Status Update - Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Taking…...a break before lunch. After taking a walk with my daughter this morning and cleaning out the mess in the fridge that I’m not sure what happened in there but is clean now, I decided I haven't written a blog post in a few days and want to, and even though it’s not Monday, somehow here on week six of these stay-at-home times the days are a little muddled together anyhow and a status update seems to be all I have mental energy for right now. So, here it is - a very Monday sort of post on this fine Tuesday.

Drinking….Constant Comment tea, my favorite.  My husband, my hero, my go-out-in-public-so-no-one-else-in-the-house-has-to sweetheart couldn’t find any at the store, shelves still being a tad sparse at times, so I ordered some from Amazon.  I now have plenty to last for the long haul, and I’m enjoying it. My sweet husband is retaining his awesome sense of humor in all of this.  I got this text before he came home from the store that night, “We apologize as we may have had to substitute a few items….”  Haha.  I’m still laughing from that.  Remember he’s always been so good about not taking things too seriously.  His favorite phrase when we were dating and early married was, “Lighten up, Beck.”  Hopefully I’ve gotten a little better through the years, as he hasn’t had to say that as often in recent years.  

Reading….Behold the King of Glory: A Narrative of the Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ by Russ Ramsey. I am usually a little wary of books that make a narrative of scripture, but Tim Challies recommended this and several people I respect and trust endorsed it so I thought I’d try it.  I’m liking it so far - he does a good job with scripture references and adding historical details about the time period without too much iffy speculation, and I’m enjoying reading it. I’m also reading The Horse and His Boy by C. S. Lewis with my daughter as we continue our journey together through The Chronicles of Narnia.  We’re having a great time reading them together, and I continually get choked up as I read them, no matter that I’ve read them uncountable times before. The end of The Silver Chair really gets to me when Caspian dies just as his son is reunited with him, then we get to see the other side in Aslan’s country.  And I’m planning to start The Secret of the Wild Wood by Tonke Dragt, which is the sequel to The Letter for the King pretty soon also.

Scripture Memory….since last post when I mentioned what I’m going to be working on, I have worked some on it, but I need to focus more intensely.  I’m working on Romans 8:37-39, and I have gotten up to Colossians 2:3.  Once I get that firmed up this week, my hope is to continue to the next set of verses, Colossians 2:4-7 next week.  

Feeling….a little distracted and still having a hard time sitting still to concentrate.  Granted, I’m getting a lot of reading done, but I find that I allow social media to drain away more of my time and mental and emotional energy than I should.  I’ve always struggled with that temptation, and it seems even harder now with all the general anxiety around us not to scroll, scroll, scroll looking for different news.  I will say, I have discovered what a good thing the snooze function on Facebook is.  You can snooze certain people for 30 days, and that allows you not to see their posts for that long but still remain connected.  If a friend is on a tear about some conspiracy theory….snooze. If a friend is constantly sharing all the anxiety riddled click bait….snooze.   If a friend is finding new and ever increasingly petty things to lecture us about and take offense about….snooze. If a friend is being the neighborhood police and lecturing us on why we need to be as anxious as they are….snooze. If a friend is constantly sharing scripture out of context and twisting it to share bad doctrine….snooze.  After a while, it’s not quite as anxious a place to visit anymore until the snooze wears off.  

Encouraged….my daughter and I have been taking long walks around the neighborhood together and it’s been a sweet time to talk with her and listen to what’s on her heart.  I just so much enjoy her.  Not only do I love her, I like her, too. Same with all my children.  They are just pleasant people to know, and how kind God has been to allow me to be their mom and redeem the mistakes and sin and flaws in my parenting as He has graciously drawn them to Himself. My daughter shared with me how during their Sunday night online youth meeting, the middle school youth director talked to them about not letting entertainment become an idol and how subtle a thing that can be.  He encouraged them to think about their habits and sources of entertainment and take one day this week and turn off one distracting source of entertainment, and every time they thought about turning it on or clicking on it to take time to pray.  I think maybe I need to do that with Facebook and Twitter - my two biggest time wasters. 

Thinking (get ready for a bit of a rant, and you may think I’m earning a, “lighten up, Beck”)….about something we saw on our walk today that disturbed me and I’m probably reading too much into.  Someone had written what I’m sure they meant to be encouraging messages in chalk on the sidewalk.  One said, “Trust in Jesus & in science & in the doctors and nurses.”  Um.  No.  I can’t read the heart of the person who wrote it, and I’ll assume the best, but part of me reads it as a criticism of people of Christian faith.  I will listen to the scientists and medical professionals and follow their educated advice, sure.  But for all that, science is fallible.  We’re seeing even in the six weeks this thing has been going strong here how often models and scientific data are revised and shift.  Sure, I will follow reasonable physical distancing and guidance and listen to advice, but trust in them?  Trust IN scientists and doctors and nurses? No.  To phrase it the way that message is phrased? No.  I think my problem was the word “in” and the implication that trusting in human wisdom is equal weight to trusting in Jesus.  To me, to say to trust in something implies putting the weight of my hope in that thing I trust in.  I can trust THAT what someone like a scientist or doctor says is as true as they’re able to be and helpful and worth listening to, but trusting IN them for my ultimate well-being?  No.  My trust in Jesus is ultimate.  Only He is sovereign.  He is the Creator, the very Word of God.  He alone is infallible.  He alone can save my soul.  And, get this, He alone can determine whether someone will contract this virus or anything else and what the effect will be.  We are not to be foolish and should listen to wise counsel and do our part to love others and protect where we can, but trust in science as I trust in Jesus?  Absolutely not.  I trust Him to grant wisdom to those who are studying this disease, and for those who are on the front lines to combat it and help those who are afflicted, and for our government officials who have very difficult decisions to make, whether they are trusting Him or not.  Ultimately all of life is under the Providence of God who cares for His creation and loves His people. THAT is what I put my trust IN. I’m probably asking too much from a sidewalk chalk message, but that was what struck me in my gut as I walked by, feeling kind of offended by what I’m sure was meant as an encouraging message, but felt more like one of those lectures I’m getting oh, so tired of hearing from people who seem to think we should all be living more in fear of this virus than in fear of the One who controls even this virus.  

