Pop Quiz

It would help if I could spell AND type fast. But not bad... and it was interesting what I forgot! Try it and let me know how you did! (Probably your fifth grader will beat me, but oh well..)

62

Surf's UP!

A fresco painting of Phoebe, a leader commended by Paul (Romans 16)
from Damien Casey's research into Women Celebrants in the Early Church

It was a circuitous route which led me to this (which I think started at MomPriest's blog and by sidebar links through many other blogs...)

It's an address by NT Wright on Women's Service in the Church: The Biblical Basis. You'll find it HERE...

At the very least, it's good stuff. :)

Deb

Amazed by Freecycle...

I enjoy Freecycle. It's kinda like what you pick up and read in the dentist's office. It appears in digest format, sorted into a folder in my email "in box". If I don't read a bunch of them, I just delete them. And what a great way to get rid of things I don't want that are still useable and might not get accepted by a GoodWill donation center. While waiting for a document to print, I read through a few of them.

A couple of entries made me giggle so hard. People think others WANT this stuff?? These. Are. Actual entries...

OFFER:
*brand name deleted* coffeemaker
Works great except the water tank leaks.

OFFER:
Baby clothes, used. Most have stains. Sizes newborn to 6 months.

:cough:

Really folks, it is OK to throw things away!!

Today's Heart Song

Naomi and Bill sang it before Communion this morning...
It was incredibly moving and touched me.
Sometimes a song hits me when my head can't connect with the Truth.
Anyway, it's where I'm living.

I know I am fully forgiven, totally loved. But there are times I have trouble remembering that.
It's just an honest reflection, probably because I have started reading in Exodus... and I know we are building up to the first Passover... to the next mile marker towards the ultimate Paschal Lamb.

There are times I feel very unworthy of such infinite love. I get convinced I have to "DO" something to deserve it, or that God will smite me for my sinfulness.

Hildegard of Bingen wrote:
All of you people who were born and cleansed through God's wisdom, hear what I, the radiant light and Creator of all of you, have to say to you, You were planted in My heart at daybreak on the first day of creation.
from Letter to Christian Laypeople

This is not that great a mystery to me.

It's the issues of "performance anxiety" and "control freak" coming to smack me in my egalitarian caboose. For some reason, I think that I must flog myself for being who I am... this imperfect, idealistic, passionate, musical, creative, driven woman of God. Do I think that my imperfection is some kind of surprise to the Almighty? The One who created me - wackiness and all - surely knows and understands the reasons why I follow this misguided logic and hogtie myself!

I think I can not change or that I have "plucked God's last nerve" because of how I stumble with the same issues. I know that I struggle with a lie straight from the pit... and when I heard this song, it just brought me such an overwhelming feeling of love and peace...

East is from the West
Casting Crowns

Here I am Lord and I'm drowning
In Your sea of forgetfulness
The chains of yesterday surround me
I yearn for peace and rest
I don't want to end up where You found me
And it echoes in my mind
Keeps me awake tonight

I know You've cast my sins as far
As the East is from the West
And I stand before You now
As though I've never sinned but today
I feel like I'm just one mistake away
From You leaving me this way

Jesus, can You show me just how far the East is from the West
'Cause I can't bear to see the woman I've been
come rising up in me again
In the arms of Your mercy I find rest
'cause You know just how far
the East is from the West...
from one scarred hand to the other...

I start the day the war begins
Endless reminding of my sin
Time and time again
Your truth Is drowned out by the storm I'm in
Today I feel like I'm just one mistake away
From you leaving me this way

I know You've washed me white
Turned my darkness into light
I need Your peace to get me through
To get me through this night
I can't live by what I feel
But by the truth Your word reveals
I'm not holding on to You
But You're holding on to me
You're holding on to me

Jesus, can You show me just how far the East is from the West
'Cause I can't bear to see the woman I've been
come rising up in me again
In the arms of Your mercy I find rest
'cause You know just how far
the East is from the West...
from one scarred hand to the other...

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

P.S. Here's the embedded video... (direct link is here...)

It's a Winter Friday Five

Singing Owl over at RevGals says...

