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Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt: Music

Posted on September 7, 2007 by Barbara Harper

(Show and Tell folks, that post is below this one)

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We have photos of the boys at the piano for their recitals going back fifteen years to when Jeremy started when he was in third grade. Though it might be interesting to post a picture of each of them when they started and then at their senior recitals (for the older two) and last year for Jesse — it would probably look a little redundant and not be of interest to anyone but me. So I decided to use a different pictures. Jason, my middle son, is the only one who was interested in other musical instruments. He taught himself to play the penny whistle and ocarina and a little of the guitar. I do have a picture of him playing the ocarina, but it just looks like he has his mouth on a rock, so I won’t use that one. 🙂

This is a picture of only one of two times he payed the penny whistle in public.

The penny whistle is used in a lot of Irish music, which we love, and they are playing an Irish hymn, Be Thou My Vision. The other couple was at our church for a missions conference and are now missionaries in Ireland. We knew the family of the young man when he was a little boy and we all went to the same church in another town, so that was a neat experience all the way around.

He also played at a senior concert, but that’s it. I had hoped he would go on and use these talents for the Lord, and he may yet some day. But for now he doesn’t like to “perform” in front of people. He just enjoys playing at home in his room, and we enjoy the sounds filtering through the walls. 🙂

Show and Tell Friday: Jason’s African souvenirs

Posted on September 7, 2007 by Barbara Harper

Kelli at There’s No Place Like Home hosts “Show and Tell Frida y” asking “Do you have a something special to share with us? It could be a trinket from grade school, a piece of jewelry, an antique find. Your show and tell can be old or new. Use your imagination and dig through those old boxes in your closet if you have to! Feel free to share pictures and if there’s a story behind your special something, that’s even better! If you would like to join in, all you have to do is post your “Show and Tell” on your blog, copy the post link, come over here and add it to Mr. Linky. Guidelines are here.“

About 3 years ago, between my middle son, Jason’s, junior and senior year of high school, he had the opportunity to go with his youth pastor and some of the youth group from church on a mission trip to the country of Cameroon in West Africa. It was a wonderful experience for everyone who could go. They did various things to aid a couple of missionary families plus got in a little sight-seeing and souvenir buying at the markets. They saw missionary life first hand, and visiting another country is always enlightening on may levels.

I don’t feel I can post pictures of the team or missionaries or people of Africa since I don’t have their permission to do so. But I did want to show some of the souvenirs Jason brought back.

The carved box on the left was a gift to me, the little figurines on the right a gift to his dad.

This is a side view of the carved box. I believe the figure is supposed to look like a jar or vase, but it looks to me a little like a cartoon assassin or Ninja. I’ve either watched too many cartoons or have a weird imagination. 🙂

These wooden utensils with zebras on top (a little too dark to make out, my apologies) were also a gift for me. I haven’t actually used them — I haven’t wanted to mess them up, plus not knowing what they were treated with, I wasn’t sure if it was safe. But I was at someone else’s home a while back who had similar ones and used them to serve salad, so I might do that some time.

I went up to Jason’s room to photograph some of the other things he brought back. These are hand-carved arrows. The airport security confiscated the bows, but not the arrows. Seems a little strange, doesn’t it?

These are some knives in sheaths.

On the right is a handmade musical instrument (a little dusty right now, but Jason has played it some) and on the left is a small chess set. The wooden guy in the background didn’t come from Africa. 🙂

A mask:

And a sword with a woven strap to carry it with. It’s not a sharp sword at all. I don’t know if it is just an item they sell tourists or if they use blunt blades like this for something. Since I am interested in crafts, though, especially usable ones, I thought the strap was neat.

If you or your children ever have a chance to go on a mission trip, by all means, go, or let them go. Our youth pastor’s father is a physician’s assistant and a veteran missionary to Togo and went with the team. That made me feel a lot better as a mom, even if he did have to tell us about malaria and yellow fever and other such risks. But both because of his profession and experience I felt a lot more confident about the inoculations and medicines involved. Jason received six inoculations, plus everyone took medicine to ward off malaria. This man also was able to warn about what was safe and unsafe to eat in the markets and to plan for bringing bottled water and other provisions. Everyone stayed well except, I think, for a couple of minor tummy upsets. Jason did have some experience with uncontrolled shaking in his arms that at first they thought might have been due to dehydration, so they loaded him up with something like Gatorade. But our youth pastor’s father was reading up on altitude sickness when they came back and thinks that might have contributed to it. He hasn’t had any problems since he’s been back. Even with all the potential risks, though, I had to remind myself that missionaries went and took their small children without any major problems, and ultimately they were all in the Lord’s hands.

