Monday, November 27, 2006

Check. Check. Check. Is this on?

You musicians out there know what I mean. It's time for the weekly "sound check" and you stare blankly at your beloved techie at the board when it's your turn and say something wise like "check-check... check... one-two" or if you have enough caffeine in you, you might be witty and say "check-cash-credit" or something else much overused.

Well, as a public service, I am compiling a list of things to say or sing when you must produce something for your next sound check. (Note to guitarists: Stairway to Heaven in ANY key is NOT ON THIS LIST! please...)

In no particular order, the Baroness of Sound Checks (that would be me - Baroness because "Queen" sounded presumptuous!) suggests the following:

  1. Cheryl Wheeler's Potato Song (which is set to the tune of the Mexican Hat Dance.)
  2. Dr. Suess's Tweetle Beetles soliloquy which is not set to music but is great inflection and diction practice!
  3. Words to any camp song that your children brought home from camp and you can't quite remember all the words. (And yes, you did pay good money for them to learn "great green gobs of..." Well, you know...)
  4. The Twelve Days of Christmas, with your own words, natch, because who can remember the real ones?
  5. Any bad imitation of the rock star of your choice. Bob Dylan doesn't count unless you want to practice your mumble...
  6. Scripture memory show-off. If you've gotten all those "begats" down from Matthew 1, here's the time to speak 'em.
  7. I should mention some patter song from Gilbert & Sullivan... Perhaps "Modern Major General"?
  8. The Llama Song makes my kids happy...
  9. No opera. No no no.....
Your techies will love you forever if you do this. I promise.

Check. Check. Check. Is this on?

from our home to yours...
Deb

ABC's of Faith

This is from something I get in my email every day called "Sound Bites". It is a free, week day e-mail ministry in memory of Dustin Wilkinson, 1982-1998. Rev. Dave Wilkinson is founder and editor. SOUND BITES originates from First United Methodist Church in Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA. Visit their web site for more information.


THE ABC'S OF FAITH
A
ccept Christ
B
e kind
C
ount your blessings
D
ive into God's Word
E
xpress thanks
F
orgive one another
G
ive freely
H
arm no one
I
magine heaven
J
ettison anger
K
eep confidences
L
ove truly
M
aster sin
N
urture the faith of children
O
pen your heart
P
ray constantly
Q
uell rumors
R
eciprocate love
S
eek God's will
T
ouch someone's grief
U
nderstand differences
V
alue truth
W
in souls for Christ
X
-ray your motives
Y
earn for peace
Z
ealously support your church

-- Unknown

Praying my way...
Deb

Christmas music

Advent/Christmas Music Meme

Psaltery posted it (at least that's where I read it first!) She says it's from Sue at Inner Dorothy. At any rate, here's a meme on Advent and Christmas Music. Feel free to re-post or answer as you will.

1. What are your favorite Advent/Christmas hymns?
Can't say that anyone sings this one around the house, but me... however, I do love "Hush, My Babe" (Also known as "The Cradle Hymn.") Another favorite is "All This Night My Heart Rejoices." WHAT?? Don't know either one of those... sigh.. OK, OK! I do love "Joy to the World" too!

2. Which are your least favorite?
"In the Bleak Midwinter" and "The Friendly Beasts!"

True story about "The Friendly Beasts": Every year throughout elementary school we sang that song in Junior Choir. We kids knew it by heart after about two weeks. For some reason, the adults in charge did not. To entertain ourselves through mindless, endless rehearsals, we would sing the verses with animal-sounding voices. Imagine... "I-i-i-i-i said the do-o-o-o-o-ve from the ra-a-a-a-a-fters high, Coo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooed Him to sleep..." or "Mooooooooo-I said the moooooooooo-cow all mooooooooooo-white and mooooooooooooooo-red..." For some reason Mrs. Mac, the choir director, did NOT appreciate our creativity!! (evil giggle...)

3. Which secular seasonal songs make you want to run screaming into traffic?
This is almost the hardest one... "Rudolph"?? Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas"?? "Christmas Shoes"?? Or Rosie and Elmo (or anyone for that matter) singing "Do You Hear What I Hear"??? Yick. Please. No. NOooooooooooooo!!!!!

