random musings

The Packing is Over....

2011-07-18T14:56:00.000-05:00

Helen has moved!

I am grateful to blogger for hosting this free site for blogging. But I have come to realize how much these posts and your comments have meant to me, and after some technical difficulties, have decided that moving is in my best interest.

So I guess you can say that Blogger and I are separating for a while, though the cooking blog I share with Annie and my Lenten blog will still remain with him. It's not Blogger, it's me. I have grown past our relationship, but grateful knowing that I would not be the blogger I am today without him. (That's right. For that you can blame blogger! Mwahahahahaha!

I am now at www.randommusings-helen.com

Time Traveling Video..

2011-07-16T11:21:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to share something funny this week, so I thought I'd travel back in time....

to April 1st, when Google first put out this laugh out loud video!

A Letter to My Aunt

2011-07-14T09:00:00.011-05:00

I mentioned earlier this week that Saturday is my Aunt's birthday. I figured that if I can write a blog, I should be able to write a birthday letter to her. The thing is, I don't want to make her sad. I couldn't possibly write a letter that doesn't include something about my mom (her dead sister). She is my aunt because I had the mom I did and she had the sister she did. Leaving Momma out would be artificial. If you were me, would you include the letter in her birthday card, give it to her separately and tell her to read it later, or mail it and let her read it on her own a week after her birthday? I just don't know. I'm past the point where all mentions of my mom make me said. Should I assume she is, too?

I'm sharing here the contents of the letter. I don't think there is anything so personal here that the world couldn't know it. (Names of Aunts are changed just in case they'd feel weird about having their names broadcasted on the interwebs.)

July 16, 2011

Dear Auntie Li,

It’s your birthday and I’ve been thinking about all sorts of memories from my childhood which include you.
I remember being a little girl looking through the photograph album and always stopping at your picture, because you were the prettiest lady in it.
I remember you inviting me to go downtown with you and my cousins to see the air show.
I remember the day we cousins were sitting on the porch where grandma lived on Bernard and we heard my Momma yell out “LYDIA!” “LYDIA!” several times. I could tell she was annoyed, so I chose to hide out on the porch, glad I wasn’t you. “She hears me! Why isn’t that girl coming?” I heard my Momma say while you and Aunt Josie laughed and laughed. I envied you all having sisters, because you could dare laugh at your sister right in front of her while she mad. Now that’s what I call a good relationship! It turned out, my Momma was distractedly calling the wrong name! She meant to call my name, but said yours instead, I presume because she was busy and distracted. (I wonder just a little if it was because she was bossy to you sometimes, too.) You and Aunt Josephine laughed and laughed, then told her she was calling your name not mine, and she laughed, too! (And she was still mad at me for not coming, because I should have known she meant me!)
Now Momma is in heaven, and I know you still bring her joy and laughter. I don’t think Momma could enjoy heaven near so much if there wasn’t someone she could count on here to tell me to carry a sweater, wear sunscreen, and just overall care what happens to me.
Thank you for being my Aunt. I love you. Happy Birthday. I hope this year brings you many happy memories!

Love Your Favorite Niece,
Helen

By the way, if you read this blog, chances are you want to go wish Happy Birthday to Candice Jean, July 16. No, she's not my Aunt "Lydia", but she is a dear and caring lady.

Forgiveness

2011-07-13T13:03:00.000-05:00

When you start Mathematics, you do not begin with Calculus; you begin with simple addition. In the same way, if we really want..to learn to forgive, we had better start with something easier than the Gestapo. One might start with forgiving one's husband, or wife, or parents, or children, or the nearest N.C. O., for something they had done or said last week. That will probably keep us busy for the moment. (Lewis p.104)

One might start with the colleague who carelessly said something cruel.
One might start with one's doctor, who no longer makes one feel like a person being treated, but like chattel being herded.
One might start with the clerk who was rude.
One might start with the driver who cuts people off.

“When
there is peace in the self, there is peace in the home. When there is peace in
the homes, there is peace in the community. When there is peace in the
communities there is peace in the nations. When there is peace in the nations,
there is peace in the world." I don't know who said this. Google won't divulge that information to me.

Lewis points out to me that what is true for peace is also true for forgiveness. Maybe that's because you can't have one without the other.

More posts on Lewis's chapter on Forgiveness can be found on my friend Sarah's blog.

An Out of the Way Place

2011-07-12T09:19:00.000-05:00

A bit larger and fancier than Grandma's back porch, but you get the idea

I don't think I ever lived in a home with a front porch (though the home I live in now has a wee bit of space next to the front door where I keep a chair and sit out sometimes) but growing up, I loved the back porch! In our home, we had an enclosed porch where I kept my toys when I was little, and played loud music as I grew up. I think the porch was my spot because it was a bit out of the way. My toys weren't under foot when I was small, and my music wasn't blaring near the living room or dining room when I got older. I remember cold winters when Momma and I would argue about whether or not it was too cold for me to be on the porch. I had a bedroom I could listen to a small radio in after all. But I loved being off by myself for a little while during the day. (My mom was very protective, and it seemed my time away from home was rationed. If I was ten minutes late from school I was read the riot act about Momma being afraid I'd been beaten and left in a ditch somewhere, while my mind wandered off wondering just where this ditch between my house and school was. When I dared ask, I was told not to be a smart aleck.)

My grandmother's porch was also a good spot for being out of the way, though not alone. My mother had two sisters and three brothers, so when we all went to my Grandma's two bedroom apartment for holidays and parties, it was a bit cramped. We cousins used to like to visit on the porch when we'd first arrive. It's not exactly like we were banished there, but we liked to share secrets and silliness away from adult ears. After supper when everything was put away, we might sit at the dining room table and play cards, with some of the uncles joining us, but before eating we'd have just been in the way and made to shuffle around, so us being on the porch at first was perfect for everyone.

It couldn't have been a big porch, but in my head I remember the five youngest amongst us singing, playing charades, and telling stories right underneath the window. And we laughed. Man oh manischewitch what I wouldn't give to sit on the floor of that porch and laugh like that with them again.

Poor Bob. I'm now contemplating asking him to move my desk away from the window, and build an enclosed space for my cousins and I to sit in and laugh. Okay. Maybe not.

You can read more about people's love for their porch by clicking this link and checking out Peter Pollock's One Word Blog Carnival. Yes. Todays word is "porch".

Dreams Coming True Slowly...

2011-07-11T12:38:00.000-05:00

This is THE dress, but mine is a bigger size!

While I'm only up to number 39 writing my dream list, I am almost at the point where dream number four is coming true. I tried on my sun dress yesterday, and it fit! So why do I use the word "almost" in the first sentence? Because I still think I'd feel more confident if the fit was a little looser. It went on and it looked good, but I'm afraid to make any sudden movements.
This coming Saturday is my aunt's birthday and she is having a barbecue. (My aunt's birthday is the same as Candy Steele's, so you can consider yourself reminded that it is Candy's birthday on July 16.) I am hoping dream number four will come true by Saturday! I think it will!
God loves us and cares about are dreams both big and small! I know fitting into a particular dress is a small dream compared with dream #1 (becoming a mother) and dream #3 (becoming a healthy weight), but it is because He helps me with the small things that I feel encouraged to hope for the big things!
I'm also doing better with number 26 "to have lots of energy". I can't claim to have "lots" of energy yet, but I feel less tired than I used to, which is very encouraging to me. Sometimes our dreams coming true unfold like a flower instead of coming true out of the blue.

Marriage

2011-07-06T15:20:00.002-05:00

Today we are discussing the chapter Christian Marriage from C. S. Lewis's book Mere Christianity.

Lewis said a lot of things I agree with whole heartedly, such as the importance of the promise made in marriage, and the explosion of being "in love" being replaced by the kind of love that is more like an engine keeping everything running ( I don't know much about engines, but I do know that the "in love" feelings return when they aren't desperately grasped at like the most important thing in the world, which is not something Lewis mentions, but then since he wasn't married when he wrote this, he can't be expected to get every aspect right.) But he also left me something to ponder.

....I should like to distinguish two things which are very often confused. The Christian conception of marriage is one: the other is a quite different question-how far Christians, if they are voters or Members of Parliament, ought to try to force their views of marriage on the rest of the community by embodying them in the divorce laws. A great many people seem to think that if you are a Christian yourself you should try to make divorce difficult for everyone. I do not think that. At least I know I should be very angry if the Mohammedans tried to prevent the rest of us from drinking wine. My own view is that the Churches should frankly recognise that the majority of British people are not Christians and, therefore, cannot be expected to live Christian lives. There ought to be two distinct kinds of marriage: one governed by the State with rules enforced on all citizens , the other governed by Church with rules enforced by her own members. The distinction ought to be sharp, so that a man knows which couples are married in a Christian sense and which are not.

Now, substitute the words American for British, legislators for Members of Parliament, and Gay Marriage for divorce laws, and you see my dilemma. Should Gay Marriage be allowed in America? Should a Christian (one who believes homosexual behavior is both a choice and a sin) attend such a ceremony / celebration? Isn't a boycott unloving? Aren't we supposed to love the sinner? Can we say "best wishes" and give a gift, hoping for their happiness even if we ultimately don't believe they'll be happy with their choice?

I'm thinking Clive would say if they aren't Christian, to go and try to wish them well. I don't know what I think, except in my heart, I truly want to show love, and wish people well, even when the picture I see ahead isn't rosy.

Thoughts? Feel free to disagree with me. I'm between many people in my corporal life who feel differently from me and each other on this issue.

Please join the discussion over at Connecting to Impact, where the discussion in the various links will be marriage in general, and not necessarily the paragraph I chose to ponder.

One Hundred Dreams (Not Quite, But I'm Open to It)

2011-06-30T11:53:00.000-05:00

These lovely toes are courtesy of photobucket. Until, now
it never occurred to me I may need pictures of my nekkid feet.

In prayer meeting Monday a friend talked about a Conference on the Father's love where they were encouraged to begin a list of 100 dreams. I have listed thirty dreams so far.

Last week I wrote a post about feeling more optimistic, and I really do. It had hit me a few months ago that not only didn't I accomplish all of the goals of my youth, but that I didn't believe I ever would, and had felt I should put dreams away as youthful foolishness. It did not help my outlook.

Many things on the list are actually related to each other:
3) Become a healthy weight. (It's been so hard, and I've failed so many times I stopped hoping I ever could. But today, I am dreaming about it, focusing on it, and asking God to help me daily in this quest.)
4) to fit in my new sundress.
5) to fit in the clothes in my box in the basement.
6) to be able to get rid of all of my large clothes because I need room for a smaller size. (I guess I'm dreaming of a good reason for a new wardrobe.)
10) to be able to comfortably get up and down from the floor.
11) to be able to stand all day without a lot of discomfort.
12) to be able to walk around outside all day without my feet being in a lot of pain.
17) to walk several blocks without getting out of breath.
21) to fit in an airline seat.
24) to be flexible enough to give myself a pedicure. (I feel pretty when my toe nails are pink. I know it's silly.)
25) to be able to get out of the tub without worrying I'm going to slip and kill myself and the paramedics are going to find me nekkid.
26) to have lots of energy.
30) for my feet and ankles not to swell.
That's 13 things all related to number 3. Obviously when I get dream #3, most if not all of the other dreams I shared today will have already been granted. I still think it is important to list these other things. They didn't come up because I asked "Why do I want to become a healthy weight?" but because I asked "What do I want?" . I will not yet be a healthy weight the day I paint my toenails, but I will still have gotten something I want, and will need to thank God for His help. Because I'll only get there with His help. I know this, because I have been trying too long on my own.

So as frivilous as it sounds, I'm praying for my weight, size, mobility and flexibility.

What about you? What are your dreams? You don't HAVE to list 100, 30, or even 13. I'll be happy to know one or two, and will pray for your dreams, too!

Trying Again

2011-06-29T12:54:00.001-05:00

I don't need a snazzy cover today.
The topic is snazzy enough!

...many people are deterred from seriously attempting Christian chastity because they think (before trying) that it is impossible. But when a thing has to be attempted, one must never think about possibility or impossibility. Faced with an optional question in an examination paper, one considers whether one can do it or not: faced with a compulsory question, one must do the best one can. You certainly get none for leaving the question alone. Not only in examinations, but in war, mountain climbing, in learning to skate, or swim, or ride a bicycle, or even fastening a stiff collar with cold fingers, people quite often do what seemed impossible before they did it. It is wonderful what you can do when you have to. (Lewis, p.93)

I agree with Lewis's point. I have heard lots of people comment on how it is "impossible" to expect people "nowadays" to refrain from sexual activity until they are married. Sometimes it makes me fume, because it assumes our ancestors who claimed they did are liars. (It assumes me to be a liar as well. Call me a slut, and I'll be surprised, but I'll let you live, but don't any person dare call me a liar!)

I actually feel more charitable, though, when reading Lewis's words, because I, too, have my own "impossibility". Sure, it's possible for most people, just not me. What is this unworkability? Well, if you can excuse the use of a four letter word in this post, it is staying on a d-i-e-t. Once I fail in some small way, I tend to give up, because I wasn't perfect. Sure, many people stay on Atkins™ until they are their desired weight, but it was "impossible" for me to do that.

We may, indeed, be sure that perfect chastity- like perfect charity- will not be attained by any merely human efforts. You must ask for God's help. Even when you have done so, it may seem to you for a long time that no help, or less help than you need, is being given. Never mind. After each failure, ask forgiveness, pick yourself up, and try again. Very often what God first helps us towards is not the virtue itself, but just this power of always trying again. For however important chastity (or courage, or truthfulness, or any other virtue) may be, this process trains us in the habits of the soul which are more important still. It cures our illusions about ourselves and teaches us to depend on God. We learn, on the one hand, that we cannot trust ourselves even in our best moments, and, on the other, that we need not despair of even our worst, for our failures are forgiven. The only fatal thing is to sit down content with anything less than perfection.

