Category Archives: Personal Issues

7 Quick Takes — Things That Annoy Me on Other Blogs

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7 Quick Takes

Granted, I’m in a bit of a foul mood because I have to go in for a venous doppler ultrasound on my leg to check for a clot tomorrow morning. (Update: no clot!) However, I surf through a number of blogs here and on The Simple Woman’s Daybook each week and there seems to be some common threads about what irritates me each week.

–1–

Music players. Usually, I’m reading blogs after Daniel goes to bed, when he’s napping, or when I’m listening to podcasts so a blast of music tends to be ill-timed. They make the blogs load slower and frequently, it’s not even music I *like*. If I want to be listening to “Stronger” by Mandisa (which is on my list of favorite things right after having my fingernails removed with pliers), I’ll have it playing on iTunes.

–2–

Politically or spiritually-motivated counters. Yes, I’m fully aware that since I opened your blog, 123 babies have been aborted. (Actually, I highly doubt the validity of that number given the small number of doctors actually *trained* to perform abortions and the fact that not all Planned Parenthood clinic actually provide the procedure; but that isn’t the issue here.) I’m also aware that the national debt has gone up $1.3 billion dollars in the last hour and that you are of the opinion that 56 people have ended up in Hell. The problem is… I. DON’T. CARE. If I’m on your blog in the first place, it’s probably because I want to see what you have to say in that particular entry or what your Quick Takes are this week, not because I care about your opinions on the abortion issue, the economic status of this country, or your opinions on the salvation of others. And seriously… if I’m coming to your blog from ConversionDiary.Com or The Simple Woman’s Daybook, I probably agree with your pro-life stance or that Jesus is the Way, rendering your counter irrelevant. (Note: I am pro-life so do not leave me angry comments about how I should care more about the pro-life movement. Such comments will be deleted and you will be I.P. banned.)

–3–

Kitsch. It’s great that you have the Miss Sunshine Award, an adopted leopluridon from the Charley the Unicorn Site, and are a member of the Christian Cheerful Sisterhood. However, that schlock is making your sidebar look nasty and it’s contributing to the load time of your blog. Blogger allows you to make “about me” pages. Put all your affiliations and awards there. (Not objecting to a few well-placed images here — it’s the clutter that irritates me.)

–4–

Badly re-sized images. It annoys my inner balance when I see pictures on the sidebar that are obviously not re-sized correctly and are sticking off. It can also obscure the text and detract from your message (if you have one). There’s a great program called Irfanview that you can download for free here. I recommend it. This also goes for images in the main part of your blog.

–5–

LOL Speak. OMG ur blog lookz teh stupidz when u type liek dis. U R not 5teen. Speakz English plz.

–6–

“My Blogs List” on Blogspot sites. The long column of links with the last posting date is dumb and I do realize that it’s a Blogger issue. Still, would it be too hard to have a nice and simple list of links? I don’t care if they’re alphabetical or by type.

–7–

Country theme. It’s way too overdone not to mention that most people tend to overdo it on the kitsch factor. My idea of country simplicity is a white background with a picture of a farm or a window view of gingham curtains. Besides, the country theme is now “urban” because of all the people doing it.

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

7 Quick Takes — That Which Anchors Me Spiritually

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7 Quick Takes

I frequently feel like Abby Sciuto from this week’s episode of NCIS when it comes to faith. Being as inwardly focused as I am, my faith and my spiritual ponderings tend to be chaotic in my brain and like Abby, I need and want to make sense of the chaos. (In her case, it’s chemistry. In mine, it’s chaos in my soul.) There are some things that anchor me spiritually and those are what keep me in the faith. Those are the subject of my quick takes this week. And yes, I do wish I could rock the Goth look like Abby does. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work when one is married to a pastor — parishioners tend to prefer their pastor’s wife without excessive tats, clothes from Hot Topic, and piercings.

–1–

Liturgy. I’m a super-strong J on the MBTI. I crave order and liturgy provides that for me. I’m an Episcopalian by background (and truthfully Anglican by preference — I’m Lutheran partially because I’m married to a Lutheran pastor) and there is also just something really amazing about knowing that people around the world are using the same words as I am and praying the same prayers.