Even without such a person on the team, though, the missionaries you’re going to visit can tell you what you need to do and bring. Our group mostly got inoculations at the health department, and they were very helpful, too.

You can check out this week’s Show and Tell here, and while you’re over there at Kelli’s check out her new online publication, “Seasonal Delights.” It’s gorgeous and creative!

Book meme

Posted on September 6, 2007 by Barbara Harper

I saw this a while back at Jen’s, Susanne’s, and Alice’s (and maybe a few other places that I can’t remember). I’m always up for a good book meme, though it did take me a while to find the time to sit down and think through this one.

What are you reading right now?

The Princess Bride by Samuel Morgenstern, abridged by William Goldman, and Cassidy by Lori Wick.

Do you have any idea what you’ll read when you’re done with that?

Probably Spirit of the Rainforest: A Yanomamo Shaman’s Story by Mark Ritchie, recommended by Jungle Mom, or one of the others on my summer reading list on my sidebar.

What magazines do you have in your bathroom right now?

Family Fun, Romantic Homes, Frontline, (put out by the Fundamental Baptist Fellowship), Answers (put out by Answers in Genesis), Reader’s Digest.

What’s the worst thing you were ever forced to read?

I don’t remember if I was forced to read it, but I hated Lord of the Flies. I think I read it as a teen-ager.

What’s the one book you always recommend to just about everyone?

Besides the Bible, of course, I most often recommend Daily Light for the Daily Path (devotional book) and Climbing by Rosalind Goforth. Newer books I have recommended a lot in the past year are Queen of the Castle: 52 Weeks of Encouragement for the Uninspired, Domestically Challenged or Just Plain Tired Homemaker by Lynn Bowen Walker and The Restorer by Sharon Hinck. I’d recommend almost anything I’ve read, a lot of which you can find here.

Admit it, the librarians at your library know you on a first name basis, don’t they?

Not really. I read a lot of Christian fiction, but our library isn’t current with it, so I buy it and pass it on to my mother-in-law. Getting double duty out of books that way, plus frequent coupons, helps offset the cost. Now, when my kids were little and we went to the regular library programs for kids plus regularly checked out our own books, we knew the librarians pretty well.

Is there a book you absolutely love, but for some reason, people never think it sounds interesting, or maybe they read it and don’t like it at all?

Not that I remember specifically. I think some people don’t think they’d like the older missionary classics that I often refer to and quote from because of the older language and situations, but I would hope they’d give them a chance.

Do you read books while you do other things?

Sometimes. Funny, the Booking Through Thursday question today asked the same thing. I always take a book with me when I have any kind of a waiting time and when traveling. I keep a book in each bathroom. 🙂 If I am really into an exciting part in a book I will have it in the kitchen with me and read in between tasks while preparing dinner. Sometimes I’ll read while someone else is watching TV.

When you were little, did other children tease you about your reading habits?

No — it wasn’t really thought odd. Reading was strongly promoted at my elementary school.

What’s the last thing you stayed up half the night reading because it was so good you couldn’t put it down?

Usually if I read in the evenings I get sleepy. I do remember staying up pretty late not too long ago because I didn’t want to put the book I was in down — but I don’t remember what it was.

Let me know if you do this and I’ll come and read your answers.

(Graphic courtesy of the stock.xchng)

Bloggy love

Posted on September 6, 2007 by Barbara Harper

Janeen at Our Story gave me the “I Love Your Blog” award:

How totally sweet! It is a joy to know that someone enjoys my blog!

It’s really hard to know who to pass this on to, though, because I enjoy all the blogs I read. But to try to narrow it down, I want to pass this on to:

Barb at A Chelsea Morning. Who doesn’t love Barb’s blog? She’ll probably get a ton of these, but she deserves them 🙂 I love the food and craft tutorials and the chats about everyday life, but mostly I love Barb’s sweet spirit.

Dawn at 4:53am. I first found Dawn as a link from someone’s else’s blog related to crafting. Though I originally subscribed to her blog for the crafts, I enjoy the whole thing. I enjoy her creativity and photography and the fact that she is a Christian and often makes reference to Scripture.

“Lizzie” at A Dusty Frame. Lizzie’s husband is in prison and this blog is primarily about lessons the Lord is teaching her and her husband through this experience. Though this is hard on them both, and their son, I have been blessed by reading about them and inspired by the times “Lizzie” has been cast on the Lord alone for help and seen Him answer. There’s great depth and reality to her posts.

