A give-a-way

Rebekah at Amoretti is giving away this nifty tea towel, and some cookies and a Skirty besides.

Wouldn't those be fun things to win?

Girl Scout Cookie time

We have received our 2009 order of Girl Scout cookies. Love those sinful morsels. I was a Girl Scout for 8 years. I'm a sucker for a Girl Scout selling cookies. (note: my husband will tell you that I'm a sucker for almost any kid selling anything, but particularly on GS cookies, willpower = zero!) We ordered five different flavors this year. Always 2 Caramel deLites for T. Always. Always Thin Mints. Always Shortbread. And then, a couple of whatever sounds good at the moment.

So, in honor of Girl Scout cookies, and because it's been a good ol' long while since there's been a quiz at ProneToWander, enjoy figuring out which cookie you are...

You Are Thin Mints

You are bold and brave. You dare to be different, and you are confident about who you are. Your fearlessness has paid off. You are extremely well liked and popular. You are charismatic and charming without even trying to be. People appreciate your unique take on life. You are willing to take risks, speak your mind, and live life to the fullest.

What Girl Scout Cookie Are You?

Writer's Workshop- A to Z poetry

MamaKat at Mama's Losin' It has issued her weekly writing assignment prompts.

My choice this week?
Write a 26-line poem using all the letters of the alphabet, where the first line starts with the letter "A," the second "B," the third "C," etc., culminating with the final line starting with "Z."

I do love A to Z lists. For several years, I have been writing our Christmas letter in A to Z format. Poetry? That's a new challenge.

On a Thursday Morning.

Awake later than I would like,
Beginning the day with the Word and
Coffee

Daybreak dawns,
Evening seems
Far away.

Girls wander to my bedroom,
Hoping to watch the weather report,
Indignant that rain clouds the forecast.

Jump into the shower,
Keeping an eye on the clock,
Lingering not allowed today.

Make haste to pick up a lady
Needing a ride to the hospital for
Outpatient surgery today.

Parenting a toddler,
Quickly chasing,
Running down the halls.

Stop to pick up daughter,
Time for basketball practice,
Umbrella might be necessary.

Van returns home.
Welcomed with rice for lunch,
eXceedingly capable daughter serves.

Yearning to glorify Him,
Zealous for what is next.

Interfere?

from CNN.com, on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's recent trip to China-

The headline: "Chinese human rights can't interfere with other crises"

"The United States will continue to press China on issues such as Tibet, Taiwan and human rights, she told reporters accompanying her.

"Successive administrations and Chinese governments have been poised back and forth on these issues, and we have to continue to press them. But our pressing on those issues can't interfere with the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis, and the security crisis," she told reporters in Seoul, South Korea."

Chinese Christians continue to be jailed and are subject to human rights abuses while imprisoned.

China remains near the top of the Open Doors World Watch list in regards to the world wide persecuted church.

No. We wouldn't want protecting human rights to interfere...

(photo credit: me! taken at the Temple of Heaven in early March 2008)

Psalm 99

I love playing with Wordle.
I found these three small words in Psalm 99 this morning- "Holy is He," it reads, more than once.
But in Wordle, think about it-
Holy is He.
He is Holy.
Holy He is.

Is He Holy?
absolutely.

Simple

FOR TODAY, Monday, February 23, 2009...

Outside my window... the pastel palette of sunrise

I am thinking... of the wonder of the weekend past.

I am thankful for... this bit of truth from Psalm 94 this morning- "if the Lord had not been my help, my soul would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence. If I should say, "My foot has slipped," Thy lovingkindness, O Lord, will hold me up."

From the learning rooms... back to school today after a day off Friday, planning for the month ahead.

From the kitchen... for dinner tonight, Thai Green Curry Simmer Sauce from Trader Joe's.

I am wearing... a long sleeve Life is Good t-shirt and pajama pants, for another few minutes, anyway...

I am creating... order, as we pick up the pile of sleeping bags, pillows, and bags that we left at the front door when we stumbled in last night.

I am going... to the library drop box today, to turn in overdue books that didn't make it last week.

I am reading... All Things for Good by Thomas Watson- two chapters and two mornings to go.

I am hoping... for a good turn-out at ESL classes this evening.

I am hearing... my daughter turn the pages of the newspaper comics, my son talk to himself about the sports page, the upstairs radio mumble at my husband.

Around the house... children begin to stir, preparations for the day ahead begin.

One of my favorite things... the quiet and still of the break of day.

A few plans for the rest of the week: normal life at home- school, service, sports...

Here is picture thought I am sharing... the view from my seat typing at the dining room table, an attempt to capture the brightness of dawn through my front windows facing east.

Take time to check out other Simple Woman Daybook entries...

and try it yourself!

Wordful Wednesday- 10!

It's Wordful Wednesday!

My twins are 10.
10 years old!
A decade!

