Just Beatitude It

Tonight I'm catching up on my Bible in A Year reading and today I spent some time in Matthew 5. I almost want to let the whole thing speak for itself but, I just can't get over this sermon. It leads of with the famous words of the beatitudes and then leads us through the whole Sermon on The Mount. This is Jesus' FIRST sermon in his three years of ministry before being crucified and resurrecting.

This is his launch.

This is his big debut.

Look, I know this is a lot but, its my blog and I just, have to share the whole thing. Imagine all the fuss over this Christ-child. Imagine you're a poor jewish farmer, who's been waiting for this promised Messiah your whole life... and there's rumor that this guy Jesus is just that. God in flesh. You show up to hear him speak and the anticipation on the hillside is palpable. The whole world feels like its leaning in to hear the first words of the first sermon from God himself.... and:

He said:

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. ⁵ Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. ⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. ⁷ Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. ⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. ⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. ¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Salt and Light

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

The Fulfillment of the Law

¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. ¹⁹ Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Murder

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder,^[a] and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ ²² But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister^[b][c] will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’^[d] is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

²³ “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

²⁵ “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. ²⁶ Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

Adultery

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’^[e] 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to stumble,gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Divorce

³¹ “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’^[f] 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Oaths

³³ “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ ³⁴ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne;³⁵ or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. ³⁶ And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. ³⁷ All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’;anything beyond this comes from the evil one.^[g]

Eye for Eye

³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’^[h]39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. ⁴⁰ And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. ⁴¹ If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. ⁴² Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Love for Enemies

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor^[i] and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? ⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

I mean, incredible.

He starts off by telling all of the people who are struggling... The poor, oppressed, persecuted... that God not only sees them and cares for them, but that He has something special for them.

Whoa.

THEN, he goes on to build up the masses. He's speaking to the poor and outcasted and tells them they're the LIGHT of the world. Gives them identity and promise.

Then, I love this, he goes into a preface piece which ended up being I guess totally overlooked because this is something he and his disciples were persecuted for all throughout history... But He tells them he's not trying to tear everything apart. He's not trying to take all of Judaism and spit on it...

HOWEVER... He is clearly about to blow their minds. After he sets it up with that disclaimer he goes into 6 separate teachings where he leads them through a rhythm of " You have heard it said..." and " But I tell you the truth." Each of them isn't tearing down the previous beliefs... but he teaches them that God doesn't just want good behavior... God wants our hearts. God doesn't just want husbands to reserve their bodies for their wives, he also doesn't want them to fantasize about other women. He wants their wives to have their hearts too.

Its like an entire sermon of "Oh yeah? Ok, well I'll do you one better!"

Anyhow, I just wanted to share this bit of incredible scripture with you. I don't know if I'll ever get to the point where I can read the Sermon on the Mount and say " Yep, I'm NAILING all of this".

But, I pray it encourages you in some way this evening. May we remember that God isn't looking for well behaved slaves... He's looking for children, transformed by His love for them and thus, set free to love and live like Him.

Sincerely, 

Carly Calmes the First

Lay Miz

I just realized I needed to write a blog for today, the 14th day of my January journey. Luckily, I live in L.A. and by the goodness of my S.A.G. member friends,  I just watched Les Miserables with my friend and blog follower Leah ( she's known as leah m. on here.) Thus, I will tell you what I thought.

Fortunately for you I am tired and feeling a tad under the weather. That, and I feel like everyone in interweb land has said everything and more about this film. It was my first time seeing Les Mis ever so, I particularly enjoyed it and was moved by the reckless grace and pursuit of righteousness of the protagonist. It poses the question throughout the entire narrative, "Is doing the right thing worth it?" and leaves the answer up to the audience.

Whoa, I'm already getting into it!

In an effort to keep this brief, I have chosen to write a two-part haiku about the film in place of a full review.

Here we go...

Beautiful story

Honest tale of sacrifice

Mercy births changed hearts

Wolverine killed it

Crowe should stick to speaking roles

Hathaway is BRIL

With that, I bid you adieu. ( See how I used French? I tied it into the whole Les mis thing)

Goodnight, fair readers. Sleep tight on this monday night. Do the right thing.

