happy 60th Mom

Oh ... my ... LOOK at all the pictures of you on the internet! Who knew it could happen? :)

(disclaimer, her birthday was YESTERDAY, but my scanner was cranky). I'm not a bad daughter, I just have bad computer equipment!)

This is our VBS week, and God has done some great things! We have the kids from 9:00-2:00, and there were 251 today! Two more days ... so we'll see what will happen.

This, however, has meant I've been going in to work about 5:30-5:45 every morning - just to get stuff done before the building is bustling with people. I am so thankful that I have a job that usually allows me to work in solitude. I don't do bustle well. :)

Not too much detail to share other than that I've been walking, swimming, and riding my bike, and enjoying a study of Ruth.

Yes, I do still have a blog ...

But the sun is shining, and it's light later, and it's just so GOOD to be outside. Carol asked this week, "are you having trouble getting on to blogger?). Uh ... no ... unless by "trouble" you mean ... "too distracted to get it done". :)

The flowers are growing , and I've even got some volunteer moss-roses starting to peek out from last year's seeds.

I've been exercising, and studying ... even got the bike tires pumped up, and am riding to church whenever my schedule & attire will permit. Last night, after weariness from being nagged, I picked up a bike helmet. I feel REALLY dorky wearing it ... I haven't fallen off my bike since I was 12 ... however, I can live with feeling dorky if people will stop hounding me. :)

I had such a delightful little blessing yesterday. I wear a small diamond on a chain that my mom bought me when I was 16. She had always promised us kids that she would buy us a class ring when we got to our senior year. Money was really tight growing up, but she really wanted us to have those rings. However, when I got to that age, the rings didn't really look pretty to me, and I asked if we could use the money for this little pendant instead. She was agreeable, and I've worn it ever since - and it's been a nice memory of high school, and of her kindness in saving up so I could have that treat.

Well ... I have long hair, and that's always been a problem with the chains I've used for the diamond. It tends to wrap around the chain, and eventually, after I've pulled it free enough times, the chain will break.

Yesterday, I got home from running errands with T., and looked in the mirror ... and ... no diamond.

I was just sick! I've always felt it break before, and been able to salvage the situation. She and I had been ALL OVER Grand Rapids, so I thought there was no hope.

I walked back into the bedroom where I'd just changed, and there was the diamond, sparkling in the middle of the floor! Then this morning, I found the chain, just inside the front door.

God has such a sense of humor ... it's not like He would have HAD to save it for me ... it's just a "thing" and not really all that important in the grand scheme of things. It could have just as easily dropped off in Office Depot! I am spoiled sometimes. I definately am.

I've been working on editing a sermon on the biblical view of war and the role of government. (an old college friend is now the pastor of Christ Community Church in New Hampshire, and he publishes some sermons in booklet form. He asked if I'd edit this one for him. It's been very interesting. Most of it is concepts I've considered before, but I'm appreciating the way he's stringing them together. If you're interested in reading it, let me know, and I'll e-mail a copy when I get it done.

Today is a birthday party for my mom & niece (their birthdays are both Monday). Mom does't know that she's getting a party out of the deal, so she'll be surprised. She's turning 60 this year. I've got the snazziest picture of her to post on Monday for her birthday.

It's been a productive morning so far - I "slept in" until 6:00, and have gotten the laundry done, the house picked up, and kitchen cleaned. Now I'm off to get the bathroom cleaned so I can get to the gym when it opens at 10:00!

quote on prayer

This was given on Sunday, and was a blessing to me:

“Tell God all that is in your heart, as one unloads one’s heart, its pleasures and its pains, to a dear friend. Tell Him your troubles, that He may comfort you; tell Him your joys, that He may sober them; tell Him your longings, that He may purify them; tell Him your dislikes, that He may help you conquer them; talk to Him of your temptations, that He may shield you from them; show Him the wounds of yoru heart, that He may heal them; lay bare your indifference to good, your depraved tastes for evil, your instability. Tell Him how self-love makes you unjust to others, how vanity tempts you to be insincere, how pride disguises you to yourself and to others.

If you thus pour out all your weaknesses, needs, and troubles, there will be no lack of what to say. You will never exhaust the subject. It is continually being renewed. People who have no secrets from one another never want for subjects of conversation. They do not weight their words, for there is nothing to be held back; neither do they seek for something to say. They talk out of the abundance of the heart, without consideration they say just what they think. Blessed are they who attain to such familiar, unreserved intercourse with God.”

Francois Fenelon (1651-1715)

Got in a couple walks this weekend, and also got my bike tires pumped up and rode it to church Sunday night. I'd like to ride it back to work in the afternoons after lunch any days when I won't be needing my car ... a little extra exercise, and a little less gas-money spent! :)

in lieu of an actual post ...

These are my adorable-nieces, who are on vacation with their parents this week.

the most beautiful place I've ever been

It's even lovelier when you look at it right-side up. :)

This is the stream out behind what used to be Mary Jones' house. If you haven't read the story of Mary Jones & her Bible, you are missing out!

The link speaks of this as a "legend" ... but it's definately not. I was in Bala, and visited different places mentioned in the book; I saw Mary's parents' graves, visited this beautiful spot where their home stood, and drove over the pass she walked to get her Bible. If you can get your hands on a copy of the book (probably long out of print), it's worth having!

I was scanning old negatives tonight, and came to these from our time in Wales, and thought ... now THAT was a beautiful spot. Thought I'd share it.

Now ... if I could just figure out why they're suddenty scanning in upside down ... :)

Trinka

something so simple ...

I put some flowers in my window boxes yesterday, and I'm sitting here this morning just enjoying them like crazy. :) They look pretty spindley now, but I have high hopes for them. The little one in the bucket is a tomato plant. He and the hanging basket arrived last weekend.

well ... not ALL plastics

I spray-painted this old suitcase pink. The spray paint said "for most plastics." Apparently not THIS one, because it's been three days, and it's still sticky. :) A friend who does a lot of painting suggested I put it in my car, and let it bake in the sun. So that's currently in process, but I don't see a lot of de-sticky-fying going on!

I was reading some cross references in Philemon while working on a friend's project, and found something that interested me.

Philemon is a personal letter from the Apostle Paul to his friend Philemon concerning the fate of Onesimus, who was Philemon's run-away servant.

Some time after running away, Onesimus came in contact with Paul, and became a Christian. Paul is writing to ask Philemon to accept Onesimus back, and be merciful to him. (He may have stolen or cheated Philemon as he was leaving).

In the course of writing to Philemon, Paul uses the following phrase in verse 11: He says that Onesimus "... in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me."

It was interesting that what Paul was asking Philemon to do was similar to something Paul had done himself.

Earlier, Paul and Barnabus were traveling together, and Barnabus' cousin, Mark, was traveling with them. There was some situation where Mark left the group, and Paul was disappointed with him. (Acts 13-15). However, later the situation was mended, and Paul commends Mark as being "profitable" (2 Tim. 4:11).

I thought it was neat that Paul uses the same word to commend Onesimus to Philemon that he had used about Mark with himself. There was a time when Onesimus (and Mark) were unprofitable ... but God had done a work, and they were now profitable (or useful in other translations.)

God does that! Takes areas of our life that were waste, and grows gardens there ... brings usefulness out of places that were void.

Been walking a lot this week, and hope to get to the gym tomorrow morning (if it's open for Memorial Day ... better check that).

The perfect travel-related quotation

I just started reading Around the World in 80 Travel Tales (while sitting in the sunshine on my newly-cleaned, newly-house-plant-populated balcony).

In the introduction was a quote from Lao Tzu (don't know who he is ... but will Google his name eventually and find out):

A traveler should neither have fixed plans nor be intent on arriving at his destination.

I think that sums it up perfectly! The ladies I travel with have mastered this, and it's what makes it such a joy.

Flat tire after midnight? An adventure.
Near misses with disaster? An opportunity to praise God for His protection.

I think of so many serendipitous instances that never would have come to be, if not for that attitude ... ending up at the Grand Canyon on a snowy Easter morning as a boys' choir's singing echoed off the canyon walls, discovering unpopulated beaches and meeting hospitable strangers with open homes ... God is just so good to me!

AND my windows are washed. :) (Well ... I can't reach out far enough to wash ALL of the big front one, and I'm too high up for a ladder ... so the left and right sides are washed. The middle is a bit iffy. )

Trinka

general maintenance - a good thing ...

I defragged the hard drive, used registry cleaner (thank you Kim Komando), etc., on this little computer yesterday, and it's just FLYING today. These things need to happen more often! :)

Went to the gym yesterday and batted a racquetball around for a while. I'm starting to get a bit more consistent with it, and maybe I'll play with an actual person one day soon. :) Also lifted weights afterwards.

