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  My blog was filled up. I'm too lazy to clean it out. So I started a new one. |
| I saw a movie last night about women in ministry. On the one hand, it seems like we've made progress, but on the other, we are still in the dark ages. The ministry is a reflection of the culture at large, and the truth is women are not truly equals yet. One convention for instance is striking fellowship with any church that has a woman pastor of any rank. Some refuse to allow women deacons. Some will not let women even speak from behind a pulpit; if she makes announcements or reads scripture, she must stand "on the floor" (down below the podium). In fact, I heard a lawyer recently on a podcast say a judge told her that women are not equal under the law in some circumstances. If she can change the law, then he will consider her like he would a man. The example she gave was appalling. In a murder or other criminal case, the defendant's history and past record cannot be brought up in court. However, if a woman accuses a man of rape or violent assault, her record may be brought up legitimately. In the case she cited, the defendant discovered after his court date was set, that the victim had been molested by her father. Such cases have shown that both men and women who were molested as children then easily accuse others of hurting them later on. (I wonder how he or his lawyer discovered this info.) He demanded the counselor's records be shown in court. The lawyer protested about bringing decades old info into court, but he judge bluntly told her, in this circumstance, a woman was not equal and could be treated differently. The assailant got off free, and was able to repeat the offense. Meanwhile, the victim's family knew nothing of what had happened in the past. Now the whole community knew. Relationships were damaged, and the victim suffered even more. You've come a long way, baby, or have you? Does it only apply to smoking in public? When will women of any race be treated equally under the law, in business, or even in church? |
| What are five things you believe about yourself? This is an easy question today. I believe I am aging too fast. I believe I am unhealthy. I believe I am financially challenged. I believe I am a Christian. I believe I am a decent, caring, and deep person. I heard a TV spokeswoman say recently that the most important two relationships you have in your life are first with God, and then the one with yourself. To sum up quickly what she said, if you spend all your time thinking negative things about yourself, you focus on them too much and they become even bigger. But you are a child of God much loved by Him just the way you are, warts and all. I would conclude that God loves even old people, unhealthy people, and people on tight budgets. I'm am not sitting at home, waiting to die. I'm pressing myself to keep going. I'm hoping for a medical breakthrough, but not counting on it. I am still outspoken whenever I get the chance. I am trying to make my presence felt. I believe everyone should take the most positive view possible of themselves, no matter what the circumstances. We will have a greater impact on our world and the people around us, when we are in a healthy relationship with God and ourselves. |
| Sometimes I toy with the idea of inviting special living guests to dinner to hear them speak their minds. I'm sure the question has been asked many times before, but my list keeps changing. I finally decided ten was too many at once. I wouldn't get to speak or listen to each of them, so i have fluctuated between 5 and 7, and finally decided on 7. However, the guest list keeps changing. Some of the famous people I admired have died in the last several years. I must be moody. But some are constant. I'd like to have Martha Stewart. Ben Carson, and Keanu Reeves. Martha is enjoying a new wave of fame, doing commercials and hanging out with Snoop Dog, You're never too old to make a huge comeback, even if you never really left. Keanu is just the younger man I have a crush on. Dr. Carson is a genius with old-fashioned values and is a strong family man. Others that I have thought of off and on include Will Farrell- a comedic genius, Dr. Oz, Harris Faulkner, Alton Brown, Brett Baier, Dr. Phil, or Mary Chapin Carpenter. If it's a day when I go to living or dead, I include L Q Jones, Robert Goulet, Elvis, Einstein, Aristotle, Honest Abe, Davey Crockett, . . . You get the idea. Wouldn't it be great to get a personal audience if only for a few minutes? Then, of course, I feel guilty long enough to include the apostle Paul, and Jesus. But I can talk to Jesus any time and He will listen. |
| Tonight my church held a blue Christmas service. Today is the shortest day of the year; therefore, tonight is the longest night. The lack of light intensifies the negative feelings that people may experience all year. In contrast, many are celebrating with family and busy, if frazzled, activities. The ads show us happy people with plenty of food, spirits, dancing, hugs and gifts. Many commercials are heart-warming, although far from the real experience of most people. So the lonely, the alone, the poor, and neglected feel left out. Even the employed, well-balanced. people of means may be experiencing a difficulty in the midst of all this mirth and celebrating. A blue Christmas service doesn't aim to fix people or their situations. It allows company in he midst of sorrow. No one is alone. We each lit a candle and said a short prayer for someone we know. We also wrote a prayer, anonymously, dropped it in the basket. Then at the end we took a slip of paper home to pray about during the week. Sometimes it feels good to know someone somewhere is lifting up our prayer request. We left in silence. No one got a miracle or a gift. Whether we were sad, worried, or grieving, or feeling loved and joyful, we left feeling united. We bear each other's sorrows and cares. It was a quiet observance of the winter solstice that brought us together and let us feel connected. Discuss what you know about solstice traditions. Have you ever attended a summer or winter celebration? |
