What Is This Madness?

2011-12-12T04:44:00.001-08:00

Christmas is a-coming, and with it all the news reports and stories about the over-consumption of the average American consumer. And in response, all the blogs, commentaries, and editorials about how we, as the Church, should either limit or do away with entirely the gifts that go along with Christmas.

The first year I really paid attention to this campaign against gifts (CAG for short), I didn't really think much of it. But each year, it seems that the voices protesting gift giving get louder and louder and more bold in their approach.

I do understand where these people are coming from. Really, I do. It's no secret that we as Americans wallow in consumerism and that we have more stuff than we know what to do with. It's no secret that probably over half the world struggles for daily food and water while we plan how to spend our annual Christmas bonus. Black Friday is a joke.

But here's the thing: those problems exist even when it's not Christmas. Children starve, entire countries suffer natural disasters, and Americans buy way too much stuff ALL YEAR LONG. I think the CAG has begun to bother me because it has taken on a guilt inducing form. It has the tone of Christian Harvest Nights; you know, Halloween is wrong, so come on down to the church dressed in your best costume, and we'll give you free candy. We kind of have the same message at Christmas: look at this picture of a starving child, read my thoughts about over-consumption, and oh, don't mind the gifts under my Christmas tree.

Here's a dirty little secret of mine. I LIKE giving gifts at Christmas. Now, some people may not like the gifts I give them, but I actually enjoy shopping at Christmas. I like planning out what I'm going to give people. I really don't care if people give me gifts, I just like the whole atmosphere of gift giving at Christmas. In the Christian subculture, that's almost like blasphemy. But I look at it this way. We, as Christians, keep Christmas to really focus on "the Incarnate Deity." Emmanuel. Yes, the greatest event in Christian history was the cross, but there would have been no cross without the Incarnation. Our Savior "did not consider equality with God something to be grasped," and came to us. CAME TO US. Brought the gift of life to dying people.

It has really started to bother me that we use the world's poor in an attempt to induce guilt-driven gift abstinence within the Church. I am not suggesting, in any way shape or form, that we should ignore the World Vision pamphlets in our mail box, or the Shoebox dropoffs, or the Salvation Army buckets. What I am asking is, why is it either/or? We are ridiculously well off in the U.S. - can we not buy a goat for a family in Africa along with buying a gift for a family member that we love deeply?

I'm just not convinced that we'll have to answer for how few gifts we bought at Christmas. It seems that we will have to answer for how we helped the poor all year long, every year of our lives.

Rituals, Chants, and Other Magic Spells

2011-11-26T05:23:00.001-08:00

This morning, as I logged out of my email account, a news story on Yahoo caught my eye (oxymoron, I know: News = Yahoo? Yeah, right). Anyway, it was about the "outrage" of critics of President Obama's Thanksgiving Day speech. Their criticism? He didn't mention God.

This article just made my blood pressure mount higher and higher, as I read about how so many people felt slighted by the President's omission. Wailing and gnashing of teeth...one reporter apparently even tweeted that the speech was "screwed up."

Am I missing something here? Since when did the measure of a man's (or woman's) faith in Christ become how many times he says "God" in a short Internet speech? This reminds me of the National Day of Prayer fiasco of a few years ago, when (gasp!) the President declined to have a personal prayer service at the White House. Oh, the persecution! The abuse! How in the world will the Church in the USA ever survive??? Woe is me!

C'mon people...just because someone claims the name of Christ - or God the Father - does not mean they share your faith. Would President Obama's critics been satisfied if he had mentioned God 2.3 times on Thanksgiving Day? Of course not. Critics are called critics for a reason: because they CRITICIZE. Their job was awfully hard for them this year, as it's tough to find something to criticize in a speech full of gratitude and appreciation for US troops. But, wait a minute, yes, wait a minute.....he didn't say the magic word! He didn't close his eyes and wave his hands and say "God!" Yes, that's it! Now we have the worst omission of 2011. Never mind that he mentioned God in an earlier Thanksgiving letter...he didn't do it in person! That MUST mean he's not a Christian, and OBVIOUSLY it means that we are being persecuted! Down with the man!

When we reduce the very name of God to a ritual, or magic word, then we have seriously missed our calling. We are commanded to make disciples, not people pleasers who have to say the right words to gain favor from the Church.

A Vow is a Vow is a Vow is a...

2011-09-27T06:16:00.000-07:00

So there's a lot of hoopla about the remarks Pat Robertson made on his TV show regarding the man who wanted to divorce his wife because his wife had Alzheimers. If you've not heard of this, you can watch the clip here:

http://youtu.be/_qt_JCnRdCQ

I have to say that I think my jaw hit the floor when I watched this. Not because Pat Robertson was saying something outrageous (that, unfortunately, seems to be common for him), but because he is generally on the outer fringes of conservative. This seemed to be a reach, even for him.

But as I've seen all the outrage over his comments, something occurred to me. What makes this any different from the Church's reaction, as a whole, to divorce in general? I know that there are biblically justified reasons for divorce in some situations, but I'm not talking about those. Most people that I know or know of who have gotten divorced have done so under the umbrella of "irreconcilable differences." Don't we, in effect, say with our attitudes the same thing that Pat said to this frustrated man?

Don't we look the other way when our fellow believers get divorced? I think the reason Pat's comments sparked such heat (other than the fact that he is Pat Robertson) is because he voiced things that the Church is afraid to own up to. We harp on homosexual marriage, while turning a convenient blind eye to divorce within heterosexual marriage.

While ole' Pat may make a nice target for our moral outrage and sarcasm- including mine - I hope that his comment will spark a thoughtful review of how we treat divorce in general.

Morning Has Broken

2011-09-23T05:49:00.000-07:00

Normally, I am a morning person. This morning, not so much. So of course when things are not as they should be, a person should blog about it while drinking coffee. Never mind all that productive stuff like getting dressed, brushing teeth, and doing school.

I had big plans to get up earlier so that I would have time to read before the 3 circus performers were awake. Fail. It was so much easier to turn off the alarm and fall asleep to the sound of the rain. So instead I woke up to the sound of crying. Mmmm, much better than the Surfer's Groove alarm on my phone.

I had big plans to make pumpkin pancakes this morning. Circus Performer #1 wanted to help. Normally I am terrible about letting them "help" me because I am entirely too anal about such things, but I am making an effort to relax about that. After all, I don't want them to be 18 and not know how to cook. Halfway into the recipe, I realized I was following the WRONG RECIPE. So instead of pumpkin tasting pancakes, we had flour tasting pancakes. Yummy.

On to the workout. I think I might hate the peppy little blond leading me through the routine. NO ONE should be that excited about exercising, and what's the deal with her? Does she not need to breathe? I could seriously make it without her running commentary on the importance of Powerade. Breathe, woman, breathe. I also have Circus Performer #3 trying to sit on me when I do the ab exercises. I make it 18 out of the 30 minutes, put Circus Performer #3 down for a nap, and then feel the need to tell my blog all about it.

It just might turn out to be a wonderful day.

Say What You Mean, Mean What You Say

2011-08-23T12:01:00.000-07:00

So last night Caison was watching an interview with some guy who is running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. He is Republican, and therefore, "pro-life." It's like a Girl Scout badge.

The interviewer questioned him on this stance, to which he gave all the prim and proper answers that give us good conservatives the warm fuzzies: "Life is sacred, I look at my own children, they're beautiful, everyone contributes to society, etc., etc."

The follow up question was "Are there ANY circumstances where you would allow for an abortion?" Conservative Poster Boy's answer?

"Rape, incest, and the mother's health are the situations that I could live with."

Or, in other words, "I believe that if the circumstances are ideal, then the life you are carrying is worth saving. Otherwise, go ahead and get rid of it. I can live with that."

Not that this is suprising. Most "pro-life" politicians are really "pro-some-lives." The term itself has become a flag that politicians who wish they could be conservative wave in the face of evangelicals to gain support.

I think I might rather vote for someone who was honest about his/her positions and skipped all the emotional verbiage they use when they describe themselves as "pro-life." I could live without seeing pictures of "pro-life" politicians' families, followed immediately by one or more situations where they believe it's acceptable for a woman to take the life of her child.

And no, I've never been a victim of rape, incest, and so far my life has not been endangered while pregnant. Suppose in the future I am - does that make the life of the baby less worthy? Does the fact that a woman endures hardship (and I am NOT demeaning that hardship at all) give her the "right" to take life? What kind of a society are we when we can say, without shame, "these are the circumstances that make life less worthy?"

We Need Mr. Sandman

2011-08-08T10:13:00.000-07:00

It's a good thing she's so cute....otherwise, we might have to trade her in for a better sleeping model.

Partly due to personality, partly due to the fact that I nursed Charlotte and not the other two, and partly due to my indulgence and just not being as uptight about that whole "sleeping through the night" thing, we now have a 15 month old who doesn't sleep nearly as well as Thomas and Olivia did.

Especially when we're down here at my parents'. She goes to bed fine, but at some point after the witching hour (and sometimes before if she feels like getting started early) it begins. Last night she mercifully let me sleep till 4:52am.

4:52am people. I am generally a morning person, but that is not morning. That is night. Even in the summertime, it's still dark at that hour.

Like I said, it's a good thing she's so cute.

Things I Would Post on Facebook (if I wasn't a big fat chicken)

2011-08-04T10:41:00.000-07:00

Poor lonely, forgotten little blog. I ignore you for well over a year, and then thrust you out into the spotlight again with my ranting and raving. Sigh. But that is your purpose, dear little blog. A place for me to put things that I'm too chicken to put anywhere else. Especially on Facebook. That, and I also tend to think that Facebook is a terrible place to put political opinions and engage in personal debates. However, every now and then I see a person's status, and my fingers twitch with the temptation to type my (usually sarcastic) replies. And then I remember that I'm a big chicken and don't believe in that type of thing anyway.

But it must come out somewhere. So here's a random compilation of things that I would put on Facebook if I wasn't too skeered.

RE: Christian Persecution - The fact that President Obama has not held his own personal national day of prayer ceremony for all the world to see does not constitue persecution. Really! It caused you no personal harm, loss of property, or loss of reputation. You did not have to make a stand of any kind on your faith. If you ever experience actual persecution, you would never post about it on FB anyway.

RE: Prayer in Schools - Sorry, but the last place I want government is in the place of leading people in prayer. I get chills just thinking about that one.

RE: Homosexual Marriage - "Marriage is sacred!!!" Yes, yes it is random people I went to high school with....but, wait a minute, aren't you divorced? Because you weren't "in love" anymore?

RE: "I Know Who Will Re-post this" - If your post has this anywhere in it, I will hide it immediately. For real.

RE: Bra Color - I failed to see how this had any impact on finding a cure for breast cancer.

Oh, there are more. But that's probably enough for my jump back into blog world.

The Sacred Cow

2010-04-16T11:25:00.000-07:00

That's the phrase that keeps popping into my head lately whenever I hear people talk about the health care changes (or "Obamacare" if you choose to call it that) and the free market system. Or capitalism. Or free enterprise. Whatever it's called.

No, I don't know much about economics. I've made that clear in a previous post and if you've spent any length of time with me than you know I'm pretty stupid when it comes to numbers. I would venture to say that my knowledge of politics is pretty equal to my knowledge of economics. Which is to say, not much. But hey, it's my blog, and if I want to appear backwards and uninformed, I can go for it.

I just keep hearing, over and over and over again, what seems to be the main gist of the argument against all this healthcare stuff: free enterprise! No government interference! We'll become Socialists!

Now, first of all, I'm unable to understand that last one, because last time I checked, we pretty much had a socialized education system in this country. But no one gets all freaked out about that. Ditto for Medicare and Social Security. Again, this is not something I claim to be an expert on, but I'm pretty sure that those programs are paid for with tax dollars. And are available to all U.S. citizens. Well, Social Security probably won't be around for us 30-somethings, but that's another post. So the "socialism" argument is lost on me. If it's true, then we're a little behind in the game since it seems to me that socialism started long before we were born.

But the main reason these vehement arguments befuddle me is because it seems that free enterprise, or capitalism, or whatever you want to call this mixed economy of ours, has become like a sacred cow. It brings to mind a line from one of Jack Johnson's songs:

"The bulls were running wild because they're big and mean and sacred..."

Granted, JJ was talking about a literal trip he made to India, but it seems fitting to me. People, insurance companies and doctors can charge and cheat people however much they want to, because of the sacred cow of capitalism. It's big, it can be mean, and it's definitely sacred in this country.

I've also heard and read people arguing that we aren't GUARANTEED health care in the Constitution. Um, OK. There are a LOT of things we aren't GUARANTEED in the Constitution. I know all the arguments about how we were founded on Christian principles, and how our forefathers knew us better than we know ourselves, and etc., but really, I just think it's a rather weak argument against health care reform.

The great thing about this country is that yes, we are free to have businesses and make money. Lots of it, if we so choose and if the tide flows our way. I'm no hater of free enterprise. But since when did free enterprise come to mean "I can make as much money as possible in any way possible, even if it includes unethical practices, greed, and harm to the general population?" I'm pretty sure that I'm free to live however I want, but if that should include walking over to my neighbor's house and punching him in the face the government would probably get involved somehow. Not sure why free enterprise would be any different. It's a privilege; if we abuse it, it gets taken away. Small children even understand this concept.

And no, I don't agree with everything in the health care bill (what little I understand of it anyway), I just equally don't agree with most of the arguments against it.

The bottom line is, if we as individuals don't govern ourselves, then someone else will. Eventually, even sacred cows cause problems.

Remember This

2010-04-10T02:58:00.000-07:00

Thousands of things have been written about parenthood and being a mother, and how it grows and stretches you. How you never know what it's like until you experience it, and how you need to appreciate it, with all of its ups and downs and inconveniences and satisfactions. How your children will be grown before you know it, how you need to enjoy it while it lasts. The thoughts going around in my head right now are nothing new.

This pregnancy has been much harder than my first two. That's not to say it's been hard; I know many people who have truly experienced hard pregnancies, and mine hasn't been one of them. But compared to my first two, this one has been harder. Lately, the problem has been extreme fatigue, and extreme irritability, especially with Thomas and Olivia. This morning I woke up (mainly because God convicted me) unable to stop thinking about all the things that right now are sources of irritation but that God impressed on me that I need to appreciate.

