Christmas Project Suggestion

This is about the time of year that Sunday School classes and church small groups begin to think about what to do for a group Christmas project--do I have a suggestion for you, especially if you are part of a Presbyterian congregation in the Synod of the Sun.

SCRAPCE (South Central Region of the Association of Presbyterian Christian Educators) is sponsoring the IKE Classroom Recovery Project to help congregations devastated by the storm rebuild and re-equip their Christian Education space.

Remember IKE???? We sure do.

Congregations that will be assisted by the project are First Presbyterian, Galveston; Emmanuel Presbyterian, Galveston; West Isle Presbyterian, Galveston; and Hurricane Gustav-damaged Baker Presbyterian, Baker, Louisiana.

Donors can elect to fund all or part of a classroom and will be put in touch with the recipient congregation so they can share prayers and develop relationships as well as send money. SCRAPCE will match the donors with congregations to ensure that the funds are spread equitably.

For more information about the project and how to participate, go to the Hurricane Ike Recovery page on the New Covenant Presbytery website. Scroll down to the middle of the page to the Classroom Recovery Project links.

Beatrice Blogs: From the Dog House

Woof! Beatrice here, blogging from the doghouse.

It all started with a ball. Just a little ball that I love to play fetch with until I found it more fun to hide it under El Jefe's recliner and then try to get it out. All by myself!

Well, okay, so I couldn't quite reach under there, so I had to chew on the chair some to try to get it out. And so the leather sort of came off in chunks once I got down to the chair's frame. My plan was to chew the frame off and then--voila!--retrieve my ball. Ingenious.

But QG was--ahem--NOT AMUSED. She took away my ball for the rest of the day and won't let me bring it back in the house. She taped up the chair and sprayed it will something nasty, too. Words were said. Faces were scowly.

The doghouse isn't much fun. I want my ball. I bet I can chew off that tape and get it....

The Hardest Part Begins

Like many of you, I'm relieved the election is finally over. Two years of constant campaigning is too much. I wish that the election cycle could be shortened to six weeks, but realistically, those who benefit from lengthy and expensive campaigns will never let that happen.

Congratulations and best wishes to Barack Obama on his historic victory. His election demonstrates that the American dream is not myth, but reality. This is a very good thing for the country. He was not my choice, but I pray that he will deliver on the promise in his acceptance speech to reach out to those who did not vote for him.

"Change" and "hope" were the catch-phrases for this election for both candidates. Now that the election is over, let us put it in perspective.

Presidents are limited in what they can achieve by many things over which they have no control: the powers of the Congress and Supreme Court, history, competing interests of powerful lobby groups, the expectations of their party and supporters, the opposition of those who do not agree with their policy proposals, the actions of foreign countries, the strengths and weaknesses of their advisors and Cabinet secretaries, and their own human shortcomings. Campaigning is very diffcult, but governing is even harder.

Psalm 146 reminds us not to have unrealistic expectations for our leaders:

3 Do not put your trust in princes,
in mortal men, who cannot save.

4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
on that very day their plans come to nothing.

5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD his God,

6 the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
the LORD, who remains faithful forever.

7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets prisoners free,

8 the LORD gives sight to the blind,
the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down,
the LORD loves the righteous.

9 The LORD watches over the alien
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

10 The LORD reigns forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the LORD.

President-Elect Obama needs our prayers for God's guidance and wisdom as he begins the process of choosing members of his new administration, and continuing after he takes office. May the Lord be with him and with this country!

All's Quiet On the Election Front

St. Betty just called to report that all is relatively quiet at our local precinct. It seems that 58% of the registered voters in the precinct voted early! So although there is a steady stream of folks coming in, there are plenty of machines and no waiting.

Evidently we ALL heart early voting.

Our precinct (and our county) normally vote strongly Republican. We'll see if the high turnout signals a change in that pattern--or not.

QG's Traveling Lunch Wagon

For the first time in several election cycles, I'm not serving as an election official in my precinct.

The turnout is likely to be very heavy (based on the fact that we've had more than 40% of all registered voters in the county vote early). That means that the officials will be sitting for hours and hours at a time. In my case, that means bad bad news for my gimpy knee.

So I've volunteered to serve as the lunch wagon for the election workers. I'll bring lunch to them -- just after the noon rush because I know from experience that you can't stop to eat from about 11:30 to 1 pm.

In some ways I'm sad not to be working a presidential election. My knee, however, is very happy to be fetching lunch instead.

Halloween Candy Quiz

Woo-hoo! It's Halloween. Which may seem redundant during election season.

So let's have a bit of Halloween fun! Here's my Halloween Candy Quiz--you can play by answering in the comments or posting it on your blog with your answers (please let me know in the comments if you posted your answers elsewhere). I put my answers in orange!

