Being for others

OK, here's a good game. These paragraphs were written recently- just released today in fact. By whom?

How could the idea have developed that Jesus' message is narrowly individualistic and aimed only at each person singly? How did we arrive at this interpretation of the “salvation of the soul” as a flight from responsibility for the whole, and how did we come to conceive the Christian project as a selfish search for salvation which rejects the idea of serving others? ...

In this sense it is true that anyone who does not know God, even though he may entertain all kinds of hopes, is ultimately without hope, without the great hope that sustains the whole of life (cf. Eph 2:12). Man's great, true hope which holds firm in spite of all disappointments can only be God—God who has loved us and who continues to love us “to the end,” until all “is accomplished” (cf. Jn 13:1 and 19:30). Whoever is moved by love begins to perceive what “life” really is. ... Life in its true sense is not something we have exclusively in or from ourselves: it is a relationship. And life in its totality is a relationship with him who is the source of life. If we are in relation with him who does not die, who is Life itself and Love itself, then we are in life. Then we “live”. ...

Yet now the question arises: are we not in this way falling back once again into an individualistic understanding of salvation, into hope for myself alone, which is not true hope since it forgets and overlooks others? Indeed we are not! Our relationship with God is established through communion with Jesus—we cannot achieve it alone or from our own resources alone. The relationship with Jesus, however, is a relationship with the one who gave himself as a ransom for all (cf. 1 Tim 2:6). ...

While attending the Sunday liturgy at the port city of Hippo, [Augustine] was called out from the assembly by the Bishop and constrained to receive ordination for the exercise of the priestly ministry in that city. Looking back on that moment, he writes in his Confessions: “Terrified by my sins and the weight of my misery, I had resolved in my heart, and meditated flight into the wilderness; but you forbade me and gave me strength, by saying: ‘Christ died for all, that those who live might live no longer for themselves but for him who for their sake died' (cf. 2 Cor 5:15)”.21 Christ died for all. To live for him means allowing oneself to be drawn into his being for others.

For Augustine this meant a totally new life. He once described his daily life in the following terms: “The turbulent have to be corrected, the faint-hearted cheered up, the weak supported; the Gospel's opponents need to be refuted, its insidious enemies guarded against; the unlearned need to be taught, the indolent stirred up, the argumentative checked; the proud must be put in their place, the desperate set on their feet, those engaged in quarrels reconciled; the needy have to be helped, the oppressed to be liberated, the good to be encouraged, the bad to be tolerated; all must be loved.” “The Gospel terrifies me”

Wow. "The Gospel terrifies me." When I reflect on the whole of what God is done, I agree with that statement- but does my life reflect that high view of salvation and Gospel calling? And Augustine's description of his 'totally new life'- are these the things I'm pursuing?

I haven't read the whole of the writings these paragraphs came from, this is just what I found at first glance. When the answer is guessed (or Googled, more probably), I'll put a link to the whole piece.

I'm all about quotes this morning.

To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intake, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries,; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket—safe, dark, motionless, airless—it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly save from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.
- C.S Lewis, The Four Loves

HT: God's Politics

Fully Alive

From the Bishop of Oxford's sermon yesterday morning during chapel at work:
"For me, the mark of an authentic faith is that the person isn't about whether they're really religious or not, it's whether or not they are fully alive ."

"I've known people whose faith has diminished them, made them smaller. It has prevented them from fully engaging in life."

HT: Emerging Women

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
-John 10:10

Random thoughts

I'm pretty uninspired today. I'm tired. I don't feel like I've gotten into a good routine in my new home- probably because one or the other of us has been sick since we moved in, and being sick inevitable throws off routines. There have been a lot of 9PM bedtimes.

BUT- it's the second-to-last day of NaBloPoMo, so I must think of something!

Here are the random thoughts I had:

• Josh is taking me on a date tonight. That makes me happy.
• Firefox's popup blocker doesn't catch some pop-ups, including ones at the Indy Star. That's annoying.
• I love dogs. I want to get a dog sometime in the next 6 months, and we're wondering if we should wait till we have a fence built for the dog.
• Our neighbors have a few outdoor cats, and I've decided I like them- as long as they're outdoors. One was resting on our porch yesterday, and it was nice. They're mostly very friendly.
• We're getting rid of our moving boxes thanks to Freecycle. Hooray! they will no longer be piled in the laundry room.

That's all I've got. Better luck tomorrow. Maybe even a picture of the cat.

Serving the world

Here's an interesting email exchange that happened earlier this week. Ashley gave me permission to publish her responses too, so there's more interesting conversation. Join in! (in the comments. No need to email me. :) )

ASHLEY:
this post made me think:
i was curious your reactions towards what she said

ME:
That was a really interesting post. I read it & all the comments.

I think it's a hard Biblical case to make, to say that a woman cannot have a ministry outside of the home, or be passionate about a cause outside of caring for her house, husband, and children. I think it would be hard to even make the argument that all the women in the Bible did not have outside ministries. In Acts, there are examples of women serving in the church, and Paul thanks women in his letters. These ladies were obviously doing more than just raising good children- and it'd be a hard argument to say that they were all childless & unmarried, considering the culture.

That aside, I'm confused by the disdain for leaving children for a few hours a week. Many of the examples given were for evening ministry meetings. There is not one mention of fathers in the article or comments. The fathers are capable, loving people, and the mothers (theoretically) are in love with them and trust them completely- why can't they keep the children while the mother goes to minister, using her gifts and passions for the kingdom of God while the father gets really good bonding time with the kids? And, if it is parents' job to be home for children at every available minute, can any parent (mother or father) have an outside ministry? Or does God not give gifts and passions to aid in his wider kingdom work to people with children?

These are just my observations. Like I said, I don't totally understand the validity of the argument. I'm also coming at this from a different angle because I see the biblical imperative to care about social justice and to care for the poor and marginalized around the world, inside or outside the church, alongside the imperative to care for home & family. These women see the biblical imperative for them to care for their home and children alone, without the larger "go into all the world" commission. I guess I don't see why it has to be an either-or stance. But that's true of a lot of things :)

As for me, I hope to involve my (future, theoretical) children in ministry outside the home. I see a few wonderful families do it every month at the Sunday Suppers we help out with, and it's awesome- the kids are learning hands-on, rather than just reading about, what it means to be the hands and feet of Jesus- and seeing it modeled as a regular part of life, not just for special "mission trips". If I want to help out with a ministry at church that the whole family can't help with (like Josh, with choir or me, with the church library), is it such a big deal for one parent to be gone a couple hours every week? It will show our children God gave all of us different gifts, and we should use them to his glory, wherever we fit in the body of Christ.

I could go on, about the idea of 'calling' as talked about over the last few weeks at church, but I'll stop. What did you think about it?

