Who Am I?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted: November 25th, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: Celiac, Personal | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Happy Thanksgiving!

I wanted to take a moment to wish everyone who chooses to read my reflections and musings a Happy Thanksgiving! (If any of you aren’t US natives, it’s a thing here where we celebrate an idealized conception about the formation of our nation and during which we are supposed to give thanks.) I know that the holidays can be a deeply depressing time for many and I hope that’s not the case for any of you.

I am deeply thankful, as always, for my family. And though it perhaps sounds strange, I am deeply thankful for a God who became one of us and who meets me always where I am. I can love a God who understands me that deeply. I can worship a God who has suffered with us. And I long for a God who makes all things new.

My wife mastered gluten free holiday cooking last year, so it won’t be a problem this year when most of us have been diagnosed with celiac. I couldn’t tell the difference in her cornbread dressing last year. If anything, it was even better than it had been in the past. And the dressing was the main thing that needed to change. My wife always made her giblet gravy with corn starch, not flour. Most of the other staples of the holiday are naturally gluten free if you don’t introduce gluten during preparation. Cranberries, turkey, potatoes, and sweet potatoes are all naturally gluten free ingredients.

We also bought a free range, organic turkey from Sprouts this year. We are least trying to eat less industrialized food and have some care about the way our food animals are treated — which matters both for ethical and health reasons. It’s hard in our modern society where we are so disconnected from our food. But we’re committed to at least making the effort.

Grace and peace to all!


Lull in the Holidays

Posted: December 29th, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: Personal | Tags: , , | Comments Off on Lull in the Holidays

Or at least that’s true for most of us in the United States who treat Christmas as over on the 25th of December and begin gearing up for a New Year’s bash. (Though, in truth, it’s mostly been quiet celebrations at home for my wife and me for many years now.) Much to my wife’s chagrin, I’ve never been particularly “into” the American style of Christmas celebration. I’m not really sure why. My childhood experiences of Christmas are all over the map, but I don’t recall any particularly negative experiences. My interest in our particular expression of the “holiday season” simply … faded … as I entered preteen and teenage years and never returned.

As a Christian, I’ve tried in various ways over the past decade-plus to connect to the particular celebration of the Nativity of Christ. That’s not been easy since it seems like relatively few American churches actually maintain much connection to anything traditionally Christian in their celebrations. Most follow the American rhythm of intensifying efforts at celebration that culminate and end on the 25th of December rather than the Christian rhythm of preparation for the Nativity followed by a feast that begins on the 25th and continues through January 6th.

I guess I’m just not much interested in another day the quality of which is primarily distinguished by how much you do or do not like the stuff you received from others. I’m a bit of a humbug that way, I suppose.

For those who might be wondering, I haven’t vanished. I was sick before Christmas with a bad cold. And then we had guests using the room where my computer sits. I like having family over, but it does mean that I have less access to my computer. I actually have a number of things bouncing around my head that I want to translate into written words at some point. But I’m in no particular rush at the moment to do so. Still, there will likely be some posts straggling out over the next few days.

I hope everyone stays safe and has a happy New Year celebration of whatever sort they choose!