Six on Saturday

Thought I'd write a '5 on Friday'..but I didn't get to it, so I'll add one for penance ;)

6 of the most unusual places I lived as a kid::

1) My earliest memories are near a beach, close to a subdivision but nevertheless leading a rural life. There were puppies and seagulls, goats and tourists. You saw people from everywhere on the boardwalk, and this being the late 60's- early 70's, many were eccentric in dress and mindset. Mostly they were pretty nice.

2) From there, my Mom and I moved into the country so she could take care of her sick friend & four daughters. The house her husband had paid for (He was in the military & rarely home) was a spacious & fairly gracious 19thC establishment, with a double porch fenced below & above with decorative, but functional, 'gingerbread.' A few rooms had electric light, but others needed oil. Heating was from an inadequate wood stove, but the plumbing was modern enough. The front yard looked into a small village were you could literally play in the streets, the backyard was actually a small farm, with a mid-sized barn where Mom & Carolyn kept a large garden, goats, chickens, & a few pets. Beyond that was the forest's new line, as it had swallowed the outlying houses in the old town. (We weren't suppose to sneak into those but...) Right next door was an old-fashioned post office with its wood cubbyholes and worn brass slots, weights, and plaques. They gave us penny candy or sold us M&M's when we picked up the post. It was a lovely place to form your first fancies, but it could have used some repair. (I am happy to say it has been restored since.)

After my Mom remarried, my Mom & Stepfather got this idea of restoring another cool old house. Which led to us living in.....

3) a turn-of-the-century apartment over an old general store. I really enjoyed going downstairs and getting my favorite drink of the time, Tropicana orange juice. The old building had been modernized, probably around the 30's or 40's. Ancient soda advertisements, milk bottles, and sample catalogs were still on some of their shelves. The register was the old 'typewriter' & bell kind, with a change slot on the side where the coins would come out. The building itself was quaint enough too, with its colored-glass windows & big pull chains everywhere. You used the handled chains to turn on & off fans, open windows, close shutters, and use the w.c. hehe

and later...

4) We moved to a log-cabin mill with moving waterwheel, kerosene lamps for lighting, and an unusually complex pipe system attached to a Franklin/German stove. The place stayed snug in cold weather, and was cooled by the water on warm days. It was wwwaaaayyy out in the country with only livestock for neighbors, but the old, sturdy fences kept the curious herds and flocks out of the garden area surrounding the building. I wouldn't mind finding something like it now that I am grown. I bet Atrus would have loved it.

and then......

4) We lived in a half-ruined real-not-reproduction Scarlett O'Hara-style ante-bellum mansion. really. It was haunted. It was VERY haunted, and it wasn't modernized a bit. There was even a classic well like you see in all the old children's books, with a handpump right next to it. (We rarely used the bucket.) Most of the outbuildings had been buried in kudzu and other bracken. We ended up getting a few goats just to cut down on the excess greenery.

Exactly half of the mansion remained, and I very nearly fell once chasing a ghost child through an upper door. I probably would have fallen had I not been warned by another spirit to quit following her so closely up the old trees & through the house. There really were secret panels & a cut-through passageway in it, a creepy basement, and rather a lot of ruined grandeur (Moth-eaten, heavy velvet curtains; the torn ornate wallpaper still clung to its gilded threads. There was plenty to look at in the long hours spent there, though not many books. This place also depended on wood heat and kerosene & oil lamps for light, but they had trouble truly warming or illuminating the rooms. Still, they were better than what you went through to reach the old outhouse at night! After a few rounds of 'what was that??" with the flashlight on the old path, we rediscovered the handiness of 'chamberpots.'

At night, the old chandelier cast frightening shadows in the main room, but we had to use it anyway because this was where the big stove had been installed. When the winds kicked up, they roared and whistled. When the weather was right (that means storming & lightening!) you'd hear muffled voices...and violins.

The only modern thing in the whole shebang were the ethics of the mice. All that wonderful press Disney gave 'em and they'd still ruin any food that they couldn't immediately eat. I came to really appreciate our cats. That was the place I caught pneumonia & like to turned into a ghost myself. My mom had to work to afford to care for me and I ended staying for awhile with some neat folks down the road.

5) The farm down the road was a slice from the past too. The farmhouse itself was standard enough, and though not modernized either (they also used an outside water pump/well & an outhouse), the sweet elderly couple who maintained it were nearly as snug in it as the mill had been. It wasn't hard to imagine an Abe writing out his sums on a slate near their barn's cistern or Tom Sawyer hanging on an apple tree in the orchard.

But the most unusual part of their farm was the barnstormer plane & mechanics garage out in their biggest big barn! It could still fly too! I was there the day he got it going. Actually I was the reason he got it going. I was completely fascinated. Sadly I didn't get a turn when it was in the air. They had some doubts about the strength of the canvas. (He just went once around & then over the meadow)

6) Then there was a bad spell when my stepfather had been injured and some friends let us live with them up in their nice old farmouse in the mountains. They lived right next door to 1) a rather large apple orchard on one side and 2) a farm that grew mostly beans, potatoes, & carrots on the other. Both neighbors were very generous with their crops. I lived on fresh pressed apple cider, at least partly because I loved to watch them make it. Autumn still makes me think of that fresh, crisp apple smell and the sound of the old press....

I lived in all of these places before I was 10.


One of the main things all these 'living history' dwellings did for me was to explode the notion that any place, action, thought process, or implement is necessarily tied to an actual moment in time. Plumbing is a lot easier than manual pumps. Pumps are faster than buckets & pulleys. Pulleys are much easier than pulling a bucket with pure muscle. Wells are more reliable than chasing streams. So that's progress, right? Yes, but only of tools. When the power goes off around here, we seem to be one of the few people who understand that a manual tool beats no tool all to bits.

