Archive for June, 2007
BTotD #1 - Use a Glass
For those of you who have been waiting, here is the inaugural Beer Tip of the Day. I know you have been waiting, hoping, and praying for this day. Well it has finally come. For my very first tip, I’m going to give you the tip that changed the world of beer as I know it forever.
When I first started drinking beer, I only knew of one way to drink it…from the bottle (just a side note…if it comes in a can…it’s probable only good for three things…getting drunk, fertilizer, and making beer butt chicken….mmmmm beer butt chicken).
Well through much research, and a little help from the wife, I learned that the best way to experience a nice cold beer is not from the bottle. The true connoisseur drinks their beer from a glass. Chefs have known for years that your sense of smell drastically changes the ways something tastes (that is why you can blindfold someone and plug up their smell they can’t tell the difference between an onion and an apple). Drinking from a glass allows the beer to breath. This also allows you to enjoy the full flavor of the beer as it engages your sense of smell in the beer drinking process.
You will find that this can drastically change the flavor of your beer. When you drink from the bottle (or God forbid can) you’re nose is limited in doing it’s job. I thought it was a bunch of crap until I started trying it. My wife bought me some pilsner glasses as a gift. When I started drinking my beer in them, I noted a remarkable difference in the taste. To the point that I don’t like New Castle except straight from bottle…the glass changes the flavor to much.
There are also certain glasses for certain beers…but I won’t get into it that much. To learn more about different glasses for different beer, check out the Beer Advocate. These guys know their beer.
So that is my first Beer Tip of the Day. Until next time, enjoy your beer.
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BTotD
So I’m trying to get myself to do more blogging. I have a friend who does an occasional blog post called LotD (Link of the Day). The idea is that when he comes across a cool link…he posts it. It isn’t about frequency…but about having a link for that day. So I was thinking I might start doing the same thing. But I don’t come across cool links that often (except for when my friend posts a new one…hint…hint…).
Well for those of you who don’t know, I have recently acquired a taste for the wonderful alcoholic beverage called beer…Yeah I know. A Christian drinking bee. Not only a Christian but a former youth pastor. I’ll give you a few seconds to compose yourself… Ready…Ok… for those of you who think I’ve gone off the deep end and need to repent and ask Jesus to help, let me give you some context.
First, I don’t get drunk (it’s amazing…you can drink and not get drunk…it really is possible). Second, I don’t drink around those you have a problem with alcohol. I understand that there are people out there who have a problem with alcohol. That is completely understandable…and I won’t drink around you. Third, I am of legal age to be drinking beer (and I don’t advocate the drinking of those who aren’t).
Now before you come at with me with comments on how I’m wrong for drinking, read the entire Bible and show me where it says that I’m in the wrong (by the way you’re not going to find anything unless you take things out of context…or just simple make things up…my pastor did a recent blog on this which was really good).
So now that is of the way, lets get back to the topic at hand. Oh yeah…I like beer and I want to blog more. So I came up with the idea of a Beer Tip of the Day. This is where I will post the most recent tip that I’ve learned for beer. The topics will range all over the place from recent beers that I’ve tasted to how to pour your beer (and there is a correct way). I don’t know how consitant they are going to be…but I’m going to try for once a week. Let me know what you think (as long as you follow the rules above).
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Bald Chipmunk Update
So just a heads up from the whole bald chipmunk time. I’m feeling much better now and the swelling has gone down. Although on Sunday night my right cheek did swell up again.
I found out during my follow-up appointment on Tuesday that I actually had an infection. I found out that my gums healed before the cavity did…so the drainage had no-where to go. So holding back the details, lets just say there was some poppage and drainage and a very disgusting taste. And now the swelling is gone. I have to take a round of antibiotics now, but all is good.
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Do you Medicate?
A few weeks ago my wife was talking with an older gentleman about stress and life in general. The older gentleman who is very big on Thai Chi asked my wife, “Do you meditate?” But my wife heard him ask, “Do you medicate?”
Now I know that both of these can help reduce stress… but the means are very different. Let’s just say there was a little confusion until they cleared that up.
It’s amazing how the words we use convey so much meaning. By a simple change of words what we are trying to express is completely changed. If you don’t agree with me, try responding to the phrase, “I love you,” with “I like you.” The difference is worlds apart (and could mean the end to a wonderful relationship).
In the past few years, there has been a growing trend among churches to change some of the words that are used. I know of one church in California that has weekly meetings to go over the language that is used in their church each week. The trend is to move away from using words that have lost their meaning over the years.
One word that I think has lost is meaning over the years is the word service when we talk about our church services. We go to the church service. We have church services. The service was really long this morning. What did you think about the service?
The words role off our tongues without any thought to what they actually mean. It’s just another word in our vocabulary. I think the original meaning might have been the idea that we come together to serve each other. But I don’t think that we even give it any thought any more. If anything the meaning has changed. The word no longer has the meaning of serving each other, but I would say now has the connotation of serving ourselves.
How well was I served this morning at church? The word has the intrinsic focus on self. The reality is that hardly anyone in today’s Christian subculture thinks of church as a time to serve each other. The focus is all inward. “I didn’t like the worship today.” “That sermon was really boring.” “I wish they would have…” “I don’t like it when we sing hymns.” “I don’t like how they’re always asking us to do things.”
The reality is that church is not about the individual. When you look at Acts you constantly see that the church is about community and not about self. You see at the end of chapter two that people are sharing all their possessions. They, “were together and had all things in common.” It wasn’t about them individually. It was about the community.When you read through Acts, you see that the church never had services. Instead you see that they gathered (assembled) together. The church wasn’t about the individual coming to the church, but instead about the church gathering together.
Therefore we have changed the language at our church (like many others) to reflect this concept. We no longer use the words church service, but instead we talk about our gatherings. We don’t have services, but instead we gather. We want to constantly put the focus of our church on the community and not on the individual. Some might just say that this is just semantics or legalism, but we see it as essential to who we are. We want to always be putting the truth forward in every word we use.
So I pose the questions to you:What words have lost meaning for you? What words no longer mean the same for you? Do you ever think about the words that you use and the meanings you are portraying?Do you medicate?
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