You Tube has a couple of versions of the Reformation Polka that a friend sent to me.
Enjoy!
October 31, 2007
Lovely Daughters
Had to share these lovely pictures of my oldest daughters! We had pictures taken at our church earlier in the evening for our new pictoral directory coming out soon. Then the girls went to the AFA Fall Ball with some cadet friends. And a picture of Daddy with his oldest daughters. And last, our delightful youngest daughter who was annoyed with the 2 hour wait for the pictures to be taken and completed.
Is the Reformation Still Relevant?
That was the title I would give my Pastor's sermon this past Sunday, from the epistle lesson Romans 3:19-28, as it was a question he asked near the beginning.
Reminding us of the good life we enjoy as Americans, and the false belief that if we're "good enough" we'll go to heaven, he posited that we still face the same issues of righteousness and certainty that plagued people in Luther's time.
He proclaimed the good news that we are justified by Christ's atoning death and resurrection and encouraged us to rely upon the Word of God not popular notions, answers or "feel good" theology.
Grace alone saves!
Reminding us of the good life we enjoy as Americans, and the false belief that if we're "good enough" we'll go to heaven, he posited that we still face the same issues of righteousness and certainty that plagued people in Luther's time.
He proclaimed the good news that we are justified by Christ's atoning death and resurrection and encouraged us to rely upon the Word of God not popular notions, answers or "feel good" theology.
Grace alone saves!
Happy Reformation Day!!!
A couple of weeks ago we had a Reformation celebration at our church where we performed "The First Lutherans" a play by the Martin Loopers children that introduces you to the famous "first" Lutherans throughout history. That was fun! We also shared in brats cooked in beer, and polka dancing.
We sang a hearty "Reformation Polka" during the evening while the "oompa band" took a break.
In celebration of the real Reformation date, I offer you the words to the Reformation Polka, (to the tune of Supercalifragilistoexpealadocious) by Robert Gebel from oldlutheran.com.
When I was just ein junger Mann I studied canon law;
While Erfurt was a challenge, it was just to please my Pa.
Then came the storm, the lightning struck, I called upon Saint Anne,
I shaved my head, I took my vows, an Augustinian! Oh,
--Chorus:Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation
Speak your mind against them and face excommunication!
Nail your theses to the door, let's start a Reformation!
Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation!
When Tetzel came near Wittenberg, St. Peter's profits soared,
I wrote a little notice for the All Saints' Bull'tin board:
"You cannot purchase merits, for we're justified by grace!
Here's 95 more reasons, Brother Tetzel, in your face!" Oh
--Chorus
They loved my tracts, adored my wit, all were exempleror;
The Pope, however, hauled me up before the Emperor.
"Are these your books? Do you recant?" King Charles did demand,
"I will not change my Diet, Sir, God help me here I stand!" Oh
--Chorus
Duke Frederick took the Wise approach, responding to my words,
By knighting "George" as hostage in the Kingdom of the Birds.
Use Brother Martin's model if the languages you seek,
Stay locked inside a castle with your Hebrew and your Greek! Oh
--Chorus
Let's raise our steins and Concord Books while gathered in this place,
And spread the word that 'catholic' is spelled with lower case;
The Word remains unfettered when the Spirit gets a chance,
So come on, Katie, drop your lute, and join us in our dance! Oh
--Chorus
We sang a hearty "Reformation Polka" during the evening while the "oompa band" took a break.
In celebration of the real Reformation date, I offer you the words to the Reformation Polka, (to the tune of Supercalifragilistoexpealadocious) by Robert Gebel from oldlutheran.com.
When I was just ein junger Mann I studied canon law;
While Erfurt was a challenge, it was just to please my Pa.
Then came the storm, the lightning struck, I called upon Saint Anne,
I shaved my head, I took my vows, an Augustinian! Oh,
--Chorus:Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation
Speak your mind against them and face excommunication!
Nail your theses to the door, let's start a Reformation!
Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation!
When Tetzel came near Wittenberg, St. Peter's profits soared,
I wrote a little notice for the All Saints' Bull'tin board:
"You cannot purchase merits, for we're justified by grace!
Here's 95 more reasons, Brother Tetzel, in your face!" Oh
--Chorus
They loved my tracts, adored my wit, all were exempleror;
The Pope, however, hauled me up before the Emperor.
"Are these your books? Do you recant?" King Charles did demand,
"I will not change my Diet, Sir, God help me here I stand!" Oh
--Chorus
Duke Frederick took the Wise approach, responding to my words,
By knighting "George" as hostage in the Kingdom of the Birds.
Use Brother Martin's model if the languages you seek,
Stay locked inside a castle with your Hebrew and your Greek! Oh
--Chorus
Let's raise our steins and Concord Books while gathered in this place,
And spread the word that 'catholic' is spelled with lower case;
The Word remains unfettered when the Spirit gets a chance,
So come on, Katie, drop your lute, and join us in our dance! Oh
--Chorus
October 30, 2007
October 25, 2007
Rockies Faith Talk Censored
Dr. Veith has a blog post today about the Rockies and how their expressions of faith are being subdued and in some cases censored by the league. It's an interesting read and I hope you'll read it all the way to the end because Dr. Veith's points there are worth reading.
