All Quiet on the Western Front

All is calm and cozy here at the M home. It is only Rufus and I. My friend came over, and we all walked to Starbucks. Rufus is sleeping off the exercise while I write. I will take advantage of this aloneness to spend time with God, praying for those I care about, especially those who are in spiritual deep waters. I will also spend time reading, and, as I am currently doing, writing. I have gained a new appreciation of the continuity of the Bible. I am especially awestruck by the book of Hebrews. This amazing New Testament book is just so clear about how Jesus in the New Testament fulfills all the symbolism of all the ceremonial rituals in the Old Testament. The book is very chronological and orderly. I would even say it is the ancient equivalent of Cliff's Notes on the Old Testament. Hebrews is a fascinating read, showcasing the cohesiveness of the Old and New Testaments, thereby showing that God had one plan to redeem humanity from before time, and He shared His plan for the future with O.T. patriarchs like Abraham through events that graphically foreshadowed the things yet to come. I believe a reading of Hebrews will also be on tonight's agenda.

BUT FIRST, A STORY

I went happily to church Sunday. I was so glad for this special day set aside to worship God with other Christians. I looked forward, as always, to fun conversations after the service. I got up extra early, while it was still dark out. I drove through a coffee place, and got to church early. I sat in the back and happily watched the parade of people come in. Right on time, we all stood to sing, and then sat to pray and to hear a sermon. I lingered for a while in the sanctuary after the service, just talking to people. I met a man who had never been to our church. We talked for a few minutes and then he looked down to cough, and suddenly excused himself. He left right in the middle of a story! I then found a group of friends outside. We chatted a while, when one of the group suddenly fell to the ground in a faint. Her friends rushed her to the car, where she immediately recovered, and they drove off. As I was walking towards another group of friends, I noticed that one was limping on her right leg. Apparently, she had recently fallen, and wanted to go straight home to tend to her wounds. As she hobbled off, I noticed the darnedest thing-she was now limping on her left leg! I still wanted to find someone to go to lunch with. I found a dear friend. After we talked and laughed together for a few minutes, several of her friends informed her that she appeared to be bleeding slightly, and they all walked her home in a hurry. I gave up on my quest to find a lunch partner, so I went home. Once home, I glanced at my shoes, and noticed one was blue, and the other white! It all came together then. My friends had been avoiding me and my mismatched shoes all morning. There had been no sudden injuries or bleeding sores . . . it was all just attempts to avoid an awkward situation.

Church Unity, Demonstrated by Señor Cho

I have a reader who goes by the name of Señor Cho, and esta señor occasionally leaves a comment. Based solely on the back-and-forth banter between Mr. Cho and myself, a very special reader of mine believed us to have been childhood friends. This special reader was no less than completely flabbergasted to learn that I have never, to my knowledge, so much as seen Mr. Cho.

This goes to show the power and unity within Christ's church. I share the same Biblical standards of kindness in speech with all of God's children, and that is the reason this stranger, this Korean guy, is not strange to me. Contrariwise, we share a unique bond that exists amongst all Christians.

Identity

Am I dependent on others for my identity? Yes, I am, and I don't see why that is often considered a bad thing. I am dependent, first and foremost, on God for my identity as a Christian and a woman. My family also gives me a sense of identity. Could I be a daughter without my parents, a sister without my sister, or an aunt without my niece? I love being the wife of Mr. M. Everyone knows that Mr. M and I are a package deal, two halves of a whole. Who, where, what would I be without Mr. M? I wouldn't want to find out.

To sum it all, I am a woman because that is how God made me, and I am a Cristian because I love Christ. (For the theologians out there, I know that the real reason I am a Christian is because God loved me long before I was born, and He sent His son to die on the cross for my sins.) I am a daughter because my parents loved each other and decided to have a baby. I am a sister because I have a sister. I am an aunt because my sister has a daughter. Finally, I am a wife because Mr. M and I love each other and made sacred vows to each other.

