Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on February 6, 2009 by Barbara Harper

(My Poetry Friday post is below this one)

Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts a “Friday Fave Five” in which we share our five favorite things from the past week. Click on the button to read more of the details.

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve participated, so a couple of these things are from the weeks in between today and last time.

1. Getting these hung:

I had gotten this little cabinet on sale half price a while back at Hobby Lobby, plus a little extra marked off because the shelves inside were missing. Evidently it was meant to sit on a shelf or tabletop, because it had felt on the bottom and nothing to hang it with on the back, but I didn’t have a surface to put it on and preferred to hang it on the wall. This last weekend my dear hubby went and got glass shelves cut for it and put hangers on the back and hung it up for me. I have in it just some odds and ends knicknacks mostly given to me by my family– my other shelves were getting too crowded (even for me) and I wanted another place to put them.

This little rose shelf I just love, but the hangers on the back were oddly placed, and it was hard to get level. But my husband figured it out. There is a matching one, only facing the opposite direction, on the other side of some other little wooden curio cabinets. Don’t tell him I said this, but I am not quite sure now I like them there. 🙂 They seem to kind of get lost in the wallpaper and I am wondering if they’d look better on a solid background. But I’ll leave them for now. I think they’re really cute.

2. A fixed washer and a husband who knows how to fix things. After doing a couple of loads of laundry, the washer just stopped agitating and spinning — with a load full of wet clothes — and my husband was out of town. When he came home a few days later he figured out the switch that makes the agitation and spinning shut off when the lid is open was not making the connection it needed to in order to start up again when the lid was closed. He disabled it, so now it doesn’t stop when the lid is opened, but I don’t usually open it during the cycle anyway. Thankfully I didn’t have to make a run to the laundromat in the mean time.

3. Winning basketball games! Jesse’s JV team had been steadily improving but hadn’t had any wins until the last couple of weeks. Now they have two! That’s always encouraging.

4. Root beer. Because of a heart rhythm problem I have to be decaffeinated. At home I drink Diet Decaf Pepsi, but you can’t find it in restaurants (the decaf, anyway — you can find diet drinks). I am not crazy about Sprite and 7-up but will drink them some times. But root beer is also decaffeinated! And there are just a few places in town that sell it. Every now and then when I am out running errands I like to pick up something to drink and regularly pick up root beer at drive-throughs. Oddly, I am not that crazy about it at home — the bottled kind seems almost too sweet there. But I like having that option when I’m out. (I know, I know, I could and should drink water….but I like the fizzy stuff.)

5. Lotion! Without it I would be a dry, cracked, itchy, flaky mess, especially this time of year.

Thanks, Susanne, for starting and hosting this!

Poetry Friday: Winter poems

Posted on February 6, 2009 by Barbara Harper

I wanted to post a couple of favorite wintertime poems before winter gets too far gone. They are both a little lengthy and I would normally post them separately, but with Valentine’s Day coming up next week and then looking forward to spring after that, my focus will turn from winter.

The Snow Folks

I look out the window, 259301_snowman
And I see a place
That’s covered all over
With white, frosted lace.

This place once had colors,
But it changed overnight.
And now it’s a
Glistening, magical white!

I wonder who lives
In a place where I’d freeze,
If I didn’t wear sweaters
And boots to my knees.

These folk must be snow
From their heads to their toes!
For I’d never be happy
With frost on my nose.

The folks who live here
Just love to be out
In the cold, wintry drifts
As the snow swirls about.

They’re happy in blizzards.
They smile through a storm.
They laugh when it freezes,
But they cry when it’s warm!

~ Author Unknown

(Photo courtesy of the stock xchng)

The Winter Evening

by William Cowper

Oh winter, ruler of th’ inverted year,
Thy scatter’d hair with sleet like ashes fill’d,
Thy breath congeal’d upon thy lips, thy cheeks
Fring’d with a beard made white with other snows
Than those of age, thy forehead wrapp’d in clouds,
A leafless branch thy sceptre, and thy throne
A sliding car, indebted to no wheels,
But urg’d by storms along its slipp’ry way,
I love thee, all unlovely as thou seem’st,
And dreaded as thou art! Thou hold’st the sun
A pris’ner in the yet undawning east,
Short’ning his journey between morn and noon,
And hurrying him, impatient of his stay,
Down to the rosy west; but kindly still
Compensating his loss with added hours
Of social converse and instructive ease,
And gath’ring, at short notice, in one group
The family dispers’d, and fixing thought,
Not less dispers’d by day-light and its cares.
I crown thee king of intimate delights,
Fire-side enjoyments, home-born happiness,
And all the comforts that the lowly roof
Of undisturb’d retirement, and the hours
Of long uninterrupted ev’ning, know.