Jenny at Everyday is a Holiday. I’ve linked to the craft and decorating eye candy there many times. When I need to feast on something beautiful or want to be inspired creatively, I know I can find what I need here.

Kelli at There’s No Place Like Home. I love visiting Kelli’s warm and homey nook.

Rita at The Jungle Hut. Rita and her family were missionaries to Venezuela but had to leave. They are getting ready for a new field in Paraguay after a year’s furlough. I’ve enjoyed Rita’s humor, glimpses of her family, and insight into what has been going on in Venezuela that doesn’t make the news.

I think I will stop there, though, as I mentioned, I could probably list all the 100 or so blogs I’m subscribed to on Bloglines. There is something I love about each one.

Booking Through Thursday: Goldilocks

Posted on September 6, 2007 by Barbara Harper

The Booking Through Thursday question for this week is:

Okay, so the other day, a friend was commenting on my monthly reading list and asked when I found the time to read. In the ensuing discussion, she described herself as a “goldilocks” when it comes to reading–she needs to have everything juuuuuust right to be able to focus. This caught my attention because, first, I thought that was a charming way of describing the condition, but, two, while we’ve talked about our reading habits, this is an interesting wrinkle. I’d never really thought about it that way.

So, this is my question to you–are you a Goldilocks kind of reader?
Do you need the light just right, the background noise just so loud but not too loud, the chair just right, the distractions at a minimum?

Or can you open a book at any time and dip right in, whether it’s for twenty seconds, while waiting for the kettle to boil, or indefinitely, like while waiting interminably at the hospital–as long as the book is open in front of your nose, you’re happy to read?

I’m more of a “Goldilocks” reader with non-fiction: I’m less able to concentrate or get anything out of it if there are distractions. But most fiction “grabs” me enough that I can read it in different conditions and with a certain amount of background noise. That’s one reason I love to bring a book to waiting rooms and such: reading is not only a pleasant way to pass the time, but it distracts me and helps me not to feel as nervous.

I think I might be out of style….

Posted on September 5, 2007 by Barbara Harper

In the mall recently I was excited to see a new store with clothing in my size until I neared the window and saw that everything was red and black.

I’m not into wearing red and black.

Even the catalogs I usually order from have not had much of anything to interest me lately. My husband probably doesn’t mind that as it saves money. 🙂 It’s a good thing I have plenty of clothes at the moment — I’d be pretty frustrated if I needed something right now.

Even in the realm of fabrics and home decorating I can’t find much in the colors and styles I like. Recently I was thinking about adding a little round table in the living room to coordinate with this one…

…but I couldn’t find any kind of pink tablecloth. I’ve been looking for pinkish table linens, too, but can’t find anything. Most of what I can find is either very dark or white or off-white.

I don’t know quite how I’d define what my decorating style is. I used to say it was somewhere between country and Victorian. Pure country is too rustic for me, pure Victorian too fussy. In the past years I’ve heard about cottage style, shabby chic, and romantic style. I like elements of those. Probably what I really love is what the older Romantic Homes magazine used to feature, samples of which are here: the newer issues under a new editor are even getting away from that look. It can be overdone, of course, but I still like the pinks and whites and roses. I can find a lot of that on online shops, but at great expense. There’s nothing on the Wal-Mart affordability level. Target does have Shabby Chic line, and while I like the overall look, the specific pieces don’t fit with my things.

Part of the fun of those kinds of styles is the freedom to create your own look and do your own thing. I just wish I could find more elements to create and do with.

I do dislike the way the whole industry of clothing and home decorating decides certain colors are “in.” I remember walking into a department store several years ago and seeing the entire clothing section in moss greens, mustard yellows, and rusts. I like those colors in nature, but not on my body. Whatever happened to diversity, allowing for different tastes and styles and colors?

I’m not too worried about whether I’m “in” or not, but maybe I’ll just have to sit tight until pink comes back into style to find things I like a little more easily. In the meantime maybe I’ll hunt around on ebay….

Wordless Wednesday

Posted on September 5, 2007 by Barbara Harper

Forgive me for not being wordless this Wednesday, but I felt a little explanation was in order or people would wonder why this picture was here. 🙂

When I pulled up in the driveway a couple of weeks ago, I saw this vine peeking around the corner of the house:

It just struck me funny. It’s a morning glory vine that had been taking over objects in its path along the back of the house, and when it started to turn the corner, it seemed like it was looking for more objects to consume. A few days ago my husband did cut it back and freed the shovel and rake from its tendrils. But it might be back, ever seeking….don’t stand still too long near it. 🙂

More actually Wordless Wednesdays can be found at 5 Minutes for Mom and the Wordless Wednesday hub.

