Krysti's Books

My Answer To: How much fiction do you allow in your fiction?

2012-01-17T08:27:00.000-07:00

This blog post is in answer to a question Tim Ward asked on the New Authors Fellowship blog today; "How much fiction do you allow in your fiction?"

He was discussing a book he'd found difficult to read because it was antithetical to his beliefs, and the realization that he could be thankful that God does things differently in our world.

I tried to respond adequately with a comment, but the comment grew--and grew--and I decided to turn it into a blogpost instead.

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

Interesting post, Tim. With books where the belief system expressed is contrary to mine, I've found that I have differing levels of comfort. Eragon and the sequel made me a little uneasy, but the series with polar bears in it made me nauseous (I'm not going to name it, because the more it's discussed, the more that author may be encouraged to write another book or promote this work some more--and it's vile).

Eragon as a stand-alone was marginally okay; but the sequel gave some of his characters "gods" that were shallow, unbelievable constructs, and created conflict around this belief-system without actually making any effort--from the "believers'" POV to effectively defend their belief. He appeared not to have an effective understanding of the importance of spiritual belief to any of his characters; either those who ached from the lack (and consequently felt two-dimensional even after he had them tell us that they felt the lack) or those who believed, whom he appeared to be laughing at.

I never bothered to read Paolini's third book. I think some of the shallowness of his writing was due to his youth and inexperience. I suspect that life-experience may eventually improve this aspect of his writing at least a little, whether or not he comes to Christ.

The polar bear books--this was a children's series--turned right and wrong upside down, exposing readers in graphic detail to abominable practices that break all of the internal belief system's rules and ultimately culminate at the end of the first book with the "evilly religious" anti-hero disemboweling his young daughter's friend to reach his desired equivalent to heaven. "The end justifies the means" as a philosophy was lifted up and glorified in all of its vileness; every aspect of religious faith was liberally smeared with filth; and I was personally, deeply offended.

In contrast to these two series is Megan Whalen Turner's Y.A. series beginning with The Thief. Megan creates an alternate universe with a dual belief system in competing sets of gods on the Greek model; old gods and new gods. The new gods get honorable mention; the old gods she brings to life, creating this spine-tingling sense that they are more real and present--and potent--than the "real" flesh and blood people in her books. I don't find the internal belief systems of her characters offensive because there is a clearly delineated sense of right and wrong, and because she gives her characters' belief-system due respect without preaching a new religion, making it an integral part of the story.

I've even learned some lessons about how I ought to view God from reading her books, just like I learned lessons from reading Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis, and for much the same reasons. I suspect (although I can't confirm it), that Megan is a believer.

Re: the polar bear books--yes, I can be thankful that God has put a very different compass inside each of us than the one glorified in those books--but I don't have the least desire to read the sequels to the first book, or to re-read the first book.

I've Created Another Lens

2012-01-06T23:48:00.000-07:00

You may visit my new lens at:

Why Authors Should Use Squidoo To Promote Books

I have also won yet another Squid trophy, because it's my fifth lens. Please do feel free to spread the word! I hope this lens creates a lot of buzz!

Old Splashes, New Ripples

2012-01-01T09:40:00.001-07:00

The theme of this post is Old Splashes, New Ripples. In keeping with the theme, I thought I should show you a picture of rippling water taken in the otters' habitat in the Lied Jungle building at the zoo. What you don't see in the picture is the otter who was poised for a leap just as my finger pressed the button. By the time the shutter flashed open to capture the picture, he was gone, and all that was left were the ripples in the water behind him.

I took this photo last Friday when I visited the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska with Marcia Claesson, a friend I've only made this year. While we were there, I got to talking with another woman while I rested my feet, and realized that this zoo has been a place our family considers special for more years than I've been alive!


The Desert Dome contains a lot of great daytime exhibits, and in the basement, nocturnal creature exhibits

Mom has talked about walking to the zoo from her aunt and uncle's house with her cousins, and siblings. My parents took Brent and me to the zoo in our turn when we were children, although I don't remember any trips with cousins. My children have also had the fun of visiting this zoo with cousins and on school trips, and it's even a place where I realized that I love to go as an adult when they're not with me.

There is nothing juvenile or kiddie about the stunning displays; and there is a lot to do and see indoors when the weather is nasty in winter as well as outdoors when the weather is nice. We were sorry we didn't have more sunshine and warmth on Friday, but even if we had, I don't know what I could have done with it! We spent hours there in the buildings, and I ran my camera out of battery half-way through and my feet out of patience with all the walking around by the end of our stay. It was a good visit, though, and I hope to go back again sometime this spring or summer.

There have been other ripples in time from old splashes this year too. My son is a senior in high school, and almost eighteen. I painted this village when he was a baby. It's very pretty still, but I'm having to turn the various pieces to hide the chips. This year, I plan to pack the whole set away in a special container with a lid to protect it from worse damage. This past fall, the base also broke when Shelah used it to take a flying leap into my closet. I had it out from where I usually store it while we cleaned up a humidifier water mess. I'm not sure whether I'll be able to replace the base. I can buy a new one to paint, but the paints have become a serious issue for me with my chemical sensitivities. For now, I think I like the arrangement on the towel.

I added a whole new wrinkle to my chemical sensitivities issues this year too, as they got away from me badly and descended into hyper-sensitivity. This further impacted my difficulties with working outside the home; my ability to attend church; my ability to focus and think, and drive on occasion, and carrying on any kind of a life became a huge challenge. I tried several times to get back to my writing, but under the circumstances, I had to let it be. Compounding this was the knowledge that I couldn't obtain another light bulb for my Shaklee AirSource to help render contaminants inert in my environment, and while the old bulb is still glowing faintly, the special element is no longer doing its job.

But God has been good and provided for me. He made it possible for us to move houses to one with a whole house filter, and for the renovations to air out quickly, and he's provided a buyer for the other house. He's also provided buyers for my artwork and products online, and while business is still somewhat slow after the recent recession, my sales continue to increase! A great big thank you to all those of you who have bought my products! I do hope you'll come back and shop for more! :-)

But back to God, and reflecting on His goodness: God is so very good! I recently learned that a friend of mine, Sandi Rog, has been declared cancer-free. I am waiting with bated breath to hear the news from one of my best friends who was diagnosed two Christmases ago with aggressive astrocarcinoma and underwent brain surgery to save her life. She's been through chemo and radiation, and now is on medication to starve the remaining cancer cells into submission. I pray for her and think of her often. I am so very grateful for the extra time God has given her with her family and friends, including me, and I hope to see her again this year.

Happy New Year to everyone! I pray that your life in this new year will be blessed and full of God's goodness just as I pray that mine will be too.

Christmas Music Off The Beaten Track

2011-12-19T11:19:00.000-07:00

Music Off The Beaten Track

I've encountered a lot of discussion about how people hate Christmas music. The difficulty seems to be that they've heard so much of it over and over again, that now they're deeply sick and tired of it!

I can certainly understand this sentiment. I've had various Christmas songs dinned into my head until my ears fairly ring too! But there really doesn't seem to be any good reason in this age of CD's, iPods, MP3 players, and YouTube for anyone to have to listen to anything that they don't want to!

All it takes to exchange a Christmas music hate-list for a love-list of seldom heard Christmas music or songs that you may never have heard before is to take a few minutes to do a little searching.

Here are some places to find exceptional Christmas music that you might not otherwise hear this year:

YouTube:
I love Celtic Christmas music! As a result, I have at least five CD's worth now, the first of which was abandoned on the give-away table at the Navigators in Colorado Springs years ago. While working on my computer lately, I've been listening to Celtic Woman playlists on YouTube.

Here's a good one! It isn't just Christmas music, although a lot of it has that Christmas feel to it.

Celtic Woman Playlist: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6D737ABC43F58DF5

I have also enjoyed Charlotte Church's CD's in the past, but I don't believe I have those any longer. Again, this isn't just Christmas music:
Charlotte Church Playlist: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2BCD8A6BE040849E

How about some Christmas music that harks back to earlier centuries of the church? Plainsong is beautiful in its simplicity, and not given much of a hearing now.
Plainsong Playlist: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL100E19DBD39E96AF

There are also several Christmas playlists of Middle Eastern origin that might be worth checking out, if only to remind us that people around the world celebrate Christmas, often at the risk of their lives. That for them, Christmas is not a season of material excess; that their faith endures through suffering.

The one I've listed is a shorter playlist. There are several longer ones also available.

Byzantine Christmas Playlist: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6AECA75D0986B3D3

Maybe you just really need something cute and funny to listen to:
I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas, sung by Gayla Peevey: http://youtu.be/e7xjjlUbpJ4
I'm The Angel In The Christmas Play, also with Gayla Peevey: http://youtu.be/Xb5vwcP_ZO8
Seventy-Seven Santas: http://youtu.be/dn3ajUL4T2E
Got A Cold In The Node [sic] For Christmas: http://youtu.be/jcqG5c33MDw

British Broadcasting Company (BBC):
Sunday Morning: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006x2w5
Sunday Songbook, current programme* page: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p001d78d/episodes/player
Sacred Music At Christmas programme* page: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00x2yr6/episodes/player

*British English spelling rules decree that these are programme pages, not "program pages." In the spirit of generosity and goodwill toward all men, I have used that spelling above... ;-)

Back to the Celtic theme again:
Tro Shamchar an Feasgair episode page: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007jddq/episodes/player

The first-ever CD of Celtic music that I owned turned out to be unusually beautiful. You can learn more about it here: http://thecrossing.bandcamp.com/album/the-court-of-a-king.

Thank you for dropping by, and I hope you have a Merry Christmas!

Blogs, Lenses and Articles

2011-12-15T21:46:00.001-07:00

I've been very busy lately!

I now have three blogs: this Krysti's Books blog, my Zazzle stores blog at: http://kbkconnect.com/misscontrary/, and my Teak Shower Chairs dot com blog, which can be found at http://www.teakshowerchairs.com/blog.

I've also got some lenses going on Squidoo.com at http://www.squidoo.com/great-ideas-for-unusual-christmas-ornaments and http://www.squidoo.com/gifts-for-chemical-sensitivity-sufferers. Lenses are like articles, only with lots of pictures and links, and can be very interactive! If you haven't been on Squidoo before, I encourage you to check out my articles!

I also have an article about caring for teak shower chairs on EzineArticles.com.

New Products From Zazzle

2011-12-11T21:34:00.001-07:00

Zazzle has recently added a large number of completely new-to-Zazzle products!

I thought I'd share five of the products I've recently made with you to explain the sheer variety of options available now!

First, Tea Pitchers and Teapots:

White Hollyhock Pitchers by krystishollyhocks
Make cheap custom t-shirts at zazzle.com

I made this pitcher using a photograph of a lovely white hollyhock with a pink and green star in the center. This is a great pitcher to use for summer wedding or bridal shower, or to go with country white place settings.

Joy Snow Singers Trio Christmas Teapot by krystishollyhocks
More Snowman Teapots

This adorable teapot is intended to be of use all winter long, and not just at Christmas time!

Hearts Honeymoon Gypsy Wagons Valentines Candy Jar by galaxydreams
View more Gypsy Candy Jars

Planning ahead to Valentine's Day, this candy jar would make a great gift to show your sweetie how much you adore them! Fill with a favorite sweet or stuff a gift certificate inside so she can choose her own.

Red-headed Sea Serpent Cat Pet Bowls by galaxydreams
View more Seafood Pet Bowls

Cute, funny pet food dish features my drawing of a red-headed sea serpent, and the words, "sea food, eat food."

Red Rose Electronics Bag by apicofarose
Browse Zazzle for a different laptop sleeve.

This elegant laptop sleeve design should make some lucky woman very happy! Oval framed Opening Night hybrid tea rose against a coordinating hand-marbled gray background.

This is just a few of the new products available! I believe that the total number of new products comes to more than fifteen. Because I want to be sure that customers know that they can find the new products on my website, I'm going to be featuring these new products on each of my Zazzle websites. Please drop by and see what I have to offer!

Thanks!

December Blahs

2011-12-10T12:29:00.001-07:00

My brain is a blank. No, really! I've tried three times to start this post out correctly and--

I meant to get back to post more about Corus the Champion for the CSFF Blog Tour for the past two days, but--I went to see the allergist and had a bad reaction to something I encountered in her office. These reactions are messing with my brain. It's gotten progressively worse over the last three days, too. I don't entirely understand the what's and why's or how's, but--whatever I got into is taking a toll.

I've been so horribly unmotivated since I saw her. Not--that I haven't gotten anything done, but not all of the things I wanted to get done. Not by a long shot. And the focus to do the things that absolutely need to get done, like dealing with business paperwork just isn't there.

This reminds me of my "real name" on Zazzle. I'm going there by the name Ms. Contrary, because it's so true--if there is just one right way to do something, lately, somehow no matter what, instead I find all of the incorrect ways to do it. "The things I ought not to do, I do instead" (paraphrasing that verse of Paul's from --somewhere-- in the New Testament).

I say this wryly, and yet I am feeling rather upset. I have so much to do, and I have all the brain cells and attention span of a butterfly to do it all with!

And I need real help--but, to get it, I'm going to have to submit to being exposed to yet more things that cause me serious issues. She's going to tape patches with samples of chemical substances to my back to see how I react. I'm concerned about this, and about how my body is going to react, and I'm not sure how I'm going to be doing afterwards, or how many weeks it's going to take to get over the resulting bad reaction.

So, I'm asking for your prayers and your understanding.

If the allergist can just get to the bottom of why my body is betraying me like this, and we can get these reactions to stop, and I can be clear-headed again, it will all be worth it.

Meanwhile, I'm struggling. Please pray for me.

Thanks.

Corus The Champion, CSFF Blog Tour Day 1

2011-12-05T19:36:00.001-07:00

Corus The Champion

Legends of Karac Tor, Book Two

By D. Barkley Briggs

Published by Living Ink Books
Rating: YA

I love the cover art! (Can I say that right up front?) Well, I do! There's something really neat about that sword, and then there's the horned god (the evil villain) looming in the background, but there's also sun on a snowy landscape and an arch, and there's a bluish glow about the sword, too. All in all, it's just a really remarkable piece of cover-art.

This is the second book in a series, and at first I was confused by some of the story lines, especially with the time-travelling at the beginning. But as I began to get better acquainted with the characters, it became easier to follow the story.

Here are just a few of the characters:
Kr'Nunos - the horned (false) god
The Mirling - Also referred to as Tal Yssen, Taliesen, and the Merlin.
Arturos - King Arthur
Garret, Gabe, Hadyn and Ewan Barlow - four brothers from the future
Sorge and Barsonici - more mirlings
Cruedwyn Creed - the erstwhile bearer of Ex Calor Libera, aka Excalibur
Lahs of Lotsley - aka Lancelot; although he doesn't come into the story much except by being the ancestor of the current Champion, Corus

This is a story of an old curse, a series of quests that seek the same good, but in different places; and a man held captive and wretched by a super villain.

This is also the story of the four Barlow brothers, of bird men who can fly and Vikings, of the Faerie, and of fallen stubborn difficult people who want to do right and often wind up getting it wrong. This is also the story of people who would perpetrate very great wrongs if they were permitted to do so.
The Barlow brothers want to go home, but once it becomes clear to them that they can't go right yet, they become messengers to carry important messages from Tal Yssen the Mirling to those he sends them to, and then other messages follow on the first few. As they travel, each boy learns that he is given a special gift that can be used in the discharge of his duty, his calling.

Apparently the first book in this series deals with Hadyn and Ewan's adventures before Garret and Gabe step through the portal below the arch.

Strengths: The author creates real-seeming characters who have interesting, if regrettable flaws, and brings fresh life to his take on the tales of King Arthur and Merlin. The story hangs together well and in spite of the complexity of the plot, I didn't detect any temporal contradictions

Weaknesses: Too many characters, too much moving around through history and geography. After the story got properly going, it was easier to follow, although the changes in POV and place/time got a bit thick in places.

I would definitely recommend this book for young adults and those who are young at heart, who enjoy a good fantasy based on tales of King Arthur.

But--you don't have to take my word for it (to quote LaVarr Burton from Reading Rainbow); check out these great links!

Book link - Click on Cover Art at top of post
Author’s Web site - http://hiddenlands.net/index.php?Itemid=49&id=19&option=com_content&task=view

December CSFF Blog Tour Participants’ links
Gillian Adams
Noah Arsenault
Beckie Burnham
Morgan L. Busse
CSFF Blog Tour
Carol Bruce Collett
Theresa Dunlap
April Erwin
Victor Gentile
Nikole Hahn
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Christopher Hopper
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Marzabeth
Shannon McDermott
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Eve Nielsen
Sarah Sawyer
Kathleen Smith
Donna Swanson
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Nicole White
Rachel Wyant

Reflections On A Busy Week

2011-11-26T21:33:00.001-07:00

I started the week at the farm with Robbie. I've ended the week here, sitting in my parents' living room while Robbie did a very long and involved software update on his iPod. Fortunately, we both had other things to do to occupy our time while he did this. He did homework, and I caught up on the latest Readers Digest.

In between the matching bookends of spending time with Robbie has come:

two long, full days spent pleasantly in my own company
a four-hour drive back home to Lincoln--which Robbie made more enjoyable by sharing his extensive music collection--
unpacking some of the last load of stuff moved from the other house
a lovely Thanksgiving celebration shared with international student friends
frantically unpacking most of the rest of my boxes and hiding the rest
a little cleaning and organizing to make the apartment fit for company
another wonderful Thanksgiving celebration shared with family and my kids
and last, but not least, shopping with Mom to stock my fridge, pantry and find a few more necessary items so that I can cook in my new kitchen.

I was very exhausted after the drive back to Lincoln, and I'm still coughing some from getting sick two weeks ago.

If you were paying attention as you read this list, you may have been amused that I didn't frantically clean until after the Thanksgiving we shared with the international students. There was no way I could have the apartment completely squared away before they came to supper. I offered them a chance to see my apartment anyway. I told them I'm a "messy" at heart (this is true) and I didn't care if they saw my digs a little messy too (also true), but--they declined! LOL

Mom told them it might be even worse before they visited again--and they still thought they'd wait until next time. Which, I suppose means that I'll be cleaning frantically again sometime in the near future! But hey, it's worth it.

My week could have been busier. I didn't go shopping on Black Friday. With my chemical sensitivities, I must, of necessity, avoid traffic jams whenever possible and large crowds are problematic. ...And I enjoy having a really good excuse to stay home on Black Friday and avoid the mass insanity that seems to overtake the crowds shopping!

New Custom Zazzle Gifts!

2011-11-11T07:39:00.001-07:00

Romantic Large Yellow Rose Plate by apicofarose
Browse Zazzle for a different party plate

Occupy Wall Street Needs An Exit Strategy

2011-11-06T16:49:00.000-07:00

With our move, I haven't had a lot of time for keeping abreast of the news lately, but I have recently read an article or two about Occupy Wall Street and the other look-alike protests; and slanted articles about the clashes between police and demonstrators written by adherents in both camps.

Hunting for the American Dream?

Y'know; from what I've read I'm not sure that anyone really knows what these protests are about! A great deal of that is because I'm pretty sure that the protesters themselves really don't know what they're protesting either.

There is this lack of specificity, as if the idea to protest came first, and then the protesters started desperately looking for reasons to validate their efforts!

There is also this appalling lack of any plan for winding down the protests or any definition of success, or any exit strategy for winding down the protests and returning home again.

Hey! Does that last sound appallingly familiar to you?

It's almost as if--career politicians planned this "spontaneous" movement.

Is it looking farther out of reach every day?

I get the feeling that since everything else sixties has taken its turn being in vogue, and it isn't cool to have anti-war protests against a Democratic presidency, that in lieu of a real cause, they're "protesting against corporate greed and to legalize drugs." (quote from leader of the Occupy Lincoln protest). If so-called "corporate greed" came with a definition and a set of realistic suggestions to address it, I think there are any number of city councils who would gladly legislate the problems right out of existence at this point. But the protesters haven't adequately defined what they mean by "corporate greed," nor are they willing to engage in meaningful discussions with anyone in authority to arrive at any satisfactory way of addressing said "corporate greed."

So I thought I might weigh in on this.

First; regarding corporate greed; I know a lot of people are hurting right now. They've lost their jobs or lost their pensions. The economy isn't recovering at the pace the president promised, and the jobs available always seem to be filled by someone else.

I've been left out of the American Dream too.

I could say, "Welcome to the club." My ex-husband went through two jobs in the decade between 2000 and 2010, and the third job he had never became permanent. I watched him go through a great deal of personal turmoil as a result, and in fact, I shared that turmoil and frustration and stress with him. I watched his desperate struggle to find meaning and purpose in an economy that seemed determined to thwart his every effort, and I watched the people he worked for demand more and more from him, and pile long impossible hours on him with no additional remuneration, because he was white collar. And they eventually managed to break him.