Sincerely, 

Carly Calmes the First

( Ps: Anne's performance of  "I dreamed a dream" is not one bit overrated. One of the most beautiful performances I've ever seen... any art form... any story... any actor...anywhere. Absolutely incredible)

Sunday Supper: Casey's Crockpot Carnitas

You guys, this was so good and so flippin easy. My dear friend Casey ( theviewfromeastsouth.wordpress.com ) is amazing and shared this recipe with me out of the good goodness of her own heart. We had some of the bomb leftovers from when she made it on New Years day and, when I asked her about it, she casually said " Well, its CHEATER carnitas but... I'm sure you know how to make that."

I'm Mexican. Real carnitas are kind of a process and I had never heard of a cheater version! I was skeptical but, everything Casey has ever made for me has been delicious and she has great taste so... I had faith. They were nummers.

Anyhow, I made it tonight and it was so easy and tasty that I figured I'd share the recipe with you as my blerg today! I added a couple of things to the list Casey gave me but, I think this is one of those recipes which can be easily modified to your own liking. Casey adds some onion ( which would have been great but I didn't have any.) and, if she's feelin' zesty, some chopped jarred jalapenos! ( also would have been great if I had them.)

Ingredients: 

One whole boneless pork loin

Two 12oz jars of Salsa Verde ( I used the Trader Joe's version)

Cumin

Cayenne Pepper

Salt and Pepper

You will need: 

A crockpot. 

A cutting board.

Two forks.

Your game face.

Directions:

1) Put the pork loin in the crockpot

2) Add 1 and 1/2 of the jars of Salsa Verde into the mix.

3) Take the empty jar and fill 3/4 of the way with water, add it into the crockpot.

4) Sprinkle cumin and cayenne pepper over the pork loin and into the liquid ( its up to you how much you put in. I probably added two or three tablespoons of each)

5) Make sure the top of the loin has some salsa verde on it to assure the flavor gets cooked into the whole thing.

6) Set crockpot to low for 8 hours, or high to 4

7) When the allotted time is up, take a fork to the loin. If the pork is shredding easily, take the whole thing out onto a large cutting board. 

8) Take two forks and shred with the grain of the meat until the whole thing is stringy shredded porky yumminess.

9) Add the pork back into the crockpot along with the remaining salsa verde, then salt and pepper the bad boy to your liking and stir. 

10) Allow the pork to sit for around 30 mins more.

11) SERVE! I tossed it into some tortillas with rice, beans, hot sauce and greek yogurt and it was DEEEEElish. 

So, if you wanna pull off a tasty mexican meal with little to no stress, I suggest giving this a whirl!

Thanks to Casey for the recipe!

Happy Sunday, y'all. Have a great week!

Sincerely,  Carly Calmes the First

Being Human

If you're a Christian and have gone to church in the past few years, you've probably heard about a band called Gungor. They're so good. I might write another post entirely dedicated to them but, in this post, they're merely a source. So, the lead singer, Michael Gungor, is a tad genius. I've seen them live a few times and thought to myself "Oh my gosh, Michael Gungor  is hands-down the best musician in Christian music." I first got turned onto them when they were just the Michael Gungor band and they had a song titled "White Man" who's lyrics contain things like:

"God is not a man God is not a white man God is not a man sitting on a cloud

God cannot be bought God will not be boxed in God will not be owned by religion

But God is love, God is love, and He loves everyone God is love, God is love, and He loves everyone

God is not a man God is not an old man God does not belong to Republicans God is not a flag Not even American And God does not depend on a government

But God is good, God is good, and He loves everyone God is good, God is good, and He loves everyone

Atheists and Charlatans and Communists and Lesbians And even old Pat Robertson, oh God He loves us all Catholic or Protestant, Terrorist or President Everybody, everybody, love, love, love, love, love"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WybvhRu9KU ( if you wanna hear the whole brilliant thing)

Yeah, take it all in for a second.

Anyhow, if you've heard the name Gungor you've maybe associated it with their mega hit " Beautiful Things" which, for most of us, cracked open our hearts to the part that wonders if anything good can come out of these wretched lives we (feel like we) lead, and pulled out the mysterious truth that God is in the business of making "beautiful things out of dust", and that He'll "make beautiful things out of us".

Again, pause and drink that in. Like a good cabernet... swirl it around your insides and let it stain you with the good news that we're being made new, not by our goodness, but Gods.

So yes, I've been a fan for a while. So naturally, when I heard Michael Gungor was coming out with a book I immediately jumped on Amazon to buy it. Sadly, it was sold out when I put my order in.

