Monthly Archives: September 2009

Friday’s Fave Five

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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, and you can visit Susanne to see the list of others’ favorites or to join in.

1. With the Word by Warren Wiersbe. I forgot who recommended this Bible handbook to me — Susan, maybe? But I had seen this recommended somewhere and asked for it for my birthday and received it. I just started using it several days ago — and I love it. In my reading the Bible through this time around I am slowing down through the epistles and reading them several times over before going on to the next one. I’m in I Timothy and had already read it a few times, but right on the notes for the first chapter there was a key point that I had overlooked that opened up the whole chapter. I had understood the individual verses before, but now the chapter as a whole made sense in a way it hadn’t before.

This isn’t so much an exegetical commentary as it is just Wiersbe’s notes along the way from his own studies, along with a few quotes here and there. There are more detailed commentaries, but for devotional type reading, this is perfect — I can get some additional insight without getting bogged down.

2. Cool mornings and evenings. We’ve just been getting out first touch of fallish weather this week, and I absolutely love it. It’s been cool but not cold, yet still warm in the afternoons.

3. Lights by the driveway and shelves. We (I say we –Jim) had removed them when we he painted a few weeks ago, and we had planned to replace them because the old ones were very hard to get into, but we just hadn’t had a chance to go look for any together. We finally did last weekend, and Jim got them put up. It’s so nice to have light there again. Jim also hung up my embellishment center and a shelf in my craft room. I don’t have my things organized on it yet — I’ll show pictures of the whole room when it’s done.

4. Kielbasa sausage stew for dinner last night. Wonderful! Hadn’t made it in a while. It’s not necessarily an autumn meal, but it seemed just right for this week.

5. A new grandpuppy. Jason and Mittu adopted a chocolate Lab/Weimaraner mix named Spresso. He’s cute.

Spresso

Happy Friday! I have some responsibilities throughout the day, but if you leave a comment I’ll be by to visit you later this evening or in the morning.

Poetry Friday

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An explanation of Poetry Friday is here. It’s being hosted today by Crossover.

Yesterday I was looking for a couple of poems that mention September when I came across this stanza that was unfamiliar to me:

The morrow was a bright September morn;
The earth was beautiful as if new-born;
There was that nameless splendor everywhere,
That wild exhilaration in the air,
Which makes the passers in the city street
Congratulate each other as they meet.

That just seemed to capture how a fresh fall breeze makes me feel. I copied a line from the poem to search and see where it came from, and discovered it was from the longer poem“The Falcon of Ser Federigo” which is in turn from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s book of poems titled “Tales of a Wayside Inn.” The “Tales” are told by the landlord and patrons of the Wayside Inn, the first one being the famous Paul Revere’s Ride.

“The Falcon of Ser Federigo” is the tale of a knight who lost his beloved to a rival and now lives in poverty with his dearest treasure, his falcon. He is visited by a young boy who he recognizes immediately as the son of his former love, who is now widowed. One day…

The petted boy grew ill, and day by day
Pined with mysterious malady away.
The mother’s heart would not be comforted;
Her darling seemed to her already dead,
And often, sitting by the sufferer’s side,
“What can I do to comfort thee?” she cried.
At first the silent lips made no reply,
But moved at length by her importunate cry,
“Give me,” he answered, with imploring tone,
“Ser Federigo’s falcon for my own!”
No answer could the astonished mother make;
How could she ask, e’en for her darling’s sake,
Such favor at a luckless lover’s hand,
Well knowing that to ask was to command?
Well knowing, what all falconers confessed,
In all the land that falcon was the best,
The master’s pride and passion and delight,
And the sole pursuivant of this poor knight.
But yet, for her child’s sake, she could no less
Than give assent to soothe his restlessness,
So promised, and then promising to keep
Her promise sacred, saw him fall asleep.

