…that I have ever read is here. Though it is primarily about marriage, many of the principles are true for any relationships between fallen human beings.
Author Archives: Barbara Harper
Zonked
I got to wondering whether that was an actual word — I tend to mean it as “wiped out, excessively tired” — “I was really zonked last night” — or I fell asleep in my tracks — “I zonked out on the couch at 8:30.” So I looked it up, and, according to dictionary.com, it is a word, and the second definition is “exhausted or asleep.” The first definition is “stupefied by or as if by alcohol or drugs; high.”
So there’s your new vocabulary word for the day.
I was wondering about that word because I was zonked last night (in the exhausted, sleepy way, not the drug-induced way) and did fall asleep on the couch at 8:30. I can’t even blame daylight savings time, because I inadvertently slept an hour later than I had intended. I changed the time on my alarm clock and set the alarm, but I had somehow flipped the switch from “buzzer” to “music.” The radio station I listen to is off the air every Sat. night for maintenance and comes back on Sun. mornings — an hour after my alarm was set for. Somehow, by the grace of God and the fact that I was startled out of my usual morning half-zombie state, everyone made it to church on time — except me.
I missed my usual Sunday afternoon nap because we were having deacon fellowships Sun. afternoon and I needed to make sandwiches for that, then there wasn’t enough time for a nap. A deacon fellowship, by the way, in our church, takes place a couple of Sundays a year and we meet in smaller groups headed up by the deacons at someone’s home in place of a Sunday evening service. There is always one group who meets at the church at the usual Sun. p.m. service time in case there are any visitors or someone didn’t get the word. It’s a nice time to get together in a smaller, more casual setting and…fellowship. 🙂
So, anyway, I was pretty wiped out. I had felt like I was going on about half-steam all Friday and Saturday and thought maybe I was coming down with something. But last night I fell aleep on the couch about 8:30, woke up about 10:30 and put Jesse to bed, then went on to bed, slept straight through to about 4 this morning, had to get up for a restroom break, then fell back asleep until my alarm went off at 5. And I feel wonderfully rested. So I guess maybe I just needed to catch up on some sleep.
My pastor has said he is about as spiritual as he is rested. Man, is that ever true. I was fighting off some less-than-spiritual attitudes this weekend (not that that’s always because of a need for sleep — if only!!)
But today I need to catch up on things I meant to do Friday or Saturday but didn’t because I was so zonked. Our ladies meeting is tonight and we’re doing care packages for our college students, so I need to go get gift bags and boxes and care package stuff and such for that.
I have several “real” posts simmering on the back burner. I finished Jane Eyre last week and want to talk a little about it; I finally finished Mere Christianity yesterday and want to talk about it, too. Catez in a recent post asked about positive examples of Christian community, and I want to share thoughts on that. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard people, after a crisis, say, “I don’t know how people survive these things without a church family.” Both Catez and Elle have had good posts about Christian criticism, and I’ve had some thoughts brewing on that topic that I want to explore. Plus, I was talking with another Internet friend who is a younger mom about her discouragement over discipline, so I’ve been pondering a post telling about how we “do discipline” — not that we’re perfect, nor are our kids, but we’ve found ways that seemed to work for us. And there are a couple of other thoughts swirling around. We’ll see how it goes.
That was some Ultimate Blog Party, wasn’t it?! I can’t believe how many people participated — over 900 the last time I checked. Even though I did a lot of “blog visiting,” about 5-10 at a time in snatches here and there, I feel like I hardly made a dent in the list. I think I may have visited between 150-200. I’d like to try to keep working through the list when there’s time. I’ll leave the blog party button in my side bar for a few days more in case there are still party-goers coming around — if so, my blog party post is here. Congratulations to all the prize-winners! And a special thanks to Susan and Janice for this event.
This was going to be just a drive-by posting, but I got carried away chatting. My son tells me there is a new Internet acronym going around: TLTR for “too long to read.” I fear that many of my posts fit that description. 😳 On the other hand, I don’t want to get too concise and end up with something like this. 🙂
I’m going to go take advantage of my unzonked state and get some things done.
