Thursday Thirteen: I could teach lessons in grocery bagging

Posted on May 29, 2008 by Barbara Harper

I have never worked in a grocery store, but I have shopped in them for over 30 years and I know what bagging issues cause problems by the time a shopper gets home. I know sometimes it’s busy and there is a long line at the check out and the mentality is “just get them bagged up and outta here asap.” That will usually make for problems. I have bagged my own groceries before when no one else was available and I know it doesn’t really take a lot of extra time to bag thoughtfully. So if I could teach Grocery Bagging 101, here would be some of my key points:

1. Do not put raw meat in the same bag with things that will not be cooked, like produce and lunch meat and cheese. Personally I prefer raw meat be put in its own bag all alone. I don’t know why, with all the warnings about raw meat right there on the label, it’s packaged in a way that blood leaks out. We don’t stand for leakage with any other product, why raw meat? Some companies are changing their packages, and I hope that trend spreads. But meanwhile, we don’t want to cross-contaminate bloody meat with fresh foods.

2. Don’t put soft things (like bananas and bread) in the same bag with hard things (cans). The soft things will get squished or bruised.

3. Not too many items are packaged in glass any more, but don’t put glass bottles in the same bag together. They clink together when the bags are picked up and can break. We had a glass bottle of apple juice break in the back of our car once. Not fun.

4. Don’t put a lot of heavy things (i.e., cans) into one bag, even if you double bag them. What a healthy 19-year-old guy can easily move from the check-out to the cart and the cart to my car takes more effort for me to move from my car through two rooms and up seven steps to the kitchen.

5. On the other hand, I’ve had multitudes of bags with just one or two items in them, and that’s a waste of resources.

6. Don’t put anything cold in the bag with anything that might be damaged by condensation (i.e., cardboard boxes). Condensation does occur even on a short drive home.

7. It helps to have frozen foods packaged together — they keep each other cold.

8. The same is true with refrigerated items.

9. I don’t necessarily want to trade life stories or become best friends over the canned green beans and paper towels, but I don’t want to be totally ignored, either. A friendly greeting or some kind of acknowledgment does wonders. (Incidentally, I feel the same holds true on the other side of the counter. I hate to see customers chatting on cell phones all through their checkout.)

10. On the job in front of customers is not the best time to gripe about your job, boss, coworkers, customers, etc. It’s not the best time to flirt with the cute cashier, either.

11. If you can’t talk and work at the same time — work. 🙂

12. If you are sent to retrieve something (say, a package of something was broken open and you are sent for a replacement), if you don’t know where the item is, ask someone right away rather than roaming around looking while the customer and checkout line is being held up waiting for you.

13. Smile! 🙂 Act like you enjoy your job, even if it is “just” a grocery store job, and it will do wonders for your customers, your coworkers, and yourself. And your boss will notice.

I hope this doesn’t sound like just the rantings of an grouchy customer. You may see hundreds of customers a day (and many of them can be less than fun, I know — I have worked in retail sales), but they only interact with a handful of workers. If they have a negative experience with any one of them it reflects on the individual and the business. Plus industriousness, attention to detail, and some amount of people skills will serve you well in any job.

You can join in Thursday Thirteening here at the T13 Hub.

Alphabet Soup

Posted on May 28, 2008 by Barbara Harper

I saw this over at Joyful Notes and thought it looked like fun!

A is for age: 50

B is for burger of choice: The ones my husband grills

C is for car you drive: Chevy Grand Caravan (Make that Chrysler, as my husband lovingly corrected me. I don’t know much about cars. 🙂 )

D is for your dog’s name: Suzie

E is for essential item you use every day: Deodorant and toothpaste!

F is for favorite TV show at the moment: Lost

G is for your favorite game: Word Twist (on Facebook)

H is for hometown: probably Greenville, SC. Our time there was the longest I have ever lived in one place, and going back there feels like going home.

I is for instruments you play: None. 😦

J is for favorite juice: orange

K is for what you’d like to kick: Excess poundage.