People say often that something or someone is a 'holdover' or 'ahead of their time.'

t'ain't necessarily so.

Is our love enough ?

Why?

Why did it have to be a friend who chose to betray the Lord?
and why did he use a kiss to show them, that's not what a kiss is for?
Only a friend can betray a friend, a stranger has nothing to gain.
and only a friend comes close enough to ever cause so much pain.

Why did it have to be a thorny crown placed upon his head?
It should have been a royal one, made of jewels and gold instead.
It had to be a crown of thorns, because in this world that we live,
(for) all that would seek to love ~ a thorn is all the world has to give.

Why did it have to be a heavy cross he was made to bear?
and why did they nail His feet and hands; His love would have held him there.
It was a cross for on a cross, a thief was supposed to pay.
and Jesus had come into the world to steal every heart away.

Yes, Jesus had come into the world to steal every heart away.

Michael Card, "Known By the Scars"

(Note:: This began as an answer to a friend dealing with loss in one of life's big transitions. He asked if it was worth it to love knowing it may not continue here on earth or be properly returned. Suddenly I feel led to share my answer with those who read this page. I hadn't intended to do that when I wrote it.)

Love. brotherhood. friendship.

We hunger for love, each one of us. We long for it as for cool water in the hot, dry days of summer; as we long for covering warmth as those who shiver in a winter storm. We desire their regard daily, continually, as the necessary food of our hearts. We are a dry well that can never be filled, though it rained forever, unless we know the God who can supply our deepest need.

Even then, we remain social creatures who desire the brightness of our brother's countenance to lighten our own. In truth, this is in part because we rarely remain close enough to Christ to let His Grace wash our vessels and fill us up. The torrent pours but our cup is full of dirt - and it keeps moving away.

Thus the little water we have to pour into one another's lives remains small...and dirty.

Is our love enough to do any good? We know in our hearts we do not love as God loves, for He loves everyone. God loves those who do not attract us in any worldly way, and calls us to the same perfection. In all honesty, we rarely love someone who does not impress us in some way. We love souls who love us and live near us, we choose new attachments from those that please us, because one is pretty and another talented. We attach ourselves for reasons of vantage, though the advantage may be more for our own pleasure than worldly gain.

God will give us the grace to love purely, to love the unloved and seemingly unloveable, if we will but ask, if we will just hold our cup still long enough to accept His living water. He alone can cause us to grow in love. God can make it possible for you to love strongly a people you never saw before in your life, who would kill you as soon as look at you, living at the very antipodes of the Earth. Jesus does that every day.

growth.

There is an implicit belief that the loves we have will grow, if sown properly, and watered with good moments and kindness. In time, sincere affection should be strong enough to survive the heat of a quarrel or the drought of even a lengthy absence.

Sadly many loves do not grow so strongly. They are like bright wildflowers that bloom in the grass today, and are burned, straw dry, in the oven tomorrow.

We quickly find the inadequacies in the loves of our friends and relations when they move away, no longer need us, decide we weren't as 'cool' as they had thought before, or because they listened to an accusation or a prejudice (personal or bigotry-based) without asking God or us of its truth. Hey, maybe we deserved some or all of a negative comment, but they don't love us enough to go past it. Human loves are weak indeed.

When it is we who feel like letting go, we find comfort in sayings about 'phases,' 'moving on,' 'they weren't who I thought they were' etc

When it is we who are rejected, especially for light cause, these sound like the excuses they are. They make light of any attachment, shared camraderies or sacrifices. They are a mockery of true love. We look again and again into the journals of our minds for the evidence of what we thought we had, how we might have been fooled, for the moments we must have missed when affection was going astray, for the answers to know better next time how to avoid the pangs now spasming our inner world. I think we know that such efforts are futile. We will either love, and expect to hurt for it, or we will close our hearts.

So is love worth the pain?

Our love is never enough love, true, nor is it remotely as pure as LOVE who died for us, but knowing to our heart this very lack brings the believer the desire to surrender ourselves into a greater Love. This is part of the call you are feeling. God lets us see in brief flashes (we cannnot take more) how far we still are from Heaven's perfection, to feed a hunger within us to travel closer to Him. He lets us see glimpses of how dark the valley is, that we should wish to travel beyond it. What we suffer for love, causes us to grow in Christ.

Is friendship worth it? You, who have at least some idea how poorly mine has been returned sometimes, may give me some credit for knowing something of this. My answer remains yes, though I must look to the fulfilling of it first in God himself. I know exactly what you mean about losing people you saw daily when you are no longer physically present. Its rough when you still care, but they have moved on. You become a fond thought, a memory, a seed if you sowed that time for God.

A few years ago, when the net was new to me, I thought I'd found an answer to losing cool people. We could keep in touch everywhere! I momentarily forgot that the other methods available before the internet could have cured this too, if more had been willing. I continue to live by a word given when I was young "if you would have a true friend, be one." Let me tell you, it t'aint a sure-fire remedy to faithlessness, but it is the beginning! You won't make permanent friends unless you are the type to it stick through the ickies, the prickles, the lazies, & the "movings on." If you aren't sure of the purity of your affection for someone, place it on the altar repeatedly and it will be! I've been amazed how much affection I've regained for people who hurt me when I kept giving the matter to Jesus and kept praying for them. I'm pretty sure the grace in my heart that still loves where I feel no hope of return has come straight from God.

Oddly, pure love tends to be less popular than the 'sedimented' kind. People have a hard time accepting what they don't understand. They expect to understand the motivations of those around them. When yours are different, you may be ascribed wrong motives no matter what your heart. Keith Green once pointed out that people tend to think others are like themselves. Thus a person not in grace assumes that what you do would be for the reason they would do such a thing (which may be evil) and believers have been known to assume virtues in people who do not have them -based on what they think they see. (Been there. Done that. Got the t-shirt.)

