Author Archives: Jen

About Jen

Jen isn't quite sure when she lost her mind, but it is probably documented here on Meditatio. She blogs because the world needs her snark at all hours of the night... and she probably can't sleep anyway.

7 Quick Takes: Posts To Write, Prayer Requests, and A Favor

Posted on by

7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

No guarantees. Probably 7 years ago (maybe more?), I received a comment on my old Livejournal from a young Russian woman named Anna who runs a Christian website called Pravmir. (The English site is here.)I helped her edit a few English translations of articles for the site before I ended up with a job and ran out of time; but I’ve kept track of her on Livejournal. A few months ago, her husband died suddenly, leaving her widowed in her 30’s (I think she’s my age) with a little daughter named Natasha. She has been a beautiful example of faith in the midst of all of this and wrote a beautiful piece called “No Guarantees” today. You can find it (in Russian) here. If you open it in Chrome, the browser will translate it for you.

— 2 —

Posts to come: Birch Box. I registered for a Birch Box and received it on Tuesday. I’ll try a couple of the products out this weekend and let you know how it goes. 🙂

— 3 —

Forty to Forever. From my Facebook wall:

OK… I’m the social media person for the Forty to Forever fundraiser and we’re trying to raise money for families adopting kids internationally who have special needs. We need two things:

1.) We desperately need churches who are willing to sponsor families with prayer and also with funding to a degree. This doesn’t have to be costly and there is information on the website about what to do. If you ladies could talk to you church councils/pro-life groups/ missions people/women’s ministries/whoever, I’d greatly appreciate it. If you can’t find the answer to one of your questions, let me know and I’ll get the information for you. You can find most of what you need here.

2.) We need people who can commit to being prayer warriors and praying for us/the families/the kids one day a week during Lent. (We could also really use it right now.) It’s a fifteen minutes per week commitment and if it would help, I can send you prayers, a litany, or whatever you need in terms of help in how to pray. The page for sign-ups is here.

The website is http://www.fortytoforever.com/ and we’re also present on Facebook and Twitter.

Thanks!

— 4 —

Orphans. Do you see these two precious children?

L-R: Brett and Iris
BrettIris

Brett still needs a mama. Iris finally has a family committed to her and they are compiling their dossier to send to her country.

— 5 —

Wow. A couple weeks ago, I posted a prayer request for Elizabeth of Keep on Spinning. She’s been fighting breast cancer for the last 5 years and the cancer this time is back with a vengeance. She was supposed to get chemo on Tuesday but her white cell count had tanked and made her ineligible. Instead, she showed pictures of her son Danny (who is looking GOOD despite his own medical issues) and her husband Dixon shaving her head.

OK… seriously, it’s incredibly humbling to see a woman brave enough to show her head being shaved. I mean, this is probably totally normal for her now but still… I don’t know that I would have the courage to show mine being shaved if I was in her position. Keep praying for her because she’s got a “hard row to hoe”.

— 6 —

Posts to write (maybe): potty-training. This isn’t a for sure yet but I might be writing on potty-training Daniel. I haven’t decided because I don’t know if I want to let some things in my life be private and if that is really one of them yet. In the meantime, I’d love tips if y’all have any.

— 7 —

The shutdown. Attention Congress:

YOU. SUCK. BOTH PARTIES. (Note: I’m a blue dog Democrat and I am criticizing my own party. That’s how pissed I am.)

This was 16 days and billions of dollars flushed down the toilet that did not have to happen. There are people who had to borrow money to pay their rent and mortgage, feed their kids, and keep utilities on while Congress got paid and got to keep their gym memberships. To the Congresspersons who either gave up their paycheck or is donating it: you rock and I will gladly support y’all with fundraising if I happen to find your arguments convincing. To everyone else, let me reiterate that YOU. ALL. SUCK. I will make it my mission to get your butts out of office in 2014. Count on it.

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

The Religious Climate in My Part of the World

Posted on by

Jen Fulwiler of ConversionDiary.Com is doing her “What is the religious climate in your part of the world?” post and it has been really interesting to read the comments on it. As there are people who have commented and linked up who are from the USA, I thought I’d share as I live in a place that is a bit different.

1. WHERE DO YOU LIVE?

A small town that serves as a bedroom community for Sacramento, California.

2. WHAT IS CHURCH ATTENDANCE LIKE? ARE THERE MANY CHURCHES?

According to my husband the Lutheran pastor, our town is about 50% unchurched. We’ve got a range of Protestant churches: Lutherans, Methodists, Church of Christ, Episcopalians, Assemblies of God, a couple non-denom churches (which in Tim Hawkins’ words are “Baptist churches with a cool website”), Southern Baptists, a couple Spanish-speaking Pentecostal groups (one of whom borrows our church building for worship twice a week), and Seventh Day Adventists. We’ve also got a Kingdom Hall (Jehovah’s Witnesses) and a Mormon meetinghouse that has two wards. The Catholic parish in town has 5 masses on weekends, 2 of them Spanish-speaking. I have no idea how full the masses are because the Catholics tend to keep to themselves here and not do anything ecumenical with the ministerial association. (It’s a bummer – I loved the ecumenical stuff we got to do in other parishes.)

