Cool Cooking Site

I know, I know.... I don't post for over a month and now two posts in a day! I just like to keep my readers on their toes! Actually I just thought I wouldn't remember to post this later. I was looking for info on grilling artichokes and came across Cooking for Engineers. From my brief visit it appears to be a great site. The guy has a very cool table format he uses for recipes and he uses lots of pictures--always good. Check out this lemon bar recipe to see what I mean. (Scroll to the bottom of the page to see the recipe in table form.)

Jonah, Part 2

So I just read chapter 3 and was struck by another little thing. It's verse one: "Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time." So, Jonah rejected God's first command by physically running away from God. God spares the guy's life from drowning and then allows him to live on dry land again (instead of inside the fish). Jonah doesn't really deserve it, but God allows him to live anyway. That should be enough. But then, on top of that, God reaffirms Jonah's position as prophet by giving him a second command to go to Nineveh. Unfortunately, as we'll see in chapter 4, Jonah still has a bad attitude about the whole thing. Does he not realize the grace just extended to him??? Anyway, it's just encouraging to know that God doesn't think in our terms--our usefulness to him is not over because we have walked away from him and his ways for a period of time.

Jonah and The Big Fish

I was just reading Jonah and made a realization in chapter 2 where Jonah praises God for sending a fish to swallow him and, therefore, saving his life. Jonah starts by describing his descent into the sea: "all your waves and breakers swept over me." I love how visual his description is: "Seaweed was wrapped around my head." (Where else do you find seaweed in the Bible?!) And that's when it hit me. Jonah didn't know his life would be defined by and remembered for these few days. He didn't know his name would always be followed by "and the Big Fish" (or "and the Whale" for those of us who were taught inaccurately back in the day). He was just Jonah the prophet. And he thought his life was over. And for good reason considering he had just blatantly disobeyed God. But no--God provided a great fish to swallow Jonah. Now, I'm thankful for all the things God provides for me, but I sure hope He never has to provide a fish (or any other creature for that matter) to swallow me.

Jonah didn't know how his story was going to end, and we never know either. I love to consider whatever circumstances I am in, no matter how good, bad, or (more often) mediocre, as having the potential to become something that will define me (or someone else) or that will be remembered by many for many years. Not that I'm looking to be thrown into a sea... but I guess sometimes that what it takes!

In the Beginning

This is my 3.5 year-old's account of creation as overheard in the car tonight: “On the first day, God created light and dark. On day two, God created squishy fish and pens for people to write with. On the next day, He made creatures and squishy fish and animals that creep and crawl and hop and gallop. On the next day, he made light and dark and Adam. On the next day, He made people and cars and trucks and helicopters and boats and tractors. On the next day, He made engines and buses to go everywhere. And shapes and colors. On the next day, He made toys to go in the stores. On the next day, he made numbers and letters. The end. Wasn’t that a good Bible story?”

Walking For a Cure

Back in January, a friend of mine, Debbi Gunn, called me very excited about something. She has a very close friend who suffers from cystic fibrosis and was frustrated by her daily struggle with the disease. So, in an attempt to turn her frustration into something positive, she contacted the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to find out what she could do to help find a cure for the disease. They told her about the annual Great Strides fund-raising walk. She immediately signed up and invited everyone she knew to walk as part of Team Tisa (named in honor of her friend). And that is why she was calling to me: to see if I would be willing to walk with her. I joined Team Tisa, and this Saturday, April 21, my family and I will join in the two-mile walk. Now I am asking you, if you would be willing to sponsor my family as we attempt to raise $1000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. You can make an online, tax-deductible donation here. Thanks for your consideration and any donation you can give!

Name That Tune

The Mystery Song Lyric Game Contest Thingy is back! And it's new and improved! The songs will not be limited to the 80's and I will give some type of hint. Leave your answer as a comment. (Don't look at the comments if you don't want to know the answer!) Of course I'll reply in the comments as to the correctness of any answers. Have fun!!!

Line: "Hooking up words and phrases and clauses."
Hint: TV

For Laughs

My sister Cheri sent these to me today. I found them quite funny. Enjoy!

Link Love

You may notice a couple of new blogs on my list to the left...

- A long overdue link to Hale's De do do do, De da da da. I've been reading from the beginning and never put up a link. Sorry Hale! (Check out his "How to Be a NASCAR widower" for a good chuckle.)
- Next, a link to another Hale: Brian Hale's Hale-Yeah! If you go there right now, you can see some great pics from his recent beach trip. (I want to go!!!)
- And... (drum roll please)... Introducing Just an Average Girl... by Maya! Yes, that was a pig you just saw fly by your window!!! She finally gave into the pressure! I look forward to keeping up on this girl's busy life!

Also, a nice site I just found: ScrapVillage. I haven't explored the entire site, just the fonts. They have LOTS of fonts, intended for scrapbooking, but they're not all just handwriting-type of fonts. (Though there aren't many you'd want to use in a formal document!) And the best part--they're all free and easy to use!

Winners!

After my rant about not having a winner, I've received 2 correct answers!!! NerdDad and Scott both recognized the line from REO Speedwagon's "Can't Fight This Feeling". NerdDad also pointed out that I had already used this song. (He won that time, too.)

And the winner is...

...no one again! All right guys... Is everyone tired of this game? Is it too difficult? Are you bored? Are you still there??? Hello? Is this thing on???

Ta Da!

Hey look! I took some time today to make some changes around here. What do you think? I'm basically done. I may add a new title block. Otherwise, I'll just fix stuff. Please let me know what you think!

New Pic

If you haven't already noticed, I've got a new picture for my profile. I'd been wanting to update it because I've had a new hairstyle for a while, but, as you can see, my new hair is still not in the picture. But that's okay because I really like this picture. I had the idea for the photo and explained it to Brad and we had a little photo shoot yesterday. We work well together that way: Brad loves to take pictures and play with all his fancy camera stuff and I love to have my picture taken! Here's another good one...

I actually feel very guilty changing my picture only because I promised I would change my whole layout a LONG time ago and never did. At this point, I've kind of abandoned the whole idea I had (good thing this is With Reckless Abandon!) but I'll do something different sometime!

80's Mystery Song Lyric

I think you'll get this one!

And even as I wander I'm keeping you in sight

What song is it from? Email the title and artist to me. I'll post the answer and winner(s) later!

Blast From the Past

I have officially lived in Fresno for about 10 years. (Unofficially for 4 years before that, too.) I've lived in four neighborhoods, attended three churches, had two employers, went to one school, and been involved in several other random groups. That's enough involvement to get to know quite a few people. But I rarely run into people I know. Let me correct myself: I rarely run into people I used to know. (I run into people from my neighborhood and my church quite often!) But the last few days have been different. It started with a baby shower. A guy I used to work with and his wife just had their first baby. (Congrats Ramiro and Yvonne!) I hadn't talked to or seen either of them for about three years but a mutual friend got us in touch again. They invited me to a baby shower on Saturday where I got to see the new baby, his parents I hadn't seen for years, and even one of the new mom's friends I'd met many times but also hadn't seen for three years. Wow! I realize that's not exactly "running into" somebody but the next ones are. Tuesday, the kids and I picked up my husband from work and went to McDonald's for lunch. We're standing in line when I notice a man get in line behind us--it's another guy I used to work with (Marky T as we used to fondly refer to him) that I haven't seen for probably about four years. Then last night we went to Costco. Yes, on Valentine's Day. I figured there would be less people and I was right. What I didn't realize was that we would run into the Truitt family with whom we used to go to church. We hadn't seen them for at least three and a half years. It's funny because I used to try to avoid running into people I knew. If I saw someone in a store I would look the other way and pretend to be carefully selecting parsnips or whatever might be nearby. Not to be mean or rude but to protect us both from the awkward conversation that I knew would ensue. But now, well, now I live for awkward conversation! I'm the one to get the other person's attention. (Actually the Truitts got my attention before I saw them--They live for awkward conversation, too.) I actually enjoy running into people now. I really don't know what changed, but I like it better this way! I no longer have to purchase unnecessary root vegetables!

