What's one thing that you're thankful for?
Thursday, December 16, 2010
12/16/10 THANKFUL THURSDAY
I'm thankful for my newest "W". More importantly, I'm thankful for Tammy, the friend who gave it to me, because she's thoughtful, hard-working, generous, and a ton of fun.
What's one thing that you're thankful for?
What's one thing that you're thankful for?
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
LOVE THIS SONG
A trio sang How Many Kings by Downhere at church on Sunday. I'd never heard it before, but I love the chorus. Here are lyrics to the whole song, but I'll post the words to the chorus.
How Many Kings, by Marc Martel/Jason Germain
How many kings, stepped down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
How many gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that has torn all apart?
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?
Only one did that for me.
That, my friends, is what Christmas is all about. It's about Jesus Christ.
How Many Kings, by Marc Martel/Jason Germain
How many kings, stepped down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
How many gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that has torn all apart?
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?
Only one did that for me.
That, my friends, is what Christmas is all about. It's about Jesus Christ.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
WINTERGREEN CANDY CANES
Photo from Oregon Trail Jerky
I haven't seen these in several years. Have you? They're so good!! I found some places online that sell them while I swagged a picture for this post, but it's been a loooong time since I've seen them in stores. Of course, peppermint, fruity flavors, canes flavored like other candies, and cinnamon ones are on the store shelves ... but no wintergreen.
.
This is scandalous.
.
One more thought. Is it odd that I found a picture of this culinary delight on a jerky website? I think so.
Monday, December 13, 2010
BOOKS I FINISHED - DECEMBER 2010
*****
Reaching for the Invisible God: What Can We Expect to Find?, by Philip Yancey
Beep recommended this book to me and it took me all month to finish. In fact, it's the only non-school book I read all month. It's a good book, but one I could only read a couple chapters at a time of. I love how real Yancey is, totally honest about his doubts and struggles in his faith. I've got a gazillion quotes I liked from this book, so here goes.
p.38, The only thing more difficult than having a relationship with an invisible God is having no such relationship.
p. 40, The same law of reversal I observed in my church in Chicago seems to apply in the Gospels: Faith appears where least expected and falters where it should be thriving.
p. 41, Doubt always coexists with faith, for in the presence of certainty who would need faith at all?
p. 54, Relationships gain strength when they are stretched to the breaking point and do not break.
p. 59, (in relation to Matthew 10:29), Jacques Ellul points out a common mistranslation: the Greek text simply has, "apart from your Father," and says nothing about God's will: "It is to make things plain that "will" has been added. But the addition changes the meaning completely. In the one case, God wills the death of the sparrow, in the other death does not take place without God being present. In other words, death comes according to natural laws, but God lets nothing in his creation die without being there, without being the comfort and strength and hope and support of that which dies. At issue is the presence of God, not his will."
p. 60, Rather that looking backward for explanation, he looked forward for redemptive results.
p. 77, (On the fact that life & faith include ups & downs, that no season lasts forever.) The creek by my house freezes over every winter. If I bend down close, though, I can hear it flowing beneath the ice, the sound muffled but unmistakable. Never does it stop. Under the frigid layers of winter lies proof of an inevitable summer.
p.82, (On a surgeon who would dedicate difficult surgeries to people he knew, thinking about them during the surgery as a way to get through it.) And then it dawned on him: should not he offer his life to God in the same way? The details of what he did each day - answering phone calls, hiring staff, reading medical journals, meeting with patients, scheduling surgeries - changed little, yet somehow the awareness of living for God gradually covered each of those mundane tasks. He found himself treating nurses with more care and respect, spending more time with patients, worrying less about finances.
p. 88, (On choosing the right thing when you don't feel like it or lack confidence to do so.) It is much easier act your way into feelings than to feel your way into actions.
p.90, Great victories are won when ordinary people execute their assigned tasks - and a faithful person does not debate each day whether he or she is in the mood to follow the sergeant's orders or show up at a boring job. We exercise faith by responding to the task that lies before us, for we have control only over our actions in the present moment.
