Scavenger Hunts

Although this is possibly true of Southern living ....

I am rather partial to beautiful flowering things so I'm glad I'm here where we can do Outdoor Scavenger Hunts and find leaves and flowers and grass in mid-March.  I say that because I posted this on Facebook,

and two of my friends in Massachusetts mentioned their lack of leaves* or grass. Too bad. Later that day I was social-distancing in Graham near the library and children's museum when I decided to enjoy the pretty day by doing the Outdoor Scavenger Hunt! It was fun!


* our trees weren't all that leafy just yet (it was March 18th when I did my hunt), but don't you have bushes with leaves in the Northeast? And you can see from my pictures, that I actually found leaves leftover from last year


Here are pictures I posted on Facebook.

Leaves that look different; I did more than 5 because I wanted to include all these little cuties!

something that is heavy

flowers - real and fake

something that smells good

something(s) that need the sun to live

something you like to play with; well, Sophie does;
it's the mouse outside the library

something brown; something smaller than my thumb; a stick bigger than my hand;
something to recycle; something that begins with M (mulch)

Back at my house:

a flat rock and one with spots

ten blades of grass (until a couple blew away) and something very light

For my Massachusetts and other friends who don't have flowers or leaves or grass at this time of year, I also posted this Indoor Scavenger Hunt.  I may do this one sometime.

And then .. THEN yesterday, I found all these which I wanted to save here!  I should get going on that last one because it's already April 1, and Spring will be over before we know it!  (Though, truthfully, I could do that one later in the year if need be.)

Captain America at the Children's Museum

Yesterday Zach and I went by Walmart to pick up some Ovaltine, and we decided to look at the Halloween decorations and costumes.  Last year he had a dog costume his Nana bought which he refused to wear because he hated having anything placed over his head.  He ended up as a cute Bob the Builder instead.

That's a tool in the bucket

The year before that, he went as Thomas.

 He really doesn't mind something on his head. He's just not fond of stuff on his face.  Until...yesterday. So, we were looking at costumes, and I was wondering if there was anything Zach would actually wear this year. Previously when I asked him, he mentioned being Bob the Builder again.  But then he saw a Captain America costume which he wanted to see. I held it up for him, and he put it in the buggy for me to buy.

I figured I'd get it, and try it on at home. If he refused to wear it or it didn't fit, I'd return it.  I teased him by saying, "Zach, that costume costs fifteen dollars.  I'm not sure you are worth it."

He exclaimed, "I'm worf it!"  (He says a lot of "th" sounds as "fffff.")

We kept teasing throughout our trip about his being worth/worf it.

We were going by Stephanie's house so he could visit with them for awhile. He wanted to show them so I took it in, and ended up leaving for him to try on.  If Steph could persuade him to wear it.  I still wasn't sure he'd follow through with that.

But, hey, somehow he did.  And once he was convinced that the mask wouldn't make it too dark (i.e., he could still see), he had a great time playing with that costume.

I heard he made a red shield out of construction paper, made fierce faces in the mirror as he checked out how he looked, admired the poofy muscles and fake boots.  He even slept in the costume declaring it to me as "so comfortable."

I met him at the children's museum this morning, and he was wearing the mask.  He was persuaded to wear other clothes even though he wanted to wear the whole costume.

He looked like this when I saw him.  Well, he had a smile on his face especially when I pretended that I didn't see Zach and where was he, and, oh, there you are! Wow, it's Captain America!

This is his tough-guy face.

and pose...

 Intimidating, right?

He walked into the museum, and immediately pulled off the mask exclaiming to the ladies at the desk that it was him, Zach!  The ladies at the desk played along saying, "Oh, wow, we thought you were a superhero!"

He went to the craft area, stood silently with hands on his hips, staring at a worker we know as she worked at a nearby counter. When she finally turned and saw him, he took off his hat again so she'd recognize him. 

To the moms in the building area, I heard him say, "I'm just a little boy. My usual name is Zach, but I am wearing this Captain America mask."

Yanking off the mask to prove he's really just a little boy

working at the fruit stand

For some reason Zach wanted me to pretend I received a package. He was hiding inside the box, and, of course, I exclaimed over the fact that Captain America arrived.