It would notify me when it was available to ship, Amazon said.

It would let me know when it was in stock, it told me.

RATS!

Yesterday I was walking Rillo, my fine pooch and companion. When I opened our front gate to enter into our little courtyard, I saw it. I saw the yellow fluffy paper package addressed to me that could only be one thing!!!! Gungor's book.

I ripped it open when I got into our apartment and beheld its well-designed cover.

I have a few books I need to finish before starting this gem but, I decided to let myself splurge a bit and read the intro *NERD ALERT*.

I didn't know what the book was about but, I knew it was a book written for creators. Me.

Well, I didn't have to read any further than the first line before I realized I wasn't alone in the universe.

The first line of the intro reads,

"Burnout is what happens when you try to avoid being human for too long."

"Welp. That quote should last me a few years" I thought.

It kind of nailed it for me.

I'm going to try to keep this brief but, I think when you're someone who's job is ministry, it can be tempting to try to live up to all of your expectations. I belong to a small church but, the position that I'm in is very seen.

I'm seen every week. I have the privilege of leading our members into worship week in and week out.

With great privilege comes great responsibility, right? Well, I think that's totally true. However, I think sometimes I forget that I got here by grace and grace alone. I sometimes forget that God got me here, and He's the only one who can keep me going. Its not like He got me here and then BOOM, he expects me to take over, being "good enough" from there.

I know that in my line of work, people expect a lot from me in and out of my job parameters. It's a natural part of being in an up-front role at a church. Something happens, though, when I carry the pressure to live up to expectations on Sundays... but Mondays through Saturdays as well...with every single person I'm with who is part of our community which means... everyone I spend time with ( no wonder I'm a hermit?).  When I deny myself being human, I start to burn out.

Not only that, but, when I let my life be controlled by what others expect of me and not what the Lord is calling me toward ( especially when its REST) I become a slave to meeting other's expectations, as I perceive them. In a moment of honest confession, I spend a lot of time thinking about if I'm disappointing people and I get sucked dry really easily.

Burnout doesn't happen when I'm letting God pour into me regularly, practicing emotionally healthy tendencies and being vulnerable with those I'm safe with so I can serve in my position at the church with tenacity and fervor. It happens when I'm so afraid of letting others down that I sacrifice all those things in order to perform and appear to have it together. Again, avoiding being human.

I burn out when I cut myself off from myself. When I'm paying attention to how I'm REALLY doing, I can be real with God and let Him replenish me.

The truth is that I burn out way too often.

This book was written by a creator that had burned out. He had come to a point where he was forced to slow down and re-evaluate because he had been performing so often without rest and replenishment from God that he didn't even remember why he started creating in the first place.

He was so afraid to let others down that he stopped letting God pour into him ( the Source of all beauty and his creativity).

Truthfully, I have basically been there for about 3 years. I'm ready to start creating and with that,  I'm ready to be human again. I'm ready to let God renew my sense of vision and calling but I know that in order to do that, I have to surrender my need to perform and live up to everyone's expectations.

So here's to humanity. Here's to humble vulnerability. Here's to the God that honors that instead of us trying   too hard to LOOK like we have it all together.

Here's to the God that wants our hearts, sucked dry, and wants to restore them. Isn't that awesome?

I'll let you know how the rest of the book goes.

Sincerely, 

Carly Calmes the First

Five FAVE Fridays

Dearest Dear ones, welcome to my Friday segment that I like to call "Five FAVE Fridays"! You might have already guessed, you clever ones, that in this weekly segment I will post 5 things that I currently LOVE with you in hopes that you might love them too. It could be music, a recipe, an item of clothing, a cleaning product, who knows! ( I do) Here we go! This week, my Five Faves are:

1) Rifle ( mutha-uggin) Paper Co. 

http://riflepaperco.com

I first noticed this company's gems when frequenting a local fancy pants coffee shop, Cafe Luxxe. Their cards and stationary have a cheeky but adorable, kind of Wes Anderson-y thing going on. They're also just really pretty! (See below)

I just received a stationary set I had ordered from them and I'm already freaking out both with excitement and fear that I will use up all my cards too soon!  *NERD ALERT*

2) The Pioneer Woman!

Jon got me two of The Pioneer woman, aka Ree Drummond's books for Christmas and I'm loving them!