Those are lines 120-143 of a 193-line poem. You can find it in its entirety here. Winter is easily my least favorite season — I don’t like the bare trees, grey skies, and short days. But this poem reminds me that there are many things to love about every season God made. The following lines talk about someone doing needlework –

But here the needle plies its busy task,
The pattern grows, the well-depicted flow’r,
Wrought patiently into the snowy lawn,
Unfolds its bosom; buds, and leaves, and sprigs,
And curling tendrils, gracefully dispos’d,
Follow the nimble finger of the fair…

And of

The poet’s or historian’s page, by one
Made vocal for th’ amusement of the rest;
The sprightly lyre, whose treasure of sweet sounds
The touch from many a trembling chord shakes out;
And the clear voice symphonious, yet distinct.

It’s a cozy picture of a winter’s night at home without the usual visitors and responsibilities, spending time together doing needlework, making music, reading aloud to the others.

Now stir the fire, and close the shutters fast,
Let fall the curtains, wheel the sofa round,
And, while the bubbling and loud-hissing urn
Throws up a steamy column, and the cups,
That cheer but not inebriate, wait on each,
So let us welcome peaceful ev’ning in.

Hope you have a cozy, peaceful winter’s evening.

(Graphic courtesy of Grandma’s Graphics)

Poetry Friday is hosted today by Wild Rose Reader.

Booking Through Thursday: Too Much Information?

Posted on February 5, 2009 by Barbara Harper

The weekly Booking Through Thursday question for today is:

Have you ever been put off an author’s books after reading a biography of them? Or the reverse – a biography has made you love an author more?

I don’t think I have been put off of an author’s books after reading about the author — somewhat dismayed, maybe, but not to the point of never reading them again. One case in point is that of Robert Burns. I dearly love several of his poems — especially To a Mouse, but also To a Louse, A Red, Red Rose, O Wert Thou in the Cauld Blast — but some of his other poems are rowdy drinking songs, which I don’t like, and some are rather crass, and he had “a penchant for debauchery and drink” which contributed to his early death at age 37. Yet in The Cotter’s Saturday Night he shows he has been at least exposed to a godly family (I did read in some forgotten source a brother’s quote that he did not know what family Robert had in mind in this poem, but it certainly wasn’t theirs) and contrasts their simple faith and integrity with that of hypocritical religion, as shown in this excerpt:

Then, kneeling down to Heaven’s Eternal King,
The saint, the father, and the husband prays:
Hope “springs exulting on triumphant wing,”
That thus they all shall meet in future days,
There, ever bask in uncreated rays,
No more to sigh, or shed the bitter tear,
Together hymning their Creator’s praise,
In such society, yet still more dear;
While circling Time moves round in an eternal sphere

Compar’d with this, how poor Religion’s pride,
In all the pomp of method, and of art;
When men display to congregations wide
Devotion’s ev’ry grace, except the heart!
The Power, incens’d, the pageant will desert,
The pompous strain, the sacerdotal stole;
But haply, in some cottage far apart,
May hear, well-pleas’d, the language of the soul;
And in His Book of Life the inmates poor enroll.

The contrast between the different types of poetry he wrote, the combination of the thoughtful and tender with the less than admirable qualities work together to make an intriguing whole.

After all, we all have our less than admirable qualities. I didn’t stop reading David’s Psalms after learning of his various sins, though they broke my heart. Then again, he was repentant. If I read biographical notes of an author that showed he led a profligate lifestyle, I might be put off from further reading, but I don’t think I read the types of books that someone like that would write in the first place. I would also be put off from reading books by someone with a New Age type philosophy.

The reverse is quite true: reading biographies of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Louisa May Alcott, Dickens, C. S. Lewis, Janette Oke, and others made me love their writing all the more and enhanced my understanding and enjoyment of it.

