Month: June 2011

“All clear!” (Prayer devotional for the week of June 26)

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The last time we were in Houston, I pointed out the now-bare acres of prime real estate that used to be Astroworld and told the kids about the awesome amusement park that it had been during my growing-up years. I spent every summer there as often as possible and many a Fright Night and Holiday in the Park, too.

Astroworld had all of the rides, games and food that you would expect, but it also had the Mother of All Roller Coasters: the Texas Cyclone. The Cyclone stood 93’ tall with an 80’ drop and a maximum angle of 53 degrees. Oh, and did I mention that it was made of wood? I would contend that there are few sounds more terrifying than the creaking of wood beams and metal supports as you go click, click, clicking up into the clouds. You could see the skyline of downtown Houston right before you went plummeting to your death the delightful squeals (and occasionally hurls) of your fellow passengers.

The ascent was petrifying because you knew that the descent was inevitable. Once you were locked into your seat and the trio of ride attendants gave the “all clear,” there was no turning back. Why, then, if it was so scary, did we ride over and over and over again? Why did we wait in line for hours just to have our stomachs lurched into our throats for a couple of minutes?

The thrill! The anticipation! The adrenaline! Conquering the Texas Cyclone meant conquering your fears. Ascending that rickety-sounding roller coaster meant relying on the wisdom and skill of the engineers and mechanics who designed, assembled and maintained it. In essence, it meant putting faith in forces outside of yourself to trust that you would not fall to your death, but come to a safe stop after the final descent.

Isn’t life that way, sometimes? We’re afraid of trusting God because we don’t want to be let down. We hear other people share tales of the click, click, clicking terrible things in life and are afraid that the ascent will be too much for us to bear. I encourage you to place your fears in the hands of the Great Engineer today; he won’t let you plummet.

Foodie Friday: Refreshing adult beverages

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Going low-carb has opened my eyes to the sugar content in everything that I eat … and drink. I used to love Dr Pepper with a shot of vanilla from Sonic, until I learned that Dr Pepper has 27 grams of sugar per cup (and I drank at least 32 oz in each sitting). My other favorite summertime beverage used to be sweet tea. Taking a local favorite as an example, McAlister’s Deli’s sweet tea, I found multiple estimates ranging from 60-77g sugar (!!) per drink. That’s more carbs than I now eat in TWO DAYS.

Those two all-around favorites aside, what about refreshing adult beverages? Needless to say, margaritas are chock-full of sugar … oddly enough, not because of the tequila! It’s all in the mixer. Grain liquors such as tequila, rum, vodka and bourbon/whiskey actually have negligible carbs! I can’t explain how it happens, but somewhere along the distillation process, the carbs go bye-bye! There are also some great tasting, low-cal mixers out there, such as Baja Bob’s sugar-free margarita mix.

Regular beer is also out the wazoo with carbs. When you consider that even the lightest beer on the market (last time I checked, it was Michelob Ultra and/or Miller Lite) still has 2.5-3 g carbs per serving, mixed drinks are actually a better option for low-carbers. Besides, who wouldn’t rather have a rum & diet instead of a watery light beer?  😉

The Game of Life

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My brother and I used to play Life – the board game. Toward the end of the game when it came time to assess taxes, we had a made-up rule that would allow you to “adopt” one child for every $1,000 in taxes owed. We often had a caravan of cars with our extended families trailing behind by the time we crossed the finish line.

Alas, there aren’t always substitutions available in “real” life. Sometimes, we’re the players. Sometimes, we’re the pawns.

What about when a disgruntled church member starts a rumor to disparage the pastor’s reputation? Check.

What about when insecure co-workers posture themselves in such a way as to deflect negative attention from their own performance and shine it on others? Checkmate.

Being a pawn is difficult; the pawn doesn’t have much in the way of strategy. They only try to stay alive.

Writing Wednesday: A Clash of Kings

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I am getting a bit spoiled to the less-hectic pace of the summer semester. Even though I’m taking two classes, the reading load is much less than a normal semester. That said, I’ve given myself some leeway to begin the second book in the Game of Thrones series, A Clash of Kings.

Continuing to build upon the strong character development in the first installment, this book begs to be read until my eyes begin to cross from fatigue. My two favorite characters are still Ayra Stark and Jon Snow, though I’ve taken a liking to the young blacksmith nicknamed “the Bull” and can’t wait to see what transpires as he discovers his true identity. I have a couple of theories, but I will reserve them for later, because I don’t want to give any spoilers.

As for that book review due next month … yeah, I should probably start working on it soon. 😉

Don’t waste the water!

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How many times a week do I catch myself saying those words to the boys? Someone is playing in the sink instead of brushing teeth or letting the bathtub fill up too much: “Don’t waste the water!” Well, guess who forgot to turn off the soaker hose last night? Yep, that would be me. I suppose it is also the 11yo’s fault, since it was his job to turn on the hose, but I should have thought to turn it off … before 3am when I woke straight up in bed and remembered.

Of course, the garage door was loud as it opened, and dogs started barking. I looked at the garden again this morning and immediately thought of Viva Pinata when the watering meter turns to blue, indicating that you’ve overdone it. I hope that I didn’t turn our garden from drought to drowned! 😦

From now on, I will set a timer when we turn on the soaker hose!