ASHLEY:
I completely agree with you. I think it's really important for kids to grow up seeing their mothers (and fathers) serve others. And, consequently, I think it's also okay (and maybe even important) for mothers to have an outlet that doesn't involve their children. Of course, I'm not a mother yet so I'm sure my opinions will change when I am one. As you said - where are the fathers? However, one thing that I think is sad is that I've seen Christians who don't feel that it's important to be involved in ministry - especially outreaches. My mom and I once had a discussion about a family friend who believed the Bible commands us to only love other Christians, and so they were "liberated" from the need to reach out to nonChristians. I feel like for a lot of people, "ministry" only implies "helping out fellow Christians". While that's important, I think it's also important to help those in need, no matter what their beliefs are. Otherwise, we're the world's biggest clique. :-)

One of the comments I just read mentioned - "How can you say no to being a nursery worker when your kids are some of the main ones in the nursery? How can you not teach Sunday School/Children's Church when they are desperate for help and you have many kids in their classes? Is it fair to desire that your church run a Children's choir or Christmas program but then you refuse to help at all with it?" I think that was a really good point (of course, she was talking about how to get over feeling guilty for not volunteering, but I do think those words backed up my point of view). Why should you refuse to help out at all? Especially when you use those services yourself? Surely some sort of balance can be reached? Again, I'm not a mom, so I know my perspective will change, but that's what I'm thinking right now. I don't want my kids to grow up around only Christians - and what better way to expose them to other peoples' ideologies than when we are serving them through ministry, and I am standing right there?

Now, your turn.

Works for me: Sharing Links

Check out more of what works at Rocks In My Dryer!

I'm passionate about lots of things. I love to share interesting articles and blog posts with all of my friends and family. Emailing all of them- or trying to post every link on this blog, with an explanation of why it is so great- would be inefficient and probably annoying. Seriously, I think I need to check out drug rehabs for information-overload-treatment, I'm that addicted to reading news.

My solution? I "star" my friends' posts that I want to highlight in Google Reader. For news stories that I want to share, I add the label "newstoshare", and do the same for Geeky stories & Frugal tips, in their own sharing categories. For each of those categories to share, I have the fun widgets on my sidebar. If you're wondering what I'm reading & finding interesting, it's all there.

For Internet Explorer users, I apologize for my sidebar. While setting up my blog design, I didn't even THINK of opening it in IE, since I loathe the browser, and now I loathe it more, because it refuses to display my blog as well as Firefox.

RSS readers, you probably never knew what you were missing out on.

Thoughts on my commute

In the midst of the sleet on the way home, and $3.15/gallon gas, I can be thankful I have a car that is reliable and warm.

While Josh is battling bronchitis, I can be thankful we have health insurance and an FSA and that his prescription was free at Meijer.

When I swing by Kroger on the way home and a gallon of milk is almost as expensive as a gallon of gas, I can be thankful that the grocery store is so convenient, and grocery prices here aren't as bad as other places in the country.

When I get home from work later than planned, I can be thankful that my husband fixes a delicious dinner on his own for us- one less thing for me to worry about when I get there.

There's certainly more. It's good to recite little things to be thankful for every now and then, don't you think?

Garden ideas

Twice now on Prairie Home Companion, I've heard a song called Talkin' Harvest Time Blues by Stephanie Davis that has made me laugh- and wonder what I'm getting myself into, thinking I can start a vegetable garden. Here it is:

Well, it starts with a catalogue that comes in the mail
In the middle of the winter, when you’ve had it with those pale
Thick-skinned, store-bought, sorry, hard-as-rock
Excuses for tomatoes with the flavor of a sock

And there on the cover sits THE juicy, red, ripe
Homegrown tomato you’ve had dancing in your head
Never mind you said last August that you’d had it up to here
With the hoeing and the weeding—that’s what you say every year!

So, you fix a cup of cocoa, sink into your favorite chair
Put your feet up and you thumb through the pictures and compare
Big Boys, Better Boys, Early Girls, Romas
The new disease and drought-resistant hybrid from Sonoma!

Then it’s on to peas and carrots, lima beans and beets and kale
And you’ve never tried kohlrabi—say, the lettuce is on sale!
What’s a garden without sweet corn—better plant some marigolds
And you just read in “Prevention” ‘bout how garlic’s good for colds!

So, you phone an order in that nearly melts your Visa card
Then stare out at the foot of snow that blankets your backyard
And visualize your garden, oh, so peaceful and serene
Until at last you close your eyes and slip into a dream about:

CHORUS
Harvest time (bushels of red, ripe tomatoes!)
Harvest time (sweet corn that melts in your mouth!)

Well, the days turn to weeks and the next thing you know
There’s a robin at the feeder and the last patch of snow
Disappears ‘bout the time that a UPS truck
Backs up to your house and you stand there, awestruck

As 47 “Perishable—Plant Right Away”-
Marked boxes are unloaded on your porch as you say,
“Are you sure?” “Yes, ma’am, need your signature here—
Looks like someone’s gonna have ‘em quite a garden this year!”

Well, you watch him drive away, then you sink to your knees
‘Cause you feel a little woozy: Forty-seven boxes—Please!
God, I know I’ve got a problem and we’ve had this talk before
But help me this one last time—I won’t order anymore!

Just then, as if in answer to your prayer, your sister’s van
Pulls up into the driveway with Aunt Martha, Uncle Stan,
Two nephews and a cousin, who just stopped to say hello
But soon are sporting calluses as up and down each row

You, their warden, push ‘em; it’s a scene from “Cool Hand Luke”:
“Over there—those clods need breaking! Leave more space around that cuke!
See those bags of steer manure? Bring a dozen over—fast!
Yes, I know you have lumbago, but you’ll thank me when at last (it’s)

CHORUS
Harvest time (show you what a real strawberry tastes like!)
Harvest time (might even let you help me dig potatoes!)

Well, that night it starts to sprinkle and you can’t help feeling smug
‘Cause your garden’s in the ground and getting watered while you’re snug
Underneath the covers, or at least until midnight
When the temperature starts dropping and in no time you’re smack right

In the middle of your garden, in your jammies, on your knees
With a headlamp and a hammer and some tarps and jeez Louise
It’s cold but you keep working ‘till the last plant’s safe from harm
And there’s holes in your new jammies and bursitis in your arm

“Cause by gosh, you’re a gardener right down to your muddy clogs
And even when the rabbits take your lettuce and stray dogs
Pee on your zucchini and a fungus coats your kale
“Cause it’s rained for two weeks’ solid—do you falter? Do you fail?

Yep. You throw your hoe down, stamp your feet and call it quits—
Declare to all the neighborhood that gardening is the pits
And you’ll never plant another and this one can bloody rot
Then suddenly the sun breaks through the clouds and, like as not

You see a couple weeds you must have missed the last go-round
And shake your head and meekly pick your hoe up off the ground
And hoe and keep on hoeing ‘till your romas dangle red,
Ripe and juicy on the vine, sweet corn towers overhead,

Beans hang from their trellis, big orange pumpkins sprawl about
And you get that satisfying feeling once more when you shout:

CHORUS
Harvest time (Break out the canning jars!)
Harvest time (Man the pressure cooker!)
Harvest time (You have to take zucchini—we're related!)
Harvest time (Now THIS is a tomato!)

So, my question... what should I grow? I know the fresh veggies and outdoor exercise that a garden provides will beat a diet patch any day, so the garden will be good for us. The catch: I need to be sure to grow only the kinds food we'll eat, or the work will be a waste-- unless I have family, friends, and co-workers that promise to take the bounty ;-)

Some ideas I've had: I know I at least want to plant peas, green beans, and tomatoes, for sure. Beyond those, do I try corn? Strawberries? Pumpkins? Potatoes? Carrots? Broccoli? Cauliflower? Spinach or lettuce? Do I start asparagus or rhubarb this year so I can have it in the future? I don't know. I just want to brainstorm a list to research.

I need to go out and measure the space I have, and construct a plan on what will go where. Once I have a plan, I'll need to figure out what variety of seeds I'll be getting, when, and when everything needs to be started indoors or out. I'm starting to think about this as early as I can this year because I don't know what I'm doing.

For those of you who have done this before, what's your experience? What're some things I could grow that won't be TOO ambitious for this newbie?

Corners of my home

I'm inspired by the pretty pictures at Homespun Living- specifically her "corners of my home" collection. I'm still working on setting up the corners (and, well, entire rooms) of my home, but hope to keep Beauty in mind as I place things.

Toy corner:

We got these children's books and the box at Goodwill this weekend for our frequent child visitors. I was super-excited about the box.

Shelf for tins:

I have not done any decorating for Christmas- these were more Goodwill finds, and are destined to be containers for gifts- I just can't help but display them in the meantime. So pretty!

End table:

Have I mentioned I love Willow Tree figurines?

Wall decor:

Sunflowers! and a Goodwill painting we got a while back. I was pleased how well it fit.

Family photos:

Old photos & old cameras. And, I promise- everything's hung straight- it's the photo that's crooked!

Sunday Ponderings: A Sustainable Life

We just finished a 3-month sermon series on "Rhythm: Riffs on sustainable living". Each week, the topic of the sermon was about a practice in our life that makes Life unsustainable, and a spiritual practice to adopt to make life sustainable. Here's a list of the topics covered:

• Pray through the "low grade fever of sadness": From personal tragedies or hardships or just watching the evening news & seeing all that is wrong with the world, it is easy to get overwhelmed with sadness and hopelessness. Learning to pray God-focused prayers of lament, thanksgiving, and resolve during the good times will make it a natural outpouring during the sad times, leaving us better to prepared to turn to God when things get hard. Scriptures we looked at included some Psalms and Jonah.
• Seek out community: This was one of the most talked-about services of the series. Being estranged from relationships, or surrounded by just shallow relationships is not a sustainable way to live. We need "macro, micro, and nano communities"- a church body, a "community group"- a close group of spiritual friends who are invested in your life, and mentors- people ahead of you or alongside you in life who will be very invested and not afraid to speak into your life. I talked a little about the importance of community earlier.
• Engage in spiritual disciplines: I covered this last week.
• Live with humility: I think we missed this week. I didn't remember this topic. It makes sense, though. A prideful life is probably full of lies, and not one that can be kept up for very long. It is more exhausting to be prideful than to be humble.
• Discover your calling: This was the other most-talked-about topic of the series. It really re-framed "calling" for me, and I appreciated it. A calling is not an occupation. That was the surprising part for me. First, we're called to follow Jesus. Where our passions, gifts, and talents alig, we'll find our calling. Our pastor believes that a person's calling will always result in one of three ends: the care and love of people, the praise and glory of God, or the pursuit of justice.
• Live virtuously: This one is pretty self-explanatory. A life of sin is a hard one to keep up, always having to run from the consequences. Pursuing righteousness makes or a more sustainable life.
• Create family hedges: Protecting your family by being committed to Security, Fidelity, Forgiveness & Time (both quality AND quantity) will make your family sustainable and secure. These aren't things that Josh & I struggle with right now, but I know from experience that life will only get busier and more complex, and we will have to fight to keep family time sacred.
• Nourish & protect your body: This was the topic the weekend we moved, so we missed this one. The gist seemed to be, pursuing eating, exercising, and resting as a spiritual discipline- taking care of our health as we would any God-given resource to care for. The point was made- we should pursue "health" not a "look"- the point isn't vanity. I think this is a hard one to mention in church (or, I don't hear it mentioned very often) but makes sense.

And why pursue a sustainable life? Sure, there's your own sense of well being, and there's the impact on those around you (a well-rested, un-stressed me is much nicer to be around, and probably reflects the love of God better) but there's a bigger, moral responsibility, too. When we fritter our lives away, the rest of the world suffers to some degree. I'm in a very rich country, blessed like crazy- and if I live a shallow, stressed, me-focused life, I am not "living to the full" and using the resources entrusted to me for God's kingdom most effectively. I'm ignoring, or at least not best-serving, the poor and marginalized, and I'm failing God, who is entrusting the care of his world and the spreading of his message to his people. I can do better.

What are my take-aways? I discussed most of them last week. I need to have Sabbath and Simplicity in my life. I need to continue to prioritize Community. I need to learn to see where God is working and get in line with it. I'm looking forward to Sojourn's Christmas series starting next week, "A Christmas Sabbath". I really appreciated the worship experience last year, and all the talk about a "sustainable life" right before the busiest season of the year was very necessary. I look forward to the worship space provided in Sojourn during the next month or so.

What do you need to do to obtain a "sustainable life" or pace in your life? What's the biggest hurdle to sustainability in your life?

Little joys today

This morning, outside our living room windows, I saw blue jays and a cardinal, among other birds. They made me smile.

While unpacking (we worked hard today and are practically done!), Josh put my dog figurine collection on its shelf. I looked at the shelf and realized that the smallest of the figurines were missing, and searched high and low for the small box that held the last 10 or so figures. I found them and placed them just so, then took one more look at the shelf. There was still one figurine missing. I could spot this, even though the other 47 figurines were on the shelf. Josh had no way of knowing, since it wasn't his collection. The experience reminded me of John 10, which we discussed in bible study a few weeks back, and the parable of the lost sheep. I searched for the one small ceramic figurine very carefully through the crumbled newspaper that had come out of the boxes, so I'd be sure not to break it when I found it. When I did find it, I was delighted and placed it in its exact place. I stepped back and scanned the shelves- my "flock" was complete.

We went to church tonight. Today was a Sabbath, really. We rested. We played a game together. We worshiped. We shared meals. It was a good day. Look for a summary of the service tomorrow as part of Sunday Ponderings.

Speaking of the game we played... I won Trivial Pursuit against Josh for possibly the first time ever. Hooray.

My sister & her fiance have both accepted excellent jobs in Chicago for after they graduate and get married. Things are falling into place for them much sooner than they did for us, and I'm excited for the adventure they will share. Perhaps we will be able to go up and visit them? It has been suggested we see a show- specifically, Wicked tickets were recommended.

People I forgot to thank.

I talked yesterday about my family and my faith community, but I neglected to mention this online community that I'm a part of. I'm so thankful for all those who read here, participate here, and link here! I'm also thankful for all the talented, high-quality blogs out there that I'm continually learning from. I've updated my LINKS page to contain an up-to-the-minute blogroll from Google Reader.

I'm thankful for the blogging world because it allows me to keep in touch with friends who are far away- Ashley, Beth, Matt, Melissa, and a host of others.

I'm thankful for the blogging world because it allows discussion between real-life friends and family that I might not have otherwise, in our normal setting. Matt, Brett, James, Mr. & Mrs. B, Matt & Heather, Anne, Caroline, mom & dad- thanks for participating here and being open to discussion, with all those crazy ideas I have. I really appreciate your input. You all make me think.

And, since blogging, I've made online friends too! Here's a list of people who've linked to me in the last little while, who I'm, grateful for:
Becca
Jes
Amy
Stephanie
Steve
Tamara
Tiffany
paidtwice
Ariah
And I'm sure I've missed some. I'm just trusting Technorati...

Thankful

As I sit her finishing my warm mug of green tea, I have a lot to be thankful for. Over the last year, God has been showing me beauty in his world, in corners I might not have thought to look before. I am thankful beyond measure for what he has been teaching me.

I have a beautiful home, warm and comfortable.
Setting up and unpacking are finally coming together. After we moved in, we got the rooms we live in unpacked- the kitchen, living room, and bedroom- and then the motivation to clean, organize, and put things away stalled. Finally, this week and today, the final rooms (the TV/game room & the office) are looking livable, and I'm excited. There are few boxes left to open. Now, we just have a whole bunch of cardboard boxes to get rid of. Any takers before I Freecycle them?

