Friday Crawfish!

It's high crawfish season down here in southeast Texas, and we're grateful for the blessing of mudbugs--especially in the form of the already picked and cleaned tails!

A couple of weeks ago I remembered a favorite crawfish recipe from the past and made it down at the bay house. What a hit it was!

Fair warning--this is not for dieters, but for a night when you feel like splurging. I made it with reduced fat Velveeta and no-fat half and half and it still tasted plenty rich. I'm sharing the recipe below.

What's your favorite crawfish recipe?

Crawfish Fettucini

1 stick butter
1 bunch green onions, chopped, with tops
1 each, chopped: green bell pepper and yellow onion
4 ribs celery, chopped
2 TBL minced garlic
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup water
2 pounds crawfish tails (the ones from Louisiana--not China!)
1 (12 oz) package egg noodles
1 lb. box hot Mexican Velveeta, cubed
1 pint half and half
1 to 3 TBL Cajun seasoning

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Melt butter in medium pot. Add green onions, bell pepper, celery, onion and garlic. Cook on low for 20 minutes or until reaches desired tenderness. Stir in flour and blend well. Add water, then crawfish tails.

Continue to cook on low heat.

Boil egg noodles in a large pot. Drain. Return noodles to pot with crawfish and veggies and add cheese. Stir well. Pour mixture into a large casserole dish.

Heat 15 minutes. Remove and let stand 10 minutes before serving. Serves 6 to 8, depending...

Book Review: A. Lincoln

A. Lincoln by Ronald C. White is a fascinating biography of the greatest American president and is appropriately published in this 200th year since his birth.

The first half of the book is devoted to Lincoln's early life on the western frontier and his emergence as a self-educated lawyer and political leader in Illinois. The second half covers his rise to national prominence and his terms in office until his assasination. White focuses on Lincoln's public life and work rather than on his private life and family. Unlike many recent biographies, White portrays Mary Lincoln in a very sympathetic light.

One of the major themes of the book is the development of Lincoln's spiritual life and thought as he struggled with doubt and Christian belief throughout his life. This is not surprising, given the fact that the author is a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary and was dean and professor of American Religious History at San Francisco Theological Seminary.

My PresbyReaders will be interested to learn how Lincoln was influenced by the Old School Presbyterian minister Dr. Phineas Gurley, the pastor of New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington where Abraham and Mary Lincoln rented a pew and regularly attended worship services (although Lincoln himself never formally became a member of the church).

According to White, Lincoln "had chosen to attend rational nonpolitical Old School congregations over experiential, antislavery New School congregations in both Springfield and Washington." White traces the development of Lincoln's belief in a God of providence who guides men and nations during this time and links it to Gurley's sermons.

Lincoln's belief is evidenced in a fascinating fragment that was not published until many years after his death. Found by his secretary John Hay, it is known as A Meditation on the Divine Will. Although I have read several biographies of the Great Emancipator over the years, I don't recall another that gave as much emphasis on Lincoln's spiritual development as to the development of his political opinions and his mastery of military strategy.

A. Lincoln is a superb portrait of a complex, great and good man. Kudos to Dr. White!

Portia's 100th Post

There's still time to hurry over to Portia's blog and participate in her reader give-away celebrating her 100th post!

And no, it's not an April Fool's Day prank....

Closing The Sale

Well, today's the day! El Jefe and I meet with our buyers at the title company this afternoon and close the sale of our house.

It's been a bit of a weird journey with some comical screw-ups, such as:

• the HOA gave us a certificate of compliance with HOA requirements but noted one minor exception. The exception was evidenced by a photo of our next door neighbor's house rather than ours and it was clear that they had not bothered to check the street addresses when making the report!
• the lawyers for the bank preparing the deed put the wrong block number in the deed restriction. El Jefe had to point that out to them.
• El Jefe also had to straighten out the chain of title for the careless title examiner.

I'm so glad El Jefe is my lawyer!

It will be odd to hand over a key to someone else, although we will lease back for the next couple of months until the new house is ready. Now I'll really have to accelerate my "downsizing" efforts in preparation for the move. We're getting excited about re-inventing ourselves in our new space, though.

Mom of Congress: Uncle Jay's News Word of the Week

The Economy--An Unwelcome Guest

A recent article in the Outlook reports that the "staggering economy" is an unwelcome guest at the meetings of the PCUSA's General Assembly Council. The reporter notes that it is also an unwelcome guest at every level of denominational life.

That's certainly true for my church, which has had to take some cost-cutting measures in light of anticipated reduced income. I'm sure it is the case for most congregations in every denomination across the country.

The fear-filled atmosphere that surrounds us on all sides doesn't help, either. It's hard to set fear aside and replace it with confidence and calmness. At yesterday's stewardship committee meeting we were reminded "God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline". (2 Tim. 1:7 NIV). That's a good reminder, but hard to internalize.

On the positive side of the situation, leaders are focusing on continuing funding for core ministries of the church and cutting back on the "nice-to-do's". That is something no one is inclined to do when economic times are good.

Is the economy an unwelcome guest in your congregation?

An Encouraging Word

This just in from the Department of Houston Religious Oddities, Osteen Watch Bureau.

The Osteens are now selling their very own Bible.

It comes with notes and "encouragement" from Lakewood Church Co-Pastors Joel and Victoria.

Especially the encouragement to buy it. $25 plus tax.

A City on a Hill

As I mentioned last month, our session meetings at MDPC begin with a time of group lectio divina. The method is this: the moderator selects a passage of scripture and offers some brief reflections on why he chose it. Then he reads it. We break into groups of three and each person in the group reads it aloud. Then each one comments on what words in the passage stood out and why, followed by a time of silent reflection.

Last night's passage was the very familiar passage from the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5: 14-17.

You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

The second sentence jumped out at me last night. Why did Jesus talk about a city on a hill in the middle of a talking about light and lamps?

A city on a hill is both vulnerable, because it cannot be hidden, and protected, because it is very difficult for an enemy to scale a hill and overcome the city's defenders. Is this a metaphor for the faithful church which cannot and should not hide itself in the culture of the day? Would that mean that God will protect such a church from its enemies?

