Shiloh's Soliloquy

Sunday synopsis

2008-09-29T05:47:00.004-04:00

By way of review for my own meditation, here's my notes from yesterday's sermon by my pastor, Barry York:

The Deceitfulness of Sin from Hebrews 3

We can harden our hearts by allowing sin in our hearts.
Oh how the mighty have fallen.

1) We should heed the scriptural warning. - let no one deceive you, God is not mocked, for whatever you sow, you shall reap; be careful about who you keep company with.
Our own self deceives us - be renewed in the spirit of your mind.
Every sin that you commit starts with deception; sin pulls away from the simplicity of devotion to Christ; we're warned in scripture about the power of sin; Satan hid the consequences of sin from Adam and Eve.

2) The subtle follies of sin. - we are drawn away, we are enticed, then our will kicks in and commit ourselves to do the sin, we even talk about the sin, then finally we do the act.
We are drawn into sin by abusing the grace of God.
We should be sensible and righteous - but we think lightly of what God has done for us. If you, think about sin lightly, you are living loosely. Don't push boundaries beyond where they should go. Sin deceives us that we can handle it - we can filter out the bad stuff.

Become sensitive to sin in your life.
1) Humble yourself
2) Keep your soul constantly in God's presence - that is your protection, that is your safeguard
3) Beware of lawful things becoming idolatrous things - this happens when they become the center and focus of our existence.

O Lord, help me to actively seek You throughout the day. This is my safest haven from sin. This is my greatest joy. Amen.

Vacation from a foot's point of view

2008-07-17T18:49:00.000-04:00

It's high time that we honored the real troopers of the camping vacation - the feet. It's the feet who carry us everywhere. It's the feet who sweat and get all hot and bothered. It's the feet that keep us going. Well the next several blogs are written with the feet in mind. Let us take on their perspective for once.

We're not going to have any pictures of bear boxes -

or brownies about to explode from the altitude -

or cute little chipmunks.

Nope, this time we'll see ruggedly shod feet gazing at picturesque Colorado cliffs -

We'll see feet resting comfortably in their favorite tennies in front of a Colorado mountain range.

Yes, let's consider for once, how things look from a little lower down.

4th of July in Colorado Springs then off to the Grand Canyon

2008-07-17T18:40:00.000-04:00

Alright, this is what I'm talking about. Take off the shoes, lay back on the grass, look at Pikes Peak, and wait for the fireworks show for a few hours.

Three hours later ... this is great!

Hiking in the Canyon requires a lot of breaks and the feet need to air out, right? And there's time for a self-timed photo with the camera positioned on a rock.

The hiking boots are very important - look at all that weight ... well, I better not go there.

Excellent view from the tent along the bottom of the Canyon. That's a knee, not a foot, in case you were wondering.

Freaky ped views

2008-07-17T18:32:00.001-04:00

That's right, let those feet breath along the trail. We used to have another name for those flip flops ... well, never mind.

The Colorado River! We made our destination!

On the bridge over the river, someone felt kinda woozy in the heat.

We met someone a little more light-footed than us.

Aw! Quit whining about the swollen hands! What about the feet?

Feet in the Canyon

2008-07-17T18:23:00.000-04:00

Ah ... lay back in that tent and enjoy the view after that long hike. You deserve it.

This is nothing new, us feet are always looking up.

If I were running the show (get it?), I would have set the focus on the people or on the canyon instead of the nearby rock, but nobody asked me.

I'll trek thru here anytime!

Creek

2008-07-17T18:20:00.000-04:00

In the Grand Canyon, when feet get hot, feet get to the creek.

Serenity

2008-07-17T18:16:00.000-04:00

The camp in Colorado. Some are working, some are not

Ben's pre-Birthday Celebration

2008-05-20T21:29:00.000-04:00

This is Ben's birthday celebration week. They started Sunday when he was honored at Fellowship lunch with the premier place in line. Then he was honored before dessert along with David Morgan and John Spiegel as this year's Sycamore graduates. He got to go first for dessert too.

Then today, he received quite a surprise at SCA with a birthday cake and the singing of the traditional birthday song by his fellow classmates.

The cake which an unnamed mom got for him had a cute baby picture and a snazzy action picture as seen here:

Here you can see how he was filled with amazement and awe at our astounding surprise:

Here's a close-up of the snazzy eatable action image which Adam Dinkledine ate. Mr. York asked him if it tasted sweaty:

Here's a close-up of the cute eatable baby image. He's so cute you could eat him, and we did:

Here is the traditional candle blowing out ceremony with on-lookers:

Ben and Andrew shortly afterward on the computer, of course.

Gate of Beautiful

2008-05-13T17:08:00.000-04:00

Sometimes aren't we just like the poor soul waiting at the Gate of Beautiful?
We can't get around.
We wait for handouts from the world.
We remain beggars in our helpless state.
We need a little pocket change to make it through another day.

Then something surprising happens.
Another person comes along.
This person is just like us.
This person has failings.
This person has needs.
But they speak about wholeness.
They speak about God.
They speak of an other-worldly love.
They don't have any silver or gold to offer us.
They offer what they have.
They offer the Word of God to us.
The Word reveals the reality of God.
The Word reveals the power of God.
The Word reveals the sacrifice of God.

The Word reveals the Person of God, Jesus Christ.
This name they hold as sacred.
This Person they unashamedly worship.

Our hearts burn.
Our legs burn.
Our hearts and bodies are transformed.
We can get up.
We can move forward.
We have hope.
We aren't stuck anymore.
No choices.
God's strong arm holds us.
And we want to be held,
if you call that a choice.
We have been captivated.
We won't turn away.
Where else would we go?
The Beautiful Gate is beautiful indeed.
There we left the memory of an old life.
There we started anew.

I listened to this song from my youth ...

2008-05-11T20:58:00.000-04:00

Love That Will Not Let Me Go

by Steve Camp

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God"
1 John 3:1

In this weary world, chasing after dreams, just left me back where I started. I couldn't see my way. I found it had a place for the broken-hearted. You spoke softly to my soul, with one touch I was made whole!: Now I know that there is a love that will not let me go. I can face tomorrow, because you hold me forever. Stronger than the mighty winds that blow; I'm safe within your arms... love that will not let me go.

Lord, You always knew the road that I would take, but then You saved me just in time. What I owe to You, I could not repay, so I pledge You my whole life. I never trusted love before, but I won't be afraid anymore.: Now I know that there is a love that will not let me go. I can face tomorrow, because you hold me forever. Stronger than the mighty winds that blow; I'm safe within your arms... love that will not let me go.

There's a love that will not let me go. I can face tomorrow, because you hold me forever. Stronger than the mighty winds that blow; I'm safe within your arms... love that will not let me go.

This is for real ...

2008-04-11T10:07:00.003-04:00

Blessings, hope to see you there (in every sense of the word).
:-)

This one's so bad, it's good

2008-03-25T22:20:00.002-04:00

Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and, with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him . . . what?

A super callused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.

Leprechaun leap

2008-03-21T19:11:00.005-04:00

Dry erase board artwork from my home to yours.

Guess who's the artist?

Couldn't resist

2008-03-08T09:01:00.003-05:00

This joke reminded me of Spencer and Nathan:
These friars were behind on their belfry payments, so they opened up a small florist shop to raise funds. Since everyone liked to buy flowers from the men of God, a rival florist across town thought the competition was unfair. He asked the good fathers to close down, but they would not. He went back and begged the friars to close. They ignored him. So, the rival florist hired Hugh MacTaggart, the roughest and most vicious thug in town to "persuade" them to close. Hugh beat up the friars and trashed their store, saying he'd be back if they didn't close up shop. Terrified, they did so, thereby proving that Hugh, and only Hugh, can prevent florist friars.

Millard Fillmore for President!

2008-02-19T22:06:00.002-05:00

Opps, did that slip out?

What poetry form are you?

2008-02-12T18:15:00.000-05:00

A cywydd llosgyrnog; I'm one.
"A what?" Well, quite. There'd be no fun
In being understood; I
Thrive upon obliquity.
Don't comprehend or follow me,
For mystery's my ally.

What Poetry Form Are You?

Main hall lobby

2008-02-06T11:22:00.000-05:00

The bell is ringing,
People scurry.
Can remains comparing linguists
And I stand typing in the main hall lobby.

The public walks behind me
Thinking nothing of the
Plans and paths of
The only One who matters.

They breath His air.
They live on borrowed time.
They laugh and curse
Without a thought
Of wonder or dread.

Let me stop.
Let me at least slow down
To think of You
And see Your path
And breath Your air.

Psalm 30:1-5

2008-01-28T22:24:00.000-05:00

O LORD, I will exalt You,
For You have lifted me;
My foes You have allowed not
To glory over me.

O LORD my God, I pleaded
That You might heal and save;
LORD, You from death have ransomed
And kept me from the grave.

His saints, O praise Jehovah
And thank His holy name.
His anger lasts a moment,
His grace a whole life time.

For sorrow, like a pilgrim,
May tarry all the night,
But then a shout of joy comes
When dawns the morning light.

Bibliophiliac

2008-01-16T13:19:00.000-05:00

Here in the "Learning Commons" (aka the IUK library) I hear quiet mummers, but no one approaches me for essay tweeking - so I can whip off an entry.

Two weeks of uni classes are past, and I'm getting into the groove. Both my classes offer many happy future inspirations since I am highly interested in the content of both.

My Mon/Wed "History of the English Language" class (w/me & Candace) touches on my beloved Latin. It spans Old English, Mid English, and Mod English. I'm researching to see if I can find enough information to write about British everyday people being exposed to Latin by singing the Psalms. I'm very excited about this! I'll keep you posted.

My Mon night class is a survey of the study of Rhetoric throughout time - starting with the ancient Greeks. I've taught/studied Aristotle's Rhetoric two different times and this has proved to be extremely helpful. The reading for this class is pretty heavy and demanding, but I'm going to learn a lot. It should make me a better writer and a better teacher, I hope. We have to write timed essays in reaction to our reading at the beginning of each class. I haven't had to do that for years - whew!

I brought my student's papers here today, so I think I'll grade for a while. Later!

Eatin' carrots and drinkin' diet coke

2008-01-07T16:50:00.000-05:00

Healthy - that's me.

College classes start today. Monday is my busy day: one morning class, work in the writing center, then one evening class. I do have a nice block of time in the afternoon at home for walking the treadmill and reading for class - which is what I did today.

Rob was off work and happily busying himself with his new hobby of knife sheath making. He's pretty good at it. Not surprising.

Candace and I have the morning class together. It's a 300 level class that is beefed up for her since she's an honors student and beefed up for me since I'm a grad student. Fun times.

Amy's around somewhere. Haven't seen her lately. You know Amy. She has a full class load and will keep working at Panera Bread too. Her classes which are very un-biology-like and very un-math-like will suit her well AND one theater class (she has all the fun.)

Ben worked this morning. He had to ride his bike to work a whole mile away. His van days are over since the "wan" is officially dead. Poor Ben. He's trying to sell it. He's now at his college class. I think he's going to enjoy this one since it's a computer design class - right up his alley.

Tomorrow it's back to teaching at SCA. I've missed the kids - it'll be good to see them again.

I'll be good and productive and do some reading now then go to class in a little bit.

Bye.

If it's the last thing I do ...

2007-12-27T22:17:00.000-05:00

I'm going to post this.