So.... I suppose now is a good time to mention that I've been using Slimfast™ for the last two and a half weeks. And I've been praying for me. (Lewis, p. 94)

For more discussion on this week's chapter of Mere Christianity, check out Sarah Salter's blog.

Bunnies, Ducks, Hamsters, and Kittens, Oh My!

2011-06-27T22:59:00.001-05:00

I have always loved dogs and cats, but allergies prevented me from having any.

My first encounter with a "pet" was probably when I was three years old and we went to visit my Daddy's family in Hungary. They lived on a farm, and when my Uncle Bela took me to the rabbit hutches, I was thrilled. I adored those bunnies, and even had favorites. At the time, no one had the heart to tell me that the ones I hardly noticed would be fried "chicken" in the upcoming weeks.

The day we were leaving, my Uncle Bela wanted my daddy to smuggle my favorite bunny home on the plane with us. My daddy said that wasn't legal, and my uncle tried to tell him I'd be heartbroken leaving that bunny behind. Daddy said I'm going to be even more heartbroken leaving my cousins behind, and that he'd sooner be arrested for smuggling one of them home on the plane. The brothers disagreed about what was best for me, but parted on good terms anyway. (And no cousins were smuggled in the luggage.)

It was soon after we came home (at least in my mind) that my Daddy and my Godfather (his cousin) came home from the farm with two ducks. I named them Daffy and Daisy. I loved them very much, and they lived on a diet of Fruity Pebbles™cereal for several months. Then, however, neighbors complained that they were making too much noise (probably the sugar from the Fruity Pebbles™ making them hyper), and that keeping ducks was against city ordinances. They either flew away, went to live on a farm, or were Sunday dinner. I like to think they flew away, and the ducks at a nearby pond are their progeny.

When I was about six years old, my Daddy's friend's son had hamsters. I thought they were adorable and wanted hamsters of my own. That year, for my birthday, my Godfather came to my house with a table and a tank. He and Daddy teased Momma that they were bringing in hamsters. My mother threw a fuss that no rodents are being invited into her house to be nurtured! They kept teasing her, but they brought in tropical fish. Though I loved Henrietta (named after Henrietta Hippo from "New Zoo Revue"), Henry (also named after Henrietta Hippo) and their little family of fishes, I still think that if they let me have the hamsters, I wouldn't be afraid of and repulsed by rodents.

When I was in college, a cat snuck into our basement window and had kittens. Though I really wanted to keep the kitten I had named Tawney, my parents found them all other homes when they were old enough to be weaned. I'd have preferred to keep Tawney and get allergy shots, but it wasn't my call.

Since then, I haven't had any pets, though I sometimes tease Bob that I'm going to take him to Church to have him blessed on St. Francis Day. He is a good sport, but he doesn't want to deal with my allergies any more than my parents did. So for now, I have to be content with BunBun and her family living in my front yard.

This post is part of Peter Pollock's One Word Blog Carnival. Today's word is "pets". Click here to find his and other posts about pets.

I still remember the words to the theme song, btw...

I Can't Switch My Phone Plan Because....

2011-06-25T13:46:00.000-05:00

I have allergies!

Really, otherwise I'd think about it, but to impulsively buy a dog that would make me sneeze is just too much of a deterrent.

I Don't Feel Crappy Anymore!

2011-06-24T13:23:00.000-05:00

I know. I have such finesse with titles. I suppose I could have started with a more positive sounding "I'm feeling optimistic", but that sounds so "Little Miss Mary Sunshinish". I have nothing against Mary Sunshine, but I haven't been her for a long time. If anything, I felt like I was fighting pessimism.
In the beginning, fighting pessimism was a lot like stomping on a spider: annoying and a little messy, but a minor blip in the day. But for a few months I felt like I was trying to fight a dragon with a hair pin. But one day last week, I felt a feeling that seemed familiar that I couldn't quite name. I nearly fell out of my chair when I realized it was optimism. I feel optimistic that this year I will be subbing, maybe even teaching. I feel optimistic that my test results will be fine. I feel optimistic that I can get done what needs to be done to do what I want to do! I admit, it's not the eager optimism of my youth, but it is a weight off of my heart.
Why? The only thing different in my life right now is that my thyroid prescription has been increased. (Hey, God answers prayers in interesting ways. I prayed to feel better and be more motivated, and I got symptoms that made me feel bad enough to go see a specialist in another area who said "Hmmm... You have an underactive thyroid listed under previous conditions... Last checked over six months ago? Let's go with a simple blood test, first..")
What's my point? Not much. Just that I'm feeling really good for a change.
How are you?

Surprised by Our Choices

2011-06-22T10:59:00.000-05:00

Today we are discussing the Chapter Morality and Psychoanalysis in Mere Christianity. The gist of it is that people with psychological issues will not be held by God to be responsible for acts committed which they did not have the ability to control.

Last night when I went to bed, I was thinking about my aunt. My Aunt June* died about twenty years ago. Actually, she was murdered. She was leaving Church after lighting a candle and was on her way to do some Christmas shopping when someone tried to snatch her purse. Auntie June fought back. The snatcher became her attacker. He banged her head against the sidewalk repeatedly and took the purse. She went to the Emergency Room and had Christmas with the family a few days later. The next week she had a brain hemorrhage and died the week after that.

We have always believed that the attack and her sudden illness were related. Over and over we in the family have said to one another that she shouldn't have fought back. She should have let him have her purse. She couldn't have possibly had so much money in her purse for it to be worth the risk. I said to myself that I'd learn from this, and if caught in the same situation, I'd give up the purse.

Guess what. I lied to me. Two years later I was on my way home from a job interview in a neighborhood my daddy TOLD me he didn't want me to work in when a woman grabbed my purse while I was crossing the street to catch a bus. I yanked my purse back and looked at her. She kept walking like nothing happened. How much was in that purse? Five whole dollars and a bus pass. I didn't even have a credit card. One could say that I needed the bus pass to get home, but honestly, I could have gone into a store, called the police, asked them to call my daddy, who would have picked me up without even an "I told you so." (My daddy didn't say "I told you so." He gave a look which said volumes, but those four words never passed his lips.) But my instinct was to fight for what I thought was mine, not to remember what happened to Aunt June, and submit my purse.

I was young, though, right? With age and experience, I'd be able to learn from what happened to my aunt. Sure. But not yet. Two years ago while Christmas shopping two young men tried to grab my purse outside of Borders. I fought back, and they quickly moved on. They were gone before I could dial my cell phone on the other side of the door. (Yes. I did get to keep my purse.)

I didn't understand my Aunt's state of mind twenty years ago when she chose to fight back. I judged her to be in the wrong, but I didn't understand that in that flash of a moment, there was no thinking, only reflex. One could reflexively let go of the purse, or fight back, but there is no time to think or to choose. Honestly, I don't even know what I was thinking. I first remember thinking when I was dialing the phone. (And that thought was "What the french toast did you just do? Didn't you learn anything from what happened to Aunt June?")

I never judged Aunt June's reaction to be sinful, just unwise. Yet I was unwise twice, even after promising myself I'd react differently if I ever found myself in similar circumstances. I can see how sin could be similar, even if time isn't a factor. One may not have the presence of mind to be mindful of their actions. Sin is not just a bad action, but the choice to do something bad.

We see only the result which a man's choices make out of his raw material. But God does not judge him on the raw material at all, but on what he has done with it. Most of a man's psychological make up is probably due to his body: when his body dies all this will fall off him, and the real central man, the thing that chose, that made the best or the worst out of this material, will stand naked. All sorts of nice things which we thought our own, but which were really due to a good digestion, will fall off some of us: all sorts of nasty things which were due to complexes or bad health will fall off others. We shall then, for the first time, see everyone as he really was. There will be surprises.

Yes. There will be surprises, I'm sure.

More discussions about this Chapter can be found on Connecting to Impact.

*Auntie June's real name wasn't June. I don't know that her children would be okay with me telling her story, so I changed her name.

His Voice

2011-06-20T09:50:00.001-05:00

My friend Jason is hosting "Warrior Poet Circle" today. The theme is "Voice of God." It seems strange to be to join, like I'm hoarding in on a party I don't belong at, since I feel like neither a warrior or a poet. Yet we are are told to dress ourselves as warriors and be prepared, and I can't remember when I didn't love reading poetry (at least if you count Nursery Rhymes). I was in second grade the first time I tried to write a poem. It was awful! My teacher liked it though. Having been a second grade teacher myself, I know why she liked it. She liked it because she liked me.

So anyway, here we are with a short poem.

Softly whispered comfort as I try to hang on to things that slip away.
Gentle commands to guide me through the labyrinths in which I find myself trapped.
Silent lullabies sung to my weary soul.
Is that really Him?
Wouldn't the voice Inifinity boom?
No. Not when speaking to one He calls "Daughter."

How I am Coping With Psych Withdrawal

2011-06-17T14:42:00.000-05:00

Ignore the day and time in the picture. No one knows
Yet. I know. Talk about "psych", huh. Oh yeah,
and this photo is courtesy of Photobucket.

Raise your hand if you are disappointed to find out that Psych isn't coming back until Fall. Now wave. Thank you for that nice cool breeze. It's finally starting to get warm here in Chicago, and that was refreshing.

I don't know whether it is lucky for me or not, but I didn't have cable when Psych first came out. I missed the first two and a half seasons. The good news is that just like a pre-owned comfy chair, it's new to me! I saw the first half of season three a couple of months ago when I first started suffering from Psych withdrawal. I was better for a while, but then found myself in desperate need again, so I went to our local library and took out Season 1 of Psych.

That is why I saw the following for the first time on Wednesday. I laughed so hard, the room was spinning like the stars in the sky! Watch the following video to find out what I mean by that.

The aftermath went better for me. My DVD player has a pause button.

What about you? What show do you think is the funniest you've seen? What scene makes you giggle every time you think of it?

How Would a Christian Society Look?

2011-06-15T15:59:00.004-05:00

Today we are discussing Chapter three of Book Three of Mere Christianity, which is titled Social Morality. In it, Lewis describes what the New Testament says a fully Christian society would look like. He describes a society where everyone works, people don’t fixate on luxuries or posturing, authority is obeyed, and people are courteous and cheerful.

“If there were such a society in existence and you or I visited it, I think we should come away with a curious impression. We should feel that its economic life was very socialistic and, in that sense, “advanced,” but its family life and its code of manners were rather old-fashioned- perhaps even ceremonious and aristocratic. Each of us would like some bits of it, but I am afraid very few of us would like the whole thing. That is just what one would expect if Christianity is the total plan for the human machine. We have all departed from that total plan in different way, and each of us wants to make out that his own modifications of the original plan is the plan itself. You will find this again and again about anything that is really Christian: every one is attracted by bits of it and wants to pick out those bits and leave the rest. That is why we do not get much further: and that is why people who are fighting for quite opposite things can both say that they are fighting for Christianity.”

The first part of the paragraph reminds me of something my father said when I was growing up. He came to the United States of America during the Hungarian Revolution. I vaguely remember asking him how a system he felt compelled to stand against and eventually leave (which meant leaving family and friends) came into existence. He said to me “Honeygirl, if Christians behaved like Christians, Karl Marx could have taken his manifesto and stuck it up his @$$. ”

Here I think comes into play the idea that people want to take bits and pieces of it. First of all, you can’t remove God from it. Second of all, Christianity is a choice, and Communism as a political and economic system was not.

Am I guilty of “taking bits and pieces of it”. I’m sure I do. I know that when I see the words “Communism” and “Socialism”, my hackles are raised. My daddy had to leave home and family because he stood against those things. Sure, and argument could be made that if he hadn’t I’d never have been born, since he met my mother here in Chicago. But I still feel badly for him, since I know it would have broken my heart to leave my mother and father and never see them again.

I do not, however, think that Lewis was making a case for Communism. He was pointing out that such a society would not resemble our own. I’m sure if he had been communicating with a Communist audience in mind, he would have emphasized other points, such as family life.

More thoughts on this Chapter can be found on my friend Sarah's blog.

Where is Home?

2011-06-13T23:55:00.004-05:00

This building looks exactly
like the one I grew up
in in Chicago. We lived
on the first floor.

When I was little, I considered a two flat a couple of blocks west of Pulaski and a block north of Lawrence my home. Being an only child, I had my own bedroom (painted apricot, just as I requested), and was just spoiled enough that the enclosed porch in the back was converted to a playroom (painted pink), which became the room I listened to music in when I got older. We had arched doorways leading to the living room (painted off white) and dining room (painted light green), with a huge picture of Jesus in the Garden over our China cabinet.

Either this depicts Jesus in the Garden or when He cried out how
He longed to gather His people like a hen gathers her chicks.

On the opposite wall was a picture of the Last Supper.

My mother always bought pictures of the Last Supper (not necessarily this one,
though this is the one that hung in our dining room) as house warming gifts,
unless she new the family already had one.

In the living room hung a painted portrait of my mother on her First Communion Day, a picture of me on my First Communion Day, my parent's wedding photo, and a collage of photos of friends and family.

None of these things made that house near Lawrence and Pulaski a home. Oh, don't get me wrong. I loved that my home included all of those things. But that isn't what made them my home. Indeed, when my Mother became ill and "temporarily" came to live with us, I'd do routine checks on that house, and already it no longer felt like home. It was only home as long as someone who loved me was there. Maybe that's why we tell people to make themselves at home when they visit. It's like we are saying "Hey, you are loved here. Don't be afraid to let your guard down! It's all good!"

I imagine that is also why we Christians say that our true home is in Heaven. Who loves us more than God? No one. Who accepts us more fully, "as is"? No one. So then it only makes sense that Heaven is our real home. And now with both my Momma and my Daddy there, Heaven is an even more welcoming place, though it would seem impossible, like adding to infinity.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not overly anxious to leave this world. I have a wonderful husband who makes this world more "homey", and I dread the thought of leaving him in a world less loving with a house less homey. But I have become more joyful at the prospect of Jesus preparing a home for us together in Heaven. A home that includes those we love.

