Gifts and Plums and Blessings and Roads

We had clear roads and clear skies for our trip to Kansas. Only had some rain in Kentucky/Illinois last night (Saturday).

Having a good chat with the in-laws now. Will have 'Christmas' with them tomorrow and then head out to Colorado tomorrow afternoon.

Had a fruitful month at the store. Many blessings abound from the Lord--surprise gifts and provision from him in spite of (1) not feeling like I'm a good seller or (2) not feeling like I got a fair shake at time on the sales floor. (But, as the manager says, reality is perception, but that is not always reality.)

Consume

We live in a consumer culture. We are accustomed to getting what we want when we want it. Is this right? Is this proper? Is this biblical? I don’t think so!

I’ve spent the last 2.5 years with not much spending money. I am used to not buying things, and when I come into some spending money, I don’t know what to do with it! I know that my desire to procure and consume is empty—that buying and consuming is not a satisfying process. When I consume and buy, I want to consume more! It’s a deep pit, my desire to procure, and feeding it only makes the pit deeper!

Now that I’ve been fasting (definitely not a self-imposed fast, though!) from shopping for these years, I’m learning more about the customers in my store. Some want to buy, buy, buy; some want to shop for new kitchen stuff because they just re-did their kitchen and now their old pots and pans look dingy; some bought cheap pots and pans, burned them or warped them, and want to invest in good quality replacements. So many people, with so many reasons to shop—but we are all consumers.

Now it’s popular to be green, to be recyclers. But why do we buy more stuff that’s ‘green?’ Why don’t we just buy less stuff? (Remember the Three R’s? Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle?) We’re not reducing, have you noticed? We’re encouraged to buy efficient lightbulbs, to turn down our thermostats, to combine errands to save gas, to buy products with less packaging, to buy local products—but not to simply buy less stuff!

There’s a little grocery store out here called Aldi—do you all have an Aldi where you live? It’s great! I love it! You have to bring your own bags, though, or buy theirs. So we (of course) bring our own bags because I don’t want to buy a bag. That’s silly.

I just got back from a quick little trip to Wal-Super-Store. I bought 7 things, and they gave me three bags. We have enough grocery bags at home already, so we’ve taken to throwing them away. I realized…that’s part of the consumerist culture! It’s convenient for the cashier to bag my new stuff and help me get out of the store quickly, but here I am using three bags I don’t need and will only throw away at home.

So how about an experiment for me? I’ll do at Wal-Super-Store the same way I do at Aldi. The cashier will put my new stuff right into my cart and I’ll bag it myself in my pre-used grocery bags before I leave the store. I’ll consume three fewer bags and let someone else consume them. It’s three fewer bags in a landfill, at least.

Twelve Days Interpreted

If you, like me, hear incessant Holiday Muzak, here is something to consider while the Twelve Days of Christmas plays:

---
"From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.

The partridge in a Pear Tree was Jesus Christ.

Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.

Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.

The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.

The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.

Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit; Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership and Mercy.

The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.

Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control.

The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments.

The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.

The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed."

---

Taken from WonderGirl and the Sift.

Article (With Citation!) of Funny Metaphors

You may have read some of these analogies around the internet. No, I'm sorry, high school students did not write them. They're from a metaphor/simile contest. Here's the actual news article (and citation!) they came from. They are funny! Read and chuckle.

These are the results from Week 310 of The Style Invitational, published March 14, 1999:

Report From Week 310

in which you were asked to come up with lame analogies. The line separating painfully bad analogies from weirdly good ones is as thin as a soup made from the shadow of a chicken that was starved to death by Abraham Lincoln. And so we had to create a separate category to honor those entries that came too close to actual literature to qualify as "bad." Here they are:

He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant and she was the East River. (Brian Broadus, Charlottesville)

Even in his last years, grandpappy had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut. (Sandra Hull, Arlington)

The door had been forced, as forced as the dialogue during the interview portion of "Jeopardy!" (Jean Sorensen, Herndon)

Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do. (Jerry Pannullo, Kensington)

He regarded death with hesitant dread, as if he were a commedia dell'arte troupe and death was an audience of pipe-fitters. (Brian Broadus, Charlottesville)

The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work. (Malcolm Fleschner, Arlington)

Now, back to the gloriously bad analogies.

Sixth Runner-Up: The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while. (Malcolm Fleschner, Arlington)

Fifth Runner-Up: "Oh, Jason, take me!" she panted, her [body] heaving like a college freshman on $1-a-beer night. (Bonnie Speary Devore, Gaithersburg)

Fourth Runner-Up: He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame. Maybe from stepping on a land mine or something. (John Kammer, Herndon)

Third-Runner-Up: Her artistic sense was exquisitely refined, like someone who can tell butter from I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. (Barbara Collier, Garrett Park)

Second Runner-Up: She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up. (Susan Reese, Arlington)

First Runner-Up: It came down the stairs looking very much like something no one had ever seen before. (Marian Carlsson, Lexington, Va.)

And the winner of the Smorked Beef Rectum: The knife was as sharp as the tone used by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.) in her first several points of parliamentary procedure made to Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) in the House Judiciary Committee hearings on the impeachment of President William Jefferson Clinton. (J.F. Knowles, Springfield)

Honorable Mentions

The ballerina rose gracefully en pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant. (Jennifer Hart, Arlington)

The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM. (Paul J. Kocak, Syracuse)

The dandelion swayed in the gentle breeze like an oscillating electric fan set on medium. (Ralph Scott, Washington)

It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools. (Brian Broadus, Charlottesville)

Her lips were red and full, like tubes of blood drawn by an inattentive phlebotomist. (Greg Dobbins, Arlington)

He felt like he was being hunted down like a dog, in a place that hunts dogs, I suppose. (Russ Beland, Springfield)

The lamp just sat there, like an inanimate object. (Nanci Phillips Sharp, Gaithersburg)

You know how in "Rocky" he prepares for the fight by punching sides of raw beef? Well, yesterday it was as cold as that meat locker he was in. (Alan S. Jarvis, Fredericksburg)

He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up. (Susan Reese, Arlington)

She was as easy as the TV Guide crossword. (Tom Witte, Gaithersburg)

Her eyes were like limpid pools, only they had forgotten to put in any PH cleanser. (Chuck Smith, Woodbridge)

She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli and he was room-temperature Canadian beef. (Brian Broadus, Charlottesville)

Her pants fit her like a glove, well, maybe more like a mitten, actually. (Chuck Smith, Woodbridge)

She walked into my office like a centipede with 98 missing legs. (Jonathan Paul, Garrett Park)