L is for last restaurant you ate at: Monterrey’s Mexican Food

M is for your favorite muppet: Grover

N is for number of piercings: None

O is for overnight hospital stays: Seven separate stays, more than one night each stay.

P is for people you were with today: Jim, Jeremy, Jason, and Jesse.

Q is for what you do with your quiet time: Read, computer

R is for biggest regret: Dating a guy for four years who was definitely not the right one

S is for status: Married to my wonderful husband, mom to 3 boys young men.

T is for time you woke up today: 7:30 a.m.

U is for what you consider unique: The Bible.

V is for vegetable you love: potato

W is for worst habit: munching, wasting time

X is for x-rays you’ve had: oh, my, let’s see…several on teeth and chest, one on ankle, several on spine (worst was myelogram on spine — they inject dye then tilt you up and down)

Y is for yummy food you ate today: chocolate chip cookie.

Z is for zodiac sign: Don’t believe in ’em. 🙂

Let me know if you play, too!

(Photo courtesy of the morgue files)

This and that

Posted on May 27, 2008 by Barbara Harper

Do you ever feel that, once this event or that obligation is over, then things will get back to “normal” and you can get other things done. And then on the horizon is the next event or obligation. And then you begin to wonder if maybe this is normal? 🙂

Thanks for all your thoughts and kind words in regard to my mom yesterday.

We had a nice day yesterday, with lots of great food and plenty of leftovers for lunch today! Jim had suggested going to a park, but I felt the parks would probably be crowded yesterday. Yet reading about all the folks who went somewhere yesterday almost makes me feel maybe we should have. I’m not a fan of packing up food just to go cook it somewhere else just to eat outside…and with the kids being older, there’s not the fun of letting them play on the playground or watching them feed ducks, etc. I wish we had done one of the suggestions on the link about observing Memorial Day that I posted yesterday — finding information about one person who gave their life for our country and reading about him or her to the kids, to personalize what we’re observing. But I didn’t see that early enough to prepare for it. I hope to next year.

Jesse just finished school Friday, so this feels like the first day of summer vacation to me. I haven’t quite fathomed that my youngest is now a high school freshman! :O

Jesse is (im)patiently waiting for me to get done with the computer and came to see if I was nearly done. While waiting he was bent over reading what I was writing, and I whispered, “I don’t like people reading over my shoulder.” He said, “I wasn’t reading over your shoulder. I was reading beside you.” Smart aleck!! 😀

I love the more laid back pace of summer (especially not having to set the alarm clock!) but it always takes a few days to adjust to everyone being home and the higher noise level and the loss of solitude. None of the rooms in our house closes off from the others except the bedrooms and bathrooms, so from here in the sunroom where the computer is or the living room or kitchen, I can hear the cartoons or video games from the family room. Plus one of my sons is just loud!! And constantly making noise!

Everyone is traveling somewhere over the summer — a couple of them out of the country! — except me. I’m a homebody who doesn’t like to travel, so I don’t mind at all being the one to “stay by the stuff” and “keep the home fires burning.” I will probably say more about those travels after they occur. I don’t think any cyberstalkers are paying attention to me, but, still, I’d rather play it safe.

I need to sit down and make a list of things I want to get done this summer. Much as I like the more laid-back pace, it is very easy to just drift through the days and get nothing of consequence accomplished.

One of the biggest changes for us will be that my mother-in-law will be moving here from Idaho to stay in an assisted living facility. She can’t live alone any more and all the family is leaving the area there one by one. We don’t want her in a facility there because we wouldn’t really know how she is doing — she is one who says everything is “fine” because she doesn’t want anyone to worry, no matter what is going on. Plus there would be no one there to visit her. Out of all her kids, our family has the most time available, plus the cost of such facilities is much lower here than out in CA where Jim’s brother is.

At first she did not want to move at all, understandably. She’s been in ID some 35 years or so, I think, so this is a big change, not to mention not being able to live independently any more. I am hoping and praying that it will not be too traumatic for her.