And, oh yea, GO ROCKIES!
And, oh yea, GO ROCKIES!
Fun Time Waster
This online game is so much fun! The object is not only to gain points (which then donates rice), but also to improve your vocabulary skills. The highest level is 50, and so far, when I've been playing the highest I've gotten is level 44. (Look in the lower right hand corner of the box with the words and meaning choices in it for your level.)
I seek to challenge myself on vocabulary building and this is a great way to do that!
I seek to challenge myself on vocabulary building and this is a great way to do that!
October 24, 2007
Entertainment for Logophilia
This was entertaining for those of us who are logophiles.
It also would be useful for those involved in the NCFCA.
It also would be useful for those involved in the NCFCA.
The 60's
This post at Rob Shearer's blog got me to thinking about the 60's.
It was a cataclysmic age and just as Rob says in terms of American culture it's like talking about before the Flood and after the Flood.
Although my youngest sometimes thinks I'm as old as dirt, I was born at the beginning of the 60's, but my sisters were teenagers in high school near the end of the decade. Most of what I remember is towards the end of the decade when were living at the Air Force Academy and my two older sisters were in high school.
I remember the mourning that came after the assassination of Robert Kennedy by one of my sisters. She was behaving as if on a funeral dirth. It's really the first death I remember and it was indelibly stamped upon my mind because of her behavior.
My parents always blamed the Beatles for introducing illegal drugs into the culture as being glamorous and trendy. It seems to me the entire decade was one of questioning all the status quo of what was moral and acceptable and drugs were just a part of that.
Certainly it was a volatile time and that was reflected in our household in spades. I remember the angst and stress of differing opinions being argued loudly and passionately especially the Vietnam War. Those impressions, too, are indelibly stamped upon my brain, and it's amazing how people in the same household can hold such differing views of the same subject.
As an adult, I've looked back on the era and it is sometimes hard to seperate the images from the TV, and those that replay in my mind from my family, and what is popularly accepted as truth in our culture as portrayed in books, media and movies about that time.
I've often thought that the fracturing of the family when divorce laws became more lenient led to the fracturing of our society, and that lenience began in the 60's and by the 70's any state in the union would grant you not for cause (legal term meaning for a reason, it used to be you had to sue someone for divorce because they had abandoned you, abused you, committed adultery). That coupled with the many things going on culturally and politically was a recipe for disaster!
Doing this subject justice would take several posts, and I'm not sure I have the time in my schedule to devote to the brain power it would require as well.
So, I'll pull a "Scarlet O'Hara" and say, "I'll think about it tomorrow as tomorrow is another day..." and I'll slip into my vocation as mom and homeschool teacher by way of avoidance and pursuing the "higher calling."
Anyway, I'm off to do phonics and early American History with my youngest... less volatile times, right? ;-)
It was a cataclysmic age and just as Rob says in terms of American culture it's like talking about before the Flood and after the Flood.
Although my youngest sometimes thinks I'm as old as dirt, I was born at the beginning of the 60's, but my sisters were teenagers in high school near the end of the decade. Most of what I remember is towards the end of the decade when were living at the Air Force Academy and my two older sisters were in high school.
I remember the mourning that came after the assassination of Robert Kennedy by one of my sisters. She was behaving as if on a funeral dirth. It's really the first death I remember and it was indelibly stamped upon my mind because of her behavior.
My parents always blamed the Beatles for introducing illegal drugs into the culture as being glamorous and trendy. It seems to me the entire decade was one of questioning all the status quo of what was moral and acceptable and drugs were just a part of that.
Certainly it was a volatile time and that was reflected in our household in spades. I remember the angst and stress of differing opinions being argued loudly and passionately especially the Vietnam War. Those impressions, too, are indelibly stamped upon my brain, and it's amazing how people in the same household can hold such differing views of the same subject.
As an adult, I've looked back on the era and it is sometimes hard to seperate the images from the TV, and those that replay in my mind from my family, and what is popularly accepted as truth in our culture as portrayed in books, media and movies about that time.
I've often thought that the fracturing of the family when divorce laws became more lenient led to the fracturing of our society, and that lenience began in the 60's and by the 70's any state in the union would grant you not for cause (legal term meaning for a reason, it used to be you had to sue someone for divorce because they had abandoned you, abused you, committed adultery). That coupled with the many things going on culturally and politically was a recipe for disaster!
Doing this subject justice would take several posts, and I'm not sure I have the time in my schedule to devote to the brain power it would require as well.
So, I'll pull a "Scarlet O'Hara" and say, "I'll think about it tomorrow as tomorrow is another day..." and I'll slip into my vocation as mom and homeschool teacher by way of avoidance and pursuing the "higher calling."