When we had one very little girl, a cranky little baby, but absolutely a genius first born in the eyes of her parents :-), I thought I knew a lot. Then we had a very chubby and extremely content little boy, and I thought “NOW I know everything! A girl. Fussy, sleeps rarely. A boy. Happy, sleeps and eats.” And then I had number 3, and if it is possible for there to be yet another 180 degrees of difference, it was that little girl. “OK! NOW we’ve seen it all!” That was about the time I received the biggest and most unexpected surprise of my life. I was at a standard 17 week ultrasound appointment when a friendly radiology tech told me, “Your husband is going to be surprised when you tell him that you are having twins.” TWINS! “OK Lord! I surrender! I confess I don’t know a thing!”

I am convinced that parenting is the ultimate example of the old adage, "the more you know, the more you realize you don't know." But I do know that God is good. I do know that my children, and these two girls that arrived in a span of 8 minutes, are our delight. These two girls make me laugh every single day. They love each other like an old married couple. They love others selflessly. And their dad and I absolutely rejoice at watching them grow.

Happy double digits girls!

Click over to SevenClownCircus for more Wordful Wednesday posts...

Teaser Tuesday

From ShouldBeReading-
TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
Please avoid spoilers!

I have, hmmm?, four? books going right now?
I'm going to share "teasers" from the two that will take the longest to complete.

In the evenings after dinner as a read-aloud with my family, we are reading Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome. It was a gift from a friend- and we are loving it. It is a great read-aloud for a family! A tease...

"Roger and I pulled her right up," said Titty. "She couldn't have drifted off."
"Spread out again," said Captain John. "Then listen. Advance as soon as the mate blows her whistle. A hoot like an owl means all right. Three hoots means something's up. Blow as soon as you're ready, Mister Mate." p. 111

Slowlyslowlyslowly, I am reading War and Peace, yes, THAT War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, with a friend. We decided to conquer something big this year. W&P is big, 1273 pages of bigness. I'm barely started- we are to finish Volume One, Part One on March 1. But I'm excited to be doing it. Slowly. A tease...

"Prince Andrei held her hand, looked into her eyes, and did not find the former love for her in his soul. Something suddenly turned over in his soul; the former poetic and mysterious delight of desire was not there, but there was pity for her woman's and child's weakness, there was fear before her devotion and trust, a heavy but at the same time joyful consciousness of duty that bound him to her forever..." p. 479

What are you reading?

...For those who love God

Love is not only full of benevolence, but beneficence. Love which enlarges the heart never straitens the hand. He that loves Christ will be liberal to His members. He will be eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame. The backs and bellies of the poor shall be the furrows where he sows the golden seeds of liberality. Some say they love God, but their love is lame of one hand, they give nothing to good uses. Indeed faith deals with invisibles, but God hates that love which is invisible. Love is like new wine, which will have vent; it vents itself in good works.

Thomas Watson, All Things for Good

for Valentine's- on marriage

from Russ Ramsey, at The Rabbit Room:

"But there is only one human relationship we come know in life that is meant by God to defy this pattern—the marriage relationship. This one is meant to be intimate in affection, proximity and purpose until death itself separates you. Though the people in your lives change, in marriage you are given a gift from God of incredible worth—a sworn partner for life. That’s what we promise at the altar, anyway.

When the Puritans used to talk of marriage, they’d say you got married in order to fall in love. Their thinking went a little like this: how could a man and woman possibly hope to really know the wonder, joy and depth of real love—the kind where you are truly loved and truly known at the same time— without sharing in the waking and the sleeping, in the ordinary and the extraordinary, in the comedy and the tragedy? Without marriage?"

Read the entire piece here.

(photo credit- Wayne Leal Relief Sculpture)

Writer's Workshop- Five Favorite Things

One of the prompts this week at Mama's Losin' It's Writer's Workshop:

List your five most recent favorite things:

I was hoping that I'd have a reason to write about these things, five of my most recent favorite things.

1. Tul Pens-
Not just ANY ol' Tul pen. My favorite is the Gel Retractable Rollerball 0.5mm fine point black ink.
I realize that makes me sound extremely high maintance. Generally I'm not. Except about pens. I really struggle with bad pens. These are good pens. My son wanted to take one to Latin class on Tuesday, and I had him sign a contract pledging to bring it back or, or, or... well, I never got to what but he knew it would be bad. He brought the pen back. phew.


2. Moleskine journals- This is not really a recent favorite thing. I found these over a year ago. But, I don't want to live without them. I keep this with my Bible for morning notes and thoughts and prayer. It is the perfect size. It is tough. The paper is lovely(especially with the #1 pen). They come in a pack of three, which lasts me several months and means I can have one stashed away for an emergency. I am so unabashed in my devotion to Moleskine that I give them as gifts. You need a Moleskine too. You do.

3. William Hendricksen's New Testament Commentary on Colossians-
My church recently purchased the Hendricksen's 12 volume commentary on the New Testament. And I'm sure that the entire set is just fine, but I'm partial to the book that includes Colossians because I'm teaching a Sunday School class on Colossians right now and Hendricksen makes that work much more clear. Thank you Mr. Hendricksen!