I was reading last night in Joshua 22. Israel had taken control of the land (more or less) and each tribe was going back to their parcel of territory. The two and a half tribes who had land on the east side of the Jordan had gone home, and built an altar on the other side of the river. God had commanded that He wanted to be worshipped in Jerusalem ... so to build a place of worship there was a "very bad thing." (It almost seems to me that they didn't build it for worship, but rather as some kind of memorial ... but I don't remember reading that last night ... either I missed it this time, or misunderstood something last time ... gotta read again and figure that out.)

The other tribes saw this happening and confronted them. Sin within the group had already had disasterous results in the past, and they wanted to protect against it this time.

In our postmodern culture, it is VERY hard to tell someone they're wrong. We've been fed the fallacy that there are many truths, and what is true for one person may not be true for another. I am a big fan of openness and inclusiveness in some areas ... but there are a few where we need to not be so open!

It's not loving for me to see a brother or sister in sin, and ignore it. And it's not loving for someone to see me in sin and ignore it. We're supposed to have each other's best interests (and the best interests of God's kingdom and glory) in mind ... and that means there are times when we need each other's help to forsake the old and put on the new.

22:19 says, "‘If, however, the land of your possession is unclean, then cross into the land of the possession of the LORD, where the LORD’S tabernacle stands, and take possession among us. Only do not rebel against the LORD, or rebel against us by building an altar for yourselves, besides the altar of the LORD our God."

They were so concerned that their brothers seek after God, that they offered to give up part of their own inheritance, to make a place where they could live closer to the temple. Am I so passionate about the Lord, and His people, that I joyfully sacrifice my own interests for their good?

Trinka

How quickly our perspective changes

This morning, I actually had the thought:

"I've only got 30 gig left. I've got to do some house-cleaning on this hard drive!"

Hmmmm ... how fast things change!

Only 10 years ago, it was:

"I've only got 30 mg left. I've got to delete the temp files!" :)

Actually, I'm working with a little film scanner to scan in all my old negatives, so the pictures are quickly consuming great chunks of hard drive. Hence the desire to keep as much free as possible. The scanner is a snazzy little critter - about the size and shape of a shoebox. It does a great job, and is fairly fast - I got about 40 pictures done last night while I was watching the (videotaped) finale of the Amazing Race.

That show is one of my guilty pleasures. I love to travel, and it interests me to see how people interact with each other in the stressful situations that travel presents. This year one of my favorite teams won. It was a couple of easy-going guys. They were nice to each other, and to the people they met along the way, and just flat-out seemed to be enjoying the travel, whether they won or not.

No exercise happened last night (reference the above videotape/scanning negatives time indulgence!). But I did get some great time in the Ruth study.

Ruth is the story of a widowed mother, living outside her homeland, who marries her sons off to two native girls. The sons die, and one girl chooses to stay in her home country, while the other, Ruth, travels with her mother-in-law back to Israel.

In Israel, Ruth works in the fields to provide for the two of them, and eventually meets the owner of the field, Boaz, - a family member of her mother-in-law.

There is an Old Testament practice where a dead man's closest male relative will take the widow as his wife, and the first son resulting will inherit the dead man's estate, and provide for the widow. The new husband is called the "kinsman redeemer".

Through her mother-in-law's prompting, Ruth asks Boaz to take on this role. Boaz tells her that there is a closer relative who has the right to do this, but if that man doesn't agree, then Boaz wanted to marry her.

Anyhow ... the reason I relate all this is to say, One of the things I'm doing is tracking all the references to time and location - down to the very minute, in the book.

And there are a LOT of them. It's written almost like a play ... you know where everyone is, and when they're there ... right up until chapter 4.

Chapter 4 (the last chapter) is where Boaz sits down with the closer relative to discuss who would marry Ruth.

Ruth is an Old Testament book that, while portraying actual history (she was the great-grandmother of King David), also carries a picture of the Christian's salvation.

Ruth was a Gentile. She had absolutely no rights among God's people. But she was brought in by Boaz, and made a child of God. We, too, have no rights before God. We are born in sin, and there's nothing we can do to change it. But Christ DID what we couldn't, took our penalty, and has made us a child of God.

There was a closer family member who had the first right to Ruth. So the Old Testament law had the first rights to US. If we don't accept Christ's provision to save us, there is ONE other way available. If we keep the Old Testament law perfectly, to the letter, we can be saved that way. However, in the history of the world, only the Lord Jesus has done so ... so that route is not promising!

Anyhow, what I really wanted to share this morning was the change that happened at the beginning of chapter 4. The narrative went from a meticulous focus on time and location, to having nearly none. And from the moment the transaction was sealed ... and Ruth was Boaz's wife, nothing at all.

It's like time and location ceased to be significant.

When our place with God is sealed ... time and space become less significant for us, too. I've got a few more decades here ... but forever with Him. People I love may be far away, but He is with me, and with them.

Not as polished a presentation as I'd like of what I'm thinking about ... but if I wait for polish, it just doesn't get done most days. :)

In response to the discussion I'm listening to on talk radio right now ...

Please see The Top Ten Fallacies in the DaVinci Code ...

It is a work of fiction people! While he claimed to use "real history" ... it was just a literary device. Take a deep breath! The only reason it's "controversial" is because you're assuming there's some factual basis. There isn't. It's a STORY!

The website cited above is concise, and lists the actual facts that are distorted in the book ... it's not just what Christians believe ABOUT the history ... it's the actual, documented, facts that are at issue.

Since I can't call Rick and Scott ... I'll send it your way. :)

back to your regularly scheduled blog ... :)

Had a great walk last night; the sun was shining, and it was beautiful out. I'm enjoying the Ruth study - it was suggested to me to take all the dialogues and compare them. The book is 70% dialogue, and you really learn a lot about the individuals by looking at just what they had to say.

What a nice break ...

Mel Trotter Mission, in downtown Grand Rapids, has a luncheon for church secretaries every year.

It's one of those places that's done so much good for the kingdom of God, for so many years, that you love meeting people associated with it.

The mission is 106 years old, and has residential drug & alcohol treatment programs for both men and women. (with an 85% long-term success rate!). They have overnight housing for homeless people, and meals as well.

They also have some kind of training program happening in their kitchen ... the food was wonderful, and also just beautifully presented. They really made it special for us.

It was a blessing to get away for a while, and also to meet some other people who do the same job I do.

I got out for a walk last night, and hope to get to the gym tonight.

I started a study of Ruth last night, and am having a great time. A friend does a lot of teaching, and I asked her to set me up with something challenging and hold me accountable to it ... this certainly fits the bill! One thing I noticed this morning that I hope to pursue is how the theme of famine/hunger/thirst/harvest seems to run throughout. More to come on this (hopefully) as things progress!

the birthday boy (hmmm 60, right?)

Look what I found while I was de-cluttering today. :)

Happy birthday!

One box out in the car, ready for the Bibles for Missions store, and another is sitting on the table ready to be filled. A great big bag has already been dumpster-ized, and I'm looking forward to the rest of my day! I just love empty space and clear shelves!

This is the first year I've kept track of what I'm donating - I got Deduction Pro when I bought Tax Cut this year, and I'm shocked at how the total is adding up as I put in the stuff I'm giving away. It's really worth the extra time!

Back to work for me!

OK ... I've HAD it ...

The clutter level in this house has become unacceptable.

This is the "create empty space and lighten the load" weekend.

I anticipate many boxes headed to charity, and more than a few for the dumpster. Where does this all COME from anyway?

(For those who may be tempted to call the health department ... that picture isn't actually the current state of affairs ... it's what the place looked like when I was unpacking & doing laundry after my trip to Texas). :)

Got out for a walk tonight (in the rain), and will squeeze in another one tomorrow. Hitting the gym Sunday, as I'm guessing that Mothers' Day will be about as empty as it gets!

Trinka

lilacs!

The lilacs are out - right on schedule for Mothers' Day.

They seem unusally full and beautiful this year. I know they blossom better every-other year ... but they are just amazing this year.

They are the ideal flower for my lifestyle - thriving on that perfect combination of sunshine and neglect. :)

This bush was going above and beyond the others, and I drive past it every day on my way to work. I thought it needed its picture taken today. I've never been to Mackinac Island for the lilac festival - I usually avoid any event that brings in bus-loads of foreign tourists. But this year might be the one to make an exception!

I spent some time hitting a racquetball around last night before going downstairs to lift weights. Thwacking that ball really is a terrific stress-reducer. :) As I left to go home, I found myself thinking, "what a pleasant afternoon," this kind of thinking is fairly new to me, and I marvel at it when it happens.

