Friday, August 12, 2011
Hot Flashes
Global warming is not caused by SUV's, factories, or incandescent lightbulbs. The truth is that half the baby-boomers are going through menopause.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Caution: Automatic Doors
You spend quite a few days wandering about a hospital, with those magic doors that open themselves when they see you coming. You make occasional forays into the big wide world where there are grocery-store doors that likewise open magically upon your arrival. Same for the doors at rest stops along the highway.
And then you go to a gas station. When you try to leave the building, you stand there at the door and wait for it to magically open. It doesn't. What's the deal? Is it broken?
"Oh, it's just a regular door," you think sheepishly, as you use your own muscle-power to push open the door, desperately hoping the clerk and other customers did not notice.
This may or may not be a true story.
And then you go to a gas station. When you try to leave the building, you stand there at the door and wait for it to magically open. It doesn't. What's the deal? Is it broken?
"Oh, it's just a regular door," you think sheepishly, as you use your own muscle-power to push open the door, desperately hoping the clerk and other customers did not notice.
This may or may not be a true story.
Monday, August 08, 2011
Dialysis Decision
My mom has had kidney problems since I was a kid. She spent a couple of years on dialysis before she received a kidney transplant. After 10 years, her kidney began to fail. Over the past half-year, her health has declined. Beginning in late April, her health has become much worse. In July, she became sick and ended up hospitalized after passing blood. She spent 11 days in the hospital, receiving transfusions, undergoing four scoping-procedures in an attempt to find out where she was bleeding. The bleeding ulcers stopped on their own. Mom was discharged from the hospital, but felt confused and unsettled at home. A couple of days later, a CT-scan showed that there had been a mini-stroke, and her lab work had declined seriously. She was rehospitalized on an IV of diuretics to take the swelling down.
So, the question of the weekend was whether to go back on dialysis or whether to refuse the treatment, which would result in death fairly soon. Would dialysis artificially put off a death which was rapidly overtaking her, or would dialysis be a simple treatment that would resolve many of her health problems?
After much input from many sources, Mom's decision was to try the dialysis for a while. The nephrologist was making the point that most of Mom's failing health is due to the uremia. Her body is being poisoned because her kidney is not functioning to clean out the icky stuff. He says her mental state, her strength, her edema, her appetite, and possibly even her ulcers can be fixed by cleaning out the toxins.
Mom is currently receiving an "ash splint catheterization" which will be used temporarily (that is, 2-6 months) for dialysis. The doctor hopes that she will begin to see increased strength and appetite and clarity-of-thought in a week, after maybe three dialysis treatments. They are hoping that, when she feels better about her thinking ability and decision-making ability, she will be able to decide whether she wishes to continue dialysis, and if so, whether she wishes to go with hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis. We don't know yet if dialysis starts this afternoon or tomorrow. She has so much swelling/edema and so many toxins in her body, that she says dialysis will hurt a lot from the cramping.
So, for family members who've been wondering how it's going, that's where we stand for this week.
So, the question of the weekend was whether to go back on dialysis or whether to refuse the treatment, which would result in death fairly soon. Would dialysis artificially put off a death which was rapidly overtaking her, or would dialysis be a simple treatment that would resolve many of her health problems?
After much input from many sources, Mom's decision was to try the dialysis for a while. The nephrologist was making the point that most of Mom's failing health is due to the uremia. Her body is being poisoned because her kidney is not functioning to clean out the icky stuff. He says her mental state, her strength, her edema, her appetite, and possibly even her ulcers can be fixed by cleaning out the toxins.
Mom is currently receiving an "ash splint catheterization" which will be used temporarily (that is, 2-6 months) for dialysis. The doctor hopes that she will begin to see increased strength and appetite and clarity-of-thought in a week, after maybe three dialysis treatments. They are hoping that, when she feels better about her thinking ability and decision-making ability, she will be able to decide whether she wishes to continue dialysis, and if so, whether she wishes to go with hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis. We don't know yet if dialysis starts this afternoon or tomorrow. She has so much swelling/edema and so many toxins in her body, that she says dialysis will hurt a lot from the cramping.
