Mommy Brain

I’m borrowing Quiet Life’s Friday Five. I’m interested in hearing from any of my readers, and I thought this would be a good way to get to know you. My stat counter shows I have a few of you out there who visit on a semi-irregular basis (I know at least one of you is my sister — hi, Ange), and I’d love to know who you are. Feel free to let me know where you’re from and anything else about yourself you deem important.

1. Did you go to college? Where?
2. What was your major?
3. Do you recommend your alma mater?
4. Would you do things differently?
5. Tell us about some of your extra-curriculars.

Here are my answers:

1. Did you go to college? Where?

Yes, I got my AA degree from Skagit Valley College in Mt. Vernon, Washington. Then I did a junior year at Washington State University in Pullman. I did not stay and finish.

2. What was your major?

My major was drama, minor in music.

3. Do you recommend your alma mater?

I’m not sure. It has a beautiful campus, but it is known as a party school. I don’t think I’d want any of my kids going there.

4. Would you do things differently?

Hard question. I sometimes think I should’ve pursued a more useful major, but I have used my drama and music so often in ministry that I don’t think I would.

5. Tell us about some of your extra-curriculars.

I worked on campus part-time. Other than that, I was constantly in rehearsal for the next production: A Comedy of Errors, Love’s Labour Lost, The Water Engine, Once Upon a Mattress, The Hostage, A Streetcar Named Desire, Steel Magnolias, Anything Goes. I am ashamed to confess that I also participated in the other typical drama major extra-curricular, which is partying. I was not serving Christ while I was in college. When I finished my junior year I needed to make some changes, and knew that I needed to drop out to get away from bad influences. I moved to Vancouver, Washington to be a nanny for my aunt’s two little boys, and it was there I met Kevin and got married. Thank God for His grace!

There’s a great post on A Call to Adventure. Check it out!

I cannot remember a time when I was not in love with them — with the books themselves, cover and binding and the paper they were printed on, with their smell and their weight and with their possession in my arms, captured and carried off to myself.

Eudora Welty

I know not how to abstain from reading.

Samuel Pepys

I’ve been in love three hundred times in my life, and all but five were with books.

Lee Glickstein

All books are divisible into two classes — the books of the hour, and the books of all time. Mark this distinction: it is not one of quality only…it is a distinction of species. There are good books for the hour, and good ones for all time.

John Ruskin

Those who read great works…will read the same work ten, twenty or thirty times during the course of their life.

C.S. Lewis

There is no worse robber than a bad book.

Italian proverb

If you would tell me the heart of a man, tell me not what he reads but what he re-reads.

Francois Mauriac

I was able to attend my weekly women’s Bible study today for the first time in weeks. The nasty respiratory virus that has been plaguing us seems to be at bay, and it was wonderful to be back among my sisters by heart. My kids had a blast playing in the nursery with their friends, and I love knowing they’re enjoying themselves as much as I am. Of course, Natalie didn’t get any of the seatwork done that I sent with her, but she caught up this afternoon.

After study, my friend and I took the kids to the park for about 40 minutes. It’s 75 degrees here today — just perfect. It’s days like this I will be longing for during the 90 to 108 degree days that come in August for us Northeastern Washington state-ers.

Had one of those, “Are all these kids yours?” and “Why aren’t they in school?” conversations when I stopped at Papa Murphy’s to pick up a pizza for tonight’s dinner. This one was pleasant, which isn’t always the case. The lady asked some good questions, of the kids and of me, and as we were walking out she said, “I admire you — your kids will be better for it.” This was a nice surprise, because when she started asking her questions, I got that pit of the stomach feeling I get whenever faced with a confrontation. I know we’re doing the right thing for our family, and I know my kids are learning and growing. I just wish I could get over the need to justify or explain or prove it to everyone I meet. Maybe when we’ve been at it longer, who knows?

On another subject, if you want to read some great quotes about books and reading, visit my other blog.

Happy Tuesday!
Carrie

A Continual Feast is an unusual book. It is a collection of passages and quotes in journal form. That’s not what makes it unusual, though. It’s unusual because it is the reading journal of Father Tim, Jan Karon’s fictional Episcopalian priest from her novels The Mitford Years. For the next few days I’ll be posting some of these passages that struck me in one way or another.

The true end of education is
Not only to make the young learned,
But to make them love learning.
Not only to make them industrious,
But to make them love industry.
Not only to make them virtuous,
But to make them love virtue…
Not only to make them just,
But to make them hunger and thirst after justice.

John Ruskin

Spring seems to have arrived here in Northeastern Washington state. Yesterday could not have been more perfect. Eighty degrees, slight breeze. We spent a couple hours at the park — the kids riding their bikes, Kevin and I visiting in the sunshine. Our city park has a nice cement bike path that loops through the park. We picked a spot where we could see the whole path and let the kids loose. Josiah, our three-year-old, was especially proud of himself, since he just graduated from a tricycle to a small bike with training wheels. As I was walking him to the restroom, swinging our hands back and forth, he looked up at me and said, “Mom, I’m not a baby anymore.” And I smiled down at him and said, “No, ‘Siah, you’re not a baby anymore.”

