maybe those who sprinkle have a point!

We were having a baptism in our morning service today.

But we have no baptistry. So we rented a hot tub.

Know what? When hot tubs leak ... there is a LOT of water involved. :)

I'm just saying ...

another one for the depressing songs list ...

Honey Lyrics

See the tree how big it's grown
but friend it hasn't been too long it wasn't big
I laughed at her and she got mad the first day that she planted it was just a twig

Then the first snow came and she ran out to brush the snow away so it wouldn't die
Came runnin' in all excited slipped and almost hurt herself and I laughed till I cried
She was always young at heart kinda dumb and kinda smart and I loved her so

I surprised her with a puppy kept me up all Christmas Eve two years ago
And it would sure embarrass her
When I came home from working late cause I would know
That she'd been sittin' there and cryin' over some sad and silly late late show

And honey I miss you and I'm being good and I'd love to be with you if only I could
She wrecked the car and she was sad and so afraid that I'd be mad
But what the heck

Though I pretended hard to be guess you could say she saw through me
And hugged my neck
I came home unexpectedly and found her crying needlessly in the middle of the day
And it was in the early spring when flowers bloom and robins sing she went away

And honey I miss you and I'm being good and I'd love to be with you if only I could
Yes one day while I wasn't home while she was there and all alone the angels came
Now all I have are memories of honey and I wake up nights and I call her name

And now my life's an empty stage where honey lived and honey played and love grew up
And a small cloud passes overhead and cries down in the flower bed that honey loved
And honey I miss you and I'm being good and I'd love to be with you if only I could


(For those concerned about my mental state ... I'm enjoying these because they are SO maudlin that they make me laugh). :)

Exercise ... it not happening. But it needs to. I hope to get a walk in later today.

Study ... it's not happening either. But it ALSO needs to.

Life should be getting back to a semblance of "normal" some time soon!

Saw "The Nativity" Wednesday night. I was very impressed.

world's most depressing song

I've recently begun pursuing a collection of "the World's Most Depressing Music."

The original leader was this Dan Fogelberg song:

Same Old Lang Syne

Met my old lover in the grocery store
The snow was falling Christmas Eve
I stole behind her in the frozen foods
And I touched her on the sleeve
She didn't recognize the face at first
But then her eyes flew open wide
She went to hug me and she spilled her purse
And we laughed until we cried

We took her groceries to the checkout stand
The food was totalled up and bagged
We stood there lost in our embarrassment
As the conversation dragged
We went to have ourselves a drink or two
But couldn't find an open bar
We bought a six-pack at the liquor store
And we drank it in her car

We drank a toast to innocence, we drank a toast to now
And tried to reach beyond the emptiness but neither one knew how

She said she'd married her an architect
Who kept her warm and safe and dry
She would have liked to say she loved the man
But she didn't like to lie
I said the years had been a friend to her
And that her eyes were still as blue
But in those eyes I wasn't sure if I saw doubt or gratitude
She said she saw me in the record stores
And that I must be doing well
I said the audience was heavenly but the traveling was hell

We drank a toast to innocence, we drank a toast to now
And tried to reach beyond the emptiness but neither one knew how
We drank a toast to innocence, we drank a toast to time
Reliving in our eloquence, another 'auld lang syne'

The beer was empty and our tongues were tired
And running out of things to say
She gave a kiss to me as I got out and I watched her drive away
Just for a moment I was back at school
And felt that old familiar pain
And as I turned to make my way back home
The snow turned in to rain...

This song acquired its status on a LONG drive at about 2:00 a.m. ... when it seemed to be playing on whatever radio station we turned to. I was quite sure there were a hundred depressed people slitting their wrists as they desperately spun the radio dial looking for something to drag their spirits out of the mire.

