Sunday, March 28, 2010

Setting aside trivial things...

Sweet the moments, rich in blessing — Cross of Jesus

(Original Trinity Hymnal, #189)


Sweet the moments, rich in blessing,
Which before the cross I spend,
Life, and health, and peace possessing
From the sinner's dying friend.

Here I rest, in wonder viewing
All my sins on Jesus laid,
Here I see redemption flowing
From the sacrifice he made.

Here I find the dawn of heaven,
While upon the cross I gaze
See my trespasses forgiven,
And my songs of triumph raise.

O that, near the cross abiding,
I may to the Saviour cleave,
Nought with him my heart dividing,
All for him content to leave.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Status Round-up

I spend a little time on Facebook, which I have thoroughly enjoyed. It’s quick, easy interaction with folks from the past and present, all mixed-up. I’m sure I’ll write more about Facebook another time, but for now, here’s a round-up of my most recent statuses, from yesterday backwards.


• Tracey is planning to eat everything in the freezer. Not all at once.

• Refrigerator repair, or, reason to buy a new one...we'll see!

• Next time I make a double-recipe of rice krispy treats I will use a bigger bowl.

• 59 degrees, and the warm sunshine feels heavenly!

• Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day! Ice cream for lunch!

• Why bother looking decent if I'm just staying at home? See some reasons and give your opinion at http://www.lifeisdifferenthere.blogspot.com/.

• Can anyone who has a Google blog (blogspot) tell me how to just put some of a post on the front page? It seems there is a "read more" option, but I can not make it come up for me.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Why Bother?

I’ve been discussing with a few of you how much time it takes to shower and dress, and to be honest, I am a bit discouraged in that department. I timed myself on several different days and discovered why I can not seem to get ready in half an hour: it takes longer than that! Even without the piddling I can not seem to get my time below 35 minutes, and it’s mostly closer to 40 minutes. Maybe it is because I desperately need a haircut. Or a tan. Or clothes that look better on me. But, no matter what, if I want to get that done during the period that I am not supposed to teach Daniel anything, I need to change it to 40 minutes. Then there is also the “get up earlier” option, which I am still resisting at the moment. Mark down this month as when God began working that in me, should I ever become the president of the 5:00 a.m. club.

Now that I have determined how little time I have for beauty, such as it is, I really need to remind myself of why I should even bother to look nice. Most of my days are spent inside my house with my children. Does anyone really care if I stay in my exercise clothes all day? Maybe not. Edwin never mentions it if he comes home for lunch and I am still sporting the yoga pants and the ponytail. Is it just pride that makes me want to look presentable most of the time? Well, yes, that is certainly a part of it; the priorities are always in need of some, let’s say, tweaking. But I do believe there is more to it than that.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Beauty is Vain

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. (Proverbs 31:30)


I've been running behind lately. I do not like to reach lunch time without meeting the goal of taking a shower and getting dressed for the day. I know, some of you are laughing. Lunch time, really? But it's the way my schedule works. I get up early enough to drink coffee with Edwin before he leaves, grade some school work, and exercise before breakfast with the kids. Then the school day begins, and time starts running away from me. We take a break around 10:30, and I try to scramble into the shower and be dressed, dry, and made up by 11:00.

Thirty minutes seems like plenty of time, doesn't it? But somehow that 30 minutes goes by so fast I run out of time. There's no time for make up. Or maybe my hair is left to dry itself (not a good outcome!). And sometimes I do not even make it into the shower. So, school starts back at 11:00 and it is time for lunch before I know it, and there I am, still in my exercise clothes. Ugh. If Edwin gets to come home for lunch he gets his wife in no better condition than when he left in the morning.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Goodnight Moon

The church nursery has a loudspeaker. Loudspeaker sounds archaic, but that is the word that most-aptly describes this speaker, as it is both archaic and very loud. During Sunday evening worship, by God’s providence, I was in the nursery with two precious covenant children, and the loudspeaker was doing its thing, very loudly. It was a sweet time for me, as I am fresh out of babies and toddlers at my house. We sat on the floor, the two of them in my lap, and read book after book. Over the loudspeaker I heard bits and pieces of the sermon while reading aloud, something about food laws from Deuteronomy (I’ll have to catch up on that later; I wonder, do we record the evening sermons too?). But what struck me was what I heard at the end of the service – beautiful singing in four parts. I do not know if they were singing a cappella or if the piano was not being picked up by the microphone, but it sounded great. The juxtaposition of what I was hearing and what I was reading was remarkable. Here is how I heard it: