Tag Archives: Musings

cleaning the freezer & other musings on a Monday…

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I’m not pregnant, but I’m nesting. Went through the pantry with theBean. Swept it. Through away stuff with shelf life that ended in 2007. Truly.

Went through the refrigerator. Ditto. Found a milk carton, (MILK!) that expired in December 2008. Ouch. Never even saw it. Found some food that Julia made. (Yes the Julia that went back to Deutschland in February…) Nice. (NOTE: This doesn’t reflect on anyone’s personal cleaning habits… it’s just a blog, man.)

Today, I decided to tackle the freezer, since theBean was headed for Shift #2 on the day. Went through the freeze-dried foods, the unwrapped icy-treats, & other stuff that one finds in the freezer. Then, I came across some Drumsticks. You know, that incredible tasty ice-cream treat that sits on a sugar cone, covered with quik-dry chocolate & peanuts?

Well, what I found were the ‘heads’ of the drumsticks. Turns out, the cones had all be eaten, & some kind soul had placed the drumstick heads back into the freezer for anyone that might want the leftovers.

So I did what anyone would do. I ate the chocolate off the ice-cream & put them back in the freezer. Silly us. :)

Went to the Hand Dr. for I-Doey. Got the stitches out. Looks good – like he’ll be able to start in with his summer weights & football stuff tomorrow – just no contact drills for the next 3 weeks, at which time more X-Rays will be taken to check on the progress of young I-Doey’s finger.

We’re hoping, praying & believing for a complete recovery, without any of the finger-hypersensitivity that the Dr. said might be a possibility. Here’s to healing. Woohoo!

According to my 2 oldest children, I may be showing signs of getting smarter. Or at least being smarter than they thought I was. I will update you on any more progress I make.

I’m ecstatic – the book re-release that I’ve been waiting for is finally here… Jerry Cook’s classic, Love, Acceptance, & Forgiveness: Being Christian in a Non-Christian World came out last week. This has been one of the books that has most formed my outlook on life, the Church, & my view of God.

If you have never read it, by all means, get a copy & do so. If you have, get the re-release today. It is the classic you remember that has been brought up to date & made even better… its even got a ‘study guide’ included in the back.

On my second reading of the re-release today. :)

Thinking about how thankful I am that the Bible doesn’t need to be updated.

I believe that we’re on the brink of something large. A fundamental shift in the way we live, work together, & carry out life. Not trying to come up with the Next Big Thing, but rather trying to cooperate with what I believe are the doors that are opening in front of us.

New ways of doing my job – new roles, with other things not happening any more. Trusting that God has provided & will provide for what comes next. Thankful I don’t have to have all the answers, but just do my part. And encourage others to do the same. Wherever they are. Cryptic enough?

I think I’ll go eat some more chocolate off the Drumstick heads.

The co-opting of my day off & other musings…

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Yesterday I found out that today, Friday, was being treated as a ‘holiday’… the 4th of July holiday. Mostly because the 4th falls on a Saturday this year. I guess people felt gipped by having a holiday on a day that many already have off. So, Friday becomes the holiday.

Normally this wouldn’t be a surprise to me – on account of the fact that I usually pay attention a little better to the world going on around me… I’m not going to say it was the busy news week. Or a particularly busy time for me. I just missed it.

I’m off on Fridays anyway, so I celebrated my day off with more people than usual.

Hmmm. Makes me wonder. Do I feel gipped for having my day off co-opted by the “No Holiday On The Weekend” crew? Would an appropriate response for me have been to take Thursday off, so my regular day off, Friday, could have been spent as a Holiday day-off instead of as a regular day off? Or, since its too late for that, what about Monday?

Silly me…

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musings on the 1st of July

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Let’s just say that I’ve been a bit… deliberate in my blogging the last few weeks… meaning, its been slow. Not because there’s nothing to blog about, (because, really, has that ever stopped me before,) but rather because I’m processing in my head. And I’m back, with an intent to bring the cheese.

