Asian Alcohol Flush

Many of you who know me, also know that I turn red when I drink. I could eat a full meal with a glass of wine and turn red and not just my face, but my entire body. Drinking in excess also brings about an elevated heart rate, sweats, and throwing up - but I've never had a hangover. So I asked my Uncle about this condition I have and he said I was allergic to alcohol, but last week I was reading news on Yahoo and there was a piece on esophageal cancer. It said that those who have this enzyme deficiency and predominantly Asian in descent and lack an enzyme that does not allow the body to properly break down alcohol when it is consumed. How interesting! It never occurred to me that this was something other people dealt with, but after reading several articles about it - "I am not alone!" Ash Wednesday I had a glass of wine with some food at a ribbon cutting I went to. The glass of wine was $6, so I made sure I was going to finish it. Then I went to Ash Wednesday service at the church. My friend Michelle asked me if I had been working out because I was all red. I told her "no, I just had a glass of wine." I've read you can curb the redness by taking a Zantac or Pepcid prior to drinking. I don't drink that often, nor do I think it's a good idea to mix any kind of medication OTC or not with alcohol. I think I'll be giving away my last Mango Smirnoff I have in my fridge. I know Jeff's not going to drink them and I think I'll save myself the redness! Here's the link to what it says on Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_flush_reaction.

The Heart of Worship

I found this excerpt online about Matt Redman's song The Heart of Worship. We sing it with the praise team at my church and this Sunday was the second time Pastor Kevin referenced it in his sermon. It has become one of my favorite songs we sing. It's about returning to what worship has become to many of us and what it should be. I think it's especially appropriate for Holy Week.. you can also watch the video by following this link -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeAwBmb_x28

The song dates back to the late 1990s, born from a period of apathy within Matt’s home church, Soul Survivor, in Watford, England. Despite the country’s overall contribution to the current worship revival, Redman’s congregation was struggling to find meaning in its musical outpouring at the time.
“There was a dynamic missing, so the pastor did a pretty brave thing,” he recalls. “He decided to get rid of the sound system and band for a season, and we gathered together with just our voices. His point was that we’d lost our way in worship, and the way to get back to the heart would be to strip everything away.”
Reminding his church family to be producers in worship, not just consumers, the pastor, Mike Pilavachi, asked, “When you come through the doors on a Sunday, what are you bringing as your offering to God?”
Matt says the question initially led to some embarrassing silence, but eventually people broke into a cappella songs and heartfelt prayers, encountering God in a fresh way.
“Before long, we reintroduced the musicians and sound system, as we’d gained a new perspective that worship is all about Jesus, and He commands a response in the depths of our souls no matter what the circumstance and setting. ‘The Heart of Worship’ simply describes what occurred.”
When the music fades, all is stripped away, and I simply come / Longing just to bring something that’s of worth that will bless your heart… / I’m coming back to the heart of worship, and it’s all about You, Jesus
Redman remembers writing the song quickly in his bedroom soon after the church’s journey together, with no grand intentions, by any means, for it to become an international anthem. He viewed the words simply as his personal, subjective response to what he was learning about worship.
But when Matt shared “The Heart of Worship” with Pilavachi, the pastor suggested making a few small adjustments to the lyrics so any member of the church could relate to it as well.
Amazed by how God has since taken the song around the world for His purposes, the songwriter smiles in regard to his own lack of foresight. “It nearly didn’t go any further than my bedroom. But I love that…”
The trademark tune soon became the title track for Matt Redman’s 1999 album, The Heart of Worship. The recording process was consistent with the artist’s sensitive approach to being in the studio.
“We decided to not get all complicated, and just let the song ‘breathe.’ We’re always trying to create more of a church atmosphere in the studio rather than just a technical musical gathering. Something happens when the people of God gather together and play out the praises of God in the presence of God. Hopefully something of that passion and purpose transcends beyond that studio room onto the recordings themselves.”
Following Matt’s original release, which featured a guest vocal appearance by Martin Smith, lead singer of Delirious, “The Heart of Worship” became a new standard of the modern worship music movement, sung by fellow artists, choirs, and church families alike. Among the ever-rising number of reinterpretations, Redman is especially fond of Michael W. Smith’s from his 2001 classic, Worship.
“I honestly like them all,” he admits. “It’s a great encouragement when people take the songs and run with them. Perhaps my favorite is Michael’s— maybe because it’s a live version and therefore really captures and conveys the heart of the song’s theme.”
Even more encouraging, he says, is when other pastors get in touch to let Matt know how God has used the song to take their congregations through a situation similar to the one his church experienced.

