A Worshipful Heart

The Question of Alcohol for Christians

To drink or not to drink alcohol has been a question for Christians that still seems far from settled. I used to think it was a given that Christians simply did not drink. In my limited experience, growing up in a small Southern Baptist church in the deep south in a family where liquor was never touched, this seemed to be the gospel truth. 

In my family, we heard whispers of alcoholic horror stories from a branch of my mother's family that included stealing, murder, and prison. And when I grew up and was ordained as a minister, the largest space on my questionnaire was left open for me to elaborate on my views on alcohol. It seemed like that was THE pass/fail question for ordination!

However, as the years have gone by, I've met many deeply faithful believers that drink wine, have a beer and don't equate alcohol with sin nor drink to excess. In fact they seem confused by all the fuss!

The latest issue of Leadership magazine includes the article "Trouble Brewing" where they note that the view of alcohol use as a sin is fading. There seems to be a shift in attitudes concerning drinking in moderation.

A few weeks ago some of our staff was gathered in my office and this topic came up, but in a different way. For those of us gathered that day the main question was this:

Is is wise for a minister - or even a believer - to drink alcohol? Not "is it wrong?", but is it the best choice? How will it affect those around us? We had a great discussion about it. I thought it would be a good topic for us to grapple with together.

So I'd love to ask you to chime in on this today. What do you think? I'll ask several questions to get you to think:

 - PASTORS: In the context and culture you serve in, would it be wise for you to have a beer or a glass of wine? Share with us how your church would respond.

 - ALL BELIEVERS: What about you? Would it be wise? Do you think your pastors should be held to a different standard on this issue?

 - For all of us - should culture and context matter? Do you believe alcohol is a black and white issue? Why or why not?

Can't wait to hear from you! Should be interesting! I'll share my decision later this week.

All Sorts of Stuff

I'm cramming all sorts of stuff into today's blog! Read on for all the varied news....

First of all, I'm going to give you my weekly "exercise/weight loss/health" update first. I weighed in today, one day early and have lost another 3 1/2 pounds for a grand total of 10 POUNDS!! Only 30 more to go! Woo hoo! I am now beginning to tell a difference in my clothes, which is great.

Secondly, I am leaving in just a little while to go to Murfreesboro, TN to spend the night with my daughter Maria. We have a grand girl's night planned with dinner out and watching a movie or Gilmore Girls. Tomorrow I'll get up bright and early and head to the Nashville Airport for my flight to Chicago. If you are a long time reader, you'll know I go away quarterly to meet with a pastor's retreat community in the Chicago area. And although we did not get one speck of snow here, I will hopefully get to see some there. The retreats are held on a beautiful campus that includes a lake surrounded by gorgeous woods and a road to walk. I'm looking forward to taking some walks in the snow and taking pictures, which I'll post next week. This retreat is focusing on "Engaging with the Scripture for Spiritual Formation". Please pray for me as I go that I will hear a fresh and clear word from God and experience His presence in a profound way as I carve out this space and time in my life.

Finally, I have to share something that I saw this morning that truly deeply disturbed me. I went to Books A Million this morning and the Buddhist group was meeting there having what was the equivalent of an evangelistic meeting, giving out little tote bags, etc. There were probably 25 people listening. What disturbs me is this - what drives people in the absolute buckle of the Bible belt to consider alternatives to the Christian church when they feel a spiritual need? While I feel that people are more spiritually open today, I'm afraid they are open to more things as well. Just another sign that we really need to get busy and make sure that we are offering the TRUTH of Jesus. The church may not be the first place people look anymore. Maybe we need to reserve Books a Million next weekend?!

If we did, what would you call it and what would you do?

Resolution Update #1

I posted about a week ago on some of my resolutions for 2008 and I wanted to share with you my progress. I am hoping that posting about it will keep me accountable and I know your support will help me. First of all, my diet. I started with 40 pounds to lose and I am happy to report that I lost 6 1/2 lbs. this week!!! Yea!! I am thrilled. Only 34 more to go! I'm on my way. I joined with a team of ladies to participate in "Scale Back Alabama" and we weighed in on Monday, each working to lose 10 pounds each in 10 weeks and if we do qualifying for the prize of $1000 EACH!  My team is Linda, Sheila and Kathy and their support means so much to me. GO TEAM!