Today is anniversary #20 of my marriage to theBean. When I think back through all the little ‘coincidences’ that led to us connecting that 3rd week of June, 1988, it boggles my mind. Perhaps I’ll spend a little time revisiting the birth of our adventure.

I’m not much of a Destiny believer (meaning: there’s 1 person out there for me & Destiny will bring us to-gev-uh…) which automatically identifies me as a “chick-flick hater” (not true: I’ll watch ’em. Just don’t buy into ’em.) And as a “non-romantic” (also not true: I may not be the Dr. of Love, but I have been known to be able to romance, wine, & dine my girl…)

However, there were more than a few ‘what if’s’ that had to come together – when I was reminiscing about that with theBean, I asked her, “How could I get so lucky that you would love ME?” She said, “Hmm. Good question. You must’ve just been in the right place at the right time…” With a smile.

I was thinking about my life, & wondering if I would enjoy it if my job had a “summer break” – like my 3 kids do. Sometimes, the loads of free time, lounging around, doing whatever, whenever, however seems attractive. And then I realize that one of life’s great joys is the ability to do something with purpose…

Mind you, I’m not talking about deriving my worth from work; instead, its knowing that my life matters. Being able to put my hands to something, to give my all & do my best plays a role in the feeling of contentment. I’ve been reading through Ecclesiastes & found something that sums that up for me:

Here is what I have seen to be and fitting: to eat, to drink, & enjoy oneself in all one’s labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward…Ecclesiastes 5:18 NASB

Perhaps the doldrums, depression, & discontent come from not having something to apply one’s hands to? Not just a job, but a place to volunteer, help out, give of oneself. Hmmm.

Just booked my time at CSR for the 3rd week of August. Me & theBean spent some time there last year & it was life-changing. If you’d like to reminisce (I know I did!) you can check out the posts from last August HERE

Current reading list:

  • Love, Acceptance, & Forgiveness – the re-release by Jerry Cook. Sweet. It just came out, & I can’t put it down.
  • Mother Kirk – by Douglas Wilson – a study in practical ecclesiology (the study of church doctrine,) in the reformed tradition… Hmmm.
  • The Mishnah – though I’m using it more as a resource & research book rather than reading through it cover to cover…
  • Emotionally Healthy Spirituality – Peter Scazzero – revisiting this in advance of my solo August journey to CSR…

    Time to go work out. Then home to shower, put on my foo-foo clothes, & out to dinner (which will be, most likely a slab of beef,) with my One, myBean, the love of my life, mother of my children, most B-E-A-Utiful woman in the entire world…

    Sigh.

    • Surprises…

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    There’s lots of things in the world that I don’t understand. I’ve just found another one.

    Yesterday, a priority mail package arrived. Looked like something I’d get from Amazon if I’d ordered a book… but this was from ATT. Hmm. Wonder what they could be sending?

    After opening the package, I discovered 3 things:

  • Turns out, due to a glitch in the ATT computer billing system, 1 member of our family has had their phone bill separated from the rest of the “ATT Family Plan”

  • This is I-Doey’s bill, covering his phone line. It is 262 pages long.

  • It has 14,114 reasons why we chose to go with the ‘unlimited texting’ plan. 14,114. Texts. 1 person. 1 month. Or, 470 per day.

    • Truly, right now, I have no response.

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    One of my favorite breakfast places is the Squeeze In. It offers all the usuals for breakfast, the biggest omelette menu selection I’ve ever seen, & lunch stuff too. Lately, I’ve been looking for excuses to eat there, & my recent favorite is a #7 – 3 eggs, double bacon, all the cheeses, & nacho cheese on top. Yum.

    Its a locally owned restaurant, with a laid back feel – so laid back that they not only permit but encourage people to write on the walls.

    This Sunday, I was downing my #7, & I heard a conversation going on at the table behind me – a conversation about church. This kinda stuff always catches my ear, & I love to hear what people are saying, talking about, processing on the topic of church… especially when I can do it incognito.