This is why, though you were given the gift of miracles, though you spoke the language af all men and angels, though you gave as purely as you know how, you may be sure there will be those who think 'they know you better' than to think you could have been given a saint's heart. Sometimes its because they don't like the honesty that comes with that kind of love. You may be called on to witness to them or not say anything when you desperately want to. You may be told to care more where they are going and what will become of them than about 'fun times' or 'what they think of you.' You may be asked to let go, and pray at a distance. But in the end, that is freeing. Love that bound you, strengthened, purified, will set you free again.

Keep praying sincerely for those who have hurt you. Bless those that have cursed you. You will know Love ever better. He will love through you!

Remember ~ when we suffer for love, we share in Christ's work.


That is the life we are called to live. We are sent to keep sowing the good seed we are given into the lives of others, and not count on return. We do not know what field we were given. Some patches are gonna prove downright stony, some bits will flourish for just a brief while. It can be discouraging. All sowers become weary, my friend. Rest and be refreshed in the shade of the One who will never forget you.

You mentioned how much you'd like to talk to Tolkein about what he was writing about in heaven one day. This actually is the answer as to what lasts and what is worth doing. Heaven will remember what good we do. Jesus will make us much better than we can now dream. We WILL love purely. We will build forever. Our best friends and our best works will greet us when we go home. Hey, we'll have even more to share with new friends we never got to know here. This is part of the blessed hope!

The flash of light that illumines a day, goes away again each night, but returns and is not wasted. The growth and warmth it brings encourages all of us who live here below. The sun does what God has called it to do. Each son-life was made to glow but a little while until all is changed again eternally. Our part is to brighten the here and now, to warm others with such love as lives in our hearts. Our oil must be continually replenished in Christ's presence...or it will go out. God knows our failures, and so often has to make up even our lack to those who look to Him truly, daily. Yet Christ still has love and mercy for all who will accept His gifts, and even those who will try a little harder to do a little better...to walk in whatever light they have.

You are seeing the darkness we stumble through clearly, but dawn comes soon.

Then you will see everything.

Echoes & Ripples (Myst V)

Since I couldn't go to Mysterium, I spent a little time finishing the adventure games I started.. last fall..maybe earlier...


So I finally finished Nancy Drew: Blackmoor Manor and am seriously concentrating on Myst V. Before I just wandered around a few times and said . I just didn't have the time to concentrate on it & didn't want to spoil things by rushing.

One year later, my reaction is still


This time I made a point of collecting all of Yeesha's notes/speeches around the great well first so I could think over what she is saying about herself, and how things went in Uru. She seems to have a clue about what went wrong, and quite a bit of anger and pain. She is a bit less distant and comes off as less proud as she shares these human things, rather than just her destiny and the flaws of the otherwise amazing D'ni, Sounds like she is finally ready to do some more growing of her own, as long as anger and her fresh agnostic doubts don't leave her in despair. Escher seems to represent another point of view, the success-oriented, my- clique first-sort of dude. I think I've met this fella somewhere... I am pleased to see that my choices again matter to the story. I loved being able to finally open that door in Atrus' old prison. I am very happy to toodle around the place of the first Mudpie screenshot. There is some definite closure for me in this installment, opinionated fan that I have always been.

At any rate, I am genuinely interested to see where this story will go now. Not many adventure games openly mention 'the Maker,' especially with respect. Even the earlier Myst games only aimed for general morality (and a couple of the younger employees denied that!). Although Cyan's work was understandably influenced by the Christian upbringing of the main designers, the Creator didn't get much press in their games. (Their novels were another matter.) Its amazing to see how strongly Yeesha speaks of morality now! Now...which way will this story go? Which way will the designers go? I can't help but wonder if the anti-Christian cracks made inside the community, and the open New Age/Shamanistic faith represented at the end of Ubisoft's Myst 4 are responsible for Yeesha's asking whether the Maker or 'the roll' is responsible for her destiny. Echoes...echoing..

I may as well concentrate on Myst V now. Its been hard not to reflect on the Myst people lately anyway. Not only have I had the Mysterium planning, but I keep running into things that remind me of it all over! Just as I wondered again if any of the good seed I've tried to sow was worth anything, I chanced on this song on the radio "Some people will change." Wow. Talk about encouraging word that was right on time! Another day we passed VA vehicles with plates on it saying "Kristen," "Teena," and "Mih" - which surprised me as I figured that screenname was unique) until I was informed that its an old joke, 50's vintage or earlier, very like saying one's 'real' initals are E.H.S. I figure such coincidences are a reminder to me to keep praying.

And I keep seeing ads for "the Descent," a horror movie which does not interest me...except that the ad itself is rather reminiscent of Spyder's realMyst trailer of 5 years ago, and the plotline apparantly includes dangerous beast/people who live several miles below the ground in the Appalachian mountains. I haven't heard that area used in a fictional fantasy setting since Terry Brook's Landover series {Magic Kingdom For Sale -Sold}. I have always known Appalachia as a gentle place.

So, curious, I looked up details online and found that no less than 3 movies were made for release for summer 2005 on the same theme. 2 full budget films with relatively unknown directors and one Indy effort. Both major movies have a similar plotline though they were officially in a different set of caves. "The Cavern" was the third (Indy) one and hardly anybody heard about it because it was unspeakably awful. It had a total budget of 150,000 dollars, at least some of it was spent renting a drill to make their camara shake a lot.. I'm serious. The most amusing review said something about a petition drive for a 'zero star' rating just so they could properly mark that dog. It seems as though at least 2 of the 3 movies were pretty much rush jobs, they would have been working on them at least close to the time the first Uru beta was ending. Could all be coincidence, of course. Just a general reflected ripple from the greater interest in spelunking in recent years... and possibly suggested by the interest in a cavern-based game. One site tells me that there hasn't been horror films based on caving since the 80's when Zork was a big deal.