Brrrr! Baby, it’s COLD outside! At least that is the case where I am this morning. We are in a January deep freeze. Have a cup of hot tea and tackle five easy seasonal questions.

1. What is the thermometer reading at your house this morning?
Hmmm... I didn't check it but The Harpist says it was in the high 20s.

2. Snow—love it or hate it?
Love it. But I hate the way Marylanders drive in it!!!

3. What is winter like where you are?
You never know. Three weeks ago we didn't need jackets. A week later we had temps in the 30s, then snow and now it's typical January. Grey, chilly and bare. Most of the time, we have mixed precipitation which is always dicey for driving!

4. Do you like winter sports? Any good stories?
To do? Not so much. To watch? Figure skating for the music and the drama.

5. What is your favorite season, and why?
Fall!!! That's football season!!! (GO BUCKS!) Need I say more???

Bonus: Share a favorite winter pick-me-up. A recipe, an activity, or whatever.
It would have to be mulled cider. Heat apple cider in a large pot. Add 1/4 cup honey and stir. Put 2 cinnamon sticks, broken into smaller pieces, and 6 or 7 whole cloves in a cheesecloth bag (the spices amount is for every half gallon.) Warm in crockpot. Serve with optional cinnamon stick or an orange twist. (Most people find the cinnamon stick too strong.) The smell is warming too!

Stay warm and well...
Deb

What is it? Gremlins?

OK, earlier in the week we had the death by fours thing.

Later that day, our (voice) landline suddenly stopped working (but the DSL line was fine.) So I filed a trouble ticket and was told the repairs would happen today.

This morning I went to plug in a phone just so the repairman could call the line, expecting to hear... nothing... and there was a dial tone. I go to the Verizon site to cancel the "trouble ticket" and there wasn't one. I go to find the email which tells me I filed a "trouble ticket" and couldn't find it.

But now my new cell phone doesn't work. What is this????

As the pièce de résistance...
Remember my lovely hand vacuum?? It's working again. No smoke. No bang.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!

If my kids hadn't been here to witness it, I would have doubted my sanity!

Deb

I'm saved. Apparently.

I often troll through Lark News... just because they make me laugh at the crazy ways people in the USA think that being a "Christian" must be defined. I finally got around to taking their EQ test (Evangelical Quotient) based on Joel Kirkpatrick's book "A Field Guide to Evangelicals and Their Habitat"...

...and I won't tell you what I scored, but I'll give you a clue. I'm saved. Apparently.

The categories (by points) were:
125-150 points Very evangelical.
75-124 points Somewhat evangelical.
25-74 points Backslidden.
0-24 points Unsaved.

Sometimes, the subculture that claims exclusive rights to Christianity really REALLY gets to me, so I need to go read where the saracasm drips from the fonts off of the page. Where I wince at the painful truth. Where I am reminded to look at who I am and how I live out my life and my faith. And sometimes, just being a pot-stirrer is a whole lotta fun!

Deb

P.S. The shirt is on sale here.

Things die in threes? how about fours?

Back when I worked at a large "extended care facility" (aka a nursing home) some of the staff were discussing the superstition that "things die in threes". There seemed to be some symbolic or world-balancing karma that made it so. We laughed about it and dismissed it.

And then...
3 patients died.
3 people had their cars stolen.
3 staff members resigned (different departments and employment levels, so it wasn't staged.)
and there were a whole string of "3s" in the days and weeks following.

It seemed strange. Downright weird, in fact. We wrote it off to coincidence and moved on. I forgot about it in the years since.

Until this evening...
- my electric (hand) mixer died.
- my trusty sonicare toothbrush bit the dust.
- the water-squirting dental appliance stopped working.
- the best hand vaccum I've ever had made a loud banging sound, spit sparks and black smoke.

That's four. WAIT A MINUTE!
grumble... well, phooey.

deb

The Weapon of Love

Photo by Barbara Gluck
taken during the Vietnam War

Use only the weapon of love and let no man pull you so low as to hate him. Look at your oppressor hard enough to see in him something of God's image; yes, it might be just a spark, but if you work on him long enough, it can develop into a leaping flame.

-- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in
Paul's Letter to American Christians (1956)

Check out my new cell phone!