House tour to come. Pictures of a few rooms are finally uploaded.

I an surrounded by beautiful people- a loving family, wonderful friends.
We spent the day with my parents and sister, and had a delightful time visiting with them. I contributed to the meal with green bean casserole, my apple-pear pie, and the remnants of the pumpkin pie made last weekend. My mom fixed everything else, and all was delicious. We watched part of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, then (on my insistence!) the annual dog show highlights. I was so excited when the Australian shepherd, the current breed at the top of my list for our eventual puppy addition to our family, won Best in Show. It was gorgeous and bright-eyed, and made me want one even more. But more on that later.

But, more on my family. Everyone is so wonderful and supportive. Even relatives from afar have sent gifts to help us get started at our new home! (Can anyone who I haven't told directly guess what this contraption is? It's from my aunt.) Family who are closer have been so helpful in getting things set up and looking "homey".

The friends we've made over the last year have been such a blessing. A couple from our former apartment complex, who were also friends of mine from high school, have been so eager to spend time with us and good about keeping in touch and getting us out of the house to be social. Friends from work I've enjoyed both having over to my home and visiting in theirs. I enjoyed getting to know Josh's friends from high school last weekend even more. They had such interesting stories and views- and were so much fun! (By the way, pictures from the rehearsal & rehearsal dinner they were involved in are finally posted. I'm learning that uploading pictures on dial-up is not a quick process. Right Beth?)

I am part of a beautiful faith community
When people ask what's the best thing about being married (which is a pretty common question for newlyweds), I say that it's getting to "do life" and spend lots of time with my best friend, who I'm madly in love with. But if they ask what the best thing we've done since getting married is, I don't hesitate, and say it has been getting involved in our small group bible study. This "community group" has really taught me what "community" is and means. I am so blessed to be a part of a group of 4 other families who genuinely care for each other- whether it means providing meals for weeks after a new baby arrives or taking care of a pet during a crisis or helping with moves between houses or praying for each other and knowing what's going on in each other's lives- I've witnessed and been a part of all of this, and am so thankful I've gotten the opportunity to be. Now that our house is set up and child-proofed (for the most part...), we'll get to have this group over on Monday! Hooray!

I have a beautiful marriage.
God has blessed me like crazy with Josh. I fall more in love with him every day. In the course of this move, I haven't been feeling that well, and he's cared for me and done so much work to get the house set up, all so joyfully and with a servant's heart. I am continually astounded and humbled.

Most of all, I am thankful for God's work in around, and through me, and, as I said before, all he's been teaching me. My heart almost bursts.

When I was young, I found this short psalm, and it has always been my simple Thanksgiving prayer. This is the complete chapter.

Psalm 100
A psalm. For giving thanks.
1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

2 Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.

3 Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his [a] ;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.

5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Don't forget our neighbors

From an Indy Star editorial today:

"Bounty" is a word we use a lot in November when we tell why we're thankful. As residents of a county that ranks high on lists of per capita income and quality of life, it's hard to believe -- and easy to look past -- the fact that 16,972 Hamilton County residents are thankful this year for having the "bare bones."

That number is how many people had signed up for assistance through the Good Samaritan program before the group's food giveaway started Saturday . . . and the number was growing as more people signed up at the door.
These aren't strangers, they're neighbors -- people we meet on the street, talk to in our neighborhoods and work next to every day. Many of the people who get Good Samaritan's help are the working poor, just getting by living on minimum wage.

I live in Hamilton County- a very-well-off county by Indiana or even national standards. Betwixt the mansions, it is very, very easy to forget that there are needy here, too. Whether my neighbors need drug rehabilitation or just a hot meal, I cannot forget them. God's heart is for marginalized people.

Speaking of marginalized people & God, anyone pick up this story? I haven't bought any crucifixes lately (and neither have most evangelicals or protestants), but do you know where your Veggie Tales toys come from? Yeah, me neither- and it may be a silly example- but it's always a good question to ask.

The conclusion of the Pie matter

The pumpkin pie is sitting on a plate in my refrigerator.

Two apple-and-pear pies were baked last night. One is currently in the break room here at work, and will surely disappear before the end of the day. If not, more pie for me, I guess.

The other is in the refrigerator for tomorrow's family gathering.

Because I am unsure of my crust-making skills, both pies have only bottom crusts and a crumble topping. I had to double every other part of the recipe- the crust recipe, I didn't want to mess with.

The pears were huge and juicy and sweet- and mostly-local, being from a friend's mom's tree. The apples were small (a little smaller than my fist) and therefore a pain to peel, both because of the number of them and the small amount of benefit per apple. They were from Michigan.

And, I'll make the chocolate pudding pie & apple muffins later for those who voted for them. Otherwise, I think everyone's happy. If not, there will certainly be way more food to partake in besides the pies.

In other cooking news, while the pies were cooking, I froze 3 liters of chicken broth I made from the remnants of a rotisserie chicken we shared with family on our moving day. This should last me for a while.

The Pie Dilemma

I am supposed to bring a pie to Thanksgiving.
I LOVE making pies. If I had more pie plates, I would bring all sorts of pies to our dinner. As it is, I have two, and one is currently holding the remnants of a pumpkin pie I made over the weekend- so I only have one available. The choices, from my ideas & requests from family members are: pumpkin, strawberry, cherry, apple, pear, peach, chocolate pudding.

Here's the facts of the matter:

• I have apples available to me for free.
• If I make something with the apples, I have to bring it in to work as well.
  
• I may do this anyway, but it would potentially take my only remaining pie pan, unless I make a cobbler or some sort of apple muffins or bread, which would potentially not be as popular.
  
• I have pears available to me for free.
  
• I already have these and they are already ripe, so if I don't make something with them for Thanksgiving, I will have to shortly thereafter.
• Cherries for a pie would come from a can. I would need to buy these soon.
  
• Strawberries are not in season and would be frozen. I would need to buy these soon.
• I'm not sure if peaches are in season, so I may need to buy them in a preserved form.
  
• Sweet potato souffle is already on the menu, which is very similar to pumpkin pie. Also, I already used my one can of pumpkin, so need to go out & get another.
  
• Chocolate pudding pie seems like a cop-out.
• My last idea: making cupcake-sized "tarts" using many, any, or all of the above ideas, with mini-pie-crusts & filling
  
• I've never done this & don't know how it would work, but it sounds like fun.

OK. Vote in the comments. I need ya'll's input. Soon.

Buy Nothing Day

I'm participating.

Friday, I won't buy anything- except maybe a fast-food breakfast with my dad, as we prepare to re-paint my old apartment white in preparation for turning it over at the end of the month. Mad excitement, I know.

I've participated in the Black Friday thing in the past- I've scoured the ads and seen the sales on everything from home theater lighting to towel warmers to cameras to motor oil. I've braved the crowds, gotten up at a ridiculously early hour, and chased after the deals with shopping-list in hand.

Not this year.
Anyone want to join my little painting party?

Unfinished

These are the thoughts I had while raking leaves yesterday...

I like raking leaves. It is a repetitive, physical task. It is productive. It gets my body moving, yet gives me time to think. I really should exercise more.

Look at these huge piles of leaves I have! I've made so much progress! I can't believe these were scattered all over just an hour ago! [I survey the rest of the front yard] But have I made any progress? Broken leaves are still spread all over the yard. Yes, I see my large pile, and, yes, I see the areas I have yet to rake- how blanketed the grass is under the tree, compared to the areas I have raked- but the areas I have spent the last hour and a half raking don't look pristine. Is my effort for naught?

