Who knew?

One of our friends at church has had a pretty rough last seven months.  Amos and I were on the outskirts of the issue, being friends but not best friends with this guy, but we knew what was going on and prayed faithfully for him and his wife.  Sometimes we didn't know what to pray for his wife.  Sometimes we didn't know what to pray for either of them.  Sometimes we just prayed the same thing night after night, that our friend would be healed, that his wife would be changed, that they would both become more like Christ, that she would realize and experience God's love for her, etc.
And God has worked.
Now we are praying for their reconciliation process as well as healing and strength for the journey.
As I talked with Amos about how great and how hard this reconciliation would be, I realized something else.
If Amos and I weren't married, we wouldn't have prayed for our friend nearly as much.  We read our Bibles as single and engaged people, but it was harder to actually pray every night.  Our whole church has been praying fervently for him, so I know that it wasn't just our prayers that brought about God's work in their lives, but it helped.
It not only helped our friends, it helped us as well.
As Amos and I prayed, it kept our friend at the forefront of our minds and made us more sympathetic to how he and his wife might be feeling and what they might be going through.  It made us think about how this could be us, if we weren't careful to guard ourselves and our relationship and if we weren't careful to rely on God to keep us aware of what we are doing and believing.

So really, this blog post is about being thankful. Thankful that God has brought about the start of a reconciliation between our friends and thankful that God has allowed us to be married and to pray together for others and ourselves.

On television and books

I finished reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl on Friday, and I thought it was great.  In the book, five different children visit the factory of the wonderful, excitable Willie Wonka.  One small boy, Mike Teavee, is obsessed with television, to put it mildly.  This is his downfall as he is shrunk by Willie Wonka's powerful TV rays and subsequently carried off to be stretched back to normal.  After Mike is gone, the Oompa-Loompas, Willie Wonka's friends and workers, sing a little song about him that I liked very much.


The most important thing we've learned,
As far as children are concerned,
Is never, NEVER, NEVER let
Them near to your television set -
Or better still, just don't install
The idiotic thing at all.
In almost every house we've been,
We've watched them gaping at the screen.
They loll and slop and lounge about,
And stare until their eyes pop out.
(Last week in someone's place we saw
A dozen eyeballs on the floor.)
They sit and stare and stare and sit
Until they're hypnotised by it,
Until they're absolutely drunk
With all that shocking ghastly junk.
Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,
They don't climb out the window sill,
They never fight or kick or punch,
They leave you free to cook the lunch
And wash the dishes in the sink -
Bud did you ever stop to think,
To wonder just exactly what
This does to your beloved tot?
IT ROTS THE SENSES IN THE HEAD!
IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!
IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND!
IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND
HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND
A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND!
HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE!
HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE!
HE CANNOT THINK - HE ONLY SEES!
"All right!" you'll cry.  "All right!" you'll say,
"But if we take the set away,
What shall we do to entertain
Our darling children?  Please explain!"
We'll answer this by asking you,
"What used the darling ones to do?
"How used they keep themselves contented
Before this monster was invented?"
Have you forgotten?  Don't you know?
We'll say it very loud and slow:
THEY . . . USED . . . TO . . . READ!  They'd READ and READ,
AND READ and READ, and then proceed
To READ some more.  Great Scott!  Gadzooks!
One half their lives was reading books!
The nursery shelves held books galore!
Books cluttered up the nursery floor!
And in the bedroom, by the bed,
More books were waiting to be read!
Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales
Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales
And treasure isles, and distant shores
Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars,
And pirates wearing purple pants,
And sailing ships and elephants,
And cannibals crouching 'round the pot,
Stirring away at something hot.
(It smells so good, what can it be!
Good gracious, it's Penelope.)
The younger ones had Beatrix Potter
With Mr. Tod, the dirty rotter,
And Squirrel Nutkin, Pigling Bland,
And Tiggly-Winkle and -
Just How The Camel Got His Hump,
And How The Monkey Lost His Rump,
And Mr. Toad, and bless my soul,
There's Mr. Rat and Mr. Mole -
Oh, books, what books they used to know,
Those children living long ago!
So please, oh please, we beg, we pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in it's place you can install
A lovely bookshelf on the wall.
Then fill the shelves with lots of books,
Ignoring all the dirty looks,
The screams and yells, the bites and kicks,
And children hitting you with sticks -
Fear not, because we promise you
That, in about a week or two
Of having nothing else to do,
They'll now begin to feel the need
Of having something good to read.
And once they start - oh boy, oh boy!
You watch the slowly growing joy
That fills their hearts.  They'll grow so keen
They'll wonder what they'd ever seen
In that ridiculous machine,
That nauseating, foul, unclean,
Repulsive television screen!
And later, each and every kid
Will love you more for what you did.
P.S. Regarding Mike Teavee,
We very much regret that we
Shall simply have to wait and see
If we can get him back his height.
But if we can't - it serves him right.

