Booking Through Thursday: Grammar

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btt button The Booking Through Thursday question for this week is:

In honor of National Grammar Day … it IS “March Fourth” after all … do you have any grammar books? Punctuation? Writing guidelines? Style books?

More importantly, have you read them?

How do you feel about grammar in general? Important? Vital? Unnecessary? Fussy?

March Fourth. Ha! I don’t think I ever caught that before.

I do have my trusty Harcourt College Handbook from way back in college days. I haven’t read it through like a book, but I’ve probably referred to every part of it at some point over the years. I do have other grammar, style, writing books that I keep for reference, but these days if a question comes up while I am in the midst of writing, I usually look it up online. For instance, I can’t seem to keep straight when to use “i.e.” and “e.g.” — if I just search for “i.e. and e.g.” I get multitudes of grammar-related sites that can remind me in just seconds which is which.

I do think grammar is important for clear communication. Punctuation marks are somewhat like traffic signs. If everyone interpreted traffic signs differently, we’d have a lot of accidents and traffic snarls. I just saw somewhere recently the following example:

“Let’s eat, Dad!”

“Let’s eat Dad!”

Big difference. 🙂

I think all those elements of grammar can help the writer communicate more clearly, intelligently,  and effectively.

However, as a reader and listener, I think we have to exercise some grace. There are few things more obnoxious than for someone to correct someone else’s grammar in a social setting. Only parents, teachers, and editors should do that for people under their care. Sometimes I can get distracted by someone’s grammar mistake and miss the main point of what they’re saying. Unfortunately, grammar mistakes do have that effect, which is another reason to try to master them. But I do understand that in the heat of communication the subject matter can overtake good grammar. That’s what editors are for. There are no editors for public speaking, however, so I try to be a little for forgiving when listening.

Random Dozen Meme

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Linda at 2nd cup of coffee created and hosts the Random Dozen meme every Wednesday. You can answer the questions on your blog and link up to Linda’s plus find more participants there.

1. Do you prefer even or odd numbers? Any particular reason?

I guess it depends on what it is relating to. Numbers just for numbers’ sake — no, I don’t think there is a preference.

2. On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being “not at all” and 10 being Carly Simon-worthy, how vain are you?

(What’s with asking us about our faults each week?!) I think we all have some degree of vanity in us. And I think I’ll just leave that at that. 🙂 Edited: OK, I had to come back to this one. Argh — I am too analytical for these kinds of questions! I think overall I have a healthy sense that any strength or ability I have, anything I can accomplish, is from the Lord and His grace and strength.  But I will admit there a couple of areas where I struggle with this and have to give myself a talking to and get things back in perspective. And it’s silly because those areas are some where other people are way better than me. But that’s the nature of the flesh. So I think real vanity, really thinking that in any way or any part of me is better than anyone else — I’d have to say maybe a 3. But in occasional temptations it can go higher. And I do struggle with where the line between being pleased and proud. (Told you I am too analytical….)

3. Among these Irish stereotypes, with which do you identify most closely? Talkative, Proud, Inquisitive, Love to party, Hot-tempered.

What about open and friendly? That’s how I usually think of Irish people. I can be open and friendly, but it’s not my natural bent. I can be talkative, but I’m more inclined to be quiet. If inquisitive means curious, yes, I am that. I don’t love to party. Hot-tempered — I am afraid I do have my moments, but it’s more of a simmering beneath the surface than an explosion. But I don’t think I’d call that a primary characteristic.

4. How lucky do you consider yourself?

I don’t believe in luck: I believe in Providence and prayer.

5. What is the subject of your favorite post that you’ve written?

I have a few of my favorite posts in my sidebar, but the subject would be something the Lord has taught me or done in my life.

6. Describe March weather where you live in three words.

Changeable. Cold. Wet.

7. How apt are you at detecting blarney when you hear it? (Smooth talk, flattery).

I can detect flattery pretty well, but I used to be prone to smooth-talking sakes pitches. I’m more wary now.

8. How “green” are you, environmentally speaking?

I think there is a lot about “the movement” that is hype, which tends to make me discount a lot of it, but I could probably work on it more.

