Category Archives: Books/Magazines

From My Email This Morning…

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Background: I get an email with a portion of C.S. Lewis’ writings every morning. (If you are interested in also receiving it, click here and scroll down to “Classic Devotions”.) This was what I read this morning, which is from The Weight of Glory:

When I attempted . . . . to describe our spiritual longings, I was omitting one of their most curious characteristics. We usually notice it just as the moment of vision dies away, as the music ends, or as the landscape loses the celestial light. . . . . For a few minutes we have had the illusion of belonging to that world. Now we wake to find that it is no such thing. We have been mere spectators. Beauty has smiled, but not to welcome us; her face was turned in our direction, but not to see us. We have not been accepted, welcomed, or taken into the dance. We may go when we please, we may stay if we can: “Nobody marks us.” A scientist may reply that since most of the things we call beautiful are inanimate, it is not very surprising that they take no notice of us. That, of course, is true. It is not the physical objects that I am speaking of, but that indescribable something of which they become for a moment the messengers. And part of the bitterness which mixes with the sweetness of that message is due to the fact that it so seldom seems to be a message intended for us, but rather something we have overheard. By bitterness I mean pain, not resentment. We should hardly dare to ask that any notice be taken of ourselves. But we pine. The sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledged, to meet with some response, to bridge some chasm that yawns between us and reality, is part of our inconsolable secret. And surely, from this point of view, the promise of glory, in the sense described, becomes highly relevant to our deep desire. For glory means good report with God, acceptance by God, response, acknowledgement, and welcome into the heart of things. The door on which we have been knocking all our lives will open at last.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: Hotter Than Hades Edition

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY September 14, 2014

Outside my window… dark and a frigid 82F. Just looked on Weather.Com and it was 111F earlier. Ugh.

I am thinking… about some of the phone calls I need to make tomorrow.

I am thankful… for my mother-in-law watching Daniel so I could go to church and take care of some errands today.

In the kitchen… I had some pumpkin ice cream before heading to bed.

I am wearing… my Online Debate Team shirt and black capri sweats.

I am praying for… a call for Jon and some special intentions.

I am going… to curl up with my book once I’m done with this.

I am wondering… where Freya is.

I am reading… Eggs in a Casket by Laura Childs. I will be awaiting the next one coming out in December very impatiently.

I am hoping… I can get some paying freelance work one of these days.

I am looking forward to… community dinner at church on Wednesday.

I am hearing… the A/C.

Around the house… quiet. I’m the only one awake except for a couple cats.

A favorite quote for today… “A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.” — Douglas Adams

(I needed a break from C.S. Lewis and Adams is so incredibly quotable.)

One of my favorite things… black cats. (Edda is helping me type.)

A few plans for the rest of the week: various errands, community dinner and choir on Wednesday, and whatever else comes up throughout the week.

A peek into my day… my Sunday best!

What I Wore On Sunday

My outfit today is one that I’ve worn a number of times. My thought was that it would be cool enough under my choir robe. Yeah… no.

Daniel and I

Dress: Kohl’s
Camisole: Target
Shoes: Naturalizer
Blankie: crocheted for Daniel when he was in utero and finished 5 months late because of the preeclampsia and losing the feeling in my hands.

Here’s a detail shot of my skirt and my shoes. You can see the tan line from my flip-flops and some of the bruising in my foot from the stress injury I have.

Details of my skirt and shoes.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook and the pretty ladies at Fine Linen and Purple.

7 Quick Takes: More Vaccine Fun, Prison Chaplain to the Nazis, and Library Love

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

More from Simcha. Simcha posted something on Dr. Deisher, vaccines, and autism today which is worth a read. She brings up one of the things that drives me batty about a lot of the “vaccines cause autism” hysteria: their science is completely faulty.

This is also why I’m in the process of developing a shirt that says: “Yes, my kid is autistic. Yes, we vaccinated them. No, they are not on the GAPS diet. Please go away.” People are obsessed with pseudo-science (the “vaccines = autism” portion) and while the GAPS diet/gluten-free diet does work for some kids, it isn’t a magical cure.

— 2 —

Baseball. The Giants continue to be behind the Dodgers, a trend I’m hoping will reverse itself as I’m living in Dodger country. The Dodgers usually suck so this is kind of surprising. On the other hand, a few of the main people have been out with injuries this season.