4. Do you play Christmas music around the house and in the car? What are your favorite holiday CDs?
Yes, actually I do. And the kids do too. When I am feeling punchy and can't stop giggling it's time for Jingle Cats. (don't worry - I won't play it when you come over... unless you beg me!) But seriously?? My favorites are the ones from Maggie Sansone and friends, the Celtic Christmas ones (especially Beth can now play many of them on her harp!), and our full version of Messiah. And there's probably others.

Hmmmm.... I may have to re-visit this later in the month.

Tunefully yours...
Deb

Songs my children teach me...

Ah yes, it's time to get songs stuck in your head... Especially with the Christmas season and every store playing a version of "Silver Bells" or "Rudolph"! I think it's time to have a different tune! Just for fun, mind you.

I have my darling daughters to thank for this one... Fair warning: the song will get stuck in your head!
(insert evil chuckle here!)

Whistling a nonsensical tune at our home... may it be stuck in yours...

Deb

Friday, November 24, 2006

Black Friday Five


Reverendmother posted on RevGalBlogPals:
My husband accompanied my brother this morning to stand on line for a Nintendo Wii. They headed out at oh-dark-thirty this morning but were, sadly, thwarted. There were 30 people in line for 6 units. They are trying to be philosophical about it--"That's the most I was willing to do, so I'm OK with it... imagine the people who waited for hours!" my brother said.
So this is a "Black Friday" Five (aka Buy Nothing Day) in honor of the busiest shopping day of the year:

1. Would you ever/have you ever stood in line for something--tickets, good deals on electronics, Tickle Me Elmo?

NOPE. No way. Nada. Not even for the Buckeyes!

2. Do you enjoy shopping as a recreational activity?

Do I have to share the store? Do I have a budget? Do I have recalcitrant companions? Then no.

3. Your favorite place to browse without necessarily buying anything.

A place where I'm not tempted to buy anything because the prices are so ridiculously high -- like the stores with the massaging easy chairs or the one with $1000.00 ink pens!

4. Gift cards: handy gifts for the loved one who has everything, or cold impersonal symbol of all that is wrong in our culture?

Depends on the store you choose and the amount... If you buy me a gift card for $5 to "Large Fat But Noble Women's Clothing" I might be insulted. But if you give me a gift card from a book store for more than the cost of a real book, I will be cool with that. Besides, for my younger relatives, a card to Best Buy or the like makes them very happy.

5. Discuss the spiritual and theological issues inherent in people coming to blows over a Playstation 3.

I John 2: 15-16 Don't love the world, neither the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the Father's love isn't in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, isn't the Father's, but is the world's.

We are not going out shopping today, but we are going to have dinner out with the girls and see a movie... just because the calendar is free and we've been waiting to go see "Happy Feet" with them. Somehow I think the economy will get along without us just fine!

From our (possibly cheapskate) home to yours...

Deb

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

I am blessed!

The pies are cooling on the counter...
The cranberries have just finished popping open...
The bread for stuffing has been cut, toasted and prepped...
The turkey is FINALLY defrosted and waiting...
The pumpkin bread has already been cut and "taste-tested"...
The table is set, the silver polished...
It's almost time.

Time to stop and really remember how blessed I am. How I have a home, family, friends, a great church, an Emmaus community, and many more "things" than I need.

But it's not just the "things" and the people who are a blessing to me. It's the relationship I have with God - the big Guy.

You've given me joy,
You've given me love,

You give me strength when I want to give up.
You came from heaven to rescue my soul.
You are the reason I know,
I know... I am blessed, I am blessed
From when I rise up in the morning,
'Till I lay my head to rest,
And I feel You near me,
You soothe me when I'm weary.
Oh, Lord,
For all the worst and all the best,
I am blessed.

- Rachel Lampa

That's all... nothing else... I just wanted to be thankful for a moment...
I AM BLESSED!

from our home to yours - may you have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving!

Deb

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Just call me "Counselor"

TOOO funny! (I really WANTED to be Worf!) Now if I only looked that good in a body suit... sigh...
Deb

Your results:
You are Deanna Troi
You are a caring and loving individual.
You understand people's emotions and
you are able to comfort and counsel them.