(Photo is courtesy of ruperthenn at the stock.xchng)
Psalm Sunday: Psalm 10
1 Why do You stand afar off, O LORD?
Why do You hide in times of trouble?
2 The wicked in his pride persecutes the poor;
Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.
3 For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire;
He blesses the greedy and renounces the LORD.
4 The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God;
God is in none of his thoughts.
5 His ways are always prospering;
Your judgments are far above, out of his sight;
As for all his enemies, he sneers at them.
6 He has said in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
I shall never be in adversity.”
7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression;
Under his tongue is trouble and iniquity.
8 He sits in the lurking places of the villages;
In the secret places he murders the innocent;
His eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless.
9 He lies in wait secretly, as a lion in his den;
He lies in wait to catch the poor;
He catches the poor when he draws him into his net.
10 So he crouches, he lies low,
That the helpless may fall by his strength.
11 He has said in his heart,
“God has forgotten;
He hides His face;
He will never see.”
12 Arise, O LORD!
O God, lift up Your hand!
Do not forget the humble.
13 Why do the wicked renounce God?
He has said in his heart,
“You will not require an account.”
14 But You have seen, for You observe trouble and grief,
To repay it by Your hand.
The helpless commits himself to You;
You are the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man;
Seek out his wickedness until You find none.
16 The LORD is King forever and ever;
The nations have perished out of His land.
17 LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble;
You will prepare their heart;
You will cause Your ear to hear,
18 To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
That the man of the earth may oppress no more.
One of the great values of the Psalms is that we recognize our own hearts and thoughts in the Psalmists’. How often have we felt that the Lord is afar off, even when we knew He wasn’t? How often have we lamented that the wicked seem to be “getting away with” their wickedness? The Psalmist here reminds himself that God does see and does hear, He is just and He will help. Amen!
To see more thoughts about Psalm 10 or to share your own, go to Butterfly Kisses.
The Greatest Sin
Sometimes people feel that they don’t need saving because they’re “not that bad” a sinner — certainly not as bad as some people they know, even some professing Christians.
The issue isn’t how we compare to others or what kind of sin we particularly wrestle with.
Jesus was once asked which was the great commandment. He replied in Matthew 22:37-38, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.”
It follows, then, that if the first commandment is to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind, then the greatest sin is to fail to keep that commandment.
And we all fail to keep it every day.
Thank God that He has made provision to cleanse away and forgive this and every other sin.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:5-6)
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (I John 1:7-8)
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. (John 1:12).
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:9, 13)
I pray that anyone reading this who has never received Christ, never trusted Him for forgiveness of sins, never believed on Him or called on Him as Lord and Savior will do so today.
Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt: Architecture
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I thought about posting more pictures of the Biltmore House, but I have done that a couple of times and wanted to do something different.
Here’s some old-fashioned architecture from downtown:
Here is a better-than-average looking McDonald’s:
I think it’s in the Asheville, NC area, since it is with that group of pictures.
This is the Grove Park Inn in Asheville:
I really don’t like the style or color of the roof, but love everything else about it. Some years ago we had gone to Asheville for our anniversary and we ate here but stayed in a cheaper hotel, then visited the Biltmore House the next day. I always wanted to go back and actually stay at the Grove Park Inn, so we did that on our 25th anniversary. It was very nice.
Here’s one inside shot:
That was in the month of December, as you can tell, where we discovered they have an annual gingerbread house competition. Here are some of the architectural entries in it:
As I was posting these I remembered I have a few envelopes of pictures from our trip one year to Charleston, SC, which would have more gorgeous architecture that I would probably love even more then these, but I would have to dig them out and scan them — and you’re probably already tired of this long post anyway. 🙂
Can this be fixed?
This is my favorite sweater, and it is in great condition except for the edge of the sleeves.
I don’t knit or crochet — but I think a couple of ladies in our church do one or the other. Is this something that someone who knits or crochets would know how to fix? Or is it a lost cause?
