A Night of Southern Gospel

We had "A Night of Southern Gospel" at church tonight. The choir has been practicing music for it for the past two months (or possibly longer). We had to have a lot of the music memorized, and a couple of the songs had a lot of words sung very quickly. It was quite fun, however. We Baptists have a tendency to sing our music very stoically, but people really got into the music tonight. I actually saw one man in the back raise his hands a few times! I do like to see that sort of thing - is it not biblical to lift up your hands to the Lord? I think it is a shame that in so many churches people do not feel free to allow their whole person to engage in worship. There is joy in the Lord, and we should be able to express that during worship (reverently, of course - please, no dancing in the aisles!).

One of the men from the choir sang a solo. It was a song about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. The song said that our God is great - even when He was four days late He was right on time. Isn't that the truth? His ways are not our ways, and even if we don't understand what He's doing or why things don't happen when we think they should, His ways are perfect! God acts "in the fullness of time." Praise the Lord!

Potato salad

I went to a birthday party this evening for a young lady from church. She lives with her grandparents in a lovely home. Her grandparents made a lot of homemade food for the party - barbecued chicken, baked beans (which I don't like and therefore didn't eat), hamburgers and hot dogs, cheesecake with an oreo cookie crust and cherry topping and the best potato salad I have ever tasted. I am very picky about potato salad and don't always like it, but this stuff was amazing. Grandma (I'm not sure if I actually know her name!) makes her own mayonnaise, which makes the potato salad as good as it is. I think she agreed tonight to host some cooking lessons for those of us who want to learn. I will be there! Everything she makes tastes wonderful. I went to the party with nothing and came home with chicken and potato salad. I won't have to cook tomorrow!

I stopped to get gas on my way home. It cost me over $30 to fill my tank. It was $3.059 per gallon for the cheap stuff - prices are high these days! When I bought the car three years ago I could fill it for under $20. Good thing it gets good gas mileage. Good thing I never drive very far and only have to get gas every 3 weeks. ;)

Vote for a new profile picture!!!

It is time to vote for a new profile picture for me. Which one do you think I should use? (Reader feedback requested ;).)

Picture 1

Picture 2

Picture 3

My friends say...

"I do not ask whether you are musical, Mrs. Elton. Upon these occasions, a lady's character generally precedes her; and Highbury has long known that you are a superior performer."
"Oh! no, indeed; I must protest against any such idea. A superior performer!--very far from it, I assure you. Consider from how partial a quarter your information came. I am doatingly fond of music--passionately fond;--and my friends say I am not entirely devoid of taste; but as to any thing else, upon my honour my performance is mediocre to the last degree." ~Jane Austen, Emma

Nothing quite like a little bit of false humility, is there? ;)

I posted a little "how well do you know me" survey on MySpace and a couple of my friends responded to it. I found some of their answers quite amusing and thought I would share either what they do or do not know about me. This is what my friends say:

Question: Take a stab at my middle name
Answers: "Shaniquah" and "Elizabeth"
Response: No and no.

Question: When is my birthday?
Answer: "3/30/1805"
Response: Cute. I look pretty good for a 201 year old woman.

Question: Am I funny?
Answers: "To me, heck yeah. To not so sarcastic people, maybe not." and "Yep =)"
Response: Awww! Warm fuzzies! (What? Me? Sarcastic? Never!)

Question: What is the best feature about me?
Answers: "Red Hair" and "gorgeous red hair, super long lashes, true blue eyes"
Response: Someone went a little crazy with the adjectives, at which I roll those "true blue eyes." Are you sure they aren't false blue eyes? I suppose it is only fitting that my glory is my best feature. I am rather fond of it myself...

Question: Am I shy or outgoing?
Answers: "Shy yet Outgoing...a little of both" and "middle of the road"
Response: I couldn't have said it better myself.

Question: Do I have any special talents?
Answer: "singing, writing, getting kicked out of monasteries"
Response: I had to include this one because it made me laugh out loud.

Question: What is my worst habit?
Answer: "you are not a morning person and can be slow to get started. ;)"
Response: Most definitely a statement of fact, but I doubt that it is my worst habit!

Thoughts for the day

I went to the grocery store this afternoon. While I was there I decided to buy myself some Mandarin Orange flavored Smirnoff Twisted V. I have wanted to try it for some weeks now and finally broke down and bought a 6-pack. It really does taste good. I also got some Smirnoff Ice Triple Black because I already know that I like that stuff.

I just found an old business card in a book a few minutes ago. It is a book that I lent to my brother-in-law some time back and the business card had my sister's handwriting on it. She had taken notes on my dad's condition when he was in the hospital two years ago. Two months with three stays in the hospital, most of that time in critical care. He was given a 10% chance of survival very early on and we were told to call in the family. It brings back bittersweet memories of heartache and God's goodness. I look forward to seeing my dad next week.

I was thinking today about the book of Esther. God is never mentioned in that book, yet He is there, so very clearly guiding the events and turning the heart of the king "like channels of water" (see Proverbs 21:1). Even when God seems silent, even when others turn against us and seek to do us harm, He is still in control. "Do not fear them, for the LORD your God is the one fighting for you" (Deuteronomy 3:22). If God is for us, who can be against us? His power is not diminished by silence.