Anyway, I'm off to do phonics and early American History with my youngest... less volatile times, right? ;-)
October 23, 2007
October 21, 2007
Church Today
When we awoke this morning , it was to a tiny blanket of snow. The trees look so pristine and beautiful with just a dusting of snow.
On the way to church as we traveled through still falling snow, R says, "It looks like we're getting attacked by a bunch of little minions." :-)
Our Pastor's sermon was about Jacob. First off, we can't figure out how he left the pulpit and got to the sacristy. As he started his sermon from the back of the nave, he was limping. Many of us thought it was from dancing at last night's Reformation celebration. But no, he was just imitating Jacob after he had wrestled with God and acquired a permanent reminder of that evening.
Wrestling with God is a serious business and we do it too often. Questioning what He has said and done and trying to put our human reasoning around it, or justifying our own sinful behaviors by trying to twist His Word.
But even in his deviousness, God blessed Jacob, and He blesses us in our continued state of sin too!
Towards the end of Pastor's sermon, he talks about the reunion that Esau and Jacob have and that it was warm and affectionate, with them kissing and hugging. R lets out an audible, "ew!" because she thinks guys kissing guys is gross. Well, at least we know she was listening to the sermon...
Not having been raised Lutheran, but converting after being married, there are times when I feel a bit left out of the "little secrets clues." Our church doesn't have communion every week, but every other week instead.
Since we were in the back of the nave, as usual, being the short person I am, I couldn't see if there was communion or not. I was asking S to look as she is taller than I, and my hubby leaned over and said, "Yes we are having communion because the candles on the altar are lit." I looked up and sure enough, ALL the candles were lit. I always wondered why sometimes the two candles closest to the Bible aren't lit some Sundays. Now I know, and I'm feeling this is a very "duh" moment because I never put the two things together.
I was wondering if someone was at church today as we gathered up our coats to leave, and I asked hubby if he had seen her. He said, yes, she was the one "canting." (Cheryl, I thought you'd like that one.) Since then we've been discussing what the proper term is for someone who is a cantor. Is it that they cant? Then we morphed that into the woodchuck thing: How much cant would a cantor cant if a cantor could cant cant? We have a warped sense of humor around here! ;-)
October 20, 2007
Reformation Play Practice
A few years back, the generous ladies of Martin Loopers shared a Reformation play called "First Lutherans" with those on the list who requested it.
Our church performed the play back in 2003, and now we're doing it again tomorrow night.
Tonight we had our one and only practice for the play and there was quite the witty stuff going on, such as this exchange.
We had been applauding everyone after they concluded their part, then, Mrs. M said to Mrs. G, "I'm not clapping yet. You have to impress me first."
Then Mrs. G started her second speaking part, and in it she says, "I remember back in 1837..." and then Mrs. M said, "Now I'm impressed," and started clapping.
We have funny ladies at our church who like to tease each other. I am always amazed and blessed at the warmth of their fellowship.
I'm looking forward to the rousing rendition of the "Reformation Polka" tomorrow that we'll sing together after the play.
Our church performed the play back in 2003, and now we're doing it again tomorrow night.
Tonight we had our one and only practice for the play and there was quite the witty stuff going on, such as this exchange.
We had been applauding everyone after they concluded their part, then, Mrs. M said to Mrs. G, "I'm not clapping yet. You have to impress me first."
Then Mrs. G started her second speaking part, and in it she says, "I remember back in 1837..." and then Mrs. M said, "Now I'm impressed," and started clapping.
We have funny ladies at our church who like to tease each other. I am always amazed and blessed at the warmth of their fellowship.
I'm looking forward to the rousing rendition of the "Reformation Polka" tomorrow that we'll sing together after the play.
Kitties are gone
Well, the precious kitties are gone now having been picked up by the Humane Society. It seems our fair city has a law and the animals must be "reported" to the Humane Society where they can held, or they can held by us so long as we keep them crated. Well, that wasn't going to work well for us or the kitties we though. At least at the Humane Society they can run around some.
The Humane Soceity keeps them for five days in case someone is looking for them. On the sixth day they are adoptable. Then, after ten days, one of the rescue organizations can come and get them. IF however, in that period from the sixth day to the tenth day their facility becomes too full, they may "euthanize" them.
It was hard. But some of us can't live next door (although some days that sounds like a good plan).
Here's another picture.
October 19, 2007
Building with Cuissenaire Rods and Lincoln Logs
Our 7-year old has been learning the finer arts of architecture. You see, cuissenaire rods are not to be used strictly for math concepts. They can become a home for one-inch Wendy and we can study the concept of load and balance.
And of course, Lincoln Logs are a home for her Liddle Kiddles.
October 18, 2007
Tagged
Cheryl tagged me! I'm supposed to share 7 true things about me, and then link back to Cheryl and tag 7 new people and leave them a comment on their blog about it. However, I refuse to call this a meme.
Hmmmm... what do I want to share on the internet that is true about myself. This could be scary.