4. Whole Foods 365 Shower Gel-
I looked all over for a picture, but alas. None.
This is good stuff. I like the lavender and the citrus the best. My girls like mint, but the shower experience reminds me of my sister's favorite ice cream. And, bonus, it's cheap. A fat 32 oz. bottle is less than $5, and a couple of pumps on your bath scrunchie thing will do ya. So a bottle lasts a while, which is important when 6 people share a shower. (well, USE the same shower, not SHARE the shower all at once...!!!)

5. Dove Rich Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds- (you did not think that I'd finish a list of my favorite things without some form of dark chocolate...!)
Oh these little things. I found them wasting time waiting for a friend at WalMart late one night.
Dark chocolate morsels of rich and crunchy goodness.
mmmmmmm.

Thanks, MamaKat, for the chance to tell you all about five of my most recent favorite things! Go to Mama's Losin' It to see what others are writing about this week!

More battles to fight

"I grew up with a great love for reading history, and I used to wonder, How would I have fared in the great moral struggles of the past? Would I have been on the right side? Would I have acted with courage? Would I have made my grandchildren proud?

Would I have been a supporter and confidant of William Wilberforce and his Clapham sect in fighting the British slave trade, or would I have been part of the detached and oblivious middle-class masses who said and did nothing?

Would I have stood shoulder to shoulder with Harriet Tubman in secreting slaves to freedom on the Underground Railroad, or would I have been left flatfooted with apathy, moral neutrality, or fear?

Would I have walked with Dietrich Bonhoeffer in a journey of costly discipleship during the Nazi era in Europe, and would I have been known as a righteous Gentile during the Holocaust? Or would I have been immobilized by confusion and fright, or perhaps preoccupied with smaller things?

In many respects such speculation feels idle. Who knows what we would have done?

Besides, it feels as history has perhaps passed us by. The great struggles of good and evil, right and wrong, seem to be of a bygone era. All the great and heroic battles have already been fought, haven't they? In the twenty-first century we are left only petty battles in gray areas, certainly nothing our grandchildren will ask us about. Right?"

from Terrify No More by Gary Haugen, with Gregg Hunter

Wrong.

Those great and heroic battles are still being fought, by courageous and determined people like these, around the world.

Lord, make me a solider.

Wordful Wednesday- International Dinner

This weeks edition of Wordful Wednesday features photos from the ESL International Dinner on Monday. Notice "photos"- as in more than one. I couldn't decide on one!

Food- delicious food! Homemade tamales and frijoles and posole from our Hispanic friends. Potato chaps (say: "chop") from our Nepalese friend. A rice dish from Colombia. Chinese noodles. Meatballs. Icelandic cake (from a staff member from Norway!). Apple pie.

Friends- lots of friends. Here you'll see a couple members of my family- the gringos in the pictures. Two friends from Mexico played accordion and guitar. We have grandmas and toddlers and everyone in between. We have students from 7 or 8 countries. Including our staff, we have 5 continents represented.

So we feasted and fellowshipped and then went off to class- a good Monday night.
Good for a Wordful Wednesday!

K game

Thanks to Krikoma for a fun Tuesday game...

Rules: It's harder than it looks! (but not TOO hard!)
Copy, erase my answers, enter yours, use the first letter of your name to answer each of the following questions.
They have to be real . . . nothing made up! You cannot use any word twice and you can't use your name for the boy/girl name question.
Have Fun!
(thanks to my kids for helping!)

1. What is your name: Kristy
2. A four letter word: kick
3. A boy's name: Kurt
4. A girl's name: Kim
5. An occupation: Kite-fighter
6. A color: khaki
7. Something you wear: knickers
8. A food: kabobs
9. Something found in the bathroom: kids
10. A place: Kentucky
11. A reason for being late: knitting
12. Something you shout: Keilah!! :-)
13. A movie title: Kung Fu Panda
14. Something you drink: Kool-aid (well, actually, I don't drink it...)
15. A musical group: Kansas
16. An animal: Kangaroo
17. A street name: Klicitat Street (where Henry Huggins and Beezus and Ramona Quimby live)
18. A type of car: Kia (yawn!)
19. The title of a song: "Kiss Da Girl" (from the Little Mermaid)
20. Place you would like to visit: Kenya

Now you try!

(Photo credit to Elpster)

Keeps me giggling

I saw this video last week and it kept me and my kids giggling all day long.
It's a little on the long side, but I promise, it's worth it!

Enjoy!

(giggle credit to Rachael at Over the Ord and Back and to Tara at Considerable Grace)

Daybook

FOR TODAY, Monday February 9, 2009...

Outside my window... bright sun, especially delightful after a morning of wind and rain.
I am thinking... I need to get started on cooking.
I am thankful for... the hope of spring ahead!
From the learning rooms... 2Samuel, The Raven, the trans-continental railroad.
From the kitchen... pizza cooking.
I am wearing... blue jeans, a long sleeve coral tshirt and an ivory cardigan.
My kids are creating... Valentines for their friends and teammates and boxes to collect them in.
I am going... to ESL tonight. We are having an International Dinner before class time.
I am reading... All Things for Good by Thomas Watson, and a couple of others.
I am hoping... there's enough food for dinner tonight.
I am hearing... my kids chatter, the wind blow, the dog squeak toy.
Around the house... we could use some serious picking up of clutter!
One of my favorite things... my bed (I crawled back into it for a short time this morning...).
A few plans for the rest of the week: sports practices, Wednesday night at church, Valentines party and exchange for the girls, dinner out on Friday night...
Here is picture thought I am sharing... this is a shot of the rain and gloom on the way to piano lessons this morning, which give an idea of how beautiful the current blue skies are.