I’ll let you read the rest of the story on your own. 🙂

It contains the line “All things come round to him who will but wait,” which is where I assume the line “Good things come to those who wait” came from.

This really piqued my interest. I haven’t read a lengthy poem in quite a while, but this flowed well and was easy to follow. I found numerous places online that have the full text, but I might see if my library has the book one day.

Random Dozen Meme

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I saw at Susanne‘s yesterday that Linda at 2nd Cup of Coffee had created a Random Dozem meme that looked like a lot of fun.

1. When you go to Wowmart, what one thing do you get every single time, besides a funky-wheeled squeaking cart full of frustration?

A) More than I need.
B) Hot.
C) Toiletries — they are cheaper there.
D) Diet Pepsi.

2. What is something that people are currently “into” that you just don’t get or appreciate?

A) Twitter. I get it — but who has time to keep up with it when they also blog and do Facebook?
B) Excessive piercings. I don’t even have pierced ears — figured I didn’t need another hole in my head. 😀 I have seen some really cute earrings that have tempted me, but it just seemed so absurd to poke a hole in my body to hang something decorative from — even though I love to decorate blank spaces. I don’t think it is wrong per se — it just never made sense to me personally. And nowadays when there are multiple piercings all over people’s faces and bodies….”shrug”…I just don’t get it.
C) Excessive tattoos.

3. What is something that really hoists your sail that other people might feel “ho-hum” about?

It’s silly, but I really love being the first person to open the peanut butter or tub of margarine. Just one of life’s little pleasures.

4. Favorite song to sing in the shower or car?

Usually hymns — just whatever I’ve been listening to or thinking about, or, in the car, what’s on the radio or tape player.

5. A really great salad must have this ingredient:

Ham and shredded cheddar cheese. I know, I know, that raises the calorie and fat content, and I don’t often take the time to add them, but the best salads have them as toppings.

6. Advice in a nutshell to new bloggers (one or two sentences):

“To have a friend you must be one” applies in blogging as it does in real life. I know some new bloggers can get discouraged because it takes a while to gain readers, but one of the best ways to do so is just to get out and meet the neighbors, so to speak: visit and comment on others’ blogs (in a genuine way, not a self-promoting, just trying to get traffic way). And participating in a meme is a great way to do that. And along the way you find some real treasures and develop some good friends.

I also agree with what Susanne and Linda said.

7. What was the alternate name that your parents almost named you? Do you wish they had chosen it instead of the one they gave you?

Virginia Belle. It was my father’s oldest sister’s name. She passed away at a young age, and while they wanted to honor and remember her, they were afraid that using her name might be too hard for my grandmother. I don’t know if I would have perferred it. Barbara sounds sharp and harsh to me, especially when shortened to Barb (just for me — I know other very sweet Barbs), and I like soft, flowing names, so I might have prefered that. I also could have been named Lora Ann — I was named for my Mom’s sister, Barbara Ann, and my Dad’s sister, Lora Lee, so they could have reversed them. But after 52 years of being Barbara Lee, I really can’t imagine anything else.

8. What in your life are you waiting for?

Grandchildren. 🙂 I’m in no hurry though — I don’t want to rush them. 🙂 They haven’t even been married a month yet. But someday….I am really looking forward to little grandpeople.

9. You get a package in the mail. What is it, and who is it from?

Most likely books from Amazon.com or Christianbook.com that I’ve ordered.

10. Today–what song represents you?

Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly fly the years
One season following another
Laden with happiness and tears.

11. What is one thing that blogging has taught you about yourself?

I would say that I’m too wordy, but I already knew that. That I enjoy writing, at least in this format.

12. How are you going to (or how did you) choose the clothes you’re wearing today? What do they say about you in general or specifically how you’re feeling today?

It was there, it was clean, it was cool (as in lightweight, not as in “hip.”) It’s loose but not baggy. And it’s blue. I guess that says I’m pragmatic, I like comfortable clothes, and it still gets hot during the day, so I’m trying to avoid sweatiness.