Weellll.... maybe not the thermometer part... (ew)
:)
Deb

Hurting

St. Casserole wrote something that spoke to my heart. I kinda had my feelings trampled on today. I am not flattened, really, just hurt.

Turns out someone I thought was a close friend, isn't really, if it doesn't suit her purposes. Or if I have a differing opinion (which, gosh geewhillikers... this brain of mine DOES have from time to time...)

I should have seen the signs. I didn't.

I could have been more confrontational or ask a leading question to get a straight answer. I was afraid.

I know what I have to do...

I choose to love.

I choose not to take the road of self-deceptive "I'm OK, really."
(When I am not.)

I choose to believe that this, too, is God's Hand,
directing and protecting me.

I choose to claim the words of Psalm 40:5

Many, O LORD my God,
are the wonders You have done.
The things You planned for us
no one can recount to You;
were I to speak and tell of them,
they would be too many to declare.

And now,
I choose to go to sleep...

Deb

Need some references!

Hey RevGals and pals...
I need some references for the story of Hannah... beyond the prayer for a child (since not everyone in the congregation is waiting to conceive or wanting to...)

Ideas?
POVs?

Please??
:)

Deb

Friday Five: Read Any Good Books Lately?

Rev HRod from RevGalBlogPals writes:

I think that some books ARE better than others! How about you?

Oh - ABSOLUTELY! And unfortunately, there is a lot of trash out there. It is discouraging too, because I think, as you look at this list, that you'll agree that it IS possible to write a book that isn't soft porn or pablum.

Or maybe it's just me. Anyway, here's this week's Five!


1. What book have you read in the last six months that has really stayed with you? Why?

It HAS to be Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. I waited a month to get the book at the library, read it through twice and couldn't stop thinking about it after I read it. It is just one of those books that grips you. It's the story of Greg's mission to build schools for GIRLS in the remotest parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan. (You can read the back story here!)

The book struck a chord in me because it talked about the passion and focus of one person, and what having and living for a vision and a dream can accomplish, against all odds. I especially appreciated reading something about that part of the world that was not militaristic propaganda.


2. What is one of your favorite childhood books?

Probably Black Beauty. I loved the story of a good horse and good people (and what happens when people aren't good to animals.) It was one of those books to curl up and read on a rainy afternoon... or under the covers at night with a flashlight!

Since I was horse-crazy as a kid, I wanted a horse in the worst way.



Do you have a favorite book of the Bible? Do tell!

Without a doubt, the Psalms!

You get history, poetry, metaphors, laments, praise, despair, confession, and deep words of faith. There are creative forms, meters and rhymes, chants and responses, long and short... a banquet of literature.

There's more than my mind can conceive or understand just reading the English translation. Then, ya throw in the riches of studying the Hebrew text, and my mind just boggles.

What is one book you could read again and again?

Oh dear. ONE book? Not possible. Not even one series... How could I chose between:
The Lord of the Rings
Harry Potter
The Chronicles of Narnia

I won't, I tell you! Instead, I'm going to vote for David Eddings' five volume series called "The Belgariad" (closely followed by "The Mallorean" series) and I promise you, if you start the series, you won't be able to put them down. Each book ends as a cliff-hanger, and you must must read them in order!

(OK, I know that's cheating. But really. ONE book? You must be joking!)

Is there a book you would suggest for Lenten reading? What is it and why?

I haven't even thought about Lent. I don't know if it's really "Lenten" or not, but I am going to re-read Brennan Manning's Ruthless Trust. I wrote about it last week.

It's just good stuff.

There's something about being reminded that you really don't have anything else you can trust, anything else you can really sink your roots into than God. No one else. No other thing. Just God.


And because we all love bonus questions, if you were going to publish a book what would it be? Who would you want to write the jacket cover blurb expounding on your talent?

Wow. Well, I would love to write a book. I think I'd like to write fiction for readers who are after Dr. Suess but before Stephen King. Not horror. Not kiddie porn. Not Christian pablum. Something that intrigues, gives a challenge to the mind and the heart, and something that makes you laugh.

