I'm sorry for abandoning this blog for so long. I keep thinking that I need to update it, but have not had very much to write about. So I'll at least get you caught up on the minutia around our house. At least that will have me writing something!
I've started a new campaign with West. I absolutely hated working for Citi. It had nothing to do with West, I just was not a fit for that skill. When you think the company that you're supporting is just awful, it's hard to offer good customer service. I was offered another skill, so I'm doing that now. I much prefer this. I'm working for XM radio now, and much prefer it. The call volume is much lower on this skill, so I'm stuck at my desk for hours at a time with not much to do, but on the plus side, I can get some knitting done for Christmas. That's always a good thing!
In other news, Jason switched to midnight shift a few weeks ago. That's been a pretty major adjustment for us. The kids still get to see him a good bit (though he's still working on getting his days and nights flipped, so some evenings after dinner, he'll grab an extra nap), but the two of us are on wholly different sleep schedules now, and that's weird. Even when I worked til midnight at Aegis, he usually waited up for me so we could go to bed together. Generally if either of us is gone, we just stay up until we're completely wiped out and then collapse. Since that's not so much an option anymore, I'm just trying to learn to sleep alone. Needless to say, I live for Fridays and Saturdays when we get to go to bed together. But with school starting up for Jason in January, this really is the best schedule. We do still get some family time and it provides him with time to go to classes and to study. Since he's wanted to do this for as long as we've been married (go back to school, that is), I absolutely support this switch. But I admit, I do still miss snuggling up with him when I head to my room.
The kids are doing well. The boys have both been sick. A minor fever and some nasal junk, but it's a day or so of uncomfy, then it's over. I'm hoping that the girls avoid it, but in a house as small as ours with as many people, it's unlikely. Fortunately, it's not much of a bug, so no major worries. We're still waiting for the three youngest to get the H1N1 vax. Deborah got hers a few days ago without incident. I believe at this point, we're waiting for the manufacturers to get it shipped here, though I admit that I was surprised that the elementary schools didn't get the first batch instead of the middle school.
I'm super excited about this weekend. David Crowder Band is coming to our church on Sunday night. It should be a fantastic concert. I really enjoy the newest album (honestly, I love pretty much everything they've ever done), and the one concert I saw a few years ago was really fantastic. This show sold out and I'm expecting it to be a great crowd.
Even better though, my best friend Julia is coming in for the concert! Hooray! We haven't seen each other since July, so I'm thrilled to get to visit with her for a day. I'm playing in church this weekend, so I'm hoping that she'll get there in time to go to church. After that, we're planning to go out to lunch at Fujiyama's (I'm looking forward to that, as I haven't been to this steakhouse yet). Then just hang out either at my house or her hotel until the concert. Then I think we're going to grab breakfast on Monday morning after I get Deborah off to school. I'm so looking forward to seeing her. We talk on the phone now and then (her teaching makes just shooting the bull a bit more difficult these days), but nothing is like hanging out in real life!
This weekend Megan and I are doing our annual craft show. I'm looking forward to that as well. This year I've put all of my eggs in the "wristies" basket. Here's hoping it pays off!
That should bring you up to date on us for now. Hope everyone is having a lovely fall!
I've been thinking about my roots a bit this weekend, most likely given the fact that in addition to Halloween, this was reformation Sunday at most Lutheran churches.
And while the obvious choice for the Monday following the celebration of the reformation, I'm going a different way. One of my favorite hymns growing up was a rarely heard one called "Earth and All Stars." It was in the NEW hymnbook, so we rarely sang it (we were strictly a red The Lutheran Hymnal church), but I remember always enjoying the occasions that we sang that hymn. They were generally joyful times that included lots of extras, like multiple choirs sings, handbells playing, and occasionally the church "orchestra" playing. It was almost always a service that I was looking forward to with much anticipation.
Looking at these lyrics again, they just make me well up. So often we see certain things as belonging in church and other things as belonging outside of church. We see people who are "professional" Christians (pastors, speakers, musicians) and then look at our job as a computer support person or parent or doctor or whatever and wonder how we can serve God in that. I love how this hymn speaks so clearly to how everything (everything!) can praise God. As you go about your day, doing whatever it is you do, I encourage you to seek ways to work for the glory of God. Be blessed!
Just a few pics of the kids from this Halloween. This year, they all dressed up as scientists. Deborah was Dian Fossey. Faith was Jane Goodall. James was Albert Einstein. Christopher was Louis Pasteur. They had a blast learning about each of these scientists and getting their costumes together. Enjoy the pictures! (Click to embiggen)
Good morning! Sorry it's been a full week since posting. I hope to find a little time in the coming week to update with what has been going on around here (not much!).