My husband visited several facilities in the area and found one he liked a lot. He went last week to make arrangements and sign papers. He took pictures to send to his mom, and asked one of the residents if he could take a picture of her garden area to send his mom. She readily agreed and said, “Tell her we’d love to have her!” The people there seem friendly, happy, and open, so that helps a lot. The administration seemed great and answered a lot of questions we had. The whole set-up seems really good. I think once she adjusts to the changes and gives it a chance, she will do well, but it is going to be an adjustment period for all of us.

One of the biggest adjustments for us will be that we have never lived near family. It has always been “feast or famine” in that regard — either far apart with occasional letters and phone calls, or a big trip with everyone visiting for several days. So just the time factor and the social obligations of having family nearby is something we’re not used to. Jim said we probably shouldn’t try to go over every day — that probably would not be good for us or for her. But we plan to pick her up for church on Sundays and then have her spend the day here, and I am sure we’ll be over several times during the week. We’ll juts have to play it by ear for a while. I’d be less than honest if I didn’t admit I am a little apprehensive about several factors, but we fell this is what the Lord would have us do, so we can trust for His wisdom and grace.

With these new changes I am contemplating whether I should lay aside some of the other things I am doing, particularly a couple of the other smaller ministries at church. That’s one of the things I need to sit down and think through. Maybe we’ll just see how it goes for a while.

Well, Jesse has been very good and patient, and I need to let him have his “turn” at the computer now. 🙂 Have a good day!

Remembering Mom

Posted on May 26, 2008 by Barbara Harper

This Memorial Day happens to coincide with what would have been my mom’s 71st birthday. She passed away in December of 2005. I wrote more about her here, so I won’t repeat all of that. But I just wanted to pause and pay tribute to her memory.

My mom and me:

Before my wedding:

My mom and step-dad:

Mom, I miss our phone calls and your love and thoughtfulness. I’m looking forward to seeing you again.

Memorial Day

Posted on May 26, 2008 by Barbara Harper

Any nation that does not honor its heroes will not long endure.
~Abraham Lincoln~

A good history of Memorial Day is here, and a great article about ways to observe it is here.

GOING TO THE GONE
A checklist for Memorial Day

by Greg Asimakoupoulos
May 23, 2008

Go look in on your children still asleep
within their bed.
Remind yourself they’re safe and warm
because of some long dead.

Go for a walk through cemeteries
lined with little flags.
Take time to ponder homebound heroes
flown in body bags.

Go stand between those granite stones
engraved with names and dates.
Imagine all who died defending
our United States.

Go on and kneel beside a marker
offering a prayer
with gratitude for those who gave their lives
defeating terror.

Go home and count your blessings
from the hands of those now gone.
Then vow to the Almighty that their
mem’ry will live on.

Also found here.

Hat tip to A Thinking Man’s Thoughts.

(Graphic courtesy of Anne’s Place)

I survived…

Posted on May 24, 2008 by Barbara Harper

…my public speaking experience, that is. And I have concluded that this is definitely not what I want to make a career out of. 🙂 Thank you for praying — the Lord helped abundantly.

The theme of the tea was “Fill My Cup, Lord,” with the theme verses being those about the woman at the well in John 4 and Isaiah 12:3: “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.” Of course, the song “Fill My Cup, Lord” was sung. I figured with that theme and my friend JoAnne’s love of tea pots, there would probably be tea things used in the decorations, and there were. 🙂 The centerpieces were various teapots filled with flowers, and the favors were cups and saucers with tea (I chose one with pink roses, of course).

As per Jewel‘s request, I’ll post what I shared. The time window I was given was about 20 minutes. When I ran through it at home a couple of times, it took 19 and then 18 minutes. I am not sure how long it ended up being today.

When we ask the Lord to fill our cups, what do we need? What do we want Him to fill them with?

I. The cup of salvation

The woman at well did not know her need until Jesus mentioned living water. I have heard that by the time you feel thirsty, it’s past time to get hydrated: you can be in need of water without even realizing it. So, too, can people have spiritual needs without realizing it. In Revelation 3:14-22, the Lord tells the Laodocean church, the lukewarm church, in vv 17-18, “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.” They thought they were fine; they thought they needed nothing, but in truth they were in dire need of the very things they thought they were ok in. We know people need the Lord even if they don’t realize it.