Anyway, it turns out that the best done of the three, "The Descent," was released about everywhere but America last summer, ostensibly so they wouldn't be directly competing with "The Cave" in the US. However, "The Cave" seems to have been released everywhere, so this only affected America. The decision to release "The Descent" this summer in the US seems to have been made this spring, coincidentally, this was about the same time it became known that Uru may have a second chance at life.

Now, none of these movies resembles the family-friendly Myst/Uru franchise much at all, except for the use of deep caves, spelunkers, and beast-cave-people ('bahro') But in Myst, the bahro may be ugly, but they are actually rather nice, even noble humanoids. Yeesha tells us much about them in the last few Cyan games.

If Uru were aimed at the horror crowd, the movies might even help stir more interest in the game. It has had very little publicity. As it is, I think the different prospective audiences may make the similarities mostly of academic interest.

Just the same it all reminds me of a time some years ago (96?97?) when several 'similar' games sat on the shelf with Myst (Tropica l islands on the cover, Myth-something in the name, and one awful parody)... Imitation is the sincerest flattery, right? Except none of the other titles I saw on the shelf that day were family fare. Even most of the adventure games back then incorporated pg+ themes. You could be forgiven for not knowing that Myst was the sparkling, clean little island amidst all those cross-currents. My husband and I commented on it out loud and discovered that the worried middle-aged guy standing next to us had been asked to bring home Myst and had picked up the wrong game. (He was actually holding another game box with a tropical island featured prominently on it). He was upset that what he'd found didnt seem to be appropriate for his family. A salesman was trying to help but didn't seem to recognize which title the customer wanted from the description... until we spoke up. (While we explained which was which to the fella, two other people who didnt seem to be listening bought copies of Myst as well. So..three more copies of Myst were sold that day, and a sales clerk was educated. I've always wondered how many more people got confused.

Echoes of ripples ...making reflections.. fresh patterns in the ever-flowing stream...

The wise can learn from their own voice returned.

but will they?

will I?

A year later....

A year ago my husband was just getting out of the hospital after a very serious operation, followed by a spell in ICU. His at home care took much of my time, as the surgical wound was very large, and he had the complications of several bypasses put in to let his system recover from all the work on him. Happily I was not alone. The hospital arranged a nurse and I had my Mom, son, and daughter all lending what assistance they could. They made sure he always had plenty of water/tea/juice to drink. One of us remained with him at all times ~ usually me.

Tom came home from his last scheduled 'reversal' of those bypasses a year to the day that he was sent home from his first major surgery with this hospital ~ but what a difference! This trip was the smoothest by far. All his nurses were nice this time. Tom was awake, relatively 'with it' and recovered a bit ahead of schedule. He was more ambulatory even before he left than he was for months after the first surgery. God broke the weather around us again. The hottest days were ones we didn't have to travel, and were always less intense than places 15-20 miles away. The strong storms broke around our location instead of over us. Travel days were cloudy and cooler than the others. Praise God!

Tom did so well recovering from the trip home that we were able to celebrate with some take-out Chinese within a few days. :D

So, yeah, it went well. Main problem now is reminding him to take it easy for awhile yet. He's been very alert since he had to put down a (confirmed) rabid fox that appeared in the yard one day. It went after Mom, but she successfully fended it off and Tom responded very quickly and accurately. The animal control guy was very impressed with his marksmanship. Since then, he has been shepherding Mom through the shots they asked her to get. She wasn't bit but she had a scratch, which she is pretty sure came from the bucket she was using to defend herself. Still, no sense in taking chances! Tom isn't happy it happened, but he is glad he is able to take care of her. I am glad he was able to act so swiftly, otherwise it would have been worse!

So, I've been rather busy 'round the house lately. Just the same, I probably would have posted sooner if Mysterium weren't right around the corner. Always gets crazy helping plan that puppy in the last week or two. I helped last year too, when I could, until Tom's condition once again claimed all my attention. By the time the gathering began, I had forgotten it was even that weekend! This year there is still a small possibility I may make it. Won't know for sure for another couple of days. It's gonna go down to the wire again. Actually, I've helped plan 5 of 7 Myst fan gatherings and I've only been able to go to one of them. Personal reward factor has been very low indeed. Well, whatever. I started because I wanted help make the community happier at these shindigs, not just me. I know I have helped there. Besides, everything to do with that group has been on the altar for a long time now. I do what I do because of honor, friendship, and obedience to what I think God wants of me. Can't shake the impression that what I am doing there is still important. I used to spend a lot of time praying for folks, offering whatever practical counsel I could, or at least a sympathetic ear. Haven't had time to really spend on people outside my family in a long while, so its no longer clear to me what this might be.



My birthday was pretty cool. Spent a chunk of each day we remembered it (before and after) watching Michael Palin travelogues & other old fav movies I'd received in honor of the occasion. Mom surprised me with Captain Jack & penguin stationary, a nice shirt, and perfumed talc. (Didn't even know anybody sold those anymore) Becka got me a lovely medieval themed journal. I know just what should go in it. :D My favorite gift, however, was a very nice "Sea World" penguin my son won just for me at Busch Gardens. That was a first. Now that is love, because I know he loved that penguin! (& It was the first carnie game he won by himself) I had a lovely cake a week before we went in. Mom surprised me with one to eat on the day, in case I was home but I wasn't and they ate it before Tom and I got back. I teased them about it but I didnt really mind.

