TheEvan

The Quarter is on the highest ground in town. It's A-Ok, as is the warehouse district (where the galleries & such are), and parts of Uptown are all right as well. The recently expanded WWII Museum in the warehouse district goes beyond excellent & interesting. Moving and transformative is more like it... There are enough open restaurants and live music aplenty.

"to lend support and encouragement to couples who are totally open to as many children as God gives them" Easy there, Garth. According to this they're not trying to tell anybody what to do. They're lending support to those who are "in the bag" so to speak. I'm a father of but two, but I say more power to 'em. Having ben involved in the home school community here, a group that has a high rate of big families, I've made some observations: No, these parents can't guarantee the outcome of their kids, that they'll buy into their upbringing. I've yet to see a case personally where having too many kids doomed the family to permanent poverty. From where I sit, the lids from big families are well-adjusted, not selfish, not spoiled and are more independent than little Johnny-of-One. I have an employee, age 30, 5 kids with the oldest being 6. He & his wife save buckets of money on the modest income he earns are outstanding. I could wish they'd make 50 of 'em. So, those of you that blanch at big families, what's your problem? Afraid little Maggie won't get her PS3?

Whizzing in a gold-plated privy...now that's something to write home about! Stay safe.

This came up talking with excath and I promised I'd post something on this. We went to New Orleans 10/14 to help sis-in-law Christine get some things out of her attic and rescue the last of the furniture from her 2nd floor of her Lakeview home. It's for sale and has had a few nibbles but nothing serious so far. The 'hood is still mostly a ghost town. One of the few occupied homes had a "Katrina graveyard" as part of their Halloween display. Funny...and not, considering hunderds died in this neighborhood alone. Afterwards we took a ride over to (wife) Nancy's old neighborhood, in the older part of Lakeview. The house she grew up in is just now being stripped out in preparation for rebuilding. About a fourth of the houses on her block have been razed with more to come. Two houses down, the new house that was built over a 'tear-down' (can you say "big n expensive?") has burned (since Katrina) and when it collapsed it destroyed the wonderful bungalow next door. The was a scattering of FEMA trailers around, perhaps one or two per block, in which owners are living while they rebuild. Nancy's across-the-street neighbor has one in her front yard. She's living in it and supervising the rebuild. Her husband lives in Lafayette where his office has relocated. That's a common situation. He built her a deck for her trailer, complete with bbq grill, lighted plastic palm tree, etc...all set up for entertaining. After all, this is New Orleans. She said it's busy and noisy during the day with all the work underway, but at night it's an urban wilderness: no lights, utter quiet, almost nobody about. Over the months she and other urban pioneers have found each other. They take turns having dinner at their places and having an evening of visiting. I noticed another FEMA trailer in the next block with one of those screen tent shelters, a frequent gathering place for this ragtag community. Mary said she's having the time of her life and wouldn't trade the experience for anything. She has a whole new set of best friends. People are resilient.

Evan's BBQ Turkey 1. Cut the thing in half 2. Make deep cuts in the breasts & thighs 3. Saute andouille sausage, garlic, green onions, basil in butter. Stuff the "cuts" with this saute mix. Also stuff it under the skin. 4. Wrap each half in 3-4 layers of heavy duty foil. 5. 2 hours bone side down on a BBQ grill. 6. Turn over, open foil. Pour in your favorite BBQ sauce mixed with a can of frozen limeade concentrate. Reclose. Leave on grill, meat side down, for another hour. Still my favorite, surpassing even the smoked turkey from Bellue's Welding and Fine Cajun Cuisine. PEEE-PUHL! Be sure to use the leftover carcass for a good turkey & sausage gumbo.

Cool beans, exc. Thanks for posting that. I'm not surprised, given her parents.

Sorry guys, the Real Deal is Peace, Love & Mahler.

Had Wierwille been more faithful to both the content and (especially) the heart of Leonard's course, Piffle might not have been half bad. As it is, though, it's hopelessly rotten. In the end, they're not anything like the same thing.

