Grandchildren in the Garden!

Duct Designs

The best view of our garden now is not the hardy flowers, but the flashes of small people darting here and there, coloring the concrete, creating art with duct tape, and dashing through the sprinklers.

Creating

Art

Politics and Personal Struggles Aren't a Good Mix

The Governor of Texas, Rick Perry, stated and then recanted what I believe.

"I may have the genetic coding that I'm inclined to be an alcoholic, but I have the desire not to do that, and I look at the homosexual issue the same way."  

John Paulk described that genetic coding is one tough opponent.  (Read more: Life as An Ex-Ex- Gay.) Reading his story it’s plain: Pontification does not disperse or overcome its relentless power.  

I may have a few broken chains in my genetic coding. No arguments, reasoning, cajoling, browbeating or guilt trips were ever as powerful as the deep-seated desire to drink. Was this a glitch in my genetic code?

Maybe. 

I wanted to drink from a very early age, when I saw how much fun grown-ups seemed to have when they drank – or when I saw the slick magazine advertisements.  Many folks in the old family tree had big time trouble with booze. But their example was no cautionary tale; I started in drinking early, knowing I could avoid their mistakes.  I also picked friends who liked to drink, too. Living without alcohol was never an option.

So, towards the end, I changed my outward conduct – to keep people from bugging me about my passion to drink. While I controlled my outward behavior, I was always thinking about the next time I could safely drink. Because I had been around the 12-steps, I knew my “control” would fail – it was just a question of when. I may have pinned the equivalent of a Sumo wrestler, but deep down inside I knew I was about to be flipped.

Still, if I thought about living the whole of my life without another drink –ever – I went wobbly.  I couldn’t live without it, and I wasn’t really living with it. There was no easier, softer way – I had to put the drink down—one day at a time.  Also, I came to believe  that a power greater than myself cares about the choices I make and this helped me see that doing the same thing over and over, hoping for a different outcome, was insane. But, making the choice to put the drink down didn’t change me into a happy camper, who cheerfully did a one-eighty and never looked back.

I never make “perfect” choices – I mess up – I think stupid crazy thoughts, and do not always fight them; some days I so wish I could get to that perfect world to which I thought alcohol was the passport.  But it’s a journey to nowhere good.  So, for today, I choose to be with people who empathize with my struggle, and aren’t trying to fix me – I try and return the favor.

But I mess up here, too.

I wish Christians who are hurting deeply because of  their brokenness weren’t. I don’t know how they can carry on with the pain they describe because of their private lives. But I know God will carry them, and I know going back to Egypt is unwise, no matter how attractive a place it is in our imaginations.  And I am sorry when the church muddles her message and says some of us get a pass to pursue what God has said, don’t.

 Further Thoughts -- an oldie but goodie, and a differing P.O.V.

 So You Want to Go Back Egypt? (Keith Green)

 How a Survivor from a Train Wreck Lives.

  

·      If you are drawn into a controversy use hard arguments and very soft. words: CH Spurgeon


An Afterthought -- Christians may not be able to change their sexual orientation, but we can and do change our conduct. 

Dinner in Pan . . .

Dinner in A Dish

Or, I wanted something tasty, but couldn't face the grocery store.

So, I sautéed onions and garlic in an oil mixture -- olive, canola and grapeseed. (Bought right after I found out canola isn’t the Florence Nightingale I thought it was.)

Then I browned boned skinned chicken breasts, salting and peppering them too lightly according to Doug – I needed a heavier hand. But I threw in a heavy dollop of butter – because Julia Child said everything is better with butter.

Next, I added chopped green chilies, black beans, (1 can) cooked basmati rice (1 cup) and chorizo. I topped it off with fresh sliced cherry tomatoes – maybe 12-18. I added half a bag of frozen corn and the remains of some frozen mixed vegetables.  I covered it and stuck it in the oven (350) for maybe ½ hour.

I served it with bib lettuce topped with fresh avocado, pine nuts, and croutons. (or Krut-tons) I used a balsamic vinaigrette dressing – not the greatest companion taste choice.

It reminded me of a dish my mother made, and one my daughter sometimes make.  A loaf of yummy crusty bread and lots of butter might be a tasty companion, too.

Maybe it will be punchier after a spell in the refridge over night – Doug added a splash of habanera sauce to his.  He asked if I thought I could recreate it at some point – that’s why I took a picture of it and then wrote down what I think I did.

I am just not sure what spices I would add, if I made it again – maybe I would use a cup or so of salsa? I might even add some shrimp and call it a Maryland-Tex Paella?

·      “Every idea is my last. I feel sure of it. So, I try to do the best with each as it comes and that's where my responsibility ends. But I just don't wait for ideas. I look for them. Constantly. And if I don't use the ideas that I find, they're going to quit showing up.” ― Peg Bracken

·      Recipe: A series of step-by-step instructions for preparing ingredients you forgot to buy, in utensils you don't own, to make a dish the dog wouldn't eat. ~Author Unknown

The last recipe I thought I was concocting from memory turned out quite  differently than I anticipated – I was making lentil soup, and after sautéing onions, garlic and carrots, I added the lentils, and what I thought was chicken stock. Turns out I grabbed the wrong box from the cupboard, and added black been soup. But because I added German summer sausage from a German deli, it was a “keeper.”

Whoops!

Never say, "oops." Always say, "Ah, interesting." ~Author Unknown