Monday night, I went and helped a couple from church set up a blog. He has had on-going serious lung problems, and was just diagnosed with small cell lung cancer. He started chemo yesterday, and they wanted a blog to post updates on his progress. If you'd like to pray for them, and send a little encouragement their way, their blog is here. Ken and Judy have been a tremendous blessing in my life ever since I met them almost 15 years ago.

Trinka

Bother!

"We apologize, but we don't have a rack fit for your vehicle. Our Fit Technicians have scratched their heads over this and they don't easily admit defeat, but unfortunately your car is "unYakable". If you believe that you have received this message in error - please use the back button and make sure that you have entered your vehicle and all of its modifications correctly. Questions? Call Yakima Customer Service at 888.925.0703 (M-F, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. PST)."

Sounds as if the roof-rack kayak option isn't available to me either.

I'm fixin' to admit defeat ...

no kayaks for me :(

The shortest one I can find is 9 feet, 4 inches ... and the longest possible thing I could get in my car is 8 feet, 6 inches. BOTHER! I do love the things! As far as I can tell, a roof rack would add $250 to the cost of an already-stretching-myself purchase.

So I suppose I'll air up the tires on my bicycle and stay on land! :)

Got in a walk tonight, and a short one last night out along the Lake Michigan shoreline. It was just beautiful.

Clifford ... No. Don't eat the ice cream! It's not worth it! Celery man ... celery is where it's at! :)

No consequences followed my failure to organize an ice cream social ... the other board members appeared to have forgotten it was my responsibility last month and assigned it to someone else this month. Which ... really ... is a good thing. Trinka chairing the social committee was a recipe for failure from the very beginning.

Picture of living in a building with elderly people:
I was just down putting in 3 loads of laundry (we have 3 machines), and a lady walked in, telling me that she was "doing one load at a time."

OK, I think. How nice for you.

Later I realized, "oh, she was asking to use one of the machines."

I went up to her place to apologize, and she informed me that there was a "rule" that you could only use 2 machines at once.

Hmmmm ... I've lived here 3 years ... haven't read that one yet. :)

You occupy the machines for the same amount of time, whether you do it all at once, or stagger it ... plus you're harder to predict if you stagger it.

I have noticed that "rules" seem to multiply in the presence of elderly folks, though! :)

She had just moved in and heard about the "rule" from one of the other ladies. I told her that it probably wasn't anything to worry about (after I made my apology for not understanding her point earlier!)

Groan! :)

off to get my laundry now! (all 3 loads)

Trinka

Well, I guess that's no surprise ...

The world's smallest political quiz at:
http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html

Give it a try!

Got in a walk last night, and plan on heading to the gym tonight before prayer meeting.

In addition to daydreaming about kayaks, I'm also daydreaming about a scooter ... INCREDIBLE gas mileage, and most of my driving is just around our little town ...

Thinking ...

Trinka

I sing the praises ...

of the (relatively) Healthy Choice frozen dinner.

Really ... would I ever take the time to make a protein, vegetable and starch for myself after work? No. I would not.

Would I even take the time to even make something HOT after work?
Probably not.

But here, I can stagger home from the gym, and before I'm out of the shower, the microwave has dinner ready for me.

May not be gourmet ... but I'm thankful. :)

Off to the condo board meeting, to admit that, no, I did NOT get an ice cream social organized for April.

Trinka

oooh ... now that quote stings

I was just proofreading an article that contained the following quote:

The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand we are obliged to act accordingly. Take any words in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly. My [God], you will say, if I do that my whole life will be ruined. How would I ever get on in the world?

Herein lies the real place of Christian scholarship. Christian scholarship is the church's prodigious invention to defend itself against the Bible, to ensure that we can continue to be good Christians without the Bible coming too close. Oh, priceless scholarship, what would we do without you? Dreadful it is to fall into the hands of the living God. yes, it is even dreadful to be alone with the New Testament. -- Provocations: Spiritual Writings of Kierkegaard

Well ... if THAT isn't a description of what I don't ever want in my life. God can be trusted, and if my own reason, or society's conventions, or political correctness contradict ... it's God who created this place, and all in it ... and He knows how it's designed to function. I want to choose Him!

***

The job Saturday didn't happen - they had enough people before they got to my name. I said I'd be interested if it comes up again though! I did get to the gym to lift weights and bat a racquetball around some on Saturday, and yesterday walked Riverside Park with a friend (4.47 miles from her door, through the park, and back again.)

While walking the park, I was looking over at the river and daydreaming about kayaks ...

If only I could get one to FIT in my car. I hate the idea of spending money on a roof rack that will just mar the paint, and be difficult for short-little-me to actually USE. I'm going to do a bit more investigation on the geometry available with the seats folded down in my car!

Trinka

radical career shift

A friend who does some work as a sound man/stage hand called and asked if I wanted to work Saturday at the convention center/concert hall place in Grand Rapids.

I can count the non-office-work jobs I've had on one hand, so this should be an experience!

A little extra money will be very handy, but time does seem to drag when I'm doing move-this, set-up-that kind of work.

So a long day anticipated for tomorrow, but maybe there will be some stories to tell afterwards. :)

Exercise-related ...
I only got in a short walk last night. But hopefully more tonight. I'm guessing tomorrow's job will offer plenty in the way of exercise without me having to worry about it.

the weak ones among us

I was reading in 1 Cor. 12 last night, and v. 22 stood out to me

On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary;

For some reason, I’d always read this, thinking about the physical body side of the picture, and not the spiritual … but last night, the spiritual stood out …

Those who are bound by depression, and it’s all they can do to get themselves out the door on Sunday morning before retreating to their bedroom … they are necessary.

Those who are easily offended, and have to be handled with kid gloves … necessary.

Those who struggle with the same issue over and over and over … necessary.

Sick, aged, distracted, simple … all necessary.

And what a blessing to be able to be a comfort to these “necessary” ones …

I was glad for the reminder.

Had a nice walk last night before prayer meeting, and hope to get to the gym tonight on the way home from Bible study in Zeeland. However, it will be late-afternoon, when motivation starts to slip ... so it might or might not actually happen. :)

Trinka

I remember when life was always like this ...

The church's internet is with SBC ...

It appears that their service is down for an enormous area right now.

Every time I call, the "hope to be repaired by" time gets farther away.

It's AMAZING how much of my job has moved online ... and how hard it is to do it disconnected!

Got to the gym last night for the first time in ages - and can really feel it. I've been walking and working out in other ways, but those muscles weren't getting stretched! Got a "racquetball for beginners" lesson this past weekend. I think I could really like that. D. and her sister-in-law were teaching at a ladies' retreat, and it was such a blessing to be able to go to Texas and be there for it. The retreat was at a lovely lake-side site, and there was a chance to go kyacking one morning to watch the sun come up - it was just beautiful.

The subject of the retreat was spiritual gifts, and it got me thinking about the subject. It's such a blessing to have my job tie in with the gifts God's given me (administration, encouragement and mercy) - I think that's part of what makes it such a joy. I was reading this morning in Romans 1:11-12, and noticed that Paul wanted to go to Rome to "impart unto them some spiritual gift to the end they be established" (probably paraphrased.)

I'm wondering if that mention of spiritual gift is supposed to tie in with the ones in Romans 12. It doesn't quite seem like it, but I'm not sure. I do find it interesting that it ties in with establishment/stability. Still pondering this one.

Trinka ... at home on her lunch, checking the e-mail

"yes, this bus is going to the Malpensa airport"

The hotel where we stayed was conveniently located only a few blocks from the central Milan train station. (except for the first evening ... when it, somehow, seemed at least 15 miles away.) :)

On the morning we left, we needed to catch a bus at this train station to get to the Malpensa airport. There was one of these buses every 20 minutes.

At 6:30ish the last morning, we toted our luggage to the station, went to the proper spot, and in tourist-fashion, asked the bus driver, "Malpensa?"

"Si, si, Malpensa" Mr. bus driver replies.

Trinka, being suspicious that this seemingly-obvious question might have been misunderstood, asked again before the bus began moving, "Malpensa?"

"Si." Mr. bus driver answers.

OK.

As we leave town, we begin to see signs for the Malpensa airport. Yippeee! All along the opposite lane, traffic is thick and barely moving, but we're sailing along. Our flight doesn't leave until 10:30, so we're going to be very early ... "good little travelers."

Hmmmm ... wasn't that exit labeled "Malpensa?"

Big airport, of course. Must be more than one exit. Yes, that's it.

Hmmmm ... still clipping right along aren't we?

Now, if you're interested in taking a glance at a map of Italy, you'll see the Malpensa airport is to the northwest of Milan. Now, what you may not notice on the map, since it's small, and, well, NOT in Milan at all, is a little town called Bergamo, which ALSO has an airport.

Obviously THIS is where the bus was going. That should have been clear by the driver's response earlier.

