Author Archives: Barbara Harper

Unknown's avatar

About Barbara Harper

https://barbarah.wordpress.com

Laudable Linkage

Posted on by

Here are a few things of interest I found here and there over the last week or so:

Recovering the Wonder, HT to Lizzie.

Miss Sandy and the Blustery Day, another Miss Sandy Misadventure. Though sorry for Miss Sandy’s misadventure, I just love the way this is written.

A Mess May Mean Success! by Chris Anderson.

Beyond the Book by Karla Dornacher, about a unique approach to women’s ministry.

Maintaining Sanity During Dementia’s Cognitive Decline at Eldercare ABC Blog.

Lord, When Everything is Stripped Away, May It Be You They See at Lori’s Reflections.

Needy Women at Femina.

And on the crafty front:

DIY Wrapping Paper and Ribbon Organizer, HT to Tipnut.

Fabric sunflower brooches. I’m not a big sunflower fan, but I know a few people who are. These are really cute.

Treasury of Memory collage.

Fabric wallet tutorial.

Some cute card designs here, here, here, here, and here, and a couple of cute favors here and here.

We have had none of the predicted snow yet at our house as of 11 p.m. Friday night, though some friends have reported some via Facebook. We’re supposed to get together with some of our oldest and dearest friends Saturday night — we’ll have to see what happens with the weather. But otherwise we’re all set for bad weather for a couple of days.

Hope you have a happy Saturday!

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on by

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. Sunshine! We had so much rain Sunday that it cause some relatively minor flooding in our house. The sun has been out every day since, and  temperatures were mild enough yesterday to go out without a coat. The ground is still a little spongy, though, and sleet and snow are predicted for tonight. The adults are praying the bad weather will hold off until after special meetings at church tonight; the kids are praying it will come early so they’ll be able to get out of school. We’ll see who wins. 🙂

2. Quick restoration of power. We came home Monday evening to find the power out in our neighborhood. I never did hear what caused it. I was ashamed at myself for feeling depressed about it, especially in light of what people are suffering in Haiti. We were only home a short while when my son and daughter-in-law called and invited us over to their house (which did have electricity), and our power was back on by the time we came home a couple of hours later.

3. This battery-powered lantern. We originally got it for camping, but I keep it handy in the living room closet for power outages. I’d like to find more, but I haven’t seen this style lately.

4. This batch of miniature carnations that a grocery store had for sale this week offered a bright spot of cheer.

5. This cute little toile heart from Cindy at My Romantic Home.

Bonus:

6. The PBS Masterpiece Classic production of Jane Austen’s Emma the first part of which aired this past Sunday evening. It’s been more then 30 years since I read Emma, so I don’t know how it compares to the original, and I really like the Gwyneth Paltrow version, so I wasn’t sure I wanted to see a new interpretation. But I really liked this actress when I saw her in Amazing Grace and Daniel Deronda. So far I am liking it (except I prefer the earlier version’s quintessential Mr. Knightly to this one.)

7. The fact that January is almost over! Spring is that much closer!

Happy Friday!

Beholding His glory

Posted on by

One thing I have discovered in having a blog for 3+ years now is that sometimes when something is on my mind and I think perhaps I should work through it by writing about it, as that for me is often the best way, I realize I already have. I’ve also discovered how often I need reminders of the same lessons, perhaps sometimes applied in different ways. This morning I was pondering my tendency to get angry too easily (something you might not know about me from my blog), and the thought that “The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy” (Psalm 145:8) just melted my anger away. That reminded me of my need to look to Christ not only in worship and thankfulness, not only for help and blessing, but also because the process of doing so changes me like nothing else can. And all of those thoughts reminded me of this post from January 2008 titled “The Means of Change.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Recently, as happens so often, I came face to face with an issue involving my own selfishness.

After confessing such incidents to the Lord, I tend to have a couple of responses. One is to just acknowledge it as one of my “besetting sins” and to forget about it until the next time. Yet deep down I know that’s just an excuse.

Another response is to decide I need to make a plan of action. That’s not bad in itself, but it usually fizzles out like New Year’s resolutions.

