Last Night at the Store

Mr.M and I went to the store after dinner. A friend of mine, who has come over to watch a movie and spend some time with Mr. M and I, ran excitedly over to us. Our friend is newly married, and we haven't seen her since she tied the knot. She and I were talking rapidly and giggling, as girls do, for some time, when she looked at Mr. M and asked, "Do you remember me?" "No, not at all," he replied. "I figured it would come to me sooner or later."

I am reading the first book in The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. I'm waiting for my Sherlock Holmes mysteries to arrive, and watching the TV adaptations of the stories in the meantime. I ordered two mystery books by M.C. Beaton last night, one in the Agatha Raisin series, and one from the Hamish Macbeth series. My literary consultant really thinks I will enjoy the Hamish Macbeth books. Hamish is a Scottish detective who wants to do a good job, but not so good of a job that he is asked to leave his cozy country home to work in the city. I like to imagine life when people knew their neighbors, and went to their friends' homes, and walked around town. I like to imagine living life slowly, taking time to enjoy others' personalities and quirks.

Twitchy

Nervous, restless, discombobulated-those all describe me when I'm not absorbed in some good book. I found myself in this unpleasant predicament recently, and contemplated at some length my literary needs. I immediately (after my long contemplation, rumination, and meditation) ran to my computer to order the first book in a popular mystery series set in Africa. These books were recommended to me by one who is well acquainted with my literary tastes. I also ordered three Sherlock Holmes books, and Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens. As it is ridiculously hot and dry now, I figured the books set in Africa will be perfect summer reading. It always seems to be gray and dreary out whenever Sherlock Holmes sets out on an adventure, so that I will save for the winter months. Any book by Charles Dickens transcends weather and is perfect for any season, so that I will leave TBD-to be determined.

Modern-day Crime

I saw in a movie a woman in a coffee shop, sipping her joe out of a paper cup. Why would you sit at a restaurant and drink out of a paper cup? It just defies all natural instinct and logic, if you ask me. What ever happened to the little indulgences in life? Hand-written letters, sharing a family land-line, lingering at a restaurant sipping coffee out of a mug?

It's impossible to eavesdrop on a cell phone call. All our modern privacies will make us social hippopotamuses if we let them!

The New and Improved Mr. M, or Some Other Man in my House

He looks like Mr. M., he walks like Mr. M., but this guy is exercising daily and making fruit smoothies. Yes, you read that right: fruit smoothies. Did I fall into a black hole, a cosmic vortex without knowing it? I'm living with the bizarro-Mr. M. It's Mr. M, completely modified. Even Rufus is dumbfounded by the change and has no words to describe it. I have intensely interrogated this man, and he claims to desire simply to be healthy. Well, GOOD FOR HIM!!! My motivation for exercising and watching my diet varies slightly . . . I want to beat Wendy when we arm-wrestle. See, that's my thing, arm-wrestling. There are few friends I haven't challenged to a match. I arm-wrestle in the library, I arm-wrestle at church, I arm-wrestle outside or inside. Where ever my arms go, I wrestle. Wendy beat me, and I have videographic proof for motivation. Give me 90 days, Wendy, and I'll see you at the arm-wrestlin' table.

Sharing Your Light

Matthew 5:15 says that no one puts a lamp under a bowl. "Instead, they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house." Most of us know that these verses are Jesus telling us to act right. I think these verses also have massive implications for how we relate to others in the church. Jesus tells us to share our light with everyone in the house. I take this to mean that we help others to shine. Maybe our church needs a guitarist to help with Sunday worship. We know our friend Herbert is an excellent guitarist who loves Jesus and is always willing to serve the Church. So, we call up Herbert and say, "Hey, we need a guitarist Sunday, and you are an excellent guitarist. Will you help us out?" Herbert is our "light", and by asking him to help with worship, we are putting him on the "stand" so that he can "give light to everyone in the house."

Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right.