Of course, it did take us nearly an hour to get to this (wrong) airport. You may also recall I mentioned all the traffic we passed going in the other direction?

At the Bergamo International (!) Airport, we met an amazingly efficient taxi driver, who apparently had angels paving his way. He zipped through traffic, and somehow managed to get us there, barely, in time.

We went from one security line to another security line to the line getting on the plane, and, praise the Lord, walked ONTO the plane.

At no point since the 6:30 "my we caught a nice early bus" moment did the "getting on the plane" possibility seem particularly likely.

All in all, it was a pleasant adventure (particularly since it was possible to re-arrange schedules at home, and come home a day late, if need-be) ... but it was made all the more pleasant by being able to sink down at the end of it into a seat that was heading towards HOME. :)

Next up ... the lady who was sitting next to me on the plane. Trust me, it's more intersesting than you might think. :)

Accountability stuff ... I've been walking, but not much else. I have the promise of some racquetball lessons this weekend though. :)

Reading - I've been in Joshua at night, and Psalms in the morning.

well, the good news is ...

Today, the story of "yes, I speak English, and can show you the sights of Venice"

On Monday, Dad and I went to Venice for the day. It was just amazing to see how the city was built directly on the water. While I'd done some reading, I had no comprehension of the SIZE of the place.

The fellow above on the left was our tour-guide/gondola paddler. He assured us that, "yes, he could tell us all about the buildings we were seeing in English." Unfortunately, "all about" had a slightly different meaning. :) He was able to tell us the names of the buildings in English. But I'm afraid that was about it.

It was amazing to observe that he was able to paddle the boat, while standing in the stern, and at the same time carry on cell phone conversations. He did it consistently, and didn't make it look at all difficult. :)

It was a beautiful place, and fascinating just because of the logistics of the construction. We wandered around a good bit on foot as well.

Health-related accountability stuff ... While spending 6 days in Italy, consuming heretofore unimaginable quantities of cream, butter, chocolate and cheese, I managed to lose 2 pounds.

I'm not complaining! :)

More soon!
Trinka

home home home ...

'tis a very pleasant place to be. :) (Even if I DID wake up at 3:30 this morning).

Trip stories to follow:

• Translation of the phrase: "yes, this bus is going to the Malpensa airport"
• The interesting story of the baseball-and-apple-pie girl sitting beside me on yesterday's international flight
• Translation of the phrase: "yes, I speak English, and can show you the sights of Venice"
• Flight attendants: battle pay should be offered

And probably others ... but those I want to be sure and remember to write up for you. :)

Had a delightfully uneventful trip once I was aboard the plane home. My flight into Cleveland and Grand Rapids both arrived 20 minutes early. Good friends met me at the airport. And surprise visitors showed up to welcome me home after I popped out of the shower. (who fortunately chose to ignore the ratty bathrobe and luggage-strewn living room, and stayed for a pleasant little visit). Was asleep by 9:30, and enjoying the sound of rain outside the window.

Just one picture, since I can post them now. This is a view on the roof of the Duomo.

Trinka

a little internet cafe

just presented itself. Please be so kind as to ignore punctuation!

I got WAY lost yesterday. It was fun ... no one was waiting for me, and I had a great time with a lady who spoke no English ... she pretty much told me Iàd walked so far that I wasnàt even ON my map anymore.

The hotel is near a big metro station, so I knew no matter where I ended up, I could find a metro stop and get home again, which was very liberating!

Iàve just been to the cathedral, and it was so beautiful. There was a walkway on the roof, going up several levels, so you could see the intricacy of how it was made ... there were even carvings hidden behind other carvings, underneath overhangs, etc. ... all up so high that they never would have thought anyone would see it.

I also stopped at a sidewalk cafe and ordered hot chocolate ...it was amazing stuff ... like warm chocolate pudding, or some-such. I could become a fan.

The traffic is interesting to me ... People seem to cross right in front of cars all the time, and the cars just swerve around them. But itàs not an angry, everyone-get-out-of-my-way attitude like in Detroit. Here it just seems to be expected, and everyone is pretty mellow about it. No yelling, waving fingers, etc. I was riding with an Italian lady yesterday, and she was driving on the wrong side of a double yellow line ... oncoming traffic tooted a horn at her, and she just pleasantly said, "yes, yes, of course you are right" and eventually swerved back. :)

pictures will be coming when I get home!

Iàm off to find an interesting cemetery I read about in a guidebok.

Trinka

hmm... not posting from here after all

The interent at the hotel wasn t exactly free ... it was more like $12.50 for two hours. So Iàll be posting when I get home instead! Iàm using one of the hotels computers now which also cost money ... and has the punctuation keys in different places, so please forgive the goofiness!

Just to let you know Iàm out here ... will be able to get and send some e'mail on dadàs computer occasionally ... and Iàll hope to post when I get home!

Trinka

there should be a special reward in heaven ...

for friends willing to take you to the airport at 5:00 a.m.

TRC ... you are a real blessing! (hope you make it through the day awake!)

Trinka ... sitting in Newark watching children run laps around annoyed businessmen while their parents pretend they don't notice.

pre-trip paranoia ...

Yesterday I brought my passport to work - I like to have a copy of it, as well as all the credit cards I'm bringing.

I also brought a guidebook from the library - I wanted copies of a few pages to bring along.

On the way home from work, I dropped all the books back off at the library.

2:00 this morning ... from a sound sleep ... I begin having this conversation with myself:

"did I leave the passport tucked inside the library book?"

"of course you didn't, you goofy woman."

"but what if I did?"

"you didn't"

"but what if I did?"

... wake up ... shuffle out to living room ... find passport ...

"now go back to sleep"

"OK"

:)

still out here ...

I'm entering a busy season at work as we get ready for Easter, as well as some baptisms that will be happening that same Sunday.

Then there's the "taking care of things that happened while I was away" busy-ness combined with the "preparing for things that will happen while I'm gone next week" busy-ness."

Anyhow ... all that is to say, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth. :)

I've been getting some good walks in, but avoiding the gym as I messed up my neck and back hauling my laptop around last weekend. It's getting a bit better, but I want it a LOT better before I take off next week, hauling my laptop around. :) (This time ... the backpack is going on BOTH shoulders, no matter how much I hate taking the time to do it!)

Someone suggestsed yesterday that I do some writing about singleness. It's certainly a topic that God has dealt with me about. One of my goals for this week away is to come up with an outline I'm pleased with, and maybe an introduction. Whether I'd ever go through the misery of looking for a publisher ... that's another story ... but I would enjoy the writing either way! I've also got a booklet that a friend wants me to edit, so I'll take that along. Travel combined with some interesting projects ... this is nice. :)

Had a great time with my brother & family last weekend. The adorable nieces were great fun! I came home with ... well ... a LOT of pictures. :)

Trinka

a little warmer and a lot hillier ...

I left this morning, and am now almost to my brother & sister-in-law's. We stayed the night rather than drive it all in one day. Which feels a bit wimpy to me when I think about it ... but now having gotten halfway here ... I think it was a good suggestion!

There are just no highways going directly anywhere down here ... It seems as if at least 250 miles of the trip was driven at 45 mph. This can be a bit wearing. No. Actually, this can be a LOT wearing!

Glad for a comfy Super 8 with high speed internet access!

:)

Found someone to work for me, so the Italy trip is going to happen! I hope to have internet access and blog from there ... we'll see!

Trinka

one day, I'll learn to love spontaneity!

Because opportunity to develop it seems to appear regularly. :)

As I'm in a last-minute panic trying to get everything done to get out of town this afternoon to see my brother & sister-in-law (and the adorable nieces) ...

Yesterday afternoon my dad offers me a trip to Milan April 5-11.

"Yes!"

"I mean"

"Let me check"

"I mean"

Oh dear ...

"Let me see if anyone can work for me."

"I mean"

eek!

So, the last-minute I'm-going-out-of-town-today panic is joined by last-minute, I-want-to-go-out-of-the-country-in-two-weeks panic.

I'm so glad I don't have to work with me today. :)

I had a big job on the copy machine that needed to be taken off the sorter every 10 copies. It's been done for a half hour, but I keep wandering in there to check it.

"FOCUS Trinka. FOCUS."

So ... can anyone work for me April 5-11?

:)

Trinka

random gym thoughts

While lifting weights, there's just nothing much to watch, except the other people lifting weights.

Which leads me to notice things that I otherwise might not!

For instance, fascinating person #1 was a thin, healthy-looking lady ... healthy looking except that you could see all the blood vessels in her arms on top of the muscles. It was strangely fascinating, but not in a "I'd like to be able to see my insides through my skin" kind of way. While I would love to be thin and healthy-looking ... if any of my insides start being visible through my skin? I'm outa here and looking for a milkshake.