p.112, Yes, marriage lives on love, but it is the kind of love that parenthood demands, or Christian discipleship: a gritty decision to go forward, step by step, one foot in front of the other.
p.138, Nonetheless, I have learned one important principle: not to judge God by some misfortune that befalls me or someone I love. My questions about providence and suffering are primarily answered in the person of Jesus, not in day-to-day events I may encounter now.
p.165, God's love, thankfully, is not based on our intrinsic worth. It comes by grace, a priceless yet free gift that bestows worth on the most unlovable object.
p.205, (quoting Brother Lawrence) It was God, not the task, he had in view. He knew that, the more the task was against his natural inclinations, the greater was his love in offering it to God.
p.223, In a healthy marriage, one partner yields to the other's wishes not out of compulsion but out of love. That adult relationship reveals, I believe, what God has always sought from human beings: not the clinging, helpless love of a child who has no real choice, but the mature, freely given commitment of a lover.
p.253, When something bad happens ... I try to view it as I would view a physical pain, as a signal alerting me to attend to a matter that needs change. I strive to be grateful not for the pain itself but for the opportunity to respond, by mining good out of what looks bad.
p.275, (referring to Flannery O'Connor) Success, in contrast, she regarded as almost wholly negative: it isolates, breeds vanity, and distracts from the real work that brought it on in the first place.
p.275, Much of what we struggle with today, we will still struggle with tomorrow and the next day. Some pains, whether the precise-shaped pain of loss or the formless pain of unfulfilled longing, never go away. The wound will never heal completely, the problem never find a pure solution. We are offered instead the less satisfying but more realistic hope that God can redeem even the wound.
p.284, God seems to value character more than our comfort, often using the very elements that cause us most discomfort as his tools in fashioning that character.
*****
Mountain Born, by Elizabeth Yates
I read this one to Devon for school, so it was my second time through it. It's the story of a boy learning to be a shepherd, maturing into a young man. Both of our boys enjoyed this book when they went through it for school.
p. 47, Old Benj once said, "A man must have a care to what he puts in his mind, for when he's alone on a hillside and draws it out, he'll want treasures to be his company, not regrets."
*****
Reaching for the Invisible God: What Can We Expect to Find?, by Philip Yancey
Beep recommended this book to me and it took me all month to finish. In fact, it's the only non-school book I read all month. It's a good book, but one I could only read a couple chapters at a time of. I love how real Yancey is, totally honest about his doubts and struggles in his faith. I've got a gazillion quotes I liked from this book, so here goes.
p.38, The only thing more difficult than having a relationship with an invisible God is having no such relationship.
p. 40, The same law of reversal I observed in my church in Chicago seems to apply in the Gospels: Faith appears where least expected and falters where it should be thriving.
p. 41, Doubt always coexists with faith, for in the presence of certainty who would need faith at all?
p. 54, Relationships gain strength when they are stretched to the breaking point and do not break.
p. 59, (in relation to Matthew 10:29), Jacques Ellul points out a common mistranslation: the Greek text simply has, "apart from your Father," and says nothing about God's will: "It is to make things plain that "will" has been added. But the addition changes the meaning completely. In the one case, God wills the death of the sparrow, in the other death does not take place without God being present. In other words, death comes according to natural laws, but God lets nothing in his creation die without being there, without being the comfort and strength and hope and support of that which dies. At issue is the presence of God, not his will."
p. 60, Rather that looking backward for explanation, he looked forward for redemptive results.
p. 77, (On the fact that life & faith include ups & downs, that no season lasts forever.) The creek by my house freezes over every winter. If I bend down close, though, I can hear it flowing beneath the ice, the sound muffled but unmistakable. Never does it stop. Under the frigid layers of winter lies proof of an inevitable summer.
p.82, (On a surgeon who would dedicate difficult surgeries to people he knew, thinking about them during the surgery as a way to get through it.) And then it dawned on him: should not he offer his life to God in the same way? The details of what he did each day - answering phone calls, hiring staff, reading medical journals, meeting with patients, scheduling surgeries - changed little, yet somehow the awareness of living for God gradually covered each of those mundane tasks. He found himself treating nurses with more care and respect, spending more time with patients, worrying less about finances.