Weight Loss Journey….and now for a lighter note, this is a new category for the status update, but I decided to use this stay-at-home time to try to lose some of the pesky pounds I’ve wanted to shed for quite some time now.  In addition to taking walks with my daughter, we got out the old Wii Fitness Plus and we’ve been having fun with that - not intensive exercise, of course, but fun. I did find it annoying today, though when my Fitbit app needed an update and required me to sign in and then proceeded to completely erase the over 5000 steps I got on my walk this morning.  Grrr. Anyway….. I’m also paying attention to what I eat and trying to make wiser choices, limiting sugar and lowering carbs and monitoring snacking.  So far I’m down 2.5 pounds.  Not much, but trending the right direction, and that was on a Monday morning after a weekend, so I’m encouraged.  

And that’s probably enough for today. Happy Tuesday!

Thoughts I've Had While Listening to "The Sound of Silence"

I have always liked the Simon & Garfunkel song, “The Sound of Silence.” Until recently, if you had asked my opinion, I would have said I don’t think anyone else could do it justice, but then I heard the version that the band Disturbed has recorded.  My teenage son assures me I would not like Disturbed’s other music, and I’ll just go ahead and take his word for it, since he knows about these things. :-) One other version I loved recently happened during a marching band performance from one of the high school bands at the one and only competition we went to this year. The band played some of “The Sound of Silence,” and then, with the echo and overtones of the last chord played ringing in the stadium, stood on the field in complete silence for several seconds before playing again.  It was musically and emotionally very powerful.  But I’m digressing far from my point.  I do like this version of “The Sound of Silence” that I’m posting under this paragraph very much,  as it captures well a sense of heart wrenching alienation as it begins softly and builds in intensity. Something about the pathos of his voice and the musical arrangement captures the angst of the alienation that I think we are seeing more and more in our culture.

Paul Simon wrote this song in the 1960’s, capturing his own generation’s angst and alienation, but I think he was sort of a cultural prophet, too, because every time as I listen to the words and tone of the song, I can’t help but think of the whirlwind of alienation we are reaping upon ourselves with our smartphones/devices and social media. 

Look at this stanza:

“And in the naked light I saw

Ten thousand people, maybe more

People talking without speaking

People hearing without listening

People writing songs that voices never share

No one dared

Disturb the sound of silence.”

Does that not describe what happens on Facebook and Twitter a hundred thousand times a day? We are more connected than ever in this generation, yet the depth of those connections is superficial at best in most cases. When I first joined Facebook almost nine years ago (I actually had to go check because I can’t believe it’s been that long), it was only after resisting for a long while and I only joined because people from my old high school were working on a reunion and looking for people and someone (my brother, I think) said someone had contacted him looking for me. So I joined, thinking it might be a neat way to keep up with people from the past, especially since we move so often. And that part has been pretty cool. But, one of the griefs of my life is that I’ve found, while it’s cool to stay in touch, the closeness of the friendship is just not the same when we aren’t able to be face-to-face friends anymore. People I was very close to when we were able to go to lunch together and spend time in each other’s homes, just aren’t able to seem as close and well-known once we move away, even though we all post on Facebook and like each others’ statuses. Something is lost.  And then when you factor in the ‘friends’ or people you follow on Twitter (or any social media platform) who you don’t actually know in real life and watch the way conversations tend to go on social media, you begin to see that there are an awful lot of people talking without speaking and hearing without listening, when you see how quickly such conversations can go sour. The silence that ensues from that kind of communication is the alienation of misunderstanding and talking past each other and the depression that can cause to descend, because the nature of the medium just does not lend itself to true conversation and understanding.  It just doesn’t.  And it is frustrating, because I believe we all long to be heard and understood and known and truly connected, not this false connection that social media fosters. It makes promises it just cannot deliver, like clouds that never bring rain. 

But that’s not all. My thoughts as I listen to this song drift along in other directions, too.

Take a look at this phrase:

“And the people bowed and prayed

To the neon god they made.”

I bet you can guess where I’m going with this one, but what comes to mind every time I hear this is the generation of smartphone zombies we’ve cultivated. When was the last time you were in a room with random strangers when the majority weren’t lost in the glow of a personal screen? When was the last time you were sitting in a restaurant and you didn’t see people sitting at the same table together, but lost in their own little private worlds, looking at their phones, not talking to the person right at the table with them? Do you even remember a time when you could strike up a friendly conversation in a waiting room or grocery store line because people weren’t consumed with their own private little world? Do you remember people actually smiling at each other or just noticing someone else was even there in such cases? Have you ever been walking along in the grocery store and seen many someones oblivious to the fact that anyone else was there because they were so engrossed in their private little smartphone worlds? In moments when we have to wait, what’s our first inclination? Pull out that phone and start scrolling or texting, right? It’s unthinkable that we might take that time and let boredom steer our minds to actually have to think on our own, or, gasp, actually talk to someone else. 

And then there is this: Want to try a scary little experiment? Take a walk down one of the busier streets in your neighborhood and count how many of the cars that drive by have a driver who is looking at a phone. I do this regularly and It’s quite terrifying. We’ve allowed ourselves to become addicted and enslaved to the dopamine hit of ever constant ‘new’ information. Only most of what we’re so enthralled with isn’t all that important, but we’re addicted, nonetheless.  Try leaving your phone at home sometime, or, hey, just leave it in the other room. See how long you can stand it.

We’ve opened a Pandora’s box with our constant connectivity that I’m not sure we can close again. And I’m right there in the thick of it, too, I’m not pointing any fingers that aren’t coming squarely back at me. 

I’ve seen studies that seem to point to a correlation in the rise in depression and suicide among our youth to the incidence of most people owning a smartphone. I think this bears some serious consideration. Is it possible, likely even, that with our constant connectivity we have sacrificed real, deep friendships for shallow ones, which means we are actually more alienated than ever? Is it possible that in the name of being more social, we’ve actually become much more consumed with ourselves, our image? We’ve become so consumed with taking the best selfies and posting the very best about ourselves and making sure our image is attractive that we aren’t really thinking about much of anything else, except maybe how offended we are about the current issue of the day and how we can best virtue signal how aware we are and how in tune we are with the current politically correct opinions. Are we more consumed with what we want to say than with how our words may affect other people? Are we more concerned with seeming to be in step with the culture than we are in thinking deeply about issues and searching the Bible to inform our thoughts rather than what the latest social issue people demand our thoughts should be? Don’t you see how quickly a social media thread can degenerate into unkind and unfair accusations and assumptions? Do you often walk away from reading social media feeling better about people? 