Today's post is part of Peter Pollock's One Word Blog Carnival. Today's word in "Home".

Beginning of Summer Twitter Ho Down Post

2011-06-03T12:58:00.001-05:00

kelybreez After 3 weeks in Uganda, kelybreez posts again... Read all about it! (dangerous Breeze) kelybreez.com/post/610680655…

Helenatrandom @kelybreez Welcome back! I missed you! I thought you were boycotting the twitter because @weightwhat hasn't been around.

kelybreez @Helenatrandom What happened to @weightwhat ? Why hasn't she been around? Was she in a tizzy because I was gone?

Helenatrandom @kelybreez No tizzy, just busy. Life is just a whirlwind when one is as popular as she@ @weightwhat

kelybreez @Helenatrandom Yeah, that's just her cover excuse. She's mad at me. I know it.

Helenatrandom @kelybreez Maybe it was because you refused to pack her in your carry on case and take her with you. @weightwhat

weightwhat @Helenatrandom @kelybreez Oh, and because I started a new job.

@Helenatrandom@weightwhat Really? Congratulations! What do you do?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SarahBeeC My office smells like wet dog

@Helenatrandom@SarahBeeC Maybe you should rethink that candle scent...

katdish @Helenatrandom SNORT!

katdish @SarahBeeC @helenatrandom's tweet reminded me of this. Perhaps you can create some of these? http://youtu.be/u-6ph7NWoBM

SarahBeeC @Helenatrandom Leather - check, freshly cut grass - check, wet dog - scratch that --- done

@Helenatrandom @katdish Red meat candles! AWESOME! (But sadly, no bacon...)

Helenatrandom @SarahBeeC How about bacon scented candles? YUM!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

@makeadiff21@Helenatrandom @sarahmsalter All I know is I've missed the snark that the twitterverse adds to my daily life :-)

Helenatrandom @makeadiff21 I know. I miss it, too!

sarahmsalter @makeadiff21 Oh, so you need SNARK, do you? *evil grin* @Helenatrandom

makeadiff21 @Helenatrandom @sarahmsalter One has to have it to survive at times, ya know? Hahaha

Perspective

2011-06-02T09:45:00.000-05:00

Yellow beans seeds are planted along side the driveway and next to the patio.

Tomatoes, squash, onions and cucumber are planted alongside the garage and in planters.

Flowers are planted in front of the house in the space where we removed two dead shrubs.

Now when it rains, it will save us the work of watering the garden, instead of preventing us from working in the garden.

So Long as No One Gets Hurt

2011-06-01T15:02:00.000-05:00

In Book Three, Chapter One of Mere Christianity, Lewis proposes that there are three parts to morality. The first part is universal: don't do things that hurt other people. The second has to do with one's own inner moral condition, and the third with one's relationship with God.

It's so much easier to live in the first part of morality. Who wants to hurt people? I doubt there is anyone who wakes up in the morning and says to himself (or herself) "Oh wow! Look at how the sun shines so bright and the weather is just right! Perfect for carrying out my diabolical plan to hurt as many people as I can today! MWAHAHAHA!"

But we manage to hurt people any way. I imagine that most of the time, it is because of selfishness and a lesser developed inner moral condition. But sometimes we hurt people because we can't agree with their choices. We can't agree to "live and let live" (though I do think we can agree to "live in love") because the choices being discussed are so clearly against what God has said in His Word that we can not in good conscience condone it. I suppose on some level we risk causing them more hurt my condoning things that must not be condoned, but the person involved may not ever see it that way.

I guess the point of my little tangent, which lost Lewis somewhere along the line, is that morality is tough on any level. I am so thankful for forgiveness.

Please visit my friend Sarah Salter if you'd like to read a more in depth discussion of this Chapter of Mere Christianity.

Children of God

2011-05-25T00:01:00.004-05:00

This week's book discussion focuses on Chapter 5, Book Two of Mere Christianity.

The passage which hit me right away, and my mind kept drifting back to while reading the rest, is this:

"In Christ, a new kind of man appeared: and the new kind of life which began in Him is to be put into us.

How is this to be done? Now, please remember how we acquired the old, ordinary kind of life. We derived it from others, from our father and mother and all our ancestors, without our consent- and by a very curious process involving pleasure, pain and danger. A process you would never have guessed. ... Now the God who arranged that process is the same God who arranged how the new kind of life- the Christ life- is to be spread. We must be prepared for it being odd too. He did not consult us when He invented sex: He has not consulted us when He invented this." (Mere Christianity, p.62)

I must admit to being amused by how Lewis points out that God didn't ask our opinion on sex (which a majority of us seem to like just fine, I gather), which really is an odd process when you think about it, so the concept of new life in Christ really was no odder than that, and at least as beautiful.

But what I really love is how this paragraph points me back to my favorite verse in the whole Bible. (I know it's supposed to be John 3:16, but I can't help it, this one makes my heart go pitter patter.)

John 1:12-13 But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man's decision but of God.

I just love how Jesus didn't just stop at saving me from destruction, but chose to make me a child of God. How awesome is that? That's what I call a new life!

I suppose there is a lot more "meat" to discuss in this chapter, but I can't think anymore. I keep coming back to being a child of God, and just feel thankful and elated. If you would like to read a deeper discussion of this Chapter, please click here. You will be transported to my friend Jason's blog, where you will find links to others posting on the same chapter.

Puddles on the Dance Floor

2011-05-24T15:32:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite old songs growing up was "Sway" by Dean Martin.

The funny thing is, it was my mother's LEAST favorite Dean Martin song. She misheard the lyrics as

Other dancers may pee on the floor
Dear but my eyes will see only you (kind of dangerous if they actually are peeing on the floor, no?)
Only you have the magic technique
When we sway I go wee (Great. Now we are both really in danger of slipping. Maybe we should just sit this one out...)

My mom knew that wasn't what he was singing, but somehow she couldn't get that picture out of her head during the song.

Much as I love the song, I like to kid people about the "violence" in it.
"I can hear the sound of violence long before it begins" (That would make you a great cop, but what does it have to do with dancing? Are you expecting to have to fight over me? Just let him cut in...)

My friend Katdish did an awesome post in January about misheard lyrics, with some hysterical comments.

If you are interested in what Dino is really singing, here it is..

When marimba rhythms start to play
Dance with me, make me sway
Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore
Hold me close, sway me more

Like a flower bending in the breeze
Bend with me, sway with ease
When we dance you have a way with me
Stay with me, sway with me

Other dancers may be on the floor
Dear, but my eyes will see only you
Only you have the magic technique
When we sway I go weak

I can hear the sounds of violins
Long before it begins
Make me thrill as only you know how
Sway me smooth, sway me now

Other dancers may be on the floor
Dear, but my eyes will see only you
Only you have the magic technique
When we sway I go weak

I can hear the sounds of violins
Long before it begins
Make me thrill as only you know howI'm labeling this as a "Life is Funny" post and linking this to my friend's blog to encourage her to bring the carnival back!
Sway me smooth, sway me now
You know how
Sway me smooth, sway me now

This video may be more to your taste. It's not Dino, but I still like it!

I'm linking back to my friend here, and hoping she brings back the "Life is Funny" blog carnival.

My Prayer Today

2011-05-23T14:22:00.001-05:00

My friend Jason hosts "Warrior Poet Circle" every other Monday.
I'm not sure which seems more convoluted, thinking of myself as a warrior or a poet, so though I admire both warriors and poets, I seldom participate. Today, however, the "assignment" is to write a prayer. That didn't seem so hard. I think I pray every day. So here it is. Not quite warrior like, not quite poetry. It is just my prayer today.

My Prayer Today

Thank you, Lord for loving me.
I often question why you do
When I myself would wipe me off my shoe if I could
I understand that Your Son washed me and dressed me in wedding clothes
But look at me!
I have gravy on my dress, my hair is a mess from dancing and my hands are sticky again!
If I could only stay clean and lovely
I'd understand that You love what He made me to become...
But how is it you can love me?
Because you made me in your image?
You mean I haven't rubbed that out?
I couldn't possibly rub that out?
Where is your image in me?
WHERE?
I DON'T SEE IT!
What?
The ability to love?
Then help me to love more greatly and more purely.
Help me to love even those unlovely
like me...
Then draw us together close to You

Accepting the Mystery

2011-05-18T15:45:00.000-05:00

Such is my own way of looking at what Christians call the Atonement. But remember this is only one more picture. Do not mistake it for the thing itself: and if it does not help you, drop it. (Mere Christianity, p. 61)

As I read the last paragraph of Chapter 4 Book Two of Mere Christianity, I was reminded of what Jesus said about one needing to be like a child to enter the kingdom of Heaven.

I have had the privilege of teaching the faith to children for seventeen years. While it didn't start out so in the beginning, my favorite part of the whole year is that day when some brave child asks about the great mysteries of the faith.

How can God have no beginning? Everything has a beginning!

How can God be three individual persons in one God? Yes, we know about the shamrock and St. Pat, but aren't those leaves really just part of the shamrock? So aren't Father, Son, and Holy Spirit just parts of God?

How can one man, no matter how good, pay for the sins of everyone in the whole world?

I can't pretend that any of those questions are easy. Each time the questions are asked, I have to ask the Holy Spirit to help me. Each time I have to ask the Holy Spirit to help my students accept. You know what? The Holy Spirit has not let me down ever!

My favorite part is when I look at their faces after doing my best to answer them, and then admitting that these things are a mystery to me, too. Indeed, great theologians have contemplated just such questions their whole lives long and come up with the answer "It really is a mystery." Many times I have seen the faces of the children who ask the question relax when they get that answer. They can accept a mystery. Some ask "Will we know when we get to Heaven?" My answer? "We will see God in Heaven face to face, so we just might. And if not, we can at least ask Him?"

Children are able to get the concept that if it doesn't help, they can drop it. My students have taught me well.

For more discussions about this Chapter of Mere Christianity, check out my friend Sarah's blog.

Road Trip

2011-05-17T00:01:00.002-05:00

This week's word for the One Word Blog Carnival is "road". Check out Peter's post, and the posts of those who link up to this blog carnival by clicking here.

I have had roads I dreamed of opened up to me, paved, with flowers bordering the sides.

I have had roads I hoped to travel blocked with impassable boulders and floods.

I have had roads I never wanted to walk along become the only one available to me.

I have roads I'm unsure of opened up before me, now.

But I have not traveled, nor will I ever travel, alone.

I have loved the following song from the first time I heard it, listening to the radio in my room as a teen. I loved it even more when I heard it while driving on an actual road for the first time. (I learned to drive when I was 23, after my daddy died.) I love it even more now that I look back at roads I've been on as well as to those I still hope to travel.

On the roads we travel both together and apart, Kyrie Eleison. Lord, have mercy!

The wind blows hard against this mountainside

Across the sea into my soul

It reaches in to where I cannot hide

Setting my feet upon the road

My heart is old it holds my memories

This heart it burns a gem like flame

Somewhere between the soul and soft machine

Is where I find myself again

Kyrie Elison down the road that I must travel

Kyrie Elison through the darkness of the night

Kyrie Elison where I go you will follow

Kyrie Elison on a highway in the light

When I was young I dreamed of growing old

Of what my life would mean to me

Would I have traveled down my chosen road

Or only wish that I could be

Kyrie Elison down the road that I must travel

Kyrie Elison through the darkness of the night

Kyrie Elison where I go you will follow

Kyrie Elison on a highway in the light

Lewis's Trilemma : I Choose to Believe Jesus is God

2011-05-11T10:33:00.000-05:00

"The better stuff a creature is made of- the cleverer, stronger and freer it is- then the better it will be if it goes right, but also the worse it will be if it goes wrong."

That is Clive's explanation as to why free will requires that evil be possible. For us to enjoy being with God forever in Heaven, there had to be another choice. He wants us to want Him, but to build us so that we had no choice would make us His slaves instead of His children. He created us to be His children. (And my heart soars and I praise Him in my heart for this.)

Chapter three, book two of Mere Christianity ends with a quote I have often read in other Christian books.

"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."

The women's prayer group I attend every other Monday has been reading a discussing the Gospel of John. Jesus actually refers to Himself as "I Am" (the Jewish name for God) in this Gospel. So yes, Lewis is right. One can believe that Jesus is either really really good, because He is God, or really really bad (or at least messed up) because He claims to be God and isn't, but "Great Moral Teacher" is an impossibility. If He is God, and I believe He is, then He is better than that, and if He isn't, well, how can He be moral while claiming to be one with the almighty if He isn't.

On a personal note: Why I believe Jesus is God, and not a madman.

Because He rose from the dead. I'm sure that until He rose from the dead, the best I could have believed is that He was mad and should be prevented from speaking publicly for His own sake. Sorry. (I know that sounds blasphemous, but He knows my heart, so hiding this thought is pretty silly.) Perhaps when He raised Lazarus, had I been around, I'd have allowed my heart to open a bit and allow for another possibility, as others did. But today, now, I believe Jesus is God because He rose from the dead, and there were witnesses. These witnesses did not live lives of comfort and luxury due to their testimony, but were beaten, burned, flayed, boiled and killed because of it. And still, they didn't retract because they knew the truth. There was no reward for them if they were lying, only pain and suffering. What made the pain and suffering worthwhile to them? The hope and belief in their own future resurrection. Had they been lying, they wouldn't have had such hope, and would have had no reason to claim Jesus rose.
I thank God for providing faithful witnesses to His Son's Resurrection so that I could and would believe.

May I be so bold as to ask you why you believe as you do?

Small Success Thursday on Tuesday!!!

2011-05-10T12:00:00.006-05:00

For some reason, a blog I follow is doing "Small Success Thursday" on a Tuesday. That's JUST random enough for me! :-)

1) I went to the gynecologist yesterday. I can watch a needle go into my arm and draw blood, but the sight of a speculum lying on the counter in plastic makes me feel faint. Really, it looks like it should be used to repair the exam table, when, in fact, it is a medieval torturing device. You women know what I mean. Gentlemen, I suggest you just nod your heads and move on to the next number. Do not google speculum. I repeat, gentlemen, do NOT google speculum.

