Just For Family

Here is a short video clip of my grandkids. I know all you "internets" are dying to see this poorly edited video clip of them performing...or not. Well, anyway: They are my grandkids and this is my blog so that's the fare for this evening. (Hey, look on the bright side. At least I didn't do a Thursday Thirteen of them. And, believe me, I do have many more than thirteen videos of them.)




For those of you who need an intepretation, here's this incredibly meaningful and educational song: "Chicken Boo, what's the matter with you? You don't act like the other chickens do. You wear a disguise, to look like human guys, but you're not a man; You're a chicken, Boo"

Ah Yes! He Has Risen Indeed!

As I surf through blogging sites I see that religion is a popular topic; everybody has an idea about God and there are volumes written trying to explain Jesus or explain away Jesus.

The New Testament writers: three disciples, Matthew, John, Peter; two of Jesus' brothers, James and Jude; two good friends and followers, Mark and Luke; and one opponent turned apostle, Paul, gave eye-witness accounts. I'd say that was a pretty impressive body of evidence, and I'll believe it any day over the 'supposals' of all the modern day professors and bloggers. Truth is usually more simple than fabrication.

I see Christ everywhere...in the beauty of this natural world, in the hope of my Grandparents who were drawn to Him in their dark hour of despair; in the faith of my parents, who never faltered, whether in danger or difficulty; in lives changed when they met Him; and in the time-dusted testimony of generation after generation of souls who embraced this life and lived it and many times died rather than abandon it.

And more than that; I know Christ by the rush of love arising within me when I hear His name and in the sadness that engulfs me when I see Him mocked and taken lightly, in the comfort that holds me during prayer, and, most of all, in the secret joy singing within me, beneath all the worries and heavy duties and loud obnoxious noises of this world.

At Easter, my heart dances and sings hallelujahs. I have no doubts. We will meet again--"beyond the circle of the earth". . . for He has risen indeed!

My Cup of Tea

Why can’t everybody be just like me?

We wouldn’t have nasty spinach; it would be considered a weed.
Music playing everywhere a la Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Grieg.

There wouldn’t be gyms for basketball, just roller skating rinks,
And lots of meandering nature trails, but only in town, I think,with resting stations every mile-- clean, iced water to drink.

We would all get up in the morning, by seven on holidays.
In the early evening, we’d say goodnight and go our separate ways.

Nobody would stay out after eleven, on those dark and dangerous streets.
Nobody would climb Mount Everest;
There would be no boxing meets.
We would all enjoy the poetry of Tennyson and Keats.

Computers would be everywhere, each person would have his own.
Nobody would waste time with TV; nobody would answer the phone.

There’d be a plethora of house plants, and scheduled time to read.
Rooms piled high with mystery books, and an occasional biography,
And maybe a little Gothic romance, if the era was Regency.

No crowds, no noise, no shopping malls, no traffic, no large cities.
No stinky ferrets, no anacondas, no allergy causing kitties.

If everybody were like me, I think we’d have no wars.
There would be no need for borders; nor locked and bolted doors.
We’d all be happy with what was ours; we wouldn’t be needing yours.

Sigh.

But then again.

Would we have any “what was ours” without the great explorers
The reckless and the fearless ones, the "peace and quiet" deplorers,

The policemen, the inventors, the sellers and the buyers,
People who can change the oil, and air up all the tires,
Farmers and Ranchers, Risk-takers and Try-ers?

Hmmm.

It’s interesting to ponder over what the world would be.
If nobody were like you, my Dear, and everyone were like me.

Our Sunday Scribblings Prompt was: I Just Don't Get It.

Light Dawns

Thirteen Quotes about Morning
from LOTR

Thursday Thirteen

Alright, so I'll admit it: I read Lord of the Rings. That's present tense, because I re-read it so often. No, I'm not really a fantasy genre fan--mystery is more to my liking--but I absolutely adore beauty in descriptive phrases, and these are abundant, nay, spilling over, in anything written by Tolkien. Here are some of my favorite descriptions of "Morning"


1. The sun got up, the clouds vanished, flags were unfurled and the fun began.

2. It was a pale morning: In the East, behind long clouds like lines of soiled wool stained red at the edges, lay glimmering deeps of yellow.