So, for family members who've been wondering how it's going, that's where we stand for this week.
Sunday, August 07, 2011
Heaven
I'm not sure what's going on at work, but there's been a lot of talk about ghosts, haunted houses, and heaven. One of the gals is reading about haunted houses in the area. Another just read a book about a little boy who had a near-death experience. She asked me if I'd read it. There was some compelling evidence for people to believe the little boy: when he was "out of his body" during a surgery, he saw things he could not have known otherwise.
But the kicker for me was that the parents suggested going by the hospital later, and the little boy didn't want to go. He remembered the angels singing, and sitting in Jesus' lap, and some other things. But, no, he did not want to go back to that place. Now, if he really went to heaven, then there would be no fear, no trepidation, no avoidance, of the remembrance or revisiting of the place.
I don't know what does happen in those situations, but if a person doesn't look forward to going "back to heaven," then he wasn't seeing heaven in the first place.
But the kicker for me was that the parents suggested going by the hospital later, and the little boy didn't want to go. He remembered the angels singing, and sitting in Jesus' lap, and some other things. But, no, he did not want to go back to that place. Now, if he really went to heaven, then there would be no fear, no trepidation, no avoidance, of the remembrance or revisiting of the place.
I don't know what does happen in those situations, but if a person doesn't look forward to going "back to heaven," then he wasn't seeing heaven in the first place.
Saturday, August 06, 2011
Orthaheel Loss
Back when I was buying my fancy-schmancy prescription orthotic inserts, they also sold me Orthaheel flipflops. I can wear them during summer to keep my feet cool and aired, and there is no pressure whatsoever on bunions ... because they're flipflops! My Orthaheels are the most comfortable thing I own, even better than my prescription inserts.
On Wednesday, I ruined them.
It was so sad. I usually put on my work-shoes in the parking lot at work, leaving my comfy shoes (whether the Orthaheels or the tennies-plus-inserts) in the car, to pop back onto my feet as soon as my work-day is finished. I don't know what was different on Wednesday than any of those other summer days, some of which were even hotter. The windows were rolled down in the car. Maybe this problem on Wednesday was that my Orthaheels were on the seat instead of the floor, and the sun could hit them directly?? Whatever it was, the inner sole shrank. It shrank so badly that it pulled itself away from the outer sole so that they weren't fully connected to each other.
Moral of the story: do NOT put your beloved Orthaheels in a place where they will be heated.
I'd heard the same thing about CD's and audio-tapes in hot cars during summer: they'll get ruined. But I want to listen to my music. During those wicked-hot days a few weeks ago, I ruined one song on a Kantorei CD -- the song that was on "play" when I turned off the car in the bank parking lot. A whole day of heat, and that song was shot. I don't know why just the one song, but that's what happened.
I've got to learn to be more careful of what's tucked into my vehicle on hot summer days.
(I was pleased with Zappo's. When I discovered that my podiatrist did not have Orthaheels currently available, I ordered online. The box arrived in less than 24 hours. Wow! I was disappointed to find that someone had inadvertently put the wrong size into the right-sized box. That wasn't Zappo's fault; it was probably a customer goof-up. So I'm still waiting for my beloved flipflops. Nevertheless, Zappo's service in phenomenal.)
On Wednesday, I ruined them.
It was so sad. I usually put on my work-shoes in the parking lot at work, leaving my comfy shoes (whether the Orthaheels or the tennies-plus-inserts) in the car, to pop back onto my feet as soon as my work-day is finished. I don't know what was different on Wednesday than any of those other summer days, some of which were even hotter. The windows were rolled down in the car. Maybe this problem on Wednesday was that my Orthaheels were on the seat instead of the floor, and the sun could hit them directly?? Whatever it was, the inner sole shrank. It shrank so badly that it pulled itself away from the outer sole so that they weren't fully connected to each other.
Moral of the story: do NOT put your beloved Orthaheels in a place where they will be heated.
I'd heard the same thing about CD's and audio-tapes in hot cars during summer: they'll get ruined. But I want to listen to my music. During those wicked-hot days a few weeks ago, I ruined one song on a Kantorei CD -- the song that was on "play" when I turned off the car in the bank parking lot. A whole day of heat, and that song was shot. I don't know why just the one song, but that's what happened.