Been to Texas and back. I sat in the hammock thinking about how cold it must be in Indiana and how warm and toasty I was feeling sitting in my short sleeved shirt reading a book. But I must admit that it was nice to get home, chill and all.

Once home, we had a wonderful time with our own brand of gift-giving around the tree. Our family with its quirky sense of humor is heavy on mysterious gift labels and gag gifts. I was given toe warmers, others got a children's pirate book, bubbles, remote helicopters, silly string, and a squishy glowing ball. One of the best parts of our Christmas was having a dear friend join us for our gift time, and later in the day, some other friends dropped by to exchange more gifts and gab. Christmas is the perfect time to reaffirm how others are connected to our lives. In the kingdom of Christ, this is pretty natural. And it should be.

Hope you are all having the best of days relaxing with family and friends, resting from normal busyness, and reflecting on eternity. May the Lord bless you in the coming year.

Yee-haw!!!

2007-12-17T15:23:00.000-05:00

How's about this?

You'd think I'd died or somethin ... and all I did was go back to college after 22 years. Well, let me take a moment to wish you all greetings and inquire about your health.

I have been a very bad blogger, but a good student and teacher and tutor and wife and mother and friend. Or you better ask others about that, but that's what I shoot for anyway.

This morning I wrapped more presents, now I'm listening to Relient K come out of Ben's compy while I type. Relient K kinda grows on me ... strange.

I got a penguin photo holder @ the ladies' white elephant party and my hubby put a message in the penguine's holder. Oh well you'll just have to see for yourself ...

I've been bad. Because its rumored that I'm getting a camera for Christmas and I'm "borrowing" it for a while before, and heck, during Christmas to snap away. Here's some of my handywork:

First there's Canny's birthday:

Ben gave her a bubble machine. Anyone who knows Canny knows this made her very happy.

And when Candace is happy, Amy and Ben are happy:

Guess who's toes:

I prefer to wear socks. That's me - can't you tell?

And finally, Ben, when he had hair:

My brain is toast

2007-09-06T18:43:00.000-04:00

Been in the writing lab for 3 hrs and 45 mins. Answered grammar and usage questions. Read dutifully about evolution nonsense, and pscho mumbo-jumbo. Now I deflate. Good for nothing but to be a pleasant grinning, blurry-eyed companion. Nothing to add to a conversation but incoherent ramblings.

Still, life is good. Completed my third week of college; taught my first week of SCA classes; tutored 15 hrs here at the Information Emporium (uh, the library); and started tutoring my two ten yr old tutees. (note alliteration)

Wish I had brought my bible. Wonder if they have a bible in this place? (note to self: put that little bible in backpack)

Meeting lots of new people, learning lots. Some good, some not so good. Glad there's life outside acedemia.

Still rather be at home. The Lord stretches me. Looking forward to walking with a friend tonight. Relish human contact with like-minded people.

Hubby's good. He works a lot too. We keep an eye on each other to make sure we don't stretch too thin. If you look at somebody and they're really not there. You know ... you can see right through them ... well, you need to pull 'em back and ball them all up and make them opaque again.

So be on the look-out for those transparent people out there.

Good talking with you.

Eloquent Example

2007-07-03T23:57:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I started a new job tutoring English at IUK. Should be a good way to get me thinking about students and their requirements on the college level. Looking forward to a new challenge.

I told you that I'm starting back to college in the Fall, didn't I? Well, it's true. I will be taking 9 hours of graduate coursework as I kick off my master degree program. A little nervous. A little excited. Please pray. More on that later.

This summer I'm studying material in preparation to teach next year's high school/jr. high English classes. Recently, I came across a quote by Laurence Sterne that exposes our shallow attempts to write and points us to the true source of eloquence.
Thusly it follows:

There are two sorts of eloquence;
the one indeed scarce deserves the name of it,
which consists chiefly in laboured and polished periods,
an over-curious and artificial arrangement of figures,
tinselled over with a gaudy embellishment of words ...
the other sort of eloquence is quite the reverse to this,
and which may be said to be the true characteristic
of the Holy Scriptures;
where the excellence does not arise from a laboured and far-fetched elocution,
but from a surprising mixture of simplicity and majesty.

- Laurence Sterne

The prose and poetry of the Bible have never been equaled.

Let's become saturated in this sea of beauty and wisdom.

To Texas we will go ...

2007-06-27T08:17:00.000-04:00

To Texas we will go,
Weddings, heat, & Java Jack Jo,
To Texas we will go.

The hunt

2007-06-19T11:18:00.000-04:00

Um, hello.

Lem'see.

Last week, the clothes in my closet were only suitable for indoor viewing so I needed to branch out. How? Goodwill, of course! Everyone knows that the Carmel Goodwill houses the sweetest brand name selection of stuff around. Candace and I set out to Carmel for the hunt, and hunting was good. When we arrived our wildest dreams had come true - the sign on the front of Goodwill said: ONE-DAY-ONLY-HALF-PRICE-SALE! I fell to my shopping with a vengeance.

I've never shopped so hard in all my born days. Armed with 15 pairs of tan pants, I entered the dressing room. Passersby would see flurries of flying tan pants. Then emerging from the struggle with slightly disheveled hair, I returned 14 pairs of tan pants to the racks, lay the chosen one in the buggy* then proceeded to the black blouse section. The hunt continued. The perfect black blouse must be pursued and placed among the other trophies. How do you know it's the right one? You must find the one that ... looks-like-new-and-makes-me-look-sophisticated.

Tricky, I know.

Thinking of it again gives me a raging appetite. Think I'll go get a bowl of cereal.

*("buggy" - Texas word for "shopping cart".)

Life after graduation

2007-06-02T12:39:00.000-04:00

Hey, I'm not talking about Josh (recent college grad) or Amy (recent high school grad). I'm talking about ME (recent I'vebeenworkingincessentlynightanddayoneveryone'sgrad
andI'matiredperson).

So all that has come to its wonderful culmination, and I will once again blog (as often as I ever did.) I love you and I still want to share my life with you. So stop by and visit every now and then, and you might find a post.

Today's sermon notes

2007-05-13T16:31:00.000-04:00

Title: Walking in God's Will
Main reference: Gen. 31:1-21

I. Pay heed to the desire of a yearning heart.

God made our hearts full of desires.
He gives us the desires of our hearts - but at times, our hearts do deceive us.
So, if we delight in Him, He surely does give us the desires of our heart - listen to them.
God works through the desires of His people's hearts.

II. Examine carefully the direction of life's pressures.

Pressures guide us - like a weather vane points out a direction from the pressure it receives.
Don't try to figure out a direction prematurely. (i.e. What career should my little kid have?)
Let the natural timing of life apply pressure under God.

III. Pray surely for the illumination of the Holy Spirit.

God takes His word and illuminates it to us.
We should take the word of God and apply it directly to our lives.

And today - I was talking about the sermon with Ben and he said that lately he has been using specific types of markings in his bible to facilitate ways of integrating the word of God into the lives of others. Does that make sense? Anyway, that struck me as a very good idea that I want to put into practice as I read the bible every day. I mean, I usually think of applying the word of God to my own life, but I need to more actively endeavor to apply the word of God to the lives of those around me. I'm so dense that I need to make a note about a verse as it relates to a specific person or I will never think of it again.

IV. Hold closely the remembrance of former promises.

The promises we make help anchor us to God's way.
Examples:
church membership,
marriage,
children's baptism,
children honoring parents,
and all of the moral law.

V. Listen wisely to the guidance of close counselors.

Honor your father and your mother. God will use their counsel to guide you. I was thinking that that's easy if you have godly parents, but what about if you have ungodly parents? But in the sermon, the point was brought out that anytime a Christian tries to honor (an even ungodly) parent's advice, God will guide through that (if the advice isn't against the biblical precepts).
Find good counselors and surround yourself with them.

(I didn't include all the notes - just the ones that particularly ministered to me.)

I hope to walk with Christ this week. What an audacious thought! But the Lord Himself gives me the nerve to try.
As Switchfoot so eloquently puts it, "You're the only chance I'll take."

Have a blessed day and week!

Pull up an armchair let's drink to success

2007-04-25T13:09:00.000-04:00

Digging through old photos preparing for Amy's graduation has made me realize that my little barista's about to graduate from high school.

From the very start, she was adorable...

Now she's all grown up ...

Sorry, A, I couldn't resist.
Luv, Mum

This week's western civ quote

2007-04-16T18:01:00.000-04:00

After the Allies were victorious over Hitler in WW2, Churchill and Stalin were chummy. They discussed the postwar spheres of influence of a bunch of sovereign countries, and jotted their thoughts down on a scrap of paper.

Win remarked to Joe, "Might it not be thought rather cynical if it seemed we had disposed of these issues, so fateful to millions of people, in such an off-hand manner? Let us burn the paper”.

Then Joe unconcerned about public opinion responded, “No, you keep it.”

Life is all about ...

2007-04-07T08:49:00.000-04:00

I was talking to a friend on the phone yesterday philosophizing big time and I told her that the conversation would make great blog material and she laughed and said that she was honored to be hearing it first before it goes public.

But now 16 hours later since I can't remember a whip of what we were talking about, I'll just give you this week's list:

this morning it's cold as a freezer - (it snowed yesterday for crying-out-loud!)
my African violets look pretty now with the sun shinning on them
I watched our squirrel wake up and stretch and scratch himself
my daughters have both been sick
I went to Harvey Hinklemires and only ate one brownie
Ben and I are reading Proverbs
Hebrews has been quite a blessing, too
I worked on grad preparations for my high school daughter and my college son
I ironed and watched some 20 year olds play a board game with some pre-teens
I edited a paper twice without a brain
did I say I haven't had a brain this week (yeah, I think I did)

Breakfast calls - I love you all still (you know who you are) ... at least I still have a heart. :-)

Glass Menagerie

2007-03-23T16:33:00.000-04:00

Ben and I just finished reading it aloud.

Typical tragedy:

discontented mother nags
discontented son flies
discontented daughter withdraws

This is the stuff that stage tragedy is made of. The most dramatic effect of all is that I've been reading GM with my own son.

::Feels an overwhelming gush of sentimentality sweeping upon her. Thinks to herself that this is probably the last time she’ll ever read a play aloud with one of her kids.::
::Comforts herself by recalling that she and her son agreed to catch the next live GM performance that comes to town.::

In the kitchen Ben and I perform our own impromptu version of the play thusly:

Me: rattles off a series of ridiculous demands,
Ben: mumbles that he’s going to the movies now.

Tom's final words on stage reveals a restless heart - the same kind of discontented heart laid bare in many a rock song:

"TOM: I didn't go to the moon. I went much further--for time is the longest distance between two places. Not long after that I was fired for writing a poem on the lid of a shoebox. I left St. Louis. I descended the steps of the fire escape for a last time and followed, from then on, in my father's footsteps, attempting to find in motion what was lost in space. I traveled around a great deal. The cities swept about me like dead leaves, leaves that were brightly colored but torn away from their branches. I would have stopped, but I was pursued by something. It always came upon me unawares, taking me altogether by surprise. Perhaps it was a familiar bit of music. Perhaps it was only a piece of transparent glass. Perhaps I am walking along a street at night, in some strange city, before I have found companions. I pass the lighted window of a shop where perfume is sold. The window is filled with pieces of colored glass, tiny transparent bottles in delicate colors, like bits of a shattered rainbow. Then all at once my sister touches my shoulder. I turn around and look into her eyes. Oh Laura, Laura, I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intended to be! I reach for a cigarette, I cross the street, I run into the movies or a bar, I buy a drink, I speak to the nearest stranger--anything that can blow your candles out!"

