If my neighbor is behind on his electric bill and is about to have his power turned off, I can pay his bill for him if I so choose. If I want to plunk down some tuition money for my son-in-law's account at the seminary, the sem thinks that's just dandy. I don't think our credit card company cares at all who pays my monthly bill, just so long as it gets paid.
Our health insurance is not like that. The premiums must be paid by the employer, on a check that has the employer's name and address on it. If the employer is behind on payments, no one else can "help out" and pay the bill. I'm not sure of the reasoning behind that. The health insurance people tried to explain it to me; it's something about the premiums being the responsibility of the employer, and so they cannot accept funds from the employee or from other entities. However, that really leaves an employee in a humongous pickle if, for some reason, the church treasurer cannot or will not pay the premium. No one else is allowed to step in with assistance. I cannot understand, though, why it would matter to the insurer where the premiums arrived from.
Friday, November 02, 2007
Dumb Cat
Rosie Cotton (the kitten) loves water. She always wants to stick her head down into our water glasses and have us share our water. She will knock water glasses over if she can't get her head far enough down in the glass to lap it up; that way she can drink the puddle. Do you have any idea how hilarious it looks to see a cat's head all smooshed up inside a clear glass tumbler?
She's figured something out. Toothbrushes mean water. If somebody is brushing teeth, that means the water in the bathroom sink will be running off and on, and she can lap up water from around the sink drain. After some pretty funny mishaps, she's gotten adept at jumping up to the sink to poke her nose into the toothbrushing business.
But her ears aren't quite finely attuned to the precise sound of water in the sink. If somebody goes into the bathroom and pees (which does happen, now and then, y'know, with six people living here) the kitten hears "water running." She comes in a hurry, barges in, jumps up into the sink, and is shocked to find the sink dry. Now, just what's up with THAT?
(It's good to have a clown in the house!)
She's figured something out. Toothbrushes mean water. If somebody is brushing teeth, that means the water in the bathroom sink will be running off and on, and she can lap up water from around the sink drain. After some pretty funny mishaps, she's gotten adept at jumping up to the sink to poke her nose into the toothbrushing business.
But her ears aren't quite finely attuned to the precise sound of water in the sink. If somebody goes into the bathroom and pees (which does happen, now and then, y'know, with six people living here) the kitten hears "water running." She comes in a hurry, barges in, jumps up into the sink, and is shocked to find the sink dry. Now, just what's up with THAT?
(It's good to have a clown in the house!)
And Now ....
the stove is not working. Looks like I'm going to be back to cooking at church and in the crockpots, like it was in September. Of course, one of the crockpot lids broke, so now I'm down to only one of those. Cooking at church is going to be a bigger pain than it was before, running back and forth in the cold, and carrying food back to the house through the cold.
Psalm 46:5
God is in the midst of her;
she shall not be moved.
God shall help her
just at the break of dawn.
Y'know what that means, doncha?
You go through the whole long dark night,
and finally the help comes with the morning light.
But you still go through the time of darkness when it seems there is no help from God.
she shall not be moved.
God shall help her
just at the break of dawn.
Y'know what that means, doncha?
You go through the whole long dark night,
and finally the help comes with the morning light.
But you still go through the time of darkness when it seems there is no help from God.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
The Long Warfare
After two months of severe health problems for my dad, the doctors finally discovered the problem. Doctors don't often get the response, "Oh, good!" when they announce a cancer diagnosis. But when the doctors finally pinpoint a problem and have a surgery to correct the heretofore undiagnosed distress, it's really quite a relief.
The surgery was done. Recuperation has begun. And it's going better than the recuperation from last year's surgery.
One thing stunned me, though. After two days of my being in hospital waiting rooms, swabbing lips, adjusting pillows, holding hands, sitting with mom & sibs, eating cafeteria food instead of my own cooking, not getting much sleep, etc,
when I came home I realized that it was less stressful at the hospital than it is at home. There's something seriously wrong when being at the hospital while your beloved father is having surgery ... is a restful vacation compared to your regular everyday life.