When Will I Learn?

We live near a Walgreen's. We go there a lot. It's a great destination for our walks/tricycle rides. If you ever see a red tricycle sitting outside a north Fresno Walgreen's, you'll know we're inside. The past few weeks--I guess it would be more accurate to say since Christmas--Walgreen's has had their Valentine's Day stuff out. Every time we walk in, my son has pointed out Lightning McQueen on the front of this particular card as we pass the card aisle. So I thought it would be special if I bought the card for him. So what do I do? Wait until the day before Valentine's Day! And what do I find at my friendly Walgreen's? First, a line with about 20 people. Second, a mangled half-stocked display of Valentine's cards--with Lightning McQueen no where to be seen. What was I thinking? My husband and I gave up trying to go out to dinner on Valentine's Day early in our newlywed years because we hated waiting an hour and half for a table. One year I waited in line at See's Candies for close to an hour on February 13. And now this. Fortunately, my son has no expectation of anything so he won't be disappointed, but I know how excited he would have been to get that card!!!

No Winner?

No one got the song lyric this week! Was it too difficult? It was from Phil Collins' "Don't Lose My Number". So no winners this week--I'll try to make the next one easier!

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Here's this week's lyric:

They came at night leaving fear behind
Shadows were on the ground

Email your answer here. And remember, everyone with the right answer wins!!!

My Reading List Revisited

Last January I posted a list of the books I read in 2005 and the ones I hoped to read in 2006. For my own benefit, I wanted to look at that list again and see how I did. You can come along too.

On my books to read list:
Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams
A Mom After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George
Bruchko by Bruce Olson
Birthright: Christian Do You Know Who You Are by David C. Needham
The Chronicles of Narnia (7 books) by C. S. Lewis

I did read the Douglas Adams books (those were a re-read) and I also read Bruchko. I got about halfway into the Elizabeth George book and stalled. I need to pick that one up again--it was pretty good stuff. I didn't even touch Birthright. I didn't read through the Narnia series, but I did get out the first book and started reading it a few pages at a time with my son.

Although I didn't get through my list, I did read a few others not on the list, several as assignments for the School of Women's Ministries. I read Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership: The Paradox of Personal Dysfunction by Gary L. McIntosh and Samuel D.Sr. Rima, which was a pretty good book. I read a short (auto)biography of Fanny Crosby called This Is My Story This Is My Song. I also read the classic Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan for the first time ever. Another book I stalled halfway through is Revolution in World Missions by K. P. Yohannan, a great, eye-opening read that I need to pick up and finish and that I also highly recommend. Those are all that I can recall at this moment.

I'm really impressed with myself because I have always disliked reading books and, therefore, read as little as I could get away with in school. That meant I spent my twenties reading hardly anything. But maybe I'll make up for it in my thirties! I don't have a list I'm working off of this year, but so far I've already read The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick M. Lencioni. Maybe now it's time to pick up those unfinished ones!

Excuses

I'm not abandoning this blog. Or its reader(s). I just thought I should say that. This last week has been really crazy. I got the flu and was pretty miserable for a few days there. Then my normally easy-to-handle son lost his mind. Well, that's what it seems like some of the time: He's started throwing tantrums again. It's been quite a while since he's done that and he's really improved his tantrum skills in that time. So the last week has been very physically and emotionally draining. Anyway, all of that left very little time and energy (though plenty of content) for blogging. So hopefully, I'll get to blog a little here and there this week. And if you think of me when you're praying, please pray for my family during this stressful time. Thanks!

And the winner is...

*** I realize I am REALLY late posting this! Sorry! ***

Congrats to Jackie for recognizing this line from Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar on Me". I've decided to start listing everyone who gets the right answer, not just the first one, because, well, because I can! So although Jackie was first, April is also a winner! I also have to give an honorable mention to my sister Cheri who knew the song title and guessed unrelentlessly until she figured out the artist! There's no shame in guessing!

Look for another 80's song contest on Friday! And I promise I'll try to try to post the answer sooner!!!

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Here's this week's line from one of the rockingest (though probably not wholesomest) songs of the 80's:

Lookin' like a tramp, like a video vamp

Know it? Email the title and artist to me.

Business Time

I saw this at Shlog. I pass this on with the same recommendations that he did:
1) Don't watch this if you're not married.
2) Don't watch this if you're under 18.
3) Don't watch this if you're promoting one of my future concerts. Hmm... I guess that won't eliminate anyone... Moving on...
4) Don't watch this if you've been married for less than one year because you won't get it.

If you haven't been eliminated... get ready to laugh! I've got to go sort the recycling.

5 Things You May Not Know About Me

Tagged by Nerd Family. Here we go...

1. I used to be a mime. (Yes, the kind that doesn't talk, believe it or not!)
2. I took two semesters of fencing in college. (I was better at mime.)
3. I've always wanted to collect swords.
4. I actually do own a small collection of kaleidoscopes. They are much less dangerous than swords.
5. Even less dangerous than kaleidoscopes: Paper. I think it would be cool to own a stationery store. Hmmm... I wonder if paper beats sword... Then we could play paper-sword-kaleidoscope!

And the winner is...

It's a tie this week! Both April and Brian gave the correct answer within minutes of each other. Congrats to you both for so easily recognizing Byran Adams' "Summer of '69". That song always makes me long for those days, even though I never had a band and I wasn't born until the summer of '75! Still, "those were the best days of my life"!

80's Mystery Song Lyric

One of my favorite songs of all time today! Here's the line:

Me and some guys from school
Had a band and we tried real hard

Email the title and artist to me and I'll post the winner and the answer later.

A Poll

I don't have a lot of time to blog but I have two quick things:

- Check out the cutest kids I've ever seen here.

- I want to do a little poll. If you are a Christian, answer these two questions:

1. Do you believe that you have access to the power that created the world and rose Jesus from the dead?
2. If so, do you use that power?