The book I'm currently reading says that the greatest hurdle to the rise of Protestantism is in the area of Biblical interpretation. That got me thinking, I wonder what I would say if someone were to ask me what I thought was the greatest threat to the Church today? I would say the Church today is greatly threatened, hindered, and stunted by the fear of man. Too many Christians (and whole churches!) are afraid to stand up and let others know that we (most of us) believe that God regards both homosexuality and divorce to be sinful. Prevalent as both are, most churches believe that the Bible is clear about the sinfulness of both of those things, but many churches are afraid to stand up for that belief. Many Christians are afraid to stand up and say what they believe. I don't want to be one. I believe homosexuality is sinful and unnatural, and unacceptable to God. I also believe It is sinful for a couple who have pledged themselves to each other before God in a marriage covenant to get a divorce, barring only the few Biblical grounds for a divorce. "Here I stand, I can do no other." - Martin Luther

Floating Yoga

While vacationing in Chicago, Mr. M and I turned on the TV for just a minute to pass the time while we looked for a good and well-reviewed dessert shop. I started watching an infomercial, and Mr. M soon became interested. There were all these testimonials of people who had lost weight and gotten stronger. We watched and listened intently. And then we went out for our decadent dessert. Well, the next day, Mr. M told me he had ordered the workout DVDs. We began telling our friends, and were met with both laughs and looks of pity. We've gotten ourselves ready, and in doing so, we had to do some yoga. At this very moment, my husband is ordering a yoga mat for us. He will undoubtedly spare no expense to get the best. Mr. M and I differ greatly in this area. I like to pinch my pennies and make do with what I have. The best illustration of this is the improvised yoga mat I used for a community class I took through parks and rec. It was actually a pool toy, and bright green. Where the other students had little yoga mats rolled up in neat little cylinders, I walked in the room with the huge, stiff, bright green flotation devise held over my head the way you would hold a surf board. I think I got as much of an abdominal workout laughing at myself with my green raft as I got doing the yoga.

My Sleeping Muse

Rufus has lost his pep. He doesn't even have the energy to write a post, so I will write for him. Rufus is experiencing some discomfort in his legs. He is still my favorite and constant canine companion, but he's been rather apathetic of late. Hopefully, he thoroughly enjoyed the treat I gave him yesterday-the treat that caused a major pain in my thumb. You see, these treats are too big, and must be broken. But they are so hard that the only way to break them is to push against them with full force on the ground. Well, as I was breaking the treat, things got ugly. The details are too gory and grotesque to be repeated. Just know it was BAD. It involved my thumbnail, and it was BAD. Several hours after the treat incident, with my thumb still throbbing and in excruciating pain, I went to church. I understood much more fully the metaphor Paul uses of the church being like a body. "If one part suffers, the whole body suffers." Yes, the thumbnail injury caused an unidentifiable pain throughout my whole body. I am not a runner (not anymore), but even if I was, I don't think I could have run anywhere due to the throbbing thumb. So, unprofitable as this post may be, both Rufus and I have lost our pep for the time being.

Timeless Wisdom

In the 16th century, the great theologian John Calvin declared that the world is "a theater for the glory of God." Just a few years ago, that entertainer extraordinaire, Madonna sang, "All the world is a stage." Who could be more different than John Calvin and Madonna, and yet they both recognized that we all are but characters in the play of life. I believe that God wrote my lines before I was even born, and that He wrote in the other characters who surround me, and He knows the ending. Madonna and John Calvin thinking the same thing (almost.) Who knew??

Chicago

Mr. M. and I had a great time in Chicago. I was very thankful for the time to explore this fabulous city with my best friend. I am thankful for a lot of things, but mostly I'm thankful that I've learned the importance of being thankful. I believe thankfulness is a most necessary, and yet a most neglected, part of the Christian life. Thankfulness should be the theme of our prayers. (Thessalonians 5:18, Phil. 4:60), and the primary way we relate to God (Romans 1.) Thankfulness ought to characterize our lives. Tell God verbally and show Him in your actions how thankful you are for all the blessings in your life. (And I hope you get to go to Chicago one day.)