But ... this morning, I heard the current champion -- Randy Stonehill's "Christmas at Denny's"

CHRISTMAS AT DENNY'S

They got Christmas Muzak
Piped in through the ceiling
And the refills of coffee
Are always for free
And the waitress on graveyard
And the surly night manager
Are wishing that all of us losers would leave

There's a star on the sign
At the Texaco Station
Like the star long ago
On that midnight clear
As I look all around
At these cold, empty faces
I doubt that you'd find many wise men here

And I'm dreaming about
A silent night - Holy Night
When things were alright
And I'm dreaming about
How my life could have been
If only, if only, if only
But somewhere down the road
I gave up that fight

Merry Christmas
It's Christmas at Denny's tonight

Once I had a home
And a wife and a daughter
Had a company job
Earning middle-class pay
Then Lisa got killed
By a car near the school yard
And my wife started drinking
Just to get through each day

I will never forget
That little red wagon
Turning to rust
All alone in the rain
One morning I flagged down
A truck on the highway
I just couldn't bear
To go back there again

And I'm dreaming about
A silent night - Holy night
When things were alright
And I'm dreaming about
How my life could have been
If only, if only, if only
Well, it's not just the blind man
Who loses his sight

Merry Christmas
It's Christmas at Denny's tonight

They say
Life's made of cruel circumstance
Fate plays the tune and we dance
Dance til we drop
In the dust and we're gone
And the world just goes on

The cop at the counter
He's the guardian angel
He watches these orphans
Through dark mirrored shades
And the register rings
Like a bell sadly tolling
For the fools we've become
And the price that we paid
Oh when I was a boy
I believed in Christmas
Miracle season
To make a new start
I don't need no miracle
Sweet baby Jesus
Just help me find
Some kind of hope in my heart

And I'm dreaming about
A silent night - Holy night
When things were alright
And I'm dreaming about
How my life could have been
If only, if only, if only
But I'll still be here
At the morning's first light

Merry Christmas
It's Christmas at Denny's tonight
Merry Christmas
It's Christmas at Denny's tonight

Written by Randy Stonehill.

So ... anyone got any to add to my collection? If you can beat "Christmas at Denny's" the prize is a mention on a nationally-read blog ... yes ... it's true. :)

the weed lady, part two

Our deacon chairman went to see the weed lady last night.

Now ... in his day-job, this man is a police officer. He sees a LOT of nutty people.

However, following his visit with T.W.L., he called and said, "wow ... you weren't kidding."

Ah ... yes ... it's nice to have others' experience confirm my own. :)

the avoidance of the grocery store ...

As I went to McDonalds for the umpteenth day in a row to get breakfast on my way to work today, I thought:

"do other people avoid going to the store this time of year?"

I ran out of milk two weeks ago, and, rather than buying more, I've been eating at McDonalds almost every morning.

This is a bad thing ... both for the budget, and the calorie count!

I just hate going into stores around Christmas. It has only been the advent of internet shopping that has allowed me to enjoy the holiday.

But ... really ... people buy milk every day. I should be able to manage. (Particularly since there are 24 hour grocery stores everywhere, and I could do it at 5:00 a.m. when they are relatively empty.)

Time to quit acting like a college-kid and just get it done! (Particularly since I comitted to bringing a salad to Christmas-eve dinner, and I don't have a shred of fresh produce left in the house either!)

Hmmmm ... we'll see ... I suppose I could make a salad from canned fruit and jell-o ... and the McDonalds staff is starting to recognize me now, and it would be a shame to quench budding friendships ... :)

the weed lady

as soon as I heard the voice on the phone, I KNEW it was her ...

the weed lady

Our church bought the property behind our building - about ten acres with a house, a barn, and a pasture.

Ever since, the weed lady has been calling us.

You see ... the weeds from the pasture blow onto her property.

I know ... I know ... it's hard to imagine how she endures it.

We've started having the pasture mowed several times during the summer, in an effort to placate the weed lady. And we thought we had succeeded.

Until today.

The weed lady called, saying that leaves had blown in her yard from our uncared-for field. She spent a good bit of time talking about her inability to clean up the leaves, and how much it would cost to have the leaves picked up when they WERE bagged, and how irresponsible we were.

I don't get it.