"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up." ~ Deuteronomy 6:4-7
"Thy word I have treasured in my heart..." ~ Psalm 119:11a
"This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth..." ~ Joshua 1:8a
"...For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." ~ Luke 6:45b
What words are coming out of my mouth today? What do they say about my heart?

A few of my favorites

Since I claimed to really like hymns in a previous post I thought I'd list a few of my favorites. Which hymns do you like best?

Be Still My Soul (There are 2 verses that I had never sung)
Like a River Glorious
O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus (I think the lovely MIDI strains are a bit too fast on this one, also the second line of the third verse I think should read "'tis a haven sweet of rest")
How Firm a Foundation (This one also has verses that were new to me, and the last line of the first verse should be "To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled" if my memory serves me correctly)
Blessed Assurance
Stricken, Smitten and Afflicted
My Jesus, I Love Thee
O Sacred Head Now Wounded (Extra verses here, too)
How Great Thou Art
Great Is Thy Faithfulness
It Is Well with My Soul (Also has extra verses)
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing (Never heard the last verse; I do appreciate the fact that the original words are used here, although the second verse should say "mine Ebenezer" to be completely correct)

Bonus Christmas Carol:
Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne

Bonus Hymn with Lots of New (to Me) Verses:
O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing

Everyone, prepare for a shock!

Your Scholastic Strength Is Deep Thinking

You aren't afraid to delve head first into a difficult subject, with mastery as your goal. You are talented at adapting, motivating others, managing resources, and analyzing risk. You should major in: Philosophy Music Theology Art History Foreign language

What Should You Major In?

What, you weren't surprised? Hmmm. Nicole did tell me that my brain thinks too much...

Another one of those phone calls

I call my parents almost every day, so when they call me it is usually for a reason. Tonight I got one of those phone calls. My grandmother is in the hospital with blood clots in her leg. She has been in a nursing home for over three months now. She and her husband both have failing health and I know that when I see them next week that it will very likely be for the last time here on earth. If one of the blood clots travels to her heart it could kill her. I would like this one last chance to say good-bye. Just one more week.

Life on the wild side

I tend to live life on the safe side. I am a rule follower in most cases (one of my friends once said that I don't just follow the rules, I make the rules), but there are some times when I chose to step out of my safe set of rules and live life on the wild side. If I am going to break the rules, I want to make it worth my time. On my last day in Israel that is exactly what I did.

My friend Stacey and I were enjoying our last day in Jerusalem and decided that there were a few things we wanted to do: sit on the ramparts of the Old City wall and read our Bibles, visit Shabaan's shop one last time, and stop by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. All of these objectives seem innocent enough, but when one has spent the last 16 weeks exploring those old habits die hard. Into the church we went. We had certainly been there before and had looked at all of the readily accessible public places. This time we wanted to see just a little bit more. There was a balcony that ran above the central "shrine" in the church, directly under the large dome. We wanted to find a way up to the balcony. Stacey and I entered a corridor in the church and then passed through a door (I honestly did not see the sign that said where we went was private, but Stacey saw it and entered anyway), finding ourselves in a small chapel. It was quite plain, ornamented only by a rather ugly Mary - she looked a lot like a porcelain doll dressed by someone with very poor taste - in one corner and a crucifix on the front of the table in the room. We sat for a while, took a few pictures to document our discovery, and then we were discovered. A very distressed monk ushered us quickly out the door, back into the corridor that lead to the church proper. Fairly certain that we had managed to do what very few, if any, IBEX students had done before us, we went back to exploring the more readily accessible areas of the church. We would have to give up our hope of getting onto the balcony and satisfy ourselves with the knowledge that we entered the monastery at one of the most significant church buildings in liturgical Christianity and had the pictures to prove it. (You must understand that there is an unspoken competition among IBEX students over the history of the program to go places and do things that no other student from the program has done before, most often places and things that are officially off limits. It's the stuff of legends!) In our wanderings we met a young man who was an art student, there in the church working on restoring the mosaics. A few smiles later we found ourselves back through the corridor and into the monastery, following our guide up the stairs and out onto that very balcony over the center of the church. Once again we took pictures to prove that we were actually up there. We scurried back down and out of the monastery without being caught, carrying with us the thrill of our adventure. We were kicked out of the monastery at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and then went back in. That's a tale that few can tell.