I'm tired.
And when the fight is fierce,
the warfare long,
steals on the ear
the distant triumph song.
And hearts are brave again
and arms are strong.
Alleluia! (TLH 463)
The surgery was done. Recuperation has begun. And it's going better than the recuperation from last year's surgery.
One thing stunned me, though. After two days of my being in hospital waiting rooms, swabbing lips, adjusting pillows, holding hands, sitting with mom & sibs, eating cafeteria food instead of my own cooking, not getting much sleep, etc,
when I came home I realized that it was less stressful at the hospital than it is at home. There's something seriously wrong when being at the hospital while your beloved father is having surgery ... is a restful vacation compared to your regular everyday life.
I'm tired.
And when the fight is fierce,
the warfare long,
steals on the ear
the distant triumph song.
And hearts are brave again
and arms are strong.
Alleluia! (TLH 463)
One-Year Series
I really really really like the one-year series for the lectionary. I like that I hear the same readings over and over, out of the same Bible translation, and begin to learn them and the flow of the wording. I like how that familiarity (not unlike having memorized the catechism) informs our understanding of (and interpretation of) other Bible passages. I like that with the 1-year series I always know the flow of the church year. Having different readings on the third Sunday after Easter (for example) seems as unsettling to me as it would be to celebrate Thanksgiving in March or to celebrate Valentines Day in June.
I don't do change well.
I don't do change well.
Code "Speed"
People usually know that when the nurses "call a code" in the hospital, it's not a good thing. However, it IS very important to be clear on which "code" they're calling. We learned the other night that "code: speed" (at least at that particular hospital) is the code which intercepts a situation that's going downhill rapidly. It doesn't mean the heart has stopped or the breathing has stopped. It just means that they're taking measures right away to ensure that the patient doesn't get anywhere close to "code blue."
But when a person gets a phone call in the middle of the night and the message is that they "called a code" on a loved one, and that he's unresponsive, it's not QUITE time to panic yet.
Now, you're not going to remember that when you get a phone call at 2 a.m., are you?
But when a person gets a phone call in the middle of the night and the message is that they "called a code" on a loved one, and that he's unresponsive, it's not QUITE time to panic yet.
Now, you're not going to remember that when you get a phone call at 2 a.m., are you?
Dry Lips
When people are on IV's after surgery and can't have anything by mouth, their lips get really dry -- dry to the point of splitting and bleeding. The hospital gives you little swabby things to moisten the patient's mouth and lips. But it just isn't enough to take care of the problem.
I have been very pleased with Vitamin E. If you take one of those capsules with vitamin-E oil, and poke a hole in it, you can squeeze the E-oil out onto the dry lips. (Or dry skin. Or split heels.) It's sticky stuff, but it does wonders to keep the moisture locked in. And the vitamin helps heal cracks.
I have been very pleased with Vitamin E. If you take one of those capsules with vitamin-E oil, and poke a hole in it, you can squeeze the E-oil out onto the dry lips. (Or dry skin. Or split heels.) It's sticky stuff, but it does wonders to keep the moisture locked in. And the vitamin helps heal cracks.
Refrigerator Muffins
As per Rachel's request,
box of Raisin Bran or Bran Flakes (10-15 oz.)
2.5 cups sugar
5 cups flour
2 tsp salt
1.5 Tbsp baking soda
4 beaten eggs
1 quart buttermilk
1 cup olive oil (or other veg oil)
Mix dry ingredients.
Add wet ingredients.
Mix well.
Store in covered container in fridge for up to six weeks. (If they're going to last that long, make sure you buy eggs with a far-away expiration date!)
Bake in greased muffin tins, 15-20 minutes at about 375-400.
Makes about 5 dozen muffins.
box of Raisin Bran or Bran Flakes (10-15 oz.)