There are no trees in the field ... just grass. As near as I can tell, she wants us to not only mow the pasture, but also rake up all the grass clippings? (ten acres?)

I gave her my most pleasant, sweet voice ... but I've got to wonder, "how does one please a person like this?"

Went for a long, hard walk after work ... the weed lady had me plenty stressed out, and I needed the exercise!

well - worrying sure solved THAT one

Just went online and looked at my bank account -- the teller caught the error and corrected it the same day ... no need to make a nasty, complicated phone call tomorrow.

God is so good to me sometimes. OK - ALL the time ... because if I HAD been made to do battle with the forces of the banking industry, it would have been good for me.

I hope it's OK that I like it better this way, though. :)

Whew!

Oh goody - a bureaucratic nightmare

Just got done paying my bills, and when I went to enter my bank deposit into M.S. Money, I discovered the teller missed a digit, and entered last week's paycheck as one tenth of the real amount.

Oh. Groan.

I signed the slip. Never looked at it. They never made a mistake before.

WHY couldn't it have gone the other way? It would be so much easier to convince them I had several thousand dollars of THEIR money than it will be to convince them that they have several hundred dollars of MY money. My stomach is already in knots at the thought of tomorrow's phone call!

On a positive note, I had a nice visit today to small-town-where-I-grew-up (Stwigu). I got to go to the church I attended in Jr. High and High School, and then spent an hour or so walking around Stwigu until it was time to go to the family Christmas at my aunt's house. It was interesting to have the time to walk there, and look at all the places I remembered, but hadn't really seen in almost 20 years.

A few observations ... My old church in Stwigu has peacocks wandering around the property. I think this is a good addition. They're pretty things, and I LOVE the sound they make - mournful and startling in a "have you considered where you'll spend eternity" kind of way. :)

The eccentric family still owns the funeral home. (Ever hear someone say, "you'll never see a hearse pulling a U-Haul?" Many of us who grew up in Stwigu HAVE seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul.)

A new addition to their general quirkiness is that now one of them has opened a chiropractic clinic directly across from the funeral home. Everyone in town KNOWS he's a mortician ... so here's the thing ... do you want a mortician cracking your back? Really? Is he used to working on living people? Is he trying to drum up business?

I suppose that's all for now. I need to focus all my energy on worrying that the credit union won't believe me, and will keep my paycheck money. Because, you see, worrying will make ALL the difference in the outcome. ;)

Me

I sing the praises of the bluetooth headset

My phone battery needed to be replaced, and I was eligible for a free phone from Sprint for renewing my contract, so I got that rather than buying a battery. I also picked up a bluetooth headset for it.

The little critter is great! I have never found driving while on the phone to be problematic, until I bought my current car, which has a manual transmission. Steering, holding the phone, AND shifting requires more hands than I possess! This little headset will not only allow me to talk but it will also dial the numbers for me if I speak them ... very clever little thing. If I'd known how handy they are, I'd have gotten one ages ago. Of course I look like the Borg assimilated me, but I'll get used to it.

I had a delightful birthday today - with some productive accomplishment (got my Christmas cards ready to mail, and a Christmas-present-project finished), a nice long nap, and then a dinner out with a couple friends tonight. They took me to Noel - which is a Christmas-themed restaraunt in an old church -- very beautifully decorated, with delicious food.

Then when I got home, I discovered some sweet "happy birthday" posts from the folks on Meet Christians, and also on Bill and Glory's blog.

Exercise is going OK. Contrary to my deepest fears, taking the day off last week did not lead to a catastrophic meltdown. Whew! (I'm glad to see Bill understands this danger! We're all just one Twinkie away from total disaster!) :)

I've been reading about King Saul's gradual decline into disobedience, and eventually madness. Just like the one Twinkie, or the one day without exercise, can start a snowball that destroys months of effort. So can a deadening of our walk with the Lord lead us gradually into decisions and decisions we might never have considered when we were in close communion with Him. Saul had SUCH a promising start. But no amount of promise can make up for a dependence on God.

yikes! it's all for nought!!!