We were never entirely alone in our struggles. We watched friends and their families fall by the wayside even as we desperately sought to hang onto the little we had. In spite of a desire to keep those friends we had--because we valued them, we nevertheless lost touch, never to find them back again.

And then our marriage buckled and fell apart under the strain of the difficult financial straights we found ourselves in as we added stress-related health problems to every other trial that had been visited upon us.

But I never once thought:

that government would be able to solve any or all of our problems by waving a magic wand.
that camping out in chilly November weather would improve our family's stress levels.
or, that attacking and trashing businesses--that were still open and might otherwise do business to bolster the economy--might solve my/our personal financial issues and help my (now ex-) husband get re-hired elsewhere.

I never once thought that it was anyone else's responsibility to fix our problems except for God, who wasn't coming through when I thought He should or in the ways that I thought He should. And no, I'm not angry at God...now. Maybe I'll discuss more of this in another post sometime. For now, God inclined our families to take pity on us and step in to rescue us. It hasn't been enough to reunite our family or to resolve the deepest issues confronting us, but maybe with time, God will provide the answers to that too.

Reality-Check Time!

1. Can government really, truly somehow magically legislate away our nation's financial woes?

Not that I have seen. In fact, when we were reduced to using Medicaid-funded health care it became all-too-bitterly clear that the doctors either wouldn't or couldn't help us solve certain health issues that were going seriously awry for us, although they were always happy to document our downward spirals into sheer misery.

And we certainly didn't bother to contact them any of the times when we found help on our own to climb back out of those pits of misery again.

I'm still on Medicaid now. I am never more regretful than when I get sick enough to actually need to seek medical care because they mostly can't help me! Several times they have made my multiple chemical sensitivities issues significantly worse! But don't try telling any of my medical providers that. They won't hear you any more than they have so far listened to me.

About all Medicaid is useful is for covering the cost of visits to the doctor, pharmaceuticals (if they are on "the list"), and, at least in Nebraska, a certain minimal amount of dental care. It's better than nothing, but certainly nothing I'd encourage anyone else to aspire to desire or obtain! If I could I would do without "health insurance" completely.

2. Is camping out in the cold in November really going to punish un-named "greedy corporate devils" and turn them into angels of mercy who miraculously zap poverty and make it disappear from the planet?

Oh, c'mon! Get real! I have trouble believing that anyone actually believes this! Worse, if you are a protester, unless you want to experience some substandard medical care a la Medicaid, I'd highly recommend that you quit camping out in the wind and snow and go find a nice warm house to hole up in--but preferably only where you're welcome!

3. Is destroying business property going to help create new jobs and influence businesses to hire more people?

I am almost embarrassed to ask this question! Talk about the totally obvious!

Business which can't keep their doors open and custom flowing tend to shut their doors and let their workers go. They certainly can't afford to hire new workers. This is why cities and towns need to protect their business districts from interference by people who do not have the businesses' or cities' best interests at heart.Freedom of speech is one thing; freedom to terrorize business districts shouldn't even be available as a discussion point.

4. Is legalizing drugs or ending the "War on Drugs" going to fix our current economic situation?

I shouldn't have to ask this question either. I understand that some of those men and women campaigning for this insanity actually were around during the sixties and early seventies, and therefore should know the kind of mayhem they are demanding that we as a nation bring upon ourselves!

How can they have possibly forgotten the young people who burned their minds out with hallucinatory substances or those who jumped to their deaths while on a bad drug trip? How can they possibly ignore the young people and adults who are getting brain burned today, whose lives are totally ruined by their experimenting with illegal substances? Don't they realize the high cost to society caused by needing to rehabilitate those who have become addicted and can't break free without help?

Isn't this all in the end about rebellion and demanding that society provides whatever feels good to these children in over-grown bodies, who do not care about--and do not want--anything that is good for society as a whole, or for the people around them as individuals?

So, I do have to wonder about the choices that have led the people who are part of these Occupy protests to this set of decisions, and what their exit strategy will be.

Moving...and Favorite Foods

2011-10-30T23:17:00.000-06:00

Our move didn't quite come off last week after all.

There was this little confusion with the opacity of the paint, or lack thereof. Apparently it's been addressed, and the painting is done.

My family might even let me in to see my shiny new quarters come Wednesday--if the smells are all gone as intended. Odor-eating paint! Who knew?

***

Today we got to discussing our favorite foods at the lunch table. Maria asked what mine was, and I couldn't think of any, but Dad got to talking about some of his, and--I realized that I liked a lot of the same things too!

Just a few of our shared favorites:

Steak. We hardly eat this any more, since Dad needs to maintain his blood pressure and weight to stay heart-healthy. Not every steak is a good steak either, but--the ones that are, they're hard to pass up!
Shrimp from the South Coast of West Papua, to be precise; the large, plump, juicyshrimp coated in raw egg and dredged in flour, baking soda, salt and spices, and deep-fat fried. Mmmmm--mmm. The best shrimp I've ever eaten was caught in the rivers near Senggo during the dry season. Also, of course, not currently on the menu...
Ikan bakar (pronounced: Ee kahn Bah kar), which translated into "grilled fish." There are a handful of restaurants that grill fish very well in West Papua. Depending on the variety of fish (I really liked the red snapper), this "grilled fish" is far and away better than most steak!
Soto ayam (So toe Ay yum); a soup made with chicken and spices and served over rice noodles or "glass" noodles that is incredibly wonderful stuff!

Maria started asking us what we had and hadn't eaten.

octopus; yes
squid; yes
crocodile; yes
cassowari; yes
monkey; no.

Maria was greatly surprised that none of us had eaten monkey. I can't say definitively that there are no monkeys now in Papua because it's possible some emigrants somewhere have imported a few; but Papua hasn't been home to monkeys in the past. I'm quite glad this is so. I have had a decidedly un-romantic view of monkeys since encountering the one that pulled my hair in Jakarta when I was six. Vicious nasty little critters...

Foods she didn't think to ask us about:

Sago grubs
"Erwe;" pronounced airrr-way (when it's got four legs, a waggy tail, and a bark, it's called an "anjing:" when it's being served in highly spiced chunks at a party, it's called "erwe."). Maybe it was good she didn't think to ask about this!

A few personal favorites:

If you ever visit the Philippines, I can highly recommend the McFish sandwiches served at the local McDonald's outlets. I forget now what variety of fish is used, but--they are quite possibly the best fish sandwiches you will ever taste!
There's a Vietnamese soup with meatballs and bean sprouts that I really enjoy
Fruits: matoa, rambutan, mango and jack-fruit
Desserts and treats:

kue lapis ("layer cake")
mung bean cakes (with the dark bean paste)

This Week...

2011-10-23T21:11:00.000-06:00

We're moving! Finally! At the end of this week!

I have packing to do; although not a lot since I never really unpacked after coming here.
I have curtains to finish, and
papers to sort.
And a few other rather time-consuming things to do to keep my fledgling business on track--does anyone know how to create gift certificates online? I need to figure this out, along with several hundred other things.

The picture at the top of this post isn't of my current neighborhood, or the neighborhood we're moving to--just a picture I found that Maria took this summer. The blurriness is due to the picture having been snapped out the window of a moving vehicle! Given the handicaps involved in doing that well, it's actually a pretty good shot.

We're not going to be moving far; we'll be staying in pretty much the same part of town. The benefits of moving houses, though, are pretty terrific! Maria and I will now have our own separate space with our own kitchen and laundry facilities, and plenty of daylight in each room. This has been something we've been missing/needing for a while, so I'm grateful that God has provided it.

Please pray especially for me as we make this move. The reason we haven't moved already (the house was closed on at the beginning of October) is because of the renovations that are currently being done to make the new arrangement workable for us.

I feel the need for extra prayer that the final list of renovations will not cause any out-gassing whatsoever into my new living space. I can't afford to move and then become ill from the new environment. Since painting is on the agenda--the contractor is using a new paint that's supposed to eat odors and not out-gas, I'd like to ask for prayer especially that we haven't been lied to about this, and that the paint would be safe. I hadn't realized up until recently how very many square feet of wall space we were going to need repainted (answer: all of it except for the bathroom!).

Thanks for praying for me (and with me) on this--

Krysti

Fall Reflections on an Empty Garden

2011-10-19T14:52:00.000-06:00

I get a certain amount of joy and satisfaction out of gardening that I don't get anywhere else. Maybe it's because I can then eat the results of my labor, and share them with others too!

This year, I planted:

cucumbers
rainbow chard
rainbow beets
kale (curly, lacinato, and not-sure)
spinach
yellow onions
Roma tomatoes
yellow slicing tomatoes
yellow pear tomatoes
chives
bell peppers
carrots
and rhubarb

Some hybrid kale I don't recognize

Green caterpillars attacked the kale and ate four plants down to the leaf veins and I pulled them and threw them away. The other two (curly) kale plants weren't affected as much. I don't think I'll grow lacinato again if I can avoid it.

Curly kale

Grackles attacked my onions and chewed the tops off. While the tops eventually regrew, none of them reached a significant size, but I was able to harvest a few puny bulbs and a bunch of onion tops for Mom. Part of the small size issue was also caused by the tomato bushes going wild and shading out the onions.

The pear tomato plant grew to a towering height and then spread greedy arms out in every direction. We kept trying to corral it, but with limited success. There is nothing quite like the flavor of those pear tomatoes when they're warm and fresh from the bush! I also hear that pear tomato seeds have high germination rates. Given the large amount of fruit left on the ground after removing the bush, I'd say there's a high change of hundreds of little pear tomato seedlings next year!

If we'd done a better job of corralling the pear tomato, the yellow slicing tomatoes would have born more fruit. However, Mom seems reluctant to use the yellow tomatoes. It would seem that if it's a tomato to go in a sandwich around here, it almost has to be red, which is a shame. I would have preferred to plant the red tomatoes, myself, but last year the bugs had at them in such a way that I decided it would be wiser to take a year off and grow yellow slicers instead. I think we're just as glad not to have a bumper crop of them on our hands after all.

Yellow slicing tomato

The Roma tomato bush did pretty well, and also proved fairly resistant to the bugs that want to bore into the fruit and spoil it.

If you want good burp-less/gas-less cucumbers, the most cost effective option is to grow your own. Done correctly, you'll end up with more cukes than you want, which we did. We shared gladly.

Cucumber flower

The carrots were another disappointment. I only got about two handfuls from a whole packet of seed. I didn't like the variety I tried last year (horrible taste), so we tried a different variety this year. They're pleasantly crunchy, but neither sweet nor bitter, and I think we'll have to look harder for a good carrot that does well here.

If you want affordable green peppers, the most cost effective option is to grow your own! I planted only six bushes this year up against the south wall under the eaves. The peppers loved it there! I fertilized them once with fertilizer sticks (higher phosphorus), and Dad staked them when they began to flop. We got at least 3 heaping huge metal dough bowls' worth of peppers off them before the fruit started to turn bitter and slacked off.

Swiss Chard Bright Lights

The Swiss chard did very well this year in both patches that I planted. Next year I hope to plant only one patch and save the other for my onions.

We didn't eat any of the rhubarb since the roots were so new. Next year we'll see.

The spinach bolted early and we only got one or two good meals out of the patch.

Next year, I hope to figure out how to fit a zucchini and a summer squash plant into the garden. I'd intended to do it this year, but never got back to plant them after I pulled the spinach.

Excellent Ingredients Make Superior Compositions

2011-10-18T10:59:00.000-06:00

Original print is very lovely in a cool palette

When I first started creating digital paintings, I very quickly realized that the better a picture I could take with my camera, the better my artwork would be in the end.

Included in this blog post are a few examples.

Resulting Painting is warmer and plays up the sunbeams

As a cook and a gardener as well as an artist, I can say from personal experience that the more quality product you put into your work, the better the end result!

Some of the ingredients that go into making a spectacular digital painting:

High quality photographs with lots of dots-per-inch (dpi)
Experimenting with the settings to find the right tones/color range to paint the pictures in
Knowing when to quit!

Original print is dull, although the fish are in an interesting grouping.

Reds and greens are richer, and darker depths have taken on blue tints.

Requesting Prayer

2011-09-26T22:10:00.000-06:00

Because my brain is ditzy...

Please pray for me. I have so much I need to do, and so little mental focus left to do it with!

After an accidental exposure to more chemicals this morning, and a couple of weekend forays after clearance items that I decided I couldn't live without at the new house; like drapes and such, my brain is functioning at half-mast.

It was so much cheaper to buy these items (100% cotton! YES!!!) than to spend the time and money making them, that--I opted to pay the fuzzy-brain/raw throat price for going in stores, and so now have gotten to drink baking soda in water (YUCK!) three times in the last two days. I had previously been doing okay in some department stores, but--I'm noticing that this really isn't the case any longer. The additional exposure this morning was something I really needed to avoid on top of the shopping, but oh well. Dealing with it--or trying to.

This afternoon, after I went into recovery mode and was staring bleary-eyed at my computer screen, Dad came downstairs and pointed out that somehow a cat had gotten entangled in my half-finished shower curtain (cute fabric with loads of red apples and apple-blossoms). The shower curtain was no longer elegantly draped over the chair back as I'd left it, but lying in a sad tangle on the floor with a wriggling kitty inside. Dad tapped the kitty on the tush, and kitty (Shelah) shot forward and bumped her head on the chair leg! I had to laugh as I came to her rescue. There was no way she could have gotten out of that mess by herself. She'd managed to create a very impressive kitty-trap!

Shelah getting sassy

(And the Score IS: Shower curtain: 10, Shelah: 0!!! Haha, silly Kat!)

The Blog Author caught in a window pane

Most days now, I feel a lot like Shelah must have felt when she pulled that shower curtain down on herself and then couldn't get away from it. I like a lot of things about the modern lifestyle, but it's destroying me, and I don't know how to successfully get free under my current set of circumstances. I am praying desperately that God intervenes and rescues me before this goes too much farther.

I'd appreciate your prayers too.

Thanks.

Afterword to the September CSFF Blog Tour

2011-09-23T21:47:00.002-06:00

Life After Death, and How To Obtain Heaven On Earth

I realized that I never followed up on my Day 2 of the Blog Tour promise to discuss heaven and life after death more fully.

What is Heaven?
Heaven--is where all of our dreams and hopes of finding meaning and purpose are most fully fulfilled.
Heaven--is that solid center that fills that bottomless longing, that terrible emptiness in a human's soul--because heaven is where God is, and only God, only an intimate relationship with God can fill that particular hole, because that hole was created with the original sin of Adam, when he and Eve chose to disobey God in the Garden, forever changing the course of history. In Adam, all sinned, so therefore all men and women and children are under the curse, and the place where God ought to dwell in our hearts is empty.

Is it possible to experience heaven on earth? Well I certainly believe so, just as it is possible to experience hell on earth. Hell on earth being defined as that terrible absence of God in a person's life; that lack of a holy rudder to steer them around the pitfalls of temptation and sin; that--something wonderful--that is forever just beyond reach, as bad choices and worse failures bring our lives crumbling down around their feet and drives us to our knees.

The Bible called us "dead," and calls us to accept the atonement of Christ and to live again!

The Gospel of Luke refers again and again to the kingdom of heaven being at hand, or nearby, or within us. To have the kingdom of heaven within is not to be immune from life's storms and tragedies and pitfalls as to be greater than them; to rise above them; and to overcome by the power of the Holy Spirit's indwelling. Heaven on earth can only be had when Jesus is an active and abiding presence in my life and yours; without that restoration to a personal relationship with God, what's left is...well...hell!

I hope and pray that this post makes sense to you and touches your heart and soul, and that, if you do not know Christ as your Lord and Savior that you will most earnestly and fervently seek Him. The Bible promises that when we seek Him, we will indeed find Him! He is never more than a prayer away.

CSFF Blog Tour - The Monster in the Hollows, Day 3

2011-09-22T14:04:00.004-06:00

Isn't this a lovely cover for a scarytale?! I LOOOVE those creepy eyessssss....

The Monster in the Hollows

The Wingfeather Saga, Book 3

By Andrew Peterson

Day 3: Wrapping up this tour:

Having read The Monster in the Hollows through to its conclusion once, re-reading it with Maria has been an especially cool experience, because I know of all the cool stuff that's coming, that Maria has no idea about! So I get to enjoy watching her discover it all for the first time!

Of course, I also know all of the cool stuff that you, my blog reader, probably don't know about either, and I don't want to spoil the surprise for you!

So I'm going to talk about who's driving the story forward in this book.

It isn't Janner. Janner is trying too hard to fill a role he doesn't want, of Throne Warden, and do his best to protect Kalmar in a school setting where kids are inclined to beat each other up just to see who's bigger and meaner, never mind if they've got something to prove about a kid with fur and fangs.

He isn't looking for solutions to his/their problems because he's just barely treading water. And all he has to look forward to every chance he gets is to go read at the library. Being in the library keeps him from seeing certain realities playing out.

Leeli is too busy learning dog speak and how to drive a dog cart.

Nia is too busy falling in love.

Podo is too busy being an ex-pirate. What do ex-pirates do? Apparently, keep house! ;-) And drink berry bibes at the local.

Oscar is too busy translating the First Book with Bonifer Squoon. If you're a connoisseur of made-up names, Squoon's is a doozy!

Which leaves Kalmar, whose midnight forays into sneakery take on a very sinister flavor before the book concludes. What is Kalmar doing? Are his wolfish appetites getting the better of his good common sense, and prodding him to senseless slaughter? Is he going to graduate from chickens and lambs to other children? When is Janner going to catch on, and stop him, and how will Janner get Kalmar out of the trouble he's determined to land face-first in this time?

To discover the answers to these questions, be sure to drop by the links below, and buy The Monster in the Hollows! If you want, buy two and share one with a friend. At $10 apiece, The Monster in the Hollows is well worth the cost!

Book link- https://store.rabbitroom.com/books/the-monster-in-the-hollows
Series Web site - http://www.WingfeatherSaga.com/
Author’s Web site - http://www.andrew-peterson.com/

And please be sure to visit the links in the side bar, to see what other tour members are saying!

I received this book for the purposes of review

Monster in the Hollows - Day 2 - CSFF Blog Tour

2011-09-20T00:46:00.000-06:00

In our nightly reading of the Monster in the Hollows, my daughter and I have reached the chapter where our heroes have arrived in the Hollows, and Kalmar (Tink) can't hide his shame any longer. Unfortunately, the Hollish folk respond badly to the discovery of, as they believe, a Fang arriving in their midst. Kalmar discovers yet again just how unfair people can be, when the welcoming throng turns into a raging, angry mob. But for the Keeper's timely intervention, they would have torn Kalmar to bits!

Other bloggers on the tour have drawn parallels between the Hollish folk and the church, and between the behavior of the Hollish folk, and how we sometimes behave collectively and individually in the church. It's easy to shoot the wounded instead of recognizing and ministering to their wounds, and comforting their sorrows. One blogger asked who was really the monster; Kalmar or the men and women who blindly attacked him?

The Wingfeathers' sojourn in the Hollows is a difficult one, even though they are deeply grateful to be safe from Gnag the Nameless and his many minions.

Treachery abounds; whether it's Hollish children scheming to create trouble at school with Kalmar to get him to break Touralay (his mother's surety bond for his good behavior), or Hollish adults seeking any pretext to attack the "Fang" in their midst, or--but I don't want to spoil the story.

Kalmar's moment of weakness has led him into a very dark and difficult pass; a place he must strive daily to accept and deal with humbly, knowing he can never truly fit in.

And then there's the Cloven that strays into the Hollows, and fetches up under Janner and Kalmar's window, speaking to them mind to mind. Terrified by and fascinated with the Cloven, the boys struggle to make sense of its sudden appearance in their lives. Why was it seeking them? Is the Cloven a servant of Gnag or is it something else? Does the Cloven mean them harm?

Janner dreads the hours at school, trying to deflect troublemakers away from Kalmar and keep from being pummeled himself. But after school he finds refuge in the library situated in a huge tree. If only the librarian wouldn't keep popping out of unexpected corners, unannounced!

In the Hollows, Leeli comes into her own. In a land full of giant dogs as big as her dear, departed Nugget, Leeli discovers that she can talk to dogs and drive a dog-cart. Of the three siblings, she seems to be the only one truly enjoying herself.

Life in the real world seems to have similar twists and turns, even when there are no giant dogs or libraries in trees, or Fangs or Cloven. Rarely do we find everything the way that we would like it to be, and moments of happiness can be fleeting.

Because of Adam's curse, we struggle and strive to carve out comfort for our fleeting moments of existence, and then it vanishes, and we walk through the door marked "Death," to discover on the other side either eternal life or eternal death, depending on whether or not we accepted Jesus' sacrifice on the cross as the payment for our sins.

