Offering Leftovers

God.  The master and maker of everything we see, feel, touch, and breath.  He deserves more than leftovers...but, unfortunately, leftovers is exactly what I usually give Him.  I fill my already overweight schedule to a point of extreme pressure on the buttons and obese exhaustion.  Meaning, I spend my time, money, and energy on things that truly will not matter when I'm 83 wearing diapers and will seem exceptionally pointless when all that is left is eternity in heaven.  Then, after daily meetings, rushed meals and hurried break times, I take what little gusto I have left and offer it to God.
Francis Chan wrote the book Crazy Love which has something to say about this offering of leftovers.

"For years I gave God leftovers and felt no shame.  I simply took my eyes off Scripture and instead compared myself to others.  The bones I threw at God had more meat on them than the bones others threw, so I figured I was doing fine.  

It's easy to fill ourselves up with other things and then give God whatever is left...Leftovers are not merely inadequate; from God's point of view (and lest we forget, His is the only one who matters), they're evil.  Let's stop calling it "a busy schedule" or "bills" or "forgetfulness".  It's called evil."

But somewhere in our minds (that is to say in my mind) I conclude that I have given God everything I can stand to give.  I'm so consumed with other things that I am sure will further my career, help me network, or give me that once in a lifetime opportunity....and those things really mean a lot right?  No, what really means a lot is God and my relationship with Jesus.  That is what I should really be concerned about, nothing else.
This inability to understand what is truly the most important thing, is something that Francis Chan referenced Henri Nouwen's book With Open Hands for further evidence:

" 'It is hard to bear with people who stand still along the way, lose heart, and seek their happiness in little pleasures which they cling to....You feel sad about all that self-indulgence and self-satisfaction, for you know with an indestructible certainty that something greater is coming...' Or, as Luke 9:25 says, 'What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?' "

When you choose to fill your life with insignificant tasks, you fail to let God in.  Simply put- all of that pointless crap is leaving no room for God to move.  More importantly, it leaves no room for you to love God because you're too busy loving yourself and your own accomplishments.
I will end with one last quote from Crazy Love, a book I recommend for anyone searching to understand deeply God's truth....it seems to sum up that with which I struggle on the daily and hope to overcome soon.

"When we put it plainly like this-as a direct choice between God an our stuff-most of us hope we would choose God.  But we need to realize that how we spend our time, what our money goes toward, and where we will invest our energy is equivalent to choosing God or rejecting Him.  How could we think for even a second that something on this puny little earth compares to the Creator and Sustainer and Savior of it all?"

Dinner for Two

This year as part of a Christmas present for my boyfriend, I decided to make us a "romantic dinner for two" on Decemeber 16th.  I worked hard to make the average Thursday evening special and even printed out an elegant invitation to the dinner.  I inserted a small note into the invitation asking him to choose the style of food he wanted.  The options were Italian, Chinese, or Mexican food.  I am queen of Italian food and make a pretty decent Chinese stir fry, so felt pretty confident.   BUT, of course, Austin chose Mexican food.
I was rather nervous about cooking mexican for the first time at a dinner that I had made such a big deal about....unfortunately, there was no going back so I chose my meal.  This was my plan:
Fresh Queso and Hot Sauce
Chicken Verdes Enchiladas,
Spanish Rice, Black Beans,
Virgin Strawberry Margaritas, and
Sopapillas for desert.  
Decision made....but totally overwhelming.  This list was comprised of five dishes never before made by "Jen Bailey Cook Supreme" over here (Perfect, Jen, way to bite of way more than you can chew.  No pressure).
With the help of a few friends, I rounded up recipes and prepared for the dinner.  I decorated my apartment with candles, flowers, cheesy music, and a table for two.  Even if the food failed, it would look good.  Right?  I had my day planned out to ensure that everything was ready for our 7:00pm dinner and left little room for dilly-dallying.   What follows is an approximated outline of the hours of courageous first-attempts at difficult recipes leading up to my Romantic Dinner for Two:

3:30 PM-  Shower and blow dry hair....even if I run out of time later on, looking (and smelling) good is a necessity.

3:50 PM- Prep the very small, apartment-sized kitchen to begin by hanging recipes and organizing supplies.

4:00 PM- Begin the Sopapillas.  This was what I was most worried about.  I figured that I would start early just in case they needed to be redone.  The sopapilla recipe began with making homemade dough similar to that of a pie crust or biscuits and ended in frying the dough that expands and puffs with the heat.  The recipe I used can be found at: http://whatscookingamerica.net/CynthiaPineda/Sopapillas/Sopapillas.htm

5:00 PM- One melted spatula and extremely floured kitchen later, the Sopapillas are complete.  A huge sigh of relief.

5:30 PM- Begin the Enchiladas.  This recipe (given to me from Miss Celeste Castillo) was also very detail oriented and took a lot of time.  I had to cook and shred the chicken, blend my very own Verde sauce, and fry tortillas before I even assembled the enchiladas.

6:00 PM- Multitasking at its finest!  While waiting for frying oil to heat, I begin the Spanish Rice and prep the Black Beans.  I also have to take a break to wash my only 4 pots/pans (evidence of a college student) to re-use them, as well as my blender to make the Margaritas.

6:15 PM-  FULL FLEDGE PANIC ENSUES as I realize the series of loud beeps coming from my hallway is the smoke detector going off!!!  I immediately begin waving my towel at the device providing it with fresh oxygen and momentarily stopping the alarm.

6:21 PM- All windows and vents are open and turned on in attempts to keep the alarm from crying "fire" once more.  It seems that too much smoke and steam coming from my rice and frying tortillas triggered the alarm.  Only 42 minutes to complete the dinner, light a dozen candles, and pull myself together...now is not the  time for the Austin Fire Department to arrive.  

6:24 PM- I make the decision to call my father (division chief of AFD).  Our conversation goes as follows:

Hey, Dad....   

Oh, hey Jen, what's going on?    

Well, uhm....you see, I just set off my fire alarm cooking dinner for Austin.      

Oh did you? What happened?     I was just frying tortillas and didn't have the oven vent on and didn't notice the smoke, nothing huge.      

Snickering.    

I waved my towel at it and opened the windows and everything's fine, it only beeped like 5 times...but is the fire department about to show up?  

No, no if they aren't there now, no one's coming. You don't think a neighbor heard it and called, do ya?  

(Thank God, for the guys in 304 having band practice tonight) 

No, I don't think anyone heard.   

Then, I think you're good to go honey.  Just keep the vent on.    

Okay, thanks Dad. Gotta finish before he gets here!

6:28 PM- Extreme focus and concentration is poured into finishing the meal on time.  I have to finish frying tortillas, roll the enchiladas, pour the sauce and heat in the oven, finish the spanish rice and black beans, make the virgin margaritas and try not to sweat because I have to look good.

6:47 PM- All of the food is somehow miraculously, by a gift from God, complete!  I quickly jump into my "casual cocktail" attire, throw on some mascara, wipe down the kitchen, light all the candles, and push play on  the corny romantic music.

7:00 PM- Just on time, my handsome date knocks on the door with a big smile, bouquet of flowers, and warm hug.  I proudly offer him a seat and serve him his meal.  Much to my delight, everything tasted wonderful and I got plenty of compliments from Mr. Austin Hart.

His smile and excitement and sheer happiness made all of the stress fade away.  FIVE new recipes in THREE short hours and one fire scare later, I have made my date feel special...and that is what made it all worthwhile.