(photo credit to the passenger side photog, k.)

Be sure to visit The Simple Woman's Daybook to see what others are ing-ing today...

Marriage is

From This Momentary Marriage by John Piper:

Reflecting on his forty years of matrimony, Piper explains:

Most foundationally, marriage is the doing of God. And ultimately, marriage is the display of God. It displays the covenant-keeping love between Christ and his people to the world in a way that no other event or institution does. Marriage, therefore, is not mainly about being in love. It’s mainly about telling the truth with our lives. And staying married is not about staying in love. It is about keeping covenant and putting the glory of Christ’s covenant-keeping love on display.

“If you are married, this is why,” says Piper. “If you hope to be, this should be your dream.”

(photo credit to Box of Light at Flickr, and the story with the photo is very sweet indeed)

7 Quick Takes

1. Current temperature- 59F! I am wearing no socks! And I'm not cold! (& it's still February, so every single exclamation point is justified... :-)

2. Yesterday I received a letter from this group notifiying me that I am "a potential candidate to represent the professional and business community" of my town. Huh?

It did make my entire family laugh out loud, however...

3. Our new fish, Finneas, jumped loose when S. was moving him to clean the bowl today. And then, when I went to scoop him off the table, he flipped off and slid down the wall. And amazingly, survived! Bet that experience raised his little piscatorial heart beat.

4. We bought these daisies today at Whole Foods. We love daises. We love Whole Foods. If there is a Whole Foods near you, go here to enter to win flowers for a year. (& if there isn't WF near you, and you know who you are..., take consolation that you do have the beach...)

5. I'm reading A Year in the World: Journeys of a Passionate Traveler. A friend asked why? It's the closest I'm getting to warm weather exotic travel right now...

6. Today the newspaper reviewed this restaurant, that is near my neighborhood. I am ready to go.

7. This week, I've been mourning and praying for a family going through a tremendous amount of suffering. Here is hope for a time of immense sorrow-

We went through fire and through water;

Yet Thou didst bring us out into a place of abundance.

Psalm 66:12

Be sure to check out Conversion Diary to see other quick takes this week.

Global Warning Protest

This photo was sent to me under the heading "Hundreds Attend Global Warming Protest".

:-)

Personally, I've been cold this winter. I'm thankful for the local weekend forecast, which does include warming, all the way up to 50F!

(photo credit to my friend Sandy, always the source of a good chuckle!)

Hope

Sometimes when I'm lonely,
Don't know why,
Keep thinkin' I won't be lonely
By and by.

Hope by Langston Hughes

in the morning

But as for me, I shall sing of Thy strength;

Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Thy lovingkindness in the morning,

For Thou hast been my stronghold,

And a refuge in the day of my distress.

O my strength, I will sing praises to Thee;

For God is my stronghold, the God who shows lovingkindness.

Psalm 59:16-17

(photo credit to barbarachebet)

7 Quick Takes

1. This article, which was a summary of this article, kept coming back to me this week- I can't figure how caring for human rights and caring for babies are separate...

2. And so did this one, and this quote from it: "We must be willing to be broken ourselves into prismatic shards by the Master Artist, God, so that Christ’s light can be refracted in us."

3. One more- This quote from this article: In his acceptance speech, Bishop Rucyahana made one statement I will never forget. Christians tend to say "I accepted Christ as my Savior." But Bishop John reversed that. He said, "Christ graciously accepted me and has called me to a mission." (And all God's people said, "Amen!")

4. My family is in the process of becoming missionaries with MTW and BEAMM. We've finished the extensive application process, and the next big task is to raise the financial and prayer support required to move to the field. It's all a big step of faith, but it's incredibly rewarding to see His hand at work in our lives, confirming, encouraging and exhorting us along the way. "For I know the plans I have for you...," He promises.

5. Megan at HalfPintHouse asks, "what's your Meyers-Briggs personality?" When I recently took the test, I came out ISFJ- strong I, strong J. My middle two letters are borderline. I haven't received a good answer yet- does that mean that I am either S or N, either F or T, or neither...? Want to try it?

6. On Saturday, five different members of my family are to be in four differnt places at 11:00. I'm thankful for friends!

7. Did anyone else notice the sky last night? That bright star just above the crescent moon was Venus. And look! There's more celestial excitement to come...

See what other quick takes are out there this Friday at Conversion Diary.

The Great Story

how I love this image of life eternal...

"There was a real railway accident," said Aslan softly. "Your father and mother and all of you are -- as you used to call it in the Shadow-Lands -- dead. The term is over; the holidays have begun. The dream is ended; this is the morning."

And as he spoke he no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. . . . And we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world . . . had only been the cover and title page; now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read, which goes on forever, in which every chapter is better than the one before."