We who have accept Christ's atonement can rest assured of God's forgiveness of our sins and walk through that door, not merely with courage, but also in joyful anticipation of the glory that waits--but more about that tomorrow.

Please be sure to click on the links below and to the right, to check out what other bloggers are saying about The Monster in the Hollows!

This book was provided to me for review.

Book link- https://store.rabbitroom.com/books/the-monster-in-the-hollows
Series Web site - http://www.WingfeatherSaga.com/
Author’s Web site - http://www.andrew-peterson.com/

The Monster in the Hollows - Day 1 - September CSFF Tour

2011-09-18T21:55:00.000-06:00

The Monster in the Hollows

The Wingfeather Saga, book 3

By Andrew Peterson

It's been a while since I've had an opportunity to participate in a book tour, but there was no way I was going to miss out on The Monster in the Hollows by Andrew Peterson!

We loved North! Or Be Eaten (Book 2 of the Wingfeather Saga) so much, we went out and bought On The Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, book 1, and we've been eagerly awaiting the next installment.

The Monster in the Hollows picks up at sea, where North! Or Be Eaten left off, with the Wingfeather clan's voyage almost completed. Janner's wounds are healing, Kalmar is becoming more his normal self--at least as normal as a boy could be who's been through a traumatic experience that has left him with a permanently rough fur coat, ears, tail, claws and a muzzle full of sharp teeth. Podo is enjoying his last voyage by ordering the crew about and banging on the mast with his shin bone (see end of North! Or Be Eaten for explanations), and even Oscar N. Reteep has found his sea legs; climbing the rigging, getting a tan and a tattoo, learning to spit--but he's still as squishy as ever!

I love the way the book begins, with an unnatural quiet, and how it rapidly devolves into a glorious mess from there.

They sail close to Anniera, the Shining Isle, the home they were so brutally rousted from by the Fangs when Leeli was just a baby, and discovered that even now, after nine long years, it's still burning.

And then Artham P. Wingfeather, throne warden, comes winging in to land on the deck with bad news: ships on the horizon. And the chase is on!

Book rating: Young Adult. Filled with heroic moments of derring do, rough and tumble antics, suspense, lots of great gotcha moments, and a sweet yet quite tangible sadness, The Monster in the Hollows is a great book for older children, but may not be age appropriate for children under the age of ten (you're likely to upset and/or scare them silly if you share it with them). Parental discretion is advised.

Spoiler Alert!

(scroll down if you dare)

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Please be advised that one of the good guys--someone that Janner, Kalmar (Tink) and Leeli want very badly to live--dies at the end of the book.

I suspect when I read my daughter the ending (I believe she's old enough for this book), that she's going to start bawling. I may never hear the end of it, or at least not until Book four comes out. If she were even just a year or two younger, I might hold off on reading this book to her until another year.

More insights into The Monster in the Hollows coming tomorrow! But for now, please check out these nifty links!

Book link - https://store.rabbitroom.com/books/the-monster-in-the-hollows
Series Web site - http://www.WingfeatherSaga.com/
Author’s Web site - http://www.andrew-peterson.com/

See sidebar to the right for links to other blogs participating in the CSFF blog tour this month!

OSHA Yanks The Rug Out From Under Small Business Owners and Employees

2011-09-11T15:16:00.002-06:00

Painting of a Beautifully Remodeled Queen Anne

OSHA--Who?

The originally intended purpose of OSHA is "to prevent work-related injuries, illnesses, and occupational fatality by issuing and enforcing standards for workplace safety and health." (Wikipedia)

Some of the things that OSHA has done have been very beneficial, such as introducing safety-guards on hazardous equipment.

Some of the things that OSHA does have been outrageous, like issuing "guidelines" requiring farmers to build one outhouse for every so many acres of farmland. Back when this guideline first came out, we got an earful about it from my uncle who farms. (The version I recall--I was a child at the time--is that OSHA wanted on an outhouse located every 1/4 acre). Fortunately, someone with clout talked sense to OSHA, and OSHA backed down. That time.

The law says that all businesses must comply with OSHA regulations. Up until now, there's been an acceptance that small businesses can't bear up under a massive regulatory burden and are therefore exempt from most types of reporting to the OSHA. The OSHA regulatory burden on small businesses has been lighter and limited to those things that are absolutely necessary, while OSHA has focused more regulatory burdens on large corporate employers instead.

How OSHA Has Lately Changed

I understand that because of drastic cuts in Washington, D.C., OSHA is looking for additional ways to justify its existence, and has started interfering with small business owners (you can read that "interfering" as harassment, if you want. I do!).

How OSHA's Interference Has Impacted Me

The house we're living in isn't working out the best for us, so, with one wary eye on the worsening economy and a whole lot of faith in God, my parents have recently purchased a new home. Before they/we can move in (I'm living with them), there are certain modifications that must be made to the home.

We had a small business contractor all lined up to take on our remodeling project even before the ink was dry on the initial offer. At that time, we were assured that he and his company would be able to handle the necessary modifications, no problem. That he could hire subcontractors to do the work his company doesn't do, and he would be the project manager and take care of it all. We'd be able to move in, at the latest, in about a month.

Fast forward to the day after closing, and our next discussion with this contractor.

He tells us that since he talked to us, out of the blue, OSHA started demanding large amounts of paperwork from him verifying that he was complying with all workplace regulations. He said he's had to let all of his employees go because as a small business operator he can't afford to comply with OSHA's burdensome verification demands. He further said that he couldn't hire subcontractors to work under him on our project because then OSHA would also demand all of that verification paperwork again.

He said we can hire the subcontractors to work on our house without OSHA harassing us; and we can hire him to do what he does and possibly to consult on, or organize the overall project. Maybe. It's possible he might not even be able to do that. He's having to look for expert advice.

My parents aren't made of money. The budget for this remodel was going to be very tight.

And now, what should have been a quick, straightforward remodeling project is--seriously in doubt. And our contractor is wondering if he's going to be forced out of business.

By OSHA. Because of OSHA.

How OSHA's Interference Is Impacting The Jobs Market

Because of OSHA, our contractor's hard-working employees who didn't deserve it have been, however reluctantly, let go. It's not just our contractor in this bind either; he says that everyone like him is in the same boat.

He says that the burdensome regulations discriminate against small business owners by favoring the large corporate giants who can afford to hire employees to fill out the paperwork to keep OSHA happy.

There are a LOT more small businesses in America than large ones. Here are some facts from the U.S. Small Business Administration (http://web.sba.gov/faqs/faqIndexAll.cfm?areaid=24):

Small firms:
•   Represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms.
•   Employ half of all private sector employees.
•   Pay 44 percent of total U.S. private payroll.
•   Generated 65 percent of net new jobs over the past 17 years.
•   Create more than half of the nonfarm private GDP.
•   Hire 43 percent of high tech workers ( scientists, engineers, computer programmers, and others).
•   Are 52 percent home-based and 2 percent franchises.
•   Made up 97.5 percent of all identified exporters and produced 31 percent of export value in FY 2008.
•   Produce 13 times more patents per employee than large patenting firms.

Chances are that you also depend on or owe your livelihood to small businesses.

Please don't wait until you're out on the unemployment line to do something about this! Safeguard your jobs! Please write your congressmen and women right now, tell them how you feel about OSHA's dramatically negative impact on job growth, and ask them to intervene.

No Greater Love: Remembering 9-11

2011-09-11T14:10:00.001-06:00

I've seen a few other blog posts about 9-11 and the lessons learned. And a quote from Phil Yancey about where was God on 9-11.

I'd like to take this opportunity to remember the most moving story I heard that came out of the twin towers; about the man who chose to stay behind and die with a disabled coworker who wasn't able to negotiate the stairs. They knew that they weren't going to get out of the building alive, so he called his wife to tell her goodbye. I don't remember his name, although I do recall that the news at the time shared it.

Greater love has no man than this, that he lays down his life for a friend. (my paraphrase of John 15:13)

I think of this Christ-like example, and I think of Christ weeping at the tomb of his friend, Lazarus and calling him forth to new life. I think of Christ telling his disciples, "I am the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in me shall never die."

And I also know where God was on that terrible day, and still is, each and every day in every moment, whether good or bad. He's never more than a prayer away from each of us, waiting for us to turn to Him. He's waiting to show us His mercy and love, and to offer us eternal life; a life that is greater than anything we can imagine, confined to these mere mortal vessels that we are clothed in now!

Greater love has no man than Christ, who became sin for us, who took on Him the wrath and judgment of the justice of God against that sin; who suffered and died a terrible death on the cross and then rose again from the grave, and ascended into heaven, sending us the Holy Spirit, that we might live for ever!

Ransomed, redeemed, rejoicing!

No greater love...

A Little Of What Heaven Must Be Like

2011-09-05T20:00:00.000-06:00

I wish I could share with you one of my drives from O'Neill to Lincoln, Nebraska, or the going the other way! Especially this year, when there's been enough rain, and everything is so lush and blooming.

I'm at home now, but today as I was driving through the beautiful, gently rolling hills with the grasses waving in the breeze, and the banks of sunflowers and goldenrod that ran for miles by the road, giving back the sun's glory by the roadside, I thought that this is just a little of what heaven must be like! When we all gather about God's throne to worship and adore Him, and proclaim the wonders of His goodness and mercy, what a wonderful, awesome thing that will be!

Goldenrod

But for now, we have the sunflowers glowing brightly in the autumn sun, and joyously proclaiming the hand of their Maker--our Creator, without whom none of this autumn glory would exist!

Yay! I Got My Product Info Emails Yesterday!

2011-08-31T09:24:00.000-06:00

I've been trying to start an online business selling--something--since February of this year.

A Sneak Peek at one of my AWESOME new products!

Rewind: If you've read my two previous posts, you're aware by now that I've been struggling for years with contaminants I encounter in the course of daily living.

Fast Forward: I knew I wasn't going to be able to support myself and a couple of kids if I couldn't learn to "work smart" around my chemical sensitivities, so earlier this year I began seriously looking into the possibilities of generating income by working at home, and I decided to pursue an opportunity that came my way to create an internet business around marketing products online.

I'm already doing some of this with my Zazzle products, but the market's highly saturated, and while I really enjoy creating artwork to post to Zazzle, and I love it when customers buy my products, I don't know that I'll ever be able to generate a significant income from Zazzle Sales.

In the here and now; I've been doing research and working with a mentor to develop a viable business plan, and to put it into action. I had a couple of false starts! I thought I was going to sell sensitive skin care products, but I couldn't find a distributor, and to be honest, if I'm going to sell sensitive skin care products, I want to focus on Jason's line of fragrance-free products. There isn't a distributor out there--yet--that will accommodate dropship orders for Jason products. I don't want to have to create a physical inventory on my end that I will then have to warehouse.

So, I looked in selling teak shower stools and benches. My mentor got really enthusiastic about this idea! Teak is so beautiful and practical, and there's a growing market for shower benches and stools because of the aging Baby Boomer market. Teak is more expensive (in most cases) than plastic and metal bariatric shower chairs, but it has anti-fungal and antiseptic properties that plastic and metal can't compete with, and the seats don't fill with water and slosh (because they're solid wood). Teak also has a very long use-life: 75 years if properly cared for! I thought of all the possible benefits, and I decided I would sell teak shower chairs (at this point, that means the backless benches and stools, although I do hope to eventually find a distributor who makes chairs with backs or removable backs to add to my product line).

I found one distributor, set up my website, and then discovered we had a couple of major points of miscommunication. We agreed our business relationship wasn't going to work after all, so I took my website down while I went hunting for a new distributor who was willing to get serious about business!

I have found that distributor now, and wow! Their products are even nicer than the first distributor's! They import from the cottage industry in Indonesia, from experienced craftsmen who use only teak wood selectively harvested from government-run teak plantations in Indonesia. How incredible! By supporting the cottage industry, my new distributor is making a real difference to families in Indonesia who would otherwise have difficulty finding jobs with a decent living wage. By employing craftsmen who understand the importance of using only selectively harvested wood from approved sources, my new distributor is also contributing to the preservation of the environment and old growth rainforest--what's left of it--and encouraging legal business opportunities for Indonesian craftsmen that do not support illegal logging activities.

My new distributor also employs their own quality inspectors in Indonesia to ensure that our customers get a quality product on this end.

...Have I mentioned that I grew up in Indonesia, and that the people living there are special to me? Or that I loved growing up in the jungle, and would be very very sad if the rainforest all disappeared, because I know what a tremendous waste of natural resources that would be! No one has definitively categorized all of the plants in the Indonesian rainforests yet--on any of the islands. They've tried--but there's so much jungle!

And I'm so glad that I'm going to be contributing to and supporting the creative efforts of people who want to earn an honest living and protect their greatest natural resource, the Indonesian rainforest, too. And I think it's a God-thing, that I've found this particular distributor.

So, now, with the new product information and images, I'm putting my website back together again. It's going to be smaller, but I hope, a lot better! I do hope you'll come by and take a good look when I re-publish it (hopefully by the end of this week)!

Another of my beautiful new products!

A List Of Things I Can No Longer Do

2011-08-29T21:13:00.000-06:00

And some of which, I would love to be able to do again sometime!

1) shop at Toys'R'Us, Famous Footwear, ACE Hardware, auto parts stores, certain other smallish stores
2) Paint with oil paints, nail polish
3) Craft using Mod-Podge, superglue, most other glues except for Elmer's
4) Eat ham, jerky, bologna; any meat preserved with nitrites
5) Drink unfiltered water that has at any point been treated with chlorine
6) Clean using bleach, ammonia, scented laundry detergents, other common household cleaners.
7) Go swimming in a (properly maintained) pool
8) I can't use any hair products except for unscented shampoo and conditioner, and I can barely tolerate makeup.

This top list has been pretty stable for over seven years. This year, I'm adding to it:

7) Attend any public function where there may be smokers or people wearing perfume.
8) Garden using potting soil
9) Trim the salvia in the garden
10) ?

I don't entirely know why my chemical sensitivities have kicked into such high gear again, although I have a few ideas on what's causing them to get out of control.

Things I can still do:

1) I can still use a low-heat glue-gun in a properly aired room.
2) I can still use Elmer's glue and glue sticks
3) I can still use watercolor paints
4) I can still sew.
5) I can still read, as long as the material I'm reading isn't printed using stinky inks.
6) I can still go for walks, as long as they're not too close to a busy road, or where anyone is smoking.
7) I can still hug my daughter, spend time with her and help her with her homework. But I'm having trouble figuring out my way around my issues to be able to help out at her school.
8) I can still watch movies.
9) I can still go out to eat, as long as I squeeze lemon wedges in my water or order unsweetened tea, and be careful to avoid the ingredients that make me ill in recipes.
10) I can still love my cats.
11) I can still go shopping; I just have to frequent the stores with really excellent ventilation systems.
12) I can still garden--organically.
13) I can make friends online. I may never get to meet them in person; traveling poses lots of challenges for me, but we can still be friends.

I remind myself of how much God has blessed me; of how much worse this could all be or may someday get, and that I have to live in the moment, and not mind it so much now while I still have this list. And I try to be content with the things I can do, and accept the things I can't, because rebelling will only make it worse.

But I'm going to have to find another church, and I don't want to. And I'm sad. It was never a really great fit for me as a church anyway, but--better the church you know than the one you don't, eh?

Anyway, for what it's worth! Trying not to feel sorry for myself tonight.

With Chemical Sensitivities, Everything Reeks!

2011-08-21T16:17:00.000-06:00

Something Rotten...

(And it isn't of holiness!)

Every Sunday, I dread going to church! It's not because the people aren't friendly, because they are very friendly! I like the pastor (well, I wish he'd preach shorter sermons, but don't we all wish that?). I'm happy to worship with my family and friends. I like the church we worship in, especially the stained glass windows. Even the pews have a certain charming shape to them, and padded benches, though my tailbone invariably insists that the padding could be just a little thicker-- Even the music is pretty great, and getting better all the time.

But every Sunday, for me, going to church is this great, horrible penance because of what people are wearing. No, no weird clothes with garish colors--well, most of them aren't-- in fact, the people I worship with are usually nicely dressed, even if a lot of what they wear is quite casual, and not at all expensive.

But it's the scents that get me! The perfume and aftershave; the deodorants that I can smell coming from a mile away; the hairspray; and the laundry detergent-scented fumes that blast me away!

Instead of lessons from the sermon, I tend to take home a headache and nausea.

Please folks; I have chemical sensitivities! This means that it causes me real, physical pain and suffering to be in the same room with you when you've all-but-committed hari-kari anointing yourselves! I try to pick the darkest corner of the church, far, far away from you, but if you insist on invading my space, I'm too polite to shout at you, "You're hurting me! Go AWAY!"

No, instead, I sneak off to find another seat, and if I can't find one on the main floor with other people who don't reek, I go sit by myself in the balcony and feel like an utter fool. But I CAN'T stand being near you!

It's so hard being like this. I'd like so much to know the people I meet at church a lot better than I do!

But I can't go to hardly anyone's homes any more. I never know whether they'll have candles burning or plug-in air fresheners, or worse, have just sprinkled their carpets with scented powder.

I turn down opportunity after opportunity to spend time with people because their every special occasion accented with scent is my idea of a trip to hell!

I can't figure out how to contribute to service of the body, because every activity seems to involve interacting with you, and these ever-present scents that make me ill.

I don't want to be forced to go live out in the sticks by myself away from everyone else, but that's where my chemical sensitivites are going to take me soon enough, a lot faster than I'm ever going to be ready for--especially if I can't convince the people from my church--if I can't convince YOU--

Dear Christian, you really DO smell the nicest when you're not wearing any scents at all.

A Relationship Is Like A Car

2011-08-07T17:00:00.002-06:00

There have been two recent marriages in the communities that I belong to that shared one interesting characteristic: neither couple had ever kissed before they said "I do."

A tween that I was talking to this morning at church expressed confusion over this, and said it was "weird." And that she didn't understand why or how they'd kept from kissing until that moment.

So, I shared with her an analogy my aunt shared with me a day or two ago, that I thought was so good, I also wanted to share it with you!

A Romantic Relationship is Like a Car

My aunt said that when you step on the gas, then stomp on the brake, then step on the gas again, then stomp some more on the brake, not only do both of you become extremely frustrated, but it is easy to miss that you are actually going somewhere; that you have moved further in the direction of giving in to your lusts than you had (hopefully) intended to go. This can be very hazardous to your health, safety, and well-being, because you're not really ready to drive that car. And it's easy to suddenly discover that you've gone past the point of no-return, and now you've sinned and had pre-marital sex, with all of the unfortunate consequences yet to follow.

I thought this was such a good analogy, that I'd like to take it further.

If a romantic relationship is like a car, what kind of a car would you like to drive about in with your best-beloved for the rest of your life?

How about:

The Go-Kart Relationship

Hopping into bed with your most recent date is like driving a Go-Kart

Well, why not drive that Go-Kart? After all, a Go-Kart has a basic chassis, drive train, motor, steering wheel and gas tank! It's even got a gas pedal, gears, and a brake. Sure, a Go-Kart is also quite drafty with very cramped seating (that's really a one-seater you're trying to fit two bodies into) and no cargo room. It won't tolerate any amount of mud or pot-holes and isn't rated real road worthy; but boy, can that Go-Kart ever go!

Of course, if 'you and she, and Baby make three,' you're going to be a bit hard-pressed to figure out how to cobble on another seat for Baby. That chassis isn't rated for the extra weight you've been piling on it, either. You just might find the two--or three--of you sitting in a muddy pothole in the middle of piles of parts, wondering how it happened that your relationship shattered so completely on you!

Rushing into a sexual relationship without really getting to know the other person well first or making any commitments is an awful lot like overloading a Go-Kart and taking it down a really rough road in the rain and expecting it to perform like it would if you were driving a 4-door sedan, and caring properly for your set of wheels.

The Old Beater Cohabitation Truck

Maybe you'd prefer "Cohabitation is like an old beater truck" instead?

Cohabiting is a lot like driving an old beater truck. An old beater truck also has a chassis, drive-train, brake, gas, and steering wheel--a lot of the same pieces as a go-Kart, only most of them are stronger, and it's also got a cab and an open truck bed for hauling stuff. Well, mostly it's got a cab. Of course, there's this large hole under your seat, and when you drive over gravel or water it sprays up your legs!

The windshield is cracked and the doors don't really work, so you've got to climb in and out through the windows, and there's no a/c. The engine's not original, nor is it really right for that particular model truck, so there's patched hose spaghetti threatening to escape from under the hood. The engine also tends to overheat and strand you for hours by the side of the road. With rust also eating through the bumpers, parts of the chassis, and the wheel-wells, well, you're not really sure that this ride is going to continue to get you the places you need it to go.