This morning I awoke to the sound of rain on the roof. It was SOOOOO soothing.

While that was nice, it means I sat there in a trance for a half hour, and never did get down into the basement and onto the treadmill before work!

I have plans after work, so that means no exercise at all ... none.

One day without exercise is NOT that big of a deal, except that I immediately start to imagine myself giving up entirely, and becoming one with my recliner! This must not be allowed to happen. :)

stolen from Jane's blog

My first...

car:
$600 1981 burgandy Ford Escort (that dramatically went up in flames in the yard 5 months after purchase)

music purchase:
Sean Cassidy's "Born Late" ... thanks to my cousin Denise's crush on him!

major concert:
I wonder if Petra counts ... my brother and I went in high school

movie (that I remember):
Charlotte's Web

drink:
don't think I've ever had anything that would qualify! a sip of wine here & there

presidential election as a voter:
1988 - George Bush Sr.


You?

like a turtle on its back ...

was my dear little Saturn Ion last night.

Ever since I got my first front-wheel drive car, 17 years ago, I've felt fairly confident driving on bad roads, provided I could go slow enough, and take my time.

However, last night I discovered that my cute little Saturn's light weight makes for absolutely NO momentum to rock free when stuck. None at all. THIS is an important consideration!

A retired couple from church has the staff over for a Christmas party every year. It is SUCH a nice evening, and last night was this year's gathering.

This couple has a lovely home about a half-mile back from the road.

At the end of the evening, I snuck out a little before the others, since I get up early for work.

Their driveway ends in a steep uphill grade onto the road.

As I gunned the car to make it up the grade on the ice ... I saw headlights coming down the road.

BOTHER!

So, I slow down, feeling the wheels starting to slip backwards ... and sideways ... and then ... stop.

It wasn't stuck that badly. But it also would NOT rock free, no matter what I did. I'm guessing this is due to the lighter weight. I'd been noticing it seems to slide around more than my previous cars.

The men came out and pushed me out, for which I was very thankful. But I'm going to have to exercise a bit more caution from now on. I've always been able to free myself before, but it seems that won't be happening with this car!

Trinka ... who really DOES not like winter driving

hmmm ... interesting idea

Where HAVE you been? Ummm ... not sure ... but certainly not HERE for a long time. :)

Just talked with a lady from church who works at the local library (which happens to be directly across the street from my house). They are hiring someone part time to shelve books, read shelves, etc.

I find living with no emergency fund nervous-making ... and I've never been able to re-build mine since buying my condo. After 3 years, it's time to admit that it's not going to happen unless I change something.

When I think about part-time jobs, I always think "waitress" or "store clerk" ... but as a basically non-social person, after 8 hours at work, I'm not sure my energy could hold up to something that chatty.

But ... shelving books in a quiet corner ... THAT I could do! Plus it would be on my feet, so a certain amount of exercise built in.

Quite excited at this prospect, actually! I asked her to pick me up an application.

Exercise is still happening - often twice a day, but at least once. Study ... um ... not. I'm working on some projects for Christmas presents, and they're effectively consuming my time.

Trinka

the psych hospital

No ... no joke to follow that title ...

I just returned from visiting a friend in the psychiatric hospital. You know - when we come near to having a bad auto accident, or get a nasty case of food poisoning, we realize how fragile we really are. God gave us life in a moment, and He takes it back just as quickly. (and is just and right in doing so ... it all belongs to Him).

But our minds, too, are a gift. And one I take for granted, really.

When the Scripture says God "holds all things together by the word of His power." It is talking about galaxies, and molecules, oak trees, and our circulatory system. But He ALSO continually holds the reigns on our reason. That reason could slip away from my control just as easily as I could find myself tomorrow with diabetes or a sore throat.