In spirit and truth

Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall you worship the Father. You worship that which you do not know; we worship that which we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." ~John 4:21-24

I have been involved in music ministry fairly consistently for the past nine years - eight years in various worship teams, four years in church choirs, a solo here and there and even served as the worship leader for a ladies' retreat when I was 21. I know from experience that church music is a big issue of contention among Christians. Should we sing hymns or choruses? I answer with a resounding, "Yes!" When we get caught up in the form or age of the songs that we sing are we losing sight of what worship is about? We are called to worship God in spirit and truth. The content of our songs is vastly more important than the form. I grew up singing hymns and I love them. I am saddened by the attitude of so many people my age, expressed quite aptly once by one of my friends: "I hate singing hymns. They're so boring." My last year of college I spent every Friday night at a professor's house with a small group of students from school singing through the hymnal, every verse of every song, from the most beloved and familiar to the ones none of us had ever heard. Then we talked about the songs. What do the words say? Are they consistent with our faith? Some hymns are very wishy-washy or even doctrinally unsound. Some are full of amazing truth and praise to God. I have found modern choruses to be much the same. Some are shallow, some are quite questionable in their message, some sound like they belong on a soft rock radio station as the only thing that differentiates them from a cheesy love song is the capital "Y" in "You." Some are great songs of truthful worship. Everyone is entitled, I think, to their own preference of musical style, but should that become a divisive issue among the children of God? Let us first seek truth in our worship!

Truth alone is not what God seeks in His worshipers, however. He seeks those who worship in spirit. Isaiah 29:13 writes of God's people who "draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote." This is not the spirit of worship God desires from us. If we concern ourselves so much with form that we allow it to cause divisions in our midst, are our hearts tuned to worship or are they turned away while our lips repeat the things we have learned by rote, whether that be music new or old? Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Excuse me, but that's my carpet...

I am now a contributor to the excellent Shoes Off at the Door, Please blog. I posted the story of my journey to this place of indoor shoeless bliss here. Click on the link. You know you want to. How else are you going to find out how I became an Offalist?

An inane apologia of evil

I was reading from this year's official "Way of the Cross" for the Catholic church as read by the Pope this year on Good Friday. This was primarily out of curiosity. I have heard of the stations of the Cross but never really knew what they were other than something that Catholics prayed through. I decided to read it this year because the strong conservative tone of the prayers written for it were mentioned in the news. Here is the prayer from the third station (Jesus falls for the first time):

Lord, we have lost our sense of sin! Today a slick campaign of propaganda is spreading an inane apologia of evil, a senseless cult of Satan, a mindless desire for transgression, a dishonest and frivolous freedom, exalting impulsiveness, immorality and selfishness as if they were new heights of sophistication.
Lord Jesus, open our eyes: let us see the filth around us and recognize it for what it is, so that a single tear of sorrow can restore us to purity of heart and the breadth of true freedom. Open our eyes, Lord, Jesus!

I'm really not sure whether a single tear of sorrow is going to restore purity of heart, but I think the first part of the prayer is absolutely correct. Does society not tell us that sinful behavior is sophisticated? Let me then be a simple-minded fool, unsophisticated and unbound by the sin from which Christ has set me free!

The priest who quit

The priest who quit

The most recent update to "In the world but not of it".

Only one more

Tonight as I sit here I think about how I have only one more Monday night class to teach. Only one more. This teaching experience has been a huge blessing in my life. It was a learning experience for me, certainly! Even with the interesting disciplinary issues I have had to deal with I have had a really good time. There is nothing like talking about immigrant experiences with a group of international students! When I was in Israel two friends and I booked a weekend trip to Istanbul. There was some miscommunication and we missed our flight. God did not see fit for me to go to Turkey then, but He saw fit to bring Turkey to me this semester in the form of my 13 students. They will all go back home after this semester and I will probably never see them again after that, but I still have one more Monday night with them. I am going to miss them!

My night with my daddy

My daddy is taking me to a baseball game while I am in California next week. I am excited, but more because of the time with my dad doing what we used to like to do together than the actual baseball game. Even though I talk to my parents for something like 30 minutes almost every day and spent three weeks with them over Christmas, this is still a big thing. I love baseball, so seeing the Dodgers play will be fun (I am sure they will lose), but I know that my dad took it very hard when I moved. We were supposed to go to a game the night before I left, but emotions were running high and we got in a bit of a fight that night instead. I think we need this time to be together at a game again. I am glad he thought of it!

What not to read at 1:00 am

Last night I read An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States. In this 1913 classic, Charles A. Beard very systematically describes the economic aspects of the process of drafting and ratifying the Constitution. I would say that 90% of his evidence was circumstantial, which always leaves me with reasonable doubt. He spent 75 pages describing the economic situation of each and every delegate to the Philadelphia Convention to "prove" that they all had economic interests to protect. 75 pages of that at 1:00 am? Walk up to wall. Facing wall, move head forcefully forward until contact with wall is made. Return head to original position. Repeat ad infinitum.