Fascinating person #2 was a white (very white ... almost clear) fellow with Chinese characters tattooed on his chest. This begs the obvious (to ME) question ... why would you invest pain, money, and your own skin, to display text very few can read? Does he want people to ask him,

"excuse me sweaty young fellow, but what does your chest say?"

Nope. Don't think that will be happening.

OK ... enough frivolity. :)

Looking forward to a visit with my brother, sister-in-law and their girls this weekend in Tennessee (where I dearly hope it will be warm ... like even over 60? Maybe?) My mom, in theory, is coming along. She does have a tendency to back out at the last minute, so I have some good audiobooks for company, just in case.

Trinka

Carpet Cleaner for Carol

Just for you today. :)

My realtor recommended cleaning the carpets in my condo with ammonia, and it did an amazing job.

I have a carpet shampooer that I got at a garage sale - it looks like an upright vacuum cleaner, and has brushes that rotate on the bottom.

She said to fill the shampoo-measuring cup with ammonia (using the same measurement that it gives for the shampoo).

You use non-sudsy ammonia (any scent).

No need to rinse after using it - it evaporates out.

The house will smell like ammonia until it dries, but after that, the scent is gone. It made my ratty old carpet look almost like new - the only sign of its age is that it's beaten down, and worn in places ... but all the stains came out.

End of household hint. :)

Got to the gym last night, and have been enjoying reading Psalm 37 in the mornings.

I was especially enjoying the idea of the dual meaning in verse 3 - - "Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness" can also be translated "... feed on His faithfulness."

Those two ideas being expressed interest me. A writer will often use words with dual meanings, and intend for their audience to consider both, I'm thinking this dual meaning was intended to be considered here.

The only way I can "cultivate faithfulness" in my own life is to "feed on HIS faithfulness." ... just like the only way I can truly "do good" is when I'm "trust[ing] in the Lord." He's the source of it all ... my ability to do anything for others comes from Him, any faithfulness and stability I have ... also a gift from God. He is the epitome of faithfulness, and there's enough there to feast a hungry heart forever!

Trinka

importing horses from Egypt

I was reading last night in Deuteronomy 17 and v. 16 stood out to me. God is telling Israel what their king ought to be like, and He tells them that this man (and Israel as a whole) shouldn't be collecting horses, and particularly shouldn't be getting them from Egypt.

Kind of obscure?

Not really! When those kinds collected horses, they were doing it because horses were the "tanks" of that era. They were doing it for protection and power. God wanted to be their protector. He wanted them to trust Him.

Why the specific warning about Egypt?

It was the epitome of "the world" then. It's a picture to us now of our former life, of all that we run to for comfort other than God.

He wants us to trust Him fully, and He wants us (me!) to run to Him when circumstances seem threatening.

It made me think about those silly contests on the back of product labels. I almost always enter them, and spend a few minutes daydreaming about winning ... pay off my car, put in some pretty laminate flooring, etc. (though I must say ... for 30-year-old carpet, this stuff is NOT bad ...a carpet shampooer with ammonia instead of soap is definately the way to go!)

And while that daydreaming may be fun (and winning would be MORE fun). I know "where my help comes from. It comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth." And He's not limited in the way He provides!

I'm so spoiled by Him (and by His people) in so many ways. It's good to take time to be thankful for that!

Yesterday I spent the day with the windows open, letting the spring sunshine freshen the condo. It was in the 60's here, and sunny. I had my food dehydrator drying apples. It was just a beautiful, productive, restful day. Had several visits with a good friend, with whom I hope to do some traveling this year. I also got to the gym, and out for several walks. It's hard to stay inside when the sun is shining. :)

I've also been doing some thinking about ways to combat bitterness. I posted on the MeetChristians site, and people have had some wonderful suggestions. I thought I'd throw the idea up here also. A sister confided in me Thursday that she's struggling with this issue, and I wanted to send her some ideas for help. Thoughts would be welcome!

Well, this post has been a bit of a mish-mash, hasn't it? Maybe do better next time!

Trinka

new toys

For those times when I wonder ... "does anyone actually READ this thing?" ... I THINK it now has a counter.

Let's see if it appears when I publish this post. :)

Trinka

just some blessings from this week ...

The new office hours are working great! I'm finding it gives me more time at lunch to run errands (an hour instead of 45 minutes), and the extra hour at night is proving to be a huge help.

This week I've had something planned every evening. In the past, that's made my life a walking nightmare. But this week, I've been able to enjoy the things on my calendar, rather than sitting through them immersed in guilt because they pre-empted exercise that day.

So ... thumbs-up to the new schedule! I'm also accomplishing so much more at work, because I have an extra hour in the morning when I'm sharp, and the phone isn't ringing. It's a winner all the way around!

Blessing number 2 - and it's a silly one!

You know the story of Elisha and the widow, where she and her son were about to starve, and the Lord multiplied the oil and the flour, so they had enough to eat, and more to sell?

Well, I'm half-convinced I've got a gallon of milk with the Lord's blessing upon it. The expiration date was March 1, and as of this morning, it was still sweet. There's a dairy farm near my mom's that sells their own milk, and I think I'm going to be buying more, if this is typical. :) I always end up throwing out the last 1/4 of a gallon, and this one is almost gone.

Exercise is going well - I'm still loving that eyetoy game. I had a couple of college students over Tuesday night to play it, and we had a great time. Reading ... I've been in Deuteronomy in the evenings, but don't have anything much to report.

TJ

some thoughts from the wine-press

I was responsible to do a little devotional today for a meeting, and this is the written version. :)

In the little line of instructions/introduction before Psalm 84, it says "on the Gittith." The word "gittith" means "wine-press". It was probably some kind of musical instrument that looked like a wine-press.

But it's not an accident that it's there in the introduction! Because this psalm has a lot to say to those of us who are being pressed ... whose lives are in turmoil.

Our church has gone through a lot of turmoil this year ... the only reason I'm vice-chair of this committee is becaus the lady whose job it was went home to be with the Lord suddenly just before the Labor Day weekend. We've lost so many others this year, and there have been business troubles, and lost jobs, illnesses, and currently a big real-estate nightmare, all touching people in our fellowship, and so touching us as a whole.

So what does this Psalm have for those who are feeling the press?


How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

We have a home ... we have security ... no matter what the press may be, or how painful the crushing ... it only intensifies our longing for our real home, and for Him.

Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young— a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.

The sparrow is a picture of loneliness, and the swallow of restlessness ... isn't that just the image of our lives in the press? It's easy to feel so isolated, and to settle down and relax (or trust!) just isn't possible. BUT the lonely and the restless DO settle in one place ... near His altar. There is a blessing for us, dwelling in His house, praising Him. We can "dwell with Him" as we go about our day, while we deal with the beauraucrats and betrayers ... internally, our hearts have a place of rest and praise.

Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca (weeping), they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.

When we set our hearts on the pilgrimage ... on the path He's laid before us, we will pass through the valley of weeping. And we WILL weep ... there will be springs left behind when we're done! But the pain isn't for naught. It will be a place of refreshment to the pilgrims who follow us. There are lessons we learn in these dark times, in the press, that we won't learn anywhere else. We will go from strength to strength, always growing to be more like Him, until one day we appear before God.

Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty; listen to me, O God of Jacob. Look upon our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one.

The Lord Jesus is our shield ... nothing touches us, but that which comes through Him. God looks with favor on Him, and by association on us as well. He doesn't waste our trials, nor allow them needlessly.

Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

No matter what the press holds, it is the best we could ever want, because it comes from His hand. No matter what lowly service our life holds, if it's for Him ... it's a position of honor.

Elizabeth Prentiss (if you haven't read Stepping Heavenward, you're missing out!) said:

Dare to belittle and unknown
Seen and loved by God alone.

It's so true! The world around us values achievement, and celebrity ... God values lowly service. Whose approval are we after?

For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.

When we belong to Him, if the press comes to us, it is a good thing. And if something we deeply desire is withheld? It is also a good thing. In trusting Him with the management of our life circumstances ... we are blessed.

*****

Got to the gym this weekend, and also spent a lot of time with the eyetoy game (I do love that thing). :)

Trinka

what an enjoyable book!

My brother recommended Dinner with a Perfect Stranger, and I got the book on CD from the library.

It has been such a treat ... one of those books that, if you're listening to it in the car, makes you not want to get out when you get to your destination. :)

Exercise report: Still using that EyeToy Kinetics program and loving it ... you burn a ton of calories, and it's lots of fun!

Studying: still not where I'd like it to be, but I've enjoyed a book by Max Lucado on looking at your past to see how you best serve the Lord, and using that info., to plan your ministry. It's been very good. There's a web site related to the book that has a little mini-seminar - it was what encouraged me to buy the book. See what you think!

