Assorted Things

Katie pointed us to another article on ethanol and how it will harm both the economy and the environment.

Philip has been asked to come in for an interview for one of the jobs in Japan he applied for.

We have been getting multiple boxes from FedEx and UPS and USPS every day this week. I don't remember having so many wedding gifts arrive after Nathan and Katie's wedding. Good thing Matt and Rachel stopped by yesterday; they cleared out corner of the living room from its stash of big boxes. But another has arrived. Wow!

I made two dozen tortillas, four loaves of bread, and a half-gallon of granola today. I'm beginning to think I need one of Polly's grandma's aprons. My black shirt is all floury!

Y'know the cliche, "Every cloud has a silver lining"? Well, fewer mosquitos has been the silver lining in the "cloud" of years of drought. After getting some rain last summer and a decent amount of rain this spring, we are seeing mosquitos like I haven't seen in a long time. Time to haul out the DEET or start looking into less toxic alternatives.

Glenda linked to an article on the importance of picnics. That's something we really need to work on. I remember with great fondness the picnics at Lake of the Woods and the parks in town. However, I have a husband who hates camping and hates picnics. After decades of marriage, I still haven't figured out how to work that -- other than going camping without him a few times. Besides, with the aforementioned mosquitos, it makes me wonder how picnics would be this year. The closest we get to picnicking is burning the brush pile in the backyard and then cooking hotdogs over the fire. It's outdoors and away from the phone. And as long as we don't continue to set standing live trees on fire, we should be okay!

Still no sign of chickenpox in our household. I was thinking that the pox-breakout should be today or tomorrow, but no fever yet either. Woo hoo! Not bad for an immune-depressed kid.

Bottling Kombucha

I enjoyed drinking kombucha before I discovered bottling. I have to admit that I tried to make a very small batch every night so that it was usually nice and fresh, without being too old (where it starts to get more vinegary). I had eight 1-qt canning jars lined up in the basement, so that we'd have 2-3 cups fresh kombucha each day.

But when we discovered bottling and aging -- wow, oh wow! -- we really started getting spoiled!

The Frugal Home Brewer is a little shop in downtown Waukesha that sells pint-sized E-Z Cap bottles. The Purple Foot in Milwaukee sells them too, as (I suppose) do many other home-brewing supply stores. Bottles usually sell for a little less than $2/each, but both my stores sell them only in boxes of a dozen.

I have found that it's easier to bottle kombucha in the day, by a window. If I do it in the evening, it helps to have a place where there's a reasonably bright light on the other side of the bottles. If your kombucha is properly ready for bottling, it will be fizzy. When you pour the tea into the bottles, it will fizz up and sometimes overflow. So you want to be able to see through the bottles a bit to know how high the head of foam is getting in your bottle.

I use a funnel to fill the bottles. If the fizzy head is especially significant, you may have to leave the bottles alone for 5 minutes after they're nearly full, to give the head time to "bubble out" and get lower. Thing is, you want the bottles filled into the top of the neck of the bottle. If the tea doesn't come up within an inch of the top, there will be too much air, and that will affect the taste and the carbonation build-up.

We try to let the kombucha age at least 4-5 days after bottling before we drink it. I don't know if that enhances or detracts from the nutrition content, but it sure does make it extra delicious.

On occasion I have run out of bottles when there's tea to be bottled. On other occasions, I have had need of small containers of kombucha (like 4-ouncers). I have discovered that canning jars serve as a sufficient substitute for bottles. When I tried keeping the kombucha in a glass jar in the fridge after it was done fermenting, it seemed that I lost my fizz. So when I need to use canning jars for bottling, I make sure I have small containers: no bigger than pints, and hopefully half-pints. If you fill the jelly jar up to the top (so there's only about 1/8" of air at the top), and if you use a NEW Kerr or Ball lid, and if you screw the band on very tightly, you can get a good tight seal -- enough to keep the air from turning the kombucha to vinegar, and enough to hold in the carbonation. However, I've noticed that the pressure build-up in the jar has bent the metal canning-jar lids. And not by a little bit. So I suspect there's a risk of canning jars exploding from trying this. Whenever I have kombucha aging in the glass jars, I try to get to those bottles/jars first, before I develop a problem with explosions.

When I bottle, I label the bottles with the bottling date. That way I can keep track of what's the earliest I should be drinking from the bottle, as well as making sure that old kombucha doesn't sit in the basement neglected without our realizing how old it is.

We've discovered that it's wise to have a glass nearby when you open a new bottle of kombucha. Sometimes it will spray like a bottle of champagne at the end of the Superbowl. I don't open kombucha bottles in the car anymore, nor over the carpet. It should be at the dining room table or the kitchen counter, with a damp washcloth nearby, and the cup right there to pour into.

Back Door

Oh, I'm so proud of the guys!

When we needed a new back door, the one purchased was chintzy and it was installed wrong. Within a year, it was rotting. We finally gave up and decided we should just replace it ourselves. Neither Gary nor I had a clue as to what to do. But he figured he couldn't do any worse than the way the previous door was installed.

He bought a door, read the instructions carefully, and worked today to replace the storm door. It sits square in the door frame, which is a lovely change of pace. Not only that, but Gary had Andrew help him do the work. Personally, whenever I'm trying to figure out something I'm unfamiliar with, I get very edgy trying to let the kids help. But the two guys did it! Hooray!

Hiding in Closets

It's time for cleaning. Not the regular weekly vacuuming and dusting, but the looking-in-closets kind of cleaning. Today I eliminated from bathroom drawers and closet:

contacts that haven't been worn in ages,
contact solution that expired 3 years ago,
rubber bands for braces that were removed 2 or 3 years ago,
and Desitin.

Kombucha Stains

Just want to mention that kombucha stains. Not like tea, but worse. I have noticed that if I splash some kombucha onto the cloth cover while I'm carrying the jar from the kitchen to the quiet & cool fermentation spot in the basement, the stain will be significant. I used to get spots on my light-colored shirts if I splashed a bit while bottling. The only thing that would get them out was my bleach-milk combo. I've also discovered that, once my bottles have been filled and sealed, I need to rinse them under cool tap water. Otherwise I'll get tiny drops of kombucha on my shirt when I carry the pile of bottles, and those stains are stubborn!

Nativity Story

Because of surgery, we just couldn't manage to make it to a theatre last December to see The Nativity Story. We watched it last night, and I have really mixed feelings. The parts I like, I reeeeally like. The parts I don't like, I was quite annoyed by.

From the perspective of a woman who's been pregnant a few times and who has birthed two babies outside the hospital, it bothered me that they showed things like Mary feeling the baby move as early as 2 or 3 months along. And Mary didn't nurse her baby right away. I'm sure -- to men -- that seems immensely over-picky. But to the women who've had babies the old-fashioned way, we just want to say, "Oh, c'mon. Get real."

The timeline for the story was unsettling. The wise men did not come to the stable. They came when Jesus was more than 40 days old. The slaughter of the Holy Innocents was not something that happened when Jesus was a day or so old. I just don't understand how they could gloss over the Presentation of Our Lord as if it never happened.

There was something wrong with the visions and the messages from God. I can't pin down what was wrong with the way the movie did it. People aren't supposed to criticize unless they can say how it should've been. And I just don't know how they should've presented those scenes. But what they showed was simply not right.

However, there were some very good things about the movie. I liked the "culture" that was depicted in the film: the clothing, the houses, the worship, the family relationships, the jobs, the herb-gathering, etc.

I loved the way they showed Zechariah in the temple, ministering at the altar of incense, while the people were outside, participating in corporate prayer.

I loved the "realness" of several of the characters. Joseph being perturbed with Mary and her pa when he noticed her little tummy when she came back from Judah. Pa's skeptical glance in Joseph's direction at the same time. Mary's cradling her belly sometimes as pregnant mommies are wont to do. The wise men being ornery wise-guys to each other. Mary's "why me??" Mary's parents concern for her safety from the neighbors' self-righteousness. Both Joseph and Mary wondering "Now what? How do we do this?" and their fear.

I loved the catechization of the kids. Just telling the Bible stories over and over, with the same words, so that they would learn them by heart.

I'm glad we watched it. When I first heard the initial reviews, I thought I wouldn't want to see it, ever. But there was enough good there to outweigh the bad. I don't know if I'll watch again someday. It's so unlike Passion. Whereas Passion is the Gospel, whereas Passion doesn't have any mistakes or misinterpretations in it,* Nativity Story is merely a very nice movie. Good, to be sure. But I guess I've been spoiled by Passion, and now I want all my Bible-story movies to be as wonderful as the Christmas sermon and Good Friday sermon.

* The only mistakes I remember from Passion are
1) that the believing thief was on Jesus' left side, and
2) the shape of Jesus' cross on the Via Dolorosa.

Kombucha Mushroom

The kombucha "mushroom" is not a fungus. It's a symbiotic colony of yeast and bacteria.

When a batch of kombucha tea is fermenting, the mushroom you started with will grow a new mushroom on top. Usually the new mushroom will grow as large as the opening at the top of the jar. Mushrooms can be reused. However, I get my best results when I start my new batch with the new mushroom that grew on top of the old batch. You should be able to peel the new and old mushrooms apart. Don't worry if it tears. In fact, I usually use a clean pair of kitchen scissors to snip a section of my new mushroom. I usually like to have a starter mushroom that's about 1/4 the size of my jar opening. So for a 3-quart batch, I'll use a blob of mushroom that's about 3" across. For a 3-cup batch in a quart-size canning jar, I'll use a a piece of mushroom that's a little bigger than a half-dollar.