The woman at the well still thought Jesus was talking about physical water. By the way, don’t get discouraged if you are trying to talk to someone about the Lord and they don’t understand right away. That is not uncommon. In the parable of the sower, Jesus compared people to a field and the seed to the Word of God. Sometimes when you share the Word, first you have to pull out a few weeds, and you have to give it water and sunshine before it grows. Paul said in I Cor. 3:6, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.”

This lady was ready to find the kind of water and the source of water that would cause her never to thirst and never to have to come down to the well to get water any more. But Jesus told her she needed living water. Notice also He brought out her sin, but He didn’t beat her over the head with it right when He first began talking to her. There has been a movement afoot over the years to deemphasize our sin and concentrate on God’s love. But our sin is the very reason we need to hear of God’s love and our need for His salvation.

She perceived that Jesus was a prophet, but then she got distracted with where to worship. That’s often the first response when people realize they have a spiritual need: they wonder what they should do, where they should go. But Jesus told her the important thing was Who she worshipped and how she worshipped. In vv 23-24: “true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

She had heard of the Messiah, and Jesus told her that He was the Messiah. In john 6:35 Jesus said, “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” Not only did she believe on Him: she went and told others about Him and they came and believed, too.

Our first need is salvation. Isaiah 12:3: Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

II. Then the Bible also speaks of several things the Christian can be filled with or full of. I did a quick word study with an online Bible concordance looking up the words “filled” and “full.” This is not an exhaustive list, but here are several things:

– Wisdom. Several of the workmen who helped with the different parts of the OT tabernacle and temple were said to be filled with wisdom for the tasks, things like making the brass instruments (Ex. 31:1-5), making the furniture (Ex. 31: 6-11), making the garments (Ex. 28:2-4). Did you know you can ask for wisdom for even “secular” tasks?
– Filled with the glory of the Lord (tabernacle: Ex. 40:34-35; the whole earth: Numbers 14:11, Psalm 72:19; temple, I Kings 8:10-11, II Chron. 5:13-14; 7:1-2; Ez. 10:4, 43:5; 44:4
– God’s praise: Psalm 71:8: Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honour all the day.
– Good: Psalm 104:27-28: These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.
– For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2:14
– The Holy Spirit: Acts 2:2-4; 4:8, 31: 9:17; 13:9, 52 (with joy); (Eph 5:18) Luke 4:1 (Jesus), Acts 6:3 (Deacons full of Holy Ghost and wisdom), Acts 6:5 (Stephen, full of faith and Holy Ghost), Acts 7:55 (Stephen), Acts 11:24 (Barnabus)
– Goodness, knowledge: Romans 15:14
– Comfort II Cor. 7:4
– The Fullness of God (And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Eph. 3:19)
– Fruits of righteousness Phil. 1:11
– The knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding Col. 1:9
– Joy II Tim. 1:4
– Naphtali, satisfied with favour, and full with the blessing of the LORD Deut. 33:23
– Compassion, Ps. 112:4
– His praise, Hab 3:3
– Light, Mat 6:22, Luke 11:34, 36
– Joy, Acts 2:28
– Faith and power, Acts 6:8
– Good works and alsmdeeds, Acts 9:36 (Dorcas)
– Goodness and knowledge, Romans 15:14
– Mercy and good fruits, James 3:17
– Glory, I Peter 1:8

Eph 5:18 says, ” And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.” Really, a lot of these others things are encompassed in being filled with the Spirit. If you read the following chapters in Ephesians, the instructions about family relationships follow this command to be filled with the Spirit.

What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit? Let me say first that if you are a Christian, you have the Holy Spirit within you. Romans 8:9 says, “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” But though the Holy Spirit is in you, you may not be yielding full control to Him. And it doesn’t mean speaking in tongues. That is a topic that is bigger than the time we have today, but at the end of I Corinthians 12, Paul asks, “And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?” The obvious answer is no. One point of that passage and others that talk about spiritual gifts is that people have different ones, yet some people today try to assert that an evidence of being filled with the Spirit is that one gift, speaking in tongues. I believe, as do many others, that the “sign gifts” ceased after the first century or so, when the Bible was completed.