Trinka

what a blessing this site is

As I cleaned my refrigerator this morning (how old WERE those mushrooms anyway ... yuck!), I've been blessed to listen to sermons on sermonaudio.com -- what a treat! They have so many, and they're organized by preacher and topic. They even have old sermons by Spurgeon & others that are read.

It's such a treat!

Got to the gym this morning, and hope to get in some reading later today.

Trinka

pondering some changes

I'm thinking of proposing that we change the church's office hours to 7:00-3:00. I was sitting there yesterday afternoon, in my late-afternoon trance, and it dawned on me that if I made that change, I'd be giving them more worthwhile time (when I'm awake and actually useful for something), as well as providing me an opportunity in the afternoon to work out and still be involved in others' lives. I hate the feeling that all my free time is being devoted solely to myself! We have staff meeting Tuesday, and I'm going to mull this one over through the weekend, and might bring it up then.

Last night, driving to Bible study out near the lake, I was heading into the most beautiful sunset. It's cloudy here so much during the winter, that I've gone a long time without seeing one ... and this was particularly colorful and fiery. It was such a treat to watch it all the way through!

And this morning, as I sit here at my desk, looking out through my sliding glass door, I hear (I kid you not) a robin singing. Really! We're due for a terribly cold weekend, but if the little fellow is willing to come north and suffer through it for the promise of spring, well, then, I guess spring must be coming. :) I can't see the little guy, but I hope to spy him when I go out to my car.

Got in a walk last night before Bible study ... studying, still not so good. Though I did read some last night before my head hit the pillow.

John Wesley's 18 questions

I got this in my e-mail yesterday, and found it encouraging food for thought:

John Wesley's Holy Club used to ask themselves these 18 questions for personal devotion:

Am I conciously or unconciously creating the impression that I am a better person than I really am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?

Am I honest in all acts or words, or do I exaggerate?

Do I confidentially pass on to another what was told to me in confidence? Can I be trusted?

Am I a slave to dress, friends, work, or habits?

Am I self-concious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?

Did the Bible live in me today?

Do I give it time to speak to me each day?

Am I enjoying prayer?

When did I last speak to somebody else with the object of trying to win that person for Christ?

Am I making contacts with other people and using them for the Master's Glory?

Do I pray about the money I spend?

Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?

Do I disobey God in anything?

Do I insist upon doing something for which my conscience is uneasy?

Am I defeated in any part of my life? Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy, or distrustful?

How do I spend my spare time?

Am I proud?

Do I thank God I am not as other people, (like the Pharisee who despised the (sinner) publican)?

**************

Exercise has been happening (even yesterday between work and prayer meeting ... Wednesdays are my most challenging day because the time is so cut-up and awkward). Studying ... not so good, unfortunately.

it must be good for me if it hurts this much ... right?

That goofy game ... I'm loving it.

However, I got down on the floor to put away some Tupperware yesterday and could barely get up.

Not good. Not good at all. :)

Maybe stretching first would be a good idea. :)

I'm in better shape than I've been in for 20 years (strength & endurance-wise) ... but there are obviously muscles I've missed, which are just now coming to my attention!

Trinka

a lovely day for a drive

Exercise has been happening (except for Wednesday & Friday - when people took precedence).

Reading ... not so good. Hoping to have some time in the Scriptures today.

Thursday, a big ice storm went through, followed by VERY cold temperatures. This means the trees were still glazed with ice. My mom invited me out for the afternoon yesterday (where I was attacked by banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies ... ugh), and we drove down to see my grandmother.

The sun was shining like it only does on bitterly cold days, and the trees and brush were gleaming with ice-coating. It was a rare treat to spend time enjoying such beauty, while all warm and cozy in a heated car.

Did an incredibly frivolous thing Friday, and bought a Playstation and a game called "Eye Toy". It has a webcam that picks up your image and plops you into a game - where you swat at some things, kick other things, and duck out of the way of still more things. It was the best workout I've had in AGES. I'm horribly bad at it, so there should be enough challenge to keep me coming back for a while!

Trinka (who is VERY sore this morning)

does the word "accident" mean anything?

Good grief ... media-types ... take a valium and have a nap!

There is no conspiracy. The poor man had a hunting accident. What. Exactly. Do you want in a press conference? What grand revelation is he supposed to make? "It was an accident. I didn't mean to shoot my friend." There. You've got the sum total of the story. Move on!

There are still people who want to blow us all up. Hostile countries are building nuclear weapons. Our tax dollars are still paying to provide laptop computers to sixth graders. There are bigger stories out there. (thank you for listening)

I didnt' go to jail (at least not yet). After 4 phone calls and 3 visits, I finally tracked down the manager, and paid my bill.

Got to the gym yesterday and lifted weights, and also did 15 minutes on the eliptical. Yeah me. :)

They've been talking "winter storm warning" all day today - it will be interesting to see what actually happens. Once everyone has gone out and bought excessive quantitites of canned goods, they usually cancel the warnings, and everyone is left to try & stack creamed corn neatly in their pantries!

Trinka

I am a criminal

Tonight, I was going through my receipts, checking my budget, paying bills, etc.

Well, I get to the last receipt in the pile - from a gas station I visited Monday the 6th.

Well ... look at THAT. They charged me for the soda, and NO GASOLINE. Yikes!

I am a drive-off.

I didn't MEAN to be a drive-off.

They know me. They always glance out, see where I'm parked, and charge it to my credit card. EXCEPT last Monday. I called the station just now, and they didn't have a record of it, but the manager is supposed to call me tomorrow.

Groan. Some poor clerk was probably in hot water, and for all I know, the state police are looking for me!

Glad I live close enough to work that I can walk, when they pull my license!

Exercise: Got to the gym and a walk Saturday, and a walk again today.

Had a lovely time in the Scriptures today. God is so good to meet with me, when I'm so often lazy in meeting with Him.

an e-mail forward worth passing along

This came today, and I thought it was a blessing. Nothing earth-shattering ... but how often do I remember to DO what's logical and helpful?

Simple Stress Reduction

1. Pray

2. Go to bed on time.

3. Get up on time so you can start the day unrushed.

4. Say “No” to projects that won't fit into your time schedule, or that will compromise your mental health.

5. Delegate tasks to capable others.

6. Simplify and unclutter your life.

7. Less is more. (Although one is often not enough, two are often too many.)

8. Allow extra time to do things and to get to places.

9. Pace yourself. Spread out big changes and difficult projects over time; don't lump the hard things all together.

10. Take one day at a time.

11. Separate worries from concerns. If a situation is a concern, find out w hat God would have you do and let go of the anxiety. If you can't do anything about a situation, forget it.

12. Live within your budget; don't use credit cards for ordinary purchases.

13. Have backups; an extra car key in your wallet, an extra house key buried in the garden, extra stamps, etc.

14. K.M.S. (Keep Mouth Shut). This single piece of advice can prevent an enormous amount of trouble.

15. Do something for the Kid in You everyday.

16. Carry a Bible with you to read while waiting in line.

17. Get enough rest.

18. Eat right.

19. Get organized so everything has its place.

20. Listen to something edifying while driving.

21. Write down thoughts and inspirations.

22. Every day, find time to be alone.

23. Having problems? Talk to God on the spot. Try to nip small problems in the bud. Don't wait until it's time to go to bed to try and pray.

24. Make friends with Godly people.

25. Keep a list of favorite scriptures on hand.

26. Remember that the shortest bridge between despair and hope is often a good "Thank you Lord."

27. Laugh.

28. Choose to think the best of others.

29. Take your work seriously, but not yourself at all.

30. Develop a forgiving attitude (most people are doing the best they can).

31. Be kind to unkind people (they probably need it the most).

32. Sit on your ego.

33. Talk less; listen more.

34. Slow down.

35. Remind yourself that you are not the general manager of the universe.

36 . Every night before bed, think of one thing you're grateful for that you've never been grateful for before.

37. Remember, remember … remember …. "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)

Justification

I was reading this morning in Acts 13, where Paul gives a sermon to the Jews in Antioch.

He basically summed up the Jews' history, and the Lord Jesus' coming, death and resurrection in a half-chapter, and near the end is verse 39:


"And by him (Jesus Christ) all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses."

What a wonder is contained in that verse. Paul was teaching a group of VERY learned men, who had fought to keep the Jewish law their entire lives.

Yet, those who were honest with themselves knew they hadn't measured up.

And here comes one of their own, a man with an education and background equivalent or superior to the best of them, and he says, "there's something available to those of us who've failed."