Finally got to see Pirates of the Carribbean II: Dead Man's Chest this last weekend. I must say I enjoyed it very much, even though Jack's character was made rather worse than it seemed in the first film. Still, how could I *not* love a film with so many Monkey Island scenes brought to glorious technicolor...undeadness? One of the more difficult bits in the early Monkey Island game involved sneaking into LeChuck's cabin...and, well, I won't spoil it, but I was actually impressed when Orlando pulled it off in one go. I seem to remember needing a few 'saves' myself. *cough* Anyway, CG work in it is so good you have to remind yourself that such things can't happen. I saw the first Pirates film with Tom for my birthday the year that came out. That feels like a very long time ago.

Lil Brown Dress makes her goal!

Congratulations! That's a long time to go without a personal update ;)

I like simplicity. I liked the brown dress idea. I already use a simple wardrobe with additions to my basic black, browns & greens etc. Just the same I don't think I would have made, let alone enjoyed such a pledge. I salute you!

Sweet Carmel Meme :-D

Apparantly get-to-know- you questionaires are now sometimes regarded as 'Meme's


Accent: American Standard

Butter or Margarine: butter.

Chore I Hate: mess happens. stinkiness happens. I deal with it and go on. Stinkiness not found for awhile because the cat hid while doing it, because a glass was forgotten for a couple of days...with juice in it, or because the container was invisible behind the jelly in the fridge that nobody likes... this takes on a whole different dimension. I deal with that too, but I don't like it very much.


Dog or Cat: either can be wonderful :-D



Essential Electronics: to those who would live wired, I suppose they are ;-)

Favorite Cologne(s): Sunflowers, Spiced Green Tea, Green Tea(hard to find now), Liz Claiborne, Ghost Myst, and an unidentified Arabian oil-based perfume my hubby got me last year. It has such a warm scent :)

Gold or Silver: I would be pleased to receive plenty of either. I won't complain, promise!


Hometown: New Jerusalem?

Insomnia: *presents insomnia pet for your inspection* Its been feeling neglected for awhile now. You can have it if you like...

Job Title(s): wife, mom, nurse, crafts artist, writer, feeder of pets, adding more but I don't think I want to anounce until I have something I am ready to show


Kids: two great young'uns abide with me. I don't know how they put up with me sometimes, but I'm grateful they do. They even allege to enjoy it. lol

Living arrangements: A decent-sized house with lots of headroom. Tis' a pity we're mostly short. lol

Most admirable trait: affection, honesty, forgiveness. All fresh gifts passed on daily by Jesus

Nicknames: The main one I go by now is MMMmmmmooooommm!!! Then there's my hubby's endearments. :-)

Overnight hospital stays: for me or for the whole family? recently had one connected to pre-surgical check on my hubby. It went very well! One more session, and we may finally see the end of this trial. Unbelievably he may *still* be cleared for a small vacation trip soon afterward. I was surprised the doctor said that. We'll have to wait and see tho


Quote: I am always encountering quotes I think are worthy of thought and remembrance.

This one caught my attention recently in 'Christianity & Culture' (Part of Lewis' 'Christian Reflections")

"our leisure, even our play, is a matter of serious concern. There is no neutral ground in the universe: every square inch, every split second, is claimed by God and counter-claimed by Satan. But will Brother Every agree in acknowledging a real difficulty about mere recreational reading..., as about games? ... It is a serious matter to choose wholesome recreations: but they would no longer be recreations if we pursued them seriously"

God made us with a need to relax, to play. Hard to find many guidelines for what is 'edifying' play and what isnt, aside from avoiding obvious sin. I've heard about everything condemned by Ephesians 5:4.

Ephesians 5:1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor.
3 But lewdness and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
5 For this ye know, that no lewd, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. -Webster 1833 ed

"much bad criticism, indeed, results from the efforts of critics to get a worktime result out of something that never aimed at producing more than pleasure."

Amen. He was referring to literary reviews but the concept is larger than that. Some people don't know how to just play. That would be sad enough but then they will judge others' responses based on their outlook. If all they do is for an intended effect or to get ahead in "x" way, everything you do must be for some deeper darker purpose. :/ IMHO Online gatherings seem to be especially vulnerable to the effects of people who join a play group with work/ politics/ personal ambitions foremost on their brains.

==========================
I had a dream recently about otters playing in the surf near an island with Riven-blue waters. They were just a bunch of tumbling, silly, friendly, innocent creatures splashing each other and dancing in the waves. For a minute I thought I was also an otter until I realized they were molting, and beneath that they were injured. I reached out to help one and realized I had hands. I was human but that difference wasn't enough to help them, so I prayed. A thinnish Ursula sat on a rock nearby shouting to the otters to do her bidding (they mostly ignored her) and insults at me ~ including "where is your God if he really is on your side?" ~ until Aslan bounded up the beach. Everytime she'd look, he'd look like something else ~ a smaller lion, a deer, a lamb, even a donkey. She'd turn away and laugh at us for paying these lowly creatures any mind ~ but we could see the huge lion steadily approaching.

Eventually Aslan appeared next to her and blew her off her perch. The otters laughed and spontaneoulsy healed as they rolled about in energetic play. The rest of the dream was just plain fun. Aslan bounded in and out as he pleased, which made us feel safe. I collected shells, played in the sand and splashed the otters. fun. I like fun. 'Ursula's are too focused on success to know what innocent lesiure time looks like!
======================


Religion: 'mere' Christianity. I believe the gospel of Jesus Christ in its entirety. I will accept any other sincere believers as being in the same spiritual family as myself be they Catholic, any variety Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, or un-Orthodox. ;-) I've even known a few sincere Mormons & Jehovah's Witnesses that I truly hope are claimed by heaven when they go to home.



