Butter Side Down

As Ben and I were eating breakfast the other day, I noticed that he was eating his toast with the butter side down and toward his tongue. I was going to correct him but stopped.

I asked myself, "Self, why don't you eat your toast butter side down? When you make a sandwich, do you not put the condiments you want to taste toward the bottom so you can taste them better? Why not eat the toast butter side down so you can fully taste the butter and the nuances of the bread that the butter brings out?"

I had no good answer for myself other than my parents corrected me when I was small and since there was no danger of the butter falling off the toast in its upside down position (as might happen with jelly, preserves, or apple butter) there's no good reason not to eat the toast butter side down.

But, then something else struck me, what other bread am I not tasting fully?

32 Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

34 "Sir," they said, "from now on give us this bread."

35 Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."

John 6:32-40 (NIV)

So, remembering Jesus, the bread of life, who gave His life for me, I joyfully turned my toast butter side down and took a big bite, savoring the melted goodness of the butter within the nooks and crannies.

"Taste and see that the LORD is good;" Psalm 34:8a (NIV)

Face Time w/McCain and Palin

This Labor Day weekend, we traveled to Pittsburgh for a regional gathering which I used to attend regularly. While we were about an hour away from the hotel, Dad (for both he and Robert were going to be there) called to tell me that a certain political candidate and his running mate were staying in hotel. At first, I thought Obama since I knew he was supposed to be in the area. I was relatively happy with this thought for we could finally give an awesome birthday present (a picture of Ben with Obama) to my father-in-law who is impossible to shop for and an Obama supporter. When Dad said it was McCain, I was ecstatic. Just that morning I had watched McCain's announcement of Palin as his running mate and I immediately liked her.

At noon on Saturday, the Straight Talk Express buses pulled up to the hotel after touring Pittsburgh. Some others from our group were waiting at the end of the hall and Ben and I were able to sneak to the front because Ben is cute and short. He tried to run out into the main hall and was stopped by Secret Service. As you can tell by his face, he wasn't really interested in waiting for McCain. He wanted to return to the game room and finish the game he was playing with Papa Mark. McCain came in and addressed the group front right in front of me. When I couldn't get Ben to come out from behind my legs, I stood up to shake McCain's hand. As I was shaking his hand, Palin came in. He asked if I'd met Palin and introduced her to me. I shook her hand. I believe that McCain's curiosity was picqued by a glimpse of the crayon drawn Presidential symbol on Ben's shirt and he asked what it said. Ben was wearing his "Future Leader...I can do all things through Jesus" t-shirt. Palin asked if Ben was in school yet and tried to get Ben to come out and meet Piper, who was just adorable during her Mom's speech at the convention...you can't script that stuff.

Generally, the group tends to be liberal and athesists. They were already unhappy with McCain before his comings and goings disrupted our gathering. He gave them something else to harp on by asking that that we pray for him and Palin, especially over the next couple of days. A few of them took great pleasure in saying, "Can you BELIEVE he asked us to PRAY for him?" On Sunday, I got tired of hearing it over and over and came out in defense of McCain letting everyone know that he had asked about Ben's shirt, what the shirt said, my cross necklace, and that he probably felt safe in asking for prayer based on his interactions with me because when you're in a group of Christians it's okay to ask for prayer. After that, they either didn't bring it up again or, at least, didn't bring it up around me.

Well, that was my face time with McCain and Palin. All in all, I found them nice and real people. I've loved what they've had to say since and I will be watching all the upcoming debates.