What I'm Missing

Friday night I was driving alone. This has always been my best time for reflection, and I rarely drive anywhere alone anymore. But here I was Friday evening. Something (and I'm not sure what it was) reminded me of sharing with my college friends in times of worship. Not just a bunch of goofy kids singing songs about Jesus (though we were that), but real hearts opened up and poured out before a worthy King. And I missed it.
---
Sunday morning I was doing the rush-to-get-everyone-ready-for-church thing. I was getting irritated that I was running late and I thought "I am not going to get to church late again!" I didn't want to miss half the worship time because I had to make my hair perfect or because of a last minute diaper change. Then I started to think about how long it had been since I'd been at church... Last week: vacation. Week before: helped in kids' classes then went home. Previous week: Visiting family for Christmas. Previous week: Choir performance. It had been five weeks since I had been in a normal church service! Five weeks since I had the chance to just worship with my church family.
---
We sat down in church 28 seconds before the service started. Normally music starts right away but this particular Sunday our Senior Pastor introduced the worship time by reminding us what worship is: not about singing, not about us in anyway, but about bringing worth to God; it is not something we initiate but a response to who God is. This was the perfect lead in to a really great worship time. I sang with my eyes closed almost the entire time, trying not to think about who was around me or who was on stage or even if I was singing on key.
---
It's kind of funny how God orchestrates things. Sunday morning when I realized I hadn't been to church for five weeks, I thought that's probably why I was missing corporate worship. But then when Pastor Jan started the service by talking about worship it was kind of weird, like he was saying it just for me. I just love those times when things all work together in unexpected ways. It's a reminder to me that God knows and loves me personally.

And the winner is...

I got several good guesses and correct answers this week!!! But the honor goes to April who was first with the right answer ("Hard to Say I'm Sorry" by Chicago) and who was helped by the fact that she had recently heard the song on the radio for the first time in many years and who was at Disneyland while we were there and who we didn't run into to! And an honorable mention goes to Brad who was first with the correct artist. (One of the best things about writing a blog is that I don't feel confined by all the rules of writing I learned growing up: In this one short post I've managed to start two sentences with conjunctions, write (at least) one run-on sentence, and end one sentence with a preposition! Take that Ms. Chaney!)

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Here it is--this week's lyric. I think it's an easy one. What do you think?

Everybody needs a little time away, I heard her say, from each other.

Email the title and answer to me.

I'm Back

After a fun week of vacation and a few days of getting caught up, I'm back! The fam and I spent a week in San Diego (plus a stop in Orange County) doing all the fun stuff there is to do there. We spent two days at SeaWorld and had a really great time there. We were really impressed with the high quality of everything there and lack of crowds the days we were there. It was really great to be able to let the kiddos run around a bit and not be afraid of losing them. My boy measures exactly 42 inches with his shoes on which allowed him to ride Shipwreck Rapids with me. We were the only ones in the nine-person raft. He wanted off after the first drop but was really proud of himself after it was all over! We visited the world-famous San Diego Zoo and did a little shopping at one of my favorite malls: Horton Plaza. After almost a week there we headed to Anaheim for some Disney fun and a quick visit with my SoCal sister. Then we headed home. It was a fun trip, though also a lot of work, having the little ones. It was a great way to start the new year! I'll try to post a few pics later!

The Answers, Part 4

And now for the conclusion of the revelation of Sara's quiz answers.

Question #9 - Which 80's movie have I never seen?
The correct answer is ET. Of course, that's not the only movie I haven't seen. If you know me well enough, you know that it's hard to use movie references with me because I haven't seen a LOT of movies. On the other hand, in the 80's, my sisters and I used to watch the same handful of movies over and over again: Goonies, Dream a Little Dream, and, our favorite from which we can all recite just about every line to this day: Clue. (Cheri and I even received the movie from Joleen for Christmas this year. Thank you Santa Joleen!!! Now we can torture our husbands with it!)

Question #10 - How do I feel about little quizzes like this one?
I love quizzes!!!!!! If you answered differently... well, I guess you need to get to know me better!

And the winner is...

NerdMom of Nerd Family. She correctly guessed that the line was from Prince's song "1999". Remember when 1999 sounded futuristic? Now it is, well, so 1999. Happy New Year!!!

The Answers, Part 3

Question #6 - What is my favorite beverage?
I like coffee, tea, and Coke, but I LOVE Pepsi! Most people got this wrong but understandably so considering my answer to question 3!

Question #7 - For Christmas I want a:
surprise. Getting something I don't know I want is way more fun than getting something I already know I want. Brad took this even one step further this year and got me something he knew I would want but that I didn't even know existed: a Guizmo.

Question #8
My Myers-Briggs personality type is:
Unfortunately the test gave you a point for answering ESFJ, which is wrong. The correct answer is ENTJ.

The rest of the answers tomorrow!

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Here's the line for this New Year's weekend:

They say two thousand zero, zero, party over,
Oops, out of time!

Email me with your shot at the title and artist.

The Answers, Part 2

Question #3 - What indulgence did I give up for the past three years?
This is the answer that needs the most explanation. Some of you (you know who you are) will argue with me on this one. The correct answer is sodas. Technically: buying sodas. More technically: buying sodas for myself. Three years ago our church began a fundraising campaign for our new building. We made a three year commitment and I decided that we could give more if I gave up ordering a soda with dinner when we went out (something I loved to do) and buying sodas at the grocery store (something I rarely did). Being the rule-oriented person I am, I started to question my commitment: Did I give up sodas completely? What if I was offered a free soda? What about buying sodas for guests to my home? So I had to come up with some rules that were consistent with the purpose: Free sodas were okay. Buying sodas when expecting company was okay, but I would buy what they would want, not necessarily what I wanted AND I wouldn't open a bottle of soda for my own consumption but would drink it after a guest had opened it. Oh yeah, and when pregnant and nursing (21 of those 36 months!), sometimes I justified a soda purchase in order to keep myself hydrated. So there's the long explanation to the short question. Oh yeah--the three years is up and I'm buying and drinking lots of my favorite soda now. But which one is that? You'll have to wait for the answer to question number 6!

Question #4 - I met Brad in college:
We weren't in the same calculus class, Brad never lived in the dorms, and I never went to a frat party. We met at an InterVarsity event.

Question #5 - What is my favorite TV show of all time?
This was a tricky one considering how much I write about American Idol. And I like all the shows I listed a great deal. But Whose Line is it Anyway beats them all by a landslide.

More answers tomorrow!

The Answers

Here I will begin to give reveal the correct answers to my quiz. I'll do two or three at a time so I can finish them this week.

Question #1 - What is NOT one of my dream jobs?
Definitely medical researcher. I love science and all but am bored (and grossed out) by most things medical. And I'm not really big on the research part either.

Question #2 - How old am I?
31. No explanation needed.

And the winner is...

Santa Claus!!! Okay, so nobody got it this week. I'll assume it was because everyone was too busy celebrating, not because you didn't recognize it, right? Well that line is from U2's Christmas hit: "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)".

80's Mystery Song Lyric

While you're doing your last minute shopping/wrapping/baking, try to place this line:

They’re singing deck the halls
But it's not like Christmas at all

Email your answer here.

This Week's Most Sung Non-Christmas Song

"I Will Lift My Eyes" by Bebo Norman
iTunes link
amazon.com link

Quizzes, Contests, and Christmas

I didn't mean for the quiz about me to replace the weekly song lyric contest. I kind of forgot it was Friday. The next few Fridays may or may not have contests depending on my busy-ness with Christmas and then taking a week's vacation after that. Maybe I'll aim for Thursdays instead... We'll see. Anyway, I think I will reveal the correct answers to the quiz about me in about a week or so. But I'll just do one question at a time--that way I can give explanations and tell you the question I almost put in its place and what option E would have been had there been one... Not that I put that much thought into it or anything... Ummm, okay. So that's for next week.