Halloween Candy Quiz

1. What is the worst "treat" you or your kids ever received for Halloween?

Babs' first grade class was served unsweetened gelatin squares (Knox Blox) by a home room mom who was a health fanatic. Ugh.If Halloween is about anything, it's all about sugar.

2. What was the most memorable?

This dates me, but a neighbor gave out caramel apples and popcorn balls when I was a kid.

3. What candy is the most likely to be shared with others?

Babe Ruth, Jelly beans, any hard candy

4. What candy is the most likely to be hoarded?

Three Musketeers bars, M&M's, Hershey bars

5. What is the best chocolate Halloween candy?

I love the Halloween colored M&M's. And they don't melt.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

Housing the House-Builders

Portia's brother-in-law (Bob the Builder) flew into Houston Monday afternoon on a scouting expedition for his Florida construction company. He's been engaged to rebuild an apartment complex in Galveston that was severely damaged by hurricane Ike last month.

Remember Ike? It was chased off the front pages by the stock market meltdown, bailout and the presidential election. But there are thousands of people still displaced from their homes, boats littering the side of the highway near Galveston, and blue tarps on roofs of businesses and homes all over the region awaiting repair. The storm is the third most costly in American history. Some say the damages could be as much as $21 BILLION.

Bob's company is one of many from out of state coming into the area to help with the reconstruction. These companies must show that they will bring in their own workers, because there is a shortage of available labor in the area.

That means that his biggest challenge will be finding temporary housing for the employees of his company in addition to evaluating the scope of the project. This is a familiar story to those of you who survived Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Hotels, motels, apartments and rent houses near Galveston are booked full with evacuees whose homes are unliveable--like the apartments that Bob's company plans to restore. It's a real Catch-22.

Presbytery of New Covenant's Ike recovery effort continues. We expect Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Villages to be set up by Thanksgiving to house volunteer teams of workers. If your church group is interested in arranging a work trip, contact the PDA at pdacallcenter@sbcglobal.net.

Volunteer work crews are welcome and much needed, but the folks waiting to return to their homes will also need companies like Bob's to come and work. And those workers need a place to stay. I'm praying Bob can work that out for his employees and the people who had to leave their ruined apartments.

The Wizards of Washington

Pink Ladies Swing for the Cure

Yesterday was a gorgeous, brisk and breezy, bright and sunny day for the annual Pink Ladies Golf Tournament, benefiting breast cancer research. The Pink Ladies were out in force--and my team consisted of St. Betty, The Defender, Jane Long and Mrs. America. Plus me.

Here's the line of golf carts all decked out in pink, waiting for the starter's call:

Prizes are given for the most creative cart decorations. Here are two of our favorites:

Prizes are also given for costumes. Here are a couple of the winners:

I don't know why Mrs. America,who has served as a local election judge, didn't win for this one:

Tournament play is a best ball scramble. Our team score was 38. That's our story and we're sticking to it.

My Favorite Longhorn: the rest of the story

The Dallas Morning News ran a wonderful feature article on Chris Ogbonnaya (My Favorite Longhorn) which tells the remarkable, inspiring story behind this now-star college football player.

It's the perfect antidote for the depressing news we're all getting recently.

Thanks to the reporter, who really did justice to her subject and all he has been though.

Go 'Horns! Go, Chris!

Because It's Halloween Week...

Bible In a Minute

I Heart Early Voting

It's the second day of early voting in the great state of Texas, where the deer and the antelope play, and we're considered too red for the presidential candidates to fight much over. Thank God.

Yesterday was by far the highest turnout ever seen here for the first day of early voting. There were about 20 people this afternoon voting when I stopped by, but there were plenty of machines and no lines.

Early voting is a wonderful thing. In Texas, you can vote at any of the early voting locations in your county and voting hours are scheduled at nights and on weekends, too. Officials expect about one third of all votes to be cast early.

It is so much easier and more convenient to vote early than to fight the crowds on November 4, that I don't know why everyone doesn't vote early. This is particularly true in our precinct where intrepid voters have to traverse the local high school's student parking lot in order to vote in the auditorium. A word to the wise: don't try to vote between 7:15 and 7:30 am or between 2:30 and 2:45 pm.

Now that I've voted early, I'm not listening to any of the candidates anymore.

~fingers in ears~

"La, La, La. I can't HEAR you!"

Beatrice Blogs: Olivia's No Good Very Bad Day

Woof! Beatrice here.

I noticed QG hasn't told you yet about Olivia's No Good Very Bad Day yet, so it's clearly my duty to fill you in. It's quite the saga.

Saturday morning Portia called from the vet's office, saying Olivia threw up several times in the night and they were trying to figure out what was wrong. Then she called again and said when the vet clinic closed at 2, she had to take her to an emergency vet clinic for more tests.

El Jefe and QG looked very worried, so I tried to distract them by bringing my ball for a nice game of catch. It took me a while to get their attention, but at last they co-operated and I think it helped.