The sweet lady I visited is one of the most gentle, quiet people--with a quirky sense of humor, and a desire to serve in behind-the-scenes ministries. I can always make her laugh - even tonight when her mind is a battleground.

just thinking, I suppose ... and thankful to be able to do so ...

miscellaneous miscellaneous

Just got done looking through a friend's pictures from her missions trip to Peru. They had a great opportunity to help out in a school, and work on building a church high in the mountains (about 2 miles up!). Plus ... apparently ... wear some nifty local swirly skirts. :)

I discovered at my condo board meeting Monday night that there's another signer on the board. We were discussing how many years a board member's term is, and another lady and I held up the sign-language #3 (thumb, and first two fingers ... the common way of holding up the middle three fingers is the sign language letter "w"). We both noticed, and I'm hoping to get a chance to ask her about it some time soon. She's already caught my attention by talking about missions trips, so I think it would be great fun to get to know her!

Working out continues to go well -- we've got treadmills in the basement now, so I have a date with one every weekday morning at 5:00, and my regular workout after work. Going to exercising twice a day seems to have been quite helpful.

My brother and sister-in-law had an exciting week last week - they won a Christian radio station's contest to have a free kitchen make-over. It was great fun listening to the announcement on the radio over the internet. If I could post audio files here, I'd let you hear it ... she was quite excited!

Hmmm ... and about Bible study ... not happening much right now. It needs to happen. I got some books from the library, and checked out too many at once, so I've been spending time devouring them to get them back by the due date. (ridiculous excuse ... I know ... however, it's the truth!) My pick of the bunch is called Kicked, Bitten and Scratched -- it's about a college program for animal trainers. I always love getting inside a career that's totally different from mine - and this was a fascinating read.

The fellowship to which my church belongs (I.F.C.A.) is having a cruise in February. They are discounting the interior cabins, and it's almost down to what I would be willing to pay. So I'm considering it. I've never been on a cruise before, and it might be fun! Particularly so, since it's church-related, so the drinking/gambling aspect won't be present. And the fact that it's in Feburary (a gloomy, depressing month, if ever I saw one) is a draw as well!

I also want to speak a word in praise of a great new Access add-in I bought for work. It's called DBPix, and it has performed miracles. Access allows pictures to be inserted in the database, but it's got a bug called "image bloat" that causes the database size to expand exponentially with every picture inserted. (mine was up to 1.3 gig in size). This add-in ties right into Access, and fixes the image bloat problem, as well as giving more options in working with the pictures. My database is now down to 14 mg., and I am a MOST satisfied customer.

OK - back to work for this girl!

our problems solved by Mr. T

Today as I was eating lunch (home-made split pea soup, thank-you-very-much ... patting self on the back), I turned on the television to keep me company.

I ended up seeing a show where Mr. T was solving a family's relationship problems.

Hmmm ... fascinating.

Of course, the scoffer in me rose up to comment.

But before it did, I had some other thoughts.

How many situations in our relationships really don't require intensive therapy, or professonal intervention? How often would an outside observer, who had our best interests at heart, really be able to give us a clear picture of what needed to happen? It could be Mr. T (though I'd prefer no television camers!), or it could be a good friend, or an elder from church, or a stranger's offhand comment.

Recently I was visiting with a friend, who mentioned she heard an overseas missionary say that Americans are noted for their easily-wounded emotions ... that it's nearly impossible to give us constructive criticism without it being taken as an offense.

Oddly enough, this same friend mentioned this in the context of discussing how she'd been wounded by a rebuke.

It's one of the things Christians are supposed to do ... encourage one another to love and good works, and how often that requires going out on a limb, and saying something that might not be easy to hear.

Yet, if it's done in love, it can precisely the conversation that turns our life in an entirely new, and God-ward direction.

Doing it properly, giving these exhortations, is not an easy thing. Much prayer, and self-examination needs to happen. "Am I really seeking this person's best? Or is this particular issue just something that happens to annoy ME?" "Is this really a sin issue? Or is it just a personal preference with which I don't agree?"

And receiving it properly is also not easy. "Do I really believe this person loves me and has my best at heart?" "Even if this doesn't ring true for me, is there something that God wants to say to me through it?"

The Scripture that says we're to "bear with one another in love" is one that needs a great deal of application, because there are times when we're simply unbearable! But there are also times when the love of an honest brother or sister can make us easier to bear.

