If You've Volunteered to Cook a Turkey... God Bless You!

Volunteers have been bringing in roasted turkeys all day long... and Thanksgiving is still a few days off. My last blog was all "turkey talk." Here's more of the same. A video recipe that claims to get a 24 pound turkey cooked in just 2 hours! I'm giving it a try. Why not spend $10- bucks, buy a 20+ pound turkey and try it yourself? Cheap fun, you can impress your friends and when it's golden brown- do a good thing and donate it towards our Thanksgiving dinner.

just a few days off and I can't wait!

many blessings,

Eric

Incredible Turkey Recipes - Simple and Complex

What your turkey could look like... without the ribbon



That's the link to the LA Times hot tip for your Thanksgiving turkey. They give 4 options- 4 results -tastes tests and some really simple how to do it yourself instructions- click this link to their article. Give it a try on one of your turkey's this year. Everyone should cook more than one... one for your own household and however many you can cook to give away. We need them at Central Community for our 21st Annual Thanksgiving Dinner. Cook a couple for us! We'll be feeding well over 2,000 people this year.

Mom's recipe- or at least one of her simple turkey recipe's -is foolproof and puts out a great bird for the table every time. You can find it here at one of my blogs from last Thanksgiving.

Only one thing better than waking up to the smell of roasting turkey on Thanksgiving morning- taking some time out of our day to serve the less fortunate -who might be alone or hungry without our help. Get involved this Thanksgiving. Volunteer at your local church, food bank, whoever's helping out.

If you living in Southern California, share Thanksgiving with us at Central Community- volunteer -cook a turkey -come eat with friends... whatever works best for you. You're invited. We don't want anyone to be alone or hungry this Thanksgiving.

Know that I'm thankful for you,

many blessings,

Eric

moderation

we are what we eat... ouch!

From a list on MSN this morning covering the "worst drinks in America" this calorie vault from 31 flavors: the large Heath Bar Shake. Check out the stats:

1. The Worst Drink in America

Baskin-Robbins Large Heath Bar Shake

2,310 calories
108 g fat (64 g saturated)
266 g

I've been trying to lose a few pounds. Think I'll listen in to the good doctor's advice on this one and remember "moderation in all things."

blessings...

We're #1

one of many empty homes in 92508

92508, our zip code. We rarely hear about our enclave on a hill outside of Riverside, California. We've lived here 16 years- watched orange groves come down -gas stations, shopping centers, department stores, fast food and dozens of other little businesses spring up like wildflowers in a field with the changing of the seasons.

We've enjoyed watching the value of our home rise over the last decade. It's been fun living in the heart of a neighborhood that became "the" community to live in if you wanted good schools, safe streets, great parks, etc... We've loved Orangecrest.

Last night- while working in the kitchen -national news on in the background, I heard Brian Williams on NBC talking about 92508... our zip code... the Orangecrest neighborhood of Riverside, CA USA. According to NBC we've earned the distinction on the most repossessions of any zip code in the nation. Tried to confirm it online this morning but found no other details. Just the same- there they were -interviewing homeowners and those losing their homes, in my neighborhood- on national news.

Better than a plane crash or natural disaster- but I'm not losing my home... yet! 1 in every 5 homes in our little zip code- well little by California standards -is currently being surrendered to the bank. We've watched friends pack up and leave in the middle of the night. We also have friends who've bought the home of their dreams at rockbottom prices. The real estate crash is a mixed blessing. Just one year ago we were equity rich beyond our wildest dreams... while our adult children had no hope of ever owning a home. Today? Our 24 year old son is getting ready to buy a house at the lowest prices in over 20 years- maybe more.

When we lived in rural Indiana, in years when the crop yield was particularly good and farmers were getting rich on high prices- some wise old farmer would always point out that "if it's good for us now, that just means someone else is losing their farm somewhere."

Today- we're #1 -hopefully in these difficult financial times we all learn to lift each other up, build community, help our neighbors who are hurting, (it could be us), and love The Lord. He's with us through it all. He's #1

many blessings,

Eric

If I Was In Charge of Our Pension Plan

I have a small pension through the Pension Plan of the church of God, Anderson, Indiana. The people of Central Community have done their best over the years to give to it as the church was able. Debi and I don't have any plans for retiring... but I've learned from my friends that age and retirement comes upon us whether we plan for it or not... so we're thankful.