And who would be my "blurbist"? (is that a word? Well, it is now!) Oh, let's go for broke. Oprah!

That's my bookshelf and I'm sticking with it!

Deb

Oboe, snake and snow!

It is just too pretty out there. I am going to have to close the curtains. I mean, really. WHO wants to type when it's so lovely outside??

So instead of studying, let me do a quick photoblog of the last week. I can at least claim something productive from my procrastination!!

FIRST... Reedy Girl played her oboe in a concert and had a solo.

Reedy Girl (center) with compatriots...

...and playing away on her chosen WMD (weapon of musical description!)

THEN... Our long-spined friend has made himself at home.

As a necklace...

And as a hair scrunchie!

FINALLY... It is beautiful today.

The morning started watching a puffed up hawk size up our squirrel population. (I think she was wearing her down longjohns!!) Can you see her? She thought she was invisible!

And now we have a bit of snow falling, just decorative enough to make it really hard to write my paper. sigh...

And falling hard enough that I suspect there will be a bit of aerobic exercise this afternoon once it stops. It's no biggie. Only about 3-4 inches forecast, which means we will get half of that or twice as much!

But isn't it pretty???

OK. I'm back to work. sigh...

Deb

Great quote!

"This is beautiful work.. simple, genuine, redemptive. It shouldn't seem radical, but it is. It shouldn't even be necessary to say "men and women are equal" -- but it is. Hopefully in another ten years, the saints of CBE will end gender inequality and put themselves out of jobs. Until then, may we all live in discomfort amid a booming choir of white men, while the church is pregnant with women who are ready to lead and write and preach but still get funny looks or cold shoulders."

Shane Claiborne

Sounds like me, alright!

You Are 15% Left Brained, 85% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

Bein' Eyeore

Sometimes he thought sadly to himself "Why?" and sometimes he thought "Wherefore?" and sometimes he thought "Inasmuch as which?" - and sometimes he didn't quite know what he was thinking about.
A.A.Milne, "Winnie the Pooh"


Ok. Ok. I admit it. I had an Eyeore moment yesterday.

I was feeling "whelmed" and the reason was because I sat down and tried to write down every due date for assignments, every reading list, and everything related to school home, church, internship, life, the universe and everything for the upcoming semester. And gee. I was feeling like it was a bit much.

So.

I'm stepping back and looking up. Waiting for the sky to clear. And believing, deep down, that I was made to do this.



Thanks, friends...
Deb

She ain't what she used to be...

This is my second week in water aerobics. Ohhhhhhhhh... I am tired. My back and knees are telling me I might be one of the youngest people in the class, but I am definitely no spring chicken any more.

The old grey mare she ain't what she used to be...

There's dishes undone. And I have a lot of homework. And volunteering at the middle school and then work at the office tomorrow. And doing a midday pickup because of finals at the high school this week. And chauffeuring kids hither and thither after school. And oh yes. People still want laundry done and dinner made and a semblance of order.

It is only week 2 of the semester. And I am feeling whelmed. (not OVERwhelmed, mind you.)

Please PLEASE someone tell me that it is easier when one is not balancing husband and kids and work AND seminary. It doesn't have to be easy. Just easy-ER.

sigh...
Deb

"Iron My Shirt" and other things that aren't funny...

A man disrupts Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign event by standing up and holding a sign reading "Iron My Shirt" at Salem High School January 7, 2008 in New Hampshire. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

As seen at The Swamp blog - The Baltimore Sun.

Let me be clear.

I don't particularly care for Hillary. (You may spam me or nuke me now.) But I hate sexist comments. Racist comments. Rude comments. It's not the way of Christ.

I also don't like the fact that the people (reportedly two men) holding the bright yellow sign were:
(a) removed from the rally
(b) ignored, pointedly so, by the press
(c) not allowed their free speech moment

They were a security risk (?) and that was why they were removed.

I have long been skeptical of the political process. Everyone seems so made-for-TV, sound-bite-managed and scripted. If a politician dared to be wrinkled, tongue-tied or have a pimple, they are quickly and thoroughly trashed (if not by the mainstream media, at least by late night talk show hosts.) Remember how Romney has been mocked for having "perfect hair"?