Then I wondered why this sentence leapt out at me. Maybe because our increasingly sour and negative national atmosphere needs the example of the church as that faithful city on a hill? How can we do that? For me, that means consciously reducing the amount of time spent with the media. I can keep up with the events of the day without wallowing in them. Then I can become more balanced and faithful and hopefully can be a little light in my corner of the world.

Of course the Houston area is a city on a swamp (er...bayou), not a city on a hill. But still!

Fun With Technology

My wireless router died last week, so my internet provider sent me a nifty new gadget that combines modem, router and wireless for my home network. It came on Thursday.

As promised, all I had to do was plug it in, reboot our computers and..VIOLA!

We went down to the bay for the weekend and upon our return--you know what's coming, don't you? NADA.

Suddenly the gadget wouldn't recognize any of the computers in the house. After several calls Sunday night El Jefe's computer connected. But mine didn't. After a call to the "help" desk this morning, mine connected. But his didn't.

After getting more "help" from his office's help desk, they found a work-around that got him connected to the office server. But now his computer makes a loud "ding" whenever an email hits which sets the dogs off (Olivia is spending the day with us) and he can't figure out how to mute it because muting the sound on his computer doesn't help.

There's more "help" in my future.

Razzlefrackzit.

Not Just For Traditionally Built Women

Portia, Babs and I are VERY excited about the debut on HBO of a new series based on the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books by Andrew McCall Smith.

We LOVE the heroine, Precious Ramotswe, of Botswana. Andrew McCall Smith lived in Botswana at one time and writes very sympathetically about African life. Precious reminds us of many of the wonderful Nigerian women we have had the opportunity to meet through our good friend Dr. O. Like them, she is a believing Christian and her faith is reflected in the stories, although it is not a prominent theme. It's just part of her personality and life, as it is with most of us. It appears that the producers have taken great pains to make the series reflect the wonderful calming tone of the books.

This looks like a great series for the whole family, so pull up a chair and a cup of bush tea at 8 Sunday evening and enjoy. It's not just for those of us who are traditionally built.

CORRECTION: The series begins NEXT Sunday. Mark your calendar. Mea culpa.

Beatrice Blogs: Tips for Free Play

Woof! Beatrice here.

This is for all my CyberCanine Friends--make your people leave the room so they won't know what you're reading.

Are they gone yet? Good.

Do you have a favorite toy that you OBSESS over as in you must play with it 24/7 and insist your people join in the fun? Me, too. I love me a small ball. But this week Portia and Olivia stayed with us because DK was on a business trip. My mom wasn't happy that I was ignoring Olivia to play with my ball. So she put it away where she thought I couldn't get it.

Never underestimate Beatrice the Bold! I saw her put it in the drawer next to her bathroom sink. So when she wasn't looking I jumped on a chair and then onto the counter above the drawer. Using my magnificent dachsie nose, I pushed the drawer open and retrieved the ball!

If you don't have such a nose, perhaps you can open the drawer by pushing your paws against the knob.

Yours for free play,

Beatrice

Provocative End of Life Study

An study reported in today's Houston Chronicle found that terminal cancer patients who identified themselves as religious believers sought more aggressive treatment in the last week of life from their doctors than those who did not.

That's not what I would have predicted. I would have thought that those who believe in the providence and grace of God would be less likely to seek this kind of care. But then I don't have experience as a health care provider or minister.

One of the explanations was that because believers hold life to be sacred, they may feel a duty to live as long as possible.

Is that what those of you who provide pastoral care as ministers and chaplains find in your own experience?

Faith Comes By Hearing--Second Update

Yesterday I finished listening to Luke and John and began listening to Acts. I'm a bit behind on the Faith Comes By Hearing schedule, so I need to step it up if I'm going to finish by Easter.

I was thinking I would listen to Acts right after finishing John and then go back to John in order to hear all of Luke's history without interruption. But I didn't plan too well and found myself on the freeway when the narration shifted between the last two gospels. So I let it run on until I got home which meant I was well into the third chapter of John. So much for that idea.

The contrast between the mystic style of John and the other three gospels is just as striking when listening to narration as when reading straight through them. I was surprised by the number of mysterious sayings in John that I didn't remember. Also I found it harder to concentrate on John than on Luke. But then, Luke is my favorite gospel--probably because I love history and relate to his style best.

Acts is one of my favorite books of the Bible so I'm already enjoying listening to this history of the early church. It's much easier to follow in this format than John!

I'm still struggling with bookmarking the recording on my IPhone's IPod. Whenever I switch to another application, I loose my place. Then I guess where I left off and often guess wrong. Anyone know how to fix that?

Four Years of QG

QG is FOUR years old today! It's hard to believe I've been blogging that long. I was inspired to begin a faith-based blog after hearing Leonard Sweet talk about the uses of technology in ministry at an Association of Presbyterian Educators Conference.

Many thanks to those of you who comment, lurk and encourage me! You are all such a blessing.

Picky Picky

Here's today's lesson in Real Estate 101--Inspectors don't think they've done their job unless they can find something to complain about.

Thanks, Homeowners Association, for the nit-picking.

Just sayin'.

Book Review: Author Response Benyamin Cohen

It's always a treat to have someone comment on my book reviews, but when I got an email from Benyamin Cohen today thanking me for my review of his book My Jesus Year (see post below) --- well, it really made my day!

Cohen sent me a link to a highlights video of a talk he gave at an Episcopal Church and said that he welcomes the opportunity to discuss his book at other churches. If you're interested, watch the video and email him: theauthor at myjesusyear dot com. The book's website is: www.myjesusyear.com.

Book Review: My Jesus Year

Here's another book by a Jewish journalist with a reality-show flavor. It reminded me of The Year of Living Biblically in some ways and I wasn't surprised to see A. J. Jacobs, the author of YOLB, endorsing the book.

Although both YOLB and My Jesus Year are about Jews seeking to connect with their faith, the difference is that while Jacobs was an agnostic (and remained one), Benyamin Cohen, the author of My Jesus Year, is a believing and observant Orthodox Jew.