3. The light of a clear autumn morning was now glowing in the valley. The noise of bubbling waters came up from the foaming river-bed. Birds were singing and a wholesome peace lay on the land.









4. It was a cold chill hour before the first stir of dawn,
and the moon was low. *


5. In the morning he woke to find that the rain had stopped. The clouds were still thick, but they were breaking, and pale strips of blue appeared between them.


6. He walked along the terraces above the loud-flowing Bruinen and watched the pale, cool sun rise above the far mountains and shine down, slanting through the thin silver mist; the dew upon the yellow leaves was glimmering, and the woven nets of gossamer twinkled on every bush.






7. The day came like fire and smoke. Low in the East there were black bars of cloud like the fumes of a great burning.
The rising sun lit them from beneath with flames of murky red;
but soon it climbed above them into a clear sky.

8. They woke to find a cool sun shining into the great court, and on to the floor of the bay. Shreds of high cloud were overhead, running on a stiff easterly wind.

9. The rising sun was hazy, and behind it, following it slowly up out of the sky, there was a growing darkness as of a great storm moving out of the East.

10. The light came grey and pale and they did not see the rising of the sun. The air above was heavy with fog and a reek lay on the land about them.

11. Day came and the fallow sun blinked over the lifeless ridges of Ered Lithui.

12. So soon they struggled on once more until the dawn began to spread slowly in the wide grey solitude.

13. And the Shadow departed, and the Sun was unveiled, and light leaped forth; and the waters of Anduin shone like silver, and in all the houses of the City men sang for the joy that welled up in their hearts from what source they could not tell












All quotes are taken from The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King, by J.R.R. Tolkien, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, The Riverside Press Cambridge,Copyright 1965.

* Sunrise through Fog Shrouded Trees by Don Moorcroft

Yeeps! What a Miserable First Day for Spring Break.

That's got to be "spring" as in "spring a leak" and "break" as in "break in the dam".

The rain woke me up this morning, scarcely an hour after my husband finally came to bed saying I needed to wake him at eight so he could pack all the stuff for a two day camping trek. OK. I tried to sleep, but my mind was troubled and the caffeine I had foolishly consumed at the community service fellowship last night was gurgling through my brain.

So I got up. Just in time to hear the first alarm clock go off.

Did I say alarm clock? I meant cell phone alarm...much louder and more demanding.
I ran into the kitchen and turned it off, stumbling over a mountain of camping gear--backpacks, sleeping bags, stoves, lanterns, and first aid kits--then dashed back for day clothes. In a few minutes I was back, stumbling over a heap of old buckskinning stuff in the hall--deer skins, black powder pouches made of leather and fringes, and a long coat made out of a Hudson Bay blanket. I made fresh coffee and stumbled to the computer, determined to catch up on my e-mail, devotional, and blogging time. Another loud alarm. It was my husband's cell phone, ringing somewhere in the vicinity of the toaster. I got it. A few minutes later an alarm rang from--strangely enough--the floor. After the third ring, I found it behind the computer desk. It was my son's. I know it sounds impossible, but we live in a crazy house. I recognized it as the one that had awakened me at around 10:30 the night before and been shut off in the process of my trying to figure out how to open it--it's a sliding one, tricky for over fifty-year old fingers that had been asleep beside their owner. So does anybody know why it was in my room? Maybe hubby had mistaken it for his, which was now ringing again loudly--I hate snooze buttons! So I woke him up. He took one look at the rain and said he should probably sleep another hour. I let him...ntil the phone rang--the real phone. It was the pastor of the church that was hosting the youth camp (at which my husband and son were supposed to speak and lead the worship time). He said the water main at the camp was broken and they were going to hold the camp at the church. Ok. So is all the camping stuff moot? Not by a long shot.