1. I think that Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall" is a homeschool anthem.
2. I laugh maliciously when people stub their toes, even if those people are my children. This is something I inherited from my mother who did the exact same thing -- laugh maliciously when people stubbed their toes. However, the biggest side-splitter for both my mom and I is when someone "spreads their toes" by running into a chair leg or something else that can seperate their toes.
3. When I was younger, I was a great disco dancer! Perhaps this is where my children have inherited something from me as they love to swing dance, which in some regards is similar to disco dancing.
4. I have an overactive sense of humor and when something gets me laughing I often laugh until I can no longer breathe. This causes all of my family to laugh along with me.
5. I am obsessed with color coordinating my day-timer. Since I work three part-time jobs, and am a homeschool support group leader, as well as trying to direct the education of my children, I assign colors of pens and folders to each group, regular activity and child. For instance, each child has a different color of pen that I write their activities down in my day-timer with. All of the activities for church are done in orange. All my responsibilities and duties for CHEC are done in "CHEC green" which is similar to a dark turquoise. Etc. etc.
6. I get claustrophobic when there is too much clutter around. Then we must clean immediately.
7. I try often to throw away, or give away, items that are no longer useful to us. Holey socks and underwear for example. My husband has learned about my devious ways to dispose of said things and he checks the trash before it is hauled away to ensure I haven't thrown away the holey Chicago Bears socks. The best way I found to dispose of such items was in the diaper genie, but since we haven't had diapers around here in quite a while, I've had to resort to other methods.
Let's see... who to tag. I'm gonna tag John since he hasn't blogged since September. And my daughter, S. And my other daughter, K. I'm tagging Kathy who has beautiful background music on her blog, and has been pondering the sometimes lonely world of being Lutheran and homeschooling. I'm tagging the Funny Farm because her sense of humor is always a lift when I visit her blog. Susan's thoughtful posts always make me ponder them long after I've read them, so I'm curious as to what she would share with this tag. And Elizabeth, whose Muddy Boots are really muddy sneakers, has a variety of posts that usually make me smile.
Hmmmm... what do I want to share on the internet that is true about myself. This could be scary.
1. I think that Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall" is a homeschool anthem.
2. I laugh maliciously when people stub their toes, even if those people are my children. This is something I inherited from my mother who did the exact same thing -- laugh maliciously when people stubbed their toes. However, the biggest side-splitter for both my mom and I is when someone "spreads their toes" by running into a chair leg or something else that can seperate their toes.
3. When I was younger, I was a great disco dancer! Perhaps this is where my children have inherited something from me as they love to swing dance, which in some regards is similar to disco dancing.
4. I have an overactive sense of humor and when something gets me laughing I often laugh until I can no longer breathe. This causes all of my family to laugh along with me.
5. I am obsessed with color coordinating my day-timer. Since I work three part-time jobs, and am a homeschool support group leader, as well as trying to direct the education of my children, I assign colors of pens and folders to each group, regular activity and child. For instance, each child has a different color of pen that I write their activities down in my day-timer with. All of the activities for church are done in orange. All my responsibilities and duties for CHEC are done in "CHEC green" which is similar to a dark turquoise. Etc. etc.
6. I get claustrophobic when there is too much clutter around. Then we must clean immediately.
7. I try often to throw away, or give away, items that are no longer useful to us. Holey socks and underwear for example. My husband has learned about my devious ways to dispose of said things and he checks the trash before it is hauled away to ensure I haven't thrown away the holey Chicago Bears socks. The best way I found to dispose of such items was in the diaper genie, but since we haven't had diapers around here in quite a while, I've had to resort to other methods.
Let's see... who to tag. I'm gonna tag John since he hasn't blogged since September. And my daughter, S. And my other daughter, K. I'm tagging Kathy who has beautiful background music on her blog, and has been pondering the sometimes lonely world of being Lutheran and homeschooling. I'm tagging the Funny Farm because her sense of humor is always a lift when I visit her blog. Susan's thoughtful posts always make me ponder them long after I've read them, so I'm curious as to what she would share with this tag. And Elizabeth, whose Muddy Boots are really muddy sneakers, has a variety of posts that usually make me smile.
Waiting
As we wait for Dream Power to return our calls, the weather grows colder and we fear for the safety of the abandoned kitties.
It is almost routine now to feed them milk and kitty chow in the morning and evening and to play with them in the back yard a few times a day.
As you know, if you read the previous post, they have also been named.
I was talking with our youngest, R, and trying to prepare her for the eventual departure of these kitties. I explained that some of us could not live in the house with them because of allergies.
She said those people could live next door and she would visit them every day.
I think we're in for a major heartache here when the kitties go.
It is almost routine now to feed them milk and kitty chow in the morning and evening and to play with them in the back yard a few times a day.
As you know, if you read the previous post, they have also been named.
I was talking with our youngest, R, and trying to prepare her for the eventual departure of these kitties. I explained that some of us could not live in the house with them because of allergies.