What do I want? REAL interviews. REAL words and thoughts. I'm not holding out much hope.

You can bet I'll vote in my state's primary. AND in the general election. But I am getting very jaded in the process... and it is only January.

My spouse had a Tshirt that has not been available any more. It said:
"A politician thinks of the next election. A statesman thinks of the next generation."
James Freeman Clarke (1810 - 1888)

Me thinks we have WAYyyy too many politicians out there.

Deb

P.S. Just an FYI - I don't iron much for anyone.

I. Did. This.

No. Not dot the "i" - but spell it. Many times. Single, double and quad Script Ohio's.

ONCE a Buckeye, ALWAYS a Buckeye!

Deb

Blogging challenge

Alex at Besomami has issued a blogging challenge. She writes:
"Every time I finish a book this year, I am going to post about it. Anyone care to join me? Leave a comment on this post and we can keep up with each other, compare books, give suggestions, etc."

Soooo... OK. I'm in! How about you?

I've already finished three (OK, vacation helped!) and am ready to start my next book. Fun, philosophical, political, educational... I think anything except a comic book counts.

Here's my first three:
Off-Road Disciplines: Spiritual Adventures of Missional Leaders by Earl Creps
It's a book for people who want to be honest about missional churches and their impact on (western) culture. There's a lot I liked in this book... I wish, however, he had dealt with the issue of women and ordination, because he was silent about that. And he didn't strike me as someone who was unwilling to let a woman preach.


Ruthless Trust: The Ragamuffin's Path to God by Brennan Manning
I love how he writes. I love how he points me back, every single time, to Scripture and to God's redemptive power in Jesus. I appreciate the raw, real issues he grapples with and throws into my face as a result. Good stuff. Plus he quotes writers I love like Henri Nouwen. :) My journal is filled with quotes to re-read and consider. Good stuff.


Becky Garrison's book Rising from the Ashes: Rethinking Church is a more radical version of Creps' book (above.) She pulls no punches and lets the voices of leaders in the "emergent" church speak for themselves. I have page flags stuck all through this book because of some blunt quotes that made me blink... and then think. If you care about the church thriving past this generation, you need to read it. Even if you "hate" the whole idea of the "emergent" church, you need to think about the issues these voices raise. I'm just sayin...

OK, that's it for now. I will try and pick more interesting, non-theological books too. But hey. I'm in seminary. I am reading pages and pages every week. And it ain't the funny pages. But I will try to be more diverse.

:) Deb

FOOTBALL MANIA... GO BUCKS!!

(c) Rob Carr, AP Photo

GO BUCKEYES!!!

And in honor of the circus known as college football, here's some great football-related quotes...

"At Georgia Southern, we don't cheat. That costs money and we don't have any."
Erk Russell / Georgia Southern.

"Football is only a game. Spiritual things are eternal. Nevertheless, Beat Texas. "
Seen on a church sign in Arkansas prior to the 1969 game.

"After you retire, there's only one big event left....and I ain't ready for that."
Bobby Bowden / Florida State

"The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely to be the one who dropped it."
Lou Holtz / Arkansas

"When you win, nothing hurts."
Joe Namath / Alabama

"Motivation is simple. You eliminate those who are not motivated."
Lou Holtz / Arkansas

"If you want to walk the heavenly streets of gold, you gotta know the password, "Roll, tide, roll!"
Bear Bryant / Alabama

"A school without football is in danger of deteriorating into a medieval study hall."
Frank Leahy / Notre Dame

"There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you."
Woody Hayes / Ohio State

"I don't expect to win enough games to be put on NCAA probation. I just want to win enough to warrant an investigation."
Bob Devaney / Nebraska

"In Alabama , an atheist is someone who doesn't believe in Bear Bryant."
Wally Butts / Georgia

"You can learn more character on the two yard line than anywhere else in life."
Paul Dietzel / LSU

"It's kind of hard to rally around a math class."
Bear Bryant / Alabama

When asked if Fayetteville was the end of the world, "No, but you can see it from here."
Lou Holtz / Arkansas

"I make my practices real hard because if a player is a quitter, I want him to quit in practice, not in a game."
Bear Bryant / Alabama

