Tennessee Lampoon's Hillbilly Vacation

Husband and I spent this past weekend in Gatlinburg. It was our first vacation in quite a while, and we had a nice time despite the fact that we had to attend a timeshare presentation in exchange for our free motel room. We had no trouble standing up to the psychological sales tactics that the people used against us because we presented a united front against their wiles. I had been tipped off that if you say you can’t afford it, they’ll keep bringing the price down until you finally give in because the price is so ridiculously low, so we told them that we never take vacations and that their product would be useless to us. And that’s no lie.

The guy who did most of the talking told us (he had a whole group of us captive in a room together, each couple with their own personal salesman) that we deserve to take nice vacations after all the hard work we do and that we owe it to our children to make sure that they have good memories of great vacations. Pu-leeze! The sales people also said to just think how we would feel if something happened to our spouse. We'd feel so bad that we didn't spend more time together. Just how much time do we think we have left, they asked us. Will that time be spent creating great memories? How morbid! I'll tell you what would really make me feel bad--if something happened to my husband after we bought a timeshare and then I'd be stuck with all those monthly payments.

The guy kept suggesting that unless we have a certain vacation lifestyle, we aren’t really enjoying ourselves. He said that the average family spends $3000 per year on vacations. Wow! Husband and I haven’t spent $3000 in ten years for vacations. The guy said that most people spend their vacations in little motel rooms, and once they have spent that money, there’s nothing to show for it. The pitch was that we should take the money that we would spend in ten years on vacations (he approximated $20,000--coincidentally, just about the price of their most popular package) and use it to buy into their timeshare plan. Then we would “own” our vacations. We would be able to vacation in all the best locations, all the while staying in fabulous accommodations. I have to admit that the accommodations were very nice. They looked like homes you’d see in a magazine. But really, even if you “own” your vacation, what more do you have to show for it than someone who doesn’t? Does the family that stays in the luxury resort come home with better memories than the family that stays in the Motel 6? (Don’t even talk about the people who like to camp out in the woods—they are just plain weird!)

I guess because Husband and I stayed in a motel, we won’t have any good memories of our first trip to Gatlinburg together. We won’t remember riding on the chair lift for the first time to get up the mountain to ride back down on the alpine slide for the first time. We won’t remember looking down from the chair lift and seeing a groundhog pop out from his hole at the edge of the slide track and then pop back in when the next rider came down. We won’t remember the scrumptious chocolate brownie dessert and great steak we had at that gorgeous restaurant we ate at on Sunday night. We won’t remember laughing at the inordinate number of pancake restaurants in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. Neither will we remember shaking our heads at all the places called Hillbilly Golf, Hillbilly Souvenirs, Hillbilly Landscaping Company, and Hillbilly Laundromat. Nope, all we’ll remember is that cramped little room.

No, not the motel room. The room with all the other desperate looking people wishing that the guy would shut up.

Opinions are like. . .

Here’s a sample of what’s been going on on my freshman class discussion board. I posted the first message in this series to give them something to talk about, and they took it from there. These comments are straight from the students, grammar mistakes and all. (I have deleted names to retain anonymity.)

Message no. 109

Sunday, October 9, 2005 11:54am

Subject: Worldwide disasters

I hate to leave such a gloomy message today, but this is what I've been

thinking about. This weekend there was an earthquake in Asia, killing

thousands of people. In Guatemala, people have lost homes and lives

because of mudslides. The bird flu is spreading from the Far East and

into eastern Europe, and officials fear the virus will mutate and cause

a worldwide flu pandemic. Here in the U.S. we have suffered through

several hurricanes and now flooding rains in the Northeast. A magma dome

is building under the Two Sisters in Oregon, and Mt. St. Helens in

Washington is still threatening to blow. Other hurricanes and typhoons

have hit countries in the Pacific Ocean region.

Lots of stuff has been happening over the last couple of months. Have

you been concerned about these events?

Here’s a response from a female student:

Message no. 111[Branch from no. 109]

on Sunday, October 9, 2005 5:43pm

Subject: Re: Worldwide disasters

The part that concerns me the most is that all this stuff is happening around the world

and the US is so quick to send help and send money and send aid but yet when it

happens in our own backyard, it takes us so long to get organized and get what is

needed for the people in Lousiana and Mississippi.

A response from another female student:

Message no. 115[Branch from no. 109]

Monday, October 10, 2005 11:03am

Subject: Re: Worldwide disasters

Being concerned about these events is probably on everyone's mind. I am a firm

believer that everything happens for a reason. In this world there are certain things

that "MAN" just can't control. They will never be able stop the volcanoes from errupting

or hurricanes from forming. That's something that most people just don't understand. If

these disaterous events happen who is to blame? Everyone wants to blame the

president who has no control over anything in the atomosphere. All he can do if aid

those in need. No one knows the amount of stress he goes through everyday. I get so

mad when the people of this country diss their own leader. If you don't want to follow

him and his authority to rule then leave the country and try to tell somebody else what

you like and don't like. Those people who don't like the president are literally idots in my

opinion.

At this point, I thought I should interject a comment to remind students that the readership of this list is diverse in its political opinions (and, I admit, to express my own consternation at the “idot” comment), so here’s what I said:

Message no. 117[Branch from no. 115]

Monday, October 10, 2005 12:34pm

Subject: Re: Worldwide disasters

Call me an idiot then.

This response is from the same student that wrote message #111:

Message no. 121[Branch from no. 115]

Monday, October 10, 2005 6:08pm

Subject: Re: Worldwide disasters

alright i guess i'm an idiot then. but i have reasons to back up my opinion, its not just

because i liked kerry and i dont like bush. i would say this about any president that was

in office. they make the concious decision to send millions of dollars of aid to forgein

countries but when it comes to helping his own people, the same people that put him in

office, he can't do it, he drags his feet. look how long it took him to go tour Lousiana and

Mississippi, look how long it took him to listen to the people, to see the disaster with his

own eyes. just like in the countries that we're rushing to help now, the people that

couldn't leave the south are the ones that need the most help. the ones on welfare, the

ones without the means to leave, no cars, no money to put gas in their cars. you can't

help a person by giving them food stamps and giving them homes but then when their is

a disaster, we expect them to help themselves. it's not going to happen that way.

Another female response:

Message no. 131[Branch from no. 115]

Wednesday, October 12, 2005 11:42pm

Subject: Re: Worldwide disasters

Apparently, there are many of us IDIOTS....i would be careful as to what i say to whom on these message boards. im an "idiot" as well, am proud of it, but i dont take lightly to being called as such. but, everyone has their opinion. just so its known though, many people DO NOT share that opinion. i would never vote for Bush. it's not that i dont like him, its that i dont like the way things have been handles, and think they could have been handled better if another person was in office. there, i said it.

And finally a guy jumps in:

Message no. 132[Branch from no. 115]

Thursday, October 13, 2005 1:13am

Subject: Re: Worldwide disasters

Add me to the idiot list while your at it.

This next message is from the same student as above. Notice that this comment was posted thirty minutes after the previous one. Apparently he stewed about it for a few minutes.

Message no. 133[Branch from no. 115]

Thursday, October 13, 2005 1:46am

Subject: Re: Worldwide disasters

While I'm at it..what's with the whole "If you don't want to follow him and his authority to rule" thing about? The term "Ruler" is reserved for titles such as king or emperor and

such. The president is supposed to represent the people who put him in office, not rule

them. Bush is mainly worried about helping out his friends...weather it's getting them

appointed to an office or lining their pockets any way he can. Take the example of Bush

hiring one of his buds to head the FEMA department. The guy had no idea what he was

doing after Katrina hit and had to resign. I was kinda glad to see his approval rating last

week fall to 37%....at least that means some diehard Bush supporters are comming to

their senses. I can't see how anyone would stand up for him after the crazy decisions

he's pulled out of his butt. I've always heard that the more you stir shit the worse it

smells. I wish more than anything that Bush could learn how to quit stiring and admit he

was wrong about many descisions he's made while he's been in office.

This little conversation got my morning started with a good laugh.

Hands Off!

OK, this is sorta gross, but I was in the restroom washing my hands (singing "Happy Birthday" twice during the process, just like you're supposed to), and I noticed at least three girls exit the stalls and not wash their hands before leaving the restroom. Didn't their mothers teach them that hand washing is essential?

This really bothers me, especially at this time of year when people are starting to get sick. I am leery of every doorknob, every handle. I feel the need to carry a bottle of alcohol to sterilize my hands after touching anything outside of my office. Am I paranoid?

I have noticed that some women in the restroom are much more cautious than I usually am. They will finish washing their hands and then not turn off the water until after drying their hands, turning off the faucet with a paper towel and then carrying the paper towel to the door, using it to touch the door handle as well. I used to think that this was a bit of overkill, but I find that I am now doing the same thing.

With all the talk of a possible flu epidemic, I would think that people would be more cautious. I know I certainly am more picky about what I touch and whose hand I shake.

Revenge is Sweet

Yesterday in my literature class, we discussed a story in which a father exacts revenge on the young man who murdered his son. Here are the particulars: The son, Frank, is dating the estranged wife of the killer, Richard. One day Richard beats Frank up, and sometime later Richard barges into his estranged wife's house (they are in the process of divorce) and shoots Frank in the face in front of the wife and their two young sons. Richard gets out on bail, and late one night Matt (Frank's father) and one of his friends kidnap Richard outside of the bar where he works, take him to a remote area, and kill him. This killing is very well planned, down to the last detail, so that they will not be caught. During the process, Matt seems to waver in whether he thinks he is capable of killing Richard, but in the end, when Richard tries to escape, Matt shoots him without hesitation and then shoots him again in the back of the head to finish the job. (The movie In the Bedroom is an adaptation of this story.)

My students were very sympathetic toward Matt. Many of them felt that if they were put into a situation in which someone murdered one of their loved ones, they wouldn't have any problem hunting down the killer and ridding the world of him. I asked them if they would have any problem being friends with Matt, and they said that no, Matt was a very good man (and the story does depict him as a very good husband, father, and friend), and they would like to have him as a friend, but they would not be friends with Richard.

My students also expressed a lack of confidence in the justice system. Many of them felt that convicted murderers have too many rights and too many appeals and that executions need to happen more swiftly. Others felt that capital punishment is too easy, that murderers need to live but suffer harshly for what they have done (the word "torture" was even mentioned). My students also have problems with murderers getting out of prison. A couple of them had actually lost loved ones to violent crime and said that whenever the killer comes up for release, the family has to relive the painful incident over again. Another interesting thing many of my students said was that they do not trust when criminals in prison claim to have "found God" or "gotten religion."

If any students in class felt less harshly toward murderers, they didn't speak up. The biblical concept of forgiveness was brought up, but it was generally acknowledged that extending forgiveness to a person who has committed a crime of that magnitude is extremely difficult if not impossible.

So what do you think? Do you agree with my students? Or are you "soft on crime"?

Do I Know This Person?

I wonder if this is one of my students.
(Image from PostSecret.)

In the Beginning

In BSF we are studying Genesis and for the past three weeks have been specifically focused on the creation. I ran across something today that was not addressed in our lesson. Genesis 1.24-27 gives the account of the sixth day of creation in which God created animals and then people, both male and female. These verses say that people would have authority over all the animal life on earth. But later in chapter 2, we have a different story. In verse 7 God creates a man, and then in 18-19 he creates animals in an effort to find a suitable companion for the man. When a suitable companion wasn't found among the animals, God then made a woman (v. 21-22).

So we have here two different accounts with a very noticeable difference. If all of the bible is meant to be taken literally, as some say, how do we explain these differing stories? How literally should we take the creation stor(ies)--is it "gospel truth"? Or are these two stories simply two different oral traditions handed down over time that were meant to explain a difficult concept? Perhaps parts of the bible are meant to show us that humans have always had an imperfect understanding of God.

For the record, these differing stories in no way shake my faith in God. This is simply further confirmation for me that human attempts to fully understand God fall very short and that many doctrines that have been adhered to as "truth" are imperfect in their truthfulness.

Jesus Changes Lives?

Yesterday as I was sitting at a red light, I noticed a van parked at a convenience store. This van was completely unremarkable—it was one of those white work vans, but on the doors, in neatly stenciled letters an aqua blue color were the words “JESUS CHANGES LIVES.” My first thought in response to this statement was “amen.” As the light changed to green and I eased off down the road with the rest of the traffic, I began to think that, no, that statement wasn’t quite right. Yes, the presence of Jesus in one’s life creates definite changes, and his father can definitely change a person’s character, but really, much of the change that a person experiences when deciding to follow Jesus comes from within.

Being a follower of Jesus is a daily decision to take my focus off of myself and tune my attention to matters of his kingdom. This is not an easy task. Naturally, my thoughts gravitate toward obtaining those things that will give me immediate comfort and pleasure. But Jesus was constantly thinking about the comfort and well-being of others. For me to do the same requires a conscious shifting of my way of thinking, a real sacrifice of my thoughts and time. Jesus told his would-be disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross daily, and follow me.” This means that I have to make a choice to set aside all my concerns about daily life—what to have for dinner, when the truck payment is due, how high the price of gas is, how to schedule all of my activities and appointments—and pick up a new burden to carry around. But the cool thing is that Jesus tells me that the burden he wants me to carry is much lighter than all the junk that I carry around now. If I quit thinking about myself and how I’m going to get ahead, and instead focus on the needs of others, I’ll find that I’ll be content with just simple day-to-day living.

The words on the van door are true, but also a little deceptive. When I decide to follow Jesus, he doesn’t just swoop in and, presto-change-o, my life is different. The change comes over time as I adjust my lifestyle and way of thinking to match his.

Lessons Learned

I began grading freshman essays this weekend, and although I have no funnies to report yet, a couple of essays stood out to me. My students wrote about an event they experienced or witnessed that had some kind of impact on them. They could have learned a profound (or a not profound) lesson or gained some kind of insight or wisdom about their own selves or about life in general. The two essays that I noticed were written about trips to other countries.

One student went on a trip to Mexico where, when visiting some Aztec ruins, she noticed a young girl about six years old posing for photographs with tourists. Whenever a tourist would take a picture with her, she would then hold out her hand wanting some money. My student realized that the child's parents must have placed her there in order to earn money for the family. This experienced, coupled with the sights of Mexican families' houses made of scraps, made her realize the poverty that exists in the world and how very blessed she is to live the lifestyle she does. She came to realize that the people who are trying to cross the border to the U.S. are simply wanting better lives for their families.

The other student took a trip to Europe and, while he was there, took a side trip to an outdoor shopping mall aimed at attracting tourists. He noticed that the people running the shops were Asian, and he also noticed that their houses, located near the shops, were no bigger than his bedroom. He learned that the families who run the shops pay a lease in order for the priviledge of working there, and if they don't meet their sales quota, they are kicked out by the shop's owner. My student noticed how the tourists would haggle with the shop workers for a lower price and realized that the greed of the tourists was contributing to the poverty of the shop workers. He left the mall crying over the condition of the people there.

I was extremely touched by these two essays, but I was also glad that these students had experienced these events. I hope that these two students carry these images with them always, and I hope that the next time we have the opportunity to experience a different culture, whether it be a different country or just the part of our hometown that we usually drive quickly through, we take notice of the differences and maybe even cry over the differences.

Rainy Day Rita

I have family spread throughout Louisiana. Just got a report from my Mom who talked to two of her sisters who live there. They are experiencing heavy rain and wind. The power is out as well. Grandpa--who is 95 years old--is with one of my uncles enjoying a game of dominoes today. Everyone seems to be doing fine.

Haven't heard from anyone on Daddy's side of the family--also in Louisiana and in East Texas--but we really aren't worried.

Body Surfing With Jesus

This morning on the news, I saw the Galveston police forcibly remove a man from the ocean, handcuff him, and, presumeably, arrest him. This man apparently wanted to body surf on the waves this morning.

My first thought was if that guy wants to put himself in danger, let him. He knows the risks, and if he's stupid enough to swim during a hurricane, let his consequences be what they may. Then I felt a little guilty, knowing that I also have stupid moments.

