Friday Foray
25 May 2012 2 Comments
in General
Countdown to the wedding: 15 days.
First Experience: Last Saturday I experience my first ever trip to a spa! Wow! I felt like I was in a Roman bath! I had a manicure treatments which left my forearms and hands as soft as a baby’s bottom. too bad the nail polish didn’t last more than 5 days, and that even with not putting my hands in water ungloved. But I learned how to do a nice manicure so gave myself one last night! Woot!
Are any of you on Pinterest? I got an account a couple weeks ago and have enjoyed looking at all the awesome things people are interested in and that catch their eye. I puffy heart all the DIY projects! And will be trying the baked mozzarella balls recipe I just pinned! Yum!
Lastly, one of my favorite blogs to read is Mom to the Screaming Masses. Carmen is an awesome mom, and funny to boot. Today’s blog post, entitled Six Words intrigued me. She wrote,
The “Six Words Project” is based on a work by Ernest Hemingway. In the 1920s, Ernest Hemingway’s colleagues bet him that he couldn’t write a complete story in just six words. They paid up. Hemingway is said to have considered it his best work. His story? ” For sale: baby shoes, never used.”
Wow! Talk about a story with a punch.
Like Carmen, it got me to thinking. Six words eh? What six words would I use to describe myself, my personality. Tough. But here’s what I have come up with.
- Feels deeply. Speaks thoughtfully. Loves freely.
- Cheap as the day is long.
- Cleanliness IS next to Godliness, ayup!
- Post-menopausal agenda driven crazy woman.
With more thought, I’ll probably come up with more. But that’s all the agenda has time for.
What would your six words be?
Blindman’s Bluff
21 May 2012 1 Comment
in General
Have you ever responded to someone’s imparting of information, “I didn’t realize that?” or “I never thought of that?” These are two examples Fr.G gave to the children in yesterday’s talk as ways our minds don’t ‘see’ in order to illustrate spiritual blindness. The kid’s understood what it meant to not see with their eyes when they covered them with their hands. But spiritual blindness is an abstract concept difficult to illustrate even to adults. I thought his example was good. And as usual, he spoke more to me than he did to the kids!
As I quietly read the Gospel passage (St. John 9:1-38) along with Fr.G and listened to him speak to the children, several other things came to my mind. These are further examples of my own spiritual blindness.
The Pharisees responded to the no-longer-blind man, “‘[Jesus] is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.’ But others said, ‘How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?’” (v16).
This sounds so familiar to me in our current age. So often a measurement of ones’ faith, or better put ‘being a good Christian,’ is attendance at programs or volunteering in extracurricular church activities. If you don’t, then you are seen as a ‘bad’ Christian. I dare say my mother was a far better Christian that I ever will be even though she rarely set foot in a church for many years prior to her death. She prayed constantly and offered all of her pain and suffering to Jesus Christ who suffered for her (as she put it).
The Jews didn’t believe the no-longer-blind man had been blind from birth, so sought out his parents for confirmation. They passed the buck, due to their fear of the Jews, saying, “He is of age, ask him.”
I chuckled at this so familiar situation. I was reminded of Jesus telling his disciples, “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. (Matthew 10:21-22). The no-longer-blind man’s parents rose up against their son by standing against him not next to him when faced with the Jews’ questions.
The other thought that quickly came to mind was the issue of maladies and illnesses. The Pharisees asked Jesus who the sinner was that caused the blindness from birth, the parents or the child. Is this a thought, no matter how fleeting, when we hear of a someone with a malady or is mentally challenged?
Is the malady a blessing? A curse? Because of our, or someones sin? This is a common teaching in some churches. A person is afflicted with cancer because of a past sin they committed yet did not repent of or ask forgiveness for. Or the reverse: God blessed me. Look at the house I live in, the salary I make, etc, etc. I tithe, therefore God has given more.
The blindness was in fact a benediction. Why? Because God was made manifest through the disease. God showed His power to all, then and now. Had this man not been born blind, this specific opportunity would not have happened.
The formerly blind man had lived a difficult life. Imagine being judged a sinner, or knowing your parents were judged sinners because of your illness. He was unemployable. He lived off the charity of others. He was unable to support his parents as he got older. He was viewed as a outcast. But a little spit and dirt, reminiscent of the creation of man from dust, applied by the loving hand of God Himself, removed the blindness – even from a sinner…especially from a sinner.