It hurt the way your tongue hurts after you accidentally staple it to the wall. (Brian Broadus, Charlottesville)

Her voice had that tense, grating quality, like a first-generation thermal paper fax machine that needed a band tightened. (Sue Lin Chong, Washington)

Outside the little snow-covered cabin, a large pile of firewood was stacked like Pamela Anderson. (Meg Sullivan, Potomac)

A branch fell from the tree like a trunk falling off an elephant. (Jonathan Paul, Garrett Park)

Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two other sides gently compressed by a ThighMaster. (Sue Lin Chong, Washington)

The painting was very Escher-like, as if Escher had painted an exact copy of an Escher painting. (Joseph Romm, Washington)

Fishing is like waiting for something that does not happen very often. (Jim Seibert, Falls Church)

They were as good friends as the people on "Friends." (Katie Buckner, McLean)

[one metapor deleted here]

He was as bald as one of the Three Stooges, either Curly or Larry, you know, the one who goes woo woo woo. (Bob Sorensen, Herndon)

The sardines were packed as tight as the coach section of a 747. (Tom Witte, Gaithersburg)

Her eyes were shining like two marbles that someone dropped in mucus and then held up to catch the light. (Barbara Collier, Garrett Park)

The sunset displayed rich, spectacular hues like a .jpeg file at 10 percent cyan, 10 percent magenta, 60 percent yellow and 10 percent black. (Jennifer Hart, Arlington)

And Last: Joe was frustrated, like a man who thought his claim to fame was occasional appearances in a weekly humor contest, but in fact is known to millions as a stupid high school student who writes unintentionally humorous bad analogies. (Joseph Romm, Washington)

Taken from washingtonpost.com (14 March 1999) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/16/AR2007031600738_pf.html

Word of the Day 12/10

This is one of my most favorite words ever!! Yay.

per·spi·cac·i·ty /ˌpɜrspɪˈkæsɪti/ [pur-spi-kas-i-tee] –noun
1. keenness of mental perception and understanding; discernment; penetration.
2. Archaic. keen vision.

[Origin: 1540–50; earlier perspicacite perspicācitās sharpness of sight, equiv. to perspicāci- (s. of perspicāx sharp-sighted; see perspicuous) + -tās -ty]

—Synonyms 1. shrewdness, acuity, astuteness, insight, acumen. See perspicuity.
—Antonyms 1. obtuseness.

"perspicacity." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 10 Dec. 2007. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/perspicacity

Recent Email Conversation, or, It Amazes Me what People Actually PAY for!

Subject Line: A Gift Idea for You?

---

Me: Wouldn't you LOOOOVE this calendar??? Wow. Just--wow.

Her: *Gasp!* How did you KNOW?! I NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED that!! Oh please oh please oh pleeeeeeeeeeeease!

Me: I laughed till I cried. I'm in the public library now and am laughing (inside) but also outside with my hand over my mouth. Even just his name is sick. Mister Winkle. I think I threw up in my mouth a little.

Her: yeah, pretty much. showed it to my aid and she was like "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawww, he's so cuuuuute!" uh. ok. i guess.

A Little Bit of Linkage

Bob recently posted about acceptance and that homey feeling. Why don't we Presbyterians excel at this very necessary skill?

---
Also, these photos are interesting. I especially think you'd like them, Bobbo.

Commentary on Holiday Music

I'm a little tired of the saccharine nature of the Holiday Music. I understand that the secular songs are nostalgic for a lot of people, but I'm tired of chestnuts roasting (pop!pop!pop!), sleigh bells jingling (ring-ting-tingling too), presents on the tree (if the fates allow), and so on, and so on, and so on.

I make an effort to listen to the good music--that is, the hymns. But I've noticed that it's the same few hymns that are played, almost to the exclusion of all the others: Joy to the World, Hark! the Herald Angels Sing, Silent Night, O Come all Ye Faithful, and the occasional Away in a Manger. These are all good hymns, but I miss all the other hymns that are also good. I guess these few hymns are also nostalgic and background-y. Nonetheless, I intend to keep listening to the words of those hymns. At least the saccharine is mixed with real sugar, and it might do me some good.

Song du Jour for 12/6

"Frosty the Snowman"
Length of Shift: 8.5 hours
Number of times heard: only 5!

Song du Jour for 12/5

"Little Drummer Boy"
Length of shift: 4 hours
Number of times heard: only 2

Of the Father's Love Begotten

Of the Father’s love begotten, ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega, He the source, the ending He,
Of the things that are, that have been,
And that future years shall see, evermore and evermore!

O that birth forever blessèd, when the virgin, full of grace,
By the Holy Ghost conceiving, bare the Savior of our race;
And the Babe, the world’s Redeemer,
First revealed His sacred face, evermore and evermore!

O ye heights of heaven adore Him; angel hosts, His praises sing;
Powers, dominions, bow before Him, and extol our God and King!
Let no tongue on earth be silent,
Every voice in concert sing, evermore and evermore!

Christ, to Thee, with God the Father, and, O Holy Ghost, to Thee,
Hymn and chant with high thanksgiving, and unwearied praises be:
Honor, glory, and dominion,
And eternal victory, evermore and evermore!

--Aurelius Prudentius, 5th century

One Quick Post on the Front End of This Week

...though I will be updating you on the Songs du Jour, of course.

Number of shifts this week: 6.
Number of papers to finish by Wednesday: 2.
Number of papers to make better (if time permits) by Wednesday: 1.
Number of Dev Psych classes left this semester: 0.
Number of tests left to study for: 0. (I'm going to opt out of the exam because I am awesome.)

Whew.

Coming, sooner or later: a post (or a series of posts) concluding for myself my time in Dev Psych, and a post about the Madrigal Dinner (our 4th in a row together! yay!) which rocked as always.

See ya...

Song du Jour for 11/30

"Silver Bells"
Number of times heard: 7.
Length of Shift: 8 hours.

"Duh" quote for today

From my psychology textbook, a gem for your Thursday lunchtime:

Research has noted the lack of a clear relationship between moral reasoning and moral behavior. People at postconventional levels of reasoning do not necessarily act more morally than those at lower levels...A certain level of cognitive development is necessary but not sufficent for a comparable level of moral development. Thus, other processes besides cognition must be at work.

Papalia, Diane, Sally Wendkos Olds, and Ruth Duskin Feldman. A Child's World: Infancy Through Adolescence. 10th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2006.

