7 Quick Takes — Fruit of a Grumpy Week

7 Quick Takes

It’s been a tough week for blogging. AT&T screwed with our Internet and forced me to have to put posts on hold while I found alternate methods of posting them. When I did get back to posting, I found I had tremendous writer’s block. Oy vey…

— 1 —

I just saw that “The Big Bang Theory” is being pre-empted by some stupid basketball games. I don’t care who is playing — this is simply unacceptable. The egregiousness of this is on par with CBS News cutting into NCIS: Los Angeles to announce election returns.

— 2 —

Our router seems to be having hiccups. It worked perfectly fine in Montana and I don’t think it has anything to do with being 2.5 years old. I’m wondering if it’s issues because of the weather (again, it’s curious) or what it is. The package said not to let it near cordless phones or microwaves but as I don’t know of another phone jack in the house, I’m not sure we have a choice. It’s kind of irritating because I’d *like* decent wi-fi. (And yes, I’m aware that this is yet another first world problem.)

— 3 —

I’m finding that I could probably quote and analyze the entirety of every Sojourners article I read. They manage to speak to me on a level that I rarely find in faith-based publications. There have been articles on discourse, tithing, and retention of 20somethings that are just brilliant beyond anything else I see on those subjects.

— 4 —

I got the rest of the devotionals written for the family friend of my in-laws. Again, I ended up with weird passages from Acts and in some cases, it was a struggle to find ways to make them applicable. I’ve been asked if I’m going to post any of them on here and the answer is probably “no” because they’re going to be part of a book and I don’t want to deal with copyright issues.

— 5 —

Daniel is doing better. Those who are on Twitter with me know that he and I made a trip to Urgent Care yesterday at UCD Pediatrics. He had been coughing and after our nap (he fell asleep on top of me and I was “forced” to take a nap with him), he had a low grade fever. This a kid who can go from normal to critical in the period of an hour so I called the advice nurse at UCD Pediatrics and asked her sweetly for a same-day appointment. They had one so I got us dressed, packed what I’d need overnight (basically figuring that he wouldn’t be admitted to the hospital if I came prepared), and drove to Sacramento. The med student who saw us first could hear him wheezing and breathing quickly but her attending couldn’t, mostly because my precious sweetling was in full-on tantrum mode by the time she came in. Her thought was that his cold/allergies exacerbated his asthma and advised us to keep giving him his inhaler over the next 24 hours. (During his tantrum, he worked himself into a gagging fit and coughed up a decent chunk of phlegm so I think that was part of it.) They told me that it was good that I brought him in considering his history (two hospitalizations in a year) but that they wouldn’t have to admit him. Yay. We came home, bathed him, and spent the evening bonding.

— 6 —

We’ve got a busy couple days ahead of us. We’re headed up north to have dinner with friends tomorrow night and on Saturday, we’re headed to my evil twin’s house for my dad’s birthday celebration. (Yes, he was actually born on St. Patrick’s Day and we are indeed Irish.) He should already have received his present (a gift certificate from Oceanside Photo and Telescope) but I should probably find an irreverant card. (It’s not a milestone birthday so that narrows it down a bit.)

— 7 —

Do you love babies? I do. I also love their mommies. Preeclampsia is a pregnancy disorder that strikes 5-8% of pregnant women in some shape or form. The only cure is to deliver the baby and if it happens early enough in the pregnancy (earliest is 16 weeks), the baby will not survive. Help mommies keep their babies in the womb longer — sponsor me

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

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: March 12, 2012

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY

Outside my window… sunny and probably in the 50’s or 60’s. Apparently, this equals rain in the eyes of Sacramento weather people. Umm… yeah.

I am thinking… that my little bear should hopefully be going to sleep soon given that I gave him some Benadryl and have changed his diaper a few times.

I am thankful… that the Girl Scouts are going strong 100 years after their founding. I’m also thankful for the cookie program, especially for Samoas which are making me happy (and we’re not going to talk about their effect on my waistline).

In the kitchen… probably heating some Bertolli’s soup or something.

I am wearing… my black Arabic shirt and Jon’s navy “Left Behind” shorts.

