Real life. Real sermonating

My average week has plenty to keep me busy, thankyouverymuch.

This week -- one of the two times a year that I preach? Is packed and more stressful than usual.

Hammering out an agreement for a part-time ministry position. (Make an offer, blast it! MUST we do all of the legwork?)

Helping Reedy Girl get ready for a band trip -- her first major trip out-of-state with school. She was so excited and anxious that NO prep work on my sermon happened last night. It was OK. It was just that I thought I would have a couple of hours.

Talking options for senior year with the Harpist, whose academic stress level is off the charts. It's OK. She's a junior with 2 AP classes and 2 hard academic classes (for her) that are NOT AP but are killing her (Algebra 2 and Honors Chem.) It's just that what's ideal and what's reality may be two different things and her self-imposed expectations are high. Trying to encourage and walk through that mess is just not easy.

Listening to my beloved bearded spouse and some issues which truly suck. Truly. And having no answers because of the Machiavellian nature of it all... And having no time to listen because I have work to do.... but listening anyway because I love him.

And then there's extended family prayer concerns... an ill brother-in-law, a healing sister or two... inlaws and outlaws stuff. Yikes. My brain is full.

SOooo.. I prayed. Listened to Pray-as-you-go for some peace and refocusing and Jesus time.... And it's time to blog and then work...

JUST as the house finally gets quiet, the cat horks, the phone rings (telemarketer I can ignore), and there's a day laborer at the door wanting work (I don't answer). And I need to set all this aside to finish up my sermon outline.

Because, though it ain't gettin' preached until Sunday, the outline MUST be done for tomorrow so that the slides and program can be finished.

AH. real life. real sermonating.

Just mildly stretched, thanks. You can call me...

...ElastiDeb!

More than enough...

Six weeks have gone by...

Lent is done and the weeks of Easter are here. I have been pondering what I have really accomplished in six weeks. Oh sure, there's been assignments ad nauseum for seminary. I don't think that counts for much. You can't measure life in terms of papers, projects and pseudo-sermons... At least, I sure don't want to live life that way!!

So I have reflected on the last several weeks and considered what I've learned or watched others learn...

I feel as though I have not done enough. Not even close... and this is a bit discouraging.

• I had some goals for Lent that I tried to take on this year. I wanted to give up chocolate, and commit to memorize Colossians 3. Lest anyone reading this think that being in seminary is some ticket to holiness, or that I've got it all-together, I'd like to tell you straight up - I blew it! I've learned that I do not have the self-discipline to watch with Him one hour... let alone deprive myself of six weeks of chocolate. Now that's pretty lame! Not that I had chocolate that often... but I did not make it six weeks without it. And it was pretty interesting, because once I succumbed, it was easier and easier and easier to just have 'one little taste'. And the memory work? Fuggedaboutit! I can't blame it on anything other than a lack of desire to just DO it!


• I listened to two bright, gifted Christian singles justify why they should be dating/marrying someone who is not a Christian... that it would be OK... that things would work out if they were kind enough or godly enough and that would bring their unbelieving partner to see Christ for Who He Is... I offered some gentle thoughts and was ignored (and in one case, yelled at for being "judgmental") and so I leave their relationships in God's Hands, since He is indeed better at caring for them anyway.


• I watched as my mother-in-law, who by her own choices, made her life miserable and depressing... and knew that I could not change her attitude, but I could change my response to one of acceptance of her in her unhappiness (and not try to change it!) And my Beloved Bearded Spouse and I continue to struggle with this one...


• I worshipped the Creator in the middle of the Baltimore Aquarium... Who else but GOD could had made fish with neon stripes and gave us birds who looked like their feathers came from a Crayola box??
  


• I have missed seeing my family, and spending time with them at the beach as we have done many a spring break...
  


• I have been moved to tears by music, to laughter by a cat and her wuzzled catnip mouse, to silence by a bird's song in my window, to words of hope from a morning scripture reading...

I am so far from where I could be. I can look back and see little glimpses of God at work in and through me. Was it all I could have done? Not nearly. Fortunately, God's love for me does not depend on my ability to DO anything... it rests only in what He DID!