p. 88, (On choosing the right thing when you don't feel like it or lack confidence to do so.) It is much easier act your way into feelings than to feel your way into actions.
p.90, Great victories are won when ordinary people execute their assigned tasks - and a faithful person does not debate each day whether he or she is in the mood to follow the sergeant's orders or show up at a boring job. We exercise faith by responding to the task that lies before us, for we have control only over our actions in the present moment.
p.112, Yes, marriage lives on love, but it is the kind of love that parenthood demands, or Christian discipleship: a gritty decision to go forward, step by step, one foot in front of the other.
p.138, Nonetheless, I have learned one important principle: not to judge God by some misfortune that befalls me or someone I love. My questions about providence and suffering are primarily answered in the person of Jesus, not in day-to-day events I may encounter now.
p.165, God's love, thankfully, is not based on our intrinsic worth. It comes by grace, a priceless yet free gift that bestows worth on the most unlovable object.
p.205, (quoting Brother Lawrence) It was God, not the task, he had in view. He knew that, the more the task was against his natural inclinations, the greater was his love in offering it to God.
p.223, In a healthy marriage, one partner yields to the other's wishes not out of compulsion but out of love. That adult relationship reveals, I believe, what God has always sought from human beings: not the clinging, helpless love of a child who has no real choice, but the mature, freely given commitment of a lover.
p.253, When something bad happens ... I try to view it as I would view a physical pain, as a signal alerting me to attend to a matter that needs change. I strive to be grateful not for the pain itself but for the opportunity to respond, by mining good out of what looks bad.
p.275, (referring to Flannery O'Connor) Success, in contrast, she regarded as almost wholly negative: it isolates, breeds vanity, and distracts from the real work that brought it on in the first place.
p.275, Much of what we struggle with today, we will still struggle with tomorrow and the next day. Some pains, whether the precise-shaped pain of loss or the formless pain of unfulfilled longing, never go away. The wound will never heal completely, the problem never find a pure solution. We are offered instead the less satisfying but more realistic hope that God can redeem even the wound.
p.284, God seems to value character more than our comfort, often using the very elements that cause us most discomfort as his tools in fashioning that character.
*****
Mountain Born, by Elizabeth Yates
I read this one to Devon for school, so it was my second time through it. It's the story of a boy learning to be a shepherd, maturing into a young man. Both of our boys enjoyed this book when they went through it for school.
p. 47, Old Benj once said, "A man must have a care to what he puts in his mind, for when he's alone on a hillside and draws it out, he'll want treasures to be his company, not regrets."
*****
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Sunday, December 12, 2010
LOUSY WEEK, NICE WEEKEND
Last week was hard. Really hard. Parenting was mentally & emotionally exhausting, which meant I'd stay up late to enjoy some downtime in the evenings. Of course, that meant I was also physically wiped out from inadequate sleep. Needless to say, the weekend came just in time and Tim did most of the parenting over the last two days. If we can make it through the next five days, then Tim will have two weeks off and I'm hoping things will be better by then.
Saturday morning we were able to just putter around the house in jammies, doing a whole lot of nothing. Saturday afternoon we went to a beautiful wedding. I hadn't been to a wedding in more than three years, so watching the ceremony and visiting during the reception was fun.
Sunday morning was church. The message was a good one for me to hear. Sunday afternoon I took a three hour nap. I'm not a napper, so that's a big deal.
Sunday night was a mellow Christmas program, which included the boys singing a couple songs with the grade school class, and dessert potluck at church. I actually took store-bought treats to the potluck, rather than baking, just so that I could rest this afternoon. Shocking, if you know me at all, but I'm glad that's what I did. It started at 7:00 and we didn't leave until 10:00. Tomorrow is going to stink because the kids will be tired and Tim's not going to be around at all, but for now I'm basking in the glow of an evening spent visiting with a ton of people I rarely get to talk to. It was a really nice night!
Since I know some (Dad) will ask where the pictures are of the boys singing, I'll tell you now that there aren't any. I tried to take some, but they didn't turn out. Such is life.
Time for bed.