Click here to take the Star Trek Personality Test

Monday, November 20, 2006

Quoting without comment

Most pastors I know do not have satisfying, free, sexual conversations and liberties with their wives. At the risk of being even more widely despised than I currently am, I will lean over the plate and take one for the team on this. It is not uncommon to meet pastors’ wives who really let themselves go; they sometimes feel that because their husband is a pastor, he is therefore trapped into fidelity, which gives them cause for laziness. A wife who lets herself go and is not sexually available to her husband in the ways that the Song of Songs is so frank about is not responsible for her husband’s sin, but she may not be helping him either. (Mark Driscoll)
See the whole post here...

Since I'm not (yet) a pastor, nor am I a pastor's wife, I'll not comment. Ooohhh, I'd like to. But I'll practice biting my tongue and go reread James... HOWEVER -- you, my friend, visiting this blog have a choice to comment with a personal (but Christ-filled) thought, so feel free...

Post this at all the intersections, dear friends: Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear. God's righteousness doesn't grow from human anger. So throw all spoiled virtue and cancerous evil in the garbage. In simple humility, let our gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life. [James 1:19-21, The Message]

From our home to yours...
Deb

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Airlines and breastfeeding - Part 2

The employee involved in the incident I ranted on a few days ago has been "disciplined" according to Freedom Airlines spokesperson Paul Skellon.

See the full story HERE!

A huge hat tip to the mom for defending her child's right to breastfeed -- and to the airlines for stepping up and doing what's right. And I do pray that the flight attendant keeps her job!! and learns from this situation. While it angered me that she was so uninformed about breastfeeding in public, I can't condemn her. I am too busy taking my foot out of my own mouth (in addition to taking the log out of my own eye...)

From our home to yours...
Deb

HEY YOU! De-LURK!

Pass it on... According to RevGalBlogPals it's De-Lurking week!

Grab the graphic - post it on your blog - and then go visit your usual bloggy friends...

Leave them a hug {} or just a "blogstone" (o).

Hmmmm.... can Blogger handle this much activity???


Happy de-lurking... Be sure to come by on Friday and have some leftovers!

Deb

Sweeeeeeeeeeet!

After all of these years... it's Sweeeeeeeeeeet! To end the season #1. To go into the championship as #1...

Yes, I wore my OSU shirt to church today. I would have worn it if we had lost. But it was definitely worth the teasing to wear it. And the girls wore their OSU gear as well. Ken showed class with a scarlet/grey checked shirt. We let him off the hook...

I have the right to party! You see, I was in "THE Band." I have a degree from OSU. I sat in the rain, sleet and beer spray in Ann Arbor. Made the long bus trip home on the losing end of several games...

I was a Buckeye fan in the Earle B years, after the TKO by Woody... and it's just really nice to have a classy coach like Jim Tressel and the Buckeyes having a winning season.

Sooo pardon me if I do a little victory dance and yell a little. It's just SWEEEEEEEEEEEET!

GO BUCKS!!!! YES!!

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Wish I were here...


GO BUCKEYES!
BEAT MICHIGAN!

Friday, November 17, 2006

I thought I'd get pepperoni on my Tombstone...





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Friday Five: Thankfulness

The Friday Five this week from RevGalBlog Pals is about giving thanks:
"It's that time of year. In the U.S., college students will be on their way home, traffic on the highways will be at its highest point, cooking and baking will ensue. But before the gorging and napping begins, let's take a moment to give thanks.

Please tell us five things or people for which you are thankful this year."

This is an easy one... for me anyway...