Even superheroes need a cartoon-and-cheese-toast break.

Sally and Alastair

This may only be funny to me - and Andrew, but I figured I'd post it in case I ever wanted to reread something that made us laugh.  

On Sunday Andrew and I were out together and talk of his upcoming birthday came up. He said, "I'm getting so old I can't remember anything, Sally*."

I replied: "Yeah, I know what you mean, Alastair."

An incredulous pause by Andrew.

"Alastair?! Who thinks of *Alastair* when they are losing their memory?"

Hahahahaa...OK, maybe you had to be there. :)

(*This is the name he calls me whenever he pretends his memory is failing).

On the sin of eloping and guessing on a multiple-choice exam

HAPPY NEW YEAR!


Two stories from the current book I'm reading, Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible by E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O'Brien. 


One of the authors talks about a conversation he had with some elders in a village on an island near Borneo. They'd asked his opinion about "a thorny church issue."  A young couple had lived among them for several years after leaving their home village after committing a "grievous sin."  The couple had attended their church for a decade and lived godly lives.  Now they wanted to join the church.

"Should we let them?" asked the obviously troubled elders.

Attempting to avoid the question, I replied, "Well, what grievous sin did they commit?"

The elders were reluctant to air the village's dirty laundry before a guest, but finally one of them replied, "They married on the run."

In America, we call that eloping. 

"That's it?" I blurted out. "What was the sin?"

Quite shocked, they stared at this young (and foolish) missionary and asked, "Have you never read Paul?"

I certainly thought I had. My Ph.D. was in Paul.

They reminded me that Paul told believers to obey their parents (Eph. 6:1). They were willing to admit that everyone makes mistakes. We don't always obey. But surely one should obey in what is likely the most important decision of his or her life: choosing a spouse.

I suddenly found myself wondering if I had, in fact, ever really read Paul. My "American Paul" clearly did not expect his command to include adult children deciding whom to marry. Moreover, it was clear that my reading (or misreading?) had implications for how I counseled church leaders committed to faithful and obedient discipleship."  (pg. 18)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's another cultural thing I found amusing


Randy was grading a multiple-choice exam in Indonesia. He couldn't believe some people left answers blank.

"Why didn't you select an answer on question number three?"

The student looked up and said, "I didn't know the answer."

"You should have at least guessed," I replied.

He looked at me, appalled.  "What if I accidentally guessed the correct answer? I would be implying that I knew the answer when I didn't. That would be lying!"

I opened my mouth to respond, but then realized I was about to argue him to a lower standard!  I shut my mouth.  My American pragmatism had been winning out over my Christian standard of honesty. What was worse was that I hadn't even noticed until a non-Western person pointed it out. What I have found equally interesting is that my Christian students in the United States don't enjoy this story - because they still want to guess answers.  Nonetheless, the challenges of reading with others' eyes should not deter us. We can learn so much from each other."  (pg. 20)

Do you have any similar stories to share about cultural misunderstandings or differences in understanding Scripture (or anything really)? By the way, I absolutely love this book so far!

Culture and Proper Manners

Ladies, did you grow up thinking properly-mannered men would open doors for you and allow you to proceed first from buildings and elevators?   Or did you conclude that this is traditional garbage that needs to go the way of thinking women are property of their husbands and fathers?

Just this week I finished a memoir, Amarcord, by an Italian lady Marcella Hazan who apparently is famous for writing cookbooks and teaching classical Italian cooking.  She tells of a visit to Japan in 1969 where she'd been "told of Japanese women's deference toward men, but my romantic Italian mentality, formed by tales of the age of chivalry and gallant knights, had refused to take it in."  Yet she saw it firsthand as her husband was served first in restaurants and where "waitresses fawned over Victor."  Even when she approached a door at the same time as a Japanese man, he "would rush past me to spare me the embarrassment of preceding him through it." 

Marcella remembers a time when she and her husband were in a hotel elevator in Tokyo, and "a big American man entered."  At the next floor two Japanese women in kimonos came in. Can you guess what happened when they reached the lobby?