This is NOT a book about conversion, but a record of the author's hope that by investigating Christianity, Jesus lead him back to Judaism. And He does, by the way!

Cohen is the son of an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, and the only one of his siblings not to become a rabbi or marry one. In fact, his wife is the daughter of a Methodist minister who embraced Judiasm when they married.

Cohen writes that he felt estranged from his faith and found no meaning in its rituals and services. With the permission from his own rabbi (because Orthodox Jews are not supposed to attend church services) he embarked on his "Jesus Year", which involved attending as many Christian church services as he could, mostly in the greater Atlanta area where he lives.

The value in this book for the Christian reader lies in the sage observation of Robert Burns:

Oh wad some power the giftie gie us
To see oursl's as others see us!
It wad frae monie a blunder free us,
And foolish notion.

Cohen's viewpoint is that of a sympathetic outsider to the Christian faith. One of the things he is seeking to discover is how some Christian churches attract and keep their attendance and the devotion of their members. He hopes that he will find ideas that would translate to the synagogue.

The book is both humorous and instructive. Cohen writes extensively about the evangelical mega-churches and some odd sects like the Black Jews, but not much about the mainline Protestant churches. I think this shows his journalistic bias because these groups provide more entertaining and sometimes sensational copy.

Cohen spent some time in Catholic churches where he found he could identify with the emphasis on ritual in their services. There was one odd chapter in which he goes to confession and has a discussion with the priest about his loss of faith without telling the priest he is a Jew and not Catholic., although he knows that confession is meant for Catholics only. I'm really not sure what to make of this, not being Catholic myself, but it made me uncomfortable.

At the beginning of the book Cohen writes of his fascination with the Cokesbury Methodist Church which was in his neighborhood when he grew up. At the end of the book he visits that church and finds that the congregation has aged, dwindled away and the church is hanging on by a thread. In the afterword he notes that this church was closed not long after his visit. A parable for our time?

The book is well written and the author is likable and sincere. It's always a good thing to learn how Christians appear to others.

Drive-Through Church

We Are The Presbyterians (New Hymn)

Hat tip to the Presbyterian Outlook for this link to a New Presbyterian Hymn.

Title: We Are The Presbyterians.

Tune: Aurelia (The Church's One Foundation).

Wonder if I can persuade the powers-that-be at MDPC to use this?

All together now and-a-one and-a-two!

Cloud of Witnesses

This weekend El Jefe and I went to his hometown in West Texas for the 60th anniversary of the founding of the church he grew up in, Wesley UMC.

A few weeks ago my SIL found a baptismal certificate that seems to indicate that she, El Jefe and their father were the first baptisms in that church. Their parents were charter members of the church and although my father-in-law Dutch was not very active, El Jefe and SIL say that their mother poured her heart and soul into this church.

Looking at the displays of old photos and bulletins, it's clear that she was a very important leader of the congregation, serving on the building and finance committees during the construction of the first building. Later she spent years as the Sunday School superintendent and teacher. We bought a DVD that had transferred some old 8 mm movies of the first building going up and El Jefe was thrilled to see an image of his mother on the camera for a few brief moments.

The congregation has dwindled due to age and the decrease in the population of this small town since the 1950's. A few vigorous saints in their late 80's and early 90's who knew my husband's family back in the day were clearly still actively participating in the life of the church. But it now has lay pastor (what we PCUSA'ers what call a Commissioned Lay Pastor) and its future as an independent congregation is questionable. The pastor's wife lamented the deaths of 11 members in the past year and the mother of one of El Jefe's Sunday School buddies told us they are lucky these days to see 50 in attendance in worship.

None of that affects the lasting legacy of those, like my MIL, who established the church and raised their families in it, though. This trip reminded me once again how we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us and that we are truly surrounded by a "great cloud of witnesses."

Great Questions To Ponder

I just love it when our BSD lesson gets people to ponder and struggle with some very deep questions!

Today we tried to answer the following in connection with a study of the nature of Christ:

Surely Satan knew Jesus was God, so why did he even bother trying to tempt him?

If Jesus is fully God, then how could he possibly have been really tempted by Satan?

How can you respond to a loved one or friend who believes Jesus was a good teacher, but not divine?

In connection with the above question, is C. S. Lewis' "Liar, Lunatic or Lord" argument persuasive?

If not, then how else could you give evidence of the divinity of Christ?

There were lots of different answers offered to these questions, but ultimately the mystery of the Trinity doesn't lend itself to discovering THE answer. What's your response?

Getting Inspected

Yesterday was pretty tense Chez QG.

Our prospective buyers scheduled their inspection of the house. They arrived at 1 pm and didn't leave until well after 6 pm. St. Betty kindly let Beatrice and I stay at her house so we could get out of the way. You don't want to watch people crawl all over your house looking for defects!

Now we wait to hear their response to the inspection.

Faith Comes By Hearing--First Update

I've been listening to the New Testament on my Faith Comes by Hearing MP3 recording (see previous post for background on this project) for the past 10 days, so it's time for an update. I've listened to Matthew and Mark so far.

I do like listening to audio books and podcasts. I've found the production values of this recording to be good. The background music is not obtrusive or distracting. The voices are pleasant, but sometimes I find the delivery kind of hammy. The voice of the devil really gets your attention!

As a veteran of the Bible in 90 Days program, I'm more accustomed to reading the Bible straight through than listening to it read aloud. Of course the early Christians would have listened to the New Testament rather than read it for themselves. So it is instructive to have this experience.

One impression I have so far is that the "apocalyptic" bits in Matthew and Mark seem longer in listening than in reading. Also the contrast in style between these two Gospel authors jumped out at me--especially the frequent reference by Matthew to OT prophesy and the frequent use of the adjective "immediately" in Mark. Mark can wear you out! The overlap between these two Gospels also became more apparent to me in listening as opposed to reading.

I've been listening to the recording while driving, with the use of my IPhone IPod. One problem with this is that I haven't figured out how to "bookmark" my place in the recording when I close that application in order to use another one. My solution is to keep listening until the end of a chapter so I can more easily remember where I was.

House Under Contract !

