Time to garden?

I've thought about creating a garden in my back yard to help cut down on food costs. Of course, "thought about" is a wildly different stage from "did something about." Came across this piece on cnn.com about growing gardens during tough economic times:

As American families try to stretch their food budgets during the recession, some are turning to the backyard, rather than the grocery store, as the place to look for produce.

Recession gardens are catching on with many first-time planters who want a healthy meal at an affordable price.

The gardeners are following seed-strewn paths laid by Michelle Obama and Eleanor Roosevelt, both of whom have used the White House lawn to show the value of a garden during tough times.

The scope of today's trend is shocking even to those in the gardening industry.

W. Atlee Burpee & Co., the largest seed and gardening supply store in the country, says it has seen a 25 to 30 percent spike in vegetable seed and plant sales this spring compared with last.

Tears of sadjoyness.

Just a few minutes away from my house, the doors have opened to a new In-N-Out restaurant. If you're unfamiliar with In-N-Out, it probably means you live in the ho-hum eastern part of our nation and have never experienced burgers that surpass nearly any other under the sun.

I like In-N-Out's burgers. Especially a cheese burger or Double-Double, animal style, of course. Their fries are incredible, and how can you resist dropping a lemon wedge into your Dr Pepper?

And of course, this is the sadness that surrounds my joy. I'm happy that I'm now just 5 minutes away from In-N-Out. But I'm sad because now I will actually need to be a disciplined adult and not eat there every day. That wouldn't be healthy.

So that, my friends, is the source of my tears of sadjoyness.

My fortune-less cookie.

Just got done eating a to-go lunch from Panda Express. Of course, I save the fortune cookie until the very end. When I cracked open the cookie, much to my dismay, I discovered that there was no cookie inside. Is the absence of a message somehow a message in itself? And if so, what would that message be? Hmm...

Pizza moments.

Today I had lunch with a former student from our youth ministry who now lives up in Canada. He'd been in town for over a week but we finally were able to connect today for lunch and Starbucks.

Well, turns out that even though Carl used to live here in Cali, he'd never eaten pineapple on his pizza! So my half of today's pizza was a Maui Zaui there at Round Table, and he made sure to try a slice...his first taste of fruit on a pizza.

Yummy.

Frozen food.

Random moment this evening at the freezer in the grocery store:


And no, I really didn't put that candy bar there. It's exactly how I found it. Honest!

The challenge of fasting.

Just read a blog post from Josh Griffin (actually a reposting of someone else's thoughts) on the idea of students "fasting" from text messages. Interesting thoughts. Earlier this year, I did a four-day music fast while up in the mountains. I had my iPod and my car stereo, but I didn't listen to any music on them for those four days.

Fasting is an interesting notion. It's biblical, it's beneficial and it's incredibly difficult. Maybe I'm not supposed to admit that as a pastor, but it's true. Fasting is tough. I have my daily and weekly routines. I like my food. I like my music. I like my media. I like my -- well, all kinds of things!

I like this thought captured in that post about text message fasts: "I told them that if they could not then that cell phone had too high of a priority in their life." Ouch! Anything I'm not willing to sacrifice for a day, or two days, or a week -- that thing probably holds too high of a place in my life.

That's what worship is all about, isn't it? Setting aside our needs, our agendas, our priorities and focusing our thoughts on the creator, lover and redeemer of the world. Fasting helps us grow spiritually because it can recalibrate our priorities and reorient us toward God...who was, and is, and is to come.

Too much for one service?

Ever tried to do a lot in a single Sunday service? That was our 11AM service today. Here's a rundown:

• 2 water baptisms
• Worship in music
• Communion
• Baby dedication
• Missions emphasis
• Funny grad video
• Honoring graduates
• Sermon

Somehow, we managed to get through it all without "cheapening" any of the elements. Still, it made for a very full service.

A few added extras:

• One of our graduating seniors used to always swipe, er, borrow my teaching stool during youth services. Today, we "retired" that stool by giving it to him as a graduation gift. Congrats, J.C., and all the other members of the class of 2007!
• Last time I visited my mom, I found an old box containing my high school cap and gown. So, I put them on in the middle of service, and called off the names of our grads while wearing my high school colors.
• My mom came up today to hear me preach in this service, and she covertly took a photo of me in my cap and gown. I'll work on posting it at some point; I had no idea she took the photo!
• Had some people over to my house after service for a fun cookout. Lots of great food and conversation!

Dodgers do something right.

Finally, a good reason to visit Dodgers Stadium:

Luis Serrano is working on his second Dodger Dog and the game hasn't even begun. "On a good night, I'll eat seven," he said, smiling. That's how it goes in the new all-you-can-eat seats way out in right field at Dodger Stadium, where fans wolf down as many Dodger Dogs, nachos, peanuts, popcorn and soda as their bellies allow for one price.

Bring your own antacids.

Good choices.

So, today is the 4th straight day I've gone without drinking soda. Maybe that's not a big deal for you or people you know. For me? It's a biggie. I'm really making a commitment to cutting out the soda, trimming away the few fast food cravings, and focusing on better food. I've even been buying more fruit and veggies at the grocery store. Good for me!

DOD: Discovery of the Day

OK, this isn't a NEW discovery that I made today. But it's recent, from earlier this month.

I love Togo's sandwiches. Truthfully, I love Quizno's sandwhiches more, but the price and value and quantity of a Togo's sub bumps the big Q outta first place for me. Subway? Hmm, isn't that a dirty place where people leave nasty grafitti? That's what I thought.

So, a few weeks back I ordered my usual sandwich (large #8, parmesan cheese bread, mustard only and a good amount, swiss cheese, little bit of lettuce, six or seven tomato slices, lots and lots of pickles, and black pepper) but at a different location. When I got to my "good amount of mustard, please" line, the employee asked me if I wanted Dijon mustard.

Flabbergasted was I. Togo's has more than just yellow mustard? Wow! So now, everytime I buy a sandwich at the big T, I get some Dijon mustard on it, too. Sweet.