Granted this is anecdotal, but I heard a story the other day that shocked me and made me very, very sad.  I was talking to a realtor who told me that when she shows houses, very often her clients would prefer to text her their questions rather than ask them in person. I looked at her funny, and said, “You mean when they are right there in the room with you?” She said, “Yes.” I don’t know how common this actually is, but it is something she has experienced often enough that she was telling the story, and that just seems heartbreaking to me. Are we truly raising a generation that has lost even the barest minimum of social skills necessary to carry on a real conversation? Are we truly raising a generation that has lost the ability to have face-to-face, true relationships? Are we truly raising a generation that can’t enjoy a special moment without posting it, without having to seek the affirmation of their thousands of social media ‘friends?’  Are we truly raising a generation that has lost the skill of making genuine, deep friendships that do not have to be validated and upheld by Snapchat? Are we becoming so lost in our own little private worlds that we are missing the in-the-flesh people and needs all around us?

 I’ve been thinking a lot about this, and I think part of what we lost in the Fall is the ability to truly be transparent and real with each other. No longer can we be naked and unashamed, not even emotionally. And now instead of being God-focused and others-focused, we are consumed with ourselves. Yet, don’t we long for true community and real connectedness? Don’t we long to know and be known? Isn’t that the draw of social media, that we can feel that what we have to say matters to someone, anyone? Isn’t that why we overshare the mundane details of our lives all over social media? Getting real and personal here, but perhaps, isn’t that why I’m writing this blog? To share my thoughts with someone who might listen? 

A few of us ladies were having a discussion recently about friendships among Christian women. One lady was lamenting the fact that it is hard to get past the surface where everyone seems so ‘perfect’ to where you can share what’s real with other women. That is part of what we, as the church, should be able to do better than anyone else. We are called to love one another. That involves getting to actually know one another. We have to let down some of those walls and actually speak and listen, even and especially when it’s uncomfortable. We need community. We long for it. We may not ever experience it perfectly this side of Heaven, but we who love Jesus should be striving for it among our brothers and sisters. Have you noticed how very often believers are described as family and as a Body together? Together.  I think we need to think long and hard about how important it is to put down our personal screens, spend less time cultivating our online pseudo community, look up, and expend the energy and even the sacrifices to get to know the few people we have in our real life circles, face-to-face. We are created for community. The second greatest commandment is to love our neighbors as ourselves.

One way I’ve found that is refreshing and beneficial in building this kind of face-to-face community is to sit with a few friends and share scripture together and pray together, sharing our deepest heart desires as we pray fervently. This builds deep, Christ-centered friendship in a way social media never can. Taking a meal together and sharing our hearts over coffee and biblical wisdom, phones carefully tucked away, leads to much richer connection than hours staring at a glowing screen ever can. Another way to build the kind of true connection we long for is to serve together, striving side by side for the sake of the gospel - the good news that Jesus came to save sinners and reconcile us to God. He lived a perfect life and fulfilled God’s law for us, He died on the cross and rose again. By His blood we can be declared righteous and freed from the penalty of our sin, freed from the curse, and freed to love God and love others. We need flesh and blood friendships. We don’t need hundreds or thousands of ‘likes’ on our social media posts to affirm us. We need to be looking out, away from ourselves to others, to serving and loving others well, as we talk face to face and share real life experiences together. 

So, while I like that song, I don’t so much like the alienation masquerading as connectivity that so clearly marks this world my kids are growing up into. May I be one who seeks to look up and out and love well the people God has placed near me. May I be more concerned with loving others than I am with feeding my own pride. And that very well may mean posting and reading less and less on my social media platforms, and learning to be wise and teaching my children to be wise about how we use those platforms and not asking of them more than they can deliver. So be it. 

Status Report - November 2014

Drinking…..hot pumpkin spice tea with honey. I’ve already had a large amount of coffee, and I don’t want my hands to start shaking if I drink much more, but since the cooler weather is settling in for the long haul, only to start growing colder now, hot tea it is.

Making….sourdough starter, well, already finished making it this morning. Hoping it turns out well. I’ve not had a lot of success with sourdough, but my husband likes it, so I’m trying it again. Hoping it will be warm enough in the kitchen to get this starter going.

Enjoying…how absolutely beautiful Fall is here in Ohio. We live in a neighborhood with lots of older trees, and the colors have been splendid. It’s like drinking in the gorgeous colors as I walk and drive through town. I’ve never seen so many ginormous piles of leaves on the ground before, either, as the glories of the season are beginning to wind down and we head into the cold and snow of winter, as people keep taking some perverse pleasure in reminding me is just around the corner.

Speaking….of driving through town, that is something of an experience around here, and not always a pleasant one. Wowza. Some days I feel like I’ve held my breath the whole way between home and where ever it is I’ve had to drive to. 

Thinking…about how ‘social media’ isn’t so much a good thing for the social life. It seems to have a role in hurting more relationships than helping sometimes. I’m learning to be a whole lot more ‘surface’ in what I post and staying out of a lot of conversations when at all possible. Then you get into the whole internet vs. ‘real life’ face time discussion that I don’t want to flesh out here. 

Logging out….of Facebook on my iPhone for a while. Part of that thinking up there. I am becoming convinced that, for all the good that comes from smart phones (maybe), they overall aren’t actually such a good thing for us in the long run. I’ve never seen something that I find so addicting as that stupid, stupid phone. I find myself scrolling and scrolling social media and checking in on the two games I play, and it just is NOT healthy in so many ways. SO much wasted time, energy, and emotion. I’m trying to use November to wean myself away from it a lot. That and it's really annoying to only see the tops of people's heads these days as everyone else seems to be just as addicted to the dumb phones. We are becoming a nation of phone zombies.

Reading…..a book called Time and Again by Jack Finney, which I did not realize until I looked up the link to share here just now as I write this is actually book one of two. Hmmm….. Well, I’m enjoying this one at the moment, and I’m about halfway through. I’m also reading Expository Listening by Ken Ramey, which I received from Truth for Life. I’ve probably mentioned this before, but if you are not listening to Alistair Begg on Truth for Life, you should be. :-)

Finding….that I am having a harder time sitting down to focus on reading than I’ve ever had in my life. I feel like I’ve developed adult onset ADD or something. I am sure it is directly related to my dumb smart phone. One more aspect to my love-hate relationship with the crazy thing. 

Writing….quite a few blog posts that I’m not quite ready to post in public yet. It’s frustrating. I have a lot on my mind, all of which it helps to write about, but none of which I believe is ready for the blog, if it ever will be. My private journal is getting lots of wear and tear lately. I may have to burn the thing sometime down the road, but it helps me to corral my thoughts to write about them and work through them.