Melli’s ABC Challenge

Posted on February 4, 2009 by Barbara Harper

Melli is hosting an ABC photo challenge wherein we’re supposed to look for letters in common everyday things or in nature without actually manipulating anything to make the letter and without photographing the letter itself in a word. We’re doing two letters a week, and this week it is E and F.

This is the fireplace in the family room, and I noticed yesterday an E lying on its side.

I didn’t know how to do the little drawing thing to trace the letter on the picture, and my in-house computer consultant is asleep, but I played around a little and think I figured it out.

And here is an F on the floor of the bathroom:

Sorry for the glare — taking the photo without the flash made it look dark and dirty. I didn’t trace this one — didn’t want to obliterate it. But I think you can make it out — the shorter line of the F ends at the point of the blue diamond shape.

I already found and H for next week, but the G is going to be a challenge!

You can visit Melli‘s to see where others found Es and Fs this week.

Quizzes

Posted on February 3, 2009 by Barbara Harper

Saw both of these at Joyful Days:

You Are Mac and Cheese

When you are stressed out, you seek safety above everything else.

And nothing is more nourishing than a big warm plate of carbs.Taking risks takes a toll on you, and you prefer your comfort food to be old fashioned.

You’re the type of person who could eat the same meal every night, especially when life is hard.

What Comfort Food Are You?

The last line definitely isn’t me — eating the same food every night would get old, but I do eat some of the same things often. Everything else pretty much nails it.

You Are Easter

You are an optimistic, hopeful, and genuinely sweet person.

Sensitive and affectionate, you are easily touched.

You love nature, animals, and anything cute or cuddly.

For you, every day is a new chance – no matter what happened yesterday.

What makes you celebrate: Almost anything. You love most holidays and celebrations.

At holiday get togethers, you do best as: The peacemaker. You can prevent any squabbles that might break out.

On a holiday, you’re the one most likely to: Remember to include everyone

What Holiday Are You?

The Bookshelf Meme

Posted on February 2, 2009 by Barbara Harper

I’ve been in kind of a malaise this morning. Even though I had a nap yesterday and fell asleep on the couch last night before my usual bedtime and then overslept by an hour this morning, I still kept falling asleep while trying to read my Bible and felt foggy-headed all morning. I am just now feeling a little clearer. But several things I had in mind to post have all flown the coup for the time being!

I usually participate in Sally‘s Blue Monday, but since the day is more than half over and I don’t have too many more blue things, I think I’ll skip that for today.

I’ve been wanting to do a book meme (I’m almost always up for a good book meme!) that Janet at Across the Page tagged me for a while back. I didn’t want it to get lost in the shuffle of other posts — I wanted to wait to do it on a day I wasn’t also posting something else — plus I had to really think about these questions! So today seems like the perfect day for it.

Tell me about the book that’s been on your shelves the longest. . .

I don’t have any of the books from my childhood, which is too bad — I’d love to look back at what I read then! But I was the oldest of six, so I am sure they were all passed down, plus I think my parents got rid of things like that in a few moves. The earliest books I remember reading, besides Dr. Seuss, are A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson and Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. The earliest books I have that I owned personally are from college days, and the one I think I’ve had the longest (besides my trusty Roget’s Thesaurus and Harbrace College Handbook from Freshman English) is Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot. about the five young men killed by the Indians they were trying to reach for the Christ and the way the Lord opened the door for the wife and daughter of one of the men and sister of another to go and live with the Indians and lead them to the Lord. I think I have mentioned it several times before — it was the first missionary book I remember reading and it impacted my heart and life in many ways.

Tell me about a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (i.e. a person, a place, a time, etc.). . .

This was a hard one, but I finally thought of a book that reminded me of my dad. He loved westerns and even rode in rodeos himself before he was married. He wore cowboy boots most of his life. Though I am not a fan of westerns and think the cowboy lifestyle has been greatly romanticized, there is still a soft spot in my heart for some cowboy items I see, like a card I saw one time with a print of a painting of a cowboy riding on horseback while holding a little boy who was asleep on his shoulder, or the book A Cowboy at Heart compiled by David Knopp. It must be out of print, because a quick search only turned up a romance novel by the same name, which this is not. This is a collection of poems, anecdotes, sayings, songs, facts, etc. about cowboys. I don’t have many mementos from my dad, but I bought this specifically because it reminded me of him, and every now and then I take it down and thumb through it.