Blue Belle Mocha Madness

Maia introduced me to a new flavor of ice cream this week. I guess she had it at her friend Katylin's house where she is tonight. Anyway - it's called Mocha Madness by Blue Belle. If you like Mocha's at Starbucks you will like this. (Not you mom - since I know you're not a coffee drinker.) It has the coffee taste, but is sweet and has caramel ribbons, chocolate pieces and pecans...yum! In fact while I'm watching a movie tonight with the boys I'm going to enjoy a bowl! :)

This week was good. Still putting finishing touches on the Summer issue that is in the design stage right now. I drove to Katy where our offices are, and touched base with the Assistant Editor Carlee, who actually handles most of the production stuff after my editing is done.

Yesterday due to high winds, we spent at least two hours without power at home. I guess some 2,000 Center Point Energy customers were without electricity in the Cypress area. Of course I was doing laundry and cooking stuffed peppers in the oven when it happened. Luckily by the time we got back from the dentist, the power was on! :)

Well Maia just called for me to bring her sleepover stuff over to Katylin's - so off I go! :)

Read The Shack!

I know some of you have heard me talk about the book The Shack by William P. Young. It was suggested to me by my friend Michelle at church who said, "You just HAVE to read this book!" Many of you also know that I am the slowest reader when it comes to finishing what I start reading. I think it took me years to read Anthony Rapp's "Without You" and I've read two books in the Wicked trilogy, but that was accomplished due to Hurricane Ike.

Go buy this book or go to the library and take it out. You won't put it down! It is indeed fiction, but puts a human face (or faces) to the Holy Trinity, and it puts into perspective how you would cope with the death of a child, what is your relationship with God, how do you reconcile and forgive? Young described the title of the book is a metaphor for “the house you build out of your own pain”.

Young never claims to have written the book based directly on the teachings of The Bible. In fact according to wikipedia.com, he initially wrote it as a Christmas gift for his children, and after sharing it with friends, was presuaded to have it published. Sure there have been critics who have come out against the book saying it is heresy, scripturally low and there are theological problems. Eveyone is entitled to his or her opinion. I suggest you read it and come up with your own conclusions.

One suggestion I have is to read it with pen or highlighter in hand. I wish I had thought of it sooner, but towards the middle, I started underlining the lines that stood out for me. The other is to talk about it with someone else who has read it to get their insight and perception of the book. Michelle, another friend Gretta and I plan on getting together Good Friday over lunch to talk about it. (They were waiting for me to finish it!)

If you read it, let me know what you think. It's a great book anytime, but particularly apropos for this Lent and Easter season.

Spring Break Photos

Spring Break in PA

Maia, Evan and I made our way (by car) to Pennsylvania for our Spring Break. It was a whirlwind trip, but great to see our friends and family!

We left about 5 p.m. Friday and after taking an hour to get out of Houston, we followed 59 North until we headed towards Arkansas at Texarkana and ended up staying the night in Hope, Arkansas - "the birthplace of Bill Clinton"...I considered driving to the next town, but I had decided to drive until midnight and it was already 12:30 a.m. We woke up early and continued our trip around 7 a.m. crossing into Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia until we reached Pennsylvania and Scottdale at 1 a.m.

The next day we went to one of our favorite places we miss Eat n Park where we saw a ton of people we know. It made me realize it's good to have some anonymity when your out in Houston. It also amazed me how many people didn't realize we had moved! From there we headed to Monroeville to visit with my in-laws and the kids could play with the cousins.