I may even decide to look up and meditate on various Scripture verses on the subject at hand. That’s a good response as far as it goes. Romans 12:2 tells us we’re transformed by the renewing of our minds, and one way we do that is by changing our thinking, lining it up with what God’s Word says, putting specific Scriptures in our minds that the Holy Spirit can then use to remind us.

But my problem isn’t just isolated individual sins. It’s a nature that is totally and completely self-focused, self-serving, self-promoting, self-loving. Though we receive a new nature when we become Christians, that old one is still there and will be til we get to heaven. How do we resist that constant pull? How can our new nature grow and become more like Christ?

II Corinthians 3:18: But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Beholding His glory….how little we do that. How often do we approach the Scripture just to fulfill our quota of Bible reading for the day, or even just to “get something” to carry us through the day?

We need to — I need to — remember to seek Him in the Scriptures, to behold His glory. Sometimes a study of His attributes would be more helpful than just studying about my particular sin, though both are necessary.

I read a quote once in a missionary biography (I haven’t been able to find it again: I thought it was Rosalind Goforth’s, but I didn’t see it in my last reading) that this particular person was having a hard time being loving. For years she constantly looked at herself and her lack of love and told herself over and over that she needed to be more loving. Yet she didn’t grow in love, only in discouragement. She began to meditate on God’s love for her…and without even realizing it, she began to slowly change to the point where others commented to her husband on the change in her.

We know what it is to gaze on an object of love. We smile indulgently at a young couple’s doe-eyed peering at each other. We understand a mother’s loving, wondering gaze of her new baby. We love to behold and contemplate the beauty of a perfect rose or a masterful painting.

How much more should we behold the One who loves us most, who is more beautiful than anything we can imagine, who is perfect holiness and righteousness.

Exodus 33:18-23; 34: 5-6:

And [Moses] said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.

And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.

And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:

And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.

And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.

And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth…

One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. Psalm 27:4.

May that be our desire as well.

The Biggest Loser

Posted on by

I don’t usually discuss TV much here, but I’ve been wanting to jot some thoughts about  The Biggest Loser. I’ve only been watching it for a few seasons now, but here are some general thoughts about it.

What I like about it:

  • The opportunity the contestants have to put everything else aside to concentrate on their health.
  • The opportunity to lose weight with specific instruction and guided workouts.
  • Eucational segments, like when they show the actual calorie content of many popular foods.
  • When they show simple, healthful, tasty alternatives.
  • The medical evaluations where the doctor shows scans of the amount of body fat in their system and their actual body age based on their health vs. their actual age. Painful, but it is a needed wake-up call.
  • Seeing the contestants’ progress.

What I don’t like about it:

  • The trainers yelling in the contestants’ faces.
  • The trainers referring to workouts as “beating them up” or “torturing them.”
  • Unnecessary producer-induced drama: some change or shake-up or requirement brought in just to add drama to the show. Sometimes it does help the contestants to realize that whatever they’re depending on — their routine, partner, etc. — is not what they need to be leaning so heavily on, and in that sense it is good to help them find the source of strength they need to carry on despite circumstances. But sometimes the changes seem to be designed just to get people upset so the camera can catch it so they have conflict for the show.
  • When they send people home in the first show. One or two seasons ago they sent one half of every couple home and it was up to their partners to keep losing enough weight to stay on the show and bring them back after some period of time. This season just a few minutes into the show, two teams were sent home with the opportunity to come back in a month, and whichever had lost the most could stay. Can you imagine the excitement and preparations only to be sent home so soon without the opportunity to learn what you came there to learn?
  • Jillian’s penchant to reducing a contestant to a blubbering mess so they’ll open up so she can psychoanalyze them. They all probably do have issues besides diet and exercise they need to deal with, but I don’t think it has to be done that way.

Why I could never be on the show:

  • I could not weigh in in public in those outfits designed to show every bump and bulge, not just because of embarrassment, but because of modesty. I couldn’t do so even if I was slim — especially if I was slim.
  • I could.not.stand the yelling in the face thing. Or yelling at all.
  • Physical issues that would mean not being able to do the kinds of physical things they do as much as they do them. They do sometimes have someone with bad knees or something who has to work out in the pool, but I think it puts them at a disadvantage on the show in the long run. I think it would be interesting for them to do a season with people with physical limitations just so people in that situation know it IS possible. But they probably would not have the big dramatic weight losses every week.
  • I don’t really like group things. I tried Weight Watchers for about a month but really didn’t like the sessions.
  • I’m too private to do all of that in front of the group there, not to mention in front of cameras and the public eye. Blogging about it is one thing — I did have a weight-loss blog at one time (I still have it, but have not done much with it) and participated in group weigh-in and encouragement blog until it went defunct, and I like reading other people’s weight-loss blogs, but I would feel uncomfortable in a group setting in person.