On the other hand, the Cardinals are the top of their division so at least one of my two teams has a shot at the World Series.

— 3 —

Minister to Nazis during Nuremburg trials. I read an article on Henry Gerecke, the LCMS pastor assigned to be the chaplain for the war criminals being tried in the Nuremburg Trials, and it was very interesting. One of the questions raised is why men would be given spiritual care when they obviously didn’t give a crap about the 6+ million people they butchered. I also found it interesting that Pastor Gerecke would not commune the 11 men sentenced to hang unless they met his standard of repentance and only 4 did.

I was telling my mother-in-law about the article and she told me about Sunday school lessons in her Lutheran church in the 1950’s where they laid out what Jesus said and gave the hypothetical situation of what would happen if the government told you to do something that countered what Jesus said. The fact that many of the most ruthless Nazi war criminals were Lutheran did not escape the minds of American Lutherans.

— 4 —

Flu shot. I got my flu shot this afternoon as did my mother-in-law and Jon. I thought I’d go to Walgreens because of the program I mentioned last week but I have to stay after for observation due to my egg allergy so it was easier to go to Target where my mother-in-law could stroll Daniel around. (Our local Walgreens is tiny.) (You also should go read Angie’s post on this.)

— 5 —

Library awesomeness. Ann-Marie blogged today on how getting an email from the library announcing your item is in is like getting a free gift. I totally agree. I’ve been checking the library site daily to see if Laura Childs’ new books are on there… and they are. Apparently, someone in cataloging jumped the gun and put them on. I had to call my local library and ask sweetly (because the website was refusing to let me put a hold on them) and they added me to the waiting list. Hopefully, I will be #1 on the list when they arrive!

— 6 —

ID bracelet. While Daniel can point out his name and address on paper, he still isn’t able to say them so I started looking into getting a special ID bracelet made for him a few weeks ago. After Googling a bit, I came upon the company Road ID and found exactly what I needed. The order confirmation and shipping emails were totally accurate and even included some interesting facts on California. We’ve had the bracelet for the last two weeks and Daniel hasn’t taken it off and lost it yet — something I think is great considering this kid’s penchant for stripping stuff like that off. I highly recommend Road ID and I have a feeling we’ll be working with them for a while every time we move.

— 7 —

Brett. I have received word that “Brett” is finally home in the States with his family. Woohoooo!!!! 2.5 years of serious prayers are answered.

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: September 7, 2014

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY September 7, 2014

Outside my window… sunny with some clouds. I’m hoping the clouds cool things down because our heat index is in the triple digits.

I am thinking… about the sermon I heard this morning, especially the part about treating people like Gentiles and tax collectors if you can’t resolve things with them. It’s from the Gospel according to Matthew who was… a tax collector. A call to show mercy, much?

I am thankful… for my mother-in-law taking over Daniel this morning so I could go to church and worship. We still haven’t gotten good church behavior down with him and so my very awesome and wonderful mother-in-law babysits so I can go and be fed. I have some ideas for practicing sitting through church this week and I’ll let you know if they work.

In the kitchen… Daniel and I unloaded the dishwasher. I haven’t cooked anything today but I know my mother-in-law made something with pesto for my father-in-law’s lunch so it smells heavenly.

I am wearing… a purple heather shirt from Old Navy and black capri cargo pants from Kohl’s. Oh yes.. also flip-flops from Old Navy. (I live in mine.)

I am praying for… a call for Jon, for various people dealing with various illnesses in my life, for discernment on a few issues in my personal life, and for a couple special intentions.

I am going… to probably do a Target/Trader Joe’s run with Daniel later today to give him a chance to get out of the house because it’s too hot to go for a walk.

I am wondering… about a couple things I read online recently.

I am reading… Eggs in Purgatory by Laura Childs. (It’s part of her Cackleberry Club series.) I read/finished Gone with the Win and Clam Wake by Mary Daheim this week. (Dental appointments are good for that.)

I am hoping… Jon gets a few funeral calls this week.

I am looking forward to… the weather eventually cooling down one of these days.

I am hearing… Daniel rumpusing in the other end of the house.

Around the house… laundry-folding is happening intermittently in the kitchen, I’ve unloaded the dishwasher/reloaded it, and I think my mother-in-law is adding stuff to it so we can start it.