In addition to remembering to be thankful for our house, God is teaching me to be thankful for and remember this stage of my life with children. I need to remember that one day, Thomas and Olivia (and Charlotte) won't be asking to have "sleepovers" with me and Caison or with each other. The day will come where I will have to try hard to remember what it was like to hear "Hey, Mommy..." at least 100 times a day. One day I might forget what it was like to have a child cry because they don't want me to leave to get my haircut, or they want to stay with me during Sunday School, or they want to "help" me clean house or cook breakfast. I need to remember that Thomas thought that Jesus prayed in the Garden of "Cinnamon" before his death, and that Olivia wondered if Gideon "had eyebrows," and that they like to play the "kiss" game before bed. Not because these things are any more important than what the next stage of life holds, but because these things are my here and now. Because this is what God has blessed me with NOW, and wants me to learn from NOW.

There will be a day, if I live long enough, where I will have to think hard to remember what it felt like to have a baby kicking me from inside, where I'll look at younger women experiencing pregnancy for the first time and become sentimental because my body will be long past the stage of being able to have children. I will be the one telling younger women to enjoy it, that it will be gone before they know it.

The good thing about that is, that hopefully I will also be the one experiencing the joys of adult children, of helping them as they have their own children, of successfully remembering all stages of raising them because I didn't take a single minute of it for granted. I pray this morning that when I am older that I won't have trouble remembering what this part of life is like simply because I learned to appreciate each stage and season.

Yes, things written about parenting and motherhood can tend to sound a little too cheesy and a lot sentimental. But you know what? That doesn't mean they're not true. Sometimes I think we're a way too cynical for our own good.

Little House Behind the Airport

2010-03-30T07:50:00.000-07:00

During this time of insane, compulsive nesting, I've had way too many moments of being dissatisfied with the size of our house. So I thought I would compose a list of the benefits of living in a small house, if for no other reason than to remind me that I should be thankful....repeat to self: be thankful for the small house, be thankful for the small house...

Reason 1: I can plug the vacuum into the outlet in the bathroom and vacuum the entire house without having to move the plug. That may not sound like much, but it does make vacuuming go much faster.

Reason 2: Only having one bathroom means that I don't have to clean two bathrooms. And little boys can have, uh, AIMING problems, so that's a big reason to be thankful.

Reason 3: We are definitely limited in the amount of stuff we can allow to build up in our house. Although, I am constantly amazed at the amount of stuff we can still cram into our little house. I can only imagine how much worse it would be if our house was bigger.

Reason 4: I don't have to walk anywhere to keep an eye on Thomas and Olivia. If pregnancy dictates that it's a sit on the couch moment, then I can do it and not worry about them playing in their rooms since they're within the sound of my voice.

Reason 5: And perhaps the best reason of all, the small house gives us a very affordable house payment, which means that even with two (almost three!) kids, we can afford for me to stay at home with them and we aren't slaves to our mortgage payment. VERY good reason to be thankful!

Must remember this during my next bout of nesting, which will be hitting in approximately 10 minutes.

The Never Ending Story

2010-03-21T11:23:00.000-07:00

So lots of sickness here in the Jones household. Thomas came down with a cold last weekend while we were down at my parents' visiting. Then Olivia developed croup on the last day we were there, which resulted in a trip to the ER. Then the germs felt sorry for me and decided they couldn't leave me out, and I came down with a cold when we got back home. And now Caison is feeling a little rough. Yay! Fun times.

The Journey Home, Part 3

2010-03-08T06:06:00.000-08:00

I tend to be a rambler, especially when it comes to blog posts. I would like to think I could wrap this up, but it's hard to condense what God has been teaching me over the last 4 years.

Two very monumental decisions were made in our family after I started staying at home. The first was that we decided to homeschool our kids once they reached official "school age." Sometimes God works on you for awhile, gnawing away at the human wisdom we've accumulated through the years, but sometimes he just drop kicks you with truth. Please note that I am not suggesting that homeschooling is the way, the truth and the life; I don't believe that the way we academically educate our children is essential for salvation, and I don't believe that sending your kids to public or private schools is sinful. But we realized that our preconceived notions about how we would raise and educate our children had been formulated without any prayer and without any consideration for what God would have our family to do in this instance. We were just going with the flow, planning on doing things like everybody else did. I think, without consciously stating it, we thought, "Well, we did it THIS way, and we came out all right." As one who had previously made jokes about the "homeschool stare," this conviction came as a complete surprise to me. God is funny like that. I still make jokes about the homeschool stare, but now I'm making fun of my own kids, so it's ok. :)

The second major decision in our family is one that tends to get us Protestants all riled up. It also tends to bring on jokes about the Duggar family, being Catholic, etc. We became very convicted over birth control. I realize that birth control is a very personal thing between couples, so please realize that I am only sharing what happened to us, not laying down "laws" that don't exist in Scripture. I had read, years before, about hormonal contraceptions having the possibility of causing early abortions. At the time, I just dismissed this idea; clearly, this was a right wing fundamentalist that knew nothing about medicine and wanted all Christians to be "quiver-full". Pshhh! What nonsense! But God, in His God like way, wouldn't let the thought die. It probably sat in my brain, fermenting for about 4 years. My brain is a dangerous place for something to ferment. Whenever it would float in front of my current focus, I would think, you know, this is serious. What if that's true? As someone who had used the pill for the majority of our marriage, I eventually concluded that this wasn't something I could just let pass. I needed to do some research and find out if that was indeed a possibility or if it was just some legalist spouting about things she knew nothing about.

Well, I think we all know where this is going. In my research, I stuck mainly to secular, medical texts. Trying to be objective you know. I was stunned when I found out that not only does the possibility exist, but that that fact was clearly stated on the packaging my pretty pink pills came in every month. It wasn't something that was hidden, some secret conspiracy by liberals. It was there, printed in black and white on the pharmaceutical information that I threw away with the paper bag every month. I'm not here to try to convince anyone of this; the information is there for the finding. It's not someone's opinion; it's the way it works. I could go into much detail about it, but as I tend to ramble anyway, and this is info that anyone could find out without any trouble, I'll let that one go at that.

So clearly, for us, the pill (and other hormonal methods) was out for us. When you eliminate hormonal contraception, you're not left with much to choose from. This state of affairs went on for a few months, until Caison and I both realized that contraception, or the lack thereof, was not something we had ever prayed about. That hit me like a ton of bricks. Why is it that as Christians we will pray about who to marry, where to live, what job to take, whether or not to go seminary, or buy a house, or what church to go to, but very rarely will we pray about whether or not to have children, and if so, how many we should be open to having? Maybe I'm wrong in this; maybe most people do pray about it and Caison and I were just the odd men out.

Please, please note that I am not saying we should have as many children as possible just because our bodies were designed to have children. I'm not saying that at all. What I am saying is that Caison and I realized that this was an area of our lives that we had unconsciously barred God from and fully embraced the worldly wisdom. The worldly wisdom, when it comes to children, pretty much says that you won't have kids for a few years after you marry, that you won't have them too close together, and that you won't have more than 2, maybe 3 if you "mess up." I believe it is entirely possible that God would lead certain couples to those convictions. I do not, however, just accept anymore that God leads ALL couples to those convictions.

This post, I'm ashamed to admit, has been hard for me to write. Mainly because I realize that it can easily come across as legalistic and judgemental to anyone who does not share these convictions. As a people pleaser, every sentence I typed above brought the fear, "What if they (the 3 people who read this blog) won't be my friends anymore???" Yes, I am a 6 year old in a 30 year old body.

But I can't write a post about my journey to staying at home without mentioning these things, because I fully believe they are essential convictions that direct the way I view my job as a stay at home mom. Believing that we should home educate, and that Caison and I should be open to the possibility of more children (not in a crazy, rabbit kind of way, but in a prayerful, thougtful way that doesn't just accept convential wisdom at face value) will have a direct impact on the way we raise our children. What is my purpose here? Is it just to make sure my kids don't fight too much, learn how to chew with their mouths closed, and keep their rooms clean? Or is it to pass on the solid truth of God's word, to teach them about our convictions, and to allow God to change our view of the world through the raising of our children?

The Letter of the Law

2010-02-19T06:21:00.000-08:00

One day last week when I went in to wake Thomas up from his nap, I caught wind of the unmistakable smell of urine. I figured he just had an accident in his sleep, and took his sheets and mattress cover off so that I could wash them. Once I got them into the kitchen though, I realized that they didn't really smell, and they weren't wet. Confused, I went back into his room and started looking all around his bed to figure out what was going on.

The only thing we were able to figure out is that Thomas must have gotten out of bed, half asleep, and thinking that he was in the bathroom, peed somewhere near his bed. So we wiped down the furniture and cleaned the carpet, and for a day or two things seemed to smell better.

But over the last week, every couple of days, the smell would seem to be back. I figured we just hadn't found the "spot," and kept cleaning and Lysoling every day, hoping to get rid of the smell.

Well, yesterday, when he got up from his nap, the smell almost knocked me out. Frustrated, I asked him, "Thomas, have you been peeing somewhere in your room?"

He just looked at me, and I could tell he was weighing his options. So I encouraged him to tell the truth, and he proceeded to tell me that yes, he had been peeing behind his bed.

Beyond confused, I asked him why in the world he would do that. He is, after all, going on 5 and has been potty trained for over 2 years. He told me that it was because "you and Daddy always tell me not to come out of my room during naptime."

The history behind this is that he had gotten in the habit of not wanting to take naps or go to sleep at night, and so had started coming out of his room multiple times to "go to the bathroom." We just figured NO ONE needs to use the bathroom more than 3 times in 30 minutes, so we had been telling him after 2 trips that he could not come out of his room anymore.

Well he didn't, but he obviously really needed to go to the bathroom sometimes, so he would just stand behind his bed and aim it behind the bedpost.

He's remarkably obedient!! :)

Longing

2010-02-04T11:36:00.000-08:00

For the past few days, I've had this song that we used to sing at InterVarsity back in the day stuck in my head:

Holiness, holiness is what I long for.
Holiness, is what I need.
Holiness, holiness is what You want for me.

Take my heart, and mold it.
Take my mind, transform it.
Take my will, conform it.
To Yours, to Yours, O Lord.

Then it goes on and lists righteousness, faithfulness, brokenness.

I've always liked that song. It just got me thinking. Is holiness something I really long for?

Holiness, as generally defined, is being set apart. According to the dictionary, it means being used solely for the purposes of God.

If I'm being honest, that's not really what I want most of the time. Oh, I have my moments. Small snippets of time where I want nothing more than to be used of God and to live according to His will. But most of the time, it's not even a question of not wanting to be holy; it's more a question of not even thinking about it.

And don't get me started on brokenness. Who wants to be broken, must less LONGS for it?

In our quest to be relevant to our culture, to be loving of others, to be comfortable, happy, and content, holiness and brokenness and righteousness seem to belong only in InterVarsity meetings of 10 years ago or other similar religious "highs."

Just thinking out loud....

The Controversy of Life

2010-01-28T10:29:00.000-08:00

So, there's apparently a huge controversy about an ad that Tim Tebow appears in that will air during the Superbowl. Although the ad hasn't been released yet, the basic premise is that Tebow will make the point that had his mother chosen abortion as her doctors recommended when she was pregnant with him, he would have never been born and would not be the great football player that he is today. Although the message is undoubtedly "pro-life," neither the words "abortion" or "pro-life" appear in the ad. It's pretty much just the facts about Tebow's mother's decision and the ultimate result of that decision.

What is most sadly amusing about all of this, is that the National Organization for Women is one of the most vehement protestors of the ad. A spokesperson is quoted as saying that the ad is "hate masquerading as love." This organization, which claims to be concerned with equal rights for women, apparently has no problem with all the ads that will air that will degrade and objectify women. Hmm. Protesting the soft porn that passes for commercials evidently isn't up there on their list of priorities, but protesting an ad that celebrates a the decision to choose life is? I'm sorry; I thought the party line was "Women have a choice"? Obviously, Pam Tebow chose life, and now people have a problem with her "choice" being the subject of a Superbowl ad.

It's very sad and very telling that when the sacred ground of Superbowl Sunday ads is desecrated by something other than beer, half dressed women, and talking babies, people protest.

Wow.

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/tim-tebow-super-bowl-ad-cbs-air-controversial/story?id=9667638&page=1

2010-01-26T10:39:00.000-08:00

The picture is supposed to represent me throwing my hands up and laughing...about Sarah Palin. To any Palin fans out there, I'm sorry, but I just couldn't resist laughing (heartily, I might add) at an article I read criticizing Palin's new book, Going Rogue.

The article basically points out that Palin must not know the true definition of the word "rogue." Here is the dictionary definition, and I quote:

"A dishonest or worthless person; a horse inclined to shirk or misbehave; an individual exhibiting a chance and usually inferior biological variation; resembling a rogue elephant in being isolated, aberrant, dangerous, or uncontrollable; corrupt, dishonest."

Thank you Merriam-Webster online!

Like her or not folks, that's pretty stinkin' funny. If I were a political hopeful, that's definitely how I would choose to describe myself: a worthless, dishonest person who might possibly be biologically inferior, or who resembles either a misbehaving elephant or horse.

The Journey Home, Part Two

2010-01-22T11:40:00.000-08:00

As I returned to my job full time in September of 2005, I was praying for a way to open for me to stay at home with Thomas. Although, I have to admit, when I was praying at the time I really didn't think it would happen. I know, I know, that smacks of pessimism, but there you go. We had bills to pay and entertainment to buy, and a whole host of other things we believed were necessary at the time, and I just couldn't see how it could work out. In spite of the praying. And in spite of God.

Well, apparently I had forgotten that God has a great sense of humor and loves to answer prayers in completely unexpected, counter-cultural ways. I found out I was PREGNANT. Three months after having Thomas. Yep, I was one of those.

So I called Caison on the phone (because really, when one finds themselves pregnant 3 months after the first baby, carefully planned, cute "announcements" go out the window) and asked if he remembered how I'd been praying for a way to stay at home? Well, God had delivered, and delivered big, because there was no way we could afford childcare for two kids, especially as close in age as they would be.