Anyway, today I'm going in a silly direction for Halloween. Last week, one of my FaceBook friends posted a status update about wanting to eat brains, but not eyes. I commented on it in some inane way, but then thought that I post a lot of status updates that sound like something, but are actually lyrics from songs or quotes from movies or television shows. So I went ahead and googled the comment to see if it was from a larger body of work. I am so glad that I did, as it brought me to Jonathan Coulton (JoCo to his fans). I haven't been this happy to discover new music in a long time!
So here's your zombie offering for today!
Your Brains by Jonathan Coulton
Heya Tom, it's Bob, From the office down the hall. It's good to see you buddy, How've ya been? Things have been okay for me, Except that I'm a zombie now. I really wish you'd let us in. I think I speak for all of us when I say I understand Why you folks might hesitate to submit to our demands, But here's an FYI - you're all gonna die, screaming.
All we wanna do is eat your brains Were not unreasonable, I mean no-one's gonna eat your eyes All we wanna do is eat your brains Were at an impasse here, Maybe we should compromise. If you open up the door, We'll all come inside and eat your brains.
I don't wanna nitpick Tom, but is this really your plan - Spend your whole life locked inside a mall? Maybe that's okay for now, But someday you'll be out of food and guns, And you'll have to make the call. I'm not surprised to see you haven't thought it through enough - You never had the head for all that 'bigger picture' stuff. But Tom, that's what I do, And I plan on eating you, slowly.
All we wanna do is eat your brains Were not unreasonable, I mean no-one's gonna eat your eyes All we wanna do is eat your brains Were at an impasse here Maybe we should compromise If you open up the door, We'll all come inside and eat your brains
I'd like to help you Tom, In any way I can. I sure appreciate the way you're working with me. I'm not a monster Tom - well, technically I am...I guess I am...
I've got another meeting Tom; Maybe we could wrap it up. I know we'll get to common ground somehow. Meanwhile I'll report back to my colleagues, Who are chewing on the doors. I guess we'll table this for now. I'm glad to see you take constructive criticism well Thank you for your time, I know we're all busy as hell. And we'll put this thing to bed, When I bash your head open.
All we wanna do is eat your brains Were not unreasonable, I mean no-one's gonna eat your eyes All we wanna do is eat your brains Were at an impasse here Maybe we should compromise If you open up the door, We'll all come inside and eat your brains
Saturday night on my drive home from church, I got stuck in the post-game traffic headed south. So my 25-30 minute drive got extended into an hour long crawl. Normally this would irritate me, particularly after a long day at church to be followed by yet another long morning. However, on WV Public Radio, it's pledge time. And while I know that's not generally seen as a good thing, it usually means that they bring their A-list programming. Mountain Stage is a favorite to listen to around here anyway, but because it's pledge week, they were playing a "best of" program and it was really fantastic. Got to hear a lot of great music, but one song in particular stood out to me. It was "Leaves Don't Drop, They Just Let Go" by Carrie Newcomer.
The truth I learned when I was eight. My dad swam the length of Spirit Lake. It must have been a million miles. This I knew was true. My mother sang while hangin' clothes. Her notes weren't perfect heaven knows. But heaven opened anyway. And this I knew was true.
Leaves don't drop they just let go, And make a space for seeds to grow. Every season brings a change, A tree is what a seed contains, To die and live is life's refrain.
I left her with some groceries, Said, "Check the oil and call me please.” She said " Hey, ma I'll be just fine." This I knew was true.
Leaves don't drop they just let go, And make a space for seeds to grow. Every season brings a change, A tree is what a seed contains, To die and live is life's refrain.
I've traveled through my history, From certainty to mystery. God speaks in rhyme in paradox. This I know is true. And finally when life is through, I'm what I am not just what I do. It comes down to you and your next breath, And this I know is true.
Leaves don't drop they just let go, And make a space for seeds to grow. Every season brings a change, A tree is what a seed contains, To die and live is life's refrain.
One of the things I love about living here in WV is that we get such vivid seasons, particularly fall. The drive home from church yesterday was absolutely stunning. For about three weeks a year, we get an absolutely spectacular panorama of color on the mountains here. Everything is ablaze with yellows and reds and oranges. I also love this season (and this song!) because it reminds me that all living things need rest so that they can move to the next stage. In those quiet, sometimes even barren times, new life is germinating. I know that personally, I can get frustrated in those dormant times in my life, when I feel like I'm just on hold. However, used wisely, those times can prepare for growth.
There are many different seasons to our lives. Let's take the time to enjoy each one of them!
Surfing around the internets, I find all kinds of fascinating stories. One that has caught the attention of several bloggers is the beginning of the Conservative Bible Project over at Conservapedia. Now, Bibles custom made for pretty much any demographic is a major money maker in Christianity, I'm sorry to say. Most are pretty harmless. The devotional thoughts in them are geared toward whatever group you fit into, highlighting passages that discuss your particular world view or life situation. They might stretch things here or there, but the stretching is done in the commentary, not in the actual wording of the Scripture itself.