Beginning….to research the area where we think we may be moving next summer. Another minor background stress, that not knowing for sure yet where we’re going next, but we’re starting to look at churches, housing, and schools in the area where we think we will be. Encouraging thing is, if we’re going where we think we will be going, there is a lot to be excited about in those areas.  

Feeling….the drain of missing having good friends to talk with face to face over lunch. We are only here for a year, and not having that camaraderie is so difficult. In fact, the last year and half has been one of the most difficult seasons of my life for various reasons, to be honest, and I’m feeling some of the strain of it, truth be told. My husband is wonderful at listening and talking me through things, but I’m sure he would appreciate it if I had some girl friends to share the burden of all my words. :-) Sometimes you just need your girl friends, you know? This moving for just a year is lonely, and I can see some areas where it’s quite difficult on my children, too, and that hurts.

Thankful….we have an excellent church to attend while we live here. It is a blessing.

Working on....memorizing the book of Colossians. I started this way back a year ago, then life got busy, my ADD kicked in and I let the project drop. I've picked it up again. I find the discipline of memorizing long passages of scripture to be very beneficial. It gets your mind engaged in a way that simply reading the passage once does not. This is one more reason I want to walk away from social media all-the-time connectivity, so I can free up my focusing ability to work on memorizing these passages. So, I'm working on finishing up chapter 1 this week.

Also thankful, beyond words….for Jesus. No matter how difficult or lonely or even confusing the path I’m walking today, He is with me, and I am never alone. Every promise in His word is true, and I can stand on every word. I’m so thankful for His Word, that I have a Bible I can read and study and learn to know Him. And I’m thankful for His discipline and for the mercy He shows His people as the Great Shepherd and Redeemer. 

And with that, I’ll sign off for now. Happy November!

Where I Am Right Now, Thoughts on Moving and Where We Are Planted This Year

Moving to a new community is always interesting, and each move brings with it challenges, joys, sorrows, and struggles. The community where we are planted for this year is no exception. It is interesting, challenging, but also has some good. One thing that’s added to the mix this year is that the city we live in, in the greater Cleveland area, is, on some measures, one of the most liberal cities in Ohio, maybe even the country. We in our family have been known to call it the USSR of (our city name). It’s definitely the most liberal school system we’ve ever encountered. It is also a totally IB-infused curriculum from elementary to high school throughout the entire school district. Those of you who love that curriculum, please don’t be offended or feel the need to convince me otherwise, I’m glad for those who like it, but that wasn’t actually a draw for us. I wouldn’t choose it for my kids if I’d had a choice. At least we really, really, really love our church, even though it’s kind of a drive to get to it several little cities over.

That said, there are some great things about this community and school system, IB and all. I’ll start with that before I get to my rather short point. First of all, this is probably the most diverse community we’ve ever lived in, and that is a really good thing. I love that my daughter is completely race-blind. She truly wants to befriend anyone that will be her friend, whether black, white, brown, or whatever, we are all descendants of Adam, created in God’s image. I love this for my kids. May their tribe increase. I also think it’s great that they get to meet people who aren't necessarily just like them and don’t think like them. I am very encouraged by the discussions we have at home as they work through what they believe and why they believe it and learn to embrace the faith as their own and also learn to respectfully discuss issues with people who hold very different beliefs. Our Sunday School class is studying the book of Daniel, and last week we discussed the balance between being resolute in our convictions and what we hold to be true, and know to be true, and respectful in how we seek to follow them and talk about them. I found it quite helpful in light of some things we face daily. 

Another thing I like about the schools here is that academically they are quite rigorous, and when I went to the elementary school open house, I liked some of the strategies they shared for how they are teaching math and reading and other things. Musically we could not ask for better education. Both of my boys have top-notch private lesson teachers. And the band totally rocks. 

That said, there is a feel here, for lack of a better word, a kind of smug sense of self-righteous superiority that pervades the atmosphere here that I find a little creepy, and it’s mostly from the IB stuff. First of all, people are NUTS about scores and tests and stuff. One of the first things high school parents ask when they meet me is, “What classes is your son taking?” And there is an underlying arrogance about whose kid is taking the hardest classes. It’s creepy.

Then, another thing that defines our experience here is that there is a group-think mentality I find off-putting, even as they stress characteristics like independence and learning to think critically. However, listening to my older boys talk when they come home from school, there’s a subtle subversiveness to the learning to think thing. It’s great when they learn to think ‘critically’ as long as it matches the teacher’s liberal bent, and as long as their reasoning sounds like good little communists socialists liberals globally aware IB students in the mold approved by the curriculum, but my very conservative, very Christian sons are finding that their contributions aren’t always what the teacher is looking for, and sometimes aren’t very welcome. They haven’t had any outright negativity, but they have been told, “Yes, well, we won’t be going there,” with certain discussion topics. 

Case in point, my high schooler’s text book for Honors English is The Bible As/In Literature. I wasn’t thrilled with that choice, but what I have been thrilled with is listening to the things my son has been telling me as he’s asked me questions and we’ve discussed things and as he’s been sharing in class. He said there is one boy who now asks him, “What do you think about that?” after certain discussions, and he’s able to open up the Bible and show him there is so much more to what they read than the curriculum line they are given in class, which definitely is subversive to our high view of the Bible. That’s been pretty neat to watch. I kind of feel like, if they choose a book like that for a high school class, then they invite the discussion. You use our holy book for your text, don’t get mad if a Christian kid goes deeper with it than you maybe intended. While the Bible is literature, and great literature at that, it is so much more than just literature, too, and if we’re really going to be tolerant, he has just as much right to share his insight as the atheist kids who are so antagonistic to his view. TRUE tolerance implies disagreement. So, all that said, I’m pretty excited to see God working in this situation and how my sons are learning to make a reasoned defense for what they believe. Even when they may not speak up in front of the class or directly to the teacher, other kids notice and they listen to them and even ask them. I’m also planning on giving him the book I’m reading just as soon as I finish it, which is Jesus Unmasked by Todd Friel. After being exposed to the discussions in his English class and the discussions we’ve had at home about those discussions, I’m very excited for him to read Todd Friel’s most excellent look at how all of the Old Testament points to Jesus, finding Jesus in the types and shadows of the Old Testament. The timing of that book coming out is spectacular for our family. My son will get to see how truly awesome the Bible is, how inspired and how much more its message is than what was discussed in class. I pray daily for my children in the midst of all this.