If you're trying to get multiple batches going at once, it's okay to reuse the old mushroom. But if the mushroom didn't sour the tea properly, it may be bad: throw it out and don't use the tea. If the mushroom gets black, it's probably spoiled. I have on occasion had a little black grainy stuff grow on the mushroom. I'll usually cut that part off and dispose of it. Sometimes I will gently wash the mushroom under running cold tap-water to remove those dark spots. Ideally, I want to keep the clearest part of the new mushroom.

Old mushrooms can be used in the compost pile, or buried at the feet of your tomato plants or corn seeds. I've heard it's a great fertilizer.

Kombucha Recipe

Kombucha is a fermented sweet tea. It has a bit of a vinegary taste with some fizz. When aged, it can taste somewhat similar to a homebrew beer without the depressing effects of the alcohol: it's energizing instead of relaxing.

I make a batch with:

3 quarts filtered water
4 organic black tea bags
1 cup white granulated sugar
pinch sea salt
1/2 cup starter and a "mushroom"

Bring the water to boil in a stainless steel or Pyrex container. Turn off heat. Add sugar, salt, and tea. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Let sit at room temperature until completely cooled; this may take 8-12 hours.

Remove tea bags or strain out loose tea. Put tea into a glass jar or Pyrex bowl; do not use plastic. A wider mouth is good. I usually use a glass "cracker jar" in which the mouth is nearly as wide as the height. Sometimes I use a sun tea jar (without a spigot!). When I make half-batches or quarter-batches, sometimes I use a wide-mouth Mason jar. The point is that you want there to be a significant opening for air.

Add a kombucha "mushroom" that you get from a friend. (I've heard that you can buy them off the internet, but I can't imagine how a living organism can get shipped through the mail very well.) Also add 1/2 cup of finished kombucha tea. Cover jar with a light cloth. Label jar with the date you started it fermenting, and sit it in a cool, dark place in the house. (Not cool like in the refrigerator, but cool like in the basement.) It should not be in a cupboard, but be fermenting in a place with air flow. If the kombucha is fermenting in a pyrex bowl, you might crisscross masking tape over the top of the bowl so that the cloth does not dip down into the tea.

Ferment for 7-10 days. In the amount I make, with the width of my jar openings, in the temperature where I let it sit, mine almost always takes 8 days.

Smaller recipes can be made with 3 cups water, 1 tea bag, 1/4 cup sugar, a little salt, and 2 Tbsp starter tea.

Rather than using tea bags, I use a loose tea. It took me a while to figure out that I need a slightly rounded tablespoon of leaf tea to equal a tea bag. When I get to the bottom of a bag of tea leaves, I noticed that the leaves are broken down and I have more crumbs/dust and thus need much less tea.

Green tea or oolong tea is sometimes used. The health benefits are greater when black tea is used, however. Don't use herbal teas.

Phone Messages

So many people today have complicated telephones with all sorts of technology embedded in them. When I call Kathy, she answers the phone with "Hi, Susan" and I'm still not used to that. But, hey, caller-ID....

What gets me is when people leave a message on the answering machine and forget to leave the number. I guess they figure you can just hit the "reply" button. But some of us out in the boonies can't even "star-69" somebody. When they don't leave a call-back number, I feel like a heel ignoring their call (especially when it's a desperate homeschooler needing help). But if you don't have a last name and you don't have a phone number, there isn't much way you can contact the person.

So all you people with cell phones, have pity on us folks with the old-fashioned rotary-dial land-lines. Tell us your phone number when you leave a message!

Revolutionary War Fiction

We'd been doing some non-fiction reading aimed at the late 1700s in our country. We'd read some political science, a couple of biographies, and studied the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. To go with that, I wanted some good stories. So we read Johnny Tremain and My Brother Sam Is Dead.

Johnny Tremain is such a good story, even if you're not interested in historical fiction. It's a story about hard work, grudges and forgiveness, vocation, starting over, and even a smidge of romance thrown in (enough to keep Mom interested but not enough to put off the boys she's reading too). Johnny Tremain definitely comes from the perspective that the Americans were right to rebel.

Just by chance, we followed up immediately with My Brother Sam Is Dead, which happens to begin in April 1775 at Lexington and Concord, which is precisely where Johnny Tremain ends. The main thing I didn't like about Sam was that I sometimes wondered if the story were written for the express purpose of encouraging pacifism and showing that war (even in self-defense) was never worth the cost. Another thing I didn't much care for was the depressing ending. But the thing I really really appreciated about this book was showing the viewpoint of the Tories. We seldom find books that give any credence to the colonists who honored the fourth commandment and respected their king. Sam doesn't promote either viewpoint, but gives fair treatment to both sides. It surely provided food for thought and instigated discussion. (It's got enough gore and sadness that it probably isn't appropriate for young kids. Most of the time I see it listed as "young adult reading." That's not due to difficult reading level, but for the need for some maturity.)

Poker

A few years back, my husband and I decided to invite one of the old guys in the congregation over for an afternoon of dinner and poker lessons. Neither he nor I knew how to play poker, and we had kids who needed to learn. (See? See? Homeschoolers can find ways to "fill in the gaps"!) There was a bit of amusement in his voice and a twinkle in his eye as he clarified: "You want me to come teach the pastor's family how to play WHAT?"

Turned out I didn't like poker.

Today the kids were playing. A cry of disgust went up from Heidi: "But I had two pair! And you had NOTHING!" It seems a certain scammer replaced none of his cards on the second draw and bet a whole lot of chips. Heidi folded. She would've whooped 'em all.

And that's why I don't like poker. It's much more about bluffing, scamming, and lying than it is about strategy or statistics. Give me a math puzzle any day rather than mind-games.

Pop

I remember when, as a child, my mom told me that the "poor pastor's family" could only afford one 8-pack of Pepsi a week. I pitied them. I remember when, as a child, my dad would tell me that (in days of yore) two or three people would have to split a 16-oz Pepsi, and that having a whole 12-oz can to myself was more than enough. Then I pitied myself.

Now I'm one of those moms who buys pop, but we usually only have it 2-3 times a month. There's still something reminiscent in me that wants cola with potato soup or clam chowder, like we had back at home when I was younger. Besides being expensive, pop is full of all sorts of chemicals and sweetener. I am convinced that sugar is better for a person's body than the Equal and Nutrisweet. But pop isn't even made with sugar: it has super-refined high-fructose corn syrup. ("High fructose corn syrup." My children have learned that those words on a label will often get a product banned from my grocery cart.)

If I didn't have enough reasons to avoid the substance, my husband ran across an article on Drudge Report about research on pop. They have found that it messes with DNA. Good grief! I like a decaf Pepsi now and then, but I'm beginning to think pop is a plague on our country as bad as cigarettes. (Which does NOT mean they should be regulated by the government. That's a whole 'nuther issue!)

I almost feel like a drug dealer, passing on leftover pop to Nathan and Justin after the wedding.

I sure do love my kombucha. After learning to enjoy it, after coming to crave it, AND after learning its health benefits, I just don't find much enjoyment in pop anymore. I am going to have to get around to posting kombucha instructions on my website.

(Wisconsites -- including my children -- can just substitute the word "soda" for every "pop" in this post, and chill out about the Illinois girl. Okay?)

Formal Wear

The day of the wedding was a mite chilly. Matt's mom pointed out that men's formal wear involves long sleeves, ties, and jackets. But women's formal wear involves spaghetti straps. Now, how much sense is there in that??

Wedding

Rachel and Matt's wedding was lovely. The processional was Pachelbel's Canon (with strings and organ) -- people from Fort Wayne are NOT allowed to comment on the choice of song! The first hymn and concluding hymn were various stanzas of "Oh, Morning Star, How Fair and Bright." We also sang "Now Thank We All Our God," "In Thee Is Gladness," and the beautiful wedding hymn "Gracious Savior, Grant Your Blessing."

I'm afraid I laughed at one line in the Old Testament reading: the part about two keeping warm when they lie down together. Rachel is the girl with an electric blanket on her bed, 6-7 quilts, and a huge fat comforter. So that struck me as funny. But Pastor brought another part of the reading into the sermon: a cord of three strands is not easily broken. The other readings were the more commonly used Ephesians 5 and Matthew 19.

The sermon was the absolute longest I ever heard Pastor preach. And he could've just kept going, for all I cared.

Matt and Rachel glowed!

The reception became much more a feast than we'd originally planned. I guess I just like to feed people. But then, Matt's family wanted very much to contribute to the reception. So they brought sandwiches and side dishes and more beverages. So we had quite the dinner instead of the original thought of just having cake and maybe some hors d'oeuvres.

Back in January, we weren't sure whether to have the wedding at the congregation where Rachel grew up and had been a member for 15 years, or have the wedding at the congregation where she and Matt have been attending ever since he moved to Milwaukee. Here would've provided convenience for our family. But so so many of the wedding guests were from up in the city that it made sense to have the wedding closer to where the vast bulk of the guests live. There was also the worry about weather if the wedding reception was planned for our backyard like Katie and Nathan's. Turned out that not only was there wind, rain, and chilly temps, but the church roof started leaking bucketfuls in the wee hours of Saturday morning. The kitchen here would've been entirely unusable! So for practical reasons, it was nice to be in Sussex. But then there's something deeper about the couple being married in their own church. I remember at Nick and Naomi's wedding, and how lovely it was that they were married at the church where they'd been attending and where they would continue to attend -- the church where they commune together weekly, the church where their babies would likely be baptized. I never thought about it before, but Pastor mentioned that very very few couples who marry are both members of the same church and actually get married in that church. And there is something meet, right, and salutary about that.

