’t be sad for Carolina fans. We’ve always got a new recruit class to look forward to and the promise of another run at the Championship.
In being sad for Kendall, it is natural to have a little righteous indignation at the dirty play that is getting far too common in the NCAA. Let’s push for better officiating and for teams to stop promoting thuggery. And while we’re at it, we should also take a stand against the flop and all who encourage it. (I’m looking at you, Coach K.)
Posted in sports
Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea.
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in Heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.
When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.
Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace,
One in Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God!
[ Charitie L. Bancroft, 1863 ]
Posted in theology
One of my goals for lent was to be more disciplined – particularly in my reading of scripture, in my housework and in my writing. So far, I have failed on all three counts.
I could blame all the unexpected things that have crept up, or my chronic insomnia being particularly bad lately, but there isn’t much point.
Lent is about failure. Lent is about falling short. But lent is also about getting back up and trying again. As sinful creatures, we are limited and lack the ability to remain faithful. Still, we strive for faithfulness. We don’t strive because we can, we strive because we ought.
We remember our savior, Jesus Christ, who made himself man, and showed us the way to follow God, in perfect obedience. And we are called to walk in his way. When we fail, we confess our sin, and we keep pressing on.
In these forty days, we remind ourselves of our state as reconciled to God, but still struggling with sin. We practice mourning our sin and longing for righteousness, but we know that even as we experience the struggle to fight temptation, our victory has already been won. We see Easter on the horizon.
Lent shows us our sin more clearly, and that’s not always easy. My default response to the guilt sin brings is paralysis: I withdraw. I’m praying this lent to stay engaged in the fight, to try again.
Instead of focusing on yesterday’s failures, I will rejoice in the new opportunities to practice discipline today. I will try knowing that my work is not in vain, and incremental steps towards faithfulness are significant, in their own way. Because I long to be more like Jesus. And even if I won’t stop struggling with sin, God is making me new. And he graciously invites me to be a part of that.
Posted in theology
Gabrielle Blair of Design Mom posted today about preparing for their December photo shoot. She has an amazing vision for such things, but I couldn’t help but think that most families don’t have the same level of energy and budget for photography. As a former photographer, here are some quick, basic tips for making the most of your family photoshoot.
(1) Think “coordinating” over matching when planning your outfits. I love how my friend Dolly outfitted her family for a quick mini-shoot I did of them a few years ago.
She used several colors and lots of different shades and textures. Everyone looks like themselves and they go together. Don’t they look fantastic?
(2) Think about what the location can add to your photos. Sometimes this is determined by the photographer (for example, if you are getting a mini-session deal) but if you have a choice, pick a place that is meaningful to you right now, like the front stoop of your house, your backyard, the park you play at all the time. Let the location tell part of your story. Even if you could find a prettier spot, it’s more meaningful if its personal. If you are in a more generic space, make sure that your family will look recognizable to you twenty years in the future by utilizing styles you wear regularly.
(3) Be realistic. If you have small children, they are going to tire easily and even if you have 90 minutes with the photographer, you may only get a small window of cooperation. Prioritize what you’d like and start there. If your heart is set on a formal family picture for your mantel, tell the photographer and start there. One of the nice things about being at home is that if all falls apart, you can change outfits and get some “lifestyle” shots of your children playing and doing what they normally do. Or throw on pajamas and jump on the bed. Those may be the pictures you end up cherishing the most.
(4) Communicate with your photographer beforehand about anything that’s really important to you. Get your expectations out there and clear up any questions you have. If you have a vision for your shoot, it would be really helpful to know that beforehand so they have everything they need to help you pull it off.
Don’t worry if things don’t go just like you want them to for your photoshoot. With the advent of digital cameras and now cell phone photography, our children are bound to have far more pictures of themselves than they will ever have time to look through. A few good ones is all you really need anyway.
Posted in parental ponderings, photo love
Today is my sister’s 24th birthday. She is a very good cook and always on the lookout for good recipes. So, this recipe roundup is in her honor. Happy Birthday, Laura! Pinteresters, you can find all these recipes on my keepers board.
Beef & Barley Stew with Mushrooms from Simply Recipes was excellent, just what you’d expect from Elise, who is really good with everyday and comfort recipes – elevating them to foodie levels without going overboard. I will certainly make this again.