"The Japanese women stood aside, with a smile and a hint of a bow, waiting for the man to exit first.  The tall American smiled back and waited for the ladies to go.  We were stuck in the back.  Nobody moved, the doors closed, and the elevator, with all its passengers still in place, rose to the uppermost floor again."

(pg. 118-119)


Marcella said she still giggles about this, and it is quite funny to visualize! 


So, culturally speaking, what is proper where you are from?  Do you tend to grab doors for ladies? Offer seats to older men and women? Defer to men?  What is proper where you live? It's good to know what is expected in other places so we won't all be riding the hotel elevator up and down all day, right?

Additional question: what is something you've had to do differently in another culture when you were visiting another country or even another group within your own country?  I remember when we went to Syria the only thing Samer told us not to do (because I asked about this prior to our traveling there) was not to offer to shake hands with guys (for me) or ladies (for Andrew) unless that person offered his/her hand first.

One of his friends "complained" that I didn't shake his hand, and "blamed" Samer for this!  He taught us well!  :)



(So, I read a book about a lady famous for cooking and post about a cultural tidbit... you see what interests me.)

Two British Guys in Walmart - so funny!

What was your favorite Alex and Liam discovery?  :)

Michael's take on hijab

Note: I can count on one hand the number of women wearing hijab that I've seen in my county during the entire time I've lived here which is all except the first few years of my life. Keep that in mind when you read this...and why seeing a (most likely) Muslim lady was noteworthy to me.  Oh, and Michael is my nine-year-old nephew.

Michael a few Halloweens ago covering his cuteness

Yesterday we were leaving my grandparents' apartment when I saw a lady with hijab walking with a young girl.  They, like Michael and I, were loading the car in order to leave.  Discreetly (read: without pointing) I said cheerfully, "Oh, there's a Muslim lady over there." Michael glanced across the parking lot. 

"Why isn't the little girl wearing one of those things?" he asked.

I explained that children didn't have to wear them.

"But her parents might make her when she's older?" he pondered.

"Maybe. But it's supposed to be the individual's choice."

Michael again, "I don't see why they want to cover their beauty."

I chuckled inwardly. Did he just actually say "cover their beauty"?  Where did he hear that?

I do remember when we returned from Syria over two years ago that I showed him photos from our time there. I explained about the women covering their hair and that they felt God required this of them in order to be modest.  Maybe I used that phrase back then, but that's been quite a while ago!

"Oh, you think women's hair is beautiful, huh?"

"Oh yeah...there's not much better than good hair." 

And what would I know about that?

Then we went on to discuss Muslims a little bit since he's never met any.  He said, "Don't most Muslims want to kill us?"  *groan*

I'm thinking he really needs to take a trip to Syria!


(Or at least back when I was there. Now it's in a bit of turmoil...for freedom's sake.)

It's not exactly "Talk Like a Pirate Day," but ...

seeing how Pirates of the Caribbean 4 has just come out, I thought it apropos for us to come out too! Presenting ...

Pirates of the Carolinas 

Michael (a few years back) looking rather convincing!

Errr, what are the odds that I have that exact same shirt on right now?

Sadly, there are only 3 of us cute Carolina pirates, however 

Even little Zach has the pirate thing going on with his pacifier

we thought that was more than enough.

Agreed?

Pirate joke/trivia I saw when Michael was watching iCarly one day at my parents' house:  A guy was saying pirates say "Arrrr" as a word with many meanings, like "shalom": used for "hello," "goodbye," and "peace."  So arrrr to you all!  Have a wonderful day!

Books and Playing and Nephews - Oh My!

So I've been meaning to post about books. You may recall the stack that I received for Christmas.

Nine books for Christmas 2010

Then there was the Valentine's Day gift from Andrew.

Valentine's Day 2011

All books from the Christmas stack have been read.  Valentine's Day duo...I've read the book on the left only.

The last day of April was my birthday. Here are the books I received from family and friends. 

Seven books for my 2011 birthday!

Shown another way, they look like this:

Seven of those, yet they are mostly thick!  See how they compare to the nine books from Christmas.