We're stunned. We got a good offer on our house literally within hours of its listing on the MLS service Friday. The buyers even offered to allow us to remain here after closing while our new home is being finished, so we worked out the details and accepted the offer.

Although the deal isn't done until the closing, we're so excited!

As if that wasn't enough, shortly after we accepted the offer another agent asked to bring clients to view the house even though we told her we had already accepted an offer. After the viewing, she called me and said if our contract fell though to call her because her clients wanted to make an offer as well. Our buyers have 10 days to do an inspection and decide whether to proceed.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....As my SIL said (after she said Get Out and Shut Up) "It was meant to be."

~doing the happy dance~

Springtime in Sugar Land

Spring has come to Sugar Land. Today it is about 80 degrees and my garden is full of blooming things, which gives me some comfort and calm amid the turmoil of the financial markets. Not sure it's helping El Jefe, though.

I'm not sure what this hedge is, but the flowers are pretty, purple and spiked.
Maybe its a Goth-flower?

These are just spectacular in our front yard!

This is my favorite flowering bush. It's called a Mexican Firecracker! A lot of bees are buzzing around it, which Beatrice found out the hard way. Ouch!

This is my super-duper triple red begonia.

These azaleas along my back fence began blooming late in January. The ones in front are purple and are just now beginning to form buds.

Any signs of spring at your place?

Observing Lent with Faith Comes by Hearing

There are many ways that Christians observe the season of Lent which just begun. My church (Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church, Houston) is encouraging every member of the congregation (and their friends!) to participate in a program called Faith Comes By Hearing.

MP3 recordings of the entire New Testament have been distributed in worship, in Sunday School classes and in small groups. The idea is that if you listen for 20 minutes a day to the Faith Comes By Hearing recording, by Easter you will have listened to the entire New Testament. There is also a recording for children that families can listen to together so all of the family can participate. For those who cannot use an MP3 player, CD's of the recording can be purchased or you can purchase a special "Bible stick" to play the MP3 on.

There is also a mission aspect to the program: Faith Comes by Hearing records the New Testament in many obscure tribal languages and then distributes the recordings to remote villages around the world. Since many of these villages don't have electricity, the recordings come in a clever gadget called a "Proclaimer" that works with solar power or hand-cranking. MDPC's Palm Sunday offering will be given to help fund the recording of the New Testament in Amharic, a tribal language in Ethiopia.

I began listening to my copy yesterday. The recording includes some musical background (helpful when listening to Matthew's begats) and when there is conversation several voices read the different parts. It is easy to listen to--in fact one of my good friends is so enthusiastic about it she told me she is already up to the Gospel of Mark!

If you'd like to join us you can go to the MDPC website here and listen to the entire New Testament online.

(Cross posted from Presbyterian Bloggers.)

UPDATE: A word to the wise. Be sure the "shuffle" function on your IPod is off. Otherwise you may be startled to hear the Beatitudes from Matthew 5 followed by some really scary stuff in Revelation. Just sayin'.

Listing This Old House

I remember seeing our house for the first time in the late '80's. El Jefe and I had decided that we would investigate what was then the far-flung 'burb of Sugar Land in search of a new home. The one we had was very well located in near-town Houston, but at over 70 years of age was turning into a veritable Money Pit. Plus we faced years of participation in the Private School Shuffle, which appeared to us to be a wildly over-rated and stressful exercise.

We didn't buy this house right away. We looked at several other homes in the neighborhood, but ultimately I wasn't ready to make that leap of faith 20 miles away from everything that was familiar to me. So we stayed where we were.

And yet. I kept thinking about that house. Maybe it was because it reminded me of the home I grew up in, but whatever the reason I ultimately agreed about a year later to make a bid on the home. We did and sold the house we had immediately. So it was pre-destined. Wasn't it?

Yesterday I sat on our patio overlooking the pool watching Beatrice chase birds and realized how much I would miss our backyard. How many pool parties for the church youth group, friends of our girls, neighbors and family members did we have here? Too many to count.

It's a very happy house. There are lots of big windows that bring sunlight into the house in every room. We had a few tough times here in the last 20+ years, but mostly we had very good times--holidays with extended family and friends; special celebrations of graduations, engagements, weddings and birthdays will always be special memories tied up with this place.

Last night we signed the listing contract with our realtor. It's time to move on and let another family grow and be happy in this old house.

We are excited about the new home we are building for our "empty nester" years. El Jefe remarked that both of us lived longer in our present home than anywhere else in our lives so of course we will miss it.

Selling a home is always a stressful decision, but in this current economic downturn there are many more unknowns than usual. We'll just have to see what happens and hope that the right buyers will come along in a reasonable amount of time.

Wish us luck!

How To Have a Great Session Meeting

Here's some advice for those looking for ways to improve session meetings, based on the one I attended last night:

1. Begin with a devotion.

2. Lead the elders in reading a selected passage of scripture.

3. Divide the session into small groups and walk the groups through the process of applying the practice of lectio divina to the passage.

4. Spend a few minutes in silence to allow time for prayer and reflection.

5. Open the business portion of the meeting with prayer.

6. Use a consent agenda for items that don't need explanation or debate.

7. Spend as much time highlighting mission and outreach efforts as on program and administration issues.

8. Invite questions and discussion on issues before the session.

9. Wrap it all up in 45 minutes with the reminder of how blessed the church is despite the challenges the economy is presenting and the struggle to continue the church's "dollar for dollar" policy that requires the budget to provide the same amount of money for mission and outreach as for administration and internal programming.

10. Conclude with a prayer ring.

The result? I left feeling spritually renewed and energized rather than frustrated and anxious as I have in the past at other churches. What a blessing!

Beatrice Blogs: Escape Haikus

Neither gate nor door
Neither invisible fence
Keeps me from escape.

Squeezing through the bars
Keeps me thin and beautiful
Running free all day.

Call me Houdini
Magician-like dachshund
Famed for trickiness.

QG is worried
How to keep me safe from cars?
I scoff at danger.