They get so close! They've almost hit it! There is more involved in people's functioning and development that just cognition! But...here's the answer they give for the 'something more:'

Moral activity, [critics of Kohlberg's theory] say, is motivated not only by abstract considerations of justice, but also by such emotions as empathy, guilt, and distress and the internalization of prosocial norms...Some theorists today seek to synthesize the cognitive-developmental approach to moral development with the role of emotion and the insights of socialization theory.

Papalia, Diane, Sally Wendkos Olds, and Ruth Duskin Feldman. A Child's World: Infancy Through Adolescence. 10th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2006.

Sheesh, people. How blind do you have to be to fail to see that there is more than just human processes involved in our development?

But now, this is what the Lord says--he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine...I have revealed and saved and proclaimed--I, and not some foreign god among you. "You are my witnesses," declared the Lord, "that I am God."

Isaiah 44:1,12

Song du Jour for 11/28

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"
Length of Shift: 8 hours
Number of Times Song was Heard: 8

Song du Jour for 11/27

"Jingle Bells"
Length of Shift: 4 hours
Number of Times I Heard it: only 2

From an email I just wrote (only slightly edited)

We ought to live on a knife's blade at all times, remembering the shock and amazement of God's mercy to us--that such a one as I should be called a child of God, that such a one as I am no longer a slave but a son! Gasp! And yet I would never seek to be stripped-down in order to learn this lesson deeply. Life has enough suffering that we don't need to go looking for it.

My teacher and elder in Harrisburg, Gordon, used to say that the Gospel pierces the heart of every culture. That is true for any one of us at any time. When I feel a little hardhearted toward someone because I just don't get her, the Gospel tells me that I am to love her as I am loved. When I feel a little prideful toward someone because he's a little ditzy and twitlike, the Gospel teaches me that I am not to boast in anything at all but that I know God, because His foolishness is wiser than our wisdom.

So the Gospel is piercing you, my friend. Jesus was/is incarnate...thus the Advent that we celebrate. He became enfleshed, and ministered to people in their fleshes too. Remember the woman that bled for 12 years? The boy who was infested with Legion and spasmed all the time? The daughter of the centurion who died and was raised to life? Jesus ministered to us in flesh, and to deny relationships their fleshliness and to reduce people to less than what they are is wrong. The Gospel has taught you that, and has stripped you down.

BUT NOW the Gospel is also teaching you that Jesus is faithful and just, and will forgive us of all unrighteousness (and cleanse us). It's that same fleshliness that will heal you, my friend, as we who love you minister to you and become (as Dr. K says) pipelines of God's grace to you. It's never a desert when God's people are around, friend--the Gospel says God decides to love you and you are loved--by God and by us, your friends and your family.

quote for today, 11/26

The death of pride is the beginning of obedience.

WonderGirl

Song du Jour for 11/26

"Let it Snow"
Number of times played: 4.

Song du Jour for 11/23

"The Christmas Song"
Number of times heard: 7.

Thanksgiving 2007

This year's meal and fellowship came off really well! The menu was as follows:

Breast of Turkey
Stove Top Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potato Brulee
Steamed Peas
Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
Baked Potato Soup (Appetizer)
Martinelli's Sparkling Cider
Riesling
Apple Cider
Chocolate Pecan Pie

There were just three of us, and we had enough food for at least 8. Typical Krista-cooking.

So, last night, Amy came up from Atlanta and she assisted me in Thanksgiving Eve food prep. We bustled around the kitchen, me cooking and her mostly cleaning up after me. That was nice, haha, for a change. Yay for a sous chef! I roasted the turkey breast last night, doing exactly what Joy of Cooking said: salt and pepper inside and out, then baste with melted butter. I am my mother's daughter, though, and also onion-powdered it. I baked it in the turkey roaster for 15 minutes a pound, tested the temperature with the meat thermometer, and it was at the right temp, so I set it aside and let it rest while I did other things. When I did carve it up, I put it into a dish, covered the meat with chicken stock, and threw it into the fridge.

Today we woke up in time for the parade, which Ian loved watching, and munched on Mom Work's Monkey Bread, and Ian wanted to make scones--lots of carbs for breakfast! I puttered some more for the turkey dinner, and had things going well--and an hour before dinner I started really, really working.

Everything came out well at the same time--dinner was at 2:05 and the potatoes were creamy, the peas were firm and yummy (not overcooked! yay), the turkey was moist, the Crescent Rolls were warm and tender...aaaah.

And a note about the Sweet Potato Brulee...I was trying to make Sweet Potato Casserole but without the marshmallows (marshmallows on sweet potatoes are a little creepy to me and non-yummy) and the butter-pecan-brown sugar crust was not cooking and I was out of time...so I turned on the broiler and let it go, checking it frequently to make sure it didn't burn. I took it out when it looked toasty, and by the time it got served on the table, the sugary top became caramelized like creme brulee--it was Sweet Potato Brulee and it was not on purpose! Yay!

Well, sisters and brothers-in-law and parents and friends...I missed you. But we had a nice day.

Song du Jour for 11/19

"Winter Wonderland"
Number of times played during today's shift: 5.

Song du Jour for 11/16

Welcome to a new feature of Work in Progress--the Song du Jour.

Since background music is a large feature of retail stores, and since it is the Holiday Shopping Season, we at the store partake of Holiday Music constantly. Often it is the same songs, carols, and hymns that are played so very, very often during the course of an 8-hour shift.

To manage the glut of familiar music remixed and overexposed to my mind, I choose one song each shift and keep a tally of the number of times I heard that song.

So--here we go!

Song du Jour: "Little Drummer Boy."
Number of times I heard it today: 11.

Word of the Day 11/15 -- Goin' out to Bob

Here's a word with French etymology. I could tell right away by the crazy Frenchy spelling.

flaneur \flah-NUR\, noun:
One who strolls about aimlessly; a lounger; a loafer.
Flaneur comes from French, from flâner, "to saunter; to stroll; to lounge
about."

Am I the only one obsessed with words, etymologies, and spelling? Anybody else love spelling bees?

Helping the Needy

Dr. Fikkert, a Covenant College professor and the head of the Chalmers Center for Economic and Community Development, says this about working with the poor:

But the most important thing is to reach out and love the people around you. Friends don't lecture one another or throw programs at one another. Friends join hands, laugh together, cry together, and learn together. In the process, both you and your newfound friend become more like the people God intended, and that is what economic development and spiritual transformation are all about.

Isn't this true about more than just "ministry to people with less money than me"? It's also true about anyone that's needy.

Say someone needs help moving. We are people who can lift and drive and unload boxes--or we know people who can help.

Say someone needs a place to come over for Thanksgiving. We are people who will have food and an extra place at the table--or we know someone who has room to spare.

Say someone needs a friend. We are people who have extra love to share. Right?

So do what Fikkert says -- don't throw a program at someone. Needy people can see through us when we have any sort of agenda. Instead, join hands, laugh together, cry together, and learn together. Be real, and be the hands and feet of Jesus.

---
Read Dr. Fikkert's whole article here.

Perfectionism/Legalism

Read this article about marriage and how marriages survive (or don't) in super-controlling/cultic church cultures.

---

It's easier to live in a world governed by rules and regulations. Then you know when you are pleasing God--and the pleasing of God is dependent on you and your performance.

It's easier to live in that world when we are so performance-oriented.

But that's not what grace is. Grace is what happens when our efforts, our moods, our feelings, our self-motivated self-salvation efforts are subordinated by the supremacy of Christ and his death and resurrection.

AND I am so good at reciting these definitions, but my life reveals that I don't live it. I'm no perfectionist (that much is made obvious, at least to me, because I'm married to a perfectionist), but I want my own status to be dependent on me just as much as the best of y'all perfectionists might!

---

I have a cheat sheet that lists The Four Pairs of Preferences from the Myers-Briggs Temperament Sorter. Here are some words that I feel describe me:

I want sociability, interaction, multiplicity of relationships, and external happenings.
I work from hunches; depend on inspiration; like fantasy, the fantastic, fiction, and imaginative.
I think based on values, extenuating circimstances, intimacy, humane choices, harmony, sympathy, and feelings.
I judge as I go and adapt as I go, let life happen, believe that something will turn up and that there's plenty of time, and I wait and see.

Most of the time I like these things about myself. But one thing you perfectionists don't get is that it's stressful, when deadlines and due dates come, to live loosey-goosey like this.

But there's still grace, even for a non-perfectionist like me. And I need the people who love me to keep reminding me of this--and that only by grace will I succeed.

Funny Tees

Here are funny t-shirts. Chuckle, now.

Mourning

I read somewhere that the holiday season has the highest incidences of suicide. While I am happy and cared for during this time, someone very near you may be suffering loneliness, depression, discouragement. Look for them, and pray for the Lord to open your eyes to them. Be comforting and comfortable. Pray for them.

RealSimple has an article about mourning the loss of your loved one. It's got a useful list for what to do when you need to mourn.

What To Do When You Need to Mourn:
1. Be true to your convictions. We all believed--and still do--that we never really lost Jay, that the love we shared with him could never be taken away. That was our conviction. We said it out loud and lived it every day.

2. Shift your attention to others whenever possible. My mother helped us live up to what we felt were Jay's high expectations by constantly reminding us that he wouldn't want the corners of our mouths to turn down. That was how she coped: by focusing on us.

3. Talk about the person you miss every chance you get. Stay close--not just now but from now on--to the other people who loved him or her. Remember the good times as well as the poignant moments. Celebrate the person's life and his or her role in your life.

4. Write to him or her. Or write about him or her. Writing helps you honor the person and honor your relationship. It gives you a change to say the things your always wanted to express what went unsaid. Now you have that chance again. Try it. Pick up a pen...and...get started. I promise that, as you write, you'll realize, as I did, that nothing is ever lost and that the love you shared will hold you together.

At a loss for words? Here are some things to think about before you begin.
I'll never forget the time we...
I wish I'd told you...
I really miss the way you...
You'll never believe this, but...
If you were still here, I imagine right now you'd be...
If you were still here, I imagine I might be...

Blanke, Gail. "Remembering a Lost Loved One." Real Simple November 2007.

Word of the Day, 11.9.07

Did you see it? Did you see it?

polyglot \POL-ee-glot\, adjective:
1. Containing or made up of several languages.
2. Writing, speaking, or versed in many languages.

noun:1. One who speaks several languages.

Polyglot derives from Greek polyglottos, from poly-, "many" + glotta, "tongue, language."

Aaah. I feel another wrinkle developing on my corpus collosum. I love words. I love words!

Spelling

I am a Spelling Master. (Like a Zen Master.)

But I have trouble spelling 'biscuit.'
And 'community.'
And, of all words, 'school.' Spelling this one correctly is especially difficult when I type.

I used to have trouble spelling 'parallel' until a friend turned me on to this mnemonic: there are two parallel L's in the middle of the word. Sweet!

Duh, thanks for the advice

Another enlightening quote from the textbook:

How do parents motivate children to achieve? Some use extrinsic (external) means -- giving money or treats for good grades or punishment for bad ones. Others encourage intrinsic (internal) motivation by praising ability and hard work. Intrinsic motivation seems more effective. In a study of 77 third and fourth graders, those who were interested in the work itself did better in school than those who mainly sought grades or parents' approval (Miserandino, 1996).

Papalia, Diane, Sally Wendkos Olds, and Ruth Duskin Feldman. A Child's World: Infancy Through Adolescence. 10th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2006.

Don't get me wrong! I'm enjoying this class and the learning that I'm accomplishing. I just can't help but share the inanity with you all.

I Mean It! Procrastinate with Me!

Enlightening Reading from my Studies

I'm so glad this recommendation includes an exhaustive list.

Protective headgear also is vital for baseball and softball, football, roller skating, rollerblading, skateboarding, scooter riding, horseback riding, hockey, speed sledding, and tobogganing. For soccer, pretective goggles and mouthguards may help reduce head and facial injuries.

Papalia, Diane, Sally Wendkos Olds, and Ruth Duskin Feldman. A Child's World: Infancy Through Adolescence. 10th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2006.

Yes, That's True, but it's Still Tough!

I, the LORD, sanctify you. --Exodus 31:13

I, the LORD, who sanctify you, am holy. --Leviticus 21:8

For when he sees his children, the work of my hands, in his midst, they will sanctify my name; they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob and will stand in awe of the God of Israel. --Isaiah 29:23

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. --John 17:17

For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. --Romans 6:19

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. --Romans 6:22

And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." --1 Corinthians 1:30-31

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: --1 Thessalonians 4:3

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. --1 Thessalonians 5:23

God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. --2 Thessalonians 2:13

Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. --Hebrews 13:12

To those who are elect exiles...according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. --1 Peter 1:1-2

(This post goes out to you if you are in the throes of sanctification.)

I Guess I'll Have to Crochet that Blanket I Promised Her

We met in kindergarten. We were classmates from kindergarten through college-senior-year (except for second grade when she was in Mrs. Nusbaum's class and a couple more years when her family moved to California).

We took part in each other's weddings.

Now, look at what she's got:



I'll have to crochet that baby blanket I promised her so many years ago.