I am creating… this entry and pondering ideas for Lenten ones so I can stay with my Lenten discipline.

I am going… to Bible study tonight while Jon stays with Daniel.

I am wondering… how people can claim President Obama is a Muslim when there was the grumping about Pastor Jeremiah Wright in the 2008 election — you know Obama’s PASTOR?!?!?!?!? (“Obama is Muslim” was trending on Twitter today.)

I am reading… Fearless by Max Lucado.

I am hoping… Daniel takes a good nap and goes down easily tonight.

I am looking forward to… various things this week.

I am pondering… things for Lenten writings this week.

A favorite quote for today… “If we discover a desire within us that nothing in this world can satisfy, also we should begin to wonder if perhaps we were created for another world.” — C.S. Lewis

One of my favorite things… Samoas!

A few plans for the rest of the week: Bible study and “Hart of Dixie” tonight, PT tomorrow, speech and mid-week Lenten stuff on Wednesday, OT on Thursday, possibly Confession and dinner with Dean and Kym on Friday, and family gathering for my dad’s birthday on Saturday at my evil twin’s house.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

Blessings

Mi amiga Kate, who is working this Lent to “be as tame as other household kates” (sorry… couldn’t resist the temptation!), posted about the “blessings” in her life for her Quick Takes this week. (Check out her “Hey Girl” pic which features her hilarious and holy husband Adam who is seriously tatted out in a way that makes his job as a youth minister amusing.) After realizing that I had completely forgotten to put something in the queue last night to post today, I thought I would give you some Laura Story as well as counting my blessings.

On to my blessings (in no particular order):

-being saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ
-God’s love
-Jon
-Daniel
-my cats
-multiple boxes of Samoas in the house
-a roof over my head
-Internet
-food to eat
-Daniel taking a nap right now so I can blog and answer emails
-a college degree
-a library card
-my NOOK and books to read on it
-a sushi place nearby
-Daniel’s smile
-friends online and in real life
-access to medical care
-a Trader Joe’s within reasonable driving distance
-an orange tabby with an excellent motor and a nice belleh
-a beautiful house panther (even if she is incredibly needy)

7 Quick Takes — Devotional Writing, Brachel, and My Current Book

7 Quick Takes

TGIAF! It has been “a week” for sure.

— 1 —

I’m working on 12 devotions for a book being put together by a family friend. I seem to be getting the weird passages from Acts that bridge the well-known stories. When I finally looked at them on Tuesday night, my first thought was “how the heck am I supposed to come up with stuff on these?!?!?” Somehow around 12:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning, I came up with three of them. My mother-in-law (who is editing them) loved them. Today, I have finished at least four more. Maybe I’m not completely inept at this?

— 2 —

I did “A Day in my Life” over at Catholic and Crunchy. The day I profiled was last Thursday. Go take a look at it. Do it now.

— 3 —

We continue to plod along in getting Daniel transitioned over to the school district. We met with speech therapy last Friday and the meeting with the school psychologist was Wednesday. Daniel was uncooperative for the school psychologist so he is going to use the parental questionnaire forms he gave me. I probably should be filling them out but I’m kind of burned out on filling out forms and such at the moment. (I’ll probably do it during Daniel’s neuro appointment on Friday.) I’m thankful that he was understanding about Daniel’s lack of cooperation. Apparently, this is not unusual with autistic kids as well as two year olds.

— 4 —

Apparently, Brachel is on Amazing Race in this iteration. For those who are not fans of Big Brother, “Brachel” is Brendon and Rachel from seasons 12 and 13 who had a “showmance” and are now engaged. Rachel, the evil redheaded she-devil, won Big Brother 13. She is a major drama queen and I kept hoping she’d be voted off like she was in season 12. Unfortunately, I never got my wish. I’m not an Amazing Race fan anyway but having her and Brendon on is yet another reason for me to skip it and watch NUMB3RS in syndication.