2.5 cups sugar
5 cups flour
2 tsp salt
1.5 Tbsp baking soda
4 beaten eggs
1 quart buttermilk
1 cup olive oil (or other veg oil)
Mix dry ingredients.
Add wet ingredients.
Mix well.
Store in covered container in fridge for up to six weeks. (If they're going to last that long, make sure you buy eggs with a far-away expiration date!)
Bake in greased muffin tins, 15-20 minutes at about 375-400.
Makes about 5 dozen muffins.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
This Is the Feast
I love the canticle "This Is the Feast." It makes a lovely communion-distribution hymn, especially during Eastertide.
But I'm not fond of having it between the Kyrie and the Collect. Nothing wrong with it there, except that it displaces the Gloria in Excelsis.
There's so much to the liturgy. It is deep and profound. There is no way to plumb all the wonders of the historic liturgy. A long time ago I read an article that touched on another aspect of the liturgy that I'd never considered: the life of Christ being rehearsed each week in the structure of the Service.
We have the Old Testament hymns of the Church in the introit psalm. Then we pray for God's mercy. He answered that prayer in the incarnation of His Son, which we sing about in the angels' Christmas song (the Gloria in Excelsis). We hear about Jesus' ministry; we hear His preaching. Then we sing the Sanctus, joining in the hymn sung by the crowds on Palm Sunday: "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." Then we get to Maundy Thursday and the Words of Institution. That is followed by what happened on Good Friday: "O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us."
The canticles highlight (in chronological order) the most important events which accomplished our salvation. As nice as "This Is the Feast" is, using it in place of the Gloria in Excelsis disturbs this aspect of meditating upon Jesus' work to save us.
But I'm not fond of having it between the Kyrie and the Collect. Nothing wrong with it there, except that it displaces the Gloria in Excelsis.
There's so much to the liturgy. It is deep and profound. There is no way to plumb all the wonders of the historic liturgy. A long time ago I read an article that touched on another aspect of the liturgy that I'd never considered: the life of Christ being rehearsed each week in the structure of the Service.
We have the Old Testament hymns of the Church in the introit psalm. Then we pray for God's mercy. He answered that prayer in the incarnation of His Son, which we sing about in the angels' Christmas song (the Gloria in Excelsis). We hear about Jesus' ministry; we hear His preaching. Then we sing the Sanctus, joining in the hymn sung by the crowds on Palm Sunday: "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." Then we get to Maundy Thursday and the Words of Institution. That is followed by what happened on Good Friday: "O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us."
The canticles highlight (in chronological order) the most important events which accomplished our salvation. As nice as "This Is the Feast" is, using it in place of the Gloria in Excelsis disturbs this aspect of meditating upon Jesus' work to save us.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Creme Brulee
After a gazillion times of watching High School Musical, we decided to try making "the perfect creme brulee." Well, not the perfect one, but just a stab at it.
Basically, first you make the custard and chill it. Then you put on the brown sugar top and melt/caramelize/burn it. We put it under the broiler. Didn't work well at all. It tasted like custard with an over-toasted marshmallow on top. We decided that apple Betty was better.
Now I'm curious as to what a "perfect creme brulee" tastes like. Would it be as good as I wished, or would I still think that banana cream pie, or a Snickers, or Julie's apple cake are better desserts?
Basically, first you make the custard and chill it. Then you put on the brown sugar top and melt/caramelize/burn it. We put it under the broiler. Didn't work well at all. It tasted like custard with an over-toasted marshmallow on top. We decided that apple Betty was better.
Now I'm curious as to what a "perfect creme brulee" tastes like. Would it be as good as I wished, or would I still think that banana cream pie, or a Snickers, or Julie's apple cake are better desserts?
Friday, October 26, 2007
Caskets
I am SO far behind on reading my Backwoods Home Magazines. But I was doing a little skimming during Maggie's swimming lesson recently. I ran across an article that really intrigued me: Funerals Don't Have to Be Expensive in the September 2005 issue. (See, I told you I was behind on my reading!)
