Oh boy. Did I get carried away. I started a blog entry, and not until I passed it along to someone did I in rereading start to realize how puffed up it was. Just as I received an e-mail from them gently pointing that out, I was sending one that was realizing it.
So I went on a walk with my neighbor friend Stacia, two rounds on the cul-de-sac. I told her about it at the start...and then later told her again how I still felt mortified. She told me, "I know you. Soon as you see them you're going to go up and tell them how embarrassed you still are and they'll go, 'Huh?' having forgotten the whole thing." She's right, they might. At first I thought they wouldn't, but then I remembered that God has helped me to forget things others have done, as I even posted not long ago. I'll pray for His work in that regard.
Stacia's and my walk was longer than usual--because I was short enough already, but I'm only a couple of inches tall now. Ha! Pride goeth before a fall.
At least Stacia pointed out one good thing. I hadn't posted it. So you'll just have to wonder what I said. Whew.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
The Craziness of Christmas--and some Meaning too
I spent much of the day involved with getting Christmas decorating up. Let's not think about what a silly expenditure of time that may be; it's part of the festivity and merriment of the season, especially in a home with a young boy, and with a girl coming home from college. I can hardly not decorate!
For some reason, every year when I put the lights on the tree, that Russian men's dance song goes through my head--I guess I get a bit dizzy going around and around the tree, and it really is kind of energetic and helps me to enjoy the process that generally doesn't end up extremely perfect. I'm an imperfectionist, if you must know; a good-enoughist; an inadequatist. It was good enough. I only stop this short because otherwise I would spend an inordinate amount of time and frustration and an inadequate amount of skill to accomplish an insignificant amount of impression. Jesus is my adequacy, and He doesn't put electric lights on trees, that I've ever noticed.
Last summer I helped someone set up an estate sale of his mother's things. It was really a very humble little sale, but at some points it was fun and I came home with some treasures in the process. One set of treasures I really had in mind to give to a friend at the time (and no, it wasn't you), but after a while I fell in love with them myself: some well-worn, well-loved ornaments that are probably 50 years old if not older. They are mostly somewhat scratched red balls, and those that at one time had a glitter design now only had the design and no glitter. But I love them increasingly; they were the first I put on the tree. Once they were up, most of our family ornaments (and we have entirely too many) just didn't seem so important. I thought Tim would disagree, but he entirely agreed with me. We put up a few of our favorites and that was it. I'm hoping that Katie will agree and we can rid ourselves of the baggage of most of those other ornaments for lack of anyone's interest. Stuff is losing its hold on me, in places. Hallelujah!
Stuff in other places still has its hold. We have too many little knick-knacks for Christmas...but I know that I would still hear protests if I got rid of any of them. We remember each occasion, who gave us what etc. and memories are as important as the items themselves.
Christmas is a strange time, considering that the holiday is not one of the Jewish feasts or anything prescribed in Scripture; we celebrate it by doing things that we really have to stretch to connect with the event of His birth; and those things that we do really distract from "the true meaning of the Season"--that elusive meaningful celebration that everyone talks about and one might suspect few find. I have to say I only recall one year that we really got into the Advent celebration consistently enough that it was a really main highlight of our Christmas celebration. This year we are running late, too, even though I've had our Bethlehem-shaped (it's round, made of black metal that looks like a silhouette of a Bethlehem skyline) "wreath" out for a couple of weeks. I think I'd better go try starting it up after all; no time like the present to try to make some sense out of this craziness. Besides, we do it with a tea party going on alongside (doesn't everyone?), and Tim loves the sugar. I know he'll do all he can to help.
For some reason, every year when I put the lights on the tree, that Russian men's dance song goes through my head--I guess I get a bit dizzy going around and around the tree, and it really is kind of energetic and helps me to enjoy the process that generally doesn't end up extremely perfect. I'm an imperfectionist, if you must know; a good-enoughist; an inadequatist. It was good enough. I only stop this short because otherwise I would spend an inordinate amount of time and frustration and an inadequate amount of skill to accomplish an insignificant amount of impression. Jesus is my adequacy, and He doesn't put electric lights on trees, that I've ever noticed.
Last summer I helped someone set up an estate sale of his mother's things. It was really a very humble little sale, but at some points it was fun and I came home with some treasures in the process. One set of treasures I really had in mind to give to a friend at the time (and no, it wasn't you), but after a while I fell in love with them myself: some well-worn, well-loved ornaments that are probably 50 years old if not older. They are mostly somewhat scratched red balls, and those that at one time had a glitter design now only had the design and no glitter. But I love them increasingly; they were the first I put on the tree. Once they were up, most of our family ornaments (and we have entirely too many) just didn't seem so important. I thought Tim would disagree, but he entirely agreed with me. We put up a few of our favorites and that was it. I'm hoping that Katie will agree and we can rid ourselves of the baggage of most of those other ornaments for lack of anyone's interest. Stuff is losing its hold on me, in places. Hallelujah!
Stuff in other places still has its hold. We have too many little knick-knacks for Christmas...but I know that I would still hear protests if I got rid of any of them. We remember each occasion, who gave us what etc. and memories are as important as the items themselves.