But even though I had gotten my answer, my heart was still far from wanting the things of God for my family. I still partly believed the societal lie that children are a burden, not a blessing, and it took several months for me to adjust to the idea of having two children so close together. I know many people wouldn't blame me for that considering the circumstances (SMART people don't get pregnant so soon after the first! SMART people don't want more than 2.1 kids! SMART people only have kids when they're ready!, etc., etc.), but those are thoughts and feelings on my part that I look back on in shame. I foolishly believed that Caison and I were in "control" of creating life, simply because the Creator made our bodies capable of carrying out the process. We were asked several times if we "know what CAUSES that?" This is a trick question - I'd like to be able to tell people that of course we know what causes that, and apparently it's working out well for us :P, but God has taught me much in the last 5 years about Who is really in charge of creation. Obviously, He gives us a part in it (otherwise, we would all be results of supernatural conception), but He is the ultimate authority in matters of life and death.

Fortunately, God was hard at work in both my heart and Caison's, and things moved quickly after that. We sold our house, fully intending to move to Charlotte after Olivia was born. Around February, we realized that if we did that, there would (again) be no way financially that I could stay at home with our children. The cost of living and the changes that would come from moving would put us in the same situation we had just gotten out of. We made the decision that I would permanently stay at home, and God blessed us with a house that was affordable even on a teacher's salary. He gave us more wisdom with our finances than we had ever posessed in our marriage, and we were able to eliminate all of our debt except for our house payment.

Olivia was born on May 5, 2006, three days after Thomas' first birthday. Her original due date was April 30, so we did manage to get a year in between them after all. :)

So there we were, our happy little family of four with big plans for me to return to work full time "once the kids were in school." Ha! God had more plans to take every bold statement I had ever made as a single college student about parenting and turn it upside down.

But as this is getting rather long, maybe I need to make a Part Three.

No, I Didn't Die (and other points of interest)

2010-01-16T10:33:00.000-08:00

Wow, would you look at that! Over 6 months of non posts from me....that's got to be some kind of record. In fact, this is the first time that I've even looked at my blog in many, many moons.

But I'm here, alive and well. Oh, and pregnant. Although anyone who's actually reading this no doubt already knows that. And also knows that it's a girl, and that her name is Charlotte, and that she will be sharing a room with Olivia.

So what prompted my return to the Madness? I don't know...I don't really know what prompted my leaving it to begin with, so I can't really explain why I would return. There are no real reasons. What IS this madness???

In reading back through past blogs though, I was reminded of why I started it to begin with. I enjoyed getting my thoughts down on various subjects, since I'm not much of a paper and pen journal girl. I also enjoyed trying to be funny, if only for the sole purpose of entertaining myself. :)
I also realized that I left a story untold (The Journey Home) and that you should always finish what you start.

So here I am, for better or worse, in 2010. Although with a 3 and 4 year old, and a baby on the way, I make no promises as to the originality or frequency of these posts.

Hello Blog

2009-07-03T07:42:00.000-07:00

....Nice to see you. It's been a long time, you're just as lovely, as you used to be.

I couldn't resist the Conway Twitty reference. If you grew up in a small Southern town, then surely you recognize the song. If not, your childhood was missing something.

So, where have I been?

Well, for starters, I've been here:

And here:

And then we went to Ellerbe for two weeks. Sometimes I would log on to my blog, and just stare at it, devoid of any thought or comments that might be the least bit interesting to anyone who happens by. So the blog stayed silent. Before I knew it, over a month had gone by.

Then our church had VBS. VBS usually isn't my thing. But this year our church did a Jerusalem themed Bible school, and it was pretty cool. Everything was set up to resemble the Jerusalem marketplace. They had even built a replica of the tabernacle, building everything as closely as possible to OT requirements. Caison got to be the "altar boy," which he was pretty excited about as he loves fire. :) And yes, they had an actual fire.

Part of the marketplace (the whole thing was huge, as the church somehow got a huge circus style tent and had all sorts of "stalls" set up like jewelry, woodworking, etc.):

The tabernacle:

The altar:

In conclusion, we've been busy lately. I'm sure the blogging world has missed me greatly. I'll try my best to make it up to you.

Slow Lane

2009-05-28T11:47:00.000-07:00

picture from Wilkes Journal Patriot

This is why you shouldn't drive in the slow lane. :) Hello floodwaters! Apparently, we're not in a drought so much anymore. This section of Hwy 421 caved in early Wednesday morning, after some pretty bad flooding on Tuesday. I think they said we got something like 5 inches of rain in a period of 2 hours, in addition to all the other rain we've had for the past few days. Fortunately, some people saw the road beginning to crack and they were able to block off the right lane before it completely gave way. Although I'm wondering how long the other lane has before it goes too.... When it rains, it pours!

The Journey Home, Part 1

2009-05-27T10:57:00.000-07:00

As I've been freaking out over turning 30 this year, and occasionally, over Thomas and Olivia turning 4 and 3, I've spent some late nights thinking about my life. How my life ended up here, in a place that I would have never described when I was an overly confident, know it all sophmore in college.

It wasn't that I adamantly claimed I would NEVER be a "stay at home" mom; I just never spent time thinking about it. Sure, in a far off, "one day I'll get married and have kids" kind of way. But never in concrete details.

My mom didn't stay home when I was growing up. Once I got old enough, I learned that she wanted nothing more than to get married and have kids, and then stay home with those kids. But it didn't work out that way. Life happened, and tomorrow she'll celebrate 35 years of working at the hospital in Pinehurst. She never went to college, and yet the job she holds now would require a master's degree and several years of experience if one were to apply off the street. And while she has enjoyed her work for the most part, one of the things I remember most vividly is her holding me the morning that I left for my freshman year at ASU, crying and asking me if I regretted her having to work all the time while I was growing up.

At the time, I was more concerned with getting in the car and on our way without breaking down into tears, but now I more fully appreciate the disappointed hopes she expressed in that question that day. "Did I do it right? Did you miss me when I wasn't here?"

So college and then early married life came for me, and didn't contain a lot of thought and preparation for parenting, even though having children was something Caison and I both wanted. When I found out I was pregnant with Thomas, it never crossed my mind to stay home with him until my mom began talking about it. And talking about it. Pretty much every time we talked about Thomas being born and life with Thomas, she brought up how much she hoped I would be able to stay home with him. The more we talked about it, the more I found myself wanting to do it. The more it seemed natural to do it.

But money has a funny way of making you believe it's more important than it really is, and I resigned myself to the fact that I would, indeed, go back to work after my 6 weeks of maternity leave. The weekend before I was supposed to return to work, we found out that the childcare we had arranged for Thomas had fallen through. In a panic on that Saturday night, I called my boss Sherrie to talk about what my options were. Sherrie was also expecting her first child, and in addition to being the best boss in the world, she worked out a part time schedule for me that included working some from home.

I was pretty excited. And that plan worked out well. Until it didn't. Slowly I began to realize that working for a non profit like I was and taking care of a baby would eventually be impossible to do at the same time. Another memory that will be hard to forget is calling my mom at work to tell her that I would have to go back to work full time. I knew that she would be just as disappointed as I was, but her disappointment far exceeded my expectations. She started crying, and I think it made her relive her own disappointment all over again.

So I started praying that God would make a way for me to stay home.

Ta-Da!

2009-05-18T06:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's not the greatest picture, but I'm a big dork and was really excited about a recent grocery trip. I went to Lowe's Foods and my final bill was $31.03. When I looked at the receipt as I left the store, I found out that by using my nerdy coupons I had saved over $47! If I had been paying full price for all that stuff, I would have paid almost $80! This was a personal best bargain shop for me.

AND, that included buying 5 pounds of hamburger meat and 5 pounds of chicken.

Who's laughing now, bargain shopping naysayers? WHO'S LAUGHING NOW????
Hahahahahahahaha......

(Note: the bargain shopping naysayers only exist in my head)

Sigh.

I am such a dork.

Mullet Be Gone!

2009-05-13T10:30:00.000-07:00

So on Saturday I decided that I would go get my hair cut. Ever since I moved to Wilkes (8 years ago!!) I've been on the hunt for someone who could cut my hair well and not charge me 3 goats and a plot of land for it. A few years ago, I just gave it up (after a disastrous trip to Smart Cuts) and would go every now and then to the lady down in Pinehurst who cut my hair all through high school and college. Well, Melanie sold out to the moneybags crowd in Pinehurst, and now charges around $50 just for a hair cut; $70 or so including wash and style. Some of you all may think that's reasonable, but if you've ever met me and we've discussed financial matters of any sort then you know those kind of prices send me into cardiac arrest. Some call that cheap; I prefer to say "frugal."

SO, I've been going to the Artistic Academy here when I needed trims and then salon hopping when I wanted a bigger cut.

Now, the thing with me is, is that I'll just see a salon that looks nice and, if they take walk ins and don't charge a yin and a yang, then I'll give them a try.

Enter unnamed salon on Saturday. I gave the lady a picture of a cute, chin length cut and asked for a similar style. But apparently, the words that come out of my mouth didn't match up with the ones in my head, because she evidently thought I said, "I don't want my hair to look anything like this." What I got was something that looked like a cross between a box and a mullet. Oh, and it came down to my shoulders. Did I mention that the picture was of a CHIN length cut?

So there I was, looking a bit like Billy Ray Cyrus. And as much as I admire ANYONE who can perform a song as annoying and hokey as "Achy Breaky Heart," (and do it with a straight face, at that) I had no desire to flatter his 1992 self with an imitated haircut.

Fortunately, I was saved by Heather's mom, who has a second job as the Mullet Catcher and Destroyer. I now have a nice, normal haircut that is pretty close to the picture I handed that lady that fateful day in the salon.

Moral of the story: Don't wear mullets. Ever.

Temper, Temper

2009-05-04T11:38:00.000-07:00

I was reading through Scholastic's Parent and Child magazine the other day, and started skimming an article about temper tantrums. This is what it had to say, and I quote:

"Tantrums are a temporary discharge of overwhelming feelings when your child can't channel them to constructive outlets....."

I'm sorry? Silly me, I thought temper tantrums were a sinful reaction of a sinful little human being to circumstances that unleash toddler anger, angst, and fury. And maybe that's what the article was trying to say, without being so, um, negative. 'Cause we can't have that, you know. Being told that it's wrong just might offend their childish sensibilities and prevent them from, heaven forbid, expressing themselves through screaming, crying, hitting, kicking, and falling limp to the floor.

I'm pretty sure that Thomas and Olivia are not at all interested yet in "channeling their overwhelming feelings to constructive outlets." They're just plain mad, just plain disobedient, just plain whiny sometimes, and they're wanting to see how far they can push it. Lest anyone think I'm setting myself up as the perfect model of parenting, I am willing to admit that they "push it" a lot more and a lot farther than they should be allowed to sometimes. I am not always perfect at delivering swift discipline for such behavior by any means. But I desire to be a better parent, whose primary concern for my children is to train them up in the Lord. And I recognize that even though they are my kids, they were born with a sinful, willful, obstinate nature (although they get that obstinate part from their Daddy *snicker*).

Tantrums are not neutral "overwhelming feelings." Tantrums are a childish reaction to feelings birthed out of sin, and if they are not checked...well, we know what they lead to. Even Newsweek sees the problem with this.

As for what the article recommends a parent should do in the likely event of a tantrum?

"If you're in a public place, you might pick her up and carry her to a safe spot where she can work it out for herself. Then it's best to step back and say as little as possible....At most, you might quietly reassure her with a few words telling her that she will get herself back under control and that you'll be available whenever she's ready to get going again."

Who's the parent here?

Advice

2009-05-01T05:22:00.000-07:00

"Don't turn your back on bears, men you have wronged, or the dominant male turkey during mating season." - Dwight Shrute

Things That Freak Me Out

2009-04-29T10:36:00.000-07:00

1. Solar Lights on Graves - Has anyone else noticed this trend among graveyards everywhere? Apparently the fashionable thing to do now for your deceased loved one is to put a few solar lights in the ground around their grave. Heather suggested long ago that perhaps this is to help the person find his/her way out, which only adds to the creepy factor. (shiver) I'm pretty sure dead people don't need solar lights. I hope dead people don't need solar lights.

2. Open Closet Doors - When I'm trying to go to sleep at night, the last thing I need is a closet door that's been left ajar.

3. Arby's Commercials - Specifically, the Arby's commercial that came out around Christmas that featured a man and his wife acting out the man's apparent fantasy to sleep with an Arby's employee. Because that is really not going to make me want to eat at Arby's.

4. The Man - When Thomas was around 1 or 2 years old, he talked a lot about seeing "The Man." He would wake up at night, afraid of "The Man." He would look out the window and claim he saw "The Man." My already excitable mind doesn't need more ways to freak me out. Fortunately, he hasn't talked about The Man in a long, long time.

5. The Big 3-O - I'm the last person in the world that I would have imagined having a hard time turning 30. But alas, as the day approaches ever nearer, I can feel the hyperventilation coming on. When did time decide to start moving so fast??? And why didn't she consult ME?

Let's Go Fly a Kite

2009-04-23T05:47:00.001-07:00

Does anyone else now have that song from Mary Poppin's stuck in their heads?

"Let's go fly a kite, up to the highest height.

Let's go fly a kite and send it soaring.

Up through the atmosphere...."

The Coffee Shop

2009-04-21T06:09:00.000-07:00

I went to meet a friend of mine for coffee last night at this new coffee shop that's opened up in downtown Wilkesboro. When I walked in, I noticed the nice lighting and distressed looking flooring. The tables all had high bar stool type chairs, and there were a few comfy looking couches in the back. Just a very nice, typical coffee shop.

Then I noticed that the man in front of me in line had a beer bottle in his hand. I was confused, and figured he must have been brown bagging it. But then another man walked by with a beer bottle in his hand also, and that's when I saw the sign on the counter: BEER $1.75/bottle.

Beer, in a coffee shop. Then the girl behind the counter turned up the music, and I realized it was Alan Jackson singing "She's Gone Country" (look at them boots!).

After I stopped laughing to myself (sort of), I realized that this was actually a very smart move on the part of the coffee shop owners. There have been other very nice coffee shops that have opened up here, but that eventually had to close their doors. The typical coffee shop atmosphere, while it had a few fans, just didn't fare very well in Wilkes County.

But just add some beer and some Alan Jackson, and you've got yourself some business.