:: Roald Dahl

from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Lab monitor

I've been subbing at my favorite high school this whole week.  One of the teachers, Mr. Walker, is out on paternity leave, and the temporary computer lab monitor is teaching for him.  This lab monitor, Mr. Shapiro, took over after the regular lab monitor, Mr. Newman, found a new job.  Even before Mr. Newman was Mrs. Newman, Mr. Newman's mom, a smiley lady with a young, black, guide dog puppy named Kona.  So...I am the substitute lab monitor for the temporary lab monitor who took over after the previous lab monitor and the original lab monitor got different jobs.  *whew!*

I've enjoyed being the lab monitor.  My duties include monitoring computer usage, scanning textbooks in and out, checking out laptop carts, and collecting money for printing; not much to do and relatively easy compared to herding a classroomful of cats students.  On Monday I got used to my job and finished reading The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois. On Tuesday I subbed for the absent Mr. Walker when his substitute, Mr. Shapiro, was absent as well (the class and I watched part of a very interesting series on the Supreme Court).  On Wednesday and Thursday I spent a good part of the day working on my writing class for India, creating a missions blog for my church, and reading The BFG by Roald Dahl.  Today I read several Smithsonian articles (including this one) and looked up titles of missionary biographies.  My last day is supposed to be Monday, though with all of the switching around and reporting absences and getting new jobs, you never know. . .

Not too bad...

Not too bad of a day today.  I went to school, drank some coffee with hazelnut creamer, taught two classes, and was released at 11:00!  I said hi to another teacher who told me that there was a special lunch today for the teachers.  I wanted to get home as soon as possible, so I just retrieved my own lunch from the fridge and took a burrito to go.  As I walked to my car, I listened to a voicemail asking me to call back for an interview at a local Christian school.  I only applied on Friday (about four days ago) and now have an interview for a part-time English position at a school that is only seven miles/twenty minutes from my house.  We shall see!

Now I'm home.  I read some blog posts, toodled around the internet, pruned a tree in our side yard, washed the dishes, and am now waiting for Amos to wake up.

Happy Tuesday!

Around the web...again...

Well, here's the third installment of "around the web"!

The Flight From Conversation
This interesting article was posted by my friend Ryan Heathers on Facebook as well as by Tim Challies on his blog.

Of "Dad Moms" and "Man Fails": An Essay on Men and Awesomeness
This came from the on-line version of the Journal of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.  Thought-provoking, especially the paragraphs under "A Better Way..." and the conclusion.

"Dementia" by Owl City, featuring Mark Hoppus
Song of the week!  The new Owl City album comes out this summer and I'm soooooo excited!

Prodigal Magazine
A Christian e-magazine.  I haven't read a lot of the articles on this site, but they seem to be pretty good...

Homemade Soft Pretzels
If I had known pretzels were this easy to make, I would have made them a long time ago!

Seven Ways To Pray for Your Prayer Life
This could be useful to most of us... ;)

Truth, love, grace, and forgiveness

Tim Keller, who has been mentioned more than once (or twice) on this blog, wrote The Meaning of Marriage with his wife Kathy, and I am about three-quarters of the way done with it.  I think it's great, and I highly recommend it.  I thought I'd add this quote that applies to all relationships, not just marriage.  The context of this quote explains the need for truth, love, and grace in your relationship.