Monday - my friend Kelli took the day off work to help me start sorting through stuff we had left at the house. I was so proud of myself that I gave away two lawn and leaf bags of sweaters to Goodwill! We decided after Maia and her friend Abbey who was skipping school and stayed the night woke up to head back to E n P for breakfast...yummmm! Later in the afternoon I took my mom to the cataract specialist where we waited for an hour to have a five minute consultation for him to tell her to do nothing and they would check her eyes every six months. A conclusion that seemed to satisfy everyone including my mom who had already made her mind up she wasn't having surgery. For dinner Kelli, her daughter Kaitlyn, Maia, Abbey and I went to Friday's and then Gabes. Boy do I miss cheap clothes! :)

Tuesday - slept in until 9:30 with Maia, worked more at the house. Evan and I had dinner with my friend Janet at NY Pizza and Pasta in Connellsville since it was St. Patty's Day at Bud Murphy's was a mad house. Maia had taken off with Abbey for Sea Base after school.

Wednesday - Lunch with my friend Marilyn and the kids at Italian Oven. Later that evening we had a casual get to gether at Carson's where Evan, Maia and I all had friends come join us for wings and a drink!

Thursday - Evan went to Southmoreland High School with his friend Matt Thompson and so Maia and I went to Olive Garden for breakfast, then stopped at Gabes where I picked up a dress that I should have gotten the first time we were there! That evening we had Fox's Pizza (double yum) with Grandma! :) Abbey stayed over again since she was skipping school again.

Friday - Last day in Scottdale. Kind of bittersweet, but I was missing Eli a ton and was ready to get back to warm Texas weather. I drove Evan and his friends to the mall and Maia went to HotShots with Abbey and met up with Kaitlyn. Meanwhile Kelli and I got a bite to eat and a drink at Carson's and then hung out at her house until it was time to pick up the kids.

Saturday - We left about 9 a.m. and went a different route than we had come up because I wanted to meet my friend Tracey's new little girl she adopted from China this summer - Sophie. Contrary to popular belief, traffic wasn't bad around Bristol even though there was a NASCAR race there that weekend. We arrived in Knoxville about 6 and had dinner with Tracey, her husband Michael and their children Nicholas (who is two days older than Eli) and Sophie. We then got back in the car and drove as far as Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Sunday - Got up early and headed out at 7 a.m. to head home through Mississippi and Louisiana before getting to Texas around 5 p.m. I've never been so happy to see Texas license plates and familiar roads once I got off awful I-45!

It was a good trip. Don't think I'll be driving it any time again soon. Last week was spent putting finishing touches and getting photos in for the Summer edition of Cy-Fair Magazine! :)

First Sunburn

Yes I managed to get my first sunburn of 2009 at the Knights of Columbus Chili Cook off we went to this weekend. It was one of those overcast most of the time with sun part of the time days, and I'll admit when the sun was out I was in it! We went to the chili cook off because Jeff's work has participated the past few years. This year there was dual meaning for competing. Dominion was returning as Overall Champion and seven or eight metal manufacturers (competitiors and clients) also compete amongst themselves for honor and the coveted metal cup. Who says you can't mix business with pleasure?

The Knights of Columbus of Houston is currently in transition as a new headquarters is being built in conjunction with a church, so an agreement was made with a local bar owner to lease the parking lot for a day for the event. Many of the cookers had been there since 8 a.m., so by the time we arrived there was fajita meat and sausages cooked on the grill and various beverages were being consumed as the chili slowly cooked under Connie's watchful eye.

The drive itself was an adventure, but isn't it any time you get on I-45 towards the city? Personally I would avoid 45 at all costs because the stress of driving in the traffic can make my arrival at any event less than pleasant. I digress - anyway, we stayed until they judged the metal company competition, amusing ourselves by tasting various chilies while pretending to be aficionados thanks to the Food Network, and just taking in all of the sights and smells from the karaoke to the kids running to the ice cream truck and the dog standing on the street waiting for a handout.

As the judges made their way down the line to test the chili, the tension in the air rose as it was determined there was a tie between two chilies and a sudden death taste off was to determine the winner...and we came in second. By 2:30 we were ready to hang up our chili cook off shoes. Jeff at one point said, "who would have though at this time last year, we would be here!"

It was indeed an experience to remember and in hindsight I would go again next year (with sunblock) when Dominion once again defends their Overall Championship at the 2010 Knights of Columbus Chili Cook off . After all - it's all for charity (the K of C's largest fundraiser of the year), so no matter what - it's a good thing.