Tell Me the Story

2009-04-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking lately, about Bible stories. Or, more specifically, why we call them Bible "stories." When we're talking about the Holocaust, or World War II, or Vietnam, or the Crusades, or anything else that happened in the course of human history, we rarely refer to those events as "stories." I've never heard anyone say, "Tell me the story about the Revolutionary War, " or "Have you heard the story about Watergate?"

Also, we never refer to people who lived in the past as "characters." Yet, without fail, when referencing people in Scripture, we call them characters.

I know they're just words, and maybe I'm analyzing a little too much here, but I wonder sometimes if this is an expression of some part of us that doesn't really believe that the things recorded in Scripture happened, a belief that the people in it weren't real people at all. Stories are usually neat and tidy affairs; history isn't like that. History is messy and unexpected, and you can't alter it after it happens, no matter how much you may want or need a good "story."

If I consider for one moment too long that the death and resurrection of Jesus actually happened, then it almost becomes too much to bear. Reading the account of the death of Jesus to Thomas and Olivia this morning, I almost couldn't finish it because I realized that this was the FIRST TIME that they were hearing the record of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. And I never, never want them to think of it as the Easter "story."

I want to stop thinking of it that way myself.

We don't need a story - we need the Savior.

Too Much L.M.

2009-04-09T05:16:00.000-07:00

"Soul-ache don't bother people near as much as stomach-ache."

- Miss Cornelia Bryant, Anne's House of Dreams

Ain't that the truth?
Can you tell I've been reading a whole lot of L.M. Montgomery lately?

2009-03-27T12:06:00.000-07:00

"It has always seemed to me, ever since early childhood, amid all the commonplaces of life, I was very near to a kingdom of ideal beauty. Between it and me hung only a thin veil. I could never draw it quite aside, but sometimes a wind fluttered it and I caught a glimpse of the enchanting realm beyond-only a glimpse-but those glimpses have always made life worth while."

-L.M. Montgomerey

Prayer of....Agur?

2009-03-25T06:37:00.000-07:00

For those of you in the strange bubble of Christian subculture, you probably remember the little book called Prayer of Jabez that came out a few years ago. Written by Bruce Wilkinson, this little book focused on the prayer of a man who is mentioned briefly in the Old Testament. The prayer was along the lines of "Bless me, God; enlarge my territory."

Apart from taking a single verse out of context, the main problem with this book is that it seems to promote the "prosperity gospel" (a la Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, etc.). You know, just ask God for His blessing, and it will always come in the form of corner lots, CEO jobs, bigger houses, more money, blah, blah, blah.

Thomas, Olivia and I have been reading through Proverbs in the mornings, and I found an interesting prayer in there that is decidedly NOT the prayer of Jabez. In chapter 30, verses 8-9, Agur prays:

"Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown You, and say, 'Who is the Lord?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God."

If the part in bold sounds oddly familiar, it's because it's the same thought uttered by Jesus:

"Give us this day, our daily bread..."

Do you think I could write a book about it? Probably wouldn't sell very well would it?

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the actual prayer of Jabez - it's in Scripture, so obviously we are meant to learn from it. But there is something wrong with this expectation, this twisting of the word "blessing," this sense of entitlement that were are all too prone to exhibit. We mistakenly think that blessing means material goods, and become upset when they don't materialize. Caison told me the other day that he realized that in Scripture, we are only promised two physical things: clothing and food. Not new cars, or paid off student loans, or big houses, or college funds for our children.

Obviously, if we owe bills and if we have children, God will provide for our needs. But I know that personally, anytime I've prayed about a material need, it's usually in the form of "Bless me Lord!" Always uttered with a tinge of worry. What would it look like if God's people truly trusted Him to provide our daily bread? What would it look like if that's all we asked for, and our motivation was that of Agur? To avoid riches because of the danger they pose of forgetting reliance on God, and to avoid poverty only because it might provoke us to dishonor God with our actions?

Two Down, None to Go

2009-03-23T05:50:00.000-07:00

We are officially a diaper free household! Woo hoo!

After a few weeks of fruitless "training" attempts:

"Olivia, did you wet your pants?"

"No, Mommy" (drip, drip, drip)

She finally decided last week that it was time. We had one of the busiest weeks we've had in awhile last week, so I pretty much put the training on hold indefinitely. But something clicked in her, and we've been diaper free, even during naps and nighttime, ever since!

A Lot Can Happen.....

2009-03-12T20:23:00.000-07:00

.....in one week.

Tuesday Rant

2009-03-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

I don't often watch the news in the mornings, but sometimes if I'm awake before Thomas and Olivia get up I'll turn it on for a few minutes.

I happened to catch a few minutes of it this morning, and they were discussing a bill that has come up in the Connecticut state legislature concerning the Catholic church. Basically, this bill, if passed, would revoke the financial authority of bishops and pastors over their individual parishes and replace them with a committe of laypersons. It seems that some former disgruntled members pushed for this bill after one of the pastors spent the congregational offerings on limos, fancy watches, and Florida condos. So the committees would be the ones to decide how money is spent in each parish, not the bishops and pastors.

Ok, if the Catholic church wants to replace their bishops and pastors with layperson committees in order to prevent abuse of church treasuries, fine. In fact, that may be wise. But that is something to be decided by the Catholic church - NOT the state. It blows my mind that the same society that is all worried about church and state separation when it comes to moral matters is all about some state interference when it comes to financial matters.

Apparently, they forgot that the first amendment states,

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

I'm not sure how the people in the Connecticut legislature, people who should be more familiar with the Constitution than most, even let this idea get so far. I realize that this is state government, not federal, but it shouldn't matter. Government has no business enacting laws that govern how a church, or ANY religious group, will be operated.

As the person they interviewed this morning said, "Who's to say that, if passed, this would stop at the Catholic church? Why not Jewish synagogues, or Protestant churches, or Mormon temples?"

Further, who's to say that, if passed, it would stop at ordering how finances will be handled? If the government can tell a religious group how to handle their finances, why couldn't they tell them how to handle their elders, deacons, Sunday school teachers? Why not make laws requiring use of particular religious literature during worship services? Heck, why not just make a state approved hymnbook?

If all this sounds ridiculous, it's because it is.

While I'm not convinced that the end of the world is tomorrow, or that in 10 years I'll wake up in a Communist country, I do think that bills like this are very dangerous. I'm no social studies expert, or law student, but I think it's pretty obvious that this is a clear violation of the First Amendment.

Rant over. Resume your daily routine.

My Literary Secret

2009-03-04T11:17:00.000-08:00

Some time ago, I checked out a book from the local library. I read the book, enjoyed the book, and then....LOST the book. Or at least that's how it is in my memory. I couldn't remember if I had ever actually returned the book to the library, so I avoided going back to the library for "awhile".

The last time I went to the library was when I was pregnant with Thomas...which was 4 years ago. The longer I put off going, the more embarrassing it got....I read an article about a woman who was fined for a library book she failed to return more than 15 YEARS AGO...and fear struck my heart. No longer was this a potentially embarrassing situation, it had the potential to turn into an embarrassing financial situation as well. Who wants to walk into the library, and then find oneself surrounded by library bouncers furnished with overdue library book records?

NOT ME.

So, I just didn't go.

But eventually, my need for new books outgrew our small church library, and so I did what any married person would do. I asked Caison to go by the regular library for me to see if I actually owed them anything for the book from long ago, so that I could avoid the potential embarrassment. I had it all carefully planned out...he could just walk in, tell the people he hadn't used his card in awhile, and then feign suprise if there was a $500 fine on there from the book his wife hadn't returned. "My wife did WHAT?," he would say.

Turns out, I needn't have worried. Apparently, in the mental fog and forgetfulness that is pregnancy, I did return that book 4 years ago. And then promptly punished myself with self induced library exile.

Hmmm. Perhaps I need to examine my tendency to over-dramatize situations. And write better notes to myself.

Permission Granted

2009-03-03T06:44:00.000-08:00

Spring, you now have my permission to come on in. I pleaded and begged (and even cried a little) for just a little bit of snow, and you took pity on me yesterday. I won't mention that I would rather have had snow that didn't melt after 4 hours, or how crazy it is that it's supposed to be 70 degrees by Saturday. No, I'll just enjoy yesterday....and start crossing my fingers for next year. :)

That's What We're Famous For

2009-02-27T11:45:00.000-08:00

Here's a Wilkes tale for you:

Last night, around 8:30 or so, Caison and I heard this really loud booming noise from outside.

We had no idea what it was, but eventually came to the conclusion that maybe it was thunder since it looked cloudy and stormy outside.

About an hour later, we heard another one, and this one shook our house. Once again, we looked outside and found nothing.

And then, this morning on the news, I found out that it was the Wilkes County Sheriff's Department. You know what they were doing?

Blowing up a moonshine still.

What year is this again?

Ah, good old Wilkes County.

And just so you know I'm not making this up....http://www.journalpatriot.com/fullstory.asp?id=1142

Smile and Nod, Smile and Nod

2009-02-23T05:02:00.000-08:00

Yesterday as we drove home from church, Thomas and Olivia were eating some candy hearts someone had given them during Sunday School. Olivia was having a hard time eating hers, and kept telling me they weren't "working." I told her that they were hard candy, and that I didn't think she was quite ready for hard candy yet.

A few minutes later, I heard Thomas whisper to her, "Olivia, I don't think you're ready for hard candy yet."

Her reply (also in a whisper)?

"I don't know how to go to sleep."

I know she gets it honest, but her weirdness is still good for a few laughs. Thomas just looked confused, and all I could think was, "Smile and nod, smile and nod."

Sew Crafty

2009-02-17T18:39:00.000-08:00

So my latest venture into craftiness was to tackle sewing a skirt for Olivia. I found this cute pattern online, and since I just learned how to sew a couple of months ago, the word "easy" in the instructions lured me in.

HA. I guess it would have been "easy" if I hadn't sewed the bottom of the skirt together. Or sewed the hem crooked 3 times, requiring the seams to be ripped out 3 times. Or lost the piece of elastic while trying to thread it through the waistband. Yep, it probably would have been easy if those things hadn't happened.

But eventually (2 hours later) I got it done. Olivia was pretty happy with it, and considering how many mistakes I made on it, I was relatively happy about it as well. Well, until Olivia insisted on wearing it over her pants and then dropped salsa on it while eating supper.

I'm sure no one will be knocking down my door to get me to sew clothes for them anytime soon.

Have We Lost Our Minds?

2009-02-16T10:16:00.000-08:00

Ok....not to intentionally stir up the beehive that is the abortion debate...but did you hear/read about the "botched abortion" job down in Florida? It happened in 2006, but it's getting some press lately because the doctor is being sued.

Basically, this woman who was 23 weeks pregnant paid over $1,000 to have an abortion performed, because she had decided that she was too immature and didn't have the resources to properly raise a child. The clinic gave her some medication to begin the process, and a few hours later she went into labor before the doctor could arrive. The baby was born ALIVE. So what did the clinic do? Well, they did what she paid them money to do: they got rid of the baby. Of course, getting rid of a baby after birth is a lot messier than getting rid of one before, at least for the moral sensibilities of people in our country. They tossed it in a biohazard bag and threw it in the garbage.

Now, apparently, this woman is suing the doctor and the clinic. My question is: FOR WHAT? She went in to get rid of the "problem," and that's exactly what they did. I understand that labor and delivery was not what she bargained for, but hey, mistakes happen right?

There is also some debate over whether the person (who didn't have a medical license) who cut the cord (with a pair of scissors) and tossed the baby in the trash should face murder charges. Again, WHY?

The only difference for this baby and any other 23 week old baby that has been aborted was LOCATION. This baby made it out of the womb onto the chair the mother was lying on, that's all. And the only reason the baby made it out of the womb to begin with is due to the medication they gave her to begin the abortion procedure.

I cannot imagine the pain that this woman is going through. To have believed the lie that what she was carrying was disposable, only to realize the deceit in that phrase once the baby was actually disposed of. And while there are many issues in this case, including past medical malpractice suits against the doctor and his proven incompetence, these are taking precedence over the main issue. Should he have to face the consequences of past malpractice, and for not being able to recognize the "tools of his trade?" Of course. But that is not the issue here. He wasn't in danger of losing his license until a woman lost her baby on the clinic table. As long as the babies were dying where they were supposed to - inside the woman - no one seemed to have much of a problem with this doctor.

God help us all.

Song of the South

2009-02-12T17:55:00.000-08:00

Tonight, Thomas told me that his FANGER hurt.

"Your what?"

"My FANGER."

With a twang so Southern that it hurt my ears. Now that's bad, cause I've heard myself talk.

Southern, through and through.

(By the way, that's "finger" for all you Yanks who might be wondering what a FANGER is. It's not a vampire fang. Just like "well water," pronounced "whale" water, does not mean we have a sperm whale in the backyard.)

Spring, Spring, Go Away!

2009-02-10T11:37:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting at the kitchen table with a nice breeze blowing through the open windows. My feet are bare, and I am trying really, really hard not to enjoy it.

You see, I love cold weather. Which presents a problem when faced with warm, 70-degreeish weather in February.

I'm not AGAINST spring, exactly, it's just - well, it's not supposed to get here until March 21. By most calendars anyway. Apparently, spring didn't get that message.

(P.S. What is UP with Blogger messing with my formatting? And what are those weird white spaces in the corners of my photo??)

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

2009-01-31T20:59:00.000-08:00

No, it's not a little bar somewhere in Boston...it's Ellerbe.

Now, I've always known Ellerbe was a small town. I grew up here. But when you walk into your grandma's bank for her and they let you withdraw money from her account with nothing more for confirmation than, "I'm Agnes Green's granddaughter," then you know you've stepped back into Mayberry.

"Where everybody knows your name....
And they're always glad you came...."

Oh Be Careful Little Mouth

2009-01-26T12:19:00.000-08:00

Remember that post I did way back when, talking about the hard things that I need to learn how to chew and digest? The post with the picture of the steak?

Well, I've been challenged to make good on that lesson in the past couple of months. Although I've known it for a long time, I'm just now reaching a point of (semi) maturity to be able to admit it: I have a problem with my mouth. If you've known me for any length of time, this probably won't come as a suprise to you. If you're Caison, just keep your mouth shut. :)

Anyway, if there's a verbal sin (and yes, it's sin, and I need to start calling it that), you name it, I've done it. And still do it. And will probably do it tomorrow. And if I am still struggling with this when I'm 70, don't be suprised. I've never struggled too much with outside substances (particularly of the smoky variety), but anything that involves the words that come out of my mouth tends to be a problem for me.