If you’d like to do this meme, let Linda know here — she has the code for the cute button at the top there, too. And let me know as well so I can come see your answers.

From the worldling’s hollow gladness

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In the “one thought leads to another and I don’t know how I got here” department, I found myself thinking this morning about an incident in the junior-high years of one of my sons. Junior high is probably not anyone’s best time of life, but some people have a harder time of it. One of my sons got into trouble one day for using a phrase that had a “dirty” meaning. Fortunately the principal believed him when he said he didn’t know what it meant, that he just said it because other kids were saying it. (We had been here a little over a year and he hadn’t really made friends yet and was trying to “fit in.” I think we must’ve talked to him about not saying or doing wrong things to fit it and not trying to fit in with the wrong crowd — and yes, sadly, there is a wrong crowd even in Christian schools. I know we talked to him about not using phrases when you don’t know what they mean.) Oddly, neither the teacher nor the principal nor my husband nor I knew what the phrase meant. None of us had ever heard it before. Discreetly my husband asked someone he worked with, and we were shocked that such an innocent expression had such a meaning. It’s amazing to me how people can dirtify words with double entendre. It reminds me of Titus 1:15: “Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.”

When my son was in the tenth grade, an evangelist came to their school under whose ministry he was saved. He had made a profession before and had seemed to understand, but we were happy for him to have the matter settled in his own heart. We weren’t about to tell him, “No, no, you were saved as a little child. Don’t you remember?” I had had enough struggles with assurance on my own that I would never say that to anyone wrestling with whether they had really believed on the Lord. And that was a changing point in his life. A generally resistant spirit was gone and he began taking real and observable steps in his walk with God.

Some years later I found an essay in that son’s school folder that he had written for Bible class. I don’t remember what the main topic of the essay was, but in it my son described how in his junior high years he was actually in the wrong crowd, whereas I had thought he had merely had a brush with them. It wasn’t widely known what kinds of things these kids talked about because they were wise enough to keep their conversation generally clean around teachers and other students. But, my son went on to write, in the intervening years, every guy in that group had either gotten right with God or left the school.

I was surprised, frightened, and saddened that these things had gone on under my nose without my having a clue, or missing the clues I did have. But then my heart was so warmed and I was so grateful that God was watching out for my boy in those situations and brought him out and turned his life around. When I think of how easily he could have gone the other way…well, I just can’t think about that too long. And to see his growth and to see him now as a young man seeking to walk with the Lord, and to have an openness between us that was absent those years ago — my heart overflows.

I don’t know why this came to mind this morning or why I felt strongly led to share it. Perhaps another parent can use the encouragement. We do need to “be sober, be vigilant; because your [and their] adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:  Whom resist stedfast in the faith” (I Peter 5:8-9). We can’t afford to be lax, but then again we can’t be neurotically overzealous to the point of driving them away. And at some point in their lives they will spend time away from us. We can trust God for wisdom and balance in raising them and trust Him to see and deal with what we don’t see. He cares for them even more than we do and wants what is best for them infinitely more.

I posted this poem, written by Amy Carmichael for the children under her care, a couple of years ago, but it is one that I come back to often and that echoes my own heart’s desire for my children as well as other children I know:

Father, hear us, we are praying,
Hear the words our hearts are saying,
We are praying for our children.

Keep them from the powers of evil,
From the secret, hidden peril,
Father, hear us for our children.

From the whirlpool that would suck them,
From the treacherous quicksand, pluck them,
Father, hear us for our children.

From the worldling’s hollow gladness,
From the sting of faithless sadness,
Father. Father, keep our children

Through life’s troubled waters steer them,
Through life’s bitter battle cheer them,
Father, Father, be thou near them.

Read the language of our longing,
Read the wordless pleading thronging,
Holy Father, for our children.

And wherever they may bide,
Lead them home at eventide.