  • I'm thankful for my husband and kids. I'm thankful for my extended family, even though we spend more miles apart than together. I am blessed to have a family that not only encourages me to pursue my training and Call, but even think it's kinda "cool" (and that was from my teenager!) I am blessed that my husband and children all love God and are followers of Jesus Christ. Which leads me to...
  • I am thankful for Jesus Christ, Son of God, the Living Word, Savior, Redeemer and Friend. I can't imagine what my life would be like without His love and saving grace in my life. I would be a "bitter Mara" instead of a "Naomi," experiencing God's "pleasant" blessings in my life. Or I would be a schemer, overworked cog somewhere, burning out in my desire to be "something", instead of being content in the "someone" God has called me to be.
  • I'm thankful for the freedom of our country, that I am not (like many in our world) persecuted as I try to live out my faith in God. I am grateful for those who fought to get our religious freedom in the first place, and for those who continue to do so. I am grateful for the opportunity to write, talk and live out my faith as best I can.
  • I am thankful for inner peace. Peace that comes from God, not from politicians, through lines on a map, or from any kind of inner striving to achieve it. It is a gift from God. It is bestowed on me by His Spirit. And it is what I rest in when the unanswered questions come...
  • I am thankful for a faith community that encourages, challenges and loves me for who I am, yet believes God can do "more" in and through me. You know you are. Come claim your hug the next time we meet.

From my grateful home to yours...
Deb

Airlines and breastfeeding


My friends on the Parenting as Ministry email group forwarded this link to me...
"Nursing a grudge: parents support breastfeeding."


I'm amazed and annoyed. Have we come so far as to get nowhere on this issue? First of all, the whole family was inconvenienced with a three hour delay. I've had to handle children after a three hour delay in an airport. It isn't ideal. That the child needed to eat after being delayed was probably a part of choosing to nurse on the aircraft.

But apparently an employee of the airline, a flight attendant, was as upset that she was nursing a toddler as she was nursing, period. And handed her a blanket, which the mother said she did not need and declined. And it was the flight attendant, not a customer who complained that she was "offended!" So the parents -- who were already inconvenienced by the airline's delay -- had to deplane??? This is silly.

Have we all forgotten that humans are MAMMALS??? That breastfeeding is not erotic and does not have an age cut-off? That a nursing 22 month old would be quiet and comforted as the plane took off instead of screaming? Geesh. I mean, the woman did not stand up and say "watch this!!" and then strip off her clothes and expose her nipples. She was sitting in her seat. By the window. With her husband in the aisle seat. With her seatbelt on. Nursing her child.

Will the airline hand out blankets for other people who have almost-exposed body parts? To women in low-cut blouses or wearing thongs that show over the edge of their jeans? Or maybe cover tshirts that have a message that is not politically correct? How about men with shirts that aren't buttoned up? I mean, chest hair is so sexy. It might make it hard for a flight attendant to do her job...

I am proud to support women who choose to breastfeed. Period. This stigma has got to go!!!

From our home to yours-
Deb

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Job - Part 2...

As a follow-up to my earlier post on Job...

This weekend and next I'm playing keyboard for worship. We are doing a song by Superchic[k] called "Beauty from Pain" and the words just speak to the heart of what I've been studying in Job. The gal that's singing it will be amazing. Grab your tissues...

Treasuring serving Him...
Deb

===============

BEAUTY FROM PAIN
The lights go out all around me
One last candle to keep out the night

And then the darkness surrounds me

I know I’m alive but I feel like I’ve died

And all that's left is to accept that it's over

My dreams ran like sand through the fists that I made

I try to keep warm but I just grow colder

I feel like I’m slipping away


After all this has passed, I still will remain

After I’ve cried my last, there'll be beauty from pain
Though it won't be today,
Someday I’ll hope again
And there'll be beauty from pain
You will bring beauty from my pain


My whole world is the pain inside me

The best I can do is just get through the day

When life before is only a memory

I'll wonder why God lets me walk through this place

And though I can't understand why this happened

I know that I will when I look back someday

And see how You've brought beauty from ashes
And made me as gold purified through these flames


Here I am, at the end of me

Tryin' to hold to what I can't see

I forgot how to hope

This night's been so long

I cling to Your promise

There will be a dawn
...

After all this has passed, I still will remain

After I’ve cried my last, there'll be beauty from pain

Though it won't be today,

Someday I’ll hope again

And there'll be beauty from pain

You will bring beauty from my pain...

My inner instrument

NO - I did not play this in TBDBITL!!!


What is your inner musical instrument?




You're a Flute. Cute, but vicious.
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My accent... the WEST?

