Three Things Thursday

Thing one: the cookie that might change your life

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Salted Oatmeal Cookies with Dark Chocolate. My husband says we need to put a copy of this recipe in the safe. I say it's going to be the cookie my kids refer to as "my Mom's cookies." And the kids--they inhale them faster than any other food. It made Real Simple's "Fifteen best recipes" list this past issue, so I figured I'd try it and oh-my-yum, yes these are the greatest cookies I've ever tasted. Chocolate chip cookies are my absolute favorite dessert--even over gourmet pies and pastries and gelato. I'm usually a purist, not interested in funky ingredients that tend to turn a perfectly good chocolate chip cookie into something entirely too complicated and strange for my palate. So when I first saw that this recipe, I was skeptical of the cinnamon. I love cinnamon, but not in my chocolate chip cookies. But I do love oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and I love pairing salty and sweet, so I gave it a try. Game-changer, y'all. Follow the recipe exactly. Suck it up and buy yourself a small tub of Crisco (it keeps the cookies soft for days). Take the plunge and buy Ghiardelli dark cocoa chocolate chips (one bag makes two batches, and be sure to chop them so the chocolate flavor is throughout the cookie). And whip out an extra dollar for some sea salt (table salt is NOT the same). You won't regret it!

Thing two: the documentary that might change your mind

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My deep-thinker, math education professor, movie-buff, long-time friend Sarah sent me this review. No need to reinvent the wheel, but I will give you the $2.00 it costs to watch this!

This movie had a profound impact on me, so I commend it to you. It’s a documentary about public defenders: those lawyers who are assigned to defend folks who are charged with a crime but can’t afford a lawyer. Although the film has no religious commentary and no one in the film talks about faith, I came away from this movie having a bigger view of who Jesus is and what He has done for me.

The film gave me insight into certain aspects of the criminal justice system, and I learned that public defenders have a stunningly difficult job. The cynics among us (myself included) might assume these are cut-rate lawyers who couldn’t get a decent job or morally bankrupt individuals who enjoy getting criminals off the hook by revealing technicalities or loopholes in the law. I repent of this cynical view, because I now realize how ignorant (not to mention how uncompassionate) it was.

Court-appointed lawyers defend the least of the least. They represent those who are defenseless, powerless, and penniless. It occurs to me that this is very Christ-like. One of the lawyers in the film (Brandy) talks very candidly about the struggle. She is overworked and underpaid and has seen immense evil and injustice done by her clients as well as to her clients. Without trying to be dramatic, she describes her job as hell. How can she possibly save all those who need to be saved? One of her mentors offers some perspective: you have to go to hell to rescue those who are in hell. That, I thought, is exactly what our Savior did.

In another interview, Brandy recalls a client who was charged with murder. She worked diligently to defend him, and even visited him in jail, not just once or twice, but every time he called. She was his only advocate. While she was working on his case, she found out that he was plotting her murder. His plan was that if she did not win his case, he would arrange to have her killed. When I heard this story, I was enraged. It’s bad enough to be in a thankless job with few positive outcomes. But imagine if the person you were so faithfully fighting for actually wanted to kill you. That’s when I thought of Jesus’ death for me. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Thing three: the Moo quotes that might make you laugh

• After seeing a picture of one of my college roommates who we spent some time with last year, Moo insists on carrying the picture of her husband and her around and sleeping with it next to his bed saying, "I'm really into Lauren right now." 
• To me one day: "You and me--we're best friends."
• In trying to understand why Jesus didn't just "beat the bad guys," Moo said, "Maybe Finn McMissile could come and help beat some of them with Jesus." 
• To me after dinner one night, "How was your day, Honey?"
• ME: Moo, are you going to get married one day? MOO: Um, yes. ME: Who are you going to marry? MOO: (thinking) An angel."