Just a drop...

Although I cannot concur with the promotional video's assertion that, "There is nothing better... there is nothing better... there is nothing better than leaving a bathroom odor-free," I can say that this stuff really works!

We're eleven of us, sharing close quarters (and bathrooms) in a beach house this week, and it is pretty nice not to have to smell each others' "elimination odors."

So, if you'd like to change your "fecal fragrance" (my husband's term) with something besides the constant striking of matches [my old standby, often eliciting frantic cries of, "Something's burning!" from other housemates, followed by my sheepish, "Um, er, well, um, I just... well..."], then pick up some good old "Just A Drop."

Keeping the Camera Seaside

A week away...

A week away...

It always provides me with time...
and perspective..
and deep thoughts...
and introspection...

And one of the chief things I am coming away with this time is the question: a week away from what?

What is my normal life...
my usual routine...
my "daily grind"...
that keeps me from these very important things when I'm living it?

Am I just too busy? Is the pace too frantic?

I've been contemplating these things this week, and I have come to discover that apparently I'm not the only one...

This post on the Rebelution Blog this week asks the same question. "What is the difference between 'doing hard things' and just 'doing to much'?" they ask. Good question.

They point us to a series of Blog articles by C.J. Mahaney that begins with the following challenge:

Lazy? Not me. I’m busy. Up early, up late. My schedule is filled from beginning to end. I love what I do and I love getting stuff done. I attack a daily to-do list with the same intensity I play basketball. Me lazy? I don’t think so!

Or at least I didn’t think so. That is, until I read about the difference between busyness and fruitfulness, and realized just how often my busyness was an expression of laziness, not diligence.

I forget now who first brought these points to my attention. But the realization that I could be simultaneously busy and lazy, that I could be a hectic sluggard, that my busyness was no immunity from laziness, became a life-altering and work-altering insight. What I learned is that:

• Busyness does not mean I am diligent
• Busyness does not mean I am faithful
• Busyness does not mean I am fruitful

Recognizing the sin of procrastination, and broadening the definition to include busyness, has made a significant alteration in my life. The sluggard can be busy—busy neglecting the most important work, and busy knocking out a to-do list filled with tasks of secondary importance.

I am still chewing on these ideas, but I think a week away every once in a while - away from the busyness - to ponder the busyness - is a good thing.

Our Judeo-Christian Heritage

Representative Randy Forbes, a Republican from here in my home state, has spoken out concerning the Judeo-Christian heritage of the United States of America. Although no one is debating the fact that the vast majority of American's today do not hold a Biblical worldview, or that most of American culture and day-to-day living is extremely secular, it is interesting to see someone in politics willing to stand up and acknowledge the truth that the founding fathers of this great nation (not perfect - not even close - but great nonetheless) did not found it as a secular state but as a nation infused with the principles of the Scriptures and a certain acknowledgment of and dependence upon God.



This is in sharp contrast to the words spoken by President Obama at an April 6 press conference with Turkey’s president, claiming that secularism is what makes America great:

“That’s something that’s very important to me,” Obama said. “And I’ve said before that one of the great strengths of the United States is – although, as I mentioned, we have a very large Christian population - we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation, or a Jewish nation, or a Muslim nation; we consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values.”

You can read more from the source of the aforementioned Presidential quote, posted here.

Dog Lessons

Today I received an email from a friend entitled "Dog Lessons." Most of you have probably already seen it. Since I thought it was cute, and since I'm not much of the "forward on an email" type, I decided to do the Blog equivalent and post it here. Those of you who have loved and owned dogs will appreciate this tribute to them...

If a dog were the teacher you would learn stuff like:

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.

Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.

When it's in your best interest, practice obedience.

Let others know when they've invaded your territory.

Take naps.

Stretch before rising.

Run, romp, and play daily.

Thrive on attention and let people touch you.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

On warm days, stop to lie on your back in the grass.

On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.

When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.

No matter how often you're scolded, don't buy into the guilt thing and pout. Run right back and make friends.

Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

Eat with gusto and enthusiasm. Stop when you have had enough.

Be loyal. Never pretend to be something you're not.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.

The picture at the top of this post is the picture of Pippin that they took while he was at the pound. Although he looks like he's missing his right eyeball, he is not. We are still struck daily by how different he is from Little, whom we still miss very much, by the way.