Spring Reading Challenge
Katrina at Callapidder Days is hosting a Spring Reading Challenge from March 21 (first day of spring) to June 21, similar to the Fall Reading Challenge we did last fall. The details are here. I so enjoyed the fall challenge that I did my own winter reading list. I hope to have it finished by the spring challenge — if not, I’ll just roll the ones I haven’t finished onto the new list. 😀 That’s the nice things about this: there’s no pressure. It’s just a goal to aim at. I don’t think I read more with the challenge, because I am always reading anyway, but I found it was a good way to get some of those books I kept meaning to get to “some day” actually checked out of the library and read.
Updated: I decided to remove the book meme. The more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable I was with having some of those selections listed here.
Dear Me in 1973
Dear Me in 1973,
I see you lying on your bed that summer day, between your sophomore and junior years of high school, at what you feel is the lowest point in your life. Your parents have separated and your mom has moved you and your brother and sisters from the tiny town you lived in to the big metropolis of Houston. You’re grieving over the break-up of your family, the move away from all your friends and all that is familiar, the seemingly impossible situation with your father’s anger and alcoholism, the rift in the close relationship you’ve always had with your mother, and the awkwardness of trying to figure out how to relate to the man who will become your step-father. You’re lying on your bed clinging to Roman’s 8:28 for dear life. If I could encourage you in only one thing, it would be to always do that, always cling to God and His Word, to anchor your soul there when the waves of life come crashing over you. You don’t even really fully know what Romans 8:28 means just yet, but you don’t realize it: you do know that you love God in the best way you know how at this time and that He promised to somehow work out all things together for good for those who love Him. He will. There has “not failed one word of all his good promise” (I Kings 8:56).
Don’t resent the loneliness of this time and the responsibilities of being “the oldest” and the “built-in baby-sitter.” God has a purpose in this as well. You’re learning character that will stand you in good stead for years to come. You’re vulnerable and would possibly get into all kinds of trouble if you were allowed to run loose. You proved that possibility by some of the really dumb things you did this year, the only year you were tempted to walk on the wild side. What were you thinking? That just because the rest of your world seemed to be going crazy that you could, too? You’ll realize later that God protected you from so much that could have happened this past year, and His “hemming you in” now is not only keeping you from harm and from major life disasters, but it is giving you time to contemplate, to think, to seek, to pray, time that you might not have spent that way if you had the distractions of friends and amusements that most consider normal for that age.
I can tell you that things do turn a corner in just a few months. God miraculously leads you to a Christian school and provides for you to attend even though your parents can’t afford it. Through the school you’ll attend the church it is affiliated with. You’ve sporadically attended different churches here and there, but now you’ll get under regular Biblical instruction. Your new pastor will encourage his congregation to read the Bible through, you start what will become a habit that will change your life. You get grounded. You’ve struggled with whether the profession of faith you expressed when you were 8 was real and thorough and, though you probably struggle with it much longer than you need to, you will finally come to full assurance from God’s Word that He has saved you and brought you into His family when you asked His forgiveness and believed on His Son.
Your relationship with your mother is restored and you become closer than ever. You learn from the Bible that respect can be based on obedience to God and a person’s God-appointed position in your life even when their actions don’t invite respect, and what’s more, you’ll learn (or begin to — it’s a life-long lesson) to love and have compassion on other people in spite of faults and failings, just as God does you. Years later that father whom you thought would be the hardest to reach and the last one to be saved does come to finally know the Lord. Your mom, though there is not one obvious moment that you can point to as a conversion, experiences a change of heart that causes you to believe and hope that she truly did come to faith in the quietness of her own heart. You will lose her much sooner that you’ll be ready to: stay in touch, call often, treasure each moment. Don’t be so ready to begin the grand adventure of your adult life that you forget to keep close contact with those at home.