I put in bold the words that struck me. They speak volumes. So many frantically fill up their lives with movement; scared to think of what they'd discover if they ever stop. The chase is all that matters.

But life shouldn't find its purpose in movement. A sedentary life isn't the answer either, but if we could only be guided and moved along with a purpose!

The Lord Jesus Christ does move powerfully in lives. Oh to be profoundly impacted by the the Lord in His Word! Verses like Colossians 3:3 and Phlippians 1:21 point to the One who gives real purpose to life.

"For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God."

and "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."

Just now, I spied a Morrisons bag from Scotland in my tiny bathroom - reminds me that the present can never quite leave the past behind. I feel the movement as I type in this dark room of mirrors. Right now I'm cold, but content. I smile because my real life is hid in Christ.

Eventfulness

2007-03-01T06:54:00.000-05:00

Yesterday turned out to be not half bad.

1) I started homeschooling a seventh grade student. Hannah will come to our house twice a week and I'll help her to stay on top of her studies. I love teaching this age. We hit the crucial concepts and work on the study skills. Before you know it, they're ready to launch into the challenging high school stuff. I much prefer to grab a seventh grader and get some things ready for the next level than to finally get a kid in 11th grade and play catch-up. I love ya', Hannah!

2) Met with an IUK professor. More on that later.

3) Went to a belated Valentine Sweetheart Banquet. Romance, friends, and hilarity - what more could you want? Celebrating marital bliss made me thankful for my one true love and the happiness we share, and made me thankful that we were NOT selected to be interrogated publicly in Barry's version of the Newlywed Game. Wheeew!

4) Home late, to bed, then sweet sleep.

That about covers it. Later gator.

Does the devil have all the good comedy?

2007-02-23T11:22:00.000-05:00

Click below to find out ...

Don't be mean to butterflies

and don't be mean to cats.

Hilarious as this guy is
- he definitely has some serious issues. :-D

Shake well before use

2007-02-20T16:20:00.000-05:00

Quite a poetic phrase from the White Out bottle - don't you think?

Moving along ...

Felt rather puny this morning - flu-like symptoms. Spent the day with a flurry of activity followed by vertical inactivity. Preferring to be busy, my repose super-sized the day making it feel like I got two days for the price of one. I mean this day aughta be over by now, but nooooo, it's only four o'clock. Why couldn't I trade this day in for one of those days where each 60 minute hour lasts only 45 minutes?

The high point of the day? A spontaneous time of thanksgiving to the Lord this morning. Seems that the cold air had seeped into my soul and was I feeling rather like Puddleglum. After giving way to gloomy thoughts, it occurred to me, "Why not thank the Lord for some of His blessings for a while?" The clouds cleared away as my thanks flew upward. You can't stay grumpy and thankful at the same time. It's impossible. Mostly I was thankful for people -or- more specifically what I could see the Lord doing in the lives of people around me. This raised me right out of the dumps.

I needed a little morning shake up. Better than aerobics.

A southerner's forecast

2007-02-13T06:06:00.000-05:00

This is all new to me.

I'll grant that when the scenery out the window was wiped out a couple of years ago in Kokomo, I couldn't believe it. I mean it was as if Someone had erased the sky and the ground and the parked cars - everything was white. I just stared out the window.

But this - this is different.
Don't talk to me about global warming or El Niño - nope, you've got it ALL wrong. We are actually entering the next Ice Age.

Skeptical?

Here's the proof:

1) It starts with BELOW freezing temperatures - like 7 degrees F.
(I knew you wouldn't believe me, but the backyard thermometer lies not.)

It gets worse ...

2) As the result of toxic fumes (like the fumes of peanut butter toast made by apathetic adolescents all over the world), the warm blanket that wraps the northern part of the United States is wearing thin creating the "refrigerator effect" plunging temperatures to a breath-stopping 7 degrees below zero.

See for yourself.

WARNING:
The following image is not suitable for those with delicate constitutions.

3) Gross! What IS that?
Oh, it's frozen raw egg drippings.
Wonder how it got there?
Perhaps a certain young southern gentleman was overcome with a need for some scientific observation. I can understand how someone from warmer climates would need to know if a raw egg would freeze on contact, but should such a person try his ground-breaking experiment right above the thermometer leaving it slimed for the rest of the winter?

This is debatable.

5) Can't say that I blame the man. I have my needs too.

If you want me, I'll be hibernatin'. See ya'll in the Spring!

Brrrrrr ...

2007-02-07T10:32:00.000-05:00

This is how I feel.

Radical new approach

2007-01-29T14:06:00.000-05:00

Heavyweight title makes up for lightweight content (see above).

As many of my students know, I like to edit papers. Just this week, I helped a former student improve an essay for her freshman composition class. So when it comes to writing my own blog, I often stare at the blank white page, my brain, a bubble. Wouldn't it be great if somebody would write my blog for me and so I could just edit it?

That's today's brilliant idea.

Indiana snow

2007-01-25T13:54:00.000-05:00

Here's what it looks like on our street today. Snow sits in just the right places - on the lawns - not on the street or sidewalks.

How considerate.

(For my little friend, Charity.)

While looking out my window

2007-01-20T11:42:00.000-05:00

It's sunny outside - brisk and clear. Ah, winter's brilliant sunlight! The tree branches allow you to peek through.

Perspective. That's what you get on a day like this.

Now I admit, I'd rather not walk out there today. 'Me' and 'cold' don't get along. But to just sit here and gaze at the snow-harboring rooftops
- well, I could do that all day.

This week I caught up with some local friends. Being a jar of clay, my Master molds me. Why is it that adversity produces deeper love? These days I look a little deeper into eyes and love a little deeper. Only God could translate pain into love.

With this morning's homeschool grad meeting behind and this afternoon's homeschool orchestra performance ahead, I'll leave you for now

Bring back my bonnie to me

2007-01-16T13:38:00.000-05:00

I love my clothes.

I love my cast iron pots.

Where are you on the wide, blue sea?

Reflections of Scotland

2007-01-11T19:33:00.000-05:00

I may not live in Scotland anymore, but I will always carry some of it with me.
These are some of the images/people I don't ever want to forget:

Round-a-bouts.
Expert drivers who maneuver around you with just inches to spare.
Conversing with "the two Margarets" (two dear ladies I got to know at church).
Pedestrians.
Bright yellow reflector jackets.
The twinkle in Charles Muir's eyes when he told a joke.
The city lights of the central belt.
David McCulloch saying "watch this" and then poking the notoriously ticklish Candace.
Hanging with his mom, my dear friend, Kim.
Walking in the rain.
The unbelievable stories I heard of Beth receiving messages from the "mother ship."
People's patience as I asked them to repeat themselves ... again.
The powerful preaching of Andrew Quigley.
Jimmy's flowers.
Tesco shopping.
Straining hard to count British money.
The free flow of insightful exchanges during a MET.
Winston, the wood pigeon.
Holding David and Angie's new baby for whom we prayed so much.
The castles and lochs.
My son, Ben, breaking into dance during lunch breaks at home.
Listening to Karen Reyburn sing the alto line of a Psalm.
Getting to know Harry and Anne.
Learning to appreciate people's passion for football (soccer).
Glasgow.
The friendly honks and waves on the street.
Sam Bell's local stories.
The charity shops.
Christy's Pastry Shop.
Ian Shaw's singing.
The Royal Mile.
Watching Amy act in Macbeth.
Beautiful wee red-headed Bobbi.
Heart-to-heart talks with Susan (Bobbi's mom).
The long days of summer.
The dark days of winter.
Listening to George and Robert talk about theology.
Getting directions by way of pubs.
Visiting with Dorothy.
Celebrating Thanksgiving in our house with fellow Americans.
Ben Gordan playing the guitar and singing only the first half of songs.
Playing a very loud game at the church family weekend and laughing so hard it hurt.
Listening to Rob yell "Cheater!" at the top of his lungs.
Praying for people in our neighborhood.
Hearing Gordan Smith's laugh.
Helping his wife, Carol, work in the kitchen.
The mist hanging on the mountains.
Hearing John describe himself as a man who loved the monarchy.
Talking to Helen about homeschooling their precious daughter.
Tea and busquits.
Writing a Covenanter song as a memory aid for the children.
Hearing the cd of my voice singing my song as it was played before the whole church. (ugg!)
Browsing at a huge flea market in Glasgow with the McCullochs.
Learning new terms for familiar things (cell/mobile, pants/trousers, soccer/football).
Getting to see our old friends Walter and Betty again.
Spending the night with David and Sybil.
Robert fishing with Tim.
Riding the train to Edinburgh.
Spending lots of time in an art gallery.
Robert and Bob clearing brush from an old Covenanter memorial site.
Chauffeuring on a Covenanter tour.
Becoming friends with Dick and Susan Knodel.
Getting to know Christine and her baby boy, the very ones my family had prayed for before we moved to Scotland.
Fish and chips.
Spending time with my wonderful mother-in-law, Joy (her name fits).
Working on needle point.
Hosting several families in our house almost every week.
Singing Psalms with Scottish voices all around.
Designing gospel tracts to hand out.
Hanging clothes on the line.
Running out to fetch the damp clothes when it started to rain (and it always did).
Draping clothes all over the house.
Spending quality time with Fintan and Brogan (two Irish setters).
Celebrating my first Guy Fox Day.
Seeing more rainbows than I thought possible.
Getting to know everyone at Airdrie RP Church.
Saying goodbye.

Thanks for letting me share all that with you. Most of you don't know these people and places, but just telling you about them helps me to remember and appreciate them. These faces and places are forever woven into the fabric of who I am.

I love you, Scotland.

Good memories

2007-01-08T22:31:00.000-05:00

Don't let 'em kid you.
Putting pics on a blog is a way to hide a brain with no thoughts.
Well, that's what is happening here anyway.

So here we go

First we have me doing camera exposure experiments while waiting for Candace's Glasgow train to arrive at the Coatdyke station.

Next we have a fine example of confusing Scottish signs.

And finally we have two happy guys on moving day.

That's about all for now.

2007-01-01T19:05:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!
Let me hear a whoop!

Raking leaves

2006-12-28T21:02:00.000-05:00

I'm going to pay for it tomorrow, but today I am strong and fierce! With a slight tingle in my arms and back, I type in denial.

I defy tomorrow!
Today I reign as Leaf Queen!
See my lawn and wonder!

Night wanderings

2006-12-20T05:48:00.000-05:00

Haven't looked at Amy's blog yet, but no doubt that she has already announced that by the grace of God we have indeed made it safe and sound to Kokomo.

I'm rather jet laggy at present - going from complete exhaustion last night at 10 pm when we hit the hay to wide-eyed perkiness at 4:30 am - a few hours later.

The Lord has certainly been good to us. We are spending a few nights in the beautiful Dinkledine home while they are away. We are going to our new rent house during the day to get it ready. Robert was offered his old job back as the Chaplain at the Kokomo Rescue Mission. Amy goes back to making coffee tomorrow. Candace has a couple of job offers at IUK she's checking into. And I'm tickled pink to still have my dear ol' minivan back. Amazingly, it sat on a used car lot for the entire time we lived in Scotland and never sold - so it was waiting for us upon our return! Yippee!

I think I'll drink a cup of tea with Candace now. She ambuled into the kitchen shortly after I perched here. I told her we must both be jet-lagging to be up at this hour, but she reminded me that we both are known to wander about at odd hours. She's right.

One more post in Scotland

2006-12-16T08:55:00.000-05:00

Here:

Furniture is being carried out
Boxes are filling
Friends are popping in
Some sickness is going around the house (please pray about that one)
Suitcases are being weighed for the plane ride

And on the other side:

Many details must be arranged

And how are we doing? Feelings are so random. But to be honest: sometimes we're excited, sometimes we're sad, sometimes we're confused and alone. Normal everyday feelings, but at times circumstances magnify them.

Let me not be blown away by feelings, though. I acknowledge them. I don't deny them. But I don't want them to rule either.

So, we press on. God's in control; that's for sure.

Love to all. We'll be in touch on the other side.

Not fats enough

2006-12-09T20:53:00.000-05:00

The title of this post is a typo,
but it cracked me up so much I left it.

Can you guess what it's supposed to say?

Full circle

2006-11-30T13:46:00.000-05:00

Seasons come and go.

We share the bond of Christian love and respect with the Airdrie congregation. We love this place and the Airdrie RP people. They know as long as we are here we will gladly co-labor with them for Christ's kingdom, but it turns out that our time in Scotland is going to be brief.

Through a series of confirming circumstances, we have come to realize that our time in Scotland is coming to an end. Soon we will move back to Kokomo, Indiana. We came with hopes to settle for long-term ministry, but God knows best and has seen fit to closed this door.

We also dearly love the Kokomo RP people. In response to the announcement of our return a dear friend wrote me an encouraging note with this verse from Joshua 1:9,

Have I not commanded you?
Be strong and courageous!
do not tremble or be dismayed,
for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Wow, that blew me away! God is truly good and faithful.

Then this past Monday when the movers came to take our boxes, Robert read these words in our morning family worship from Spurgeon's book, Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith:

Rest in All Thy Goings

"And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. (Exodus 33:14)

recious promise! Lord, enable me to appropriate it as all my own.

We must go at certain times from our abode, for here we have no continuing city. It often happens that when we feel most at home in a place, we are suddenly called away from it. Here is the antidote for this ill. The Lord Himself will keep us company. His presence, which includes His favor, His fellowship, His care, and His power, shall be ever with us in every one of our marchings. This means far more than it says; for, in fact, it means all things. If we have God present with us, we have possession of heaven and earth. Go with me, Lord, and then command me where Thou wilt!

But we hope to find a place of rest. The text promises it. We are to have rest of God's own giving, making, and preserving. His presence will cause us to rest even when we are on the march, yea, even in the midst of battle. Rest! Thrice blessed word. Can it ever be enjoyed by mortals? Yes, there is the promise, and by faith we plead it. Rest comes from the Comforter, from the Prince of Peace, and from the glorious Father who rested on the seventh day from all His works. To be with God is to rest in the most emphatic sense."

We drew a great solace from these words. It's strange and wonderful to watch our path unfold in front of us trusting in the good judgment of our Heavenly Father.

Ode to the Thanksgiving Squash of Scotland

2006-11-23T12:44:00.000-05:00

O behold

-----the Thanksgiving Squash of Scotland.

O lovely squash

-----you remained

----------undiscovered

---------------nestled among the other produce.

You spoke to me

-----and bid me buy you.

Some aspect of your unique appearance

-----awed and baffled the ASDA checker;

----------she fumbled in your radiant presence.

If only they knew, others would desire you,

-----but you came to me, my precious.

Soon your worth shall be known to all,

-----suspended for all time in these lines.

All will know too late that you belong with me,

-----O Scottish Squash,

----------in my home,

---------------in my heart,

--------------------'til death.

Ronald Reagan is nice and all but ...

2006-11-17T06:47:00.000-05:00

we must go on with our lives.

My life is routinified - it keeps me sane. Something like this:

Up at 7 (except today - up a 5:30) private devos (except that I sing a Psalm with Candace usually),
7:30 - A & B wander downstairs for a psalm and prayer with mom and kids then we read art history,
8 - make breakfast and eat at 8:30,
9 - see Rob off and read Conceptual Physics,
10 - do one or a combination of yoga, pilates, exercise bike, discuss Aristotle with Amy, think about meals, pay bills, make deals,
11 - study Euro history with Ben,
12 - Lunch (of course),
1 - Some days it's lovely Eng. Language lectures some days it's Eng. Lit.
2-3 Papers to grade, lesson plans to revise, usually some detail to research - you know the business.

After that, more stuff to do like look out the window for sun sightings. And oh yeah, laundry.

Ronald Reagan

2006-11-14T07:47:00.000-05:00

It's always nice to hear a little Reagan rhetoric. He's a classic!

Memorable quotes from President Ronald Reagan.

"The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

"I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandment's would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress."

"The taxpayer: That's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination."

"Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other."

"If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under."

"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving,subsidize it."

"Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book."

"No arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.

- Ronald Reagan

I saw Billy Boyd (Pippin) today

2006-11-10T04:57:00.000-05:00

... we passed right by each other on a Glasgow street. Neither of us were wearing sunglasses or caps to hide our identities. And neither of us asked for the other's autograph.

Just two people playing it cool, passing on the street ...

I think we both turned around to confirm, but he pretended to look in a shop window and I just starred.

Life in 3-D

2006-11-07T12:18:00.000-05:00

My sweet husband took me to an art gallery recently. We have taken our family to art galleries in the past, and as a group everyone is usually sensitive to everyone else as to how much time we spend in each room looking at art. Not too slow, not too fast. So when I mentioned to my husband that I had never gone to an art gallery and spent as much time as I like pausing to look at art, he promised to take me to the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh and let me linger as long as I like.

And I did. Meandering into a room, I ambled up to a painting, took it all in, slipped over to read the plaque, drew close to admire the brushwork, backed up to study the composition, and (if Robert happened to be standing close by) explained what I liked about it. Robert was completely patient; I was completely relaxed. It was great.

Of course, we had to visit the gift shop. You always do. Granted, prices are high, but browsing is cheap. I was in earnest search for a postcard with a painting of a more obscure artist when I happened upon something really cool in the kids' section. There I found cards of famous paintings that opened up into cylinders. You look into the cylinder through magnifying glasses on one side, and you see two parts of the painting on the other side. By looking into the cylinder, you could suddenly see a painting you've admired for years in 3-D. When Robert came into the gift shop from the coat room, he found me eagerly looking into each cylinder. I was like a little kid, and he humored me by looking into a few.

This morning I thought about that day and an analogy came to mind. It occurred to me that I keep expecting real life to be like a beautiful, flat painting. Limited in the comprehension of my surroundings, I tend to evaluate life in 2-D.

Oh sure, I study close and at a distance. I take in all sides. I read and talk to others for counsel, but I don't take into account that life doesn't happen in 2-D.

It's definitely 3-D; always on a path; always in motion; always changing.

I wish I could have one of those little paper cylinders that would give me a more acurate view of life. Better yet, I wish I could read my bible and pray and talk to Christian friends in 3-D. I don't want to miss out on the most accurate perspective.

But maybe it's just my eyes that need a little adjustment.

Still going nowhere

2006-11-01T07:56:00.000-05:00

Author's Note: I wrote this post 2 days ago and "posted it" only to realize today that I had hit the "Save as Draft" button instead of "Publish Post" button. Silly me.

Back on the bike. I've been wanting an exercise bike for a couple of months. Seeing how they don't grow on trees, I've made it just fine w/o one. But now I'm riding and typing just like old times, because the Lord is so kind and good to me. Last week when Rob and I took Ben to take his PSAT at the International School of Aberdeen, we were walking around the parking lot and he spied a very nice exercise bike by the dumpster. Rob asked a nearby maintainance man if we could have the bike and the guy said, "Sure," (Or the guy probably said, "No bother, cheerio.") So we threw it in the back of the van, brought it home, and here I ride today, multi-tasking to my heart's content.

I sing and pray the Psalms using the Metrical Psalter as part of my private devotions every day. For several years now I've been working my way through all the Psalms by focusing on one Psalm per week and singing that same one every day of the week then I pray the divinely inspired words back the One I worship. Since Candace is up early too, we usually sing and pray together.

Here's a verse that we sang this morning.

Bless the Lord, all things created,
All His hosts with one accord.
In all parts of His dominion.
O my soul, bless thou the Lord.
Ps. 103:22
Psalm 103D in the Metrical Psalter

O my soul, bless thou the Lord!

The real trip

2006-10-27T22:15:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to stop in for a while to pay you a visit.

More of my time in the blogsphere is spent reading the blogs of others rather than posting my own blog. And since I have recently spent precious little time reading the blogs of others, my own blog has lagged. Perhaps I've just lost my voice for a while and need to find it again.

Quick thought for now ...

I was thinking about this year - how it continues to fly by - unique and fleeting. You might think that I'm refering to this year as being special because we're living in another country. Not so. Where I'm living pales in comparison with who I get to share it with. My main thrill has been to enjoy whatever and wherever with my family.

How is it that a person like me could end up so blessed? God is amazing.

Winston the Woodpigeon

2006-10-14T17:54:00.000-04:00

Behind our house lives a woodpigeon. He already lived in the neighborhood before we moved in. We call him Winston. Here's his picture as seen from our front window looking across the street.

Around back Winston flies away when I hang my laundry - so you won't see him here.

In the morning when the sun peeks between the garage and our house, Winston is off doing whatever it is that woodpigeons do. Your guess is as good as mine.

I took a photo of what I saw out of my van sunroof one day, but didn't see Winston there either.

Large pinecones grew in the top of this pine tree about a block from our house. But I'm sure Winston already knew that.

Looking toward Coatbridge, I longed for my turn to drive past the road construction. I thought of Winston who never has to bother with red lights.

In another delay, I thought of the days when I used to teach at Sycamore Covenant Academy. Now, what made me think of that, I wonder.

Since I haven't mentioned Winston recently, I'll take the opportunity to inform you the he didn't travel to Lochgoin with me and Rob and Amy and Ben and our friend, Ben Gordan the other day.

I have no doubt that Ben and "Big Ben" and Amy were thinking about Winston at the very moment that I snapped this photo in the Howie Museum which contained many wonderful artifacts from Covenanter history.

This sheepy guy doesn't at all resemble Winston.

The evening came upon us as we came out from cleaning the church building one Saturday night which is the perfect time to roost for all those inclined to do so ... like Winston.

I don't know what I was trying to photograph when I snapped this picture, but it (unlike the previous ones) probably had nothing to do with Winston.

More billboard news

2006-10-02T13:08:00.000-04:00

After I saw the billboard below in Airdrie last week, I later saw one in Coatbridge and on the M8 between Edinburgh and Glasgow so I knew this was a national campaign, but I still didn't know what it was all about. And then yesterday at church, Charles said that it was an advertisement for a television station. Now I know that they are also advertising in England as well.

Here's an article that explains some details:

The next phase of the billboard advertising campaign is supposted to say
WHO SAYS NOTHING GOOD EVER CAME OUT OF AMERICA

Disgraceful.