It's hard to check out websites when you're sitting poolside. So tonight I finally got around to checking up on a few of these items. Turns out that the very nice cardboard casket in the article is no longer being manufactured. But there's a whole list of alternative suppliers of caskets. Maybe I'm morbid, but I kind of like the idea of spending $500 for a casket now, using it as a bookshelf or a linen chest, and then not having to pay the funeral director $6000 for a casket when we need one. Or maybe it's not being morbid so much as it is just being a tightwad. Of course, this scheme would leave me (or my family) with having loads of company for a funeral, and having the couch, chairs, and tables all covered with BOOKS that used to live in the casket/bookshelf and have recently been displaced.
Gary's been saying for quite a while that he should probably check out the funeral homes around here, and their prices. It would be something he could do at a leisurely pace so that the information would be available to church members when they're not in an emotional state to sort through all the decisions. I'd like to know what kind of pine boxes the funeral homes have available, so as to know whether to mail-order a casket from the guys who make Jewish caskets or easy-to-assemble pine boxes, or whether we could count on the more expensive caskets made by monks which can be shipped in the space of a day or two.
I fully intend to be one of those cruel and heartless customers who will boldly insist on seeing the "unacceptable caskets," the "welfare caskets," when visiting the morticians. I have no patience with salemen who try to pressure me into buying things. Kids, don't let them talk you into burying me and your dad in fancy boxes. Tell 'em your folks would be just fine with a used refrigerator box from the appliance store, if that were legal. And Mom, I'll go along with whatever the other kids say, and won't force them into picking cardboard or pine unless you want us to.
It's hard to check out websites when you're sitting poolside. So tonight I finally got around to checking up on a few of these items. Turns out that the very nice cardboard casket in the article is no longer being manufactured. But there's a whole list of alternative suppliers of caskets. Maybe I'm morbid, but I kind of like the idea of spending $500 for a casket now, using it as a bookshelf or a linen chest, and then not having to pay the funeral director $6000 for a casket when we need one. Or maybe it's not being morbid so much as it is just being a tightwad. Of course, this scheme would leave me (or my family) with having loads of company for a funeral, and having the couch, chairs, and tables all covered with BOOKS that used to live in the casket/bookshelf and have recently been displaced.
Gary's been saying for quite a while that he should probably check out the funeral homes around here, and their prices. It would be something he could do at a leisurely pace so that the information would be available to church members when they're not in an emotional state to sort through all the decisions. I'd like to know what kind of pine boxes the funeral homes have available, so as to know whether to mail-order a casket from the guys who make Jewish caskets or easy-to-assemble pine boxes, or whether we could count on the more expensive caskets made by monks which can be shipped in the space of a day or two.
I fully intend to be one of those cruel and heartless customers who will boldly insist on seeing the "unacceptable caskets," the "welfare caskets," when visiting the morticians. I have no patience with salemen who try to pressure me into buying things. Kids, don't let them talk you into burying me and your dad in fancy boxes. Tell 'em your folks would be just fine with a used refrigerator box from the appliance store, if that were legal. And Mom, I'll go along with whatever the other kids say, and won't force them into picking cardboard or pine unless you want us to.
Psalm 78:60
He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh,
the tent He had placed among men,
and delivered His strength into captivity,
and His glory into the enemy's hand.
In the context of the psalm, which gives a run-down of Israel's history, this is obviously a reference to 1 Samuel 4-5 where the ark of the covenant is captured by the Philistines and placed in Dagon's temple.
I noticed too that the psalm makes plain that GOD was the one who delivered that ark into the hands of the Philistines; it wasn't that the Philistines overpowered God's people such that they could capture the Israelite God.
But, hey, we've been doing John at Thursday morning Bible class for the last year. So when I see "tabernacle" and "glory," I'm musing on the first chapter of John's gospel. Is this psalm about Jesus? The Father forsook the tabernacle, that is, the Son that He sent to mankind. On the cross, Jesus (the strength and the glory of God) was delivered into the enemy's hand. If this psalm is about Jesus, and if the capture of the ark was about Jesus too, then a person might even begin to wonder if part of the story is a picture of the descent into hell.
