For The Guys.

"Let her works bring her praise at the city gates." Proverbs 31:31

It has occurred to me lately that there are a type of men that exist, men who don't want to see their wives succeed in ventures outside the home. I am so grateful for my Mr. M. and his encouraging words to me as I expand my literary horizons, and try out new things, and make new friends. In short, as I become involved in the community and "known at the city gates." Women have a lot to offer this world, gifts and talents unique to the female species, and those gifts and talents ought not to be stifled or squelched.

Beginning-of-Weekend Thoughts, Home School and Jury Duty

Recently, several people have asked me just how my days are spent. Today was a slow day, as I was allowing Rufus plenty of time to recover from the emotional distress of a visit to the veterinarian. After the appointment, I spent much of the day home schooling myself, that is, reading, or to quote a dear friend of mine, "seriousing my mind." I have been reading an excellent biography of Anne Bradstreet, one that encompasses not only her life and writings, but also the religious and political unrest in England that led her to America to help establish a New England. The book is detailed in the account of Puritan thought and theology. As usual, one book led to another, so I am also reading a great book, A Quest For Godliness by J.I. Packer. That book also deals with every aspect of Puritan thought and theology. Following the tradition of one book leading to another, I just ordered a book called The Puritan Experiment. I think one thing that really piques my interest in the Puritans is that they are my spiritual forefathers. Struggling to break free from papal rule, they lived right in the midst of the Great Reformation, with which I have always closely identified myself. Thinking about this spiritual heritage is thrilling to me. I can see why Mormons are so taken by geneology. Fascinating stuff!
I also filled out my jury duty paperwork. Let me just say, I hate jury duty. I can't for the life of me understand why I, when I've never been arrested in connection with any crime, or even any suspicion of connection with a crime, I'm asked to rearrange my schedule and change my vacation plans to accomodate the schedule of a suspected criminal. That just chaffs my hide.
That being said, the coolness of evening approaches and the aroma of the hamburger joint down the street calls to me.

End-of-Weekend Thoughts.

Friday evening:
Mr. M. and I had an early dinner with some friends who had come down from the high desert. After the meal, they went to a graduation, and Mr. M. and I went to a college Bible study at one of California's most well-known universities.

Saturday (ridiculously early) morning:
My friend from the desert came to my house at 4:45 to pick me up so that we could go to someone else's house. When we got to the someone else's house, we had coffee and pastries, and I found out just how annoyingly (to me, hilariously) upbeat and outgoing I am at that hour. We gathered our group of 6 and drove downtown to participate in a 5k to help raise funds for breast cancer research. Our 5k turned into a 10 or 11k, since our group couldn't manage to ever be at the same place at the same time, but we did finally gather ourselves up and went to lunch.

Sunday morning:
Church. As we sang about the amazing truth of the Gospel, and the power of Jesus' death and resurrection, I couldn't help but think, "Is this real? Could this be true? Did God really kill His son so I could live? Yes, I believe with my whole heart that that is true. I will not for a second pretend that I have all the answers to questions of God and His dealings with man, but I can tell you that I believe that God created the world and all that is in it. Created man then sinned, and that sin changed the course of history, and the course of my life (and yours.) I believe God had mercy on His sinful creation, and He put His own son on the cross so that His redeemed people would love Him and live with Him forever."

Every Day:
I mourn the loss of affectionate arms that once greeted me in sweet embrace. I am thankful for the family and friends she left behind to mourn together and comfort each other. I look forward to the Heavenly reunion when we will all be gathered in a huge embrace under the protective, loving, and mighty arms of our Father.

New News, New Friends, Old Friends,New Old Friends.

A lot has been going on, a lot of new things and new ideas. The Mr. and I may go on college staff at our church. The Mr. and I also have plans to produce, direct, and host our very own travel show. To go along with that, we have quite a bit of travel planned. We are going to the east coast this month to celebrate my niece's high school graduation. We are also going to Florida this summer to help set up some technical things at a church out there. ¡Vive la chupacabra! Of course, there is the annual auto party in Monterrey.
I celebrated Mexican independence last night with some new friends. I got to see an old friend today, too, which is indespensible when trying to maintain long standing friendships while adding in new friends at the same time. Now I'm going to Starbucks, and I'll hope Creepy Flirty guy isn't there.

Our Angle.
I am currently reading a great biography of Anne Bradstreet, America's first poet. The book gives great historical and regional context. This will be my research for our travel show, One Thing Led to Another. I think that if the host of the show (me) is excited about the facts she knows about the places she visits, that will make for a more interesting show. Plus, I'll enjoy doing the research. What do you think? Would a travel show like that interest you?