Even as I type this, Pip is sitting on the floor next to me just quietly staring up at me. I never know if he's happy or not. Little was very "jolly" and waggy and pant-y and excited most of the time. Pip is mellow and calm. He likes to be where we are in the house. He often wags his little stump of a cropped tail. He brings a ball and drops it at my feet to play fetch. He runs to the door and wants to go along if anyone is leaving to go somewhere. But he's just generally less expressive than Little was, so he doesn't seem as thrilled about life as Little did.

I hope he likes it here.

Where your treasure is...

From Desiring God Ministries

Toxic Foods for Dogs

My children were concerned - as I went to give the scrambled egg scraps to Pippin this morning - that I was poisoning the dog. Although we always gave our egg scraps to Little, suddenly they have become convinced that eggs are toxic to dogs and shouldn't be given to them. A little Internet research later, I have discovered that only raw eggs are dangerous to dogs.

(Go figure... I assume that raw is the only way they would get them "in the wild," if there ever was such a thing for most domestic breeds of dogs. But I digress...)

SO, just to set the record straight (assuming the dozen or so websites I checked are correct), cooked eggs are a safe and tasty treat for your canine friend. Just don't give them to him raw.

By the way, I did learn some new things that my dog shouldn't eat. I had already known that he shouldn't eat chocolate or have bones from chicken (unless they've been boiled into a hearty stock for 24 hours and can be easily crushed - see here for directions), but I hadn't realized that the following are also bad for dogs to eat: macademia nuts, fat or bones from beef, grapes or raisins, processed baby food, onions or garlic, alcoholic beverages, avacados, tomatoes, and mushrooms.

Milk and dairy products, it says, will cause diarrhea in the 50% of dogs who are lactose-intolerant. (Oh, please! So no more cheese?)

Anyway, the list above is far from exhaustive, and you may click on any of those links to see more thorough lists. One thing's for sure: it is enough to convince you that you should probably stick to dog food and dog treats, for the most part, and skip giving him the leftover eggs even if they're not toxic when cooked.

That and the fact that he might throw them up anyway. (Just ask PT, who cleaned up Pippin's pile of puke even as I typed this.)

A Different Kind of Tweeting

From John Piper, the man I most trust on the planet right now to engage and study the Scriptures with integrity and then share what he finds with boldness... noted theologian, prolific author, pastor of preaching and teaching at Bethlehem Baptist in Minneapolis:

I see two kinds of response to social Internet media like blogging, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and others.

One says: These media tend to shorten attention spans, weaken discursive reasoning, lure people away from Scripture and prayer, disembody relationships, feed the fires of narcissism, cater to the craving for attention, fill the world with drivel, shrink the soul’s capacity for greatness, and make us second-handers who comment on life when we ought to be living it. So boycott them and write books (not blogs) about the problem.

The other response says: Yes, there is truth in all of that, but instead of boycotting, try to fill these media with as much provocative, reasonable, Bible-saturated, prayerful, relational, Christ-exalting, truth-driven, serious, creative pointers to true greatness as you can.

Together with the team at Desiring God, I lean toward response #2. “Lean” is different from “leap.” We are aware that the medium tends to shape the message. This has been true, more or less, with every new medium that has come along—speech, drawing, handwriting, print, books, magazines, newspapers, tracts, 16mm home movies, flannel-graph, Cinerama, movies, Gospel Blimps, TV, radio, cassette tapes, 8-Tracks, blackboards, whiteboards, overhead projection, PowerPoint, skits, drama, banners, CDs, MP3s, sky-writing, video, texting, blogging, tweeting, Mina-Bird-training, etc.

Dangers, dangers everywhere. Yes. But it seems to us that aggressive efforts to saturate a media with the supremacy of God, the truth of Scripture, the glory of Christ, the joy of the gospel, the insanity of sin, and the radical nature of Christian living is a good choice for some Christians. Not all. Everyone should abstain from some of these media. For example, we don’t have a television.

That’s my general disposition toward media.

Now what about Twitter? I find Twitter to be a kind of taunt: “Okay, truth-lover, see what you can do with 140 characters! You say your mission is to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things! Well, this is one of those ‘all things.’ Can you magnify Christ with this thimble-full of letters?”

To which I respond:

The sovereign Lord of the earth and sky
Puts camels through a needle’s eye.
And if his wisdom see it mete,
He will put worlds inside a tweet.

So I am not inclined to tweet that at 10AM the cat pulled the curtains down. But it might remind me that the Lion of Judah will roll up the heavens like a garment, and blow out the sun like a candle, because he just turned the light on. That tweet might distract someone from pornography and make them look up.