This is where I believe eyebrows are being raised Mr. Schlafly's project. Rather than simply having another annotated Bible that shows the biblical support for various conservative ideals, it would seem that he is proposing that the Bible be completely retranslated, specifically for the conservative Christian. And not by looking at the original manuscripts and using people trained in Greek, Hebrew & Aramaic, but rather by simply looking at how a given passage favors conservative ideology or liberal ideology and changing it (or omitting it) accordingly.
Now translating the Bible to make it more conservative causes me to shake my head all by itself. But there is a larger implication that bothers me much more, that being an even greater sense of "us against them" even within the Church. Instead of embracing the idea that we're one in Christ put forth by Paul in Galatians 3, we're adding to the list of things that divide us. Rather than celebrating that which makes us the same, there are some who are desiring to highlight differences by using something that should draw us together as a wedge to separate us.
I recognize that various ideologies quote mine the Scriptures to back up their particular beliefs. Someone who tends toward a more socialist system will point to Acts 2 as proof that the Bible wants us all to live in communes. Someone who has a more free market ideology may point to 1 Timothy 5:8 as a reason to abandon helps programs like welfare. Prooftexting can allow one to label just about any political or economic principle as "biblical." But this is different. This is taking the whole of Scipture and manipulating it in such a way as to make it fit a very specific brand of conservatism.
Most people, even those who have only a passing familiarity with Christianity, have heard the story of the good Samaritan. What I find interesting is that the question asked of Jesus that precipitated the story was, "Who is my neighbor?" When I look at the Strong's definition for neighbor, it comes up as friend. When I see things like the conservative Bible, it frustrates me because it seems to be asking the question, "Who is my enemy?" The parable that Christ told in Luke 10 seems to say to me that we're to be looking for friends rather than enemies. How can we do that when we are deliberately choosing to segregate ourselves by changing the Bible to suit our political ideology?
All that said, I want to do what I can to promote unity. I can get a little divisive myself in some of my postings here and I want to try to scale that back for a season. I want to see what we can do to build community. Sometimes that does indeed mean challenging one another's way of thinking, but for at least a little while I'm going to try to keep things a bit lighter and look for some of that common ground. I hope you'll join me!
A couple of weeks ago, David Crowder*Band came out with their most recent musical offering. I've been waiting to post a song from it until I'd had a chance to listen to it more. I had an immediate favorite, but wanted to give the whole thing a few more listens to see if anything else jumped out as a "real" favorite, as that happens with great frequency in my musical life. One song will jump out at me on the first listen, but when I've sat down and read all the lyrics and got beyond my own mondegreens, another will be the one that stays with me much longer.
But I must say, this time, my first favorite is still my favorite. In my car, I'll specifically go to this song before going back and listening to the rest of the album. I love everything about this song. If you were driving near me when I was listening to it, I'd be the person dancing around in their car singing with their head thrown back and gesticulating wildly. My minivan doesn't have the subs in the trunk, but if it did, I'd have the car that had the obnoxiously blaring music when I drove through the neighborhood. For the record, I really enjoy this entire album (and I will state that it works much better in one sitting, as the outro of each song is the intro for the next, including the last song working into the first -- super artsy and nice), but this song is just my favorite.
Oh happiness, there’s grace Enough for us and the whole human race Oh happiness, there’s grace Enough for us and the whole human race
Friend or foe Stranger or kin All who come Begin again Hard or frail Rich or poor All in need Need fear no more
Such a thing to give away
Oh happiness, there’s grace Enough for us and the whole human race Oh happiness, there’s grace Enough for us and the whole human race
All regrets Let go forget There’s something that Mends all of it
Such a thing to give away
Oh happiness, there’s grace Enough for us and the whole human race Oh happiness, there’s grace Enough for us and the whole human race
Sound the church bells let them ring Let them ring, for everything can be redeemed We can be redeemed, oh all of us
Oh happiness, there’s grace Enough for us and the whole human race Oh happiness, there’s grace Enough for us and the whole human race Yeah
Growing up I attended a pretty straight-laced Lutheran church. I have a lot of great memories from there -- it's where I went to school through 8th grade as well as where I first became involved in church music and I met Jesus there in a very real & personal way. That said, one thing that I remember was that emotions were always downplayed, happiness in particular. I understand why -- emotions are a fleeting thing. How I feel about something does not necessarily reflect the truth of the thing. We were taught about joy, but it was always emphasized that joy was a state of being, not a feeling and that one could be joyful even if they weren't feeling happy. Because of this, I think I was afraid to "feel" anything about my faith for a long time. I think I was worried that it would be shallow to just be happy. I mean, it certainly sounds "more spiritual" to say that you're joyful than to say that you're happy.
But you know what? Sometimes I am happy about my faith. I feel giggly and smiley and, well, happy about having a friend who loves me no matter what and who can't wait to spend time with me. That's a good feeling. And emotions are a good thing. And quite frankly, there is nothing that can inspire a good feeling like knowing that you're accepted and that redemption is a free gift. And it's free for you, for me and for everyone.