Anyway, we ended up with about 140-150 people for a reception in a large room with cement-block walls. The volume was loud, but it was a pleasant chatter and excitement. Between showers, sometimes the kids would go outside to play. We shoved a few tables aside so there could be a little bit of dancing. However, a boombox doesn't put out enough volume to overwhelm the exuberant chatting, so dancing wasn't a big part of the reception. I was glad for the munchies on the tables. At last summer's wedding, there was plenty of space to play outdoors in the sun with the potato cannon or the foam swords or the croquet. But the weather didn't allow for much football or foxtail this year. The munchies just made it more welcoming for people to sit around and nibble and continue to chat.

Some dear friends asked to help serve at the wedding. They were such a blessing! They made sure the food was set out on the tables, ready to go as soon as people were dismissed from church. They kept refilling bowls and they served the beverages. They fetched the cheesecakes when Rachel and Matt were ready to cut the cake. Not only all that, but they did most of the clean up. Wow! What a gift that made our day of visiting with new (& old) family so much freer and enjoyable!

As far as serving food to a crowd, I think the lesson I learned last year and this year is that you can never have too much fruit salad. Boy, that goes quickly. We didn't actually run out at either wedding, but we ran down the supply low enough that the leftovers were gobbled up within 24 hours after the wedding. The wedding was good for my "cooking ego" -- I got a lot of compliments.

Dead Theologians Society met today at a friend's house. We had some stuff to pass on to Rachel and Matt, so they stopped by the party for a little while. Matt decided to ask what he should call me and Gary now. Even 10 minutes before the wedding, he was calling me by my last name. So we talked about Susan/Gary or Mom/Dad. I don't know what he'll settle on. But when it was time for the kids to go, he came over to me in front of everybody and hugged me and said, "I'm going to say it now just because I can! Bye, Mom!" And he kissed me. Ahhhh, I love this guy!

I don't think it would be possible to have ordered up two better sons-in-law!

Symposium

Mrs Mumme had a very good idea: plugging the CCA symposium on her blog. So I'm gonna copy her. The topic this year is especially timely with the synodical convention coming up, and with recent events in our synod.

End of the School Year

We tend to homeschool year 'round ... except in February, when days are short and sunlight is in short supply and it seems that the only way to get through life is to play piano and to pop comedies into the VCR. Around Holy Week and shortly thereafter comes a busy time where not a lot of schoolwork is accomplished. But usually we spiff up the action a bit in summer. So the whole "end of the school year" thing is something that we observe from the outside, as the rest of the world begins looking forward to summer vacation.

Visiting with some friends at the wedding, somehow the topic of textbooks came up. I am the schlock of the group. I am the one of those relaxed homeschoolers, and I do not teach my children Latin. Most of the others in this conversation are Real Teachers. And in a perverse sort of way, Saturday's conversation brought me much comfort.

When I was scoping out church on Thursday morning, measuring how large Loehe Hall is, counting how many chairs were available for the dinner guests, etc., I walked past one classroom where the TV was on. It didn't look like anything remotely educational. In fact, it looked like one of those movies that my husband would let the kids see that I would inwardly chafe over. Seems the teacher had to have his grades turned in by lunchtime Friday. Huh? Friday? Already? But they have school next week.

Well, Friday afternoon was the school picnic. Monday is a holiday -- no school. Tuesday is the all-school fieldtrip. Wednesday evening is graduation, and they'll spend all day getting ready for the service and party. Thursday is supposed to be a day of "real school" but much of it will be cleaning out desks and organizing and picking up the room, and Friday is a half-day.

In other words, they ain't doing diddly of "real school" all week.

If a Real Teacher can do it, I don't have to feel so guilty for squeezing in only an hour or so of school a day for the last few weeks as we've been getting ready for the wedding. Usually talking to Real Teachers intimidates me and sends me spiralling into the woes of inadequacy. But this time was a boost!

First Communion

Pr Stuckwisch mused a bit on Friday, in light of dear little Oly's first communion today. It's a long long blogpost, which will put off a few of you. Maybe it especially touched my heart because of my love for the children of whom he wrote. But if anyone were to wonder whether children are "too young" to be ready for receiving Jesus in the Supper, this is necessary reading.

Changes

On Friday, my husband painted the church sign.

Ya gotta understand that his congregation is accustomed to having a pastor for 2-3 years, then having a vacancy for 1-3 years, and then having a pastor for another couple of years. That's been pretty much all they've known. By the time my husband had been their pastor for five years, they knew he was way overdue on his time to hightail it outta here. (By the way, he's been here more than 16 years now.)

Back to the story of the church sign. The sign was parallel to the highway and the letters were tiny. When memorial money was given for a sign, high priority was given to making it easy to read as cars flew past at 60 mph. Minimal information could be included: name of church, phone number, service time and day, and pastor's name. The decision was made to not have the pastor's name engraved on the sign with the other information, but to have it on a separate plaque that would hang on the sign. After all, pastors come and go. No sense mussing up the sign with Pastor's name.

A few years later, the church's phone number changed. Okay, that meant a plaque had to be made for the sign, correcting the phone number. In our household, we found it rather amusing that the same pastor's name was still on the sign, although the permanent phone number had changed.

A few years later, the congregation decided to go to an earlier service time during summer. So the time of Service changed from 10:00 to 9:00. Oops. Another change to the sign had to be made.

They've always had a summertime non-weekend service here. This year, they decided to change from Thursday night summer services to Monday night services. So the pastor spent his so-called day off making a plaque to hang on the sign, covering up old information, declaring to the world the new day of midweek services.

And I couldn't help but giggle as he hauled out his power saw and his paint. The pastor-dude they all thought was temporary -- the guy whose name they refused to engrave on their church sign -- is the same guy who keeps making changes to the sign's "permanent" information. Can you say "irony"? I wonder if anybody besides me sees the beauty in God's faithfulness to them in their pastor's longevity in this place?

Pastoral Care Companion

Thursday morning I walked into the Bible class room and saw a little book in Pastor's hands and exclaimed, "THAT is what I want to look at!" He immediately offered me his copy of Pastoral Care Companion, but first I had to attend to duties, putting away bunches of groceries for the wedding and other preparation for the reception. Eventually I got my hands on the book, and I had 30 minutes to soak it up before class started.

This book is awesome! I mean, it is almost unbelievable in the tools provided for spiritual warfare.

One of the things I have achingly been missing in LSB is the collects and the proper prefaces. Both of those -- plus the Beichtafel (questions designed to show one's sin in preparation for private confession or going to the Supper) -- are included in the Pastoral Care Companion. So I'm thinking that it may not be an inappropriate book for laymen. For pastors, the book is also a portable agenda, with the funeral rites, the wedding rites, and other Services he may need to have handy when away from church.

But the reason I couldn't put the book down on Thursday was the section with resources for various situations. (Phooey -- that sounds so vague.) For each situation it's got appropriate Bible passages, psalms, prayers, and hymns. Situations are as varied as rejoicing at the birth of a child, struggling with infertility, a run-away child, persistent grief at the loss of a loved one, difficulty dealing with changes in life, considering suicide or abortion, periods of anxiety or depression, and so much more. This book will be a tremendous reference for pastors who think, "Now what am I supposed to do? How can I bring God's word to bear on this situation for my troubled sheep? How do I help them???"

When Pastor finally managed to pry the book free from my hands, he spent the first half of Bible class bubbling over to the group about the book. He said he wished for two things with regard to this book.

First, he hopes pastors will begin using the book for their own personal prayers. There is so much in the book about family life and one's daily work and about struggles with doubts & worries & fears. If the pastor is using this in his daily prayer life, he himself will be edified. But there will also be the resultant benefit that the pastor will know what's available in the book, and he will begin to learn how to use it to minister to his people's needs.

Second, Pastor said he hopes that the Pastoral Care Companion will be something used in the confessional. In the private confession rite in the hymnal, it says after the absolution that the pastor will know additional passages with which to comfort the troubled conscience. Well, what happens when the pastor doesn't know what to say? What happens if he knows which Law to apply, but knows it's time for him to shut up with regard to speaking the Law, and needs to speak Gospel? The Pastoral Care Companion will put God's Word into the mouth of the pastor so that those sweet words from Jesus will go into the ear of the penitent.

Wedding Rehearsal Time

Early. It should be EARLY. Last year, I think we scheduled the rehearsal for 4:00. It might've been 5. But by the time we were done with rehearsal and dinner and lollygagging around chatting and having a grand time, it was 9:00. A good time to start getting ready for bed the night before a wedding.

Because of some people's schedules, last night's rehearsal was planned for 7:00, but it didn't start till 7:30. We didn't get home until 1:00. I am afraid we're going to have groggy people today. Three or four hours of sleep is not a good way to start a big day.

Matthew 25:37

Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?

In a recent discussion in Bible class, Pastor pointed out that verse 34 has several indications that salvation is by grace, not by works. However, many Christians point to verses 35-36 to emphasize the importance of good works. It is interesting that in verse 37 the Christians are bewildered as to when they did these good works that Jesus refers to. Why don't the righteous know what He's talking about? Why are they unaware of having done these good deeds?

Because they weren't paying any attention to their works! Their eyes were on Jesus only!

Why did the sheep do these good works? Because the object of their worship is Christ. They didn't think about their good works. They weren't trying to do good works. They weren't doing anything but focusing on Jesus and His mercy. When there is true faith in Christ, there is never even a hint of self-righteousness or patting ourselves on the back for the things we have done.