C. S. Lewis, The Last Battle, pages 183-184.

(credit to Tara at Considerable Grace, & Ray Ortlund at Christ is Deeper Still)

Wordful Wednesday- Soccer

My k took this picture of the indoor soccer field last week.

Soccer.

I played through middle school and high school and college- never really well, mostly always on recreational teams, always for fun. Soccer was never NOT fun for me.

I was a ref through high school, watching the herd that always is found when young kids play soccer. I started to coach in college- young kids, boys and girls, that made me laugh. I coached kindergarten kids. I coached middle school girls. I coached when I was pregnant with the twins and had to wear the same jersey as the team- making me look something akin to Tommy Lasorda. I even coached the twins through their first four years in soccer. Soccer is a great game for young kids. You don't have to be super athletic to contribute in a soccer game.

My twins play soccer- right now we're in the indoor season. Generally, one is on the field and one is in the goal. They seem to enjoy it as much as I do, and that's a blessing.

You rarely see a soccer field as seemingly empty as k captured it last week. Good eye, k.

For more WordfulWednesday contributions, don't forget to check out SevenClownCircus!

Catch and Release

from Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore-

Denver talking to Ron on friendship:

"I heard that when white folks go fishin they do somethin called 'catch and release.'"

Catch and release? I nodded solemnly, suddenly nervous and curious at the same time.

"That really bothers me," Denver went on. "I just can't figure it out. 'Cause when colored folks go fishin, we really proud of what we catch, and we take it and show it off to everybody that'll look. Then we eat what we catch... in other words, we use it to sustain us. So it really bothers me that white folks would go to all the trouble to catch a fish, then when they done caught it, just throw it back in the water."

He pause again, and the silence between us stretched a full minute. Then: "Did you hear what I said?"

I nodded, afraid to speak, afraid to offend.

Denver looked away, searching the blue autumn sky, then locked onto me again with that drill-bit stare. "So, Mr. Ron, it occurred to me: If you is fishin for a friend you just gon' catch and release, then I ain't got no desire to be your friend."

The world seemed to halt in midstride and fall silent around us like on of those freeze frame scenes on TV. I could hear my heart pounding and imagined Denver could see my breast pocket up and down. I returned Denver's gaze with what I hoped was a receptive expression and hung on.

Suddenly his eyes gentled and he spoke more softly than before: "But if you is lookin for a real friend, then I'll be one. Forever."

I am...

FOR TODAY, Monday, January 26, 2009...

Outside my window... feathery snowflakes, falling in seemingly slow motion.

I am thinking... could be a low turnout at ESL tonight. Winter nights, cold and dark, are a challenge.

I am thankful for... early mornings, the Word, prayer.

From the learning rooms... the end of the Civil War, Emily Dickinson, David and Abigail and Saul and 1Samuel, space travel, solubility, division, graphing a curve, integers...

From the kitchen... pot roast, potatoes and onions in the crock pot

I am wearing... graybrown khakis, a white longsleeve t-shirt, a cardigan. (I'm Mrs. Rogers.)

I am creating... clean laundry. Sheets and towels today.

I am going... no where until ESL tonight!

I am reading... Same Kind of Different and The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment.

I am hoping... to curl up on my bed and read later today.

I am hearing... my girls sing-songing, lunch time chatter.

Around the house... lunch break and then more schoolwork.

One of my favorite things... my children making me a quesadilla and salsa and guacamole for lunch. Better than breakfast in bed!

A few plans for the rest of the week: normalcy. Nothing extraordinary.

Here is picture thought I am sharing.. my L, who has taken to wearing hats all of the time, at work this morning.

Visit other entries in the Simple Woman's Daybook.

When Trials Come

This song was the offertory piece in worship yesterday. Just when I think a stanza is my favorite, the next one begins, and it sings to my soul just as powerfully. See the attributes of God through this song- faithfulness, peace, mercy, wisdom, love, endurance, hope.

Be encouraged, His compassions are new every morning; great is His faithfulness.

When trials come no longer fear
For in the pain our God draws near
To fire a faith worth more than gold
And there His faithfulness is told
And there His faithfulness is told

Within the night I know Your peace
The breath of God brings strength to me
And new each morning mercy flows
As treasures of the darkness grow
As treasures of the darkness grow

I turn to Wisdom not my own
For every battle You have known
My confidence will rest in You
Your love endures Your ways are good
Your love endures Your ways are good

When I am weary with the cost
I see the triumph of the cross
So in it's shadow I shall run
Till He completes the work begun
Till He completes the work begun

One day all things will be made new
I'll see the hope You called me to
And in your kingdom paved with gold
I'll praise your faithfulness of old
I'll praise your faithfulness of old

Keith & Kristyn Getty Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music

7 Quick Takes

Seven miscellaneous and possibly very random thoughts rolling through my head, rolling through our life...

1. my Friday uniform seems to be a Life is Good shirt. I ::heart:: my Life is Good shirts...

2. My Su made "tempting Thai chicken with spicy peanut sauce" (from this cookbook) for dinner last night. Yum.

3. My son has baseball practice tonight. Baseball practice. In January. It's indoors. but still. baseball practice. in January...