    Let’s just say that the couple at the table must have had a bad experience or 10 – but their summation was that they were SO glad that they hadn’t “wasted” their day at church, but instead had “Squeezed In”… They shared their thoughts with the waitress, & before they left, wrote on the wall. After they vacated their table, I went over & took a picture of what they’d written: (see the picture at right – “Omelettes are better than church.”)

    Made me sad. Made me wonder the specifics of their situation. What they’d endured, suffered, &/or caused… If it was the result of a drive-by, a big blow-up, or a long-term fizzle…

    Led to lots of thoughts about faith -& about growing up, putting it into practice. Thoughts about “faith sabotage” – something that is done to ourselves or done by another, undermining a foundation. The role of discouragement, frustration, fear & lies in the undermining of faith. Boring church meetings, spoken in a language that makes the goings on of the day inaccessible to beginners &/or the uninitiated…

    Sigh.

    weathering…

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    With it raining just about every afternoon & evening, coupled with the 5 nights/week of sporting events, we have had ample opportunity to experience the extremes in weather.

    One night this week, our team, (sponsored by Armor Plate Ink,) had a softball game – it was pouring, raining horizontally (thank you Nevada wind!) But it wasn’t sooo bad. The grass got soaked (as did we,) the softballs were slick with the water, the dirt infield became just a bit muddy… but we were able to play on & make it through all 6 1/2 innings of the game. The storm was a good one, but we were able to play through it.

    Another night this week, thePastyOne was out at Mackay Stadium for UNR football camp with his team. And it was raining. When I say raining, what I mean is that more water was coming down from the sky at one time than I have ever seen in my whole life (& I was in a hurricane in Georgia in 1994). The magnitude & scope of the storm was such that they actually stopped the practice/scrimmaging & cancelled for the evening. There had been some debate about trying to tough it out & play through the mess, but the combination of thunder & lightning (very, very frightening?) made the decision to cancel an easy one.

    I love the rain. Don’t go away for long…

    rain down…

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    I was talking to the kids yesterday during our most recent downpour… just soaking in (literally) the smell of the rain, which is one of my favorite smells in the whole world (next to the purple meets cotton candy fragrance that theBean wears.) One of them said, “Dad, all this rain isn’t NORMAL, is it?”

    Thought about it for a minute & answered: “Nope. But I’m not complaining. Let’s enjoy it while its here…” And we are.

    Made it to & through Convention/Connection unscathed. Convicted. Challenged. Loved by friends & fam. Blessed with a surprise trip to Disneyland, my favorite place to go ever (right next to minor-league baseball parks…) But unscathed. Maybe a little larger in the soul. I’m believing for it.

    Just passed the time of year when I’d normally be in Frankfurt for my Spring visit to our sister church – this year’s visit will have to wait until November. I’m missing friends.

    Don’t know if its all the sitting last week that aggravated a stiff back, or something else… but I’ve been having intermittent back spasms up & down since last Friday. No buono… Which is why I go see Dr. G, & then things feel better. Less twisty, that’s for sure.

    I don’t have a map. Or a blueprint. Lost them a few years ago, back in the days when I was a lot smarter than I am now, & knew what I was going to do & how I was going to do it. Got reminded of that last week.

    By the way… don’t tell my 3 kids – It only looks like I’m winging this whole “dad” thing because… I am.

    Jesus! Help me!

    In the next few days, I’ll be painting over a mural that has got painted in my office in April 2000. Its time for change. I’m thinking a Tolkien theme. Or at least, I am going to hang my now homeless (room-less?) LOTR posters… because they can’t stay where they are now. Sorry Frodo. Sam. Strider. But now you get to be with me in my office.

    Either my feet are growing, or my shoes are shrinking.

    I ate at The Cheesecake Factory 4 times while in Anaheim. Man, I can get used to that place, esp. the Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake. I dreamt about it last night. Truly.