I've got to learn to be more careful of what's tucked into my vehicle on hot summer days.
(I was pleased with Zappo's. When I discovered that my podiatrist did not have Orthaheels currently available, I ordered online. The box arrived in less than 24 hours. Wow! I was disappointed to find that someone had inadvertently put the wrong size into the right-sized box. That wasn't Zappo's fault; it was probably a customer goof-up. So I'm still waiting for my beloved flipflops. Nevertheless, Zappo's service in phenomenal.)
A Good Thing About Homeschooling
Our church's school is wonderful. If it had been nearby and available when my kids were little, I would have had a hard time deciding between the benefits of the school versus the different benefits of homeschooling. But I gotta say, there is one awesome thing about homeschooling.
My kids like each other.
I don't know that it was necessarily homeschooling that "did it." I think our living in places where there weren't neighborhood friends available played into the mix. I think not starting out siblinghood with a long absence from Mommy (with the obstetric hospital stay) probably had an effect. I remember my mom commenting, way back when there were only four kids, about how nicely they got along and how little sibling rivalry there was. She said it was probably because they HAD to get along -- who else did they have to play with?? And there's some truth to that. I remember coming down hard on the rare squabbling; I don't know how I did it, but I didn't permit them to not get along.
And they like each other. They choose to spend time with each other. They look forward to seeing each other.
One of the greatest gifts my kids have ever given me is that they like their brothers and sisters! What joy to a mother! Thank you, Rachel, Philip, Katie, Paul, Andrew, and Maggie. You make me happy to be your mom.
My kids like each other.
I don't know that it was necessarily homeschooling that "did it." I think our living in places where there weren't neighborhood friends available played into the mix. I think not starting out siblinghood with a long absence from Mommy (with the obstetric hospital stay) probably had an effect. I remember my mom commenting, way back when there were only four kids, about how nicely they got along and how little sibling rivalry there was. She said it was probably because they HAD to get along -- who else did they have to play with?? And there's some truth to that. I remember coming down hard on the rare squabbling; I don't know how I did it, but I didn't permit them to not get along.
And they like each other. They choose to spend time with each other. They look forward to seeing each other.
One of the greatest gifts my kids have ever given me is that they like their brothers and sisters! What joy to a mother! Thank you, Rachel, Philip, Katie, Paul, Andrew, and Maggie. You make me happy to be your mom.
Friday, August 05, 2011
Five Years
And the two shall become one flesh
(or one flesh, and then one flesh again,
because I see two cute, laughing girls here)
Thursday, August 04, 2011
Preserving a Christian Home
An excellent speech by Dort Preus. (It's written, not audio. It's not a quickie-read, but it's lovely enough that the time reading it is worth it.)
Sunday, July 31, 2011
King James Version
Amazing! Sitting here next to me, at my mom's house, is the Bible my aunt gave my mom when she was 18. No copyright page. No listing of what version it is. No publication date. No publisher listed. Just the Bible. Period.
It seems very weird today.
But there are some excellent things about having one version that everybody knew and shared!
It seems very weird today.
But there are some excellent things about having one version that everybody knew and shared!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
New Sink
BEFORE:
It was stained when we moved in, but it's stained worse now. I think I used the wrong kind of cleansers on it. The edge of the sink was high, which meant it was always a struggle to keep the water from pooling in the small space between the back of the sink and the wall. Even after we caulked that with 50-year-guarantee kitchen/bath-quality caulking, it was nasty within a year. In addition to these problems, the moving parts inside the faucet were going bad: it was quite difficult to turn the faucet from one side of the sink to the other.
AFTER:
Pretty!
Two things to get used to:
1) Do not throw the faucet around. After using so much muscle-effort whenever we had to move the old one, we keep using more energy than is required for the smooth-moving new faucet.
2) The Culligan spigot moved over by the dish rack. This means that stacking dishes the way we used to (never towel-drying, perched precariously while air-drying) will cut off our access to the drinking water. We may be compelled to put away dishes in a more timely manner, possibly even breaking out the dish towels on a twice-daily basis. This may [gasp!] make the kitchen look tidier as well as be more readily usable. Now, can we do it???
