The Golden Aardvark Award and Purpose Driven Drinking
I have just learned that I am the recipient of the Golden Aardvark Award for my post, You May Be Exhilirated, at Purpose Driven Drinking blog. I am most honored and will proudly display this award.
I would also like to mention that I received another blogging honor. About a month ago I was asked to join Purpose Driven Drinking as a contributor. Now, why would a nice Minnesota Lutheran mom be so excited about that, you might ask. Anyone can start their own blog - I think I’m at five now - but it is another matter to be asked by someone to participate on their blog. I am very honored and, in fact, it took me a month of fiddling and second-guessing myself before I finally got the nerve to post something.
Another question might be: Why beer? The answer to that is two-fold. First, I have always preferred beer to any other alcholic beverage. I am a big fan of ales and lagers. Being the nice Minnesota Lutheran mom I am, I can only indulge in one beer and still remain under the exhiliration limit. Therefore, I choose carefully and only drink something worth drinking. Second, I have aged enough and gained a tiny bit of wisdom to know that life is worth celebrating and enjoying; having a glass of beer or wine at the appropriate moment is a good thing. My children have never seen their parents drunk and I don’t believe they ever will. I want them both to understand that beer and wine are for enjoying with a nice meal at your home or a restaurant with friends and good conversation, rather than downed at a noisy, smoky party that really isn’t that much fun.
In Martin Luther’s Sermon on Soberness and Moderation, delivered on May 18, 1539, he noted:
“It is possible to tolerate a little elevation, when a man takes a drink or two too much after working hard and when he is feeling low. This must be called a frolic. But to sit day and night, pouring it in and pouring it out again, is piggish… all food is a matter of freedom, even a modest drink for one’s pleasure. If you do not wish to conduct yourself this way, if you are going to go beyond this and be a born pig and guzzle beer and wine, then, if this cannot be stopped by the rulers, you must know that you cannot be saved. For God will not admit such piggish drinkers into the kingdom of heaven [cf. Gal. 5:19-21]… If you are tired and downhearted, take a drink; but this does not mean being a pig and doing nothing but gorging and swilling… You should be moderate and sober; this means that we should not be drunken, though we may be exhilarated.”
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