[I began to relate this to the message I had heard earlier in the day, on disciplines.] Our work never is done, though, is it? When I continue to look out in the yard, and see even more leaves to rake, even in areas I've already worked on, I am discouraged. Really discouraged. Like, I don't see the point in finishing. When I read the Bible or pray or work on whatever spiritual discipline it is, I see how far I still have to go- I see my failings and sinfulness and wrong motives, even in areas I've already worked on, and I wonder if it is worth it, with no end in sight.

I'll never be perfect. And neither will the lawn be completely free of leaves. Rather than looking out at the leaves left to go, while raking I would look back at the pi;e periodically. Look how far I've come! That six-foot-diameter pile was just moments ago strewn throughout the yard. I'm making progress! I don't have every little bit cleaned up, but I'm moving in the right direction. In the same way, when I look, rather at all my failings, but at the distance God has brought me and others in my life, I can be encouraged. There may still be dark places in my heart, but there is certainly a LOT more light. I won't obtain perfection- in my yard or my heart- but continuing to press on is the goal. I am, and always will be, unfinished, until heaven. And my yard? It will be unfinished, too.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
- Philippians 3:12-14

Now, anyone have any idea what to do with the piles of leaves?

Sunday Ponderings: On Spiritual Disciplines

Ashley has started a carnival of sorts to make us think about our Sunday sermons a little more- and hear what others are learning called Sunday Ponderings. I was busy with new-house things and missed church last week, so was delighted to get back this week. This week's service was the last in a series titled Rhythm: Riffs on Sustainable Living. The suburban culture around here (maybe everywhere? I don't know.) encourages habits, practices and attitudes that result in an unsustainable life- rushed, stressed, and separated from God and others.

The topic this week was the second part of a series on spiritual disciplines. The disciplines were broken into 4 categories:

• The Disciplines of Space - Solitude, Silence, Sabbath
• The Disciplines of Engagement: Prayer, Bible Reading, Worship, Communion
• The Disciplines of Limitation: Fasting, Abstinence, Simplicity
• The Disciplines of Awareness: Journaling, Examen, Confession

The disciplines of space and engagement, we discussed previously when Lauren Winner, author of Mudhouse Sabbath, was speaking at the church. Today, we discussed disciplines of limitation and awareness.

There isn't much talk about fasting these days. I participated in a fast- the 30-Hour Famine- sometime in early high school, but haven't given the practice very much thought since then. I do remember, however, that the experience was meaningful- the practice of depriving myself of one thing, food, in that case, for a time, for a purpose, and diverting my energy instead to prayer- did make me more focused, and I was able, in my broken state, to be more sensitive to God's will. When looking at examples of those who fasted in the scripture, a couple things were clear. First, fasting was always for a clear purpose- whether it was seeking God's direction, imploring Him for supplication, or mourning a loss- there was always a reason for the fasting, it wasn't something done on a regular basis Also, fasting was always coupled with prayer. Fasting is limitation for a specific purpose, Abstinence is limitation for a season (like Lent, for example), and Simplicity is limitation as a lifestyle. We didn't talk much about simplicity in the service, but it's something I'm very interested in, and want to pursue more.

The Awareness disciplines ask the question, What's truly going on in me, and what is God doing around me? Slowing down to see myself as I really am being- not how I am trying to be, or how I am supposed to be, or how I want others to think I am- is the purpose of Awareness. Journaling and the discipline of examen force me to sit and think about what happened in the day past and examine my intentions for the future. Am I who I want to be? Have I sinned against God or my neighbor? These disciplines ultimately lead to the discipline of Confession.

Am I good at keeping up these disciplines? Do I have it all together? Not at all. I need this structure in my life. I am glad God can meet us in the midst of all of these practices. I am glad they are so varied, so at different seasons in my life, I can express myself to God and meet Him in different ways. In high school & junior high, I journaled every day in a diary of sorts. Now, I journal here, in a different way, and am pursuing the discipline of simplicity. I've always met God through bible reading and prayer, but over the years, the discipline in my life changes what it looks like, depending on my season. I've talked about community as a discipline. I hope to try the other disciplines someday as well.

I am glad God is a creative God, able to communicate and meet His children in a variety of ways- because we are all so different!

Celebatory weekend!

Unpacking continues.

It is very unfortunate, however, that I have not found my camera-battery charger yet. I'm certain it's in a box of wires or office stuff, but we've just not gotten to the box yet to unpack it. This means that all the pictures I wanted to take today didn't happen, and the pictures I have taken are trapped on my camera, until I can get the camera batteries charged.

This is all very disappointing, because we were part of a wedding rehearsal yesterday, and a wedding today, and I wold LOVE to share the experience with the world (or , at the very least, the new happy couple.) I suppose this is motivation to continue putting away the stuff in boxes.

Highlights:

• A very personable, almost comical pastor. He reminded me very much of a college professor I had.
• Eating too much at Buca di Beppo for the rehearsal dinner.
• Meeting and re-connecting with friends from Josh's high-school years. Delightful people.
• Having the best man from our wedding over to our new house, with his girlfriend.
• Having Kristen over to our new house.
• Mike and Kim getting married! Hooray! So happy!
• Dancing and celebrating with a fun group.
• Kids running ellipticals around the dance floor- during the couple's first dance.
  
• A friend's 3-year-old falling asleep in my lap during the reception.

Tomorrow's goals include unpacking, baking a pumpkin pie, and raking leaves- good traditional Thanksgiving-week activities.

** UPDATE ** Not my pictures, these are from the photographer...


Again, YAY for Mike & Kim!

Checkmate!

Matt could very possibly be Hillary Clinton. You never know.

As for me, I gave the morphing-face-recognition widget a whirl... and who could I be mistaken for?


Judit Polgar.

Beware: Big Words Ahead

I guess it's the big words and complex sentences that make my blog harder to read. Hope this isn't hindering anyone- but I'm sticking with my complex grammar.

Go to the analyzer and try some of your favorite sites!

- NPR has a College(Undergrad) ranking. ESPN: Junior High.
- Google is Genius.
- TIME Magazine has a High School reading level. People Magazine: Elementary School.

Any other interesting finds?

More on Walmart

I started to respond to the comments on the previous post- lots of good thoughts- and my response got long, so (because I'm the blog author!) I can pull it out here. Hooray!

Matt M said:

... Walmart definitely does more damage than good to an easily tempted frugal person, in offering the convenience of everything in the world you could want, in addition to the one or two things you actually need. I've had to train myself to not "shop" while I'm there. I tell myself to just buy things on the list and leave. And to be kind to the elderly greeter on the way in & out.

The "StuffMart" aspect of Walmart reminds me of this. This was one of the primary observations I had on my visit earlier this week. STUFF. Everywhere.

Heather said:

Politics aside, it's hard not to shop there when they have a monopoly on small town America. They no they have no competition and that over half their clientele can't afford to leave town to search out other options (due to gas prices, etc.). I would love to see a Target, but Matt says they will never come because we are not the market they are looking for.

I know, Heather, that in smaller towns, there isn't another option to get certain things- Walmart, with their low wages and low-cost supply chain, can undercut local businesses and run other stores out of town. This is one of the issues people have with the company. What blows me away is that, Walmart is such a huge employer, and their own employees probably can barely afford to shop there. I'm all for a living wage. But that's for another post.