2) I mailed out a note to a lady from a Church group I belong to who has been sick for awhile. We aren't close, so I didn't know what to write. I ended up writing the minutes of our last meeting with get well wishes and blessings on a note card with my initial on the front.

3) I have made arrangements to meet my husband's best friend's girlfriend. They have only been going out for three years. What's the rush, right? ;-)

Go to "Chocolate for Your Brain" to see Sherri's successes and those of others who have linked up.

My Strength is My Weakness

2011-05-04T09:56:00.000-05:00

While this is not what the cover of my
copy looks like, I think it is prettier, and
that my blog deserves the prettier picture.

Today we are discussing Chapter two of Book Two in Mere Christianity. I know that I missed last week's discussion. My husband was on vacation and we spent so much time holding hands, that I wasn't able to type. I need both hands to type. That's just the way my mind works. I learned using all my fingers (but not my thumbs, except on the space bar) to type, so now more than twenty years later, I must use all my fingers to type a blog post. I imagine this generation feels that way about their thumbs for texting, but I digress. We are supposed to be discussing Mere Christianity, not our thumbs, so quit distracting me and let's get down to discussing!

Clive explains in the chapter why Dualism proves false. The gist of it is that evil is a perversion of what is good. Evil can not exist without the good, so therefore the good not only had to have come first, and foremost, and evil has to be rebellion to that good. It makes sense to me.

Years ago I remember reading a series in a Chicago paper about how to conduct oneself in a job interview. I didn't like everything I read. Come to think of it, all these years later, I don't even remember everything I read, but what I do remember quite well is the suggestion by the author that when the interviewer asks what our greatest weakness is, we should play it off of whatever our greatest strength is. For example, my greatest strength is that if I really want to fix something, I will stay with it until it is fixed. The weakness is that this determination can turn to a sort of stubbornness where I stay with something that can not be fixed and waste time and energy. I have since worked on this weakness by giving myself time limits and learning to put a thing aside for a bit and reassess later. Often after putting it aside, a solution will come to my mind. Other times, whatever I distracted myself with will loom more important at that point, and I will decide to let it go. My point is that I can see how something good can be turned into something bad. I'm sure mine isn't the only strength which can be turned into a weakness. My guess would be that the only strength that can't be twisted like that is love for the Lord.

While my example is merely small potatoes, Clive manages to describe how Christianity's position on the devil being an entity created by God for something good who then went into rebellion makes more logical sense than a belief that evil and good are equal and opposite forces, with evil being entirely independent of the good (Dualism).

Please visit my friend Sarah, where you will find her take on Chapters 1 and 2 from Book Two of Mere Christianity, and links to more discussions of Chapter 2.

What do you think? Are our weaknesses related to our strengths?

Crazy Eights

2011-05-03T09:16:00.001-05:00

Today the one word blog carnival over on Peter Pollock's blog is about games. I like games. When I was growing up, my parents, grandma, uncles, and cousins played cards when we got together. My favorites were Crazy Eights and Gin Rummy. We used to play for points, lowest points win. I can still see my cousin Diane's young face over my shoulder helping me keep score. I didn't mind keeping score, though I would have balked at having to do half that amount of math work for homework! Even if you weren't score keeper, you had to add your own hand, and yes, people were watching. In Crazy Eights, eights (the free card for changing suits) and twos ("pick up two!") were worth more than their face value. In our variation of the game, an eight was worth sixty-four points. I forgot how much a two was worth, but it was more than itself squared, though still less than sixty four. I remember eights being the worse thing to get stuck with in the end. They were great to have in the beginning when dealt, but not so great if you were holding them when someone else won.

I suppose I should say something spiritual here, perhaps suggesting that we are eights because we are worth so much more than our "face value" to God, or that finishing the game with a special card still in hand is not a life well lived, or something like that. But I'm not. I'm just going to enjoy remembering the laughter of my parents and grandmother, and the smiling youthful faces of my cousins. Or is that the other way around? Maybe I should invite what's left of the family over for a game of Crazy Eights, so that we all can share the memory.
What about you? What are the games you remember bonding over? Care to share any memories with us?

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T00:01:00.000-05:00

Click here for the source of this translation.

1. And death now, vanished is the fear now,
banished are my tears now,
death has passed away.

2. The kingdom, praise to God, the kingdom!
Raised up to the kingdom,
we shall live in love.

3. Our gladness, blessful in our gladness,
this will be our gladness,
that he is alive.

4. With him then, die and live with him then,
rise and sing our hymn then,
sing alleluia.

Happy Earth Day!

2011-04-22T00:01:00.022-05:00

Those of you who know me are probably shocked that today of all days, I have written a post titled "Happy Earth Day!" Either that, or you are shocked that there isn't a picture of an alien at the top of this post, with the caption "Save the Earth: we may want to colonize it one day." (Courtesy of Shoebox Greetings™ by Hallmark™-- I read it on a coffee mug I broke about ten years ago). But today is not a day I can joke about saving the Earth: today we commemorate the day the Earth actually was saved.

Romans 8:19-25 ¹⁹ For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

On the day Jesus Christ died, he completed our redemption, and that of creation.

2 Peter 3:12-14 ¹² as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. ¹³ But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

Just as I won't see my redemption until the "end" of my life, the earth won't look redeemed until it's "end". Yet in Christ I have the hope for myself, my loved ones, and indeed the whole earth, that we are being renewed.

Do I wish to discourage anyone from sacrificing their time, energy, or resources by limiting their consumption of oil, plastic, or some other material good for the comfort of others? No, I think sacrifice for others is something that done for the right reasons, can glorify the Lord. But you, I, and all of us together do NOT need to save the earth: that has already been done.

John 19:30 "It is finished."

Blest Are They Who...

2011-04-21T13:06:00.001-05:00

Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted. (Matthew 5:4 NIV)

Be Not Afraid

You shall cross the barren desert, but you shall not die of thirst.

You shall wander far in safety though you do not know the way.
You shall speak your words in foreign lands and all will understand.
You shall see the face of God and live.

Be not afraid.
I go before you always;
Come follow me,
and I will give you rest.

If you pass through raging waters in the sea, you shall not drown.
If you walk amid the burning flames, you shall not be harmed.
If you stand before the pow'r of hell and death is at your side,
know that I am with you through it all.

Be not afraid.
I go before you always;
Come follow me,
and I will give you rest.

Blessed are your poor, for the kingdom shall be theirs.
Blest are you that weep and mourn, for one day you shall laugh.
And if wicked men insult and hate you all because of me,
blessed, blessed are you!

Be not afraid.
I go before you always;
Come follow me,
and I will give you rest.

This picture of Kristi was on one of her blog posts.

Today my friends and I are "blest" to mourn a dear lady ,Kristi, "watershack lady", @pagan43 on the twitter. One day, when we are in heaven with her, we will all enjoy a good laugh, and the tears we shed today will make the joy we feel then all the sweeter. Indeed, the tears we shed then will equal and surpass those we shed now, but they will be tears of joy and not loss. We shall all be restored to one another. It is the having had the treasure of her friendship, and it's restoration, which is the blessing.

Progressive Retreat

2011-04-20T00:01:00.008-05:00

Still not bedazzled.

This week's discussion of Mere Christianity is on Chapter 5: We Have Cause to be Uneasy.

We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive. (Mere Christianity, p.36)

God bless Clive, he expressed my problem with stubbornness to the letter. He even goes on to describe a math problem. That was always my problem in math: admitting that the time I spent on a problem was wasted and I needed to start over.

I never could grasp the notion "You learn from your mistakes." My daddy always said "SMART people learn from other people's mistakes." I seem to have interpreted that to mean that I can only learn from my mistakes if I'm dumb enough to admit them. I know my daddy meant well by not leaving an excuse hanging there, but looking back, I don't think it kept me from making mistakes, just admitting them and turning around.

Changing my mind was also seen as a weakness. Any decision, even the buying of curtains that turn out not to match the kitchen, has to be lived with until said curtains wear out, or it's time to repaint the kitchen. (The colors in the kitchen also have to be lived with until paint chips. Then it will be hard for me to decide on a color because I know I'll have to live with it forever an a day. I have, however, shaken things up by moving the kitchen curtains in the bedroom and the bedroom curtains in the kitchen, which is working out rather nicely for us.)

Not THE floor lamp, but similar to it.

How does my husband feel about this? I think he'd rather be married to a woman who considers it her prerogative to change her mind than to a woman who argued with him for purchasing the wrong lamp and then argued that I didn't want him to take it back. I didn't want the Customer Service department at Value City to think of us as weak, even though this kind of thing is actually in their job description. Funny thing is, he won that argument, and I enjoy that floor lamp! I can be so indecisive sometimes because I know I can't turn back that I make him twitchy. I can also cause tension by insisting that retreat equal defeat.

There is no denying, though, that Clive makes a good point that I need to take to heart and ponder. It may lead to the solution of more problems than of which I am aware. After all, he was talking about spiritual and intellectual stuff, not about decorating my kitchen. Though I'm sure he would have been most happy to help with it. Then my husband could have handed him a paint brush when he okayed painting the kitchen lilac, with white trim.

What progress awaits me? I don't know yet. I suppose I have to turn back and find out.

Does Homedepot™ sell drop cloths?

This week, my friend Sarah at "Living Between the Lines" is hosting the book discussion on Chapter 5 of Mere Christianity. Click here to join her.

Have You Ever Ridden on a Duck?

2011-04-19T01:18:00.105-05:00

Have you ever been to the Wisconsin Dells? There are two parts to this vacation. One can travel on either a boat or a"DUCK" to see the actual Dells of the Wisconsin River. Then there is the touristy stuff. Both are fun and worthwhile. But neither is an adventure!
About ten years ago, Bob and I thought going to the Dells would be fun. Bob suggested, though, that instead of staying on strip, we stay in a fishing resort in Poynette, Wisconsin. (No, Bob does not fish) I figured this was one of those "six of one, half a dozen of the other" situations. It was near enough to Lake Delton to get there in about twenty minutes, but far enough from there that we wouldn't be kept up at night with partyers. Besides, we wanted to visit Circus World Museum in Baraboo, so it wasn't like we just wanted to eat at Paul Bunyan's, ride the boat and the DUCK,

Not necessarily a Wisconsin "DUCK", but a "DUCK" nonetheless.

see Tommy Bartlett's show, and visit Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum. We wanted to do other things, too!

When we got, there, Bob saw that next door to where we were (it was a lovely place, but by "resort", they mean we had a cabin with a bathroom, not some fancy schmancy place) staying was a boat rental place right on the river. He thought renting a pontoon boat and exploring the river sounded like fun. Again, I thought "six of one, have a dozen of the other". (Really, wherever we go, that's where the party is at, so it doesn't really matter where we are...) So, on a five day trip to "the Dells" we were planning to spend one day in Baraboo, and one day on the river.

Well, we tell the owner of the boat rental place that we are newbies, and he shows us how to drive it. Then we go for a lovely ride on the river and dock at a nice little restaurant. We had a nice lunch, and decided it was time to head back so we could return the boat on time.

Well, it on the way back, the boat ends up getting stuck in sandbars, and we have to get out and push the boat out, then hop back in it. That was all well and good when the water came up to our knees. But at one point, the boat drifted away from us too quickly, and we had to swim a few hundred feet after it! Now, Bob and I tried climbing over the side as we had before, but there was too much boat sticking out of the water, so we swam along side of it for a while. Then we tried getting in from the back, and that worked much better. We got in the boat, I looked at Bob, and then I laughed and laughed and laughed. I'm afraid we didn't take pictures of the event (after all, who could forget...) but the picture to the right reminds me of him when we got back in the boat that day. Poor guy. A proper wife would have been worried that he and I would catch a chill, but I couldn't get over how funny he looked! Bob, bless him, was just glad I was taking things in stride. Either that, or he was worried that I cracked up. I'm not sure which.
Afterwards things seemed to go rather smoothly, at least until we realized that nothing looked familiar. It seems we went down the wrong branch! Nothing to worry about though, as they connected just past where we were staying. The owner of the shop was getting worried about his boat because it was almost closing time, and the weather had changed. (Did I mention it had started to rain? Woops.) He saw us and towed us back in, while I laughed and laughed.
What was so funny? Nothing really. I was just filled with joy that everything worked out okay, and that Bob and I had faced our adventure working things out together and not griping at each other and bickering. Love is not easily angered, and I was so glad to be sharing any and all adventures with Bob, whom I love so much, and loves me as well. I hope they all turn out as well, with us at the right destination when everything is all said and done.

This is being submitted to the One Word blog carnival at Peter Pollock's blog. Today's One Word is adventure.
(I had thought this would make a good "Life is Funny" post, too, but my friend hasn't been hosting her blog carnival lately.)

"F" is for Facebook, and Other Words As Well

2011-04-18T12:13:00.002-05:00

I had a rather humbling experience on Saturday. Now, normally it is good when awesome people have a humbling experience because it keeps them likable. I am of the opinion though that I may be a bit less likable to some of my friends now, especially those who are on facebook.

I shall start at the very beginning. According to the movie The Sound of Music, "tis a very good place to start..." I checked my email around 1:00 p.m. and noticed a link from a friend. She used to send links to the cutest things, but she hasn't in a while. My first thought was "Great! She's BAack!". I read the message, which was in "event" form with a link to find out who has been looking me up. I figured if she sent it , it had to be SUPER cute! Well, it wasn't, and I can no more blame her for "sending" it than I can myself for clicking it. You see, as soon as I clicked it, I had friends emailing me "NO! HELEN!! IT'S SPAM!!!" No, they did not mean the delicious luncheon meat. I proceeded to look at my facebook page and find "Wtf... I just found out you've been stalking me... .lol" and other such nonsense was posted on my friends' walls in my name. The link was also sent in my name to all of my facebook friends.