Christmas is a strange time, considering that the holiday is not one of the Jewish feasts or anything prescribed in Scripture; we celebrate it by doing things that we really have to stretch to connect with the event of His birth; and those things that we do really distract from "the true meaning of the Season"--that elusive meaningful celebration that everyone talks about and one might suspect few find. I have to say I only recall one year that we really got into the Advent celebration consistently enough that it was a really main highlight of our Christmas celebration. This year we are running late, too, even though I've had our Bethlehem-shaped (it's round, made of black metal that looks like a silhouette of a Bethlehem skyline) "wreath" out for a couple of weeks. I think I'd better go try starting it up after all; no time like the present to try to make some sense out of this craziness. Besides, we do it with a tea party going on alongside (doesn't everyone?), and Tim loves the sugar. I know he'll do all he can to help.
Run With the Horses
I'm reading a book this week, Run With the Horses: The Quest for Life at its Best, by Eugene Peterson. It's about Jeremiah, and about standing alone against the crowd, as Jeremiah did so faithfully throughout his life, strengthened by God who had set him apart for that very purpose. I love those kinds of stories. I love Peterson's writings; it's his second book that I've read. I wish I could write like Peterson, that I were so well-read as he, to draw on so many thought pictures from others as he can. As it is, generally mine come from my own life--but still sometimes I think they illustrate my point well enough to relate. (Yes, consider yourself warned.)
When Katie was in 3rd or 4th grade, she knew a girl whose last name would be known for miles around here, and because of this fame, the girl enjoyed attentions of a crowd of fans everywhere she went. Awana meetings ended up being all about this happy child--who could sit next to her, and who might receive some of the wonderful attention this girl might bestow. Katie was, for a season, included in this group. Then one night the crowd decided to tease and embarrass a more awkward little girl who had never been included. Katie could not stomach it, and she spoke up. Well, the next thing they did was naturally to turn on her. Katie didn't care, and I never once heard her speak in regret for having stood up to them even though the result was a lonelier path. She was glad that the division line was clear and that she'd ended up on the side she had taken.
I never taught her that; I don't know that it can be taught except by the Holy Spirit. It is one of those times that makes a person glad to be a parent. Since that time, I have found a book that I have read more than once to 3rd and 4th grade girls--The Hundred Dresses, by Eleanor Estes. It is about that very scenario, and though it isn't a specifically Christian book, it relates in little girl terms a very clear Christian truth about the importance of standing up against the crowd.
Probably everyone has seen people join with a crowd who they know is doing evil. Even if they hesitate, they go against their better thinking, in the hope that it will benefit them in the end; their silence against sin cages them and it's nearly impossible to free themselves. It is a nauseating scenario and can only bring regret. So I admire Jeremiah. Not only do I admire him for standing against the crowd, but for staying with the job of speaking out against their sin for years and years on end--even when people continually turn on him, laugh at him, take revenge and humiliate him. He is faithful to the purpose for which God made him, and cares only to work out His will against all cost.
When Katie was in 3rd or 4th grade, she knew a girl whose last name would be known for miles around here, and because of this fame, the girl enjoyed attentions of a crowd of fans everywhere she went. Awana meetings ended up being all about this happy child--who could sit next to her, and who might receive some of the wonderful attention this girl might bestow. Katie was, for a season, included in this group. Then one night the crowd decided to tease and embarrass a more awkward little girl who had never been included. Katie could not stomach it, and she spoke up. Well, the next thing they did was naturally to turn on her. Katie didn't care, and I never once heard her speak in regret for having stood up to them even though the result was a lonelier path. She was glad that the division line was clear and that she'd ended up on the side she had taken.
I never taught her that; I don't know that it can be taught except by the Holy Spirit. It is one of those times that makes a person glad to be a parent. Since that time, I have found a book that I have read more than once to 3rd and 4th grade girls--The Hundred Dresses, by Eleanor Estes. It is about that very scenario, and though it isn't a specifically Christian book, it relates in little girl terms a very clear Christian truth about the importance of standing up against the crowd.
Probably everyone has seen people join with a crowd who they know is doing evil. Even if they hesitate, they go against their better thinking, in the hope that it will benefit them in the end; their silence against sin cages them and it's nearly impossible to free themselves. It is a nauseating scenario and can only bring regret. So I admire Jeremiah. Not only do I admire him for standing against the crowd, but for staying with the job of speaking out against their sin for years and years on end--even when people continually turn on him, laugh at him, take revenge and humiliate him. He is faithful to the purpose for which God made him, and cares only to work out His will against all cost.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
A Corkscrew Encouragement
When I was preparing for Thanksgiving, I got some flowers from Costco for a centerpiece. The hardest part was gathering a container and some oasis, the foam stuff that holds the flowers in place, from the garage. The flowers were really pretty cheerful, complete with a branch of little peppers and some corkscrew willow branches. You would think they would all last forever, they looked alive, except the branches, which looked lifeless.
Here a couple of weeks later, though, the flowers were fading and the little peppers had shriveled. The surprising thing was that the seemingly dead branches were starting to sprout tiny green leaves--and when I pulled the arrangement apart to compost it, I found that the branches had even developed little roots! I now have four new corkscrew willows in the making, sitting over my sink. I hope they make it to the more temperate spring weather so I can plant them outside.