Eph 5:18 says, ” And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.” If someone is drunk, they are being controlled by the alcohol. If we’re filled with the Spirit, we’re yielding to His control.

How is one filled with the Spirit? First confess any known sin. Ask God to search you and show you any that you might be missing. Then just ask in faith to be filled with His Spirit, just like you asked in faith to be saved. Erwin Lutzer says in his book How To Say No to a Stubborn Habit (p.75):

How were you saved? By depending on the death of Christ. How do you receive Christ? By depending on the ascension of Christ. Both come by faith. That’s why Paul wrote, “As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him” (Col. 2:6).

You receive the Spirit’s filling by faith, not by having a particular feeling. Some Christians wrongly believe that the filling of the Spirit is a sensation. They expect waves of love, or an overwhelming sense of peace, or speaking in strange languages. Theirs is a fleshly desire to walk by sight, not by faith. We find it difficult to take God at His Word…and we ask for a sign that we might believe.

God, however, delights when you believe in Him without demanding emotional crutches. Just as a new believer needs to receive God’s promises — apart from feelings — so you daily need to receive the power of the Holy Spirit — apart from feelings

I used to think of being filled with the Spirit as something I needed before big task – like speaking in public! – and I would come and be filled, go do the task and be emptied, and need filling again before the next big task. But we need the Spirit to live our everyday lives. Just as those following passages in Ephesians talk about wives being submissive to husbands, husbands loving wives, children obeying parents, parents raising children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, all follow the command to be filled with the Holy Spirit, I need the Holy Spirit just to be the wife and mother I need to be at home, just to be kind to others and to battle my natural selfishness. So lately I have come to think of being filled with the Spirit like a fountain. Have you ever seen those garden or tabletop fountains that have water continually going out and coming in, yet the water level always remains the same? That’s how I want to be: continually depending on the Spirit every step of the day while He continually fills me and enables me to do His will.

There is something that can hinder our being filled with these things God mentions, and that is if we are already filled with other things. I read a list of good things the Bible mentions people being filled with. Here is a list of bad things:

Filled with violence: Gen. 6:11-13, Ezekiel 8:17
Uncleanness: Ezra 9:11
Contempt and scorning: Psalm 123:3-4
Own way, own devices: Proverbs 1:30-31:
Mischief: Proverbs 12:21
Sin: Jeremiah 51:5
Drunkenness and sorrow: Ex. 23:32-33.
Wrath: Luke 4:28, Esther 3:5, Acts 19: 28
Fear: Luke 5:26
Madness: Luke 6:11
Satan filled Ananias heart to lie: Acts 5:3
Indignation :Acts 5:17, Esther 5:9
Envy: Acts 13:45
Confusion: Acts 19:29, Job 10:15
Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; Romans 1:28
Beware of being full and forgetting God Deut. 8:10-20
Bribes: Ps. 26:10
Troubles: Ps. 88:3
Evil: Ecc. 9:3
Blood: Isa. 1:15
Idols: Isa. 2:8
Deceit: Jer. 5:27
Violence: Micah 6:12
Lies: Nahum 3:1
Darkness: Matt. 6:23, Luke 11:34
Extortion and excess: Matt. 23:25
Hypocrisy and iniquity Matt. 23:28
Ravening and wickedness: Luke 11:39
Wine: Acts 2:13
Subtilty and mischief: Acts 13:10

To me the two most telling verses are Proverbs 1:30-31: “They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.” Proverbs 14:14: “The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.” That is the essence of sin: Wanting my own way instead of God’s. Some of the things on this list are what people are filled with who don’t have God; some of them are what we can be filled with when we start wanting our own way instead of His. And sometimes we can be filled with something that’s not necessarily bad in itself, but it is taking up our time and attention that we need to give the Lord. Prov. 27:7: “The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.”

Several years ago some folks from PA moved to TX and attended the church where I was then. One time they sang this song at church: they are the only ones I have ever heard sing it. It is by Martha Snell Nicholson, and it is called “Treasures.”