| What is it about a diet that makes you obsess about food? You can cut out sweets, including ice cream, but then you want cold cuts, or deli sliced meats and cheeses. There's no sugar, but still a small amount of fat and lots of calories. I can't wait for my next serving of fruit or veggies. I can pig out on steamed asparagus. Unfortunately, fruits and veggies when done to excess can play havoc with your GI system. I can't give up carbs! I start my day out planning meals and exercise. I'm not getting something right, because I'm stalled. I write everything down, even if I don't want anyone to see it. I sound like I'm making excuses for myself when I remember my swollen knees, my advanced age, my A-fib, my numerous prescription medications. The knees prevent stair climbing, the A-fib makes me walk slowly, but I can keep going at my slow pace. So I do keep going. I keep doing the reduced sodium thing and almond milk. My fantasy: I can afford a coach to monitor my food intake and coax me into taking more short walks or stretching more and planning healthier foods to have on hand and readily available. I guess I really want some other person, an expert, to take the responsibility, to make my health a priority. Well, I will keep trying. I will put my failures behind me and prioritize my own health. I have to take care of me; no one else will. I'm hoping that I'm building some good habits which will eventually pay off. The quality of my life and how I feel is my problem, my job. |
| What is it about flat surfaces? We just feel some innate need to fill them up. A coffee table, a dresser top, a microwave top--all will do. Just fill them up with unopened mail, notes from teachers, pay stubs, unpaid bills, half-read magazines. These things must remain on flat surfaces in every room of the house! I heard a woman say her husband wanted to build a house with all built in furniture so there would be no flat surfaces. That doesn't work for me. Where do you put the antique collectibles or the pretty jewelry boxes? We had built in china cabinets around the fireplace, and my father would put the mail and the bills inside the glass doors so he could find them. Pencils went into glasses, and stamps stayed in full view. The unsightly part was not resolved. I have tried to discipline myself. When I leave a room for the night, I look around to see what should be put away or carried to another room. I give the kitchen a quick once over to be sure there will be no shocks in the morning. But inevitably I miss something! What was I thinking leaving that screwdriver on the dining table? How can I mail that bill if it's hidden under papers that need reviewing? I know I'm not alone in this. The fly lady calls these flat surfaces "hot spots". I have a friend who complains loudly when anyone places anything on her kitchen counters. I don't want to be a nag, especially since I haven't nailed the good habits yet myself. Is it just laziness built into us all? Or too much stuff? I hear complaints all the time from others. There are people making money advising others on how to control these flat surfaces. I want my space to look neat and organized without obsessing over it or making others feel uncomfortable when visiting my space. I guess we all have to learn to live peacefully with flat surfaces. |
| Today the public schools were closed in order to allow polling. So I babysat 3 of my greats at my house. Their mom works in town and dropped them off. They were good, probably the best they've been for me in years. Oh, they're growing up, I guess. One has only recently taken to coloring; he's always resisted up until now. So I watched a lot of "Big City Greens" in the morning. We had pizza from the freezer. An hour later, they wanted hot dogs which I didn't have. So I offered French fries. They went out to play in the fort while I baked them. (They have a homemade fort behind the shed, which they have modified over time with whatever they could find in the shed or the yard). After eating fries, I went out with the boys to get some weights I found recently in the shed. I'm sure they belonged to their grandfather, my late brother. They didn't want to take them home, but carried them out to the "back room" of the fort (these were dumbbells). We pulled up ivy which is rampant and fast growing, and I inspected the "barrier" they were reinforcing. Later they all went outside to ride bicycles down the hill. I had to stand in the street to watch for traffic. They have gravel at home and no hills. Who knew that a long winding hill could be such a thrill? It was against my better judgment to let them do it, since it's difficult for motorists to see at the top of the hill where I live. We lucked out. No cars for about 20 minutes. Then I made them go back to my level driveway where they circled around the trees in the yard and my car and me. The six year old did cartwheels while his siblings raced him. It soon turned too dark to be in the street, anyway. So I know they got exercise and will sleep tonight. In between "Captain Man" on TV and bikes. I took the 8 year old boy to the garage where I gave him my old tool box. We then went to my dad's workbench and found some tools I don't plan on using. Two extra Flathead screwdrivers, one Phillips, a package of small nails, a few long screws, a couple of band-aids, and a measuring tape (I have surplus tapes), some black electrical tape. He found a vise in one of the drawers; I wouldn't have included it, but I have no plans for it. He turned down needle nose pliers, but I talked him into some wire cutters. We found a small hammer in one of the drawers, and then he felt satisfied with the box. I explained that these were not weapons, that he could never stab or hit anyone with them. I also reminded him that if anyone borrowed one of his tools, to be sure it went back into the box and not left out on the porch or the ground. He agreed. It felt kind of good, thinking that his great grandpa would be happy to see the boy have his own tools. He was very excited to take everything out of the box and show his mother. He's carrying on a family tradition. |