All of you is more than enough for all of me,
for ev'ry thirst and ev'ry need.
You satisfy with with Your love..
'Cause all I have in You
is more than enough...
[Chris Tomlin]

Yes... He satisfies and it is indeed MORE than "enough" for me...

From our home to yours...
Deb

Friday Five: Rivers in the Desert

I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19, NRSV

Songbird of RevGals writes:
As we near the end of the long journey toward Easter, a busy time for pastors and layfolk alike, I ponder the words of Isaiah and the relief and refreshment of a river in the desert.

For this Friday Five, name five practices, activities, people or _____ (feel free to fill in something I may be forgetting) that for you are rivers in the desert.

ONLY five practices, activities or people??? wow... I have experienced many ways of refreshment in recent years. But here's an attempt...

1. Family: I am blessed with a very patient, tolerant and encouraging family, not just my mom and sibs, but my husband and daughters as well. And I should add my church and Emmaus families in here, too. Who knew that not only would they think my journey towards ministry is God-ordained, but that they would jump in to help me start on my way? Their support continues to surprise and bless me.
   
2. Friends: Especially my prayer partners and my mentors. They listen, challenge and pray like mad. And they help me keep things in perspective and in close to a right priority.
3. Music: Singing. Playing. Humming. Rehearsing. Creating. Performing. Writing. Arranging. Praising. Rocking out!!! I have never been far from music; it is my heart beat to God. When I am too far gone to care about music, I am pretty sick or depressed.
   
4. Re-discovering old favorites: I wandered back through a reading of Practicing the Presence by Brother Lawrence. Sometimes, steeping my heart in the familiar is comforting, renewing and exhorting all at the same time.
5. Seeing God in the every day, common noise of life: It struck me this morning when I woke up that we get too habitual, too wrapped up in our insulated patterns. Last night was the first 'warm' spring evening and we left our bedroom windows open. (It plays havoc on my asthma, but I love the air!) Instead of hearing our "canned" birdsong alarm, I listened to the birds waking up, louder and louder, chirpier and happier as the sky began to lighten. And the bonus was an owl "hoo-hoo-HOOO-HOOOOO-hooo-hoo"-ing as kind of the last kick in the butt (or ears?) to wake up. With my windows closed, I don't hear the bird song every morning. I have been thinking this morning that there are many times I miss the 'background music' that God has in my life. I want to "tune in" better today and every day. Here's to refreshment from just being more aware of His presence!!
   

Good when He gives, supremely good;
Nor less when He denies:
Afflictions, from His sovereign Hand,
Are blessings in disguise.
- Brother Lawrence.

Back to papers and other fun things... BUT - with a lightened heart! And hopefully, I've helped lighten yours, too...
Deb

Being Salt...

I took these photos when we visited the "Giant's Causeway" in County Antrim, N. Ireland. It is one of those natural phenomena that you read about, but words can not really explain its beauty. Its magnificence has to be experienced, and you can only begin to see it when you stand at the top of the cliff (right) and then hike down to the the bottom (below) of this huge basalt stone formation.

The hexagonal stones, formed so long ago, created a series of stepping stones from the ridge down to the sea. The day we were there the sun, breeze and salt air made it just about perfect. (Ireland - sun and no rain? Go figure...)
As I stepped from stone to stone, slowly working my way out and across the formation, I kept thinking in wonder, "Lord, You were here when these stones were made... You were here when the cliffs were revealed as the dirt surrounding them washed away. You were here..."

The stones themselves have changed over time. Their basic shape remains, but they have become weathered and smooth. The tides pound their edges, softening the angles. The lower ones, because of the wind and the waves, have moss and algae on them.

We were not alone during our visit. Bus after bus chugged down the hill, releasing passengers to clamber around the rocks. Birds and the occasional gull and falcon soared over us.

But my favorite discovery was in the windward side of the rocks. Down low, close to sea level, I found a place where the sea water had evaporated, and all that was left was the salt... It was crusty, astringent to my finger tips (and yes, I tasted it - it was salty!)

All that was left was the salt...

When it comes down to it, that's all that I want "left" of me - His Saltiness! The rest of me I hope is evaporating away, and leaving less and less Deb, and more of Jesus for you to see, touch, know and hear...

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple."
"Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
[Luke 14:26-27, 34-35]

Yes. Sounds good. A Salty Deb...