She said those people could live next door and she would visit them every day.
I think we're in for a major heartache here when the kitties go.
October 15, 2007
One Kitty, Two Kitty, Please NO MORE!
Last week as we were loading up the car to take our foray into the Colorado Rockies, we were greeted by a friendly kitty on our front porch. It was playful and meowing with a tiny voice, sweet and yet stand-offish as cats are known to be.
When we were living in Arizona and had finally settled into a more country setting in Black Canyon City, we decided to get a kitten. The trouble was, when we went to pick out said kitten we took the kids with us. We encountered a desperate owner who had been found out by her landlord that she had pets when she was not supposed to. She faced eviction if she did not get rid of the animals by the week's end. (It was Thursday.) The children found a kitten that they wanted, and then the lady begged us to take the others and the mother so that they would have a good home. This amounted to four cats. We caved and took them all.
Traveling home with them in the car, our oldest, S, who was 7 at the time, began to wheeze some. Since she had asthma we weren't too concerned. The children were delighted and played with the three little kittens and their mother all night.
The next morning, S, was having trouble breathing and her eyes were swollen shut. A trip to the ER confirmed our fear -- she was allergic to cats. By the time I got back and got settled I started calling everyone we knew in the tiny community and from our former location in Phoeniz. I called every animal rescue/shelter listed in the phone book. No one could take the cats, or if they could, they would exterminate them in 24-hours if not adopted.
This was heart-wrenching. My husband took the animals to the nearest animal shelter while I was left with two grieving girls and the clean-up.
To minimize the exposure to the daughter who was allergic, we had put all four cats into our small laundry room where they could be contained and put the cat box and their food and water in there. After they were gone, I vacuumed the room top to bottom and then cleaned it all with bleach. Still it smelled of cats. So I put several candles on top of the dryer. I opened a small window and closed door to the room.
The wind must have blowed over the empty laundry baskets on top of the washer and they started to melt from the candles which in turn caused a small fire which melted a knob on the dryer.
We were around a corner in the house but S thought something wasn't right and she discovered the fire. She screamed that we should call 911... we lived just blocks from the volunteer fire department. I grabbed the fire extinguisher from under the sink in the kitchen and blasted away. It was quickly out. Whew.
Now I had so much more to clean up as the yellow dusty remains from the fire extinguisher were EVERYWHERE. Anyone whose had to clean up after using a fire extinguisher knows the tedious task well.
The kitten we encountered last week visited us on Tuesday in our back yard. We fed it some milk and cooked ground beef. When my husband got home and the girls all reported about the kitten to him, he said we cannot have kittens because it leads to fires. Funny guy.
No one in the neighborhood knows if someone around here has recently attained new kittens or had a cat that just had kittens.
Saturday, late in the afternoon, we encountered the kitten again in our back yard. We feed it again, this time milk and chicken. Then, we discovered that it wasn't one but two kittens as another emerged from the bushes, obviously smelling the food. We fed it the same as the other kitten.
I'm not that fond of cats, never have been. But these kittens took my bleeding heart away and I felt such compassion for them. Who could abandon them? And now, Saturday evening's forcast was for wet, cold weather. Indeed the cold rain with a north wind behind it started about 9 pm. Of course we couldn't bring the kittens into the house, but we were all concerned for their safety.
We set up a bed of sorts in the covered area we call the well by our laundry room door. This area is covered on three sides, has six steps down to reach the door from our back yard. It usually stores a small but odd assortment of outdoor toys such as scooters and skates so they aren't in the hot sun. In the winter those items go into a shed. We took a tobagan and put an old afghan into it and put it down in the "well" for the kittens. We enticed them into it with more food and milk. One kitten by now comes when we call, "here kitty, kitty, kitty!" The other one is a bit more skittish and skeptical and takes quite a bit of coaxing to get it in there. Of course it won't do to try to touch the second kitty but the first one enjoys being petted.
We are all relieved when both kitten are in the "well" and look as if they are hunkered down for the night.
We had a bit of a nagging concern that there are foxes in our neighborhood and other cats and who knows what else that might attack the kittens. Everyone checks on the kittens before retiring for the evening. Their are curled up into tiny balls, right next to each other and sleeping soundly. This helps all of us to sleep soundly.
Sunday morning my husband is the first to arise and the first thing he does is check on the kittens, who are both sleeping still next to each other. Each one checks on the kittens upon arising.
Late in the morning, after church, we feed the kittens again, milk and a little cooked ground beef. They have hearty appetites. All the children are now making regular treks to the back yard to play with, pick up and exerience the joy of kittens! They have named them -- Calypso and Anna Maria. Oh no. They cleverly keep this fact from their father and I for most of the day.
Hubby, though, knowing that Dream Power cannot take the kittens until Tuesday, buys kitten food and the kittens are now not feasting on our meat left-overs but on store-bought kitty chow. He suggests that Anna Maria's name be changed to Chipper as that kitten reminds him of a cat he had as a youngster whose name was Chipper.