Potential New Hobby

Snowshoeing. I don't know anything about it other than it is walking on snow, but I think it might be a fun new hobby to add to my list of hobbies I had every intention of getting immersed in, and did for a while, and then just gave it up entirely. Plus, I'd get to buy some new toys to add to my ever-growing storehouse of stuff I used to be really into. I guess I'm feeling a void after passing my inflatable kayak-with all the accoutrements-on to a friend. (I still have two plastic kayaks and all their accoutrements in the shed.) (Plus my recumbent trike.) My thinking is that someday I will once again drum up the motivation to inflate the tires on my trike, or don my cherry red life vest for a casual paddle around the marina. Oh, when will someday come?

Marketing the World and Growing the Church.

Advertisers and marketers get it, so why don't we in the church seem to be getting it? Advertisers know that if you get a 4-year-old excited about some new toy, that kid will whine until their parents buy the toy, and sales will go up. Easy. The kids of today are the adults of tomorrow, and kids wield a lot of power. The Church, however, seems to forget that. Most church growth strategists think that it is important to get new adults into the church so that numbers go up. I think that we need to focus on the kids. We need to invest in programs like AWANA so that kids will want to be at church. We need to support Sunday School programs, and we need to love the kids in our churches and let them know wer'e glad they're there. Maybe I'll start by calling that junior high girl I met on the way into church Sunday. Where can you start?

Books Again

Whew! I began my Amazon-browsing by looking at the book The Right to Write. That reminded me that I have never been interested in getting any tips or advice on writing. I am afraid any tips would do the polar opposite of what they are meant to do; I am afraid they would only make my writing worse. I am by no means a professional writer, but I do enjoy it, and I don't think you can be told how to be better at doing something you enjoy doing. I think my writing would lose some of its integrity if someone were to give me tips for improvement. Well, that was the easy part. From books on writing, I browsed books on Christian living for women. Man, is that a hot topic, and debated to the max! I read reviews on one book, decided not to buy it based on negative reviews, and then decided to buy it based on those same negative reviews, just to see what all the Hullabaloo (incidentally the name of a great blog written by a great writer and friend) is about. So I will have no shortage of summer reading material. (Whether that material is good or not is yet to be seen, but it's sure to be thought-provoking either way.)

A Thoughtful Day

While on vacation, I was looking out of the window of a beautiful hilltop restaurant on a sunny and clear day, Jack Johnson playing in the background, and I thought of my friend who died some time ago. She was my age. She knew she was dying, and I remembered that she had said to me, "I just wish I had more time with my husband." My friend made the most of the time she did have, taking trips with her husband and spending time with her family whenever she could. Her words remind me to cherish the time I have with Mr. M, and all the good days that God gives me. I have complete confidence that I will see my friend again, and she won't have cancer then, and I won't have ataxia. Our time won't be limited. I believe this because Jesus rose from the dead. That means that I, and my friend, will rise from the dead, too, and will spend eternity in a perfect and glorious world. Until that day, I will thank God for this one, and every one He gives me. Carpe diem.

Family Fun Night, With Photos to Follow (on Flickr.)

Mr. M and I are on a family vacation with his dad and sister and her kids. We were all lounging on the oceanfront balcony a few nights ago, when our niece began playing her ukulele for us. Within only a few minutes of an entirely amusing event, namely, Grandpa walking full force into a screen he forgot was there, she wrote a very amusing and catchy song about it, accompanied by Mr. M on the bongos. She also performed for us a song she'd already written about the Wal Mart parking lot. It was the king of nights, replete with laughing and singing, lounging and strumming. We love these fun nights filled with family and homemade entertainment.

True or False, April Fool or April Average Intelligence, you decide

I've completely forgotten how to write and publish a post.

I only just realized it is now April.

April Fool's day has its roots in Topeka, Kansas.

My niece gave a ukulele concert last night.