Tell me about a book you acquired in some interesting way (gift, serendipity, in a used bookstore, prize, etc.):

I had seen the devotional book Daily Light on the Daily Path mentioned in several missionary biographies, and I was delighted to find a copy of it on a used book table at a home school conference several years ago (we do not home school, now but we did for four years). It was from 1906, I think, and was $2. Then the next year I found the exact same book for the same price, with the same binding, so I bought it, too. Both are falling apart now after several years of use — I’d love to take them to a book binder and put the parts of the two back into one whole with something like what the original cover looked like.

Tell me about the most recent addition to your shelves. . .

Though I don’t need to add any more books to my TBR list, I came across An Unexpected Love by Tracie Peterson in the bookstore recently and picked it up. It is the second in the Broadmoor Legacy series. I had read the first some time back and of course want to finish out the series. 🙂

Tell me about a book that has been with you the most places. . .

I always carry something with me to read when I am traveling, but the only book that commonly always goes with me is my Bible. I like what Janet said, that it has “traveled around to different states and churches with me physically…and is ‘with me’ mentally more than any other book.”

Tell me about a bonus book that doesn’t fit any of the above questions. . .

Well, that is a hard one, too, because I have so many books, and many that have impacted my life in various ways. I always have a hard time narrowing answers down to one item. The genre would be missionary biographies, and the top few there would be Amy Carmichael of Dohnavur by Frank Houghton, By Searching and In the Arena by Isobel Kuhn, and Climbing by Rosalind Goforth. I have given the last three several times over to various people, but probably I have give Climbing more than any of the others. Rosalind had written a biography of her husband titled Goforth of China and another book called How I Know God Answers Prayer about their experiences as missionaries in China. Then she was asked to write about her own experiences and perspectives. She is very frank about problems they faced both in China and at home, and about her own faults and failures as well. She tells about the great lessons learned and answers to everyday needs.

I am also supposed to post:

The Rules
1. Tag 3-5 people, so the fun keeps going!
2. Leave a comment at the original post at A Striped Armchair, so that Eva can collect everyone’s answers.
3. If you leave a comment and link back to Eva as the meme’s creator, she will enter you in a book giveaway contest! She has a whole shelf devoted to giveaway books that you’ll be able to choose from, or a bookmooch point if you prefer.
4. Remember that this is all about enjoying books as physical objects, so feel free to describe the exact book you’re talking about, down to that warping from being dropped in the bath water…
5. Make the meme more fun with visuals! Covers of the specific edition you’re talking about, photos of your bookshelves, etc.

I am going to tag a few people I know are avid book readers, but please, anyone feel free to do this as well, and let me know so I can come read your answers.

Alice, Sally, Julie, and Susanne — you’re tagged! As always, only if you are interested and have time.

Bible study on women

Posted on February 1, 2009 by Barbara Harper

I did a Bible word search this week just looking for verses with the words “woman” or “women” in them. I excluded the ones speaking about particular women or the ones with detailed instructions from the OT ceremonial law except for a couple where I felt the principle still carried over today. I was looking primary for general instruction to or descriptions of women in Scripture. Here is what I found, with little commentary:

