Monthly Archives: April 2014

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: April 29, 2014

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY April 29, 2014

Outside my window… dark. It’s 4 a.m. and I’m having fibro pain in my legs as well as insomnia.

I am thinking… about what I’m going to be facing in a matter of hours in terms of my day.

I am thankful… for those who have donated to my participant page for the Promise Walk.

In the kitchen… need to cook the last of the quinoa.

I am wearing… green t-shirt and black capri sweats.

I am praying for… sleep (failing there), various people, the ability to forgive, and a couple special intentions.

I am going… to hope that they can fix our bathroom fan tomorrow.

I am wondering… why I’m getting hit with insomnia and fibro pain tonight/today.

I am reading… Jesus: A Pilgrimage by James Martin, S.J. — I’m reading it one chapter at a time so that I’m not having to remember too many details when I have to put the book down.

I am hoping… I can get my fabric trimmed tomorrow and primed to cut the strips for tying.

I am looking forward to… the Promise Walk on Saturday.

I am hearing Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me on iTunes.

Around the house… lots of cleaning to do in the dining area part of the kitchen.

A favorite quote for today… “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilisations—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendours. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn: We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously—no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption. And our charity must be a real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinner—no mere tolerance, or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment. Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbour is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbour, he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ vere latitat—the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden.” — C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

One of my favorite things… Trader Joe’s Organic Tea – Lemonade.

A few plans for the rest of the week: ABA therapy for Daniel on weekday afternoons, mani-pedi on Friday, counseling appointment on Friday, and the Promise Walk on Saturday.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

7 Quick Takes: Ways You Can Pray for Me

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7 Quick Takes

OK… I’m seriously standing in the need of prayer. Here are seven prayer requests that I have.

— 1 —

That my depression lifts. I seriously feel like a horde of Dementors from the Harry Potter books has been sent after me.

— 2 —

For my anxiety to calm down. I’ve got a lot of changes coming up and it’s getting hard to trust that God is going to fix all of it.

— 3 —

For me to be able to discipline Daniel effectively. He has learned how to be defiant and that tends to seriously push my buttons which causes me to start yelling. A LOT.

— 4 —

For our church situation. I can’t give details — just pray for it.

— 5 —

For my marriage. Jon and I are getting a lot of things thrown at us and it would be good if our marriage could be held up in prayer as we’re dealing with what comes.

— 6 —

For Daniel to have success at potty-training. This has been the bane of my existence since December.

— 7 —

For me to be able to finish my copy-editing project. I’ve been working on it for two years and am just now seeing the finish line.

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

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: April 22, 2014

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY April 22, 2014

Outside my window… dark. I’m blogging after midnight as usual. It was actually pretty nice yesterday.

I am thinking… about how I’ll make it through tomorrow. Daniel doesn’t go back to school until Wednesday and I think he’s getting cabin fever

I am thankful… that Holy Week is over and for a lovely Easter afternoon and evening with my parents on Sunday.

In the kitchen… dishes. Always dishes.

I am wearing… blue t-shirt from Old Navy and black sweats from Target.

I am praying for… discernment, a special intention, for Daniel to get the hang of potty-training, and for my family to come to know Christ. (I’m a convert.)

I am going… to probably take Daniel with me to get some chai tomorrow morning as an excuse to get out of the house.

I am wondering… if we’re going to be getting rain up here. My dad was saying that they were supposed to get some in San Jose today.

I am reading… Jesus: A Pilgrimage by James Martin, S.J. — finally getting back to it after a brief break to get through the murder mysteries that arrived from the library for me over a very short period of time.

I am hoping… Daniel catches on to potty-training soon. I want this behind me.

I am looking forward to… Picnic on the Green at Daniel’s preschool on Friday. Parents bring lunch for their kids and we have a picnic on the lawn with them.

I am hearing YouTube hymns from my blog — listening to music I’ve linked in the past.

Around the house… dishes to do (my kingdom for a dishwasher!), laundry to fold, and a kitchen to clean.

I am pondering… life after June 15th.

A favorite quote for today… “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” – C.S. Lewis

I actually brought this quote up in Bible study last week!

One of my favorite things… a quiet house.

A few plans for the rest of the week: ABA therapy for Daniel every afternoon this week, returning my flats to Payless on Wednesday or Thursday, counseling on Friday morning, Picnic on the Green afterwards, and taking stuff to be shredded on Saturday.

A peek into my day… Madeline Kahn and Grover singing the “Echo Song”. I sing it to Daniel frequently.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

What I Wore on Sunday: Easter 2014

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What I Wore on Sunday

We survived Holy Week and Easter. Woot.