I did not know what to do. First I tried to send everyone a note, but notes aren't what I thought they were... Then I tried to send messages telling people what happened and not to click, but you can only do twenty at a time. I tried to work alphabetically, but was so nervous, I realized that I missed some people and were sending doubles to others. It was time to give up, because I was making a bad situation worse.

I tried to delete the message from my friends' walls. I hope I got to everybody. It's no longer on my wall, so I can only assume I had. Just as I was about to give up, I figured out how to "cancel" the event, and add a message explaining what happened. A few people sent messages saying "no sweat", and the rest seem to be ignoring the whole thing as just poop that happened and had been cleaned up.

So why do I think I'm less likable? Truth be told, it has little to do with what happened on Saturday. You see, I got the same "stalking" message on my wall a few months ago. It was made to look like it came from a facebook friend I went to High School with. In all honesty, I don't remember this person, but recognized that she was friended by other friends from High School, and when I checked her info I saw that she did indeed go to the same High School I did. When I saw the "stalker" message, instead of thinking "spam", I got a flashback to all the pain I went through in High School and even though I don't remember if she was friend or foe, I thought to myself "B____! I'm not the one who looked you up, remember? How am I the stalker?" The only thing that kept me from leaving that as a comment was pride. I didn't want to show myself as one who didn't outgrow her insecurities, so I deleted the message from my wall, and moved on. The only reason I didn't defriend her was because I didn't know how, and was too proud to waste an hour on someone else's cruel joke.

But it wasn't her cruel joke, just like it wasn't my cruel joke. Someone else is messing with the feelings of strangers, causing hurt and wedges. (Unless, of course, I'm the only one dumb enough to have ever taken it seriously. Even then, though, time and effort was wasted.)

I haven't figured out if it would have been better if I had admitted to feeling hurt or not. Obviously reacting in anger would have been wrong, but should I have eventually commented "Why? Do you want to defriend?" Or is it best that I quietly stewed, because this lady has no way to know what I was thinking unless she actually clicks on to my blog now?

What do I know? That I have been humbled by making the same mistake she did, and having the same cruel words fly around the blogasphere in my name. If you were a recipient, and you were not on the receiving end of an apology, please accept mine now.

Hopefully this apology goes over better than the Angry Birds' Peace Treaty.

A Book and It's Cover

2011-04-14T00:01:00.002-05:00

I know we are not supposed to judge a book by it's cover, but seriously, I am tired of having to use this boring picture for my posts on Mere Christianity. There are pictures of that book with snazzier covers (which my blog deserves), but wouldn't it be lying if I were to use those pictures instead of the picture of the cover I have? I'm beginning to regret telling Sarah and Jason to remove me from the book giveaway drawing because I already had the book. I should have stayed in the contest, then passed my copy on to Duane or Dusty after I won. But did I think of that in time? No. Now my snazzy blog is marred by that boring cover, sitting there off to the side, mocking me for being such a dope. With the word "Christianity" in it's title, you'd think it would be above mocking me, but it's not. It had better be careful, or I'll take out my glitter and sequins, glue it to my copy, and upload the picture here! That out to teach it not to taunt me!

Speaking of disturbing, I just looked up my reading history on my local library's website. Apparently I read over 200 library books in the last three years. That means that the amount of money I would have spent would have been between $667 (paperback) and $2,000 (hardcover) yearly. BTW, I still buy some books, and get some as gifts. My point? I am grateful for libraries, because $2000 would blow quite a huge hole in my budget. My husband has never complained that I don't have a job, and we do just fine, but that is a lot of money! (Which, writer's, publisher's, book binders, printers, etc. all deserve btw!)

Now that the weather is getting nicer, I'm going to spend more time outdoors, reading and gardening and walking. I'll need more bug spray. I LOVE the smell of OFF!™ bug spray. I have ever since I was a little kid. I'd wear it as perfume, but Bob discourages that, especially in the winter. Oh well. Nobody is perfect.

Here is a taste of the disturbing future: next Tuesday you will have the opportunity to read a post where I mention rideable ducks. Enjoy the picture I'm leaving in your head.

For more disturbing thoughts, please check out Duane Scott's Pleasantly Disturbed Thursday Blog Carnival

Unobservable, But Real Nonetheless

2011-04-13T08:59:00.001-05:00

I'm starting to regret not buying a new book.
My blog deserves a snazzier cover!

In Chapter 4, Lewis makes the point that science is all about observable fact. But God cannot be known fully by mere observable fact any more than man can. If one were to observe Man as a whole, one would not be able to determine any such thing as a natural moral law. But because we are men (in the non gender specific meaning of the term), we know what Man is like far better than we would from mere observation. If man is unknowable by mere observation, how much more so God.
He then uses the example of a mail carrier to explain.

Suppose someone asked me, when I see a man in blue uniform going down the street leaving little paper packets at each house, why I suppose that they contain letters? I should reply, ‘Because when ever he leaves a similar little packet for me I find it does contain a letter.’ And if he then objected—’But you’ve never seen all these letters which you think the other people are getting,’ I should say, ‘Of course not, and I shouldn’t expect to, because they’re not addressed to me. I’m explaining the packets I’m not allowed to open by the ones I am allowed to open.’ It is the same about this question. The only packet I am allowed to open is Man. When I do, especially when I open that particular man called Myself, I find that I do not exist on my own, that I am under a law; that somebody or something wants me to behave in a certain way. I do not, of course, think that if I could get inside a stone or a tree I should find exactly the same thing, just as I do not think all the other people in the street get the same letters as I do. I should expect, for instance, to find that the stone had to obey the law of gravity—that whereas the sender of the letters merely tells me to obey the law of my human nature, he compels the stone to obey the laws of its stony nature. But I should expect to find that there was, so to speak, a sender of letters in both cases, a Power behind the facts, a Director, a Guide. (Mere Christianity, p.34)

Yes, belief in God is "unscientific" but that is only because science is too small, not because it is more real.

Last week, I wasn't very patient reviewing Chapter 3. That was mainly because I felt that people who deny the existence of a moral law do so because of twistedness. I suppose that isn't fair. It's like someone judging me for not being able to wrap my poor little brain around Calculus, accept that this is more important. (Really. We all need God. We don't all need Calculus). But if I did need to learn Calculus, I would need someone to take me into it with small little baby steps, starting with what I already knew, and then helping me understand one bit at a time. That's exactly what Lewis is doing here. In other words, sorry about last week. :-)

Click here for more brilliant discussions of Chapter 4 in Mere Christianity

Happy Birthday, Wendy!

2011-04-12T13:08:00.000-05:00

Today is my friend Wendy's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WENDY!!!!

You can click here to find her on the Twitter!

I know how you love this song! ENJOY!!

You're welcome.

The Reality of the Law: Explaining the Obvious

2011-04-06T11:07:00.001-05:00

It begins to look as if we shall have to admit that there is more than one kind of reality; that, in this particular case, there is more than one kind of reality; that, in this particular case, there is something above and beyond the ordinary facts of men's behaviour, and yet quite definitely real- a real law, which none of us made, but which we find pressing on us. (Mere Christianity, p. 30)

What I really like about Clive Staples Lewis is how he can state these philosophical ideas so simply, even I can understand him. :-) Okay, I'm not exactly dumb... when I was in college, I was actually considered to be intelligent. However, I got tired of the mind ______ (insert word which a lady ought not to say, write, or think). It seems that people will argue things they don't even believe in philosophy, just to prove themselves to have more supple minds than their opponents. I don't want a twisted mind, thank you very much! I'd rather look dumb than become twisted!

That is not to say that all philosophers are twisted. I have a friend who is trying to convince someone on her blog that people have souls. I find it difficult to participate because the person she is discussing this with is playing the mind game thing.. He can contradict himself right and left so long as he doesn't give in to what she is saying an inch! I can't deal with that poop. Not anymore!

What does this have to do with Clive? It seems to me he is stating the obvious, yet I know it isn't "obvious " to everyone, or at least that not everyone wants to understand this. He writes in Chapter 3 about how their are laws of Nature such as how a rock must fall or a tree must grow under certain conditions, but there is no such law for people. People aren't even governed by the rule of convenience, since we might despise and distrust someone who would be a traitor to their country for their own convenience, even if they were the enemy and their treachery made it easier for us. People are moved by something deeper, something that is at the core of our nature.

We don't always follow it, but when we don't, we feel shame. We know we are wrong. God put this law in each of our hearts. I believe sometimes we bury it, and maybe even convince ourselves that it isn't there, but is just a manmade idea that we have been shamed and guilted into believing. But that doesn't explain how even then, we know when someone has wronged us.

There are some things that shouldn't have to be explained, but I have to admit, Clive Staples Lewis does a great job explaining them with patience.

If you would like to read more discussions on what Clive has to say in Chapter 3, please check out my friend Sarah's blog, and the posts linked in her discussion. I can almost guarantee that no one else is using the term "mind ____"

Earthly Treasure Points to Heavenly Treasure

2011-04-05T09:22:00.000-05:00

(Yes, my parents did listen to this song when I was a child. You don't run across this song by accident over the interwebs, even when searching youtube "Schatzi only polka".)

I think I may have mentioned before that my daddy was Hungarian. I may have also mentioned that my father and mother had friends here in Chicago who were from his village. Somehow among those friends was a German couple. I don't remember their names. They were not among the group very often. The only thing I really remember about them is that the man pronounced my last name in the German way, not the American, and that he called his wife "Schatzi". I'm not sure if that was her name or not. I found out later, when I was learning German in High School, that "schatzi" means treasure. Isn't that a beautiful thing to call someone, whether it is a given name, or a nickname?
I can understand how one could call their spouse a treasure. My Bob is a real treasure. In Ephesians it says " Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ". I can truly see that my husband's goal is to do exactly that, every day. What a blessing to me! I know my husband isn't perfect (who is?), but when I see how he loves me, and I think about how Jesus, who is perfect, loves me so much more, I feel like a treasure!
So what is my treasure? I guess it's only truthful to say I have two. Bob, whose goodness, patience, and faithfulness points me to my ultimate treasure, Jesus.

Yes, I do treasure his creativity and sense of humor.

Today we have the One Word at a Time blog carnival over on Peter Pollock's blog. Today's one word is treasure. Click here to find out what others have to say about treasure.

Happy April Fool's Day!

2011-04-01T14:29:00.000-05:00

Thank you to Photobucket for the image, and Matt for the idea.

I don't do pranks. Okay, maybe a little... My idea of a good prank is to hide the salt shaker, then put it right in front of the plate of the person who asked for it when they are distracted and turn away. I know. I'm a wild woman.

I guess I just have a lot to learn about pranking....

(OH WAIT! There was the time I... Nah. I'll save it for when Wendy starts up the Life is Funny blog carnival again.)

Please describe your favorite prank, done by you or to you, in the comment section. Thanks for teaching me!

Lewis on Standards

2011-03-30T10:14:00.001-05:00

When you think about these differences between the morality of one people and another, do you think that the morality of one people is ever better or worse than that of another? Have any of the changes been improvements? If not, then of course there could never be any moral progress. Progress means not just changing, but changing for the better.If no set of moral ideas were truer or better than any other, there would be no sense in preferring civilised morality to savage morality, or Christian morality to Nazi morality....The moment you say that one set of moral ideas can be better than another, you are, in fact, measuring them both by a standard, saying that one of them conforms to that standard more nearly than the other.....Or put it this way. If your moral ideas can be truer, and those of the Nazis less true, there must be something—some Real Morality—for them to be true about.....if the Rule of Decent Behaviour meant simply ‘whatever each nation happens to approve’, there would be no sense in saying that any one nation had ever been more correct in its approval than any other; no sense in saying that the world could ever grow morally better or morally worse. (Mere Christianity, p. 25)

I'm sorry if I put too large of a passage up to quote, but it seems to me that so much of what Lewis (Clive. Do you think he'd be okay with me calling him "Clive"? "C.S."? Okay, I'll stick with "Lewis") says requires his further explanation. Even within the context of the above quote, Lewis gives an excellent example of how one can have the wrong or right idea of New York, only because it is a real place. If it only existed in our own heads, it would be a matter of maybe that's true for you but not me, but since it is real, one's idea of it can be complete or incomplete.

I like that he says we can only judge the Nazis as wrong because there is a standard of moral conduct from which they fall short. (Very, very, very short.) Today we like to be understanding and tolerant of other nations (with such humility that it seems to me we barely tolerate ourselves, but I digress) but the atrocities committed by the Nazis were so monstrous, so far from the Rule of Decent Behavior, that even with the distance of seventy years, there is no way to see their actions from a point of view other than horror. But if we simply went by the definition "whatever each nation happens to approve", why is their behavior considered by us to be so shocking, atrocious, repugnant, savage, ruthless... wrong even? (I mean, really, could you think of any other example were the word "sinful" just didn't seem strong enough?)

There is a standard, and it is born in every one of us. This means that it is impossible for us to be "tolerant" all the time, or else we fall into the trap of tolerating what is immoral, and thus becoming immoral ourselves.

My friend Jason is hosting the book discussion on Mere Christianity, Chapter Two today. Click here to read his thoughts on progress, and the links to other discussions of this chapter.

The First Twitter Ho Down Post of March

2011-03-25T15:16:00.005-05:00

Do you know what we haven't had here in ages? A HO DOWN! A twitter ho down to be exact. This time I've made it easy for you, and you can just follow along like it was a conversation. I know. I'm spoiling you.

dlrayburn @duane_scott So how is your "daddy" doing?

duane_scott @dlrayburn are you asking me who my daddy is? Really.

jasonvana @duane_scott @dlrayburn #awkward

Helenatrandom @duane_scott @dlrayburn I HATE the expression "Who's your daddy?" Ummm.... a man who'd beat the crap out of any man who'd ASK me that...

dlrayburn @duane_scott Drink some more coffee buddy... that said How not who. ;-)

katdish Random fact: The honey bee kills more people each year than venomous snakes. Happy Spring, y'all!