4. I'm starting War & Peace. really. yes, it has 1273 pages. no jokes about "light reading," please. I've already heard it. I'm reading it with a friend. She's iron to me.

5. I read Psalm 40 this week. Oh that's my story! His blessings are too numerous to count!

6. I was thinking about "happy" this morning. I decided I'd rather be "content." "Happy" seems so worldly, as if we're not wearing a smiley face, all is not well. For me, "content" allows for joy, for being satisfied, even in the midst of hardhard things, even in suffering. Of course, I'm also reading this. Coincidence? I think not...

7. We had a Betta fish, Prince Christian, who survived a week of Vacation Bible School and nearly three years of neglect, uh, life, in our family before going belly up, providentially, right before we were to be out of town for an extended period of time last summer. The girls have been clamoring for a new betta. Maybe today...

Thanks to Conversion Diary for inspiring 7 Quick Takes!

Blind date

Today's writing assignment from MamaKat at Mama's Losin' It:
"Tell us about a memorable blind date."

"Blind date"- –noun
1.a social appointment or date arranged, usually by a third person, between two people who have not met.
2.either of the participants in such an arrangement.
Origin: 1920–25, Americanism

One blind date remains particularly memorable. Had I been on others? I think so, though none stand out. My college roommate and I were the girls that everyone in the house wanted to set up on a blind date. Sometimes we were game. Sometimes we were not. But for this spring pajama party, why not, we thought.

A friend was dating a nice guy from the Naval ROTC unit. She stood in front of their composite photo and picked out two guys for us. I ended up with the guy that was the taller of the two, because I was taller than my roommate. And, he was divorced and had a daughter. Our friend thought I would be better with that than my roommate. "Why not?-it's just a date," I told her.

We were t-shirts and boxer kind of girls, so we headed over to Sears for some non-descript men's pjs. We shared a two-pack. We were practical pajama party kind of girls.

The night came, and my date arrived. He was wearing Dennis-the-Menace-style red one-piece pj's, complete with drop bottom. Ever a gentleman, the bottom stayed buttoned.

We talked a lot. We danced. We had a great evening. We planned to meet again.
And we did meet again, over and over.
Two and a half years after that blind date, we were married.
And, nearly twenty one years after that blind date, we still have pajama parties, that guy and I do.

Much to my children's horror, I even have a photo. We're the two at the top. For the sake of the rest, I won't identify any names! (but, one of those couples also married, and is still together today, too!)



Be sure to check out Mama's Losin' It for more writing prompts!

Praise song

I love the story of Robert Frost reciting the first Inaugural poem at the ceremony for President Kennedy. In the glare of the noon sun, he couldn't see the words of the poem, so newly composed, and thus, Frost recited another from memory. That's thinking on your feet.

No such problems like that yesterday.

I have read mixed reviews of Elizabeth Alexander's poem for the Inauguration, Praise song for the day. But I like it. I like the simple prose. I like the scenes of ordinary people, in ordinary places, going about their business while such an important event takes place. I like the theme of remembering the past, while moving forward in the future, in "love that casts a widening pool of light." I like it.

Praise song for the day.

Each day we go about our business, walking past each other, catching each others' eyes or not, about to speak or speaking. All about us is noise. All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din, each one of our ancestors on our tongues. Someone is stitching up a hem, darning a hole in a uniform, patching a tire, repairing the things in need of repair.

Someone is trying to make music somewhere with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.

A woman and her son wait for the bus.

A farmer considers the changing sky; A teacher says, "Take out your pencils. Begin."

We encounter each other in words, words spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed; words to consider, reconsider.

We cross dirt roads and highways that mark the will of someone and then others who said, "I need to see what's on the other side; I know there's something better down the road."

We need to find a place where we are safe; We walk into that which we cannot yet see.

Say it plain, that many have died for this day. Sing the names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce, built brick by brick the glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of.

Praise song for struggle; praise song for the day. Praise song for every hand-lettered sign; The figuring it out at kitchen tables.

Some live by "Love thy neighbor as thy self."

Others by first do no harm, or take no more than you need.

What if the mightiest word is love, love beyond marital, filial, national. Love that casts a widening pool of light. Love with no need to preempt grievance.

In today's sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun.

On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp -- praise song for walking forward in that light.

(photo credit to Time Magazine and time.com)

"'Tis a gift to be free..."

Of course, there was so much significant and historic about yesterday's Inauguaration events. I particularly enjoyed John William's Air and Simple Gifts, composed for the inauguration, and performed by Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhac Perlman, Anthony McGill, and Gabriela Montero.

Here is a link to the performance on YouTube.

(photo credit to CBS News)

Psalm 36

Thy lovingkindness, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
Thy faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Thy righteousness is like the mountains of God;
Thy judgments are like a great deep.
O Lord, Thou preservest man and beast.
How precious is Thy lovingkindness, O God!
And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Thy wings.
Psalm 36:5-7

Gracious souls, though still desiring more of God, never desire more than God.
Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary

Acedia

Just finished Acedia & Me by Kathleen Norris.
What is acedia? "Sloth," "spiritual apathy," "laziness or indifference," "a cousin to depression."

