Category Archives: Faith

7 Quick Takes: TGIAF Edition

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

The dangers of negativity. Apparently, I’m not the only one who finds perpetually negative people to be a cancer?

To a degree, being happy is a choice. I don’t believe depression can magically be cured by happy thoughts, but you can choose to find happiness in really difficult circumstances.

— 2 —

An interesting protest. Some Catholic protesters in the Russell Senate Building formed a cross with their bodies while protesting the draconian immigration situation. A friend found some other pictures of the protesters being arrested which included some Dominican nuns.

— 3 —

OCD princess learns about the BUJO lifestyle. I want to start a bullet journal, but I’m having a heck of a time figuring out how to start and what to do because I’m OCD as all get out. So… I’m reading a book on it.

— 4 —

NFP Week, yo! It’s NFP Week, so I’m betting there will be a boatload of posts on how WONDERFUL it is (not!). Here’s the first one posted.

By the way, my Fitbit app has accurately predicted my period’s start date two months in a row. Woo.

— 5 —

Camp NaNoWriMo update. I abandoned my novel at 30,000 words after it stalled out because I had letters to write. No regrets. None at all.

— 6 —

Just why… A friend of mine got these for her kids. She regrets it. Apparently, the envelope stank to high heaven. Just.. why do these things exist in the first place?!?!?!?

— 7 —

Minion update. Baby Blackpaw had his yearly vet visit on Tuesday. He was quiet in the car with the exception of giving me his order at Starbucks. (No, I did not buy him coffee. He steals mine.) He purred like a jet engine for his vet tech and vet until they trimmed his claws, at which point he started growling and hissing and meowing. He was doing all of this while trying to snort up the Cheez Whiz they put on the mat to distract him, so it sounded like he was saying “omnomnomnom!”

For more Quick Takes, visit Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: July 21, 2019

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For Today… July 21, 2019

Simple Woman's Daybook

Looking out my window… sunny and in the 80’s. It’s also humid, which is not making me feel good. I don’t do heat well.

I am thinking… about my Camp NaNoWriMo piece. I’m around 3,000 words behind, so I think my character is going to have a long conversation or write a long letter.

I am thankful… for the opportunity to help with VBS for the last two weeks. I was washing dishes for it, and it was fun though exhausting!

Me in dishwashing clothes.

One of my favorite things… calm and quiet. It’s in short supply in these parts with Daniel.

I am wearing… my “All Together Now” shirt from Old Navy and jeans capris.

I am creating… my my Camp NaNoWriMo piece.

I am reading… Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Sir Terry Pratchet. I’m just a few pages in but very much enjoying it.

I finished Inspired by Rachel Held Evans on our 3 (!!!!) hour drive home from Seattle last Tuesday. It was wonderful though bittersweet as it is her last book with her passing on May 4.

I am hoping… the intensive ABA therapy with Daniel works. We are really struggling here.

I am learning… that my sleep deprivation is at a point where my body is just dropping into sleep at night, regardless of my plans to get some writing done.

In my kitchen… Cherry Delicious, a cherry cobbler recipe where the crust is made with cake mix and butter. I made two pans of it for coffee hour this morning, and I think I had one serving left of the gluten-free pan. (It was as good as the regular one, though the crust wasn’t as soft.)

In the school room… Daniel has ESY this week and then he’s off until the first week of September.

Post Script… an excellent guide to tipping.

Shared Quote… “What I love about the Bible is that the story isn’t over. There are still prophets in our midst. There are still dragons and beasts. It might not look like it, but the Resistance is winning. The light is breaking through.
So listen to the weirdos. Listen to the voices crying from the wilderness. They are pointing us to a new King and a better kingdom.” – Rachel Held Evans, Inspired

A moment from my day…

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

7 Quick Takes: Why I’m Helping At VBS Edition

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7 Quick Takes

It’s week 1 of VBS at the Spanish-speaking mission attached to my congregation. We had a team from multiple churches in the diocese doing it this week as a mission trip, and I volunteered to help them in the kitchen. I’m not volunteering tomorrow (Daniel is off of school), so I thought I’d talk about WHY I’m helping this week.

Also, if you’d like to help refugees and give me some help in reaching my Camp NaNoWriMo word goals, my fundraiser for RAICES is here.

— 1 —

Because I have nothing better to do. My demon child has started ESY and I have four hours to myself. Why not go spend time on my sore feet in a steamy kitchen?

— 2 —

Because my First Aid skills needed a thorough retest. Apparently, I do know what to do if some idiot tosses 180F water on themselves… especially when *I* am that idiot. (The answer: strip every affected piece of clothing off and douse in cold water, except for my shirt because I didn’t want to be standing in the kitchen in my bra.)

— 3 —

Because I have fiendish plans for global domination by teaching everyone on earth the “Penguin Song”. Actually… I kind of do! (Not to mention, everyone loved it and it will now probably be sung at diocesan youth gatherings.)

— 4 —

Because the steam from the industrial dishwasher is a great facial. My skin is better this week, even if I’ve had to work without my glasses on to keep myself from being bat blind for several hours.

— 5 —

Because I get fed. I was going to be snarky about this one, but I’ve enjoyed having other people make me breakfast. It’s nice not having to make my own bacon… and I never make bacon for myself!

— 6 —

Because we had an amazing team putting on VBS this week. Last year, some of this group came in to do the food while next week’s team was doing the program. This year, it’s youth and adults from four different churches combining for the first week, and the bigger church coming and doing it next week. The combined group has been SO. MUCH. FUN! They all get into doing the Penguin Song with me, we brainstormed verses for “Boom-Chicka-Boom” today, and they have been super flexible with making things work for the kids.

