A Good Year

Can a year be evaluated? Can we really look back on a period of time and call it good or bad?

This year has been bumpy with family and friends taking ill or passing away. Our little family has certainly had its share of trials as we work out what it means to be married, to be parents, to live as a family.

I am grateful for how extensively we were able to travel-- Alan, Lucy and I have seen the majesty of the Pacific Ocean and the balmy beaches of the Florida Gulf, and family in New Jersey and Washington. We've had a parade of relatives come through our home in Kentucky as well.

And we've produced so much! Hundreds of meals, repairs to our car and appliances, socks and hats and mittens, school papers, soap, cheese. We were fortunate to participate in the growing of a garden and share child care with generous friends. We've studied out catechism, fleshed out our theology, taken the time to contemplate the mysteries of God.

Alan and I have had so much time together, to really have fun and grow closer together. I've never had a better friend than my husband, who is my closest companion and trusted confidant. To see him complete another two semesters of school and to raise our daughter together made this year one to cherish regardless of other circumstances.

Despite a world full of turmoil and the bad economy, for the most part its like we've been resting on a little island of peace. I think if nothing else I end this year knowing God still has me clutched tightly in the palm of His hand.

Happy New Year!

* * * * * * *

Alice sighed wearily. `I think you might do something better with the time' she said, `than waste it in asking riddles that have no answers.'

`If you knew Time as well as I do,' said the Hatter, `you wouldn't talk about wasting IT. It's HIM.'

`I don't know what you mean,' said Alice.

`Of course you don't!' the Hatter said, tossing his head contemptuously. `I dare say you never even spoke to Time!'

`Perhaps not,' Alice cautiously replied: `but I know I have to beat time when I learn music.'

`Ah! that accounts for it,' said the Hatter. `He won't stand beating. Now, if you only kept on good terms with him, he'd do almost anything you liked with the clock. For instance, suppose it were nine o'clock in the morning, just time to begin lessons: you'd only have to whisper a hint to Time, and round goes the clock in a twinkling! Half-past one, time for dinner!'

The Cheese Stands Alone

Remember? The farmer in the dell? "Hi ho the diary-o, the cheese stands alone..." Oh never mind.

Anyway, I've taken a little venture into cheese making in the last months. Nothing fancy, just a bit of paneer. Kroger always puts organic milk on manager's special for $2.09 a gallon, the only trick is the expiration date is usually that day. So here's what I've been doing:

1) Bring the gallon of milk to a boil over medium high heat. Stir to keep from scalding. Add a 1/4 cup of vinegar as soon as it boils. Stir.

2) Remove from heat. Wait 30 seconds or so for the curds and the greenish whey to separate (one look in the pot and you'll realize little Miss Muffet had odd tastes).

3) Line a colander with a fine cloth (I use muslin) and place over a large bowl or pot (I save the whey). Strain the hot curds mixture into the colander. Let cool until you can handle it safely.

4) Bundle up cloth and squeeze out excess moisture. Place bundle on a surface like a cutting board and put a heavy something on top (I use a pot full of water). This squeezes out the excess whey over the next few hours.

5) Unbundle and... tada! Homemade cheese. Use the paneer in Indian dishes or whatever you like. Put it in the fridge for a few days or the freezer for a few months.

But wait! What about the whey, you say?

Well you can let that sit 12 to 24 hours in a pot. When you're ready, heat it on medium heat till it is just shy of a boil. You'll see fluffy curds rising to the top. Cover the pot, remove from heat, and let cool a little bit. Skim the curds off, straining as you did for the paneer if some sink to the bottom, and you have ricotta (pronounced ri-GOUGHT-ta, by the way). Like the paneer it can be kept in the fridge or frozen in a sealed container.

Not bad for a little over $2.

Merry Christmas

The days go by and life seems very unenchanted. Car exhaust, crabby people, the same four songs on the radio, bad weather, hard times... the large things and the small often add up, in my case, and take away any sense of magic or mystery.

And then Christmas time comes along, once again, and I pause to remember the wonder of the incarnation. I think of the time when (to quote a famous someone) the whole universe fit inside a manger. And I'm reminded that the world is still God's and because of this all things-- the good, the bad, the frightening, the peaceful-- are enchanted. The world is still alive with God's strange grace and mysterious love.

I hope you all find time to meditate on the wonders of the life of Christ this season. Merry Christmas!