While I am grateful to God for the peace in which I have lived in this past year, and believe me – I am REALLY GRATEFUL, I have learned also to be grateful for the difficult and dark days in my life – and there have been many. Though I may have abandoned God, He never abandoned me. He healed me despite myself, in spite of myself and because of myself.
All glory to Him.
What a Hat!
18 May 2012 1 Comment
in General
The lovely hat created by the bridesmaid from gift bows off of presents! Lovely!
Mental Meanderings
18 May 2012 3 Comments
in General
Every time The Hubster and I open the front door, a robin flies away from somewhere near the front of our house. We’ve been wondering what was going on since having little peeps all round the house isn’t unusual. The golf course behind our home is an Audubon refuge, so all manner of peeps and such call the area home. Ever curious, I watched through a window to see what was going on and caught the Momma Robin flying out of the center of the Japanese Maple tree next to our front porch. Quickly I ran out and poked around the tree and look what I found! Five robin’s eggs! How exciting! I’m looking forward to when they hatch!
Four days with my niece and nephew were loads of fun and quite exhausting! I slept like a baby each night! though I was convinced before, it is now set in stone…having children is for the young! WOW! They were on their best behavior…and so was I. We laughed a lot. We did homework. I discovered I am no better at some 4th grade math than I was when I learned it in 4th grade. Sigh.
We went to the library where they filled a satchel so full I could barely carry it out the door. Okay. Okay. Two books were for me!
Saturday’s weather was spectacular so we headed to the beach with the DivaDog. The water was freezing but that didn’t stop Niece and Nephew from getting soaked to the skin. The DivaDog enjoyed the water also, taking time to lay down on the cool sand until a wave came along to disturb her rest. No one wanted to leave, even the dog. DivaDog wanted to stay so badly she decided to plop herself down in the warm sand and look at me with those “Who? Me?” eyes! No encouragement, bribery, or commands to “heel” worked to get her back on her feet to walk to the car. So I started dragging her limp body, much to the amusement of all the people around us! It really was rather funny! We did manage to return to the car despite having to drag DivaDog about 30 yards! Once home, everyone showered up including the dog.
Since they were going to miss school Monday and Tuesday, classwork was requested from the teachers. The Niece successfully remembered to ask her teacher for the work. Unfortunately, The Nephew did not, so Auntie Philippa came up with her own stuff for him to do, much to his frustration and disappointment. I really enjoyed playing at the homeschooling thing. The Niece liked it too. Not so much The Nephew who really, really dislikes school a lot.
The Niece and I share a love of learning. Though there were certain days when I despised school, and those days were when I was struggling with learning something and earning many a poor grade, I loved going to school for the majority of the time. I used to make a game out of it, pretending to go to work or on an imaginary adventure.
Did you enjoy school? Or imagine it as an adventure? Do you need to inspire/encourage/threaten your children to go to school?
Have a blessed day!
Visitors
14 May 2012 2 Comments
in General
The weekend has been filled with the voices of a 9 and 11 year old. Auntie is a tad tired and now understands why raising children is for the young in body. Auntie promises to blog in the middle of the week and bring you, Dear Readers, up to date on the shenanigans!
Juliet Simms all the way!
08 May 2012 1 Comment
in General
The hubster and I have been avid fans of the TV program, The Voice. I wish I could sing. He can sing. So we both watch, make our own selections of who we think should be picked. He’s been more right than wrong, and I’ve been more wrong than right. (See previous statement for reasons why.)
Last night saw us ensconced in front of the TV ready to listen, discuss, and make our not-so-important choice. I have been a fan of Juliet Simms, the raspy rocker. I LOVE her voice. Roxanne and Freebird had me over the top! The hubster is a fan of Jermaine Paul and wants him to win. But that’s not what I want to write rant about. Christina Aguilera and her crack to Tony Lucca is.
What the h***! Last night Tony Lucca (Team Adam) sang “99 Problems” as his finale. When asked for her thoughts on his performance, Christina slammed him saying the song was “derogatory towards women.” Read about it here. Really? I mean…really????