Which leads me on a little rabbit trail. What I see very much here in this community is the classic liberal redefining of tolerance. Tolerance today is not actually tolerance. To be ‘tolerant’ according to the common wisdom of our whacked out culture today means to be totally accepting of everything, and especially of everything that we might be prone to voice any disagreement about, if that makes sense. It means calling evil good and good evil. It means nothing is EVER wrong, unless it’s something that doesn’t mesh in lock-step with the prevailing secularist view. THAT is wrong and intolerant.  These days, calling something wrong is just about the biggest cultural sin you can commit. Problem is, it just doesn’t work. I’m supposed to be totally accepting of homosexuality or evolution, for example, but my view is taboo and ignorant. Tolerance only goes one way in the tolerance-not tolerance camp. TRUE tolerance, however, is acknowledging disagreement, but believing you don’t have to be disrespectful or go to war over the disagreement. TRUE tolerance allows for people to strongly hold their beliefs and convictions, strongly defend them, on all sides, and learn to coexist peacefully in spite of disagreement. That’s when true dialogue can happen, too. A truly tolerant person will not insist on everyone else changing everything they believe or going against their strongly held convictions just to suit them. However, that’s not the culture in which we find ourselves.

So, anyway, back to the point all this was leading up to, last week I went to the elementary school open house, and during the principal’s remarks at the end of the evening, she was discussing the new program they’ve implemented for recess. It used to be, she said, that you would have a group playing football, very competitive, which led to arguing, a group playing kick ball, also very competitive, and then everyone else. Well, now they’ve done away with the football and kickball, because the competitive nature of them was not good, in their opinion, and implemented these non-competitive games that can include everyone. No more bad competitiveness. And it really was presented as if the problem was that being competitive is a bad thing. So, we spend all day teaching these kids group-think, then we don’t ever let them think it’s ever okay to compete at all. We all have to get along, and we can’t ever compete. Being competitive on the recess field is BAD. I think that’s unwise. It’s not bad to be competitive, per se. What about teaching them to be competitive in a sportsmanlike way? Rather than making competitiveness an evil, why not teach how to do it well, and offer the non-competitive games, too, as an alternative for kids who don’t want the more competitive option?

I get that they are trying to crack down on bullying and trying to build team work and cooperation and diversity. Those are admirable goals. I just disagree about how to get there. Teaching the wrong view of tolerance isn’t it - that just breeds a whole new kind of bully, and neither is obliterating any semblance of competitiveness. There needs to be balance. Teach kids to compete as sportsmen, teach real tolerance - the balance between being resolute and respectful, and teach proper competition, and I think we’d have a better mix. Just going around chanting the IB characteristics all day doesn’t make them true, it just makes for a creepy kind of group-think, parrot environment. (Just ask my daughter who came home in tears on Friday because of the ‘mean girls’ (my term) at lunch. Those ‘IB learners’ weren’t acting very ‘open-minded’ or ‘caring’ toward the new girl. My mama bear instinct grizzled up a little as she told me about it and I had to swallow it and talk her through it wisely.)

When I got home from that open house and was telling my husband about all this, it suddenly occurred to me: “Maybe that’s why the high school football team is 1-3 so far this year.” Growing up in the SEC south, this whole being on the always losing team is a new experience for me, I must say. ;-) When you spend their whole elementary school years telling them competitiveness is a bad thing, don’t expect a winning high school team later. Just saying. 

At least the band rocks half-time. :-)

A Little Summer Stream Of Consciousness to Keep the Blog Alive Another Day

I found a seeded watermelon at the store!! Hooray! We can now teach our kids the joys of spitting watermelon seeds, which should really be a part of every kid's summer, Don’t you think. (Just so you know, the only reason there is not a question mark there where one should be is because that key is not working since a nameless child spilled Gatorade on the keyboard the other day. I’m guessing we will be shopping for a new keyboard shortly.) Besides, seedless watermelons are just NOT as tasty, and there's GOT to be something just WRONG about a seedless watermelon. It's just not natural. :-) So that was a good thing about shopping at my new grocery store yesterday. On the other hand, I looked up and down the canned vegetable and fruit aisle for canned tomatoes and all I could find were a measly few cans of organic which cost a lot more for negligible benefit (DO NOT even start with me on organic vs. regular, please. I don’t buy into all that, and you won’t change my mind, and I shop on a budget, so let’s just agree to disagree before we have the discussion), but I took a can since I needed it to make my homemade salsa which I'd been craving (store bought salsa just does NOT compare. Mine is immensely more tasty, as my husband and children will tell you). Anyway, later I ended up by accident on the 'Italian' aisle, and low and behold, there were shelves and shelves of…..canned tomatoes. Because OF COURSE that's where you would naturally think to look FIRST for canned tomatoes because it's not like you might want them for something OTHER than Italian food, like, say…..salsa, or something. I have yet to find pepperoni in this store, by the way. And, yes, I have checked the Italian aisle, which actually MIGHT make sense. One of the goofy things that makes the nomadic life of an Army family which means moving all the time a pain is you no sooner figure out all your everyday things when you have to go find and figure out new ones in a new place. I REALLY need to find someone to cut my hair. I'm starting to look like the shaggy dog. On the other hand, I had gotten myself into a right blue funk the other day about how I don’t really like it here and can I really live a year here, blah, blah, blah, blah.....when I got a wake up call just by reading my newsfeed. Then I realized I have NOTHING to complain about, shape up, already, and my heart has gotten so heavy for the REAL heartache in the world. I am praying for Iraq, and Israel, and Africa, and so many others who really are suffering. Who am I to complain about the goofed up organizational skills of my local grocery store, for crying out loud. And one really incredibly good thing about where we live is that we have an awesome church we’ve been attending and are moving toward joining. That is a blessing that far outweighs the angst over moving to a new place. This is a church where the Word is opened and read and preached WELL every week, and the Gospel is central to all that happens there. We are encouraged and challenged and that is amazing, and I’m grateful.

So, all told, it’s been an interesting summer round the ol’ Sweet Tea household. I really do intend to start blogging again one day. Until such a time, however, this will have to do, and by the way if you haven't checked it in a while, I've updated my current reading list for 2014, so you can see what I've been reading lately if you're interested in such things. Ciao!

Zombie Apocalypse, Anyone?