Ashley said:

I've found that I tend to buy more at Walmart BECAUSE it is cheap. "Oh look it's only $3!" ...

Brett said:

... Anyway, I'm torn on Walmart and the other big-box stores. I'd love to frequent smaller, local shops but it's hard to justify paying the higher prices (and we have comparison shopped). A few years ago the local-ish Marsh grocery stores were hurting financially and were looking for someone to purchase the chain. I remember one of the Marsh higher-ups saying something like "If people want Marsh to stay in town, people need to start shopping here." That's all well and good and I appreciate that Marsh is part of the community but if they want me to shop there, they need to lower their prices. We've actually researched it and, if we regularly shop at Marsh, our grocery bill will jump $20 a week...easily. And I can't justify that. I can find a lot of other things to do with $20 a week.

As for shopping there just because they're less expensive, this is something Josh and I have consciously decided against. For groceries, we can go to other places that can have low prices for other reasons than unfair labor practices here & abroad- we try to stick to Costco (which has lower prices because of economies of scale & bulk buying, and is widely known to treat & pay their employees very well) or Aldi (which has low price because of small stores, no-frills service or displays, and no name brands). If there are groceries we need beyond those places, we watch sales & coupons and usually end up at Kroger or Marsh.

For things other than groceries, we shop around. Between Target & Lowes & Big Lots, we can typically find what we're looking for. This does mean we're going out of our way to avoid Walmart, but I'm OK with that. I've heard it said we vote with our pocketbooks. I don't want to vote for the Waltons.

An eye-opening book about not only Walmart, but other low-wage employers, that brings up issues of minimum wage, living wage, and the day-to-day life of trying to make it for a person working at one of these jobs, is Nickel and Dimed: On Not Getting By in America. Similarly, a show that also opened my eyes to practical struggles of the "working poor" is the first episode of "30 Days", where Morgan Spurlock, the creator of SuperSize Me & his girlfriend worked minimum-wage jobs for a month & saw the difficulty of "getting by".

I don't want to become blind to a whole segment of society, one that God says over and over again that he cares about in a special way. I don't want to support outlets that are exploiting this group. I can't always know what companies do, but I can act on what I know.

Geeky comic day

I couldn't help it.

For more geeky comics that I'm really appreciating this week, featuring a super-hacker heroine, check out xkcd: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5 (won't be published till tomorrow)

There are some days I'd like to be the cookie-baking hacker mom, chasing neighborhood scamps off the wireless while typing with oven mitts. Maybe someday.

On Walmart

I don't shop at Walmart, if I can help it. On principle. But, I found myself there last night. We were looking for yard tools, which have apparently been replaced in the nursery section by Christmas stuff. You'd think you'd be able to find a rake in the middle of leaf-raking season, but, no. Alas.

I hadn't been in the store for so long, that the blatant commercialism and marketing hit me like a brick wall. On top of that, this time I realized WHY everything in the store could be priced so low- because of the unfair labor practices both in stores in this country and in factories elsewhere. Even with all this in mind, having not been in a Walmart in so many months, I forgot how much stuff was out there. How many useful gadgets! How many pretty decor items! How many TOYS! From house paint to osteoarthritis relief drugs to crock pots to remote-controlled General Lees. Stuff. Everywhere. And I found myself wanting it! Thinking of how useful it would be! And for only $2.88!

Sigh. I was ashamed, when I caught myself. And, I'm even more ashamed... I have these nice flower pots hanging on my wall, and I wanted some flowers to put in them, and a sign caught my eye- fifteen cents for a bunch of silk fall flowers... I caved. I spent $1.05 on silk flowers on sale at Walmart. And I like the way they look. Pictures to come.

And, I now resume my Walmart boycott. This experience will keep me out of there for a while.

Long weekend.

You know I'm tired when my grammar starts slipping.

me: you're back.
has the repair guy showed up yet?
Sent at 11:52 AM on Tuesday
me: I can't believe I said 'showed'.
I am really sleepy. It's been a long few days. Wow.
Sent at 12:00 PM on Tuesday

At least I used the right version of 'your'. It took me a whole 8 minutes to see the mistake. My spelling ability may be next to go. Stay tuned.

It's been a long few days.

Neighbor-love in action

Moving into a house with no close neighbors, I didn't really expect to meet anyone for a while. Because we don't have kids, I wasn't so concerned with seeking out "neighbor kids" as playmates or friends at school, so the other houses on the street, all a good distance away, weren't of a primary concern. We were told by the former owners of the house the neighbors behind us were friendly, and I was sure I'd meet them by Spring, when I'd start getting outdoors more.

Saturday, after everything was moved in the house, one of Josh's brothers showed up with two of his sons. As we were showing them around the yard and standing outside talking, our neighbor walked up with her 9-year-old son. She greeted us, and stood and talked for a long while, and her son invited our oldest nephew to play in his tree house. I was so thankful for loving neighbors that made a point to come by and make not only us, but our extended family, feel welcome.

Sunday, while I was in the house with my mom & mother-in-law organizing & Josh & his dad were out at Lowes, the doorbell rang. A family of five stood on my doorstep, from three houses away- they were also here to welcome us to the street. They brought us a casserole, even, to make dinner that night a breeze, in the midst of a busy,hectic time. Coincidentally, they brought a recipe that I recognized- a pizza casserole I blogged about not-so-long-ago.

Even though we're not in a proper subdivision, the neighbors love each other well here, or so it seems. They have all offered help in getting settled, and seem to genuinely care. I'm excited to get to know them more, and glad they had the courage to come knock on our door!

Still posting...

It's NaBloPoMo. I'm keeping up (Sort of. We'll pretend. For now.) I don't have internet at the house, and may not till the end of the week. What should all my faithful readers do in the meantime? Look forward to the profound posts surely to come when Joanna can sit down and write them, when she has an internet connection. In the meantime, you can find fascinating things on the internet about
Raleigh accident lawyers. Yeah, I know. Shameless link.

Another house photo, to appease the masses (Ha! Masses!):

This is a detail shot of the back door curtains. Can't get any cuter. They're staying, for sure.

We're moved!

Our apartment is empty and our house is full! Of boxes, anyway. The kitchen is unpacked, the bedroom is mostly unpacked, and the living room is set up & cozy- just with no pictures hung. Hooray! Did I mention I'm tired?

I felt so loved today. I'm so thankful for the family God surrounds us with- both by blood and in His Church. We had 3 brothers, 2 nephews, 2 parents, and 3 friends from our small group help carry boxes and furniture out of our third-floor apartment and carry it in trucks to our house, and unload it- all before lunchtime! Everyone was so willing to help and excited, even- I am so thankful. God is good, and so is His family.

And the weather was perfect. The day was beautiful. My husband is amazing- not only did he load the furniture with the rest of the guys, after he exhausted himself moving us in, he proceeded to spend his time this afternoon mowing the entire 1-acre lawn with a push-mower. I don't know how he did it. Did I mention he's amazing?

And, because I know you all care... here's ONE picture of the house, before stuff was moved in (probably Tuesday)

This is the kitchen in relation to the front door. I'm standing in the middle of the living room. In the far right, beyond the front door, is the hall to the bedrooms.

I'll have some more before-and-after pictures later.

Every Vote Counts

In Winchester, IN, that is.

On Election Night, Monroe, 50, was sitting upstairs in his home when his wife Kathie came to report the results of the Winchester City Council race. This is his recollection of their conversation.

Kathie: "Bill, you lost."