Sister Blogging Act

Babs is now writing a weekly food feature on Portia's blog (Odi et Amo). "Cibus Corner"* appears on Fridays. Today's post features a couple of favorite desserts, complete with one of my favorite toddler pictures of Babs, family stories and recipes. If you're looking for some baking inspiration, check it out here.

*"Cibus" is the Latin word for food, following Portia's Latin theme for her blog. She was a Classical Civilization major in college, and both the girls took Latin in college.

Best in Mindless TV

Lately with all the doom and gloom news everywhere, although I have always been a political and news junkie, I find myself avoiding my usual TV fare and looking for some good old mindless TV.

I find that I can forget my worries watching cable shows like House Hunters, Project Runway, What Not To Wear, Top Chef, Designed To Sell or Chopped. Now El Jefe doesn't understand the appeal of these shows at all, so I tell him that they are similar to sports for the non-sports fan.

When he watches Rockets basketball or Longhorn football he loves to anticipate the next move the player makes and then second-guess and criticize : "NOOOOO, what was he thinking when he passed to the guard?" "That was NOT an interception, his knee was down", etc. etc.

That's what I do with these shows: "I'd pick THAT house", That dress is truly HEINOUS", "He should have put a cream sauce on that instead of balsamic" etc. etc.

The difference is the volume and the number of the comments.

What show do you watch when you want a bit of mindless TV? I need to find some new ones until Project Runway and Top Chef come back.

Fixing To Sell

Since El Jefe and I committed to build a new home last fall --just before the great economic crash-- I've been watching a lot of HGTV to get tips about readying the house for sale.

I'd never seen HGTV before, but Portia, my SIL and nieces introduced me to it. It's a FantasyLand where there is always a happy ending after the homeowner heeds the advice of the "stager".

The last month or so, we have stepped up our efforts to spruce up the place by--

• repairing and painting "dings" in sheetrock and trim
• getting the roof repaired from IKE damage (just replacing a couple of tiles)
• setting up portable gates to keep Beatrice and Olivia out of the formal dining and living rooms where they like to go and leave little surprises
• removing clutter, one room at a time (with many thanks to Portia who spent one weekend cleaning out her sister's bedroom and the guest room)
  
• making weekly trips to drop off donations at the East Fort Bend Human Needs Ministry
• weeding the flower beds
• donating the piano to a Galveston church that lost theirs in IKE

Yesterday our realtor called saying she would be coming over with a photographer next week and wanted us to have a heads up. So now we need to finish up by--

• Taking the old stationary bike out of the bedroom and donating it
• moving my desk
• Donating El Jefe's easy chair in our bedroom because it takes up a lot of space and Beatrice chewed it up
• Taking the leaf out of the kitchen table so it doesn't take up too much space
• Replacing the tired potted plants on the patio with perky ones
  

Here's what I'm not doing, despite the advice of HGTV--

• replacing all the '80's bright brass sink fixtures and cabinet hardware
• refinishing the wood floors (which would be the entire downstairs)
• replacing kitchen appliances with stainless steel ones
• removing wallpaper in dining room and Portia's bedroom

My theory, supported by our realtor, is that if we price the house appropriately, the buyer will be able to do those things according to their taste.

The process of showing the house begins around March 1. The house next door to us have been for sale for the last 18 months, but is quite overpriced. There was a foreclosure down the street that just sold this month. There's another house that is comparable to ours a couple of blocks away that has been for sale for more than a year--also overpriced, IMHO. We're hoping we'll be very competitive. But in this market, who knows?

My SIL offered her home as a refuge when I have to leave and take Beatrice with me for a showing. El Jefe is pretty calm about the process, despite our atrocious market timing. I'm trying to take my cue from him and "be anxious for nothing."

Amish to the Rescue

This photo from the Houston Chronicle shows a young Amish volunteer from Indiana helping rebuild fences in southeast Texas destroyed by Hurricane IKE.

Recruited by the Fellowship of Christian Farmers, these folks have traveled a long way to help their Texas neighbors, in spite of dealing with their own economic troubles at home. Here's the full story.

The motto for the effort is : "Building fences in Texas until the cows come home." Don't you love it?

And it's not just a clever motto--apparently there are thousands of cattle in several counties that can't be returned to their pastures until the fences are restored. Another facet of the mess left behind by Ike.

Where Was God in Buffalo?

A few weeks ago my brother, who is a World-Class Forwarder, sent me an editorial cartoon drawn by Rex Babin that depicted the plane that safely landed in the Hudson River being held in the hands of God. I posted it here because I thought it was a striking and timely image, but made no comment about it.

Several weeks later, comments to that post continued in. Now, in the right-this-minute blogosphere, it is most unusual to get comments on month-old posts. Wondering where these comments were coming from, I checked the sitemeter and found that QG was getting linked in Google searches for this graphic. Not only that, but the hits on the blog were dramatically up. Clearly this picture touched the hearts of many people.

Eventually an anonymous commenter questioned the theology behind the cartoon: "The problem with declaring this a miracle and thanking God is that there is also the temptation to blame God the next time something goes terribly wrong and ask why God did not intervene."

After the tragic plane crash in Buffalo, NY, last Thursday night, another comment was posted: "Carm from Buffalo would like to know where GOD's hands were Thursday night at 10:20 PM when Continental Flight 3407 smashed into a residential home killing 50 people.

The anonymous poster's prescient remarks came before the plane crash in Buffalo. "Carm" no doubt speaks for many who wonder where God was when that plane crashed Thursday night. This is one of the great questions of faith. If God is all-powerful and all-loving, then why doesn't God prevent tragedy to innocent people?

I don't believe that we will ever know the complete answer to that question in this life. Maybe the the survivors of the Hudson River accident were saved because the pilot was more skilled, experienced and calm in the face of danger. But I don't know that is the case. Maybe no human skill could have saved those who perished in the Buffalo tragedy. Maybe the "Miracle on the Hudson" is just that. A miracle.

My response to these comments is that I do not believe that God abandons us in the midst of tragedy nor that because I do not understand why God permits suffering to continue, God does not exist. That is not to say that I don't get mad at God for permitting suffering and injustice--especially when it involves those I love. I do try to trust that God's ways are not my ways and that God knows the plans he has for us--to prosper us and not to do us harm, to give us hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11).