This sign is prominently displayed at the front of the radiology clinic waiting room right by the TV, but looking around the waiting room, every single person had his or her head buried in their own little cell phone world, fingers swiping. Does it bother anyone that our generation is incapable of sitting still with our own thoughts at all, not even for a short moment? That the minute we sit down anywhere for even a second we must have the stupid smart phone out and lose ourselves in that insulated little zombie world of the tiny screen? Does it even phase anyone how rude it is to pull out that dumb phone and show the top of your head to the person sitting across the table from you at a restaurant? Does anyone else feel a profound sadness when you're out somewhere and you see a family or a group of friends tecnhnically together, but effectually separate, not conversing with each other and barely even acknowledging each other, as they all hover over their individual little screens?

For all the talk about a zombie apocalypse, I think the time for fearing it is gone - we are already zombies. 

And the irony of the fact that I took this picture and am writing this post  with my phone is not lost on me. But at least I waited until I was home alone. :-\

Favorites on Friday

A few simple joys:

A cool morning with windows open. It’s hard to feel melancholy on a day crisp and cool enough to have the windows open. Listening to the birds singing is just cheerful and the kind of music that brings a kind of peace to the heart, unlike booming bass for hours which makes you feel anxious. There’s something so calming about the fresh air feeling in the house when the windows are thrown open as you listen to the birds sing that makes laundry and morning chores enjoyable. It kind of has that early Fall feeling today, and that’s one of my very favorite things. I know it’s only July and this is a fluky day weather-wise, but I’m taking advantage of it while it’s here.

Tea....iced or hot, sweet or not, I like tea. Making a pitcher of sweet tea right now. Another favorite simple treat is a large unsweet peach tea from Sonic. 

Having a friend over for a play date for my youngest child. I like hearing them enjoying each other’s company. 

Bible and prayer time in the morning, and even more so when the windows are open and the birds are chirping.

Good books to read, fiction and nonfiction. There is need for and joy in both. Reading is one of life’s sweet pleasures, and I’m thankful for it. Saw this quote the other day: “The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.” - Mark Twain

The desire to write. I don’t so much enjoy having to gin up that desire, but once the words and ideas start flowing, it’s sweet. Plan to work on my project today.

The feeling after I’ve exercised hard. Again, not so much the enormous amount of willpower it takes to overcome my inertia and get moving, but that exhilarating feeling when I’ve pushed past the overwhelming inertia and really worked hard and sweated is great.

Laughter.

Happy Friday, Y’all.

Random Thoughts in March

Something about the promise of spring makes me want to start blogging again. I don’t know that I will be any more regular about posting, but I do miss writing here. I realize my last few posts have been sort of heavy, and it occurred to me that I could write a fluff post now and then to keep the blog alive.

So, some random thoughts for today.

I have a rather large amount of homemade butter frosting left over from an earlier project, and upon pondering what I could do with it, I thought, “Homemade cinnamon rolls!” They don’t have to be only for special days, right? Consequently, I am waiting for the bread machine to finish the dough and thought I’d work on a blog post while I wait. My kids will call me blessed in the morning, I’m sure, because we’re having cinnamon rolls on an ordinary Saturday with really good frosting. Of course, it will blow my whole calorie budget for the day if I don’t exercise somewhere along the way tomorrow, but, the kids will enjoy it. The boys will, anyway. My daughter informed me on Christmas morning that she ‘doesn’t really care for’ my cinnamon rolls. That sounded very funny coming out of a 6-year-old mouth. At least she was polite about it. She doesn’t seem to like sweets a whole lot. Just give the girl a hunk of cheese and she’s a happy camper. 

Speaking of my daughter and her quirky cuteness, I once wrote a post here about how she hated my hair when I cut it short. Well, since about October I've been trying to grow out my hair. Growing out my bangs has been driving me crazy, but it's almost to the point where I could think about showing a before and after picture. Not quite, but we're almost there.

It’s nice to see that spring is on the way. One of my very favorite things about spring is the flowers blooming. My daffodils are almost here, the tulips are starting to sprout, and one little purple flower that is lovely even if I can’t remember what it is called has already bloomed and been damaged by the frosty mornings we’ve had. Brings this scripture to mind: “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” (1Peter 1:24). As thankful as I am for the pretty flowers that last for a season, I’m so much more thankful that the word of the Lord remains forever! 

As far as what I’m calling the Scripture memory personal challenge for 2013, I’ve been working on memorizing Isaiah 53 and reviewing Philippians. I’m not sure what I’ll work on next yet. The time spent pondering on scripture as you spend time trying to memorize it is priceless. It takes me longer than it used to take to master a passage, but I enjoy the effort and how it often spurs me toward prayer as I think on it.

As to writing that children’s story I mentioned a while back, I did get it started, then life got super busy and I didn’t get very far. I need to get back to it as things settle down a bit, hopefully.

As to reading, I am STILL working my way through Les Miserables, which I started right after Christmas. Granted, I also read two other books during the past 2 1/2 months, but it’s taking me a long time to get through this one. I’ve read more than 3000 Nook pages, and still have about 600 or so more to go - I’m about 85% finished. :-) I am enjoying it mostly. I say mostly because there are parts I find tedious and don’t really understand what he’s talking about, but when he tells the story, I like it. And the translator of the version I’m reading chose to leave most of the songs and poems untranslated, so I have to flip through pages of French. Kind of misses the point of reading an English translation if you don’t know what those sections are saying. But, it’s a great story. This may be the one and only instance I’ve found where I liked the movie better than the book. It’s probably a good thing I saw the new musical movie first. That way, I knew the story is incredibly worth wading through the more boring sections. Then again, I find myself with songs from it stuck in my head as I read. 

Speaking of liking the book better than the movie, I didn’t even try to watch ‘The Bible’ on the History channel. I just didn’t feel confident they’d get it right, and judging by some of what I’m hearing about it, they didn’t so much. I’ll keep reading my Bible, and leave the movie alone, I think. Judging by all the buzz, just one more thing where I’m out of step with, well, just about most people I know. That and the fact that I don’t get all the Protestants who are giddy and gushing about the selection of a new pope. As my husband says, the Reformation happened for a reason. Know your history!

Well, the dough is ready for me to make it into cinnamon rolls to be baked in the morning, so I should bring this post to an end. Mission accomplished.

But before I go, I would be remiss if I didn't share the latest goofy church sign sighting: "Feeling chilly? Let God be your comforter." My husband told me he almost drove off the road when he saw that one the other day. 

And on that note, Happy Friday! And happy (almost) spring!

