church-shopping and misc.

Today we visited a PCA (Presbyterian Church in America) church called Grace Stillwater. http://www.gracestillwater.org/shell.php?content=home
Andy and I were impressed with the authenticity of the service. The layout of the service, especially the confession of sins part, was enjoyable because it was very planned and structured. If you know Andy and me, than you know that we prefer a worship time that is not focused on how we feel. I believe you should bring your burdens and joys to worship, but the service itself should be structured and more focused on truths than emotions. I enjoyed the confessions of sins part because it seems to me that this is a vital part of worship, a part that is often forgotten, and it gets forgetful people like me in the habit of confessing. So, if I confess each week at worship, I'm more likely to confess during the week. As I become more comfortable with coming to the Lord in confession, I'll hopefully confess directly after sinning, which would be an active part in obtaining purity, which is something this PCA church attempts to accomplish. We're going to return next week and see what we think. We don't like to church-shop, but we want to make sure this church is a good fit for us.

I had an interview Friday. I'm not sure if I'll be offered the position or if I should take it. I need some direction.

I've been cooking up a storm since I've been unemployed. I finally made fried catfish correctly and it was wonderful! This was my third attempt at catfish (once fried in a pan, once deep fried) and this time I bought fresh rather than frozen and I soaked it in leftover buttermilk that I wanted to get rid of. It was very good, but my tartar sauce was gross. But tartar sauce is gross anyway, so I'm really not a judge.

Andy and I are watching the "Band of Brothers" series. He's asked me to watch them for several years and I was tired of him asking. I like (not really a good word for this emotion, perhaps I'm simply interested) but do not enjoy war movies -- especially documentary ones. I don't like remembering what people are capable of and what people have suffered. But, it is an excellent video series and I do recommend it. I wouldn't purchase it or anything, b/c I don't see why you'd want to watch it more than once.
We recently went to see "Children of Men," which I also highly recommend. It was filmed well because it set the tone of the movie so well and because the background (rather than only the foreground) was interesting. Andy and I noted several times during the movie that our attention was on the background and the progression of the scenes. It was easier to watch (even though it is more violent that "Band of Brothers") because it is fiction and only raises the issues of human depravity and extreme heroism rather than showing true examples of it. The is worth watching because it helped me remember (as do the B of B) that things like this (meaning the events in the movie) have happened, are happening, and will happen. This is a beneficial emotion because it makes me want to help those who hurt or need and because it reminds me to value all human life and all of God's creations. And I'm thankful that I'm not living in the midst of war. War is going on though. And we shouldn't forget it or harden ourselves against it.