Can You Isolate A Truth?

A recent article in Christian Century talks about Mennonite theologian John Howard Yoder and his history of sexual misconduct.

Do Yoder’s violations of his own theological claims undermine the content of his theology? Do his sins disqualify him from the major role he has played in modern Christian thought? We certainly understand the seriousness of these questions. It is undoubtedly difficult to know how to receive gifts from sinful people. 

The article goes on at some length, bringing up a double-edged sword--did his abusive behavior exist within Yoder's theology or somehow isolated from it? 

In my day-to-day work, I rarely reference Yoder's work, but I often find myself putting together curricula and their resources.  

One suggests excerpts from a Woody Allen movie. Given the variety of allegations against the writer/director, do I include his insights into family dynamics? Quite honestly, the range of possibilities and ethics and whatnot gives me a headache AND makes me nauseous. And in a week of a thousand decisions, I put a big green question mark in that margin, vowing to come back to it before February.

Knowing Your Limits

My Nissan Leaf, like all electric cars, has a range. In perfect conditions I might get close to a hundred miles on a full charge.

We don't always get perfect conditions, though. If it's hot out (and especially if i have the air conditioning running), I lose miles of possible range. Highway speeds reduce the range, too. I live in a town where people always take the highway...and expect you to go fast.

And then there's the mornings when I realize that the car didn't have enough time or opportunity to recharge during the night before.

I do the best I can, sometimes changing my routes, sweating a little, or if I absolutely have to, cancelling events because I just don't have the miles to do it all and get home.

When I can, I try to give myself a buffer of twenty or thirty miles of range. Just in case.

The start of the church year can test the limits of both my car and my own energies. There are so many good things, all calling for my attention. Relationships to build and strengthen, programs to organize and support, a copier to woo and so many documents to wrangle.

Tomorrow morning I'll sleep in a little, then work on documents here at home. My car will come back to a full charge, and perhaps I will recharge as well.

A Make-ahead Recipe For A Day You're Not Home

The start of the church year means I'm busy busy, with lots of organizational meetings and such. Also summer in Houston means that cooking is a stress on my AC unit...

Time for the crockpot.

Crockpot Ribs and Pintos

1 rack ribs (these were back ribs, but any cut that you can fit in your pot will work. Cook time may vary.)

Cajun seasoning of choice 

Brown sugar

1 onion, sliced rough

1 c. Bloody Mary mix (or tomato juice, or just some watered down marinara or salsa or even BBQ sauce)

Slice the onion and put it in the bottom of the slow cooker.  Add the Bloody Mary mix, or whichever substitution you're using.

Sprinkle the ribs with a light dusting of the Cajun seasoning and a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar.  The goal is to lightly season, not to make a thick rub.

Put the cover on the slow cooker, set to low heat, and let it all go for five or six hours. The meat will start to separate from the bone-that's a good thing.  At this point you might want to add some beans to the mix.

Now, I can make a nice mess of beans, and indeed, if I were to work from dried beans, I'd probably do the boil and drain steps above, then add them at the beginning. But yesterday I wanted to go the easy route--I put in a large (28 oz) can of Goya pintos (drained and rinsed) with a cup of water and let it cook beneath the ribs for another two hours.

This could be served immediately, or put in the fridge for dinner another day.

(I left this for the family on a night when I wouldn't be home for dinner. I got an email AND a Facebook mention for the dish.)

Over And Over, Again And Again

Why do I watch certain movies every time they are on? 

Tonight's example: Die Hard.

It's a fairly bloody movie, and in real life blood makes me quite queasy.
And while it does pass the Bechdel test, and has one strong female character, it's a very male-centric movie.

It does have a lot of good lines, that whole overcoming odds thing, and who doesn't like a heartwarming Christmas story?

You can make nearly anything with enough pipe cleaners

Home from the beach trip.
So very tired.
But a pipeceleaner chalice makes me pretty darned happy. 

Opportunities For Bonding

Night two of the beach trip with the church youth group, and it was time for their worship service on the beach.

For the first time in years, we're not under a burn ban, so the chance for a fire is pretty exciting. One of the families brought a big bag of dry mesquite, another provided a giant metal bowl to contain the fire. Two of us stored up our dryer lint for tinder.

And then we couldn't get the fire to start.

The books of matches were damp in the ocean humidity and the wind was blowing out what little action we could get from the lighter we found.

A rotating group of six or seven or twelve of us were making wind shelters, finding other tinder, and blowing gently on the bits we could get to flame.

At one point we had a hoodie and a towel over our heads, a pizza box wind shelter and our bodies protecting the fire pit. Everyone covered in a fine patina of sand.

Tinder tried included paper bags, pizza box, tortilla chips, coffee filters, hand sanitizer, alcohol pads, and shelf fungus.

It was nearly dark out when we started, and soon we were depending on phones and a single book light to illuminate our efforts.The worship team started thinking about an alternative focal point-you can make a fair amount of magic with glowsticks, right?

And then my partner walked over to the next beach house and asked to borrow their lighter fluid. A little squirt on one of those coffee filters, and soon enough, we had our fire.

The wood was dry indeed, and burned merrily. 

By the time the worship service was over, it was a wonderful mix of coals and flame, perfect for s'mores production.

Living in a Fish Bowl

Beach house decor is all about the fish.

Glad I don't have to sleep under any giant fish.

(Still better, though, than the deer head of my childhood...)