The one thing that old beater truck is lacking is exactly the one thing you need most: reliability.

But that old beater truck isn't reliable. It has no warranties. No mechanic is willing to stand behind the work done on it even for a ninety day guarantee! The only people who've worked on that truck are the two of you, and Do It Yourself jobs are only as good as the know-how of the people who're doing them. God has had no hand in your effort, and society, represented by your friends and family, has not been enlisted to recognize and support your grand project, and you're making the whole thing up as you go along because you really haven't got a clue. There's a high percentage-rate chance that your old beater truck of cohabitation is going to someday leave you stranded in a highly inconvenient locale, dependent on the good will of strangers.

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

Or--maybe you did the right the thing.

You tried to get to know each other and build a relationship, but then you got to kissing a bit, made out a lot more, and just in the nick of time married before you went too far with it?

The 4-door Sedan of a typical Marriage

Many marriages are like 4-door Sedans

They've got a lot to recommend them; they're nice without being flashy or uber-luxurious. They've got cargo room. They've got room for a couple of kids. They're being driven by two people who are genuinely interested--at least at first--in driving and caring for their car, because they know that if that car dies on them, it's a serious thing.

Sedans are great, especially when they've got a/c and get good gas mileage. But they don't handle potholes too well, or super-sticky mud. And life being what it is, the tarmac disappears with a thump from under the wheels at the most inopportune moments. Repairs and maintenance are very important, but a lot of people hit the bumps in the road; their tires go flat or their engine blows a gasket, and suddenly they're disenchanted with the car they've been driving. Instead of getting it fixed, they ditch it and go shopping for a new car.

(Bad news though; they're not going to take any better care of their new marriage-car than they did the old marriage-car!)

The Awesome Coolness of a Batmobile Marriage

What if you could have a marriage more like the Batmobile instead?

I love the Batmobile! It's such a versatile piece of intelligently designed equipment! The Batmobile goes--wherever the Batmobile needs to go! It has great morphing features for defense and protection cabability! It has the speed and agility of a race car (or a personal hover-jet! :-) ) paired with the dependability of a much more prosaic ride. The Batmobile is also super cool!

Just one thing: the Batmobile didn't come into existence overnight! The Batmobile took years of painstaking effort by an intelligent designer to create, and it's always being upgraded. The Batmobile also gets serviced regularly. Very regularly. Like, just about every time it returns to the Bat-cave!

What would it take for you to build and create a relationship as flexible, strong, and as totally cool as the Batmobile? Well, don't you think it would take years of careful planning and hard work before your marriage ever left the Bat-cave (er, church) for the first time and encountered the road? That once that marriage-car was roadworthy, it would still need constant, multiple-times-daily maintenance, and frequent upgrading to be able to fly like the wind over life's troubles and temptations instead of wrecking itself on them?

Now: Imagine Trying To Build The Batmobile...On A Go-Kart Chassis...

Which is why, if you're really smart, you're already planning on saving your first kiss for marriage, because now you understand that relationships built on physical gratification in the moment aren't designed to the go the distance. Only the Batmobile-Made-In-Heaven Marriage can go the distance!

And if you want that super-cool, uber-strong, infinitely flexible kind of a marriage, then your priorities aren't going to let you settle for the Go-Kart instead. Nope. You're going to work and scrimp and save and plan to create the Batmobile. And save your first chance to try out the Batmobile's gas pedal--or kiss--for after you say "I do."

'Nuff said!

The Email (Junkmail) I Get

2011-08-06T20:59:00.001-06:00

Every once in a while I get to pondering the irrationality of the world we live in.

Take junk mail for instance--or don't; it's a free country, and I prefer to block as much of it as I can, myself!

What kind of a weird reality do we live in, where people whom we don't know and don't ever want to know send us emails for things like "Hot Christian Singles" and "Hot Asian Chicks (hello? I'm a female; I absolutely object to your objectification of Asian females--and I'm sooo not interested!)," "Hot Seniors (get real!)," Viagra (I would need that--why?), bank loans (in this economy?), Subway coupons (really, now! I can get my own if I want to), colleges they aren't connected to (and I refuse to throw my money at)--and a slew of other total trash that blows my comprehension just to read the subject headers for it!

I don't open any of it; understand; I select all, then Sweep, then Block, and yes--I want all of those addresses blocked, thank you very much! And my email program is very obliging. Unfortunately, it can't seem to be taught to distinguish between addresses that are complete gibberish (and therefore obvious spam), and addresses that are legit. So I get to do this over and over again.

But it blows my mind! Why DO spammers sling that stuff wildly about on cyberspace? What possible benefit do they get out of it?

Here's another brain-stumper: Why do online singles sites persist in buying advertising space on my email browser's program? And then they post pictures!

I have some advice for the singles sites: Don't post those pictures!

They seriously make me want to run away from those people and/or the singles sites (which I am not at all interested in checking out anyway), caught between hysterical screams and laughter!

Here's why: when I first started working as a temp fresh out of college, I had this one boss who had what he called a "turkey file." Anyone who sent him a resume and had the bad taste to attach their picture wound up in the turkey file. Other rejection files got purged on a regular basis. We saved everything forever in the turkey file. If you got a standard rejection notice for your application, you could always hope to reapply with us without being remembered in a negative light. But if your resume wound up in the turkey file, you were toast.

Maybe you don't get why I'm having trouble with the pictures from the singles sites! Well, let me explain it to you like this: There's loser "A:" he's too hot for the camera, and in fact, there's a good possibility that he's just got a self-centered obnoxious streak a mile wide--and frankly, it's coming through the camera lens at me--at 180 mph--and I'm assuming super-heroine pose, and ready to deflect, deflect, deflect, and knock him smartly on his keester if deflecting fails to work!

Then there's Loser B: He looks like the kind of guy they make bad operas about in Italian. Yeah; especially that one, where the devil comes to get him in the last act-- Frankly, I'd just as soon let the devil have him. I am NOT impressed!

Then there's Loser C: I'm pretty sure they airbrushed that smile, and I'll bet he's a smoker, and has too much to drink on weekends, but would otherwise be a really nice guy. If only he hadn't beat up his last three girlfriends. And how he got his picture posted on that site from jail is--

Mind-boggling.

And now you've got a taste of how my mind works, and what a horribly dim view I take of certain ragtag bits of the human race! I'm sure God can save spammers, and people whose pictures wind up in ads for singles sites. Knowing that, though, doesn't inspire me at the moment to try to tell them so, or to practice evangelistic dating. Makes me wince just to think of trying. I'm just not that much of a glutton for suffering pain for stupid reasons!

I suspect you aren't either. Which brings me back to the mind-boggling dealing with this whole reality issue--thing--again.

But some day, I am so going to talk someone into writing a program that spams the spammers with return messages like, "God loves you, and has this incredible, redemptive plan for your life! (PSSST! And it doesn't involve being annoying and wicked to other people online!)."

Aquasynthesis

2011-08-05T23:05:00.000-06:00

Aquasynthesis

aqua (n)—water, used in compound names, or substances in water.
synthesis (n)—a joining of elements into a unified entity.
aquasynthesis (n)—a combining of worlds within a pool of water; an anthology of stories from
Splashdown authors.

Authored by Fred Warren, Caprice Hokstad, P. A. Baines,
Adam Graham, R. L. Copple, Travis Perry, Mike Lynch,
Keven Newsome, Kat Heckenbach, Ryan Grabow,
Grace Bridges and Walt Staples

Edited by Grace Bridges
Narrated by Walt Staples

Aquasynthesis was intended as a compendium of short stories to showcase the different styles, genres and subject matters of the authors at Splashdown Books. Grace originally intended each story to be standalone, but she was outvoted by the authors, who were convinced that there had to be a story-thread that would bind their disparate stories together.

I wondered when I first read about this project, how well that would work. Well, I've now had an opportunity to read the book in question, and the answer is; stupendously well!

Follow Gizile and her taciturn mentor, Master Tok, as they observe a series of seemingly unrelated scenes played out within a pool of water. As Gizile struggles to make sense of each scene; to take away a lesson; and to find the common thread, she watches stories of dragons stronger than death faced by a knight with great courage, a snotty young elf lab assistant discovering that God created the universe, Saint Nick confronting two violent virtual reality gamers, and a long list of other stories that I don't want to write down here, because I don't want to give away everything that's good.

Along the way, we learn several things about Gizile: she's impatient, she's hurting, and why she's nursing a terrible anger.

We also learn that Master Tok is not as hard-hearted as he seems on the surface.

And we discover the collective human need for redemption and forgiveness.

Hustle on over to Splashdown Books and obtain a copy of Aquasynthesis for your own enjoyment and discover what Splashdown Books is really all about!

GRAND OPENING: Roundabouts Restaurant!

2011-08-01T17:55:00.000-06:00

A friend of ours from church, has opened a new restaurant on the southwest corner of 70th and A St. in Lincoln, Nebraska!

The name of this lovely place is Roundabouts; named after the lovely traffic circles that are becoming the fashion all across the country!

The specialty of the house is rounds: a 4" round, deep pastry shell filled with any of a long list of yummy fillings. Here's a picture of a few samples:

Roundabouts also serves lettuce and fruit salads, soup and sandwiches.

The decor inside Roundabouts is also very nice, and somewhat unusual:

The black and white feather-covered balls are unique and make quite a striking statement! I understand that the artist who did such a lovely job on this large canvas also works with Bev at the restaurant! What a talented staff!

Bev shared with me that this bouquet was a mystery gift; while she's certain that the owners of the building were behind its appearance in the restaurant, she doesn't know how they managed to match the themes for her decor right down to the feathered balls!

Oh--and that surface the bouquet is sitting on? That's a stage. I understand that there will be live musicians performing at Roundabouts on Friday (and also Saturday?) nights.

Guests relaxing and having a good time at Roundabouts!

Stop in and try Roundabouts' great rounds, and see what the fuss is all about!

The Start of Something New

2011-07-28T10:16:00.000-06:00

Painting of Spad VII Bi-plane


Painting of Vintage Bi-plane, type unknown (to me)

A week or two ago, I posted about visiting the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. Although I've been very busy, I finally got around to downloading my pictures, and playing with them a bit on my art programs.

I thought you might enjoy seeing the finished results on two of them.

I may have to add a new gallery of artwork on Zazzle. I'm thinking of calling it Vintage Aircraft.

The AF Museum in Dayton prides itself in showing examples of every aircraft used in the service of our country.

I understand there's talk of adding a new hanger to the three huge hangers currently housing the exhibit. Won't that be something?

The photography story behind these pictures:

I have a Nikon Coolpix. It's not the world's most expensive camera, but I like it because it's small enough to fit in my purse and it doesn't weigh a ton when I put it there!

I also think it gives good value.

In low light, I've found it is best to turn off the flash. I've recently discovered that this may be good advice for other digital cameras too. When I turn off the flash, then the Coolpix adjusts to the lower level light settings, and the exposure times lengthen. Depending on how low the lighting levels are, I may hear two clicks instead of one after I press the button.

I got a lot more practice dealing with low lighting levels at the AF Museum, because in spite of the high number of spots dotting the ceilings (and interfering with high angle photos), the lighting levels at ground level tended to be rather dim.

After I downloaded the photographs last night, I turned a couple of the best into digital oil paintings. It's neat getting to play with paints; and no mess to clean up, no toxic smells to make me ill. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have!

Who's in the Box?

2011-07-24T22:48:00.000-06:00

Who's in the Box? Are you in the box? Or is God in the box?

Maybe you're wondering why should anyone be in the box. If so, pat yourself on the back and move to the front of the class--the answer to that question is not far ahead of you.

Lately I've encountered (sometimes in books) a lot of the view that God should be shut out of lives; that we should live our lives free of His influence. That people who rely on God in time of need are weak; that those who turn to Him daily are pathetic.

Oh, really? Isn't that shutting God out of the box? Defining where He can act, which of course, if you are of the opinion expressed above, is not near you.

Which brings me back to my question: is God, then, in the box, or are you? And why would you shut yourself up in a box that way? (personally, I'm not too fond of small enclosed spaces. They usually seem a bit short of fresh air)

I keep wondering how people survive the senselessness of their lives without God to turn to; wandering around, smashing their foreheads into the low-beamed ceilings of their lives, and saying, "Ow! That hurts!" and then again, a little later, "Ow! That hurts!" over and over again--

When you talk to them about God, they rant about the low ceiling and how their heads hurt from bashing against it, and they blame God for their pain, but--if they'd only realize, they put that ceiling there when they shut God out of their lives.

God is, by definition, a Supreme Being who does not fit in a box. He is immortal, meaning He has no beginning and no end. He is omniscient, meaning that He knows everything. He is omnipotent, meaning all-powerful. God exists outside of time and space. He made time and space!

The Bible says, "Within Him we live and move, and have our being." Acts 17:28 NIV
And again, "Through Him all things were made..." 1 John 1:3 (NIV)

When we choose to be God's, when we open up our lives to the redemptive power of His love, He promises us an eternity of joy with Him! Eternity--life everlasting; life without end. Life that does not fit into a box!

When we shut God out of our lives, it's like choosing, on a beautiful cloudless day full of sunshine, to climb down into a cellar, pull the door shut above us, and bar it so no light or fresh air, or any good thing can get in. Hiding in a damp, gloomy cellar makes sense if you're anticipating the prompt arrival of a tornado, but--why would any sensible person choose to hide in the cellar when the sun is shining and the world above is looking better than ever? When they could have life everlasting; life that does not fit into any box?

Anyway, it puzzles me. And no, I do not believe that anyone who doesn't want to should have to live life in a box.

In the Beginning, God...

2011-07-19T21:22:00.000-06:00

"In the Beginning, God Created the Heavens and the Earth." Genesis 1: 1

What a remarkable beginning to a remarkable book! But...also a highly controversial statement, especially in this day and age!

Do you believe that God created the heavens and the earth? How many people do you know who believe the way you do, whether it's for or against? How many people do you know who believe the other way around?

Why do you or why do you not believe that God created anything?

And maybe, you're trying to shoehorn evolution into that simple statement by adding, "But it took billions and billions of years!"

Recently, my parents, a couple of aunts and uncles, my kids and myself went to visit the Creation Museum, in Petersburg, Kentucky. The Creation Museum makes a compelling case for a six-day creation and a young earth. I've believed in those two things as bedrock and foundational to my understanding of the Bible for almost all of my life, but it was highly reassuring for me to see some science for once that agrees with my religious beliefs instead of undermining them. It was also highly instructive for my kids, especially my 17 year-old, who's been getting his beliefs attacked by an atheist science teacher in his public high school. He knew some of the assertions made in his science classes absolutely had to be off; now he knows why they're off, and why he shouldn't trust the science his teacher espoused as being correct.

I wished though, that another aunt and uncle would have come with us; or maybe a whole raft of aunts and uncles! But the one uncle I wished was there with us, is the one who teaches archeology and leads digs on the West Coast. I wish this because I see that the "left coast" is getting to him academically, undermining the foundational truths of the Bible, and I am sorry to see it.

I wish all of my cousins could have come with us too. They'd have had to pay their own way, of course; the Creation Museum is an expensive place to get into, but well worth every penny. And, while I'm wishing, I wish all of my friends and their children could have come too.

It was just that kind of an enriching experience; the kind you want to share with everyone you know, because you know that they will learn something from it. Maybe not the exact same thing you took away, but something good all the same; something that makes their lives richer and fuller of purpose, that puts a thoughtful look in their eyes and keeps on working long after the event itself is in the past.

Because that is how this visit has affected me!

I've got to two books to read, that I picked up in the bookstore at the museum. One is on Christian colleges, and what they are actually teaching (and believing) about God's Word and the foundational truths from Genesis. The other is on why children leave the church (lack of theological underpinning to counteract the attacks on their faith), and what we should do about it.

I'd like to highly recommend these two books to you!

Here are the titles:
Already Compromised, by Ken Ham and Greg Hall
Already Gone: why your kids will quit church and what you can do to stop it, by Ken Ham and Britt Beemer with Todd Hillard

As for the artwork above: this panel on Creation, showing God speaking everything into existence, is the beginning of the Bible Timeline chart (or Progress of Redemption chart) that I made for a class at Columbia Bible College, back before it became Columbia International University. You can find my chart at Bible Story Pictures on Zazzle.com, along with artwork using these panels.

Grackles Like Onions!

2011-07-17T15:46:00.000-06:00

This spring, when I planted another postage-stamp-sized garden, I thought I'd probably have some trouble with pests attacking the tomatoes, and maybe beetles attacking the kale. I knew there would be weeds to pull, and quite likely the cucumber vines would grow wildly out of control in some direction I didn't approve of, and I'd have to put the tomatoes in cages.

I wondered if I'd get any peppers this year that were sweet, or if something bad would happen (again), and a few of them would grow bitter and nasty fruit instead of sweet.

We were prepared for rabbits--at least the larger ones: Dad cut down the rabbit fence that was too high last year so we could step over it more easily, which was very nice of him. The holes were too large in the fencing to keep out the one baby rabbit that took up a temporary residence in our yard early this spring, but he didn't do much damage before he moved on.

The other plants have exceeded my expectations! I got some good kale before the caterpillars became a plague and I had to pull most of it. I also got a good one-time crop of spinach. I'll probably try to plant more this fall when it gets cooler.

The cucumbers are trying to take over the garden and are in danger of smothering my Swiss charge. I'm going to have to tie them up to the trellis after all. I've already corralled all the tomato plants--once--but the pear tomato is so blissfully happy, it's taller than me now and escaping. I'm going to have to tie it up a little better too.

What never occurred to me was that I would be regretting not stringing bird netting to protect my onions!

I first realized that my garden was of interest to the grackles the afternoon, about two months ago, when I went out to check on my new kale plants, and a grackle startled, and flapped out of the kale patch into the nearby lilac. I didn't think anything of it at the time, except to be glad that there were birds willing to help me dispose of a few bugs in my garden.

Then, about a month later, I had what appeared to be hail damage to my onions, but nothing else in the garden; the one larger patch had all been broken or shredded about six inches from the ground. It was about two or three weeks later, that Dad came in to tell me the bad news; he'd gone out and surprise a sizable flock of grackles that had been busy, chewing the tops off my onions!

Well, I wasn't pleased about that, and we talked about putting bird netting down, but I went to see the damage for myself. There was no point in trying to salvage most of those onions!

So, I learned something new this gardening season: grackles love onions!

(Stupid birds!) Next year, you know I'll be putting up bird-netting...

I'm sure there's a number of spiritual lessons in this garden tale. I'll leave you to find them.

Happy to Be Home

2011-07-12T21:02:00.000-06:00

We went to a wedding last weekend--of my cousin's daughter, then visited an aircraft museum in Dayton, OH featuring every type of aircraft that has ever been in service to our country. What an awesome place! I hope to get my pictures of this trip downloaded and posted soon on Facebook so you can see them!

A couple of things I liked best about the museum:

it was free to the public
there was so much to see!!!
they let us take pictures
the volunteers were very friendly and helpful.

A couple of things I didn't like:

There was so much to see, and I ran out of energy after the first hanger and a half, and my legs gave out. There are three large hangers, an interactive exhibit, and a large gift shop. I understand they will be adding yet a fourth hanger soon.
Bad cell phone reception except in the entrance to the museum and in the Cold War Gallery. This made reconnecting with our party somewhat difficult.
Poor lighting made getting some of the better pictures difficult.
The parking lot was also huge (but we got around this by having the men drop us women and children off and pick us up closer to the door).

The day after we wore ourselves out at the aircraft museum, we went to the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky. This was also an amazing place to visit, although considerably more expensive. However, we considered the expense as worth it considering the value of what we obtained from it; a highly educational as well as entertaining experience; and the knowledge that our dollars were going to support teaching about the Bible that we agree with and wish to see others have the opportunity to learn from.

I restrained myself (with a rueful acknowledgment of my limited resources) from buying up the bookstore, and instead settled on a magazine subscription to Answers, three of the movies and a couple of books. I'm hoping I can talk our pastor into buying more of their materials for our childrens' programs at church.

To obtain more information about the Creation Museum, please visit: creationmuseum.org.

A Few Meditations on Freedom and Liberty

2011-07-04T23:01:00.000-06:00

As much as we love our freedom in America, I was reminded again tonight, as the fireworks banged and crackled, and squealed that our freedom isn't free. It has cost the lives of many brave men and women over the course of two centuries in order to give us the freedom to play with explosives in our driveways and light up the skies at night every July 4th.

I read a post earlier that was moderately critical of the flash-bang glitz of July 4th; a supposedly superficial celebration that sets the nerves of dogs and cats on edge and makes small children cry. Actually, the author didn't mention the pets or the babies (her post might have been stronger if she had); but she suggested that we should replace our extravagant expenditures on these festivities with good deeds that involve the release from captivity of people still living under tyranny or trapped in modern-day slavery.