True faith in the Good Shepherd does not look at its own works at all! Rather, it believes that its works are filthy rags. Insofar as there is true faith, there is no reliance on works at all. Not even like this: "I know works don't save me, but they flow from faith. They are works of love done in faith. But you really need to do more of those works." Most of that is true: works don't save; works do flow from faith; they are done from love. BUT there is NEVER any navel-gazing when there are true good works. Like Luther said, "Faith is a busy and active thing. Before it is even told what to do, it has already gone out and done it."

For the Christian, the focus of faith is always IN CHRIST. A Christian will look at this list in Matthew 25 and realize that Jesus is the One who has done all those works, and He has done them for us. What He has done for us then manifests itself in His sheep, but it is the natural outgrowth of what He has done. Lutherans are often accused of denying good works. That's not true. We even say that good works are necessary. But the necessity is found in the necessity of faith, because if there IS faith in Him, then there will be works of love. So what we need in this life is to constantly be brought to repentance and the renewal of FAITH. Wherever faith is renewed, Christ will bring forth His fruit.

And thus ends the synopsis of Bible class.

"Singing the Devil Away" (3)

Dr Kleinig pointed out that Satan mocks. Notice that liberals (either secular or in the church) don't often argue or debate with conservative Christians. Mostly they just mock us.

Dumb Jokes

Why is a moon rock tastier than an earth rock?
Because it's a little meteor.

What did the zero say to the eight?
"Nice belt!"

What did the lady bullet say to the male bullet?
"We're going to have a BB."

Why was the baby ant confused?
Because all his uncles were ants.

Why was Cinderella so lousy at baseball?
She ran away from the ball, and she had a pumpkin for a coach.

"Singing the Devil Away" (2)

Continuation of an earlier post.

Paul Gerhardt had no interest in demonology -- an intellectual study of demons and Satan. He simply wanted to equip Christians with God's Word for the exercise of spiritual warfare.

The "battle with Satan" was NOT something happening in the Thirty Years War. It was NOT a physical battle for control of Germany or control of the church. The battle with Satan that matters is what happens in the conscience when Satan accuses. It doesn't matter to Satan whether we have sinned or not; he manages to accuse either way.

Often these spiritual battles are waged in the deep hours of the night. There's something about the darkness that is not just the lack of sunshine, but the darkness of unbelief. It's all about attacking FAITH.

Socialization

EVERYbody knows that homeschoolers aren't socialized. Everybody knows that homeschoolers are chained to their kitchen table, never seeing any human life forms except for their mother and siblings. Everybody knows that homeschoolers can't function in society.

Now, WHO forgot to tell Jordin Sparks? She obviously can't function in society and is chained to the kitchen table: after all, she's homeschooled. So how did she manage to win American Idol tonight?

Hmmmm. Maybe the flaw is in the premise ....

American Idol Winner

The show is only halfway done, and the official winner has not been announced. But Melinda Doolittle is the real winner this season. She cute and she's likable and her voice has been shown off fabulously. And tonight when she's been on, she absolutely glows (especially singing with Gladys Knight)!

Cheese Ball

I broke a cardinal rule of entertaining (again). You're never supposed to use an untested recipe. Today I made cheese balls for the wedding, as per Rachel's request. Instead of using Mom's recipe which must be buried somewhere in a church cookbook, I got something off the internet. I licked the spatula when I was done; it was totally awesome. And easy!!!

1# grated cheddar, preferably sharp
1# cream cheese
1 envelope Hidden Valley Ranch dry dressing mix

Blend thoroughly.
Shape into 1 large or 2 small balls.
Roll in ground pecans.
Refrigerate.

It's a little salty, which will be fine on celery and carrot sticks. If Hidden Valley makes a low-salt version, I'd go for that next time.

Chickenpox

The neighbor came over and told us that her daughter has chickenpox. So, immune-depressed little girl at my house spent the 2-3 days previous to the pox-breakout playing with her friend next door. She's due to break out just in time for (friend) Ethan's graduation party. And any big brothers in the house who catch it from her will be due to break out just in time for catechetical symposium. Well, at least we don't have a vacation or a surgery scheduled during this incubation time.

Kleinig: "Singing the Devil Away" (1)

Like my notes on Krispin's lecture, my notes on Kleinig's second lecture are not representative of all the wonderful things he said. His second lecture at the Gerhardt symposium was on spiritual warfare. So much of what he spoke was preaching (with all its sweetness and comfort) and only part of his talk was "lecture" and information. And you don't usually take notes during preaching! You listen to Jesus' sweet-talk. I'm just saying this because what I'm going to write is so inadequate in light of what was actually said.


Dr Kleinig spoke on May 8 about how Gerhardt's beliefs about Satan are embarrassing to us today. Modern man doesn't take Satan seriously. Our popular sensibilities see Satan as a symbol of evil. But Paul Gerhardt recognized the reality of Satan as a person, an enemy of God, an enemy of the Christian. Gerhardt knew something about spiritual warfare.

Dr Kleinig reminded us that it takes prayer, meditation on the Word, and anfechtung [spiritual attack by Satan] when one studies theology. Although Satan attacks Christians with the intent of destroying faith, anfechtung paradoxically teaches us to experience the sweetness and comfort of God's word. When we are attacked, our confidence in ourselves is shot to pieces, and we learn that the only thing that matters is God's word and His love. So Satan inadvertently drives us to Jesus.

And that's why the apostle said that he rejoiced in his infirmities.

A New Tag

Ah, I finally got to see the tag-game that Jenn started. It showed up on Lora's blog, and I got re-tagged. Okay, so the assignment is: "What did you want to be when you were 5, 10, 15, and 20?

Age 5: That's so long ago. I can't even remember my kids' names or where my keys are or if I put that last load of laundry in the dryer. I'm thinking maybe (?) I wanted to be a ballerina. Or a mommy. Or both. Maybe my mom will remember better.

Age 10: A school teacher.

Age 15: A DCE. And yes, I must steal Cheryl's answer: I wanted to be popular.

Age 20: A wife and mommy.

Rescuing Cast Iron

Mom had a couple of old cast iron skillets in the attic that were headed for the trash. There are nice things about the new pre-seasoned skillets, but they aren't nearly as smooth and non-stick as an old skillet. So Mom handed her trash over to Rachel. A couple of weeks ago, we put them in a hot brush fire to burn off yuck-stuff. Today Rachel poured boiling water in it and let it cool. Then she took steel wool to it, and it cleaned right up beautifully. And fairly easily. Of course, it needs to be reseasoned. But it's still black and fairly smooth, with the pores closed up much nicer than the one-year-old preseasoned one. Not only will it make very nice fried eggs, but it will be fun for her to tell her kids in 15 years that this belonged to her grandma. THAT's another nice thing about cast iron cookware. It just gets better with age!

The Day of the Cheesecake

I should've gotten up at 6:00 when that little goldfinch decided he was going to get into my bedroom, yes he was!, screens or no screens. After 5 minutes of pecking at the screens and beating his wings against the window, he gave up. I told myself and told myself to get up, but I didn't. I really needed my extra 90 minutes.

Cake has never been my favorite dessert. It's good. I like it. But at our house, we usually prefer pie or cookies or coffeecake. At Pastor & Corinne Piazza's wedding, they had cheesecake. I was stunned! Who knew you could have a dessert at a wedding that wasn't a tiered white cake??? Nathan isn't a cake fan, so he was open to the idea of having cheesecake for last summer's wedding. The guests seemed to find cheesecake a popular treat ... even if a few might've thought it was a little different. So when Rachel floated the idea past Matt for their wedding, he was all for cheesecake!

Cookies were crumbed this morning. Massive amounts of cream cheese have been whipped with sugar and eggs: I bought 36 boxes of cream cheese yesterday. The Irish Cream cakes (here pictured) are beautiful, cooled, and chilling in the fridge. The Snickers cakes are cooling on the table. As soon as they're cool enough to give up their springform sides, we can go on to Turtle cakes.

I wasn't sure how it would work to make ten cakes when I only have a set of three nesting springform pans. So we cut corrugated-cardboard rounds (basically like what you buy frozen pizza on) and covered them with foil. Then we put a layer of non-stick Reynolds foil over the fake bottoms of my springform pans. We tucked these fake bottoms inside the pans (with the metal bottoms there too!) and built the crusts in the pans just like normal. When the sides were removed and the cakes were cooled, we could just lift the foil-covered cardboard -- cheesecake and all -- from the metal pan-bottom, and go on with the next batch. It worked great! (I know you're all dying to know this because I'm SURE you're planning to make many multiple cheesecakes in the same day later this week.)

Theology of Prosperity

Delight yourself also in the Lord,
and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

How often we've heard that this verse promises all sorts of goodies to Christians. I remember its being the theme-verse of a friend's wedding shower. She delighted herself in the Lord, and so God was giving her a nice husband and a lovely wedding. And then there's the Prayer of Jabez (and whatever faddish heresy has replaced that one). And then there's the promise of a happy, well-adjusted family if you just follow biblical principles.

IF your delight is in the Lord, what is the desire of your heart?

Him. Right?

Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you Himself. And forgiveness. And salvation. And life everlasting. And the Holy Spirit. And a preacher. And the sacraments. What more could your heart desire?

Frugal Wedding?

Prom dresses are available during May and June for low low prices. For $50 or less. Some of them are white or ivory.

Simple food, cooked yourself, is supposedly more work than having a catered reception. And yet, hunting up which caterer, and making decisions about menu, and checking to make sure it's being done right ... that's not necessarily easier than sandwiches and carrot sticks. On the other hand, Andrew and I got four grocery carts full of food today and had to be wise packers to manage to fit it all into the car to bring it home. And we bought wedding items last week and have to get more produce later this week. Whoa!

