a few blessings from the week ...

There were some very sweet things from this past week ... some I can share and some I cant.

However, there's enough I can tell that it will easily make a blog entry!

Tuesday our church voted on whether to build on an addition for a larger sanctuary. We've been packed to the gills for a LONG time now. Several times we've approached the idea of adding on, and then balked at the cost. But this week the decision was made to go forward. What was a blessing was the vote -- 141 to 7 in favor of beginning. So many churches split during building programs, and we've been praying that the Lord would give us unity in the decision ... whether to go forward or not ... just so we were in agreement. I think 95.3% is about as close to complete agreement as you could expect to see!

On a less corporate level ... I was blessed with some lovely flowers. A lady at church works for a commercial greenhouse, and her job is to shear the geraniums of all their flowers, and put them in baskets. (I'm assuming so they'll get bushier? Maybe?) I think she feels quite bad for all the flowers going to waste. Yesterday she brought me this pretty bunch.

And lastly, I've been thinking of putting down laminate flooring in my condo. I had a contractor from church come out and look at things this week. I was shocked that the cost was about double what I'd thought it would be. Gulp!

So afterwards, I was sitting at my desk, with floor samples spread out around me as I worked.
One of the deacons walked past.

"What are the samples for?" he asked.

"I was thinking of using it in my house."

"Really? I've got a ton of that stuff somebody gave me. Want to have a look at it?"

Well ... YES! :)

"Maybe you won't like it, but if you do, you can have it."

"I like it already!" FREE is my favorite style of laminate.

He doesn't have enough to do all that needs done (I need 450 square feet for the main area). But, hopefully I can buy something that matches what he has, and then I'll only need to pay for that and for installation. It's been through a fire, so I'll have to pull the padding off the back, before it can be used. But I think I can manage that quite nicely.

Lastly, yesterday I went down to a banquet at the Christian school I graduated from. (Note to my brother ... lots of folks asked about you.) I have my 20th class reunion this year, so it was interesting to see how the school, and the people, have changed! It was a good evening. A friend went down with me, so there was good visiting in the car going down, and coming back. A very nice evening.

lovely hair extensions ...

Last night I went to the Dollar Store just in between a couple other stores I needed to visit.

While there, I saw these funny headbands with hair attached, and picked them up for my nieces.

As I left, the lady at the cash register said, "did you find everything you needed?"

I replied, "yes," and then thought ...

Does that mean I went IN to the dollar store looking for orange and pink hair extensions? :)

weekend socks

My stepbrother and his wife (step-sister-in-law? ... lots of hyphens, but that must be right), gave me these socks two Christmases ago.

They don't match a thing I own. In fact, they don't match a thing I've EVER owned, or ever WILL own. (I'm a very conservative sort.)

I love these socks.

They're weekend socks ... I put them on Saturday morning, and they clash with whatever I wear. And I know it's the weekend ... nobody will see me, and I can wear whatever socks I like.

Some people rebel in big ways ... some people rebel in small ways. :)

I love my weekend socks.

feminist ear-worms

Hah! Now THERE's a unique subject line for you!

I've had an ear-worm for several days now. (For those who aren't familiar with the term, it's not a parasite, or at least not a physical one. It's an annoying song that gets stuck in your head and won't leave you alone.)

My current ear-worm is Helen Reddy's "I am Woman."

So not only is the tune annoying, but the general philosophy drives me crazy as well!

Feminism had a great beginning ....

equal pay for equal work? Great idea.

fighting pornography and domestic violence? Great idea.

But by the time I got to college, feminism had morphed into wacky-ness, and was more concerned with proving that --

a. women are just like men!

b. No! women are better than men!

c. actually, men should become LIKE women!

There was also a great deal of other absolute nonsense spouted in the name of women's rights. So my general opinion of feminism is that it has outlived its usefulness and become a refuge for bigger, slightly nutty, women.

This is why Helen's little ditty is making me crazy. It seems to embody the nuttiness I witnessed among the feminist college professors I knew.