The word "justified" or "justification" is a legal term. It means "to be declared righteous." We teach the concept to children as "justification means 'just as if I'd never sinned.'" But it's so much more than that. If I woke up this morning "just as if I'd never sinned" ... I'd sully that standing before I finish my first cup of coffee!

Rather, this is God declaring me righteous. Not on my own merits (thankfully!) but rather on Christ's. It's such a wonder.

One of the scenes I wish I could peek into history and watch is the faces of those scholarly men, as Paul made this declaration. Some, maybe most, we can tell from the following account, thought they WERE keeping Moses' law, and were righteous before God. But I'm sure there were at least a few, who were acquainted with their own hearts, and knew they fell short. It would have been a glorious thing to watch the understanding dawn on their faces, as they grasped what Paul was saying here!

I'm so thankful that I stand before God justified ... declared rightous ... what a wonder.

Exercise report: none happened. Gee, that was easy to type (and even easier to do!). I went with my Thursday night Bible study to see End of the Spear last night, and when I got home, I collapsed in a chair for a while, and then went to bed.

I enjoyed the movie even more the second time -I found it hard to keep all the people straight the first time, and this time it was easier.

Trinka

Four Things

Four jobs I’ve had:

• Pet store janitor
• Breakfast trail ride cook
• Vaulting (gymnastics on horseback) instructor
• 2nd shift blueprint filer (yawn!)

Four Movies I can watch over and over:

• Princess Bride
• Little Women (new version)
• Man from Snowy River
• March of the Penguins

Four Places I’ve Lived:

• Mobile home
• Brand new five-bedroom house (house-sitting is great!)
• Camp Cabin without heat or plumbing (in November!)
• Inside my own mind (a wonderful talent during dull classes)

TV shows I love:

• The Amazing Race (when it's clean)
• Monk
• Sue Thomas FBEye
• Law and Order C.I.

Four places I’ve vacationed:

• Rafting in Colorado & Utah
• Church history sites in England, Scotland and Wales
• Israel
• Maritime provinces of Canada

Four of my favorite dishes:

• Pad Se Ieu (or however it's spelled! Tahi noodle stuff)
• Lois Pell's Sunday pot roast
• Carrabbas Pollo Rosa Maria
• Almond boneless chicken

Four sites I visit daily:

• Drudge Report
• Luanne (comic strip!)
• Carol's Blog
• Bill & Glory's Blog

Four places I would rather be right now:

For me ... these always translate into "four people you wish you could spend time with right now" ... too many people have moved away! So, that would mean:

• Dallas (D.L. - moved away in 2000)
• Cyprus (C.C. - moved away in 2002)
• China (C.C. #2 - moved away in the 90's some time)
• Tennessee (C & K and adorable-nieces - moved away in 2003)

OK ... is this better?

One of my regular blog-visitors said the last template displayed on her computer as dark blue font on the dark brown "calico" background. Where the cream-colored background went ... I have no idea.

Anyhow, since I probably only HAVE a half-dozen readers, it wouldn't do to chase one away. :) How is this one Rachel?

Trinka

THIS is why I don't get anything done in the evenings ...

I was working on a project, and needed to print out about 40 CD labels.

I was fighting for almost an hour to get them to print.

"STUPID stuff … this printer ALWAYS works well, and now it’s flat-out refusing to do anything."

Complain complain complain

Troubleshoot troubleshoot troubleshoot

FINALLY

Realize the printer isn’t plugged into the computer.

Oh. Ok. I guess there is THAT.

DUMB!!!! (and tired too)

New template

See! Variety is good!

(Actually, after I chose this one, I realized that two other blogs I'm reading use the same template ... oh well ... while I may not be original, at least I know what I like when I see it). :)

new exercise room in the future

The condo association has approved turning a basement store-room into an exercise room. I'm thrilled at the idea of being able to work out in the morning before my day begins. If I run on the treadmill in my condo, I'm sure it sounds like a heard of thundering elephants in the unit below.

But in the basement, it shouldn't be a problem for anyone. They still need to run electricity down there, so it won't happen right away, but at least the process has begun! My dad has access to some enormous mirrors that will keep it from looking TOO much like a closet, and we'll paint it, and maybe put up a ceiling fan. I'm most pleased with this development. :)

I'm also doing the newsletter for the condo association, and I worked on that last night. It's the first newsletter I've done where I had the opportunity to gather the matrial myself. Usually I'm just formatting someone else's stuff ... it's been great fun looking around and trying to find things that might interest the neighbors.

I got to the gym and lifted weighs last night. It's still packed with the New-Years'-resolution crowd. I wonder if it's a sin to look forward to the time they'll start slipping? They're young and skinny, so it won't do them any real HARM. :)

I was reading last night in Deuteronomy 5. (I'm still using the Reese Chronological Bible, by the way, and liking it - it arranges all the events and writing in chronological order, and has estimated dates at the top ... makes it very easy to keep your history straight.)

I was thinking about where God instituted the sabbath:

12 ‘Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you.

13 ‘Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

14 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you, so that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.

15 ‘You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day.

It's interesting to me that the reason He gave for their sabbath was that they were delivered from Egypt. They needed to rest in order to remember that GOD was the one keeping them safe and secure, not themselves.

The Lord Jesus is described as OUR "sabbath rest" - we don't have a physical day anymore. We have a person. And when we look to Him, we remember that we, too, were delivered from captivity. I was every bit as much a prisoner, with no hope of release, as those Jews were as they labored on Pharoah's work projects. I was serving a cruel master also.

And my deliverance was something I could never have accomplished. It was all done for me, and offered up to me as a gift. All I had to do was step forward and accept it, as they had to take that first step out into the dessert so many centuries ago.

Thankful to be free!
Trinka

what on earth are you doing up at 3:30 a.m.?

This is the question that I asked myself repeatedly last night ... unfortunately no answer was forthcoming! :)

But I was able to praise the Lord for how different this late-night wakefulness was when compared to instances in the past.

God has used "Love thinketh no evil" (or the converse ... "love thinks the best") from 1 Cor. 13 to make such a change in my thinking. And every now and then I get a picture of that change that's a blessing to me.

There was a season, not so many years ago, where I would be awake all night often, with my mind chasing around various perceived offenses, and re-writing conversations fromt that day, making scripts for the next day that I never seemed to have opportunity to use!

But God so graciously brought me out of that season of bitterness and hardness of heart, and last night was so different. Though I'd still prefer sleeping at night, the only monologue I had to listen to early this morning was,

"close your eyes you goofball ... or tomorrow is going to be a LONG day."

Well, today IS going to be a long day, but at least it doesn't carry with it the hang-over of a night spent wallowing in sinful thinking.

God is so good.

Exercise report: nothing yesterday. Prayer meeting makes Wednesdays a tough day to fit it in ... often I do, but yesterday I didn't. Tonight, I hope to do pilates after Bible study.

Trinka

now this man can write ...

From Samuel Rutherford's Letters:

Build your nest upon no tree here; for ye see God hath sold the forest to death; and every tree whereupon we would rest is ready to be cut down, to the end we may fly and mount up, and build upon the Rock, and dwell in the holes of the Rock.

What ye love besides Jesus, your husband, is an adulterous lover. Now it is God's special blessing to Judah, that He will not let her find her paths in following her strange lovers. 'Therefore, behold I will hedge up thy way with thorns and make a wall that she shall not find her paths. And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them' (Hos. 2.6-7). O thrice happy Judas, when God buildeth a double stone wall betwixt her and the fire of hell!

The world, and the things of the world, Madam, is the lover ye naturally affect beside your own husband Christ. The hedge of thorns and the wall which God buildeth in your way, to hinder you from this lover, is the thorny hedge of daily grief, loss of children, weakness of body, iniquity of the time, uncertainty of estate, lack of worldly comfort, fear of God's anger for old unrepented-of sins.

What lose ye, if God twist and plait the hedge daily thicker? God be blessed, the Lord will not let you find your paths. Return to your first husband. Do not weary, neither think that death walketh towards you with a slow pace. Ye must be riper ere ye be shaken. Your days are no longer than Job's, that were 'swifter than a post, and passed away as the ships of desire, and as the eagle that hasteth for the prey'.

There is less sand in your glass now than there was yesternight. This span-length of ever-posting time will soon be ended. But the greater is the mercy of God, the more years ye get to advise, upon what terms, and upon what conditions, ye cast your soul in the huge gulf of never-ending eternity.

The Lord hath told you what ye should be doing till He come; 'wait and hasten (saith Peter,) for the coming of the Lord'; all is night that is here, in respect of ignorance and daily ensuing troubles, one always making way to another, as the ninth wave of the sea to the tenth; therefore sigh and long for the dawning of that morning, and the breaking of that day of the coming of the Son of man, when the shadows shall flee away.