I liked the Babin drawing because it reminded me of the spiritual "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands". Since the Buffalo plane crash, though, I think it would have been better if the drawing had the title: "In Life and In Death We Belong To God." (A quote from the The Brief Statement of Faith, PCUSA Book of Confessions.)

Volunteers Needed for

Our presbytery has put out a call for volunteers to help complete the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance village in Port Neches, Texas. Thunderstorms came through the area this week, causing significant damage and there is concern the village won't be ready for the first scheduled work group. Sometimes you just can't win for losin', as we say.

You'd think there would be some provision in the Stimulus Package that would help fund the rebuilding of the Texas and Louisiana areas devastated by Hurricanes Ike, Gustav and Rita. That would certainly put people to work! I can't find any reference to that--but then, no one seems to know what is in this bill, do they?

Better Living Through Government Blues

~harmonica riff~

We-e-ll, I went down to the Home Depot
But no good floodlights could I find.
You know I went down to the Home Depot
And no good floodlights could I find.
The fluorescent ones I bought are way too dim
And El Jefe thinks he's loosing his mind.

I've got to tell you all, I've got to spread the news!
We're stuck with the bad ones and are singing
the Better Living Through Government Blues.
Oh, yes we are.

The good old floodlights worked just great,
The new ones not at all.
The den is dimly lit
You know we can't see in the hall.
The clerk said the g'vment makes them sell the worthless ones to us
So don't bother Home Depot by tryin' to make a fuss.

I've got to tell you all, I've got to spread the news!
We're stuck with the bad ones and are singing
the Better Living Through Government Blues.
Oh, yes we are.

~harmonica riff~

Turnabout Is Fair Play Department

The influx of Muslim immigrants from around the world has resulted in the building of many mosques in the United States--including in my corner of Texas. So it is heartening to read that a Muslim country is permitting the building of a church to serve its Christian immigrant population.

Hat Tip to my PresbyFriend Kim Shrull, who is currently an expat in Doha, and is blogging about that experience here.

A Futile Prayer

Lead me not into temptation...

Oops. Too late. Already ordered it!

Bad QG.

Fantastic PW Table Scapes

This morning I attended the General Meeting of the Presbyterian Women's organization at Grace Presbyterian Church, Houston, along with a few friends from MDPC. I felt as though I had been transported back in time to the sixties and the PW luncheons at the church where I grew up.

I've never been active in PW. In fact, in the church we used to attend, PW was dissolved for lack of interest. Many churches find that the traditional format of this group just doesn't appeal to most younger women and doesn't suit their schedules.

But PW is clearly alive and well at Grace! More than 200 women were there, enjoying the singing of the Harbor Light Choir from the Salvation Army and an inspiring address from my good friend Mary Marcotte, associate general presbyter of our presbytery with a very long title that I won't try to repeat here.

But the point of this post is to share the amazing table decorations, or "Table Scapes" as the lifestyle mavens now term them. Each table was decorated--lavishly--with the theme of the hostess' choice. And there were 31 tables!

In case you need inspiration for your own Table Scapes, here are some examples: Planning a Safari Party?

Never too early to plan for New Year's...

Here's a Fourth of July Table Scape complete with placemats!

Don't you love the theme on this one: A Prissy Luncheon?

This one is for the fans of the local NBA team, the Rockets.

There's clearly lots of artistic talent and imagination in this group at Grace. The group also made a generous donation to the presbytery's Hurricane Ike Recovery Fund. Thanks, ladies!

Vote on Amendment 8-B

This post is for my PresbyPolity readers:

Presbytery of New Covenant voted on the proposed amendment to the Book of Order at yesterday's meeting. The vote on the one controversial amendment which would delete the ordination standards in 6.0106b was 119 in favor and 171 opposed. Historically, that is similar to this presbytery's vote in the past on the same issue.

Several months of careful thought and prayer by the Ecclesiastical Affairs Committee were spent in developing the format for the debate and vote on the issue. The meeting opened with worship and communion. When we got to the vote on the amendments, the less controversial amendments were presented and voted on first and then Amendment 8-B was presented separately.

Discussion of the issue began with brief presentations by an advocate and an opponent of the amendment. Then the floor was open 40 minutes for debate, each speaker being given 2 minutes. At the end of that time, a motion to extend debate to hear everyone lined up at the microphone at the time of the motion was made and passed by a close vote. At the close of discussion there was a time for silent prayer and then two pastors who hold opposite views on the issue offered a prayer that they had prepared collaboratively.

I believe this format has been used by a few other presbyteries. It seemed to work very well for us and I would recommend it to other presbyteries that may be looking for a good framework for the presentation of this vote and the debate. I heard a lot of positive comments from people on both sides about the way in which the issue was presented and the discussion. Kudos to everyone involved, especially our new Moderator, Rev. Wayne Eberly.

Catherine Update--She's coming to Houston

My sister, Music Mary, just called to let us know Catherine received an offer to join the HGO Opera Studio for the coming year. She's accepted, and we are thrilled she will be in Houston for the next stage of her training.

I told El Jefe to get ready for a Whole Lotta Opera over the next couple of years!

God is so good.

Catherine Takes Second Prize in HGO Young Artists Competition

What a fabulous evening for the whole QG family! Above you see me, El Jefe, my sister Music Mary and our Catherine, who took the second prize in the Houston Grand Opera Young Artists Competition. Portia, Babs and Paul were also in the audience cheering her on.

It was such a thrill to be in the Cullen Theater at the Wortham Center to see the Concert of Arias which concludes the competition! Ten finalists each sang two arias and then the judges announced the winners. Catherine not only sang wonderfully but was the most beautiful, elegant young woman on the stage. If I say so myself. And I do!

Afterwards there was an elegant dinner and we got a chance to see Catherine and also watch lots of people congratulate her and make a big well-deserved fuss. I'm sure my Dad was beside himself somewhere in heaven, too. Really, our cup runneth over!

We're very hopeful she will be offered a contract in the HGO studio, which is her first choice to continue her training. What a privilege it would be to have her in Houston for a while --and what fun the girls will have with her if she gets to come here.