–2–

Hymnody. Given a choice in my church music, I prefer traditional hymns by far. It’s not to say that contemporary worship music does have its place — it’s not what anchors me and feeds me. I also find the words of the old hymns to be more spiritually fulfilling than that of modern worship music. This is what is stuck in my head right now.

–3–

KLOVE. KLOVE is a national Christian radio station based in the Sacramento area and it’s what I listen to when I’m out driving somewhere. I don’t love all the music on there (I tune out when it’s a song I can’t stand) but it’s free of all the obnoxious talk shows that pervaded the Christian station that we got in Montana. (There was a point at which I had to turn that one off and put on my iPod because I would be tempted to vomit from all the Focus on the Family crap and the pop-psychiatrists who espoused a much different view of Christianity, gender issues, and grace than that in which I believe.)

–4–

Creeds. The late great Christian theologian Jaroslav Pelikan was on the public radio show “On Being” (formerly “Speaking of Faith”) in 2003 and discussed the “need for creeds”. Quoting him (because it encapsulates my feelings perfectly): “My faith life, like that of every one else, fluctuates. There are ups and downs and hot spots and cold spots and boredom and ennui and all the rest can be there. And so I’m not asked on a Sunday morning, ‘As of 9:20, what do you believe?’ And then you sit down with a three-by-five index card saying, ‘Now let’s see. What do I believe today?’ No, that’s not what they’re asking me. They’re asking me, ‘Are you a member of a community which now, for a millennium and a half, has said, we believe in one God?”

–5–

Church Seasons. The church year starts in late November/early December (for those of us in the West) and ends in November with Christ the King Sunday. Its seasons follow the life and ministry of Christ and the establishment of the Church. For me, Advent is necessary for me to really celebrate Christmas (which is 12 days long) and Lent is necessary (with Holy Week) for me to really feel Easter. I’m a bit odd in that I love Advent and Lent. Holy Week is another part of the church year that I love in a strange way. (Is it completely wrong to enjoy the pensiveness and all of Good Friday?) Before I had Daniel, I had a much different experience of them. In the last two years, it’s been harder to have the experience that I had before because so much has happened. (Daniel was born during Holy Week in 2009 and I haven’t actually gotten to celebrate Holy Week since.) Still, they are central to how I live my life.

–6–

Quiet for Prayer. I am a bad pastor’s wife because I hate praying with others. (I *should* pray with Jon every night but it’s just uncomfortable for me so we don’t.) Part of it is that I’m moving away from having verbal diarrhea when I pray to just wanting to sit and be still. I think it may be that the two years since Daniel’s birth have been tempestuous for me and there are just some things that I cannot vocalize. Thankfully, the words of Romans 8:26-27 are true: In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (NASB)

–7–

Luther’s Words. While I could actually pick something else for #7 if I reverted to Anglicanism or became Antiochian Orthodox, one of the reasons I became Lutheran in college was that Luther made sense to me. He bridged my Baptist sensibilities about Scripture and my Episcopalian love of liturgy. I’ve only been a Lutheran for 10 years but I find myself answering faith questions with pieces of the Small Catechism and the Augsburg Confessions. (I am not, however, anti-Semitic and I do not believe in the myth of the Roman Catholic church being the “whore of Babylon”.) I also have a strange desire to end statements with the phrase “this is most *certainly* true.”

–Bonus–

Fernando Ortega’s music. I became acquainted with him through a random recording of “Give Me Jesus” and found other examples on Napster. His last two non-Christmas albums have been music based on the offices in the Book of Common Prayer and as a liturgical Anglican-Lutheran hybrid, it soothes my soul in ways which cannot be described by words. His piano arrangements are heavenly (though frequently, I wish they were pieces that he would *sing* because they are some of my favorite hymns) and he does all the verses of hymns that deal with the Cross instead of glossing over them. The Cross is central to our faith as Christians and while I do not expect artists to sing all their songs about the blood and gore, it is nevertheless important to acknowledge its importance.

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

Tetelestai

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I was a bit vague yesterday in my post but…

My cousin Erik passed away tonight. He was only 40 years old and had really struggled in life. I’m glad he finally has the peace he couldn’t find in life but I’m mourning the fact that I’ve lost any chance to have a relationship with him in this life.

Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant, Erik. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming. Receive him into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light. Amen.

Please pray for me and for my family.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: June 6, 2011

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY June 6, 2011

Outside my window… cloudy with sprinkles. It should hopefully clear up by tomorrow.