    On that note, I heard a rumor that the Reno/Sparks area (Scheels) will get one of those if the shops in the area can boost their annual sales to Cheesecake Factory standards. Oh please, oh please.

    Reading through my Complete Jewish Bible, musing through Mishlei/Proverbs, pondering 17:17

    A friend shows his friendship at all times – it is for adversity that {such} a brother is born.

    The longer I live, the more I realize my need for friends – real friends who will stick with me, through thick & thin, in spite of my issues, who love me enough to tell me the truth & not just blow smoke…

    Tuesday afternoon…

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    Life has settled into a familiar rhythm… familiar for Spring that is. Spring football practice for Pasty. Baseball 3 nights a week for I-Doey. Soccer just around the corner for theWeez. Soffa-baru 2 nights for me. Sometimes the events are all at the same place. Hmmm.

    It doesn’t FEEL hectic… it just means that our ‘free-time’ is spoken for, & we get to hang with each other in a different environment than home. And on a beautiful Nevada evening, there’s nothing better.

    I’m a people watcher. Last night at I-Doey’s game, I observed a mom with 4 kids in tow, probably between the ages of 3 & 10, 2 boys & 2 girls. She attempted, vainly, to get them to sit & watch the game. The 2 youngest (the boys) were all over the place, & were pretty active, even according to The scoey d Standard of Active-ness.

    Finally, the seemingly frustrated mom got up & said in her best “momma ain’t happy, so there ain’t no one gonna be happy” voice:

    All of you. Stop now! Come with me!

    With all 4 kids in tow, mom obviously fired up, the youngest got a big smile on his face & asked her:

    Mommy! Is this a privilege? Is this a privilege?

    She was not amused.

    But I sure was.

    Today is my mom’s birthday… & I’m musing on the fact that I am currently 10 years older than she is. Or will be. And the gap will grow.

    I’m trying to gear myself up for a week away from theBean next week. While she is holding down the proverbial fort, I will be going to Anaheim for the yearly Foursquare Convention er… ‘Connection’. It’s the gathering for the denomination that our church family belongs to. Convention is called Connection because…

    TheWeez is coming with… Lucky me. She just came out & declared her undying love & devotion for the Boston Red Sox of all teams. Fortunately, I know that she is just saying this due to her undying love & devotion that she has for a certain Red Sox fan who shall remain nameless.

    The monastery that theMoses, Brother, & I went to in March 2008 supports itself with the proceeds they make off of the vineyard on their property. While we were there, we visited their wine shop for a tasting. Great vino…

    So I joined their Wine Club. Next week, the ‘spring shipment’ comes out. Sweet. Should be here when I get back from Connection…

    Friday musings…

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    I love pancakes, but I rarely eat pancakes. A few years ago, I discovered that the “I feel like I’m going into a coma” feeling that I’d get after slamming down a few was not something that everybody experienced… there is a name for it, but the jist of it is that my body doesn’t do well at processing the mass quantities of sugar that syrup has in it…

    Diet syrup isn’t an option, so my method of ‘dealing’ with the reaction to pancakes (& a few other foods) has been to modify how I eat – drop the refined flours & sugars, high protein & complex carbs are the norm…

    But I still like pancakes & will plot a couple of times per year to indulge… & make sure that I incorporate some high-protein food (usually sharp cheddar cheese) to eat before, during, & after the pancakes… it doesn’t fully stop the coma-reaction, but it does curb it a bit…

    So I plot, (the anticipation & waiting is almost as good as the actual eating,) & save up for Christmas/New Years Dutch Apple. The (formerly) 1x/semester Tri-Delta Pancake extravaganza. An occasional home-based celebration. I believe that it’s time for a bacon stack… Let the preparations begin.

    And …here comes the sun…. Looks like the weekend is finally bringing temperatures in the 80s & 90s. Ahhhh.

    Currently reading:

  • The Hobbit.
  • Alien Encounters.
  • The Mishnah.
  • The Writings of Irenaeus.
  • ESPN: The Magazine.