The countdown to Christmas is on. Like everyone else, I get a little stressed around this time, mostly trying to figure out how I'm going to do everything that needs to get done (shopping, cooking, baking, gift-making, wrapping) when the schedule is packed with extra stuff (Christmas parties, choir rehearsals, and family get-togethers). Until the last day or so, though, I have really been enjoying the season, not worrying or stressing about anything. It hit me last night that I had four celebratory meals to prepare over the next eight days, no menus planned, and was going to be out of town for two of the days. And then there are those gifts I started making that aren't quite done. So I'm feeling it now, but it'll all get done somehow. Even if I have to forego the weekly song lyric contest. (Was that the sound of blog-readers everywhere crying?)

The Quiz of All Quizzes

All right faithful (and not so faithful) blog readers, here's your chance to see how well you know me! Take the official test!

Create your own friendquiz here

Jeremiah: A Comedy

When you read, do you see the characters and story play out like a movie in your head? I do. I thought everyone did but I've been told that's not true. Well, if you're one of those who doesn't, you're really missing out.

My Bible study has been on break since Thanksgiving so, for some reason that I don't remember or maybe never had, I decided I would use this break to read the book of Jeremiah. Even if you've never read it, you probably have the impression that it would be filled with doom and gloom, and your impression is right. But the thing is, the movie in my head, while dramatic at times, is mostly a comedy. I'm only about halfway through, but so far God has instructed Jeremiah three times to buy things. Now, remember, this guy is a prophet of an unpopular God, and his message is mostly "repent or die"--Not a fun guy to be around. Who would employ him?--I'm assuming this is his own personal money he's spending. I don't think he's getting reimbursed out of the temple's Prophetic Object Lesson Supplies fund. And it's not just the buying things: First God tells him to buy a linen belt and then tells him to bury it, ruining it. ("Thanks, God. I finally thought I might be able to dress with some style... But not now.") Then God tells him to buy a pot ("Great! That'll spruce the place up a bit!") only to be told to break the pot to pieces. Then God tells him to buy a yoke and put it on himself no less. (I imagine he's thinking "I am NOT going to destroy this too!") And while in an argument with the false prophet Hananiah, his opponent removes the yoke and, yes, breaks it. I can't wait to find out what happens next when God tells him to buy a field!

But it's not just that. As I mentioned, Jeremiah was not the most popular guy. In fact, many people wanted to take his life and he knew this. By no coincidence, often the recipients of the messages God spoke through Jeremiah were the very people who wanted him dead. Now I don't know how these messages got from God to Jeremiah to the recipient. Sometimes I picture Jeremiah first writing the message on a scroll to be read to the recipient, but sometimes I picture God telling Jeremiah to go the person but that Jeremiah doesn't actually know the message to speak until he's standing there with the person/people face to face. Either way, but especially with the latter, Jeremiah has to be rather uncomfortable delivering a message like this: “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ...You said to Zephaniah, ‘The Lord has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada to be in charge of the house of the Lord; you should put any madman who acts like a prophet into the stocks and neck-irons. So why have you not reprimanded Jeremiah from Anathoth, who poses as a prophet among you?'" How can that be delivered in a way that wouldn't be funny to watch, especially if Jeremiah wasn't completely prepared to speak about himself like this?

Anyway, I'm obviously enjoying this book. There's a lot of good serious stuff in there too, but I figured you'd get that stuff on your own.

And the winner is...

... April, 80's music queen! She recognized this week's lyric from "Sussudio" by Phil Collins. Congrats April!!!

80's Mystery Song Lyric

After taking a week or two off from this little contest, it's back!!! Here's this week's line(s):

She makes me nervous and makes me scared
But I feel so good if I just say the word

Do you know it? Email your answer (title and artist) to me here.

6 Weird Things About Me

I know.... Only six? I'm only listing six--there's not room for an exhaustive list. I was tagged by April which was a tricky (and successful) way of getting me to post something. So where do we start...

1. I hate to dress up--unless it's to really dress up. Give me jeans or an evening gown, nothing in between.
2. I studied computer science in college and loved every moment of it.
3. Along those lines... as a kid I loved math and thought that it might be hard to get a job using math because everyone would want that kind of job.
4. Instead of putting on a sweatshirt, I've wrapped a blanket around my shoulders to keep me warm because it seems cozier, even though it makes it hard to type.
5. I can write backwards (mirror-image) almost as fast as I can write forward.
6. I love wrapping Christmas presents.

I always wonder if what seems weird to me is what seems weird to others. What do you think? Do I qualify as weird?

The List

I just gave up looking for a list I made a few years back. If I had found it, I would have published it here. It was a list of things I was thankful for. A long list. Several (nine, I think) Thanksgivings ago I casually mentioned to my newlywed husband that I thought I might try to list a thousand things I was thankful for before the holiday arrived. (It's always been important to me to celebrate the meaning of each holiday in some personal way, not just focus on the fluffy stuff.) Probably in an attempt to save me some disappointment, my sweet husband (who knows me better now) told me that I wouldn't be able to make a list that long. Instantly I had a challenge that I had to conquer. I found a fresh legal pad and started writing. Page after page I wrote. Day after day I wrote. I'm not quite sure if I made it to 1000 or not but I know I had at least hundreds of things listed. I thought it would be neat to find that list and read over it. (And count it of course.) In the past nine years I have only accumulated more reasons to be thankful so I should be able to make the 1000 if I hadn't already. Maybe I'll have to start over. Should I go for 2000 this time? (Just kidding Sweetie!!!)

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Don't forget to take a moment yourself during what might be a very busy Thanksgiving day and consider what a long list you could write as well!

And the winner is...

Andy Beltz!!! Congrats Andy--your 80's music knowledge paid off! Well, not in the sense that you actually win anything... This week's line was from a-ha's Take On Me, a definite 80's classic!

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Let's see if this week's contest goes better than last week's...

So needless to say I'm odds and ends
But that's me, stumbling away

Know it? Email me the title and artist.

My Last Week

I have really had trouble keeping up on the blogging! Mostly I just haven't had anything to say. (Which is an excuse even I don't believe.) This last week has been a little crazy: Last Tuesday afternooon my one-year-old daughter woke up early from her nap crying. I went in to see what was up and she was fine. I hugged her and laid her back down. About 20 minutes later more crying and I open the door to find--well, not a pretty sight. She was sick and I had a huge mess to clean up. My Fresno sister was supposed to be over at any minute with her newborn and my SoCal sister was about 30 minutes away from my house coming to visit with her baby boy. The 48-hour sister-fest I had planned on enjoying was suddenly replaced by a week of cancelled plans, staying home, and wondering who was going to be sick next. I am very glad to be well again. Spending an afternoon with stomach pains so bad you are hoping you throw up makes you appreciate your health once it's back!

Plans cancelled:
- Playing with nephews
- Staying up late with sisters
- Dinner out with sisters, mom, and families
- Baking Christmas cookies with sisters
- Choir practice (twice)
- Bible study
- Leading worship
- Dessert event at church
- Picnic at park with friends

Sickness schedule:
- Tuesday/Wednesday - baby girl
- Thursday/Friday/Saturday - me
- Saturday/Sunday - my boy
- Monday/Tuesday/??? - my hubby (though he doesn't seem to be getting the worst of it)

And the winner is...

