New Year, New Look, Never a New Name.

I read the foreword to The Happiness Project while Mr. M was in an Apple store, and the author was writing about pursuing your passion and investing in it. My passion (one of them) is writing. So I mixed things up a bit with the colors of my blog. The name of the blog, though, will never change. The reasons are threefold: First, I am getting older and I don't want to forget the name of my blog. Second, my readers are getting older and I don't want them to forget the name of my blog. The third and strongest reason is that one of my smartest friends knew right away that the blog name was inspired by The Wind in the Willows. I am not very sentimental, but it gives me a warm feeling knowing that my friend knows me so well. So The Adventurous Life of Mine is a tribute to my good friend, TDF.

What I learned About Parenting From my Humongous, Overgrown Cactus

I am currently in the midst of a giant cactus pruning project. The cactus is huge, and the project is huge. And dangerous. And rewarding. After a bit of work today, I took some time to enjoy the fruit of my labors, and I thought to myself that my unruly and prickly cactus is not unlike an unruly and rebellious teenager. My cactus is my pride and joy, the first thing I show off to anyone who comes to visit. My cactus is also a source of puzzlement at times, and I don't know how to go about doing what needs to be done. I knew my cactus needed pruning, but I had to step back from him and get a few perspectives before proceeding any further. It took patience. After I had decided on how to best deal with the problem, and after I had put on all of my protective gear, my cactus still poked and pricked me all over. It hurt, and I had no choice but to put up with the pain if I wanted results. So I did. I am not done pruning the beast, the beast that I love with all my heart, but I suspect I will thoroughly enjoy my more tamed cactus.

A Night in The Suburbs

I took Rufus for a walk during the day. He walked, and pooped, and rolled . . . the usual. I came home and read. First, about agoraphobia. Then about original sin. And then I read my controversial political autobiography (not written by me.) Then I smelled something horrible and nauseating. I got a flashlight and looked under the sofa for a dead rat. I looked under the footstool. Then, I decided to watch a show about a man crossing the Sahara desert. Then, I called Mr. M and told him I needed his nose. He has an incredibly super sensitive sniffer, so I told him I needed his opinion on the nefarious odor. I was sitting at the counter when he came home, so that he could sit in my vacated reading seat and smell whatever there was to smell. He sniffed a little, and then asked the obvious-"Was Rufus laying by you while you were smelling this stench?" "Yes", I said, "but I didn't think it possible for such a foul odor to be invisible." Indeed, I had looked earlier for a pile of that unmentionable dog odor-producing element. I half expected to see a brown pile on Rufus' back. I don't know what I was thinking. I only know what I was smelling. Mr. M sniffed Rufus. "Aha! I've discovered the source of the odor." Rufus had rolled in vomit, proving the proverb that "a dog returns to his own vomit." (The vomit wasn't his, though. Just to be clear.) So, then, as Mr. M made a lovely experimental pasta dish, I gave Rufus a bath . . . shower, if you want to know the facts. Now our dog smelled fresh, and we enjoyed a lovely meal. I helped clean as much as I could, and then when it became clear there was only room for one in the kitchen, I went to the dining area to do some exercising while Mr. M scrubbed some pots. Then we watched a movie.

Political Motivation for Prayer

In his first letter to Timothy, Paul urges Timothy and his congregation to pray for kings and all those in authority so that we may live "peaceful and quiet lives in all Godliness and holiness." Repeatedly in the Gospels Jesus tells His disciples to watch and pray. He is referring to world and national events.
Not being very politically involved, I have had little motivation in the past to pray for our nation's leaders and law-makers. However, reading The Vanishing Conscience by John MacArthur, along with the political autobiography I'm reading, has changed all that. There is far too little common sense in our law books, and that needs to change.

Love and Hate, From the Beginning of Time

It is a gray day today, ominously overcast. Yet I am excited to greet this day; excited because a Christian couple from church will be wed today. I like all weddings, but I love Christian weddings. That is because Christians acknowledge a marriage to be a holy institution, a sacred bond between a man and a woman directly ordained and promoted by God Himself for our good and His glory, a union meant to last for the whole of our lives.
I've been reading a lot about God and His people in Loving The Church by John Crotts. I highly recommend it. I've also been reading a book by a controversial political figure. Why is she so controversial? Because she is . . . Da,da,DA . . . a Christian. People hate Christians. Being a Christian and being hated for my beliefs makes me really love and cling to The Church. When people hate you, it's nice to know you're not alone. The world hated Jesus first. (John 15:18.)

Unfair?

I have heard many times people complaining that this or that was an unfair thing for God to do. I am not without compassion for people who feel that way, or are living in dire circumstances; however, only one thing in unfair. It is unfair that God lets us live even one day. It is unfair that He hasn't destroyed this nation. His mercy on us is unfair. We don't deserve it. Our nation is overrun with sin and yet God in His mercy lets us carry on life. Our response should be one of bewildered gratefulness and repentance from our sin. We also need to call others to repentance, and especially to protect our brothers and sisters in the church from being lured away from God's truth by the deceitfulness of sin.