Meanwhile I’ll keep watching and hopefully learning and being inspired. Ironically, though, every time I watch it I want to eat during or after it….

Flooding and Mudding

Posted on by

It rained all day this past Sunday, just a sprinkle at some times and a downpour at others. The main problem that creates for us is that one corner of our “sunroom” floods when we get a lot of rain. This is the room the previous owners added on, and I don’t know if they did something wrong or what.

Our patio has a little brick wall around it with a drain that we have to keep leaves and gunk out of.

We had the roto-rooter guys out a few months ago to thoroughly clean out the drain, but it didn’t help a lot. They had a $1,200 solution to offer us, but we’re trying to come up with a less costly alternative.

So until we figure out what to do or have time to do it, we have a routine established. Jim bought a pump that we put in the corner of the patio which usually works fine. But yesterday, though we had the pump going full blast, the sunroom still flooded in one corner. We have a Wetvac and went through a lot of towels to try to keep it contained. I asked Jim if the pump just wasn’t keeping up for some reason — he said it was pumping, but the ground was so saturated there just wasn’t any place for the water to go. The water in the yard was almost to the level of the little brick wall around the patio and was about to overflow it.

(This was taken Monday just to show the wall, so no flooding is shown. The side next to the yard is not as deep as the side next to the patio.)

But finally about 11:30 p.m., the rain had moved out and everything seemed to settle down.

It was bright, sunny, and windy Monday morning, so I had great hopes for everything outside to dry out. When I took some trash out to the garbage can around lunch time, I noticed pieces of cardboard and what looked like an old handle of a rake or shovel out in the yard, so I ventured out to get it…and sunk past the level of my shoe in mud.

I’ve mentioned before that I have balance problems — I told my husband that it was a good thing that long handle was out there to use as a walking stick, or I would have been out there hollering for help until someone heard me inside. But I was able to gingerly step around the swampy area enough to get the big pieces and get back to the house.

And when I told my dear, sweet, sympathetic husband this, he replied…

“I wish I’d had the video camera!”

Thanks, Dear. 🙄 🙂

What’s On Your Nightstand: January

Posted on by

What's On Your NightstandThe folks at 5 Minutes For Books host What’s On Your Nightstand? the fourth Tuesday of each month in which we can share about the books we have been reading and/or plan to read. You can learn more about it by clicking the link or the button.

Wow, it’s the fourth Tuesday already?

I didn’t do a nightstand post in December because I had just had a lengthy Fall Into Reading wrap-up post the day before and because we were on an anniversary trip that day. So, if it is ok, I’ll list the books I’ve completed in the last two months:

Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus, a compilation of 22 Christmas related essays from authors varying from Augustine and Luther to Piper, not reviewed, but highly recommended.

The Heirloom by Colleen L. Reece and Julie Reece-DeMarco, reviewed here.

American Haven by Elisabeth Yates, Plain Perfect by Beth Wiseman, and A Vote of Confidence by Robin Lee Hatcher, all reviewed briefly here.

Shades of Blue by Karen Kingsbury and Fit to Be Tied is by Robin Lee Hatcher, both reviewed here.

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery, reviewed here.

I’m currently reading The Tartan Pimpernel, which is an autobiography of Donald Caskie, a Scottish pastor in France during WWII who helped establish safe houses and escape routes for Allied soldiers, and Words Unspoken by Elizabeth Musser about…a lot of things actually, but the main story line involves a teen-age girl who feels she caused the accident that killed her mother, and eighteen months later still has panic attacks when she drives. Her father hires a kindly, wise, older man as a driving instructor who tries to help her in various ways but who has other issues in his life as well.