Does it mean you are a full-fledged nerd when you do stuff like this?

And I've not finished any of those.  In fact I've been reading one book for over ten days now. It's not that it's not good. It is!

I've just been not reading as much for some reason.


Perhaps it's because of nephew distractions!

I mean how can one read when she must cuddle?

Yes, let us blame it on the boys!



And the fact that it's spring and I've been playing more ...

Swinging on May 14

and I don't do any of that reading-while-swinging stuff!

I can barely hold onto my shoes!

(all photos get much bigger if you click on them...for those who want a better view of the books or to see if those are my toes showing in that last picture...I'm not tellin'!)

Lessons Learned from "The Year of Living Biblically"

In this final post about The Year of Living Biblically I want to record a few lessons that either the author pointed out while writing about his year-long project or lessons I learned from his experiences.  Joni recommended that I read this book because her husband was reading it, had read parts of it to her and she thought it would be of interest to me.  As I said in my initial post, it was different than what I expected. I thought it would be more serious.  A man who worked at soup kitchens and washed people's feet and AJ Jacobs did do the former, but - again - this book was much more humorous than I imagined. (It even has a "HUMOR" label on the back cover.) 

So here are some final things about this book.


I recall that AJ would admit how difficult it was for him to pray. Other parts of his project - wearing certain clothes, eating kosher foods - were fine, but as an agnostic, worshiping God when he didn't know if God existed felt weird.  Yet the more he did it, the more he felt OK with it.  As he gave thanks for food and drink and the fact that he made it to and from work safely, he realized how many things went right every day, how many good things there were in life. By giving thanks, AJ developed a more grateful attitude.

And I like this!  When we focus on being thankful, we aren't moping about how bad life is and complaining and gossiping. So that's a good lesson!

Another...



One day as AJ was admiring an article he'd written for his work, he suddenly stopped short...

Here I am being prideful about creating an article in a midsize American magazine. But God -- if He exists -- He created the world.  He created flamingos and supernovas and geysers and beetles and the stones for these steps I'm sitting on.

"Praise the Lord," I say out loud.

I'd always found the praising-God parts of the Bible and my prayer books awkward.  The sentences about the all-powerful, almighty, all-knowing, the host of hosts, He who has greatness beyond our comprehension.  I'm not used to talking like that. It's so over the top. I'm used to understatement and hedging and irony. And why would God need to be praised in the first place?  God shouldn't be insecure. He's the ultimate being.

Now I can sort of see why. It's not for him. It's for us.  It takes you out of yourself and your prideful little brain.  (pg. 220)

And I like this!  When we start focusing on God, we stop being proud and self-centered. We realize how insignificant the things we "create" really are so why should we go about thinking we are "all that" compared to the neighbor next door or someone in another culture?


Another ...

During his year-long project AJ gets input from groups who follow the Bible - some more literally than others. He visits the Amish, Orthodox Jews, evangelical Christians, serpent handlers in Tennessee and a creationist museum in Kentucky.  Even though he admits that he could never believe the creationist point of view since it's not based on science, he admits they did teach him that life isn't random and that we do have a place in this universe.  Later in the book he notes, "My existence is not a meaningless collection of actions, so I should take seriously every decision." (pg. 275)

And I like this! The Bible says we are fearfully and wonderfully made!  We aren't products of chance who have no purpose in life.  While we should never have inflated pride in thinking we are better than others, we should realize our lives have meaning and we are here for a reason. Our decisions matter.



Lastly and most importantly...


On day 336 AJ mentioned that he'd had a "bit of a mental breakdown" the week before about his Bible project.