Helenatrandom katdish Okay, now I feel guilty for putting honey in my whiskey (medicinal purposes only...). Now I'll have to learn to drink it straight.

RobinMArnold Pretty sure my phone is laying dead somewhere in the house. Not sure I care.

Helenatrandom@RobinMArnold PHONICIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Shouldn't you get the CSI's down there, ASAP?

Helenatrandom @br8kthru @sarahmsalter BTW, is it too late for me to take my name out of the drawing for Mere Christianity? I told my husband about the

Helenatrandom @br8kthru @sarahmsalter the book discussion, and he forbade me... KIDDING!!!! Actually, he dug his copy out of a box in the basement and

sarahmsalter @Helenatrandom LOL! You should've seen how big my eyes just got!! :o) @br8kthru

Helenatrandom@sarahmsalter I know. Sometimes my sense of humor is a little.... "too much?" @br8kthru

Helenatrandom @Psych_USA Why pineapple? Because it's the symbol of hospitality? Because of it's odd shape? Because bananas are too suggestive? WHY???

Schnik I really want to announce something exciting but I'm waiting on one more thing before I do. Stay tuned.

Helenatrandom@Schnik Suspense!! Do you know how to keep a lunatic in suspense for 24 hours?

Helenatrandom @Schnik hehehehehehe!!!!!!!! I'll tell you tomorrow!!! :-0

Helenatrandom My cousin just sent me an email telling me how he doubled the value of his car! He filled it with gas.

funnyoneliners "My chicken outranks your chicken, Colonel Sanders!" - General Tso RT @zombot

RobinMArnold Meat eaters don't taste good." Guy talking about lions on Terry Gross show. Interesting.

Helenatrandom@RobinMArnold One more reason to not become a vegetarian...

duane_scott “@weightwhat: @duane_scott I do what I can.” // Care to give me a name for a character? A wife who's married to a surgeon. She's 38.

@weightwhat @duane_scott What's the surgeon's name?

duane_scott @weightwhat Roy. He's 40 and balding. @Helenatrandom

Helenatrandom@duane_scott What is she like? Is she 40 and balding? Is she a trophy wife? Booby prize wife? @weightwhat

Helenatrandom @duane_scott Are you looking for a whimsical name? Dickensian? @weightwhat

weightwhat @Helenatrandom AAAAA!!!! You said booby!

@Helenatrandom@weightwhat Yep. And I got you to say it, too!

As if the Northern States Didn't Have Enough Problems

2011-03-24T14:36:00.000-05:00

Time for yet another Pleasantly Disturbed Thursday!

Okay, talk about a disturbing morning! While I was attempting to leave a comment while attributing it to a Muppet on my friend's blog, the power went out in my house. I'm sure taking a Muppet's name in vain had nothing to do with it, but it was certainly a bummer! On the other hand, when I heard the generator go on, I was relieved to find out that at least my computer wasn't broken. It scared the daylights out of me.

BTW, exactly what does "scared the daylights out of me" mean? My Mama always used to say that, and I much prefer it to the more popular phrase of which I actually do understand the meaning so I won't use it. (I mean, really, why would anyone want to admit to that?) Daylights are a much prettier picture, but I'm still not entirely sure what I'm saying got scared out of me.

Also disturbing is that even though it is spring, I woke up to see snow on my lawn and the surrounding rooftops. I'm so over snow! Of course, the first hot July day, and I'm going to want snow in a cone, but that's besides the point, right? (I know. Mark Twain said that everyone complains about the weather, but no one does anything about it. Well guess what. He's dead now. So there!)

OH YEAH! HAPPY CHOCOLATE COVERED RAISIN DAY! I have a friend who considers any kind of raisin disturbing. Not me, though. I only find them disturbing when they are covered in chocolate, or mixed into cookies or bread. I truly get not wasting the grape just because it got dried out. I just don't understand ruining the chocolate, cookie, or bread with it. By itself, eating it is a matter of conservation, and I do try to do my part for the environment. (For instance, I only fart in the direction of Wisconsin. As for Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, and Missouri, you're welcome!) But I don't see what chocolate, bread, or cookies did that they have to share the burden. (Same logic for Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, and Missouri.)

Well, Duane Scott said to type all the disturbing thoughts I have in twenty minutes for PDT posts, so it seems my time is up. If you want more disturbing thoughts, check out his blog and others who linked to his PDT blog carnival.

Right and Wrong

2011-03-23T11:21:00.000-05:00

Remember last week I posted that I was joining a book discussion on C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity? Today we discuss the first chapter, "The Law of Human Nature". My friend Sarah is hosting the discussion today, where you can find several links to other blogs discussing this chapter.

I'm glad I don't have to give a synopsis of the whole chapter (all FOUR pages), because every paragraph he writes says a mouthful! (though so far, not difficult at all to understand). Take parts of these two paragraphs.

" I know that some people say the idea of a Law of Nature or decent

behaviour known to all men is unsound, because different civilisations and

different ages have had quite different moralities."

"But this is not true.........for our present purpose I need only ask the reader to think what a totally different

morality would mean. Think of a country where people were admired for

running away in battle, or where a man felt proud of double-crossing all the

people who had been kindest to him. You might just as well try to imagine a

country where two and two made five. Men have differed as regards what

people you ought to be unselfish to-whether it was only your own family, or

your fellow countrymen, or everyone. But they have always agreed that you

ought not to put yourself first. Selfishness has never been admired. Men

have differed as to whether you should have one wife or four. But they have

always agreed that you must not simply have any woman you liked."

All people will agree "What is mine is mine." We all feel entitled to our property. The question is whether what is yours is negotiable... I suppose Lewis would say the answer to that is dependent on whom "you" are in various cultures. Are you my family or friend? My neighbor? My protector? Different cultures may differ as to who gets treated with unselfishness, but not about what constitutes the rights of the chosen.

I find his take refreshing compared to the “truth is relative” nonsense we hear so much in our own culture.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!!!!!! - One Word Blog Carnival

2011-03-22T11:44:00.001-05:00

Courtesy of Photobucket

It's time for the one word blog carnival again, and this week the one word is goals.

(I'm not entirely sure, but I think that the guy in the video scored a goal.....)

I can't say I remember the last time I scored a significant goal. Was it as a child, playing kickball? Was it graduating from college? Perhaps it was when I began my teaching career. Wait! I have it! I organized my kitchen in February! Yay for me! Too bad I didn't think of asking a friend to scream "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" when I was done. (Though I do have an aunt who informed me she was very proud of me for getting started on organizing my home...)

I wonder what that would be like to have that commentator narrating my day.

I finished a load of dishes.
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!!!!!!!!

I completed the lettering for the boys' projects for the retreat.
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!!!!!!!!!

I called the Parish Office to find out if D. J. is a boy or a girl.
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!!!!!!!

I finished reading the Introduction of Mere Christianity.
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I started dinner for the evening.
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My husband and I arrived at the Evangelization Committee Meeting at Church.
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!!!!!!!!

At, first it sounds like it would be great, but to have an unbiased commentary, it would have to include when I was being distracted by twitter before loading the dishwasher, grumbling at the letters that were sticking together, procrastinating calling the Parish Office because I'm afraid that the secretary doesn't like me, reading the comics before C. S. Lewis, taking the frozen chicken patties out of the freezer instead of making a homemade meal today, and talking about mundane things at the meeting before getting down to work.

When push comes to shove, it's all pretty meaningless in and of itself. Dishes will need to be done once again, as well as dinner be made. The retreat will be over on Saturday. The meeting may or may not accomplish anything. If I fully comprehend every word Lewis wrote, will it affect even one person's life?

There is only one way any of my day to day goals have any meaning.

⁹ So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.

(or in fuller context)

⁸ We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. ¹⁰ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

If God is pleased in some small way that my husband and I have dinner (and on clean plates, too!), or that little children will have a project organized for them, or that my mind is filled with Lewis's thoughts rather than those of the writers' of CSI, or that we meet and discuss how to bring people's hearts closer to him rather than we stay home and watch NCIS, well then, I guess there is dignity in the accomplishment of even the smallest goal.

I think this post is done.....

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

New Book Discussion Next Week : Mere Christianity

2011-03-16T12:53:00.003-05:00

My friends Jason and Sarah will be hosting another book discussion. This time the book is C.S. Lewis's "Mere Christianity".

My husband dug out his copy and gave it to me, so I will be participating in the discussion here at Random Musings, as will Duane Scott and Dusty Rayburn. I'm sure DS and DR will be far more insightful than I'll be. I'm afraid I just don't have the head for philosophy that I did half my life ago...

However, I am still looking forward to reading and discussing Lewis. Lewis is as relevant now as he was in the middle of the twentieth century! Lewis's trilemma will always be relevant.

"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. ... Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God."

He wrote that in Mere Christianity, but truth be told, I found it as a quote at the end of Lee Strobel's The Case for Christ. The only C.S. Lewis I've read are the Chronicles of Narnia, and a book of quotations. I'm torn between looking forward to reading this book, and fearing that I won't be able to wrap more poor little brain around most of what he has to say. Luckily it has been decreed that we can pick a segment from the chapter to discus in our posts, rather than a synopsis of the whole chapter. I'm not sure my mind can feast on Lewis, but it will definitely nibble!

The Future: It's in the Cards (or Not)

2011-03-09T11:49:00.000-06:00

Okay, I goofed yesterday. I did not remember what the One Word blog carnival was even going to be about, much less was I prepared to participate. However, I have had some time to reflect on the word Future since yesterday. Actually, I have been reflecting on it all weekend, I just didn't know it was the word for the blog carnival.
Saturday I saw Carmen in 3D. I really enjoyed it. Surprisingly, one of the scenes that stirred my imagination was the scene with the tarot cards.

Over and over she sees the omen of her death in the cards, even though she tries again.... It had me thinking about how much she further and further pushed Don Jose away after seeing that. Did she push him away because, as the beginning of the story implies, she's just like that, or did she push him away because she saw him as an enemy in the cards? Did he kill her in the end because he was an obsessive nutcase, or because he was told over and over again by her that he would? Is the future really so set in stone, that it was just the way it was going to be no matter what she did? Was she really better off "knowing" no matter which view one takes?

God makes it clear in Leviticus that he does not want us to go to fortune tellers and the like to find out our future. He doesn't seem to like the business of fortune telling at all! While I knew that while watching, I asked myself what I would tell someone who did not find Leviticus a convincing argument at all. Would I shrug and say "Well I do!" or would I explain. What would I say?

At one time, I found the idea of knowing the future to be intriguing. It was God's word in Leviticus that kept me from psychics. Now, while I find Leviticus every bit as compelling, I find in my heart that I do not even wish to know the future any longer. I don't want to know that I get hit by a bus! I don't want to spend my life wondering if I can avoid that bus, or if I am fated to be smashed by it. I don't want to cross the street, and wonder if the bus is somewhere nearby unseen. I don't want to ride a bus wondering if ironically I am reading the paper or conversing in the instrument that will be my death.

I don't want to live my life thinking about my death, but hoping that what I am doing, or will be doing next, will have some significance in the eternal design, even if it is a mere dot. I can't do that avoiding buses... I'd rather have hope in the future than knowledge of it.

This post is being respectfully submitted to Peter Pollock's blog carnival.

If you were expecting a post about Lent today, click here.

Reasons Our Local Grocery Store Should Go Back to Playing the Radio Over the Intercom

2011-03-07T00:33:00.000-06:00

Dear Grocery Store Management:

I am writing to inform you that I was in no way trying to seduce anyone with a tube of Pillsbury French Loaf and pound of butter yesterday. I was just artistically interpreting one of the great mezzo-soprano arias of all time for supermarket participation. I blame you for the disturbance. Ever since you stopped playing music over your intercom system, I have been forced to sing and dance to the music in my mind while I shop. Unfortunately for you and your customers, I ran in for a few things yesterday after I had just come back from seeing Carmen in 3D. The Habanera IS such a catchy tune... la moooor...... LA moooooor.... la MOOOOR.... LA MOOOR!!!!! I don't think I was so much frightening the children, as it was the mothers understood that Carmen was not an appropriate topic to explain to them when they went home. To my credit, both the butcher, and the man in the check out line were highly entertained. Also, I do not see why I was forced to buy the whole carton of eggs. I only used one egg, and I did not even break it!
Please consider playing the radio over your intercom system again, so that I can go back to singing "Fernando" to the cantaloupe, and we can all go back to normal.
Thank you,
Helenatrandom

P.S. My husband has recycled the caps from Snapple bottles, and suggests that next time I can use them as castanets. It really is in your best interest to comply.

I'm sure my regular readers are well aware that my rendition of the Habanera was probably about as sensual as this one with, Beaker, Animal, and Swedish Chef.

If my friend Wendy still had her Life is Funny blog carnival, I'd link it here. How about going over there and demanding that she provide her Life is Funny Blog Carnival again?

Ode to Cheetoes

2011-03-03T13:12:00.004-06:00

My friend Duane Scott is having a Cheetos Poem Competition. Yep. I've decided to take part, even though I haven't had Cheetos since I've been to Subway about three months ago....

C-H-E-E-T-O

C - is for the comfort they give me when I'm feel down

H - is for hips they extend so that I wear pants that fit like a clown's

E- is for the excellent sound of the crunch

E- is for ecstasy, I like them a bunch!

T- is for the taste I hope lingers

O- is for the orange color of my fingers

It takes a lot of Cheetos to get an orange kitten! (Thanks Photobucket)

Yummy in My Tummy

a Haiku by Helenatrandom

Cheetos going crunch

so yummy in my tummy

wiping hands on coat

Ode to Cheetos

a Cinquain by Helenatrandom

Cheetos

orange food

tasting, licking, crunching

happy, full, satisfied, messy

sustenance

What Cheetos are Made of

a Tanka by Helenatrandom

Sunshine with a crunch

A flamanco dancers zest

Kissed with angel lips

add a dash of baby smiles

and a lot of calories

You can find my new blog about Lent here.

