Calvinism on Hold

Alas, the time has come and I am not yet ready for my musings on Calvinism. To spare my readers the agony of anticipation, I am going to address (sometime in the near future) the L in the Calvinistic TULIP, Limited Atonement. I have been reading some of John Piper's articles about it and I find myself having to come to grips with some issues that I don't quite understand. The biggest question I face is, "What did the crucifixion and death of Christ accomplish?" and "Who received or recieves that and when does that take place." I will probably find that I agree with it, but I have been having issues with the specific wording.