Study Break

I just finished a 600+ page book and have several hundred more pages to read before I go to bed tonight. While 600 pages seemed rather daunting at first, I found the book to be extremely well written. Perhaps someday when I am not a student and do not have deadlines I will go back and actually read it. Graduate students in history do not actually read their textbooks - we skim, reading enough to grasp the author's argument. It is normal to have around 1000 pages due each week in all classes combined. We're supposed to research and write papers in addition to that. It's more than a full time job! With all of the work I have left to do tonight and with the sound of the rain and thunder outside it was definitely time to take a break and brew some tea. Uh-oh. Decision time. I have over 30 varieties of tea in my pantry. I am obsessed, I confess. I have black tea, green tea, red tea, white tea and herbal tea, each in a variety of flavors. I took up tea when I gave up caffeine a couple of years ago (I highly recommend removing caffeine from diets - I used to get headaches all the time and my body generally did not respond well to stress, but now I get very few headaches and can physically handle stress much better) because there is a very good selection of decaffeinated tea on the market. Tonight's selection, however, is not decaffeinated. In honor of the late night I foresee for myself I chose plain white tea. White tea comes from the same plant as green and black tea. The color of the tea is based on how long the tea is processed. The darker the tea the longer processing time and the more caffeine it will have. White tea is thus a very lightly processed tea and has about 15% of the caffeine of coffee. The tea leaves are only picked two days out of the year, so it is minimally more expensive than most other teas, but still quite affordable. It is to be brewed in hot water, just short of boiling, for 30-60 seconds. The taste is light and pleasant. (Red tea, for the uninitiated, is specific type of herbal tea, made from the African Rooibos herb. I really only like flavored varieties of red tea and have a very delightful red chai tea among my collection.) I find that my cup is now empty. Time for another cup and another decision!

Closed minds

The pastor said some things this morning that made my mind work. I think he is right. He said, "God does not have to fit into our understanding; we must gain His understanding." He was talking about having "closed" minds and "closed" theological systems. If we have a closed system that is not growing and changing as we study God's word more, we are closing our minds to God's truth. When we say, "God can only work this way," we are putting God in a box. God doesn't belong in a box of our own creation. We as fundamentalists seem especially good at closing our systems, I am sure in the name of all of our personal beliefs being "fundamental." There are some things on which we must never change, but we don't know everything and we don't have it all figured out. I wonder how closed my system really is...

"The List"

I will on occasion make reference to a list that I have given God of the qualities that I am looking for in a husband. One of my friends asked me a few weeks ago what was on that list. The whole topic of marriage seems to be popping up around me quite a bit, so in a moment of transparency, I think I will share the most current edition of said list with the whole blogosphere! I honestly don't consider this to be a particularly "personal" thing. Perhaps many people would...
I am looking for a man who:

• Is a spiritual leader and will invite me to dig deeply into God's word with him.
• Is wise.
• Is a man of integrity.
• Is strong yet gentle.
• Will pursue me.
• Is responsible.
• Is teachable.
• Is humble and not full of himself.
• Has his priorities in the right order.
• Pursues God actively.
• Can balance humor and seriousness.
• Is hardworking and committed to supporting his family.
• Will not flaunt or make light of my weaknesses and vulnerability.
• Will take an active role in raising any children.
• Is intelligent and thinking (preference, not requirement).

Am I being unreasonable, expecting too much? I feel like I should end this post with "now accepting applications." Please, no applications. I am going to let God take care of this one.

April showers

The sunny, warm weather that blessed us this week has gone. It is about 30 degrees cooler today than it was yesterday and the sun has been replaced by rain, and quite a bit of it. The parking lot across the street from my apartment was the site of a little romantic stroll, however. I looked out and saw two ducks, one male and one female, waddling through one of the larger puddles. Spring is here and it looks like the ducks are twitterpated! The trees are growing leaves and flowers, and that looks beautiful even in the midst of the rain.

Starting to count down...

I am moving in about 6 weeks to a new apartment. I am really looking forward to it for several reasons. I really cannot stand the number of small animals that live in this building. Usually they content themselves to staying in the walls (and running around, scratching, chewing, etc. at all hours of the night), but I have had mice in my kitchen twice - I actually saw one of them running across the kitchen floor in December. I am really not okay with that. I know what they like to go for now, so I think I can probably avoid more infestations, but even just the noise of them running above my ceiling is annoying. I look forward to having a roommate. I can live alone, but I hate eating alone. We both like to cook for other people and think that meals ought to be social, so I do look forward to having someone else around.

Days like today really make me look forward to moving. It is Saturday, and that means laundry. Nicole (the future roommate) and I do our laundry together every Saturday. It helps us stay on top of it and makes the time go by much more quickly. Now she comes over to my apartment to pick me up and we go together to the laundry mat. The laundry mat is, as with any other public facility, an interesting place. All sorts of interesting characters frequent it. Usually it just makes for an interesting study in humanity. The last two times we have gone have been more than merely interesting. The last time the fire alarm went off. It stopped after a few minutes and we went about our business. Then an older man came in and I felt like he was watching me fold my clothes. Granted, I was between him and the windows, but it was still unnerving. This morning the same older man was there and I felt like he was watching me again. Another man very politely asked how many quarters it would take to dry the clothes. (This did not bother me - the dryers are on timers instead of a cycle, so it is a natural question for someone unfamiliar with how quickly they dry.) I very politely responded, "4 or 5 quarters." Then just as we were finishing up, a rather unkempt, seemingly middle-aged man (who reminded me of Bob's impression of Tourette's Syndrome in What About Bob? - he seemed to randomly emit obscenities and other unsavory noises while staring at the wall of dryers) stopped at the bench not far from us and started talking to us (which we ignored). His opening words: "Nice looking ladies." Apparently he muttered (his speech was rather unintelligible) something about how we were probably much younger than he is (Nicole is 22, I am 25, so his estimation was correct), and then had his brightest moment of the encounter when he finished with, "I guess I'll just go home." Yes, sir, please do!