Does niceness really matter?

Posted on September 4, 2007 by Barbara Harper

As the “Nice Matters” awards have been going around, I’ve seen a little bit of negativity toward them.

Who, you might ask, would have any problem with recognizing niceness? When would niceness ever be a problem?

Well, it would be a problem if we disregarded error, cut corners on the truth, never confronted a sister in Christ who had gone astray, all under the auspices of being “nice.” When the Old Testament prophets thundered against sin in the land, they would not have been regarded as “nice.” Neither would Christ in some passages: I think if some folks took a red letter edition of the Bible and read the words of Jesus, they would be surprised to find that their image of Him is something different from what He really was. When a mother fails to deal with her child when he disobeys, she is not being nice: the Bible says she is foolish. It is actually more loving to do what seems to be the hard thing in these situations mentioned.

However….

If you look up “nice” in the dictionary, you find synonyms such as “pleasant, kind, agreeable, delightful, refined, virtuous, respectable, suitable, proper.”

When it comes to everyday life and the disposition of Christians, I think these characteristics should be true of us. Yes, there are times when to stand up for truth is necessary and right and pleasing to God though not seen as “nice” by the world. But I have known some Christians whose chief characteristic and mission is pointing out error who have developed kind of a cynical, negative, gripy, sometimes harsh edge. I was at a Christian school basketball game once when two men behind me were commenting on a new trend amongst schools in our league of wearing two different colored socks, usually in the team colors. They were wearing them to the knee, and personally, the look didn’t appeal to me, especially on guys, but I could imagine that they thought of it as quirky, different, fun. But the men behind me saw it as a nefarious breaking of fashion rules and sense and spoke of it in the same tone as if the guys had been wearing miniskirts. I thought, “Good grief. Do we have to read ulterior motives into everything?” It took a lot of restraint not to turn around and say that.

So much of the Christian life comes back to balance. Yes, there are some doctrines and truths that there is just no room for error on, and as Christians tend to follow the world, that truth needs to be defended. I am thankful for “Christian watchdogs,” who often have a keener sense of discernment than others, who can see the errors underpinning a trend or movement and point them out to those who didn’t catch the problem. But there is no need to “bark” at everything. There are some areas that don’t involve the fundamentals of the faith where we can give people the benefit of the doubt and even allow for different opinions from our own without breaking fellowship or compromising truth.

And when it comes to everyday life and our disposition and interaction with others, I think being “pleasant, kind, agreeable, delightful, refined, virtuous, respectable, suitable, proper” — nice — certainly enhances the life of Christ we’re supposed to be living out much more than the opposite of those traits would.

Though the word “nice” isn’t in any of several Bible versions I checked, one of its synonyms, “kind,” is:

Ephesians 4:32: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Colossians 3: 12-13: Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

II Peter 1:5-7: And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

Romans 12:10: Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another.

And kindness is one of God’s characteristics:

Nehemiah 9:17b: Thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness.

Time Travel Tuesday: Yesterday

Posted on September 4, 2007 by Barbara Harper

My Life as Annie‘s weekly Time Travel Tuesday takes us this time to…yesterday! That shouldn’t be too hard on the ol’ memory banks. 🙂

We don’t really “celebrate” Labor Day per se beyond just enjoying the day off. My college student, however, did not have the day off. I told him the night before to be sure and set his alarm, because I couldn’t guarantee when I’d be up. I went ahead and set mine for 6:20, and he was already up and in the shower (yay!), but I decided to get up anyway and see him off. I got to sleep in an hour longer than usual, though, so that was nice.

I went downstairs and had devotions, then breakfasted while reading blogs. I took a break for a bit and was pondering whether to begin a post I was thinking about or wait until later when — the power blinked off. We don’t know what happened (it may be in this morning’s paper, but I haven’t looked yet), but we did read later on the power company’s web site that over 800 people were without power. Ours was off for about 5 hours.

I hadn’t taken my shower yet, though, and our bathroom has no windows or outside lighting at all. Jeremy said, “Well, as long as you can find the soap, you don’t really need light to see what you’re doing.” True, but it’s a little disorienting to try to take a shower without light, plus my balance problem is worse when I can’t see well. I remembered we had a little battery-operated camp lantern in a closet, so I got that just as Jim remembered a little battery-operated push-button light in anther closet. He put that one up over the shower and I put the lantern on the counter, and it was a very workable arrangement.