I approve of doing good works to celebrate our independence from tyranny! I think it's a good thing to set others free--where possible. But, freedom is so rarely able to be given; the person who needs to be freed must be willing to seize their chance at freedom with both hands and, if it looks to be getting away, scramble madly after it without regard to any person or property which gets in the way! It doesn't matter how much you want to give another person freedom if they aren't willing to be freed!

And, since freeing others ought to be a constant, year-round effort, I can't understand at all how celebrating our own freedom could be seen to detract from efforts toward gaining the freedom of all those who are without it. So, in this regard, I disagree with my fellow blog writer.

The God I serve is big enough to be the God of July 4th celebrations, Christmas parties, Easter Sunrise Services; Sundays, Mondays, and all the other days of the week; as well as all of the celebrations He instituted also for His people in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.

Which takes me back to the spectacle enjoyed this evening.

As fireworks blew up in the air and crackled loudly in long strings on the street, I was reminded as I watched the boys and men striding about in the smoke, that men who would be free must be willing to fight for that freedom, and to endure the bombs and bullets of war flying about their persons and exploding on every side. The man who faces boldly into the onslaught without flinching is the man who conquers best, for he has conquered his own fear and mastered it, and may now lead others on to victory.

I was also reminded that not all bombs land harmlessly by the mad dash to the rescue when a firework (that wasn't the type intended to go anywhere) sailed off to smack against a neighbor's door! Thankfully this time, no people were harmed and no houses burned down in the making of this memory!

As our city went wild in loud, jubilant celebration, we gathered as neighbors and family and friends, to enjoy a feast and to celebrate, not just our freedom as a country, but also God's goodness and blessing on this country. I hope those serving with the Armed Forces found themselves in places where they could celebrate today too. And I want to thank them for their service to our country.

Thank you, each and every one of you who serves us, putting your lives on the line daily, that our freedoms may endure. God bless you, and God keep you safely in His arms until you are returned to the loving arms of your families.

God bless America!

Dear Pixar, Please Ditch That Message

2011-07-02T10:19:00.000-06:00

Dear Pixar,

I'm writing this letter to you because it came to my attention a couple of days ago, that a movie you released that I was planning to go see with my kids: Cars 2, has been hijacked by a political message. Now, the reason why we've liked Pixar movies and have become a dedicated part of your viewing audience was because we liked the messages we got from your movies; messages like:

Loyalty to your friends (Toy Story 1)
The power of love (Toy Story 2)
To have a friend, you must be a friend, and it's not all about winning (Cars)

I understand that there is a message along those lines in Cars 2, but that the message has gotten blurred by this other, political message. I understand that in Cars 2, your screenwriters decided they needed to soup up the plot with a villain, "Big Oil," and that apparently, Big Oil is to blame for many of the things that go wrong in the movie.

Understand; I haven't seen the movie for myself, and I likely won't. Happy Feet, another recent children's film that had a political message, left this very nasty, bitter taste in my mouth that no amount of incredible singing and dancing by cute fluffy penguins could ever remove.

So, just hearing that Cars 2 has a political message is enough to make me shy off completely.

Considering the nature of the message in Cars 2--as I have been given to understand it--I thought I should explain to you exactly why I object to it.

My first objections to your message comes from my training as a writer. "Big Oil" is a very broad and nebulous villain. Are we to suppose, then, that you are skewering everyone in the oil industry? Oh, I'm sure there's nothing "personal" at all in this characterization!

Does that mean that you think everyone in the oil industry is now a wicked evil person?
Have you forgotten that the average oil worker has children too?
Or were you expecting them to laugh at you dissing the industry they work for?
Maybe you think they ought to quit and get another politically-correct, approved-by-you job?
And where, right now, do you think they should go looking for those jobs, given the state of our economy?
Are YOU ready to employ all of them?

As a writer, I've been encouraged not to demonize real people. Yet here we have a whole industry that is being demonized! By you! I honestly never thought I'd see the day where Pixar joined the bullies or encouraged a mob mentality! I think you ought to be ashamed of yourselves! As writers!

Then, I got to thinking about this from the standpoint of a private citizen, who's not very well off at all, who can't afford a new car, let alone a fancy new hybrid or electric car. I rely on the oil industry to get gas to the pumps so that I can have mobility in the car that I do have, for which I am very grateful. And I got to thinking about all of the ways we depend on the oil industry; for transportation of goods to market; air, sea, and land travel; for cooking, heat, and light; power for all of our fancy gadgets and toys; emergency generators, and so on.

I'm pretty sure that if just "Big Oil" disappeared tomorrow, even with our coal plants, nuclear plants, windmills, solar panels, and hydroelectric dams, our civilization would collapse! Traffic would grind to a screeching halt. Goods and services would cease to be created, and never reach the markets they were intended for. What a mad scramble for energy resources would ensue! We're a long way yet from declaring our independence from oil.

And I got to thinking about how popular attitudes embolden politicians to enact stupid legislation or refuse permits for developing natural resources, and how our nation's economy is being slowly strangled by excessive regulation of a major industry that we depend on; Big Oil.

And I got to thinking about how punitive taxes and fees, and hidden costs always raise the cost of goods and services, and how my dollars are buying considerably less gas at the pump than they were five years ago, and how I'm a whole lot worse off.

And I think I may not like you at all well any more, because you've pitched your hat in on the side of the politicians and environmental extremists who are making it very tough for the little people like me to survive! YOU are encouraging an attitude that is causing economic hurt to the people, like me, who live at the bottom of America's economic ladder. What is it now; something like 90 to 95% of us? A lot of people like me--I might add--to whom it has become a real challenge to find a few extra dollars to go to movies these days, too.

It's not that I approve of oil spills and huge natural disasters. I absolutely don't. I think we'd all agree that we want to hold accountable oil executives and tanker captains, and others in the oil industry who have made costly mistakes that could have been avoided. I think we want to hold accountable oil companies whose short-sighted policies cause natural disasters. And of course, we want those disaster sites cleaned up!

But I think that we also ought to make every effort to maintain and promote a sense of proportion too.

And I'd really appreciate it if you'd keep your political views out of your movies. For one thing, they're short-sighted, and for another, well, you're causing people like me harm. I don't think you're funny.

And I really can't appreciate you or your movies for it.

Crazy Man With A Gun

2011-06-17T16:05:00.000-06:00

CRAZY MAN WITH A GUN:

Coming Soon To a Town Near You!

Unfortunately, no, this is not a movie. This isn't even "reality TV." It's real life. It might mean your life or mine, if we don't get this situation that's out of control--under control.

Maybe you'd rather not think about it. I sure would prefer not to. But it's been simmering on the back burner of my mind for two weeks now while I wonder if he's going to shoot someone. And I hope and pray that if this man does shoot someone, that it isn't anyone I care about! Because I can't stop him. I wish I could.

Do I know this man? No. I don't know his name or where he lives, (except that he probably lives here; in Lincoln, Nebraska) or much of anything about him.

What I do know is deeply disturbing!

I know he's got a grandma who's worried sick over him. I know he's bi-polar; that he probably lost the last good job he had because of his mental illness. At the job he's working now, his insurance isn't covering the meds he needs to control his mental illness because he hasn't been on the job long enough. He's not dealing with his illness (it's getting worse) or with his co-workers reacting negatively to the things his illness makes him do.

He's also gone and bought himself a gun. Very recently. There was no reason for the shopkeeper not to sell it to him. His family has tried to talk him into getting rid of the gun. They failed. He appears to see the gun as vital security against all of the things in life that he finds scary and threatening.

And oh yeah; he's paranoid and depressed, frustrated and angry. But he's not threatening anyone. Oh no. Not yet. I'd like to point out that in recent cases of people with mental illness shooting other people, there haven't been any threats made. The shooters just took action. Are you scared yet?

And what this poor woman related sounded like an explosive situation just waiting for a match to light the fuse. I was deeply sympathetic and deeply alarmed. I still am. I've been praying ever since... I don't know what else I can do, except to relate this story to you and warn you.

Do I know her either? No. I don't even know her name or where she lives, or--much of anything about her. She dropped by my yard sale two weeks ago and spilled this whole story in my lap, asked for advice on where to find help, and then moved on.

I also don't know why she told her story to me particularly, but I do know why she told the story to anyone at all. She's desperately looking for help. She loves her grandson and wants to see him well again. She's afraid of him with that gun and afraid for him. She wants someone to STOP THIS CRAZINESS before it's too late! And I can surely understand that.

So folks, question time:

Where can someone go to get help

for a mentally ill person they love?

I mean REAL help. Medically effective help. Not "lock that nut up and throw away the key forever" kind of help! This isn't a "total whack-job" or an "inherently evil person;" this is a human being, who is ill, who needs to be accorded dignity and respect; who, if he had his medications properly administered and adjusted, could get his feet back under him and be a solid contributor to society.

I'm asking because I surely do not know where to find that help.

I know his grandma can't get it for him, because HIPAA, may it be known forever as a BAD LAW, presumes that anyone acting in another's medical best interest without their actual written consent is a stalker or identity thief, or greedy relative, or--you name it; it's all bad assumptions--and that only a patient can actually authorize their own care.

"Patients Rights" means that no one else can get this man actual help unless he authorizes them to do so, and signs the paperwork. Or he wigs out; sufficiently threatens or hurts, or kills someone, and then the law steps in, and maybe then he gets the help he needs in prison, but then again, maybe not.

Does "Patients Rights" absolutely have to mean this?

So...the only way his grandma or anyone close to him can get him help right now is to go to the authorities and declare him an imminent danger to himself or others. But they'd probably have to give concrete reasons why they think he is that. And he really isn't an imminent danger. Yet. But he could become that! All it takes is enough of a catalyst. Between the mental illness and the job situation where he's not being treated well, I've got to tell you, it sounds to me that there's a catalyst already in the making!

I told his grandma to have him contact Medicaid, and talk to them about getting coverage for his medications. I also gave her the name and information for a Christian counseling firm here in Lincoln. What I told her to do is the best that I could think of to offer her. And it's SO USELESS!

She left, and I prayed for her and for him, and for all of us.

I begged God to intervene, to help her, to protect all of us, including this man.

But It Doesn't End There!

This story, while horrible, isn't just limited to here, in Lincoln, Nebraska.This story is being repeated all over America, anywhere that HIPAA pokes its fingers, anywhere that there isn't an established and clear way to get people like this poor man help before it's too late.

Did you read the news lately about Jared Loughner being declared incompetent to stand trial?

Does that bother you, that he was able to buy a gun? Or that his dad tried so very hard to stop him, and yet there wasn't any way for him to know what his son would do next, so--not even the police could be called or expected to intervene in a meaningful and timely manner?

Does it bother or upset you at all that Jared shot a bunch of people; killing some, wounding others, and changing many other people's lives forever? That it took violence and deaths to get the authorities involved, and finally get Jared Loughner to some help?

Do you really, my fellow Americans, want to find an effective way to stop this kind of event from happening before it starts? Or could you care less, because it wasn't your family and friends that got hurt this time?

It wasn't you, so since you didn't bleed, now you don't care? How short-sighted, if you really do feel this way!

If you DO care, then you're going to have to stand up and make a difference.

You're going to have to tell your lawmakers that making laws that presume Americans are guilty of all kinds of wickedness before they even act up--is bad, and you object. You're going to have to take a stand on HIPAA and demand that it must be rewritten, or better yet, scrapped, to allow the families and close friends of people like Jared and this nameless man to get help for those they love and care about; help that doesn't stigmatize the mentally ill or lose them their jobs, or incarcerate them indefinitely.

If the people who know a person needs help can't get them that help, then how are the people in law enforcement who don't know anything about them going to be able to stop them from creating mayhem before it's too late?

We need to tell our government, quite quite frankly, to get its nasty fingers OUT of medical care,and leave the professionals and caregivers, and the family and friends dealing with the mentally ill on a day to day basis the freedom to talk to each other; to communicate effectively so that the mentally ill (and potentially dangerous) can be helped!

I don't know how else to say this.

And meanwhile, in Lincoln, Nebraska, somewhere, there is a mentally ill man.

He's gone off his meds because he can't afford them. His mental illness is getting worse. His job is in trouble, and he's stressed. It takes two months to get on Medicaid benefits AFTER the paperwork is submitted. If he even submits it. If it's accepted after review. He could get turned down for benefits, if he even still has his job by the time the review comes around.

And he's GOT a gun.

May God take great mercy on him and on us!

Please Bless Me, Lord...

2011-06-05T12:42:00.000-06:00

I want to be rich!

And now, right away someone is gasping and rolling their eyes in horror and disgust. Rich people are evil, nasty, cold, heartless brutes who...but are they really?

(I really don't care what other people think!)

And Lord, I want to be rich!

But please--HOW do I want to be rich?

I don't want too much stuff. I find "stuff" to be a horrible burden. It's got to be housed and dusted, and tended and mended--

And frankly, most days, I don't have the patience!

I don't want a big house, either; it would have to be looked after,
and tended and mended--and again, Lord, I've got better things to do! (but I do want to be rich)

The big fancy cars, the jets, the scuba gear and snowmobiles and yachts, and other fancy toys; they're for the other girls and boys.

I don't want to be hemmed in by a security fence and guarded night and day--just because I was rich--

Let someone else have the prestige and power, and the glamour--and the life that imprisons them--

But Lord, I really do want to be rich!

I want to be rich in loving friends who care and share with me life's joys and trials; tears and smiles!

I want to be rich in family who rally round and cling to me when the world hits the fan and splatters all the walls!

I want to be rich in your love and grace and mercy to give to the deserving and to those who don't deserve it at all.

And I want to be rich in a life well lived and tended, when it's torn it gets mended--

I don't think ill of the folks who seem to have it all (what they often don't have leaves me sad for them and appalled),

But Lord, when I say I want to be rich, I hope you understand this;

I need food on the table and clothes on my back, a little bit of this, and a bit more of that,

But the one thing I need more than any of that is you, Lord--

If I really do want to be rich!

New Products on eBay

2011-05-26T21:03:00.000-06:00

I 've been putting products into kits over the course of the last few days, and I've gotten far enough along that I'm beginning to post the new kits for sale on eBay. Here's the first one:

Men's Travel Shaving Kit for sale on eBay

Kit includes:

Dopp Bag: measures 9 1/2 x 5 1/2 x 2 inches
Clear Path Cordless Foil Shaver, with batteries and brush
Collapsible brush/mirror compact
HÅRBØRSTEN 4-in-1 lint-brush, comb, mirror and shoehorn
TSA compliant blue lotion bottle (empty).

This kit will be shipped inside a clear vinyl zippered toiletries bag.

If you buy a kit, it not only benefits me by helping me to support myself and my children, but also my disabled friend, who can no longer run her own business.

Thanks!

Two New Zazzle Stores

2011-05-24T13:53:00.000-06:00

I wanted to be sure to let you know about my two latest ventures on Zazzle!

Zazzle has lately enabled a new feature for easy store consolidation. This has been very nice! Now I can have one account with them, and several stores showcasing my artwork to more targeted markets!

The first new store I created is: Picture Of A Rose

This store showcases my Rose pictures and artwork. Here are a few samples:

Red Climbing Rose

Yellow Glitter Rose


Antiqued Sepia-tone Rose

The second new store is: Bible Story Pictures

I'm uploading panels to this website from my Progress of Redemption Bible Chart. When I'm finished, I'll have the whole story of the Bible from Creation to the eternity with Christ, in picture-poster form.

I hope to also make calendar-style booklets using this artwork, and maybe some cards and other gifts. I'll have to see what these prints can be adapted to before I'll know for sure how best to use them.

Here's a sneak peak at some of the panels:

Here we have the Restoration of the Temple, Queen Esther, Return to Following God's Laws and the Rebuilding of Jerusalem

Between the Testaments

The Cross, the Empty Tomb, the Ascension

Please feel free to drop by and drop me a note!

I'll also be posting a couple of Flash Panels for these stores to this blog so that you'll be able to see what I've made most recently.

Swimsuit Designers Just Don't Get It

2011-05-13T22:38:00.000-06:00

I've been swimsuit shopping for my child today. I found myself squinting at the loud, obnoxious fabrics, and narrowing my eyes at the skimpy-ness of the little bits and pieces that SOMEONE, somewhere appears to think passes for acceptable female swimming apparel.

Bad news, bub, whoever-you-are: I don't! And I know there are a lot of other people out there who agree with me, because selling modest swimsuits has become serious business on the web! I was amazed at the number of online stores selling their own designs! And further distressed at the prices I can't really afford.

Still, I have this desire to appropriately clothe my child so that she's comfortable in the swimming pool, and we're both not cringing at the skimpy-ness of her outfit. I believe it's my conscience speaking-- Well, actually not so much speaking as jumping up and down and hollering at me! "Do the right thing!"

Here are some of the better links I found for modest swimsuits on the web:
http://www.swimmodest.com/ These styles were very appealing to my daughter. Sadly, too expensive!
http://www.simply-modest.com/posecom/ She liked these too. Again, too expensive!

http://www.aquaswimsuits.com/modest_swimwear.html This site has racing speedos that aren't cut so high on the hip, and a more modest cut around the neckline too. They're also reasonably priced. I could see pairing one of these with some stretch shorts or a straight skort for her added comfort in and out of the water.

I also found patterns! http://www.simply-modest.com/posecom/ has a pattern for $25 (ouch) and their beautifully patterned cloth is also expensive. Probably worth it, though, if you can afford it!

Hancock Fabrics has a Kwik-Sew girls leotard, shorts and tights pattern for under $12. JoAnne's Fabrics and Hancock Fabrics also have the stretchy nylon fabric solids for under $12/yard.

I'm not making any final decisions tonight, but I have to make one soon. Summer's coming up!

Getting Organized

2011-05-12T13:34:00.000-06:00

This topic seems to keep coming up for me lately. For one thing, I've been doing a LOT of paperwork, and I'm a "messy." Which essentially means that I struggle with the sorting and filing that attends dealing with paperwork.

I recently thought that a long table would do the trick. It was totally great for laying the paperwork out and dealing with it, but when it came to filing it and putting it away, my brain went splat and refused to deal with it.

Which was odd, because I've successfully filed and put away bigger paper messes than this one, so--what is going on?

Well, I finally figured it out today; this table is the wrong workspace! My other messes that I sorted on the pingpong table were easier to clean up because after I made my neat little piles around the edges of the table and put them in letter-size folders, I was able to go back and place stacks hanging folders above the pile on the bare table--more toward the center. After that, I was able to file the smaller folders in the hanging folders and put the whole mess away in a matter of minutes.

The table I'm trying to work on now--is too narrow for me to work that way. And for some reason, my brain insists that it MUST be done that way.

So--guess what?

I'm moving the whole mess back to the pingpong table! Yep, yep...

The second place where I've run into quirkiness with organizational preferences is my decided preference for yWriter as a creative writing tool. I love how it helps me to create and organize chapters, and scenes in the chapters, then characters, lists of objects, places, etc. I like how it asks me for the conflict and resolution in each scene, and--oh, tons of great stuff!

So; I keep trying to get my critique partner, Heidi, to use it. Just one problem; she's got a Mac. We tried to download the Mac version to her machine and ran into "interesting times." No; we didn't mess up her machine, we just didn't get it to work correctly! (Something that I'm sure the right person could easily help us with--if we only knew who to ask!)

Heidi decided that Scrivener was more useful to her instead. But, these two programs are not created equal, and although Scrivener is doubtless an excellent writing tool and may save Heidi some serious nail-biting later, it isn't letting her organize her story the way she needs to right now in order to buckle down to some serious re-writing this week!

So--what to do?

Hopefully someday the creator of yWriter will come out with a very Mac-friendly version. Until then, Heidi is going to have to continue to improvise.

Travel Stories

2011-05-09T21:26:00.000-06:00

I believe that it's no coincidence that my friend asked me to sell her travel products on eBay for her.

After all, I've had extensive experience with traveling. Although I was born in America, I grew up traveling and living in Pacific Rim countries.

My parents first took me overseas when I was just twenty months old and too young to remember the trip. They said I had an ear-ache and screamed on the flight. This was in the days before jets had large enough fuel tanks to cross the Pacific without stopping, so the flight touched down in an out-of-the-way place that's hard to find any but the largest printed maps: Manado. You can probably find it online today, though, if you look on GoogleEarth.

As I grew older, I first rode Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) flights to school, then flew internationally to high school. Some of those flights were a lot of fun because the flight crews would invite us to visit the cockpit and chat with them. We first realized the skies were becoming a less friendly place on a Singapore Airlines flight in oh, about 1987, when we were informed that airlines policy didn't permit passengers in the cockpit.

But oh, the things we sometimes got up to!

