Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Chicken dreams and stranger things

I love M&Ms.

I know what you're thinking.
You know that I'm particular about M&Ms, but isn't this just a bit overly OCD?
Yes, it would be, but fortunately, this wasn't just for me :)

My Chicken Man had a birthday recently.  I'm a bit proud of the quilt I just made for him :)






Behold the reason for sorting a pound and a half of M&Ms.

LEGO cookies!

A couple of streams of consciousness...

In the past month or so, it seems like God has really been impressing on me the need to strengthen relationships.  I don’t do friendship well.  I’ve had the same best friend for almost half of my life.  Other than that, I don’t have a whole lot of friends whom I’ve endeavored to stay close to.  I definitely don’t put enough effort into making friends.

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.  John 13:34-35

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

Because relationships require time, effort, and vulnerability, it can be easy to shy away from meaningful friendships.  It's lots easier to be acquainted with someone than to truly know them.  Or let them know you.

I think, too, especially among homeschoolers, there's a tendency to turn inward when problems arise.  Many of us, many of our parents, became used to standing alone.  When you've chosen a way of life which is radically different and widely frowned upon, you have to be able to stand on your own two feet.  Independence is something that we value.

For those of us who are the oldest in a family, there is added pressure to be strong - to be the good one, to set a good example, and, well, stay ahead of the youngers.

But is it really right to bear our burdens alone?

If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?  James 2:15-16

Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.  Galatians 6:2

How can we bear each other's burdens or meet needs if we don't know what they are?

I've come to realize that we are not autonomous - we belong to the body of Christ.  And sometimes - and this I find terrifying - ministering to an unbeliever means sharing one's struggles.  Imagine that!  Admitting to an unsaved individual that christians aren't prefect.  Eek!  Not only that, but sometimes we might need to admit a younger sibling that we don't have it all together.  *profound shudder*

I have multiple friends right now who are, like me, struggling with the reality of of being a single daughter.  Why aren't we more willing to lean on each other?  I am not at all pointing fingers here - I am terribly stubborn about talking over issues, I internalize WAY too much.  I have no right to condemn others.  But seriously, how many of us think about crying in front of somebody and say "Nope.  Not happening."  Why are tears a bad thing?  Why are sorrow and heartache so hard to share?  

Another thought that keeps popping up in my mind was sparked by a sermon which I heard a couple of weeks ago.

In Deuteronomy 25:17-19, God commands Israel to "blot" Amalek from earth when they take possession of the promised land.  That was one of the tribes which Israel ended up leaving a remnant of.  So, of course, the Amalekites plague them for awhile.  Then, in 1 Samuel 15, along comes Saul with the command to utterly destroy them.  However he, too, leaves a remnant.  I had never before put together the connection between Haman and the Amalekites.  Haman is called the "Agagite," likely referring to Agag, the king of Amalek.  Because Israel didn't destroy them in the beginning,  the Amalekites continued to strive with them for literally hundreds of years.


Isn't that also true of sin?  When we are convicted of a particular area of sin in our life, do we truly flee from it or do we just kind of get rid of most of it?  Wouldn't it be better to completely reject any trace of sin rather than leave it til we're really weak and vulnerable (like the Israelites in Esther)?

So, there's a smattering of what I've been thinking about lately :)

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Back to Blogger (and an inaugural backpacking trip)


I feel silly about all the bouncing around I've been doing - shutting my first blog down with out warning, moving to Wordpress, and now reverting to Blogger.  I needed to close the first blog and I've never liked Wordpress.  So it's hi-ho, hi-ho, back to Blogger I go!  Now I have to get all comfy and organized over here again :p

Osprey Ariel - the pack on my back
Speaking of organized - I tried backpacking for the first time.  I'm not much of a hiker, but I love to camp, so I wasn't sure if backpacking would be a really great camping trip or a hiking nightmare.  Aside from a few hang-ups (like not knowing how to prepare adequately for the monsoons), it was pretty great.  I've never - never ever - carried a pack before, so my biggest concern was having 30 lbs on my back.  I thought I would be really sore the next day.  A concern that never crossed my mind was how hungry I was going to be.  Apparently carrying a pack burns thru calories much faster than I'm accustomed to.

The pictures were all taken on my iPhone, so hopefully they're showing up alright...  We were "hiking" about in the Coronado National Forest.


I think he was taking pictures of flowers...

One of many, many forks.

The beginning of the monsoon which swamped us.

We visited an old cemetery.

And some old buildings.


And some more old buildings...


Happy dog :)

Believe it or not, this was almost all the food/utensils we had.

Mom's very, very, very wet shoes...

This is just a test




There before her was James, the Earl's right hand man.  Engaged in a hot debate with the smith, James looked every bit the passionate, unscrupulous rogue he was known to be.  No one really knew why the Earl kept him around.  He was a dangerous character, whose temper had more than once landed his lord in bed with broken bones.  Some said the Earl was afraid to cross him.  Others said that if anything ever happened to James, the Earl would lose control of his fief, since he was loved little better than his henchman.

There he stood, the Earl's violent representative, arguing vociferously with the blacksmith.  But Genica could gather no idea of what they were fighting about.  Apparently they had been at it for some time, for they had descended to the level of name calling.  Roaring with laughter, the whole crowd was heedless of the risk their smith was taking.  On occasion, such insults resulted in devastating retaliations.  But the Earl was inconsistent and there was a chance that the smith might go unscathed.  Breathlessly, Genica strained her ears for a clue to what incited such vituperation.  She tugged on the nearest sleeve.

"Philip, what's going on?"

"Oho, the smith repaired some dagger and failed to report it to his lordship,"  replied the farmer, still laughing and wiping his eyes.

"Why should he have reported it?"  Genica asked.

"Seems his lordship's dungeon yielded forth a dangerous criminal and the knife belonged to him.  The Earl has been tearing earth and sky apart to find the man."

Genica's pallor would have betrayed her had old Philip been less distracted.  Quickly she turned away.  When her errands were complete, she did not linger, as she usually did, to visit and chat and partake of the village grapevine.