I haven't decided what I'll give up for Lent, but I probably don't eat enough Cheetoes to give them up for Lent anyways. :-( Must eat more Cheetoes by next year.... Okay. Not really.

The Idea of Love, Sacrifice, and How it Relates to Lent

2011-02-23T00:00:00.021-06:00

Yesterday I posted an essay about sacrifice, which I linked to Peter Pollock's blog carnival.

I ended that post with the statement " Love prompts us to meet someone else's need, even when it has a dear cost."

Which brings me to the question, what need do we meet when we sacrifice during Lent (which begins March 9). God has no need of anything from us. Why give up anything? The answer my heart comes up with is to meet our own need to show our love. Did you ever notice how children don't keep their love bottled in, but show it, whether it is in hugging a parent, drawing a picture for a teacher, or pulling the hair of the girl in front of them? They just can't keep it inside!

That is how our love for God needs to be (and I don't mean to suggest that Lent is the ONLY time we should do this, any more than Christmas is the only time we are to be in awe of the Incarnation.): we need to love Him so much that we must show Him our love! How does giving up donuts do that? Well, if we have become so enamored of that donut that we miss it if we don't have it in the morning, isn't it a lovely gift to give to Him? Doesn't it say "YOU, Lord, are the sweetest thing in my life! " ? What if we don't like donuts? Then it isn't a sacrifice, is it?

But the point here is love. How big the sacrifice isn't the point. There is no big or small in this. Giving up a morning cup of tea would be hardly anything to me, but very difficult for someone else, while cutting my computer time in half would give me fits, and hardly noticeable to someone else. Giving up alcohol was difficult last year, when it seemed I needed a bit of whiskey in my tea to fall asleep, while this year I haven't had any since I drank a glass of wine on New Year's Eve.

If I gave up food and water for forty days, I'd die, and I still wouldn't in any way, shape, or form repay God for His sacrifice, anyway, so though I owe Him everything, there is no point acting from obligation, but from love.

While I don't mean to deny the penitential nature of Lent, I would submit that, again, we are only penitent because we have learned to LOVE, and regret unloving actions of the past. We can't make up for those unloving actions at all, but can show that we DO love now by sacrifice.

What do I cherish that I can give to Him during Lent's forty days because I love Him? I have until March 9 to talk this over with Him and decide.

The Meaning of Sacrifice

2011-02-22T00:00:00.001-06:00

It's a funny thing; I looked up the word "sacrifice" on dictionary.com, and could not find a perfect definition. I found plausible working definitions, but not a perfect definition.
The best definition there was the third.
"the surrender or destruction of something prized or desirablefor the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim."
I can't wrap my head around the idea of "higher or more pressing claim." That implies giving something to get something, doesn't it?

I think the perfect definition of sacrifice is more of a model than a traditional definition.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life." John 3:16 New American Bible

And there we have described the most perfect sacrifice, offered for the best possible reason: love. God doesn't get anything out of it, does He? He sacrifices the greatest treasure EVER, for the only reason worthy of Him: love.

He did not act out of obligation. God was in no way obligated to us, at least not until He gave us His own word that He would send us a savior. He did not act to fill in some sort of void in His own life: being God, He is complete in and of Himself. But He LOVES us, so therefore, He sacrificed what is most precious for us.

I have just finished reading a novel by Beth Pattillo titled Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart. (No, this is not a "Christian book". It's not an Unchristian book either.) The setting of the novel is Oxford, at a summer session workshop on Pride and Prejudice. Through the course of the novel, she realizes that she has spent her life sacrificing for others, not so much out of love, or even obligation, as she does to fill in the void left when her parents died. She is so busy sacrificing for her sister (who no longer needs her to make these sacrifices), and later her boyfriend, that she hasn't developed her own talents, or discovered her own purpose in life.

Now, I'd be the last person to suggest that say, Mother Theresa, was unfulfilled because she spent her whole life serving others. I would suggest she was actually fulfilled because she loved Christ, and that love gave her purpose, a purpose she sacrificed for... Love filled a void, not sacrifice. Sacrifice is an act of love.

And sooner or later, true love requires sacrifice. Love for a child has caused parents to sacrifice their own future financial security for their child's well being. Love for a parent or relative has inspired some to sacrifice their time. Love for country has motivated soldiers to sacrifice their lives. Love prompts us to meet someone else's need, even when it has a dear cost.

Tomorrow I will post more on love and sacrifice, and how it relates to the concept of Lent.

Today's post is being link to Peter Pollock's blog, on his post One Word Blog Carnival Post on Sacrifice

LIVE, FROM CHICAGO, IT'S PLEASANTLY DISTURBED VOLUME 17!!!

2011-02-17T00:00:00.045-06:00

This week, it is my honor to host Pleasantly Disturbed Thursday Volume 17. The application process was absolutely grueling (consisting of being on the twitter at the same time as Duane), but I WON! Eat your hearts out, bloggers!

So let's see... What is disturbing me lately? Well, for one thing, my computer keeps booting me off of the Internet. It did so just a moment ago, then wouldn't let me back on for a couple of tries. I was worried for a moment that this post wouldn't go up at midnight, since I have it in draft mode!

I suppose there are bigger fish to fry than my Internet connection woes though. Still, I don't want to blog about disturbing political situations across the ocean for PDT, because it would definitely NOT be pleasant.

I've started yet another blog, although this one does not have any posts yet. It's called "Happy Lent", and will be about politics. PSYCH! It will be about Lent. I'll tell more about it in another post, but for now, I'll explain how I came up with the title "Happy Lent".

I taught at a Catholic School for thirteen years. I spent nine of those years teaching second graders. That is a very sweet age. At this age, children will draw a picture for you and / or make a card for you for any reason. Sneeze. Cough. Pass gas. It doesn't really matter. They will also make cards for your loved ones. When my mom was in the hospital when I taught, she got dozens of cards every day. I waited until she was out of intensive care to bring them to the hospital though...

Anyway, I spent a bit of time teaching children each year about how much Jesus loves us, and the proof being His great sacrifice. We talk some about that. Then I talk to them about how they can "fast" by sacrificing something to say "I love you" to Him. We talk about the meaning of sacrifice, and what sort of things we can sacrifice (no ice cream is a sacrifice, no broccoli, not so much.... )

Inevitably though, Ash Wednesday comes along, and at least half of the children present me with "Happy Lent" cards they made during lunch. For a while, I felt like I must have missed the mark in these lessons, because the tots thought of it like any other holiday...

But praying about what to call my Lent blog, it seemed I kept coming back to a picture a sweet little girl drew of flowers and smiley faces surrounding the words "Happy Lent" in bubble letters (No, that's not my header. I have NO clue how to do that, because it would be if I did!) I realized that those kids were teaching me something: don't forget the joy. His great sacrifice is given out of His love, and our small one to show our love. I need to focus on the joy that love brings me, even as I solemnly remember the great cost to Him.

So there you have it! The disturbance of my computer woes, and my choice in blog names.

Happy Pleasantly Disturbed Thursday!

A big thank you to our regular host, Duane Scott for allowing me to host this week! MWAH!

OWW! Don't Aim the Rocks at My Face, Please! (A Valentine's Day Post)

2011-02-14T13:56:00.000-06:00

Did I ever mention that Rod Stewart's "Have I Told You Lately" is Bob and my song. Yep. Our song. It became so when we chose it for our first dance as a married couple at our wedding reception. Bob suggested it because I used to like to tease him. (Actually, I still do...)

Me: Did I tell you today that I love you?
Bob: Not yet....
Me: Well, remind to mention it before you take me home...

This was our little ritual of exchange when we were engaged. That, and the much renowned

Me: I love you!
Bob: I love you, too!
Me: I love you THREE!
Bob: I love you FOUR!
Me: I love you MORE!

Seriously, if Facebook had been around when we first started dating, we could have met the fate of the couple in the following video...

Some days, we still pose a danger to ourselves. Like today. Yes. We ARE celebrating Valentine's Day. We do every year. And no, we don't help to keep the candy makers and florists in business. We do it our own way, so florists and candy makers will be lining up with rocks, too.

How will we be celebrating Valentine's Day? (Yes, I know you weren't asking, but I'm going to pretend you were! So there!) We order take out from the restaurant we had our first date in (because they knocked the place down and built a fancy place where you can only get their pizza on the take out menu, not in house, and we want pizza with sausage and diet cola because that is what we ate on our first date! ) and pick a romantic DVD we saw together when we were first dating or engaged (like "Three Little Words" or "'Til the Clouds Roll By", or maybe the movie we saw on our first movie date, "While You Were Sleeping"). Sometimes we go to Denny’s for coffee like we used to late at night after seeing a movie together before we were married.

I am glad we celebrate Valentine’s Day in our own way, rather than as a commercial suggests. We choose to celebrate OUR love, and not what anyone tells us love is... (Really, if I see another "He went to Jared" commercial, as if we don't like gifts that AREN'T from Jared, I will rip out the television and throw it in the foot of snow that is left in the yard!)

Bob, honey, if you by any chance I reading this post today, I love you, and I love us together! Let the stones fly, so long as my hands are in yours, my love!

Why I Don't Need An E-book to Help Me Buy a Car, Thanks!!!

2011-02-10T09:24:00.003-06:00

Okay, I have been getting a lot of Anonymous spam comments on this blog lately about how to go about getting a free e-book online to help when buying a new car. So I am going to share with you how I go about shopping for a new car.

(I dial the phone.)
Me: Hi Bobby!... er I mean Bob. How's my favorite cousin? (to the untrained eye, it may seem I am buttering him up, but watch what happens..)
Cousin Bob:  My brother is fine, thanks....
Me: Ha ha ha ha! Your so funny! And correct. Rick always could make me laugh! (This is how we kid each other) Though you being 10 years older than him, and 14 years older than me, we always SO looked up to you....(See the way I subtly kid him about his age ...)
Cousin Bob:  Yeah, he's a good guy. Great sense of humor. We go golfing every Saturday, so long as there isn't snow.
Me:  Really? You don't let the cold weather stop you?
Cousin Bob:  Nah! It's great weather for golfing! No waiting for slower players like you do in Spring and Summer.
Me: Well that sure is one way to look at it! How are the girls?
Cousin Bob: Good, good... How about you? So what's new with you?
Me:  Well, my husband and I have been thinking about buying a new car.
Cousin Bob: Any particular model?
Me: No. We trust your judgement in what will give us good mileage and last longer than most marriages... (He and his wife have been married almost thirty years)
Cousin Bob: Okay. I'll give you a call when something I like comes in the dealership.
Me: Thanks Bobby, er, I mean Bob. We appreciate it!
Cousin Bob: So did you read the email I sent you about using wasp spray instead of pepper spray on an intruder?
Me: I DID! And....(blah blah blah, conversation which you are most likely not as interested in as we are continues)

So you see, Anonymous car spammers, I don't need directions to a website that will tell me how to shop for a car, I already know how! I call my cousin the car salesman! HELLO-OH! And as for my friends, I'd tell them to call my cousin the car salesman! And if they live across the country, I'd give them his email address so he could give them advice! He's a great guy, and I don't just say that because he is my cousin! Strangers come into the dealership he works, buy a car, and like him so well they join his softball team and invite him to their weddings! (Seriously. I meet these people when he barbecues in the Summer!) I don't need your website or free e-book, and neither does my blog!

And I am positive that if Cousin Bobby, er Bob somehow sees this post, he'll be cool with the cartoon in the beginning. He sells Chevys!

Renew, Rejoice!

2011-02-08T12:35:00.002-06:00

More than a month into the new year, I think it is safe to say that everyone hankers for a renewal of some sort in their lives, whether it is of body were we lose a bunch of weight and have the energy we never did ten years ago, to stop smoking and not be dependent on nicotine to bring us peace, or of mind where we resolve to read more, becoming smarter and making up for lost time, or of heart where we promise to be kinder and mend relationships that have been in tatters for decades.
Since my mom's passing, I have been hoping for a renewal of some sort, and am waiting. The word I have been given from Him is to make room in my home, mind, and heart for His plans. So my own personal resolutions this year have been to declutter my home, mind, and heart. The funny thing is, while organizing my home has always been a challenge for me, it is the decluttering of mind and heart that is truly troublesome. I CAN organize my home, with help from my dear husband who will move the furniture and reach the high cabinets for me (Poor Bob. He is a good man. Never once has he asked me why MY new year's resolution means he moves furniture and clears out the high shelves.) But the decluttering of my heart and mind are tasks that Bob can't help me with, and I CAN'T do on my own!
That's okay. I have the promise from Him that He will do the renewing of my heart and mind, if I consent, and I do!

2 Corinthians 5:17

So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.

You know another funny thing? Our gracious Lord knows that I have this need to help, and he led me to another passage in scripture early January when I was praying about the decluttering of heart and mind thing!

Philippians 4:4-9

Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!
Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near.

Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.

Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁶

Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you. ⁷

Today's scripture references were taken from the New American Bible.

This post is part of Peter Pollock's blog carnival on renewal.

Thank God for an Inward Swinging Exit Door!

2011-02-03T11:16:00.001-06:00

This picture courtesy of some stranger I've never met who doesn't know I am using it.

It takes a lot of snow to dishearten a Chicagoan. 20.6 inches is more than enough for any of us, though! We are prepared for the 1-2 inches that freak out warmer climates so well that we forget that they don't normally need to prepare for snow like we do, and don't. But yesterday was enough to close Chicago Public Schools for at least two days. Really. The last time CPS closed was in 1999 (21.6 inches). Really, when my friend Katdish said on her blog last year that they closed school for half an inch of snow, I laughed so hard that tears were falling down my cheeks. I forgot that we have things like plows and salt trucks and drivers who are aware of precautions to take during snowfall and are therefore probably safer drivers when it snows or rains than they are in good weather.