"In the final stretch, I've been frantically trying to read every single book on religion, trying to interview every religious leader, trying to figure out how to obey every rule.  What if I miss an insight? What if I overlook a potential translation?  I haven't paid God five shekels to redeem my first-born son. I haven't talked to a Seventh-day Adventist yet. What if they have the secret?  I've barely made a dent in the Bible."  (pg. 313)

I remember when I mentioned on Facebook that I was reading this book. I'd only read maybe 50 or 75 pages (out of more than 350) and my friend said that her husband was a bit frustrated with the author's fearfulness. At the time nothing had bothered me this way, but I said I'd look out for it.  AJ had admitted he was a germophobe so I thought maybe that would come into play in an annoying way, but nothing like that bothered me.  Then as I read further I realized maybe AJ's fear that bothered Josh was his inability to keep every rule, his list of 700-plus biblical rules were too many to keep up with!  If he focused on food laws and eating kosher, he couldn't focus on praising God or avoiding lying so much.  Not gossiping. Not lusting.  Those were super-tough and AJ was honest in admitting this.  Rather than this frustrating me, it made me note this Monday night as I finished the book:  "his wanting to keep all the rules, striving, yet he cannot: that is THE POINT."

AJ (rather, using him as a metaphor for all those who take God seriously) was trying to earn God's favor by keeping every rule. By wearing his hair a certain way, by growing a beard, by not mixing fabrics, by eating certain foods and avoiding others, by not lying, by not coveting or lusting or stealing or murdering, by keeping no record of wrongs, by forgiving, by doing good just for the sake of doing good, by giving a tithe, by feeding the poor.

He realized it was exhausting. It caused a "bit of a mental breakdown"! 


This is what is great about grace. The Law was there to show us we could never measure up to God.  It was a tutor, a school teacher if you will.  It taught us, there is no way I can keep myself pure.  Even if I keep these rules, I still have to worry about ritual impurities almost constantly.

This is why Jesus is important.  He made a way where we don't have to keep 700-plus rules in order to reach God.  He is the bridge.  We can rest in the work he did for us on the cross and fall on the mercy and grace of God.

"God, I can't keep all these rules!  Trying to do everything right is driving me nuts!  I cry out for your mercy in dealing with me. God, be merciful to me a sinner!" 

And the wonderful thing is, God is merciful. God is full of grace.  He abundantly pardons. He is the Savior.


And I love this! Enough said.

Food Laws & AJ's TED Talk

 Here are some more tidbits from AJ Jacobs in The Year of Living Biblically.  Also I found a TED talk he did a few years back which mentions some experiences from this book including one of my favorites concerning what his wife did so he'd have to buy his own fold-up chair ...or remain standing within his own house!  :)


About the religious food laws: they sharpen your discipline. 

"The famous twelfth-century philosopher Maimonides says this is precisely their purpose: '[They] train us to master our appetites; to accustom us to restrain our desires; and to avoid considering the pleasure of eating and drinking as the goal of man's existence.'"  (pg. 171)


Although we don't know that this is the true reason, I actually appreciate the thought behind it. Living in a culture that indulges quite often in food, drink and even materialism, I can see the wisdom in teaching humans to master their appetites and realize that there are more important things in the world than whether or not your cheeseburger is cooked right. Like why do we yell at waitresses as if our food is more important to us than they are?  (Sorry. I fell into one of my pastor's pet peeves.) 


Many of us know the Mosaic Law's prohibitions against eating pork or shellfish or birds of prey, but there is also a biblical rule concerning fruit. You may not eat of a tree fewer than five years old. So AJ researched which trees produced fruit fast and avoided them. Peach trees, for example, can produce fruit within two years.  Cherry trees, on the other hand, take at least five years before producing fruit so he felt safe eating them.   He noted: "The fruit taboo made me more aware of the whole cherry process, the seed, the soil, the five years of watering and waiting. That's the paradox: I thought religion would make me live with my head in the clouds, but as often as not, it grounds me in this world."  (pg. 172)


Not many insects are kosher, but locusts, crickets and grasshoppers are.  AJ's secular mind mulls the logic here. Why would God deem these bugs as permissible to eat? 

"One book I read -- The Unauthorized Version by Robin Lane Fox -- had a theory.  It said that in biblical times, swarming locusts would often devour the crops and cause famines. The only way for the poor to survive was by eating the locusts themselves. So if the Bible didn't approve of locust eating, the poorest Israelites would have died of starvation. This I like.  More and more, I feel it's important to look at the Bible with an open heart. If you roll up your sleeves, even the oddest passages -- and the one about edible bugs qualifies -- can be seen as a sign of God's mercy and compassion."  (pg. 176)





What do you think of AJ lessons from food laws?  Thoughts on the video or anything else shared?