Conversely, if the fruit of someone who claims to be a believer is consistently bad (See Galatians 5, Ephesians 4, Colossians 3, 2 Timothy ch2-3, Titus 3) their denominational protestations don't mean a whole lot. Everybody screws up sometimes but the believers will regret any wrong-doing intensely, will want to work out differences, won't seek to see how far they can spread the quarrel and who they can use against you, and will try to not to keep sinning in the same ways.

Siblings: Both half-brothers passed away years ago (when I was still a kid). I've been trying to adopt another ever since. My Mom doesn't seem to think this will work...

Time I wake up: varies wildly during trials like these.


Unusual talent or skill: writing, crafts of different sorts, design concepts

Vegetable I refuse to eat: lima beans - blecch!

X-rays: the initial check-up dental thingy is the only one I have had for years

Yummy stuff I cook: lamb roast with scratch gravy, homemade bread, decent breakfasts, quiche variations, noodle & rice casseroles with my own spices, scratch soups...

last books read: the Bible, "Babylon Rising" by Tim LaHaye, "Food Allergies and Intolerance," "Humor for a Mom's Heart," "Culture of Complaint" (I'll read political books from all over the ideological spectrum: Huffington to Coulter.), and a bit ironically, Deerproofing Your Yard & Garden - as I actually like to see our antlered neighbors stroll across the yard.

Strange to finally find this book now. I was looking for something like it for years on behalf of someone online I once thought was a friend ( seeking to be a good friend) and kept on because resulting discussions informed us that some local pals had the same trouble. I've never actually had that much trouble myself, despite our deer's fondness for our cantalopes & legumes. I recommend this book to anyone who has deer for neighbors whether you've got problems or not, as it explains rather well why deer do what they do when they do.

currently reading: "," "Christian Reflections" by C.S. Lewis, "Steal This Computer Book", The World's Religions, and rereading Behe's "Darwin's Black Box" & the Bible


verse for the day:

10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
11 For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased. Proverbs 9: 10-11

Pattern quiz

I liked two patterns about equally so I put 'em both on here.

Your Brain's Pattern

You have a dreamy mind, full of fancy and fantasy. You have the ability to stay forever entertained with your thoughts. People may say you're hard to read, but that's because you're so internally focused. But when you do share what you're thinking, people are impressed with your imagination.

What Pattern Is Your Brain?

+++++>>>>> and <<<<<+++++

Your Brain's Pattern

Your mind is an incubator for good ideas, it just takes a while for them to develop. But when you think of something, watch out! Your thoughts tend to be huge, and they come on quickly - like an explosion. You tend to be quiet around others, unless you're inspired by your next big idea.

What Pattern Is Your Brain?

Happy 4th of July!

(clickee the image for more cool ecards you can send to friends all over the net from 123greetings.com)


Tis a glorious day to honor our vets
and remember the declaration that said
We are a free people with God-given rights
to tyranny we'll not bow our heads


Tis a Hot, stormy day, this 4th of July
and many still wonder if we
are still proud as a people
of our leader and laws
are we still the land of the free?

Liberty is always journeying on
there is never an end to the cost
We must always be ready to answer all men
or our dearly bought freedom be lost

So let us stand strongly and bravely for cause
that we believe in heart's heart to be right
'gainst enemies out and temptations within
that our torch remain brightly alight

-Salar

Blogging Independence

Happy 4th of July Weekend!

Everybody is already celebrating the 4th around here. They have for days! Those beautiful fireworks will be shining somewhere in the area for several nights. The 4th is a big deal here, with all the military, gov't orgs, and the Revolutionary/Civil War historical sights in the area. Its quite impossible to forget the price of freedom when surrounded by so many reminders. Thank you so very much, veterans present and past, for your dedication to our country and to liberty.

freedom rings out o'er our land
purchased dearly by the blood of brave men

Also want to point out that one of the freedoms so dearly purchased is freedom of speech. That is, freedom to speak of your faith and out of your conscience, to come right out with happy sentiments as well as uncomfortable truths.

I was surprised how openly people declared their beliefs (religious, political, & other) when I first started checking out other folks' blogs. Blogging has become the new 'front porch' or even the 'soapbox in the park' where people can dare to be people again. People dare to debate the issues of the day, ask for prayer for a friend, or just share their lives.

Had a friend grouse that blogs were just online diaries. I said no, more like a public announcement system. What you announce is up to you, be it politics or how cute your grandbaby was in church today. Diaries are private.

To put it another way, imho blogging is the online equivalent of your own corner at the local soda fountain/barber shop/diner/general store where everybody meets and can have a say ~ with improvements. Your comments stick around instead of being 'interpreted' for latecomers. You can't get shouted down. You can allow others to comment or not. Even better, those comments will always come in order & can't be changed later. Anyone commenting on your blog is there because they want to be. You are never 'holding them up' or 'drowning' other conversation. You are never 'off-topic.' You decide what belongs here. Speak intelligently and you may change those your words touch.

Lots of folks are natural essayists/lecturers. & They'd like you to think about what they are trying to get off their chests. Face to face conversations benefit by sparking new thoughts but limit you in other ways. You always think of something you wish you'd said. Bloggers benefit from having the time and space to collect their thoughts without interruption. (okay you may have distractions around you in rl while you post, but that is why 'draft' & edit are such a nice features :)

People have remarked on their surprise at the large number of people who enjoy blogs. Who do they all post to? Each other, of course! Blogging is talking. People love to speak when they can do so freely. Blogs are a freer form of communication than most. You can share your thoughts with anyone who stops by ~ or just friends & family. Its great to find folks who have similar interests. That's also why people like webboards, especially when they are actively and fairly administrated. Ones that aren't run well face the danger of being taken over by cliques, but this is another reason blogs & personal websites are great for expanding freedom. The world always has its share of would-be tyrants, but on your sites, forums, & blogs you have a voice too, and that is a crucial checking power. You can get the truth out, as you know it. You can share your insights and have them expanded by other thinkers. You can talk over life, the universe, and everything. Blogs can be very good things indeed.

aaahh freedom!