A gentle protest against a billboard

2006-09-27T15:32:00.000-04:00

Moving to another country should affect changes in a person. You start to understand and appreciate the various perspectives people hold of another country. One instance that I observed this new understanding was when my son, Josh, returned home from his stays in Africa and South Korea earlier this year. He seemed to have a more sympathetic openness than he did before he left.

I'm slowly beginning to understand the cause of that change in someone who lives abroad. As you live around other people, you start to connect with them; you start to identify with them; you start to understand their point of view. That's a great benefit of living among another group of people and it hopefully has a reciprocal effect.

For my part, I do understand that people overseas have legitimate gripes with American policy and the way that Americans behave at times. Nobody likes a nation who is prideful, boasting. Nobody likes a big shot. The Lord says that pride comes before a fall and I'm saddened by American pride which is observable across the sea. Also the constant flow of trash from Hollywood is a grief and embarrassment too.

Although I don't defend the wrongs of America, I do love the good parts of her. I am an American through and through. I love my country and I love the people of my country and I love being one of those people. That doesn't mean in any way that I love everything about America or that I want to move back there from Scotland anytime soon . I just know that I'll always be strongly connected to America no matter where I live.

So since I seem to be growing so diplomatic and understanding, why is it that one silly billboard should bring out such passionate musings?

You'll see what I mean in a minute, but in my rational mind, I know that one billboard should never speak for a country. I wouldn't want one thoughtless individual to represent me and all my people.

But this billboard was posted right between Morrison's Grocery Store and Airdrie's town centre (which is about the most visually prominent location in town), and it blurted out a message that hit me like a jolt.

This is a clear example of how words that are perhaps not even meant to be taken seriously bring discredit to the writer and pain to the reader. Careless words hurt. In our MET (home group bible study), we are studying about the power of words in the book of James. A Scottish friend said this week, "The old rhyme about 'sticks and stones' just isn't true." How right he is.

This kind of blatant and unfeeling free speech absolutely wouldn't be tolerated if it were directed at another nation of people. The fact that this kind of comment is allowed implies that everyone knows that America has big enough shoulders to handle such a verbal jab, but that doesn't make the jab fair or true.

It is a forgivable crack, slapped up on a billboard that will probably display a dog food ad tomorrow, but since it appeared in a public place, it needs a public protest - at least on one wee blog.

Pairs

2006-09-22T15:12:00.000-04:00

Flowers from Jimmy (the flower-man) ...

Glasgow cafe view with Can.

Family camp at Lendrick Muir ...

Scottish view - spectacular!

Just in case
you need some space ...
I'm not so sure.

Candace on a mountain bike ...

other bikers - and the like.

No longer a "little" she's 18 now ...

need a word - :cow' 'pow' 'sow' .

Note to explain a recent spill ...

my new favorite drink - it's a big deal.

I can stop right now
So nobody knows
This silly streak.
Oh well, here goes.

Trip to Glasgow

2006-09-06T17:08:00.000-04:00

Here's an excerpt from a quick email I wrote just now:

Canny and I went to an orientation day today in Glasgow. First we walked to a nearby bus stop, then we caught a bus to the train station, then we caught a train to a subway, then we walked to the University of Glasgow. First thing we did was spend about an hour and a half in a big room going from booth to booth talking to people in departments that Candace is interested in. Very helpful. Then we went to a lecture on "Why study Scottish Literature." Very great. Then we ate lunch in a little cafe. Very yummy. Then we shopped in charity shops (kinda like Goodwills.) Very fun. Then we took a tour of the sports facility. Very exercizy. Then we took a tour of the theatre (British sp.) building. Very artsy. Then we reversed our transportation extravaganza home. The only snag was that we missed our last bus home from the train station and had to walk the last 1.2 miles. No biggy.

Just wanted to tell you all that.

Bedrooms of colour

2006-09-01T11:45:00.000-04:00

Less words, more photos ...

Mind you, none of us have come near completing our room decorating. I feel devious even showing you photos with the kids gone to Glasgow today, but their grandmother wanted to see the paint jobs - and so I'm going on a sneaky reconnoissance op.

Let's keep this hush, hush - okay?

Come along while we sneak upstairs ...

Shhh, here's Amy's room. Nice light shade she chose, huh?

Here's Ben's room - the clean part of it.

And Candace's room in all its purple glory.

And here's my room which I share with my roommate. And yes, my room is the same color as Amy's. Her color instinct is just fabulous and I just plain like the green.

Another photo of interest ... Ben is seen here resting after a strenuous hike up and down Ben Ledi in the Trossach Mountain Range last weekend.

Also ... here's a view from the top. My camera phone has a neat panoramic setting where it glues 3 photos together. Click on the photo to see it enlarged. Glorious!

At the Airdrie library

2006-08-28T06:02:00.000-04:00

Should get Internet at home this week, Lord willing. It will be greatly appreciated and will stop these little trips to the library to get online.

Quickly - the latest - as I remember it:

1) Our family and a new foreign exchange student from America went for a hike up a mountain on Friday. I have a blister to prove it.

2) Painted bedrooms last week.

3) Hung pictures around the house. Aaaah.

4) Had our first week of METs (Mutual Encouragement Times) which are bible studies. Went well.

5) Will start homeschool this week ushering in a regular routine. Good beans.

6) Love and miss you all (you know who you are.)

In the new house

2006-08-21T01:55:00.000-04:00

We're here! In our new house that is. Spent Friday and Saturday unpacking. Got most of it done with the exception of a few piles. Ah, it feels like home already, amazingly.

Aaron, great to hear from you on the last post! (He's one of my former students!) In answer to your question, our "new" house is in Carnbroe which is directly south of Coatdyke. Our mailing address is now in Coatbridge (both Carnbroe and Coatdyke are villages which are too small to have their own mailing addresses.) You'll get a kick out of this, Aaron. Angus said that we would need an Airdrie passport to get back past the "border" because there's a rivalry between Airdrie and Coatbridge. Probably been going on for hundreds of years or something. I told him that we were faithful Airdrie-ites and would spie out the land for them. But seriously everyone is truly happy to hear of our residence in this new location and anxious to visit. BTW, Carnes is my maiden name so that gives me a rather homey feeling to think of living in Carnbroe.

The leaves are already barely starting to change showing a glimmer of fall. One of the elders named Sam Bell (I like his last name because it's my mother's maiden name) said that the fall colors are usually spectacular. Yum.

Rob was excited to see a wee Scottish rodent in our back yard yesterday. It was the size of a weasel with a little white tummy. He likes to observe wildlife.

We found a clothesline here so Rob and Candace hung it up for me. Then I peacefully hung clothes on it hoping not to meet the wee rodent at just that moment. All in all the experience was quite relaxing. Haven't hung clothes since the children were little and living in the Texan backwoods.

What odd details I choose to divulge.

Just before we move ...

2006-08-18T02:01:00.000-04:00

Woke up early this morning probably because of moving day anticipation. As I said, we're moving to another house in a town near Airdrie. Don't worry it's not far away; it's only a few minutes drive to the church. We will be truly settled when we move to this house, I think.

And we got our crate of stuff delivered to the new house! Ah, to have scissors and paper and casserole dishes and CLOTHES and such. It will be grand! Let's see, we sent it from Kokomo a month before we moved from there, and we've been here for a month, and so you do the math. Can't wait to unpack - it'll be like Christmas!

The most wonderful news of the week is that Josh made it safely all the way from Glasgow to Dublin to Chicago to Atlanta to Houston to Alto to Longview. Praise the Lord! God is certainly good and merciful.

Jenny will travel back to Indiana on Saturday and she will be muchly missed here.

Candace doesn't start her uni in Glasgow until the end of September. Party on.

Amy enrolled as a distant student with the University of Texas yesterday so she can take a couple of college classes. (Sorry all you Aggie fans out there - we never did really pick sides or anything. Does that make us bad Texans? Oh well, I have one sister that works at UT and the other one works at Rice, so we're going with UT instead of A&M.) Amy will also study some high school courses in our homeschool.

Ben and I can start our studies as soon as we're settled in and I have a chance to plan out the year.
(Oh darn, I should have bought one of my favorite lesson plan books at Staples before I left. Oh well, I'll muddle through somehow.)

This year's gonna be great! I relish the idea of studying with only my own kids again. Don't get me wrong, I love to teach in the classroom, but most of my teaching over the years has been with my kids in our home. I just love teaching my kids!

Rob has an room for an office in our new home. I'm so happy he will have his own space to get some work done this year. And a place to go and shut the door and talk to people too. Once again, God is good.

Breakfast to make, places to clean, boxes to empty. Bye now.

Beeps and flashes

2006-08-14T18:51:00.000-04:00

Days run swiftly filling up the week. As time passes my perspective of people and places around me changes. Speech I once couldn't understand at all - now makes some sense to me. Customs which used to seem foreign and quaint are fast becoming a part of my second nature. All this proves to me that a person can acquire more cultural habits than those of his native country.

For example ...

Round-abouts are fun.
Have you ever watched a cat walk? Well, that's what I feel like when I drive around them.

Wanta' turn right? No problem - just turn on your right blinker, look right, and then jump out onto the round-about and start going to the left. Cars will be whizzing all around, but don't worry, if you do something wrong you'll get a honk and a glare. No biggy.

These folks are actually very good drivers and are good at avoiding collisions. Don't ask me how I know this.

I am improving ...

no really ... I am.

And then there's the honking. All honking is not the same.

There's the -
get outa' the way honk which is a sharp angry honk.

Then there's the -
friendly honk which is usually sounded in two short happy-to-see-you beeps.

Flashing at the on-coming traffic here does not mean the usual -
oh-no-there's-a-cop-close-by.

It actually means -
hey buddy, you can turn in front of me and I won't run over you.

Quite nice, actually. ::said in her best Scottish accent::

Other news:

Josh flies back to Texas tomorrow. He will be muchly missed - but that's where he's supposed to be.
The latest word on our ship load of stuff is that it will be delivered later this week or early next week. Yay!
We will be moving to another part of town on Friday to a more permenant residence. (This house was always a temporary place for us since it continues to be for sale on the market.
This week we are pleased to have over our friend, Jenny from Indiana, to spend many happy nights to help her celebrate her last week here in Airdrie.

Please pray for both Jenny and Josh as they journey home this week. Wow what a wonderful alliteration!

Random spatterings

2006-08-02T08:21:00.000-04:00

Once again today, Rob and I will drive some folks to visit historic Scottish sites. Our church is hosting a Covenanter's Tour and 18 RPer's from the States are here for that. Yesterday, we followed the big blue van that Andrew (the pastor here) drove. We carried 5 people in our van and headed to St. Andrews.

Today we're off to Edinburgh. It's nice to drive and just follow a van. Don't have to concentrate as much. It's also nice to get to tag along on the tour. I'm soaking it up like a sponge. Had some nice chats too.

Our good friend, Virginia Landow who is the last one still here from the mission team, came along too. Good times. Ginny has been over at our house a good bit - spending the night, eating, helping to clean house - just like one of the "kids." (How old do they have to be before you stop calling them "kids"? Beats me.)

Fish cookery is moving up on my "to-do list." May (an elder's wife) lent me a fish cookbook after we conversed about how I haven't had much experience with fish cookery (except the nice pond fish Rob has caught over the years). Get back to you on that one.

Let's see ... what else.

My time and attention are required in some unique areas such as:

spending lots of time looking for paper to write on,
spending more time reading user guides,
paying particular attention to voltage,
and participating in a haggis taste test.