Made in response to man’s loneliness (Gen. 2:18, I Corinthians 11:9)
Made a help meet or fit for man (Gen. 2:18 )
Made from rib of man (Gen. 2:22-23)
Affected by the Fall in the realm of marriage and childbirth (Gen. 3:16)
Offered unto the Lord with a willing heart (Ex 35:29)
Under authority of father or husband when making vows (Numbers 30)
Not to dress like man (Deut, 22:5)
Required, along with men, children, and strangers, to assemble to hear the Word of God, to learn, to fear Him, to observe His commands (Deuteronomy 31:12 and many other places)
Women in Jesus’ life ministered to Him (Matthew 27:55-56, Mark 15:40-41), ministered unto Jesus of their substance (Luke 8:1-3), worshipped (Matthew 26:7-13, Mark 14:3-9, Luke 7:36-50), lamented His crucifixion (Luke 23:27-28), watched at the cross (Matthew 27:55-56, Mark 15:40-41, Luke 23:49), followed afterward to see where He was buried and went home to prepare spices (Luke 23:55-56), came to the tomb Sunday morning (Matthew 28:1-10, Luke 24:1-11), continued ” with one accord in prayer and supplication” with the disciples and Mary after He arose (Acts 1:13-14)
Head of woman is the man (I Corinthians 11:3)
Prays and prophesies in church with head covered (I Corinthians 11:5)
Long hair is her glory and covering (I Corinthians 11:15)
There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. (II Corinthians 7:24)
Adorned with modesty, shamfacedness, sobriety, good works more than jewelry, elaborate hairstyles, etc. (I Timothy 2:9-10)
In the church is to learn in silence and not teach men or usurp authority over men (I Timothy 2:11-12; I Corinthians 14:34-35)
Good works: “Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints’ feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.” (I Timothy 5:10)
Younger women encouraged to “marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.” (I Timothy 5:14)
Instructions to aged women: “that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.” (Titus 2:2-5)
Subject to husbands (I Peter 3:1, Ephesians 5:22, Colossians 3:18 )
To reverence husband (Ephesians 5:33)
To have chaste conversation coupled with fear (I Peter 3:2) which will win lost husband more than words
To be adorned with the “ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price” (I Peter 3:3-6)

Negative descriptions of women

The strange woman: flatters with her words (Proverbs 6:24; 7:5, 21), forsakes the guide of her youth (parents?), forgets her covenant with God, her house and paths lead to death (Proverbs 2:16-19); her lips as a honeycomb, mouth smoother than oil, end bitter as wormword, sharper than two-edged sword, her feet go down to death, her steps take hold on hell; her ways are moveable – can’t know them; results in mourning when flesh and body are consumed; hunts for the precious life (Proverbs 6:26) wear attire of a harlot (Proverbs 7:10), is subtil of heart (Proverbs 7:10) loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house (Proverbs 7:11-12), impudent (Proverbs 7:13), fair of speech (Proverbs 7:21), wounds, slays, leads to death and hell (Proverbs 7:26-27); a narrow pit, lies in wait as for a prey, and increases the transgressors among men (Proverbs 23:27-28; 22:14); wisdom and discretion deliver from her (Proverbs 2:1-11; 5:1-2; 7:1-5); God’s commands will keep from her (Proverbs 6:20-24), also “evil woman” (Proverbs 6:24), “whorish woman” (Proverbs 6:26) “adultress” (Proverbs 6:26); (Ecclesiastes 7:26).
Outlandish women caused Solomon to sin (Nehemiah 13:26)
The adulterous woman claims to have done no wrong (Proverbs 30:20)
The foolish woman: clamorous, simple, knows nothing, lures men (Proverbs 9:13-18); plucks down her house (Proverbs 14:1; Job 2:10)
The discretionless woman is like a gold jewel in a pig’s snout (Proverbs 11:22)
A brawling woman (Proverbs 21:9; 25:24)
A contentious and angry woman (Proverbs 21:19), like a continual dropping (Proverbs 27:15-16)
An odious woman (Proverbs 30:23)
Careless (Isaiah 32:9-12)
Idle, wandering from house to house, tattlers, busybodies (I Timothy 5:13)
Silly women (II Timothy 3:6)

Positive descriptions of women:

“Willing-hearted” to give (Exodus 35:22)
Honorable women (Psalm 45:9)
“Wise-hearted” to spin fiber for the tabernacle (Exodus 35:26-27)
A gracious woman retains honour (Proverbs 11:16)
A virtuous woman crowns her husband (Proverbs 12:4), more valuable than rubies, trustworthy, does husband good, works willingly with her hands, brings food from afar, rises early, serves others, diligent, knowledgeable about fields and quality merchandise, industrious, helps the poor and needy, provides for her family, provides ahead of need, attentive to her clothing, strong, honorable, wise, kind, appreciated, God-fearing (Proverbs 31:10-31).
A wise woman builds her house (Proverbs 14:1)

Single Women:

With so much instruction to wives and mothers, what about single women whom God has not directed to or provided for marriage? Besides the general character instruction, the Bible says:

There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. (II Corinthians 7:24.)

All Christian life is to be a life of service, but the unmarried can serve the Lord “without distraction” (I Corinthians 7:35).

Some examples:

Anna (Luke 2:36-38 )
Mary and Martha
Lydia (Acts 16: 14-15)
Dorcas (Acts 9:36-42)