Norris examines her marriage, her life as a writer, and how acedia effects how she relates to each. I had never heard of the term previously, but her description made it familiar to me. A funk, not depression but not normal, either. A state that is impossible to describe to others, but recognizable to those who know you well as not quite right.

It is Norris' observations on life, particularly marriage, however, that stand out.

Like faith, marriage is a mystery. The person you're committed to spending your life with is known and yet unknown, at the same time remarkably intimate and necessarily other. The classic "seven year itch" may not be a case of familiarity breeding ennui and contempt, but the shock of having someone you thought you knew all too well suddenly seem a stranger. When that happens, you are compelled to either recommit to the relationship or get the hell out. There are many such times in a marriage. When the other person does something unforgivable, can you forgive? When you do something unforgivable, can you accept forgiveness?

I'm grateful for forgiveness, for love that "bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." (1Cor13:7)

good eats

T & I ventured down the road and across the sky last week, driving down to Kansas City to catch a flight to Atlanta. And we found some good eats along the way.

KC is famous for BBQ, and on the recommendation of the girl at the hotel desk, who seemed pretty passionate about her BBQ, we found some tasty meat (& onion rings!) at Oklahoma Joe's. The next day, once at our hotel in Atlanta, we wandered to a nearby strip shopping center and stumbled upon Mellow Mushroom, a terrific pizza joint. Mellow Mushroom is a franchise with a distinctively local feel.

On the way home, we weren't quite as inspired. But, you'll get no complaints from here on Jamocha shakes, ever...

(photo credit: me! taken at 30,000 ft. somewhere west of Atlanta..)

On Worship

from Tullian Tchividjian:

"...In the Bible, the glory of God is God’s “heaviness”, his powerful presence. It is God’s prevailing excellence on display. In God’s house, Isaiah meets a God who is majestically in command.

What does this mean for our worship services? It means we ought to come, first and foremost, expecting to encounter the glory of God–his powerful presence. We should come ready to sing of who he is and hear of what he’s done. We come to feel the grief of our sin so that we can feel the glory of his salvation. We come, in other words, to see God on display, not preachers or musicians."

Do read the entire piece.

(credit to Anne at PalmTreePundit. Thanks Anne!)

Whoooooooo are you?

(yes, for those of you in the rock 'n roll know, follow up that title with "whowho, whowho...")

I learned today, thanks to Megan at HalfPintHouse via Jamie at OhBeCareful! that it is "National Delurking Week" (who decides and declares that, anyway?). Could I convince those of you who are reading Prone to Wander to send a bloggy hello and tell me who you are?
Please?
Pretty please?

According to my StatCounter stats, typically 40-80 people a day look at PTW. You readers are looking at PTW from computers all over the United States, 27 states yesterday! And even England and Canada and Japan. Japan?! We're friends, right? Check in with a comment and say hi, to me and to each other. Tell us where you live. How did you find PTW?

We'll be nice, I promise. Gentle. Welcoming. Not too boisterous, but awfully glad you came.

I'll be blessed!
"See" you soon.

I have...

Last night, my husband and I had some time to waste, uh, spend, before I had to head out to pick up a friend from work and he went to bed. First we played cribbage, which we've been doing for about 20 years now. We're not very strategic anymore- it's mostly about luck because, when you have been playing with someone for that many years, you pretty much know what they'll do next...

And then I found this list at Megan's Half Pint House.
It was a fun conversation starter.
We've done a lot of these together, my husband and I.
Those are some good memoires.
Looks like we still have some more memories to make...

This is easy. Just mark the things you've done in bold. You try too!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (the middle school band- we even marched in the State Fair parade)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower (while sleeping under the stars in Northern New Mexico. Amazing!)
6. Given more than you can afford to charity (I don't really understand this question. Is it ever "more than you can afford?")
7. Been to Disneyland/world (both. prefer Land.)
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo (uh, in the car? in the shower?)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train (from Juarez to Mexico City. HOT!)
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked (I had a bad streak in college of running out of gas. Got picked up by a guy on a motorcycle once, and burned my leg on the exhaust. Haven't run out of gas, or hitch hiked, again since...)
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29 Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run (but T has- just this last summer at the Parent/Player end o' season baseball game. Dad rules!)
32. Been on a cruise
33 Seen Niagara Falls in person (technically, barely... we DROVE by, slowly, and could see some from the road...)
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (remember Zoom? remember ubbie-dubbie?)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41 Sung karaoke (one of my all-time favorite memories- T singing Born to be Wild in the Japanese culture exhibit at the Boston Children's Museum...)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45 Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted (it's in my house. visitors always think it's one of my girls...)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater (moment of silence for the demise of the drive-in, please...)
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China (still can barely believe that one!)
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason (including "gotten flowers for no reason for myself"!)
64 Donated blood, platelets, or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66 Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67 Bounced a check (but not in a REALLY LONG time...)
68. Flown in a helicopter (T. & I have done this together twice- in Hawaii, and to the rim of the Grand Canyon. Very cool.)
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (stuffed Snoopy. I recently saw him "new" in an old picture. Poor fellow. Some rough years there...)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79 Seen the Grand Canyon in person (T & I rafted the Colorado as a retirement gift to ourselves. Spectacular!)
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox (at age 21. I was exposed in Mexico. Worst illness of my life, hands down. I'll take childbirth...)
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake (but, like Niagara Falls, we have driven by...)
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Name that Tune

(Time for the answers- as if the Faithful Reader has been waiting breathlessly in anticipation... HA!)