It turns out that all my husband's lessons for the camp were connected to the stuff, kind of a show and tell, so it all still had to go. First, he wanted me to reword the notes he had printed off for the students. (They had turned out to be 17 pages long.) I reminded him that the students would have young eyes and would not need everything to be typed in size 14 and 16 font. I rewrote the stories, streamlining and surreptitiously sneaking in lots of blanks in the "student notes". That will make them listen. The guys needed to leave at noon. We found duffel bags, toiletries, jeans, shirts, etc. and threw them in. At eleven fifty-five we were trying to fit it all into the pickup cab. (The rain, remember). Finally, they gave up and took my car. That way there would be room for the guitar.

When they left I collapsed...well, first I put a load of laundry in and a load of dishes. That's my self-imposed pre-requisite for collapsing.

It was still dripping....still is for that matter.
But oh the flower buds on the little tree outside look lovely, and I saw two squirrels on the lawn. My stay-at-home daughter is making scones with raisins.
Time for a good book and a cup of Earl Grey Tea in a quiet house.
Yes. Life is grand.

Smorgasborg

The choir was gone this week--on tour, so several of my classes
were smaller than usual and a couple were decimated.
We did puzzles--Bible puzzles of all kinds--and we worked on
research papers and personal manifestos.
We even took a walk one sun-filled, wind-blown afternoon.
Some of the students thrived on the one on one attention.
My seventh-graders did all the puzzles and asked for more.

Instead I gave them chess, Stratego,
Authors, and Bible trivia.

It was a relaxed week, for them, full of smiles and cozy times.The seniors worked on papers, the sophomores wrote stories,
but my junior class surprised me. They sighed, grumbled and muttered just loud enough to make sure I would hear and be properly insulted:

"Busy Work".

It seems that the ultimate insult to a student is to be given busy work.

Yet as I pondered, it seemed to me that all work done well is busy work. . . and any work which teaches in the working or dislodges the mind--overcoming the inertia of rest--is valuable work.

This is a message for my "I'm so bored and can't handle a little free time" students:

So school was different for you this week. There were no lessons in English or history. There were no notes in Bible; no tests in math. Life departed from your steady diet of pizza and taco grande. What you didn't realize was the veritable smorgasborg spread before you in this unusual five days. In chemistry you made huge progress on piecing together a class quilt. In Bible you learned how to do a cryptoquote and read scripture as well. You played academic games; you helped pack away all the theater seats in the auditorium so the janitor could clean the floors over spring break. You filled in for various kitchen jobs and developed a better appreciation for those who normally leave class early so they can help in the cafeteria, and though all smorgasborgs are not about food, you even got to eat fresh strawberries over ice cream and pork chops with gravy. You watched movies, you got scheduled quiet time to get ahead on your reading requirement for the quarter, and you ate cherry filled donuts made by the home economics class remnant.

Yet all week, you dragged your feet and murmured.

If my name had been Coach, I would have made you run laps and run laps and run laps. Now that's busy work. Yet even in that, there is strength and training. Can't you see what I'm telling you? Life is all about work, and I fear for those who disdain it.


Sunday Scribblings

Fresh Spring "Round-Up"

My neighbors’ sprayed gardens show “care”
For blue-green’s the color they wear
My own is quite brown
I’ll never live down
The lack of my lawn savoir faire

The Final Thirteen Proverbs

(At least until next year)
I had to use these last thirteen. My students are eagerly awaiting their guesses in print. (Once again, the real proverbs are at the bottom. Just in case you are shaky on your axioms.) See earlier lists of proverbs here and here.
Thursday Thirteen

1. The first step is...
... before the second step

2. The way to a man's heart is...
...surgery













3. Too many chiefs...
... equals a war















4. One swallow does not...
... fill you up.








5. It takes two...
...to play a three-legged race

6. There's more than one way to...eat chicken

7. The spirit is willing... but the mind is asleep.

8. Misery loves...coffee
(True for me, anyway)

9. Don't judge a man until .........you know how much money he makes. (I'm not sure I'd want my son to date the little girl who said this.)

10. The best things in life are... chocolate

11. Don't bite the hand...of someone who will bite back

12. Nothing hurts like..... the dickens

13. The Pen is mightier... than the pencil.

(I'm not sure why, but fully one third of the students responded with this guess.)