I'd be a fool to complain too loudly about the blizzard, when there were so many people trapped in their cars on Lake Shore Drive for so many hours. My husband was home early almost two hours early on Tuesday. I was like a kid on Christmas morning! I had thought he'd have to work until four, as usual, and then come home in the blinding snow alongside people who had left early, but his office closed early on Tuesday and all day on Wednesday due to the blizzard. He walked in an I yelled "Wait there, I have something for you!" and the proceeded to maul him with a great big hug and a kiss! He didn't seem to mind.

I didn't think I was worried, but the degree relief I felt when he was home (and early at that) indicates to me that I wasn't as relaxed as I had believed myself to be. I told people verbally "This is Chicago, we know how to prepare for bad weather." I even told myself that silently. Who knew that I didn't trust me?

Bob is a terrific guy who insisted on cleaning the snow off the driveway himself. He said it was a "man's job". It's not like he'd ever refuse to do something because it's "women's work", but God bless him, he steps up to the plate for the heavy lifting! (My momma didn't raise a foolish woman. I offered to help, and when he said no, I told him I'd be keeping the hot chocolate warm for him!) He didn't complain either, though a wife can tell when her husband's back hurts him. I think he was actually glad to get back to work today.

I didn't take pictures of the snow, but my cousin did. I'll share them when she sends them if it is okay with her, because it is unBElieveABLE how much snow we had! I couldn't open the front door. I seriously thanked God that the back door swings inward! I mean, really! Who says "thank you, Lord, for providing us with an exit door that swings inward so that we aren't trapped inside all of winter?" Apparently I do...

I called my uncle, aunt, and cousins yesterday. All family members were safely at home and not caught in the awful LSD mess (we Chicagoans know that "LSD" stands for Lake Shore Drive.... ain't no road just like it!) I'm sure though that if anyone who was stuck on it ever hears that song again in their lives, they will have a break down and crush the CD! Anyway, I am grateful to God that we were all home yesterday. Obviously the clean up efforts aren't easy, but home is the best place to be in a blizzard, especially if you have heat, power, and an intact roof, which we all did! (Which reminds me, Thank you God for a good roof!)

OOoooooo! Loook! Bobcat in front of my window in the alley! No, not a feline... the kind that removes snow, people! Oooo! Snow plow in the alley! I wonder who our benefactor is? (Alleys don't normally get plowed).

The following videos are of an adorable little girl whom I have never met in my life reporting on the Chicago blizzard. She is much more fun to watch than any of our local talking heads!

The snow begins...

The blizzard is gaining momentum

The cleanup effort...

The aftermath...

This post is being linked to Duane Scott's Pleasantly Disturbed Thursday blog carnival.

Holding On

2011-01-27T19:00:00.001-06:00

I chose to dwell on the word "Hope" this year. Last September, I wrote Fruition of Hope to explain how after Mom's passing, hope was hard to hang on to. The gist of it was that I need to keep on keeping on trying even if it looks like I'm failing.
The thing is, I still haven't made hope a habit. I think it was at one time, when I was younger, and both of my parents were alive. But after Daddy died, it seemed like I was holding on to hope with one hand. As mom would get sicker, I would feel it slipping from my hand, and no matter how much tighter I tried to hold on, I felt it fall from my grasp when she died. (Fear not. I had hope of Heaven for her and myself, but not much hope for me here.)
I'm beginning to think that hope isn't something I'm supposed to grasp. My hand is supposed to be open in trust, and then it will perch there like a welcome parakeet (which makes me giggle, since "Paraclete" and "parakeet" rhyme), where I can tenderly embrace it rather than grab it.
Anyhow, I'm thinking that hope can't exist without trust. If I trust my Heavenly Father, then I have hope that it will work out for the best. So sad that virtues can't be worked on one at a time. :-)

This post is in response to Faith Barista's Faith Jam: Hope

Crystal Tears

2011-01-25T11:31:00.003-06:00

Over half my life ago, my mother and I watched a pioneer movie, the name of which I can't remember. In it a little boy asks why it rains, and his father answers "God is crying." Later in the movie, the boy's mother dies, and at her grave, he asks his father "Why isn't God crying for Momma?" Neither my mother nor I heard the answer, we were both crying so hard for this fictional character's confusion and pain.

This memory came back to me on February 9, 2010, during my mother's funeral procession. It snowed so hard that the hearse had to move so slower than I could jog, and that is quite a statement. I thought maybe I'd try to write a poem to describe what I was thinking then.

Crystal Tears

by HRM

It snowed the day we buried Momma

A blizzard of frozen tears

mirror the grief inside my heart

God is crying for my loss

and suddenly I realize

His tears are so pure and beautiful

a reminder that my heart's winter

is the beginning of her eternal spring.

Today's post is my entry into Peter Pollock's One Word Blog Carnival: Winter.

By Special Request....

2011-01-21T07:00:00.002-06:00

The flame this was lit from was in no way harmed by the lighting of this votive candle. :-)

I received this in a sort of chain email yesterday.

In memory of our moms, dads, brothers and sisters, friends and loved ones of whom there are so many. This year has been one with too many diagnoses too close to home. For all the friends, family, loved ones, and those we don't even know...
Friday is world cancer day - I'd appreciate it if you will forward this request

I usually don't pass these on or share them, but since there was no suggestion of curses or blessings dependent on whether this was passed on, and my dad died of lung cancer many years ago, and my mother in law to be from breast cancer a few years later, I decided I could share this short prayer on my blog.

Dear God, I pray for a cure for cancer. Amen

Pleasantly Disturbed Thursday: Bun Bun Speaks! (Well, Writes Actually...)

2011-01-20T07:22:00.002-06:00

Today is a special day! Bun Bun, whose twitter handle is @BunBunRabbit, has agreed to do a guest post for me today. Well, actually, she has been bugging me to get her her own blog, but she needs help getting onto the twitter as it is... I just don't have time to school her in the ways of blogging! Still, despite my selfishness, Bun Bun is gracious enough to share with us some of her thoughts on this Pleasantly Disturbed Thursday.

Hehehehehehehehehehehhehehe hehehehehe

First off, I have no idea what Helen is so busy with that she can not set me up with my own blog and guide me into the blogasphere! It's not like she posts here all that much, and when was the last time she contributed to FOTTSP? Even the recipe blog she shares with Miss Annie has gone neglected. I can't see what the need for recipes are anyway. Mix some delicious lettuce with delectable carrots, and you have a feast! Who needs a recipe?
She says she is busy working on her New Year's Resolution, which is to organize one room in her home per month. She started with the biggest disaster, the master bedroom and bath. Humans are rather cute, even if they are silly. You won't find any sensible rabbit worried about organizing her burrow. She tosses out the dirt, then settles her kits (you darling humans call them bunnies) in, and voila, they have a home!
Her and her buck (his name is "Bob", and she calls him her "husband". I can't stand that word because it makes her sound like a farm animal.) were really busy reorganizing a closet on Saturday. If you ask me, I think they have too many clothes. I have just the fur, yet it serves me well no matter the weather or the occasion. Helen and Bob could really learn a lot from me if they would only open their minds!
They went to see a movie about a lion in charge of a fantasy island on Sunday. She said it was very good, but that I would be more interested in the trailer for a movie called Hop. She then found it on YouTube and played it for me.

Candy chicks and rock and roll. I can dig it. Maybe I can talk Helen into letting me hop into her purse and taking me with her when she goes to see it. Anyone know if they sell lettuce and carrots at the concession stand?

This is Random Musings contribution to Pleasantly Disturbed Thursday, where you will find many more perplexing posts.

Abundance From Little

2011-01-17T13:43:00.000-06:00

My friend Jason is hosting a sort of poetry circle today. I'm not much of a poet, though I do enjoy reading poetry. Today's inspiration is Jesus feeding the 5,000. I love that story. I love how he took so little, and made it more than enough. The Word of God transforms what is meager to plentiful!
I'm not sure that by making it a conversation, I am following the format correctly, but the following poem is supposed to be a Tanka. Tanka is a Japanese poetry type of five lines, the first and third composed of five syllables and the rest of seven. Tanka is the oldest type of poetry in Japan.

Abundance from Little

by HRM

"The people need food"

"Share with them what you have brought"

"But it's not enough for all"

"First place it into my hands

where it will become a feast"

Click here to see Jason's awesome poem "God Shows Up" and some links to other incredibly awesome poems about Jesus feeding 5000 people!

Not Broken, But Restored

2011-01-10T23:55:00.001-06:00

Last August I told you all about my neurosis about breaking my mother's or mother in law's china. I treasure the china that was washed, dried, and put away by their own hands. When I touch things which belonged to them, it's the closest I can come now to touching them now.

But my most treasured possession is a bowl, much like the one at the top of this post which I found on google images that apparently sold at auction for 1 whole dollar back in November. My mom used it for salad, and she would wash and dry this bowl herself. She would tell me how that bowl was once her grandmother's, then it was my grandmother's, then hers, and that one day it would be mine. She thought the bowl was really something special, and while we had a fancier fruit bowl from Europe that was given to my parents by his Canadian cousins, this bowl was her treasure. She stopped using it one day when she almost dropped it, and put it way back in the bottom of the kitchen cabinet. It was a treasure to be put away for me.

A few months before my Dad passed away, Mom came home from errands and found Dad worried.

Daddy: I'm sorry Helen. (My momma's name was also Helen)
Momma: What's the matter, Frankie?
Daddy: I thought I'd organize the cabinets, and I took out your grandmother's bowl, and I dropped it. It's broken. I threw out the pieces already.
Momma: Did you cut yourself?
Daddy: No.
Momma: That's the main thing.
Daddy: I know what that bowl meant to you.
Momma: Not as much as you do...

While I wasn't there, this is pretty much how mom said it went, and I believed her because of my own experience with how she reacted when I broke treasured china. She always was more concerned about the person in front of her than the meaning behind an object.

Shortly after Daddy passed, I needed something from the cabinet. Mom hadn't yet told me about the broken bowl. I guess she hadn't the heart to disappoint me. Daddy had "organized" the cabinets so well that I couldn't find anything. I had to get down on my hands and knees and pull everything out of the cabinets in order to figure out. I guess I really didn't need to go into the very corner of the very bottom cabinet, but since I was there, why not? I pulled out great grandmother's bowl and called mom to come into the kitchen and take it because I didn't want to lay this precious piece onto the floor.

My mother walked into the kitchen, saw the bowl I was holding in my hands, and she cried. Then she told me how distraught Daddy had been such a short time ago over breaking what he thought was that very bowl. I told momma that I was sure she reacted with the same gentleness she always did when I broke something, and she relayed the above conversation and added with tears "Still, Honey, he felt so bad!"

What could Daddy have REALLY broken that caused him so much anguish for my mother's sake? Well, being the chief apprentice in her kitchen, the only thing I can figure out that was missing was a green Corning ware bowl that was chipped on the handle anyway. We had that hidden away in case we ran out of bowls and were desperate enough to shame ourselves with that one I guess. He broke something that we never would have missed. Something we should have thrown away anyway.

Believe it or not, I use that bowl. I keep ornaments in it around Christmas, decorated eggs at Easter, and fruit or pebbles or something I change off the rest of the year. I like to touch it and feel a connection between my great grandmother (whom I never met, but from the stories my grandma told, I'm sure I would have loved her), my grandmother (whom I knew and dearly loved), and my mother (whom I loved even more) and me. It strikes me as funny that to feel that connection, I have to put it to use, risking that it could break. Though I could apparently find a bowl like it online and possibly purchase it for a dollar, it wouldn't have held the priceless touch of three generations of women.

This post is my contribution to Peter Pollock's One Word blog carnival. Today's word is broken.

Merry Twelfth Day of Christmas

2011-01-06T13:01:00.000-06:00

Yes. I've been walking around wishing people "Merry _____ Day of Christmas" this year. I've posted such on the Twitter and the Facebook, and have made the wish out loud to family, friends, and people at the grocery store. Is it because of the song which, while fun, makes you wonder what she did with all those birds and the eight maids a milking? Absolutely not.
Traditionally, Christmas is a season, not a day. This season BEGINS on the 25th of December. I think Christmas is such a let down for some people because they prepare prepare prepare only to celebrate it on one day. Or they believe they should celebrate it all December while preparing for the big day at the same time, leaving them less time and energy to prepare.
We feel guilty if the Christmas cookies aren't made by December 25. Why? Unless you are hosting the First Day of Christmas at your house and need them for dessert, what is so wrong with making cookies to bring to neighbors on December 28th instead? (BTW, I'm not knocking Cookie Party Exchanges. That's a great idea, especially if you are hosting December 25 or bringing dessert).
I realize that people with children have to have everything "Santa ready" (insert your own meaning into that phrase, please), but if you give your child more than one gift, why can't a smaller one be given on one of the other days of Christmas? Or maybe it wouldn't be so bad to buy Christmas gifts for people you won't see until after Christmas after Christmas?
Maybe it is partly because I broke my toes and couldn't do much before Christmas, but I am glad for the extra time to buy gifts for people whom I wouldn't see on Christmas anyway. I'm also glad that we had some celebrations together after the "BIG day". I enjoyed baking kolackys with my uncle this past weekend, and can't help but think of what a gift it is that we get more than one day!
Seriously, it is the retailers that want to make it one big day that you have to do big and perfect. They count on this one day to make the most money they'll make all year, but for those of us who are celebrating the Incarnation of Christ, one day is not enough to contemplate, celebrate and communicate it! Twelve days aren't enough either come to think of it, but there is always next year!
How are we going to celebrate the twelfth day of Christmas? Before Bob goes to his Bible Study group, we will bless our house, as we have each year on Epiphany since we moved here.
The Anglican priest on this blog seems to use a house blessing ceremony similar to ours.
Happy Twelfth Day of Christmas. Be blessed by the mystery and wonder of the Incarnation of Christ always.
Please join me in singing the last Christmas Carol of the season.