Accent & How I Say Things Meme

My friend Niki had this newfangled meme that deals with one of my favorite topics:  accents!  (Hear her if you want.  She's southern, too!)  Actually it's "accents and regional names for things."   Apparently "you read off some words and then answer questions about what you call things."   Seems easy enough. I decided to copy Niki and not show my face.  Instead you will see my faceless figurines as you hear my very-cute voice. 

So this is the meme in its written form:

If you want to follow along or do the Accent Vlog yourself, here are the words/questions:

Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught.

What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?
What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
What do you call gym shoes?
What do you say to address a group of people?
What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
What do you call your grandparents?
What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

Did anything I say surprise you? Sure do hope you could understand me.  :)

Let me know if you do this meme so I can hear how you talk and what you call things!   Fun stuff, yes? 


 

Celebrate! A 'Random Stuff' Post Means A Break From TOC Notes!

Whoa, looking at my list of posts there on the right, I see I have overloaded January with talk of the Orthodox Church!  I appreciate those who have attempted to read and offer feedback.  I've found quite a bit of it fascinating and new, but I know not everyone appreciates history and more specifically Christian church history.  So...thanks for putting up with those.   Unbelievably I'm not even finished the book so I will likely have many more posts if I keep up my current trend of discussing each chapter.  But since I've gotten vibes that I'm going too fast - and I know the posts are so long, but they just have too much stuff in those chapters! - I will try to space them out a bit more.  I heard those sighs of relief!  :-)

Today I wanted to just record a few random things.

Like the fact that every time I go to the library, I see more and more books I want to read!  All this history I've been reading has made me more curious about life back then so yesterday I found a section on European history, the rise of Christianity there and life in a medieval city...such things that made me jot down their titles and shelf numbers.  I even started keeping a list in a notebook (I'll call it The List) so I can easily find books that for one reason or another caught my eye.  I have books concerning North Korea, American politics, the 9/11 terrorists, the Appalachian culture, India's part in this global age, Islam, Christianity, the Bible, on and on.  Some are books others recommended on their blogs that I found in my county's libraries.  (Thank you, online catalog!) 

Another thing: I watched a movie last Saturday!  Church friends, Mike and Cindy (the one who owns 90% of the fiction books I read last year), had us over for supper (soup, sandwiches and salad...and chocolate pie) and then we watched The Bucket List.  I loved the funny parts, but the movie was a bit sad because I knew the whole time the two friends were dying.  Death lingering over the movie just...well, it was a touching movie.  I was wiping tears off my face towards the end.

I've finished two books recently, but neither are the two I started on January 1.  Both were on Africa. And not on The List so you see how The List is only going to continue growing in numbers of books to-be-read if I keep getting distracted by other random books that jump off library shelves.  I really need to stay away from the library so I can read the books I got for Christmas!  But - I tell myself - many of those are books I may want to blog about and I'm already blogging The Orthodox Church to death and don't want to have too many irons in the fire.

Speaking of that, I love idioms!  Especially ones that I know.  Occasionally I teach Samer new idioms like yesterday when we were talking of Tunisia and I said "He (meaning the President) saw the handwriting on the wall" and got to explain that one!   Do you know I attempted to teach Samer idioms before he took the TOEFL a couple of years ago. Sadly there are many more than we could cover, but he did fantastically well on the test....not to my credit since he started learning English when he was 8 and met me when he was 22!   He is trying to pick up my southern accent, but, ehhhh, southern talk on an Arabic speaker just doesn't quite fit!  I tell him his accent is fine to me as it is and there is absolutely no need to say "tiiiin" for "ten" as I do!


I won a contest!  OK, I was one of five winners actually.  Organica had a giveaway. Initially people were supposed to offer a hadeeth that wasn't very common, but pertained to life today.  I told her the idea was cute, but hadeeths aren't my thing and I have no clue what is well-known since I'm not Muslim. She opened it up to all faiths so I offered a saying of Jesus that I thought would be appropriate.  I got the colorful bag in Monday's mail!