Saturday morning we were able to just putter around the house in jammies, doing a whole lot of nothing. Saturday afternoon we went to a beautiful wedding. I hadn't been to a wedding in more than three years, so watching the ceremony and visiting during the reception was fun.
Sunday morning was church. The message was a good one for me to hear. Sunday afternoon I took a three hour nap. I'm not a napper, so that's a big deal.
Sunday night was a mellow Christmas program, which included the boys singing a couple songs with the grade school class, and dessert potluck at church. I actually took store-bought treats to the potluck, rather than baking, just so that I could rest this afternoon. Shocking, if you know me at all, but I'm glad that's what I did. It started at 7:00 and we didn't leave until 10:00. Tomorrow is going to stink because the kids will be tired and Tim's not going to be around at all, but for now I'm basking in the glow of an evening spent visiting with a ton of people I rarely get to talk to. It was a really nice night!
Since I know some (Dad) will ask where the pictures are of the boys singing, I'll tell you now that there aren't any. I tried to take some, but they didn't turn out. Such is life.
Time for bed.
Friday, December 10, 2010
NAOMI'S OUTFIT
I had to laugh at Naomi's thought process in choosing an outfit on a cold & rainy day.
1. Choose a light pink, sleeveless sundress that has darker pink, sparkly stripes.
2. Told by the maternal parental unit that she has to wear long sleeves under or a sweater over her dress, as we'll be out and about. She skips the solid white or pink options and chooses a brown shirt with light and dark pink polka dots on it. Why? "I like the brown one." Duh.
3. Has to choose leggings for the sake of not flashing everyone as she plays. She skips the solid pink ones and chooses light pink ones with dark pink polka dots. Why? "This one. It matches polka dots on my shirt." Duh.
4. Looks at sock options. Insists on socks in the exact shade of pink as her leggings. Why? "They match.". Duh.
5. Has to choose shoes. Skips the brown & pink ones that could tie in with her shirt. Skips the simple pink or white ones. Skips the one or two-toned pink boots. Chooses the pink rain boots with yellow, red, and blue stars all over them and puts them on the wrong feet. Why? I have no idea.
6. Wants her hair out of her face. Skips the various pink and brown clippies she has. Chooses a white, floral one. Why? "It matches." Now, that's a stretch. There's no white anywhere in her outfit.
For the record, I don't generally encourage my daughter to show a little leg for a blog picture, but the second picture was essential in order for you to fully grasp the explosion of patterns this little lady had going on.
1. Choose a light pink, sleeveless sundress that has darker pink, sparkly stripes.
2. Told by the maternal parental unit that she has to wear long sleeves under or a sweater over her dress, as we'll be out and about. She skips the solid white or pink options and chooses a brown shirt with light and dark pink polka dots on it. Why? "I like the brown one." Duh.
3. Has to choose leggings for the sake of not flashing everyone as she plays. She skips the solid pink ones and chooses light pink ones with dark pink polka dots. Why? "This one. It matches polka dots on my shirt." Duh.
4. Looks at sock options. Insists on socks in the exact shade of pink as her leggings. Why? "They match.". Duh.
5. Has to choose shoes. Skips the brown & pink ones that could tie in with her shirt. Skips the simple pink or white ones. Skips the one or two-toned pink boots. Chooses the pink rain boots with yellow, red, and blue stars all over them and puts them on the wrong feet. Why? I have no idea.
6. Wants her hair out of her face. Skips the various pink and brown clippies she has. Chooses a white, floral one. Why? "It matches." Now, that's a stretch. There's no white anywhere in her outfit.
For the record, I don't generally encourage my daughter to show a little leg for a blog picture, but the second picture was essential in order for you to fully grasp the explosion of patterns this little lady had going on.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
12/8/10 THANKFUL THURSDAY
I'm thankful for the times I remember (which I fail at regularly) to keep things in perspective - by viewing my troubles in comparison to what others are going through, by hard lessons learned in the past that prove helpful in the present, by viewing today as just a tiny piece of my life, by viewing people and circumstances through the lens of Jesus and eternity.
What's one thing that you're thankful for?
What's one thing that you're thankful for?
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