Not that I've got a "potty mouth." At least not in the wordly sense of it. From a spiritual perspective though, the words I speak leave much to be desired. I gossip. And although I make fun of the old Southern standby "well, bless her heart...", I essentially do the same thing. I slander. I speak thoughts I shouldn't speak and cover it up with attempts at wit.

Sarcasm. Although I don't believe it's always bad, it generally comes at the expense of someone else. I recently read somewhere that sarcasm tends to be sinful words cleverly disguised as wit. Or something to that effect. And that's pretty much true. Especially for me.

I speak hateful words, particularly when I'm mad. Which means Caison generally ends up bearing the brunt of those disappointing examples. I hate being wrong, so I shoot verbal darts that are intended to hurt.

And under the same umbrella of communication, I have perfected the art of the female sigh. If you're a girl, then you know what I'm talking about. And if you're a man then you definitely know what I'm talking about. That "do I really have to explain this to you?" sigh. That "please leave me alone right now" sigh. The "I am obviously so much better than you that it's not even worth trying to explain something to you" sigh.

I make jokes about things that God has called sin. I laugh and justify it by "it's just a joke." And then I read that "whatever it true, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things." And I think we're all adult enough to admit that whatever our minds dwell on, that's what will come out of our mouths. It's what comes out of our hearts and mouths that defiles us. And sadly, much of what I fill my mind with is sinful. I use grace to justify my sin, which is something that Paul vehemently warned against in Romans.

Am I forgiven? Of course. Jesus' death on the cross covered all my verbal missteps. SIN. But, am I called to something better? Yeah, Jesus called it being holy.

The thing that made me brave enough to put this on the world of Internet blogging was this verse:

"But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgement." - Matthew 12:36

That was Jesus, by the way.

I'm pretty sure that I've spoken a lot of careless words over the years. Things I would be embarrassed to post here. Things I wouldn't want other people knowing I've said about them. Things I wouldn't want people knowing I've said at ALL. Things that I've completely forgotten I've even said. Perhaps I need to be a little more careful...

So in conclusion, maybe it's not just a kid's song after all.....

The View

2009-01-22T06:02:00.000-08:00

RIP

2009-01-15T20:05:00.000-08:00

This notice is to inform you of the passing of The Weekly.

While The Weekly was fun, informative, and known for inspiring a sense of accomplishment in its blog writer, it suffered great neglect in its last few weeks of life.

We are all thankful that it no longer has to limp along or suffer the humiliation of appearing every week and a half rather than every week as indicated by its name.

The Weekly enjoyed a full, month long life that inspired the blog author to look for weird or interesting things to post about each week (and a half). However, this scrutiny of all things random inevitably led to a condition known commonly as "over thinking."

In the end, it was this over thinking that proved to be too much for The Weekly, and it died a slow, peaceful death over the holiday season.

We'll miss you Weekly.

The Fat Lady

2009-01-11T10:15:00.000-08:00

(By the way, I don't know what my obsession is lately with pictures of trees. Just so you know there's no hidden meaning or anything.)

There's a quote in the book Chocolat that I've always really liked, and that I've been thinking a lot about lately.

"The battle of good and evil reduced to a fat woman standing in front of a chocolate shop, saying 'Will I? Won't I? in pitiful indecision."

First of all, I've always liked it because it's just funny. My kind of quote. But I also like it because I think it reflects a truth about the Church, in our country, at least. I was having trouble thinking of ways to put my thoughts into comprehensible words, until I read this yesterday morning:

"They captured fortified cities and a fertile land. They took possession of houses full of every good thing, hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive groves, fruit trees in abundance. So they ate, were filled and grew fat, and reveled in Your great goodness. But they became disobedient and rebelled against You...." - Nehemiah 9:25-26

These verses are part of Israel's confession to God. They have just returned to Jerusalem, and are in the process of rebuilding the city. Nehemiah and Ezra have called the people together, and they reflect on their rebellious past and renew their covenant with God. These particular verses are referring to when the Israelites took posession of the Promised Land.

Basically, they grew content. They got fat and lazy, and swayed into complacency, they rebelled against the God who had brought them out of Egypt. And while this is referring specifically to the Israelites and I don't want to take it out of context, I think the basic principle can be applied to the Church today.

I'm still having trouble making the written (typed) words make the sense I want them to. To me, this explains why we argue over carpeted sanctuaries, why we take sides between praise songs and hymns, why we are so easily persuaded to gossip and cattiness (speaking as a woman here :P). We have reduced the "battle of good and evil to a fat woman standing in front of a chocolate shop."

We take everything that God has blessed us with and demand it as a right. We forget that we did not build these houses, or hew these cisterns, or plant these vineyards. We were adopted as sons and daughters of the King, and are joint heirs with Christ. We were delivered out of bondage and blessed beyond measure.

While the extended Church across the world battles real persecution and is reminded daily that their battle is not against flesh and blood, we stand in front of our chocolate shops and debate carpet colors and pipe organ funds and worship service order. Instead of repenting of our sin, we smother it with hypocritical religious jargon. We convince ourselves that we are not tempted, that there is nothing to confess. We debate endlessly over things that God has clearly laid out in His word, asking again and again, "Has God really said....?"

We forget that our enemy prowls around like a lion, seeking whom he may devour. No, he may not be able to persuade us into flagrant rebellion, but he can certainly persuade us to nurse sin and complacency.

"The battle of good and evil reduced to a fat woman standing in front of a chocolate shop, saying 'Will I? Won't I?' in pitiful indecision. The devil is a coward; he will not show his face. He is without substance, breaking into a million pieces that worm their evil way into the blood, into the soul." - Chocolat

What Dreams May Come

2009-01-06T10:01:00.001-08:00

Last night I dreamed that I went in for a yearly physical and my doctor discovered that I had cancer. It was a very sad, detailed dream that I won't depress anyone with, but it was realistic enough that when I woke from it I had tears streaming down my face.

Pretty morbid, I guess, but it did get me thinking about dreams. I've been known to have a few (or more) detailed, weird dreams in my time, as have most people.

At night, we are reading through the story of Joseph in the Bible, and right now we are on the part where Joseph interprets the dreams of the cupbearer and the baker. What was it about biblical dreams that motivated the dreamers to seek out interpretations? I mean, I've had some crazy real dreams myself, but rarely do I think that they actually mean something. Other than "I shouldn't have eaten that much ice cream before bed." :)

Was there an element to those dreams that separated them from your run of the mill, stress or overindulgence dreams?

Set Adrift

2009-01-02T05:08:00.000-08:00

"People do not drift toward Holiness.

Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord.

We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance;

we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom;

we drift toward superstition and call it faith.

We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation;

we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism;

we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated."

— D.A. Carson

Do Not Pass Go

2008-12-31T13:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, while I was in the kitchen fixing lunch, Olivia said to me, "Mommy, when you get out of jail you can draw with me." See, I didn't realize I was in jail. So I told her that I wasn't in jail. To which she replied, "Ok, but when you get OUT of jail, we can draw."

Silly me.

The Weekly

2008-12-18T11:07:00.000-08:00

I know, I know....you can't really call it a "weekly" if you're not posting it weekly. But "once every week and a half" just doesn't have the same ring to it, you know? Sheesh...you people are so demanding. Oh, and that was sarcasm, which I will totally be doing a post on if I can ever get my act together with this blog.

1. Whole Chicken - Have you ever cooked a whole chicken? I've started buying whole chickens to cook, because they are much cheaper than buying a pack of chicken breasts, or legs, by themselves. Well, I realized pretty quick the "why" behind the cheaper prices. If you buy a whole chicken, you have to clean it out. You know, the insides. Anyway, long story short, I overcame my revulsion and got back to my pioneer roots with the first 2 chickens. It all went fairly easily. Then came chicken number 3. I poked and prodded around, but couldn't find any. So I thought that maybe this chicken already had them removed, and stuck it in the oven. When I went to check on it an hour later, I found out that, in fact, the giblets had NOT been removed. Fortunately for anyone reading this blog, I didn't take a picture. That is just not a sight I want to revisit anytime soon. So! Lesson learned: whole chickens ALWAYS have giblets in them. Always.

2. Giant Snowman - While I was out running (ahem, this really means fast walking) the other day, I got to witness one of those giant snowmen being blown up. I'm not sure what I expected, but it was not the "rising from the dead" tinged experience that I got. Seriously, if small children saw that happening they would be quite frightened.

3. My Song - When we're riding in the car, listening to Christmas music, Thomas and Olivia have gotten into the habit of saying, "That's MY SONG!" Thomas' song is "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year," and Olivia's is "Jingle Bell Rock." I don't know where they heard that, as both Caison and I are past the tween tendency to claim ownership of songs, but I'm waiting on Olivia to bust out with "Girl, you know that's MY song!" complete with finger snap and head bobbing.

**Can anyone explain to me why blogger won't leave my posts alon?e I put spaces in between the paragraphs so it's all nice and neat, and blogger absolutely will not leave them there. **

Christmas

2008-12-11T10:50:00.000-08:00

This year I've really noticed the truth in Christmas hymns.....playing the piano for years, I learned most of the verses of Christmas songs by default. But I never really paid much attention to them, mainly because they are written so awkwardly by modern English usage that it's hard to understand what they mean. This year, as I've been hearing and seeing them, I have really noticed the beautiful way that they express the Truth.

Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Christ by highest heaven adored
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time, behold Him come
Offspring of the virgin's womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity!
Pleased as man with men to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel!
Hark, the herald angels sing,
Glory to the newborn King!

Hail the heaven born Prince of Peace,
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Risen with healing in His wings!
Mild He lays his glory by
Born that man no more may die!
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth!
Hark, the herald angels sing,
Glory to the newborn King!

The Weekly

2008-12-07T11:34:00.001-08:00

I can just hear the wild clapping and cheering now that The Weekly is back....no comments from the Peanut Gallery please.

Unfortunately, I don't have a round, healthy 5 item list this time. Just a couple of things from this past week.

1. Taxidermy Float - Oh, how I wish I had a picture to share of this, but I didn't have enough forethought to take my camera with us yesterday to the Wilkes County Christmas Parade. Now, I mentioned in my last post about the young kids and teenagers driving huge tractors in parades, but they've got nothing on the Taxidermy Float as far as redneck, country style goes. The float was done by a church, I think and the theme of the parade was an "Old Fashion Christmas." Apparently, a fully stuffed and mounted deer, bobcat, turkey and groundhog convey that theme nicely. Did you get that? A stuffed and mounted groundhog.

2. Forbidden Christmas Ornament - Did you hear about the woman who submitted a Christmas ornament to be placed on the White House Christmas tree? Apparently, the ornament was very anti-Bush, and called for his impeachment, and so it was not used on the tree. The clip I saw about it on the news included a phone interview with the artist, who claimed that she had been denied freedom of speech. REALLY? You can read more about this "where's the common sense?" story here.

3. Donkey Basketball - If you're getting tired of your local schools constantly selling candy, magazines, and fruit baskets to raise money, tell them about Donkey Ball! Caison had the pleasure of keeping score at this questionable fundraiser for his school. Donkey Ball is pretty much self-descriptive; it consists of people with little to no common sense who attempt to play basketball while riding on donkeys. The halftime show was Musical Donkeys, a variation on musical chairs where women in the audience were encouraged to scratch and hit, and try to pull each other off the donkeys before the music ended each round. The most astonishing part to me is not that they had Musical Donkeys, but that they were able to get volunteers to play it.

Tractors, Mice, and Hospitals...Oh My!

2008-12-02T12:47:00.001-08:00

I'm still here....

We've been in Ellerbe for awhile. We went to the Farmer's Day parade the first day we were down there. You know it's a rural area when they have a Farmer's Day parade. I haven't been to it in years. It made me pretty happy to see kids who are still a good 5 years from being able to legally drive a car driving their Daddy's John Deere tractors behind the State Trooper leading the parade. It made me happy to see the teenage girls driving the big combines down Main Street. I know, I know, it's redneck, it's country; but it made me laugh out loud and glad to be back in Ellerbe for a little while.

Then my grandpa got really sick. One of the disadvantages of living away from your family is that it is a lot easier to distance yourself when something like that happens. I went and spent the night with my grandma the night he was taken to the hospital, which was also something I hadn't done in years. But all seriousness aside, I couldn't sleep. Apart from the dread that we would get a phone call in the middle of the night telling us he had passed away, I couldn't sleep because of the mouse I saw run underneath my grandma's TV. Then I couldn't sleep because of the sheer number of clocks my grandparents have in their house. Seriously, I counted 5 on their mantel alone. Big clocks, small clocks, clocks that chime, clocks that ring, even a clock that has a cow who comes out and announces every hour. Clocks and mice do not set the stage for a good night's sleep.

As always, it was an interesting trip.

The Weekly.....Who's Counting?

2008-11-21T11:31:00.001-08:00

No weirdness to share this week...just a few pictures. And YES, that is SNOW on our dog in the first one! That was today, just before noon. I was pretty excited. The dog, however, was not. But the only way I could get the snowflakes to show up on the camera was if they were landing on her back. And it IS snow, not a weird case of dog dandruff.

The Weekly

2008-11-16T18:28:00.000-08:00

A little late, but better late than never, eh? I'm actually pretty proud of myself for making it 3 weeks in a row....

So, without further adieu...things that caught my interest this week, for one reason or another.

1. The Layered Look - One afternoon after Thomas got up from his nap, he needed me to help him adjust his clothing after going to the bathroom. When I got in there, I discovered that he had on not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR pairs of underwear. When he came out of the bathroom, we noticed that his feet looked sort of fat, and discovered that he had put on 5 pairs of socks as well.

2. The iLiad - Ok, after the CNN hologram from last week, and now this, I am seriously wondering when Tom Cruise is going to show up, on the run from the people who framed him and having to get his eyeballs cut out.

3. The Happening - Have you seen this movie? If not, it is something that you must never, ever do. Oddly enough, the pairing of Marky Mark and M. Night Shyamalan is no good. Who would have thought????