The Real Proverbs
1. The first step...is the hardest.
2. The way to a man's heart...is through his stomach.
3. Too many chiefs...not enough Indians.
4. One swallow does not...a summer make.
5. I takes two...to tango.
6. There's more than one way...to skin a cat.
7. The spirit is willing... but the flesh is weak.
8. Misery loves... company.
9. Don't judge a man until...you've walked a mile in his shoes.
10. Don't bite the hand...that feeds you.
11. Nothing hurts like...the truth
12. The best things in life...are free.
13. The pen is mightier than the sword.

The Next Twenty Years

Seven years ago on Thanksgiving they made a list in Sunday School: "Things I'm thankful for", and while they fidgeted and complained and racked their brains for new, expensive gifts, not one remembered to thank the Lord for healthy legs and bones that worked and grew year after year. She sat writing fiercely--a long epistle of gratitude. At the top of her list was "wheelchair: I'm thankful for my chair". She lived in the chair.

Yesterday, early in the morning, before anyone was up, she died quietly in her sleep. It was sudden, unexpected; yet people were thoughtfully resigned when they heard the news. Somehow they felt that she had already outlived her life expectancy.

"Out lived?" Well I should say not. "Lived out" is more like it. For although her body was stiffled and twisted with a genetic disorder that crumples the bones, her mind and spirit looked outward with life, growth, and understanding. Her entire family wrapped themselves around her and the life they saw and loved. They took her to school, to church, to games, to vacations and to academic team tournaments. Last year she graduated as valedictorian of her class, and this year she started college....still outliving and living out past the expectations of many who did not know her well.

Yesterday was her birthday. For nineteen years I saw her as a smile and a pair of sparkling eyes. She thought and talked and laughed and wrote and played monopoly.

For the next twenty years she will dance.

We Are Too Mortal

We were not meant to die. I know it. See how the life in me cries out for living. Whenever a friend dies, however remote and distant from my circle of daily encounters, there is a solemn hush; a pause that cuts into whatever mundane activity I had planned for the day. It's a quiet rebellion for the outrage.

We were not meant to die. For while all the other dimensions: height and breadth and length are expanders--extending our reaches in two directions--time only goes one way. Time is broken. We gasp at the flying of days and the fearsome reflection that ours are numbered, that all those we love are getting older and falling. No.

We were not meant to die. We were meant to soar on angel wings, to plummet and not crash. We were not meant to spend our physical lives repairing what deteriorates. We were meant to "grow in wisdom and understanding and favor with God and man".

We were not meant to die. And so we sing sad songs and wrap our arms about ourselves and others. We hold on to the life we have, lest it slip. We take comfort in prayers and the arms of our Creator. For it seems we've fallen into a hole, a dark and dreadful hole, so we dare not kick the ladder. Above we see the light of a world as it was intended to be...and will be...when we are once again immortal.

When death is dead and gone, our lives will once more carry on, and the solemn hush of awe we feel for the passing of Death will give way to shouting.

We were meant to live. And we shall.

I Feel Like an Almost Designer

I haven't seen my cousin from Albuquerque in years, but I communicate with her at least twice a week via blogging or e-mail. Now, she has made a quilt for me. This was entirely her idea and shows her generous, caring spirit. I really didn't beg and plead for one.

But since she asked, I just happened to have a guest room/grandchildren's play room/room for the computer and keyboard for composing jazzy video tunes at midnight/wii room that needed a bedspread.

The twin bed in there is one built by my husband years ago for our own teenager when she shared a small room and needed storage. It needed a little spread that would fit without having to be tucked in. The rest of the furniture is left over from my son's room. So I had white furniture and black furniture in the room and didn't really want to paint it again.
She found fabric to tie it all together.
I added a couple of red pillows, bought a frame with a demo picture in it that I liked, found an old green matte up in the closet, painted it black and put it around the picture, snitched a few red/black/white things from around the house and Voila! Here it is.

I'm still lacking a wall hanging or two, and I'll certainly have to replace the knobs on the bed,
but I feel proud of what I've done so far. She also sent a pirate book for the grandkids. This evening, Grandpa, Grandma and Mim put it together. (That's it, sitting on the book case in the first picture)

So, dear Cousin, look what you started.

Thank you.