One friend of mine had a difference of opinion with her boyfriend over whether the stewardess call buttons were pull or push. As I recall, she lost the bet, and had to push the button with her nose! She waited till we were on the ground and all of the other passengers except for us had disembarked, then pushed the button with her nose, and quickly pushed it again to turn it off...

Then, there were the mild practical jokes Some People played on the stewardesses, just because! Although, now that I think of it, a few of the stewardess definitely asked for it. We were a very well-behaved bunch (for teens), which was why I thought it was odd that there was at least one flight attendant on every flight who had to get cranky whenever we needed something.

Then, there were the things that happened to us that were completely beyond our control!

Once, we discovered we couldn't fly into the Philippines from Singapore without return tickets (the agent booking our travel had overlooked this). The van that brought us to the airport had already left, so we had to pool almost all of our remaining travel money to pay a taxi to return us to our accomodations.

Another time, the place our parents had booked for us put us up in rooms that had broken beds, and one of the boys went out for a walk, got lost and wandered the slumbering neighborhoods of Singapore until almost three in the morning before he found us again. He was in no danger; Singapore has almost no criminal activity.

That may have also been the time we went window-shopping in downtown Singapore, and had a low-key ice-fight in the McDonald's. We cleaned up after ourselves, otherwise that trip could have been much more memorable. Singapore's legal system has zero tolerance for teenage mischief.

Since college, most of my trips have been road-trips. While they're slower, they can still have their share of fun and excitement, between tornadic activity, ice-storms, blizzards, roads that have been washed out, and a scenic detour in South Dakota that took me right past buffalo grazing on the side of the road.

My travel stories are many, and varied:

I've had my hair pulled by monkeys in Jakarta, Indonesia
I've had a water-faucet shoot out of a hotel shower wall because of the water pressure behind it (and improper installation)
I've been bumped three times (six days altogether) off an international flight that I had confirmed reservations on!
I've been on the mother-of-all marathon flight-routes around the Pacific Rim (followed the "getting bumped")
I've been on a jet when the door depressurized and blew off, and lived to tell about it!
I've even flown on the last flight out of a city facing an on-coming hurricane.

I've packed a lot of bags, purses and suitcases over the years for traveling and forgotten my share of important things to pack. I've learned a lot about traveling lightly and packing only those those things I will need on my way.

And, in the midst of of all those essentials a traveler needs and takes with them, the one essential I've never had far from me is God.

I'd like to share some verses of a favorite Psalm with you: Psalm 139:7-12 (NIV from Biblegateway.com)

⁷Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence? (God's answer: Nowhere! LOL!)
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there; (this sounds to me like the Psalmist would have to be flying!) if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. (Submarines and scuba diving, anyone?)⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea, (ah, the joys of settling in a far off land)¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast. (this is so comforting to me)¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you. (Wow. Just--wow. No one can hide from God!--or get accidentally misplaced!)

No matter where we travel, or how far, if we are God's, He will go with us. If we are not God's, we can't escape Him. He never misplaces us.

I'm thanking God for this, and hoping you will too! What are some of your travel stories?

Why Being a Woman is Fine and Dandy

2011-05-07T10:34:00.000-06:00

The inspiration for this post is a photograph of President Obama's staff surrounding him as he watched live footage of Seal Team 6 storming Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan.

I feel compelled to comment on this because I saw the photo in the context of a liberal enthusing about how the picture proves that Obama is changing the face of power at the top of our nation, etc., etc.; about how Obama's position in that photo proves the strength of his unique leadership style and how he doesn't need to be the center of attention, and so on. This liberal also went on to make a snide remark about Secretary of State Hillary Clinton covering her face in horror, and showing feminine weakness that sells women short. Then he pointed out with devastating accuracy the unfortunate way the only other woman--a person whose official title would seem to require her front-row presence--is left peeking between the shoulders of the taller men in front of her, and seems included in the picture as an afterthought. When I realized what a power-play that was with those men doing that to her, I kind of wondered how the White House thought that releasing this photo would make them look good to their supporters on the left.

Clearly, Hillary has also read this article and/or gotten other negative feedback about her pose in the picture. She issued a statement saying that her hand was over her mouth because she's suffering from allergies and was trying not to cough.

First, I'm going to give you my gut reaction to the photograph, then to the liberal who wrote that article, then to Hilary Clinton's reaction.

My gut reaction: The first time I looked at that photograph, I didn't recognize anybody in it. They were all strangers to me. It was only after I read the article, that I was able to go back and say, "Oh, yeah, that's Obama--and look! That's Hillary." Now, granted, I'm not terribly good with faces, but--
There was something about the composition of that photo that really messed it up for me.

I had to emphatically disagree with the liberal writer's analysis on a lot of points!

Obama was hunched over to the upper left of center, in a smallish chair, right next to a big uniformed dude with lots of flashy medals on his chest, who was sitting in an exceptionally large chair.

Even when I knew where Obama was in the picture, I had to squint at him to recognize him. Obama didn't just look un-presidential, he didn't look like Obama. And that was kind of weird! I'm not entirely sure what messages that sends to other people looking at this photograph, but to me he looked side-lined and present only as an observer, not as an important part of the action. And maybe that was intentional. I'm going to bite my tongue before I say any more, because I approve of the outcome of what they were doing in that picture. While I'm sorry that anyone has to die in that manner, sometimes a government's gotta do what a government's gotta do. So does a president.

But--if Obama was directing the activity in that room, it wasn't clear to me. Moving on--

Hillary: was sitting at the table, in a high profile position. She had one of the "big"chairs, and she was clearly engaged in whatever was going on there. Having her seated in the foreground upstaged all of the men in that room. The fact that she may have been reacting to what she was seeing did not, in my mind, make her less strong or powerful as a woman.

For the record; I'm not a feminist, I just believe God created men and women as equal and different.

There are many things that a lack of reaction to killing someone could possibly mean to me: beyond shock, hardened, careless, cruel, cold, psychotic, etc. Please understand: I don't assume that the men in the room who were not reacting are these things: men compartmentalize their actions and their emotions. When they're feeling strongly, they have the ability to erect virtual vaults between the two, and keep going.

Most women do not have this ability. We feel what we feel when we feel it, and it colors how we think and act. This is not a weakness; this is how we're made; it's who we are. It is a wonderful, magnificent thing how well women interact socially and personally with others precisely because of the way we respond emotionally and intuitively to the world around us. This is a gift God gave us, that sets us apart and makes us special, and we ought to be thankful for it, and not try to be pretend men!

Understanding this difference between men and women is absolutely key to getting along well with members of the opposite sex! If you don't understand it, then as a woman, you could conceivably look at the men in that picture and say, "Oh my! What's wrong with them? Doesn't all that bloodshed and taking of lives bother them?" (sure it does, but the human race needs men who can compartmentalize, so God created them that way)

Or as a man, if you don't understand it, then you could look at Hillary, and say, "What's her problem? This is what needs to be done! Stop reacting to it and do your job, woman!" (And you would also be wrong. She knew it needed to be done and she was doing her job, and furthermore she was doing it just like a woman does the job, and not like a fake man)

My reaction to Hillary's defense of herself: full-blown annoyance. Who cares if she did react, and equally so, who cares if she's got allergies, as long as they don't interfere with her doing her job. Something is going on in that White House that borders on the ridiculous.

Helping Out A Friend

2011-05-06T17:41:00.000-06:00

A disabled friend of mine, whom I help clean house for, recently asked me to consider helping her to downsize her stuff in storage by selling it on eBay. At first I said maybe, and then, after thinking about it, I said, "No."

I won't go into all the boring details of why, but somehow, here I am, helping her to liquidate her travel products business on eBay. It's definitely a challenge!

In the process, I've learned a few things: the first is that I never, ever, want to have a business again that requires me to keep physical inventory! What a space-hog that is! Stuff is time-consuming!

Another couple of things I've learned: 80% of auctions on eBay are unsuccessful; meaning nobody bids on them. Also, something like 20% of the sellers on eBay are making 80% of the sales.

Which means you've got to look lively on eBay, or you don't sell anything at all. If I'm not careful, eBay can really sink me in a hole! Which is why I'm asking for your help here:

***No, I'm not going to ask you to go bid on things you don't want and maybe don't need!***

Please uphold me in prayer! Please, most especially, pray for successful sales for my auctions, because without successful sales, my disabled friend and I won't get any money back. She sank a lot of money into this inventory, and needs it back to help her out a little now that she can't work anymore. I--don't have money to waste either.

And, if you're needing travel products and gear--I know a lot of writer-folk are heading to conferences in the next few months--please, please, please check out my listings on eBay (you can find them under easytravelchic), and if you don't see what you need, please contact me. I have this massive Excel workbook that I won't send you, but that hopefully can be reduced to a long list of products you can choose from; that will hopefully have on it the items you need or want. Offer me a deal! I'm definitely open to dickering! :D

Thanks!

Easy Travel Chic Now On Facebook!

2011-05-03T15:49:00.000-06:00

I've created a Facebook page for show-casing my travel-products on Facebook!

You can come visit me at this link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lincoln-NE/Easy-Travel-Chic/223541137659642

Please like my page! The more "Likes" I get, the better, but right now, I need 25 "Likes" in order to register my tradename with Facebook.

Thanks!

Now Selling on eBay: Travel Products

2011-05-01T21:41:00.000-06:00

A recently disabled friend has asked me to liquidate her inventory of travel products for a business she is no longer able to do. So I have begun listing them on eBay.

A friend of mine asked me tonight, "What is a travel product?"

Travel products are products people buy to use when they're traveling. For example, suitcases are travel products--but I don't have any suitcases to sell.

I do have toiletry kits and toiletry basics for men and women, and for kids; peg-board travel-games (I've been told there are people who prefer these); TSA-compliant bottles; cosmetic boxes, organizers and bags; a (very) few cosmetics and rather more brushes; digital alarm clocks (very important) and the highly essential plug adaptors for overseas outlets that customers can buy so they can use their all-important American electronic accessories overseas! (and I also have lots of other things that are too numerous to list here!)

I'm hoping that you'll drop by at the link I've posted above and here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/HARB-RSTEN-red-4-in-1-lintbrush-shoehorn-mirror-comb-/260777478394

See what it's all about! I'll be adding more products every day as my products sell and I gain experience at this endeavor (and hopefully, lots of favorable feedback).

Considering Happily Ever Afters

2011-04-15T20:12:00.000-06:00

Every day now, when I sign in online, one of the first things I see is the latest wedding news headine for Great Britain's current pair of favorite royals: Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Seeing the headlines takes me back to when I was a child, when Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer were married in a huge fairy tale spectacle that took our breath away, and made girlish hearts everywhere flutter at the romance of newlywed royals living happily ever after.

Except they didn't (live happily ever, that is). Now, you may say, "Big deal! These days 50% of first marriages break up, even between committed Christians."

Actually, despite the oft-quoted "fifty percent," only 30% of all first marriages end in failure. The rest is only too true: Charles and Diana were, like many of the rest of us, two deeply flawed individuals whose flaws forced them into constant, often public friction that led to a terrible divorce, and then led to Princess Diana's death and Prince Charles' remarriage to Camilla Parker Bowles, the woman he'd given his heart to long before he met Diana.

It would seem that Prince William is trying very hard not to repeat the same mistakes his father and mother made. He wanted to be sure that Kate was "the one," so--

They have lived together off and on since they were at college.

Wait a minute! What's that you said? Surely I didn't hear you correctly!

Unfortunately, I believe you did. In a most sincere effort NOT to repeat Prince Charles and Princess Diana's mistakes, this new royal couple has been living together out of wedlock for years!

What puzzles me is where they got the notion that being immoral and with-holding proper marital commitment from each other would solve their future marriage and commitment problems. Perhaps, in spite of reports that they are both bright, reasonably well-rounded individuals, it didn't occur to them to do any research first on "what everybody knows." I feel sure that if they had done a little research, especially in the last two years, they would have discovered this article:

http://www.fisherdivorcerecovery.com/Articles/cohab-full.shtml.

The most pertinent point of this article to this discussion:

"Couples who live together before marrying have a 46% higher chance of later [marital] dissolution than those who do not (my emphasis). ⁹"

Oh really? Do you suppose that if William and Kate really understood the reality behind this statistic, that they might have found the moral strength not to shack up?

A few other points of interest from the study:

"40% of cohabiting relationships will end before marriage. (Annual Review of Sociology)"

Ouch... How painful! That's even worse than the failure rate of first marriages (remember, that's 30%, not 50.)

"Cohabiting couples have a rate of separation that is five times greater (my emphasis) than that of married couples. (Binstock 2003)"

Oh my! Do you suppose that it might be a bad idea for other young couples in love to follow William and Kate's bad example?

"In the event of separation cohabitants have a reconciliation rate that is only 33% that of married couples. (Binstock 2003)"

Ouch again! It appears that William and Kate's bad example of sex before marriage could set a whole generation of young people up for personal failure on a scale never heard of before!

"Multiple cohabiting relationships prior to marriage predicts even greater relationship failure once married.^10"

I bring these points up, not because I dislike either of these people (I don't even know them; how can I dislike them?), but because I am concerned.

The example that they are setting is, so far as I know, unprecedented in the history of the British monarchy. There have always been scandals involving members of the royal family behaving immorally, but to date, none of them have actually obtained the blessing of the reigning monarch to first shack up, then memorialize their shacking up by marrying their immoral love interest before God and man. Not even Charles and Camilla obtained that blessing, especially since Camilla was already married to another man!

But--perhaps Her Majesty the Queen of England has also failed to read this study. What a shame, since the study is more than two years old. What I have even greater difficulty understanding, is how, when we are given to understand that she is a staunch woman of faith, she failed to read the warnings against immorality in the Bible.

Here's another good link that I think says it all:

http://www.hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-relationships/save-your-gift-for-christmas-2597

If you are young and in love, and are considering "shacking up," I most sincerely urge you to first follow the links I've included above, and prayerfully consider the risks you will be taking with your future happiness, and the examples you will set for other impressionable young people before you, too, pull something like this.

As for William and Kate, I'd like to wish them happy. I'm sure many people do, but I can't. Instead I must wish them God's best in their lives, no matter how painful His inevitable discipline for their careless and sinful actions will be.

I'm not absent, just very busy

2011-04-14T08:20:00.000-06:00

I have so many things I need to post on here, that I never can quite decide which item should get top billing, and then I don't post. Maddening, isn't it?

I'm not writing right now, much as I would like to! I keep running across great ideas and telling myself, ooh! I gotta write about that, and then--reality checks in with me again, and I can't.

I am still critiquing. My sole critique project of the moment is helping Heidi Kortman to finish polishing her book for an editor that wants a closer look. This last run-through was intended to be a final polish, but we're proving that dictum all over again that a book can never have too many edits. I think we're both getting sick of the process!

But, critiquing for Heidi is something I'm doing in odd corners of my spare time.

I'm not taking on any more books to review either for the next little bit. I still have two reviews outstanding, and I don't know when I'll get them reviewed, athough I do hope to get to them in the next month.

So, on to what I'm doing now:

I'm parenting Maria full time, and trying to start an online business full-time (hoo boy). It looks very promising, and if I keep getting the right numbers as I do my research, I won't have to go back to scratch and start over again with my "big idea." I hope to publish an online store within the next month.

Another sideline that I'm taking care of is liquidating a rather large inventory of travel products for a disabled friend on eBay, so she won't have to store them any more. If you want just about anything travel-related except for those blow-up neck pillows, contact me, and I'll see what we can work out. More about that in another post. I may just need to list the full inventory for further reference.

Stores Online

2011-03-01T19:05:00.000-07:00

I'm absolutely worn out. Too worn out for Business Math, or Microsoft Apps lessons, or much of anything! I woke up around four a.m. this morning, got myself going and drove up to Omaha for a full day seminar with Stores Online. I got back about six this evening.

I've learned so much today! When I left home this morning, there were a lot of online marketing concepts that I half-way understood; enough to mess them up but not enough to create anything really useful.

Tonight, online marketing makes so much more sense to me! I can't say I won't still mess it up at times, but--now I know where to go for help, and who to holler for. And I know that they'll be able to help me become successful at this effort. And I know that it's okay if I forget something, because now I have materials and people who I can turn to for reminders and renewal of information.

To quote Lavarr Burton (Reading Rainbow), "You don't have to take MY word for it. http://storesonline.com/ Check them out! (and no; I do not get paid for this plug, though I'll bet they'll be thrilled with it! ;-)

John Bruning For Senate

2011-02-23T12:38:00.000-07:00

This is not an endorsement of John Bruning.

I can't endorse him because I don't know enough about him yet . But I am wholeheartedly in favor of anyone who is willing to run against Senator Ben Nelson, since he has forgotten that his position in the Senate is due to the people of Nebraska voting for him, and not to liberal Democrat power-mongering. And I really like John Bruning's campaign ads.

To learn more about John Bruning for yourself, please visit this link: http://www.cornhuskerkickback.com/chk/?ad

and visit John on Facebook.

Monetizing My Blog

2011-02-18T19:35:00.000-07:00

I've been experimenting with monetizing my blog for some time now, as part of an effort to create multiple streams of income while I'm trying to figure out how to become gainfully employed full-time.

You may notice the ad-strip at the top of this column and the smaller ads at lower right on the sidebar; I found these companies through Google Affiliates. It's taken me a while to get the hang of how to work with Google Affiliate Ads, but I believe I'm finally getting the hang of them! Google Affiliates allows me to choose which ads I will host from which companies, which gives me more control. There's an added advantage to being a member of Google Affiliates; I get more button-choices on the toolbar when I'm writing and editing blog posts.

On the other hand, you may notice that the Adsense Ads I had on my blog have disappeared. This is because when I signed in this morning, there was an ad featuring a picture of a woman with the caption, "I'm a Mormon." Since I am not a Mormon, I felt that this was an inappropriate use of my blogspace by Adsense. I looked for a way to complain or to remove this particular ad from my blog, but the types of complaints Google will accept don't seem to fit this case. So; bye-bye, Adsense!

College Blues

2011-02-17T20:26:00.000-07:00

College = My Current Life

I've been taking classes for two quarters at Southeast Community College, here in Lincoln, NE. I thought I'd extoll the benefits and downsides of college life at age 40:

Benefits:
* Grades REALLY matter to me!

Far more than when I was younger, when I studied hard, but if I'd tried, I could've put forth that tiny bit greater effort--and maybe snagged all A's or better. But I was having too much fun! As a forty-year-old former housewife, who's trying to reinvent herself as a business woman, the grades matter to me because any companies I apply to will probably be interested in my grades.

*I Have New Information to Apply
And then there's the matter of the information I lose when I don't understand the material (and wind up with a lesser grade). Having high grades is important to me because it means that I've learned the material more thoroughly, which will hopefully help me recall those lessons to memory a little easier later on, when I'm trying to apply them in real-life situations.

*My teachers all speak English fluently and are totally committed/involved in their classes. I communicate with them frequently.

The Downside: Math
Somehow, I'd gotten the impression from things said or not said about community colleges when I was younger, that their classes were "dumbed down." Not so.

The material my instructors are setting before me is quite challenging! I frequently wind up with headaches, especially dealing with Business Math. I don't think I could find a more challenging set of courses at University of Nebraska!

My son will tell you that I'm pretty good with math; I should be. I taught him math through 8th grade, then tutored him in math in 9th. But! This course that I'm taking now has had me calculating simple and compound interest this week. I like compound interest; the tables make the equations easy to manage. The simple interest equations, and what we were doing with them was an entirely other matter. I kept getting the formulas confused.

If I ever get my goal of going into business for myself figured out and heading in the right direction, I plan to hire someone else just to help me keep the formulas for each business transaction in order (I believe they're called accountants)!

Happy "Singles Awareness" Valentines Day

2011-02-14T10:07:00.000-07:00

Valentines Day Manifesto

I've been reading/hearing things in the last few days about how people hate Valentines Day; how those who don't have a romantic relationship call it Singles Awareness Day instead. I've even heard the announcers on KLOVE talking about this, and being terribly sympathetic.

These points of view leave me rather bemused. Y'all, let's get off the "me me ME!" kick, so we can start enjoying life again! Actually, I am rather enjoying the holiday already, even if I am "single again!" And I'd be very thrilled if you'd join me in enjoying the day, regardless of your romantic state in life!

Now, you may ask, How can I be single--again--(which I do happen to be) and still enjoy Valentines Day? Oh, I'm so glad you asked! ;-)

There Are Many Kinds of Love

the love that a parent has for a child,
a child's love for a parent;
the love of one sibling for another;
the love and caring shared between friends that has nothing to do with romance
the love the size of the universe that God has for us (and we hopefully respond to and reciprocate)
the caring we show those we meet in the course of daily business
the love we give our pets
the love our pets give us (some of them are much better at loving us than we are at loving them!)
the long-term commitment-love between spouses
romantic love (fleeting feel-good feelings)

I have all of these loves in my life except the last two, and count myself blessed in the depth and quality of my friendships, the love my parents and I share, and the love I share with my children and my pets, but most especially, the love God has for me, that I cannot begin to tell you how much I truly appreciate!