"There's one sure way to stop us from scoring-give us the ball near the goal line."
Matty Bell / SMU

"Lads, you're not to miss practice unless your parents died or you died."
Frank Leahy / Notre Dame

"I never graduated from Iowa , but I was only there for two terms - Truman's and Eisenhower's."
Alex Karras / Iowa

"My advice to defensive players: Take the shortest route to the ball and arrive in a bad humor."
Bowden Wyatt / Tennessee

"I could have been a Rhodes Scholar, except for my grades."
Duffy Daugherty / Michigan State

"Always remember..... Goliath was a 40 point favorite over David."
Shug Jordan / Auburn

"They cut us up like boarding house pie. And that's real small pieces."
Darrell Royal / Texas

"Show me a good and gracious loser, and I'll show you a failure."
Knute Rockne / Notre Dame

"They whipped us like a tied up goat."
Spike Dykes / Texas Tech

"I asked Darrell Royal, the coach of the Texas Longhorns, why he didn't recruit me and he said: "Well, Walt, we took a look at you and you weren't any good."
Walt Garrison / Oklahoma State

"Son, you've got a good engine, but your hands aren't on the steering wheel."
Bobby Bowden / Florida State

"Football is not a contact sport-it is a collision sport. Dancing is a contact sport."
Duffy Daugherty / Michigan State

After USC lost 51-0 to Notre Dame, his postgame message to his team: "All those who need showers, take them."
John McKay / USC

"If lessons are learned in defeat, our team is getting a great education."
Murray Warmath / Minnesota

"The only qualifications for a lineman are to be big and dumb. To be a back, you only have to be dumb."
Knute Rockne / Notre Dame

"Oh, we played about like three tons of buzzard puke this afternoon."
Spike Dykes / Texas Tech

"It isn't necessary to see a good tackle. You can hear it."
Knute Rockne / Notre Dame

"We live one day at a time and scratch where it itches."
Darrell Royal / Texas

"We didn't tackle well today but we made up for it by not blocking."
John McKay / USC

"Three things can happen when you throw the ball, and two of them are bad."
Woody Hayes, The Ohio State University

"I've found that prayers work best when you have big players."
Knute Rockne / Notre Dame

"Gentlemen, it is better to have died a small boy than to fumble this football."
John Heisman

What I said in 2007

Hat tip to Seeking Authentic Voice for this idea... who writes: "Several blogs have posted the first sentences of the first post for each month of 2007."

To save you from doing all the clicking and scrolling, if there's a sentence that captures your fancy, just click on the month.

January
"We're the new "ears" in town..."

February
Sometimes, you just don't give a rip...

March
Sure.

April
Just a few days... from Palms and Hosannas to loneliness and pain.

May
I may worry for naught.

June
OK - I confess - the first thing that came to mind was Paul Simon's song Kodachrome!


July
NOoooo.... not THAT one!

August
Abbey of the Arts had a poetry invitation on her blog.

September
GO BUCKS!

October
Oh my.

November
Yes.

December
WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!


This was a fun review of a pretty amazing year.

Easy? Uh. NOPE. Impossible? It seemed that way, but I made it through, with a lot of God's grace and many good friends and family (blogging and not.)

Thanks...

Deb

Putting away Christmas

I hate doing it. For me, it's one of the more depressing chores of the year... putting away Christmas.

The brightness of the tree lights in the house and the ones on the bushes out front kind of help me get through the gloomy weeks of the start of the winter. It's a long time until spring. Or at least it seems that way to me.

But I looked at the calendar, reminding me that my classes start tomorrow and realized that if I didn't get things stowed THIS weekend, it would be many weeks before it happened with as much ease. And this year, I wanted to take time as I put things away to sort and think about what I wanted to keep, and what I was willing to send along its way to a donation center. I don't donate junk - that gets thrown away. Things that are nice, but either not my style or my preference... those are leaving. This week!

It took all of my free time this weekend. I didn't really mind too much. It's not a chore that people around here stand in line and say, "oh BOY! Let's take down the Christmas decorations!" It seems to be a "Mom" chore. Yes, I did conscript some help to haul boxes, and to take ornaments off of the tree, but most of the job was mine alone. So I had a chance to think... to pray... and while it did make me a little blue, it was also a good thing to do by myself.