I wish I could forewarn you away from that four-year attachment to that young man. I think the Lord may have had a purpose in in the beginning — you start working at a grocery store a few months after you moved where there are all kinds of teen-age guys, unsaved guys, and you had little instruction and not much sense about dating. You always were too boy-crazy. Even when you were two your parents said you were “in love” with your cousin. 🙄 It may be that having a boyfriend kept you from getting into a worse situation with some of those guys. But it is not healthy and it goes on way too long. You’re still afflicted with the “cave-man” view of love, that love comes and bops you on the head and drags you off and whoever you “fall in love with” is the one for you despite all kinds of warning signs. Thankfully you’ll feel the Lord wants you in college, which delays a right-out-of-high school wedding (what a disaster that would have been!) And later when you have had some instruction and you’re a little more mature and you begin to seek the Lord’s will in this area of your life, you’ll see this relationship is all wrong. There will be another lonely spell, but be patient! You’ll still have a lot to learn and a lot of growing to do. In this area, as in others, you come to a point of trusting God’s leadership rather than striving after fulfillment your own way.
You want to go to college, but you don’t see how it will possibly work. There’s no money at all — your folks are doing all they can do to take care of you and your five siblings. But God will lead and provide in miraculous ways. You’ll love it: meeting new people, being stimulated in your faith, your thinking, your imagination. There will be some painful spots as you continue to develop the character you need and as you grow. When you are unable to get a job first semester and are advised to try the library second semester, as you sit down to take the entrance test, you really don’t know how you will handle a job in addition to your classes, and you pray for the Lord’s will to be done in whether you get the job or not. Years later you learn that they don’t really have a need for another student worker right at that time, but the man who interviews you feels sorry for you and hires you. The Lord works in mysterious ways, for that’s where you first meet Jim and become friends. Friendship leads to interest and interest lead to…well, I’ll let you be surprised. 🙂
Throughout your childhood when you dreamed of what you wanted to be when you grew up, the possibilities of writer, teacher, and psychiatrist all were considered (as well as being a movie star, which idea was wisely tossed aside). Even amidst all the other possibilities, you always wanted to be a wife and mother, and the Lord fulfills that desire, with a bit of the others mixed in (all mothers are to some degree teachers and psychiatrists. 🙂 ).
When health issues come up later on, the lessons of faith and dependence on God that you learn along the way will stand you in good stead, and you find yourself once again clinging to Him in faith when another of life’s waves rolls over you.
You will know by experience as well as by faith that God keeps His promises and has a purpose in everything He allows. Keep clinging, in good times and bad.
Love,
Me in 2007.
(To be part of the Dear Me project, go here. Thanks to Shannon and Mary for their stories and for alerting us to it.)
My favorite things
Kimberly, at the appropriately titled Kimberly’s Cup, whom I met through the Ultimate Blog Party, made a meme about “favorite things.” Since I tagged a bunch of people last time, I won’t tag anyone officially for this one, but if you do it, please let me know in the comments, and I’ll come read your list (or you can answer in the comments if you like). And please do credit Kimberly if you do this on your blog.
I have a hard time narrowing favorites down to just one, but I’ll do my best.
A Authors
Classic: Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, L. M. Montgomery
Contemporary: Terri Blackstock, Dee Henderson, Lori Wick, Beverly Lewis
B Books
Classic Childrens’ Books: Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery; Little Women by Louisa May Alcott; Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Classics for Adults: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens; Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Non-fiction: Climbing and Goforth of China by Rosalind Goforth; By Searching and In the Arena by Isobel Kuhn
Other favorite non-fiction books are listed here and fiction books here.
C Coffee
Plain decaf. Not exciting, I know. 🙂
D Dessert
Devil’s food cake with chocolate fudge icing.
E Elegant Object You Own
A few brooches seen here
F Flowers
Pink roses, white carnations, lavender hydrangeas
G Guests for Tea
My good friends Valorie and Carol. I’d love for them to meet each other, and I always enjoy time with each of them.
H Home
I like homes with a Southern style or maybe even a Victorian style if not too fussy. I’d love a big front porch and lots of room.
I Inspirational Authors
Elisabeth Elliot, Isobel Kuhn, Rosalind Goforth
J Jane Austen book
I’ve only read Pride and Prejudice so far: I’ve just started Sense and Sensibility and want to also read Persuasion. I‘ll tell you my favorite after I’ve done that. 🙂
K Kitchen Gadget
My Salad Shooter or my multi-measure measuring spoons
L Laundry Help
Stain Stick
M Musical
Phantom of the Opera
N Naptime
Sunday afternoons. I don’t take naps every day, but Sunday afternoon is one time my body just craves it. It’s a nice break and refreshes me for the Sunday evening services.