Liberty will always rescue the art of conversation from her underground hideouts.

sparkling wit glows bright
only with free flowing air
closed boxes stifle life
-Salar

Split Second

Amethyst's poem struck a chord
string field that whirled 'round my mind
the dream of alternate pathways
of lives that could have been mine

For a moment I played in her shadow
in zephyr-like stream of accord
I went along her ghost walk unassuming
and savored the taste unexplored

but where would I have gone if I could have gone anywhere?
what kind of home would I choose
what hope would I keep
what languages learnt
what old baggage would I stand to lose?

my visions fail me when I think on what would be
if what could have occurred ~ had been
I gave Christ what once was frustration,
and peace has stilled those if-then's

I still have a fondness for change ~ and stability
A love for the ancient ~ and new
for silence and stillness
for resounding rich melody
deep vibrations I happily sing too

In the end I've found joy with the family I love
Change, I've found, is best dealt with ~ not sought
I take each day as it comes
enjoy the warmth of each sun
let Jesus bring wisdom to thoughts

On this side of heaven no certainty is that the path
we have taken is best.
I count no tomorrows
I accept joys and sorrows
and I'll trust my sweet Lord for the rest

>

(I've never been a poet, but sometimes I get bitten by the rhyming bug when I read someone else's efforts. heh)

Soda quizzles

Which Pepsi-Cola or Coca-Cola soda are you most like?

PEPSI-COLA.
Take this quiz!

I like Pepsi okay but its not a favorite. Like the write-up though ~

Its like I'm on my own journey
exploring the path less taken
handmade rucksack in hand
KI on alert
for the Quendor vending machine
near the oldest of universities

lol

----------------------------

Take the quiz:
Which soda are you?

Sunkist
You are a very cheerful and sweet person.Everyone loves you (except for those who envy you)
Quizzes by myYearbook.com -- the World's Biggest Yearbook!

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Sunkist actually was a favorite at one point growing up. I still like the color & remember the flavor with reasonable fondness, I just couldn't (and still can't) deal with the artificial dyes they used.

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DR. PEPPER You scored 11 fizziness!

You scored as Dr. Pepper. you are sweet, likable, and somewhat addictive. you like having people around you at all times, but sometimes will go to great lengths (that could get you into trouble) just to have the attention of those around you. or not. Maybe you already have your own crowd. One of the two.

You scored higher than 99% on fizziness

Link: The what soda are you Test written by DancySpongecake

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Yeah, baby! Momma-san likes zee Dr Pepper :-D
(Not real worried about the crowd thing. :)

My actual favorite sodas are:: Dr Pepper, Cheerwine, Coca-cola classic, Sierra Myst..errr..Mist, & IBC rootbeer. Actually, I wouldnt say no to any old-fashioned rootbeer or sarsaparilla. Enjoyed quite a few organics from the local co-ops and such growing up.

how 'bout you?

Mantra

While I was attending a public high school, a popular song came out that insisted "everybody wants to rule the world." I wasn't very pleased with it. I knew I didn't want to rule the whole world. I wouldn't want to have to account to God for it! Most of my fellow students agreed that it was pretty silly to think that everyone had delusions of grandeur...the first week.

It was interesting to watch the effect this chant-sounding song had on people as the weeks passed, and the radios (& MTV) played it more and more often. I especially remember a good friend who laughed at the song with me the first week, was humming it often three weeks later, and finally debated the 'truth' of it with me (a true convert!) a month or so after that. He had decided that everybody *did* want to rule the world, and insisted he'd come to this conclusion on his own and not because he was listening to a message to that effect day in and day out. I may say it had a deleterious effect on his character. The guys who went for it become snots until they quit listening to it so much.

What made me different? My faith? Perhaps. But I was always a different kid, so much so that several friends and relations insisted I was an 'old soul.' (God made it plain eventually that He made me like I am). So some of my resistence to modern humanism may be a natural gift from my Maker, but I was also blessed to take breaks from popular culture while growing up. My earliest years included exposure to the ARE crowd in Virginia Beach, but I rarely saw Sesame Street. Some years I attended public school and sometimes I was in private situations, including a cottage homeschool system in N.C. that I still remember fondly. We ate from our gardens & organic co-ops whenever possible. We had a tv at home (purchased when I was nearly 7), but it stayed off for much of my childhood. I had the chance to know gentle back-to-the-Earthers, Mennonites, Messianics, Jesus Freaks, and other counter-culture folks. I learned to read books for fun. I observed nature myself, without another's interpretation coloring everything I saw. Most of all, I had time to think and encouragement in forming opinions all my own. I had no idea how blessed I was in this!

& I still remember the shock of kids who couldnt believe I didn't regularly watch the latest shows or want the latest toys (a lot of them were really stupid- this was the 70's.)

Why were they shocked at my lack of interest in such ephemerals?

I was really glad I liked Star Wars. That gave me some common ground to continue speaking to those who apparantly had nothing else in their lives to discuss (that they valued). Their worlds were full of oft-repeated ads, idolized images, and injunctions ~ mantras saying buy this, eat that, play with these, believe this, and you'll be fashionable/popular/on the road to success! Some of these would be true (eat your veggies and you'll be healthier) and others were... advertising.