However, that's not to say that I didn't USE the feminist rant on occasion while I was in school.

Being a firm believer that college papers don't necessarily need to agree with one's personal philosophy, since their purpose is only to prove that one can write, I decided to play with my philosophy a little when I wrote.

I started taking stands against things I genuinely disagreed with ... but doing it from the perspective of a feminist instead of as a Christian. The difference in reception was amazing!

There was a particularly offensive play on campus one semester, and I had to go and see it, and write a review, as part of a communications class. I protested the nudity and degradation of the female characters.

Now, the reason I really think these things are wrong is because God designed and desires our sexuality to be experienced within the context of marriage, and because human beings are created in God's image, and should not be treated in a degrading fashion.

However, what I wrote was that the women were objectified, and I was offended. Male domination, blah blah blah ....

It was fascinating to see the waves of sorrow ripple through the communications department over the horror that was that play (Robin Hood, oddly enough). I think, if I'd written from my real perspective, the response would have been quite different.

All these things brought to mind by one (annoying) song!

watching the robins

I've been enjoying watching male robins staking out the good spots for their nests. It's such a delightful thing to watch spring coming!

I cut up a rag, and put the scraps on my porch, and am hoping to entice them to come and pull them off for nesting material.

Simple pleasures for simple minds ... :)

a few sights from my walk today

The weather here was wonderful - high 60's in temperature, and sunny.

I heard a red-winged blackbird and a robin - two of the birds that come back in the spring, and the snow was melting off everywhere.

I was passed by a boy on a skateboard, being pulled at a very high rate of speed by a black lab on a leash, carrying a yellow frisbee. It was quite possibly the happiest-looking dog I've seen in a LONG time. :)

the curse continues

I tried again last night.

"What did you try?"
the eager blog-reading-community asks ...

"I tried to make Jell-O"
is my answer, "specifically, finger Jell-O."

"Um," the slightly puzzled blog-reading-community answers,
"and why is this blog-worthy?"


Because I can't make Jell-O.

Never have been able to.

Jell-O ... when made by me ... is a synonym for "overly-flavored, viscous, Kool-Aid."

When I was a kid, my mom made me finger Jell-O. I was prone to nose-bleeds, and someone, somewhere, had told her it would help. I don't know whether it DID help or not, but I very much enjoyed the treatment. :)

Sometimes, I get a real hankering for the stuff. I usually just scoop up plates of it at church potlucks, but last night I attempted to fabricate my own supply.

I'd have had better luck producing cold fusion.

Just don't EVEN tell me, "the water wasn't hot enough." or "you didn't stir it long enough" ...

I've tried all your remedies. Boiling is boiling. Dissolved is dissolved.

There is some kind of mysterious chemical, electro-magnetic, something.

Some people can't wear cheap jewelry.
Others are allergic to seafood.
Still others get claustrophobic on elevators.

I can't make Jell-O.

Anyone have a use for a 9x13 pan full of red syrup? I'd give it away cheap.

The funny thing is ... one of my readers has occasionally offered me a job in an industry at which ingredients are combined at high temperatures, and expected to solidify thereafter. I'm guessing ... if I were employed there ... within days they'd have nothing but vats and vats of science-defying sludge.

It's (still) snowing, and I'm looking forward to a quiet day of studying. I'm working on a study for D.'s class on the 12 tribes of Israel and the class my pastor is teaching on dispensationalism, and another study on John. Life is good. :) If I get my bathroom and kitchen cleaned too ... well ... there's a bonus.

And I suppose I'd better figure out what to do with that pan of ... well ... whatever-it-is.

Pssst ... if anyone is thinking of supplying me with a finger Jell-O fix ... let me just say ... raspberry and black cherry are FAR superior to any other flavors. :)

global warming and a little education

Al Gore is way off base. I'm sorry ... but he is. There have been shifts in global temperatures ever since we've been tracking this information. (And many of the warming trends happened pre-industrial-revolution).

Remember in the 70's when they were all in a panic about the next ice age that was coming? It was all very similar rhetoric ... and you may notice that spring and summer still arrive every year.