It was cold again last evening and so we enticed the kittens into the well before going to bed. By now they are familiar with it and seems to enjoy their bed.
This morning I broke down and made a toy for the kittens involving and old paddle ball and string and taught the girls about the preditory habits of cats and how fun it can be to play with them in that way.
I fear we are in serious trouble here for another round of tears and grieving when Dream Power comes tomorrow to take the kittens to host homes until they can be adopted. Being older and having experienced so much between this time and the last time this happened I am concerned that the emotional reserve that will be required to weather this is lacking.
That that brings me to pastor's sermon yesterday which was about Ruth. He talked about how Ruth and the circumstances of her life left her running on empty. And how we, in our secularized society with all its many demands, run on empty too. He said we are slaves to our society which demands that we do everything all at once and rush, rush, rush! If we take our comfort and solice in Christ instead of all these activities and their demands, then we can know His peace and comfort even when the pressures of our life seem overwhelming.
It is that peace and comfort, in His name, that I seek as we face this situation with the kittens who have obviously stolen all of our hearts. Meanwhile, we'll keep popping the Benedryl and Tagament and enjoy them while we are able to.
When we were living in Arizona and had finally settled into a more country setting in Black Canyon City, we decided to get a kitten. The trouble was, when we went to pick out said kitten we took the kids with us. We encountered a desperate owner who had been found out by her landlord that she had pets when she was not supposed to. She faced eviction if she did not get rid of the animals by the week's end. (It was Thursday.) The children found a kitten that they wanted, and then the lady begged us to take the others and the mother so that they would have a good home. This amounted to four cats. We caved and took them all.
Traveling home with them in the car, our oldest, S, who was 7 at the time, began to wheeze some. Since she had asthma we weren't too concerned. The children were delighted and played with the three little kittens and their mother all night.
The next morning, S, was having trouble breathing and her eyes were swollen shut. A trip to the ER confirmed our fear -- she was allergic to cats. By the time I got back and got settled I started calling everyone we knew in the tiny community and from our former location in Phoeniz. I called every animal rescue/shelter listed in the phone book. No one could take the cats, or if they could, they would exterminate them in 24-hours if not adopted.
This was heart-wrenching. My husband took the animals to the nearest animal shelter while I was left with two grieving girls and the clean-up.
To minimize the exposure to the daughter who was allergic, we had put all four cats into our small laundry room where they could be contained and put the cat box and their food and water in there. After they were gone, I vacuumed the room top to bottom and then cleaned it all with bleach. Still it smelled of cats. So I put several candles on top of the dryer. I opened a small window and closed door to the room.
The wind must have blowed over the empty laundry baskets on top of the washer and they started to melt from the candles which in turn caused a small fire which melted a knob on the dryer.
We were around a corner in the house but S thought something wasn't right and she discovered the fire. She screamed that we should call 911... we lived just blocks from the volunteer fire department. I grabbed the fire extinguisher from under the sink in the kitchen and blasted away. It was quickly out. Whew.
Now I had so much more to clean up as the yellow dusty remains from the fire extinguisher were EVERYWHERE. Anyone whose had to clean up after using a fire extinguisher knows the tedious task well.
The kitten we encountered last week visited us on Tuesday in our back yard. We fed it some milk and cooked ground beef. When my husband got home and the girls all reported about the kitten to him, he said we cannot have kittens because it leads to fires. Funny guy.
No one in the neighborhood knows if someone around here has recently attained new kittens or had a cat that just had kittens.
Saturday, late in the afternoon, we encountered the kitten again in our back yard. We feed it again, this time milk and chicken. Then, we discovered that it wasn't one but two kittens as another emerged from the bushes, obviously smelling the food. We fed it the same as the other kitten.
I'm not that fond of cats, never have been. But these kittens took my bleeding heart away and I felt such compassion for them. Who could abandon them? And now, Saturday evening's forcast was for wet, cold weather. Indeed the cold rain with a north wind behind it started about 9 pm. Of course we couldn't bring the kittens into the house, but we were all concerned for their safety.
We set up a bed of sorts in the covered area we call the well by our laundry room door. This area is covered on three sides, has six steps down to reach the door from our back yard. It usually stores a small but odd assortment of outdoor toys such as scooters and skates so they aren't in the hot sun. In the winter those items go into a shed. We took a tobagan and put an old afghan into it and put it down in the "well" for the kittens. We enticed them into it with more food and milk. One kitten by now comes when we call, "here kitty, kitty, kitty!" The other one is a bit more skittish and skeptical and takes quite a bit of coaxing to get it in there. Of course it won't do to try to touch the second kitty but the first one enjoys being petted.
We are all relieved when both kitten are in the "well" and look as if they are hunkered down for the night.
We had a bit of a nagging concern that there are foxes in our neighborhood and other cats and who knows what else that might attack the kittens. Everyone checks on the kittens before retiring for the evening. Their are curled up into tiny balls, right next to each other and sleeping soundly. This helps all of us to sleep soundly.