Not Really a Status Report - January 2013

Here we are on the 9th day of the new year, and I still haven’t written a status update or anything else on the blog.  I have a lot that I’m mulling over and pondering and working through toward understanding, just not anything I’ve been blogging out loud about until today.

First of all, I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a big New Year’s Resolution maker. The beginning of a new year is a good time to re-evaluate, though, so here’s what I’m trying to do as of this January 2013: 

• Exercise more and eat healthier - yeah, cliche, but true - I may never be the size and weight I was back in college, but I can be a better steward of the health and body God has granted me and take better care of it than I have been.
• Write....something, even if no one but my family ever sees it.
• Visit Facebook less, thereby reducing self-inflicted stress from that crazy source.
• Work on some Scripture memory.
• Be patient with the project of growing out my hair. My friend who cuts my hair is being really patient with me, working toward the style I want. I took her a picture of the actress who plays the mayor/queen in “Once Upon a Time,” and asked, “Do you think my hair would do this?” She thinks yes, but it will take quite a few months to get it there, so that’s what we’re doing. Growing out my bangs is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done hair-style-wise. I am growing to like it, though, because I’m beginning to see the end result taking shape. Slowly. 
• Pray daily for my husband and children. Should be a given, just making sure it's a stated resolution.

That’s a good start for now.

For daily Bible reading this year, I am going through the same chronological plan I used last year, but not going to let it legalistically bind me if I get behind, daily chapter from Proverbs, and reading through the book of John several times first, then do the same with other New Testament books. I’ve found that when I only do a through-the-Bible program, sometimes my devotional and steeping and pondering and application of passages tends to suffer, so that’s why I’m not worrying if I get it all in on the posted day and adding in a book to read more than once. (I don’t use the word ‘meditation’ because the meaning of it has become so warped anymore, though were I to use it, I’d mean steeping and pondering and applying the Word, not something mystical.) 

Other reading this month: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (obviously a translation, since I do not know French).  I am liking this much better this time around. I attempted to read it once years ago, and got bogged down in it and never got very far. But this time, I saw the movie first, something I almost never do, and now that I know what a great story it is, I’m liking the book much better. I LOVED the movie, by the way.

I’m also re-reading The Gospel According to Jesus by John MacArthur. The reason I am, is that I’ve been feeling anxious,frustrated, a bit discouraged, and.....well....I’m having a hard time coming up with exactly the right adjective to describe just what I’m struggling with as I have come to the conclusion that there is a very gapingly large lack of discernment in the Evangelical world today. I’ve come to the conclusion that if something is popular, I’m immediately wary, and that I do not trust our popular evangelical leaders to protect the flock from error. I do not like having to be this way, but I am finding that is where I am these days. 

Look up "Jesus Culture," "Bethel Church," "New Apostolic Reformation," and "Judah Smith" for starters on some things that are being mainstreamed and set before our youth without any caveats and see if it doesn't concern you a little.

As to what else I've been mulling, the original version of this post had a long section here on some things I've been pondering and working through, but I rethought having that long-winded thing here and I believe I'll just point you over to the Team Pyro blog for an idea of what I've been thinking about and concerned about recently. Frank Turk is writing a series and doing a much better job than I can in discussing Passion 2013. He pretty much is getting at the crux of the issues I'm working to process, too, and doing it thoughtfully and well. Here is part 1 and here is part 2, and his clarifying comment at 7:51 AM on today’s post is excellent. I’m looking forward to what he’ll post tomorrow in the ongoing discussion.

Status Report - November 2012

November has arrived, chilly and right on time. Does it seem like this year is flying by? I intended to write a status update post yesterday, but never got to it, so here it is today.

Sitting....in my kitchen. It’s a little chilly in here, so I’ve got my sweater on. It’s been chilly enough for our gas fireplace to kick on the past few mornings. I have a feeling it may be a cold winter this year. 

Sipping....homemade ‘pumpkin juice.’ We really liked the pumpkin juice we found at Universal Studios’ The Wizarding World of Harry Potter last year, and I’ve attempted to come up with something similar here. The last time I tried to discover a recipe, we didn’t like it very much, but that may be because we didn’t stumble across the secret that we did this time, which is that it is much better served cold than hot. After looking around on the internet for some ideas, the recipe I came up with this time is much more to the liking of my boys and myself. Even my daughter claims to like it, though she didn’t finish her small cup of it last night. Here’s how I made it if anyone wants to give it a try:

1 gallon apple cider

1 can pumpkin

1 large spoonful honey

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp allspice (if it’s ‘allspice,’ why do you have to use other spices with it? Just something my inquiring mind wants to know)

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Add all together and simmer on the stove for a while. Cool and store in refrigerator. Best served cold. 

Funny (to me) story...The apple cider was not in the refrigerated section of the store when I bought it, so when I brought it home, I put it on the counter until I finally got around to trying the pumpkin juice experiment, which was two weeks later. I was wondering if maybe it should have been refrigerated after all because it seemed to have expanded the plastic jug it was in a little on the bottom and it was a little tangy and it frothed pretty quickly as I simmered it. I did a little wondering about how bad it might be if the teetotaling Southern Baptist deacon’s wife made her kids tipsy with fermented apple cider, but it turned out ok. :-) 

Waiting....for the sun to come up just a little bit more so I can go out and take a walk. Walking outside is a little depressing when it’s chilly AND dismal gray out, so I’m hoping for chilly and a little sunnier. I need some exercise, though. I haven’t done very well this week with exercising (meaning, I haven't exercised at all, urg) and need to get back to it. 

Glad....that the time change is this Sunday. It will be nice to have daylight in the morning when I walk kids to the bus again, at least for a little while. Don’t forget to change the batteries in your smoke detectors, too!!

Thinking...that this year is flying by. I think the busyness of band practices and football practices this fall contributed to how fast time seems to go by. Just last summer when we were thinking that the busiest time of the year would wind down in October once marching band season was over, that seemed such a long way away. And here we are, no more band practices for my oldest boy, and only one more week of football for my middle boy. Already. Band ended on a high note (smile!) as their band finished fourth in their class for the state. Just qualifying for state finals was so cool. And football is ending on a high note for our middle boy, too, as his team won their playoff game last week and is 'superbowl' bound this weekend. It's going to feel strange when all the whirlwind slows down after this week, but it's going to be nice to have a more relaxed family time in the evenings, too. Looking forward to getting back to reading together again. We still so enjoy reading books out loud together, and that's been on hold for MONTHS now. I'll be glad to get that back.