It was stained when we moved in, but it's stained worse now. I think I used the wrong kind of cleansers on it. The edge of the sink was high, which meant it was always a struggle to keep the water from pooling in the small space between the back of the sink and the wall. Even after we caulked that with 50-year-guarantee kitchen/bath-quality caulking, it was nasty within a year. In addition to these problems, the moving parts inside the faucet were going bad: it was quite difficult to turn the faucet from one side of the sink to the other.
AFTER:
Pretty!
Two things to get used to:
1) Do not throw the faucet around. After using so much muscle-effort whenever we had to move the old one, we keep using more energy than is required for the smooth-moving new faucet.
2) The Culligan spigot moved over by the dish rack. This means that stacking dishes the way we used to (never towel-drying, perched precariously while air-drying) will cut off our access to the drinking water. We may be compelled to put away dishes in a more timely manner, possibly even breaking out the dish towels on a twice-daily basis. This may [gasp!] make the kitchen look tidier as well as be more readily usable. Now, can we do it???
Friday, July 29, 2011
Psalm 119:54
Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.
House? On a pilgrimage? Part of the characteristic of being on a pilgrimage is that you do not have a house.
We so often understand "statutes" as law-codes and rules. If you get a parking ticket, it will say that you broke statute thus-and-such. The crime reports in the paper tell what statute was transgressed when the dude was booked by the police.
But God's thoughts are not our thoughts. If His statutes are the covenant made to Abraham, the promises given to the patriarchs, that's a little bit different than our concept of statute. So we sing His statutes in the "house" that is our church. We sing, "Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night in which He was betrayed, took bread...." We sing, "This is the Word of the Lord." We sing, "O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world...." We sing, "God spoke to His beloved Son, 'tis time to have compassion..." We sing, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for He hath visited and redeemed His people."
His statutes ARE our songs at church (the house of our pilgrimage).
House? On a pilgrimage? Part of the characteristic of being on a pilgrimage is that you do not have a house.
We so often understand "statutes" as law-codes and rules. If you get a parking ticket, it will say that you broke statute thus-and-such. The crime reports in the paper tell what statute was transgressed when the dude was booked by the police.
But God's thoughts are not our thoughts. If His statutes are the covenant made to Abraham, the promises given to the patriarchs, that's a little bit different than our concept of statute. So we sing His statutes in the "house" that is our church. We sing, "Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night in which He was betrayed, took bread...." We sing, "This is the Word of the Lord." We sing, "O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world...." We sing, "God spoke to His beloved Son, 'tis time to have compassion..." We sing, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for He hath visited and redeemed His people."
His statutes ARE our songs at church (the house of our pilgrimage).
Today's Laugh
A friend's daughter came up with the cutest way to say something when she couldn't remember the right words. Check out Meghan's story.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Knowing the Mysteries
After Jesus told the parable of "The Sower and the Seed," the disciples came to Him, saying, "Huh? We don't get it. Explain, please. Why do You tell these parables anyhow?" And He answered, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven...."
Really? You'd think not. After all, they don't get it and they have to ask. They also don't get it when Jesus says He has to go up to Jerusalem and die. Even after the resurrection, at Jesus' ascension, they don't get it: "So NOW are You going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"
But Jesus said it's been given to His disciples to know the mysteries. As long as we know Jesus, we know. We may not understand details. Without a good teacher, we may be bamboozled by parables. We may listen to our human reason and our experiences more than we listen to God's word. But as long as we know Jesus and His mercy, as long as we cling to Him and His forgiveness, we know the mysteries. Even when it might appear we don't.
Really? You'd think not. After all, they don't get it and they have to ask. They also don't get it when Jesus says He has to go up to Jerusalem and die. Even after the resurrection, at Jesus' ascension, they don't get it: "So NOW are You going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"
But Jesus said it's been given to His disciples to know the mysteries. As long as we know Jesus, we know. We may not understand details. Without a good teacher, we may be bamboozled by parables. We may listen to our human reason and our experiences more than we listen to God's word. But as long as we know Jesus and His mercy, as long as we cling to Him and His forgiveness, we know the mysteries. Even when it might appear we don't.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
I Keep Your Commandments
All through the Psalter, especially in 119, we pray, "I keep Your word" and "I keep Your commandments." Being creatures with a sinful flesh and thus a works-righteous faith, we see those words and think it's about obeying rules. We like rules. We want God to approve of our efforts to keep His rules. Even when we screw up, we still think that our plan to do better next time will make God happy with us.