As you get into the immediate suburbs of Sacramento and then into the city, you’ll find more ethnic churches and non-Christian communities.

3. HOW APPROPRIATE WOULD IT BE FOR A PERSON TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT HE OR SHE IS A BELIEVING CHRISTIAN IN CASUAL CONVERSATION?

I tend to err on the side of not making a huge deal out of my faith because I was raised agnostic/unaffiliated and I find the “do you know Jesus?” questions to be a bit irritating as a result of dealing with overly enthusiastic people trying to convert me. Having said that, I usually find out where people fall on the spectrum of practice the second I comment nonchalantly that my husband is the pastor at Metanoia*. They usually tell me their entire religious background as well so it doesn’t surprise me to hear that someone is an ex-Baptist, ex-Lutheran, ex-Catholic, etc.

4. WHAT KIND OF FAITH DO THE POLITICIANS CLAIM TO PRACTICE?

It actually took a fair amount of searching to find out what my Congressman claims to be (Catholic) and what my senators are (both Jewish women). Our governor is CINO as far as I know. Unless you’re really lobbying hard for a certain religion’s vote, people don’t bring their personal religion into politics.

5. HOW COMMON WOULD IT BE TO SEE A FAMILY WITH MORE THAN THREE KIDS? WHAT ARE THE ATTITUDES TOWARD FAMILY SIZE?

4 kids is usually of the upper limit for most families here with 2-3 being “normal”. I’m sure there are probably some families with more but I don’t run into them. A family that size is usually a blended one. Having 5 kids under a certain age would probably draw stares, have allusions made to the Duggars, and would likely result in comments like “Do you know what causes that????”

6. WHAT WAS THE DOMINANT BELIEF SYSTEM IN YOUR AREA 50 YEARS AGO? WHAT IS IT NOW?

I’ve only lived up here for two years (I’m from San Jose originally) so I don’t know for sure what it was in the past. My guess is definitely Christian but I couldn’t tell you what the split was between Catholics and Protestants. I do know that the Catholic community 50 years ago was largely Portuguese as we’re a big wine-producing area and one of the members of my husband’s (Lutheran) parish is from a founding family.

These days, it’s mostly unaffiliated. The Protestants seem to be part of the non-denom/Baptist/AOG crowd. The Catholics seem to be mostly Hispanic, given the number of Spanish masses at the parish in town.

7. DO THE PEOPLE WHERE YOU LIVE SEEM HAPPY WITH THEIR LIVES?

People tend to be “busy” and find that being busy gives meaning to their lives so I guess the answer is “yes”? It really varies depending on what is going on with the economy and what the state reps are doing at the Capitol.

*Metanoia isn’t the actual name of the church. I value my privacy so I use a pseudonym for the church’s name.

52 Weeks of Blogging with a Purpose: Random Facts About Your Other Half

Posted on by

This week’s topic: random facts about Jon.

[+] His foreign language in high school was Scots-Gaelic. Seriously. His teacher was at our wedding. He even did some study abroad in college on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia.

[+] He loves jazz. I got him a membership in the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society for his birthday which is something he can do on his own… because I hate jazz. Oh yes… I also got him a CD of some jazz I could mildly stand and let him listen to it in the car on the way back to northern California.

[+] He is about 9 inches taller than me. I’m 5’1″… on a bad hair day. He’s 5’10”. He dwarfs me in pictures.

[+] He is an extrovert. About 80% of clergy are introverts so he’s the exception. I’m an introvert so before we had Daniel, we used to go to events in separate cars so I could leave when I was overstimulated.

[+] When he is on a long phone call, he micro-folds pieces of paper. I’ll find pieces of paper folded into really tight squares around the house. I need to get him an origami book or something.

[+] He is a Dodger fan. Don’t look at me! I don’t understand it either. I mean, it works this year when his team isn’t “cellar-dwelling” but usually, they’re sucktastic at best!

[+] He is an Ole. Translation: he is a graduate of St. Olaf College in Minnesota. Um Ya Ya! Like most Oles, he studied abroad. (Seriously, the first question I ask people when I find out that they’re an Ole is where they studied abroad or will be studying.)

Now go see Becky and what everyone else shared.

Please Say It: Things to Say and Ways to Help Moms with Kids Who Have Special Needs

Posted on by

This past week, I had a guest post over at Worthy of Agape about things not to say to the mom of a child with special needs. In one of the comments, my friend Mandi suggested that I write a post about things to say/things to do to help moms like me. Here you go, Mandi!

I really try not to complain about life with Daniel because I love him and there are so many amazing moments in life with him. However, it *is* hard at times and there are days when I’m not sure how I’m going to make it until bedtime. I know that there are a lot of really well-meaning people who would like to help and don’t know how, so here are a few things you can say/do that will make my life easier:

Compliment me on something… ANYTHING related to Daniel. Seriously, hearing that I’m doing something right in raising Daniel does help. I have a wonderful woman in the parish who finds something to compliment me on every Sunday that I make it to church, even if she’s just saying that Daniel was… exuberant that day.