She who has ears is working on hearing...
Deb

Tossing Chunks...

It only took the four of us about three hours to de-ice and chip away the driveway and front steps this morning. We were going to let nature take its course and have things melt away. After all, it was only 2 or 3 inches of snow, with about 1/4 inch of ice on top. Nothing that a couple of days of 40 degree weather couldn't melt for us. Then we found out that the temp is dropping to near 0 degrees F tonight.

SOooo... with that in mind, and because none of us really and truly are in to ice sculptures, we joined the cul-de-sac shoveling party and hacked it all away. Thankfully, Beloved Bearded Spouse had seen to the pre-storm priming of the snowblower. It was slow going, but the worst of the driveway was cleared courtesy of some fossil fuel, two-cycle engine and brute force dragging the thing back and forth... We discovered a new meaning for the phrase "tossing chunks" (as in ice!) The sky was blue while we shoveled, and breeze was not too bad. By the time it was done, it was past lunch time and we are all feeling tired and a wee bit stiff tonight. Tomorrow... ouch. I would like to join the groundhog and sleep until spring.

Profound theological thoughts with this? Nope. I'm just grateful for a machine that tosses chunks, my polar fleece socks, a lap cat and the power staying on tonight...

From our home to yours...
Deb

The Teacup

There was a couple who used to go England to shop in a beautiful antique store. This trip was to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. They both liked antiques and pottery, and especially tea-cups. Spotting an exceptional cup, they asked to see it because they had never seen one quite so beautiful. As the lady handed it to them, suddenly the tea-cup spoke.

You don't understand, it said, I have not always been a tea-cup. There was a time when I was just a lump of red clay. My master took me and rolled me pounded and patted me over and over and I yelled out, "Don't do that. I don't like it! Let me alone!"

But he only smiled, and gently said; "Not yet!!"

Then, WHAM! I was placed on a spinning wheel and suddenly I was spun around and around and around. "Stop it ! I'm getting so dizzy! I'm going to be sick!" I screamed.

But the Master only nodded and said quietly, "Not yet."

He spun me and poked and prodded and bent me out of shape to suit himself and then He put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I yelled and knocked and pounded at the door. "Help! Get me out of here!"

I could see Him through the opening and I could read His lips as He shook his head from side to side, "Not yet."

When I thought I couldn't bear it another minute, the door opened. He carefully took me out and put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. Oh, that felt so good! "Ah, this is much better," I thought. But, after I cooled he picked me up and he brushed and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag. "Oh, please; Stop it, Stop it!!" I cried.

He only shook his head and said, "Not yet!"

Then suddenly he put me back in to the oven. Only it was not like the first one. This was twice as hot and I just knew I would suffocate. I begged. I pleaded. I screamed. I cried. I was convinced I would never make it. I was ready to give up. Just then the door opened and he took me out and again placed me on the shelf, where I cooled and waited...
...and waited, wondering, "What's he going to do to me next?"

An hour later he handed me a mirror and said, "Look at yourself." And I did. I said, "That's not me; that couldn't be me. It's beautiful. I'm beautiful!"

Quietly He spoke: "I want you to remember, then," He said. "I know it hurt to be rolled and pounded and patted, but had I just left you alone, you'd have dried up. I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled. I know it hurt and it was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn't put you there, you would have cracked. I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I hadn't done that, you never would have hardened. You would not have had any color in your life. If I hadn't put you back in that second oven, you wouldn't have survived for long because the hardness would not have held. Now you are a finished product. Now you are what I had in mind when I first began with you."

The moral of this story is this:
God knows what He's doing for each of us. He is the Potter, and we are His clay. He will mold us and make us, and expose us to just enough pressures of just the right kinds that we may be made into a flawless piece of work to fulfill His good, pleasing and perfect will. So when life seems hard, and you are being pounded and patted and pushed almost beyond endurance; when your world seems to be spinning out of control; when you feel like you are in a fiery furnace of trials; when life seems to "stink", try this....

Brew a cup of your favorite tea in your nicest tea cup, sit down and think on this story and then...
...have a little talk with the Potter.

...And sometimes you "LET 'ER RIP!"

Yes, sometimes you just have to LET 'ER RIP! I mean, why stop living just because things have changed???

Change is life. Change is good. Too much change at once, now THAT'S the problem... so without further ado, here is...

The RevGals Friday Five:
Friday Five: ch- ch- ch- ch- changes

Many of the RevGals using Blogger are experiencing some chaos this week as they move from Old Blogger to New Blogger. (Is that anything like New Coke?) Change is a given in life, yet it's not easy for any of us. So strap on your seat belts and let's talk about it:

1. Share, if you wish, the biggest change you experienced this past year.
Easy. For some reason (or possibly, a lack of reason,) I went back to seminary after 25 years.

2. Talk about a time you changed your mind about something, important or not.
Oh it's always the big decisions that get me. Paper or plastic? Caffeinated or decaffeinated? Leaded or unleaded? Beetle or Rabbit? White or blush? Red or green?

3. Bishop John Shelby Spong wrote a controversial book called "Why Christianity Must Change or Die." Setting aside his ideas--what kind of changes would you like to see in the Church?
Myron Augsburger expressed it very nicely: that people will be used in the church according to their gifts, not their genes.

4. Have you changed your hairstyle/hair color in the last five years? If so, how many times?
Nope. It's pretty much the same. Short-ish, layered and wash-and-wear. The only real change is those, uh, "natural variants" in hair color. (And I don't mean summer-induced blonde streaks!)

5. What WERE they thinking with that New Coke thing?
Who knows? WERE they thinking? I mean - the big hair, leggings, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Max Headroom, Moonwalking, "popped" Izod collars... wait! wait! that sounds like some of the high school stuff today! Whoda thunk that leggings would be back? I mean... eeeww...


My bonus question: A song with CHANGE in the title?
Current favorite - John Mayer's "Waiting for the World to Change" (We're doing it on Sunday!)


Change ain't all bad - look at one result - I have been blessed with the camaraderie and encouragement of the REVGALS!

From our home to yours...
Deb

The new "ears" in town...

We're the new "ears" in town... We have been at our present church about a year now. We are getting to know different members and staff personnel. We've been welcomed and loved and encouraged. It's been a good change. I've been allowed to jump in as deep as I care to using my gifts... music, writing and just being "Deb".

And, as I'm in seminary, I know I'm being watched. There are people who go out of their way to be encouraging. (God bless them! They have NO idea how much their prayers and hugs mean...) There are others who wonder why "at my age" I would go back to school. (Yeah. well. Talk to God, I'm just following!)

We have changed churches before, so the predictable is happening. We are learning "who's who" in the church...

• First - You meet the squeaky wheels, the malcontents, the people who pretend they are friendly only to pump you for information on what you know about the church, or to portray themselves as someone that you "need" to get acquainted and involved. They often introduce you to the leaders and organizers of the church (giving you a carefully biased and constructed opinion of the church's "history".)
  
• Second - The folks who are 1000% focused on Jesus, the ones who will give you anything in service of the King, and the ones who are gifted beyond words at what they do.
• Third - there's miles of folks in-between who are faithful, quiet and servants to the extent that their jobs, families and finances allow.

Unfortunately, the ones who work the hardest to get our ear are the first ones. Their agenda is self-driven. Their suggestive commentary and critiques are poisonous to attitude and serving. They turn people off to the church and her mission... yet they don't leave and go to another church! (Isn't that odd?? If there is so much that is "wrong" then WHY are they still here??)

Kenneth Haugk describes people like this as those who go out of their way to attack people or their performance. The attacks are often behind-the-scenes and with the goal of bringing other people in on their "side" of a situation. They are not as interested in taking power away from others as just making those who are leading to feel unable to lead (or that they are essential to the leader's "success".) [Antagonists in the Church]

When I first sat and talked with experienced pastors about my dreams of going to seminary, they each warned me about "people". One pastor said, "you need to love all of God's sheep, especially the sick ones." Then he went on to tell me about the people in his church who had hurt him terribly, yet who he continued to love and pray for daily. His wife said, "it is a kind of insanity... you keep loving the unloveable yet within limits." Another pastor said, "be prepared to follow Jesus, not the opinions of your ruling elders. And it will be hard."

Geesh. Nothing like scaring me -- and yet it helped me check my resolve and goals with God's heart and will... So as I am listening more and talking less, I have decided to enter into praying for "the antagonists" I have met...