"What does it take to know the power of grace?  First it takes humility.  If you have trouble forgiving someone, it is at least partly because deep in your heart you are thinking, 'I would never do anything like that!'  As long as you feel superior to someone, feel like you are a much better kind of person, you will find it very hard if not impossible to forgive.  If you stay superior and disdainful of the person, truth will eat up love.  You will only criticize, and not in a way that the person can hear.  You will be too scornful and harsh."

-Tim Keller, The Meaning of Marriage

Around the web...2

One week ago it was raining buckets, and kids came to class literally dripping from the rain.  Several students removed their shoes to wring out their socks, and one boy sat out in the hallway, a puddle slowing encompassing him and his drenched backpack.  Flashes of lightning and cracks of thunder interrupted the class as they tried to complete their math packets.

Not this week.  This week I am sitting in my little house drinking lemonade as the thermometer registers 81 degrees inside.  Summer is coming and with it all sorts of fun stuff!

Anyway, here are some links from this week:

A Letter to My Children About Marriage
My old roommate Jen posted this on Facebook, and I thought it was very good.

Broccoli Cheddar Twice-Baked Potatoes
This recipe was really good.  I added butter, onions, and bell pepper.  I'm going to have it again tonight!

Pixel of Ink
Kind of scrounging around for links this week.  Amos goes to this website, and I check it every once in a while, for free or nearly-free books for his Kindle.  I've downloaded three books so far, though I have yet to read any of them. ;)

That's all for this week.  I'm off to the library to pick up Jeeves and Wooster!

EDIT:
One more link from my friend Heather.  She wrote one of the articles in this Christian education/missions e-magazine.

Distracting

Words are distracting.  At least they are to me.

I don't know what it is about words and letters, but very often I find myself reading them over and over and over again.  We used to keep packing boxes behind our old couch, and the edges of the boxes would peek over the back of the couch.  Every time I sat on the couch to talk with Amos, I would inevitably be distracted by the words and phrases that were only partially visible.  What did the rest of that sentence say?  Could it say this?  Why weren't the lines of text centered?  Which words would make the lines centered on the box edge?  We finally moved the boxes when we got a new couch, which makes talking on the couch much easier.  A few months ago Amos and I were sitting in our friend's office at church, discussing the direction of the college group.  I listened to and talked with Amos and Paul, but I still found myself trying to read all of the titles on Paul's bookshelves.  In a third example, I was having dinner with a new friend and reading the words "North Face" on her pink sweatshirt over and over again, trying to come up with a pattern in the letters or a different way to arrange the two words.  It was very distracting.

I suppose some people would call that OCD.

I just love words.  I love to read Psalms because of the eloquent truths.
"I would have lost hope unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living."
or other places in Scripture, "Christ in you, the hope of glory."

I read all sorts of books, and every once in a while I wish I could write like their authors.  Mind you, I don't want to write in a flowery style, talking about sun-dappled lanes and fiery drops of gold glistening on dewy roses.  That is just a little too weird and forced.

But I just love words, and I love books by authors who know how to use them.  My most recent "word" investment cost me just $0.50.

I walked to our neighborhood thrift store on Saturday, intending to look at the children's books to see if there were any we could take to India.  This thrift store is even cheaper than Goodwill, charging only twenty-five cents for a paperback children's book!  I found two autobiographies by Roald Dahl: Boy: Tales of Childhood and Going Solo.  I'd never read any books by Roald Dahl, but I remember my dad reading Ross and Scott James and the Giant Peach when we were little (I'm not sure why I wasn't included; I was probably too young).  I never read any Dahl books myself, though, because I was usually creeped out by the illustrations on the front covers.

Anyway, I bought the two books after skimming only a few pages.  I figured if they weren't appropriate for the kids in India, I could always keep them myself.  I started Boy on Saturday and I finished Going Solo today; I loved them.  It amazes me how so many different people can use so many of the same words in so many different ways.  Roald Dahl was very good at crafting exciting, creative, hilarious sentences out ordinary, everyday words.  I'm interested to see if his fiction is as well-written as his two autobiographies.