Our retirement is in the "aggressive" portion of the portfollio... just couldn't stand to be anything less than aggressive :-) It's cost me big time. Out about 30% or more of our investment in the last month alone. That's nothing compared to lost equity in the house! I've always struggled with the church participating in general mutual funds... the folks at the pension board have heard... or at least listened to my complaints as pastor's pensions were invested in tobacco, alcohol and abortion funds... that doesn't even begin to mention the military/industrial complex. There are plenty of really good socially and morally motivated and directed mutual funds- we're not serious participants and they haven't been broadcasted.

Sad.

But that's just one guys opinion. Industry needs investment and if the church feels good sharing a bed with these guys... more power to them.

If I was in charge of our pension plan? This week I'd invest everything in Ford and General Motors. Not just because they're trading at all time lows. Definitely not because I'm a huge supporter of the auto/oil industry or that I even drive a Ford or GM vehicle, though I have owned both. I'd do it now because I believe in the American worker. These two company's employ almost 400,000 US workers between them and countless other industries around the world depend on them. If I'm going to lose my retirement... and I get to choose- call me old fashioned, but I choose going out with working men and women.

The people leading our auto industry haven't always led the pack... but I believe the right people will rise to the top and the best decisions will be made. Lord only knows what GM and Ford may be producing a century from today- rapid transit?, smog free, oil free vehicles...? jet packs?! You go George Jetson! Wouldn't it be fun to be a participant in a worker based industry that keeps the world moving?

Just my morning thoughts on todays economy. Hope your retirement- more importantly, your eternity, is safe and in His Hands today. To all of you who served: Thanks So Much. Think of you all often as I visit Mom's grave at Riverside National Cemetary. Happy Veteran's Day.

many blessings,

Eric

The Optimist Creed

from a friend in my email yesterday... I Believe It!

Be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. Talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet. Make all your friends feel there is something special in them. Look at the sunny side of everything. Think only of the best, work only for the best and expect only the best. Be as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own. Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. Give everyone a smile. Spend so much time improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others. Be too big for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear and too happy to permit the presence of trouble. Christian D. Larsen

Buckets of Love... and Thanksgiving

21 Years of Free Thanksgiving Dinners at Central Community. Each year we go through hundreds of turkeys, thousands of potatoes, hundreds of pies and more love than could be measured on the Richter scale as we serve thousands of turkey dinners- with all the trimmings -to all those in need in our community. It's an incredibly expensive endeavor and we could never do it without the loving and generous support of the people of Central Community. They're amazing. Along with their friends and family's, they peel a ton of potatoes, cook a couple hundred turkeys and work non-stop for as long as a week making sure everything is just perfect. Whether it's taking a reservation or delivering a dinner to someone who would otherwise be home and alone... it somehow all gets done... it's amazing... our very own opportunity to share in the miracle of giving thanks. God is too Good.

Love Buckets! That's a picture of one. Our staff put them together to hand out at this weekend's services. People will take them home- set them on their kitchen table, a dresser, atop the TV, and each day they'll dump their change in the slot. Sunday, November 23, we'll collect them- bust 'em open -have a crew of people count the change and use it to pay for everything that's not donated for the dinner. This year we plan on feeding at least 2,500 people. We'll need $5,000- to make sure the job gets done. It'll happen- one little love bucket at a time.

Jesus fed thousands by multiplying just a few fish and a little bread in a kid's lunch bucket. We want to do the same. In fact Jesus promised that we'd do even "greater works than these..." Kind of hard to imagine. But we're entering another November, another season of Thanksgiving, in faith believing. Our first Thanksgiving dinner together at Central Community- Thanksgiving Day, 21 years ago -we prepared to feed 200: cooked the food, set the tables... and no one came.

We shared Thanksgiving dinner together- then tried to find something to do with all that food! A home for battered women... filled with nearly 200 taking shelter at the holidays... welcomed it in joy... they'd prepared nothing. Jesus used our first Thanksgiving Day Dinner to remind us that someones always waiting to be loved... if we're just willing to not only open our eyes to the heartbreak around us but to open our lives and share in Thanksgiving. In 2008, we plan on doing it by the bucket full!

What are you doing with your "buckets of love" this Thanksgiving? God's been so very good to us... a struggling economy can't take His Grace, Mercy, Healing... his invitation to share in Thanksgiving, away.

You're invited to Thanksgiving with us. If you're not able to make it out- we even deliver -we don't want you to be alone or hungry on Thanksgiving. And if you're like me- and God's blessed you by the bucket full -you're invited to fill up a love bucket to help share the Thanksgiving expense. Or maybe you know someone who can donate pies, turkeys, fruit... don't let this miracle season slip away without taking note, without getting involved. God created us to be a blessing. It's what our hearts yearn for in the darkness. We can fill this Thanksgiving with buckets of love.

many blessings,

Eric