Office Max sells invitation kits. You just print 'em up with your computer. It's possible to skip the response cards (have people phone or email), or save postage by using postcards for responses instead of envelopes.

Get the music you want at the reception instead of the music the DJ wants. Burn CDs and plunk them into a boombox. Forget the DJ. You might even consider outrageous things for reception entertainment, like playing football. But the guests might want to know to bring shorts and t-shirts for after the ceremony.

A nice new suit is about twice the cost of a tux rental. And the suit can be worn for many years. Or maybe the guys already have suits. Do the guys really need to be exactly matched?

Rather than trying to find a less expensive way to do something, rethink whether you need to do it at all. For example, do you really need napkins and candy packages and matches engraved with the bride&groom's names and the wedding date? Do the mothers and fathers need corsages and boutonnieres? Will guests be disappointed if there are not party favors? Of course, some couples will want these things, and that's great too. But if you can't afford it, no sense trying to have these things just because you're "supposed to."

When I was checking out of the grocery store last week (with gobs of paper plates and cups and pop and water jugs) the clerk asked about our party. I told her it was for my daughter's wedding. She asked how many people we were having. I told her about 130-150. She said, "Wow, that's a big wedding!" Funny -- for most of the people that I know, 150 is a SMALL wedding. I was told Katie and Nathan's (with 65 guests) last summer was an "intimate wedding" (apparently one step up from "private").

Krispin: "Confession of Christ in Song and Sacrament"

Dr Krispin from Concordia Edmonton spoke on Tuesday morning at the recent Paul Gerhardt symposium. Although Krispin had an interesting and well-put-together lecture, I didn't do a good job taking notes, and thus have a lot of disconnected thoughts jotted down.

Although "stories behind the hymns" may be told, many of these are not true, but developed later.

Krispin reinforced Kleinig's comments that the "I" of Gerhardt's hymns is not an individualistic, pietistic thing. He also reminded us that Gerhardt squeezed lots of Bible-story references into his poetry.

Gerhardt was firmly committed to the Formula of Concord. At times, he had to choose between his vow before Christ (at ordination) and the obedience due his king. The Thirty Years War also had a profound effect on his life. Without his fierce attachment to Lutheran doctrine, and without the anfechtung [suffering] in his life, Gerhardt would never have been able to write the hymns he did.

For many of Gerhardt's hymns, tunes were written by the publisher (Crueger) to be attached to particular texts.

People would not often sing from hymnals during church in the 1600s. They would sing from memory. People would sing all the verses at home when they had family prayers. People would learn all the stanzas when they were memorizing the hymns. All 15. Or all 27. Didn't matter how many -- they'd learn the whole thing.

The pastors recognized that heresy came into the church through even minor changes in wording of hymns. Gerhardt was careful to speak the truth clearly against Calvinism.

The altar at Gerhardt's church was adorned with a veil that had a large picture of Christ's face, beaten and bloody, with a crown of thorns. After he'd been pastor there for five years, celebrating the Supper with that image before his eyes, he wrote "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded."

Gerhardt wrote his communion hymn -- "O Lord, My Love, I Have No Rest" -- in 1667. It was his legacy to his congregation when he was fired by the government for refusing to compromise with the Reformed. Pastor Gerhardt expected that heresy would soon be on its way into his congregation, so he wrote this hymn to counter it. He knew that, even if he wasn't there, the words of the hymn would be powerful to catechize the people properly into true doctrine. What is preached from the pulpit is very important. But Gerhardt knew that the words the people memorized and sang would even more strongly influence what they believed.

Being Tagged

Emily tagged me to name seven things that I have learned in life. Yikesy -- this is the hardest tag game I've ever played!

1. America would be a happier place if more of us dried our clothes outdoors on the line more often.

2. When you have to fight Satan, make sure you have a faithful father-confessor on your side.

3. Not all children learn to sing naturally. Some have to be taught. And singing CAN be taught. And they should learn to do it.

4. Sometimes it's more frugal to spend more money upfront. (As is the case with buying underwear from Penneys and buying electrical appliances from anywhere but Walmart.)

5. Those who fight hardest to silence the Gospel are usually within the church.

6. Always patronize kids' lemonade stands, even if they're selling weird green koolaid.

7. Things I've learned in life? Sympathy for the dairy cows when the farmer is late for milking time.

Now, whom have I not tagged recently?
Melynda
Presbytera
Glenda
Anthea
Pr Stuckwisch

Introducing New Hymns

A lot of ideas have been introduced with LSB as to how to teach congregations new hymns and new liturgies. The choir can sing new hymns as anthems a few times. The organist can play new hymn-tunes during the offering and as preservice music, so that the melody subliminally slips into people's minds.

But I've seen one thing that really helps. When there's a new hymn, the choir or kantor sings ONE stanza, and then the congregation sings stanza 2. That way the people have heard it and get to try it. Then whatever they flub up, they hear again correctly when the choir/kantor sings stanza 3. Then it's easier for them to correct their own mistakes. It works pretty well.

"Singing with Devotion" (5)

Finally, Gerhardt's hymns are founded upon a physical piety. This is something alien to our modern sensibilities. Kleinig said that today we tend to live more in our heads than in our bodies.

In this section of his lecture, Kleinig first talked about how "physical" and "spiritual" are not opposites. Pr Esget touched on this in a blogpost several weeks ago. Last week Pr Petersen summarized what Kleinig said on this topic when he was speaking at Fort Wayne on May 10-12.

Gerhardt's hymns are very physical, but that doesn't mean they aren't spiritual. They're actually more spiritual than they'd be without the references to sight, taste, touch, smell, and hearing. After all, the true God uses created things to reach us with His gifts.

Our senses must be awakened by God so that we can receive the multitude of blessings He sends to our eyes, ears, and mouths. All five senses are used in Christian meditation and during Christian worship. But the senses are not used to reach out to God. No, they are the organs by which we receive what He gives to us.

In the original language, Gerhardt's hymns are loaded with vivid imagery: pictures of what was happening in Bible stories. He becomes the Lamb that taketh sin away and for aye full atonement maketh. Or I lay in fetters groaning; Thou comest to set me free. Or be Thou my Rod and Staff and Guide and draw me safely to Thy side. Or He whom the sea and wind obey doth come to serve the sinner in great meekness. But the images are often lost in translation and come out as "concepts" and "ideas."

We often come across the word "sweet" in Gerhardt's hymns, which is only one of the ways he alludes to the sense of taste. And oh, how oft Thy voice hath shed its sweetness o'er me.

There are also lots of references to touch: embracing, hugging, holding out the hand to one who is needy. For God's own Child in mercy mild joins thee to Him -- how greatly God must love thee! Or let me in my arms receive Thee; on Thy breast let me rest, Savior, ne'er to leave Thee.



Dr Kleinig concluded his first symposium lecture by discussing the JOYFUL PIETY that was part of Gerhardt's life and which comes through in his hymns. It was a spirituality of the cross. A spirituality which lamented human pain. But a spirituality where joy was pervasive!

"Singing with Devotion" (4)

Gerhardt's hymn show evidence of a sacramental piety. His hymns presuppose that Christians are participating regularly in the Divine Service, receiving the Sacraments. The hymns help catechize on what is going on with the sacraments, teaching about what we receive there.

Not only Kleinig but many of the speakers made reference to the abundance of sacramental references in Gerhardt's hymns that didn't come through in the English translations.
a) "All the best stanzas didn't make it into English."
b) The images and references to the sacraments often do not come through. As Dr Kleinig said, when translators must render concepts into English along with the constraints of the meter and rhyme, there just isn't much ability to set forth the images in the German poetry.
c) He pointed out how sometimes a hymn would talk about the life-giving nature of "Christ's blood," but be translated as the life-giving nature of "Christ's cross." Certainly nothing wrong with extolling Christ's cross. But the benefits of that cross are poured out to us in the blood of the Supper, and we've lost something when that doesn't come through in translation.

Shabbiness

When you look at your sheets and blankets flapping on the clothesline, and when you realize that you can't take them to Goodwill because they're in such miserable shape, you begin to think that maybe you should stop being quite so frugal and go shopping!

"Singing with Devotion" (3)

Continuing with my notes from Kleinig's lecture on May 7...

Hymns today are likely to speak of our feelings for God. Hymns today often serve as religious self-expression. For Gerhardt, though, hymns would preach God's Word, and sometimes they were about a response to God's Word.

It was not unusual for Gerhardt to write in the first person:
I will sing my Maker's praises...
Jesus, Thy boundless love to me...
Guilt no longer can distress me...
O Jesus Christ, Thy manger is my paradise...
Oh, enter, Lord, Thy temple, be Thou my spirit's Guest...
Lord Jesus, who dost love me, oh, spread Thy wings above me...
Some have suggested that this is too personal and touchy-feely. But when you look at the words, they are NOT to the exclusion of other Christians. It's more like a corporate "I." "We" could just as easily be used. It's not unlike what we say in the liturgy: "I believe in God the Father Almighty..." or "Create in me a clean heart...."

Another evidence of Gerhardt's liturgical emphasis is the sequence of hymns he wrote. Thirty-nine of his hymns were written for a cycle that follows the church year. Although he knew that his hymns could be used to guide people personally, Gerhardt's expectation was that his hymns would be used corporately in the Divine Service, as well as being used corporately in the home for morning and evening devotions.