Our new apartment is right next to the laundry room in the apartment complex. No more carrying laundry down the stairs and then back up the stairs (we both live in second floor apartments now). No more carrying laundry out to the car on rainy days like today. No more interesting characters from my ghetto neighborhood watching me fold my underclothing or trying to strike up a conversation. The laundry will be cheaper, too, so hopefully I won't have to stand at a change machine as often, waiting for 80 quarters to come out because I only had $20 bills on me and was running low on quarters. In addition to the dishwasher and garbage disposal and porch and all of the other things that we will have there that I do not have now, doing laundry will be much more convenient, and hopefully we won't have to use our weekends to do it anymore!

New blog link

Shoes Off at the Door, Please is one man's mission to save the domestic floors of the world, one courteous person at a time. He makes a good argument, but don't take my word for it; come see for yourself!

Nothing heroic about it

I think it has been about two months now since I called the cable company and had them disconnect my television. Yes, no TV for me. It was a measure to remove one time wasting temptation from my life, but I think it helped me reconsider what I choose to watch. I think that I am becoming more and more prudish and sensitive to negative messages in movies. I am becoming more aware of the pervasive sinfulness of our modern society and its infecting power. I was recently introduced to Moulin Rouge. It's been around for a few years, I know, but I usually am not "with the times" when it comes to entertainment. Even when I watched TV it was stuff like Little House on the Prairie and Bonanza (okay, so my parents got me hooked on CSI for a while, but that I think has proven to be naught but a fad for me). I have had a number of friends who really like Moulin Rouge. The opening scenes are really quite garish and I found myself wondering what on earth people found appealing about the film as I watched it for the first time. The film is, I have to admit, rather engrossing and I now own the DVD, although I am inclined to watch only a few scenes from it. I generally skip most of it and just watch the scenes that have the music and cinematography that most appeal to me. Some of the music is amazingly well put together. One of the scenes that I like most is perhaps one with the worst message. For those familiar with the film I am referring to the "Elephant Love Medley" where Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman sing together on top of the elephant. The words of that medley are terrible! One of the climactic moments is when Ewan McGregor sings, "We could be heroes, just for one day." It continues, "We could steal time, just for one day. We could be heroes, forever and ever." They could be heroes, in other words, for having sex with someone they just met "in the name of love." That one day would make them heroes forever? There is nothing heroic about it. Love's heroes are those who hold the marriage bed sacred! I hate the implications of such reflections. If I consider my collection of DVDs how many are just not edifying? But why should I resist removing possible "pollutants" from my life? Sometimes indulging in unholy pleasures, even as passive as just watching movies with bad messages just feels good. I just quoted Philippians 4:8 a few days ago to focus on thinking on what is true. The rest of the verse convicts me on this issue: "whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things."

Musings on the baking powder can

Moving across the country made my first few trips to the grocery store rather stressful. My trusted brands were replaced by brands completely unknown to me. I have a strong affinity for the tried and true, so when it came to buying baking powder I was pleased to see the familiar image of the Indian chief on the shelf. Calumet is the only kind of baking powder I ever remember seeing in my mother's kitchen. It is a very old brand, made in Canada (which I did not know until I read the can this morning) and now owned by Kraft. While the packaging may have changed slightly over the years, the can looks almost exactly the same. And I just learned why the image goes with the name in the past few days. I am reading a book called The Middle Ground: Indians, Empires, and Republics in the Great Lakes Region, 1650-1815. So far I have read a lot about the French colonial government in Canada and their relationship to the Native Americans (I think because the book was published in 1991 it avoided the "politically correct" trap that those of us in academia find ourselves in every time we speak or write - the author refers to them as Indians). Rather interesting stuff. Somehow the French still appear rather stupid to this American even though they may have handled the natives better than the Americans did after the War for Independence. Darn Frogs ;). The calumet is a peace pipe. I did not know that. While associated with Indian chiefs, would it not be more appropriate to put an actual calumet on the Calumet can? But if you saw a can of white powder with an ornately decorated pipe on the packaging, what would you think was inside? It reminds me of something that some missionaries to Panama told me when we visited a market there. In Panama many people cannot read. Package labeling is therefore very important. They put images on the package to indicate what is inside. A can of corn, for instance, would have a picture of corn on the label. If they came to one of our stores and saw a bag of dog food with a cute puppy on it, they would think that the product was made from dog meat. They would probably be horrified by the Gerber baby's face on all of those little jars. So what is this white powder in the Calumet can? There is an Indian chief on it! Perhaps the magic rising power of this mysterious white powder has some greater mystic meaning! Perhaps the image is best preserved as it is to bring comfort to migrant Americans like me, just looking for something familiar on the shelves of the store...