I’ve been tweeting anonymously for a month mainly to test its spiritual and family effects on me. In spite of all the dangers, it seems like a risk worth taking. “All things were created through Christ and for Christ” (Colossians 1:16). The world does not know it, but that is why Twitter exists and that’s why I Tweet.

By his grace and for his glory,

Pastor John
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TasteAndSee/ByDate/2009/3951_Why_and_How_I_Am_Tweeting/

And so I am reminded again that the Lord is about the business of redemption, and that moving into things with deliberateness and purpose, for His glory, is possible. But it isn't easy. And it isn't common.

Here's to being uncommon...

Welcome Home, Pippin

I have so many thoughts... so many unpublished, unfinished "drafts" from the last couple of weeks... there has been much musing, spiritual and otherwise... there have been many tears...

But, I can't tarry, waiting for all of them to get processed and finished and posted. The kids are asking for a photo post to share our news... we have a new canine member of our family.


We took to heart the admonition of former President Ronald Reagan: "The best way to get over a dog's death is to get another soon."

So, here is introducing our new little friend, Pippin. He is a cocker spaniel rescue from the local pound, and he is so sweet and gentle and soft and dear. We are very much enjoying getting to know him, and very much enjoying having a dog in our home again. We still miss Little so very much, but we are happy to have another soft fuzzy friend to love on...

And so it begins...

A California pastor and his wife have been ordered to stop holding a weekly Bible study in their home. A dozen or so people meeting for dinner and a study of the Word together is apparently being dubbed a "religious assembly" and therefore needs a "major use permit" to continue. They are fighting this in court, for all our sakes.

"The county asked, 'Do you have a regular meeting in your home?'
She said, 'Yes.'
'Do you say amen?'
'Yes.'
'Do you pray?'
'Yes.'
'Do you say praise the Lord?' 'Yes.'"

Can you imagine? Read the entire article here.

Remembering Little

Part of the way I've been handling the grief of the sudden, tragic death of our sweet Little is to work on a "memory book" about her. It has been therapeutic for me, and a huge blessing to the kids, now that it is here. You can view a copy of it online here.

A highlight of the book, in my opinion, is an article I found entitled "Do Dogs Go to Heaven?" by Randy Alcorn. Before you scoff, know that he quotes theological heavy-weights like John Piper and Joni Eareckson Tada, and leaves you with more than a little hope that you might get to see your special animal friend again one day...

Goodbye, Little

I am writing with the sad news that our beloved pet dog, Little, was struck by a car and killed this evening. I would like to ask you to pray for our children, who are deeply sad and grieving... but especially for OG.

Little had run away across the road in front of our house, and OG went after her to try to retrieve her. Little decided to play a game of "I can make you chase me" (this was one of her favorites) and darted across the large highway beside our house into the median. OG, fearful and worried that Little might get hit by a car, called her to come back. Although Little was not an obedient dog, and would literally NEVER come when called, she turned and headed back toward OG. She ran right in front of a car, who apparently swerved to try to avoid her, but could not. Although Little was not run over, she was struck by the car and passed under it - and OG did witness the whole thing. She heard the yelp and both heard and witnessed the impact.

We were having Bible study/music practice at our home at the time. OG ran into the house by way of the front door, screaming.

OG is our quietest, most introspective child, so we want to pray for her a healthy processing of this whole experience, without any undue guilt or self-blame. Please also pray this same thing for the woman who struck Little. She stopped (as did the car behind her who witnessed the whole thing), and she was pretty distraught. Several people waited and cried and talked with us ("us" being our family and the many members of the worship team who were at our house when it happened) while we waited for the Animal Control emergency vet to arrive and confirm that Little was dead.

We were able to talk together and process things, and we were able to bury Little - with her favorite chew toy under her head like she liked to sleep - but the children are still quite sad and are having a hard time getting to sleep.

They are asking hard "why" questions and are not sure how to engage them.

Please just pray for our family as we move through this night and these next days of grief. We're so thankful no people were hurt, of course, and yet we're missing our sweet little friend of a dog.

The one who touched me first...

One of my Mother's Day greetings this morning was a poem. I have included it below because it makes me smile, and because I think the idea of the final line is profound.

M is for the nine long months she cared for me as a part of herself.
O is for the very one, because of course that's what she is.
T is for all the time she spent just for me.
H is for all the help she gives me when I need it.
E is that she empties her money box to feed and clothe me.
R is for being ready for what I have to say and do.
When they are together,
they spell something I would not be here without.
Mother.
The one who touched me first.