"Singing with Devotion" (2)

As I wrote earlier, Dr Kleinig discussed how Gerhardt's hymns are scriptural. The apostle wrote, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." Gerhardt knew that hymns steeped in Scripture would not only edify the one who hears the hymn, but even more would teach the one who sings to meditate and pray God's Word.

Some of Gerhardt's hymn are paraphrases of Scripture. Some are metrical psalms. Others are paraphrases of scriptural passages, such as Romans 8 being written into the poetry of "If God Himself Be For Me." Kleinig mentioned that we need to memorize more of the Bible, and it's easier for us to do when it's set to music.

Some of Gerhardt's hymns are prayers.

Almost all his hymns use phrases and terminology that are drenched in Biblical imagery and steeped in Biblical vocabulary. So it's not just the message or concept that is scriptural, but even the wording is drawn from the scripture.

Piety is not something produced by man's religious efforts. It is the Holy Spirit Himself who creates piety in Christians. And the way He does it is not solely by the Word which He gives and the faith which He imparts, but also because He is the one who produces the meditation and prayers on that Word.

The way Gerhardt uses God's Word in his hymns is something that has become almost alien to us as we have become more and more protestant. Gerhardt's hymns are full of God's Word. He encourages us to listen to Him and receive His gifts. This is not just something we think about, but something we hear with our ears, something we sing with our lips, something we feel, and something we taste. Gerhardt's hymns teach us to receive God's gifts and not what we are to "do" to be good little Christians.

Pitchy

For over a year, it's been high on the priority list to start teaching some singing. Not teaching songs, but teaching singing. Not all of the kids picked up singing, which I had thought would come naturally. The youngest, with the voice problems and birth defects in the larynx & pharynx is the one who really needs help. I finally started yesterday. First I determined whether or not she could hear pitch differences at all (playing two notes on the piano and asking whether they were the same). Then I asked her to match her voice to a note on the piano. Hmmm. We worked on it yesterday, and several times for a few minutes each today. The good news is that things are improving, and we even got three notes (C-D-E) sung on pitch in a row.

But the thing I find most interesting is how long it takes for her to hear the pitch and think before she sings IF she's going to get it right. If I hit the note on the piano and she la's right away, it will be off-pitch. But if she hears it and then waits a full second or second-and-a-half, she will usually hit the note smack-on right! Kids with vcfs supposedly have problems with auditory processing. What I noticed today about her hearing a pitch and WAITING before she could match it with her voice -- it fits perfectly. (I don't quite know what to do about fixing the problem. But it makes it clearer to me that the time-lag between her ears and brain is more of a problem for her than I want to accept.)

By the way, her next cleft-palate surgery was scheduled today. The date set is August 16.

Kleinig: "Singing with Devotion" (1)

My favorite speaker at last week's Gerhardt symposium was Dr Kleinig, although I must admit that Dr Krispin (whom I'd never heard before) was pretty impressive.

Kleinig's presentation started with a brief venture into showing that Gerhardt was not a pietist, did not start pietism, and did not write pietistic hymns. I'd never heard that there was an accusation toward Gerhardt in that direction. But I guess if you'd heard that, it was good that Kleinig began with the explanation that piety in the first decade or two of the 17th century was a piety of reception of God's gifts, and not a piety of what we do. Later in the century, pietism led to ideas that the heart is separate from the mind, and that both are separate from the body ... the body being bad. But this pietism was not part of what Gerhardt knew as piety.

Then Kleinig went on to discuss how Gerhardt's hymns were founded on
a Scriptural piety,
a liturgical piety,
a sacramental piety, and
a physical piety.

Gumbo

My daughter was diligently copying much-needed recipes out of my recipe box so that she could take them with her to her new home. I caught her copying the gumbo recipe. I told her it was no good. Poor girl. She thought that, just because she saw me using that recipe every time I made gumbo, it really truly was the recipe. How silly.

Nathan (who is an avowed soup-hater) likes my gumbo. So one time while I was making gumbo, I wrote down the actual recipe and gave it to Katie. Katie conceded to post the recipe to her blog. I'm not sure that this recipe is actually what I make; I "wing it" in the kitchen too much to get accurate recipes recorded. But all I know is that we've only had gumbo once that could compare to this, and that was from some doozy down-home cooks in Mississippi. The trick to making good gumbo into great gumbo is to cook the roux (the sauteed veggies with flour) for a very long time (over half an hour) on very low heat, scraping the pot constantly while the flour browns. It takes time. And it's good if you don't bother. But it's superb if you do brown the flour for a good, long time.

Called by Name

Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name;
you are Mine. (Isaiah 43:1)

This verse is usually used to show that God knows us so well that He knows my name. But Pastor has talked about this passage in connection with baptism. He has suggested that it's about God calling us by HIS name.

When Middendorfs adopted their daughter, they made her theirs and gave her the family name. Sure, they called her by her first name. But because she became their very own daughter, she was given the name "Middendorf."

Last summer, my daughter Katie was called by a new last name: Fischer. Yes, Nathan calls her "Katie." But that doesn't particularly make her his. Calling her "Mrs Fischer," however, shows that she is his. Matt was pleasantly surprised by Rachel's desire to be called by his name. Apparently, he knows very few young women his age who want to "belong to" a man such that they would be called by his name.

Fear not.
I have redeemed you.
I have put the name "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" upon you when the water was poured over you and the sign of the holy cross was placed upon your forehead and upon your heart to mark you as one redeemed by Christ the crucified.
I have made you My bride and given you My name.
You are Mine.

Wedding Flowers for the Frugal

Would it be anathema to suggest that wedding flowers don't have to be planned ahead of time? If it's not important to have the whole church decked out in flowers, it's possible to wait till the day of the wedding or the day before, and run into the grocery store or Walmart. We spent less than $20 for Katie's wedding flowers last year. Next week I expect the same. Around here, the smallest, simplest floral arrangements are a minimum of $20-25. But you can get a small vase from Goodwill for a dollar or two, and for $4-5 you can get a bunch of carnations and daisies and greenery from the produce dept of the grocery store. Or you can get a nice big bunch of roses and babies' breath and greenery from Walmart for about $12. These flowers can be used for the bride's and bridesmaids' bouquets and for altar flowers just as easily as going to the traditional florist shop.

"Rise, My Soul"

I've been wanting to think aloud here, musing on the things I heard at the Gerhardt symposium last week. But I've barely been home since we returned from vacation, and there's this little situation of laundry and unpacking and getting back into the swing of things, as well as preparing for our daughter's wedding next week. So in the meantime, I want to jump up and down and say, "Ooooh, oooooh, ooooh! Everybody go check out Pastor Esget's blog every day for the next 17 days!" He's posting one stanza per day of Dr Kleinig's translation of a marvelous Gerhardt hymn -- one I'm going to need to memorize. Of the whole symposium, I thought Kleinig's two lectures were the highlight. And the second one was even better than the first. Part of his second lecture involved discussing this particular hymn and the theology behind it. So go read it! And sing it! And learn it!

Chicken Jokes

Why did the chicken cross the road?
The police officer said,
"I don't know, but if you give me five minutes with him, I'll find out!"

Why did the chicken cross the road?
Hemingway said,
"The chicken crossed the road to die, alone, in the rain."

Einstein said,
"The atom crossed the road because it was time to split."

Why did the fried chicken cross the road?
She saw a fork up ahead.

Make Up Your Mind

There was one thing last week at the Gerhardt symposium that made a bigger impression on me than anything else.

Two presenters mentioned their grandmothers, singing and singing and singing as they went about their chores. They each mentioned how Grandma had learned many Gerhardt hymns by heart, and that she knew all the verses. Another presenter commented about how his parents had taught the brood of kids many hymns. Several other presenters commented on how important it was that our people get to know Gerhardt hymns, learn them by heart, have those hymns on their lips, and grow to love these treasures.

However, I also heard throughout the week that we need new translations. We heard that so many of Gerhardt's hymns are lacking in the sacramental references that are clear in the original German. We heard that some of the hymns are in language that is too theological and that it needs to be simplified.

The preface of the catechism says about the words that are learned by heart: "Young and inexperienced people must be instructed on the basis of a uniform, fixed text and form. They are easily confused if a teacher employs one form now and another form -- perhaps with the intentions of making improvements -- later on. In this way all time and labor will be lost." Granted, these words were written about the Commandments, Creed, and Lord's Prayer. But there's wisdom there: people cannot be expected to remember words if those words keep changing from one decade to the next.

So which do we want? Do we want new and improved translations? Or do we want to have people hang onto those words they have memorized and prayed and sung and loved? If we want to go for "new and improved," what will the laymen think when the pastors urge us to learn hymns by heart, knowing that they'll just change the words on us again pretty soon, so that whatever we learned will be fuzzed and muddied and lost because of the word-changes?

Borrowing Words

In the church, it's sometimes hard to know whose words are whose. Can there be plagiarism when it is all God's Word, given by the Holy Spirit, for the edification of the body of Christ? Do the collects belong to the Church or to the translator? Does a person have to pay for quoting the catechism in a book?

Last week we were at the Paul Gerhardt symposium held in St Catharines, Ontario. One of the sessions I attended was about Bach and Gerhardt. There was that period of Bach's life when he was expected to come up with a cantata per week. Now, that's a tall order. The speaker showed us how Bach would borrow Gerhardt's words and lines. One cantata was entirely based on a Gerhardt hymn, Bach's additions to Gerhardt's text expounding upon the words that were engraved in the people's minds and hearts. I thought it was a wonderful thing ... but you couldn't get by with it today.