We got through church at Metanoia this morning with the help of two awesome ushers and the goldfish crackers in the Easter basket that one of our parishioners made for Daniel. I got to sing some of the Easter hymns I love and we got pictures done after worship. I had a couple vertical shots but they disappeared off my camera. Oops!

All of us.

Daniel’s outfit
Shirt: Circo
Pants: Circo

Jon and I being photobombed by a grumpy child.

My outfit
Dress: Goodwill
Sweater: Goodwill
Flip-flops: Old Navy

12th Easter in the ministry

Jon’s outfit
Alb: Augsburg Fortress
Stole: part of the church’s set for Easter
Cross: his grandfather’s cross from when he was a pastor. (Jon is the 4th generation in ministry.)
Clerical shirt: Autom
Khakis: Kohl’s
Shoes: Kohl’s

Go see the fine women (and a few men) in their Easter finery at Fine Linen and Purple.

7 Quick Takes: Favorite Triduum Hymns

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7 Quick Takes

Jen isn’t doing Quick Takes this week because of it being the Triduum but I thought I’d do some of my favorite hymns from this 3-day period. I’m unfortunately not making it to church because of Daniel so doing this list is a chance to scratch my itch for traditional hymns.

— 1 —

Soul, Adorn Yourself with Gladness This is a version of the hymn “Deck Thyself My Soul With Gladness” that I love. It’s one of my favorite hymn tunes and one that I only get to sing once or twice a year because it’s a Communion hymn and one that our organist doesn’t like to play. As this is Maundy Thursday/Holy Thursday, it fits.

— 2 —

Sing My Tongue the Glorious Battle. This is a version of this hymn *NOT* set to Marty Haugen’s music. It tells the story of Christ coming to die for us. It reminds me of sagas that I’ve heard sung.

— 3 —

Ubi Caritas My first introduction to Taizé music was at Maundy Thursday 17 years ago. This is one of the songs we sang. The translation is “where there is charity and love, God himself is there.”

— 4 —

O Sacred Head Now Wounded This is a Good Friday standard. It’s a tune by Hans Hassler which was adapted into a chorale by J.S. Bach in the 18th century. The words are by Bernard of Clairvaux and date from the 12th century. This particular one is sung by Fernando Ortega who does everything beautifully.

— 5 —

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross One of my favorite Cross-centric hymns that is fitting for this occasion.

— 6 —

Were You There When They Crucified My Lord? I had a really hard time finding a version of this on YouTube that wasn’t overly dramatized. The most powerful versions of this are the most simple.

— 7 —

Ah Holy Jesus This one has the ability to make me cry because it forces me to admit that *I* am the reason Jesus was crucified and that it was *MY* sin for which he was atoning. It doesn’t hurt that it’s a 17th century hymn as well.

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

A Pertinent Quote

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This was in my email yesterday and I think it is a fitting quote for Holy Week

I find that when I think I am asking God to forgive me I am often in reality (unless I watch myself very carefully) asking Him to do something quite different. I am asking Him not to forgive me but to excuse me. But there is all the difference in the world between forgiving and excusing. Forgiveness says “Yes, you have done this thing, but I accept your apology, I will never hold it against you and everything between us two will be exactly as it was before.” But excusing says “I see that you couldn’t help it or didn’t mean it, you weren’t really to blame.”. . .

Real forgiveness means looking steadily at the sin, the sin that is left over without any excuse, after all allowances have been made, and seeing it in all its horror, dirt, meanness and malice, and nevertheless being wholly reconciled to the man who has done it.
— C.S. Lewis

What I Wore on Sunday: April 13, 2014

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What I Wore on Sunday

I made it to church on a Sunday. This is SHOCKING!!!!!

Yeah, I made an extra effort because the Promise Walk for Preeclampsia is coming up next month and I need to fundraise for it.

As it was Palm Sunday, I decided to go Hawaiian and wear a shirt with palm fronds. I realized when I got home that I had another shirt that would have worked but it was nice to take the Hawaiian shirt out of my closet for the first time in a bit. To make it “church modest”, I put a white tank top under it.

Daniel did OK during church though we went home during the choir anthem to get the Promise Walk stuff. One of my favorite people handed me a $100 bill and told me that they needed people like me to tell our stories and let people know about the risks. I proceeded to CRY. ALL. THE. TEARS!!!!

Daniel and I.

Daniel’s clothes are all from Circo via Target.

Of course I wasn't using my palm frond as a Celtic broad sword!

Hawaiian shirt: thrifted from the Goodwill at the corner of Garey and Foothill in Pomona
White tank top: Mossimo (Target)
Denim skirt: hand-me-down from my sister-in-law
Sandals: Naturalizer

Jon having a sword fight with me.

Clerical shirt/tab: Autom
Khakis: Kohl’s
Shoes: Kohl’s

Go see the other ladies at Fine Linen and Purple.