Just thought you'd be interested to know that.

And here are some things that have given me pleasure of late:

when my girls and I have cooked familiar meals for new friends,
when our 5-year-old neighbor, Olivia, slipped around behind our house to fetch me a rose from our own garden,
when I looked out my kitchen window and saw two little Scottish boys sword fight with sticks,
when I played frisbee with my husband,
and when my family sang familiar psalms together.

Well, the nice paragraphs I started out with have reverted to random spatterings of lists. My apologies. Someday, I plan to return to a more traditional paragraph form of writing, but since blogging patterns should reflect the writer's life patterns, lists are all I have to give. My life just hasn't quite smoothed out to paragrah form yet.

Thank you for your forbearance.

Sabbath reflections

2006-07-30T03:47:00.000-04:00

Cars whiz by outside the window as I distance myself from the noise and try to ignore the drone. Too much noise quickly boggles the nerves.

I pretty much train myself not to complain.

New country,
no sweat.

Conversations hard to understand,
no biggy.

Can't find syrup in the store,
just consentrate and look a little harder.

Being controlled by my own rules is no piece of cake.

Lord, please help me to find Your true Sabbath rest - today and this week.

Internet at home is a beautiful thing

2006-07-24T17:13:00.000-04:00

The land of castles and kings is great and getting greater all the time now that our house has access to the Internet. Are we technology junkies, or what? I should feel ashamed of myself for being so dependent on email and blogging exept that it's become an ever more important link between us and ya'll (that's Texas talk).

I promised a dear friend that I would post pics of our house and neighborhood - and I will soon (D.V.)

I've had tea with an elderly neighbor (cream first, then tea from the wee pot, then two sugars, please),
I've scrapped my elbow on a castle wall because I was climbing up to a window (probably broke some royal rule - but we won't tell anyone, now will we?),
I've seen burly men in skirts tossing telephone poles,
and I've walked more than Americans ever do.

These are just some of the adventures.

I do miss my friends and family back home, but in a strange way - this place already feels so right. Hard to explain.

Anyway, my plan is to somehow live here while staying vitally connected with you (you know who you are.)

As one of my first attempts to stay close while far away, I'll keep trying to keep you posted on me/us. I will also have our new Jones/Scotland blog posted soon.

Yours as much as ever -
Suzanne

Thoughts from the other side

2006-07-10T17:38:00.000-04:00

Hello out there - from Scotland!

What a crazy, roller-coaster, wonderful week it has been. I will definitely elaborate in the near future. Suffice it to say for now, God is kind and faithful.

We have met some kind and faithful people of God in this neck of the woods. They are enthusiastic about having us and very friendly. I do catch MOST of what they're saying. :-)

We have met several Americans here and just had dinner with an American couple tonight.

Tomorrow, we're off to take a ride in the Highlands north of here. Please pray for us as we timidly trek off on the wrong side of the road.

Glad to be back with you all!

Ending at the end

2006-06-27T08:22:00.000-04:00

We're back home in Kokomo from the weeklong trip to our homeland, Texas. Perhaps another day I will post some pics from that trip.

Friends and family streamed through my mother-in-law's house to see us off. They knew that we won't be back for a while since we are about to move across the sea to Scotland. This last week in Kokomo will no doubt be filled with similar scenes ...

so humor me, I must philosophize.

Life is full of inevitable endings, but most of the time we rock along in the middle. I admit, the middle suits me. The middle is not filled with great ceremonial speeches to friends where you summerize your true feelings. The middle doesn't make you examine yourself as much to see if you have really changed anything for the better. The middle doesn't expect you to look around and appreciate every moment. The middle doesn't highten your senses as much. It doesn't make you want to reach out as much. It doesn't make you want to listen a little closer. It doesn't prompt you to go out of your way to reach somebody. Endings do this.

No, the middle is much more conservative. It doesn't require as much effort. It's comfortable.

But lately I've been thinking about how Christ handled endings. Endings were precious opportunities that life brought His way (respectfully speaking). He made use of them to communicate love and appreciation to people. He used them to say something meaningful. He made the most of them. He embraced them.

What an inspiration!

Oh Lord, help me not to hold back now. Help me not to hide in the middle when I arrive at an ending. And help me to remember that that middles and endings ultimately take place in a Kingdom that has no end.

Other remembrances

2006-06-23T11:51:00.000-04:00

Still catching you up on photos from yesterdays.

These here photos (that's how it's phrased in Texas) were taken of the homeschool graduation in Kokomo, Indiana a couple of weeks ago.

Here John Christenson directs the homeschool orchestra.

The proud Fisher family honors Beth's graduation.

Candace and Miriam have a laugh.

The proud Yorks parents honor Jamey.

Amy proudly honors her brother, Ben, while Beth and Lindsay stand in awe.

Brenna grows sleepy during the long ceremony.

Old business

2006-06-20T13:32:00.000-04:00

We're in Texas now. Lots of sun; lots of pool; lots of family and friends. It's been surprisingly mild - not too hot - nice breeze. So what's with the weather report, you ask? The weather is big news in Texas - especially if it ISN'T burning hot in the summertime. Now that's big news. And it isn't - so I share the news.

There is something about not being in your own house that makes everything more restful. Ah, nice time to blog.

So I shall catch up on old business and show you some pics I took a few weeks ago. Memorial day has come and gone - these were taken of the Memorial Day Picnic in Kokomo, Indiana.

Everyone gathered at a local park to share a relaxing day.

Here's Bill.

Some of the girls anticipate the day's activities.

Here Trevor and Ben are up to no good, I'm sure.

I told ya' so! They've loaded the water balloon sling-shot

... and here are their helpless victims!

Greg fiercely guards the vittles.

Johnny and Brian wait to eat.

These men do some catching up.

Jamie helps at the pool.

Meg grabs a photo opp.

Hannah and Rachel dry off after a swim.

These ladies grab some shade.

Lynz joins Daniel, and his dad, Jason, to watch the swimmers.

Here are some hill-billie golf pros

... and their competitors.

Everyone likes to share babies.

Celia is not a baby, she's armed and ready (get it?) Miriam offers her arm.

Time to chow down.

Loveliness.

End of School Pics

2006-06-15T07:27:00.000-04:00

General jubilation ensued.

Long time coming

2006-06-10T18:48:00.000-04:00

I suppose that the recent overload of emotion that I've experienced in my life has made me want to avoid blogging about it. Be that as it may, I now come a-blogging.

Saying that I was filled to the brim with emotions last night when I attended a homeschool graduation ceremony would be an understatement. I watched "kids" walk across the stage who attended my church, who were my students, or who were my volleyball players. A fellow volleyball coach who is younger than I suffered a debilitating stroke this year after volleyball season, and I watched her shakily walk to the middle of the stage to hug her graduating son. Yeah, I was pretty choked up.

I've not only recently packed to move overseas, I've also grabbed every opportunity to spend a little extra quality time with my Indiana friends. Very fulfilling but painful too. We seem to hug a little longer, and linger to talk.

We are about to have family devotions, but here's at least a snippet of what's whirling around in my brain.

Fridge thingie follow-up

2006-06-07T22:41:00.000-04:00

Based on Candace's description of the stuff pictured below in my refrigerator, I took it out yestermorning, warmed it up in the microwave, and dipped my bran muffin in it for breakfast. It was good.

What is this?

2006-05-31T20:22:00.000-04:00

And why is it in my fridge?

Behavior of the exotic peoples of the world

2006-05-22T18:31:00.000-04:00

Synonyms for exotic: alien, bizarre, colorful, curious, different, extraordinary, far out, imported, not native, outlandish, peculiar, peregrine, romantic, strange, striking, unfamiliar, unusual, way out, weird

Exotic people pop up. Josh isn't the only one being exposed to life on the exotic side. My camera phone caught a few exotic people surfacing in my week. See for yourself.

Exotic people often -

... frequent coffee shops,

... hide their wildly painted toenails,

... sit on a porch in Chicago while shodding their feet.

... still show their birthday age by a finger display,

... disregard their trouser seams when opening presents,

... color coordinate their shoelaces and trousers,

... visit beautiful, historic RP churches in Chicago to preach and fellowship,

... pretend to be a friendly coffee shop employee,

... pilfer tip money from a happy face cup,

... remain manly while sitting in a purple room on a flowered chair,

... open presents on their 16th birthday,

... laugh at their sweet sister who gives them a present,

... stay in touch with youth culture,

... pretent to be six,

.... claim to own cars that don't really belong to them.

The thoughts of Marius

2006-05-16T07:47:00.000-04:00

Marius has had the limelight for an adequate amount of time so I shall now post. As to his fate ... he is considering permanently moving to our next-door-neighbors' house (his second home), but is still tetter-tottering on that decision since two other cats already live there. They might cramp his style. I've been trying to talk Marius into adopting the York family since I heard Celia (the three year old) wants a nice kitty, but he just yawns when I mention it so I don't take that as a good sign. If you hear of other options please let me know and I'll bring them to his attention when he can find the time. I have to catch him between naps.

I only have five more minutes to post and then I need to get ready to teach my Latin classes. School's over after next week.

I've been packing everything. Nuf said.

Thought of the day from my morning devotions:
Exodus 14:13-14. Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still."

Ode to Marius

2006-05-09T22:50:00.000-04:00

Oh Marius, he is an Indy cat.
Kokomo's where he roams.
He never wanders far away
From his food bowl or his home.

If I could pack him in my bag
And fly him across the sea
I'd take him to the land of the Scots
Where he would live with me.

But alas, alas, he will not go
For he is an Indy cat.
I'll fly away and he will stay
And that's the end of that.

Video footage by Benjamin

It's anybody's guess

2006-05-01T21:13:00.000-04:00

The following are the most kooky questions I've ever heard.

As a kid, I was walking down the road one summer day minding my own business and I heard the voice of an old lady call out, "Is that you?"

How are you supposed to answer that? So I didn't.

More recently I was minding my own business cleaning the kitchen and I heard a voice coming from the den. I recognized the voice as belonging to my husband. I thought Rob was just being philosophical when he kept asking, "Who am I? ... Who am I? ... Who am I?"

Then I decided that he must be loosing his mind when he started throwing in, "Are you there? ... Who am I? ... Are you there? ... Who am I?"

When I slowly and reluctantly peeked around the corner, my worst fears were realized. I immediately noticed that his face had taken on an eery blueish color. My son who was sitting next to him was flushed with the same hue. They were swaying back and forth babbling incoherent phrases.

Nintendo has that effect on people.
I turned back to the kitchen.

Olympic gold

2006-04-28T22:40:00.000-04:00

Candace won 1st place at the IUK Speech Olympics!

Her speech about suicide was well written and well delivered.

Way to go, 47th Pea!

24 hours

2006-04-25T21:56:00.000-04:00

Like guessing games? Okay, here's one for you.
For what purpose did we gather the following documents?

letter from our church
another letter from our church
yet another letter from our church
letter from the church in Scotland
copy of Rob's seminary diploma
kids' original birth certificates
copy of our marriage license
letter from Rob's work
letter from our Presbytery
letter from a friend we met in Scotland
letter from another friend we met in Scotland
letter from yet another friend we met in Scotland
separate forms for each member of our family
other docs with important info
our passports

Any ideas?

If you guessed: visa application - you're right.