9. What is your favorite song this week?

I don’t know is I would say it is a favorite, but the one that has come to mind most often is “Going Home” which I posed a video of here earlier this week.

10. You are walking along and see a coin on the ground. What denomination does it have to be before you will stop to pick it up?

I am more concerned with how dirty it is that how much it is. Probably a quarter, though I don’t think I am likely to pick up coins anywhere but my own house unless I just dropped them myself.

11. Complete the sentence: “Every time I look outside my window ….”

I long for spring.

12. What was the #1 song on the day you were born? See this site to find out.

“Tammy” by Debby Reynolds.

Odds and ends

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THE sun is bright,—the air is clear,
The darting swallows soar and sing,
And from the stately elms I hear
The blue-bird prophesying Spring.

From “It Is Not Always May” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
  • The calendar says that spring is coming in a couple of weeks, but there are no bright skies, clear air, or blue-birds prophesying Spring here today. It’s snowing. In March. In South Carolina. We’re supposed to get 2-4 inches today. Thankfully it is expected to be gone by tomorrow and the weekend is supposed to be nice.
  • I was at W-Mart this morning and saw these cute sandwich cutters. I never liked the idea of cutting sandwiches into cute shapes because of the waste of what’s left over, but this looks like it would create little waste. Unfortunately, my guys are beyond the cute sandwich stage — though it would be fun to see how they would react to little dino-sandwiches. 🙂
  • One of my sisters in Texas and I had e-mails going back and forth about a Christmas package she had sent. We were talking about the contents and the fact that I still have some of the things in it that were for two of my other sisters about 45 minutes away (even though it is two months past Christmas….we have conflicting schedules and a hard time getting together.) She was all right with that, but then she asked, “Did you like the ring?” “Ring? What ring?” She had sent one my my mom’s “mother’s rings” — years ago it was popular to have a ring made with all your children’s birthstones. I had not seen it at all and didn’t know it was in there. I went back and searched thoroughly the box and the two different areas where it had been, but saw nothing. If it was mixed up in the packaging material, it’s long gone. I was hoping maybe it fell out of the box near the wall or between different items nearby…but found nothing so far. I am so heartsick over it. My mother’s taste in jewelry was much gaudier than mine, so I would never have worn it, but I would have liked to have it because it was hers. I’m praying that if it is still anywhere here, we’ll find it.
  • Update: FOUND! Okay, between e-mails and phone calls, here is what happened: My husband had gone to Houston for a business trip last fall and couldn’t get by to see my sister but had called. They talked about the ring, and decided she would send it to him in a Christmas box before our anniversary, and he was going to give to to me then. But it didn’t arrive in time, so when we got back from our anniversary trip, he opened the box and took out the ring and put it on a shelf in his closet, thinking he would get it cleaned and give it to me another time. So when I e-mail my sister back that I searched everywhere and couldn’t find the ring, she e-mailed back and said, “Oh no, I ruined the surprise!” and told me what was supposed to have happened. I called my husband, and he told me where it was — and I found it! I am sooo relieved!! Whew — talking about hitting the heights and depths in one morning!!!

The Week In Words

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(Today’s Microfiction Monday post is below.)

http://breathoflifeministries.blogspot.com/2010/01/announcing-week-in-words.html Melissa at Breath of Life hosts a weekly carnival called The Week In Words,which involves sharing some words from your reading. Melissa explains,

“Playing along is simple, just write a post of the quote(s) that spoke to you during the week (attributed, of course) and link back here [at Melissa‘s]. They can be from any written source, i.e. magazine, newspaper, blog, book. The only requirement is that they be words you read.”

I like this idea because I often will see a quote that really speaks to me, but then I forget it. Just recording them here helps me remember them a little better.

The first one is from a friend’s Facebook profile:

“The gospel comes to the sinner at once with nothing short of complete forgiveness as the starting-point of all his efforts to be holy. It does not say, ‘Go and sin no more, and I will not condemn thee.’ It says at once, ‘Neither do I condemn thee: go and sin no more.’”  — Horatius Bonar

Amen.

This one I saw at Ribtickler and traced back to Stephen Hume’s column in the Vancouver Sun.