My Mom asked me this morning if I felt sad about this. About how fast the kids are growing. And do I regret that we won’t be having any more babies. And I answered no. Honestly. Although I do choke up when I think of how fast time is flying, I am genuinely enjoying this phase of our lives. The kids are at such great ages. I love being able to have conversations with them — real conversations about the world and their feelings and their discoveries. I love not having to bring a diaper bag or bottles everywhere we go. I love watching them step out in independence and make friends. And even though it’s bittersweet, I love watching them not need me as much. After all, that’s our goal as parents, right? To nurture them and love them and discipline them and ultimately watch them grow up and be a person in their own right.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not ready for this to happen NOW! But I’m ready to enjoy every minute along the way.

I went to the hospital this morning for an echocardiogram — which is basically an ultrasound of the heart. Although I won’t get the official results until I see my doctor on May 3rd, the conversation I had with the cardiology technician who did the exam was very encouraging. He said that a doctor would read the exam results and then send them to my doctor sometime next week. My response was, “If there’s something wrong that could cause an emergency, they’ll let me know, though — right?” He said, “Yeah, they would, but there’s not an emergency.” I said, “Well, that’s good — the waiting is the hardest.” And he replied, “I know, but there’s nothing to worry about.”

So, I don’t have any official results yet, but I am much relieved. I will see my doctor on May 3rd to discuss this pleurisy that seems to hold on. I’m assuming the heart arrhythmia is also due to this yucky virus that lasts and lasts.

This scare has made me even more determined to lose this weight. When I was at the doctor a couple weeks ago, I was down 8 pounds. It’s a start. Lots to go, but one day at a time, right?

God is good and faithful. Of course, He’s good and faithful no matter what — even if I hadn’t gotten the diagnosis I wanted. But I am very grateful that my prayers were answered.

Carrie

Please go over to Spunky Homeschool and check out the First Annual Online Homeschool Convention. There are enough articles to keep you busy for hours!

I read over on Semicolon that April is National Poetry Month, and today is Carry a Poem In Your Pocket Day. Well, I don’t have one in my pocket, but I thought I’d post a couple of my children’s favorites. These are both by Shel Silverstein.

The Crocodile’s Toothache

The Crocodile
Went to the dentist
And sat down in the chair,
And the dentist said, “Now tell me, sir,
Why does it hurt?”
And the Crocodile said, “I’ll tell you the truth.
I have a terrible ache in my tooth,”
And he opened his jaw so wide, so wide,
That the dentist, he climbed right inside,
And the dentist laughed, “Oh, isn’t this fun?”
As he pulled the teeth out, one by one.
And the Crocodile cried, “You’re hurting me so!
Please put down your pliers and let me go.”
But the dentist just laughed with a Ho Ho Ho,
And he said, “I still have twelve to go–
Oops, that’s the wrong one, I confess,
But what’s one Crocodile’s tooth, more or less?”
Then suddenly, the jaws went SNAP,
And the dentist was gone, right off the map,
And where he went one could only guess…
To North or South or East or West…
He left no forwarding address.
But what’s one dentist, more or less?

Boa Constrictor

Oh, I’m being eaten
By a boa constrictor,
A boa constrictor,
A boa constrictor,
I’m being eaten by a boa constrictor,
And I don’t like it –one bit.
Well, what do you know?
It’s nibbling my toe.
Oh, gee.
It’s up to my knee.
Oh my.
It’s up to my thigh.
Oh, fiddle.
It’s up to my middle.
Oh, heck.
It’s up to my neck.
Oh, dread,
It’s upmmmmmmmmmmffffffffff…

For any of you that are punctuation fans, here’s a fun quiz based on the Lynne Truss book Eats, Shoots, and Leaves. I am officially a 100% punctuation stickler!

It is a strange prospect, our main street these days. I used to rue its dustiness in summer and muddiness in winter, the rain all rizen in the wheel ruts making glassy hazards for the unwary stepper. But now there is neither ice nor mud nor dust, for the road is grassed over, with just a cow-track down the center where the slight use of a few passing feet has worn the weeds down. For hundreds of years, the people of this village pushed Nature back from its precincts. It has taken less than a year to begin to reclaim its place. In the very middle of the street, a walnut shell lies broken, and from it, already, sprouts a sapling that wants to grow up to block our way entire. I have watched it from its first seed leaves, wondering when someone would pull it out. No one has yet done so, and now it stands already a yard high. Footprints testify that we are all walking around it. I wonder if it is indifference of whether, like me, others are so brimful of endings that they cannot bear to wrench even a scrawny sapling from its tenuous grip on life.

From Year of Wonder: A Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks

I just finished Year of Wonders: a Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks. This isn’t something I would normally be drawn to and I was hesitant. I mean with a sub-title like “A Novel of the Plague”, you know it’s not going to be one of those “just made me happy” kind of books. But I am so glad I read it. Through the book, Ms. Brooks shows how different kinds of people repond to immense suffering. For some people, suffering makes them better, brighter. Others turn to their baser natures. The characters are well drawn, and she puts you “there”. If you want to read a short excerpt, you can find one on my other blog.