For all outward appearances, both the capture of the ark and the descent into hell were "loser" times for God. But that wasn't the reality. Look at what happened in Dagon's temple. The ark came in. And Dagon fell on his face. Dagon's priests set him upright. Next morning, Dagon was on his face again, with his head and hands broken off. Likewise, when Jesus descended into hell, it wasn't an oopsie that He had to cope with. He chose to be in that position, and it was a triumph for Him. "And every knee shall bow, in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ IS Lord to the glory of God the Father."
the tent He had placed among men,
and delivered His strength into captivity,
and His glory into the enemy's hand.
In the context of the psalm, which gives a run-down of Israel's history, this is obviously a reference to 1 Samuel 4-5 where the ark of the covenant is captured by the Philistines and placed in Dagon's temple.
I noticed too that the psalm makes plain that GOD was the one who delivered that ark into the hands of the Philistines; it wasn't that the Philistines overpowered God's people such that they could capture the Israelite God.
But, hey, we've been doing John at Thursday morning Bible class for the last year. So when I see "tabernacle" and "glory," I'm musing on the first chapter of John's gospel. Is this psalm about Jesus? The Father forsook the tabernacle, that is, the Son that He sent to mankind. On the cross, Jesus (the strength and the glory of God) was delivered into the enemy's hand. If this psalm is about Jesus, and if the capture of the ark was about Jesus too, then a person might even begin to wonder if part of the story is a picture of the descent into hell.
For all outward appearances, both the capture of the ark and the descent into hell were "loser" times for God. But that wasn't the reality. Look at what happened in Dagon's temple. The ark came in. And Dagon fell on his face. Dagon's priests set him upright. Next morning, Dagon was on his face again, with his head and hands broken off. Likewise, when Jesus descended into hell, it wasn't an oopsie that He had to cope with. He chose to be in that position, and it was a triumph for Him. "And every knee shall bow, in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ IS Lord to the glory of God the Father."
Thursday, October 25, 2007
John 20:20
Okay, maybe this is a no-brainer for y'all, but I was just tickled when I noticed this today. Supposedly we were studying John 13 in Bible class today, but Pastor got off on one of his "foot theology" tangents, and how the Absolution plays into that, so he was reading to us from the Quasimodo Geniti gospel.
Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you!"
Y'know, I'd always thought that Jesus' showing them His wounds was one thing, and the blessing of peace was another. Y'know, He comes in, forgives them ("Peace to you") and then shows them His hands and side. Like, say, maybe to prove it was the same guy who got crucified? Or like, maybe, to show that Friday's wounds didn't keep Him from rising? Or like, maybe, this was the first resurrection appearance to which they'd have to witness, so they'd better get a good look? Okay, well, maybe all those things come into play a bit.
But it's more than that!!! He shows them His hands and side because those wounds are what made for the peace that He spoke unto them.
It's all connected.
The peace cannot BE without the wounds.
(I just think this is SO cool !!!!)
Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you!"
Y'know, I'd always thought that Jesus' showing them His wounds was one thing, and the blessing of peace was another. Y'know, He comes in, forgives them ("Peace to you") and then shows them His hands and side. Like, say, maybe to prove it was the same guy who got crucified? Or like, maybe, to show that Friday's wounds didn't keep Him from rising? Or like, maybe, this was the first resurrection appearance to which they'd have to witness, so they'd better get a good look? Okay, well, maybe all those things come into play a bit.
But it's more than that!!! He shows them His hands and side because those wounds are what made for the peace that He spoke unto them.
It's all connected.
The peace cannot BE without the wounds.
(I just think this is SO cool !!!!)
