money, money, money

I had an inspiring conversation with my sister today about the economy/debt/credit cards/budgeting/otherbadwords, and I was reminded of some blog posts a friend of mine wrote on that very topic. They are witty and true to life. Anyway, if interested- check it out. (Listed in order.)

• Stupid with Zeroes

• Turn the Debt Around (Love to see that Budget)

• Waiting to Ex-sale

• Budgeting: starting out

• From Debting out of Get to Getting out of Debt

advice

Y'all enjoy these. Exaggerations? Only for some of us!

Advice for Northerners moving to the South:

Save all manner of bacon grease. You will be instructed on how to use it shortly.

Just because you can drive on snow and ice does not mean Southerners can. Stay home the two days of the year it snows.

If you DO run your car into a ditch, don't panic. Four men in the cab of a four-wheel pickup with a 12-pack of beer and a tow chain will be along shortly. Don't try to help them. Just stay out of their way. This is what they live for.

You can ask Southerners for directions, but unless you already know the positions of key hills, trees and rocks, you're better off trying to find it yourself.

REMEMBER: Y'all is singular. All y'all is plural. All y'all's is plural possessive.

Get used to hearing, "Y'all ain't from around here, are ya?"

Don't be worried that you don't understand anyone. They don't understand you either.

The first Southern expression to creep into a transplanted Northerner's vocabulary is the adjective "big ol'", as in "big ol' truck", or "big ol' boy". "Fixi n'" (as in "I'm fixin' to go to the store") is 2nd, and "Y'all" is 3rd.

As you are cursing the person driving 15 mph in a 55 mph zone directly in the middle of the road, remember: a lot of Southern folks learned to drive on a John Deere, and this is the proper speed and lane position for that vehicle.

If you hear a Southerner exclaim, "Hey, Y'all, watch this!", get out of his way. These are likely the last words he will ever say, or worse still, that you will ever hear.

Most Southerners do not use turn signals; they ignore those who do. In fact, if you see a signal blinking on a car with a Southern license plate, you may rest assured that it was already turned on when the car was purchased.

If there is the prediction of the slightest chance of even the most minuscule accumulation of snow, your presence is required at the local grocery store. It does not matter if you need anything from the store. It is just something you're supposed to do.

Satellite dishes are very popular in the South. When you purchase one, it is positioned directly in front of the house. This is logical, bearing in mind that the dish cost considerably more than the house and should, therefore, be prominently displayed.

One last warning but probably the most important one to remember: Be advised that in the South, "He needed killin'" is a valid defense.

(Source: http://activerain.com/blogsview/118576/southernisms)

ahh...summer

I'm not really a big fan of most mixed drinks, but am partial to this one. You must try it. I don't have a name for it though....hmmm....it's classy, cool, smooth, fun...How about

The Cary Grant
makes 2

2 tablespoons chilled whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/3 cup-6 tablespoons vodka
1/4 cup triple sec
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1-2 tablespoons agave nectar
2 small mint sprigs (for the garnish)

Shake all ingredients (except mint) together in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake, and when you shake- wake it up! don't rock it to sleep. Pour into 2 glasses and garnish with a mint sprig each. Drink up.
(Note: Candied ginger in place of the mint would be worth a try.)

A reporter in search of information wired Grant's agent:  "HOW OLD CARY GRANT?" Grant happened to read the message himself, and wired back  "OLD CARY GRANT FINE. HOW YOU?"

for Father's Day

Dad Life from Church on the Move on Vimeo.
(Lyrics in comment section.)

interesting film

This is a film about an alternative cancer treatment. Very interesting. HERE is where you can watch it free online (until the 20th, I think), or see below to buy.

business as usual...

This is what's going on in the back of my car on the way to swim.

E: Red Dead Revolver (video game) is really cool.

A: Is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Samurai Jack still your favorite?

E: Nah....

A: E., that means you are growing up. You are getting mature, because Red Dead Revolver is a pretty big game.

N: Samurai Jack fights Aku.

E: Red is a really good shooter.

A: Well, I read a story about a girl who was a really good shooter. Her name is Annie Oakley. She was really real and she went out in the woods and shot deer when she was eight years old! I have the book of it, but I haven't gotten a chance to read it all yet. How old is Red (on Red Dead Revolver)?

E: Um, about 23.

A: When she grew up Annie Oakley married a man who was a really good shot too. She could shoot blindfolded. Can Red shoot blindfolded?

E: Um...

A: E., remember on Tom Sawyer how Huck Finn turned and threw that knife at that tree? He said his father had taught him that. Injun Joe had killed his father.

E: Why did he kill his father?

A, Oh, they have that on a lot of movies. Where the child wants revenge, like on Prince Caspian. Remember when they thought Tom was dead?

E: Yeah! Yeah! And remember on Anne (of Green Gables) how they thought she was dead (He's laughing.). Her boat came back and they were like, “We killed her and she's dead now! Whaaaaaa!” (He's waving his arms to demonstrate.) That was so, so funny! It was the best part of the movie.