Here's my question: If Jesus were in Texas today helping people evacuate, how would he handle the man who didn't want to leave the beach?

I Will Survive--if Presidental speeches are on some other night.

I have to admit that I really like Survivor. Yes, I know, I know, I've heard all the arguments, but I still like it. Husband and I have watched every episode every season except for Africa in season three. When we watched that first episode, for some reason we just weren't all that impressed and decided not to watch. But we haven't missed since then, and now that a new season has started we are back to our Thursday night routine of avoiding all phone calls between 7 and 8 p.m. (That reminds me of when we used to watch the X-Files back when it was still on. We were really into that show, and we even went to see the movie. I remember watching one night when Husband's brother called. Husband told him that he couldn't talk at the moment and that he'd call him back when X-Files was over.)

Thursday night, Husband had to leave the house for a little while and said his goal was to be back by 6:45, leaving plenty of time to get ready to watch Survivor. Unfortunately, he was detained and didn't get home until after 8:00, so I had to record the first episode, and we watched last night. Actually, I went ahead and watched when it was on and watched it again with him last night.

When we heard that the President was going to speak on Thursday night, we kind of panicked until we realized that he wouldn't be on until after Survivor. I would be willing to bet that when the President asked for TV time for Thursday night, CBS panicked as well. And I'm sure that those who were expecting Survivor at the regular time were pretty upset when the President's face appeared on their TV screens instead of Jeff Probst's much prettier face. I don't know what happened in the different time zones, but I'm sure everyone who wanted to watch either or both were eventually satisfied.

I must say, right or wrong, if I had to choose whether to watch our President speak or watch Survivor, I'll take Survivor. At least on Survivor, you know who all the players are, and the deception is all out in the open.

A Prayer Offered in the Aftermath of Katrina

Oh Lord, while I struggle to understand why events such as this occur, I know that out of tragedy and suffering, you can bring peace and deliverance. However, I also know that the major instrument of this peace and deliverance is your people. Therefore, I pray that the people who acknowledge you as Lord, those who believe in your son Jesus, will put the teachings of your son into practice.

I pray that your people who have seen the poverty of their neighbors will share their possessions with those in need just as the apostles did, investing in heavenly treasure rather than hoarding material wealth for themselves.

I pray that like Jesus, who looked upon the distressed people, whom he compared to sheep without a shepherd, and felt tremendous compassion for them, your people will look upon their neighbors in distress and feel that same compassion. But I pray that your people not be satisfied with simply feeling compassion but also act as shepherds, providing for the needs of those lost sheep.

I pray that your people remember that whenever they show kindness by feeding the hungry, giving the thirsty a drink, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, showing hospitality to the stranger, or visiting the prisoner, they are actually extending this kindness to your son Jesus. In doing so, they forget their own worries and make your kingdom their primary concern.

I pray that just like Jesus, who wept over the death of his friend before restoring his life, your people weep over the tragedy but then dry their eyes and go about restoring the lives of those who have suffered.

In this way, we will all be blessed and, through our generosity, share in the riches of your kingdom.

Amen.

School's In

Well, school is in full swing now, and I made it through the first two weeks. I got caught up on all the news from my colleagues and am now getting ready to handle the first set of rough drafts coming in from my freshmen next week. They are writing about an event that had an impact on them and made them who they are today, so this will be interesting. I always get at least a couple of essays in which I learn much more than I wanted to.

I have a great schedule this semester: I teach on two freshman composition (I always want to spell that "compostion"--some of their writing would make really good compost!) Monday and Wednesday (MW) afternoons, and two more on Tuesday and Thursday (TR) mornings. Then I have a literature class on TR afternoons. I don't have to come in at all on Fridays!!!!

So far, my favorite classes are the TR's. Early morning students, for all their complaining about getting up early, are very animated and talkative. We have had some great discussions so far. Also, both of these classes meet in small classrooms, which I have found forces them to interact with each other. It makes for a nice, intimate, comfortable setting. I was worried about the afternoon lit class because that time period is usually conducive to napping and lack of good discussion. This semester I began giving random pop quizzes, so this group has come to class prepared every day, which has made for a really fun discussion of the literature.

My MW afternoon classes are a different story. While those students seem prepared, for the most part they just want me to do my thing and let them take their notes and get out with as little interaction as possible. They are all very nice though. It doesn't help that one of my classes meets in the agriculture building, which on Wednesday last week had a terrible barnyard odor. We found out later that there were chickens in the building. Also, on Wednesday, I sent my students out on a 15-minute field trip, and while they were gone, I could hear the instructor next door giving his lesson about the different qualities of saliva that different animals have. It was pretty gross. (Remind me one day to tell you about the mechanical cow that is in one of the classrooms!)

I received an email yesterday from one of the English department secretaries informing me that a new student has been added to one of my classes. I can only assume that anyone being added this late must be a hurricane refugee. All of the public universities in Tennessee are admitting students displaced by the hurricane. All a student has to do is show up and say that he or she is from one of the universities that is now closed, and we will admit him or her. Apparently--I got this info from the campus newspaper--the admissions people ask whether the student has already paid his tuition, and if he says he has, he isn't asked to pay anything here. No documentation is required; they are on the honor system. I hope no one is abusing this situation.

So that's my first couple of weeks back at work. This coming week will be fairly easy, but then the essays will start coming in, and the heavy grading will start. I'm sure I won't be able to refrain from telling you about the interesting grammar goofs that some people will commit. Here's a preview from past essays: One student getting dressed for an event put on his favorite quarter roy pants, and another student went through a bad breakup that left him with a hard ache.

Washington Not Linked to Reality

I really liked Bob Schieffer's commentary yesterday morning on Face the Nation:

Finally, a personal thought. We have come through what may have been one of the worst weeks in America’s history, a week in which government at every level failed the people it was created to serve. There is no purpose for government except to improve the lives of its citizens. Yet as scenes of horror that seemed to be coming from some Third World country flashed before us, official Washington was like a dog watching television. It saw the lights and images, but did not seem to comprehend their meaning or see any link to reality.

As the floodwaters rose, local officials in New Orleans ordered the city evacuated. They might as well have told their citizens to fly to the moon. How do you evacuate when you don’t have a car? No hint of intelligent design in any of this. This was just survival of the richest.

By midweek a parade of Washington officials rushed before the cameras to urge patience. What good is patience to a mother who can’t find food and water for a dehydrated child? Washington was coming out of an August vacation stupor and seemed unable to refocus on business or even think straight. Why else would Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert question aloud whether New Orleans should even be rebuilt? And when he was unable to get to Washington in time to vote on emergency aid funds, Hastert had an excuse only Washington could understand: He had to attend a fund-raiser back home.

Since 9/11, Washington has spent years and untold billions reorganizing the government to deal with crises brought on by possible terrorist attacks. If this is the result, we had better start over.

Dumb Questions

Why is it that the President seemed much more saddened and wore a much more somber expression on his face when he spoke this morning of the death of William Rehnquist than he has in the past week when speaking about the death and suffering of thousands of people on the Gulf Coast?

Why is it that the U.S. military responded to the tsunami victims thousands of miles away with supplies the next day but took several days to bring supplies only a few hundred miles?

All I'm Going to Say

My lack of a post about the disaster on the Gulf Coast should not be taken as a lack of concern about the situation. I've been reading other's posts, and they are saying some of the same things that I feel, probably better than I could say it.

I will say that Preston mentioned something in his very thoughtful post that I had been thinking about. The pictures of the people in New Orleans look remarkably like pictures of people from places in Africa where food and water are scarce and people are suffering in miserable conditions. How many times over the years have I seen those pictures on the news and quickly forgot them, lost in my own petty concerns? But now that the pictures are coming from only a few hundred miles away rather than a few thousand, now that the pictures are of people from my own country, I have sat up and am taking notice. I’m now feeling rather ashamed that my concern for my fellow humans has been aroused to this degree only by a great disaster that affects “my own” people.

Ten Years Ago Today

Oh, how the time flies! I can't believe we were really that skinny. I'd love to be able to fit into that dress again--bet you would love it too!

Ten years sure did go by fast--let's go for ten more. Happy anniversary, Baby! I love you!