Puzzled...at how often people gripe about laundry on Facebook. Seriously, laundry isn’t exactly my favorite thing, either, but it has to be done. I, for one, am really glad to have a washing machine and dryer. After watching Revolution and wondering how they always seem to look so clean with no electricity for the past 15 years and always on the road looking for the kidnapped brother, and then thinking about what a chore laundry really would be without electricity, I've decided that, yeah, laundry can feel like a drudgery and a ‘vanity of vanity’ kind of chore since once you get it done there’s always more, but it has to be done, so might as well just do and stop griping about it. My two cents there. You could always be glad you don’t have the torture I do going through my head, singing, “Laundry, Laundry,” to the tune of “Monday, Monday” every time I go in there and start sorting the clothes. Or, then again, maybe now you will now that I’ve planted that little gem in your noggin. You are welcome.

Speaking...of Facebook, I’m thinking it may be time, once again, to take a bit of a hiatus. Facebook is good in a way, because I’ve reconnected with friends from times and places past who I had lost touch with or would have lost touch with, and I enjoy keeping up with them. However, for someone like me who is all too prone to hermit-like tendencies, it also has dangers in that it can lead to a false sense of connection, too. It’s really easy to get sucked into thinking that if you interact with blog and Facebook friends that you have ‘community’ and then ignore the real people right across the street. What I mean is, Facebook can feed hermit-like tendencies if I’m not careful. So, need to watch it and get out there and connect with my nearby neighbors more. Plus, when you’re tempted to check in too often, it eats away at things that are more important. For example, I meant to be getting serious about my writing this fall. I need to get past the ‘mean to’ and just DO IT. That may mean hiding my dumb ‘smart phone,’ which I think has actually made me dumber with the false urgency of having too much right there at my finger tips all demanding my dwindling attention span. I am convinced computers and smart phones are turning us into zombies.

Speaking....of zombies, what is the deal with all the death stuff on kids’ clothes? And all the talk about zombies everywhere, all the time, by almost everyone? My daughter has nightmares about zombies, thanks a lot everybody for talking about them all the time. Stop it already. Why is our culture increasingly obsessed with grossness and death?

Working....on memorizing several passages of scripture again, and I’ve come up with a way to be more disciplined about working on it throughout the day. Aside from the limited time block I’m planning to allow myself on the computer, whenever I’m tempted to hit the Facebook app on my phone, I’m going to reach for the memory work instead. This morning I began reviewing Philippians to refresh it once again. It’s amazing that after all those months I spent memorizing it and how well I once knew it, how rusty I’ve become since I haven’t reviewed it in a while. I don’t want to lose it completely, so I’m actively reviewing it. I’m also going back to work on something else I started but never finished a few years ago. When I was an Awana helper at our church in South Carolina, we were challenged as leaders to memorize several passages, and I have always intended to complete that challenge, for my own benefit even though we are no longer there in SC. Today I was reviewing Psalm 23, and I just love, love, love that Psalm. I think when a passage is familiar, sometimes we neglect to take time to really think about what it’s saying, and this morning was sweet indeed as I thought about how the God who is so awesome, as I wrote about in the October 23 post, is so very tender and personal and loving to His children that He is our shepherd who cares for us and leads us in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. 

Reading....well, just finished reading, The Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler. I highly recommend this book. And I’m also reading a fiction book I got at the library the other day, State of Fear by Michael Crichton. Due to my aforementioned smart phone induced ADD, I’ve had a little trouble sitting still long enough to really read, but I think that will be improving now as I put the safeguards in place to really limit those tendencies to be online all the time. Hoping to spend some time writing, too. Like I’ve said countless times before, I need to hurry up and keep writing the pirate story while my middle son who requested it is still a kid and can enjoy it.......

Looking....out the window, I see the sun is finally up, so I think I’ll go ahead and end this and post it and get moving today. 

Happy Friday, all.

A Look Back

I hesitate to say this is a 'best of' the past year in blogging around here given that blogging has gotten more and more sparse as the year has progressed and I'm not so sure how good any of it actually is, but here on the last day of 2011, I'm posting a look back at some of what I was thinking about during the past year......

In January, I was Pondering and Remembering and Approving What is Excellent as I began the Partnering to Remember project to memorize Phillippians.

In February, I was thinking about Standing Firm, also in response to the Partnering to Remember project. I also shared some of my thoughts about jury duty once it was over.

In March, I did a little thinking about how memorizing scripture is Not Just an Intellectual Exercise.

In April, I was pondering more on Philippians in The Lord is At Hand, and thinking about What I Want My Daughter to Know.

In May, I did some thinking about Confessing Faults, got a hair cut, went camping, and turned 40.

In June, I blogged about my dog.

In July, I shared some thoughts about how God is Not Silent, shared a Book Recommendation, and shared a few random Friday Frazzles.

In August, I shared a few thoughts about stepping out to start teaching second/third grade Sunday School.

In September, I did a little thinking about Learned Desperation, shared An Evening Prayer, and some thoughts about cultural idols in our country.

In October, I shared some thoughts from our recent visit to Disney World, celebrated my 5th blogiversary,
and sort of reviewed a book I'd finished reading.

In November, not much blogging occurred, but I did ponder kind speech and shared a few books I was reading.

In December, again, not a whole lot of blogging going on, but I recommended a book (which I still recommend now that I've finished it!), shared some Christmas season inspired thoughts, and celebrated my 18th anniversary of marriage to Drew.

Probably not my best blogging year, but a good year in general, I think. I do know that I am thankful for the Lord's mercies that are new every morning. He is so kind to us.

Oh, and if you're interested, I guess I'll finish this post by sharing some of my favorite books I read this year. You can check out the full list of what I read during 2011 on the page at the top of the blog. The list below doesn't include every book I enjoyed but they are a few of my favorites:

Jayber Crow - Wendell Berry (F)
Atheism Remix and The Disappearance of God - both by Albert Mohler (NF)
The 39 Clues series - various authors (F)....enjoyed reading these with the boys
Sutter's Cross - W. Dale Cramer (F)
Slave - John MacArthur (NF)
Counterfeit Gospels - Trevin Wax (NF)
Holiness - J.C. Ryle (NF)
King Raven Trilogy - Stephen Lawhead (F)
The Help - Kathryn Stockett (F)
The Eleventh Plague - Jeff Hirsch (F)
The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mocking Jay - Suzanne Collins (F)
The World-Tilting Gospel - Dan Phillips (NF)

Happy New Year!