— 5 —

Writing for Lent has been good for me. I know I discussed this last week but it has helped me work through some of the things I’ve seen on TV and in the media. It is also reacquainting me with Sojourners Magazine, a publication that I hadn’t read in years. Finding hymns to post YouTube videos has been fun and finding the hymns to use on Sunday has reacquainted me with our prayer books. I don’t know how this will play out when Easter comes around but it might get me posting more frequently and not just using memes like this and The Simple Woman’s Daybook.

— 6 —

I am currently reading Fearless by Max Lucado. I read Traveling Light four years ago and it was what I needed at the time. Fearless deals with the sources of our fears and how we can work to overcome them. I love Max Lucado because he has a writing style that is accessible and he is not a “pop culture” pastor like Rick Warren or Joel Osteen. (There are no words sufficient to convey how much I despise The Purpose-Driven Life and Joel Osteen preaches “the prosperity Gospel”.) I’m not actively facing major fear but I feel like it will probably really help me out at a later time to be reading this right now.

— 7 —

I know that 40 Days for Life is going on right now and sponsoring me in the Promise Walk is another way to say “yes” to life. Around 20% of the walkers and those sharing stories on the Preeclampsia Foundation website lost their babies because the c-section performed to save their lives meant that their babies were born too early. It can strike as early as 16 weeks and many women encounter it between 24-30 weeks. While they can usually save babies born after 24 weeks, many of these kids have severe developmental problems and are at risk for a number of problems like holes in their hearts, reactive airway issues, feeding issues, and more. Help mothers like me keep our babies inside longer — sponsor me.

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

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: March 5, 2012

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY March 5, 2012

Outside my window… sunny and actually kind of warm.

I am thinking… that I really don’t want to deal with Dr. Passive-Aggressive in half an hour.

I am thankful… that I was able to sleep in on Saturday.

In the kitchen… good question. Nothing from scratch at the moment though I just got the shipment of my cookbooks from my in-laws’ garage.

I am wearing… black t-shirt, navy blue LEFT BEHIND shorts (see OldLutheran.Com‘s merchandise for an explanation).

I am creating… this entry. 🙂

I am going… to the clinic in town in a bit for an appointment to discuss my abysmal cholesterol numbers.

I am reading… Fearless by Max Lucado and enjoying it immensely.

I am hoping… Daniel naps today.

I am looking forward to… Ladies’ Night Out on Thursday.

Around the house… next question!

I am pondering… things for my Lenten writing discipline.

A favorite quote for today… “Fear may fill our world, but it doesn’t have to fill our hearts. It will always knock on the door. Just don’t invite it in for dinner, and for heaven’s sake don’t offer it a bed for the night.” — Max Lucado in Fearless

One of my favorite things… Coca-Cola despite how awful it is for me.

A few plans for the rest of the week: doctor’s appointment today, PT tomorrow, school psych exam and speech for Daniel as well as midweek Lenten dinner on Wednesday, OT and possibly child development as well as Ladies’ Night Out on Thursday, neuro appointment for Daniel and massage for me on Friday.

A peek into my day… My pajama bottoms which are made of WIN!

My pajama bottoms which are made of WIN!

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

Healing Prayer

Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
–James 5:13-16

Reading the chapter “healing prayer” in Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis (Lauren Winner) reminded me of my experiences with it. We had it at least quarterly in chapel at the seminary and I think it was then that the laying on of hands started to make me cry. (I looked at a post on the subject from 9 years ago and apparently, it’s made me cry to have the laying on of hands since college. Huh. Not all that surprising.) Quoting the last entry I did regarding it, “I don’t know why but it moves me to tears when people lay hands and pray for me. It might be that I’m allowing myself to be vulnerable, it might be the Spirit within me interceding because I have to words, or it could just be that I understand the power of what is going on.”

The other thing about my experiences with healing prayer is that it comes into my life during those times in which I desperately need it because I am either seriously ill or seriously depressed. (Truthfully, those two are usually pretty intertwined because a serious illness will toss me into depression and depression usually knocks out my immune system and exacerbates an illness.) During those times, I retreat more inward than I do normally (and that is saying something) and it is during those times that I need the physicality of healing prayer and people praying while laying hands on me to “bring me out” or at least bring me outward to my normal level of introversion.