Congratulations, Heather. I'm so very happy for you.

Insecurity

It's amazing to me that an otherwise capable and intelligent person who seems to be mature is so controlled by insecurity. (And I'm not talking about any of my friends. I'm not necessarily talking about anyone in particular! I'm just talking.) How is it that we can travel through our lives and be effective and powerful, yet become so terribly petty when that nasty demon, Insecurity, strikes?

Comments, please. What are you insecure about, and how does it control your life? Or are you freed from that nasty demon?

Self-styled

Did you notice today's Word of the Day?

soi-disant \swah-dee-ZAHN\, adjective: Self-styled; so-called.

"The soi-disant experts are planning another self-congratulatory awards ceremony." Ooooh, I love vocabulary.

Living Sacrifices

Yesterday's sermon text was from Acts, about the coming of the Holy Spirit to baptize the disciples.
There were three signs: sound of wind, sight of tongues of fire, and speaking in foreign languages. Each of these signs represents a reversal of a previous curse.

The sound of wind reverses the spiritual death that Adam and Eve suffered due to sin. Now, with the Holy Spirit, we will know that we will live forever!

The sight of the tongues of fire reverses the curse of the removal of God's presence. Remember, God guided his people by a pillar of fire, and when He removed His presence from the Temple, he did so with a visual sign: the pillar of fire ascended into heaven. Now, though, we have God's presence with us, even in us.

And the foreign languages are a reversal of the Curse of Babel--the power of the Gospel is valuable enough and potent enough to overcome even linguistic/cultural barriers!

---

I got to thinking about all the uses of fire in the Bible.
~There's the pillar of fire by which God guided his people in the wilderness.
~There's the fire in the tabernacle and temple which burn up the people's sacrifices.
~Pastor pointed out the Burning Bush, which burned but didn't burn up.

And I made the connection: previously, in the Old Dispensation, the people of God brought their cuts of meat to the Temple and they were burned up. Now, instead of bringing tangible property, we ourselves are the living sacrifices. The Holy-Spirit-tongues-of-fire on the disciples burned but did not burn up...and so, like Moses' Burning Bush, we burn but do not burn up.

We are living sacrifices, a testimony of the Lord to show the world his character and his nature.

Thought Life

I've been silent for a while, except for responses to other people. Want to know what I've been thinking lately? Here's a list:

Gender. One of Professor R.'s assignments for us in Developmental Psychology is to write a 6-part autobiography. Part Three's topic? Gender, or, "The Development of My Gender Identity." It's not as easy as it sounds; all of these autobiographies has been like attic-cleaning, forcing me to think through and account for my memories and how they have shaped the present Me. So here I am, thinking through all these statistics and facts again about how men have it so good and women are expected to conform...I've thought it through and dealt with it already, when most of my classmates have not yet. It's a weighty issue, and tough to accomodate into your intellectual schema of the world.

Bible truths. Sometimes I feel like God is playing connect-the-dots in my head and in my faith. Let me explain: a hermeneutical principle when studying a passage is to study all the other passages that also use a word in that passage--like a connect-the-dots in the Bible. The last few weeks have been big for me in terms of new connections made and old connections altered. Just now at the Sunday Potluck I had a very satisfying conversation with some of the church people and I was telling how I conceptualize Bible Truths: more like a web than like a grid. Men tend to think more grid-like than I do, so this was a little bit of a stretch for them, but one of the elders said "The web has to be connected to stable points for it to work." That was brilliant--make me think that if I have a web of interwoven faith points in my head and heart, then what are the stable points that I connect to? These are the foundations of my faith.

Christmas Break. Not working in the academic field anymore cramps my vacation style. You work like a dog if you are a teacher but you have the luxury of Christmas, Spring, and Summer Breaks. Not so in retail! But God has answered my prayers and has so moved that I can have 10 whole days unencumbered by shifts at the store. Yip!

Developmental Psychology. The class barrels ahead full-steam, and unless I'm on my game, it'll barrel over me. Gotta keep up. I'm enjoying the facts that I am learning but boy! this is hard. Fascinating and challenging all at once.

Various errata also flit around up in the cranium. We have a drought going on here in the South. The presidential race is racing ahead full steam. What can I make for dinner tonight? What will we do if the price of gas keeps rising? What will happen to my Career? etc., etc., etc.

Well, thanks for reading. Ta ta for now.

When I Consider How My Light is Spent

When I consider how my light is spent,
Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide
'Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?'
I fondly ask. But Patience to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, 'God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts; who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best; his state
Is kingly; thousands at his bidding speed
And post o'er land and ocean without rest;
They also serve who only stand and wait.'

John Donne

Attic Cleaning

One of my assignments for this class is to write an autobiography, incorporating all the aspects of children and children's development we are learning in class. It is surprisingly hard for even a talker like me to conscientiously sort through my past and account for my memories and how I think they've formed me for how I am.

It's like sorting through an attic full of stuff (you know what kind of stuff can accumulate after 30 years!), examining every thing, deciding to throw some stuff away, but in the end re-sorting it all, dusting and sweeping everything, getting rid of cobwebs and moth-eaten stuff that's ruined, and refolding and re-packing what doesn't get thrown away.

Sheesh. No wonder it's hard.

Please to enjoy:

Here are some fun and funny photos from a recent email forward I received. Please to enjoy:

SAD CAT:


SORRY PUPPY:


AND YET, RONALD REMAINS, HAPPY AND WELCOMING:


I'D RATHER HOLD IT, BUT THANKS ANYWAY:


POOR SPATIAL INTELLIGENCE:


ALWAYS DOUBLE-CHECK:


HOPE YOU HAD INSURANCE:


...AND, HERE IT IS, MY FAVORITE...and can I just ask how in the world do you make a mistake like this one???

realigning my will with Your Will

Nineteen minutes, and I'm posting again. This post goes out to a friend of mine. It's good reading for the rest of you, too.

What I have learned in dealing with my own besetting sins and wandering will is that
*Satan wants us to feel defeated, even if we aren't. If we feel defeated, we won't try to defeat him by resting in the Lord, because we will feel like the battle is already lost.
*Realigning my will with the Lord's starts in my thoughts, not my emotions. My emotions are subject to my thoughts.
*Realigning my will with the Lord's is a day by day, moment by moment process. There's not a person anywhere who does not say every day--every moment--"Lord, I am straying in this way. Please help me come back. Help me push the reset button. Help me to choose to believe your Truths and die to my own foolish constructions of truth."

See how much I love you, friend? I spent 6 minutes on this post! I'm down to only 13 minutes.