...no one! Want a second chance? How about:

Dont worry 'bout nothing cause it wont take long.
We're gonna put you in a trance with a funky song

You say you still don't know it, huh? Really, I think some of you are afraid to own up to knowing the words to this New Kids On The Block song: "Hangin' Tough"! At 13 I never would have admitted to liking their music, but once my little sister finally stopped playing her Hangin' Tough cassette over and over, I did sheepishly ask to borrow it.

80's Mystery Song Lyric

I've got one for you this week! Here it is:

Don't worry 'bout nothing cause it won't take long

Email me the title and artist. First one with the right answer wins!

Boasting in My Weaknesses

A few weeks ago I wrote about my experience leading worship that particular week and I wanted to share another experience from the week before last. One of the things I have been learning is how, when we allow Him, God works through us. That doesn't sound so profound. It's not that I didn't already know this, I just hadn't experienced it to this degree before. Normally our worship team rehearses on Tuesday and then Thursday morning we just sort of set up and warm up together--we don't have time to actually go through all the songs that morning. On this particular week, one of our key members (everyone is key when there are only four of you) was scheduled to be out of town during our Tuesday rehearsal but back in plenty of time to play and sing on Thursday. Our reheasal time on Tuesday went a little shaky, but fine. Thursday morning I arrived at church and our pianist was there but just barely: having just arrived in town the night before (instead of Tuesday night), with no luggage, and a sick kid at home. She hadn't touched a piano for the past week, let alone practiced this week's music. Not only that, but the first song we were playing I don't play on guitar so it's all her. We got through the song after a rough start and the rest of the songs went pretty well. I was content just to see God get us through without any major problems under the circumstances we had. But I usually settle for less than God desires: Over following week I received so much feedback on how meaningful of a worship time it had been to many of the women, with several people specifically noting that first song! All I can say about this over and over is: It is so much not about me. It is so much not about me. I've always felt that I have to be doing my best in order for God to work through me the most. Apparently it's not true. As someone told me the other day, sometimes we just have to get out of the way to let God work.

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NIV)

And the winner is...

April, who recognized this week's line from "We Are the World" by USA for Africa. Now who doesn't remember that song? I remember feeling like I was changing the world just by singing along!

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Here's this week's line:

We are the ones who make a brighter day

Email your answer here.

Summer's End

It's been a while since my last post. I apologize about skipping Mystery Lyric Friday. I'll try harder this week.

A while back, I wrote about summer and how I love summertime and going barefoot. Now the hot weather has turned to only warm. The inflatable pool is deflated and in its place is a big muddy spot in the middle of the back lawn. Pumpkins, scarecrows, and gigantic inflatable spiders are popping up in people's front yards. While I love the weather turning cool as much as I love it turning hot, there is something definitely bittersweet about fall. Maybe it's because I know that short days with foggy weather is ahead. But I'm dragging summer out as long as I can. The time doesn't change for another week so we still have sunlit evenings. For the past several weeks, my family and I have been walking a lot in the evenings, often to a restaurant for dinner, sometimes up the road to Starbuck's. Tonight we stayed home. We barbecued some burgers while the sun was just getting ready to set, made some fresh guacomole, and peeled a mandarin orange picked from my mother-in-law's tree this weekend. In what other time and place do you get to enjoy an end-of-summer barbecue with fresh, ripe citrus fruit? I know it won't be long until I'll have to live like summer is gone, but you'll have to drag me kicking and screaming and barefoot.

And the winner is...

My sister Cheri! She was one of many who correctly answered C+C Music Factory "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)". I am sure that those of you who missed this one thought it was this song but also knew this song wasn't released until Dec. 1990--and that's why you didn't submit your answer. Right? Well, I did poor research up front, thinking I saw the release was in 1989 but apparently it wasn't until 1990. Sorry about that. But based on the responses I got, maybe I need to do a 1990's mystery lyric every week... Hmm... Personally, I don't consider the 90's a period of great music. Then again, a lot of my favorite songs are great music either!

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Here it is--this week's lyric. Maybe a little different than usual. I'm not sure if it's harder or easier though. Mail me the title and artist.

Jump to the rhythm jump jump to the rhythm jump

And the winner is...

April! April correctly recognized the line from Culture Club's "Karma Chameleon" and has been singing it ever since! Read all the lyrics here or watch the video here.

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Loving would be easy if your colors were like my dream

Send your answer (song and artist) to me. I'll post the answer and the winner later on!

Hangin' Out at the Chord House

I've been meaning to mention a useful site I found quite a while ago. If you play guitar or piano at all, check it out. It's the looknohands.com chord house. Enter the Guitar Room (or Piano Room if that's your thing) and select the chord you want to learn about. It shows you the fingering, the notes you're playing, and let's you hear what it sounds like. You can even add multiple chords to a list and then have it play through the list. And this seems to be a pretty exhaustive list of chords (unlike some of the other references I've found), including different options for the same chord. The Advanced Guitar Room lets you do the same for alternative tunings and includes scales as well. (I stick to the Easy Room.)

The funny thing is, on occasion, I've even used this site backwards: I'm playing a chord, but I don't know exactly what chord it is. It's pretty quick and easy to go through the list (especially if I know it's some type of E chord for instance) and find the one that matches the fingering I'm using.

I'm a Student Again!

I haven't been a student for almost 10 years but here I am in school again. I am enrolled in The School of Women's Ministries. It's set up as a two year certificate program with six all-day sessions over the two year period. The first session was Saturday. It was really good and I am looking forward to more. I have some reading and writing to do over the next few months before the next session and I thought I might use the blog to occasionally share what I'm learning an maybe even as a springboard for some of the writing.

Just so you know: I never liked reading and writing throughout school. I did it, and I did it fairly well, I just didn't like it. It's just been in the last few years that I have developed a love for reading. (I'm really glad because it fits well with my love of books--finally I'm actually reading the books I buy!) I've always avoiding writing. I really don't know why--I think it's because I get overwhelmed trying to organize all my thoughts. That, and research for writing normally requires reading. But I think I will be okay with it now. I may actually enjoy it!

And the winner is...

TraciHux!!! Congratulations Traci for knowing this week's line was from John Cougar Mellencamp's "R-O-C-K in the USA". Read the lyrics for the whole song here.

It's Back - 80's Mystery Song Lyric

Back by popular demand, the mystery song lyric of the week! Read the line(s) below and be the first to correctly identify the which 80's song and artist it's from! Email your answer to me and I'll post the correct answer and winner later on!

They come from the cities
And they come from the smaller towns

Hungry-Israelite Thinking

Shortly after God led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, they started complaining that life was better back in slavery than on their way to the promised land. Every time I read this I think how ridiculous these people are. They just witnessed God instantaneously starting and stopping all these plagues in response to Pharoah's actions. They just saw Him hold back tons of water so they could cross a sea only to see the waters suddenly released to swallow up their pursuers. And at that time they praised God for doing these things. But a few weeks later we find them grumbling in hunger: "If only we had died by the Lord's hand in Egypt!". How fickle! Where's their faith? Don't they remember what God did? Don't they know what God is doing?