Now for something lighter, I’m on to The Broker, by John Grisham.

Happy reading!
Carrie

Starting at 11:30 am on Thursday, I had a constant companion for 24 hours. It was much closer than most human companions, since it was stuck to me in various intimate places: my chest, under my breast, my side. It had four arms that draped from these locations and connected with its body, which I wore in my pocket or placed under my pillow while I was sleeping. Yes, I even slept with this new companion, with full knowledge of my husband.

In some ways, this was the perfect companion. It didn’t talk, only listened. And listened to no one but me. Now if it had been listening to what I had to say, it would’ve been nice. But it was only listening to my heart. This new friend was a Holter Monitor and will let my doctor know if there’s anything strange about my heart rhythms. If only my companion was more quickly forthcoming with this knowledge. But no, I must wait until next week to find out what it thought of me.

Praying for perfect rhythm,
Carrie

“What kind of man was Saul? Who was this one who made himself David’s enemy? Anointed of God. Deliverer of Israel. And yet remembered mostly for his madness.

Forget the bad press. forget the stinging reviews. Forget his reputation. Look at the facts. Saul was one of the greatest figures of human history. He was a farm boy, a real country kid. He was tall, good-looking and well-liked.

He was baptized into the Spirit of God.

He also came from a good family; that is, in his lineage were some of the great historical figures of all mankind. Abraham, Israel, Moses, these were his ancestors.

Do you remember the background? Abraham had founded a nation. Moses had set that nation free from slavery. Joshua gave those people a toehold in the land which was promised to them by God. The judges kept the whole thing from disintegrating into total chaos. That’s when Saul came along. It was Saul who took these people and welded them into a united kingdom.

Saul united a people and founded a kingdom. Few men have ever done that. He created an army out of thin air. He won battles in the power of God, defeated the enemy again and again, as few men ever have. Remember that, and remember too, that this man was immersed in the Spirit. Furthermore, he was a prophet. The Spirit came upon him in power and authority. He did and said unprecedented things and it was all by the power of the Spirit resting on him.

He was everything men today are seeking to be…empowered with the Holy Spirit…able to do the impossible…for God. A leader, chosen by God with power from God.

Saul was given authority that is God’s alone. He was God’s anointed and God treated him that way.

He was also eaten with jealousy, capable of murder and willing to live in spiritual darkness.

Is there a moral in these contradictions? Yes, and it will splinter a lot of your concepts about power, about great men under God’s anointing, and about God Himself.

Many men pray for the power of God. More every year. Those prayers sound powerful, sincere, godly and without ulterior motive. Hidden under such prayer and fervor, however, are ambition, a craving for fame, the desire to be considered a spiritual giant. The man who prays such a prayer may not even know it, but such dark motives and desires are in his heart…in your heart.

Even as men pray these prayers, they are hollow inside. There is little internal spiritual growth. Prayer for power is the quick and the short way, circumnavigating internal growth.

There is a vast difference between the outward clothing of the Spirit’s power and the inward filling of the Spirit’s life. In the first, despite the power, the hidden man of the heart may remain unchanged. In the latter, that monster is dealt with.

Interesting about God. He hears all those requests for power, which fervent young men pray (in every generation) and He answers them! Very often He grants those requests for power, for authority. Sometimes in answering them, He says “yes” to some very unworthy vessels.

He gives unworthy men power? His power? Even though they are a pile of dead men’s bones inside?

Why does God do such a thing? The answer is both simple and shocking. He sometimes gives unworthy vessels a greater portion of power so that it might eventually be revealed for all to see the true state of internal nakedness within that man.

So think again when you hear the power merchant. Remember: God sometimes gives power to men for unseen reasons. A man can be living in the grossest of sin and the outward gift will still be working perfectly. The gifts of God, once given, cannot be recalled. Even in the presence of sin. Furthermore, some men, living just such lives, are the Lord’s anointed…in the Lord’s eyes. Saul was living proof of this fact.

The gifts cannot be revoked. Terrifying, isn’t it?

If you are young and have never seen such things, you may be certain that sometime in the next 40 years you will see. Highly gifted and very powerful men…reputed to be leaders in the Kingdom of God, do some very dark and ugly deeds.

What does this world need: Gifted men, outwardly empowered? Or broken men, inwardly transformed?

Keep in mind that some of the men who have been given the very power of God have raised armies, defeated the enemy, brought forth mighty works of God, preached and prophesied with unparalleled power and eloquence…

And thrown spears,

And hated other men,

And attacked other men,

And plotted to kill,

And prophesied naked,

And even consulted witches.

From A Tale of Three Kings: a Study in Brokenness by Gene Edwards

I just finished A Tale of Three Kings: a Study in Brokenness by Gene Edwards. It tells the story of Saul, David and Absalom in a very dramatic way. Not quite fiction, though he does take some license in dramatizing the story. This book is a must for anyone who has been hurt by the abuse of spiritual power and authority. I posted a passage on my other blog, if you’re interested.