Countdown

I'm blogging at the Chattanooga Public Library, and on my screen is a handy countdown timer telling me exactly how many minutes are left until I have to let some other patron use this computer.

So far I have emailed, found out exciting new news, heard from old friends, and changed my layout a little.

I have 25 minutes left -- no, wait, make that 24.

What would my days be like if I had a countdown timer always in my field of vision? Would I get more done? Would I quit working and throw up my hands in frustration?

What would you do better if you had a countdown timer?

(I'm down to 23 minutes. See how much I love you? I spent two whole minutes on you!)

Mortifying the Flesh

Like chemotherapy patients, we are putting to death all that is deadly within us.

R. C. Sproul, Jr.

Revival at CCS

Read this and rejoice -- it is a letter from the principal to the faculty and staff.

September 17, 2007

Dear Friends,

Greetings in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! As our high school principal I feel compelled to share with the entire faculty and staff something that has been an indescribable honor and privilege of seeing and experiencing; something amazing and beyond anything I could have imagined. I write to you, as fellow servants of Christ to testify of the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of our students; many of which sat in your very desks years ago. I am sure you have caught bits and pieces of what has been happening in the high school, but a brief recalling of God’s goodness many be helpful as you go before the throne of grace.

While my words will not do justice to the work of God we’ve recently enjoyed, allow me to attempt to describe what has been happening. We took our senior class on a retreat Sunday, September 9 through Tuesday, September 11. The last night we gave the students an opportunity to share with their classmates as they enter their final year of high school, as we have for many previous years. However, this year, our Great God had a plan that none of us could replicate. The time of sharing began with three boys individually standing up to tell how God had radically changed them over the last six months. (Most of the students knew something about these young men from either hearing them speak of this or from seeing their changed lives at school.) What followed was amazing! Student after student stood and expressed the pain and need in their own lives. As students spoke, others identified and told of their struggles. As one student said, “I have thought for so long that many of you had perfect lives but tonight I realize that you all are as messed up as me and maybe some of you are even more messed up than me.” This continued late into the night and began again early the next morning. The walls seemed removed, even shattered! There was no faking, no masking hurt and pain! Students were real. While somewhat raw, yet with pain exposed and sins confessed, they were open to renewal and redemption in their lives. Some students committed their lives to Jesus that night and others the next morning. Others recommitted their lives to Jesus. Relationships were restored and healing was taking place.

That senior class went on a retreat one way and returned another. They were changed. One student said, “I hope we never go back to the way it was!” I responded by saying, “Things can never again be the same because when Jesus invades our lives, we are changed forever!” They asked, “What do we do now?” I responded, “Go testify what Jesus has done in your life!” Many asked me if they could do just that and testify in our next chapel on Thursday. Not wanting to stand in the way of the working of the Holy Spirit and the excitement our students had for the faith, we changed what we had planned and open the doors for God to use these students.

What followed, we again could not have imagined. Five seniors stood and spoke of a “past life” and of a new life in Christ, and invited others to come and find peace and rest and forgiveness at the cross. They challenged and exhorted those who knew Jesus to stand on their convictions and to be sold out for Jesus!

The administrative decision was made to turn off the bells. It was wise because the chapel lasted for one hour and a half. As chapel closed, three girls stood and sang “There is a Fountain Filled with Blood”. As students listened, they spontaneously stood, held hands and began to sing to Jesus with profound sincerity. I have stood in many chapels and heard wonderful singing but none so sweet and apparently sincere as what I heard this past Thursday. (Frankly, I wish we could have, and hindsight, maybe should have continued singing to Jesus!)

Following prayer, I offered those who would like to speak with our faculty or maybe some of the seniors to feel free do so as the rest made their ways to class. Well over 100 students remained for the next hour. It was a time of sweet fellowship as the Holy Spirit continued to bring about healing and conviction of sin and the need for the Savior. Many students trusted Jesus that day.

Sustained evidence of this change in the class is the formation of a senior girls Bible study/discussion/prayer time. Most of the senior girls attended, and the boys are asking for the same opportunity. We are starting a Bible study for them beginning this Thursday morning. In addition, we will be contacting the churches that each of these new converts attend or will be attending. Several parents have commented to me, “I typically struggle to get my child out of bed, and now she is up before me and can’t wait to get to school!” There is unity like I have never seen among a group of teenagers.

Friends, God has sent His Holy Spirit to our school! I am extremely humbled to be a small part of His work. I ask for your prayers for those who:

• have made a profession of faith-- that they will connect with their church and grow in their Christian walk;


• have not surrendered their lives to Christ;


• have known Jesus all their life (May they not think any less of their salvation because it might not be “radical.” We know it always is radical when Christ draws a person to himself.).

I also ask that you pray for wisdom and guidance for me and each of us who care for and guide these students and that our Almighty Father would turn back the forces of darkness that would attempt to stop Kingdom advances!

I know this is nothing that we specifically could have done but is the working of the Holy Spirit and the many prayers that for years have reached the throne of God on behalf of this class and these students. God has and continues to hear the prayers of His people! Be encouraged!!!

Celebrating with the Angels,

Shawn Brower

The Posse has been disbanded, not by choice, but by default, and that makes me sad. I miss The Posse.

-It was Homecoming this weekend.
-I have been taking a class this semester, so I am on campus three days a week.
-I've been trying to listen more to some of my old CD's.

Some of my old memories of our time here are being wakened, and I miss you. I wish we could do an Our Town and travel back in time with the knowledge of what we had. My old friends, my old acquaintances, my old posse. Guys, I miss you. I wish we could have a posse lunch today!

Hey, posse, post or email me. I miss you.

Living Vine

Go read this post -- especially you moms. It's really good, and really encouraging. I can't say it better myself, so I won't.

My First Meme

YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car),
Precious Echo

YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie),
Chocolate Chocolate

YOUR "FLY Guy/Girl" NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name),
K Wor

YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal),
Green Kitty

YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born),
Anna Colorado Springs (Lame-o! Even Anna Springs would be better!)

YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first),
Workr...Maybe Ivekr would sound more StarWars-ish

SUPERHERO NAME: ("The" + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink),
The Gray Coffee

NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers),
John Janis (Maybe this only works with non-immigrants)

WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ),

TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter),
Lancaster Lilburn

SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower).
Autumn Daisy

CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)
Peach Shoey

HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree),
Coffee Aspen

YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”),
The Puzzle Snowstorm Tour

Thanks to Mike

Shout Out to My Honey

His boys' cross country team won the TVAC (Tennessee Valley Athletic Converence) championship yesterday.