Catherine Martin. Write it down. You'll be hearing more from her. And you read it here first!

Book Review: A Thread of Grace

Mary Doria Russell's A Thread of Grace is a well-researched and compelling historical novel set in northern Italy during WWII. The story begins as the Italian government collapses and the area becomes controlled by German forces. Members of the Italian resistance and ordinary peasant folks hid their Jewish neighbors as well as Jews fleeing the Nazis from other countries. And many paid the price for their defiance.

The meaning of the title of the book is revealed at the end when Rabbi Iacopo Soncini visits one of the Catholic nuns who hid Jewish children in an orphanage after the war is over.

" There's a saying in Hebrew," he tells her, " 'No matter how dark the tapestry God weaves for us, there's always a thread of grace.' After the Yom Kippur roundup in '43, people all over Italy helped us. Almost fifty thousand Jews were hidden. Italians, foreigners. And so many of them survived the occupation. I keep asking myself, Why was it so different here? Why did Italians help when so many others turned away?"

Russell offers some answers to the rabbi's question in the book, but ultimately, they are not fully satisfactory. The "thread of grace" seems to be the only answer to me.

Readers who are familiar with Russell's books The Sparrow and The Children of God, will see a similarity between the Emilio Sanchez, the conflicted priest in those books and the protagonist of this book, Renzo Leoni, the leader of the resistance who sometimes poses as a priest.

The novel is complex, compelling, disturbing and challenging on many levels. There are a few scenes of brutality that made me wish I hadn't read them so close to bedtime. I saw an article that said the author tossed a coin to determine the fate of several of the characters, which does reflect the random tragedy of war that afflicts "the just and the unjust."

I appreciated the "Coda" at the end of the novel that followed the life of one of the major characters after the war, revealing how it affected her and the family she had later.

It is important to remember not only what happened during the Holocaust, but that there were some "righteous Gentiles" who risked everything to protect the Jews and others targeted for extermination by Hitler and his henchmen. I'd like to think I would be as heroic as those in the book who sheltered their Jewish neighbors at the risk of life and limb, putting their own families at risk as well. But the truth is...I doubt it.

The Holocaust deniers cannot be allowed to rewrite history. We must Never. Ever. Forget.

Thread of Grace would be a good choice for a small group study and discussion or a church book club. It's a great read and poses some deep theological and ethical questions. Here's a link to some suggested questions for discussion to get you started.

Mom Of Congress: Field Trip to IRS Today!

Memo to: Congress Boys and Girls
From: CongressMom
Re: Today's Field Trip to the IRS

Boys and Girls, CongressMom is very sad and disappointed. President Obama sent a note home telling me that some of you are not conscientiously doing your chores. The President says you seem to think that you don't have to follow the rules that you write for everyone else and are setting a very bad example for the rest of the class--er, country.

So CongressMom has decided to take all of you on a field trip. To the Internal Revenue Service. A fleet of my mini-vans (energy efficient hybrids!) will pick you up at your offices at 11 am this morning.

Our program will begin with a presentation by the Commissioner on your responsibility for paying taxes. It will be followed with a presentation by El Jefe who will demonstrate the mountains of tax schedules he fills out each year as a self-employed individual and show why it is that he, a trained attorney, is unable to complete these forms without paying a CPA to help him.

Afterwards you will be assigned to a small groups by state where discussion will be led by a taxpayer from your state. The topic for discussion is: Those Who Write The Tax Laws Must Abide By Them. Actually, YOU won't get to discuss. Just listen and take notes.

We'll break for lunch which you will have in the IRS Time Out Room. No talking during lunch, Boys and Girls! The IRS will serve you Hard Crusts of Regret that you can soften in their famous Gruel of Repentence.

Then each of you will have your own personal interview with an IRS Agent, so be sure to bring your tax records and receipts for the past 10 years. Oh, and don't forget your checkbooks!

CongressMom hopes that everyone will be paid in full by the end of the day because anyone who is still delinquent in their tax obligations will not be coming back to Congress with us. The IRS has special plans for those Boys and Girls. Trust me, you don't want to find out what they are. And don't think that whining to the President will save you. He's really disgusted.

CongressMom's vans will be at the foot of the Congressional Office Buildings at 11 am sharp. Be there on time, Boys and Girls! Or else the Commissioner will send his special agents to find you.

It's That Time Again!

Four years ago fellow RevGal blogger Mindy had the inspiration to start the Pantipalooza in celebration of Valentine's Day. Originally her idea was to urge other bloggers to buy new underwear and donate it to their local women's shelter. Thanks to Mindy for the permission to use this photo from her blog.

Now Mindy is calling it "Palooza" and it is becoming an annual event: find a women's group or organization that could benefit from something you can make or do...and then DO IT on Valentine's Day.

Read all about it here and then go over to Mindy's place and let her know what you're going to do for Pantipalooza 2009. It will make a difference to someone, especially in this difficult economic time.

Mindy, I'm sticking to the original idea and dropping off new undies to the local clothing ministry.

Fat Lady Hasn't Sung Yet!

My niece Catherine was named a finalist in the Houston Grand Opera's Young Singer's Competition this evening. We are all very excited and plan to be front and center on Thursday evening when she performs for the judges in the last phase of the contest.

Woo-hoo!

Friday Five: HGTV Edition, Late Play

Will Smama brings us today's RevGals Friday Five which she labeled the HGTV edition.

I didn't watch HGTV until a few months ago when El Jefe and I got involved in building a new "downsize" home now that we are empty-nesters. Now I actually know who Candace Olson is (besides being a tall gal like me) and what My House Is Worth What? and House Hunters are. Not that I'm especially proud of that, but at least I'm not totally clueless.

Well, here we go:

1) If you could, what room in the place you are currently living would you redo first?

I would do more work on the kitchen. I updated it when Babs was a senior in college, but after watching HGTV realize it needs some more work.

2) What is the most hideous feature/color/decor item you have ever seen in a home?