| I have wanted to travel all my life but couldn't afford it. My nieces, who are half my age, travel all over the country with kids. Now they're taking the kids out of school for a week in December and going to Jamaica. I should be happy for them. And I don't want to go with them and crash their younger lifestyle or babysit. But I'm so jealous! I should be ashamed. I've been to Merriam, Kansas, and north to Montreal and Quebec. I've seen Louisville and Churchill Downs. I've spent time in West Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, North and South Carolina, Ohio, Missouri, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Buffalo, even Niagara Falls. And Virginia and DC. I camped in Indiana where the rain flooded my tent. The places I haven't been still call my name. I fantasize about Christmas in Paris. I want to roam ancestral grounds in Scotland and the Channel Islands. I'd go anywhere around the Mediterranean, including Tunisia. I have known people from many places, and they always made their home sound enchanting. I read stories about New Zealand or travelers on vacation in Vietnam. I want to see these things for myself. I want to cruise around Alaska and see American Samoa. Of course, I have to see Easter Island and Christmas Island, listening to Jimmy Buffet songs. I'm dying to go to South Dakota and learn Indian history and culture. I've led such a sheltered life. I've never been to New York City or Hawaii, or anywhere in Texas. I have been on the Ohio River and spent an afternoon on the Mississippi on a showboat. Some people don't desire to travel much. But some of us have itchy feet without the means to do anything about it. Now I'm so old, I'd have to worry about taking enough medicine and where to find the right kind of doctors wherever I go. At least the younger generation in my family is doing something about wanderlust. |
| I thought the movie version was excellent. However, it pales in comparison to the opera version. It is a presentation of a book written by the nun who is the key female figure in this story. It is a true story of a man on death row in Angola, Louisiana. It is the largest penitentiary in the U.S., primarily black inmates, but this character is white. It is a huge prison that once had gardens and stables and barns that supplied all the food consumed by both staff and inmates. This nun was requested as his spiritual adviser, so she was allowed to visit him on death row. She became obsessed with the salvation of his soul, desiring him to confess his crimes. She was afraid of the prison, afraid of this man and his horrible deeds, but she grew to care about him deeply. The opera show her anguish, as well as his as he awaits his death, denying his wrong doing. It shows the anguish of his mother and brothers, the victims' parents. The music intensifies their pain. The movie took some liberties with changes and added a little Hollywood flair. The opera is more closely written to the facts. If you have never seen an opera, or generally hate them, this is a good one to start. It is all in English. The musical styles include some gospel, some jazz, a little rock. There is even an Elvis scene where they are alone and discover they are both Elvis fans and imitate him. It is a riveting story. You cannot take your eyes off the action, and you will not fall asleep. They take a few daring new moves to make it a truly contemporary opera. You might be able to catch it on a cultural TV station, like VPM, or you can go the Met library to watch online. It runs about 3 hours, which includes a long intermission. I saw a live broadcast from the NY Met. I observed people wiping their eyes and heard them saying how exhausted they felt afterwards. Warning, it will engage you. It is very religious. It is a morality play. However, it does not make the argument for or against capital punishment. |
| When I was younger, I could do a lot of last minute things. I can't any longer. I have to plan my wardrobe the night before, including jewelry, and lay it out for easy access. I have to plan my meals ahead of time, or I go bonkers on whatever I find in the kitchen. I have to make a daily to do list or I waste the day with whatever comes up. With a list, I feel obligated to check things off. But then, I want to tell someone how much I've done, but nobody cares or there is no one to tell. On Fridays, I try to clean the inside of my car and my purse and wallet. Receipts in all places go in the trash. Parking passes, half used Kleenex, they all have to be tossed. I haven't done the car today, but I did clean out the purse. I've never been a planner or a prepper, but I find that old age makes me slow, so my lack of organization shows more. I can still walk out of the house on the way to volunteer work or a meeting and walk right past my needed papers of the lunch I packed. Gotta run. I have to put clothes in the washer that I need tomorrow morning. |
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