I also feel like this is one of those things where it’s an “all or nothing” approach. You have those of a Pentecostal persuasion who are slain in the Spirit and then you have those like the people at Metanoia who are German Lutheran in background and are a bit put off by this kind of thing. I think the next time I would probably experience something like this is whenever I meet with the Anglican/Episcopal priest with whom I will hopefully be doing Confession this month — at least I’m hoping for something like that.

7 Quick Takes — What I’ve Learned Thus Far in Lent

7 Quick Takes

My Lenten discipline of writing every day has been fruitful in that it has allowed me to tackle some of the more interesting things going on with my spirit. Here my seven takes on what I’ve learned and what is yet to be discussed.

— 1 —

I’m seriously out of practice in talking serious theology. This is a bit distressing considering that I spent a year doing postgraduate study in that area. I did discover, however, that many of the answers I give are either from Luther’s Small Catechism or from the “theses” that we went through in Systematic Theology. Props to my Systematic Theology professor Dr. Michael Root who is now on staff with the Catholic University of America because I’ve used those suckers for 10 years now in every parish to explain the faith to people. (He used to be a one of the go-to people for ecumenism in the ELCA as well as a professor at Trinity and then professor/academic dean at LTSS but “swam the Tiber” in 2010.) I should probably go back through my notes from those two quarters because 10 years later, I’m in a position to have to talk to my ladies at Bible study about “how it all hangs together”.

— 2 —

I’m not as “over” Daniel’s hospital stay last year as I thought. I’m getting smacked in the evenings with crying jags when it all hits me. Doing my Lenten writing for Wednesday on Tuesday night was excruciating and I’m thankful that one of the pastors I know through Facebook (and other things) happened to be online because I needed someone to pray with me. Their child’s major surgery was 17 years ago and the anniversary still elicits something so I have a feeling that every March 1st is going to be tough for me on some level.

— 3 —

I read an amazing article on the exodus of young people from the Christian faith on which I will be posting thoughts. If you’ve seen the sticky post at the top of ::Meditatio::, it states that I will keep my mouth shut on my thoughts about the GOP field. This doesn’t necessarily apply.

— 4 —

I’m wishing that I had waited until Lent to read Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis by Lauren Winner. I know several pastors for whom it is their Lenten book and the topic as well as her reflections would have been good to do as daily readings. I will still be drawing on chapters from it for posts however.

— 5 —

Doing my Lenten posting has reminded me of how much I deeply love the Psalms. So far, I’ve posted Psalm 55 and Psalm 13 and I’ve used the online Bible site Bible Gateway which has, according to the site, 100 versions in 50 languages. (They’re not lying — I’ve used them for Pentecost posts in the past where I break the Acts 2 passage down by verse into different languages.) Anyway, they have the King James Version which just celebrated its 400th birthday and it’s my choice for the Psalms because I love their rendering in Elizabethan English. There’s a reason they are considered “the songbook of the Bible” other than the fact that they were used in the Temple in Jerusalem — they encompass pretty much every emotion that exists and at least 1/3 to 1/2 are ones that convey disappointment and sadness yet end on a positive note.

— 6 —

I do need to write about prayer and its power at some point. Whatever I write will probably be partially based on the chapter entitled “Healing Prayer” from Lauren Winner’s book because I should talk about it. The times during seminary when we had healing prayer were powerful as were the times I went when I attended Church of the Incarnation in Great Falls. Otherwise, I’ll probably talk about Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, or Compline. (Yes, all those exist in the Lutheran Book of Worship — the green hymnal which is the predecessor to the cranberry one that exists now for the ELCA which is what we use at Metanoia.)

— 7 —

I do need to find an Episcopal priest to meet with for Confession. Why am I going to an Episcopal priest? I am going to them because they have a rite in their prayerbook for it and I think that after the events of the last couple years, I could use a chance to unburden my soul a bit. The Episcopal church in town is without a full-time pastor (not to mention that if they had one, Jon would probably know them) so I will probably have to go to Sacramento to do this. I need to download a copy of Reconciliation by Fr. Martin Smith for my NOOK so I can read through it and review the preparation necessary. It will likely be after March 15th because I’ve got Daniel things on the 2nd and 9th.

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