O Organizing Tip
The OHIO principle, when possible to use it: Only Handle It Once. Putting things away while in hand rather than setting them out of place “just for now” saves so much clutter.
P Pride & Prejudice Character
Kimberly’s answer was based on the films, so I’ll answer in like fashion — I’m not sure. This is a hard one. 🙂 I liked Mr. Bennet in the 2005 one even though it wasn’t true to the book. But I am a stickler for movies being true to the book. I liked Jane better in the A&E version than the 2005 one, and Mr. Darcy better in the 2005 one than the A&E one. Didn’t like Mrs. Bennet in either. 🙂 I liked Elizabeth better in the book than in either film.
Q Quote
“God does not waste suffering, nor does He discipline out of caprice. If He plough, it is because He purposes a crop.” — J. Oswald Sanders
I have a whole category of favorite quotes here. 🙂
R Recipe
For dinner, Chicken Enchilada Bake is one. A favorite seasonal dessert is Harvest Loaf Cake. Cookies — one favorite is Pudding Chip Cookies.
S Scent
Cookies baking. Rain. Carnations. Artificial scents give me a headache.
T Tea
Lipton’s decaf
U Underwater Creature
Sea horses
V Voyage You’ve Taken
I’ve never taken one.
W Water Feature; Lake, Creek, Ocean, etc.
Padre Island, Texas. At least it was when I lived near it — I don’t know what it’s like today. Then there were beach and sand dunes as far as the eye could see and not a lot of commercialization.
X X-tra Special Treat for Yourself
Curling up on the couch with a throw blanket and a good book. Eating out. 😀
Y Thing About YOU!
That I am a saved child of God, that I love to read, that I am quiet. Actually I had a love/hate relationship with being quiet. It can keep me out of trouble and help me learn a lot. 🙂 But it can also cause me to miss opportunities to say things I should say.
Z Zoo Animal
Zebras!
Works-For-Me Wednesday: The kitchen edition
Those looking for Ultimate Blog Party post can click here here. 🙂
This week’s WFMW is another themed one based in the kitchen. I’m looking forward to reading this week’s tips as I still feel like I need help in the kitchen even though I have been active in one since my teens.
We usually store like things together, and most of the time that is the most efficient. But I read somewhere once about someone who had set up a “baking center” in her kitchen, with all of the supplies she’d need for baking in one area. I thought that was brilliant — saves the need for having to retrieve things from all over the kitchen when you’re getting ready to bake. I separated my spices into two groups, the ones primarily used for baking and the ones primarily used for cooking. I store the ones used for cooking near the stove and the ones for baking in the cabinet with the brown sugar, etc. The canisters of flour and sugar are in the cabinet below.The measuring cups are in the cabinet to the left. Their is an outlet there for my mixer and those cabinets are in a corner where there is space to work and the sink is just to the right. It would be ideal to have my mixing bowls and measuring spoons there, but it won’t work with my current kitchen — they are just a couple of steps away, though. Having all the baking stuff in one area saves time, effort, and frustration, and that works for me. 🙂
Some of the other kitchen tips I have blogged about along the way are organizing the refrigerator drawer, doing one extra kitchen job a night to keep on top of kitchen clean-up, an easy way to clean drip pans and rings from your stove, and how I organize recipes clipped from magazines. I wrote about my love of using chicken tenderloins along with a recipe for Chicken Enchilada Bake. Other recipes are for Chicken and Stuffing Casserole and Oven-Baked Chicken, Harvest Loaf Cake, Swiss Ham Ring-Around, Vegetable Medley and Fruit and Yogurt Salad, Corny Potato Chowder, and Quick Chicken Parmesan.
And that is just about my entire repertoire of kitchen tips. 🙂 Head on over to Rocks In My Dryer to read more or share your own.