“What matters is not the medal count, it’s simply that these remarkable young people—from Canada or from anywhere else—qualified and then showed up and did their best against the world’s best. Everybody can’t finish with a gold medal; most who strive must always settle for satisfactions that don’t even include medals. But it’s their striving that creates the winner’s glory.”  — Stephen Hume

I love this. Often when Jesse played basketball, I just prayed for each team to their best. And even those who didn’t win gold in the Olympics contributed to the sport, the competition, and their own stretching, growth, and development.

Finally, in Parting the Waters:Finding Beauty in Brokenness by Jeanne Damoff, which I am currently reading, she writes in section about a situation that was not bad in itself but was causing problems for some and was being used “to stir up lies and jealousy”:

We’d escaped any permanent damage, but a sobering thought struck me. With all the prayer surrounding our family, how had these darts found a chink in the armor?

I remembered a verse. “Satan is like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” Satan doesn’t fight fair. Often, he takes something good — something God has done — and perverts it into an instrument of destruction.

So perceptive, and so true. We need God’s grace not just to watch out for the “big things” but also the little things that could lead to big things.

Read anything lately that struck you in a particular way that you’d like to remember? You can visit Melissa’s for more or to link up with your own quotes.

Microfiction Monday

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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 photo for today inspired two different stories!

I. Accentuations

“Top o’ the mornin’ to ya, lassie! Where might be the Blarney Stone?’

“Sigh. Bessie, lay off the Irish accent. You’re a Jersey cow!”

II. The Great Escape

“I was glad Farmer Brown’s cart wasn’t latched after I saw where he was taking us.”

“Me, too, but he’ll catch up to us if you don’t hurry!”

Going Home

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This past week my dad would have celebrated his 80th birthday if he were still alive. He passed away about 13 years ago.

I don’t approach his birthday or the anniversary of his death with the same emotions as I do my mom’s. Our relationship was not as close, those we did love each other. I wrote about him, his alcoholism, and his conversation late in life here partly as an encouragement to others who have prayed long years for lost loved ones. But even though he did become a genuine (as far as I could tell) believer and there were some evident changes, long years as an unbeliever and lack of means of spiritual growth prohibited a dramatic turn-around. I’ve ben surprised at the amount of anger, resentment, and disappointment I’ve experienced since his death. As I wrote previously:

I was surprised that I had a great deal of anger in the years after he died — anger that our relationship wasn’t what it could have been, and though I couldn’t talk to him about it, anger at his anger. I felt it was kind of silly, really, to be angry at that point when there was no way to reconcile anything with him. I have read, though, that those feelings are pretty normal. What helps is to know that now, in heaven, where hearts are made finally perfect, knowing what he knows now, everything is all right on his end and he would do things differently if he could.

And that’s the encouragement I want to leave with people today. I know people who have had horrible relationships with their parents, involving manipulation and twisted emotional abuse, made worse by the fact that these were professing believers. Making a profession doesn’t necessarily make one a believer, of course, if there was no faith and repentance behind the profession; however, many true believers are far from what they should be (see Lot and Jonah for examples). When those kinds of parents (or siblings or friends or whoever) pass away, instead of or along with some degree of relief there is an unsettledness that things were left unresolved and that there is no way to resolve them now.

But there, in heaven, where “the spirits of just men [are] made perfect,” their hearts are finally perfectly right, they can see things clearly, and they would apologize if they could, and we can look forward to a joyful reunion.

I can’t remember where I saw this video: I scrolled through recent posts of a few blogs I regularly read, but I couldn’t find it. But after Dr. John‘s recent passing, the anniversary of my father’s death, and this week the passing of my pastor’s wife’s sister-in-law, a woman I looked up to in school, this seemed particularly poignant. I had know for years that a song called “Going Home” had been made with the melody of the second movement of Dvorak’s New World Symphony, but I had never heard all the words before.

Prayer

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You’ve probably heard that there was a major earthquake in Chile which is setting off a tsunami. I have several friends in the predicted path of the tsunami — I am sure they and the people affected by the earthquake would appreciate prayer.