4. SNOW - You better believe I noticed on our way to church this morning that the Blue Ridge and Grandfather Mtn. were covered in snow. So close, so close.

5. Your turn - I have this strange compulsion to round out my list to 5 things, but can't think of a 5th one for this week - it's been a slow week for weird. Sooo.....my two faithful readers, let me know your weird, strange, or funny things from this past week.

Death Wish

2008-11-12T06:08:00.000-08:00

As much as I complain about living behind the airport, it does have some unexpected advantages. Such as getting free air shows. There is some guy who evidently has a death wish, and will spend days practicing his air acrobatics. One of my neighbors told me the other day that the guy who does it is in his late 60s. Let me just tell you, this guy is NUTS. He will fly his plane straight up into the air, then stall out the engine, and let the plane free fall for several hundred feet before jerking it back into control. He will dive towards the runway, correcting it at the last minute, and fly in upside down about 40 feet above the runway. He does loops, twirls, and 90 degree turns. He also does sky writing. My personal favorite was on Monday, when he drew a heart in the air and then shot straight through the middle of it, Bon Jovi style.

The Weekly

2008-11-07T10:54:00.001-08:00

Whew....Christmas shopping, the election, getting in a new crop of puppies...it's been a busy week! (and by the way, totally serious about the puppies, so if anybody wants one, they'll be ready by Christmas....free puppies, you know you want one).

Here's my list of things I found funny or that just absolutely freaked me out:

1. CNN Hologram - Seriously, this is a little too "Minority Report" for me. Makes my skin crawl, much like the Smart Boards do.

2. IQ - Caison took an IQ test recently and found out his IQ is pretty close to Obama's. Really. Should this scare the world at large, or just me personally? Kidding, kidding.... :)

3. Grown Up Trick or Treaters - On our trick or treating venture last weekend, we discovered that there are evidently a lot of parents who like to dress up alongside their kids. Among others, we saw a very indecently exposed Elvira and a very inappropriate bumble bee.

4. Dr. Perky - This is the Food Lion ripoff of Dr. Pepper. Dr. Perky. Really?

5. Oreo Lawsuit - Apparently, in California, there is a lawsuit seeking to ban the sale of Oreo's to children. I mean, I know that Oreo's are right up there with crack and cigarettes, but come ON....first they take away the lead paint, now the Oreo's. By the time we're 50 there will be nothing left of our childhood.

One Track Mind

2008-11-03T11:29:00.000-08:00

As I've mentioned before, this election is the first one that I've attempted to understand. It's the first time, I'm sad to say, that I've looked up voting records, and tried to watch the debates (although I admit, that Tina Fey, oops, I mean Sarah Palin, said "you betcha" one too many times in the VP debate, thereby preventing me from watching for too long).

Here lately, my mind keeps wandering to the never ending debate between pro-choice and pro-life.

Not too long ago, only a few weeks ago, to be honest, I had a problem with people who intend to vote tomorrow based on one issue. Usually that issue is abortion. I had a problem with it because I know that there are many, many issues out there, and who is to say that US laws about abortion should take precendence over tacit US approval of genocide in Darfur? Or senseless bombings of innocent people who happen to be in war torn areas? Or ridiculous economic policies that benefit only a few?

But then I read an article by Randy Alcorn. He basically asked this question: If a candidate had all the right answers about education, the economy, the war, health insurance reform, etc., etc., but also supported slavery, as Americans undersand slavery, would you still vote for him/her?

I think the answer, for most people, is evident. Of course we wouldn't vote for someone who advocated a return to slavery, regardless of where he stood on other issues. But wouldn't that make us "one issue voters?"

So I began thinking that maybe it wasn't so crazy and ignorant after all. Whether we want to admit it or not, abortion is our generation's issue. Or one of the big ones anyway.

What if, as a country, we began to value the most innocent of lives among us? Wouldn't that naturally spill over into other issues of political importance? If we no longer sanctioned the deaths of unborn children, how could we possibly sanction, albeit silently, genocide in the Darfur region? How could we possibly support economic policies that oppress our citizens, as well as citizens in other countries? Is it possible, that by making it clear that we value life in its smallest form, that the doors to valuing ALL life might be flung open?

Perhaps I'm a little too simplistic, a little too naive. I learned yesterday that citizens in Colorado will be voting tomorrow on a measure that would amend their constitution. If the measure passes, it will change the definition of a "person" to unborn babies from the moment of conception. I can't help but think that it will likely not pass.

A few weeks ago, I went to the Holocaust museum in Washington, D.C. While I knew it would not be a FUN trip, I had no idea that it would affect me the way that it did. Reading about the "Lives Unworthy of Life," all I could think about were the cases in our courts right now that are based on "wrongful births." It is a very slippery slope. Whether we want to believe it or not, it's happening. From aborting babies based on physical or mental handicaps, we move seamlessly into aborting based on gender. Where does it stop?

This very long post is not to advocate for a particular candidate. I personally don't think either one will do very much as far as abortion is concerned. Even under the administration of a pro-life president, things haven't changed all that much. In my opinion, the term "pro-life" has come to be nothing more than an "I'm Just Like You" sign for the more conservative candidates to wave in the face of evangelicals. Makes us feel a little better but doesn't really change a whole lot.

No, I hope that we all prayerfully consider who to vote for tomorrow, but all the while remembering that there really isn't A Savior on Capitol Hill. And if the Church, which is the body and bride of Christ, refuses to make a difference in all of these issues, can we really complain at the governments failure to do likewise?

The Weekly

2008-10-31T10:12:00.000-07:00

Well, what do you know? I actually am making a second installment of my list of strange, weird, or interesting things I've heard or seen this week. Never mind that I've not posted anything since. Come on people, you can't have it all.

Here we go:

1. Frankenstein, a Mummy, and a Witch: All riding on a......four wheeler. Yep, because that's what monsters do during their down time in Wilkes County.

2. Daily Astronomer: Contrary to popular belief, this odd little collection of stories from my freshman year of college was not lost in "the box." (sidenote: "the box" is where anything that I am unable to find after moving ends up; in the mysterious, ever elusive box) I found them the other day in our storage closet, and after reading only a couple of them, it was hard to make myself read the rest of them. Because I was just that weird. Much weirder than I actually remember myself being.

3. Footed Pajamas for Adults: You remember that Vermont catalog I mentioned last week? The one that stated real rabbit fur makes little girls feel like princesses? Yeah, that one. Well, they also sell footed pajamas. For adults. Just in case anyone needs a new pair, since we outgrew our old ones, oh, I don't know, over 25 years ago. Oh, here's the link in case you need to let someone know, for Christmas: http://www.vermontcountrystore.com./

4. Cake Wrecks: http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2008/10/and-now-conclusion-of-spider-wreck.html. It will speak for itself.

5. Kid Quote: And last but not least, while in the bathroom the other day, I was honored with a "bathroom cheer." For those of you who don't know this yet, a bathroom cheer is the pep rally you perform when you are potty training a toddler. Well, Olivia has taken it to heart, because the other day as I was, um, in the bathroom, I heard this coming from the other side of the door: "Yay Mommy! You pooped in the potty! I am so PROUD of you!!!" (lots of clapping and cheering)

Making a List

2008-10-24T19:07:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would highlight the interesting, weird, or strange things I've run across this week. I entertained thoughts of making this a weekly post, but I am making no promises, as I seem to have issues with regularity in my blog. Hmmm. Sounds like a Metamucil commercial.

Anyway, here they are, in no particular order:

1. Bologna Sticks - Seriously? Who eats bologna sticks? But there they were, just chilling out in their little endcap display at Sav-A-Lot the other day. They didn't even have a creative name - just "Bologna Sticks." They looked like hot dogs with growth hormone problems.

2. "Real Rabbit Fur Makes Every Little Girl Feel Like a Princess"- This interesting little advertisment was in a Christmas catalog we got in the mail today. Called Vermont something or other, they specialize in selling hard to find, unique items. And animal pelts, apparently. The above statement was used to describe a hand muff for girls. One, who even wears hand muffs anymore, and two, I'm pretty sure that if I ever felt like a princess, real rabbit fur wasn't to blame.

3. "Here's a half-pig for you to eat." - You knew I would have to have at least one strange kid saying in the list. This particular beauty was said by Thomas, as he handed me an empty plate. "A half-pig?" I asked, a little confused, wondering why I didn't get a whole pig. "Yes," he answered, "but you don't really eat it, you just pretend." Oh, thank you. I wasn't sure, you know.

4. Possum - There is a dead possum at the end of our road. It's been there for about a week now, and it hasn't decomposed. At all. Doesn't even smell. Perhaps it's a Disney possum, and it will change into a prince at some point. Not sure I want to be there for that; I can't imagine that one would be attractive. And yes, I did see Beauty and the Beast last weekend, so that could be to blame.

5. "If Amy were to die..." - This came from Caison's mom during a conversation between her and Caison and his dad about abortion. An impending cold and a desire to not get into such a controversial conversation at that point and time prevented me from not jumping to my own, mortal defense. Plus, any conversation that includes the scenario of me dying at a young age is something I try to avoid in general.

Lesson (Not) Learned

2008-10-20T10:34:00.000-07:00

I was sick again this past Friday. The 12-hour, throwing up, laying on the bathroom floor hoping someone (or something) will put you out of your misery kind of sick.

I say "again" because for the past 4 years or so, I get sick like this at least twice a year. Three of those times have landed me in the hospital due to dehydration. Yeah, it's not fun. Although one of those trips introduced me to the wonders of morphine. Trippy stuff, that morphine.

So, why do I share this with the public? Because apparently, the universe wants me to learn some kind of lesson from this, and I am obviously NOT GETTING IT. I share in the hopes that someone out there in blogland can enlighten me as to what possible lesson one could learn from hugging the toilet, not caring about how gross that is, and feeling like death warmed over.

Any one? Any one??

I'm Leaving On a Jetplane

2008-10-13T20:52:00.001-07:00

Just in case anyone wondered how close we live to the Wilkes Co. airport, this is the view from our backyard:

Lovely. Hours of entertainment.

Fool Me Once, Shame on You....

2008-10-09T11:33:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know it's not just me who was not suprised by this:

Just days after the bailout of AIG for 85 BILLION DOLLARS (cue Dr. Evil screen shot here), the company sent several of its top executives on a $443,000 business conference (a.k.a. "AIG bailout party!"). This business conference was held at an "exclusive" resort in, I believe, California, and included lots and lots of food and spa services, in addition to lessons on how to further cheat the American people and guarantee a government bailout in the process. Sorry, AIG, but I think your people are top notch in that area.

I have to admit that I was suprised at how quickly they managed to waste the government's money, and at the fact that they did not even attempt to hide what they were doing, but still. Our government basically rewarded these people for making crappy business decisions based on greed. If you give a company like that 85 BILLION DOLLARS, do you really expect them to be able to use it wisely?

And then, if I understood the news correctly last night (and if I can believe it anyway, but that's another story) the government will be giving AIG an additional 38 BILLION DOLLARS. Sort of as a reward for going on their mani-pedi trip last weekend. I can just hear Washington now:

"I can't believe AIG took our bailout and used part of it on such a trip. We have to hold them accountable somehow.....I know, I know! Let's give them even MORE money to squander! That'll show 'em!"

8 Years.....

2008-10-06T11:10:00.000-07:00

8 Years and Counting

2008-10-06T11:02:00.000-07:00

Has it really been 8 years??

Of Mice and Potatoes

2008-10-01T09:39:00.001-07:00

Giant, oversized, scary sweet potato?

Or giant, oversized, scary mouse?

You decide.

It's Alive!!! It's Alive!!!

2008-09-25T10:46:00.000-07:00

Ok, everyone knows that math (and therefore, business and economics) is not my forte. I struggle when I have to add double digit numbers in my head. And don't even mention the mental gymnastics I go through when I have to leave a tip in a restaurant. Calculators were made with me in mind. I am fully aware of my limitations in this area, and it's one of the reasons that I didn't major in business in college. Instead, I went with communications. I may not be able to add or count correctly, but I'm all set to communicate to you how confused it makes me.

Having said that, however, I have some thoughts on the current economic crisis. Which you know will be chock full of valid information, since I've clued you in to my number confusion. Now unless you've been under a rock, then you know that Wall Street is in trouble, and that it will affect the majority of people in this country should it crash (again).

I've read articles on this trying to educate myself about it....I've read about how it traces back to the housing market boom in the mid-90s, and how mortgage companies got greedy and sold too many shaky loans, and how too many people took advantage of our economic system, and I even watched part of GW's speech last night asking taxpayers for $700 billion to fix Wall Street.

Here's the thing: everyone who writes or talks about this crisis speaks as if money is an actual, physical force. They know the stock market stands a good chance of crashing, they know how and why we got here.....and yet, there's nothing we can do about it (except the $700 billion deal)?

Now, maybe this is where my professed business ignorance comes in, but I just don't see how money- you know, that paper and metal currency -has the power to make or break us. Caison has explained to me numerous times ,but it still makes no sense to me, and all I can say in return is "It's not an actual living thing!!!"

All I can see in my head when people start talking about it is huge, Godzilla sized greenbacks stumbling their way through Manhattan, taking down Wall Street before moving on to Small Town, USA.

Finally, I'm beginning to understand why there are so many references to money, and the power we give it, in the Bible. We have assigned so much value to money that it is in control of our lives. Newsanchors, congressmen, and presidents can talk about it as if it's a living, breathing force and no one bats an eye. Except for me, and I guess my eye-batting is questionable since I don't know what I'm talking about. And I am fully aware that my ignorance on this matter allows me to simplify; I know that anytime people and money are in the same room together there's going to be trouble. I know all that.

I just don't get it.

Signs of the Season

2008-09-23T10:49:00.000-07:00

I think Olivia may have a future in politics. She woke up a little earlier than normal this morning, crying, for no apparent reason. After a vain attempt to get her to go back to sleep in our bed, I let her get up (and Thomas too, who was awakened by her crying) and we fixed breakfast. For those of you who know my kids, food is the cure for pretty much anything that ails them. Give them food, and they'll be your friend for life. Want them to talk to you? Food! Want them to stop fighting with each other? Food! (Well, unless they have to share the food....then we run into some problems...)