Bad Puns

Leif Erikson went on a voyage. After several years, his wife noticed that his name was no longer on the village registery. She went in to ask about it: "Have you taken Leif off your census?"

A fly buzzed around the barn while the farmer was milking. That obnoxious bug went right into the cow's ear, and then shot out into the milk bucket. It was in one ear and out the udder.

Two cannibals meet in the jungle. One tells the other that he found a couple of monks the day before. He captured the missionaries, took them home, and boiled them. But they tasted terrible. The other cannibal said, "There's your problem! Those were friars."

The snail went to the used car shop. He found the smallest car on the lot. He checked with the salesman to make sure it was fast. He agreed to buy it if he could have a big "S" painted on the side of the car. When the salesman asked why, the snail responded that he wanted to hear people say, "Look at that little S-car go."

Scary

In the hospital waiting room today, the lady next to me suddenly became very upset. She was in for tests, expecting that she would need surgery immediately afterwards. She was sitting there, dawdling away the time, when she noticed her hospital bracelet. The name on it was not her own. The birthday was not hers. The doctor was not hers. She wondered what they would've operated on, after she got put under anethesia, with her wrist bracelet saying she was somebody else. "This is the kind of thing you read about, but you don't expect it to happen to you," she said.

It makes me very thankful that, at Childrens, they always tell us to check Maggie's wristband before they attach it to her. But it also makes me wonder about the care at our local hospital. Scary....

Seven Things

My friend Jane tagged some of us to list seven random, uninteresting things about ourselves. So here goes:

1. "Feeder" goldfish seem to live longer at my house than do the fish intended to be pets.

2. I wear Birkenstock sandals, even in the winter.

3. Every family vacation has had a big-time school fieldtrip worked into it.

4. After having a baby, I'm not worn out and exhausted, and I can't get to sleep for at least 12 hours.

5. I didn't get my drivers license on my 16th birthday because the DMV was closed that day, so I had to wait another whole long day.

6. I like Renoir.

7. It took me 22 months to paint my kitchen.

I'm supposed to tag seven people. How's about we try: Katie, Rachel, Karin, Jenny, Lora, Elizabeth, and Kim? But if you can't, you can't.

Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires

In an attempt to clean up some sorry old cast iron skillets my mom found in the attic, my husband started a fire out in the burn pit. He got a nice fire going and buried the skillets so as to burn off old grease and food and rust. When I went out there for a moment, I noticed a nearby stump smoking. Three weeks ago, he got the fire so big that he actually set a nearby tree ablaze. Today the remainder of the tree was again on fire.

"Uh.... do you know that that tree stump over there is on fire?"

"Yeah. I do."

"Ummm. Okay. Just so you know....."

Unbelievable. I'm not sure whether to hide the matches or just go on the assumption that that one particular tree was suicidal.



(By the way, Mom, the big skillet couldn't take the heat. The little one, though, is ready for Rachel and her steel wool.)

Mothers Day

Below is a poem I wrote over ten years. Actually at that point I had six kids, but "six" didn't rhyme as easily with what I wanted to say.


Observe a frazzled mom of four --
Kids pound upon her bathroom door;
They crowd around her at the store;
She's on the phone; they chatter more.

She loves them lots,
But time alone
Is such a rarity.
To think that as
A teen she yearned
For popularity.

They're WHERE?

Have you ever looked out of a hotel window, or a hospital window, or some other high-up-in-the-sky room, and noticed that, down below, there's clothing on a roof a couple of stories high? Did you ever wonder how it got there? I have.

I don't anymore.

Let's say, just for a wild and crazy scenario, that a mother on vacation spent the morning at the laundromat. Let's say that when she got all the clean clothes folded, she found ONE shirt, ONE pants, and ONE undies for a certain child. Imagine that when she got back to the hotel room, she found a drawer stuffed full of dirty undies. Imagine that a certain child was given instruction that morning on 1) the importance of putting dirty clothes in the dirty-clothes bag, and 2) how to wash clothes in a sink with shampoo instead of in a washer with Tide. Then said child learns that there is no good place to "line dry" dripping wet clothes in a hotel room. So the clothes are hung over the edge of the balcony in the sunshine. Not a bad solution.

However, imagine that what started as a sunny and totally calm day .... uh, ... changed while the family was out gallavanting around vineyards, wineries, canals, and locks. Y'know, changed to wind and rain. And wind. Imagine that the family returned to their hotel room, much relieved to see that the wind deposited most of the again-dripping-wet clothing onto the patio, but not all of it blew toward the building. Then maybe you could imagine why unmentionables are sometimes unexplicably seen upon rooftops.

Welland Canal

When we decided we were attending the Gerhardt symposium at the St Catharines seminary, we needed to figure out what else we'd do here. Niagara Falls was an easy decision. But what else?

Turned out that about a month ago, we were reading some schoolbooks on transportation which fleshed out a history book we were reading about "American stories." Having read mini-blurbs about the Erie Canal and the Transcontinental Railroad, we extended our reading on those topics. A book on the St Lawrence Seaway had lots of information about the Welland Canal. Well, we'd never heard of it, but it looked like it might be in the same general vicinity. It wasn't just in the general vicinity. Turns out that the canal is only about a mile from our hotel. Yesterday, driving around, we saw one of the locks.

Today we ventured over to the nearest lock. There was a visitors center and a viewing platform. Looked cool. We stood and stared, and we read the signs. We drove past the "flight locks," where there are three locks back-to-back, climbing up the steepest part of the heights (over which the falls crash a few miles away). Happily, there was road construction on the narrow little street directly adjacent to the canal, so we had to stop and look, even though there was no place to park and get out to walk around.

No ships were due through for another 5-6 hours, so we decided to go to a winery and then go back to the hotel to swim. On our way back after the tour, we decided to buzz past the canal, just to see if that ship had started into the lock system on the further end. We were stopped at the drawbridge, waiting for the Winona to pass. Then as she headed upstream, we headed around the corner to Lock #3. We watched her enter the lock. We observed all the things we'd read about earlier: tying up the ship to the bollands, closing the gates, filling the lock with about 22 million gallons of water (which we figured would be ALL the water that about 1000 people would drink in their entire lifetimes), and then saw the ship exit on the south end of the canal. Then we saw the lift bridge raise up for the ship to pass under.

I feel like such a tourist ... but that was SO very cool!

More Trip

I'm sitting in the laundromat. I like laundromats. You get the laundry done SO FAST. It's quiet, and you can read or blog or watch country music videos. Every time I go to a laundromat, I think that it'd be really tempting to make this a part of my week (except for pumping quarters into the machine). But by the time I have little enough laundry to be able to afford it, I won't crave the hour and a half of aloneness that is the corollary to laundromat-time.

I was going to blog about the symposium and all the cool things we picked up there. But my desire to read the kids' blogs overrode my desire to ruminate on hymnology and Gerhardt. So I'll have to do that later, as my dryers don't have enough time on them to do two blogposts.

Mooooo. Apparently Canadians don't depend on dairy like Wisconsinites. The cheese selection at the store is small, and the price is outrageously high. Of course, I'm always stunned by the high grocery prices whenever we're on a trip. Good grief, I'm stunned by high grocery prices simply when I shop in my own county instead of at Woodmans. (I may have mentioned once or twice that I thank God often for Mr Woodman.) Gary told me that he'd heard Canadians pay a lot for groceries. Yowsa. He's right. And the butter. I pay about 40 cents a stick. Here it's $1.40 a stick. Probably eating less dairy is good for them. But the prices make my eyeballs pop outta my face.

We are enchanted driving through the countryside here around Niagara. Orchards and vineyards. That's all you see. No wheat. No corn. No beans. No cows. (Ah, that might explain the high dairy prices.) Just loads and loads of fruit. It's so pretty at this time of year, with the fruit trees all in blossom! The grape vines aren't doing anything yet, but that makes it easy for me to see the variety of ways they look, all bare-bones like, which gives me ideas of what I might do with my overgrown Fredonias (similar to Concords).

We went to see Niagara Falls yesterday after the symposium ended. The water is so clear. The power is overwhelming. The chill surprised me. It's warm this week -- mid 80s. Well, here it's high 20s. (I really made someone's jaw drop when I said our temps had been running in the 50s. I meant it had been cool, but the confused woman must've thought I lived in Death Valley.) Anyway, we were dressed for warm weather, and the temps by the falls were significantly cooler. All that water in the air! All that water rushing past in the rivers! Paul pointed out that you could actually see your breath. Not easily, but just a bit you could. And the tulip beds closest to the falls were just beginning to get buds on them, whereas the ones further from the falls (like a block or so away) were newly budding, whereas the tulips in neighboring suburbs were full and big and getting old. So it's not just my old bones and my decrepit chilliness that gave me such goosebumps yesterday. It kind of stuns the mind to realize that the temperature can be 30 degrees different (15 for you Celsius folks) in the space of a couple of city blocks.

Well, loads more to bore you with, but the dryers turned off and I should start folding clothes.

Panic

Ya leave the country. Nobody calls on the cell phone (which is on roaming anyway). Then in the space of three hours, we get three phone calls. Beginning to panic. Calming self with the rationalization that it's just coincidence. But the mommy heart frets that something terrible happened, and people are trying to get hold of us because of a fire or a tornado or an ER visit. Tried to call people. Tried to email. Got no response. The imagination goes wild. Finally one child calls back, and it turns out that she is just trying to find out whether her kombucha turned out all right. Turns out that Gary got a hold of one of the other callers, and he said the discussion could wait until next weekend. So it was all nothing.

I tell myself and tell myself that these people are grown-ups and can take care of themselves. But it's ridiculous how fast my mind can conjecture scary scenarios out of nothing.