Must be all those years of voice lessons and hearing the nags on dipthongs and ending consonants... because I am definitely a BUCKEYE! No, like, surfer chick here, 'K?

What American accent do you have?
Your Result: The West

Your accent is the lowest common denominator of American speech. Unless you're a SoCal surfer, no one thinks you have an accent. And really, you may not even be from the West at all, you could easily be from Florida or one of those big Southern cities like Dallas or Atlanta.

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Thoughts on Job, suffering and the righteous

I had to ponder this topic as part of my current Old Testament studies class. Not being well-versed in the philosophies of Epicurus, or theodicy, (a nice 50 cent word for a cocktail party!), I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the question: "How do we reconcile God's omnipotence and his goodness with the problem of suffering?"

About six years ago, my dad struggled through the final stages of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. A retired pathologist, he understood the finality of his diagnosis and the futility of treatment options. Despite all this, he was remarkably upbeat and full of frank common sense. He told us on more than one occasion when recuperating from the effects of chemotherapy, “I am not getting a cure here, I am buying time.” As the years have gone by, I have reflected on his attitude and philosophy. While we all miss him, we were able to let him go without too much anguish. He had a tenuous hold on living the last 7 years of his life, but he lived it to the full.

As I learned from his example, and others who have suffered for various reasons in this life, I have come to the conclusion that it is not the circumstances that dictate the gravity of one’s trials in life, as much as how you come to view these events in “the big picture.” If your “big picture” is close to accurate, as I believe my dad’s was, then you have more of God’s perspective on illness, suffering, and even death. Your whole outlook and view of God accepts that the good and bad in life are part of life, and not necessarily God’s “fault” or “plan.”

Satan suggested an imperfect “big picture,” implying that Job was only obedient because he was being blessed by God. The assumption was made that if the blessings ceased, so would the righteousness, causing Job to turn away from a God who might allow suffering to enter his life. As Job faced multiple onsets of trials, his companions, in light of the “retribution principle,” suggested that he was only suffering because of some wickedness in his life that he was not acknowledging. Job insisted over and over throughout the book that he is blameless and not deserving of this treatment. By keeping a steadfast faith in God, Job said “yes” to God’s sovereignty over his circumstances.

Henri Nouwen, in his book “Can You Drink the Cup?” suggests that Jesus is the best model for facing the ultimate in trials. He was “a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering” (Is. 53:3). Jesus had to struggle with what he knew was God’s plan – that he would have to drink the cup of suffering. He did not accept it without an anguished heart-cry of prayer. Nouwen writes:
Why then could he still say yes? I can’t fully answer that question, except to say that beyond all the abandonment experienced in body and mind Jesus still had a spiritual bond with the one he called Abba. He possessed a trust beyond betrayal, a surrender beyond despair, a love beyond all fears. This intimacy beyond all human intimacies made it possible for Jesus to allow the request to let the cup pass him by become a prayer directed to the one who had called him ‘My Beloved.’ (Henri Nouwen, Can You Drink the Cup?, p. 35.)

The only way Job was able to rest in his suffering was to believe in the God he knew to be the only God. He declared his righteousness, and that God was worthy of trust and “bigger” than the puppet master that Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar made Him out to be. Though Job could not answer God’s questions, he still had an intimate understanding of His Lord. That constancy of faith is what God rewarded.

I'd like to be known for this, some day as well...

From our home to yours...

Deb

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

UNbelievable

Thanks to Take My Hand for pointing me to Media Education Foundation. I'm convinced this worthwhile group is so little known because the folks who control the airwaves and bandwidth do NOT want us to think critically about what we see, hear and read.

While we here at the House of V are a relatively "unplugged" family as far as TV watching goes, there is so much wrong with the casual media encounters we do have. After all, the magazines in the grocery store check-out line have many of the images that are noted in MEF's materials. Wander over and take a look -- there's critical thinking exercises, downloads for viewing and discussion, etc.


If nothing else, it drives me to prayer... and then action.

From our home to yours,
Deb

Sunday, November 12, 2006

100 things...

