Fast Food

I took a friend to eat at McDonalds last week. 

One of the nice things about living in a huge international city is the availability of "American" fast food. Maybe I should have put food in parenthesis. I digress . . .

After finishing my Quarter Pounder With Cheese I made polite conversation as I waited for my friend to finish his meal. It took him forever. Actually, he never finished. After an extended period of time he packed the rest of his burger and chips in a bag to take it home with him. I was surprised because I knew he could have consumed all of his meal faster than I finished mine.

Eventually he told me that he was taking some of his food home - not to have something to eat later - but as a "trophy" to show off. His family and friends would never believe he ate at the golden arches if he didn't bring something home to prove it. 

I take so many things for granted. Honestly, I never really enjoy Mickey D's. It is a lot more fast than it is food. So to have a friend who cherishes the experience illustrates how good I have it.

I need to stop taking "little things" like McDonalds for granted.

Thank God for Quarter Pounders With Cheese!

RED CAKE

I love Raspberry Zingers! 

They are so good that I never considered Twinkies to be in the same league with the wonderful red snack coated in coconut. 

I admit I also have a soft-spot for Sno Balls. 

I was thrilled the other day - on the way to Soweto to have Bible study with a friend - when I saw "Red Cake."

My mouth watered as I stood in line with my purchase!

Words can not express my utter disappointment. The African version of raspberry zingers is horrible! Not that is tastes bad - it doesn't. The fact is - it doesn't taste. That's the point. It looks beautiful, all red and coconut covered . . . but there is no flavor to be found or enjoyed! 

Janna Kay says "there is absolutely no taste - it's like water. It is a waste of calories."

Even though she considers Snickers bars to be sin - her opinion is absolutely correct.

That leads me to make another observation. 

Snickers bars are not sin - Red Cake is sin! 

That is to say, Red Cake is just like sin in that it looks really appealing. It looks like it would be worth whatever it costs, but in the end it leaves you frustrated. It does not satisfy, in fact it leaves you wishing you had not spent the time or the money or the energy. 

I need a Milk Tart!

 

Famous Missionary

Every wonder which missionary you are most like?

The Missions Mandate blog has a fun quiz which I enjoyed taking.

I encourage you go to the following link and take the quiz.

Let me know what you think.

Famous Missionary Quiz

Sushi

Joshuwa turned 7 this week. 

As per our family tradition, Joshuwa got to pick the restaurant where we celebrated his special day. We headed to the Cape Town Fish Market so he could eat his favorite meal - SUSHI.

I DON'T LIKE SUSHI.

In fact, I don't enjoy any seafood at all. Nevertheless we headed to CTFM because it had a conveyor belt which continually rotated with different kinds of sushi, giving Josh ample choices. Needless to say he had a great time and I enjoyed the meal - because I saw him enjoying himself. I tried the vegetarian sushi and it was good - but not great. The meal took a decidedly upward turn when the conveyer belt brought dessert  . . . I helped myself to brownies! That was a mind changing selection. I actually enjoyed the experience.

I DON'T LIKE SUSHI - I LOVE IT!

Vote

Wednesday 22 April is Election Day

South Africa is tasked to elect its next president. 

The ballot is interesting in that it offers the ability to vote for any one of 40 parties. There are the more well known parties such as ANC - African National Congress and COPE - Congress of the People and DA - Democratic Alliance.

But they are joined by others such as "A Party" - "KISS - Keep it Straight and Simple" - "SAPP - South African Political Party" 

I would ask you to join me in praying that the elections would be free, fair and without incident. Please pray for the Independent Electoral Commission. 

Christian

I have been meditating on this text from Acts 11:26 [ESV].

"And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians."

The ESV Study Bible says this "probably reflects a label applied by the unbelieving public."

Today, the term Christian continues to be given to believers just as it was in the early church. But, I see the title being given exclusively from within the body of Christ, which is substantially different. For a brother in Christ to "observe my life" and say that I am a Christian is gratifying. But, for an unbeliever to "observe my life" and say that I am a Christian is abundantly more gratifying. In fact Matthew 5:16 [ESV] says it gives "glory to [my] Father in heaven."

My goal for 2009 is to have an unbeliever call me a Christian! It is my desire to live as salt and light - so that someone from outside the body of Christ would testify to the fact based on what he observes from my life. To the glory of God!

 

Table Mountain

Thought I would share some pictures I took while  on holiday with my parents in Cape Town.

Robben Island is where many political prisoners were held during apartheid including Nelson Mandela and Jacob Zuma.

Cape Point is the southern most part of the continent where the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean meet.

Hout Bay is where we stayed. You can see the kids playing in the Ocean.

The last picture is of Table Mountain (with a table cloth) from the V&A waterfront.

There is a lot of beautiful creation in that part of our world. It was awesome to see the creative work of our God!