@CatholicDrinkie on Twitter

Personal Reflection: State of the Blog

July 29th, 2011 in Adventures

I’ve spent the last few months (when not working or traveling or fostering in-person friendships) discerning the direction for Catholic Drinkie. I’ve been extremely active on Twitter and as a result, have really neglected the blog. I’ve found the effort to write 140 characters is much easier than to sit down and write a few hundred words. I’ve started and left numerous drafts of posts sitting in my WordPress backend. I’d get the itch to write every now and again and make a half-hearted effort only to get distracted before a post was complete. The one I really would like to finish is the reflection on my trip to Rome, Greece & Turkey in May – there is so much to say about this trip and I’m hopeful that after a few months of daily reflection, I’m able to better articulate the beauty (and fun!) that this trip was. Soon, I hope.

I must admit, however, that some critics of the blog have really gotten to me. Part of that is my fault as I didn’t set the right tone both here and on Twitter for the true purpose and existence of the blog. As a result of this, I didn’t really know what I was planning to do with the blog: Do I renew the URL or do I just let it go? It’s taxing to have people accuse you of things that are so off-base … and I’ve got a big heart so it adds up to a lot of late nights reflecting on what I am really doing here. At the end of the day, I want this to be a place of community building and learning more about the Catholic faith … but having fun by discussing things many, including myself, are passionate about: the pursuit of good drink in moderation! Jesus did after all turn water into wine as His first miracle!

After much prayer and reflection, I did indeed renew my URL ownership and am moving forward with the blog. Things will probably be a little different both here and on Twitter and I hope the changes are a positive move and what God is calling me to. Ultimately that is all I want for anything I do in my life: serve our Lord in His divine plan for me whatever it may be! Prayers to accomplish this would be more than appreciated.

I have some big plans for Catholic Drinkie. I am currently trying to figure out how to fund a new website, T-Shirts, coasters and a possible pilgrimage to Europe next year! The first step is definitely a new website. I have a vision of what I would love it to look like, but I don’t have the skill to do it myself. Anyone want to help me out with some free labor … well, we can work out some sort of payment I’m sure – beer maybe? ;-)

Thanks for visiting, friends. Your support truly means a lot to me. I pray for you daily. Please remember me as well as we journey together in pursuit of a better relationship with our Lord. God bless. Oh, and cheers!

10 comments
  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/curt-g Guest

    I found your Twitter and blog last week. Ignore the critics. You’re doing fine.

  • Bob C

    Glad to hear you are continuing.  I have noticed your appetite for Twitter more than Blog, and quite frankly it never bothered me – so I am sorry it bothered some people enough to give you pause…

    Not sure what your (potential) change in direction will be, so I will withold my comments on it!  I will at least say that I hope you continue to “have some fun with it” – which is probably fair advice for most endeavors. 

    I wish you great Peace, Sarah.  I am glad I found you.

    Peace.

    - Bob C.

  • http://twitter.com/themattbrown Matt Brown

    Yay for continuing! My server would miss the CD!!

  • Evann Duplantier

    Glad for your decision! I’ve been enjoying Catholic Drinkie for some time. And, yes, it is possible to be a good Catholic and enjoy good food and drink. I have a tiki bar and I love tiki drinks and all the kitsch that goes with a tiki bar. Can’t wait to read about your pilgrimage. And yes, I like beer too!

  • Anonymous

    I enjoy your blog and your Twitter – you’ve given me more than a few laughs and more than a few things to think about.  Ignore the critics.  Keep up the great work!

  • http://twitter.com/colonel4God Kyle Sanders

    Sarah, 

    Thank you for continuing the blog.  I appreciate your willingness to even breach such a subject.  Many people are honestly afraid of alcohol.  The most difficult times in their lives are sometimes inextricably tied to alcohol, by means of an alcoholic parent or family member.  Others are afraid of the power it can hold on people who use it simply for pleasure and in turn become enslaved to it.  There is nothing more Catholic than a redeemed look at something that can lead to sin.  To some, if it leads to sin, it is necessarily bad or evil.  I would vehemently disagree.  Gnostics said our flesh leads us to sin so it must necessarily be evil and so the Christian project is to free ourselves from our bodies, because they cause us to sin.  No!  We are redeemed through God becoming a body in Jesus Christ.  If God became man and took flesh, the flesh necessarily cannot be evil because God does not take on or enter into evil.  Evil is the privation of God.  Through the Holy Spirit working through the intellect of Blessed John Paul II, we have the great gift of the Theology of the Body that explains for us this mystery.  It is exactly through the human body that God is manifested, and in complete concert with the soul, the body moves towards redemption within the body of Jesus Christ.  Alcohol, although not the body, is indeed tied to the life and death of Christ.  Liked you said he turned water into wine.  This miracle is not just a condoning of alcohol saying, “It’s okay now,” but rather, has a certain meaning.  People drank wine at the wedding of Cana to celebrate the union of a woman and a man.  It was and is a means to celebrate.  It is a drink of rejoicing.  Not only that, but for us as Catholics, the Incarnation/body image has special significance, because God is transubstantiated in wine.  Just as Christ redeemed the body by entering into, so he does with alcohol.  It no longer has to be a means for sin and death, but rather, a means for life and communion (if only on a natural plane).  Alcohol, in sense, is a natural analogue for redemption.  

    By this I’m saying, pray for the naysayers because it is not a personal attack on you but coming from a place of pain in them, that they have yet to let Christ enter into.  

    That could be part of the ministry of this blog.  Christ can even enter into alcohol!

  • http://begojohnson.wordpress.com Maria Johnson

    You know, we should talk. I think I have an idea you might like :)

  • Lisa Schmidt

    Don’t you know – Twitter posts are like microblogging. So you are still blogging in a sense. :)

    Do what you feel called to do with the blog, that’s what I want from you.

  • Anonymous

    Check out these posts by my good friend, Fr. James Farfaglia:

    http://blog.beliefnet.com/thesmokingpriest/2011/08/old-ideas-rising-from-the-ground.html
    http://blog.beliefnet.com/thesmokingpriest/2011/04/tequila-and-catholicism.html

    The first one is entitled “Old Ideas Rising from the Ground” on libations and cigars, the second entitled “Tequila and Catholicism” which is self explanitory. I just stumbled upon this website and like it. I am a fellow blogger and love a good drink and cigar. We actually have a cigar club which meets at one of the local parishes. We know how to have fun without sacrificing our Catholic Faith. You can find some of my work at calledtoloveblog.blogspot.com and catholictechtalk.com .

    Keep it up! If you need some help with contributions to the blog, let me know. I would love to help out with this work!

    Cheers and God Bless!

  • http://twitter.com/mjordanlichens M. Jordan Lichens

    You were introduced to me because of the Curt Jester who noted my over-affection for drink. I ranter enjoy your view and reviews, so do keep it up! 

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