Those are my usual thoughts about the Israelites. Today I'm not quite as harsh on them. The last couple of weeks, anyone who cared (and some who didn't) listened to me go on about how excited I am to be leading worship for my Bible study and how God has been using that to strengthen my faith, to trust Him more, to pray more, and on and on. He has made Himself so evident to me in so many little ways, it has been amazing. And, the worship times have been going amazingly great. Well, today's worship time was a little off--nothing went wrong, it just wasn't amazing, like the last few weeks have been. That's all it took for me, like the Israelites wanting to go back to Egypt to die because of a little hunger, all day I've been battling these thoughts about how terrible today went (it wasn't terrible) and how ridiculous it is for me to be doing this (I know this is where God wants me). Occasionally I remember my excitement from just yesterday. That helps. Then I realized that I was acting like the Israelites in the desert. How fickle! Where's my faith? Don't I remember what God did? Don't I know what God is doing? No, I don't always know what God is doing, but I do remember what He did. And I'm going to have to operate on that, not on my irrational hungry-Israelite thinking.

My Husband's Poetry

Usually I reserve this blog for my own writing but tonight I make an exception. My dear husband who gave me my shiny new iPod (on which I'm currently listening to Relient K "For the Moments I Feel Faint"--great song) accompanied the gift with a card with a cute inscription that I publish here with his permission. I hope you get as good a chuckle from it as I did!

If you wish the sun to stop its shining, and this would bring you delight, then I shall take hold of it, and fight with all my strength 'till it succumbs to my might. If a single flower should curl but the corner of thy mouth into a smile then I shall search to the ends of the earth and give you enough to strethch a mile. If this gift should be what you desire and it will bring you joy, then I shall go to Amazon.com and click buttons as they have never been clicked before and choose super saver shipping to have it delivered to thy door.

Long Time, No Blog

I thought I was going to start posting more often once I got into a normal routine with all sorts of stuff starting up for the fall. I actually did pretty well for about a week... and then dropped the ball. Well, let's try again. Here's a sampling of what I've been up to:

• It's football season and that means one thing: Fantasy Football! Watching football is just more interesting to me if I have some personal stake in it. This is my family's second year of having our own little Fantasy League (through Yahoo! Sports). I'm ranked 4 of 8 right now but should be moving up after tonight's game!
• I've been leading worship for the Women's Bible study I attend. Between picking out songs, practicing guitar, practicing with my team (one on piano plus two more vocalists), and then other setup type of things, this has been keeping me pretty busy--but I am having an absolute blast doing it!
• I've been keeping up on house-cleaning a little better than usual--though there's always more to be done!!!
• New to my small but growing collection of electronic gadgets: a black iPod nano. I've been loading music on there and, of course, listening as well!

5 Words

I've been tagged again! I love this stuff. This one's a word association thing. Here are the five words I was given (by April) and the first words that came to my mind:

Guitar - strum
Paper - shred
Laundry - basket
Shoe - repair (though I've never had a shoe repaired!)
Slap - face

I'll tag Pat, Jules, and Cheri. Here are your five words:
Pear
Beyond
Blue
Calculator
Shrub

WWII Correspondence

Here's something you'll want to read. I can say that confidently because I'm about the least likely to enjoy this sort of thing, and, yet, I can't get enough. Carl Schaad of Blog Hero has been posting a set of letters from WWII one by one. Each personal letter is written to a man named Charles and signed Margaret. You can read all about how he found the letters here. Then catch up by reading the first few here. (Scroll to the bottom to read the first one first!) He's posting one a day and there are 31. I've never cared for "history", but it is beyond interesting to me to read about individual people who lived in the past.

Number Fun

Over at Math Trek I read about this Number Gossip site. You can enter your favorite number(you do have a favorite number, don't you?), up to 10000, and find out all the properties about that number. There are all these properties that I'd never heard of before tonight, most of them with names that peak your curiosity: happy, hungry, lazy caterer, and apocolyptic powers to name a few. Fortunately, they are all defined so you can figure out how to calculate the properties of all your favorite numbers greater than 10000 on your own!

Ask A Ninja - "Summer Jobs"

Upon occasion, I visit askaninja.com. I love this stuff. If you haven't seen any of them before check this one out. I can't get enough of this--it's hilarious!

It's a Party!

Yesterday we had a construction-themed birthday party for my now-three-year-old. It was first shot at planning a kids' party where the birthday boy and guests actually understand what's going on. I'm really against the whole invite-every-kid-your-child-knows, impress-the-kids'-parents, rent-a-bounce-house-clown-ice-cream-truck-marching-band kind of party for a three year old child. I loved the simple birthday parties I had growing up and want to make the same kind of memories for my children. So I decided on making it a construction party since my boy loves tools, and my husband and I had a great time coming up with names for the food and decoration ideas. We went to more effort than I had planned on, but not overboard. Everyone there had a great time including me. Here are some pics:

Three three-year-olds. (Birthday boy on right.)

Tool "tattoos"

Build-your-own hotdogs

Dirt cake (which is neither dirt, nor cake)

And the winner is...

April again!!! I also give an honorable mention to my sister Cheri who, in the past, has commented that she never gets any of the lyrics but would if I posted a line from this song. Both girls recognized the mystery line was from "We Built This City" by Starship, once voted the worst song of all time.

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Okay, I can't miss two weeks in a row. So here's this week's lyric, as late as it may be...

Say you don't know me or recognize my face

Email your answer (title and artist) here. I'll post the answer and winner later!

Tag! I'm it!

You can thank Jules for giving me something interesting(?) to post about. She tagged me after being tagged twice. So she double-tagged me! By the way, thank you Jules, I've always wanted to be tagged! It's a dream come true! So here we go...

One book that changed your life:
The Grace Awakening, by Charles Swindoll
One book that you've read more than once 856 times:
Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See, by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle
One book that you’d want on a desert island:
A matchbook! Ha ha ha! (Sorry, I couldn’t pass that up.)
One book that made you laugh:
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
One book that made you cry:
Guess How Much I Love You, by Sam Mcbratney and Anita Jeram
One book that you wish had been written:
Don't know!
One book you couldn’t put down:
The Three Musketeers, by Alexandre Dumas
One book you are currently reading:
Revolution in World Missions, by K.P. Yohannan
When a Woman Discovers Her Dream, by Cindi McMenamin
What’s So Spiritual About Your Gifts, by Henry and Mel Blackaby
One book you've been meaning to read:
Birthright: Christian, Do You Know Who You Are?, by David Needham

5 Things In My Purse:
My top 5 (meaning the things that are literally on top right now): pen, phone, sunglasses, Tic Tacs, library card
5 Things in my closet:
For fun I’m choosing the closet we use for storage: maternity clothes, wrapping paper, my Mom’s Christmas present (first time I’ve started Christmas shopping so early!), cameras and accessories, gift bags
5 26 Things in my vehicle:
24 animals, 1 Noah, 1 ark (empty)
5 Things in my freezer:
leftover oatmeal cake (from my birthday), a lasagna (just in case), brown ‘n’ serve sausage, pine nuts (last much longer stored there), purple hippo Boo Boo Buddy

So, now it's my turn to tag someone. Hmmm... That requires readers.... Readers that have blogs.... Readers that have blogs AND haven't already answered these questions... This is getting tough! So, I'll tag NerdMom, NerdDad (can't wait to find out what's in your purse), and my blogging sisters Cheri and Joleen (new to the world of blogging as of today!). I can't wait to read your answers to the same questions.