For a nice balance to An Inconvenient Truth, have a look at this site. It's amazing how, once the media is convinced of the veracity of an idea (Iraq is a mistake ... global warming is an imminent threat ... blah blah blah), it immediately becomes commonly accepted. By the way, the graphic is my own "cabon footprint" ... so ... even without believing in human-being-caused-global-warming ... I'm still livin' MUCH cleaner than Mr. Gore. (It's called "frugality"!)

Our senior pastor was a professor at Calvary Bible College before he came here. There is a lady here who just needs one class, that he used to teach, in order to finish her degree.

She's going to take it independent study, and they're letting me join in. I won't get any credits for it (as I'm too cheap to pay for them!) But they don't mind if I study alongside, write the papers, take the test, etc. I just love taking classes ... I really do. :) I could easily be a professional student, if only I could figure out that how-to-get-paid-for-it part!

an excellent movie

I went to see Amazing Grace last night. It was just excellent.

It's the story of William Wilberforce's battle against the British slave trade.

The movie was exceptionally well done, and the story itself is one of those heroic bits of history that is interesting to begin with.

Go see it if you can!

Hollywood puts out so much that's centered on smut, or low humor ... when they do something good, let's get out and vote with our money. (End of unpaid advertisement!)

freezing fog

Lovely ... not only can you not see, you couldn't stop if you COULD see.

Yesterday was the second instance of the "non-surprise surprise" I've experienced in my life.

I dislike surprises. I find that anticipating a pleasant event is as much fun as the event itself ... so usually people tell me when something nice is in the works, because they know I enjoy the anticipation.

Yesterday was the second instance where I was sure I saw a surprise coming ... and was wrong.

The first was when I was just out of college, I went with a group of friends down to Battle Creek to see the Christmas lights and eat out. The date chosen was either on, or very near, my birthday. I was sure a surprise party was in the works, and then ... at the end of the evening, realized everyone had forgotten my birthday. :)

Yesterday, it happened again. A string of strange coincidences combined to make me certain that something was going on. And, while something MAY have been going on, it obviously had nothing to do with me!

I have weekly after-work-Tuesday plans with a friend, but this week she had to cancel. Odd -- she rarely cancels. But her reason made sense - her mom's been ill, and she needed to take her to the doctor.

The pastor had a meeting that went late, so I ended up needing to stay at work after my usual hours. No problem, because my plans had been canceled. Odd. He doesn't usually schedule meetings that late in the afternoon.

As I was leaving, he asked if I was going home. "Odd ... why would he care where I was going?" I told him that I was running errands first.

A few minutes later, I remembered something I'd forgotten to tell him, so I called back to the office. He asked, "is this your cell or home phone?" Again, odd question ... why would it matter?

Then, after I get home, my mother calls, and asks several times during the conversation, "anything interesting happen today?"

"Um ... I unloaded the dishwasher?"

So, this series of random, unusual occurrences combines to make me absolutely sure that SOMETHING is being planned. Some out-of-town guest is going to appear ... Publishers' Clearing House is going to show up ... SOMETHING.

Well ... actually ... no.

Ordinary night. Go to bed early. Nothing happens.

But I DID get my house cleaned. Nothing like a vague feeling that something is coming to make a person want to prepare!

On a totally different topic, about 7 years ago, I had a season where I was terribly dizzy. The doctor sent me to a specialist, who did this strange procedure where he moved my head around, had me sit up, lay down, sit up, etc. And when he was done - the dizziness was gone, and never came back. Yesterday I ran across a doctor's blog that described it ... see medical-type friends, I'm not nuts! The procedure really does exist ... I wasn't hallucinating. :)

in love on valentines day

This dog ... is adorable.

remembering a previous blizzard

I think the last time we had weather similar to this past weekend was New Years' Eve weekend 2001.

The reason I'm remembering it specifically is because, not only was the weather rotten, but it was the weekend the baby of some acquaintances was kidnapped when someone stole their car.