I've not had any other of Rev. Leonard's courses than Gifts of the Spirit, but I had it a few times and greatly enjoyed it. My preconceived notion of Leonard was colored by Wierwille's casual dismissal of him in The Way: Living in Love, where VP praised him as 'great on experiences', but hat VP later took the material and 'put it together with the Word' or some such. (Sorry, that's based on long ago memory). This notion was blown to bits early in the course as there is far more scripture in his class than in Piffle. And, while I don't necessarily agree with his every point, his points were more carefully supported by multiple scriptures. As far as his teaching on walking in use of the Gifts, the fundamental difference was spiritual. --I see Wierwille's approach in the Piffle series as being a mechanistic, how-to, self-help, keys and principles, follow-the-bouncing-ball, connect-the-dots routine. The same was true whether it was 12th session, Intermediate (Burton's version taking the mechanistic approach to a new extreme), or 12 or 14 or 16 'keys' in the Advanced Class. --I see Leonard's approach as spiritual, faith-based, Bible-based and focused on walking out on faith in the Lord. I found it both refreshing and empowering and has been BG's lasting legacy for me, personally. I had the pleasure of hosting the Leonard's in my home for about 3 weeks. Far from being the 'big cheese', Leonard was humble, never asking for anything or expecting anything, and exhibited Christian love and character in his speech and demeanor. That was pretty refreshing for a cult of personality escapee like moi.

One particular AHA moment was hearing him refer to Maggie Muggins, Henry Boloco & Snowball Pete. Things that make you go hmmmm, and re-evaluate assumptions...

BTW, I love Atlanta. For another take on the South, including some refreshing self-criticism, the book "Southern Ladies & Gentlemen" is a hoot. I know a GS'er or two have read it.

I have thoroughly enjoyed every place I've ever lived. Even Kansas and Ohi-ya. And I loved New Mexico & New Hampshire, wow. California was reeeeeal pretty, and I grew up there. But I've enjoyed the South the most. Garth, I mean this honestly and not at all as a jab: I think part of your trouble with the South is that you think you and your ways are not simply different than folks where you're living, but *better*. You might get some enjoyment out of the quirky 'Southness" of it all if you could just lay back and enjoy it. I love regionalness and I rue the fact that it's fading, slowly but surely.

Not so. Hinn's major influence was Katherine Kuhlman & Marilyn Hickey. Kenyon is cited as a major influence on Kenneth Hagin.

I'm breathing it in, Ron, and I can feel it. Can I be still be Southern and love Mahler?

Wow, talk about a broad brush. I love living where gentler pursuits are appreciated and encouraged (such as literature) and where extended family life survives a bit more intact. Where I live is the least transient of all states. I like living where family trumps career. I'm not from here but I got here as soon as I could.

Neat place, that. It's the place from whence the Titanic launched. It has a very old history with some of the Roman wall remaining. We have friends there.

Iread in yesterday's paper that the older of the two sisters pleaded with the gunman to kill her first. Her sister then asked to be next. They asked in hopes that their friends could somehow be spared. Greater love hath no man...

"Strangled Aramaic"...HAHA. Pretty appropos to the stow-ray above.

I've heard tell that the Devil is in the details.

Ditto: That doesn't sound a bit trivial. Besides, it makes me happy, too.

Paul, I remember that there was an Aramaic word involved and that it was a tortured connection... I'll defer to Mr. Memory.

Sunny, I know nada of Ron, sorry. Correct, Alfa. The "panel of ex-spurts" consisted of King Jock, the token Biblific Wunderkind (Cummins) and the wizened old Supreme CoachMonster. I think Cummins was there to lend an air of 'researchificness'. So, they're talking over aspects of this New & Wondrous Doctrine in golden mellowtones and asking if'n we unwashed have any input. Now I can't remember if we were the first or not. I'm thinking we followed a number of corpse going ga-ga over the great insight, or providing some convoluted tangential 'support' of this Great New Truth. Neither of us attacked the doctrine. We just called it into question with scripture references. Hey, no biggie, especially since the atmosphere was suffused in Golden Mellowtones of Love. That's what made the sudden angry shoutdown by the CoachMonster seem even more sudden. I mean, all I can figure is we harshed his Drambuie buzz. Biblical research? More like unBiblical Rehash.

Well, Paul, it's not like we risked losing any credibility by going to the mic...ours scored a collective zero or thereabouts at that time. I think we can proud of the fact that we didn't care. I think... Yeah, Wierwille knew good Biblical research, right? Riiiight...

Impala is correct. Seeing dwellings so near is not unusual. Wildebeest are fairly docile and don't seem to shy much from humans. Where I've been people aren't very interested in hunting and eating wild game, although I understand eating monkey is popular in Congo & Rwanda. Not me! The feared Maasai despise hunting, by the way. They do kill lions and hyenas but they don't consider that hunting. They consider it simply protecting their herds & families. And they do return the favor since they strip their dead of clothes and ornaments and leave them for the hyenas, lions & carrillon birds...

Groucho, you failed to notice the bumper sticker "If The Coach Is Rocking, Don't Be Knocking"