And the winner is...

... April! Congrats April for recognizing the line from "Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves!!! Read the entire song here.

80's Mystery Song Lyric

I used to think maybe you loved me, now baby I'm sure

Does that sound familiar? Email me the song and artist from which this line comes. First right answers win!!!

Flo Paris: Practice Room

I've got a new CD I've playing over and over: the recently released album "Practice Room" by the very talented singer-songwriter (and family friend) Flo Paris. I love the first track, "Not I" , which you can listen to online: Since hearing it the day my CD arrived, I haven't been able to get the catchy, but not simple, melody out of my head--I just have to keep listening to it over and over. "The Love That We Have Found" is another favorite of mine. Every song on the album expresses a situation or feeling in a way that, coupled with the unexpected melodies, draws you in. Flo lists Caedmon's Call as one of her musical influences and you can definitely hear that in both the lyrics and music. Flo's distinct, strong voice lends itself well to the folksy style of music she writes. Check out her site and if you like what you hear, support an independent artist and buy her album, too!

And the winner is...

We have two winners this week! Maya was first to correctly identify the artist of this song as Madonna. Jules of Family Jules also knew that the line was from the song "True Blue". Congrats Ladies!

80's Mystery Song Lyric

It's that time of the week again.... So put on your thinking cap (if it fits over your big hair and 4 inch diameter fluorescent pink hoop earrings) because it's time to guess the title and artist of the 80's song that contains these lines:

You're the one I'm dreaming of
Your heart fits me like a glove

Email your answer here.

Go West!

Last weekend we took a little trip to Paso Robles ("darn near paradise" according to one billboard) and to Avila Beach. Apparently everyone and their grandmothers read April's post about Avila Beach because it was pretty crowded. But we were able to find our own little spot near the water. The kids (and adults) had a great time playing in the sand and the water. The waves (and undertow) were particularly strong that day and the waves were pretty high (and breaking quite close to the shore). I imagine that had I checked into kayaking that day, it wouldn't have been allowed.... Anyway, here are some pics!

More To Come...

I'm writing to say I'm not writing. I have been running around non-stop the last four days straight. I want to write about some of the running around (the more interesting parts, of course) but just haven't had time. But you can look forward to some beach pictures and a review of a new CD.

And the winner is...

NerdDad of Nerd Family! NerdDad correctly identified this line from Don Henley's "Boys of Summer". I thought this was an appropriate song as summer seems to be drawing to a close. (That used to happen at the end of August back when I was a kid.) And what happened to it? (This summer, that is.) All of a sudden kids are getting ready to go back to school, families are taking their last-minute vacations.... Well, I refuse to go with them! Long live summer!!!

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Here's the line of the week. Guess the song and artist and email them here.

I can see you
Your brown skin shinin' in the sun

What I've Been Up To

(I know that to be grammatically correct the title should be "To What I've Been Up" but that doesn't sound quite right...)

I'm not a big jewelry wearer. Not that I don't wear big jewelry, just that I don't wear jewelry very often. But when I do, I want to wear something that's "me" which is generally not what I see in stores or in my mess of a jewelry box. So this last week I decided to make a few necklaces that are "me". Below you can see my handiwork, be it ever so simple...

New Species Discovered

Tonight after dinner my husband and I were helping my son look through his latest issue of Wild Animal Baby. We were pointing out and identifying pictures of different animals in the magazine when I asked my almost-three-year-old what one of them was. He answered "orange-chicken-bear." My husband and I both looked at him searching for clues as to what he meant and then looked at each other and started cracking up laughing. If you eat at Panda Express as often as we do, and you love their orange chicken as much as we do, then you may have figured out that the animal in question was... you guessed it: a panda bear. So, as of this evening, in our home, that lovable endangered species has a new name: Orange Chicken Bear.

And the winner is...

April of 10:15 ON A SATURDAY NIGHT. I want to give an honorable mention to tracihux who remembered for the first time to check my blog and gave me the right answer only moments after April's. Both ladies recognized the line from Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger". See the entire song here.

Roddick vs. Pong

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Sorry, this is so late, but at least it's here. This one falls under the (large) category of Sara's all-time favorite songs...

Risin' up, back on the street

What and who is it from? Email your answer here.

And the winner is...

Denise, friend of Jules! Denise is so good, she actually knew the answer without even reading the question! (Though it may or may not have been read to her over the phone.) She recognized the line from Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'". Congratulations Denise! Check back here every Friday for another mystery 80's lyric!

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Here's this week's line...

It’s a long day living in Reseda

You know you know it! Email the title and artist to me here!

Rescue Me

Rescue Me
by Sara Edwards

Rescue me from myself.
I need a savior.
Rescue me from myself.
I'll be the ruin of me.
Rescue me from myself.
I need a savior.
Rescue me from myself.

There's a part of me
Takes pleasure in
Things that cause me pain.
And I'm findin' out
As I look around
That there's no one left to blame.

Rescue me from myself.
I need a savior.
Rescue me from myself.
I'll be the ruin of me.
Rescue me from myself.
I need a savior.
Rescue me from myself.

I despise my thoughts,
I despise my acts,
Every word and every deed.
How much longer can
I win this game?
Come Jesus make me clean!

Rescue me from myself.
I need a savior.
Rescue me from myself.
I'll be the ruin of me.
Rescue me from myself.
I need a savior.
Rescue me from myself.

Rescue me.

Restaurants and Kids

I really hate to complain about stuff. Seriously. I'd like to only say good things about people and places, even if I have to leave out the other 99.9% of the truth sometimes. So that's why I'm going to tell you about two restaurants tonight, instead of just the one bad one. It's not a bad restaurant actually. Just not good for kids. Fairly recently, Fresno got a Cheesecake Factory. I had heard good things before and since they opened, and since the family was shopping nearby this afternoon, so we decided to have a nice dinner there instead of fighting the mall food court crowd. The hostess seated us and handed us our menus. Four identical menus for my husband, two-year-old son, one-year-old daughter, and myself. I asked the hostess if they had a children's menu. No, she said, but assured us we would find many kid selections on the regular menu, especially in the appetizer section, since the portions are smaller. A quick glance at the appetizers revealed eggrolls, spicy quesadillas, and buffalo wings. Those all sounded great to me but there was no way my son would eat any of those. The server came to take our drink orders. We asked if they had any kind of juice for the boy, apple perhaps. We have apple cider, she said. My husband then commented, You guys just don't like kids around here, do you? It's not that we don't like kids, she started. She pointed us to the appetizer menu and concluded by saying that, no, they're not kid-friendly. She left and the woman at the table next to us leaned over and said they were having the same problem. I started looking around the restaurant. We were sitting near the entrance so I saw every party the came in and went out. It would be conservative to say half of them included children. And, in case you are not familiar with The Cheesecake Factory, this is not the sort of restaurant one would consider "fine dining". (Restaurants that have ads in their menus rarely are.) When we were done eating, the server came with the cheesecake menu, which, at this point we had no interest in. She feigned interest in my daughter and then asked if we wanted some cheesecake. Upon our declination of her offer, she tried to help justify our answer by saying that our daughter was being a little fussy. First of all, we can just not want cheesecake. Second, don't tell someone their baby is being fussy--especially when she is presently quiet and smiling. So in conclusion, don't bother trying to take your young children to The Cheesecake Factory. (The food was great, just go alone.) If you really want to take your kids to a popular chain restaurant (also fairly new to Fresno) take them to Claim Jumper. This place (like most normal family restaurants) has a great kids' menu, that is made of paper and comes with a few crayons and pack of oyster crackers. Not only that, but for babies, they have a FREE snack plate with two kinds of cheese, a generous slice of turkey, mandarin oranges, and applesauce. They even have a special plastic placemat they adhere to the table in front of the high chair. Last time we were there, our daughter was occasionally squealing happily despite our best efforts to quiet her. We were sitting near the kitchen and I saw one of the server (not ours) walking our way with a blueberry muffin. He smiled at our girl as he approached and sat the muffin on our table. After we mentioned that we had not ordered a blueberry muffin, no matter how large and delicious it looked, he explained that the manager sent it over because she thought our daughter was cute. I'll never know if "cute" meant "loud", but it doesn't matter. They were more than accomodating and we will go back.