One by one He took them from me,
All the things I valued most,
Until I was empty-handed:
Every glittering toy was lost.
And I walked earth’s highways grieving
In my rags and poverty
Til I heard His voice inviting,
“Lift your empty hands to Me!”

So I held my hands toward Heaven
And He filled them with a store
Of His own transcendent riches
Til they could contain no more.
And at last I comprehended
With my stupid mind and dull
That God could not pour His riches
Into hands already full.

Whatever your need today, God promises, “”For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring” (Isa 44:3). Jesus said in Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Jesus said, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” John 7:37-38.

Book Review: Dawn’s Light

Posted on May 23, 2008 by Barbara Harper

Dawn’s Light is the fourth and, I believe, final installment of the Restoration series by Terri Blackstock which focuses on the effects of a global blackout on one community and particularly one family.

The subject matter of this series normally would not have drawn me to it, because I am afraid I like my creature comforts all too well, and I know how I am after even a few hours of no electricity. But, this is Terri Blackstock. And I love Terri Blackstock. I think I have read every novel she has written. So I knew it would be good, suspenseful, and convicting. And it was.

I am not going to say much about the plot beyond what you would find on the first few pages so as not to spoil it, but I can’t say the same for the comments. If you’ve read the book, let me know what you think — I’d love to discuss it.

In the previous books we’ve seen the struggle and growth of various members of the Branning family. Thirteen year old Beth has witnessed a lot of trauma which has caused her to be fearful of “The Next Big Thing.” So when she begins to exhibit even more fearful behavior, her family thinks she is just having further trouble handling everything that has happened emotionally. She won’t open up to them or to a counselor. What no one knows is that she has witnessed a double murder: she got away from the scene, but the killer saw her and threatened her and her family.

Meanwhile the pulses from a dying star which caused the blackout have finally stopped, and the massive effort to get electricity flowing again begins. Terri did a lot of research into the technology behind what this would mean and does a good job giving enough information to make it plausible yet not so much that the book gets bogged down.

Oldest daughter Deni had left her high-powered Washington career and fiance behind and fallen in love with a friend she had known for years, but her fiance comes back into town, not only to help with the electrical situation but to win Deni back.

One of the things I love best about Terri is that her characters are so real, so genuine, you feel like they are your personal friends, and they struggle with exactly the same issues I would in their place. When a family tragedy occurs, they wrestle with all the questions and issues almost any Christian would in the face of seemingly unanswered prayer.

A blurb on the front page says, “Terri Blackstock weaves a masterful what-if series in which global catastrophe reveals the darkness in human hearts — and lights the way to restoration for a self-centered world.” I am embarrassed to say that it wasn’t until I read that sentence that I “got” the symbolism of the darkness and the restoration — not just of electricity, but more importantly, in hearts. Though perhaps much of what I have said about it focuses on the “darkness,” the series ends with restoration and hope.

Booking Through Thursday: Books vs. movies

Posted on May 22, 2008 by Barbara Harper

The Booking Through Thursday question for today is:

Books and films both tell stories, but what we want from a book can be different from what we want from a movie. Is this true for you? If so, what’s the difference between a book and a movie?

I think the biggest difference is that you can get more depth from a book. You don’t expect to finish it in 2-3 hours, so there is more time to explore backgrounds, connections, implications, meanings. And because it lasts longer there is more time to enjoy it. As a general rule, reading a book is a much richer experience than watching a movie.

Another difference is that reading a book is usually a solitary experience. You can discuss it with others after (or during) reading it, and to me that increases the enjoyment and learning from it, but the actual reading of it is something you pretty much have to do alone. That’s not a bad thing in itself, but sometimes you want the shared experience of watching a movie together.

A movie also has visual impact. Though my imagination is at work when I am reading, stunning scenic visuals or subtle empressions can greatly enhance what is going on in a movie — and conversely, if the scenes are too dark or obscure or the characters are lacking in expression, the visual impact lessens the enjoyment.