My friend DebD posted these. And it's MUCH more interesting to laugh and think about this stuff than writing my analysis of Mark 5 after 11 p.m. (The one's I've done are in red.... )

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula.
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you’ and meant it!
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game (YEAH BABY - GO BUCKS!!)
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s nappy
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon

22. Watched a meteor shower

23. Drunk champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse.
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb

33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Scored a winning goal
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Visited all 5 continents (someone pointed out there are 7 - I've been to 3)
40. Taken care of someone who was drunk
41. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
42. Watched wild whales
43. Stolen a sign
44. Backpacked
45. Taken a road-trip
46. Gone rock climbing
48. Midnight walk on the beach (how can you go to school in Miami and NOT do that one?)

49. Gone sky diving
50. Taken a train through Europe
51. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
52. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table, and had a meal with them
53. Milked a cow
54. Alphabetized your CDs
55. Sung karaoke
56. Lounged around in bed all day
57. Gone scuba diving
58. Kissed in the rain
59. Gone to a drive-in theatre
60. Started a business
61. Taken a martial arts class
62. Been in a movie
63. Crashed a party

64. Gone without food for 5 days
65. Gotten a tattoo
66. Got flowers for no reason
67. Performed on stage
68. Been to Las Vegas
69. Recorded music
70. Eaten shark (see #83)
71. Buried one/both of your parents.
72. Been on a cruise ship
73. Spoken more than one language fluently
74. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
75. Walked a famous bridge.
76. Had plastic surgery (would I look like this if I had?? please...)
77. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
78. Wrote articles for a large publication.
77. Tried to lose weight seriously.
79. Piloted an airplane

80. Petted a stingray.
81. Broken someone’s heart
82. Broken a bone
83. Eaten sushi (YICK)
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Parasailed
86. Skipped all your school reunions (and never even cared...)
87. Shaved your head
88. Caused a car accident
89. Pretended to be “sick”
90. Swam in the Pacific Ocean
91. Saved someone’s life.
92. Fainted
93. Been in the room while someone is giving birth. (You mean someone other than me? Do cows count as "someone?")
94. Hitchhiked

95. Adopted a child
96. Been caught daydreaming
97. Been to the Painted Desert
98. Called off a wedding engagement (no, but I got dumped but good!)
99. Donated your blood
100. Become a follower of Jesus Christ

from our home to yours...
Deb

Procrastination Musing...

I still have a bit to do on the paper due at midnight, but my mind needs a break to worry a bit of something else that's on my mind... I imagine someone out there Bloggo-land will not like this post... but it's time to make an honest comment or two...

This morning I was talking with a mom whose son just finished Marine bootcamp. He is an incredible young man of God, and had the grades to go to school just about anywhere - but chose instead to take the route of service to his adopted country (note - he was not born here!) We chatted about fears (deployment) and realities (he won't be home for Christmas!) She said that they had tried every which way to keep him here for the holidays, but it was not meant to be. There is nothing about his life that is his own any more. And she knew that when he signed the recruitment papers -- that their son was not just theirs any more. Then she said something very thought-provoking - "even his shirts," she said, "say U.S. Government property."

So, when I hear people nattering about "rights" and "equality" and "sexual expression" in the armed services, I scratch my head. It's a hierarchy. It's a chain-of-command thing. If you don't want to toe the line, don't join. If you want to write your own rules, consider something else besides the military! Likewise, if you aren't prepared to die, then don't sign. Yeah, I know that's cold. It's true, though. War is like that. Though I am far more of a pacifist than a warrior (if you must know), even I have figured out that there are some things in this life that require a sacrifice that I am not willing to give...

If you want to be "patriotic," then there are million other things you can do for this country that do not require joining the military. Work as a poll judge. Teach school. Be a social worker. Be a foster parent. It's not discrimination. It's reality. Not everyone fits the requirements to be a soldier/sailor.

But to those who ARE giving up everything - identity, home, family, sleep, safety and individuality -- thank you. God bless you. I'm praying for your safe return, and God's peace to prevail...