I know we've come a long way

So sad that all these years later Cat Stevens' words still ring true. This week I've had my fill of big business, the inefficacy of our government, hippies who love animals and hate kids, soldiers who love their SUVs, and all pursuers of liberal democracy. So this song goes out to all the aforementioned dastardly people out there. Happy Holidays.

"Well I think it's fine, building jumbo planes.
Or taking a ride on a cosmic train.
Switch on summer from a slot machine.
Yes, get what you want to if you want, 'cause you can get anything.

I know we've come a long way,
We're changing day to day,
But tell me, where do the children play?

Well you roll on roads over fresh green grass.
For your lorry loads pumping petrol gas.
And you make them long, and you make them tough.
But they just go on and on, and it seems that you can't get off.

Well you've cracked the sky, scrapers fill the air.
But will you keep on building higher
'til there's no more room up there?
Will you make us laugh, will you make us cry?
Will you tell us when to live, will you tell us when to die?

I know we've come a long way,
We're changing day to day,
But tell me, where do the children play"

Let's Talk About Sex

I recently got into an argument with a friend about birth control. I take a biblical stance on birth control, believing natural methods are best for protecting life in all its stages. Contrary to my friend's belief about me and several former classmates, we do not agree with the "rhythm method"-- there is a big difference between preventing pregnancy by knowing which days you are fertile and guessing about which weeks you might be fertile! Her own family is a testament to true natural family planning, 6 kids spaced perfectly, just as her parents wanted them to be.

The number one comment I get from other women in discussing NFP? "That's not healthy for a marriage." They go on to tell me about how it is not healthy for married people to choose between not having sex for a week or so and having another baby. Couples should be able to have sex whenever they want.

Since when did unlimited sexual freedom rule Christian marriage?!

I'm all for Christians having robust, full love lives-- I think it both reflects and edifies a couples relationship and should be an act that is both meaningful and fun. But if the idea of having a period of chastity that lasts a matter of days is so inconceivable, I think we've fallen off the path to truth in our marriages.

It certainly reveals that we are a people who have lost our sense of cycles of time. I think there is beauty to be found in learning to control your body and passions, even as a married person. Paul talks about taking time away from sex for prayer and focusing on God. Sometimes life throws obstacles at us that force us into a time of abstinence-- illness, grief, physical separation, the eventual death of our spouse. What a blessing, in these times, if we've already practiced the discipline of chastity. And the other three weeks of the month... well, those are even better!

To disagree with my friend again, I am not casting fundamentalist judgment on her and the world! I do wish more Christian couples would sit down to consider these things, to talk about sex. And please visit the links to read up on NFP from people who are much smarter and eloquent than myself. Thanks for enduring this post :)

An NFP blog

"Contraception Misconceptions"

"It's time to talk honestly.." (a look at the difficulties of NFP)

Canidates and Catechumen

"I saw a host of silent angels waiting on their own, knowing that all the promises of faith come alive when you see home." -Jars of Clay

Today, Alan and I officially began the rite of initiation into the Catholic Church. Though RCIA classes begin in the Fall, Advent is the time of formal invitation for those in RCIA who wish to join the Church at Easter.

Alan is a catechumen as his baptism was not keeping with the biblical mandate to baptize in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19)—anyone who has not been baptized is a catechumen. I have been baptized twice, as a baby in an Episcopal church and as a teenager in a Wesleyan church, so I am a candidate.

It was a simple ceremony. Father Bush called the candidates and catechumens up front during mass, asked us about our expectations about becoming Catholic, then he and Deacon Burns and our sponsors administered the sign of the cross to all of us in turn. Lucy, of course, started hollering when we were up there; thankfully our friends Pamm and Robin helped to keep her quiet. The altar was adorned with the pretty purple cloths of the Advent season so it all felt very festive.

I am very excited about this time in our lives. This is a singular experience and I hope Alan and I take full advantage of it. My whole Christian life I’ve felt an awful incongruence with many of the practices and theology I was taught. I thought I was being a bad Christian by believing in the redemption of once pagan things, Jesus' presence in the bread and wine of communion, the holiness of Mary, a purgation after death, and the communion of Saints… but I guess I was just being a good Catholic!

This is akin to being raised by an aunt and finally returning home to mom. While an aunt can be loving, kind, wise, and somewhat like your mother, nothing can replace the relationship you have with your mother who loves you. While I am forever indebted to the Protestant church who brought me into the fold and faithfully instructed me in the ways of God, it feels good to be heading home.