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Green Drink
Whole-food vitamins seem to me to be a much better way to get supplemental nutrients into a body than using the chemical vitamins so often found in a drug-store aisle. Problem is, whole-food vitamins are not cheap (as seen by this example). I've seen price-tags of $80-120 per month per person. The cheapest I've seen is at Basics where I could get a month's worth for one person for $40 ($32 on Super-Tuesday). That's just totally out of our price range, no matter how wondrous the testimonials are as to the health benefits!
Instead of whole-food vitamins, I make green drink. It's basically the whole-food vitamins without the capsule wrapped around it. I could theoretically put the green-drink powder into capsules, but I am just waaaaay too lazy for that! So instead, I drink what my loving children fondly (or not so fondly) refer to as "pond scum."
A recipe for Green Drink is one pound each of:
alfalfa powder
wheatgrass powder
beet root powder
barley grass powder
spirulina
nutritional yeast (or catnip powder)
I prefer to make Super Green Drink,
one pound each of:
blue-green algae powder
spinach leaf powder
chlorella powder
rosehips powder
orange peel
lemon peel
alfalfa powder
wheatgrass powder
beet root powder
barley grass powder
spirulina
nutritional yeast (or catnip powder).
Yes, this is a mixture consisting mostly of grasses and algaes. Hence the term "pond scum."
The ingredients are mixed in equal amounts (by weight). Store covered, in a cool dark place, in a glass or plastic container. Combine a cup of cool water with a heaping tablespoon of powder. It's easiest to mix it if you use a glass jar with a screw-on lid, and shake it vigorously. One glass daily provides more nutrition than you'd get from your typical over-the-counter vitamin pill.
When I first started drinking it, it tasted very very GREEN. So I started by mixing a teaspoon instead of a tablespoon. And sometimes I added an ounce of orange juice. But eventually I got to where I could drink it. It's not exactly good. But last time I mixed up a batch, it was $7/pound, which is a pittance compared to the handy-dandy whole-food vitamins that come in capsules so as to hide the greenness from your tastebuds.
In case you're interested, I buy my powders from AmeriHerb. A catalog is available by calling 1-800-267-6141.
Instead of whole-food vitamins, I make green drink. It's basically the whole-food vitamins without the capsule wrapped around it. I could theoretically put the green-drink powder into capsules, but I am just waaaaay too lazy for that! So instead, I drink what my loving children fondly (or not so fondly) refer to as "pond scum."
A recipe for Green Drink is one pound each of:
alfalfa powder
wheatgrass powder
beet root powder
barley grass powder
spirulina
nutritional yeast (or catnip powder)
I prefer to make Super Green Drink,
one pound each of:
blue-green algae powder
spinach leaf powder
chlorella powder
rosehips powder
orange peel
lemon peel
alfalfa powder
wheatgrass powder
beet root powder
barley grass powder
spirulina
nutritional yeast (or catnip powder).
Yes, this is a mixture consisting mostly of grasses and algaes. Hence the term "pond scum."
The ingredients are mixed in equal amounts (by weight). Store covered, in a cool dark place, in a glass or plastic container. Combine a cup of cool water with a heaping tablespoon of powder. It's easiest to mix it if you use a glass jar with a screw-on lid, and shake it vigorously. One glass daily provides more nutrition than you'd get from your typical over-the-counter vitamin pill.
When I first started drinking it, it tasted very very GREEN. So I started by mixing a teaspoon instead of a tablespoon. And sometimes I added an ounce of orange juice. But eventually I got to where I could drink it. It's not exactly good. But last time I mixed up a batch, it was $7/pound, which is a pittance compared to the handy-dandy whole-food vitamins that come in capsules so as to hide the greenness from your tastebuds.
In case you're interested, I buy my powders from AmeriHerb. A catalog is available by calling 1-800-267-6141.