"I keep Your word" = "I hang onto Your word."
Whether His word condemns our sin (and we agree with its just judgment) or whether His word forgives the undeserving (and we joyfully agree with its declaration of innocence for the sake of Christ) ... we hang onto it. We cling to it. We don't let go of it.
"I keep Your commandments" is more about what we love, what we believe, and what promises we trust in, than it is about stark obedience to rules.
"I keep Your word" = "I hang onto Your word."
Whether His word condemns our sin (and we agree with its just judgment) or whether His word forgives the undeserving (and we joyfully agree with its declaration of innocence for the sake of Christ) ... we hang onto it. We cling to it. We don't let go of it.
"I keep Your commandments" is more about what we love, what we believe, and what promises we trust in, than it is about stark obedience to rules.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
My Thoughts Are Not Your Thoughts
One of the collects uses the verse from Isaiah 55 ("'My thoughts are not Your thoughts, nor are My ways your ways,' declares the Lord") as if God has His way of doing things, and He's just so big and so great that we cannot understand it. So if there's a hurricane that destroys a city, we pray that, y'know, His thoughts aren't our thoughts, and we don't know what's up with the whole disaster thing, but God must know what He's doing.
And that's not untrue.
But Pastor keeps telling us that "My thoughts are not your thoughts" has nothing to do with God being "beyond us" in smarts (which He is), or about His being capricious (which He's not). It is, rather, about His way of looking at things being so different from ours. We believe people ought to pay for their mistakes. We love the people who are nice to us. We get fed up with those who abuse us and either take our revenge or (if we're the [ahem] patient and nonvengeful sort) at least we know to avoid those stinkers who give us grief.
God is not like that!
God's thoughts are not our thoughts. If you look at the context of that verse, it's so obvious. God calls out at the beginning of the chapter, "Come, all you thirsty ones, and get something to drink. All you hungry people, come and get food without paying for it!" A grocery store sure ain't gonna stay in business if that's how they operate! Later in the chapter, He sends out His word to bring people to Himself, and He promises that it will not fail in the job He sends it to do: work repentance and bestow pardon.
His thoughts and His ways are just plain weird.
Can there really truly be that much abundance of mercy?
And that's not untrue.
But Pastor keeps telling us that "My thoughts are not your thoughts" has nothing to do with God being "beyond us" in smarts (which He is), or about His being capricious (which He's not). It is, rather, about His way of looking at things being so different from ours. We believe people ought to pay for their mistakes. We love the people who are nice to us. We get fed up with those who abuse us and either take our revenge or (if we're the [ahem] patient and nonvengeful sort) at least we know to avoid those stinkers who give us grief.
God is not like that!
God's thoughts are not our thoughts. If you look at the context of that verse, it's so obvious. God calls out at the beginning of the chapter, "Come, all you thirsty ones, and get something to drink. All you hungry people, come and get food without paying for it!" A grocery store sure ain't gonna stay in business if that's how they operate! Later in the chapter, He sends out His word to bring people to Himself, and He promises that it will not fail in the job He sends it to do: work repentance and bestow pardon.
His thoughts and His ways are just plain weird.
Can there really truly be that much abundance of mercy?
He Knows Our Frame
In Psalm 103, where it says that the Lord "knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust," this is not merely an intellectual knowing. Yes, His mind recognizes the fact that our bodies were made of the dust of the ground.
But it's more than that. He knows our frame because He has it too. He is human. He took on flesh. He has bones and muscles and skin and eyelashes. He knows our frame not just because He created it, but because it became His own.
But it's more than that. He knows our frame because He has it too. He is human. He took on flesh. He has bones and muscles and skin and eyelashes. He knows our frame not just because He created it, but because it became His own.