They won against powerhouse teams like Baylor and McCallie.

They won by 20 points. That's a decisive win.

So Excited about This News Bulletin!!

Anybody who teaches that someone is less valuable than someone else is wrong, wrong, wrong, and I'm thrilled that this guy is finally getting nailed for his sinful and revolting use of authority to manipulate and control an entire community.

Thirty Terrible Puns

1. A bicycle can't stand on its own because it is two-tired.
2. What's the definition of a will? (It's a dead giveaway).
3. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
4. A backwards poet writes inverse.
5. In democracy it's your vote that counts. In feudalism it's your count that votes.
6. She had a boyfriend with a wooden leg, but broke it off.
7. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.
8. If you don't pay your exorcist you get repossessed.
9. With her marriage she got a new name and a dress.
10. Show me a piano falling down a mine shaft and I'll show you A-flat miner.
11. When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.
12. The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered.
13. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.
14. You feel stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.
15. Local Area Network in Australia: the LAN down under.
16. He often broke into song because he couldn't find the key.
17. Every calendar's days are numbered.
18. A lot of money is tainted. It taint yours, and it taint mine.
19. A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat.
20. He had a photographic memory that was never developed.
21. A plateau is a high form of flattery.
22. The short fortuneteller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.
23. Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.
24. Once you've seen one shopping center you've seen a mall.
25. Those who jump off a Paris bridge are in Seine.
26. When an actress saw her first strands of gray hair she thought she'd dye.
27. Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead to know basis.
28. Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.
29. Acupuncture is a jab well done.
30. Marathon runners with bad footwear suffer the agony of defeat.

Searching for Friends

I miss college days, when I lived in a dorm full of people that I could sit down with for a moment or for an evening. It was like a friend buffet! It's not that easy anymore.

But yesterday, we went to an afternoon cookout hosted by an old friend of Ian's. They lived on the same hall in college. There were a few other couples there, and it was a really nice, relaxing time. It was nice to be friendly again. And there is a classmate of mine (I am taking an undergrad class this semester) who is being very friendly to me, too.

It's been nice. What a surprise! I like friends.

My Day's Work on Saturday

I had Saturday off at the store, so I spent the whole day doing housewifey things.

First, we went grocery shopping together.


Ian went off to do errands after he helped put all the groceries away. We also had lunch together.

While he was gone, this was what I got done:
1 loaf of bread, baked
4 loads of laundry, sorted, washed, dried, folded
2 lasagnas (with real noodles, not bake-only noodles), compiled, frozen, put away
1 carrot cake made from scratch (it's a layer cake, so I also made homemade cream cheese icing), baked, assembled, iced
1 pot of baked potato soup*, assembled, simmered, partially eaten
about 30 koteletes (yummy panfried meatloaf patties), mixed, formed, fried, drained, frozen
12-13 sinkloads of dishes, washed, dried, put away


When Ian came home, he ironed and helped with the dishes.

So now my freezer is fuller. Yay!

And I calculated that it was an 8-hour workday, but working for your family is immensely more satisfying than working for someone else.
---
*Click here for the recipe for that soup! It was awesome, delicious, truly pleasurable.

Baked Potato Soup

Saute one medium onion, chopped, in 3 Tbsp. oil or butter.

When soft, add 6 cups chicken stock or chicken broth, 5 cups baked potatoes, cubed and peeled.

Bring to a simmer, and add 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 1 cup sour cream, and salt and pepper to taste.

Bring to a simmer again, and serve with baked potato toppings, such as bacon, chopped chives, or cheese.

Source: Joy of Cooking

Regarding Reaction Range

The studies are getting better. I have an exam on Friday, so I have been barreling through pages and pages of textbook. In fact, I have a funny quote:

In societies in which nutrition has dramatically improved, an entire generation has grown up to tower over the generation before.... Ultimately, height has genetic limits; we do not see people who are only a foot tall or who are 10 feet tall.

I guess it's funny in context. The book works so hard to be factual and specific and scientific. And here's a little bit of silliness in the midst of all the professionalism. Hah.

Madeleine L'Engle, 1918-2007

I read voraciously when I was younger. I read a lot of silly fiction series, which were entertaining, but the print version of bubble gum and cotton candy.

I also read good books, the print version of a healthy salad, or a balanced meal of grilled chicken, steamed vegetables, and a yummy dessert.

I remember reading and rereading everything of hers I could get my hands on. I even wrote my high school English research paper on her books.

I was captured, fascinated, by her science fiction and her family fiction.

So many of her stories are unfinished. I wish I could read even more. I will miss you.

Scintillating Studies

This is what I have been reading lately. Let this quote also serve as a shout-out to Mr. Morton, my high school statistics teacher.

A correlational study is an attempt to find a correlation, or statistical relationship, between variables, phenomena that change or vary among people or can be varied for purposes of research. Correlations are expressed in terms of direction (positive or negative) and magnitude (degree). Two variables that are related positively increase or decrease together....Two variables have a negative, or inverse, correltion if, as one increases, the other decreases.

Here's another brain-suckingly boring quote ripped from context:

A research design is a plan for conducting a scientific investigation: what questions are to be answered, how participants are to be selected, how data are to be collected and interpreted, and how valid conclusions can be drawn. For of the basic designs used in developmental research are case studies, ethonographic studies, correlational studies, and experiments. Each design has advantages and drawbacks, and each is appropriate for certain kinds of research problems.

Far-away mountain

My dear family,

I miss you.

Mountain Musings

Oh, how abundant is your goodness,
which you have stored up for those who fear you
and worked for those who take refuge in you,
in the sight of the children of mankind!
In the cover of your presence you hide them
from the plots of men;
you store them in your shelter
from the strife of tongues.

--Psalm 32:19-20

That's a Smart Turtle!

My parents gave me a Page-A-Day calendar for Christmas and I really enjoy it. It's the "365 Stupidest Things Ever Said" version. Would you like some jokes for your day? Read on...

"Is the south boundary of the north half of the southeast quarter of the northwest quarter the same line as the north boundary of the south half of the southeast quarter of the northwest quarter?"
(What? Could you rephrase the question, Alex?)

Signs on tables in a Chinese restaurant, New York City:
"WARNING: Tips for waitress not privilege off customer, and not optional to do! Is custimarry and IS THE LAW for leave tips, otherwise is possibul to face prostection by law! Please be responsivele, leave tip and no go jail! Have a nice day!"