Tell me how good it is to see me when I’m out doing errands by myself. If you see me at the grocery store by myself, it means that I either found a qualified respite worker to watch Daniel or that Jon is home with him. Asking me pointedly where Daniel is and mentioning that you never got to go do errands by yourself when you had kids is not going to do anything except make me ponder how best to make you shut up. Pleasepleaseplease ask me how I’m doing, compliment me on the fact that I escaped the house to go shopping, and if all else fails, compliment me on the fact that I’m wearing pants and managed to slap on some deodorant before heading out in public.

If you see me struggling with a door or having trouble wrangling the bear child, please ask me how you can help. I don’t know when it stopped being common courtesy to hold doors open for people who are having trouble entering a room or building; but I wish it would come back into fashion. Seriously, opening the door for me and keeping it open while I wrangle a stroller or try to keep my hands on Daniel will make my day better. If I’m in the checkout line at the grocery store and am having trouble getting my items on the belt, feel free to ask if I need help. It might just mean entertaining Daniel in the cart for a minute while I quickly empty all my purchases from the cart’s basket.

Treat Daniel like you would treat any other 4 year old. The people at the Trader Joe’s in Elk Grove are great examples of this. One of my favorite workers will stop and have a conversation with Daniel (albeit a one-sided one) on his way to the back of the store for something and another worker will make race car noises when he’s pushing the cart as he helps us out to the car. Both of these things will make Daniel smile and make my day nicer.

Be patient with us. I know that you’re probably in a hurry and we’re blocking your exit — I’ve been in that situation as well. However, I’m doing my best to keep things moving and if I have the stroller with me, I’m pushing close to 45-50 pounds of dead weight. If you have to brush past us, just say “excuse me”. It’s the polite thing to do.

These are my two cents. I know there are other mamas like Mary, Kelly, and Kathleen who could probably add to this list.

7 Quick Takes: Dinner Fail, Malala on The Daily Show, and Cute Animals

Posted on by

7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Only in Montana… I found the following stories in the Great Falls Tribune today:

Canadian man ticketed for driving 154 mph in Montana. (Did he forget that our speed limits are in miles, not kilometers???)

Montana woman too drunk to get out of her car calls 911. (I shouldn’t laugh because drunk driving isn’t a joke. However, this one just boggles the mind.)

— 2 —

A worthy cause. Malala Yousafzai was on The Daily Show this week. She rendered John Stewart speechless. There is an organization started in her name to advocate and raise money for women to receive education around the world. Go check out the Malala Fund. She is also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and I’m hoping she wins. (She’s the youngest person ever nominated.)

— 3 —

Orphans. Do you see these two precious children?

L-R: Brett and Iris
BrettIris

Brett still needs a mama. Iris finally has a family committed to her and they are compiling their dossier to send to her country.

— 4 —

Prerequisite baseball take. I’m rooting for the Cardinals because the Giants didn’t make it to the post season. They knocked out the Pirates and will be facing Jon’s team (and mortal enemies of the Giants) the Dodgers. There will be lots of good-natured trash-talking over Twitter and Facebook during this series.

I also just saw that the Tigers beat Oakland. Things are as they should be. 😉 (Oakland is the OTHER Bay Area team and I’m still grumpy about the 1989 World Series.)

— 5 —

The zoo zoo zoo. I saw footage of the surgery that was done on the Sacramento Zoo’s tiger and the pictures don’t do justice to his size. He was sitting in the window of his enclosure and his paw was bigger than my hand! His son, CJ, is getting so big as well!

There’s also the red panda blog. We saw Kodari, the baby last month and he is adorbs!!!

— 6 —

Dinner fail. I got some of ciopinno from Trader Joe’s which I’m sure is lovely but it was too fishy for me. (It’s a seafood stew. Imagine that!) OK… onto the Gardenburgers in my freezer… which tasted weird. I finally gave up and nuked some Morningstar Farms stuff and added some baby carrots to it.

— 7 —

Research study. I got to talk to a researcher doing a project on PCOS on Friday. I wish I’d had better answers for her but it was nice to be part of a study and get to do something that might help out with eventually finding a cure for it someday.

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

{Virtual} Coffee Date (vol.10)

Posted on by

{Virtual Coffee Date}

Once you’re done here, go visit Karianna and the other coffee drinkers.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you how thankful I was that the traffic to UCD Medical Center this morning stayed moving. We were still late but not as late as we could have been. I think my guardian angel is a little irritated with me though (rush hour traffic was a bit daunting) so I’m going to humor them and not try to do any more travel today.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that Daniel’s peds appointment went well today. He does have toes pointed inward due to an issue with his femur but it’s not something that needs surgical correction. (His doctor even has it.) It’s a PT thing so we’ll find out what exercises to do with him after the PT for the school district takes a look.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you about how Daniel’s hearing aids have made a difference and how we’ve seen the start of him talking. He’s getting LOTS of praise every time he says a word (or tries to say one) so, God willing, he might be talking by the end of this school year.

Thanks for joining me for coffee (or tea) this week. See you next week!