Trip

We enjoyed a grand time in Fort Wayne the last couple of days. We stayed with dear friends. We went to church at a place with kneelers and my daughter's favorite Easter hymn. Jane invited a few other homeschool friends over for Saturday evening, and that was a blast!

While in Fort Wayne, we buzzed past the apartment complex that Katie and Nathan will be moving into next month. It sure is nice looking! Wow! Maggie especially likes the scuplted hedges.

On Saturday morning, Gary was checking one last time for the information on getting into Canada. He realized that it could be that the adults, not only the children, would need to prove American citizenship, and that a drivers license and voters registration card wouldn't necessarily be enough. (What do the border-crossing guards know about illegal voting in the US that the Wisconsin legislature does not know??) Anyway, Gary made a quick run to the bank to fetch birth certificates from the safe-deposit box.

The lesson learned yesterday is that you should go potty before crossing the border into another country. A certain child informed us that we had to stop as we were approaching Detroit. But it was a big city and crowded and we were watching roadsigns. We thought we'd have to stop at the border anyway. Well, guess what? After being good little citizens, and hauling out the drivers licenses and the state IDs and the birth certificates, we approached the border. The guard asked where we were from, where we were going, and why. Quite the funny look in his eye when we told him that we were attending a symposium and what the topic was! There was a tourist information bureau just a block or so from the border. Of course, it was closed on a Sunday evening. So no maps. No information on exchanging currency. And worse, no potty. With the twists and turns in the tunnel, it was hard to figure out which way we were supposed to head out of downtown Windsor. So we drove in circles for a while. Thankfully the sun was starting to go down, so that helped with establishing directions. Finally found a gas station, but they had no potties. Drove a little further and found a Subway. So we hurried in a bought something before a little girl exploded. Whew!

The boys kept looking for signs of how different Canada looked from the US. About the only thing they noticed was that the flags have no blue on them, and the word "centre" switched the last two letters. In yesterday's installment the story we are currently reading aloud, the main character crossed the border from Connecticut into New York, the first time in his life he'd been out of his home state. He was disappointed that it didn't look nor feel any different. So my boys had to make the same statements about crossing into Canada. Stinkers!

Lilacs

All year I look forward to the lilacs and the crab apples blooming. That week, I go out of my way to find things to do outside. Sometimes I prepare my lectures for the state homeschool convention, sitting out by the lilacs. Sometimes I go outside with mending or editing, and just sit on a blanket in the sun, enjoying the perfumed air.

The flowers are about ready to blossom. We're leaving for a week. I knew this would happen when we were considering planning the trip. I hope the flowers where we go will be ready next week so I don't miss it altogether.

Jail

The top headline in yesterday's newspaper was Your Jail Is Awful. And the quote from the consultant hired to analyze the situation was, "You folks, as citizens of this community, need to be embarrassed by your jail."

Ya gotta wonder what "jail" means anymore.

Wedding Dresses

Two girls who both intended to wear my wedding dress. When Katie and Rachel were looking for Rachel's bridesmaid dress last summer, Katie found a white prom dress that begged her, "Please, please, buy me and wear me for your wedding." So she acquiesced to the dress's demands, plunked down $30, and brought home a very nice dress.

We could claim last night was deja vu ... except for the physical proof of yet another wedding dress appearing in the house. Looking for Katie's bridesmaid dress last night, a dress whispered in Rachel's ear, insisting that it be tried on. So she did. And she too brought home a very pretty dress.

Good thing those girls made both their ventures on their own, without Mom. If I'd been along, my frugality would've definitely been the wet blanket: why spend money on a wedding dress (even if it's only $50 or $30) when there's one at home that fits and looks nice on you? But they have gorgeous dresses, and they had fun doing the shopping.

Children at Funerals

Emily wrote a great piece last week about taking her children to a funeral.

I remember getting taken to plenty of funerals when I was little. The funerals weren't usually people I knew, although they were probably friends of my mom or grandma. Somehow, that worked its way into my brain as the idea that people from church belong at funerals. After all, if we're the church family, then we belong at the church funeral every bit as much as the blood family. Although one pastor suggested that it's a pitiful sight to see people at a funeral who aren't family/friends, I know a lot more pastors who want to see the rest of the congregation at a funeral.

And like Emily mentioned, it makes it easier to teach children about funerals and death when the heartache isn't overwhelming and the busyness (of funeral preparations) isn't taking up all the parents attention.

Sewing

Maggie outgrew an elastic-waist skirt she loved. She was wanting another skirt. We looked in stores and found absolutely nothing that was okay. So we hit up Goodwill, thinking that the styles there are often more acceptable. But we found nothing on several trips. So I convinced myself that I was going to have to sew. I used to love sewing, but now it's one more thing that I can't fit into my schedule.

I picked a really simple pattern. It only took 2-3 hours to put the skirt together. But the nicest part was having something DONE. Y'know, DONE done. Not like weeding or washing dishes or mowing grass or vacuuming. A project that got done and stayed done!

I remember back when Gary was in school, and to earn a little money I started typing term papers for guys. When the first paper was done, I didn't want to give it to the guy. I'd finished typing that term paper, and 15 hours later it was still nice and neat, with white margins, and the pages still in order. What excitement!

A friend of mine who's a schoolteacher took a break for a couple of years. He apprenticed as a cabinet-maker. Having a project stay DONE was an enjoyable part of that job. He could work on a project for a limited time, get nice results that SHOWED, and the job would stay done. That's not like the work a teacher does or a housewife does.

Maybe that's the attraction of knitting or sewing or refinishing. When your days are consumed picking away at a 30-year project, it is awfully nice to have tangible results from your efforts now and then.


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

Oh, by the way, as long as we're on a "housekeeping" tag, I want to point out an article that Drudge linked to today. They say that an average housewife's work is worth $138,000/yr and that she puts in a 92-hour work-week. I think I'm under-insured....

Multi-Tasking

What do you call it when you do two things at the same time? Most people would answer, "Multi-tasking." But a stay-at-home mom would answer, "A vacation."

But I Had Plans!

It's nice when children take initiative. It's nice when somebody (who's not me!) decides to clean. It's nice to declutter.

But I had other plans today.

A very helpful and industrious child decided to do some closet cleaning. That would've been great, except he doesn't have the authority to start pitching items into the dumpster, so he had to consult with me about it. Argh -- that takes brain cells! And he wanted to move some things around. That also required consulting with the mother-person, seeing as how she would go looking for items that had been hidden moved and get frustrated later. (HA! Who's she fooling? Just because she knows at this moment THAT those things have been moved and WHERE they've been moved to, has NOTHING to do with the reality that she will not remember this stuff three days from now!)

So a lot of schoolwork got put on hold today, and so did a lot of other projects. My brain can only handle so much decision-making and thinking in one day. And I wasn't even prepped up and geared for dumpster-decisions. Those questions caught me totally off-guard, so they required twice the depth of thought. My thinker is pooped, and we haven't even picked up the physics book yet today.

But two closets are cleaned and organized, and the dumpster was fed a feast of junk.

Psalm 119:176

"I have gone astray like a lost sheep;
seek Your servant,
for I do not forget Your commandments."

Here's another place where it shows us that we are simultaneously saint and sinner. Think about it: if we do not forget His commandments, then how have we gone astray? Why do we need to be sought for?

And a couple of verses earlier -- "I long for Your salvation, O Lord, and Your law is my delight." If this psalm is about knowing the rules, and conforming our behavior to the rules, then why do we need salvation? Just for our oopsies? Or could it be that Christianity isn't really about behavior? Could it be that the delight is in the law/Torah and the gracious promises of God found there?

Grading Papers?

You know you're a homeschool mommy when you're taking your shower, and the bathroom door opens and a child yells "18 x 6 = 108??" "Yes, it is." Then, 20 or 30 seconds later, the bathroom door opens and the child yells "17 x 7 = 119??" "Yes, it is." And then, 20 or 30 seconds later, it happens again: "13 x 8 = 104??" "Yes, it is." And so forth.

Y'know, I hear tell that some teachers actually "grade papers" while sitting at a desk, dry and clothed, with an actual piece of paper in front of them, and a red pen in hand.

Well, I suppose my way saves time, if not privacy and solitude in the bathroom.

Psalm 119:resh

All that reviving. "Revive me according to Your word." "Revive me according to Your judgments." "Revive me, O Lord, according to Your lovingkindness."

The old King James says quicken. Revive is like "vivify again." Wow -- this is about making alive, not about just pumping up or re-energizing or encouraging. I think it's interesting how even as I claim to be a faithful Christian (verses 153b, 157b, 159a) there is -- at one and the same time -- the admission that I am dead, an unbeliever, one who needs to be made alive.

It Figures

About ten years ago, Gary convinced me to try to do some writing and make some money off of it. I researched some possibilities and sent in some things. They liked what I sent, but the rules had changed and they were no longer paying for such things.

About eight years ago, I sent in a tiny little story (a joke) to a big, well-known secular magazine that many of you subscribe(d) to. They printed it. I never received the check.

The next time I was urged to try to make some money writing, I sent in a story to a magazine. The editor responded that she loved it, but the rules had changed and they no longer printed short articles.

The next time the bug bit, my article was accepted. The going rate was about $50-100 per article. The payment never arrived. When I looked up the information on whom to contact about it, I saw that (beginning with the issue in which my article was printed) they no longer pay the authors of the articles.

I think God wants me to work at Burger King. He doesn't seem keen on the idea that anyone would hand me money for writing, regardless of what my husband thinks.