Friendship Sunday
Last month, a synodical representative met with the members of our church to discuss the difficult situation in which we find ourselves [money trouble]. Pastor X advised that we need to serve more cookies and donuts, have more potlucks, invite people to dinner in our homes, and call people by their first name repeatedly. That will show friendliness and people will flock to our church. More people would mean more offerings. Our money problems will be solved. When attendance at Bible class was suggested as a possible beginning to dealing with our problems, that solution was not embraced.
To be fair to Pastor X, follow-up conversations indicated that he didn't fully realize that that was pretty much all he said during the meeting, and that he actually does think there's more to be said. (You know how sometimes you think things but they don't actually make it all the way out your mouth?) Also, in the intervening weeks, he's come to realize that the situation is a little more complex than he suspected on the night he first met with the congregation.
One of the guys at church has taken to heart the advice about friendliness. So he has planned a Friendship Sunday. Coffee and donuts will pre-empt the second half of Sunday School that day. Today I read in Luther (page 384 of Day By Day We Magnify Thee) this quote:
The Word and doctrine will create Christian unity or fellowship. Where they reign all else will follow. Where they are not no concord will ever abide. Therefore do not talk to me about love and friendship, if that means breaking with the Word, or the faith -- for the Gospel does not say love brings eternal life, God's grace, and all heavenly treasures, but the Word.
To be fair to Pastor X, follow-up conversations indicated that he didn't fully realize that that was pretty much all he said during the meeting, and that he actually does think there's more to be said. (You know how sometimes you think things but they don't actually make it all the way out your mouth?) Also, in the intervening weeks, he's come to realize that the situation is a little more complex than he suspected on the night he first met with the congregation.
One of the guys at church has taken to heart the advice about friendliness. So he has planned a Friendship Sunday. Coffee and donuts will pre-empt the second half of Sunday School that day. Today I read in Luther (page 384 of Day By Day We Magnify Thee) this quote:
The Word and doctrine will create Christian unity or fellowship. Where they reign all else will follow. Where they are not no concord will ever abide. Therefore do not talk to me about love and friendship, if that means breaking with the Word, or the faith -- for the Gospel does not say love brings eternal life, God's grace, and all heavenly treasures, but the Word.
Tomatoes
Our area had a hard frost on September 14. My tomatoes made it through. Here it is, six weeks later, and I'm still getting fresh garden tomatoes. Not in abundance, but still enjoying a few here and there.
But they say you're not supposed to store tomatoes in the fridge. Outdoors overnight, it's refrigerator temperature. I'm wondering if that's going to be bad for the fruit.
But they say you're not supposed to store tomatoes in the fridge. Outdoors overnight, it's refrigerator temperature. I'm wondering if that's going to be bad for the fruit.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Heresy
We distracted ourselves from life and did something totally uncharacteristic tonight. We just up and went to a play. I wanted so desperately to go back to APT to see Merchant of Venice again, but we couldn't fit in another visit before the end of the season. However, Merchant was the show they took on the road this year. So we went to tonight's play. Even though we had to buy tickets [gasp!]. But it was worth it! Annnnd we ended up in the spit-zone (aka, front row). Wow!
There were a lot of lines I wanted to come home and look up. One was from Bassanio. He was trying to decide which choice to make. (For those of you who don't know the story, it was kinda sorta like the girl he loved was behind "Let's Make a Deal" Door#1, Door#2, or Door #3.) To help him decide whether to choose the gorgeous option, the very nice option, or the outwardly ugly option, he mused on two analogies: one from law, the other from religion. What was duh!-factor obvious to Bassanio was something we today are suckers for buying into.
In religion, what damned error, but some sober brow will bless it and approve it with a text, hiding the grossness with fair ornament?
Ain't THAT the truth?!? Gussy-up heresy and we think it's pretty.
There were a lot of lines I wanted to come home and look up. One was from Bassanio. He was trying to decide which choice to make. (For those of you who don't know the story, it was kinda sorta like the girl he loved was behind "Let's Make a Deal" Door#1, Door#2, or Door #3.) To help him decide whether to choose the gorgeous option, the very nice option, or the outwardly ugly option, he mused on two analogies: one from law, the other from religion. What was duh!-factor obvious to Bassanio was something we today are suckers for buying into.