I can be happy even on Valentines Day

because

I am focused on being single and whole

I am not focused on the supposed hole or incompleteness of my life without romance in it.

I absolutely reject the notion that I must have romance or a long-term marriage commitment in my life to be complete! What a lie most of us buy into in this area of our lives!

For those who have put their faith in Christ, romance and a significant other can't "complete us" because we are already complete in Christ! And in any case, it doesn't work to seek our completeness in other people, whether we are single, dating or married, saved or lost. Seeking our completeness in anyone but Christ leads only to heartbreak and unhappiness. I don't care how wonderful Mr. Right or Ms. Perfect is, he or she is sooner or later going to let you down!

While I'm not in a romantic relationship now, the one thing I'm not is single and needy. The more I lean on Him, the more God is sufficient for my emotional needs.

The True Meaning of Valentine's Day

Valentines Day began as a celebration of the martyrdom of Saint/s Valentine (apparently there were two different Valentines commemorated on the same day). I can't think of anything less romantic than martyrdom, except to people who find Gothic horror stories "romantic" (and I can't really consider Gothic horror stories to convey a reliable concept of martyrdom). While it's nice if Valentines Day has a romantic component, for me, it's more essential for there to be opportunity for me to share my love with others, even if only by ecard!

If Valentines Day is--for you--all about "me me me" and what you're getting and who you're getting it from (and whether or not there's any romantic attachment between you and that person) instead of you giving and sharing with others, then I have bad news for you; you're going to be hating the day no matter how much romance is in your life or how terrifically special your significant other is--or should be--to you!

Things I've Done to Enjoy Valentines Day

I enjoyed the few hours of shopping I had to find the right cards for family and Maria's school-mates. I enjoyed helping Maria organize her Valentines list so she could be sure not to forget anyone. The rule at her school is "all or none." Maria could have stopped with just her half of the fifth grade, but we had extra cards from years past to use up, so she put together enough for everyone.
It's been tremendous fun sharing cards with my family and doing special little things to treat them.
I brought chocolate-covered caramels to my small group Bible Study (aka "flock") last night. Imagine my surprise (and delight) when what I thought were shapeless candies turned out to be hearts! They were too rich and gooey for anyone to eat more than a few. I have plenty left over to share with others. Mmmm!
I finished up this morning with sending a few ecards. I think there can't be anything less commercial than free ecards, but they can be so much fun!
Now, I'm getting to write this blog post while listening to wonderful Christian music celebrating God's love for me.

Ways To Enjoy Valentines Day

Even If You're Single

http://www.123greetings.com/events/valentines_day/friends/valentine23.html Please read this one from me as really heartfelt. I absolutely treasure my friend-friends!

http://www.123greetings.com/events/valentines_day/valentine_fun/self_service_kisses.html
This "self-service kisses ecard" is cute, hysterically funny, and just a little ornery!

Please feel free to share my favorites with your friends.

I'd add some ecard links from Dayspring.com, my favorite ecard site, but apparently they're everyone else's favorite this year too, and I can't seem to get the links to work. Oh well, better luck next year! LOL--

Here's a link to my favorite radio station online, which plays wonderful music celebrating God's boundless love for us: http://klove.com/. The service appears to be down at the moment, but hopefully it will be back up again by the time you read this.

Here's a link to another excellent Christian station online: http://wcsg.org/. Click on the Listen Live button on either website to enjoy hours of great music.

Hoping you have a fantastic Valentine's Day!

The Charlatan's Boy

2011-02-02T19:24:00.000-07:00

Note: This picture of The Charlatan's Boy
book cover links to the The Charlatan's
Boy page on Barnes & Noble.

I was first introduced to Jonathan Wilder's writing via a list of Y.A. Christian fantasy and science fiction that Donita K. Paul sent to me for my son, Robbie. Of course, I couldn't let Robbie read these books by himself. I had to read them too! :D I got a real kick out of the series that began with The Bark of the Bog Owl.

I've been hoping for a while to get my hands on another book by Jonathan Wilder. Recently, I finally got the chance! Feechifolk are something else!

The Charlatan's Boy is about a boy named Grady, who's grown up considering himself a Feechie. Grady knows he's ugly; he's got one long eyebrow (instead of two), eyes set too close together, a narrow face, and a receding chin. And he's as nimble as a monkey.

A charlatan or con man named Floyd raised Grady. Grady knows that Floyd isn't his father, but how the con man actually acquired Grady is a bit of a mystery, because Floyd tells a different story about how he got Grady every time.

Floyd makes Grady perform as a "Wild He-Feechie" in Floyd's traveling Feechie Show. At first, the crowds they draw--and the money they make--is pretty good, but after a while, the villagers stop believing altogether that feechies are real, and stop paying to see the show. So Floyd turns his con-game in other directions; cheating another showman out of his phrenology equipment so Floyd and Grady can measure people's heads to tell what's in their hearts; then putting on Ugliest Boy contests, which Grady wins until they run up against the ugliest boy they've ever seen in a mining town, and Floyd loses all his money. After that they concoct fake medicinal remedies, but neither Floyd or Grady really has their heart in selling them, and they're not really happy with the results. Meanwhile, Floyd grows sulkier and grumpier, and is really mean to Grady, Grady starts looking for ways to escape. But he's scared, because the only place he's ever really belonged is with Floyd.

At last, Floyd decides that what they really need is a good Feechie scare to make the good folk of Corenwald believe in feechies again so they can go back to being a feechie show. This leads to lots of unintended adventures!

The Charlatan's Boy is an excellent read for Y.A., but adults will find that there's a lot about this book to recommend it to older folks too. I wouldn't recommend it for children younger than twelve or thirteen; younger children may have trouble seeing past how truly awful Floyd is to the spiritual truths embodied in Grady's life-journey, since Grady spends his time apprenticed to Floyd learning how to decieve people and part them from their hard-earned money.

The ending was perfectly priceless! I was deeply moved by the spiritual parallels to our own world and lives. I realized that The Charlatan's Boy is a parable reflecting the bondage we all suffer when we're slaves to sin and our father is the devil. But when God rescues us and brings us into His family, we too can look around like Grady and realize, that the other members of our new family are just like us and inside they're wonderful regardless of their outward appearance (and ours), and we belong together.

Getting Back on Track

2011-01-31T12:02:00.000-07:00

I hope you've had a warm and cozy January--and that your furnace is in top working condition! The weather appears to be headed downhill as we move into February!

I also hope you've not been missing me too much! I've had an extraordinarily busy few weeks since I last posted.

Between homework assignments and major exams in the two classes I'm taking, and a long list of other activities, like watching Robbie and his friends deliver speeches at a speech meet in Burwell, I've had little time to devote to this blog. Not that I haven't been learning valuable information and having a good time hanging out with my kids when I can--

But hopefully in the next few days I'll be able to catch up with my book reviews and a few other projects I've had perking--before I have to buckle down and turn in some more homework assignments and exams.

Today, I also saw my class advisor, and double-checked my intended course of study to determine what I should take next. Fun, fun, fun... ;-)

Who's Responsible for Jared Loughner?

2011-01-13T09:10:00.000-07:00

I've decided that this title really does say it all.

The immediate, knee-jerk response of some in law enforcement and in the news media to blame "conservative campaign rhetoric" for Jared Loughner's actions deeply disappointed me, though I can't say I was really surprised. The highly articulate conservative response though--that was a welcome change from long years in the past, when the news pundits could say anything they liked and mostly get away with it.

But I was also disappointed with the conservative response as well. It seems everyone is talking round the issues involved that go into creating a Jared Loughner, and no one really wants to address them head-on, except to point fingers for political expediency.

Well, I say, Shame on the politically expedient and shame on the conservative respondants!

Let's have a frank and honest discussion about where the blame really lies, and then let's see how we all feel about it! And let's get on and do something practical about it!

Who really IS responsible for Jared Loughner? Or to be more precise, for his actions in shooting up a crowd of people including a congresswoman who had never done him any harm?

Jared is! And yes, the conservatives almost got this right. Almost, but not quite, because the sad and awful fact is that while Jared is responsible, and the law is going to see him duly punished for his actions, Jared was not in control of himself, and may have, at the time he shot all of those people, have had a very confused, distorted view of right and wrong.

He seems, frankly, to have been living in an alternate reality where right and wrong had gotten switched.

Jared is mentally ill.

So--how did that happen, that he became so confused, and why hadn't anyone gotten him help before it got this far? Are there more people who can possibly be to blame for this situation and Jared's actions in it than just Jared alone?

The way I see it, this situation came about because: Jared was clearly mentally ill, and no one did a thing about it.

Maybe those closest to him didn't believe he would run amok like this. More likely, though, is that they saw him sliding out of control, and didn't know what to do to stop the slide, or where the slide, for him, was going to end...and then it was too late! I've been there as the innocent bystander, trying desperately to halt that slide for someone else, and I've got to tell you, that with the current set of legal complications; HIPAA and The Patient's Bill of Rights in place, stopping that slide without the slidee's cooperation and consent is nigh to impossible! You just about have to be willing to get charged with kidnapping and holding someone against their will to get a mental patient help against his or her will, however badly they need it--and under the current medical and legal liability laws, what doctor or other professional in their right mind is going to assist you?

No one who knew Jared, who may have known he was mentally ill, could do a thing about helping him without his consent, which he was too confused to give. Legally, their hands were tied. I don't have to know anything about them to know this, and neither do you, because I--and you should know--the laws involved.

It's not always clear where the slide into confusion will end. Each mentally ill patient is different, and most of them never become violent. I suspect that's why these situations have so persistently gone unaddressed, and why the laws haven't been changed already to reflect reality. Until a person does run amok, how do you know for a fact that they will? And aren't we always a little afraid to pick up the phone and make that call for help? What if our claims of someone else's mental state aren't going to get heard? How can we have them substantiated? Who do we appeal to for effective help in these situations?

And oh, I've been there, tried that and NOT GOTTEN MY CASE HEARD (yes, I'm yelling here), and in fact been torn into and dressed down for seeking that help--by people who were, by virtue of their professions, duty-bound to help! But their hands were legally tied too, not just mine, and they didn't appreciate me rubbing their noses in that fact.

But still--who's responsible for Jared's situation being the way it is?

Well, as I see it, you and I are, because we elected the lawmakers who made these bad laws. And because when these laws were enacted, we didn't stand up and take away their cushy Washington jobs and send a new crop to Washington D.C. with instructions to immediately reverse the damage. And we are responsible again, because on a national scale, we haven't risen up in protest and refused to implement or obey these laws, even when it puts the people around us at terrible hazard, as it did in Jared Loughner's case. I am particularly appalled at the vast echoing silence from the medical community regarding the current appalling state of mental health care nationwide in the face of these frequent, devastating attacks that seem to happen out of the blue.

Every so often, we now face this unspeakable price of the choices we've made as a nation when a madman picks up a gun and shoots people in a public venue. It's a horrible, terrible, and quite possibly, a preventable tragedy that this is occurring as frequently as it is! And WE'VE chosen it because we haven't had the guts to choose differently and better, and to really care about the needs of the mentally ill themselves.

We simply cannot expect that the mentally ill to be competent enough to be able to police themselves, especially when they have become so confused that they don't know right from wrong! Those of us who profess to be rational thinking people need to get a handle on this situation and find a way to compassionately put a stop to what's happening to them. Right away! Before more people somewhere else get shot at!

I really feel that whether a mentally ill person is violent or not, their confusion needs to be addressed in a helpful, compassionate manner--before it gets this far out of control. I believe that our current way of doing things is destroying people who would otherwise live healthy and productive lives.

If we were willing and able to give them the direction and help they need to achieve that level of health and productivity.
IF we aren't so stupid and lazy as to leave the legal situation that promotes these slides out of control to continue any longer,
and IF we are able, as a grieving nation, to recognize that maybe mentally ill patients would benefit from "the right not to let their confused mental states go untreated," instead of "the right to decide whether they will be treated at all," which, let's face it, many of them are not capable of currently deciding for themselves to the great harm of the public.

So now, I've done my duty before God by bringing this up.

What are you going to do to help find a way to fix this? The only way of reducing the occurrence or completely preventing these incidents from happening is for us to deal with the underlying causes (lack of adequate mental health care, legal obstructions that prevent people from getting their mentally ill friends and family adequate mental health care) more compassionately and realistically.

Until then, sadly enough, I really can't emphasize this enough:

WE CHOOSE THIS. ALL OF THIS.

And it is going to keep happening, over and over and over again. How sad!

Holidays In January

2011-01-10T15:00:00.000-07:00

While I'm still trying to figure out the answers to my questions in my last post, so I can post a few more book reviews, I had a question about holidays in January (this was in relation to Zazzle). So I ran a search.

This first link, http://www.holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/january.htm is hilarious! You probably won't believe some of the holidays posted. I'm not sure where the list came from, so take it with a grain of salt, but--true to the heading, "Bizarre and Unique Holidays," there are no traditional holidays listed.

At http://www.morninggloryart.com/Holidays/January-Holidays.html, the only holidays listed for January are New Years Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and Inauguration Day (every 4 years).

Then I found myself on Wikipedia, looking for a comparison of Western and Eastern Christian holidays, and I discovered that although there are a number of saints' days, feasts, and fasts, there appear to be no particularly designated holidays from January 6th until the beginning of Lent.

Waiting for Associate Status

2011-01-09T22:47:00.000-07:00

I've got two more terrific books I've held off on reviewing because...

I was hoping to hear from Barnes & Noble that I'm an associate so I could link to books on their site, and have some control over who's advertising on my blog. I think, based on a couple of recent emails, that Barnes & Noble now considers me an associate, but I'm puzzled, and maybe someone could help me?

I never received a Welcome, New Associate email! So, of course, now I don't know how to contact them to rectify this lack--and I don't have a link to their associate website. If someone who does could please help me with this, I would appreciate it.

Thanks!

Singing in Babylon

2010-12-19T19:07:00.001-07:00

Pub. Date: November 2010
Publisher: OakTara
Format: Paperback , 296pp
ISBN-13: 9781602901650
ISBN: 1602901651

Link to Author's Website: http://www.anngayliaobarr.com/

Have you ever read a book and said to yourself, This book features people who are just like me? Well, maybe you find books like that all the time, because you were born in America, raised in America, and have never been anywhere else. And there are probably more publishers of popular fiction in America than in any other country!

On the other hand, while I often enjoy books about people who are Americans who have the above history as their background, I was not raised in America and I rarely find “my people” in books.

Singing in Babylon was a big treat for me!

Singing in Babylon is set in the early days of personal computers, when Bill Gates had become a household name, but the internet was still just a rumor.

Kate has lost her parents; her father to an accident caused by a drunk driver, and her mother to cancer. The only family she has left in the world is her Aunt Margie, who's proud of Kate for being the first one in their family to attend college and graduate with a Bachelor's degree.

Her mother's illness has left Kate with a mountain of school and medical debts, and no way to pay them down quickly. Aunt Margie insists on paying the medical debts, but the school debt keeps Kate's dream of graduate school far out of her reach.

An advertisement for teaching English as a second language at Hanford Language Systems in Saudi Arabia snatches her out of her safe, known little American world and leaves her bewildered and homesick behind walls in an expatriate teachers' compound in Saudi Arabia.

Along the way, she meets a journalist, Philip, a widower. Philip is researching foreign workers who enter Saudi Arabia, hoping to travel to the United States illegally. Philip keeps bumping into Kate as they become friends with diplomats serving at the U. S. Consulate and are invited on outings together. Hungering for spiritual food and fellowship, Philip and Kate attend a low-profile gathering of expatriates that meets in different homes each week to avoid causing trouble with the Saudi government.

The title, Singing in Babylon is a reference to meetings of like-minded Christians who find a deep spiritual connection that transcends the hazards of being Christians in Moslem Saudi Arabia, and all concern for nationality or race. Although Philip feels protective and tender toward Kate, she isn't aware of his interest at first and believes him to be married because he still wears his wedding ring.

Being young, single and good-looking is a hazard for Kate, even among the expatriate men in the school community. She pointedly avoids the attentions of Mr. Khoury, the administrator of the language school, and becomes adept at avoiding the compound's alcoholic evening parties, but nearly gets herself into even deeper difficulty with Jason. Kate only learns about Jason's troubled marriage and alcoholism after he becomes too inebriated to drive her home from a musical evening at the French consulate. Philip rescues her and returns her to her home.

Philip comes to Kate's rescue several times and invites her out on outings to view different local landmarks and to eat at famous restaurants that have a more relaxed attitude toward Western customs. But Philip is struggling with his guilt over his wife's death and questioning his motives for spending time with Kate. He thinks he doesn't deserve to be happy because of the loveless nature of his previous marriage. He avoids sharing his thoughts and feelings, and isn't able to tell Kate that he loves her.

Meanwhile, Mr. Khoury hasn't given up his pursuit of Kate, and becomes angry at her determined avoidance of him. In revenge for her rejection of his attentions, he kidnaps Kate.

This book is an exciting, fun read for a more mature reader with plenty of unexpected twists and turns. It grapples with issues of global political and spiritual importance, and exercises the mind while being entertaining.

If you are a global nomad or share a yen for travelling to other countries, Singing in Babylon is definitely for you!

Age/Reading Level: I wouldn’t characterize this book as Y.A.; I think it’s probably too full of grown-up concepts and issues for most teens to be willing to read. That said, it’s not an inappropriate read either, and there are teens I know—many of them homeschoolers, but not all—that would probably really enjoy reading Singing in Babylon and get a great deal of good out of exposure to the more grown-up way of looking at the world that Ann Gaylia has to offer them.

I would characterize this book as more of a college-age and up book.

One Weekend, Two Movies: Two Vastly Different Reactions

2010-12-13T12:28:00.003-07:00

Between a sleepover and a birthday party, my daughter was treated to a couple of new movies this last weekend. I--ahem--got in on the viewing both times.

First we went to see The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader.

This was an incredible movie!

But I'm going to get a major gripe off my chest first before I tell you why.

Major Gripe:

I think I would have loved this movie--really, totally loved it--if I had never read the books.

This is one of the things that I objected to with the last movie (Prince Caspian), too; it's like the director and studio tried to one-up C. S. Lewis; as if they could somehow have written his book better than he did. They badly scrambled the plot points and added things to the middle, like an evil mist and a need to find the seven lords' seven magical swords and place them on Aslan's table, that just aren't part of the original book. And they got rid of the need for Reepicheep to find the Utter East. This treatment of C. S. Lewis's book may work for the studio at the box office with those who've never read the books, but it leaves those of us who have with a keen feeling of disappointment.

But maybe, in the interests of time, some of the plot-scrambling was worth it. I loved watching--still love watching--the Lord of the Rings, but I've got to tell you that after 3 and 3/4 hours, I am so ready to do something--anything--else!

A Minor Gripe:

Edmund's got attitude issues! Last time around, it was Peter that had attitude issues. I would like to point out that while a certain amount of one-upmanship appears to be a part of daily life for many people, this is not the character flaw C. S. Lewis preferred to highlight in his main characters. I think he wanted/intended Peter and Edmund to model princely conduct in these later books for Caspian, and then Eustace, so that they could see how young men ought to conduct themselves. And I think C. S. Lewis would be unamused at the apparent brattiness of either boy as portrayed onscreen.

If Peter and Edmund really had been mostly or all grown up at one time in Narnia, wouldn't you reasonably expect that they would have learned a few lessons about self-control and the power of diplomacy and deferring to those around them? I certainly do.

A Major Plus that outweighs the Minuses:

Some really good things about the movie; things that are worth taking your children to see it even if they and you have read the books:

The spiritual messages are all there, to the point that it is clear that someone who really cared about such things was present daily on the set, overseeing the dialogue, etc., and consulted and treated with respect. His name is Douglas Gresham; C. S. Lewis's stepson. Apparently he was quite involved in the production and had a significant say. Not so significant as to over-rule the pureeing of the plot, unfortunately, but on those matters where the producer listened to Doug's imput, the movie really shines.

The second movie we saw was Tangled.

Tangled--was amazing! We loved it. All of it.

I can't find anything bad to say about it! The animation and music were terrific! The characters were cute and funny, or dastardly and wicked, but not too scary. The show was exceptionally kid-friendly.

* No adult humor
* No potty-talk
* No swearing

A happy, positive ending where the magic really is true sacrificial love.

Now, contrast that--with what I said up above. I've been thinking about this all weekend. What made Tangled so much better than Voyage of the Dawn Treader?