Cilantro Lime Rice from Skinny Taste was a great side for Homesick Texan’s Slightly Fancy King Ranch Chicken (with a corn and black bean salad as well.) It tastes the way I remember Chipotle’s rice tasting, but I haven’t eaten there in ages.
I may be the last person on earth to try Momofuku’s Crack Pie (via the LA Times). It was delicious. And a hit when I brought it to a potluck.
For variety, I also brought this Nutella Crack Pie adaptation from ShowFood Chef. The voting was split, no clear winner between the two versions. The good news is, the original recipes are for two pies, so it is super simple to make both at the same time. One crust recipe, halved the filling recipes, and I didn’t even wash the bowl between the original and nutella versions (I had scraped it well to get it all in the pie!)
Taziki’s Friday Pasta may be last (alphabetically) but it is certainly not the least. Thank you to the Birmingham News for obtaining this recipe and Taziki’s for sharing. We were craving Friday Pasta something fierce: greens, pasta tossed in vinagrette, grilled chicken, tomatoes, basil and feta. Here’s a picture Michael tweeted of his plate. We were not disappointed. 
Posted in recipes
On their popular youtube channel, Hank and John Green often note that the truth resists simplicity. When you are thinking about economics or politics or international issues, it’s a good thing to keep in mind. The world is a complex place. People are complicated, and the more people involved, the more complicated it can get.
The 24-7 news cycle seems to perpetuate over-simplification. More news doesn’t equal better news, in fact, in the race to get some analysis on the air, journalists often lose necessary nuance and perpetuate stereotypes and misinformation. The decline of print media means we have less informed people taking the time to understand situations before they report them, and that’s a loss we all feel.
Complex problems require complex solutions. For example, the problems in Central Africa are much larger than Joseph Kony* and making his capture the #1 priority for the region in Western minds probably doesn’t reflect what most Ugandans feel would make the biggest impact. For example, there is a great deal of development needed in Northern Uganda and also a health crisis called nodding disease, that has affected thousands of Acholi children in the past few years. I was very moved reading about women in Kampala tying themselves to trees yesterday in protest of the government’s failure to devote enough resources to this devastating disease.
But this problem of not engaging the world complexly isn’t new. We’ve always struggled with it. We find heroes standing for truth, beauty and goodness, and are heartbroken to learn they are narcissists or adulterers. We think of wars in terms of good guys and bad guys. We simplify even knowing that we ourselves are not simple, and our motives and actions are rarely pure.
That’s probably because the truest story we have is very simple. It’s a story where the good is immeasurably, purely good and the hero has no skeletons in his closet. It’s the story we want all our other stories to be like. And so we try to fit all the other stories into a simple narrative of good vs. evil, where evil will be vanquished and everyone will live happily ever after. In a fallen world where the characters are made in the image of God, our reductionistic efforts will fail. But if we look at these human stories as part of the big story of cosmic history, we can know that good will triumph over evil, and there will be no more suffering or sorrow or pain.
That doesn’t mean we can’t, or shouldn’t work for justice. I believe it is good and right for us to do so. But we can’t expect our human efforts to have heavenly results. There is no magic bullet, except for the coming of Jesus. It’s freeing to know that we can’t fix everything, so we can focus on doing the best we can, where we can, in ways that bring shalom.
*If you are interested in #Kony2012 in particular, I would recommend the following links:
This round-up of 10 African reactions to the Kony 2012 campaign
Kony 2012 — Why the Backlash Matters
Joseph Kony is not in Uganda (and other complicated things) from Foreign Policy magazine’s blog.
Posted in general, in the news
A thoughtful blog post often provides me with fodder for meditation for hours or even days. There are a lot of newer or new-to-me blogs I’ve been appreciating lately so I thought I’d do a little round up for you. These are all blogs with lots of contributors, so you never know quite what to expect.
Good Letters, the blog from Image. The recent entry from Kelly Foster on The Tenth Leper and the one from Sara Zarr talking about the effects of starting antidepressants are both fantastic.
Her.meneutics, the women’s blog from Christianity Today, gives women’s perspectives on news and issues noteworthy to the Christian woman. I have been pleasantly surprised when I venture into the comments on the good dialogue it produces.
Think Christian, with its tagline of “no such thing as secular,” addresses a very broad range of subjects from a theological perspective and engages readers to think Christianly about all of life.
This is Our City is a project Christianity Today launched to highlight how Christians are engaging their cities. The posts are longer, magazine-style articles, and it is updated a little less frequently.
Posted in culture