Beth, a good friend in Airdrie, was absolutely right when she advised us to work hard compiling a comprehensive array of support documents to send with our visa application. I mailed all our paperwork via FedEx yesterday and the Lord certainly did bless. Just over 24 hours later (26 to be precise), we received an email from the UK consulate in Chicago saying ...

"Your applications have been approved and the visas have been issued."

Spontaneous celebration broke out at our house. We never dreamed our visas would be approved so quickly.

All praise be to God for another confirmation that He is indeed leading us in this direction. I'm overwhelmed.

Briefly, before I nap

2006-04-22T17:35:00.000-04:00

Really tired right now, but must tell you something.

It's confirmed, we're gonna be moving to Scotland in July.
(Deo volente.)

Figgy pudding

2006-04-20T21:54:00.000-04:00

It's open window weather! Hurray!

Last night I went on a walk with Miriam. We had night air, brisk strides, and relaxed conversation. My kind of exercise.

Today, my English Lit class listened to about 20 Shakespeare sonnets. The audio CD was hosted by Kathleen Turner, an actress from my time, who gathered some recognizable and not so recognizable actors to read the complete Shakespeare Sonnets. We heard men and women from both Britain and America of various ages and ethnic backgrounds all taking turns reading English sonnets. It's not surprising that first-time high school listeners reacted with comments and chuckles. That's a pretty normal first reaction to new territory. Not only does it take a little getting used to - to comprehend the meaning of the poetry, it also takes a little getting used to thinking that such a wide variety of readers can be so passionate about Shakespeare. It certainly came out as each one lended their personal flare to each sonnet. I like to take my young Padawans to these new horizons. Makes me happy.

Also in English Lit, a discussion arose as we reacted to a comment made by the author of our text book while she matter-of-factly asserted that a certain female character in a play would be happier if she were free from her domestic existence. You often hear this train of thought from feminists whether explicitally or implied that a woman is happier if she has the "freedom" to keep or give away her family like a shirt to be worn or traded in on a new one. She can be happy if she only has the "freedom" to "get out of the house and live her own life" and not to let her family hold her back. We talked about that narrow position. Politically correct, but not very representative of many of the women I know.

I'm so happy. Next week, we are going to start studying Hamlet.
::rubs hands together, grinning in anticipation::

Tomorrowat at Butler University, Canny, as a member of the IUK Honors Society, will read an essay she wrote. The essay is a critical analysis of a short story. She was selected to go to this literature conference and represent IUK. Go Canny! She read it to me this morning and I've asked her to read it to my English Lit class next week.

Amy's enjoying her new job at Big Ben's Coffee Shop. (For you Nac people, Big Ben's is very much like Java Jack's.) The idea that one of my children is becoming a coffee-making expert pleases me. You go, girl!

Ben goes to work with his buddies for this local man who always has a lot of outdoor and indoor projects going. His name is Mr. Anderson. ::said in my best Agent Smith voice::

Let's see. Robert still loves his job at the Men's Rescue Mission, and he's always writing sermons and working on other important paperwork. We still get in our walk most days or at least sit out on the patio before he has to leave.

In closing, we talked about figgy pudding in class today. I think I'll entitle my post "Figgy pudding". That way, you'll read the whole thing wondering how figgy pudding will prove to be relevant.

And you won't understand until now. :0D

Evan did you really tag me?

2006-04-11T22:14:00.000-04:00

I just happened to read on Evan's blog (are we allowed to use real names here?) that I was tagged for this. I will hold up my end of the bargain by participating, but as usual, won't tag others.

It goes like this:

"Okay, okay, I'm it."

... then ...

"I quit."

Eight years ago I was: living in the middle of the most beautiful piece of land hanging clothes on the line, and then watering strawberries.

*5 years ago I was: almost home from our private school reading aloud Stonewall Jackson, ready to dote on my lovely chickens.

*1 year ago I was: memorizing Hebrew vocab along with other fast-paced city stuff.

*Yesterday I: was working on visa docs for Scotland.

*5 songs I know all the words to: Bridge over Troubled Water (Simon & Garfunkle), The Brady Bunch Song, Into the West (that's my cell phone song), Be Thou My Vision, and Tura-Lura-Lura (an Irish lullaby)

*5 things I would do with 100 million dollars:
(1) Give to the church
(2) Educate the children
(3) Go wild with charities
(4) Over-achieve
(5) Buy some chickens

*5 things I would never wear:
(1) Black shoes & socks w/shorts
(2) Nylon jumpers
(3) Certain interesting selections at Goodwill (although I do like to shop there)
(4) Errings (except in my ears)
(5) Tatoos

*5 favorite tv shows: Haven't watched TV shows in forever (that means a very long time)

*5 bad habits:
(1) Not being able to think of my bad habits
(2) Being able to readily identify other's bad habits
(3) Barging into rooms without knocking
(4) Taking some very loooooong short-cuts
(5) That's about it

*5 biggest joys:
(1) Living to Christ and dying to self
(2) Thinking of heaven
(3) Living this really great life with my hubby and kids
(4) Connecting with people
(5) Chickens

*5 people I tag to do this: "I quit"

Out of hibernation

2006-04-08T19:11:00.000-04:00

Hope your Saturday was sun-shiny, too.

Anticipating that our "heat of the day" walk would be worth photographing, I brought the camera.

You have to understand that Robert and I walk together almost every day although Rob would debate me on that. He likes to point out that I went into hibernation for most of the winter. I guess he's right though I don't like to admit it. I fancy myself to be like all the other hearty Hoosiers around here.

But back to what I was saying. We have three different kinds of walks: the neighborhood walk, the alley walk, and (the best sounding) the WALK OF EXCELLENCE. Our walk today incorporated all three. See thusly for yourself.

1) Here's our den before leaving. Candace accompanied us on today's walk.

2) The WALK OF EXCELLENCE, so dubbed by the City of Kokomo, meanders through a city park by Wildcat Creek.

3) Duckies swim here. Rob says the ducks never get wet.

4) Trees lean over the water.

5) Trash cans lend a quaint outline to our beloved alley walk. Rob didn't appreciate the great artistic beauty that the trash cans added to this picture. But you see it, don't you?

6) Another alley.

7) Here's a typical Kokomo sight on our neighborhood walk.

8) Glaring at a squirrel who's glaring right back. Rob thinks of his gun, but doesn't say anything.

9) Walnut Street. Almost home.

10) Wind chimes by the back door. Compare to the photo in my "What gives" post - a couple of posts ago. This is the same view - only it's from outside instead of through the window.

Three walks in one - Praise God for Spring!

Silly rabbits

2006-04-06T22:52:00.000-04:00

Sure, you can take tons of photos with a digital camera. The digital camera has brought out the free-clicking maniac in us all – but it comes with a price. Finally, after your computer is loaded with 650 memories of friends, scenery, kittens, and babies, you have to actually DO something with the darn things!

Options:

Make them all into prints – yeah right. Too expensive.

Burn them on a CD – sounds good unless your CD burner doesn’t work too good. Like ours.

Ignore them and let them lie around on your computer – bad idea. Very irresponsible.

Grow irritated and throw them all away in a huff – not too smart. You’ll be sorry later.

Take them to the local CVS drugstore and burn them on a take-home CD – now you’re talking.

Upload them on a photo storage website – sounds like a plan. Still checking on that one.

Do you ever bound into Spring Break with huge plans to tackle that stack of dandy projects you’ve been ignoring?

So did I.

I would personally rather not spend one second of time on considering digital photo options.

::Sigh::

To live in the modern age is to spend a huge amount of time considering options. That’s the stuff that life is made of. And choosing from so many options takes time – lots of it.

I’m torn. I like options just as much as the next person. But options burn me out. I want to choose to the glory of God. Trouble is I sometimes spend too much time tarrying on the options that just gratify … me.

I hope I can strike the balance of being wise by investing time in things worthy of the heavenly kingdom (computer skills among them, I think) and cutting back on the time spent in chasing silly rabbits.

What gives?

2006-03-22T14:09:00.000-05:00

I don't get it. Was this the first day of spring, or what?

Amy took these pics yesterday, but you're not going to believe it.

Wish you were here!

For nature lovers

2006-03-21T07:42:00.000-05:00

Dawns and sunsets mean a lot to me. My admiration was first inspired by my grandmother. Usually a formal, reserved person, her eyes would suddenly light up and her tone would soften when she stopped to admire a sunset. I never knew her to pass one by. She always paused and shared it with me when we happened upon it. So you can understand my nostalgia when I read in verse 8 of Psalm 65 this morning, "Thou dost make the dawn and sunset shout for joy."

Makes me want to shout right along with them.

BTW: Happy First Day of Spring!

Regarding the last post

2006-03-18T08:48:00.000-05:00

Not that I think the last post's questions can be answered favorably by a certain age. They're more motivational than literal, but hopefully the pilgrim who is further down the path does have the graces for living manifested in his life with a more steady stream. Of course, us old folks relapse too. That's where seeking fresh daily grace comes in.

Remeber the old jalopy computer back in the master bedroom by the exercise bike? Yeah, you remember. It's the one Candace and I share because it's so slow nobody else will use it. You remember that I've told you that from time to time, I still like to raise the keyboard by setting it on a trash can and then I jump on the bike and ride like the wind going nowhere. About a week ago I was looking for a good start-up page for the jalopy. I wanted to find a page that would keep the Word of God in front of our eyes when we first get online. The start-up page I finally chose happens to be part of the Bloomington RP Church's website. They display Spurgeon's daily devitionals in his book Morning and Evening. Here's the link.

Anyway, this morning's devotion dealt with different levels of faith in believers, and it blessed me greatly. I hope it blesses you too.

“Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”

Galatians 3:26

The fatherhood of God is common to all his children. Ah! Little-faith, you have often said, “Oh that I had the courage of Great-heart, that I could wield his sword and be as valiant as he! But, alas, I stumble at every straw, and a shadow makes me afraid.” List thee, Little-faith. Great-heart is God’s child, and you are God’s child too; and Great-heart is not one whit more God’s child than you are. Peter and Paul, the highly- favoured apostles, were of the family of the Most High; and so are you also; the weak Christian is as much a child of God as the strong one.

“This cov'nant stands secure,
Though earth’s old pillars bow;
The strong, the feeble, and the weak,
Are one in Jesus now.”

All the names are in the same family register. One may have more grace than another, but God our heavenly Father has the same tender heart towards all. One may do more mighty works, and may bring more glory to his Father, but he whose name is the least in the kingdom of heaven is as much the child of God as he who stands among the King’s mighty men. Let this cheer and comfort us, when we draw near to God and say, “Our Father.”

Yet, while we are comforted by knowing this, let us not rest contented with weak faith, but ask, like the Apostles, to have it increased. However feeble our faith may be, if it be real faith in Christ, we shall reach heaven at last, but we shall not honour our Master much on our pilgrimage, neither shall we abound in joy and peace. If then you would live to Christ’s glory, and be happy in his service, seek to be filled with the spirit of adoption more and more completely, till perfect love shall cast out fear.

How old are you?

2006-03-15T21:54:00.000-05:00

Are you old enough to know what you'll be doing the rest of your life?

Are you old enough to cast your life on Christ?

Are you old enough to understand what it means to be loyal?

Are you old enough to appreciate your family?

Are you old enough to admire a sunset?

Are you old enough to appreciate the blessings that you're swimming in?

Are you old enough to care about what happens to others?

Are you old enough to hang with outcasts sometimes?