Bill: "Well, how much did I lose by?"

Kathie: "One."

Bill: "Get out of here."

Kathie: "And I didn't vote."

It's a good thing he has a sense of humor.

Check out the story. Hilarious.

Moving has begun!

We have a kitchen table, a coffee table, and about half the kitchen stuff at the new house, along with games, toys, DVDs, shoes, decor, and other miscellaneous stuff. It, for the most part, has remained in boxes, because the furniture to out it away on or in hasn't arrived yet- tomorrow morning's project!

Is it bad I'm exhausted already? The late nights, coupled with not feeling well all week has zapped the energy right out of me. And it will be a long weekend. I'm so thankful for all the family and friends who have surrounded us to help move- at last count, I think we're got FIVE pick-up trucks (or, four plus a trailer, to be accurate. The equivalent of more than 5 beds, anyway.) showing up bright an early tomorrow morning! Everyone has been so generous. The goal tonight: packing things into labelled boxes so nothing gets lost tomorrow, and everything goes as smoothly as possible. My friend Ashley shared more moving tips on her blog.

A Thinking Faith

An email from a friend lately said:

I've been doing a lot of thinking about what's really important to me and how my perspective on so many issues has changed so much over the past two years and has drastically changed since I graduated from high school.

A discussion ensued between us, and I agreed that I was in the same position. I look back to what I was involved in and what I believed then, and so much has changed. Later, she said

"It is SO NICE to know that someone is going through the same stuff I am... I think we have changed how we think partially because of who we are: thinking, intelligent individuals. I think it is also because of Taylor. We were taught that all truth is God's truth so we shouldn't be afraid to look into controversial issues. The problem is, I feel like a lot of Christians don't really think about why they believe what they believe. "

"All truth is God's truth so we shouldn't be afraid to look into controversial issues" I love that.

I wholeheartedly agree with her on the point of having a "thinking faith". I want- and need- to know why I believe what I claim to (whether the answer is logical or scientific or scriptural or experiential... answers can be informed by any or all of these types of information). I feel like I am being intellectually dishonest with myself otherwise. I also don't want to be afraid of saying "I Don't Know." I don't want to claim support one side or the other of an issue when I am not convinced I know the right answer, or that the side I am supporting is right. I don't want to make arbitrary stances.

Living in the Not-Knowing is hard. The Modern mindset wants black-and-white lines drawn, easy explanations given, and simple, 4-point summaries of how the world and faith works. I want intellectually honest answers and humble discussions, where participants will admit that all is not certain, answers aren't easy, and God and the world are complex.

Is this OK?

Will anyone join me?

My first adventure in homeowning

Not much of an adventure, really, at all- just a wake-up call to my new, 1200-square-foot responsibility. I spent the first couple hours this morning at the new house, waiting for the gas company to come by and deliver a new propane tank, while installing shelf liners in the kitchen. I started the shelf liner project last night. When the shelf liners were in place, I unpacked three boxes of kitchen stuff, then started walking around the yard picking up branches that have fallen from trees.

All the mundaneness of home ownership. So far, I'm not minding it, though it probably has a lot to do with the novelty of it all. We shall see- next Monday the phone company's coming sometime between 8am and noon. I'm surely looking forward to that one...

In more adventurous news, our friends (the sellers of the house) had a few outdoor cats. They couldn't find one when they were moving, so they were going to try to come back sometime later this week to catch it. Well, while I was at the house this morning, the cat appeared from the bushes! It was very friendly, and I kept petting it while trying to figure out how to both keep it around and call my friends. I decided to get it in the laundry room and shut it in there until they could get it. Great idea right? Well, this is an outdoor cat. It was moderately happy while I was in the room petting it, but then I wanted to call Josh to get our friends' new number, to tell them I had the cat. I stepped out of the room, and it started meowing loudly. Then, the gas company man showed up at our back (laundry room) door rather than the front door, withe the doorbell. As he knocked, the cat jumped and attacked the door. I thought that was odd. I hadn't seen housecats do that before... I tried to open the door just a crack to get outside to talk to the gas company man. He looked afraid of the cat- especially when, as I opened the door- the cat leapt at me, then bolted out the door and across the yard.

Silly cats. This is why I'm a dog person.

Photo from a year ago of the cat in question:

Adventures in Voting

Today, for the first time in my life, I went to a polling place to vote.

For someone so interested in politics, I'm ashamed to say I've been eligible to vote in elections for 5 years, and have only done so twice. For the last presidential election, I cast an absentee ballot from college, and then today. Why did I vote in an election in an off-year, you may wonder? Because Carmel's mayor of many years was up for election, and I'm ready to see him gone. I've made no secret of this. I think he is wasting Carmel's money, putting the city in deep debt, and all for the goal of making the city a 'prestigious' place to live. High-end decor and art shops have been opened in a totally-rebuilt downtown. A performing arts center will have limestone for the building facade because the original stucco plans weren't fancy enough. And, there's the whole ethics questions of the mayor & other council members getting upwards of 80% of their campaign contributions from the businesses and developers they're giving city-development business to.

All the while, the needs of lower-income residents are being ignored. The mayor and council fought for years to annex a section of the township that, on average, is probably the lowest-income area, and who didn't want to be annexed, so they wouldn't have to pay the city taxes (among other good reasons). Just recently, the residents finally lost their appeal. A huge, upscale living and shopping center was approved by the mayor and city council over the land that now contains some of the most affordable apartments in the whole city. Since the mayor's been in office, the public pool has closed, and the new $55 million Monon Center might as well be a fitness club, with yearly membership starting at $380 for 1 person. An entrance to just the "water park" (not the whole facility) is $8. Most city pools are $2-$4, for an affordable family summer outing.

And, you see I didn't even mention the silly roundabouts.

Maybe 'Carmel' just isn't my thing. Maybe I don't understand the development and expenditure decisions because I'm not into 'prestige' and 'upscale'- I prefer 'homey' and 'social justice'. I cast a vote against the current leaders, for whatever it is worth. I don't know if enough people feel the way I do for any change to come about, and even if they did, there were two "not-Brainard" candidates, and I'm not sure either made a clear distinction so that the 'not-Brainard' vote will go to one or the other.

The voting machine was an electronic one, and, with all the controversy regarding electronic voting, I was interested to check it out. It wasn't the prominent Diebold, but instead a Microvote Infinity. It as easy to use, though the screen didn't have a lot of contrast, so I could see those with poor vision complaining. A nice lady poll worker did explain how to vote with the machine, to take away all confusion.

And, I was so bummed that I didn't get an "I VOTED" sticker.

Meet & Greet Monday: Kevin!

My nephew Kevin turned FIVE last Thursday. What a big kid! His birthday party was yesterday, but in the midst of 4-foot stacks of boxes, I haven't transferred the pictures off the camera yet. Instead, here's a fun slideshow full of Kevin-ness! I post this to be fair- I did one for his brother a month ago.



Meet more friends and family of other bloggers over at my friend Beth's blog!

What is family?

My sister's getting married next summer.

As part of having one of our pastors officiate, she and her fiance took a pre-marriage class on Sundays most of this semester. The last week was a panel discussion with more experienced couples fielding questions. One question was about blended families- one of them already had two kids. Should they consider these "their children", or will their always be a rift? Should they have biological children with each other to form a better bond, and complete their 'family'?

One side of the argument is the idea of them having kids together in addition to the two stepchildren that would already be living with them, from a previous marriage- seeing procreating as an important part of the marriage relationship. The other is thinking that the definition of 'family' transcends genetics and blood-relations- seeing parenting- building into the next generation together- as the important part, passing on values rather than DNA. This issue got me thinking about what 'family' is.