I have so many good books waiting to be read, I’m not sure which to choose next, but among my choices are: The Hidden Flame by Janette Oke and Davis Bunn, A Touch of Grace by Lauraine Snelling,  Detour, a non-fiction sequel to Dr. Frau: A Woman Doctor Among the Amish by Grace H. Kaiser, Parting the Waters:Finding Beauty in Brokenness by Jeanne Damoff, Where My Heart Belongs by Tracie Peterson, Dr. Sa’eed of Iran: Kurdish Physician to Princes and Peasants Nobles and Nomads by Jay M. Rasooli and Cady H. Allen (which I looked up mainly because a poem from it was read at Dr. John Dreisbach‘s funeral), Interwoven by Russ and Nancy Ebersole, about two missionaries whose mates died and who then found each other, Port of Two Brothers by Paul Schlener, the name of a village along the Amazon in Brazil named for two brother missionaries and their families who worked there, Beyond Prison Walls by Marian Bomm, about her interment in a Japanese prison camp in WWII…and many more. Decisions, decisions!!!

Microfiction Monday

Posted on by

Welcome to Microfiction Monday,
where a picture only paints 140 characters.

microfictionmonday

Susan at Stony River has begun a Microfiction Monday wherein participants write a story in 140 characters or less based on a particular image that Susan has chosen for the day.  Design 215’s Character Counter helps keep track of the number of characters. It’s a fun exercise in creative conciseness…or concise creativity… You can visit Susan’s to see some very creative stories for today.

The picture for today and my take on it:

“Hey, Blondie, how come youse dolls up there get all the Cokes?”

“Let me try on that fur coat, Bettie, and maybe I’ll send one your way.”

Before the Throne of God Above

Posted on by

I first posted the words to this hymn back in September, but on a friend’s Facebook page I saw this music video someone had made of it.

This is an old hymn that is fairly new to me. I first heard it on the Soundforth CD Freedom Through Christ, then later on the CD A Quiet Heart. I wish it were still in our hymnbooks. I looked up and printed out the words soon after I heard it and listened to it over and over again. I can’t tell you how it has ministered to my heart.

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea.
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in Heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
King of glory and of grace,
One in Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God!

– Charitie L. Bancroft, 1863

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on by

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. A basketball win! I mentioned a few days ago that my youngest son’s Junior Varsity basketball team had won their first two games but lost the others. This past Tuesday they won another one, so I am sure that boosted their spirits. Tonight they play our biggest (but not totally undefeatable) rivals, so we’ll see how it goes. And another connected fave is that this is the last away game — all the rest are home games, at least until the play-offs at the end. Hurray!

2. I’ve mentioned my TomTom GPS before that I got for Christmas, but I leaned on it a lot this week as Tuesday night’s away game was the farthest away of all that we play, and it was in our state capital, which is not a huge city, but bigger than what I have driven in in a long time. Plus I took a wrong turn — not its fault, I just got mixed up. But then I had to really just trust it! And as I use it more I am becoming more aware of its features. It has a small screen with little arrows showing you which road to take along with voice commands, and in the bottom left corner it shows an arrow for which direction you’ll be turning next and how far away that turn is. It also shows how fast you’re driving vs. what the speed limit is, and that part lights up in red if you go more than 3 mph above the speed limit. No, this isn’t a paid ad. 🙂 But I am enjoying it more and more, and it sure beats trying to read printed off directions while driving.

3. Working in my new craft/sewing room. I still don’t have it set up just like I want it yet, but it’s functional, and it felt good to do something creative in there. But I can’t show you what I worked on….yet! 🙂

4. (Re)reading, (re)watching, and discussing Anne of Green Gables for Carrie‘s L. M. Montgomery Reading Challenge. I had said I was going to have to hold off on reading more of the series, but I am rethinking that — there are still 9 days left in the challenge! It adds to the enjoyment to discuss it with others who are reading the same author and some of the same books at the same time.

5. A couple of little things I bought from the Make Mine Pink shops’ Pink Friday sales a couple of weeks ago.

This cute little shelf from Shabby Shan’s Cottage:

And this sweet little plaque from Forget Me Not Dreams:

I’ve joked about how I often mention food on my FFF, and believe me, several came to mind! But out of respect for a couple of friends who are working on trying to lose weight, I’ll refrain.

Have a great Friday!