I love corkscrew willows. We had one in front of our house when I was a teenager. Even though it always dropped little branches all over the yard, it was my favorite tree we ever had. A couple of silver thaws tore it apart more or less, but it recovered and it was always pretty. I've always wanted one. Now I have four!
You find promise sometimes in the least promising places--and sometimes the places where you might have the highest expectations, the biggest disappointments occur, as would have happened if I expected those pretty flowers to take root and last as plants--they sure seemed more lively than the branches, but how deceptive that was! Actually, I'll have to find recipients for the other three trees. I only need one, especially now that I know the branches can start new plants so well. If you want one, you just have to stop by and get it! And allow some time to have some coffee and visit a while.
Here a couple of weeks later, though, the flowers were fading and the little peppers had shriveled. The surprising thing was that the seemingly dead branches were starting to sprout tiny green leaves--and when I pulled the arrangement apart to compost it, I found that the branches had even developed little roots! I now have four new corkscrew willows in the making, sitting over my sink. I hope they make it to the more temperate spring weather so I can plant them outside.
I love corkscrew willows. We had one in front of our house when I was a teenager. Even though it always dropped little branches all over the yard, it was my favorite tree we ever had. A couple of silver thaws tore it apart more or less, but it recovered and it was always pretty. I've always wanted one. Now I have four!
You find promise sometimes in the least promising places--and sometimes the places where you might have the highest expectations, the biggest disappointments occur, as would have happened if I expected those pretty flowers to take root and last as plants--they sure seemed more lively than the branches, but how deceptive that was! Actually, I'll have to find recipients for the other three trees. I only need one, especially now that I know the branches can start new plants so well. If you want one, you just have to stop by and get it! And allow some time to have some coffee and visit a while.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Christmas for an Orphan
There is a family at church who really lives for children (not that other families don't, but this family takes it a step or two further than most). They have some children of their own, but they have also adopted one and they have another two foster children that they intend to adopt. Not only that, but they have suggested to the congregation an idea that I think is a wonderful way to do something meaningful for Christmas, that fits right in with this love for children.
I have to say that Christmas shopping is a lot more fun and interesting when buying for someone who has significant needs than for people who really need less things and are more likely in need of a moving truck to haul their excess stuff to a charity. So this idea of theirs fulfills something of a selfish need of mine--that of filling a meaningful need at Christmas. Okay, enough of the why.
We have done a similar thing through another organization at a previous church, but I'm thankful that it's been brought up again. She brought a bunch of boxes into the church that we are to take home and fill with needed items to be shipped to orphan children overseas as a Christmas gift. The boxes are pre-printed with the Virginia address to ship them to, a small list of suggested items etc. The organization's website is www.worldhelp.net/.
I checked out this organization, too, since I am not familiar with it. This is a good idea with any charity that claims to give in the name of Christianity: go to www.ecfa.org (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability) and type the name of the organization in. For World Help, I found that 89% of the money they raise goes toward program expenses, 4% toward fundraising, and 7% toward administrative expenses. ECFA doesn't rate their organizations, but simply accepts or rejects them as a pass/fail status. While they don't emphasize percentages as the deciding factor, I've heard a rule of thumb that if an organization spends more than 15% on anything other than the intended cause, it's something to beware of.
I was thinking about what to blog about, and this seemed as good a subject as any. If you will, I suggest you go to the website and see about ordering some of the boxes for your church or other group. And on the odd chance that you were going to buy us a Christmas present, please do this box instead. I'll be happier for our having less excess stuff and some child overseas will be overjoyed.
I have to say that Christmas shopping is a lot more fun and interesting when buying for someone who has significant needs than for people who really need less things and are more likely in need of a moving truck to haul their excess stuff to a charity. So this idea of theirs fulfills something of a selfish need of mine--that of filling a meaningful need at Christmas. Okay, enough of the why.
We have done a similar thing through another organization at a previous church, but I'm thankful that it's been brought up again. She brought a bunch of boxes into the church that we are to take home and fill with needed items to be shipped to orphan children overseas as a Christmas gift. The boxes are pre-printed with the Virginia address to ship them to, a small list of suggested items etc. The organization's website is www.worldhelp.net/.
I checked out this organization, too, since I am not familiar with it. This is a good idea with any charity that claims to give in the name of Christianity: go to www.ecfa.org (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability) and type the name of the organization in. For World Help, I found that 89% of the money they raise goes toward program expenses, 4% toward fundraising, and 7% toward administrative expenses. ECFA doesn't rate their organizations, but simply accepts or rejects them as a pass/fail status. While they don't emphasize percentages as the deciding factor, I've heard a rule of thumb that if an organization spends more than 15% on anything other than the intended cause, it's something to beware of.
I was thinking about what to blog about, and this seemed as good a subject as any. If you will, I suggest you go to the website and see about ordering some of the boxes for your church or other group. And on the odd chance that you were going to buy us a Christmas present, please do this box instead. I'll be happier for our having less excess stuff and some child overseas will be overjoyed.
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