She's my cooking spirit-animal, me thinks. She loves food. A lot. But she's not Paula Deen, who's body actually has actually gone from 60 percent water to 10 percent water, and 50 percent butter. But she's not one of those women who cooks only thinking about how it will affect her thighs. That's so boring and misses the celebration of all that food can be! Anyhow, she lives on a ranch with her husband and 17 kids ( something close to 17) and she's hilarious and makes great, crowd pleasing food. I started reading her blog a few years ago, then it got huge and she published books, and now she's on the Food Network AND I guess Reese Witherspoon is set to play her in a movie about her life. Whoa nelly bozo!  Go check her out if you haven't at http://thepioneerwoman.com

3) Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. 

( This photo is from Rolling Stone, and my friend Jason took it. Cool, huh?)

Okay, maybe you've been over-exposed to the massive buzz surrounding these two funky ass white boys, but I'm finally accepting that I love them.  My good friends Jason ( my genius wedding photographer/prophet friend: http://jkoephoto.com ) and Jenny ( his dope wife who was a great blog: http://thethingswewouldblog.blogspot.com which she writes with her BFF who is Ryan Lewis' sister, Theresa) are pretty tight with the two Seattle-based hipster hippity hoppers.

I met Ryan briefly like, 7 years ago when he was starting to make legit beats ( like the one on Jason's photo page) and Jason actually goes on tour with Macklemore and shoots sick photos as well as shooting the occasional music video. Jenny is actually IN this video for "Thrift Shop" ( 3:21, she's the babe in the red shirt pushing the cart). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK8mJJJvaes

AAAAnyhow, I just think they're pulling off some really creative stuff. Ryan Lewis' beats are an eclectic blend that shows off his taste in multiple genres of music ( the beat for Thrift shop is sooo funky. I lerve it) Macklemore, himself deserves all the cred he's receiving. He's intelligent, creative, fun and, from what I've heard, just a solid dude. His rhymes range from his recovery from drug addiction to Seattle-inspired anecdotes to hispter thrift store threads to silly dance party goodness. There's no one else out there pulling this kind of stuff off and I'm genuinely sick of popular factory-made hip hop so, kudos to Macklemore and Ryan Lewis for killin' it in a super original way.

4) The Stella & Dot friendship bracelets. 

I know Stelle & Dot is a bit of a pyramid scheme and is a tad overpriced but... you gotta love 'em! I'm slightly obsessed with my bracelets from them which- are coincidentally the cheapest things they sell (just my taste)

Ignore my fat baby hands...

You can get them here: http://shop.stelladot.com/style/b2c_en_us/shop/bracelets.html?p=2

They're 19 bucks each!

5) This Tina Fey excerpt. 

Tina is writing about her first daughter and this is the prayer she offers for her. It makes me laugh really hard.

“First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches.

May she be Beautiful but not Damaged, for it’s the Damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the Beauty.

When the Crystal Meth is offered, May she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half And stick with Beer.

Guide her, protect her

When crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock ‘N Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age.

Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance. Something where she can make her own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes And not have to wear high heels.

What would that be, Lord? Architecture? Midwifery? Golf course design? I’m asking You, because if I knew, I’d be doing it, Youdammit.

May she play the Drums to the fiery rhythm of her Own Heart with the sinewy strength of her Own Arms, so she need Not Lie With Drummers.

Grant her a Rough Patch from twelve to seventeen. Let her draw horses and be interested in Barbies for much too long, For childhood is short – a Tiger Flower blooming Magenta for one day – And adulthood is long and dry-humping in cars will wait.

O Lord, break the Internet forever, That she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers And the online marketing campaign for Rape Hostel V: Girls Just Wanna Get Stabbed.

And when she one day turns on me and calls me a Bitch in front of Hollister, Give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends, For I will not have that Shit. I will not have it.

And should she choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes, Lord, that I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 A.M., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back.

"My mother did this for me once", she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby’s neck. "My mother did this for me." And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a Mental Note to call me. And she will forget. But I’ll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes.

― Tina Fey, Bossypants

Well, that's it for today, folks. Now I'm off to try and fit readingworkingoutshoweringgettingreadyandmakingspaghettisquash into the next two hours.

AAAAAND....GO!

Sincerely, 

Carly Calmes the First