I am thinking… about my extended family — some difficult decisions had to be made today by some of them.

I am thankful for… being able to be in San Jose yesterday and today as those decisions were being made. (I know I’m being vague but it’s kind of a touchy family issue.)

From the kitchen… pita and hummus.

I am wearing… grey maternity shirt and blue plaid boxer shorts that I sleep in during the summer.

I am creating… this entry.

I am going… hopefully nowhere big this week other than maybe San Jose for a funeral.

I am reading… In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming.

I am hoping… I get decent sleep tonight.

I am hearing… Daniel’s musical toys.

Around the house… dishes and laundry to be done.

One of my favorite things… purry ginger tabbies and licorice cats.

A few plans for the rest of the week: I’m enjoying not having any day planned out except for Friday.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing… I’ll have new pictures next week, OK?

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

7 Quick Takes Friday — Weird Things About Me

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7 Quick Takes

I figured I’d do one of these posts where I name some quirks that I have.

–1–

I separate M&M’s, Skittles, jelly beans, and other candies by color and number. Why yes, I have seen “As Good As It Gets” and the jars of separated candies in Jack Nicholson’s apartment. Shut up.

–2–

I like my drinks cold. Stuff has to be refrigerated and cold for me to drink it. I even chill my glass.

–3–

I like my sheets cold. Jon knows not to “warm my spot” on the bed. The sheets have to be reasonably chilly. Cat-warmed sheets are acceptable however.

–4–

I hate watching movies of books that I’ve read. I’d prefer to use my imagination to visualize characters and watching someone’s interpretation of them ruins it for me. (I’m also a stickler for following the book which is why I haven’t gone beyond the third Harry Potter movie.)

–5–

I’m not a fan of pop-culture Christianity. Many people swear by The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren. I’d rather swear AT it. (Seriously, I hated the book so much that I had to stop at Day 32 because I was going to burn the thing if I didn’t.) I’m also not a fan of Joel Osteen (long rant there), Joyce Meyers, T.D. Jakes, or anyone else like that. I am, however, a fan of Billy Graham and Tony Campolo because they preach the Cross and repentance and not the patsy crap that the others espouse.

–6–

I have to have the tabs on scrollbar (or whatever that bottom thing is) in a specific order. I think we’ve established that I’m a little OCD.

–7–

I prefer the older hymns to modern worship music. Give me a good hymnal any day. I could care less about overhead projectors — I want to read the music and words and turn the pages. The older the hymn, the better.

(For more of this, head to Conversion Diary.)

7 Quick Takes Friday — 7 Things That Drive Me Batty

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7 Quick Takes

I’m in a car heading south so I’m putting this in the queue on Thursday to post Friday morning. I thought I’d take a break from atheism to post on things that drive me batty.

–1–

Allergies. Nothing is working for them this year. I can’t remember a year where they’ve caused me insomnia like they are now.

–2–

People who get to the front of line and then dither about what they want to eat. Seriously… you just stood in line for 10 minutes, had menus available to you, and you can’t figure out what you want?!?!?!?!? Mind moving aside and letting the rest of us get on with our lives while you dither?

–3–

People who stick their carts in the center of the aisle. You’d think this would be self-explanatory but I encounter it every freaking time I go to the grocery store or Target. It takes all my self-control not to have an icy tone when I say “excuse me” and much of the time, I don’t succeed.

–4–

Insurance companies. This bumper sticker applies.

–5–

People who fail to control their dogs. I’m not a dog person for a reason — I’ve dealt with too many stupid people who think that their dog charging me and jumping on me is funny. I wonder how funny it will be when I call the city and have their dog impounded.

–6–

People who park in the library parking lot on flea market days. The sign says “library parking only” in two languages (this is California after all) and I’m pretty sure you can read at least one of them. I’m sorry that you’re too lazy to find parking on the street but you’re really screwing things up for those of us that want to use the library and not have to lug our heavy tote bags of books 4 blocks.

–7–

People who smoke right outside public buildings. I think I’ve explained this before: smokers have no rights where my air supply is concerned. They need to be at least 15 feet from the entrance to a building and you had better darn well believe that I’m going to make sure that the distance is enforced as strictly as possible. Their filthy habit is not worth an asthma attack on my part.

(For more of this, head to Conversion Diary.)