Let me remember this, too...

"Remember that the world is full of youngsters who have some sort of handicap that they must overcome. You apparently have a speech defect. I am sure you will overcome it, in time.

There may even be some slight advantage, at your age, in not being able to say anything. It compels you to be a good listener. The world is full of talkers, but it is rare to find anyone who listens."

- wise observations from E. B. White, The Trumpet of the Swan
(New York: Harper Collins, 1970).

Hmmm...

I just read the following quotation on a sweet friend's profile, and it has started me thinking...

“People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.” - Audrey Hepburn

So thankful that God, at least, can pull this off... so grateful for mercy...

"I'm your density"

Seventeen years ago today I pledged to spend a lifetime with my sweetheart... my best friend... my 'crush'... my destiny...

(I can't even say that without remembering George McFly, adoringly declaring to his crush, Lorraine, "I'm your density"!)

Amid the craziness of the day, one of my sweet daughters brought us a gift and card she had made. This is what it said:

Dear Mom and Dad,
Happy Anniversary!
I hope it is a great one!

17 years of generosity,
17 years of admiration,
17 years of fighting,
17 years of hanging up the phone in fury,
17 years of love.
I love you!

Song of Soloman 2:2 "Like a lily among thorns is my darling among maidens."

I'm glad to see that she has a realistic picture of love... has a realistic portrait of faithfulness...has a security born from knowing that her parents really did mean the "until death us do part" part... has a common shared experience that demonstrates that difficulties-dealt-with don't mean death to a marriage, but actually strengthen it... that "fighting" - having a disagreement and then working through it all with honesty and grace and forgiveness and mutual forbearance and respect - is a sign of a healthy marriage...

We went to a "communication for couples" seminar a couple of weeks ago. One of the things we heard - and truly believe - is the message that, "Absence of conflict is not the sign of a healthy marriage. Working through conflict is the sign of a healthy marriage."

And I would go so far as to say that it is the sign of a healthy anything... a healthy friendship, a healthy family, a healthy church, a healthy individual....

So, here's to 17 years of love, indeed.

Little Bells and Morning Pillows

I am increasingly becoming aware of what probably should have been a self-evident fact long before I reached 42 years of age, and that is this: that whatever I just listened to, or experienced, or dwelt on before I go to bed for the evening, will remain on my mind, making its mark - for good or ill - even as I drift off to sleep.

"Sleep is a time when the brain rehearses recently-learned material," says James D. Walsh, Ph.D., director of St. Luke's Hospital's Sleep Medicine and Research Center.*

So, with that in mind, we are going to try to listen to and review our Scripture memory verses and catechism memory songs just before going to sleep at night. I recently read somewhere (though I can't remember where) that your brain will repeat/rehearse the last thing it heard before going to sleep something like 3-5 times, even after you have actually fallen asleep. Imagine!

In that same vein, I also just became aware of some free, non-copyrighted, public domain children's devotional books available online. They are materials written by hymn-writer Frances Ridley Havergal. She was a 19th century English religious poet and hymn writer.

Little Pillows, or Good-night Thoughts for the Little Ones, is a classic collection of one-month's worth of brief bedtime devotions for children. Author Carol Brandt tells us that, "In Little Pillows Frances' intent was to give children biblical truth to think about as they went to sleep. Each truth was to be like a little pillow - something comforting and supportive to rest upon during the night. She teaches through vivid word pictures that bring everyday images to a child's mind, thus linking the spiritual to the child's world. This is child evangelism as it should be: plain, simple, truthful, without manipulation or deceit."

There is a companion volume of morning devotions called Morning Bells. At the beginning of this second book, also written "with Aunt Fanny's love" for her nieces Sybil and Helena, Frances herself wrote: "But in the morning we want something to arouse us, and to help us to go brightly and bravely through the day. So here are "Morning Bells" to waken up your little hearts, and to remind them that we must not only rest in Jesus, but walk in Him. If the motto of Little Pillows might be 'Come to Jesus,' the motto of Morning Bells might be 'Follow Jesus.'"

You are free to copy them, print them, or share them in any ways you like as long as you do not do so for any profit or material gain. Should you prefer it, they are also available for purchase through many online distributors, including this one.

* See complete article about sleep's improving memory and learning.

Ink-on-Laundry, Logs-in-Eyes, and Other Unwanted Stuff

Upon the removal of a load of clothes from the dryer a few mornings ago, I discovered that there was ink all over many of the items from a pen that had been left in the pocket of one of my family members when he placed his pants in the laundry basket.