Easy? Oh no... But even the sick sheep need a pastor...

Thoughtfully, from our home to yours...
Deb

Dreams

Dreams

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
[Langston Hughes]

The end of one year... the start of the next.

Hard to believe that the year has flown by. Changes abound in my personal life, in our family's adventures, and in the ways that God uses and speaks to us. I had some goals that I dreamed might come to pass. And they did. Then there were things I dreamed I might do. And they fell by the wayside. I'm not about to list them all out here. (I mean I could, but who would care, unless they had insomnia and needed something to put them to sleep??)

I've been pondering the reasons why things have happened as they did, and the means that changed or fulfilled these dreams over the last year. There's no real pattern. Most of them were "good" ideas, many of them were just things I wanted to do or experience. I wrote in my journal a year ago:
"Lord, there's so much that I am thinking and dreaming and planning. Please let everything happen in Your Time, in Your Space. I don't want to be disappointed, or go off in the wrong direction... but I'd also like to think that this year counts for something."

I think it has 'counted for something' -- I pray it has... I believe God's promise to us as a people. He has great things ahead. And He has hard times too. But He will be in them all...

"In the Last Days," God says, "I will pour out my Spirit on every kind of people: Your sons will prophesy, also your daughters; Your young men will see visions, your old men dream dreams. When the time comes, I'll pour out my Spirit On those who serve me, men and women both, and they'll prophesy." [Acts 2:17-18, The Message]

May you keep dreaming God's "big picture" dreams for your life... (you can't go wrong that way!)

From our home to yours...
Deb

Making a list, Checking it twice...

Mine BBS (Beloved Bearded Spouse) is getting anxious. I can not seem to come up with a list of things for him to shop from... and this is not good. If I don't do something soon, I will get things HE thinks maybe I'll like. His batting average is so-so... And when he has an imaginative idea, it's a dangerous thing. It's his heart I love anyway, not his shopping clairvoyance factor.

The problem is, I don't know what to tell him. The stuff I'd really like I don't want to ask for because it's, well, really considered something like conspicuous consumption. (It would only replace what I have that works fine or looks nice, I just want a newer/better/zippier/higher octane one...) The stuff I'd prefer is boring, or requires him to do something he doesn't want to do or would cost a lot to pay someone to do it. I don't really need more nice pens (I lose them) or desk accesories (I like what I have.) I'm not a jewelry freak. Poor guy! I need to help him out here... it's just a wee dilemma. Do I tell him what I really want???

Can I dream big? I could ask for...
- a cleaning service. I CAN clean my own home. I just wish I didn't have to... or that he has to deal with it when I am too wheezy to do it.
- getting the upstairs painted (it's been 10 years... geesh!)
- new carpeting in our bedroom
- a kitchen make-over - floors, cabinets and definitely a paint job

Or do I go practical? For instance, I need to add to my commentaries... yeah, right. That'll fly. I do need a new pair of slippers since the pair I have contributed to a rather ungraceful fall down the steps... and I could think of many things electronic and in the kilobuck category...

How about philosophical? Not just world peace, but JOY for those I know who are so depressed, or angry, or living the results of acting stupid. UNDERSTANDING for those who are struggling to see the meaning of the life. HEALING for the sick and COMFORT for the hurting...

SOoo... I am still stuck. I'm content with the blessings I see around me when I look at the faces at the dinner table, or read little notes on my desk... I'm aware of how much I have been given... Can I just get cards from Amazon and B&N?

dang it, he still wants that list...

I may just write down "World Peace" anyway. If "Miss Congeniality" can want it, then I can too!

From our home to yours...
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

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

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

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

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

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

Take Out for Lunch?

One gorgeous red shouldered hawk... one less squirrel!
Spotted during lunchtime today in our back yard.
Isn't she BEAUTIFUL!??

From our Darwin-less squirrel home to yours...
Deb

Just As I YAM

Gotta love LoVe LOVE FlyLady!

(For those of you who are not of the proper Flyspective, let me explain. FlyLady helps those of us who are organizationally challenged to fool the rest of you into thinking we are minor geniuses at home management. And, most of the time, it works!