I also had as one of my goals to increase my activity and I - along with several brave or crazy friends - began a belly dancing class on Tuesday night. It was a hoot! We had a great time together and laughed alot. I figured we burned as many calories laughing as we did swiveling our hips (or trying to - it's WAY harder than it looks). Before you say "ooh gross" like my son Daniel did, it's really just like any other exercise class. We're all in sweats - I promise we've not graduated to veils, finger cymbals and coin belts yet! It works your core and I felt it the next morning. A big shout out to my fellow Belly Dancing Babes Melodie, Linda, Lori, Alice, Sheila, and Tammy!! Woo hoo! I enjoyed experiencing this TOGETHER as much as I did the exercise, which left me so energized. Lori had the best comment of the night. The instructor kept saying "As you face the audience....etc." and finally Lori said "What audience are we taling about here? There's not going to be a recital at the end of this is there?????" Thankfully for the audience in question, NO! I do think I learned a "life lesson" through choosing to do this though. I think the older I get the less I care. What would have embarassed me to death when I was 25 just doesn't bother me now, so I can have more fun and experience life more fully, or be more embarassing as my daughter Maria claims. Oh well, think of how much I would miss if I never did anything that might embarass me! I also worked out several times on our elliptical runner so I'm moving more than before and feeling great!

The other goals I had for the beginning of this year were to pursue a hobby and set up a special, sacred space for our quiet times. This weekend we got to work and cleaned out our bedroom sitting area and I accomplished both goals! While they are not totally complete, I do have a beautiful corner with our chairs and some objects on an end table that speak to me and bring me peace - my holding cross, my picture of the salt marsh on Pawleys Island, my new communion set that Phil bought me from a potter in Georgia. I set up my scrapbooking supplies and spent a few hours working on my pictures from France. I enjoyed the peace of a space all my own as I relaxed and scrapbooked and then prayed over the services this morning.

Life change is hard. It's hard to do something different, to break out of our ruts, to choose to travel in a different direction. I moved at least a few degrees this week!

A New (yet old) Journey

Well here we are again, at the beginning of a new year and we all know what that means! Time to get my life in order. I sometimes wonder if that will ever happen! But I've taken a few steps towards caring for myself that I'd like to share with you. They may seem insignificant to you but they are pretty huge to me. Please pray for me as I set out on a new leg of this never ending journey. My desire is to reduce my stress levels, relax more, lose weight, spend more time with my family and friends......what we all want, right?

So here goes. My first goal is to lose - dare I say it? - 40 pounds this year. Yikes! That sounds impossible. I started my diet yesterday - I am going to try Nutrisystem - and hope to see some significant progress by the time Phil and I go to Kauai in May! Although i really want to look better and for my clothes to actually fit again, I have many health concerns as well. I'd like my energy levels to be higher and I just feel like the past few years have taken a toll on my body. I know I am at a higher risk for breast cancer and PCOD with my weight being higher. Finally, we had a wonderfully celebrative time of worship at the end of our worship services on Sunday morning and I got so out of breath! It was sobering. I want to be able to dance while I lead if the Spirit so moves! So I've joined a small team of women to weigh in once a week, and I have a few walking partners to support me and I also am taking - gasp - a belly dancing class! This is apparently a new craze in core fitness and is supposed to be loads of fun and lots of laughs. I'm looking forward to some time with friends as I exercise as well.

I also am truly going to pursue a hobby. That sounds lame doesn't it? I really don't have one and so since I love to scrapbook I am going to actually jump in with both feet now. With this hobby I can be creative, preserve my memories (I am unashamedly sentimental) and spend time with friends who also love this hobby. I'm even setting up a scrapbooking space in my upstairs sitting room so I can see my junk and organize my pictures. I can't wait for my good friend Stacy to come help me get it all set up!

Finally, I am creating my own sacred space so that Phil and I will have a quiet place for our quiet times and a place dedicated to journaling and praying and seeking the Lord. No laptops or laundry allowed!

I ask for your prayer support and encouragement as well as I seek to take these steps towards overall health!

How do you taste a memory?

Well, I think that I taste a memory every time I eat something I associate with my childhood or a loved one. When I eat my Granny's recipe for chocolate pie or homemade mac and cheese or chicken and dumplings I am transported back to my grandmother's kitchen where everything she made was so delicious and full of love! I not only remember my times with Granny and Paw Paw but I also feel loved and cared for all over again. I guess that's why we call it comfort food - it doesn't just taste good but it also brings back a host of wonderfully vivid memories.

So my question for you today is what food do you love to eat at Christmas because it takes wonderful and also brings back  those wonderful memories?

For myself, the thing I make with my children every year that is a MUST have is homemade sugar cookies. Yes, I roll them out, make them from scratch and then we decorate them together - and it takes forever. I grew up doing this with my mom and I love it. I have collected all kinds of antique and new cookie cutters in my 23 years of marriage and now have enough to give to Maria when she's ready to add this to her own Christmas traditions. There's just nothing else like it. I also am transported back in time when I eat my mom's peach cobbler and sweet potato casserole (Philip says it will make you lose your breath it's so good!!) and my grandmother's dressing. It's good to know that some things never change!