Things I Forgot Over the Summer

My office is cold.
Campus Pipeline (Internet access) experiences technical difficulties at the worst possible times.
To obtain extra printer paper means a walk to the next building.
Girls like to talk on their cell phones while they're in the bathroom.
Some students are completely clueless.

I'm having a good day despite the drizzly weather, which is causing me to have a bad hair day. But I have not been to my first class yet, so things could change.

Tomorrow will be a yucky day because of the tropical storm which will be here by then. Our campus has terrible drainage problems, so there will be standing water everywhere. Oh, joy!

UPDATE:
Things changed. As I was in the office next door helping with a computer problem, my officemate left for class and shut the door behind her, locking it, with my keys on my desk instead of in my pocket. I had to go to class without any materials, but because I'm so charming and brilliant, my students hardly knew the difference.
;-)

He means business!

Thanks to Ship of Fools for this image.

I detect a theme here.

Me on Myself

If you were to meet me out in public somewhere, you would never know that I am the persona behind Tangled Weblog. I tend to have a big (but polite, I hope) mouth on my blog (and on the blogs where I leave comments), but in the “real world” I am nothing of the sort. (Well, I’m polite, but not a big mouth.)(I do use a lot of parenthetical comments in verbal conversation as well, but probably not as many as I use here.) I do not go about proclaiming my opinions unless I’m with very close friends and family.

I am not good around large groups of people or even small groups of people I don’t know. If I were to be invited to a function where I wouldn’t know anyone, and Husband couldn’t go, I wouldn’t go. A friend of Husband’s invited us over for a July 4^th cookout. There must have been a hundred people there, and I knew no one save a couple of ladies that I had briefly met several years ago. I felt weird and was glad when we left.

I’ll bet that people who meet me for the first time think that I’m stuck up, but really, I just have a hard time knowing what to say to people that I don’t know. It’s really difficult to establish common ground. I don’t want to talk about myself—that would be rude. But if I ask questions about the person, he or she might think I’m being nosy. I know I’m not the only one who feels this way, but it seems like it sometimes. I will say that as I have gotten older, I have become a little more outgoing and will talk to strangers, but that’s usually in the line at Wal-Mart when I know I’ll never see that person again.

That’s why this blogging experience has been very interesting. When I began this blog, I had no idea what I’d talk about. I had been reading a few blogs and had left a couple of anonymous comments, and one day without giving it a lot of thought, I just started a blog. And I offered some opinions. To my great surprise, people began reading it and leaving nice comments, and they kept coming back, and I consider them to be my friends. What’s been really cool is that I met up with some Nashville bloggers by pure chance, and we share some similar views on things. I’ve met some cool people from other places as well, and I’ve learned a lot, too. (Have y’all created mental images of your blogging friends that haven’t posted their photo in their profile?)

If we were to meet standing in line at the Wal-Mart, we might speak (complaining about the fact that there are 40 checkouts, but only 6 of them are open), but that would probably be it. We might never become friends if we had met out in the real world.

I’m just going to sort of trail off here now without really summing up my thoughts, because, mainly, I’m still thinking about it all (and because I have to go finish painting the kitchen).

Land of Contradiction

As I have grown up and become more aware of “how things work” here in the U.S., I have noticed some interesting contradictions. Across the world, people look to us as the model of how a country and a people should be. They see a country with a government that allows its citizens to enjoy abundant freedoms while also enjoying the pursuit of happiness. The U.S. is the “land of opportunity,” the place where if people combine a little ambition with some elbow grease, they can enjoy a life of economic freedom, good health, and a full stomach. Besides that, if a person is really on his toes, he can get an education followed by a great job, and he can begin amassing wealth to pass on to his children. He can enjoy the “good life” with a fine house, nice cars, and multitudes of comforts and conveniences.

Those of us who have lived here all our lives are in an especially good situation. We have the natural right to obtain all these benefits. It’s our birthright just for having the good fortune to have ancestors who came here before us. In fact, it is more than a birthright; it is a duty. We have a responsibility to get a good education and earn a good living to provide for our children and keep them and ourselves from becoming burdens to the rest of society.

But there are some among us who, in fact, do become burdens. These are the lazy, shiftless people who refuse to earn their own living. It is their own fault that they are poor and can’t pay their bills. When they do work, they don’t spend their earnings wisely. Because of their lack of ambition, their children don’t have enough to eat and have no hope of ever going to college and bettering themselves. These people force the rest of us to have to sacrifice our hard-earned money to fund welfare programs that only enable them to sit back and collect a paycheck for doing nothing.

This is the scenario that a lot of people believe. In fact, it makes us feel better to believe that when people are suffering in poverty it is their own fault for not doing as much as they could to better themselves. If we believe that they are responsible for their own plight, it justifies our not caring. The fact of the matter is that many people who are needy became so through no fault of their own. According to one study, approximately 2 million Americans are affected by bankruptcy every year because they are overwhelmed with medical bills, and most of those filing for bankruptcy are middle class college graduates who own their own homes*. One catastrophic illness has the potential to take a family from a comfortable middle class existence to a state of having to depend on others for food and housing.

Some will argue that many people who file bankruptcy have gotten themselves into such a situation because of overspending. That may very well be true. Many Americans own several credit cards and have charged all of them to their limits. Various sources report that the average family owes somewhere between six and twelve thousand dollars in credit card charges. Obviously, individuals need to be more prudent about their spending and begin saving more money. However, we live in a society that tells us that we need to spend in order to remain happy. Advertisers play on our emotions and convince us that we need the latest, newest improved model of everything. Credit card companies send new offers in the mail every week, making it easy to transfer balances and raise credit limits. This is still no excuse for consumers’ overspending.

However, it is a fact that our economy is based on consumer spending. When Americans decide to save money and overall spending decreases, the economy begins to falter. It is our duty to keep the economy thriving so as not to threaten our way of life. We were told as much by the President right after 9/11.

The United States is a country of contradictions. We project the image that we are a prosperous nation (and we are) that offers abundant opportunity (and we do). However, there are those who work at backbreaking labor every day and still live paycheck to paycheck hoping that the car doesn’t break down or the refrigerator keeps running, knowing that one small emergency will keep them from paying their bills or buying food. And there are college graduates working in white collar jobs who live in the same manner.

Our country has made it shameful to be in a state of need. I suspect this is so that those who “have” can feel better about having plenty when his neighbors are doing without. Those of us who are the “haves” need to pay careful attention and show a lot more concern for those “lazy” people because one day, it might be us in that situation.

*“Medical Bills Leading Cause of Bankruptcy, Harvard Study Finds.” Consumer Affairs.Com. 5 Feb. 2005. http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/bankruptcy_study.html.

My Newest Cousin

I know how much y'all love to see pictures of babies, so here's a pic of my newest cousin, Annabelle Blue Cook, born yesterday.

Waffles, Anyone?

Kevin presents some very interesting quotes from Republicans concerning the previous President's war effort in Bosnia. Definitely worth a read.

Israel's Troubles

I have been watching the happenings in Gaza with the Jewish people being forced out of their homes because of the government's decision to pull out of the area, and I have no idea what to make of it.

I know of God's promise to Abraham back in the ancient times to give this land to him and his descendents if they remained faithful to God. In fact, the borders of the "promised land" are much wider than what Israel has claimed for the last 50 years. Looking at the story of the history of Israel in the OT, it seems that they never received all of the promised land because of their unfaithfulness to God.

I've always heard that God doesn't retract his promises, so I'm guessing that the covenant God made with Abraham still holds true.

What do y'all think about this, or have you given it any thought? Does it matter to those of us who don't live there?

Wisdom from M.A.S.H.

Colonel Potter: "If they can invent better ways to kill each other, why can't they come up with a way to end this stupid war?"

Something's Fishy!

Last night when I went to bed, three fish were living in my aquarium. This morning when I woke up, there were at least a dozen new fish in there. One of my Mollies had babies last night!

I drove one of these this weekend:

Husband is installing a walking track at the local Lions Club; I smoothed it out with the roller. (It actually wasn't this particular roller; I forgot to take a picture of the one I drove before he took it back to the rental place.)

Web of Protection

My mom emailed me this little story. I thought it was pretty neat.