Also, our family may be facing some major changes in the coming months. I can’t say anything more specific right now, but would appreciate prayer for discernment of the Lord’s will and leading and reconciliation of our feelings to His will.

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. A dinner date with hubby at Cracker Barrel. I think I may have mentioned a time or two that it is at least one of my favorites, if not my absolute favorite restaurant. Saturday night found us with no kids at home, so Jim asked me if I’d like to go eat there. And what makes that even more special is that he is not crazy about Cracker Barrel, but he knows how much I like it. Unfortunately, I think his negative opinion is even more firmly cemented now, as a number of things went wrong….it was almost comic afterward in retrospect though not so much at the time.

2. Coca-Cola cake — a new addition to the desserts at Cracker Barrel. So. Very. Good. I ordered it to go and split it over a couple of days. My mouth was happy for a long time. 😀

3. Celebrating my daughter-in-law’s birthday. They took a quick trip to see her mom on her actual birthday, but we had our family celebration when they got back. Even though I made a mistake on the cake, it still tasted good, and they all tell me that’s what counts. 🙂 It was fun to shop for things I thought she might like — and fun to buy feminine wrapping paper (which is rare for a mom of all boys. 🙂 )

4. Going to a concert to see the King’s Singers!!!!!! One of my all-time favorite groups! I thought about writing a separate post about it but just haven’t had time to — I still might. If you’re not familiar with them, they are a mostly a capella group of 6 men that began as students at King’s College Cambridge in the 1960s. They decided to continue on even after graduation and after a member had to leave: now they audition and bring in new members as the older ones retire. They sing a wide variety of music from hymns, folk songs from various countries, classical music, and pop songs. Not only do they have some of the most gorgeous voices God ever gave anybody, but they entertain — on some of the lighter songs they “act” out the parts or do hand motions that really fit the piece they’re singing and crack up the audience. Here are a couple of samples of their work:

One funny one — the end is the best!

And a serious one:

Sorry the video quality isn’t better!

Here’s one more that is clearer, and this group except one is the current group that we saw:

5. The Olympic ice-dancing free dances of American team Meryl Davis and Charlie White and Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, who won silver and gold, respectively. I was rooting for Meryl and Charlie, of course! 🙂 But they all did beautifully, and I think it is neat that they are all friends and train together as well.

And that is it for a great week! Hope you have a wonderful Friday!

Something’s not quite right here…

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Cake decorating has never been my forte, but I used to be able to spell.

Booking Through Thursday: Why You Read

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btt button The Booking Through Thursday question for this week is:

Suggested by Janet:

I’ve seen this quotation in several places lately. It’s from Sven Birkerts’ ‘The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age’:

“To read, when one does so of one’s own free will, is to make a volitional statement, to cast a vote; it is to posit an elsewhere and set off toward it. And like any traveling, reading is at once a movement and a comment of sorts about the place one has left. To open a book voluntarily is at some level to remark the insufficiency either of one’s life or one’s orientation toward it.”

To what extent does this describe you?

I’ve had to read this quote through several times. I often wish the questions were posted a day or a week beforehand to give more time to process them.

If I am understanding the quote correctly, I disagree with it, especially with traveling and reading being “a comment of sorts about the place one has left.” Travel is not always about insufficiency or dissatisfaction and does not always mean I don’t like where I am. There are multitudes of reasons to travel, but for me personally, I love most coming back to home base.

Reading is not escapism in the sense that there is something missing from life that I am trying to find in books. It does open up new horizons and allows me to visit places and people that I would not otherwise, it causes me to think and to process, but to me it is about enrichment, not insufficiency. There may occasionally be a book I read out of a felt need for the contents, like Changed Into His Image or How To Say No To a Stubborn Habit. And I “need” to read in the sense that that’s how I am stimulated mentally and intellectually and often spiritually.

On the other hand, reading us also partly about personal growth, so in that sense I can see the idea of movement. But I guess the word “insufficiency” bothers me here. You can have a plant that is fine in itself, but you can do things to it to enrich it, make it hardier, more fruitful, etc.

I don’t know — I guess I am still processing this one! It will be interesting to see what the others participants have to say.