More Famous Proverbs...Guessed at by my Students

Last week I promised you more of these...so here they are--More famous proverbs finished by my junior high students.

Thursday Thirteen


1. You can't have your cake...

...before your spinach.

2. Bad news travels...

...in circles

3. Don't cry over...
...guys

(particularly not junior high guys)















4. The road to hell is paved...
...with melted pavement










5. It takes two...
... to play ping pong










6. There's no fool like...
... one who thinks he is smarter than you.















7. The bigger they are the...
... better the football team.









8. Beauty is in the eyes... ...not the mouth












9. After the feast... ...comes dessert

10. You're never too old to.... ...skydive

11. Misery loves...
...food. (sad but true)

12. Barking dogs seldom......quit. (True. True.)

13. The pen is mightier.... ...than the county jail.

(just in case you've forgotten the real endings)
1. ...and eat it too.
2....fast.
3...spilt milk
4. with good intentions
5. to tango
6. an old fool
7. the harder they fall
8. of the beholder
9. comes the reckoning
10. to learn
11. company
12. bite
13. the sword

A Walk in the Dark

“It’s perfect for walking,” said my daughter last night, and that was enough.

We emerged without coats and scarves for the first time this year, out into the quiet street, under a dark sky, clear enough to see sparkles and clusters of vivid stars. Above our house, the Big Dipper was pouring out something—she said cheese, but if so it was the invisible kind. As we walked south toward the courthouse at the center of town, we could see Orion standing over us, guarding the street, and when we passed the little bridge into the next block, a tabby cat joined us, first circling, then pouncing and bounding ahead. He accompanied us to the end of that block, then reluctantly let us go. The air was March cool, hinting of spring and warm, whispering breezes; all the bare, white tree branches looked hopeful against the night sky.

So we walked on for a mile or so, talking about school, art studios, small towns, and the idiosyncrasies of the whole human race, because sometimes a girl and her mother just need to talk. Then we turned our back to Orion and headed home, where the Big Dipper was now pouring out music-- loud, lively strains as my son fiercely practiced on the piano. His chords and clusters of notes ricocheted off all the living room walls and escaped out onto the front lawn to greet us, where, oddly enough, they didn't even ripple the evening's quiet peace.

Today, I called my mom. We chatted for an hour about jigsaw puzzles, crocheted bedspreads, bread machines, and all the rest of the family. Sometimes a girl and her mother just need to talk.

So They Don't All Know Their Famous Proverbs

I think highly of proverbs--pithy little sermons that keep preaching--so, sometime during the course of the school year--preferably when we get to the book of "Proverbs"--I like to hand out a sheet of unfinished, famous proverbs and invite the students to finish them. If they know the proverb they fill it in, but if they have no recollection of the proverb, they are welcome to make up an ending. Then we discuss what the proverbs really mean. It's lots of fun. Especially for me because I need a break from grading serious papers sometimes. Here are thirteen of their recent responses to common proverbs. (For those who can't remember what the real ending is supposed to be, I've listed it at the bottom.)

Thursday Thirteen

1. A bird in the hand...

...will leave something behind.

2. A miss is as good as....

...a Mr.

3. Don't put the cart...

...in the middle of the parking lot.

4. The best things in life are....

...ipods!

5. Don't look a gift horse....

...in the eyes. (They were close on this one)

6. Familiarity breeds...

...like rabbits

( Well, we do live in a farming community)

7. Lightning never strikes...

...hippos.
(I wonder why not)

8. There is more than one way to...

...kill a cow
(see note about farming community)

9. Clothes do not make...






Themselves.

10. When in Rome...



...watch your back.

(There's a basic mistrust of European types here;
don't get offended, Romans.)

11. Haste makes...

mad state troopers.

12. The squeaking wheel...

...needs WD 40

13. "Don't put all your eggs.......

...in the microwave
(Makes sense to me)

...to be continued next week...maybe the next week too.

1. is worth two in the bush.
2. a mile
3. before the horse
4. free
5. in the mouth
6. contempt
7. twice in the same place
8. skin a cat
9. the man
10. do as the Romans
11. waste
12. gets the grease
13. in one basket

.