Battle of the BBQ!

Since I married a man from North Carolina, I have been forced to eat BBQ across the United States and throughout the world.  We have tasted just about every form of BBQ preparation possible. We have had the stuff that some people want to call barbeque, which is just grilled food.  And we have had the overnight pit roasted meats that are so famous.  We've been to renowned restaurants that go from glitzy to dives, and we have some all-time favorites that I'd like to mention.

Wayne's favorites:  Swadley's in Bethany, OK; Gate's BBQ in Kansas City, KS; Lexington BBQ in Lexington, NC; County Line BBQ in Austin, TX; The Pit in Raleigh, NC; Sonny Bryan's Smokehouse in Dallas, TX; in Memphis, TN; Jim Neely's in Memphis, TN

Linda's favorites: Swadley's in Bethany, OK (It's listed first for a reason); Gates BBQ in Kansas City, KS (Oh, yeah); Whitt's BBQ in Decatur, AL; and Big Bob Gibson's in Decatur, AL

Wayne's list is a lot longer than mine because this is the food of his choice.  I will never turn down any of the restaurants on my list, either.  I love the smell of slow-fired meat, being as carnivorous and I am.  And while we're on the topic of grills and such, we have to give a shout-out to Japanese back yard barbeques!  There is nothing quite like it.  The grilled foods, the sauces, the way that everyone stands around the grill and grabs food off with their chopsticks, the way that conversations are more relaxed and filled with laughter....oh, we love it!  (And it just can't happen here in the U.S. - part of the draw is the way that we seem to be confused the whole evening bc their conversations become more colloquial and less understandable to English speakers throughout the course of the BBQ....the confusion is part of the recipe!)

In any case, no matter how you slice or pull it, BBQ is it's own genre, and people will go to war to defend their opinions in matters of the grill.  The things that must be present to make a good barbeque are this: spices, fire and meat. 

In this same fashion, when we blend the "spices" of prayer and praise with the "fire" of the Holy Spirit and the "meat" of our lives of service, the aroma that reaches heaven is very favorable to God! I think that He loves to smell our sacrifices on the altars of service in our lives.  God loves a good BBQ! 

We can't get too involved in spiritual conversations of BBQ before a raging theological debate occurs, though.  We all have our favorite pits and grills - the shacks on the sides of country roads where the food is the best.  If you are near any of our favorite restaurants, try them out.  If not, let us know what your favorite BBQ is.... we'll plan an entire trip around grilled meat!