Lest you think I have color coordinated boxes and bins... with everything in perfect rows and line up in segmented divider trays... I don't. I have made progress and every box is labeled on the side AND the top. I did gradually move us out of cardboard boxes to plastic storage bins. (There was just something about putting the Baby Jesus away for the year in a liquor box that seemed a little too bizarre. I mean, I know WWJD also means "Who Wants Jack Daniels?" but...)

Ah well...

The semester starts tomorrow. Part 2 of my internship begins this week. I'm starting a water aerobics class tomorrow (where IS my bathing suit??) and the list of "what must get done" this week is very long... But that's tomorrow's list.

For now... it's time to rest. And be thankful.

At Christmas I no more desire a rose,
Than wish a snow in May's new-fangled shows;
But like of each thing that in season grows.
~ William Shakespeare

Love's Labour Lost

So to all... a good night!

Deb

Because all the Cool Kids are doing it...

The Recipe For Deb

3 parts Silliness 2 parts Devilry 1 part Warmth Splash of Nonconformity Finish off with a squeeze of lime juice

What's the Recipe for Your Personality?

RevGalBlogPals: Friday Five on Resolutions

I read the RevGals Friday Five this week and my age started showing. Don't know why, but the Beatles song, "You Say You Want a Revolution" came thundering through my head. One little letter...
Revolution...
Resolution...

hmmmm.....

I suppose seriously taking RESOLUTIONS seriously would cause a REVOLUTION in my life. So I have started this post over. (And, if I have now stuck a song in your head, my apologies. Maybe I can get it out of MINE now!)

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

Sally from RevGalBlogPals writes:

Well it had to be didn't it? Love them or hate them I bet you've been asked about New Year resolutions. So with no more fuss here is this weeks Friday Five:

1. Do you make New Year resolutions?
No, not really. Maybe it's being on this continuous self-improvement or spiritual formation process called "seminary"...

2. Is this something you take seriously, or is it a bit of fun? Oh most definitely un-serious. That is, to write them down and all that.

3. Share one goal for 2008. To go skydiving, lose 20 pounds, finally nail that triple axel and bring about world peace. OK, seriously? To keep faith, family, friends, ministry and studies in the right order.

4. Money is no barrier, share one wild/ impossible dream for 2008. Take my husband and kids to the German Alps.

5. Someone wants to publish a story of your year in 2008, what will the title of that book be? My first thought was a horror story: "The Year That Ate Her Brain" but that seems a wee bit dramatic! (Can you tell I have been looking at next semester's syllabi and panicking a bit?) But, given my serious goal listed above, "Laughing and Loving Life with God." Yeah. That works.

You say you want a RESOLUTION? May all of yours be real ones...

Deb

Calvin is staying at our house...

Meet Calvin the Python. He's a "ball" python, often called a "bald" python. He's not mine. He just lives with me.

So far, he has not barked, puked, scratched, mewed or chewed anything he shouldn't. He's a model citizen.

The feline occupants (Tiria and Polgara are undecided. The rest of us are OK with it, with the except of the Harpist... who is deliriously happy. SHE wins the honors for feeding it, cleaning the cage, etc.)

As the song goes... "...the things we do for love..."

Deb

The mothership has landed...

Look out! The mothership has landed!

One of the things I asked for (and received) this Christmas was a refill of the planner pages for my "brain". I have a Palm Zire that is dying (sadly) and doesn't want to sync. I had three calendars going - my desk, the kitchen and my laptop. Depending on where I was, appointments and reminders were written in one calendar, sometimes two, but never all three. The last few weeks of the fall semester, things got VERY messy. I dropped the ball more than I hit it.

Beloved and I are going to be looking for new PDA/cell phone combos so that electronically, at least, we can be synced. But I needed SOMETHING that was easy to update until then to manage "life" and all of its many tangles. Something that I could quickly copy or check for all of life's events because this semester is going to be crazy!

sooo.... off to the races. Planner in hand...

Deb