Let’s, for one moment, take a look at Ms. Aguilera’s outfits through out the competition, shall we? I refer you to this photo, and especially this photo . Ummm…she’s nearly falling out of her dress. Shades of another wardrobe malfunction.
Pornography and soft porn, of which I say Ms. Augilera uses to sell herself and her music, is derogatory to women. Period.
Look in a mirror Christina. And if you’re all worried about songs being derogatory to women and being offended by the men who sing them, try changing your outfit and attitude, then you won’t show yourself as the hypocrite that you did on national TV.
Gimme a break. Geesh.
Friday Foray into the blogosphere
04 May 2012 2 Comments
in General
The app I like best on my iPad is “Zite.” It is a personalized magazine for iPads and iPhones which gets smarter as you use it. You can customize the sections to many different subjects. My latest obsessions are DIY, Embroidery and Crafts.
- Tip Junkie shared free handbag patterns! Someone needs to lengthen the day so I can get to the crafty, fun stuff before the sun goes down and I collapse into bed!
- I really appreciated The Art of Manliness’ guide on how to patch a hole in the wall. We’ve had several of them over the years and while the Hubster has this down pat, I do not! A handy thing to know how to do.
- Creative Jewish Mom’s May 3rd post on how to crochet a rug from sheets is by and far my most favorite creative upcycle project! There is a link on the article on how to use old t-shirts for crochet projects which I plan on attempting sometime soon!
There is one magazine section which causes more irritation than it does inspiration, but I read it anyway. Why? Because it helps me be a better Christian by teaching me to love and treat others as I want to be loved and treated. Sadly, I learn by doing the opposite of what some of the featured articles show. Here are a couple of examples:
- Pastor Sean Harris says said that “gay tendencies in young children should be squashed like a cockroach” and “if the parents see their sons acting like girls, fathers should ‘give them a good punch. When your daughter starts acting too butch, you reign her in, you’re going to act like a girl and walk like a girl and talk like a girl and smell like a girl, and that means you’re going to be beautiful and you’re going to be attractive and you’re going to dress yourself up.’” Continue reading here.
Now dear readers, I am not an advocate for gay marriage in the Church. Not at all. But for an authority figure (a pastor) to advocate this type of action or discipline to change the child is nothing short of ridiculous, IMHO. Teaching a child, loving them and guiding them in prayer to bring their purpose to flower in accordance with God’s will is what is incumbent upon a parent. But bullying them will not get the attention you hope for Pastor Sean!
Which leads me to the next article, which is about bullying.
- Christian Teens Say Gay Activist Made Girls Cry: Let’s just get this out of the way…that’s just a stupid title for the article! The jist of the article is about high school journalists attending a national conference on journalism. Arrowhead Christian Academy journalist students were among the attendees. Okay. So far, so good. The speaker, Dan Savage, the “wife” in a gay marriage was there to promote his anti-bullying campaign. He used a curious tactic…bullying Christians. So what did the Arrowhead students do? Get up and walked out, to which Mr. Savage, an adult mind you, chastised the students and called them “pansy-assed.”
Well, really?
There’s part of me that wants to applaud the students for having the guts to walk out. But I also kind of wish they had stayed put, raised their defiant chins a bit and took copious notes in order to write an article or op-ed piece for their local newspaper about Mr….er….Mrs. Savage’s bullying during his anti-bullying campaign.
Bully that Mrs. Savage.
Mother-By-Marriage
02 May 2012 3 Comments
in General
Have you ever heard the phrase “by-marriage” rather than “in-law” to describe those to whom you become related once you are married? It was used by Fr. David Rucker, Director of OCMC, when he spoke at church and talked about his daughter’s husband, his son-by-marriage. I like it so well I want to use it for my daughter’s fiancee, my soon son-by-marriage.
All in a weekend
30 Apr 2012 1 Comment
in General
Friday is laundry day. Bed Sheets get changed, clean towels are put out, bathrooms are cleaned and weekend cooking is planned. Rather than cook every night of the week, we cook in bulk on Saturday and freeze individual portions. I hate to cook, though sometimes the “like” bug bites me and I will cook up a storm. That is rare though.
New Job 3 months later
26 Apr 2012 5 Comments
in General
The job goes well, I am happy to say! I like the work environment and my employer very much.
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