Anyway, after she had started eating, I asked Olivia if "she felt better now?" Her answer?

"I'm not crying anymore. " Ummm....ok, Hilary, that's not what I asked. But whatever.

So at breakfast we covered the political aspect of fall, and also the apple aspect, because I fixed Apple Quesadillas for breakfast. I recently found this recipe and LOVE them. So, because you didn't ask, and you don't care, here's the recipe. :)

Apple Quesadillas

2 tart apples (like Granny Smith)
4 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 tortillas (we used whole wheat-we need to at least sound healthy)
1 tbsp butter
*the original recipe calls for cheddar cheese, but I leave that out because it just sounds gross)

Slice and peel the apples, and then roughly chop and place in microwaveable bowl. Mix together 2 tbsp of the sugar, 1/2 tsp of the cinnamon, and the vanilla, then sprinkle over the top of the apples. Cook in the microwave until soft, but not completely broken down (our microwave does this in a little under 2 minutes). Spread apple filling on two of the tortillas; top with the other two tortillas. Cook in a skillet over medium heat, until slightly brown on both sides. Meanwhile, melt the butter in the microwave and mix together the remaining sugar and cinnamon. Take quesadillas off heat and brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Muy bueno!

He'll Go Down in History

2008-09-16T11:22:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to visit my family down in Ellerbe. While always entertaining, this trip proved to be a lesson in family history for me. My grandma has acquired a copy of her family's history compiled by my second cousin twice removed on my great grandma's side. Or something equally complex and confusing. Anyway, we're related. Somehow.

This kind of stuff fascinates me, so I started reading through it. This guy did his homework; this little book has copies of birth, marriage, and death certificates, intricate family trees, and biographical paragraphs of all the people going back to the first immigrants to America on my grandmother's side. Very impressive stuff.

While all of it was interesting, the story I found most interesting was about my grandmother's grandfather. Which would be my great-great grandfather? I'm getting confused with all the greats. His name was John Bragg Covington, and when he was 9 years old his older brother Kenneth went to fight for the Confederacy in the Civil War. Kenneth lost his leg in battle and was sent home, where he soon died of complications from his leg wound. In order to avenge his brother, John left home and joined the Confederacy. WHEN HE WAS 10 YEARS OLD. He was listed as part of the Richmond company that was captured in Maryland in April of 1865; John's birthdate was November 1854. So just a few months shy of his 11th birthday, John was captured by the Yankees.

While that is pretty interesting, the real part of this story that makes it truly my family is the part about Kenneth's prosthetic leg. Apparently, before John left for the war, his family buried Kenneth somewhere on the family property, which is right across the road from where my family lives now. My grandma remembers her mother kept Kenneth's iron prosthetic leg on the back porch for years. As a morbid family heirloom. "Look, kids, there's your great uncle Kenneth's iron leg....."

Sadly, a member of the family on the Covington side came and got the iron leg a long time ago. I wonder what happened to it? What does one do with an iron prosthetic leg?

I Caught a Fish....

2008-09-10T10:38:00.000-07:00

Smells Like Decay

2008-09-04T05:31:00.000-07:00

I got my first whiff of fall the other day while I was outside. I had noticed a week or so ago that the dogwood leaves were starting to turn burgundy, which is the first sign for me, that my favorite time of year is starting. But then I smelled it - you know, that woody, slightly smoky smell that you eventually realize is the beginning stages of decay for the leaves. And despite the hot temperatures, I just know that fall is on its way.

Adventures in Babysitting

2008-09-02T10:51:00.000-07:00

I got to briefly experience life with twins on Sunday night, thanks to Alice and Shane, who bravely allowed Heather and I to babysit for Quincy and Gabriella overnight. We discovered that Gabriella likes to look at herself in the mirror, and that Quincy is thoroughly confused by Shirley, Heather's watchdog. Gabriella woke up to eat around 4am, and then wasn't sure that she wanted to go back to sleep. So she and I stayed downstairs and kept track of Gustav, trying to make sure that New Orleans stayed on the map.

Power Nap

They sleep....a lot. I forgot how much tiny babies sleep.

Baby steppin'

Operation: Walgreens

2008-08-24T17:43:00.001-07:00

Last night I stopped by Walgreens to buy some shave gel - what can I say, they had a really good deal going on shave gel. I was a couple of people back in line to pay, and the customer at the register paid the cashier with a $100 bill. So the cashier punched in the numbers, opened the drawer, and started counting back the man's change. While doing this, he realized that he needed more $20 bills and told the man (and consequently, all 6 people in line behind him) that he needed more twenties and he would have to call his manager up to get them.

The cashier then leaned into the microphone attached to the register and said, "Manager to the front for a Code 312D (or something to that effect)."

I think a simple "I need a manager up front," or "We need change at the register" would have sufficed, but it gave added drama to be put into code form. What made it even funnier (to me anyway, everyone else seemed oblivious to the secret code drama going on at the register) was that the cashier was very serious about it all. I don't think I could have said "We need a manager for a Code 312D," knowing that I just needed more twenties, without laughing at myself.

Is Walgreens really a front for a more covert operation? Or do all retail stores give fancy names like this to mundane retail tasks? I think if I worked in retail that would be something I would do. I guess it's a good thing I never worked at Walmart or Walgreens or Kmart during college; otherwise, I may have gotten fired for playing war in the aisles with Katie and Heather.

Level of Difficulty

2008-08-21T10:45:00.000-07:00

The house we stayed in last week at the beach had three levels, with two very steep staircases connecting each level. Which, as you can imagine, was tons of fun with three toddlers in the house. Forget the ocean - let's climb up and down the stairs!

As I was watching Thomas, Olivia, and Bryson climb up the stairs for the 387th time, I was amazed at their enthusiasm over the stairs. Rather than becoming a reason for someone to carry them, they actually looked forward to trying to master the stairs on their own. To become StairMasters. (Sorry; my blog should have a warning lable...."bad jokes intended") But it was hard work for them; as my mom pointed out, they all had to stretch their little legs up to knee level just to get to the next step. Which if you imagine yourself doing, would be pretty tiring after a while.

My question, and point really, is this: when, as adults, do we stop wanting to do hard things? Whether it's commiting to a relationship, taking a job with lower pay so we can do what we're called to do, risking ourselves on people....etc., etc. I mean, yeah, we'll do them most of the time, but how many times do we actually WANT to do them?

Another thing I found interesting is that even the past experience of pain inflicted by stair climbing did little to deter their enthusiasm or their attempts with the stairs. I remember not too long ago, right after Thomas discovered the brick stairs leading up to our front door, that he took a nasty tumble down them. We have a picture somewhere that proves he got a nasty gash on his forehead, that will help us remember that moment 20 years from now. The point is, Thomas KNOWS firsthand how much pain falling down the stairs can cause. But he still WANTS TO CLIMB THEM.

How many times have we avoided relationships with people because we experienced pain or rejection in the past? How many times do we complain about the hard things that God has called us to do because it involves risk?

When do we start seeing challenges as things to be avoided, rather than things to be embraced with enthusiasm?

Beachy Keen (Part 2)

2008-08-17T04:25:00.000-07:00

Beachy Keen

2008-08-17T04:08:00.000-07:00

I guess I've been pretty non-existent around here lately....but I've had a good reason. I've been lounging around on a beach. Don't hate...you can enjoy through pictures. :)

Going to the Chapel....

2008-08-03T18:01:00.001-07:00

Ok, Blogger is having trouble tonight and won't let me post any more pictures from Chris and Lauren's wedding ...so here's a little bell to ring you to sleep....

The Rundown

2008-07-28T18:31:00.000-07:00

2am: Jarred awake by Olivia asking me to come wipe her mouth off, which I assume means that she has gotten sick in bed.

2:05am: Determine that Olivia did NOT get sick in bed, but decide to sit up with her for awhile since she keeps asking me to "wipe her mouth off."

2:45am: Jarred awake again by Olivia crying, and discover that she has, indeed, gotten sick in bed

3:00am: After getting Caison to help clean the bed and Olivia, she decides to get sick again while sitting on the couch; figure that I need to just sleep with her on the couch with lots of towels so we don't have to keep repeating the up-down routine all night.

3:30am: Watch the Food Network for awhile with Olivia; perhaps not the best choice?

5:30am: Olivia finally goes back to sleep; in the process of restless sleep, she manages to kick me in the head at least 5 times

7am: Put Olivia back in her bed; contemplate going back to bed myself, but decide it would be pointless since the guy is coming at 8am to install our new bathtub.

9am: Become slightly irritated since bathtub man doesn't show up until after 9:00

1pm: Lay down to catch up on sleep, only to be jarred awake by the bathtub man installing the bathtub

6pm: Mostly forget how tired I am when I look at our new bathtub and remember the 2 year journey from puke green, 70s-era bathtub with sliding doors, to pristine white, peeling paint refinished bathtub, to finally, normal, nice new bathtub:

I pay no attention to the fact that there are no shower walls yet, or the fact that even though you can run the water, the stopper doesn't work yet. No worries; he'll be back tomorrow.

Chasing Amy

2008-07-24T05:27:00.001-07:00

So much for good intentions. I INTEND to update this thing about every 3 days, but if you've been reading this for any amount of time you know that I fail miserably in that. Oh well...of the people who read this blog though, one of them lives with me and the other one used to live with me once upon a time, so they've probably had their fill of my madness. :)

Here's another stolen idea for you, one that I read about in someone else's blog, or article, or heard someone say. I have no original thoughts. I am a blog thought stealer.

Anyway, it's about the concept of "finding myself." And I'm not talking about in a Runaway Bride, figuring out if you like scrambled or fried eggs kind of way. I'm talking about our culture's focus on "me" time, "finding" myself kind of psycho babble that infiltrates much of what we hear, even within the church.

The person that I stole this thought from was pointing out that Christ made it pretty clear what happens when we focus on finding ourselves. Jesus said that the person who finds his life will lose it. That's pretty serious stuff.

But somehow, even us Christians miss the serious nature of that statement. It's really not about figuring out my goals, my dreams, my ambitions. It's not about me having time all to myself to get in touch with myself and recharge myself. Geez. That's a lot of me....I don't know of anyone who likes that much of me except for, well, ME. And therein lies the problem.

When we are so focused on finding ourselves, we lose our focus on Christ. We forget that we are supposed to be DYING to ourselves daily and finding our identity in Christ; joint heirs, as it were.

This is not to say that God didn't create us all as unique individuals....He most certainly did**, revealing an aspect of Himself within each of the people He placed on this earth, and revealing it in such a way that it cannot be copied from person to person. But we were created in the image of God. I was not created in the image of Amy. So trying to find Amy within the confines of a person created in the image of God suddenly becomes a rather fruitless endeavor (to use my big person words).

And it becomes pretty easy to see how one could lose her life on such a pointless journey.

**As a really random side note, whenever I hear the words "he most certainly did," it reminds me of the book To Kill A Mockingbird. I have no idea why.

Lucky Seven

2008-07-14T18:44:00.000-07:00

Seven years ago today....

Isn't that a nice picture? Now one might think, when seeing this picture, that it is a sweet, sentimental picture of Caison putting the wedding band on my finger. Or, one might think it is a nice, mushy moment between man and wife that was expertly caught by the photographer (who was wearing a gray t-shirt and jeans, by the way). But either way, you would be wrong. You see, in order to understand the above photo, one must first see THIS photo:

In the first picture, Caison is actually scraping wax off of my hand that I managed to drip onto myself while we were lighting the unity candle, as seen in the second picture. I normally don't have a "Chandler" type smile/grimace (or at least I don't think that I do), but it was necessary in order to keep the exclamation of pain in check. Note to self: hot wax HURTS!!!

I think those are my favorite pictures from our wedding...here's to the next seven years!

Are You Sleeping?

2008-07-05T17:52:00.000-07:00

For the first time in a very long time...or maybe the first time ever, we got to sleep in until almost.......(drumroll please!) 9:00AM!!!

Yes, we get to sleep in when Thomas and Olivia stay with my parents for the weekend, but this was with Thomas and Olivia here, in their rooms, sleeping in until almost....9:00AM!!!

Of course, it didn't hurt that we were out late visiting with family and friends and then watching fireworks last night, but still. This would definitely be one for the record book, if I kept one. I will remember this day, fondly, for months to come.

Party On

2008-06-28T17:31:00.000-07:00

Not too long ago, I read a great article on Relevant Magazine's website. The main point of the article, I thought, was how as Christians we usually end up looking like the world around us. While most of the article focused on our fixation with celebrity culture and the mindless influence entertainers have on our lives, one quote jumped out at me.

"God didn’t send his only Son so I can party like a rock star."

This quote has been bouncing around inside my head for some time now. Mixing in with other ideas, questions, wisps of thoughts. But don't we have that mindset? Don't we cheapen grace by reducing it to a spiritual chalkboard, when it is so much more? Don't we conveniently forget that we are called to a higher standard by quoting often that "no one is perfect?" Don't we confuse love for spiritually starved people with fitting in? I know I do. I struggle with this daily. We spend so much time looking for the proverbial "line" to cross that we lose our focus, we forget our purpose.

It seems that those of us who are younger (and by younger I now mean under 40) became so repulsed by the legalism evident in many churches that we have gone to the other extreme of anything goes as long as it goes under the label of "sinner saved by grace."

"God didn't send His only Son so I can party like a rock star."

And yet, if you look at the Church...how are we different? Our ideas on marriage, on children, on finances, on entertainment, on education, on environmentalism, on gender equality, on abortion, on political parties, and on and on and on....are substantially no different from those who do not claim Christ as Savior and Lord. We just cloak ours in religious talk. And the really sad part is, we've done it for so long now even we can't see it.

"God didn't send His only Son so I can party like a rock star."

Sometimes it seems as if we as Christians are like toddlers. We are constantly testing the limits, seeing just how much we can get away with. "Did God really say....?" Repeating the fall, over and over again, when we already know the answers to the questions. Fighting for our right to party, or fit in, to do what we want to do, all in the name of grace. Waiting for the magic eraser in the form of God's only Son to come and wipe our slates clean so we can do it all again tomorrow.

"God didn't send His only Son so I can party like a rock star."

Let's Make a Deal

2008-06-20T17:52:00.000-07:00

Lately, I have gotten really into clipping coupons, shopping at CVS and shopping sales, trying to make the most of our grocery budget. And so far I've been doing really well, and getting a little too excited over the deals I've scored.