It had been snowing heavily for a long time, and it was bitterly cold just like this past weekend. Nobody was going anywhere. In fact, a friend was staying with me, because she wasn't able to get home after work Friday night.

We got a phone call Saturday morning asking us to pray for this young couple, and their baby, Rachel. The husband ran into a gas station to pick something up and left the baby in the car, with the engine running. (I know ... stupid ... he figured that out quickly). When he came back outside, the car was gone.

It was all over the television and radio -- asking for people to watch for this car. It was missing for several hours.

While it was doubtful the thief knew the baby was in the car when he took it, it was obvious that if he abandoned the car once he discovered her, she couldn't live long, because of the cold.

The same day, some other acquaintances, who had also gotten a phone call to pray about this, were driving into Grand Rapids to work from about 30 miles away. It was terrible weather, and so the drive was nightmarish for them. For some reason they decided to get off the highway half-way to Grand Rapids and take surface streets.

They were talking about the missing baby as they drove and ... they saw the missing car. It was parked in the parking lot of a muffler shop. The hood was still warm, and the baby was inside.

It's one of those small miracles ...

it was snowing hard. Driving took all a person's attention to just keep the car on the road.

In minutes, the stolen car would have been covered with snow and not noticeable.

It was a part of town that no one we knew would have had reason to BE in ... it was a (normally) busy shopping artery out of the way where anyone from our part of town would normally be driving, and all the businesses on it were closed for New Years.

But God brought people who would recognize the car past it, while it was still visible, while it was still warm, and this young couple had their baby home that same day.

I haven't thought about it for years, but this weather makes me remember. It was just amazing.

I guess I'm not really surprised ...

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 0 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

a brisk, brief walk ...

It was mighty cold, but I was dying to get outside with my camera after work.

The sun peeked out, and it was just beautiful out there!

17 inches at 8 below

We've had 17 inches of snow since Friday, and it's been nose-freezing cold. The cold and snow is supposed to continue through this whole week.

So they haven't been able to get the ice off the roads, or keep up with the plowing.

Some nasty driving out there today! I had the obligatory 4-wheel drive coasting off my back bumper on the way to work this morning. They should put a warning sticker on the dashboards of those things ... "just because you can stop, does not mean everyone else can." I ended up pulling over, and letting her pass, so she could intimidate the driver in front of me.

Church was cancelled yesterday (as the police were pleading with people to stay off the roads). This basically means all my work last Thursday was for naught ... but it's made up by the fact that all the work I normally do on a Monday doesn't need to be done this week. I'm sorting through and de-cluttering cupboards. One of my favorite passtimes! (and what I did nearly all weekend at home.)

Got home at 3:00 Friday afternoon, and didn't budge from my house until 6:30 this morning. It was delightful - like a 2-week vacation all squeezed into 2 days. I think I might become a professional hermit after I retire.

I was reading in John 7 this morning, and thinking about how the people's responses to Jesus were so contradictory. He mentioned that the religious leaders were plotting to kill Him. In one place the people said He was crazy ... nobody was planning to kill him. In another place they said, "hey, is this the guy they're trying to kill?" In one place they said, "He can't be the Messiah ... because nobody knows where the Messiah will come from." In another place, they said, "this can't be the Messiah, because we all know the Messiah will come from Bethlehem, and this guy's from Galilee." (Which proves that not only were they contradicting themselves, they also didn't do their research! While Jesus was living in Galilee, He was born in Bethlehem.)

Got myself on the treadmill this morning (since I woke up at 4:00 when the plow truck came through). I've been enjoying my weight set this weekend, and am having an elliptical machine delivered tomorrow (if they can get through the snow.) My guest room is finally getting some use other than the 4-5 nights/year I have company. :)

Well ... back to cupboard-cleaning!

winter all at once

It's been snowing since Thursday. I heard the plow come through early this morning, and just now I walked out in the parking lot, and the snow was half-way to my knees. (now ... of course .... my knees are a lot closer to the ground than the average person's!).

I'm so thankful to be able to stay home today!