GOD AND THE SPIDER

During World War II, a US marine was separated from his unit on a Pacific
island. The fighting had been intense, and in the smoke and the crossfire
he had lost touch with his comrades.

Alone in the jungle, he could he hear enemy soldiers coming in his
direction. Scrambling for cover, he found his way up a high ridge to
several small caves in the rock. Quickly he crawled inside one of the
caves. Although safe for the moment, he realized that once the enemy
soldiers looking for him swept up the ridge, they would quickly search
all the caves and he would be killed.

As he waited, he prayed, "Lord, if it be your will, please protect me.
Whatever your will though, I love you and trust you. Amen."

After praying, he lay quietly listening to the enemy begin to draw close.
He thought, "Well, I guess the Lord isn't going to help me out of this
one." Then he saw a spider begin to build a web over the front of his
cave.

As he watched, listening to the enemy searching for him all the while,
the spider layered strand after strand of web across the opening of the
cave.

"Hah, he thought. "What I need is a brick wall and what the Lord has sent
me is a spider web. God does have a sense of humor."

As the enemy drew closer he watched from the darkness of his hideout and
could see them searching one cave after another. As they came to his, he
g ot ready to make his last stand. To his amazement, however, after
glancing in the direction of his cave, they moved on. Suddenly, he
realized that with the spider web over the entrance, his cave looked as
if no one had entered for quite a while. "Lord, forgive me," prayed the
young man. "I had forgotten that in you a spider's web is stronger than a
brick wall."

We all face times of great trouble. When we do, it is so easy to forget
the victories that God would work in our lives, sometimes in the most
surprising ways. As the great leader, Nehemiah, reminded the people of
Israel when they faced the task of rebuilding Jerusalem, "In God we will
have success!" [Nehemiah 2:20]

And remember: Whatever is happening in your life, in God, a mere spider's
web becomes a brick wall of protection.

Gone to the Dogs

As I was sitting on the bed this morning reading the blogs, Pete, one of my Jack Russells, was lying next to me snoozing peacefully. When I reached over and rubbed his head, he responded by rolling over onto his back and showing me his belly, wanting me to rub it instead. After a minute or so, I stopped, but he wasn’t ready to quit. When he wants a petting, he nudges his head up underneath my hand, or he paws at my arm (which really hurts, by the way, when his toenails rake across my skin) until I give in and pet him. He won’t let me stop until he’s ready—he could go on forever (kind of like the way I would let Husband scratch my back until it bled if he would). If I want to stop petting him, I have to actually get up and move, or I have to be firm with him and hurt his feelings. It doesn’t take much to hurt his feelings, either. One firm word will do it.

A funny thing about him is that if he does something he shouldn’t have done, he’ll punish himself. For instance, if he has an accident in the house and knows that I have found it, he’ll hunker down and slink off to the bedroom. He tries to hide under the bed, but he can only get himself halfway there. It’s funny to see him with his little backside sticking out.

As I am writing this, Emily, my Cocker Spaniel, is sitting next to the bed looking at me intently and whining periodically. She’s letting me know that it’s time to eat (she would eat all day long if I let her—she used to be overweight—we changed her diet so that she’d lose five pound, which is a lot for a little dog). When I acknowledged her presence, Pete became jealous and started pawing at my hand again, making it nearly impossible to type.

Trixie, Pete’s sister (although they look nothing alike as far as physical shape) is off doing her own thing. She’s probably under the bed or in the living room under the couch. She likes to be by herself when we’re in the house, but she comes out when there’s some action, and she loves to watch Animal Planet on TV. I actually have to change the channel to get her to calm down (she even barks at the horses when Husband watches Gunsmoke). It’s sort of funny though, when Pete catches Trixie barking at the TV, he goes and makes her stop. It’s as if he doesn’t want her to have any fun.

Trixie has a really terrible habit. Sometimes when she comes back after exploring around our five acres, she will stink to high heaven after having rolled around in the most foul, putrid, disgusting smelling mess that she can find. When she does this, I have to stop what I am doing and immediately give her a bath because there’s no way she can be in the house like that. It’s all I can do sometimes not to throw up when this happens.

Trixie and Pete need a lot of supervision when they are outside. They will run off after anything that moves, ignoring any danger that may be lurking. Emily is more sensible. I can trust her to look after herself and can let her out without supervision.

As much trouble as they can get into, Husband and I love those little dogs. It’s funny how humans can be so ga-ga over a completely different species. They don’t act, think, or talk like us, but they bring us such enjoyment. We’d do anything for them.

I am convinced that our dogs love Husband and me. They may not understand love as humans define it, but in their own way, they love us, and I think they like to try to please us. We’re like gods to them. They trust us to take care of them, rub their bellies when they want it, give them food when they need it—although sometimes they act as if they are half starved, like we’re going to forget to feed them; they can be very demanding at times.

Dogs and humans are a lot alike. We humans have personalities that are quite different from each other; we have our idiosyncrasies—we even have some disgusting habits. And God looks down on us and takes great pleasure in us. He sees the things we do and loves us anyway—even when we’ve been rolling around in filth. We love him the best that we can; we don’t know that our definition of love is so very different from his, but we try. And we don’t even have to get it right—he’ll rub our bellies anyway if we’ll just roll over and let him.

Being Yourself?

Dr. Mike had a really good post yesterday about being naked before God, family, and friends.

(No, not nekkid--get out of the gutter!)

Advice From Armchair Physicians

I could use your advice. Several months ago as I was walking across the parking lot, my foot turned out from under me causing me to fall. The top of my foot from the front of my ankle across to the top of the middle of my foot (if you can picture that) has stayed somewhat sore. Day before yesterday I accidently stepped in a hole in the yard with the same foot, which turned out from under me, causing me to fall again. (I was pretty pitiful; you should have seen me sitting in my front yard whimpering with no one there to give me any sympathy!)

Now my foot is very sore, but it's the same amount of sore just resting as it is walking on it. I don't limp on it much, except when I first get up in the morning or after I have been sitting for a few minutes. It really isn't hindering me from doing anything--it's just sore.

Do you think this is a problem I need to visit a podiatrist about, or do I just have a sore tendon?

Edit: 8:06.
Also, is it just me getting older, or does anyone else find that web pages that have black backgrounds with light type are blurry?

March to Justice?

How can a man be charged with the murder of his wife and abuse of a corpse when no corpse has ever been found, and no evidence of foul play had been discovered?

Very Puzzling

Here's a passage I find quite baffling:
“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to have all of you, to sift you like wheat. ³² But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen and build up your brothers.”
³³ Peter said, “Lord, I am ready to go to prison with you, and even to die with you.”
³⁴ But Jesus said, “Peter, let me tell you something. The rooster will not crow tomorrow morning until you have denied three times that you even know me.”
³⁵ Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you out to preach the Good News and you did not have money, a traveler’s bag, or extra clothing, did you lack anything?”

“No,” they replied.
³⁶ “But now,” he said, “take your money and a traveler’s bag. And if you don’t have a sword, sell your clothes and buy one! ³⁷ For the time has come for this prophecy about me to be fulfilled: ‘He was counted among those who were rebels.’ Yes, everything written about me by the prophets will come true.”
³⁸ “Lord,” they replied, “we have two swords among us.”

“That’s enough,” he said.

Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 1997, c1996 (electronic ed.) (Lk 22:31). Wheaton: Tyndale House.

Savings and Loans

Remember the $10 I saved by dropping the text and picture messaging from my cell phone plan? I got a letter last week saying that the state's matching 401k contribution for state employees is being increased from $20 to $30. What a cool "coincidence"!

In other money news, I just returned from the bank where I made the final payment on the Kenworth. Debt reduction just shifted into high gear!

Learning Obedience

Hebrews 5.8 says, "So even though Jesus was God's son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered" (NLT).

Why did Jesus have to learn obedience? I have heard many people say that Jesus could not have sinned because God is incapable of sin, and Jesus and his father are one. So if he couldn't sin, why did he have to learn obedience?

One size does not fit all.