Just pondering. Maybe I'll turn the tube back on and see if Mr. T. solved things. :) He's not such bad company when one's folding laundry!

a nice fall walk

Had a beautiful walk tonight, and thought to take my camera along. I thought I'd share some of the pictures!

ruined lives

This fellow yesterday who shot up a school in Lancaster in recompense for a 20-year-old grudge of some kind ... he has me thinking.

It is SO easy to carry bitterness around, and it grows ... all out of proportion to the original offense. It doesn't matter how awful the thing was that happened ... our lives are only ruined by it, if WE choose it to be so.

If we, rather than choosing bitterness and introspection, choose to present the ugliness to God, He can make something out of it ... He can take the worst offense, and change it to bring good from it.

Locked in a Nazi concentration camp, and watch your sister die from the conditions there?
God can make you into a Corrie TenBoom.

Break your spine in a stupid teen-age jump off a bridge?
God can give you Joni Erickson's ministry and influence.

Born blind?
Give it to Him, and you can write hymns that bless generations like Fannie Crosby.

And it's not just a few well-known examples ... I can think of dozens of people whose faces and stories are well-known to me, who have given their tragedies and pain, and handicaps to God, and He has made them something glorious.

OR

There's always the natural alternative. You can blame God, and blame others, and never allow yourself to move beyond the pain ... and rather than blessing those around you ... the bitterness can fester until it destroys everything in its path. Lancaster saw a vivid picture of this yesterday, but it happens ALL the time - maybe not with the physical taking of lives, but with smearing reputations, and destroying relationships, and sucking away hope.

hmmmmmmm ... on a totally different line ........

I've been meaning to blog about an advertisement I've seen lately for a local indian casino. (Kewadin, I think).

It shows a man in a company break room, and he starts to buy a sandwich from a machine, and they just keep spitting out at him. Then the casino logo comes up, and it says that it might be a lucky day for him to gamble there. (obvious paraphrase ... "gamble" is never used ... lest people realize what they're REALLY doing there).

I thought this ad was very telling. Because the person who's obviously NOT shown is the fictitious small business owner who stocks the sandwich machines in the fictitious break room. So this man's "luck" was breaking someone else's pocketbook.

Isn't that just what casinos are doing? One or two people may win money. Others may (for some odd reason) go and just enjoy losing theirs. But how many lives are negatively impacted by it? How many people develop addictions they can't shake? How many children are impacted by having an immoral atmosphere dragged into their communities? But the only thing that gets publicized is the "one who gets all the sandwiches."

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

OK - on to exercise - got to the gym last night, and walked in the morning before work. Having the treadmill down in the condo basment is proving to be MOST helpful!

does this make sense to anybody?

The pope accuses Muslims of being violent.

They become irate.

They begin killing people and burning things.

you know ... . if they really wanted to protest his remarks, maybe they could knit sweaters for the poor, or save abandoned kittens ... it would be considerably more effective at proving him wrong!

Exercise is going well. I've got my treadmill in the basement now, so I can walk in the morning before work without bringing the ceiling down on my downstairs neighbor's head. :)

know what?

If you loaf all day, and go to bed at 8:00 p.m. ...

You wake up at 2:00 a.m. Fascinating. :)

And I DID loaf all day - I've had quite a busy month - company for 3 weekends, and one trip to see my dad & step-mom in PA. Yesterday (or today? ... whatever Saturday would be in this context), I just crashed.

I did make it to the gym, but other than moving some furniture and doing a load or two of laundry, that's ALL I got done. Feeling slightly guilty, but also very well rested.

I'm enjoying reading Mission to the Headhunters by Frank Drown. He's coming to speak at our church in November, so I wanted to have read his book first. He and his wife have been life-long missionaries, and he headed up the search party that found the missionaries who were killed by the Auca indians in 1956. (Jim Elliott, Nate Saint, Roger Youdarian, Peter Flemming, Ed McCully).

Well ... back to my book. :)