Blacking My Driveway
Main lesson learned -- This job should be done in cooler weather!
BEFORE:
This is how the driveway looked after my multitudinous patching jobs last summer. The weather failed before I could get the blacktopping completed.
Thanks to Janelle & Jeff for the loan of the power washer. That made the cleaning job much easier.
AFTER:
There were some parts of this job that were very pleasant. After hearing others' stories, I expected to endure the task, but it wasn't bad. I especially liked the gloop-gloop sound of the blacking as I squeegeed it into its spots. I'm not sure why I was tickled (but I was!) when Maggie came out to ask a question and commented how much she liked that sound. Funny!
I am SO glad my Aunt Sue warned me to wear shoes that I can throw in the garbage! I should have done the same thing with the clothes. (She did tell me to wear clothes that would be disposed of, but I forgot to change between the washing and the blacking.)
The muscles in my back aren't so sure they liked this job. If we don't hire out the job when it needs to be repeated in several years, I will do two things differently. First, I think it would be wise to wash down the driveway the evening before. This risks someone eating her dinner on the driveway and leaving mouse guts or bird innards on my freshly washed driveway. But it would be nice to get all or most of the washing finished on the previous day. Second, I would do the job when it's cooler. The instructions say to apply the blacking between 65 and 90°. It was in the low 80s today. With the heat of the previous week, that was too hot: the goop thickened (on its way to drying) too quickly. In the shade of the garage and in the shade of the plum tree -- those were the two places where the goop spread most smoothly and the results were best. The heat is important to the goop cooking/curing/setting. But too much heat while it's being applied makes the work harder and the results less than ideal. As long as you know the temps are likely to climb into the 80s or 90s later in the day, it would be great to start the job at 7 a.m. when the temps are 65-72°.
I assumed I'd have to wear black hose to work on Wednesday, attempting to hide my splotchiness. But after inadvertently blacktopping my feetsies numerous times, I still managed to scrub them clean.
BEFORE:
This is how the driveway looked after my multitudinous patching jobs last summer. The weather failed before I could get the blacktopping completed.
Thanks to Janelle & Jeff for the loan of the power washer. That made the cleaning job much easier.
AFTER:
There were some parts of this job that were very pleasant. After hearing others' stories, I expected to endure the task, but it wasn't bad. I especially liked the gloop-gloop sound of the blacking as I squeegeed it into its spots. I'm not sure why I was tickled (but I was!) when Maggie came out to ask a question and commented how much she liked that sound. Funny!
I am SO glad my Aunt Sue warned me to wear shoes that I can throw in the garbage! I should have done the same thing with the clothes. (She did tell me to wear clothes that would be disposed of, but I forgot to change between the washing and the blacking.)
The muscles in my back aren't so sure they liked this job. If we don't hire out the job when it needs to be repeated in several years, I will do two things differently. First, I think it would be wise to wash down the driveway the evening before. This risks someone eating her dinner on the driveway and leaving mouse guts or bird innards on my freshly washed driveway. But it would be nice to get all or most of the washing finished on the previous day. Second, I would do the job when it's cooler. The instructions say to apply the blacking between 65 and 90°. It was in the low 80s today. With the heat of the previous week, that was too hot: the goop thickened (on its way to drying) too quickly. In the shade of the garage and in the shade of the plum tree -- those were the two places where the goop spread most smoothly and the results were best. The heat is important to the goop cooking/curing/setting. But too much heat while it's being applied makes the work harder and the results less than ideal. As long as you know the temps are likely to climb into the 80s or 90s later in the day, it would be great to start the job at 7 a.m. when the temps are 65-72°.
I assumed I'd have to wear black hose to work on Wednesday, attempting to hide my splotchiness. But after inadvertently blacktopping my feetsies numerous times, I still managed to scrub them clean.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Sin Held Its Sway Unceasing
A young friend mentioned a yowza point from one of the organist workshops she attended. It's a very cool thing to notice in "Salvation unto Us Has Come"!
Saturday, July 23, 2011
In the Bathroom
Karin writes about things moms know. It shouldn't be funny. It's too real. But that's why it's funny!
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