From our home to yours...
Deb

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Writing about the unanswerable

I've hit a writer's block on part of my "portfolio" for my Spiritual Formation class... a large part of the pre-work (what you have to do before can do the rest) is thinking about and answering some questions.... Questions which, I suspect, will take me a lifetime to answer... Questions which most of us don't ever even think about answering, we just GO AND DO...

So that you can join me in my analysis paralysis, here's the current list of unanswerables for me...

  • What are you passionate about?
  • What causes your heart to stir?
  • What are your “soap boxes”?
  • What motivates you to action?
  • What dreams & visions do you have for the future?
  • What dreams & visions have “cob webs” on them that need to be resurrected?
  • What are the desires of your heart?
  • What tangible/measurable things would you like to accomplish in your life?
  • What circumstances from you past had a shaping effect on who you are today and what you feel called to do?
  • What family values have shaped you?
  • What areas of brokenness from your past does God want to use for the benefit of others?
But wait!! There's more!

Yeah... so... this will take time. I get it. Just pray me through. Monday I am taking a silent retreat for the day, just to think them through. And maybe, just maybe hear God's answer to a couple of 'em!


From our home to yours...
Deb

Friday, November 10, 2006

IDOP

The International Day of Prayer for the persecuted church is this month. See their website for what you can do.

Personally, I am:

- fasting and praying one day each week of this month
- praying for a country by name where Christians are on death row for their faith
- sharing this information with you!

Praying... from our home to yours...

Deb

Friday Five: Red, Blue and Purple all over?

For RevGalBlogPals' "Friday Five":

Those of us who are in the United States have just been through quite a topsy-turvy election. During the campaign we heard a fair amount about red states and blue states, when in fact most of us live in some shade of purple. And so... a lighter look at those confounding colors:


1. Favorite red food
Hard one!!! Probably my BODACIOUS home-made chili! (Not to brag, but it's really good...)


2. Tell us about the bluest body of water you've ever seen in person.
Personson's Cay National Park, off of Grand Bahamas Island.

3. It's movie rental time: Blue Planet, The Color Purple, or Crimson Tide?
What? No SCARLET Letter, SCARLET Pimpernel, or Men of the SCARLET and Gray?
(homegrown film from Ohio State) Sigh... I refuse to chose.

4. What has you seeing red these days?
People who insist that God should be a Democrat or a Republican, especially those who seem to be unable to forgive one another's sins, regardless of political leaning.


5. What or who picks you up when you're feeling blue?
Hugs. Major big-time hugs from the fam or from friends, or a lap full of purrrrrrs.

Regardless of what shade was voted in, God is still on His Throne!

"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God."
[Romans 13:1]

From our home to yours,
Deb

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Election Results

Yeah. That about says it all.

From our home to yours...
Deb

Monday, November 06, 2006

Meditation on Isaiah 55:1-5


Flow through me as a never-ending source
of love
of mercy
of peace
of gentleness
Wash through me like a never-ending spring
of joy
of patience
of kindness
of faithfulness

Sand me down, Lord.
Wash me clean of the things You hate.
Move me on towards what You have called me to do.
Drip Your wisdom on me...

O God...
My Castle
My Redeemer
My Savior
The Lover of my soul...

I thirst no more.




From our home to yours...
Deb

Friday, November 03, 2006

A Friday Five: the Tooth and nothing but the Tooth

Songbird from RevGalBlogPals posted:
"We are in the throes of what will (hopefully) be the final set of braces in this family, and so my mind is on the tooth, the whole tooth and nothing but the tooth.

Please share your thoughts on the following:"

1) The Tooth Fairy Fun, relatively harmless, but answer honestly once they ask.

2) Flossing Electric all the way, baby. Especially because I still have my wisdom teeth.

3) Toothpaste Brands Crest. Mint or Vanilla. Always.

4) Orthodontia for Adults Great if you (a) have the money (b) like to go and have people stick their fingers in your mouth and (c) really and truly would feel better about yourself it you did

5) Whitening products White is fine. Bright almost blue is not. And be careful you don't damage your enamel.

Personally - More trips VOLUNTARILY to the dentist chair? for me -- it's a no-brainer. No thanks....

(no dentist's feelings were intentionally hurt by this message)

From our home to yours -
Deb