Recorded on a hospital medical chart, as reported in Nursing magazine:
"The patient lives at home with his mother, father, and pet turtle, who is presently enrolled in day care three days a week."
(That's a misplaced modifier, doctor. Shall we operate?)

Registering

Registered my car for on-campus parking.

Went to the Tuck Shoppe, bought my book, and started driving down the mountain.

Saw Dr. H on her walk, so I looped around and chatted with her.

Found that the Class was not being offered through Covenant, so Dr. H called the Office of Records and had a registrar put me in Developmental Psychology. Then she called the Tuck Shoppe and asked about exchanging my textbook for the DevPsych text. It would be another $30.

I did not have another $30. So Dr. H loaned me cash so I could drive back to Covenant, return Textbook A, and buy Textbook B.

So there you go. MWF 7:45-8:50 Dr. R.

Sales Effort

We are really overwhelmed, here in America, by the drive to buy, obtain, and shop. Don't we realize we have enough stuff? Why do we collect things like squirrels storing seeds and nuts, frantically waiting for the first blast of winter?

Maybe we who are redeemed have forgotten that the Lord provides for all our needs. We don't need to squirrel stuff away, because though hard times may (and certainly do) come, we need not fear.

It may be that my retail job hypersensitizes me to our crass greed and covetousness. There's a girl I know who gets migraines from bright fluorescent lights. Where she was miserable, her office-mates wondered if she was a little kooky. Maybe it's like that with me. I'm getting a migraine from all the effort being put into chloroforming my common sense and making me feel like I need another house plant or a new color lipstick or a prettier sofa or a more expensive conditioner, where other people just look at me and go "Humph" to themselves when I leave the room.

Object Lessons

I often think about how creation teaches us about the Creator. The Westminster Confession says,

Although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men unexcusable; yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God, and of his will, which is necessary unto salvation. --WCF I.1.

It's true, of course. But for those of us who know Jesus, who know the secrets of the parables in Scripture* and the meaning of all the object lessons he put into creation, the truths of the natural world illuminate in deeper clarity the truths taught in Scripture.

---

*I allude here to Luke 8:10, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that 'seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.' "

Post-Harry Post

I am back into reality, seeing as how I have finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

It's quite a thing for me, because I've spent so much time with Harry these last years...I wrote my college thesis about these books...I've waited and waited to read the end, and now I finally have. It was a wonderful ending, pulling together all the loose ends (every single one), and completing the series. The scope of the whole series comes into focus in this one book, and you can see how all the other books have just been set-up for the final chapters. It's astounding, and a wonderful work of fiction.

In other news, we spent the afternoon at Covenant getting some details worked out. Teaching this year is out of the picture...at least it is for this semester...but instead I will take classes to renew my teaching license. I'm excited about being a student again, and the challenge to organize my time will be good for me.

As for the cost...I have to go work on that issue now. More updates on the way.

Personality Profile

Home Again, Home Again

Well, we made it home. It took much longer than expected, but we saw some new country and helped family out to boot.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=Colorado+Springs,+Colorado&daddr=Quinter,+Kansas+to:Toronto,+Kansas+to:Cassville,+Missouri+to:Savannah,+Hardin,+Tennessee,+United+States+to:Ringgold,+Georgia&mrcr=4&mra=pi&sll=37.07142,-96.533695&sspn=17.714922,29.619141&ie=UTF8&ll=37.579413,-90.878906&spn=17.59373,29.619141&z=5&om=1

If you click on the link, you will see our approximate route. Exeptions: we never took an interstate (except for the 30 miles between Oakley and Quinter), and we didn't veer south into Alabama.

It was really neat to see new country, especially the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas, but I think I am ready for the Interstates again for a long while. Unless we take into account that the back roads simply take more time!

Now we are home. We have A's (my sister-in-law) car with us because we couldn't figure out how to get her car, the moving truck, and the minivan down here with only two drivers (A and J, my mother-in-law). So...here we are with two cars.

Work is...work. I am still on the hunt for other work, but I haven't heard anything. That's part of my quest today.

And I am in Harry Potter Land. The 7th and final installment is flipping its pages by my eyes as they read. It's different than I expected but so, so good! I am only about 200 pages from the end and savoring every word.

Keep in touch. I miss you all, my family who live too far away.

Gulf Shores

This blog is primarily for my family and friends who know me to keep up with me. However, others might read it. So here is some family cuteness for you!

Here is a photo of most of my family at Gulf Shores, Alabama:
From the left are my brother-in-law, my mom, my dad, my sister, our good friend D, and my aunt. They are toasting the upcoming sunset and eating Maija's fresh-made pico de gallo. Yum!

My friend C (D's wife) is a very skilled photographer and a good blogger. Here is a super photo that she took of the sand dunes in front of our very cool beach house:

And one more photo, this one of the very cute beach house:

When I find a scanner I will post some of my photos from the trip. I am behind the times and only have a film camera.

In the meantime, here is a good thing to read.

Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple. You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength, who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations. --Psalm 65:4-7

Kansas Sunsets

We are in Kansas.

After a 19 hour drive yesterday, we finally made it.

I'm still a little road weary and tired, so I can't think of anything else to say. But we are here. The weather is good -- the heat is down because it rained earlier, and the sunset last night while we were driving was so beautiful.

Counting Down Gulf Shores

9: Number of Adults

2: Little Girls

96: Amount of Eggs Bought and Consumed

2: Packages of Oreos eaten

3: Number of Times I, Personally, Went into Town

7: Days We Spent on the Beach

4: Number of Bedrooms

6: Number of Hours We Drove to Get to Gulf Shores

Coming Home

It's always hard to come home from a vacation, don't you think? Especially when I've been looking forward to a family vacation for so long. I've gotten spoiled by living in a beach house with my family for a whole week, and coming back home. But we had a wonderful visit with our friends from Florida, Beth and Eddie.

Eddie was Ian's third groomsman. They were roommates in college for a semester, but they also worked the grounds crew together for work study, and also ran on the cross country team together. They have a lot in common and it was nice to have their company for a couple days.

Coming up: We are driving to Quinter, Kansas, where Ian's parents live, for a few days there. I will leave early and drive on to Colorado, where my parents and family live, and Ian will join me later in the week. It will be good to be together again, and it is nice to have something else to look forward to.

We

We are all here on vacation on the beach. You may ask, "Who exactly is we?" I will tell you.

We is my family. And dear friends.

My parents, my sister and her husband, my aunt, and my dear friends and their two daughters. They all live in Colorado, except for my aunt...and my husband and I live far away in Tennessee. I miss them and cherish the rare times we are all together.

And so, here is my blog, to keep up with you all.