And the winner is...

April of 10:15 ON A SATURDAY NIGHT--the only one who (told me she) knew the correct title and artist of this week's 80's song: Paradise City by Guns 'n' Roses. You can read the lyrics to the entire song here.

80's Mystery Song Lyric

To go along with the topic of my previous post, here's this week's lyric...

Just an urchin livin' under the street
I'm a hard case that's tough to beat

Sound familiar? Email me the title and artist. First one with the right answer wins!

More Than You Want to Think About on a Friday (Sorry!)

Yesterday, I was talking with a friend and the subject of the US public welfare system came up. My friend, who will remain nameless for this story, said what I or most any other friend of mine would have said: The government shouldn't be taking care of the people who are supported by welfare, the church should. Being in an argumentative mood, I asked what she was doing about it. How was she eliminating the need for government welfare? Could she name one person/family she had helped? Now please understand, I wasn't attacking my friend, but using her to have an argument with myself. And though I hung up the phone more than 24 hours ago, the argument is still going on in my head. I have many thoughts and I'll try to share them in an organized manner. (We'll see how that goes...)

1. I'm not going to build a big case that Christians should be giving to the poor, orphans, widows, etc. I'm working on the assumption that that is required. But I will throw in a few thoughts on that: a) the "church" (who is called to support needy people) is not some organization but a group of believing individuals. b) There seems to be a common comparison in scripture between spiritual wealth/need and physical wealth/need. (I didn't say correlation, but comparison.) Kind of like how the relationship between Christ and the church is compared to that between husband and wife. We are called to give to both the spiritually and physically needy. I don't think we can dismiss the call to the physically needy as symbolic anymore than we can dismiss the commands given to husbands and wives and symbolic.

2. So what am I doing about it? My normal answer: I give money to organizations who feed hungry people. I think this is good. I'm not sure that we are necessarily called to do more than that. And yet... There's something inside of me that just knows that is an excuse. Inside, I breathe a sigh of relief because now I don't have to get my hands dirty. Just write a check. Voila! The hungry are fed! Besides, there's more to it than food. What about other living expenses? What about other needs that aren't fixed with money?

3. Who is "needy"? Is anyone in the United States really "needy"? I've heard people say that in the U.S. we really don't know what need is. Every nook and cranny of settled land is plumbed with working sewer systems and clean water. I imagine you can't get further than 100 miles from a grocery store. I don't know how true this is. I know there are people in my own city who may not have eaten today. I call that "needy".

Questions I haven't had time to research/think through yet.... (not that the last questions had definitive answers)

4. What do you do when your life doesn't intersect with lives of needy people? A few days ago I was thinking about how I was praying prayers of mediocrity. I hate that. I want God to work mightily in my life and all around me, yet I pray that he would keep/make things "okay". But I realized that sometimes I think I limit God by the way I live my life. I don't take risks. I hardly leave my house. (Not that God can't work mightily in my house, but still.) I don't interact with many people, especially people that might believe or think differently than I do. All that came rushing back to me as I started thinking about meeting people's needs. But am I supposed to go out looking for needy people, befriend them, and take them under my wing or what? That doesn't seem quite like the right thing.

5. Are we called to take care of the needy outside the church or only other believers?


Okay. There might have been more. If I think of anything, I'll add it in the comments. So, what do you think? Do you agree or disagree with any of that? Do you think any of it is misrepresenting scripture? I look forward to your comments!

Monday Laugh

I laughed when I read this and thought you might too...

For those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all the conflicting medical studies:
1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
4. The Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
5. The Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausage and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
CONCLUSION: Eat and drink what you like. -- Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

And the winner is...

Brad (who happens to be my husband)!!! I'm so proud! Brad knew the line was from Men at Work's "Land Down Under". Admittedly, I don't think I would have got this one, though many of you seemed to think it was easy one. View the lyrics to the entire song here.

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Here's this week's mystery lyric! Email me your guess of song title and artist. I'll post the winner and the answer later!

I said, "Do you speak-a my language?"
He just smiled and gave me a vegemite sandwich

Good luck!!!

Craziness And Its Theme Song

Warning: This is an atypical sad post.

These last few days have been a little crazy. And I'm not even trying to use that as an excuse for not posting. My craziness has only been the residual craziness (and therefore, not the full brunt of craziness) of friend NerdMom's craziness. (I sure hope "craziness" is a word or the grammar police will be all over this post!) You see, for the last 3 months, she has been expecting her fourth child, but just had a miscarriage. She is a woman of great faith (though she might not admit it) as you can see in her hope through this trial. Read about it here and here. (Look for my appearance as "friends" in the second post!)

A while back, after another friend's miscarriage, I wrote this yet-to-be titled song. I think this is a good time to share it...

The day God gave you life
The smiles all around, they multiplied.
I couldn't conceal the joy I felt inside.
Such overflowing joy, I cried.

Hope of future life,
Hope of future love,
I wish I'd known you more.
Oh, hope of future life,
Hope of future love,
I'll always love and adore you.

I can't always explain
The way God moves His hand, oh I've tried.
But I want so much to understand
So I look for the good and I cry, I cry.

Hope of future life,
Hope of future love,
I wish I'd known you more.
Oh, hope of future life,
Hope of future love,
I'll always love and adore you.

The first face you ever knew
Was the face of your Savior, not mine.
But someday soon, you'll meet me too.
We'll walk hand in hand and we'll cry, we'll cry.

Till then you'll be my
Hope of future life,
Hope of future love,
I wish I'd known you more.
Oh, hope of future life,
Hope of future love,
I'll always love and adore you.

And the winner is...

April of 10:15 ON A SATURDAY NIGHT! And I know the rest of you that were pre-teen to teenage girls in the 80's all sang along with Whitney Houston's "How Will I Know", too, even if you don't want to admit it!

How will I know if he really loves me
I say a prayer with every heart beat
I fall in love whenever we meet
I'm asking you what you know about these things
How will I know if he's thinking of me
I try to phone but I'm too shy (cant speak)
Falling in love is all bitter sweet
This love is strong why do I feel weak