We have a guest speaker at church Sunday. He's flying in from Dallas today. I called him, and warned him that it was more than just cold-like-Michigan-in-winter here ... I sure hope he took me seriously. :) It's supposed to stay in single digit temps all weekend, and into early next week.

our esteemed governor ...

I disagree! I disagree! There. I feel better. Maybe SOMEONE will listen, even if she doesn't!

Kalamazoo has a wonderful program - a private, anonymous donor pays for college for all of their high-school graduates. (They may be required to maintain a certain GPA, but if so, it's not a very high requirement.)

Well ... Jennifer Granholm, our governor, thinks this is a wonderful thing. (Which it is!) And she wants to replicate it over the entire state. But ... of course ... she wants EVERYONE to pay for it.

grrrr! It makes me crazy! What happened in Kalamazoo is what SHOULD happen ... someone seeing a need and choosing to meet it. What J.G. is trying to do is what should NOT happen ... confiscating from me, in order to meet what she sees as a need.

It drives me batty!

They had a recent proposal to buy laptops for every 6th grader in the state, also. She justified this because it was "federal money" ... um ... excuse me ... and where did THAT money come from? Oh, yes, that's right ... US again.

Thank you for listening. I feel better (sort of) now.

cell phone etiquette

Let me preface this post by saying, I am NOT an anti-cell phone crusader. I have one. In fact, it's the only phone I DO have. I do use it when I'm driving, as long as I'm not merging onto or off of a busy section of highway, or traveling on a busy street.

It's quite possible to use the things without creating a hazard or being rude to the world.

But this morning, I had one of those experiences that reminds me why some people ARE anti-cell phone crusaders. On the freecycle mailing list, a lady had mentioned needing moving boxes. I had a bunch of copy-paper boxes so I offered them to her. She just left picked them up.

It was quite odd ... her phone chirped just as she walked in, and she said, "oh that's my brother." She then proceeded to carry on a conversation with him, and with me, at the same time. Odd. Really odd.

Now I have a friend who ALWAYS calls mine just as I'm needing to talk with someone - it's some kind of a telepathic gift. :) But it's astonishingly easy to just hit the button on the side of the phone and turn the ringer off. One doesn't HAVE to answer it. And, if you call the person back in a few minutes, the delay doesn't do any visible damage to the conversation.

The funny thing was she seemed like an otherwise-socially-adept lady. She was pleasant, she had a helpful little girl who picked up a stack of the boxes without being asked. It was very strange.

any ideas for me?

I'm sitting here working on the newsletter for my condo association. I'm trying to think of short, interesting or funny articles to include along with the standard chidings about not throwing furniture in the dumpsters and not allowing outsiders to use the laundry.

Any suggestions? In previous issues I've put in the statistics from brainy-zip about our neighborhood. People seemed to like that. I've got a mostly-elderly readership, so things that are passed around the internet until people have them memorized would all be fresh and new to this group. :)

everyday miracles

On the MeetChristians forums, one lady posted about getting her first pair of glasses.

It brought back a neat memory of getting my first pair. It was in the fall just before the 4th grade, and my family were looking at a deer out in the field, and I said, "what deer?"

Not too long after that I met my first eye doctor, and got glasses. I remember just wandering around looking at things, because it was all so CRISP! I can still picture the tomato plants out behind the shed ... I just stared at the detail of their leaves against the red tomatoes.

Really - If I didn't have vision correction, my eyesight wouldn't be functional at all. I certainly can't read or recognize faces without glasses or contacts. Without my eyes, I have no marketable job skills. I suppose I'd be living in my mother's basement, and spending my days eating chocolates and watching soap operas!

It is one of those every-day wonders ... that those of us with bad eyes can just go trippingly through life with very little inconvenience, let alone handicap!

A good friend is going for lasik surgery on Friday. This is one of those things I've pondered occasionally. It would be so wonderful to wake up and be able to see ... to not have to carry spare glasses in the car, lest I lose a contact and get stranded somewhere. Pondering ...

Trinka