In religion, what damned error, but some sober brow will bless it and approve it with a text, hiding the grossness with fair ornament?
Ain't THAT the truth?!? Gussy-up heresy and we think it's pretty.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Depression-Era Mentality
They say that people that lived through the Great Depression learned to make do, but that for decades afterward it had an effect on the way they viewed possessions and frugality. But I think I've developed that depression-era mentality. I had to be in the mall today (to pick up a free item designed to entice us into the store to spend money) and was really rather offended by all the consumerism, the cookie store, the food court, all the clothes and shoes and jewelry and technological devices. Last week when I did paper route, I was offended by the amount of Halloween decorations out. Not because of the gore, but because of the sheer amount of dollars spent on something as frivolous as Halloween decorations. This does not set well with me that I think this: I'm too much the free-enterprise, conservative believer-in-capitalism to have these viewpoints. But there are so many things like that. I simply cannot comprehend that people have enough money to spend $20/week/child on music lessons. I simply cannot comprehend that some families do Disneyland every year. It's beyond me that I know people with antique cars or sports cars that they have just for fun. I am dumbfounded by the socializing at a bar (with $5 drinks) at pastors' conferences.
Weird thing is that I don't resent people for what they have. I just feel like such a foreigner, such a misfit, such a freak.
And I'm not sure what to do about decluttering. I'm afraid that sometimes I want to take things to Goodwill that anybody else would consider to be complete garbage, whereas I'm thinking there's still some good use left in something. When people give us hand-me-downs (like school workbooks that are 2/3 used already) I feel obliged to make use of them. When you simply cannot take the risk that you might have to buy a replacement for something 2-3 years down the road, it's very hard to let go of Stuff.
A friend was home on leave from Afghanistan. His mom told how the family attended a wedding, and her son was just kinda shocked by the amount that was spent on the wedding and reception. He knew what it could've done for the kids and the families where he was stationed over there. And to some extent I agree. Yet I think it's perfectly reasonable that people enjoy the blessings God provides. In our family we have some indulgences (DSL for the computer, and rental DVDs) that aren't necessary but that we enjoy.
It's one thing to be frugal when you have no choice. What I'm seeing in myself (and what kind of worries me) is that I'm not going to be able to let go of this. If I should someday have a decent income, I don't think it will be possible for me to spend it on clothes or interior decorating or high-quality appliances. When a whole generation of people had this depression-era mentality, people understood each other's hang-up. But for somebody my age to think like this, that just makes me a complete misfit.
Weird thing is that I don't resent people for what they have. I just feel like such a foreigner, such a misfit, such a freak.
And I'm not sure what to do about decluttering. I'm afraid that sometimes I want to take things to Goodwill that anybody else would consider to be complete garbage, whereas I'm thinking there's still some good use left in something. When people give us hand-me-downs (like school workbooks that are 2/3 used already) I feel obliged to make use of them. When you simply cannot take the risk that you might have to buy a replacement for something 2-3 years down the road, it's very hard to let go of Stuff.
A friend was home on leave from Afghanistan. His mom told how the family attended a wedding, and her son was just kinda shocked by the amount that was spent on the wedding and reception. He knew what it could've done for the kids and the families where he was stationed over there. And to some extent I agree. Yet I think it's perfectly reasonable that people enjoy the blessings God provides. In our family we have some indulgences (DSL for the computer, and rental DVDs) that aren't necessary but that we enjoy.
It's one thing to be frugal when you have no choice. What I'm seeing in myself (and what kind of worries me) is that I'm not going to be able to let go of this. If I should someday have a decent income, I don't think it will be possible for me to spend it on clothes or interior decorating or high-quality appliances. When a whole generation of people had this depression-era mentality, people understood each other's hang-up. But for somebody my age to think like this, that just makes me a complete misfit.
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