Tonight, it became very clear that maybe I've carried this a little too far. We went to Food Lion a little while ago, and upon walking into the produce section, I noticed that they had blueberries on sale for $1.99/pint. THEY DID NOT ADVERTISE THIS IN THEIR SALES PAPER. So I had already bought blueberries at Lowe's Foods earlier for $2.99/pint.

Now that I have a little distance between myself and the deceitful Food Lion on Hwy 18, I can see that maybe this is becoming a bit of a problem. See, the good, rational side of me wants to say "Come on, it's A DOLLAR." And the bad, sales obsessed side of me wants to say, "COME ON, it's a DOLLAR. Do you know how much I could have gotten at CVS for a DOLLAR???"

Ok, enough with the caps lock button. I know, I know....I have a problem. But I can stop anytime I want. Really.

ART

2008-06-12T05:42:00.000-07:00

Is it just me, or does it look as if Mrs. Potato Head doesn't enjoy being made into ART?

Runner's Digest

2008-06-10T05:25:00.001-07:00

I've already shared what happens to my hands when I run, but I have yet to share the other tidbits of runner's knowledge that I have gleaned while out on my semi-regular jogs.

1) I hate it when people talk to me while I run. When I used to run BC (before children) I almost always had a running partner, so I got used to alternating conversation with breath conservation. However, since I've been running solo for awhile now, I've gotten out of the habit. And since it's gotten warm outside, more people have been out in their yards and feel the need to ask me questions as I run by. Some of my favorites have been: "Are you out runnin'?" (best possible answer, courtesy of Heather: "nope," as I run on by); and "Do you want a kitten?" (no possible best answer to this question-who asks the random runner going by their house if they would like a kitten??). Other random comments made to me have included: "my new dog's name is Fancy and I named her Fancy because of the Reba McIntyre song," "we don't allow that healthy stuff like running in our neighborhood," and recently added yesterday, "if you run in a thunderstorm you're bound to get wet."

2) I have been reminded this past week of why I hate running in the summertime, and why I usually end up taking a "break." It's like running in an oven while trying to breathe through a wet blanket.

3) The dogs I have known. First there is Ernest T, the bassett hound at the end of our road who likes to take naps in the middle of the road. As of late, his owners have been constraining him though, which is good, because when he was allowed to run free before he had a tendency to follow me. Or I should say, he had a tendency to run right underneath my feet. Which gave me an extra workout as I tried not to step on him and as I tried to get him to go back home so he wouldn't get run over. Then there's the aforementioned Fancy; no further comment needed. Then there is the dog in the other neighborhood who has, according to his owner, a "Napoleonic complex."

4) I have to cross Airport Rd. Now you would think, especially those who have seen where we live, that living in the middle of nowhere would afford you the luxury of nearly empty back roads. Not so. Airport Rd is quite busy most of the time, which makes it necessary for me to play a life size game of Frogger when I'm out running. So far I've had an amazing winning streak.

At least it's never boring. :)

Rest In Peace, Sam

2008-06-08T10:26:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is sad but true: Sam the Dog got left behind yesterday when we went to the zoo. For those who aren't in the know, Sam the Dog was Thomas' stuffed friend that he has had since he was born. Sam went everywhere, ate everything, played with everything, and read everything that Thomas did. I began suspecting a long time ago that this might eventually be Sam's fate, since he got dragged absolutely everywhere and I didn't have the heart most of the time to make him stay behind.

Zoo officials put out an APB for Sam's whereabouts, but we didn't hear anything by the time we left yesterday. They have our information, so on the unlikely chance they discover Sam's whereabouts, they will contact us.

So here's to Sam...we'll miss you buddy....

Cicada, Cicada

2008-05-28T05:23:00.000-07:00

These vile creatures are out again in Wilkes County....the last time they came out was in 2003, when we were moving into our first house. Fortunately, they aren't out at the house we live in now, but they are all over the place in town. Which makes grocery shopping and park play dates fun. Supposedly they are good for the soil, because after they lay eggs they all die, and it gives nutrients to the soil or something. I can see God's hand in the process (fertilizing the soil and all), but I have serious questions about THIS:

And they aren't like flies; you can't just swat them away from you. They dive bomb you and then you have to smack them to get them off. Fortunately, these little demons don't bite, otherwise my anxiety levels concerning them might give me heart problems. Yesterday at the park I was getting something out of the car when one of them landed on my leg. I'm sure the other park patrons enjoyed the little cicada song and dance I did to get it off of me. And they scream at you, which doesn't do much for their overall image. I'm telling you, demons in insect form. Hopefully they will be gone soon. And hopefully they won't come out in our yard!!!

New Appliance

2008-05-15T05:28:00.000-07:00

We recently bought a new dishwasher....it's a couple of years old, but it still works pretty well. It's the Thomas model, and it's supposed to save energy and all that. We tried to get the Olivia addition to go along with it, but it didn't work out. Maybe next year?

And because I haven't posted a picture of Olivia in awhile, here's one of her in her new favorite lounging position.....and YES, I realize that is Tarheel propaganda that she is wearing, but she can make anything look good. :)

She's A Strange One....

2008-05-10T10:34:00.000-07:00

Ok, Kelly tagged me a few days ago to share 7 strange things about myself....What's that, you say? I know, I know, I could come up with many, many more than 7, but those are the rules. :)

1. I have a hard time going to sleep if the closet door is open. I don't know if this is a throwback to my childhood or what, but if it's not closed properly then I can't sleep.

2. I am very OCD when it comes to the alarm clock being turned on, and unplugging the curling iron (is the clock set for AM or PM? Did I really unplug the curling iron or do I just think that I did? I should probably check...for the 5th time, again. Look, I'm getting all upset just typing about this little problem of mine...)

3. I am terrified of opening up biscuit or crescent roll cans. Pretty much any pressurized can scares me and so I always make Caison do it. If he's not here and I have to do it myself, then I wrap it up in a towel (just in case it explodes, I'll be somewhat protected) and press it with a spoon (to protect my hands from the exploding can of course).

4. I have pleased the traffic gods in some way. To date, I have rear ended a car in Wisconsin (on my way to see Heather), rear ended a car here in Wilkesboro, ran a red light with a cop right behind me (he DID pull me over), and most recently (as in 2 days ago), hit another car in the parking lot at the Dollar General. And I've not gotten a ticket for any of those incidents. Plus, that's not counting the time I backed into someone in a parking lot in high school and turned right on red when I wasn't supposed to in front of a state trooper. Now, lest you get jealous, I did get a speeding ticket once in college. But the judge did the "prayer for judgement" thing. Not sure how long this luck will hold out. Over 10 years and counting now...

5. I absolutely hate seeing someone kill a bug while I am eating. Not that anyone enjoys that, but sometimes it literally makes me sick to the point where I can't finish my meal.

6. I like to shake up milk before I drink it. For some reason, it seems to taste better if it has little bubbles in it.

7. I have an uncanny ability to make stuffed animals come to life. Just ask Heather and Katie.

Pee In A Cup

2008-05-06T06:10:00.000-07:00

All right, I'm just warning you, this story is a little gross, but it's too funny and embarrassing not to share on a public forum.

I have a weekly park play/walk date with four other moms that we go to church with. That sounds awfully surburban mom-esque, but what can you do?

The park that we have been going to the last few weeks has no bathrooms. Or rather, it has the wooden equivalent of a portajohn, and it is N-A-S-T-Y. Which poses a problem for us now, since Thomas is "bathroom trained."

So being the resourceful person that I am, I got the bright idea yesterday to take along his training potty. It's small enough to go in the car, and I figured if he needed to use the bathroom he could just sit in the car and do his business.

Well, he did and it went well. Now I had a problem though, of what to do with the pee in the cup. I thought it would be really gross and rude of me to dump it out there, and there was no way I was going into the nasty john. After much hemming and hawing, I decided just to leave it in there and dump it out when we got home.

Suprisingly, there were no problems on the ride home (with sloshing and splashing). No, the real problem came when I got home. I don't know why I thought I could carry the potty, the diaper bag, and my pocketbook at the same time, all the while keeping my keys out so I could unlock the door. Somehow I got all twisted up and dropped my keys.....IN THE POTTY. That still had pee in it.

So go ahead and gag if you want. I know I did.

Ghostrider

2008-05-02T05:48:00.000-07:00

So there's this man who lives near my parents who likes to ride his horse. On the side of the road. At night. Wearing a white pith helmet. You usually just catch a glimpse of him out of the corner of your eye, and it can freak you out a little.

Our Contribution to Earth Day

2008-04-24T10:57:00.000-07:00

We have finally cleared one of the biggest hurdles to toddler independence: Thomas is out of diapers! Do I hear trumpets playing and see confetti being strewn about? Maybe that will only happen at Walmart when I don't have to buy diapers for two anymore. Less environmental pollution, less landfill waste!

It was actually pretty easy, much easier than I thought, and I no longer think my mother was lying when she told me how easy it would be.

Raptor Runner

2008-04-21T10:44:00.000-07:00

I've discovered something about myself the last few times I've gone out running. The longer I run, the more my hands curl up into something that can only be described as raptor hands. I don't know if it's tension in my body, and that's how it chooses to manifest itself, or if I am slowly turning into Raptor Runner.

A Plumber, an Electrician, and a Husband.....

2008-04-17T04:21:00.000-07:00

All went to heaven....no, not really.

Our day started out with a leaky faucet in the bathtub. Not a "drip-drip" kind of leak, but a "hey, look, there's a tiny river pouring out of the faucet handle" kind of leak. And since Caison has been watering the grass seed that he put outside a couple of weeks ago, we really didn't need any additions to our water bill this month. So we had to call a plumber.

While the plumber and his associate were working on the tub, they kept saying things like, "I'm afraid...", "this isn't good," and "their tub is so old..." Pretty much the faucet is so old that it uses a different type of washer or seal, so they didn't have the right parts. Fortunately, someone brought them the right parts and that part of the day was solved.

Meanwhile, Caison decided to install the two new light fixtures we bought for the kitchen. (Note: Caison has never installed a light fixture before) After turning off the power to the entire house, he then spent over an hour burning out the wires. Or so we thought, because when he got done the lights wouldn't work in either the kitchen OR the bathroom. So we called an electrician...who informed us that it was just a breaker that was tripped. That will be $75, thank you sir. Yes, you read that correctly: we paid $75 for the electrician to flip the breaker back for us.

Thankfully, God has blessed us with some extra money the past couple of months. I just never envisioned spending it on a plumber and an electrician.

The Great State of Wilkes

2008-04-15T10:43:00.000-07:00

Obviously, I've been doing a lot of reminiscing lately as we get ready to try and move this summer. As long as it took me to get used to living in Wilkes, it will be hard to leave. Familiarity breeds affection. So in tribute to the great state of Wilkes, here are ten things I've learned while living here:

If you are a true native of Wilkes county, then you are supposed to hate Merlefest like it's your job. I do not hate Merlefest; in fact, I love Merlefest. Therefore, I am not a true native.
If you are going to hike Stone Mountain in the summer, then you will get caught in a thunderstorm just as you reach the top. Every. Single. Time.
I learned what the phrases "that chaps my hide," "gettin' my teeth waxed," and "goodwill burger" mean.
The town that the show "My Name is Earl" is set in is a real place. And I live there.
Of course I learned the story behind Tom Dooley (AND HE WAS INNOCENT I TELL YOU! INNOCENT!!)
I learned about chicken-ques, and that on any given Friday or Saturday you have your pick of at least 3 going on in the county.
There are supposedly over 600 churches within Wilkes County.
Wilkes County has the most millionaires per capita than any other place in the country.
In many ways, it's a lot like other small towns: cruising Walmart is the thing for teens to do on weekends, newcomers are presumed guilty until proven innocent, and if you scratch someone deep enough you'll find out you're related to them.
And most suprising of all, I've learned that I actually like living in Wilkes County. Go figure.

Long live the great state of Wilkes!!

How 'Bout a Nice Big Steak?

2008-04-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

I've recently (and by recently, I mean last night) realized what a baby I am. These past couple of years, since Thomas and Olivia have been born, God has really been challenging me in terms of my faith in Him. Or rather, what I thought was faith in Him but really turned out to be faith in MY many ideas and opinions about God.

It has been an up and down time; times where I've wrestled with Scripture and with God's leading on different things, and times where I've pushed it to the back of my mind and watched one too many Office episodes to avoid thinking about what God is teaching me.

Last night, I finally put words to my problem: I'm a big baby. When faced with tough things like meat, I just want to curl up with the comfort of the milk I've been used to for so long. I mean, really, it's much easier to digest, doesn't have much taste, and it nourishes you, to a point. Meat requires cutting, chewing, and a lengthy process of digesting before it does you any good. If you just chew on the meat, and then spit it back out because you don't like the way it tastes, or because it's just taking too long, it will do you no good. Sure, you can brag about the difficult issues you're experimenting with, or even about the different meats you've put into your mouth, but unless you've actually swallowed it and allowed it to do the job it was meant to do then it means nothing. There's a reason that babies can't (and won't) eat meat.

So here's to (hopefully) the beginning of my growing up. I'm sure there will be times I will revert back to the milk, where I will want feedings just to survive, but maybe, just maybe, I'll start allowing God to teach me how good the real food is.

"Oh taste and see that the Lord is good!" - Psalm 34:8

Because I Can

2008-03-31T10:56:00.001-07:00

Easter eggs...prior to the Easter egg hunt, of course.

She wasn't a fan of the Easter bonnet.

And did I mention what a pain it was to paint our kitchen cabinets? No? But worth it, obviously.

Lessons Learned

2008-03-21T10:14:00.000-07:00

I took the eggs we dyed the other day and hid them outside for Thomas and Olivia (to give them some practice for the real deal coming up tomorrow). I learned a few things from this:

1) Their little brains are more mature than I thought, because they were able to find most of the eggs without help from me.

2) Don't hide hard-boiled eggs in places that receive full sunlight.

3) Although they found the eggs pretty easily, they didn't understand that you can't throw them into the basket on top of each other. In Thomas' words, "They might breaked opened."

4) And finally, I learned that you should never hide hard-boiled eggs outside when you have a dog.