Thanks, by the way, to those who have actually gone to my website, PastorCal.com, and contributed comments. It’s fun to share my perspective on things and to get yours in return. Keep them comments coming!

What Do You Measure? – LeadingSmart.

A secondary goal is to provide me an opportunity to make a difference. It will be difficult to put a dollar figure on savings, since I probably only drink two pots of coffee a week and have greatly reduced my soda consumption. I’ll figure something out. Does anyone want to support me? We could call it a Drink-a-Thon. For every day I drink only water, people could pledge money. (We just need to clarify what we mean by Drink-a-Thon!)

When I started to think about thirst, I also started to think about hunger. Drinking only water seems like it will be too easy! A year ago, I thought it would be good to only eat what refugees in Darfur eat for the Lenten season. I have a diet that was given to me by some people who did it. It’s included below.

Then I thought, “Why not make it a Haiti diet?” So, I started to search for what Haitian refugees eat. One of the first things I came across was this article, “Mud cakes become staple diet as food prices soar.” When I think that back in July of 2008 already some of the people in Haiti were eating mud cakes to stave off hunger, it helps me to realize that the current crisis is huge. I don’t know that I could survive the “Haiti diet” for long.

I’ve sent you a number of times to read what Anne Jackson is experiencing on her trip to Haiti. On Monday, the situation was desperate in the community that they were in. She writes, “Supply trucks and relief organizations drive by this city every day and don’t stop. We’re about to return and are praying for a miracle.” As often happens, when we’ve tried everything we can, we pray.

I don’t have the exact sequence of events correct (just going by the dates on her blog), but what an amazing response!

I’d love to go and be a part of caring for the people of Haiti. It probably won’t happen anytime soon. In the meantime, I can eat and drink differently to help me remember their plight and to make whatever small difference I can from here. As for the Darfur Diet? I’m praying about it. Would you join me in praying?

Based on what we observed on our most recent trip to Chad, Jeremiah and Eric will try to closely match the daily rations of a Darfur refugee.

Cracked Wheat – Daily, 7 oz. (weight not volume) (686 Calories)
Farina Wheat Cereal – Daily – 1.17 oz  (weight not volume) (123 Calories)
Yellow Split Peas – Daily 1/6 Cup (82 Calories)
Oil – Daily 2.4 TSPNs (96 Calories)
Sugar – Daily 2 TSPNs (30 Calories)
Salt – Daily 1/10 Teaspoon per day.
Total of 1,017 Calories

Hello Pastor Calvin,

This is Eric, Gabriel forwarded your email to me. Thank you for your interest in our work to bring more attention to the suffering in Darfur and the camps for the displaced. I’d be happy to talk with you and offer any help I can, I will outline what I did for meal prep below, and please feel free to call me if you want.

For breakfast the Farina/cream of wheat cereal was easy to prepare. Following the directions on the box is easy, cooking on the stove with your smallest pot is the preferred way and only takes 2 or 3 minutes. It is possible to do it in the bowl using a microwave, but you have to watch it extremely closely and pause it, stir, and then resume whenever it starts to bubble up, or else it will explode in the microwave. I used 1 tablespoon of dry Farina cereal as my daily ration.

I work in an office, so I would prepare my lunch the night before or in the morning, and then put it in a Tupperware container and bring it into work, and then reheat in the microwave (this works well, and there is no exploding/mess like the Farina cereal). The total daily ration for cracked wheat is a little more than 1 cup, but I would usually just do 1/2 cup for lunch and 1/2 cup for dinner. I used Bob’s Red Mill brand cracked wheat and the box called for a 3 to 1 ratio of water to wheat, so I would boil 1 1/2 cup water with 1/2 cup wheat for approximately 20 minutes (time starts when the water starts to boil). Once the water starts to boil I would lower the heat to a very low setting and then put a lid on the pot. I divided my sugar ration so that I would sprinkle 1 teaspoon on my 1/2 cup lunch serving, and 1 teaspoon on my 1/2 cup dinner serving.

For lunch, it only takes 1-3 minutes in the microwave to reheat your tupperware container (if you choose to pack your lunch into work). If you cook it in the morning and then seal it in the tupperware while still hot, it might remain hot enough so that you don’t need to reheat it much if you eat lunch early.