I have:

made dinner

finished my Sunday School lesson

finished planning the next 3 weeks of schoolwork

Time for fun! :-)

My friends, Michelle at One Crafty Mama and Julie at Crazy for Chipboard, both played this game on their blogs last week, and now it's my turn...

First things first....if you want to play on your blog here are the rules:
Step 1: Put your ipod on shuffle.
Step 2: Post the first line or two (unless the first line reveals the song title) from the first 25 songs that play. (but 25 is way too many, so I'm only doing 15)
Step 3: Strike through the songs when someone guesses both artist and song title correctly.
(I have no idea how to strike through words ((HELP!!)), so in a day or two, I'll just add the answers...)

(ok- we cheated, because all of the hymns that come up have the title in the first line, and my assistant, k., wouldn't let me...)

1. "Lord I have a heavy burden of all I've seen and know..." Sara Groves, When the Saints

2. "I can't pretend to know what you're thinking, and I can't pretend to know what you're goin' through..." Third Day, Tunnel

3. "Some glad morning when this life is o'er..." Johnny Cash, I'll Fly Away

4. "He's free as a breeze, he's always at ease, he lives in a jungle, hangs by his knees, swings through the trees without a trapeeze, in his BVD's..." Ray Stevens, Gitarzan (this is one of my son's all-time faves!)

5. "You do your work, the best that you can, put one foot in front of the other..." Sara Groves, It Might Be Hope

6. "I was born in the wagon of a travelin' show..." Cher, Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves

7. "Everybody gonna dance tonight, everybody gonna feel alright, everybody gonna dance around tonight..." Paul McCartney, Dance Tonight

8. "One man come in the name of love, one man come and go..." U2, Pride

9. "Looked down from a broken sky, traced out by the city lights, my world from a mile high, best seat in the house tonight..." Brandon Heath, Give Me Your Eyes

10. "Se mueve la mano de Dios, en su palabra hay vida..." Salvador, Con Poder (en vivo)

11. "Little yellow house, sittin' on a hill, that is where he lived, that is where he died..." Allison Krauss, Simple Love

12. "I'm just a poor boy and my story's seldom told..." Simon and Garfunkle, The Boxer

13. "Well I left Kentucky back in '49, and went to Detroit workin' on an assembly line..." Johnny Cash, One Piece at a Time (another of J's favorites...)

14. "Moving forward using all my breath..." Modern English, Melt with You

15. "Like to tell you 'bout my baby, you know she comes around..." Van Morrison, Gloria

Daybook

borrowed from the Simple Woman Daybook...

FOR TODAY (PLACE THE DATE HERE)... Monday, January 5, 2009

Outside my window... Sunshine! Bare branched trees swaying in the wind. A small flock of birds flittering by.

I am thinking... of a friend who was laid off today, of another at a hospital appointment, and wondering why is "the secret building- do not look inside" sign posted on a chair in the middle of my living room?

I am thankful for... my warm house, the cup of dark hot chocolate I'm about to make, grace.

From the learning rooms... American poets and writers, writing on inventions, solving for the unknown, 1Samuel and Samuel and David and Goliath.

From the kitchen... baked potato soup and beer bread

I am wearing... jeans and a long sleeve Hawaiian tshirt and warm socks

I am creating... spread sheets for ESL attendance

I am going... to church for ESL later tonight

I am reading... Acedia & Me: A Marriage, Monks and a Writer's Life by Kathleen Norris and The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs (brand new to the church library!)

I am hoping... that I can sit next to my husband and watch Globetrekker while holding hands tonight.

I am hearing... kids in the kitchen, a ball bouncing, a dog barking.

Around the house... a bunch of kids! my five, plus 5 more!

One of my favorite things... today is being caught up on school plans for the next 3 weeks.

A few plans for the rest of the week: school, haircut, Wednesday night dinner and prayer, baseball meeting, basketball game, road trip

Here is picture thought I am sharing... this is a sign we saw in China, as you are about to step onto an escalator. That's a good reminder, "carefully focused," and not just on escalators, either!

Here's a link to The Simple Woman...

enjoy!

Considering the new year...

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. - Mark Twain

This quote reminds me of this.

That is how I want to live.
Brave.
Content.
Never complacent.
Never lukewarm.

(photo credit to Andzer)

A Rare Jewel

"Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God's wise and fatherly disposal in every condition."

Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment

Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God

2 Corinthians 3:5

I am striving for the first, ever mindful of the second...

(photo credit to Aileen Simple. That beautiful flower is what came up when I did a Flickr search for "rare jewel.")