The time my parents painted their living room (including Dad's reed organ with the fake pipes) Pepto-Bismol pink with gold accents had to take the prize. As soon as we were finished painting (any of us who were handy were pressed into service), my Dad declared it looked like a New Orleans bordello. He immediately bought some beige paint and we began all over again. Let me tell you, it takes several coats to cover that bright pink.

3) What feature do you most covet? Do you have it? If not, is it within reach?

An informal living area just off the kitchen. And I'll get that at the new house! I don't think it's possible to reconfigure the traditional floor plan in the current house to do that--but the next owner is welcome to try.

4) Your kitchen - love it or hate it? Why?

I've always liked it. It's a good size and includes an informal eating area. The original appliances are very good and still work just fine after 25 years.

5) Here is $10,000 and you HAVE to spend it on the place you are living now. What do you do?

Invite the people from HGTV's Design To Sell over. Refinish the hardwood floors downstairs. Install new stainless appliances in the kitchen.

Here's my own bonus question--Know anyone who wants to buy a nice, big two-story house in Sugar Land? Call me.

Too Much Excitement!

All of the QG family is very excited. This weekend is going to be a very special one.

Not ONLY will there be a family dinner arranged by El Jefe, Portia and Babs to celebrate my (xxx-th) birthday, but my talented niece, Catherine, will be in Houston because she is one of the semi-finalists in the Houston Grand Opera 's Competition for Young Singers!

My late father, who was a classical music fanatic, would have been so proud to see his granddaughter singing in such a prestigious competition. I remember how he used to tell me that if he had been a good singer, we would have all starved to death while he chased a career in opera and sacred music. That didn't happen, but his fondest dreams are now coming true for our Catherine.

My sister, her mother, has a wonderful voice but chose to make her career in music in the church. She is the director of music ministry at the largest Methodist church in San Antonio. One of my brothers is a talented instrumentalist and had a bluegrass band before leaving music for a career in medicine. And you know about me, the amateur choral singer who got to debut in NYC at her nephew's wedding!

But Catherine is the real deal--she has the innate talent, the focus and drive and the effort it takes to succeed in the world of classical music. When she sang in NYC it was last week at Carnegie Hall last week in a Master's Class with Marilyn Horne! And yes, that's her name at the top of the list on the billboard.

All week long I've been marveling at all the blessings God has given me in my life and certainly this weekend brings me almost more than I can handle.

Prayers that Catherine will perform at her best would be appreciated, whatever the outcome decided by the judges. I know that Daddy will be beside himself in heaven listening to her!

Portia Critiques the Men's Runway

And you thought women's high fashion was absurd...


Portia explains it all here.

QG's Podcast

The lecture that I gave last week at BSD is now available as a podcast on your computer or as an MP3 download on the MDPC website for those of you who were kind enough to say you wished you could hear it.

If you go to this link you can access the audio files. The link takes you to the Media Archives page on the church website. Go to BSD Lectures 2008-2009 and click on "show Details". This takes you to the page with all the lectures. Scroll down to the January 22 lecture and you'll see the link to listen, download the MP3 file and/or the pdf of the powerpoint notes.

Whew! That's a lot of work. I thought about just posting it here as a podcast, but since it was recorded by the church wasn't sure that fit the "terms of service" of the church website.

Rex Babin's Miracle on the Hudson

Hat Tip: Brother W.

No Good Deed Department

Notes from the No Good Deed Goes UnPunished Department:

As I've mentioned before, El Jefe and I are preparing to downsize and move to a smaller (but way cooler!) house. Knowing there was no room there for my piano, I donated it last week to a church in Galveston that lost its instrument courtesy of Hurricane Ike.

All well and good.

But.

Three big black stains appeared on the hardwood floor where the piano legs sat all those years.

So I trotted over to Home Depot and, following their advice, rubbed spirits of mineral oil on the stains and then, using a very very fine sandpaper, tried to erase the stain. It worked, sort of. But it took about 2 1/2 hours of diligent elbow grease. Then I put the finish renewer on it. Wow, am I stiff or what?

Huh. It looks a lot better, but not good. The marks are still pretty obvious. I'm not about to have the floor refinished at this point.

Advice, anyone?

A Unique Retreat

This weekend I attended my church's session retreat, which was the most unusual, and the most worthwhile retreat I ever went to.

Unusual because the idea was that instead of using the time to make plans for the coming year and asking God to bless them, we spent time practicing listening to God to see what his will was for our congregation and leadership. What a concept!

Two lovely contemplative services with communion began and closed the retreat. Passages from John 4 were the scriptural theme of the retreat. Pastors and elders who are involved in the spiritual development ministry of the church made several effective presentations about different spiritual practices, and we broke into small groups a couple of times to practice lectio divina. Although we did have a brief business meeting at the end of the retreat, it didn't take away from the rest of the experience.

My retreat roomie asked me how the retreat compared to other retreats I've attended at my former church and at presbytery. There is no comparison! The other retreats that focused on goal setting, vision statement writing, program planning and stuff like that usually left me irritated and then frustrated when, as invariably happened, the grand plans and resolutions that were produced were promptly forgotten. This retreat made me feel better equipped to listen to God as I go about my duties in the coming year.

Praying on My Mind

For the past week the topic of prayer has been preying on my mind. (Sorry, couldn't resist the pun.)

I agreed to substitute for our regular teaching leader and give tomorrow's lecture for BSD (Bible Study Discussion). Our study this year is called Revealing God and examines the attributes of God. Tomorrow's subject: "The God Who Hears Prayers".
Thanks to the Wall Street Journal's article on the history of inaugural prayers and the fact that a whole lotta praying has been going on in Washington DC between the inauguration and several prayer breakfasts and services, I can bring in some examples from recent news stories.

As the Church Lady would have said, "how convenient"!

Lecturing is not really my strong suit, though. I've taught lots of adult groups, but they were usually small enough that I could encourage questions and comments from the group. But this group is too large for that, so a lecture it is!

Since the lesson focused on prayers in scripture and the components of prayer, I'm going to focus the lecture on how God communicated with people in scripture and then I'm using Dallas Willard's Hearing God to talk about how we can learn to listen to God's response to our prayers.

Back to work!