Menudo

"I am the living bread that comes down
from heaven.
If anyone eats of this bread they will live forever. This bread
is my flesh
which I will give for the life of the world.....I tell you the
truth, unless you
eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you
have no life in
you....so the one who feeds on me will live because of
me......Your forefathers
ate manna and died but he who feeds on this bread
will live forever...... The
spirit gives life. The flesh counts for nothing.
The words I have spoken to you
are spirit and they are life."

From this time many of his disciples
turned back and did not follow him.

"You do not want to leave, too, do you?" Jesus
asked the twelve.

Simon Peter answered him,
"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe, and
know that you are the Holy One of God. From John
6:51-70

My New Years Eve was really different but ended up to be a real blessing! I started out being really bummed because our church cancelled services for the day due to weather conditions and ice on the entrances of the church building! I was looking forward to a great praise and worship time especially since I was sick and in Wichita last Sunday. Determined not to allow the situation to turn my Sunday into just another day, I focused extra hard on my devotions.

Side reading for the study I was doing led me to the sixth chapter of John where Jesus talked about "eating His flesh and drinking His blood". The entire passage came alive to me and it was obvious that was where God was speaking to me that morning. I determined to continue to focus on that passage for a few days.

In the evening we were invited to friend's house for "menudo". Menudo is a Mexican soup with main ingredients of tripe (cow's stomach) cow's tongue and pork from the feet of the pig. It is customarily eaten when suffering a hangover.

Along with our hosts were another favorite couple of ours and their granddaughter whom they are raising. Everyone, well almost, devoured the menudo while we visited. They shared two short movies with us made by an evangelist company and we ended the evening in a special prayer.

Without going into inappropriate detail, what was lifestyles represented in those five, before Jesus came into their lives, leaves little to embellish. I can say there was drug trafficking, abuse at early ages, alcoholism beginning before adolescence, violence and more. I thought about where New Years Eve would have found them just a few years early, I marveled at the miracles represented there. Such grace, such amazing grace! Anyone who could have witnessed the "before and afters" in these eternal makeovers could not deny the transforming power of Christ.

While our friend concluded in prayer my mind went back to the passage in John. I had been pondering it off and on during the day. "Wouldn't it be neat to share communion tomorrow with Phil, beginning a New Year's tradition of "taking on Christ"? I pondered. "I could make homemade bread each time as part of the tradition but what about some wine? Perhaps we could pick up some Sparkling Cider on the way home." Our host concluded in a wonderful prayer and we hugged and wished each other a "Happy New Year". As we left, we were handed two small bottles of Sparkling Cider!

A side note: Son, Pat and wife, Melissa had flown back to Anchorage the same day and were to drive the 3 hour trip to Kenai. I did not know the time they would be on the road. I did know they were driving the most dangerous road in North America, on New Year's Eve. I was impressed to pray for their safety between 9:30 and 10:30 p.m. and ask the others to pray, also. I was relieved to talk to them today and blessed by God's faithfulness when I learned that was the exact time they were traveling over the mountain pass of concern! God is so Good!