Let's skip the discussion about whether this was primarily a failure of said individual who owns the pocket (and the pen), or a failure of the chief laundress in the home who does his laundry. I am mindful of two things which lead me to do so.

The first is something I remember from Dead Right - a short educational film with a clever-pun title which they showed back in my 1980's junior high health class - which made the noteworthy point that you could be "right" and still be "dead." (In the case of said educational film, it was by stepping out in front of a moving car while insisting on your prerogative to be in the pedestrian crosswalk.)

The second reason I skip the "blame discussion" is that I am learning - slowly and painfully and incompletely and probably far too late in life - that it is equally as dangerous as stepping out into the crosswalk in front of a moving car, to consider one's self "more right" than another... any other... in this case, the "offender" who left the pen in his pocket.

So, philosophical musings regarding "rightness" and "blame" mercifully laid aside, the fact remains that I was still the one handling the resultant ink mess.

Following is a detailed discussion of how I treated each of the three items that were worth trying to get the ink out of. (By this I mean that they were not sleep clothes or undergarments, which I decided not to try to treat due to the sheer number of items affected.)

All three of these items are now completely clean and clear of ink.

I soaked all of them over two nights in a solution of warm water and OxiClean. (I put a couple of scoops in a sinkful of water, so this was a pretty strong solution.) One of the stains I also doused with Goo Gone before soaking it in the OxiClean. Another I treated with hairspray before soaking it. The third (the least-stained one) I simply put in the OxiClean solution with the other two.

All three, washed today in warm water with the other light-colored clothes, are completely ink-free.

I remember once, years ago, trying to help a bachelor friend who had called me with a query about how to launder an antique quilt (made by his grandmother) which he had accidentally stained with ink. This was pre-Internet days (yes, I'm that old), and I looked in a book I owned entitled How to Clean Practically Anything. (This is a terribly useless book, by the way, not even worth the $.01 you can get it for on Amazon.) The hairspray they suggested using as a stain-remover for ink was terribly ineffective, and my friend grieved both the loss of his grandmother's quilt and the failure of his homemaker-type friend to help him.

Now, twenty years too late for my friend's quilt, I've found something that works to remove ink. I have put the information out there for any of you who may ever need it for some unfortunate laundry disaster in your own home.

Oh, and by the way, if the "unfortunate laundry disaster" you encounter should involve fresh strawberry stains (think strawberry picking with a two-year-old who is eating more than she's putting in her bucket), you can get them out in a jiffy by pouring boiling (yes, boiling) water through the garment from the backside of the stain. I first tried this tip from my friend Cheri with great skepticism, as I had erroneously heard years earlier that hot water would "set any stain." It has not failed once over the past fifteen years of strawberry picking-and-eating.

I have yet to try the laundry tip my friend Gloria sent me (mostly because I can't find a store near me that sells the nifty spray bottle she mentioned she'd bought), but I'm always happy to hear of - and to pass on - things that worked.

Happy laundering!

"Hoping and assuredly believing..."

Among the various and sundry undergraduate and graduate studies I have enjoyed or endured, there was an entire semester class on the person and the works of William Shakespeare taken at the College of William and Mary.

Never once was there even the suggestion that Shakespeare might have been a Christian. Common references in his works to Roman Catholic or Protestant ideas (such as purgatory, heaven, and hell) were dismissed as a writer's patronizing nods to the prevailing cultural sentiments of his day.

Bearing in mind that - just as people say all sorts of spiritual things about their loved one's faith (relatively imperceptible during life but now declared decisively upon their death), people also often adapt all sorts of spiritual perceptions of themselves when their thoughts turn to the impending reality of their own deaths - I offer the following surprising declaration from William Shakespeare in his last will and testament:

"I commend my soul into the hands of God, my Creator, hoping and assuredly believing, through only the merits of Jesus Christ, my Saviour, to be made partaker of life everlasting."
- William Shakespeare, (1564-1616)

Sharing Recipes

Today, in response to the fact that there were two recipes which folks were asking me for, and one recipe which I was wanting to get from my sister, I created a new Blog. If you are interested in yummy food, you might want to check it out. Let me know if you ever want to join the community of recipe-posters. It is certainly easier than repeatedly sharing those more-popular, most-requested recipes individually!

Nods to Johanna's small group, which has a similar site of its own and from whom I shamelessly swiped the idea.

Happy cooking!