Good memories are simply reminders of God's blessings in our lives. When I make and eat those sugar cookies, I am reminded of my family's love, the blessing of my mother, and the wonder of being a mom myself. When I eat my grandmother's recipe for chocolate pie or chicken and dumplings or whatever, I remember the years I had wonderfully attentive grandparents that loved me and were always a part of my life. I am reminded of spending time with my aunts and uncles and cousins and whoever else stopped by for the day - of the laughter and joy of being with people that have known you forever and love you anyway. So to me, and yes I admit I am really sentimental, it is not about food, it is about memories. Good, good memories.

How do YOU taste a memory? What takes you back? I'd love to hear from you! You can even post your recipe to share with us all!

Day After Thanksgiving

What a funny morning.....I discovered the only empty store on Black Friday - the grocery story. There was literally no one there. I TRIED to go buy one of Phil's gifts at a department store but decided that it wasn't worth saving $40 to stand behind 100 other people in line, so I gave up and went to the grocery store and bought vanilla ice cream. Then I got to the good part! I went home and ate PEACH COBBLER with ICE CREAM FOR BREAKFAST!!!  woo hoo! (Mom, if you're reading this I want peach cobbler for my birthday) As an added bonus I actually bought two gifts at the grocery store so my morning was not a total waste. They sell gift cards for all kinds of places including - and this is strange - Universal Studios in Florida!? So I did accomplish something today. :) Now on to wrapping gifts, putting up the tree, etc......oh, and watching ballgames.

Favorite Southern Comfort Foods

Well, I've been writing some pretty deep stuff lately and baring my soul so I thought I'd lighten it up a bit. Since I'm in Savannah, Phil and I had to eat lunch at ......you guessed it......"Lady and Sons", which is Paula Dean's restaurant. We ate next to two guys from "up north" and it was a fun lunch as they tried southern food for the first time and were - of course - impressed. As we sat there and discussed what was southern and what was not, I realized A) I need to go to my mama's house and get her to teach me how to make chicken and dumplins and peach cobbler. I'm 41 years old and it's time I could do this for myself! If I learned nothing else from my mother this would be a great contribution to pass down for future generations. B) let's face it, southern food is comfort food and it is low in nothing. I guarantee you that whoever came up with low-carb dieting was not from Alabama or Georgia. So as I sat there over lunch and laughed at the guy next to me eating fried collards (I have to admit I've never heard of that either) my wandered back to my grandmother's cooking in particular, which my mom has carried on admirably. Both of the men next to us ordered peach cobbler and urged me to do the same. I did not dare do this because - as I told them - there is no way it could be as good as my mama's peach cobbler. (which is good btw, for breakfast too!) They claimed it was the best they'd ever had, then admitted it was the ONLY they'd ever had. And it was served naked! (no ice cream) Shame on you, Paula! That's just wrong. As we laughed, ate and talked of course, I daydreamed of my favorite dinners at Granny's and at my mother's house. So in honor of the new found popularity of southern home cooking in a low-carb, skinny world, here is my:

Top 10 Favorite Southern Comfort Foods:

1) Chicken and Dumplings! The dumplins have to be thin, thin, thin - none of those doughy ball things. In Alabama, that is NOT a dumplin! According to my grandmother the broth is richer if you use a hen, not a fryer, or maybe it's a fryer, not a hen. Anyway, the fact that I don't know the difference is probably why mine don't taste the same.

2) Macaroni and Cheese - the homemade kind with eggs and cheddar cheese, none of that out of the box stuff. You'll laugh, but my grandmother used to make this for my birthday. (stacy, yours is very close!)

3) Peach Cobbler - mmm, mmmm, mmmm, mmmm - that's all I can say! And of course you MUST eat it topped with vanilla ice cream. (another birthday favorite for my whole life - my mama still makes it for me) This will make you holler!

4) Country Fried Steak with Homemade Mashed Potatoes  - yummy, but I can hardly ever eat it - it's loaded with calories of course!

5) Granny's Chocolate Pie - I actually cook this quite well and make it often. This is Daniel's favorite. What would a Thanksgiving or Christmas be without it?

6) Fried Okra - I never ever cook this, but I love it sliced really thin and fried really crisp.

7) Fresh corn on the cob! There is not much better than an ear of fresh corn boiled with butter and salt. If you've gone into the garden and picked it yourself, so much the better.

8) Sweet Potato Casserole - without the marshmallows, thank you very much. I like mine with nuts and brown sugar and real sweet potatoes.

9) Fresh Green Beans cooked with bacon - I really cannot eat other people's green beans because I am totally spoiled. Nothing tastes as good to me as the ones my mother cooks.

10) Well, I can't choose, so here's the rest: grits, cornbread, homemade blackberry jelly, butterbeans, black eyed peas, chicken "funeral" casserole, old fashioned pound cake and tea cakes, and gulf shrimp and baby potatoes!!!

Hey, I know that your ideas will be different from mine so don't be afraid to disagree! Speak out and tell me what YOUR favorite southern comfort food is! Even if you're from up north, feel free to share.