Then Portia called again and said Olivia had to stay overnight and might have to go under the knife for something called a blockage. QG told El Jefe that the vet had to "ream her out." Don't even want to know what that means. Woof! Sounded bad.

But she came over the next afternoon and seemed fine to me. Guess she didn't need the knife after all and no one knows why she got sick. What a drama queen. Everyone made a big fuss over her but she didn't feel like playing as much as usual. Humph.

Portia wouldn't let her have any treats, though, so El Jefe had to sneak some to me when she wasn't watching.

Heh-heh.

Then this evening Portia called to say Olivia had a follow-up appointment with the vet who says she is back to normal now. I'm glad because she is supposed to have a sleep-over with me this weekend!

Woof!

UPDATE from QG: Unfortunately Olivia threw up again early this morning and Portia is taking the day off to take her back to the vet. Hopefully she'll figure out what is wrong this time. Prayers appreciated.

AFTERNOON UPDATE: The diagnosis is that the antibiotic upset Olivia's stomach. The prescription is Pepcid with her meal. One for Olivia and two for Portia....She's doing well this afternoon. Thanks for the prayers!

Bum Knee Haiku

Knee drags up the stair
Hands with death grip on handrail
Ouchy ouchy gritted teeth.

Surfing net for shoes
Not cute ones, supportive ones
Makes me very sad.

Can't stand it any more
Bum knee just got Euflexxa
Shot yesterday. Yeah!

Relief in two months
The doctor predicts for me
Lasts for many months.

Dodging knee surgery
Worth lots and lots of shots
Fire away good doctor.

Prosperity Gospel Praise Songs

I know what you're thinking out there. Put down that can of snark!

Hat tip: John at Locusts and Honey

Book Review: William Wilberforce-The Life of the Great Anti-Slave Campaigner

I've happily spent the past couple of weeks away from the sturm und drang of the presidential election immersed in the inspiring story of a very unusual politician: William Wilberforce who spent a lifetime advocating legislation making the British slave trade illegal.

Early in his long career Wilberforce experienced conversion to evangelical Christianity. He was tempted to retreat from public life but ultimately heeded the advice of his great friend, later Prime Minister, William Pitt the Younger who wrote him, "Surely the principles as well as the practice of Christianity are simple, and lead not to meditation only, but to action."

The long fight to outlaw the slave trade caused Wilberforce to consider retreating from the effort on several occasions, but it was always his conviction that he was following God's call that kept him from doing so. John Wesley wrote him on one such occasion, "Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils; but if God be for you who can be against you. All of them together stronger than God? Oh, be not weary of well-doing."

The author, William Hague, served in different capacities in the British government, including serving as leader of the Conservative party. He is from Yorkshire, which is the county Wilberforce represented most of his career in the House of Commons. His experience and background in British politics and history (he also wrote an acclaimed biography of Wilberforce's great friend William Pitt the Younger) contribute to the authenticity of this biography.

Hauge persuasively argues that Wilberforce possessed an unusual combination of vision and the ability to make realistic compromises in order to advance that vision. His devout faith was winsome and drew people to him as he managed to live according to those principles in such a way that his character became his crowning glory. Hague concludes: "It is the combination of Wilberforce's achievements and his qualities that mark him out as a figure rare indeed...In the dark historical landscape of violence, treachery and hate, the life of William Wilberforce stands as a beacon of light, which the passing of two centuries has scarcely dimmed."

Wilberforce never wearied of well-doing. Would we could say that about any modern politican. This biography should be required reading for every member of Congress.

What If?

Since I missed worship at my church last Sunday because I had committed to represent presbytery at a mission fair at another church, I downloaded the sermon on my iphone. Our pastor said that he was seriously considering having a Sunday when the church was completely closed so that the congregation would worship by engaging in service to the community.

Our presbytery is considering doing something similar next year--having an abbreviated meeting on a Saturday and then encouraging all of its congregations to go out into their communities on Sunday and engage in appropriate community service projects.

It must be some kind of movement! What if it really happened?

The Prom Queen of Love

Because we all need a feel-good story right about now, you'll want to read about the Texas high school that elected a young lady with Downs syndrome as the prom queen: Prom Queen of Love.

Lakewood Updates

The Defender called in last night with an Osteen report from the Texan-Dolphins game.

Yesterday morning she spotted a big mobile home with a huge TV screen in the tailgating area of the parking lot. Gathered around the screen was a party-hearty gang, beers and other adult beverages in hand, watching Joel Osteen preach in HD.

"Did they think watching Joel on TV while partying at the game counted as going to church?" she asked.

In other Lakewood-related news (just in time for Christmas!) Lakewood Church co-pastor Victoria Osteen has written a book, too. The Houston Chronicle reported this yesterday under the headline "Victoria's Secret--God Thinks You're Special".

~groan~