It’s Wednesday. I love Wednesdays and always have. They are the mid-point of a week and if things are going well it means a week well lived. If things are going not so well then you only have two more days to go. It’s a lovely sort of day and as such I’ve decided to share once again a few things that caught my fancy this week.
For your entertainment:
I love the song Brave by Sara Bareilles as it’s so empowering. I particularly love the dancing that’s done in this video as I often dance like this in secret. The truth is I can’t dance and this just made me happy. I tend towards the goofy things in life and rather enjoy moments of fun. I hope you are inspired to be brave while watching this and perhaps letting a little more of your fun side out from time to time.
Some reading as we begin Lent:
Of course I’d love for you to join me in my Lent Project. It’s a 47 day study that I am doing over the period of Lent. But I know there are other studies and other ways in which to experience Lent. I quite enjoyed the article When these are some ways to read scripture by Preston Yancy. It was an excellent reminder to me of alternative methods of reading scripture that I haven’t used in a while.
Another interesting read I stumbled across this week came from the Deeper Church Blog. Ageism in an Age of Hipster Christianity got me thinking about ageism in my denomination. Some people see young people as salvation while others see young people as not serious enough and lacking in knowledge. From the other side there are equally strange assessments about older people. In the Presbyterian tradition I don’t think it’s as cut and dried as what is implied here and I suspect there are some churches which idolize that which is older in the same way the ‘hipster model’ can be idolized but the article did give me things to think about.
Anyone seen Son of God yet? I haven’t seen the movie but I’ve seen the Hot Jesus meme that’s floating around the internet. Apparently having an attractive man playing Jesus opens the door to all kinds of strange pictures and phrases about Jesus. I wonder when I see these quotes and pictures if people would do this to other faiths or if Jesus is just free game for a reason that is unknown to me. I also wonder why we people are so fixated on this attractiveness quality either. Does it matter if Jesus is attractive or not?
It’s the first day of Lent and lots of people give things up. I didn’t give anything up but I’m always interested in what people do choose to sacrifice. Here’s a list of the top 100 things {according to twitter that is} that people are giving up for Lent this year.
Random Food Recommendations:
I often have people question how I can eat Macaroni and Cheese when I don’t consume dairy. When I say we’re having Mac ‘n Cheese I usually mean this recipe from Chef Chloe. We double the recipe, don’t toss it with broccoli, top it with homemade panko italian bread crumbs and then bake it in the oven for 30 minutes. So delicious! I serve the broccoli on the side.
I know I just posted these on Monday but seriously you must try these Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins! They were so good and froze beautifully. I intend to make a few batches of these to have on hand for when the baby arrives. They are the perfect snack.