An unexpected blessing

An hour ago I wrote, "I could use "free" right about now!" I called the airline to change my departure date from May 4 to May 3, and everything was going well until I found out that it was going to cost an extra $650 to change it. One day was just not worth it; I thought they might charge $100 or so for a voluntary schedule change. Plan B - make them change which flights I was taking on Thursday and give up my hopes of that extra day in CA. I purchased the ticket about 10 months ago, and in that time they had changed my flights a few times. They had me flying out of Syracuse at 6:00 am and then have a 4 hour layover in Chicago. I'd have to leave my house at 3:00 am to sit in Chicago for 4 hours? No, I don't think so. Because they changed my original schedule I knew they had to let me change the flights once for free. She (or was it a she? - I could have sworn this person introduced themselves as "Fred" but certainly sounded like a woman - maybe it was short for something) checked the flights available on Thursday, then she made a phone call, then she came back - they changed my flight date to Wednesday with the flight schedule I wanted (leaving at 10:00 am from Syracuse and arriving in Los Angeles around 2:30) at no extra charge. I am not sure what happened, but it saved me a lot of money!

What a relief!

I just received an e-mail from one of my professors. She has the flu and is therefore canceling class tonight. I am quite relieved! I was supposed to present on a book tonight and am not so far along in it as I would like to be ten hours before class and six hours before I have to send out an e-mail with the outline of the book. Now my dilemma is whether to stop working on this and put it off until next week so I can read four books and a bunch of articles for a presentation on Monday afternoon or to finish this now and then read all of the stuff for Monday. Perhaps a little bit of both? The more I put stuff off the more I have to do in the last few weeks of class, and I have to get a draft of a paper written in the next two weeks so I can subject it to the scrutiny of my very critical classmates. What joys await!

Two weeks from now I will be at home with my parents and my dog, and I might get to see one of my sisters, too. It will be a crazy visit, but it will be good to be there! My itinerary is to fly in on Wednesday (the airline does not know this yet...I really ought to call them), see my grandmother, who is now in a nursing home (probably permanently) but doing a little bit better than she was a few weeks ago, and to see her husband, who is dealing with some pretty nasty terminal cancer. Thursday is my day to spend at home. I have not yet gotten the schedule of all of the events for Shieryl's wedding, but as a bridesmaid I know I am busy on Friday and Saturday! I will come back home (funny how I have two homes...) on Sunday. I still have not gotten my dress altered. It is too big! My friend and I are singing in the church choir and we have a special "night of Southern gospel" on the 30th. Her parents are coming up for that and her mom might be able to alter the dress for me - it might end up being free. I could use "free" right about now!

Keeping myself in the kitchen

I had an urge yesterday to make fried chicken. So I drove myself down to the store and bought myself some drumsticks. I made up some seasoned flour, measuring absolutely nothing in the process, heated some oil and butter in a frying pan, coated the chicken and began to fry. The chicken turned out fine, but I think I'll need to use more oil at a higher temperature next time and perhaps fry the chicken a few minutes longer. It was a learning experience, and since it didn't fail completely, I will have to try it again! It is also the first time I have made anything using the 1975 version of The Joy of Cooking. :)

Last night I put together a variation on chicken tortilla casserole that is currently sitting in the refrigerator, waiting to be baked. I couldn't find any green chile salsa and didn't want to go to Wegman's for that one ingredient, so I used a small can of salsa made from tomatoes, green chiles, lime & cilantro instead. It should be just fine! I must say that it is a good thing that I can eat off of the casserole for a week because it takes a fair bit of time to make it! Some day I will get a food processor or something like that so when a recipe calls for a finely chopped onion I won't have to finely chop it by hand. My kitchen smells like an onion this morning.

As soon as I finish here I will head back to the kitchen and make my sister's favorite meatloaf recipe. It has packed brown sugar and ketchup under the meat mixture in the pan. Unfortunately it also requires some finely chopped onion. <Sigh> At least I will have food that I can heat quickly. I have so much homework to do in the next few days that I will need quick food! School is over in a month, then I just have to survive three more semesters, but hopefully the education classes will be more enjoyable. I don't have to go to school full time anymore after this semester (until I student teach in fall 2007) and have been told that the classes should be much easier than what I am taking now. I look forward to that!

A point of contention with the Free Grace position

My blog has been honored by "H K Flynn" as a purist blog in the Free Grace/Purist debate. :) For those of you wondering what this means and why, I will explain briefly. My life in the blogosphere is not restricted to my blogs. I have participated in some theological debates on Jonathan Moorhead's blog, including a few on the Free Grace position. I don't generally post much here on anything that attempts to take a position on any theological system, so the honor is less about this blog than it is about what I have said elsewhere, but in honor of the hyperlink I will do just that.