Sunday morning my husband is the first to arise and the first thing he does is check on the kittens, who are both sleeping still next to each other. Each one checks on the kittens upon arising.
Late in the morning, after church, we feed the kittens again, milk and a little cooked ground beef. They have hearty appetites. All the children are now making regular treks to the back yard to play with, pick up and exerience the joy of kittens! They have named them -- Calypso and Anna Maria. Oh no. They cleverly keep this fact from their father and I for most of the day.
Hubby, though, knowing that Dream Power cannot take the kittens until Tuesday, buys kitten food and the kittens are now not feasting on our meat left-overs but on store-bought kitty chow. He suggests that Anna Maria's name be changed to Chipper as that kitten reminds him of a cat he had as a youngster whose name was Chipper.
It was cold again last evening and so we enticed the kittens into the well before going to bed. By now they are familiar with it and seems to enjoy their bed.
This morning I broke down and made a toy for the kittens involving and old paddle ball and string and taught the girls about the preditory habits of cats and how fun it can be to play with them in that way.
I fear we are in serious trouble here for another round of tears and grieving when Dream Power comes tomorrow to take the kittens to host homes until they can be adopted. Being older and having experienced so much between this time and the last time this happened I am concerned that the emotional reserve that will be required to weather this is lacking.
That that brings me to pastor's sermon yesterday which was about Ruth. He talked about how Ruth and the circumstances of her life left her running on empty. And how we, in our secularized society with all its many demands, run on empty too. He said we are slaves to our society which demands that we do everything all at once and rush, rush, rush! If we take our comfort and solice in Christ instead of all these activities and their demands, then we can know His peace and comfort even when the pressures of our life seem overwhelming.
It is that peace and comfort, in His name, that I seek as we face this situation with the kittens who have obviously stolen all of our hearts. Meanwhile, we'll keep popping the Benedryl and Tagament and enjoy them while we are able to.
October 9, 2007
Recharged
Each of us has ways of recharging our batteries... ways that relax us and give us inspiration and hope and enlarge our perspective beyond our own navels.
For me, it's a visit to the Colorado mountains. Having grown up in this area you'd think I'd tire of visiting them, however, they never fail to take my breath away with their majestic beauty.
We headed up Hwy 24 past Woodland Park and had lunch at the summit of Wilkerson Pass, elevation 9,507 feet above sea level. Here's a couple pictures from there.
We encountered small, skinny antelope along Hwy 24 in the South Park basin.
Traveling in our 1987 Camry provides for close quarters for the five of us plus our stuff (hubby is an Eagle Scout who now is a Boy Scout Executive and so we go prepared when we go anywhere! ::grin::)
Then we traveled on through Buena Vista, the whitewater capitol of Colorado, onto Leadville, which is two miles above sea level and is the highest incorporated city in the USA, where we stopped for ice cream at Wild Bill's like we usually do, then on to Turquoise Lake which is just a little north and west of Leadville. (Here's a bonus picture I found on the web, taken it looks like in late fall early winter.)
Sigh... what peacefulness! The lake was as full as I've seen it in many years. The shore area was really small compared to the last six or seven years. Still, I could have stayed on that shore indefinitely and listened to the lapping of the lake.
We only encountered less than half a dozen cars as we visited Turquoise Lake, besides a couple who were biking around the lake with their huge dog running beside them.
As we rounded the northern portion of the lake, the girls were being silly and S, who had been eating croissants, laughed so hard part of a croissant came out of her nose. At that point we all began laughing.
As we headed down the west side of the lake, we came to a waterfall and had to take pictures. The waterfall had icicles on it in the shade!
We have a tradition of taking pictures of our girls in various areas around Turquoise Lake in the fall. Here's the one from this year.
Thanks be to God for the gift of being their mother!
Heading south, we could see Mount Elbert and Mount Massive from the north with the sun to the west, and the bottom of these stately mountains were blanketed in thick, furry, green pine trees. Such grandeur!
Leadville is truly a rugged mountain town and is dotted with tin trailers, delapidated old wooden framed homes and buildings, along with rejuvenated areas, as well as new buildings and homes. You can encounter each of these within just a few blocks of each other, and yet, it seems homey and nice. The variety is refreshing and sure beats the cookie cutter layout of most suburbs and towns. I am tempted to get philosophical about it, but I shan't right now.
We were headed to some ghost towns that we've visited often, usually in the fall because if you are lucky enough to catch it just right, you'll have one of the most amazing drives in the quaking aspens as they turn gold and orange. Of course, we knew we were too late to catch that as the first freeze up there was a few weeks ago. Still we headed for Vicksburg and Winfield.
We were greeted with a big surprise as we traveled on County 390 in that Clear Creek Reservoir was drained. We didn't learn until we got home why.
We were not disappointed in rediscovering Belford Falls as we were not distracted by the changing aspens. To me, the falls looked like an icicle hanging onto the side of the mountain.