Spent a girls' day at the mall yesterday with Mom, Sister-in-law, and her four girls, and boy was I tired by the end of the day. Sister-in-law (from now on abbreviated SIL) wanted me to pick out school clothes for the 2nd grader. Last year in 1st grade, her little girl was picked on a lot, and apparently some of it stemmed from her clothes, so SIL wanted to make sure that 2nd grader has cool clothes this year. SIL thinks I am more fashion savvy than she is; I don't know about that, but I'll take the compliment.

I guess since I've been around college students for so long, I had forgotten that little kids can be so mean to each other.

Anyway, the shopping trip was pretty successful except for one area--pants. 2nd grader is a little bit chunky around the middle--not fat, but not a skinny kid. It seems, though, that little girls' pants are made for miniature super models. If the pants fit around the waist, they are much too long. We did find some really cute pants that had drawstrings around the hem that could be gathered up so that they don't drag the ground, and they looked great on 2nd grader, but they cost over $30. Why on earth do little girl pants cost so much? I cannot fathom paying that much for clothes for kids, especially when they will only be able to wear them for one year or less before growing out of them. It's ridiculous. Makes me very glad that I don't have kids of my own that I have to shop for.

Have any of you experienced this type of problem when shopping for little kids? Is there a company that makes reasonably priced, fashionable clothes that fit girls of different shapes and sizes? SIL and I would be greatful for such a place.

Hot Mushrooms

I just returned from Kroger where I experienced a dillema. As I was putting my groceries in the truck, I noticed a bag with one item in it. When I looked inside, I found a package of mushrooms. My first thought was, "The guy in front of me didn't get his mushrooms." I hate it when that kind of thing happens to me.

Then I thought, "Hey, I needed some mushrooms." I'm fixing kabobs tonight and had forgotten all about the mushrooms. I don't eat them, but Husband likes them.

Then I thought, "But those aren't my mushrooms; they belong to somebody else." But that person was already gone, I reasoned, so there really was no harm in keeping them. I also reasoned that the mushrooms weren't technically stolen because they had been paid for.

I continued to dialogue in my head about whether or not to keep the mushrooms. Anyone passing by would never have known that I was having a terrible crisis of conscience going on as I was loading my grocery sacks. The sweat on my forehead wasn't attributable only to the heat.

I placed the last sack in the truck, pushed my cart to the cart corral (I hate it when people don't put their carts back where they belong--I have a story about that too!), opened the driver's door, and started to get in, anticipating the cool of the air conditioning and my Mavericks CD starting as soon as I turned the key. I barely got one foot up onto the running board.

"Dang it, why do you do this to me?" I exclaimed as I got back out of the truck, opened the rear door, grabbed the bag and headed back into the store. I took the bag to the customer service counter and told the girl working there that someone would probably be calling saying that he didn't get his mushrooms. She thanked me. I headed around to the produce section, picked up a package of mushrooms, went back through the checkout and paid for them. Then I got back into my truck and didn't think about it any more until I got home and started telling you about it.

This is the sort of thing I go through. I have gone back into stores to pay for a 50 cent item that I have accidently "stolen." Usually the customer service people think I'm crazy.

I sincerely hope that this is a test and that I'm about to get a big reward for it. But I rather suspect that God just likes to have a little fun with me every now and then.

TV Disappointments

Previews for the new fall TV shows have begun, and let me say that I am unimpressed. Now, I don't watch a lot of TV, but there are a few shows that I like. CSI is not one of them. Or three of them, or however many incarnations that show has now. I notice that CBS will be bringing in at least one new crime show--thankfully, not another CSI. But how many more crime shows do we really need?

CBS has cancelled my very favorite show, Joan of Arcadia. Joan was a good, clean, family-oriented program in which a teenager talked to God and tried to do what God wanted. I guess viewers couldn't handle that. Now, instead of Joan talking to God, Jennifer Love Hewitt will talk to dead people.

I guess I'll be watching more Andy Griffith and Leave it to Beaver on TVLand.

Beware: Don't look like a suspicious character!

If it rains today, don't risk being mistaken for a terrorist and shot to death. Wear this raincoat:



And when you carry a bag, carry this one:

Good Stewards?

Lakewood Church in Houston moved into its new facilities this past weekend, the old Compaq Center where the Houston Rockets used to play. To convert it to a church--complete with giant video screens, waterfalls, and a giant globe--cost around $90 million. (For pictures go to http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/news/071605_local_lakewood.html# and click on "See images.")

I wonder how much the waterfalls cost and how many hungry people could have been fed instead?

Your suggestions, please.

In my freshman writing course, I usually teach an evaluation essay. This requires students to make a judgement statement about something (a book, movie, etc.) and back up the judgement with reasons and evidence. (You'd be surprised at how difficult the reasons and evidence part is for some students!) In the past, we have watched a movie in class, and they have written a review of the movie. I'm thinking of doing that again this semester, and I'd like some suggestions for movies that would be appropriate for 18-20-year-olds with a variety of interests. The movie needs to have a story that is more complex than just the basic "boy meets girl and they get together after some conflicts" or the "good guy goes after the bad guy and lots of things get blown up" stories. In the past we have watched The Count of Monte Cristo, The Shawshank Redemption, Open Range, and Ladder 49 (which actually wasn't that good of a choice for this assignment). In other words, the story needs to be one that has some meaning and will make the students think a little bit, but I also don't want it to be too "artsy."

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

PS. I'm feeling much better although I am still a little congested. Thanks for your prayers!

Work to live, or live to work?

You might want to put your toes under your chair for this one. I had to.

A survey released earlier this year of 7,718 American workers found that:

“[. . .] only 45 percent of workers say they are satisfied (33 percent) or extremely satisfied (12 percent) with their jobs. At the same time, a much lower number actually feel very "engaged" by their jobs. Only 20 percent feel very passionate about their jobs; less than 15 percent agree that they feel strongly energized by their work; and only 31 percent (strongly or moderately) believe that their employer inspires the best in them.”

“Increasing numbers of employees are coping with burnout (42 percent), while one-third (33 percent) believe they have reached a dead end in their jobs, and 21 percent are eager to change their jobs.”

“Nearly all workers were seeking more time off -- and a better balance between work and leisure” ("New Employer/Employee Equation Survey,” conducted by Harris Interactive, Inc.).

If this survey is accurate, this means that most American workers
are unhappy with their work and feel that what they are doing is
not worthwhile. How sad that we spend at least 40 hours per
week doing something that we’d rather not be doing, feeling
that we aren’t doing our best work, and wishing we were somewhere else.

I wonder, though, how much of the fault lies with the workers
themselves? Why do workers stay in careers they don’t really like?
 (I’m not talking here about unskilled, minimum wage earners
who don’t really have much choice in their careers, but
college-educated or other skilled workers.) Why do so many
 people not do what they really want to do?

I assert that most people do not have the career that they really want because they feel they must take the job that will pay the bills. They are not willing to sacrifice lifestyle in order to take a job that they will really enjoy. Lots of middle class Americans stretch themselves to the limit in order to live in a house that is probably too high-priced for their budget so that they will be in a “better” neighborhood. They buy or lease a new car every two to three years. They make sure that their kids wear the most fashionable clothes and participate in plenty of extracurricular activities (to keep up their self-esteem). They use up their savings to take a vacation to the beach every summer. Rather than scale back their lifestyle, most people would rather work in a career that they don’t really care for in order to live what society claims is the “American Dream.”

The sad thing is that a lot of Christians fall into this category. Although we know that Jesus called us to a life of sacrifice and servanthood, many of us believe that sacrifice means eating out only once or twice in a week in order to put more money in the offering plate on Sunday. I know that a lot of Christian parents will say that they work they way they do so that their children will have better lives and good opportunities, and I certainly understand that. We want to ensure that our children have good futures. However, if we really believe that God is in charge of the future, why aren’t we modeling the ethic of self sacrifice so that we can help others in the now? Why not work at a career that is more fulfilling or allows more family time and do without some of the perks that we have come to believe we are entitled to?

Perhaps the work we’d really rather be doing is what God intended us to do in the first place. He knows us better than we know ourselves, so he knows what is going to make us happy. He wouldn’t call us to a life of sacrifice if he weren’t going to make sure that all of our needs are met. He wouldn’t ask us to be servants if he weren’t going to make sure that we feel fulfilled in our work.