To me, 'family' has more to do with the love and care of each other than whom gave birth to whom. Adopted children (or stepchildren) are as much 'children' in a family as biological ones. I occasionally stop by Owlhaven, a blog kept by a mother of 10 kids- 6 of them adopted from far corners of the world. Hers is a beautiful, colorful family.

There are certainly biological parents who have done very little 'parenting'. A family is all about creating a place of security and fidelity, of forgiveness and investment (those were the points of the sermon about family today, by the way). I have wonderful parents, but have had other 'parents'- adults in my life growing up who also created a loving haven for me. There are single people I know who have many, many 'children'- kids they have invested and built into, and created a safe environment for. I respect them very highly, because they really understand what Family- and the Church Family- is all about: taking care of each other & loving each other to Jesus.

Philosophy behind Decor

I've been thinking a lot lately about the new house. Obviously. Specifically, a week from today, I'm going to need to know where (approximately) the pieces of furniture will go in the house. This has gotten me thinking about the function of rooms in the house, and the philosophy behind decorating.

Does that sound too deep for a topic that is highlighted in women's magazines and entire television networks? What I'm talking about is, what do I want this room to do? How can I make the room communicate that? How can I add features or arrange the room in such a way that it accomplishes its purpose?

Here's an example: What is my philosophy of entertaining? I want the room I entertain in to be focused on the guests, and for the guests to be comfortable in the space. Practically, this means I won't have a TV in the living room- so the focus is on people, not a screen. I will want an uncluttered area, so guests don't have to step over things or push clutter aside to sit down. I don't want formal, uncomfortable furniture, so guests cannot relax, and children cannot play.

The "game room" I plan will hold our TV, movies, and games. I'll put a coffee table in there that is big enough to accommodate even our largest game boards (which, are pretty large.) The room needs to be very casual, because this is where we'll "play" and relax. The office will have a desk & small filing cabinet, but beyond that, I don't know what to do. It is where we "work"- pay bills, read news, read & send emails. The kitchen will be as functional and practical as possible, and I want to have a plan to set it up so it can be made to host dinners of 10+ people, but under "normal" circumstances, only two of us eat there, so the leaves of the table & the extra chairs need to store elsewhere.

What do you do to arrange your house in such a way as to help each room best achieve its purpose, and your philosophy behind that room? (or, am I thinking about this way too much?!)

Workspace.

We're getting news desks/cubicles over the weekend. Wired's slideshow makes me uneasy about this prospect. Certainly we'll end up with something better than these!

The Home-buying adventure: Closed?

A week ago, we closed on our first home.

It was an adventure, to be sure. The real estate process was eye-opening. I expected everything to go smoothly. I expected that this would be all "business as usual"- that we would be ushered through the process of getting a mortgage and all the steps preceding and following that, until closing. I suppose that we circumvented the system a little bit by not having a realtor and buying the house from friends. If we weren't friends with the sellers (and, by the way, we still are! we're helping them move this weekend!) I think the process would have been even more painful and confusing. As it was, it wasn't so bad, I'm just glad its done. Here's what happened:

• We decided on a price with our friends. Rather, they gave us a price based on their Comparative Market Analyses from realtors, to avoid messy negotiations and keep our friendship. The price they came up with was less than what Josh & I had decided we'd pay for their house, and within our budget, so we agreed. Everyone was happy.
• We made a purchase agreement. A realtor helped us with this, and handed us papers to sign. This went smoothly, and, because we were friends, we were able to leave things like the closing or possession date vague, until they found a house.
• We got a mortgage. We went with a mortgage guy recommended to us by the realtor that showed us homes. The mortgage guy told us about a special state program for first home buyers, and we were delighted to get such a low interest rate (because, in the long run, that's what matters.) But! There were things that needed to happen before the mortgage application could be submitted!
• We had an inspection on the house. This is very standard. Our insurance company required it because the house is 100+ years old. The inspector made the comment at the end "I didn't find anything I wouldn't expect in a hundred-year-old house, and I didn't find as much as I'd expect in a hundred-year-old house." I took this as good news.
• We had an appraisal. The inspection happened Sept. 4th. The mortgage guy was responsible for setting up & communicating with the appraiser, and we heard from our friends that the appraiser came Sept 14th. On the 19th, we still hadn't heard a peep from the appraiser or mortgage guy, and I was pretty sure we signed something saying we were supposed to get a copy of the appraisal. After bugging the mortgage guy, a day or so later, we get word that the appraiser wasn't completing the appraisal because he the asking price is higher than what he thinks it should appraise for. I appreciated his honesty, though I was disappointed about the snag. We had to talk to our mortgage guy and our friends and find another price that it would appraise for, so our mortgage would get approved. Luckily, it wasn't so different.
• We got insurance. This was the least-eventful part of the whole process, and the insurance lady was the most helpful person we worked with. She said at the end of our meeting "So, everything's set for closing now!" She knew more than we did- we hadn't even heard that the appraisal had been completed, nevertheless that the mortgage had been sent off, approved, & returned. We ended up getting a copy of the appraisal from her rather than the mortgage guy, because he didn't send us one (or even tell us it was completed.)
• Apparently, without our knowing, the mortgage application was sent off and approved by both the loaning bank and by the state program.
• A week ago Wednesday, we closed at the title company. We had to hear about the time/place of closing from our friends, since the mortgage guy hadn't told us. The closing process involved signing a lot of papers, all of which seemed to be almost identical to the ones we signed when applying for the mortgage.
• Did I mention the mortgage guy hadn't been very communicative? The closing meeting ended with the title company attorney saying "So, now all need from you is X and Y." Josh and I looked at each other, mouths agape. "We weren't told to bring X and Y, we were told to bring ourselves and a down payment/closing costs certified check, and that you would provide the pens. That was it" Confusion ensued. We went out to lunch with our friends, back to our apartment to get X and Y, then back to the title company to deliver the papers. We breathed a sigh of relief. It was done. We had a house. Or did we?
• This Tuesday, we got an email from a lady at the mortgage company. There were three papers that weren't signed at closing, and we needed to scan or fax them promptly. At this point, the surprises just became funny. My favorite part was the way she ended her email:

Your promptness in this matter is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

:)

This is not an occasion for an emoticon. But I laughed at the formality of the phrases and then the casual smiley face. And signed the papers. And scanned them and emailed them, because their fax machine wasn't working. Finally, done! (and, when she responded to our email, she did the same thing- formal phrasing and silly clip-art. I laughed again.)

The conclusion of the matter: We start moving in next week!

NaBloPoMo

What was I thinking?

A while back, I joined a group to be a part of National Blog Posting Month. It's a spin-off of National Novel Writing month (NaNoWriMo), for those bloggers who aren't ambitious enough to write an entire novel. Yeah, that'd be me. The rules? They're simple. "Post every day for the month of November. That's all you have to do."

Blogging every day wouldn't be such a big deal, really, except for the catch: I'm moving next week. My computer at home won't be set up, and we won't have internet access at home for a couple weeks. I've got a laptop. I'll make it work.

So, I might not succeed on this one. We'll see how it goes.

Visit NaBloPoMo

I NEED YOUR HELP!
I've got lots of creative readers out there, right? Thinking people full of issues they want to discuss? What do you want to see on here? A theme? A series? Random-posts-as-usual? I'm open to ideas, while working on brainstorming my own.