Our expectation levels. Yeah, sure, we knew that Tangled was Rapunzel retold, but the title made it clear that the producers weren't trying to represent their work as true to the original story, but doing their own take on the fairy-tale. That the story added spiritual meaning to the whole transformation process was icing on the cake for us, because we weren't expecting to find that. In short, Rapunzel exceeded our expectations.

Now, if the producers for the Narnia series could only figure out how to match or exceed their audience's expectation levels, too, I think they'd have a lot of repeat business!

Tales of The Dim Knight

2010-12-02T23:31:00.000-07:00

Tales of the Dim Knight
By Adam and Andrea Graham
ISBN-13: 9780986451751

Tales of the Dim Knight is the first book put out by Splashdown Books that I've had the opportunity to fully read.

Mild-mannered janitor, Dave Johnson, likes playing super-heroes with his boys--

This is the story of how Janitor Dave--who really isn't all that bright even though he is very good-hearted--comes into possession of an alien symbiote that turns him into super-hero material.

But nothing comes easily for Dave! Completely aside from the fact that all the good super-hero names are taken and he doesn't want to get in trouble for trademark infringement, he's a super-hero in a very quiet, mostly crime-free town! At first he just about goes nuts trying to find crimes to stop, with rather startling results. And his alien symbiote is not without flaw either; the mad creature keeps trying to seduce Dave to the dark side and turn him into a super-villain!

Meanwhile, his wife, Naomi, is becoming convinced that he is neglecting her for another woman. And, of course, being true to the super-hero code of silence, Dave refuses to tell her what he's really up to.

He's off saving the world from crime and code violations as Powerhouse! And, as Powerhouse, he discovers that it's more fun to fight crime in the biggest nearby city, Seattle, and becomes a commuting super-hero. It is here that Powerhouse tangles with the mob, and meets an amazing man of the cloth whose life--and death--transform Mild-mannered Dave Johnson into so much more than a super-hero.

Join this stalwart defender of the weak and helpless as he battles crime-bosses, terrorists, alien abductors, and a wicked lawyer in his search for peace in his heart, his marriage, and his world.

My reaction: I found this book entertaining, and yet disturbing at a profound level.

While Tales of the Dim Knight requires a more hefty dollop of "suspension of disbelief" than most books I've lately read, it manages to be incredibly hilarious! I would recommend it particularly for people who've never lost track of their inner child.

I don't, however, think that Tales of the Dim Knight is a good book for young adults or for people who are currently on the receiving end of a bad separation or divorce.

The Word Reclaimed

2010-11-30T22:09:00.000-07:00

The Word Reclaimed, The Face of the Deep Series #1

By Steve Rzasa / Marcher Lord Press

In the far future, the civilized worlds have finally been freed of the curse of religion. Tolerance now rules the five colonies. Thanks to the secret police, no one has been bothered by so much as a hymn in two generations--much less a Torah, Koran, or that most dangerous of books, a Bible.

Baden Haczyk may seem on the surface to be a run-of-the-mill, surly teenager with a grudge against life, the Universe, and especially his dad, Simon, the captain of the Natalia Zoja, but as The Word Reclaimed unfolds, Baden fleshes out into quite an interesting character. Baden, Simon, and the crew of the Natalia Zoja find themselves on the run, escaping pirates and Kesek, the long arm of the Emperor's secret police, who have outlawed all religious books, and are waging a campaign of extermination against those who try to preserve them, and all because Baden rescues a copy of the Bible from the wreckage of a space ship that was attacked by pirates working for Kesek.

Join Baden as he seeks to discover the meaning of the Holy Book that has fallen into his hands and decipher the enigma that is Jason, Baden's sometime protector and would-be thief of his new treasure. In the meantime, the Natalia Zoja heads for an out of the way planet called Bethel, and a firestorm of epic proportions.

I give this book two thumbs up. Reading level: for YA and above; a very readable tale that flashes by, page after page as the plot/s unfold in unexpected ways!

On The Illusion of Safety...

2010-11-21T16:18:00.000-07:00

And what needing that illusion says about us!

A little background: If you've been reading the headlines this week, and cringing as you watched the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) institute goverment-mandated groping of airlines passengers and staff who refused to consent to walking through the government-mandated striptease machine (otherwise known as a full-body scanner), you may possibly wondering when someone will step in and say, "Enough is enough!" and say it loud enough to be heard and obeyed in Washington from the top down.

The excuse we've been given for the sudden disappearance of our 4th Amendment rights in airports is that our collective need for safety trumps any and all need for respectful treatment of our persons, even in the absence of any proof of wrong-doing.

So I have to ask, what is our safety worth to us? How do we define safety? Is citing our safety in this instance a reasonable over-ride to our Constitutional Rights, and where, if anywhere, shall we as a people draw the line?

The pilots drew a line. They insisted they should be exempt from this invasion of their privacy because of radiation risks from the scanners (the TSA's insistence that the machines produce minimal radiation may be a lie) and because the groping is a violation of their rights, but then the pilots turned around and said, "But we want all of our passengers screened this invasively. Amazing, that they couldn't recognize that this was an invasion of everyone's rights!

Parents were next, as they objected absolutely to having their children searched so invasively, because! It's behavior that we tell them that NO adult has a right to engage in with regard to their persons; that this is sexual abuse and they are to tell us if someone touches them inappropriately (and we will make the bad person or persons very sorry that they did this)! So, for government workers to go and touch our children like this and to force us to allow it! No, this isn't something that parents as a group will stand for...

And, for the rest of us, well, if it's sexual abuse to touch a child like this, why does citing public safety suddenly make it all right to touch an adult in this intimate a fashion without their consent? What about the example it sets for the wide-eyed children watching their parents go through this? Needing to fly doesn't, in my mind, constitute any kind of consent to this outrage, regardless of whether the TSA thinks it does or not.

Interestingly, since the hue and cry broke out, now the TSA has decided that it isn't vital to our safety to manhandle pilots or children under the age of twelve, after all--

Which brings us back to the question of safety, and what it is, and have we really achieved "safety" when TSA personnel or other private companies' personnel are putting us through this invasive a search of our private persons? And what are they trying to prove by this?

Objective safety--isn't a state of mind. Realistically speaking, there is no truly, objectively safe place anywhere on planet Earth! Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. Anyone who tries to convince you that they can make such safety happen--for you--ought to be regarded in the exactly the same fashion as the con man who'd try to sell you the rights to Brooklyn Bridge. Because...they. can't. make. it. happen! The categories of dangers available to destroy your life or end it are far too many and varied to all be stopped! (Although it does seem at times, that Americans are quixotically determined to try to stop them all!)

Forget about terrorists; they're too limited in scope anyway. Other dangers loom much larger and greater than anything a mere terrorist could hope to accomplish. Like acts of God, such as earthquakes, floods, tornados, volcanic eruptions, etc., which are still reasonably rare enough that you are far more likely to be bit or stung by the wrong bug (they greatly outnumber us, after all), or have an allergic reaction to mold and go into anaphylactic shock. Comforting thought, huh? Maybe--those examples are too extreme. Just say, for instance, that you get bit by a deer tick. Lyme disease doesn't have to kill you outright in order to destroy your life. Or you could run a stop sign and get in a head-on collision because you're talking or texting on your phone. Or you could go to the doctor and be diagnosed with cancer, heart disease or risk of stroke (the top three killers in the U.S.). Or your doctor could over-prescribe medication for you; the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S.

We don't tend to worry about these events possibly happening to us personally because we're convinced of our relative, subjective safety (i.e, none of these things will ever happen to me, personally). And, most of the time, we survive even extreme stupidity!

So, now; how much safer have we become because of the TSA's extreme safety efforts? Well, according to several articles I've read; not much safer at all. I understand that the terrorists have already found ways around the scanners and body searches. Packages sent through the mail appear to be less thoroughly screened, although the last round was caught before any of the explosives detonated. Interestingly, none of the packages intercepted was retrieved due to ultra-invasive scanning or body searches...but due to following the paper trail. And there are those worrisome reports about the real amounts of radiation the scanners put out as opposed to the TSA's public declarations regarding those amounts.

Here's what the Bible says about safety:
Psalm 127:1 (NIV) says,
"Unless the LORD builds the house,

the builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the guards stand watch in vain."

Psalm 5:11-12 (also NIV) says,
"But let all who take refuge in you be glad;

let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them, (this is a plea to God)
that those who love your name may rejoice in you.
Surely, LORD, you bless the righteous;
you surround them with your favor as with a shield."

So; from these verses it is clear that God is our best hope of safety. But how do we gain His protection, how can we acquire this safety for ourselves (and how has America at large so appalling lost it?)?

Leviticus 25:18-19, God makes his wishes in the matter clearly known to the Israelites:
"Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws,
and you will live safely in the land. Then the land will yield
its fruit, and you will eat your fill and live there in safety."

While this was God's promise to the Israelites, it is no less true for us today as well; if we wish to have God's blessing in our lives and to dwell in the kind of safety that only the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe can give us, we need to turn to God with our whole hearts and do as He asks us to do in every area of our lives.

The TSA can't give us safety; they can only take away our civil rights. But, by yielding our lives fully to God, we can discover the amazing peace and safety that comes from knowing that we're squarely in the center of God's will for our lives, where He says, "Nothing can snatch you out of my hand."

Caveat: this doesn't mean that He won't take us home to be with Him when we die, or sometimes let bad things happen to us for His glory--but more on that another time.

So I say, fire the TSA and put GOD in charge of airport security! He doesn't need to peek; He made us and He already knows who's been naughty or nice, far better than any imaginary Santa Claus!

Taking A Stand

2010-11-11T10:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's News...is regrettably still with us. To link to the article that I've shown a screen of here, click on this post's title.

May I just take a moment to say how deeply ashamed I am that I ever signed up to be an Amazon Associate. As soon as I am done posting this, I will be cancelling my membership in their program, and moving on.
The small print under the header says there is another book Amazon has been selling since 2002. I didn't know this, or I would never have become an Amazon Associate last year. As a Christian mother, I feel very, very strongly about the crime of pedophilia and the people who commit it, and the people and companies who enable those who commit these crimes. This is very, very wrong.

In the article, the journalist mentions that Amazon defends their right to sell this garbage as a Free Speech issue. This is highly offensive and outrageous.

In one of my college classes this fall, Business Law, my textbook is very clear; there are certain types of speech that are not protected. This dreck certainly appears to be one of them.

Pearson Custom Business Resources, Business Law 1, pg. 82-83 reads,

"Unprotected Speech:

The Supreme Court has held that the following types of speech are unprotected (i.e., they are not protected by the First Amendment and may be totally forbidden by the government):"

Then there's a list, with these two points at the bottom:

"5. Child pornography.
Example Selling material depicting children engaged in sexual activity is unprotected speech."

"6. Obscene speech. If speech is considered obscene speech, it has no protection under the Freedom of Speech Clause of the First Amendment and can be banned by the government.

Examples Movies, videos, music, and other forms of speech that are obscene are unprotected speech."

I cite both of these, because Amazon is quibbling over whether the book that they've maintained in stock since 2002 can be reasonably considered pornographic, since it doesn't give explicit sexual advice. Considering the subject matter and the point of view from which it appears to have been written (clearly not an academic exercise intended for psychologists treating people attempting to escape this dreck), I cannot understand why Amazon hasn't recognized the subject matter as obscene, nor, for that matter, why our esteemed government hasn't seen fit to exercise its right to lean on Amazon and force them to remove the listing.

And I think Amazon owes us all a public apology. Until then, I wholeheartedly support and affirm the boycott of Amazon, and will not be using any materials associated with them further.

This is the Kat that...

2010-11-10T22:05:00.000-07:00

Shelah in her "You Wouldn't Dare" pose

This is the Kat that...

jumped in the window and jumped on the dresser and chewed the wool hat (creamy white beret), and holed the sweater and the garmet bag and my new clutch AND...

most recently...

tried eating the roses Mom brought me to cheer up my hectic life as a student-again, and knocked over the bud vase (twice), soaking things that don't like to be soaked, and puked up the leaves, and...

Every once in a while, Maria gets her back! I looooove this towel picture! Hehehehe! I've turned it into a digital painting and am making things with it on Zazzle.

Shelah in a doll stroller!

Here's another good one!

Shelah was actually happy enough in this situation that Maria and I got about 20 pictures.

What a character! It's amazing that she'll be so good for Maria, and then turn around and be so very naughty-bad!

What a Kat!

Craft Show at the Lancaster Event Center

2010-11-06T20:01:00.001-06:00

The Lancaster Event Center on North 84 Street, south of Havelock Avenue in Lincoln, Nebraska must be one of Lincoln's best-kept secrets! We've been there twice in the past week for neat events that should have been jam-packed with visitors (and weren't); first for a llama show, and then for a craft fair that is going on through tomorrow afternoon at four.

Llama Show

Last week, the llamas wowed us! Here are a few pictures of the wonderfully soft, friendly creatures we met:

Aren't they sweet? One even tried to "kiss" me! (blew in my face!)

This was our second year attending the llama show. We learned a lot this year about the show and about llamas.

About The Show

This show is held yearly in Lincoln around the end of October, and is for judging/determining which llamas are the creme de la creme of their breeds. All the llamas that arrive in Lincoln have already placed at least once in a local and/or state llama show someplace else.

More Useful Facts About Llamas

Llamas make good "watch-dogs" for sheep and cattle,
Llamas need at least one other llama for company in order to thrive because they're pack or herd animals.
Llamas are great with all children, and especially children with disabilities, because they're very gentle and loving creatures when they've been frequently introduced to humans. Otherwise, they can be a bit shy.

We also learned that there is a farm north of the event center that boards eighteen to twenty llamas, and may be willing to take more, if someone local gets excited about them and decides they should own one, but doesn't know where to keep it! :-) (Maria thinks this may be her. I said I didn't think so)

Craft Show

Today, we were back at the Event Center again, this time at the front building, for a craft show.

Here are a few pictures of crafts we saw and people we met:

Lee's Loveables Original Designs
by Glenda Preister, Designer

Gourd Art
by Donna Pozehl

Donna Pozehl turns home-grown gourds into whimsical animal art and vases. Donna is pictured here with a trio of fine penguins, and she also offers a fine collection of elephant head piggy banks and other animal art. She also draws amusing pictures of cows and other farm animals.

Glenda Preister designs wonderful doll-clothes! The doll featured above is wearing a fancy bridal gown with matching veil and slippers, and a cross pendant, and is carrying a bouquet of flowers. I spoke with Glenda about this dress, and we agreed that it would also do for a confirmation or first communion gown, although Glenda noted that of course, the bouquet wouldn't fit with that theme.

We also saw a fine variety of edible products (like jam), wood crafts, jewelry, pottery and ceramics. The craft fair runs through tomorrow afternoon (Sunday, November 7th, 2010) at 4:00. Please don't hesitate to stop by and find the special people on your Christmas list some truly special gifts!

Check it out!

Lancaster Event Center

4100 North 84th Street

Lincoln, NE 68507-9709

(402) 441-6545

The Skin Map, CSFF Blog Tour, Day 2

2010-11-02T23:01:00.000-06:00

I decided that I had a few things to add to yesterdays' somewhat mixed review of The Skin Map.

First, I really like it that this book came out in hardcover format. The cover artwork was superb, on both the removable slipcover, and on the book itself.

The second thing I would like to say is, please do read the book, and make up your mind about it for yourself. As you've no doubt realized, I can be highly opinionated. The fact that I see no humor in a man blundering around from one sort of awful trouble to the next doesn't mean you won't be endeared to him and his story.

It just hits a little too close to home for me, I guess. In far too many ways.

Anyway, just for the record again, I recieved a free copy of this book for the purposes of review in connection with the CSFF Blog Tour.

If you're interested in looking into obtaining some of Stephen Lawhead's fiction for yourself, please follow the links in the carousel on the right side of the page!

You can also discover what others are saying about this book by following these links:

Red Bissell
Thomas Clayton Booher
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Beckie Burnham
Morgan L. Busse
Jeff Chapman
Christian Fiction Book Reviews
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
George Duncan
April Erwin
Tori Greene
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Timothy Hicks
Christopher Hopper
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Becca Johnson
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Shannon McDermott
Allen McGraw
Matt Mikalatos
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Nissa
John W. Otte
Gavin Patchett
Sarah Sawyer
Chawna Schroeder
Kathleen Smith
Rachel Starr Thomson
Donna Swanson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Phyllis Wheeler
Nicole White
Elizabeth Williams
Dave Wilson

The Skin Map by Stephen Lawhead (October CSFF Blog Tour, Day 1)

2010-11-01T21:45:00.001-06:00

I received a free copy of The Skin Map from the publisher for the purposes of review with the CSFF Blog Tour.When Becky first announced that we would be touring The Skin Map by Stephen Lawhead, I was both intrigued and repulsed. Intrigued because I’ve always enjoyed Stephen’s sci/fi and fantasy books, even the ones that are somewhat uncomfortably edgy, like Dreamthief; and repulsed because “skin map” sounded seriously disturbing. But I dismissed my initial reaction of repulsion, thinking, Oh, c’mon. This outré phrase is surely only referring to parchment.

Was I ever wrong!

I have bad news for some of those following the CSFF Blog Tour: “skin map” really does mean, “skin map.” As in: a map tattooed on a man’s skin so that he would be sure never to lose it.

Oh, ewww.

However, the more I read of it, the less “ew” the map tattoo idea seemed. But this was probably because of the violence, general cruelty and inhumane acts occurring thanks to the Burly—or Burleigh—Men; toughs employed by the unscrupulous Lord Burleigh, who at times completely overshadowed all the efforts of the protagonists.

After some of what happened, tattoos seemed rather a minor quibble to fuss over, except that I have strong objections to any child of mine getting a tattoo. I believe that tattoos do not contribute positively to success in the business world. Tattoos can also be a source of long-term suffering and pain if the person receiving the tattoo is reactant to the ink, or if the tattoo artist uses contaminated needles. I’m not going to encourage this type of choice here, or lay out safe methods for obtaining one. I figure I’ll leave that up to other people.

So anyway, I had serious difficulty appreciating certain parts of the story. I especially felt that the protagonist seemed like just the kind of perpetually lost kind of man that, if I was one of the several females stuck in the story with him, as a practical matter of survival I would not want to know him better or go anywhere with him. His incredible choices kept bumping me out of the story, and when I persisted in reading, it was with a kind of appalled fascination, wondering what dreadful disaster he would drag everyone else into by completely feckless accident next.

If Stephen Lawhead writes a sequel, it is my fervent hope that he will give his protagonist a stern talking to, and push him to grow up a bit--

My recommendations: This is not a book that most readers will moderately enjoy. Either they will love it or hate it. I kind of did both!

My rating: Parental guidance strongly recommended for YA readers, especially those already inclined to push the boundaries of good taste. Nonetheless, I am sadly aware that some parents approve of tattoos and model them as an acceptable form of bodily adornment. ‘Nuff said.

For all adults reading this review, you may enjoy this book if:

• You like Stephen Lawhead’s writing, and appreciated his previous book, Dream Thief. The Skin Map pushes the edge of the generally accepted Christian Sci/Fi envelope, in a similar manner to Dream Thief.

• You dig the tattoo scene, and sport a few tattoos of your own. (YA parent-alert; this subject is pervasive and treated very positively)

• You really get into the research into ley lines and deep earth power, and enjoy flights of fantasy written around this subject. The whole idea of ley-lines being able to transport people into other times/places in history did really make The Skin Map's plot flow successfully. Reading Lawhead’s explanation regarding ley-lines helped put them into a perspective that allowed for the suspension of disbelief.

• You prefer strong heroines. I really do appreciate that Lawhead includes strong female characters in his books. The Skin Map is no exception, featuring two strong heroines carving a place for themselves in what seems to be mostly a man’s man kind of world. Men reading this book don’t need to go away disappointed either; Lawhead included a full cast of strong-minded men engaging in wild and woolly acts of derring do, and a few incredible deeds of heroism, courage, and kindness too. The rest of them are fairly worth putting up with a blundering protagonist.

Now, after all that, isn't it a relief that you can also go and read what others have to say about it too?

Stephen Lawhead’s web site - http://www.stephenlawhead.com/

*Participants’ links
Red Bissell
Thomas Clayton Booher
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Beckie Burnham
Morgan L. Busse
Jeff Chapman
Christian Fiction Book Reviews
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
George Duncan
April Erwin
Tori Greene
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Timothy Hicks
Christopher Hopper
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Becca Johnson
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Shannon McDermott
Allen McGraw
Matt Mikalatos
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Nissa
John W. Otte
Gavin Patchett
Sarah Sawyer
Chawna Schroeder
Kathleen Smith
Rachel Starr Thomson
Donna Swanson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Phyllis Wheeler
Nicole White
Elizabeth Williams
Dave Wilson