Are you old enough to look people in the eye?

Are you old enough to care about what God thinks?

Are you old enough to stand against the pressure? Will you give in? Will you crumble?

Are you old enough to do without things?

Are you old enough to give something thats gonna cost ya?

Are you old enough to be quiet?

Are you old enough to just listen?

Are you old enough to be the human being - that you were meant to be?

Shakespeare ambassador

2006-03-07T07:36:00.000-05:00

Gotta get ready for classes today, but here's the photo of the week: Canny of the red hat. Read this post to get the scoop. (That's reporter talk.)

Enjoy!

No way! We're not at Starbucks! We're ... uh ... at a freind's house. Yeah, that's it ... a friend's house.

Josh made it to South Korea!

2006-03-05T05:15:00.000-05:00

I woke up early this morning with a little uneasiness since I hadn't heard from Josh. But I checked my e-mail and there was a note from him saying that he'd made it okay. Ahh.

At last we found the fusion of your two great passions

2006-03-04T22:02:00.000-05:00

This week:

Josh left for South Korea. (Haven't heard from him yet, but my mother-in-law says, "No news is good news" - and I believe her.)
Had the week off of school.
Swiffled all the floors twice.
Did some extensive visa research on the Internet.
Rumaged through my school book boxes to find the ones I want to sell.
Stayed in bed for a few hours one afternoon and evening to pre-view Kenneth Branagh's film version of Hamlet for English Lit class. (I was feeling a little under the weather at the time.)
Made a special effort to call people on the phone.
Had a friend over from Marion who'd never been here before.
Went to Indiana University two times to see one-handers (one man shows). One guy read/acted out a few stories from Ovid's Metamorphosis and another guy read war poems. These gentlemen were from among 5 who were visiting IUK for a week from a London theater (excuse me ... theatre.)
Went back to IUK one evening to hear a lecture from the world renown Shakespeare expert, Peter Holland.
Went back to IUK a fourth time to see the actors from the London stage perform The Merchant of Venice.
Got the bestest birthday gifts.

My hubby gave me some nice earings and then there is one gift upon which I want to further comment. The title of this blog, "At last we found the fusion of your two great passions," is what my kids wrote on the inside cover of the little book they gave me. The title of the book is Yoga for Chickens.

Did they grace me with such a gift because I suffer from yogaphobia? Indeed not! They simply know how I miss all 24 of the chickens I used to own back at our farm in Texas. My beautiful chickens! My adorable chickens! They know that my attachment to the chickens went way beyond letting them out of the henhouse in the morning and tenderly tucking them in at night. They remember how I gazed out the window upon my pets with affection and often exclaimed, "There goes Jamie! Do you see how adorable she is? And look whose running right behind her! Why ... it's Jamie!" You see, I named all 24 of my chickens "Jamie."

Now my lovely children (the human ones) have given me a book so that if I ever get chickens again, I can have a chicken yoga class.

The following are a list of poses from the book:

The object of contemplation - chickens are perfect
Soar however briefly
Laughing chicken breath
I dunno shoulder shrug
Flying bug/crawling bug
Worm!
Sunnyside up
Funky chicken
(and my personal favorite) Crouching chicken hidden weasel

What an inspiration!

... Or do you suppose that they gave me the book because I like to exercise with yoga poses and I like chickens, too? ...

Teabag wasteland

2006-02-23T20:22:00.000-05:00

Dust mites. I'm agin' 'em. They are the little varmits that have been bothering my Amy. I don't like 'em. I don't like 'em a bit. Ever since we've returned from allergy testing last week, I've waged war against them. I swiffle everything - ceilings, walls, floors, vents. You name it, I swiffle it. We bought a spray that's supposed to eradicate 'em - so I spray and vacumn. Now Amy has a bed cover so the bed bugs don't bite. We'll keep fighting, but I'll wager that there are still a few lying around.

Amy dear is on a yeast-free/sugar-free diet for a while, too. Any of you who know Amy can imagine how hard that is on her. Pat, pat, pat. She is also allergic to our cat, Marius. And moldy things, too. It goes without saying that we have joked quite a bit lately. I had the uncontrolable giggles when I made Amy some special pizza with homemade whole wheat flour and real pulverized tomatoes. Wish I had photographed that. It was hilarious.

Soon wild ideas start to flutter through one's head inventing imaginary moldy, sugery, yeasty beasties everywhere. (Did I just say, "yeasty beasties"?)

Just look at these teabags.

Don't they look exactly like the perfect habitat for mold? And what if a cat happened to walk by. ::involuntary shutter:: Need I say more?

Why do we have such a collection of teabags? you ask. Finals week. Well, that's my excuse. Canny contributed at least half of these bags, and I don't know what her excuse is. Comfort food I suppose.

I even have Rob contributing to the depleted teabags around here. We have a cup together almost every afternoon. He's thinking about switching from Apple-Cranberry herb tea to Green Tea even though green has some caffeine. What do you think he ought to do? I told him, "Heck, I drink Green Tea all evening long and it doesn't bother me."

We're wild and crazy. I know.

A day made just for you

2006-02-19T18:28:00.000-05:00

I’m sure preachers are always trying to present familiar topics in a fresh way. Pastor York succeeded in doing just that today. Based on the Bible, he presented the principle that we should observe the Sabbath as a special day unto the Lord. His approach brought together supporting arguments that I hadn’t previously thought about.

We always have an outline on the back of our bulletin that can be used to aid in our understanding and retention. Here’s what I jotted down - for what it’s worth.

Intro. – Story about a credit card commercial shown during the Olympics about identity theft.

We might laugh at an “identity theft” commercial, but not if we are a victim.

One of the greatest lies foisted upon the church that has stolen her identity is that the fourth commandment is abolished.

Receive joyfully what God Himself gave to you!

I. God made the Sabbath so you can cease from your labors.

Man’s life is to be filled with activity. Even in the Garden – they were busy. God ceases from work on the 7^th day and man should too. When God completes His work, He just enjoys looking at what He’s made. We should follow His example and enjoy the goodness of His hand. We should remember that He is the Creator.

A seven-day week is not the result of a natural solar or lunar cycle like a 24-hour day or the seasons. The seven-day week is a gift from God. God has given us carefully defined boundaries, but sometimes if we go outside God’s boundaries and wander into worry or self-seeking pleasure, we begin to lose our identity.

II. God made the Sabbath so you can rest in your Redeemer.

In the Bible, the 10 commandments were given twice in their entirety. The wording of the fourth commandment brought out different applications each time. The first time in Exodus 20 helped the children of Israel remember the created order. The second time in Deuteronomy 5 helped them remember their great redemption from slavery.

As we study the word “Sabbath” in the New Testament, we see that it was a busy day for the Lord Jesus. In the gospel accounts, the Sabbath is the day that Jesus is the busiest. As opportunities present themselves, we can follow His example by spending some of the Sabbath in acts of mercy.

We also see that the very day that Christ was resurrected was the day that God instituted the Christian’s new Sabbath Day > the Lord’s Day. Pentecost also came on a Sunday.

The church is weak because we don’t come together to celebrate the Lord’s resurrection as we should.

III. God made the Sabbath so you can be holy in your conduct.

This day is to be set apart. A paraphrase from BB Warfield goes something like, “We don’t serve God by doing the same thing all the time.” Righteous things done at a wrong time are sinful, i.e. cheering for your kid at a basketball game is good – cheering for your kid at an orchestral performance is bad.

Spend time in worship. Heb. 4:9, “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.”

Conclusion – Hold up both hands.
Rhetorical question:
Which finger do you want to have cut off?
Therefore,
Which of the Ten Commandments do you want to cut out?

Valentine's day

2006-02-16T07:13:00.000-05:00

My husband surprised me with a special Valentine dinner! Good thing my trusty cell phone has a camera!

Here's how it all came about. We were scheduled to have a weekly bible study with some friends that evening so I didn't think anything about it when Chili told me that it would be scheduled an hour earlier than usual. I arrived at the Mission and waited with him in his office. I didn't think anything fishy was going on when he kept having to leave to "check on things." As I sat with my back to the door, he kept looking out the door behind me and making affirmative gestures. I sat, clueless, babbling on.

Then he arose and led me down the hall to the conference room where we have the bible study. He opened the door to a dark room, and my eyes were drawn to a couple of candles on a table.

The scene slowly sunk into my brain as I processed what I was looking at. One end of a long table was set with a intimate candlelit dinner. I don't exactly remember how I reacted. I think it was a mixture of jubilant exclamations and hugs.

Here's how it looked for a minute with the lights on.

Aaaah ... life is gooooood ...

A little bubbly? Mmmm, grape sparkling water!

Here's my food brought in from Olive Garden - it was a chicken dish (of course).

And Chili's was a shrimp dish.

It turned out that Patty Tegeler and her girls did the fetching and decorating, but it was all my dear hubby's idea.

Great husband,

good friends!

A couple of things

2006-02-14T07:43:00.000-05:00

Candace has been accepted into the prestigious University of Glasgow. She sent in a long application for an overseas study program indirectly through Indiana University via Butler University. There were no guarantees whether she could get into the highly competitive U. of G., but she did. Now she will receive more specific information. We still have a few issues to work through with the Scottish university. So we're not totally sure where the Lord would have Candace attend college this next year, but we are thrilled that the possibility of attendance at such a famous university remains an option. Way to go, Canny!

Amy and I spent all yesterday morning at an allergy clinic in Indianapolis. The Lord showered us with His great love and care as we got to spend the entire time (3 hours) with a very sweet and knowledgeable allergy specialist. This lady carefully injected Amy with 52 different solutions under her skin and gauged the reactions. As we waited the 15 minutes between each round, we visited with this sweet spirited lady who after finding out that we were about to enter into the ministry in Scotland professed her belief in Christ. Of course, she was very attendant to what she was doing with Amy, and she was extremely knowledgeable about steps we could take to help cut down the external and internal conditions that were causing her allergies. We also talked about our families and about politics. She told me about this website. Check out www.stophernow.com if you want to know about that part of our conversation. :-)

Gotta get ready for school now since Tuesday is my busy day with two Latin classes and a English Grammar/Writing class. I was just thankful to God this morning and wanted to share that with you.

Ben's work

2006-02-11T21:59:00.000-05:00

Watch out everyone. Ben drives. Well never without me. The good news for me and anyone who happens to be in his way is that he's pretty good at it. We did the parking lot practice the first two times then he graduated to a quiet street and now he drives me to the bank and library and anywhere else I need to go.

Sometimes if Ben's not driving me around, he rides with Amy as her bodyguard. Like this morning she had to take him with her when she went to pick up some little friends for the annual Walk a Mile in My Shoes event for the Rescue Mission. She has to take him with her when she goes shopping at night, too.

Even Canny has to procure his services when she goes out of town to the Layfayette Fire Side Chats. Although this Sunday night she'll take Amy with her instead. Amy can look really intimidating to bad guys when she wants to (or is that just timidating?)

His dad needs Ben around when he hankers for a game of foosball. He rustles up another rowdy opponent like himself. You couldn't have doubted that a game was going on in our house this very morning.

Last night, Ben had to go with me to the bad part of town where the Yorks live to borrow "Apples to Apples." This shady form of entertainment is a board game that causes those who play it to talk with loud and rapid voices. Just ask my girls and their friends (and Ben of course).

Sounds fishy to me. But that's Ben's work.