Persuade yourself the King is coming; read His letter sent before Him, 'Behold, I come quickly.' Wait with the wearied night-watch for the breaking of the eastern sky, and think that you have not a morrow. I am loath to weary you; show yourself a Christian, by suffering without murmuring; -- in patience possess your soul: they lose nothing who gain Christ. I commend you to the mercy and grace of our Lord Jesus.

wouldn't my mom just pitch a fit if she knew ...

Went to the tanner today at lunch.

By the time the Michigan mid-winter gloom has carried on this long, I'm just dying for light and warmth.

It was wonderful. I recommend it! I believe my toes may even be thawed.

Trinka

trophies

I was reading this this morning, and I thought I'd pass it along here ...

Acts 4 -
Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. … they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, (Peter and John) that they had been with Jesus. And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.

This is where a man was healed, and stood before the authorities, and they didn't know what to make of it.

But in a larger context, when we think of the life of a Christian ... isn’t it something?

Really … we stand before them whole, and they marvel.

We stand with others who are also trophies of His grace, and nobody can deny what’s been done.

Doesn’t it just bring people to your mind?

It does to mine!

I think of the parade of beloved brothers & sisters who are pictures of restoration, and wholeness ... and there's just no explanation for it, besides God. I think of issues in MY life that had no hope outside of His intervention.

Trinka

go see this movie ...

We can complain about the trash that's being served up by Hollywood, or we can support things like this: The End of the Spear ... which will be in theaters Friday (there is a listing of locations on the site).

This will be a great encouragement. It looks as if it's well-done, and true to the facts.

Vote with your dollars folks.

Trinka

what good is it, anyway?

I've been listening to MP3s of a conference while I'm walking & lifting weights. It's the kind of teaching that brings up all kinds of old issues.

Introspection is needful in life - without it, I can go tripping through existence without a thought about things that matter - sin, repentance, God and providence, who I really am and Who He really is.

However, it can also be a pit into which we stumble, and spend wasted time lost in the dark. I already know myself well enough to know there's nothing profitable hiding in my heart somewhere.

It's hard to know whether a specific instance is the former kind of introspection, or the latter until later in life when you look back. I am praying for direction as to whether this train of thought is one I should stick with, or if I should hop off at the next stop, and look for another.

I've enjoyed time at the gym yesterday, and have been out walking. The sun has actually made an appearance several times recently, and I can tell I've been missing it. A couple years ago, I went to a tanner to prepare for a whitewater rafting trip, and the warmth & light was SUCH a mood-lifter. I'm half-considering going back just for that reason - yet it feels like a frivolous and slightly vain thing to do!

A fellow whose parents attend my church came over, and got my wireless network running, and secured yesterday. It's such a treat! God does spoil me sometimes. :)

Trinka

still out here

Really! Just not getting much done outside of work right now. One more week ... one more week ...

I'm still exercising, and still reading.

Since I'm not offering much in the way of interesting reading these days, I thought I'd share a favorite picture.


This is my dog Frances, when she was old, sitting in a field next to my mom's house. I just love the sunflowers (especially now, as the Michigan winter gloom continues).

steaks on the grill

I've been working through an online Bible study at www.settingcaptivesfree.com. There are studies related to many different areas - and I've been doing The Lord's Table related to eating & exercise.

It's been a blessing so far. There is a loosely-structured diet that goes along with it, and it has today scheduled as a day to fast.

To the Christian, a fast is more than just a day of hunger-pangs for health's sake - but it's an opportunity to have more time alone with God (since there's no time required for food preparation, consumption, or clean-up). We use the physical sensations of hunger to remind us of our spiritual hunger, and need for the Lord. It heightens our desires to worship, pray and study. Hunger reminds us of those who are hungry ALL the time physically ... due to poverty, or social ills. It reminds us of those who are hungry all the time SPIRITUALLY ... in some cases without even being aware of it. And we're driven to pray for these, and seek God in how to meet those needs.

So as I've been studying today, and been to our worship service, it has been a true blessing. I went for a walk just now, and could smell steaks cooking on a grill. (We've got sunshine today - first time in nearly a month, and everyone's giddy with it, despite the cold.)

The scent of it made me think of how smells tie in with hunger. I wasn't thinking about being physicallly hungry, until I smelled that meat cooking.

I've written here before about 2 Corinthians 2:15
For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing;

But today has me thinking about it again. To those who have been spiritually hungry for so long that they've become accustomed to it ... to those who are so busy, and surrounded by noise, that they can't notice hunger ... maybe the aroma of what they need will pique their hunger. Do I focus on Him, so that I draw others in? I want to!

Trinka

this is why I'll never invent the light bulb ...

A very nice fellow came and installed my cable internet Friday. There was a nasty nest of somethin' in the cable box, so it was a most unpleasant job.

He even gave some advice on getting the wireless router to work.

And ... later that night, I had it running and all was well!

and then ... there was today

Several people warned me that there MUST be a password on the wireless. There simply MUST be.

However, none of them seemed able to help me make it happen.

I experimented, and tweaked, and basically wasted the day, and for a time had my internet completelly shut off. Now it works, but sporadically.

I can no longer plug into the cable modem, and the wireless is sporadic. There's still no password, but I can plug into the back of the router and get a signal. I have had a LONG day.

I downloaded the router manual, but I decided to postpone reading it until a later date.

Victory - while I considered eating ice cream when I was stressed, I went for a walk instead. Also got to the gym. I find it very ironic, though, that when I went to work on my Bible study, the subject was "patience." OK. Got it God. Thanks for the reminder. :)

A lady called and asked me if I would consider being the vice-chair of our Christian Women's Ministries committee. It would mean doing a little devotional every other month, and running the meetings when the chairman is away. After today's events, I'm not feeling like much of a leader in anything, but I told her I'd pray about it and give her an answer Friday.

A friend came to watch March of the Penguins with me. (SUCH a good movie) and after telling her about the day, she said it was like Thomas Edison - he had a LOT of days like this before we got the light bulb. I'm just not inventor material, I think. I've GOT to have success, or I just don't press on well.

OK ... back to the battle ...

living on the wrong side of the river

I was reading last night about the time when the children of Israel were getting ready to cross over the Jordan river into the promised land. A couple tribes liked the land on the wrong side of the river, and wanted to claim that for themselves.

They were told they could have it, but they first had to go and fight with the others to claim the promised land.

The promised land is often a picture of our life with Christ. It's possible to be content to sit "just across the river" ... within sight of Christianity, but never get one's feet wet to actually make the commitment. Some people who are "fighting" beside us ... who have the same political views, and the same burdens for social issues ... may never have really made the west side of the Jordan their home.

So I want to remember to make them feel welcome here also! There's plenty of room ... they can claim some ground and plant petunias ... this can be "home" to any who want to get their feet wet.

Speaking of petunias ... I actually got my poor, neglected house-plants transplated. Their roots are still recovering from the shock of 10 years of neglect.

This summer, I overheard a friend out on my balcony talking to my spider plant,
"people shouldn't HAVE plants, if they're not going to take care of them. I'm sorry you suffer so."

OK. I get the picture! :)

Got a good long visit to the gym yesterday, and finally my house is reasonably clean once again. A stay-at-home day off is SO useful every now and then!

Trinka

finally, a solution!!!

I was trying to clean my shower with a goofy sponge-on-a-stick contraption I'd gotten a few years ago for a project.

The thing shredded, and my bathroom looked MUCH worse quickly!

It made me think about those elderly-people's-gadget-catalogues ... (It didn't come from one, but it's the sort of thing you see in them.)

I think the easiest job in the world would be as an advertising copywriter for those things.

The descriptions all read the same way, "FINALLY, and answer to _____(insert non-existent problem, or ridiculous "danger" here)___." Then they tell you abou this miracle, available for only $9.99.

My two favorite items for meeting non-existent needs:

*in the "imagined problem" category -- a special brush to remove lint from your dryer lint trap (there is actually one of these hanging in my building's laundry room, but I've suffered through removing the lint with my fingers rather than detouring an extra 10 feet to use the special brush.

*in the "imagined danger" category, a can-opener that doesn't make sharp edges on the cans. We all know how dangerous those cans can be. (and as a runner-up in the "imagined problem" contest, you can buy a special device to squeeze the oil out of your tuna, now that your can lid no longer fits.)

(OK ... end of cynicism ... though I may revisit this "ridiculous gadget" line of thought if I see another of those goofy catalogues!)

I had today off, and got to the gym for about an hour - felt good, and I wanted to take advantage of the emptiness of it before the students all come back with New Years' resolutions that will keep the place jam-packed for a month or so.

My internet at home still isn't working - I got the equipment and tried to get it running Friday, but there's something not working on the cable-company's end. I have a tech coming out Friday. We'll see how things go for next weekend. :)

Trinka