Though this question is more about comparing the two types of media and not about books translated into movies as we previously discussed in the Celluloid edition, if I see a movie based on a book I have read, I am often disappointed at the changes made or the scenes left out. If I am watching it with someone who is not familiar with the story, I feel I need to supplement what we’re watching with what I remember from the book because they’re just not getting the whole picture, the full impact, the subtleties. Sometimes that is welcome; sometimes it’s not. 🙂 But if I am watching a movie based on a book I have not read, if I enjoyed it, quite often I will seek out the book later on to get more of the story.

I don’t envy preachers

Posted on May 21, 2008 by Barbara Harper

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I had been given two opportunities that were out of my comfort zone. One was giving the devotional at a baby shower I mentioned earlier: the other is speaking at a ladies’ luncheon at another church this Saturday.

When I told a friend I had received both of these offers the same day, she said, “Maybe the Lord is trying to tell you something.” I sure hope not!! As I said in regards to the baby shower, I am much more comfortable writing, where I can ponder, think, rewrite, delete, etc. — and no one is looking right at me. 🙂

Yet somehow, though one part of me dreaded this opportunity, anther part is excited about it.

I have to say I don’t envy preachers. Oh, I think it would be wonderful to have one’s primary job studying the Word of God in order to share it! Sadly, I think for too many preachers that time often gets crowded out with other duties. But in combing over a passage and a topic trying to discern what to say — that’s the hard part (well…besides standing in front of people to speak). A former pastor, Dr. Mark Minnick, used to say that when he first started preaching, he studied a passage with the question, “What can I say about this passage?” He began to realize that that was the wrong question: the right one is, “What does this passage say?” There is all the difference in the world between those two questions. One is imposing my own thoughts on the passage; the other is bringing out what the passage itself says.

Then, the more I study and think about it, the more there is to say, but I have to keep this down to about 20 minutes! I can understand how easily pastors can preach overtime or start a message and have it end up a series.

Then I have to fight against the temptation to want it all to be well-worded and well-crafted. There’s nothing wrong with that, and I think that can enhance the message, but my carnal heart would want that as it’s goal rather than its tool. The goal should not be for people to think well of my little talk or to think I did a good job, but to come away with the truth of the passage on their hearts.

Once again I’d like to ask those of you who pray, if you think of it, to pray that I’ll say just what the Lord wants me to and that all the little physical issues I wrestle with that flare up when I get nervous would not flare up. I would be most thankful!

Time Travel Tuesday: High School Graduation

Posted on May 20, 2008 by Barbara Harper

Annie created and hosts Time Travel Tuesday each week with a question about our past. It’s a lot of fun! Click on the button to join in.

The topic today is high school graduation:

It’s that time of year… graduation! Which made this week’s time travel theme very easy to decide. So, what do you remember about graduating from high school? Was there anything special about the actual ceremony you remember? What did you do after graduation?

I don’t remember many of the details. I graduated in 1975 — over 30 years ago! 😮 There were 8 in our class. I was the valedictorian, so I had to give a speech (scary!) which I think was probably very dull to the poor listeners, to judge by their reactions. Bud Bierman spoke, for those who know him. He had been in my pastor’s former youth group many years before. They did tape everything but something didn’t work right, so we didn’t get copies.

I can’t remember specifically what we did afterward. but the usual thing after graduations was to all go out to a restaurant. People didn’t really have receptions then, at least among people I knew.

Of the graduation presents I remember, my mom gave me several things I would need for college (towels, etc.) and my boyfriend at the time gave me luggage to take stuff to college in. I think several people gave money, which was probably saved for college. 🙂

I wore a long red and white checked dress (must have been before I decided I didn’t like red) that had lace short sleeves and a lace inset at the bodice with lace around a square neckline (which I tried to iron one time — just a little bit of lace sticking up — while it was on. Dumb move!!! 😳 Thankfully it wasn’t this night.)

Here is a picture of my dad and I after the ceremony:

And here are a couple of my senior portraits:

I don’t really like my expressions there, but I had gone to the studio our school was using alone and felt very stiff and uncomfortable. I should have gone with one of the other girls — it would have been a lot more fun! Senior portraits have come a long way since these days, though!

I do remember being very excited at reaching that milestone!

How about you?