A Thousand Words In Idioms: Stitched and Sewn

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Jientje at Heaven Is In Belgium hosts A  Thousand Words In Idioms wherein she asks participants to illustrate an idiom with a photo.

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A stitch in time saves nine.

If you have have a small tear in a piece of clothing, if you go ahead and mend it when you first notice, you’ll ony have to take a few stitches: if you wait, the tear will grow bigger and you’ll have to spend more time and work to fix it. So this idiom is a way of saying we should take care of problems when they are small before they get bigger and more complicated and require more effort to repair.

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Sewed up.

If a project or situation is sewed up, it is taken care of, concluded, completed. The phrase could also mean to gain control of or assurance of, as in “The senator sewed up the votes needed to pass the bill.”

May all you stitches be taken and projects sewed (sewn?) up in good time!

Book Review: How Do I Love Thee?

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How do I love thee How Do I Love Thee? by Nancy Moser is the story of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning. I had always been intrigued by what little I knew of their love story and welcomed the chance to read more about it.

The book begins with Elizabeth as an established, respected poet in her later thirties, but practically a recluse. As a child she had begun having some recurrent chest congestion which led to her becoming weak and easily over-tired and over-stimulated. Further reading outside the book indicated that her illness was never specifically diagnosed. She became nearly an invalid, and with that and her father’s unusual disinclination toward visitors, her world was primarily her room. She became afraid of even meeting people and turned down requests from other poets of her day to meet with her. Any visitors outside her family and small circle of friends would cause her to panic.

Her father was beyond authoritarian to the point of insisting that none of his children marry. This is never explained — his reasons may not have been known. Perhaps after his wife died it was his way of not “losing” any more of his family. But he was Elizabeth’s chief love, and her loyalty caused her to think he was only somewhat eccentric. Later she realized that “he…instead of loving me with the unconditional love that had been my offering, loved with a possessive hand that hurt in its clutching, that caused bruises and offered no solace” (p. 223). “His love consumed me like a shroud, cloaked me in anxiety, bathed me in fear of an unwitting transgression that would bring his displeasure. Being loved by Papa involved clutching my arms around myself in protection”(p. 235).

She was thirty-nine when she received a letter from fellow poet and admirer, Robert Browning. She was aware of his work and admired it and decided she did want to meet him. They were opposites in many ways. Her life had been overshadowed by sorrow; his had been bright and happy. She lived in her room; he had traveled the world. She was retiring; he was effusive. But they fell in love. “I had found the population of books gentle mates but hadn’t known there was any sweeter music…” until Robert (pp. 232-233). Then they had to figure out what kind of relationship they could have in light of her health and her father.

I mentioned several days ago that at first I wasn’t enjoying the book as much as I thought I would. Part of the reason for that is that Robert doesn’t come into the picture until a third of the way through the book. Yet I can understand now that the first third of the book is needed to fully understand Elizabeth’s life and what it meant for her to take the steps she did. It would not have made the same impact and would not have entirely made sense if the book had started with their meeting. Also, at first I didn’t like that the point of view was in the first person. I know that poets probably don’t talk in everyday life like their poems sound, but at first I didn’t see much depth in her conversations. And, knowing this was a fictionalized story, I disliked reading as if I were hearing her own thoughts without knowing if they were hers or the author’s and would have preferred a third person viewpoint. By the time she first heard from Robert, though, I liked being inside her head, and at that point the story became captivating. Theirs was no fairy-tale infatuation: their love strengthened each other and brought out the best in each other.

I appreciated that Nancy Moser included several appendices in the back, especially a section discussing what was fact and fiction in the story. Some of her changes were understandable, such as changing duplicate names to avoid confusion. Purist that I am, I wish she had not changed any of the incidents. But I feel confident overall that the story is truly Elizabeth’s and Robert’s, and I very much enjoyed reading it.

(This post will be linked to Semicolon’s Saturday Review of Books.)