My point of contention is this related to the question of whether the Gospel of John is sufficient (complete) for an understanding of what I call "saving faith." This Free Grace assertion is based on John 20:31: "but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name." My observation (and I claim to be no expert on their position!) is that they would take this to mean that John's gospel must therefore include all necessary doctrine of salvation. For the uninitiated, what is at stake in the bigger picture of the argument is whether or not repentance is necessary for salvation (I say yes, because of several NT passages; they say no, because it is not explicitly stated in John). My challenge to the Free Gracers out there is to put the verse a little bit more into context. The context of chapter 20 is the post-resurrection appearance of Jesus to Mary Magdalene and then twice to the disciples. Both appearances to the disciples in the chapter involve Jesus entering a locked room, and it is at the second appearance that he says to Thomas, in verse 29, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed." Then John writes in the next two verses, "Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name." I think John is trying to say that he wrote about the things Christ said and did, particularly the post-resurrection appearances that were miraculous in nature and proved that He conquered death, to provide evidence that Jesus is the Messiah in whom we, who did not see these things for ourselves, must believe to be saved. I think he answers the who more than the how. This is Jesus, believe in Him. This is the object of our faith. On this I am sure most of us on either part of the debate would agree. John's gospel is sufficient (complete) to prove through the life, miracles, death and resurrection of Jesus that He is who and what He said He is. THAT is John's claim. I don't think he is trying at all to say that he offers a sufficient (complete) doctrine of faith (and salvation). So there's my chosen point of contention, probably not well argued, but I think it is a significant difference underlying how we understand faith leading to salvation.

For the record - a recantation

I made some comments on my blog over the past few weeks that I would like to officially recant. This is not necessarily prompted by anyone pointing out the error of my ways, although I think I have misrepresented myself in one of these posts, but part of the process of growth as I attempt to reconcile what I believe to what is happening in the world today.

I think there are some specific issues that the Bible does speak to, such as how we should approach paying taxes to provide for the needs of aliens - the tithe to feed the alien, orphan, widow and Levite was, as we might do well to remember, "in order that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do." - March 31

On second thought, no, there is a legitimate reason for not wanting to support illegal immigrants in this manner because it essentially grants governmental sanction of their illegal presence. However, I still hold that we should consider it our responsibility to care for those who are here legally, even if that means paying slightly higher taxes, and should show humanitarian compassion on those here illegally even as we seek to uphold the law. I recant my overly simplistic first conclusion - the issue is much more complicated than I saw it then.

Since I have posted a few times on Christians and immigration I thought I'd add this link to an article from Christianity Today. A friend sent it to me and I liked it. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/114/53.0.html - April 8

Disrespect for the law was never my intent (except in the one instance where I see clear conflict between man's law and God's law, and even then my deeper conviction, not well articulated, I confess, is that the law is problematic and should be addressed) - I seek to address attitudes toward aliens as people. I reread this article and now see that it is really faulty (and wonder how I missed this the first time I read it), using Enlightenment ideals (rather than biblical ideals, which don't agree with the point they are trying to make, in my opinion) to justify lawlessness vis-à-vis illegal immigration. They may raise good points for the debate as a whole, but take it a little bit too far in how their ideals should work in real life. In short, I don't like the article now.

Random notes for the week

Most interesting comment from a non-Christian this week: "Life is shadow." Sounds to me like someone is walking in darkness and is becoming increasingly aware of it!

This week's culinary experiment: Meatloaf, not following any particular recipe, using what I had on hand - it tasted kind of like meatloaf, oddly enough ;).

Something little that feels really big: I finally opened the outer windows and put the screens back on the windows that required screen removal to close the windows for winter (and I "patched" a hole in one screen with packing tape and orange thread), so now I can have fresh air inside again!

Something I needed to hear this week (but was never told): Shut up!

Exciting news from this week: Accepted into the MAT program on Tuesday and put down the first month's rent for a new apartment on Wednesday. That's right, Nicole and I are moving to Endicott (woohoo?)! Best part about the apartment: it has an extra room (office/den/quasi-private place to put the air mattress when guests come), which might just have been the selling point!

Most looking forward to this week: Going home for a weekend in just under 3 weeks - think I'm going to change the itinerary so I can go a day earlier, even if it costs me more money.

Congratulations! MAT/Social Studies!

Dear Ms. Poole:

Congratulations on your admission to our selective, graduate-only teacher education program. We are pleased to welcome you to Binghamton University, State University of New York...for the Master of Arts in Teaching/Social Studies Adolescence Education degree program.

Life is teasing me!

Everything in my life right now just seems to tease me, toying with me, putting something enticing just beyond my reach. I think perhaps God is trying to teach me to trust Him and be patient, waiting on the Lord...

Whatever is true

"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things." ~ Philippians 4:8
Women tend to read into things. I am a woman, and I am no exception to this rule. Sometimes I find myself getting carried away by my imagination into a future world carefully crafted to meet whatever "dream" my mind embraces at the time. I am convinced that such things are unproductive at best (unless we aspire to write novels or scripts) and can lead to discontentment. When Paul exhorts us to let our minds dwell on whatever is true, I think it is safe to say that we should not let our minds dwell on whatever is not true. In this case I would say that possibilities are not true. Living in a really nice house on a large lot: not out of the realm of possibility, but still not true. Marrying whichever young man I have my eye on: remotely possible, but not true. "All I have needed Thy hand hath provided": TRUE. Submitting our hearts, our lives and our minds to God may mean giving up our dreams, but He is guaranteed to replace those dreams with perfect peace for those whose minds dwell on Him.