We talked about Colorado's mining history, laughed, ate in the splendor of the fresh mountain air -- and man, did it smell good, I just don't think you could possibly beat that lovely smell of pine!
We came back through Salida (I've gotta remember about the Western Mining Museum there and take a trip for the benefit of our state history studies) and then following the Arkansas River through the Bighorn Sheep Canyon.
R regaled us with a story through the canyon and one of the highlights was this line, "Do you take this woman to be your waffle wedded wife?" To which hubby responded, "Yes, with butter and syrup on top!"
To read more funny lines from our trip, visit S's blog, the October 9 entry.
Feeling more relaxed now than I have been in months!
The whole day reminded me of Psalm 121, which the minister read at my mom's burial. I am thankful that I can lift up mine eyes to such gorgeous mountains as we had the pleasure of visiting yesterday!
October 7, 2007
Mom's schoolwork?
The other day, R was being a bit resistant to returning to her studies after a Barbie break. She had been playing that Barbie was just graduated, like her oldest sister, S. R wonders what S is going to do now. She sees S at the computer, her usually occupied space of the last several years. She doesn't know that S is in front of the computer doing paid work for the PAC she helps run.
Anyway, I got a bit frustrated at R's lack of obedience in ceasing to play with Barbie as well as put away the multitude of tiny accessories that accompany Barbie. I said, "You're not gonna graduate from first grade if you don't start doing your momma's schoolwork!"
This resulted in peels of laughter from all three children as they wonder why I haven't completed my first grade work and want R to do it!
Anyway, I got a bit frustrated at R's lack of obedience in ceasing to play with Barbie as well as put away the multitude of tiny accessories that accompany Barbie. I said, "You're not gonna graduate from first grade if you don't start doing your momma's schoolwork!"
This resulted in peels of laughter from all three children as they wonder why I haven't completed my first grade work and want R to do it!
Question Darwinism? Then you'll be EXPELLED!
There's an intriguining new movie coming out about scientists who question Darwinism and the severe consequences they pay for thinking that way.
From Rob Shearer, of Greenleaf Press, you can view a short clip about the movie here.
The movie website reveals a subtitle, "No intelligence allowed." What delicious irony that statement is!
Not only does "Ben blow the horn on SUPPRESSION" he has an area where students and leaders can sign-up to become part of a process to help eliminate this suppression from campuses and return universities to the thinking environments they once were.
Ben Stein's blog entry from August 21 explains his thoughts in bringing a movie like this to the general public. Reading through several of the comments you can see that those who oppose this movie use not logic, or evidence to support their claims, they simply are interested in slamming down freedom of thought and especially anything that relates to an Intelligent Creator!
I'm looking forward to the February 2008 movie release.
From Rob Shearer, of Greenleaf Press, you can view a short clip about the movie here.
The movie website reveals a subtitle, "No intelligence allowed." What delicious irony that statement is!
Not only does "Ben blow the horn on SUPPRESSION" he has an area where students and leaders can sign-up to become part of a process to help eliminate this suppression from campuses and return universities to the thinking environments they once were.
Ben Stein's blog entry from August 21 explains his thoughts in bringing a movie like this to the general public. Reading through several of the comments you can see that those who oppose this movie use not logic, or evidence to support their claims, they simply are interested in slamming down freedom of thought and especially anything that relates to an Intelligent Creator!
I'm looking forward to the February 2008 movie release.
October 1, 2007
Church Yesterday
Ok, our newer to us Pastor said, "hunky dory" in his sermon again yesterday. I like that phrase and use it often, and it always makes me smile when I hear him say it for some reason.
Yesterday's sermon was based on the epistle reading from 1 Timothy 6:6-19 about eternity, material possessions and where we place our happiness and joy.
It was a good law and gospel sermon, first convicting us of our need to stop our pursuit of "he who has the most toys wins" mentality and instead return to the thoughts of these verses which remind us that we came into the world naked and will leave that same way, devoid of all these material possesions we have gathered. He talked about how hard that is to do given our culture in America, and our Old Adam popping out all the time, not to mention Satan's meddling. Then he assured us of God's help via His Word and Sacraments. He assured us of our forgiveness in baptism and daily as we contritely repent.
Are there things your Pastor ways that make you laugh or smile? What was the sermon about in your church yesterday?
Yesterday's sermon was based on the epistle reading from 1 Timothy 6:6-19 about eternity, material possessions and where we place our happiness and joy.
It was a good law and gospel sermon, first convicting us of our need to stop our pursuit of "he who has the most toys wins" mentality and instead return to the thoughts of these verses which remind us that we came into the world naked and will leave that same way, devoid of all these material possesions we have gathered. He talked about how hard that is to do given our culture in America, and our Old Adam popping out all the time, not to mention Satan's meddling. Then he assured us of God's help via His Word and Sacraments. He assured us of our forgiveness in baptism and daily as we contritely repent.
Are there things your Pastor ways that make you laugh or smile? What was the sermon about in your church yesterday?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