A favorite quote for today… “We were promised sufferings. They were part of the program. We were even told, ‘Blessed are they that mourn,’ and I accept it. I’ve got nothing that I hadn’t bargained for. Of course it is different when the thing happens to oneself, not to others, and in reality, not imagination.” — A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis.

It came up in a conversation on my Facebook wall with one of my mom’s former co-workers regarding a blog post on Victoria Osteen’s comments about how we go to church for ourselves because God wants us to be happy. *hears the Osteen-is-a-heretic alarm sounding*

One of my favorite things… quiet. I’m a mom and an introvert after all so it’s something I crave but don’t always have.

A few plans for the rest of the week: my father-in-law’s birthday is tuesday but that’s just about it, I think.

A peek into my day… It’s time for another link-up!

What I Wore on Sunday

It is hotter than Hades here so I went for incredibly airy and cool clothes, ones in which I can joust with palm branches or fix a flat tire.

As you can see, I take Sundays very seriously. Here I am attempting to play good hymnody.

Me pretending to play the organ.

Unfortunately, adorable children do have to be tickled on occasion.

Tickle fight.

Jen
Shirt: Kohl’s
Skirt: inherited it from sister-in-law who probably thrifted it.
Shoes: Naturalizer

Daniel
Shirt: Promise Walk for Preeclampsia 2014
Shorts: Circo (I heart Target.)
Sandals: Circo

Here’s a lovely close-up of the skirt and shoes. I’m one of *those* people who wears long skirts to church and never bears their shoulders EVER. (It’s not a religious thing. I’m just short and I can’t sew. I also get kind of sick of having to play with liquid nitrogen yearly because I get interesting spots on my shoulders.)

My hemline and shoes.

Here’s another picture of my precious sweetling helping my mother-in-law by putting out the children’s books for the Little Free Library. He’s got about 18 inches to go before he is taller than I am. (See? I really am short.)

Daniel putting out the books.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook. Go see the pretty ladies at Fine Linen and Purple for what everyone else wore today.

7 Quick Takes: The Exhaustion Fairy Visits, Scrapbooking Mysteries, and Back to School Night

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Brett. The seriously good news: HIS FAMILY IS FULLY FUNDED AND CAN BUY THE PLANE TICKETS HOME! After two years of praying for him, this is amazing news. God willing, his adoptive family will send me updates on how he does.

— 2 —

Kindergarten. Daniel is in his second week of school and seems to like it. I’ve run into a couple of his aides while out and about and they are in love with him. His transportation is worked out as of last Friday and I think today was the first day he didn’t get on the bus in tears. (I figured there would be a week of adjustment that way.)

— 3 —

Back to School Night. Jon and I went on Wednesday and got almost individualized attention from Daniel’s teacher. Jon was able to network a bit and it was a reminder for me that my kid is not that weird. It was totally up Jon’s alley (he is a people person and a networker) and he actually had FUN at the impromptu PTA meeting afterwards while I curled up into Laura Childs’ New Orleans.

They were talking about Common Core and the implementation at the school. As one who has the possibility of moving between states or halves of states, I’m actually all for the standardization of curricula and we’re being given the chance to review any Common Core curricula that our kids will be using. I know a lot of my homeschooling friends are up in arms over this and that’s understandable; but I’m not finding any problems with any of the material that I’ve seen.

And seriously, our kids are not learning how to twerk in PE like some people have claimed.

— 4 —

Laura Childs. I’m almost completely through her scrapbooking mysteries and have requested her Cackleberry Club mysteries from the library. Yes, she is that good. Her author website is here.

— 5 —

Exhaustion fairy. I somehow missed a dose of medication on Wednesday and had a really bad time sleeping that night so I spent Thursday like a zombie. My mother-in-law took one look at me when she and Jon got home at 6 and ordered me to go to bed. I wrote a couple of these last night but fell asleep typing. I’m still tired this morning but functional thankfully.

— 6 —

Bill Gothard. I’m reading stories on the Recovering Grace website and it’s showing me how much of a bullet I dodged when I converted. I had pen pals who were part of ATI and while they thought I was strange, I’m seeing that they were part of a cult. *shivers*

— 7 —

Bill Cosby and Victoria Osteen. Is anybody besides me convinced that Joel Osteen and his wife are the Christian version of Oprah? (By the way, my church attendance is *TOTALLY* about God, not about making myself happy.)

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: August 24, 2014

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY August 24, 2014

Outside my window… dark and cool. A nice change from the heat of the day.

I am thinking… about the errands I have to do tomorrow morning while Daniel is in school as well as the dental work that will be coming up.

I am thankful… for my mother-in-law watching Daniel this afternoon so I could have a much needed nap.

In the kitchen… pesto tortellini tonight.

I am wearing… a plum heather shirt from Old Navy and black capri sweats from Target.

I am praying for… a new parish for Jon, healing for some of the people in my life, and for some special intentions.

I am going… on “epic errands” tomorrow morning.

I am reading… Skeleton Letters by Laura Childs. I’m binge-reading all of her scrapbooking murder mysteries.

I am hoping… Daniel does well this week at taking the bus to school. I’m also hoping that we have the same bus driver as last week because she was very nice.

I am hearing… my girls being nocturnal.

Around the house… silence as I’m probably the only one up.

A favorite quote for today… “Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons for you are crunchy and go well with ketchup.”

One of my favorite things… ice chips.

A few plans for the rest of the week: working on my proficiencies for ODesk, doing errands as needed, and whatever else comes up. I don’t know that I have any really major plans.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

7 Quick Takes: Kindergarten, Grumping, and Murder Mysteries

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Brett His family passed court a few days ago and are now in the 10-day waiting period. They are, however, not fully funded and need $2500 added to their FSP before they can book their plane tickets home. Here is the link to their FSP. Could you please share it on your blogs/Facebook/Twitter and let people know that the number needs to read $13,000? Thanks!

— 2 —

First week of school. In case you missed my post on Monday, Daniel started kindergarten this week and it’s been a mixed bag. We love the school, his teacher, and the aides. What we don’t love: the transportation hell that we’re in. They hadn’t gotten him on any of the class lists last Friday so I had to bring my BINDER OF FUN down to the school to fill out paperwork and give them every recent evaluation of every kind. This also meant that they hadn’t gotten him routed for the school bus… and I’m glad my mom suggested I call and find out. Well… Claremont Unified decided to use their transportation instead of Bonita Unified doing it. On Wednesday, we put Daniel on the bus… which then refused to start. OK… one more day of taking him to school. We put him on the bus again this morning and it was fine… except that they screwed up the pick-up time and Claremont Unified decided not to call Daniel’s school back to let them know that they were dispatching someone. I realized that his bus was in front of me and called the school to tell them not to put him on the bus. The school secretary was spitting fire over the whole transportation screw-up (as I would hope she would be, given that Daniel is non-verbal and people had seriously screwed up) and I got a call from the principal personally apologizing for what happened.

Is all of this making me wish I homeschooled? OH HADES NO!!!!!!!!!!!! I have no regrets about putting him on a bus and sending him to school — I just wish the person coordinating this stuff (the special ed person for Claremont Unified) was actually competent. I’m at the point of asking for her head on a platter and I don’t think the people at Daniel’s school would mind helping me with that! (They’re pissed with her as well.)

— 3 —

Special intention. I had a seriously painful dental appointment today… and it was just the consultation. Blue Shield of California also screwed up my insurance so my dentist can’t even refer me out for treatment because they don’t know what insurance will cover or who of their endodontists I can see. Could y’all please pray that they can get their acts together so the office manager of the practice and I can hammer out a treatment plan on Monday? I’d also love prayers for my headache to go away.

— 4 —

Sleep deprivation. You know you’re sleep-deprived when you swallow your handful of night pills and then realize they were your morning pills for the next day. God willing, I’ll sleep OK tonight…

— 5 —

Baseball. The Giants are only 3.5 games back from the Dodgers right now. They could conceivably take the division if LA starts playing as crappy as they normally do. The Cardinals are also 2nd in their division though it’s fairly close with them and Milwaukee — only 1.5 game back.

— 6 —

Murder mysteries. I’ve gotten addicted to Laura Childs’ scrapbooking murder mysteries about a scrapbooking store owner in New Orleans named Carmela Bernard. There has already been some crossover between these and her tea shop mysteries and I’m wondering if her tea shop people (in Charleston) are going to make a trip to the scrapbooking store in New Orleans or vice versa.

— 7 —

Special intention. Could y’all keep praying for our special intention regarding ministry? Please and thank you!

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.