After it was already too late I remembered I wouldn’t be able to curl my hair and I probably shouldn’t have washed it. My hair doesn’t really curl, but it’s very fly-away and messy-looking when it dries and I usually curl it just under enough to make it look a little more put-together. But I had already washed it, so I put some mousse on it: that helped a little, though it makes my hair look dark.

My original plan for the day had been to start on the family room curtains I’ve been wanting/needing to make. But…there was no power for the sewing machine. I did get the pattern out and read through the instructions to get some idea of where I’d be going. One problem I have with many projects is the multiple decisions that have to be made. I had already agonized over pattern and fabric choice and still wasn’t decided about whether to go to a town 40 minutes away to look for trim (after not finding any here) or to just skip it, when reading through the pattern presented a new wrinkle: it’s a quick-sew pattern and recommended fusible bonding for several of the steps. But the fabric is dry clean only, and I had read something a while back about some men’s dress shirts getting messed up after being taken to the dry cleaners because they had fusible bonding in the seams, and it left a discolored line when it was dry cleaned. I think I will probably sew everything rather than fusing it just to be safe.

We went out for lunch to the food court at the mall. I have a few favorite things there and had my taste buds all set for a ham sandwich from one shop, only to discover the shop had closed! I was so dismayed. I wasn’t in the mood for the teriyaki chicken from the Japanese place that I often get, so I decided on S’barro’s. Honestly I think their pizza looks a lot better than it tastes, usually, but this time I got something like a pizza pie — it had two layers of crust with pepperoni and sausage inside and bacon on the top. It was really good. Jesse got a slice of cheese pizza at S’barro’s; Jeremy got a Cool Wrap at Chick-Fil-A, and Jim got the teriyaki chicken. We had hit the mall at just the right time — scores of teens came in and lined up at several of the eateries just after we started eating. We thought maybe it was just people off for the day hitting the mall, but we saw several similar t-shirts and decided maybe it was a group of some kind traveling. Sure enough, when we left, we saw a couple of buses, but they were marked, so I don’t know what kind of group they were or where they were headed.

So we headed for home — and the power still was off. We don’t realize how much of what we do depends on electricity until we’re without it! I got out a new book on my reading list, The Princess Bride, curled up on the couch in front of a window to get enough light, and read for the better part of the afternoon dozing off just a little here and there. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon off. 🙂

The power came back on around 3, so I hit the computer for a while.

Jim grilled hamburgers and chicken for dinner. Luscious!

After dinner Jeremy and Jesse played Starships of Cataan and I put some laundry in and read my book a little more. We all watched a rerun of “Heroes” (can’t wait til the new episodes start!)

So it was a pretty laid-back and enjoyable day, even with the power being off. I’m glad it came back on before evening.

Psalm Sunday: Psalm 43

Posted on September 3, 2007 by Barbara Harper

My apologies for this being late. We had company yesterday and our power was off several hours today.

Join us for Psalms Sundays by clicking the button or visiting Erica at Butterfly Kisses.

1 Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.

2 For thou art the God of my strength: why dost thou cast me off? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

3 O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.

4 Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God.

5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

The subject matter and progression of this Psalm is pretty straightforward. The Psalmist cries out to the God of his strength for deliverance and exercises faith that God will answer him.

There are a few phrases that stand out to me. One is in verse 4, where he says he will go to “God, my exceeding joy.” I don’t know if the Psalmist here is David, but this echoes David’s being a man after God’s own heart. His passion for God makes mine look so paltry. Though I love God and look to Him for protection and provision and grace and strength and everything else that is needed, times when I have thought of Him in that way have been few, the highlights of life rather than and everyday occurrence. I pray that will change.

Verse 3 also stands out: O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me. How easily we can be led astray, especially in times of need, and how greatly we need His light and truth.

And then verse 5 repeats similar thoughts from Psalm 42. That word “disquieted” really captures how we feel when something is amiss in our world. Dr. Jim Berg titled his series dealing with guilt, anxiety, anger and despair Quieting a Noisy Soul with this same idea in mind: a heart that is not at rest in the Lord is “noisy,” disquieted. This led me to look up other verses about quietness of spirit:

Isaiah 30:15: For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.

Isaiah 32:17: And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.

Psalm 131: 1-2: Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me. Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.

Psalm 107: 28-30: Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.

Psalm 1:33: But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

I Peter 3:4: But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

This “quietness” isn’t something mystical: it is the state of the soul at rest in God, fully confident that He can and will take full care of us and whatever problems might enter our lives.