Excerpts from Boy: Tales of Childhood

The Great Mouse Plot
"When writing about oneself, one must strive to be truthful.  Truth is more important than modesty.  I must tell you, therefore, that it was I and I alone who had the idea for the great and daring Mouse Plot.  We all have our moments of brilliance and glory, and this was mine."

Goat's tobacco
"When I was about nine, the ancient half-sister got engaged to be married."

Poor Zeus

Well, I'm sure you remember our wonderful little fishy friend, Zeus.

I'm sad to say that Zeus (or Zeusy, as he was affectionately referred to) is no longer with us.

Zeus contracted this disease called ick.  Weird name.  He had this filmy white stuff trailing off his fins, so I went to Walmart and got him some medicine.  It seemed to clear it up after a few weeks, but overachiever that I am, I kept slipping a little bit into his water, just to make sure that he was actually healed.

I don't know if I overmedicated him or if he died from something else.

Either way, the poor fish is dead and gone, residing in the giant fish bowl in the sky with several other fish who used to belong to various friends.

I put the fish bowl away; it was sad to keep looking at it, knowing that I would never again see his tiny, happy fish face swim by.

RIP, Zeusy.

Zeus, aka Zeusy

Around the web...

I hesitate to say this, but I'm considering doing a weekly post with links that you can follow to good YouTube videos, my song of the week, thought-provoking articles, etc.

We will see if I keep it up...

Here we go!

Unexpected Joy via challies.com
I needed more than one tissue after I watched this.  What a comfort Jesus can be when life takes an unexpected turn.  What a sweet little boy who is helping his family become more like Jesus. Biological brothers + adopted brothers + a handicapped brother + fierce joy and hope =  tears.

Oh Happiness! by the David Crowder Band
Oh happiness!  There's grace enough for us and the whole human race!

Rescued via Amos via challies.com again
As a former-foster-never-adopted-child-now-apostate-adult told me one time, adoption into a Christian family doesn't mean that the adopted kids will get saved.  (I wonder if that person reads my blog...)
But I say, those kids definitely will be exposed to the Gospel, if the parents are living a faithful life and loving their kids.

Behold Our God by Sovereign Grace
Behold our God seated on His throne!  Come let us adore Him!

Christian Ministry in the Shadow of the Mosque [with video] via albertmohler.com
I watched this video last week while stuffing bulletins for church.  I learned some new things about Islam as well as heard ways to love Muslims in the United States.  I don't know any Muslims personally, but it was good to have my way of thinking challenged; I must be an American Christian, never a Christian American.

Ranch Dressing II Recipe via allrecipes.com
I made this recipe with few small changes (1/2 cup buttermilk, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, and 1/2 cup plain yogurt; a little more garlic and onion powder).  It tastes pretty good so far!  It needs to sit in the fridge for a while so all the flavors can "mingle."

Chores

How sad that this is only the second post this month!  Oh well.

I work as a substitute teacher, so I have about twenty days a month that I can work.  Last month I worked eight days, which is really good.  Unless I get a job tomorrow, I will have worked six days this month.

Some people ask, "What do you do with your extra time?  Don't you get bored?!"

Ummmmmm, not really.

Amos works in the afternoons, so after he leaves, I get to work.

Today, I dusted the blinds in the kitchen, swept our little house, mopped the kitchen, shook out the rugs, dusted a few other things, straightened the bedroom, did the dishes, and raked and swept the backyard.  Later I will do more dishes.

I usually try to clean right after Amos leaves, leaving the more fun things as an incentive for later, such as baking stuff, making crafts, looking at Facebook and Pinterest, going on a walk, or reading.  Every once in a while I will hang out with one of my friends in the evening.  (I'm an introvert; I don't mind being alone for most of the day.)  Sometimes I take something I've cooked to Master's so Amos can have a taste; I'll also say hi to Danielle, who works in the campus bookstore.