— 7 —

Because these are the coolest kids in the world. I wish I could share pictures of the kids from this week because they are so precious. They are so happy to see me, they enjoy having fun, they say “please” and “thank you”, and some of them patiently taught me my colors and numbers in Spanish two years ago while playing UNO. It really saddens me that these are the kids who would be in the horrible conditions on the southern border, and they are one of the reasons I’m being so utterly vocal about the issue.

For more Quick Takes, visit Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum.

How to Help Immigrants on the Southern Border

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Unless you live in your own little bubble, you’ve heard about the concentration camp situation at the southern border of the USA. I’m sure there are people who would say that I’m being a drama queen… and those people need to read this. The actions taking place in denying these kids basic hygiene, clothes, and their families is unconscionable. If you want to pull a FOX News and say that “these aren’t our kids”, I pray God has mercy on your soul because you are in violation of Matthew 25:34-45.

Please share this liberally. All I ask is that you credit me with a link as “Jen of Meditatio” as I don’t use my last name online.

Anyway, before I start listing groups off, I want to remind people that I will gladly kill you off creatively in my Camp NaNoWriMo piece this month in exchange for a donation to the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES). Details are here.

Continue reading →

7 Quick Takes: Sumer Is Icumen In Edition

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7 Quick Takes

**WARNING** I’m going to get political and say this unapologetically: if you support the evil of taking kids away from their parents and housing them in concentration camp conditions, read this and if you still think there’s nothing wrong with what’s going on and you claim to be a Christian, I pray that God has mercy on you because you are a horrible human being.

My deepest thanks to my friend Sarah for speaking out about all of this on Facebook. I’ve been sharing everything she has posted and some of those things are in this post.

— 1 —

An explanation of the title. I learned this round in high school, and it is a favorite of mine.

Also, people might actually read what I’m about to say if I don’t put that I’m getting political in the title.

— 2 —

Concentration Camp Take #1. How the actual [expletive] do our elected officials not think this is wrong? These statements could very easily have been taken from the concentration camps run by the Nazis.

— 3 —

Concentration Camp Take #2. Do you think that I’m just playing politics? Here is an essay that accurately reflects my religious beliefs on the subject. Bible verses are included.

— 4 —

Concentration Camp Take #3. For those who claim that they would support asylees entering the USA if they were doing it the right way, you might want to read this instead of letting the idiots at Fox News give you bad information.

— 5 —

Concentration Camp Take #4.

The real way Anne Frank died.

— 6 —

Concentration Camp Take #5. Want to help? Here is a place you can donate money to help fight these atrocities legally. Here is another blog post with a list of ways to help.

I will have a post up on Monday morning with a list of all of these things plus addresses for elected officials.

— 7 —

Get killed off for charity! I’m taking part in Camp NaNoWriMo this July and will gladly kill you off in a creative way in exchange for a donation to Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES). My fundraising page is here. (If you want to donate without dying in my novel, that’s fine too!)

For more Quick Takes, visit Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum.

7 Quick Takes: Reasons I’m Tired Tonight Edition

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Daniel isn’t sleeping well. We think it’s him feeling hungry and not knowing how to process that. Because Daniel. I’ve been trying to enforce EXTRA drinking of milk to keep him full and I’ve upped his feed.

— 2 —

PTK induction. I was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa (international 2-year college honor society) tonight. I was invited to join in Fall 2017, but I’ve been a little busy. My mom was watching Daniel and Dad surprised me by showing up.

Dad and me at the induction

— 3 —

Portfolio. My portfolio for my Final Project class is due tomorrow. I have almost everything printed out and done, but Sage was being catty yesterday and I need to redo and print out a report for it. I blame the LA Dodgers.

— 4 —

Puke. I hadn’t been gone for five minutes tonight when Mom called to let me know that Daniel puked (of course) and asked if she should give him tomorrow’s meds as he presumably puked up tonight’s. I was on the road to school, so I said “yes”. Well, I’m not totally sure now and am keeping an eye on him. At least he’s sleeping?

— 5 —

Donald Trump is still in office. His mere existence tires me.

— 6 —

Pentecost. I’m writing the prayers for Pentecost and I need to translate them into Spanish… or at least send them to my translation staff, one of whom came into tutoring last week and scolded me for not having them done yet. (God bless my “translation staff” of students!)

— 7 —

Forged in Fire. I’ve been watching “Forged in Fire” reruns while I’ve done homework lately… and this sometimes has me up too late. Oops!

For more Quick Takes, visit Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: May 27, 2019

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For Today… May 27, 2019

Simple Woman's Daybook

Looking out my window… sunny. Daniel and I might head to the park later while we’re doing errands.

I am thinking… about job-hunting.

I am thankful… for the men and woman who have sacrificed their lives while serving this country.

One of my favorite things… quiet. Unfortunately, Daniel is home today and in a cranky mood, so he is yelling right now. (Autism is fun.)

I am wearing… black fitted tee from Old Navy and capris from Kohl’s

I am creating… forms and documents for my Document Production class.

I am watching… reruns of Forged in Fire. Thank goodness for On Demand!

I am hoping… Daniel settles down. He had a crappy night last night where he was unable to get to sleep easily, and he’s a pill today as a result. The rest of us are feeling similar and trying to stay out of the way of each other.

I am learning… where my trouble spots are in putting together business reports. It’s frustrating because the things I’m missing are opinion things in the mind of the computer program.

In my kitchen… hot dogs last night. I don’t know if Dad wants to do anything special tonight for Memorial Day.

In the school room… Daniel has a few weeks of school to go. We’re going to work on reading this summer during his daytime feeds.

Post Script… this is a very sweet story.

Shared Quote… “Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” — Neil Gaiman, Coraline

A moment from my day… Thinking of Grandpa today.

My grandfather's memorial marker

Hosted by The Simple Woman.