I was reading through a modern version of the New Testament that I bought just prior to our trip to Syria. It is small and I wanted to take it since it would more easily fit in my luggage.  Anyway, I was reading through some chapters in Matthew, trying to meditate on things rather than breeze through it quickly as I am prone to do.  Reading without thinking about stuff deeply isn't always good.  'Specially when it's Jesus' words and life being discussed!  I got stuck on the first line of Matthew 12:12 which in that version reads: "Surely a human being is more important than a sheep."   See how normally that would be breeze-worthy?  Yet this time I stopped and thought of that simple sentence.  What did sheep represent back then? Wealth.  Property.  Livelihood.  Maybe food for the family.  Or a sacrifice for sins.  Possibly, but not as likely, a pet.  Jesus recognized this and knew the Jews would rescue a sheep that "fell into a ditch" even if it were on their Sabbath.  Yet the self righteous people faulted Jesus for healing on that holy day!   Surely, you people do realize a human life is more important than your wealth, your property, your livelihood, your food, your sacrifice, your pet.  Jesus' lesson to me:  PEOPLE MATTER TO HIM.  And they should, by extension, matter to those who follow him.

Another reminder for me from a publication:  Is anything too hard for The Almighty?   I love being reminded of this.  It seems so simple written there, but very profound.

One last thing.  Imagine your heart as a house with a few rooms.  Now when difficulties and disappointments come into your life (and they inevitably do arrive at some point), complaint comes in and makes itself at home. He is a very tough guest to rid...probably because we often welcome him by joining along in his complaining.  Which continues filling the house.  Instead,the author reminds us to invite trust into the house.  "Trust and complaint are incompatible roommates. One inevitably pushes the other out,depending on who is made to feel more at home."* I don't know about you, but I want to make trust in God more welcome in my heart.  Join me and let's start praising God and remembering that nothing is too hard for Him!  Let's have faith that our God is the God who can do that which seems impossible and find joy and peace as we rest in His love and care.

Have a wonderful weekend!



* quoted from "The Land Between" by Jeff Manion, InTouch, January 2011

On Friday ...

Michael and I talked while we were in the car on the way to my parents' house. 

Me:  I guess you miss seeing your friend Rachael now that Christmas program practice is over.  (at one time they had practice three times a week; some with just the two of them with the director)

Mike:  Yeah, I don't see her much any more

Me:  But it makes sense.She hangs out with the girls and you hang out with the guys, right?  *pause*   But maybe if you see her in passing,you can tell her hello and talk briefly.

Mike: Well,I did see her at Wednesday Night Wave [a children's program at their church] and wink at her from across the room.

The Surfer Angels

Then I asked him to show me what he did, and he winked at me in a cute way.  Little stinker!  :-)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Two ladies from the Veteran's Administration came to my grandparents' apartment to assess how they were doing and to offer helpful advice. I think I've told y'all before that Pop suffers from Alzheimer's disease and hasn't known who we are by name or how we are related and know him for quite some time.  He thinks I'm just that nice lady - with that "thing" on the top of my head - who comes over to clean their house most weeks.  Despite his not knowing us, he is most welcoming and cheerful always thanking us for coming by and making witty jokes.  (He hasn't lost his trademark sense of humor, thank God.)

Pop - Christmas 2010

The ladies were impressed by his drawings and one wanted to take pictures by her cell phone to share with others when they have their discussion with other healthcare professionals.  Anyway, my mom told me one lady tested Pop's ability to follow directions which he did easily enough.  "Read this piece of paper and do what it says." He read it and closed his eyes as instructed.  When asked what city, county, state, apartment complex he lived in, he didn't know.  But when told to write a sentence - any sentence he wanted - he looked at the lady for a few seconds and then with great care and clear handwriting wrote:

"I am a Christian because I love Jesus."

This disease may have robbed him of knowing his family and friends by name and relationship, but as of Friday afternoon it had been unable to rob him of knowing about his relationship with the one most dear to him, Jesus!