The other day, I heard a news story that gave me pause. I’m not sure about the exact details, but what is important is the essence of what the lady said. Some ladies make pies at church every Saturday and sell them in order to give the money to charity. One of the ladies, commenting on their endeavor, said something to the effect that while Christians aren’t supposed to feel good about their work for the Lord, she does feel good about what she’s doing. I guess the notion is that when we work for the Lord it should be a sacrifice, and sacrifice necessitates negative feelings. I think some people think that all pleasure comes from the devil.

Why would God call us to do something that we would hate doing? Psalm 37.3-4 says, “Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” He wants us to be happy and fulfilled, and when we seek to please him by being a true disciple, he will see to it that we are happy.

Sacrifice and servanthood are not ideas that society values as particularly appetizing, but is what society is serving up really satisfying our hunger for fulfillment? No matter how hard we try, we cannot bring our own fulfillment; true and lasting fulfillment comes from God.

Pass the Salt

This week I have been suffering from a sinus infection brought on by an allergy attack, and I have been unable to breathe. A bad side effect to this is that my taste buds are off and nothing has tasted good for the last few days. We have gone out to eat a couple of times, and nothing I ate had any flavor. I had to pour the salt on to get anything to taste halfway good. The first thing I’ve eaten this week that has tasted good was some pasta sauce I made last night that I socked with salt and spices.

Ironically, this ties in with the bible passage I made note of in my last post. As I was reading the passage in Luke about counting the cost of being a disciple of Jesus, I noticed that the passage ended with Jesus saying something about salt that loses its flavor and becomes worthless (Luke 14. 25-35). Jesus also told his disciples that they are the salt of the earth (Matthew 5.13). Now, I have never really given this passage a lot of thought, but now that I think about it, I’m curious, and I wonder how the saltiness idea connects with the counting the cost of being his disciple idea.

I looked up salt in some of my resources and here are some interesting things I found out about it:

Salt brings out flavor in otherwise bland foods—of course, we knew this already. Anybody who has ever made real pancakes or biscuits (not Bisquick) and left out the salt can attest to this fact.

Salt is used as a preservative. Meat cured in salt doesn’t have to be refrigerated—think country ham. (By the way, how does anybody eat that stuff? Yuck!)

Salty ground is infertile; no vegetation grows around the Dead Sea (hence the name). In the bible, salt was sown on people’s land to render it infertile.

Salt was rubbed on newborn babies. I imagine this acts as a cleansing agent and kills germs. Some cultures still do this.

Salt was always offered with sacrifices. I’m guessing this was symbolic of purity and lack of decay (the preservative quality), but I’ll bet on days when there were a lot of offerings to “process,” the salt kept the sacrifices fresh.

Salt was symbolic of covenants.

Salt was a valuable commodity. Roman soldiers were often paid in salt—hence the saying “not worth his salt.”

Some of the salt that was found near the Dead Sea was like rock salt but it was sometimes impure because it was subject to the elements and the outer layer of it was flavorless.

Now what do we do with this information? If we are disciples of Jesus, we are called to be the salt of the earth. How do the qualities of salt come into play in our lives? If salt is a preservative, we must be a preservative of sorts. Our world is in a state of moral decay, so we are the part of the world that is not decaying, the part that is staying pure. Salt brings out flavor, so we should bring “flavor” to the world. The lives of Jesus’ disciples should be a different flavor from the lives of other people—we should live differently. And I think we should also bring flavor to bland situations—I’m thinking of those types of Christians who are afraid to have any fun.

Now I’m wondering about the salty, infertile ground part. Is there such a thing as being a too salty disciple? Maybe we can become so fanatical that we turn people off instead of attracting them. I don’t know.

Being sick with this sinus infection gave me another thought about it. Just like I can’t taste anything that isn’t good and salty while I’m sick, people who are spiritually sick need a good salty person to help them along their journey of getting better.

OK, my brain is hurting now, and I’m not sure that I’m making any sense here. Perhaps you can add some thoughts about how to be a good, salty disciple.

Two Masters

Disclaimer: Writing this one made me just a little bit uncomfortable.

Jesus taught that people can’t have two masters and that we cannot serve both God and money. Most Christians would probably not say that they are serving money rather than God, but how accurate are we when we say that? I believe that most of us have our hearts in the right place—we aren’t actively out chasing the almighty dollar trying to get rich just for the sake of having more and more money, and we likely aren’t spending every dollar on frivolous material items that we don’t really need. We contribute to church and charity and help others who are in need whenever we can. But even though we do all this, are we fully serving God, or are we, in actuality, serving money?

Proverbs 22.7 tells us that just as the rich rule over the poor, so is the borrower servant to the lender. When we borrow money, for whatever reason, we become beholden to the person or institution who loaned us that money. As good Christians, we know that we are obligated to pay back that money, so we order our lives in such a way as to make sure that we can earn enough to pay a little each month on that loan. Some of us even take out insurance policies that will pay off the loan in the event that something happens and we can’t earn money. We are very prudent to not place our means of income in jeopardy.

I assert that because we are in debt, we are unable to fully serve God even if our hearts want to. Every time we make a big decision, we take into consideration how much money we owe and how much we are earning. Our debt level often makes it very difficult to follow where God’s spirit is leading us to serve. How many of us can immediately drop what we are doing to follow Jesus in the same way that we see his disciples do in the bible? Peter and Andrew and James and John left their fishing nets and followed Jesus at once when he called to them. Matthew immediately left his desk at the tax office to follow Jesus. How many of us can just get up and go wherever he leads on only a moment’s notice? How many of us can take a lower paying job that frees up time to serve him? How many times have we seen stories about people in need and wished we could go across the country and help, if only we didn’t have to take time off our job that pays the mortgage? I am not saying it is bad to be a homeowner, but if God calls us to physically relocate, most of us will have to ask him to wait a month so that we can sell the house and pack up the possessions. As much as we hate to admit it, our debt has caused many of us to serve money more than we serve God.

Jesus said that the cost of being his disciple is high and that we should make sure we know what that cost is before we begin the journey. Are we willing to pay that high price? Which is more costly—totally being his disciple or trying to serve two masters?

What if we really lived like Jesus?

Thanks to Tony, I am reading Mere Discipleship by Lee C. Camp. After having read the first two chapters, I am intrigued by the question that Camp raises: What if everyone really lived the way that Jesus and his disciples lived; what if we made Jesus’ life an example and model for our own? The popular opinion, Camp asserts, is that

“the way of Christ is simply not a relevant social ethic, lest injustice reign and the violent vanquish the righteous. Christians cannot take the way of Christ seriously, or society will fall apart, will sink into a spiral of unmitigated violence. Justice is at stake. Civilization itself is at stake. Jesus could not have meant that we take him seriously in the realm of social and political realities—after all, what would happen if everybody did that?! Consequently, “Jesus,” “Christianity,” and even “discipleship” are reduced to a mere “spirituality,” a realm that has little if anything to do with the concrete realities of culture, civilization, and politics.” (page 34)

Christ’s teachings, says Camp, “inform our attitudes, but not our actions” (36). His teachings are something that we internalize for the sake of our spirituality but don’t necessarily live out because it isn’t practical in our society.

I have to wonder, what would happen if all Christians started to live the kind of life that Jesus and the apostles did? What would that entail?

Jesus had a completely self-sacrificing attitude, not just in his death on the cross, but in his life as well. His own personal comfort was secondary to the needs of others. He did not own a house full of stuff. He spent his time taking care of the needs of others rather than working at a job to pay for a house and all the materials to fill it.

What if Christians suddenly decided to live on less money than we earn, buying only what is necessary for life, and using the rest to help others? What if we downsized our houses, got rid of cars with payments and drove—gasp!—paid for cars, stopped eating out so much, bought fewer new clothes, did without the latest gadgets, etc. I think if we did that, we could work less because we wouldn’t have so much to pay for, and we could spend more time with our families, and we could spend more time just being nice to people. We would be healthier because of the reduced stress. Of course, we probably wouldn’t have computers and be here blogging about it.