On Tuesday I made a pillow.  Yesterday I went to work and Bible study.  On Fridays I usually go to three or more grocery stores before I hop over to church to pick up the 600ish bulletins that we stuff on Friday and/or Saturday night.  On Sundays we have to get to church early to bring the bulletins and to secure our seats behind Wayne and Rosemary Dell, one of our elders and his wife.  Sometimes Amos stays for all three services in order to run the slides; sometimes I man the hospitality table (I make sure that we don't run out of cups or donut holes).  This Sunday I will be back at church during the third service to go to our missions leadership meeting.  In the evenings we go back to church once again to serve at Fusion, the college-age young adult ministry.  On Mondays Amos and I hang out or go places before he has to go to his overnight shift.

So, no, I don't get bored.

Rain, sleet, and ten inches of snow

This morning I woke up in my own comfy bed with the familiar blue-gray sheets and the teal-green-burgundy quilt.  This is a great contrast to where I was on Friday night.

Snow!

Friday night I was in Yosemite with Amos and several of our friends, Luke and Danielle Neuman and Josh and Grace Wheeler.  After traveling six hours in the Neumans' overstuffed Honda, we finally unfolded at our campsite on the Yosemite Valley floor.  The weather was cold but bearable...until the rain started.  Josh, Amos, and Luke rigged up a tarp to cover our already wet picnic table, and we scurried around in various states of discomfort getting food ready and hiding under the tarp.  Deciding to forgo the smores, we drank hot cocoa and crawled in our little tents.

Our tent, after I knocked off the snow

       I commented to Amos that it looked like our tent was holding up well in the rain, which was nice since we couldn't do much about it if the tent decided to leak.  We snuggled down in sleeping bags and under blankets, and fell into a fitful sleep. Two and half hours later, I was outside Luke and Danielle's spacious tent, asking for shelter from our tent-turned-puddle.  Our small tent leaked, and Amos' sleeping bag was wet from the rain and sleet.  We were about to move into their tent when Luke and Danielle discovered their own lake.  They moved into the middle of the tent, and Amos and I headed for their small car.

It was snowing by this point, and at various times in the night I was awakened either by Amos' snoring, the alarm on Luke's forgotten phone, or huge clumps of snow shaking the car.  I steeled myself to emerge at 8:30 and was greeted by eight inches of snow.

Half Dome in the snow

Now, the forecast said rain and snow.  I thought we might get snowflakes that melted on contact or maybe a light dusting of snow.  I was not prepared for eight full inches in the morning and more snow as the day went on.  Luke and Danielle's tent was partially collapsed and soaked from the snow.  The only reason our tent was visible was because I had piled our luggage in the middle before escaping to the car; it was nearly flat under its snow sheet.

In shock and denial, we ate a very nice hot breakfast.  I decided to address the elephant in the room: Where would we sleep that night?  Danielle and I were set against sleeping in puddles or enduring any more cold than we had to.  Amos and Luke agreed.  Josh and Grace had survived in their heavy-duty yet lightweight backpacking tent, but they had to leave early anyway.

My favorite picture of the weekend; click for a larger version

After pushing the cars out of the snowy parking space, trying to add chains to the Wheeler car, and investigating the rather expensive housing options available in the Valley, it was decided that we would all camp at the Wheelers' house in Woodland.  Amos and I dried the group's wet clothes at the housekeeping site, and everyone else made lunch and packed up the campsite in the now slushy, snowy mess.

Josh getting his car out with other campers to help

We made it out of Yosemite and up to Woodland with only a few sliding skids.

On Sunday we dried tents, blankets, sleeping bags, and other paraphernalia on the front lawn and in the backyard. Josh wanted to set up a small cardboard sign that said "Occupy Woodland" but we didn't get around to it.  There were a few strange looks from neighbors, though.

Occupy Woodland!

We cleaned up the front lawn and headed out to the Davis Arboretum, which made for a nice afternoon.  After that we each played games, read, slept, or gardened then had a nice dinner of soup and sandwiches.  The evening entertainment was a game of Clue followed by smores in the fireplace (which is a story for another time).

We left Monday morning, and the whole weekend is now a memory.

A cold, slushy, comedy-of-errors memory with good friends who are now better friends.

One of Grace's tulips

Next time guys, let's camp in July. :)