Anyway, right now FlyLady is taking all of her Flybabies (that's people like me) on a "Holiday Cruise". The idea is to do my prep for the holidays a little at a time (and not freak on December 20th when nothing is done and everything is happening, partying and baking all at once!) In preparation for my "cruise" I started on my checklist. I also started reading all of the "SHE shouldn't" pages... They sound too much like my life!

And so, here are some stories of my true nature. Only my family will not be shocked at the following... the rest of you, well, it's "Just as I Yam" time...

Gift giving award:
My family does give practical joke presents, but these were totally errors of late night senility. I had purchased records (back in the day - as one daughter called them "those big black CDs") for my dad and for my sister. They were of rather different genres. I also had purchased clothing for my nephew and my mom. They were of different sizes (and styles) but were packaged in identical department store gift boxes. I was wrapping presents VERY VERY late on Christmas Eve and of course I got the tags wrong. On all four of those presents.... which prompted my brother-in-law to say, "I'll have what she's drinking!"

This is too easy... let's move on to another category:

House cleaning award:
Long before I met my beloved bearded spouse, I was hosting a party for my friends in the church singles group. I had a coffee table which had lots of nicks and dents in it, and wanted to cover up the places where the veneer/stick on paper had been chipped off. So, I got out my markers and "colored" the "grain" back on my coffee table. Looked great... EXCEPT... that I used washable markers. Oh yes, I did... and when I sat on the edge of the coffee table chatting with my first guest, one of my best friends (in my white wool Christmas pants and cute holiday sweater, I might add) I discovered that the marker had pretty much rubbed off and I had an unintentional pattern on my pants...and my cute holiday sweater... which both quickly went in the dry cleaning pile... And the table, which looked as bad as ever, got covered with a large towel. And no, I didn't see that I had a striped behind until my next guest arrived, and the two of them laughingly helped me cover up my errors.

Culinary mistake award:
I was making Russian tea cakes, which is probably a family favorite, particularly when I make them into "Chocolate Sugar Bombs". (FYI - The link takes you to my OAMC pages on my other web site.) I followed the recipe carefully, for a change, and did the double dusting of confectioners sugar, once when warm from the oven, once when cooled. It coated really nicely for a change, which surprised me, but I chalked it up to humidity. Just because the cook ALWAYS samples her wares before serving them, (yes even cake batter with eggs, who cares about salmonella??) I popped a cooling cookie in my mouth. And gagged... Who knew??? The container which was labeled "C.S." by my own hand was NOT "confectioner's sugar" but "Corn Starch!" GAG!!! SPEW!!! Yup. Tossed the whole batch of those puppies into the trash and started over. THIS time I found the true "CS" container. And yes, the two canisters are now labeled with their full Christian names...

Culinary mistake award #2:
I tried to bake yams because I thought they would be more healthy and different from the usual recipe. I washed them and planned to bake them whole. I did not trim off the extra root hair parts. I put them on the bottom of my gas oven. Did you know that root hairs of yams burn a pretty green?? And that some smoke alarms do not reset until you pull out the battery? I opened a can instead and heated them with brown sugar on them. Not as pretty. Much less smoke! No one was fooled by my scented candles trying to cover up the smell... NOPE. Just as I YAM. I was caught...

Now I wonder what I will manage to cook up this year... I'll keep you posted!

From our home to yours...
Deb

Friday Five: Creature Comforts

As a part of this week's RevGalBlogPals Friday Five...

Maybe it's the arrival of crisp October, my favorite month. Or maybe it's the fact that the divine little miss m has been sick all week (and if the baby ain't happy, ain't nobody happy). Whatever the reason, my thoughts have been turning to cozy creature comforts--those activities and spaces that just make a person feel good. And so...

1. Comfort beverage: Mmmmm.... warm spiced cider.... or hot lemonade
2. Comfort chair: any couch with the "Mommy blanket" (a fake plush fur blanket made for me during my college days and loved by humans and felines alike)
3. Comfort read: hard one... but probably Jan Karon's "Mitford" series
4. Comfort television/DVD/music: soft Celtic, like Moya Brennan or maybe a little rockin' Chris Rice. TV not so much unless it is football season!
5. Comfort companion(s): beloved bearded spouse, purring cats

Makes me want to take a nap on the couch! But no... studying awaits!

From our home to yours...

Deb