However, there would be some repercussions on the national economy if Christians suddenly lived like Christ. If we downsized and paid off all our debt, the economy would suffer without our paying all that interest on houses, cars, and credit card purchases. Stores would lose money because we wouldn’t be buying so much. Stocks would plummet. It could cause chaos. We would be blamed for the downfall of the American way of life—and then talk about persecution!

So I guess we’d better stay the way we are. We don’t want to rock the boat or have people look at us like we’re crazy. Living too much like Jesus would be a burden and a cross that we don’t want to shoulder—no matter what Jesus said.

Giveaway

I just gave away a coffee maker that I no longer use. Instead of it sitting in my closet taking up space, it will now serve someone who can use it.

I have been asking God for help in simplifying, and I think this is a good way to start. Freecycle is a network of groups that allows people to post items to give away. I posted my coffee maker as sort of a test to see how well this works, and within just a few hours I had four people wanting it. A lady just left my house--she drove all the way from town to pick it up.

If you don't want to fool with trying to sell stuff, and you don't care who gets your stuff or for what reason they get it, you might want to try this.

You clean out your closet, and somebody comes and gets the stuff! What a concept!

Making Change

Today I have been looking for ways to cut spending in order to increase giving. This morning I have dropped the unlimited text and picture messaging from my cell phone service. This has freed up $9.99 (and probably some tax as well). Honestly, why in the world do I need to text message someone? And why do I need to send photos over the phone? I carry a digital camera in my backpack--if people want to see a picture that I take, they can wait until I get home. Also, there's really no need to surf the Internet from my phone.

I have also dropped our alarm monitoring service. This will save $25.95 a month. Of course, the lady tried to get me to keep the service, reminding me that I also have smoke alarm monitoring. She offered to cut the fee to $15.00, which I politely declined. I figure that it's all just stuff--why should I pay someone to watch it? No one broke in, nor did we have a fire before we had the service; I think we'll be fine without it. Besides, it just doesn't sit well with me to pay someone to "watch" my earthly treasures.

I now have $35.94 to use for other purposes, and I plan to use part of it for giving and the rest for debt reduction. $35.94 isn't much, but it's a start. It feels good to have done this today. I don't feel any more righteous, but I feel like I have accomplished something. I have probably lost my blessing for telling you this, but that's OK. I've been blessed pretty well already.

Another story about trees

A couple of years ago, I decided that we needed some trees in our yard, and being too cheap to go to a nursery and buy some, I went into the woods and dug up some tiny little oak trees about a foot tall and planted these in places in my yard. That same year, we had trouble with our lawnmower, and when we finally got it fixed, the grass was taller than my little trees. Husband just wanted to hurry and get the grass cut before the mower broke again, so he paid no attention to where my trees were planted and mowed them all down.

However, one tree came back, so whenever I got the chance to mow (I don’t mow much—he thinks I am too hard on his equipment), I would carefully go around the little tree, and it grew to about two feet tall. Then the mower broke again, and we had a neighbor come and cut the yard. Of course, he cut my tree down again. But a few weeks later, there it was, peeking out of the ground again, so I threatened Husband with bodily harm if he cut that tree down again, and we have left it alone, and it is now about two feet tall again.

This spring we decided to finally shell out some money and buy some decent sized trees, and we planted them in a straight row down both sides of the driveway. The problem is that while the little oak tree falls into the straight line, it sits about two feet from one of the newly planted dogwoods which are evenly spaced in a very uniform row (Husband is all about symmetry.). So it throws everything off. We decided that the little oak has to go in order to preserve the perfect lines, but neither of us has mowed it down. I told Husband a few days ago that maybe we should just leave it there; it won’t hurt anything, and trees grow close together in the woods and do fine. He just kind of grunted, but the last time he mowed, he didn’t cut it down.

That little oak tree must have a good root system developed in order to keep coming back the way it does. As I’ve said before, I think people are like trees. If we establish a good root system, we can be cut down, knocked around, and trampled on, but we’ll still bounce back. We might not be the prettiest, and we might not fall into that straight line where everyone wants us to be, but we will be strong and sturdy and will eventually provide lots more shade than the rest of the trees.

I love that persistent little oak tree more than the pretty dogwoods—which, by the way, are struggling to survive in this dry summer weather—and I’m going to protect it from being cut down again. I suspect that God feels the same way about his out-of-line, but persistent, children.

God and Country

Tomorrow is July the 4th, and I will admit that I most likely will not spend time in quiet contemplation of the country we call the United States, the freedoms we enjoy as Americans and how we gained them, or what it means to be an American. I probably won't spend time thinking about our troops who are serving abroad or those people in other countries who are less fortunate than we are. I'm going to take a day off from all that and go to the lake.

Lately I've thought a lot about our country, and while I know that I am very fortunate to live here and enjoy a fine house, a good job, and all the food I care to eat, I can't help but think that I might be better off spiritually if I lived in a poor nation where I had to struggle to find enough food to keep me alive and had to sleep out in the heat or the cold. Of course, I am thankful that I don't live that way; however, I think that because of my circumstances, I have become complacent to the point that I think I am entitled to have a fine house, a good job, and more food than I can eat.

When I am truly honest, I know that the only reason I am blessed with so much is not because our government has created great opportunities for its citizens or because I took advantage of the educational opportunities we have to better myself. The only reason I am blessed with material comforts is because of God's mercy and kindness. I have done nothing to earn any of this, nor do I somehow deserve it. The more I think about it, the more humiliated I feel. I have not made God's kingdom my primary concern; I have not shared my goods with the poor; I have not sought to bring justice to the oppressed--yet God has blessed me anyway! What will I do now to show my gratitude to him?

a weird thing about me and Capital Letters

One of my weaknesses that makes it hard for me to be a writing teacher (other than spelling--we've already talked about that) is that I am a slow reader. When I read, I "say" each word in my head--I actually need to "hear" the sound of the word to fully comprehend what is being said. I don't understand how some people "speed read" by glancing at a group of words and understanding the meaning. But my reading speed has picked up out of necessity, as I usually grade about 550 essays in one 13 week semester.

One of the things that hinders the speed of my reading certain items is the use of capital letters where they don't usually belong. I'm talking about the use of Him and He in the middle of a sentence when referring to Jesus or God. Usually it's pretty easy to pick out a proper name in the middle of a sentence and not have that interfere with my reading, but I'm having a lot of trouble training myself to recognize He and Him as proper names. When I see one of those words coming up, I have already geared myself that it will be the first word of a new sentence, so I read it that way, and then when I discover that wasn't the case, I have to go back and re-read. It takes me forever to read my BSF notes because of this. And you would think that since I've been a Christian all of my life since at least the time I was learning to read that I would have gotten used to this, but I haven't.

Sometimes a student of mine will want to write about a Christian topic and will want to know if "he" and "him" are supposed to be capitalized, and I say that that was a convention invented a very long time ago that we really don't have to do. But I also tell the student that if he or she feels bad about not using a capital letter, then by all means please do so--but God isn't going to get mad at us if we don't use the capital H.

So if you ever are reading my blog and see that I don't use the capital H, it isn't meant to be disrespectful. Also, I have noticed that I usually don't use the capital B when referring to the bible, but I don't know why that is. Again, it isn't meant to be disrespectful.

Are you a teacher?

James said, "Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged by God with greater strictness" (3.1 NLT).

Are those of us who blog about Christian ideas and who cite bible verses actually teaching? Or are we simply offering opinions? Or is there any difference? Someone who reads what we write is going to be impacted in some way be what he or she reads.

Does the phrase "in the church" qualify this statement--we aren't technically "in" the church. Or is this talking about the church body as a whole and pertaining to all Christians any time, any place? The NIV text of this verse doesn't even use the phrase "in the church": "Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly." (This brings to mind the topic of accuracy in bible translations, but that's another blog.) So does this mean that anyone who teaches anything will be held to a higher standard?

I always am very careful about what I say here. I spend a considerable amount of time finding the best way to express my ideas, sometimes rewriting a single sentence again and again until I'm sure that the words I use and the possible tone they convey are expressing the exact meaning that I want to get across. I'm always thinking about my audience and how they might interpret--or misinterpret--what I say. So far I haven't been called on the carpet for anything, but I'm sure the time will come.

So I guess I'm going to continue to err on the side of caution and be very careful of what I say here.