2010 Meme

I've been meaning to finish and post this for several days now.  Amber resurrected it from last year and I wanted to play along. Wafa' and Zuhura also did one which was a fun read for me. I always enjoy learning new tidbits about fellow bloggers!



1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?

read the Quran

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I didn't make any that I recall.Oh, yes, I think I did and I broke it right away.  None for this year.  :)

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

a couple school friends had their fourth children, both boys (2 girls, 2 boys each) and they both have the same first name, Hudson!

4. Did anyone close to you die?

no, but of the very small church I attended growing up, I think four people died: Brother Fred, Willard, Frances and Mike (the preacher's son)

5. What countries did you visit?

no countries and only VA, SC and WV within the US!  *hmph*

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?

hmmm,maybe a trip somewhere interesting

7. What date from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

December 10 -- Andrew got a new truck

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

riding the 15 miles of the creeper trail

9. What was your biggest failure?

Letting my anger get out of check (despite promptings that this was not how to react) and yelling at someone about some things bothering me

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

no, thankfully.. just the lingering back pain which I'll likely have to live with 

11. What was the best thing you bought?

last year it was tickets to Syria...this year, books so I could "travel" from my front porch

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Pop's -- he's such a joyful guy for having Alzheimer's disease

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

mine one day in September

14. Where did most of your money go?

probably health insurance

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

people commenting on my blog; talking to people online -- it was a good, but low-key year obviously

16. What song(s) will always remind you of 2010?

none come to mind except Michael's Christmas favorite "Carol of the Bells" by Mannheim Steamroller

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

i. Happier or sadder?

ii. Happier  -- last year I was still in my "I miss Syria" depression

iii. Thinner or fatter?

iv. probably fatter

v. richer or poorer?

vi. well, Andrew just bought a truck and paid cash so ...

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

traveling

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

sleeping (so I'd have time to do other things!)

20. How will you be spending Christmas?

I spent it with my inlaws for lunch and my family in the evening.

21. How many one-night stands?

Haaaaa!  Ummm...

22. What was your favorite TV program?

The Amazing Race

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

no, I try not to hate people

24. What was the best book you read?

Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes -- to see my top five go here

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Michael playing the piano since he started lessons in 2010

26. What did you want and get?

No God But God

27. What was your favorite film of this year?

The Blind Side was the best one I watched.

28. What did you do on your birthday?

Went out with Teresa, Denise and their daughters to Red Robin and Smitty's for ice cream.

29. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?

comfort is key

30. What kept you sane?

talking to my friends here and occasional outings with real-life people

31. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Kurt Warner

32. What political issue stirred you the most?

foreign policy

33. Who did you miss?

my Syrian friends

34. Who was the best new person you met?

Lat!  I think I knew the rest of you since before 2010.

35. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010.

If used correctly, Facebook can be a tool for learning a lot about a variety of viewpoints!


Here is my 2009 Meme

Christmas Snow!

Yes, I know it's December 26, but this snow started last night so technically it is a Christmas Snow, right? It was perfect really!  We had places we needed to go yesterday and Southerners aren't known for their getting-around-in-the-snow capabilities because we get much much less than our Northern and Midwestern counterparts. So, it worked out fabulously that yesterday was mostly clear and then it started snowing late in the day when all our festivities were over.  As I said on Facebook it was like icing on the proverbial cake!  Today we woke up to an absolutely gorgeous view. Lovely fluffy snow making the trees so beautiful!  Andrew and I enjoyed a fun walk this afternoon in the neighborhood. We tossed snowballs back and forth as we walked and then got back home and shook crape myrtle branches over our heads so it was like a mild blizzard!  (OK, "we" nothing. I did that.)   Here are some pictures for your enjoyment.  (click on each picture for a better view)

Usually this crape myrtle is green with nice pink blooms in July,
but now it seems I have a cotton tree!

My brother in law, Will, Bagel and Michael - so cute!

Are they not adorable?

Bagel modeling the latest from the Sponge Bob line

Michael and Will made a big snowman

Andrew made this one and brought it home in the back of his truck!

Happy Winter!  :)