New(s) blog

I decided to start another blog to address issues in the news. The address for the blog is: http://citizensabove.blogspot.com/. (It can also be accessed from my profile.) I am still in the beginning stages of putting together a team of bloggers (so I won't be the only one posting), so the site is still somewhat under construction. I won't be abandoning this blog, but I want to keep some sort of divide between the kind of stuff I usually post here and my thoughts on the news. :)

Immigration article

Since I have posted a few times on Christians and immigration I thought I'd add this link to an article from Christianity Today. A friend sent it to me and I liked it.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/114/53.0.html

A traditional girl in modern culture's court

Apparently Christian young men complain that it's hard to find a "traditional" woman these days. From where I sit, single, dateless, and absolutely unpursued, I have to ask where they have been looking, or perhaps more accurately, what they are looking for. What does a traditional young woman look like in our modern society? Traditional as I understand it means that she believes that the husband is the head of the household and that she is to willingly submit to her husband (and her father while she is in his household). She believes that it is good for a woman to stay home and raise her children, even if that means living on a small income and having to (heaven forbid!) practice frugality. According to this understanding of traditional I am very traditional. I even know how to cook (and enjoy doing it, too), which has to be a bonus in today's society! But do I appear traditional or do I appear like a modern, career-oriented, take-charge woman? I am afraid that I probably look more like the latter. I have a strong personality, so I probably do not appear like a meek little lady. I don't know how I can change my personality and suspect that it may always be strong. This is not, however, inconsistent with "traditional" gender roles. Any woman with any kind of personality can still choose to submit willingly! It probably means that I have some (okay, a lot) rough edges that God is going to have to soften as I become more like Him. I have attended graduate school and have given a lot of thought to possible careers. Am I career-oriented? No, but I am single and living with my parents is no longer an option for me, so I have to find a way to support myself. There is no guarantee that I will ever marry, so I think it would be foolish of me to not make an effort to secure a decent paying job that I can at least tolerate well, although a career as such is nothing more than a contingency plan in my mind. I don't take every opportunity to participate in child care. Quite frankly I don't think that is the best age group for me to work with. Nine years spent in nursery and Awana ministry has been enough to prove it, but that does not mean that I am not willing to do it, certainly does not mean that I dislike children in any way, and by no means discourages me from dreaming of having my own children some day. And then there's the intimidation factor. I have been accused by two or three witness of being somewhat intimidating in social settings. Perhaps no young man has taken the time to find out these things about me because none have had the courage to attempt to get to know me. I don't mean to intimidate, and I am sure that I need to assess how I interact with people because I want to be approachable! Yet at the same time I think it is right that young men should be scared. They may or may not be able to tell this, but I have extremely high standards. They are not unattainable, but they are not for the faint of heart, and I pray and ask God to send me someone who meets those standards (or will grow into them with time - I think it's a bit unfair to expect a young man to know exactly how to be a spiritual leader from day 1, he just has to try!). You see, I do have that strong personality, and that means that the man I marry has to be something special. Anyone up for a challenge? Get to know me and you might just be surprised at what you find!

Cut down lines

Got this from a friend. I think they're great! :)

Man: Where have you been all my life?
Woman: Hiding from you.

Man: Haven't I seen you someplace before?
Woman: Yes, that's why I don't go there anymore.

Man: Is this seat empty?
Woman: Yes, and this one will be if you sit down.

Man: Your place or mine?
Woman: Both. You go to yours, and I'll go to mine.

Man: So, what do you do for a living?
Woman: I'm a female impersonator.

Man: Hey baby, what's your sign?
Woman: A Stop Sign

Man: I would go to the end of the world for you.
Woman: But would you stay there?

I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink

When do you disobey the government? European Christians hid Jews during the Holocaust, and we praise them for the risk they took to preserve life, choosing to obey God when the laws of God and man conflict. They are heroes to us, and they are the recipients of God's blessing: "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt 5:10).

• Fact: In 2005, 473 people died attempting to immigrate (illegally) to the US. Most deaths happened in the Southwest desert areas and a very large portion of them from dehydration and other exposure to the elements.
• Fact: You can get arrested for attempting to provide humanitarian aid to those who might otherwise die in the desert sun. (See news article here.)
• Fact: Jesus said, "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me.' Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed you, or thirsty, and give you drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.' Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.' Then they themselves also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?' Then He will answer them, saying, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." (Matt 25:34-46)

If it is illegal to help someone by giving them water than can save their life, by all means break the law! Would you risk having Jesus ask you why you let Him die from dehydration? Most of us are quite honestly not in any situation that would require us to make a decision to help an illegal immigrant in the desert, but are we supporting legislation, existing or proposed, that would make serving Jesus in this manner illegal? Illegal immigration is a problem, yes, this is true, and I think that something ought to be done about it, but whatever we do ought to be done in a manner consistent with the love and compassion that God calls us to give the aliens and strangers among us.