By way of gentle example:: Remember the Song "Its a Small World After All?" Many of us actually believe that the world IS a small place after all. If you think about it, you know this is silly. The Earth is huge compared with us. It hasn't shrunk in the slightest since our ancestors reflected on the vast expanses that surrounded them. This view (& Disney's song) is a paean to motorized transport, to the relative size of our planet to the enormous hugely hugeness of the heavens beyond, and, most especially, to aircraft travel. But the impossible-to-truly-envision enormity of the universe doesn't make our globe any tinier. Anywhere the connections don't connect or don't go, those ole miles stretch out just like they used to. (Palin's Pole to Pole & Around the World in 80 Days travelogues demonstrate this admirably.) But it meant, you may protest, that we can get there faster and that the cultures of the Earth are much more connected. Yep, flight & cars usually make travel faster, and the nations do know about each other, but in many minds, wherever the song (and slogans like it) have taken root and haven't been critically examined, the ridiculous idea remains that our planet is much smaller than previously thought and that this makes it quicker and easier to get anywhere. The warm-fuzzy variegated global society suggested by Disney's song (among other sources), has yet to materialize as well. The Chinese don't identify with us all that much. Many Europeans disown any 'family' resemblance to Americans quite regularly. Tourists are welcome because they bring money. Globe Trekkers are welcome because they will probably be followed by tourists. Journalists impact the global reputation of the nation. If you, however, trust to a 'family of nations' ethic to keep you safe in other countries... Well, actually, I don't think you are that stupid. Danger does lovely things for causing folks to reconsider what they've been told.

You've been told soooo many things over and over since your early school years. Did you ever notice how often the 'thinking critically' sections of your textbooks were invitations to support the arguments in the chapter? Were you ever encouraged to consider how or whether a theory promoted in your textbooks was true? I wasn't, not in public schools! I still remember the elementary school instructor who screamed at me for better than an hour, and even threatened to flunk me for refusing to say on a multiple choice test that I was a descendant of a primate. I respectfully offered to write an answer that showed I understood the theory, but could not agree with it. This was not good enough. She wanted a statement of faith in her mantra. Until that day and hour I had thought her a fairly reasonable person, despite her earlier irritation when I read my literature book for the year over the weekend. It took the intervention of the church we attended to resolve the situation, and with their help I finished the year in a private academy with religious ties. This turned out to be great news for me. My new Christian tutors allowed me read and think as much as I liked, and my educational deficit (I was lagging well behind my potential) was largely addressed. Who do you think looked more 'progressive' to me? Whose liberality had more credibility?

Did you ever get the 'lifeboat' scenario in middle school? I did, as part of the 'great books' program in another public school. You remember how those went? You were asked to come up with a quick response in round-table discussion (I chose 'pray.') and was then told to write a naturalistic (trans: no God) response to the situation. I wrote that it would be better to risk death than destroy your character by purposely planning to harm others for personal gain. (I was very much into Tolkein & tales of knight errantry at the time and had decided the ideals presented had merit.) I thought hard about my answers, as I was asked to do. I honestly expected my answers to be tossed into the mix as one of many possibilities. Instead my answer was immediately passed over by a decidedly shocked-looking assistant instructor (Later we were told that my reply wasn't included in her teacher's discussion manual and she just didn't know what to say.) My teacher in that place was actually a better person, and didn't try to penalize me academically for speaking my conscience, she just didn't call on me much... Not too bad, except that I actually liked answering questions.

Its so much easier to write what you know others want to hear, isn't it? So much easier to assume the 'experts' have all the answers. It so much easier to believe blindly what you are told. Don't think. Don't make waves. Of course you decided to believe it yourself.... aahh IT* has such a soothing voice!

*from L 'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time"

Remember the high school kids who bought into that song "everybody wants to rule the world?"They'd also insist that no oft repeated song/music video, tv show theme, textbook, or slogan convinced them of what they then believed. Point out that the very phrasings they used came from textbooks or popular culture and all you'd get was a resounding "so what?!?"

Not that people didn't ever disagree, but even then it wasn't unusual to hear conflicting viewpoints reference another literary or pop culture icon ~ like the song above versus Annie Lennox's "sweet dreams are made of this..." ~ rather than their simple personal opinion. My own view ran the other way. I felt their voices counted because these were their personal opinions (however influenced), and these were friends. I cared about them - not the mantras they had accepted.

The earlier the repetition begins, the more certain the individual is that whatever has been told to him/her is a fact, unless they take some time to think over the 'certainties' of their existence. That doesn't often happen before a kid leaves formalized schooling, if it happens at all.

While we were on the road the other day, Tom and I were reflecting on how some people seem to mature rapidly once they leave institutionalized schooling/corporate structures. Why some and not others? Could it be that mantras lose their impact with stronger personalities when not continuously reinforced?

Food for thought anyway.

Happy Father's Day!

(clickee the image to send this card or another one from 123greetings to a Dad you wish to honor :)

Happy Father's Day to my husband, Tom, & to my most honorable father-in-law!

Happy Father's Day to all good Dads
May love and honor crown your life
May you live long and happily with kids and wife
May God preserve your little ones, girls and lads
and see your household safe to heaven




and to father of the fatherless, our dear sweet Saviour

Thank you for being the one to catch us when we fall
For valuing us when others did not
For being the Dad who'll always be there
for calling us on to a better life.
You give us what we need the most
and comfort us always through your Holy Ghost.
Your peace fulfils our family
Your promise protects us from harm
Your joy gives our lives a new song
and I want to thank you all the day long

:)

Piccies!

Put some new family piccies up in my photo site. Most of them are nature-oriented, but in honor of the weekend here is one for my beloved, talented, devoted, (& occasionally irascible) spouse



Gimli on his hot rod :)

David & Saul

Great blog!