    • The wind blows gently, & I love the peaceful coolness, bringing relief from the heat of the day. The evening wind comes like a gentle caress, lingering sweetness. The wind blows hard, picking up sand & rocks, pelting & stinging all they come in contact with. The biting cold, a violent & unseen rage. What’s changed?

    And the waves.

    I don’t think that the waves are intentionally buffeting my little ship, tossing it to & fro, bringing it perilously close to the rocks & the reef… the waves are just… the waves.

    They’re driven by unseen but very real forces, & the waves do what waves do. When the seas are calm & gentle, I love them. When they’re wild & fearsome, I’m wondering why they’ve turned their intensity to me.

    Sigh. I’m glad that the One who calms the wind & the waves knows me.

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    memory & smell

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    For the last semester, one of our Sunday p.m. small groups has been studying the Book of Enoch in conjunction with Genesis & Revelation- we’ve gotten through Enoch’s 1st vision (Chapters 1-36.)

    One of the things that has stood out the most to me is the mention of how things smell – specifically of incense & other rich, deep, good smells, esp. associated with the presence & throne-room of God. We had quite the discussion about how smell is very closely tied to memory… & Michael O passed on the tidbit that the sense of smell is the only sense that bypasses the normal ‘central processing relay-stuff’ & goes straight to the brain. Which, in turn, makes for some very vivid & clear memory making… & at the next ‘smell’ of that scent, a person can be ‘taken back’ in memory to when they’ve smelled it before.

    This drove me to the Scriptures & their mention of incense & fragrance in the context of the Tabernacle, the presence of God, & of royalty (more on that later.) What I found really blew me away – in the instructions that the LORD Adonai gave to Moses for worship were included an altar from which incense was to be burned all the time – (Exodus 30). And the incense burned on the holy altar was to be made of a special blend that was not for private use – only for the presence of God.

    Another sweet smelling perfume was mixed in with the anointing oil applied to kings…

    If you’re interested in finding out more, click HERE to be taken to Bible Gateway…

    At the same time as I’ve been studying incense & fragrance in the Scriptures, I’ve been reading a book called Sitting At the Feet of Rabbi Jesus. Its a book that brings understanding to what living as a disciple (talmid) of Jesus would have been like within the culture of 1st century Judaism – with the nuances of Hebrew culture, language, belief, & practice. Good book.

    One of the chapters talks about fragrance as well – referring to the John 12 account of Mary from Bethany anointing Jesus’ feet with “an expensive perfume” made of “pure nard” (which I’d recommend you reading about HERE )

    The authors mentioned that this anointing event, using this potent & sweet smelling perfume, would have caused the sweet smell to linger around Jesus for a long time – & would have been very apparent even during His betrayal, trial, scourging & crucifixion.

    This has made me even more curious – & I am in the process of doing some ‘experiments’ with smell, fragrance, & incense… theBean is not nearly as excited about this as I am…

    In my attempts to experiment with incense & the like, I have found through my searching locally that that the only places that I’ve been able to find incense (cone or sticks) or oil for burning have been in the ‘head’ shops, &/or shops that are catering to a pagan, wiccan, or new age clientele… Hmmm. Interesting.

    So, resourceful me went to eBay & purchased some incense cones & a little tiny censer to burn the incense in. My package arrived & I wasted no time lighting my first cone of incense… in the kitchen. Ooops.

    My experiment was quickly relegated to the garage… turns out that a reason that theBean wasn’t as excited as me about the incense is that she had a negative experience with it – where as a youngster, she & her family went to dinner at someone’s house – & the house was filled with an ‘incense’ smell (you know the smell – no matter what flavor or scent of incense you get, its a smell common to burning the cones…) I asked her about it & she described in minute detail what the house looked like inside, the people, & even what they ate for dinner. How’s that for a 30 year old memory?

    I got excited about that… & told theBean that she just proved what I was trying to discover & describe about smells, incense, & fragrance. I must say, though, that theBean remains not amused.

    But I am. :)