For dinner, your tasty treat is your split peas. I pre-soaked my peas overnight to soften them a bit, but I don’t believe Jeremiah pre-soaked his, so either way will work. I boiled the peas in water for 10-20 minutes, usually 20 minutes. Be careful to boil them at a low-boil. A few times I had too rapid of a boil, and it turned the peas into a mushy mess. After boiling, I drained them, and then put them in a small cup/bowl and topped them with the daily oil ration and salt ration. I believe Jeremiah used his oil in the cooking process, but I prefered to use the oil as a topping to make sure I didn’t lose any of it in the process. So that’s dinner, your peas and your 1/2 cup of cracked wheat.

There’s no reason why you have to follow this “menu”, this is just how I did it. I chose to stick to a regiment, and didn’t vary it from day to day. Good luck, and please let us know how it goes and if we can be of any further assistance or support.

Eric Angel

As of tomorrow, Lent officially begins. The sermon series during Lent will be called, “The Disciples’ Journey.” As you can imagine, when you encounter the Son of God in the flesh, He changes you. There are not many people in the Gospels who are actually named and even fewer who are named more than once. We’ll take a look at some of those whom we can follow “over time” and see how God changed them. Our prayer will be that by knowing how God has worked in the past, we can see Him work in our lives in the same way.

I didn’t make it as clear on Sunday as I could have, but this new series follows nicely on the heels of the previous one. When we travel through the valleys well, they lead us to worship God more and to accept His will for our lives. Worshiping God and following Him are the keys to joy. What we’ll see in the lives of the followers of Jesus is that they were transformed by God when they came to know Him better and accepted His plan for their lives.

This transformation from “our way” to “His Way” can be pictured very nicely by the image of the cross. That instrument which Jesus willingly picked up that lead to His death and resurrection is the same instrument that He teaches us to (figuratively) take up. Jesus said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23) That cross will be the image that is held before us during Lent as we make our way toward Good Friday, then Easter.

The people that we’ll be looking at are:

Today marks the 20th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release after 27 years in prison. His name is known throughout the world for the pivotal role he played in leading South Africa from apartheid to democracy and from hatred to reconciliation. What struck me as I listened to the report was the last line of his speech in 1964. “It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. In particular, what do I expect from God and what am I willing to give to Him? I think I expect a lot more than I’m willing to give.

I wonder, “What would I dedicate my life to?” and “What am I willing to die for?” As a Christian, I know that my answer should be “the kingdom of God.” But when I look at how I live, I question whether that is really true. I know myself. I know that I am more interested in receiving life than giving it. More interested in being filled than filling others. More interested in asking what my God can do for me than what I can do for God and others.

Along with the words of Nelson Mandela, I hear also the words of Jesus Christ:

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. ²⁶ What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? ²⁷ For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. ²⁸ I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” (Matthew 16:24-28)

And I pray, “Change my heart, O God. Make it ever true. Change my heart, O God. Make me more like you.”

It’s impossible to feel this sort of connection with every person who died or was injured in the earthquake in Haiti. Our brains and our hearts can not handle that. These sorts of stories are good because they put a “face” to the “body” of the victim.

I do wonder, though, if I would feel the same sort of connection if he weren’t white, Minnesota, seminarian…if he weren’t like me. What if he was a poor Haitian rather than a wealthy American? A criminal instead of a pastor? Would I still feel connected? Would I care as much? I doubt it…and that admission saddens me.

It’s easy to love those who are like us (or, I should say, easier). As Jesus said, it’s more commendable to love those who are either not like us or who actually threaten us. I have a long way to go to become the person Jesus would have me be.

Nicholas: So, Lisa, I have to ask you this. You’ve just heard yourself described as a messenger of God – the transformative effect you’ve had on Generose’s life. You listen to that. What does that make you feel like?

Lisa: It’s humbling because it was so easy. What I’ve done is nothing compared to what she’s lived through.

Nicholas: But when you sit here and hear Generose and hear the way she talks about you, does it all seem incredibly worthwhile?

Lisa: “…I can’t think of a better reason to be alive.”

Hmmm. “It was so easy,” she said. To transform another person’s life. To make a real and lasting and permanent change. “So easy.” Can you think of something that would be easy to do that could change another person’s life – even if just for today?

I’ve always liked Brick Breaking kinds of games. This is one of my favorites (so much so that I have to uninstall it every once in a while!).

The Early Church from Granger Community on Vimeo.

By the way, did you know that on Sunday at 9:30, you can attend a class on 1 Peter by El La Grew? It could be…fun…insightful…challenging…helpful.