N: But did she die?

E: Nah, Dilbert saved her.

A: Gilbert. It's Gilbert. Mom, do we have to put on sunscreen? It's in the evening.

on parenting

This is a good little article on parenting.
http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/motherhood-as-a-mission-field?md5=5cd7b50d37565f2318bee0dac1a2eec8
It really is all about perspective, isn't it?

"Die before you die. There's no chance after."

 How can they meet us face to face till we have faces?

Till We Have Faces, C. S. Lewis's greatest work of fiction, is the deepest and most layered of his books, and was also Lewis's favorite of his own works. But it is also a very simple myth, a retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche. Manganiello says, For Lewis the “grand miracle” of Christianity is its character of a “true myth” that merits our “imaginative embrace.” This myth surprises Orual by the joy of its truth in the Person she meets face to face at the end of her life.

I am reminded of the movie, The Saint, with Val Kilmer, and the quote, "It takes three miracles to make a saint." Psyche 1) sacrifices herself to the "Brute", she 2) sacrifices, at Orual's demand, her husband's trust in her, and 3) she goes through Hades to get beauty for Orual. When Orual goes to see Psyche after her first sacrifice, Psyche tries to explain to Orual what has happened. "You won't understand the wonder and glory of my adventure unless you listen to to bad parts." After Psyche endeavors to make Orual understand the true nature of her marriage to the god of the mountain Orual responds, "If this is true, I've been wrong all my life, everything has to be begun over again." There were many times when the truth was there for her to see, but she "put it aside" (ch. 14). Orual begs her sister to return with her, to which Psyche responds, "No, no, Maia. I can't come back to you. How could I? But you must come to me." (ch. 11) She explains the nature of her husband, "Don't you think a dream would feel shy if it were seen walking about in the waking world?"

Orual does not understand, nor attempts to understand, saying, " How can you know if you have never seen him?" (ch. 14) Orual threatens to do harm to herself unless Psyche spies in her husband, thinking what she is doing is out of love for Psyche but it is really selfishness. In response to Orual's demands, Psyche says, "You are indeed teaching me about kinds of love I do not know. It is like looking into a deep pit. I am not sure whether I like your kind better than hatred...Whatever comes after, something that was between us dies here." (ch. 14)

Because of Orual disbelief, both sisters must perform labors. Psyche completes the tasks while Orual bears the burden. The god tells Orual, " You shall wonder the earth. You too shall be Psyche." Through this she is transformed. As Peter J. Schakel puts it, “Her life of toil and suffering—physically in battle and mentally in toil—rather than death, becomes her sacrifice.” She slays her old self, offering it as the sacrifice. Manganiello says,

To her great surprise Orual learns that she “bore the anguish” while Psyche “achieved the tasks” (312) of sorting seeds of grain, acquiring golden wool, fetching a cup of water, and descending to the Deadlands. By sharing these seemingly unbearable burdens, Orual anticipates the kenosis, or self-emptying of Christ (cf. Phil. 2:5–11), that Hopkins called “the great sacrifice.”

Orual marvels at how this “way of exchange” or substitution can render any one happy. But this is precisely what she witnesses: Psyche “was merry and in good heart. I believe, from the way her lips moved, she was singing” (310–311). Psyche’s actions resonate with the key notes of the Old Testament song of the suffering servant. Her naturally Christian soul prepared for its great mission from the time in her youth that she showed compassion for the people of Glome in their pain. As Orual tells her, “You healed them, and blessed them, and took their filthy diseases upon yourself” (47).

Psyche’s willingness to be purified by a series of trials prefigures the great self-offering of Jesus, who “for the joy set before him, endured a cross” (Heb. 12:2). Since the god advises Orual, “You also shall be Psyche,” she is set to experience the same blessedness that results from partaking of the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4) or from “atonement.”...
This central paradox also operates in the powerful closing scene of the novel, in which Orual sees the “most dreadful, the most beautiful” face of the god of the mountain. “Even the love between the sexes,” to quote Lewis, “is, as in Dante, ‘a lord of terrible aspect.’” By participating in Psyche’s sufferings (cf. Col. 1:24), then, Orual begins to see the “terrible beauty” of justice tempered by mercy and fulfilled in love.

As the Fox tells Orual, "We are all limbs and part of one Whole. Hence of each other. Men and gods, flow in and out and mingle." Even the Fox, with his "doctrines of Glome and wisdom of Greece" (ch. 13) begins to see that he has misled her, saying, "I never told her why the old Priest got something from the dark House that I never got from my trim sentences. . . . Of course, I didn’t know. I don’t know now. Only that the way to the true gods is more like the House of Ungit. . . . The Priest knew at least that there must be sacrifices."

The Fox now begins to see the truth of Colossians 3:10-11, "And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all."

In her article, Facts, Mysteries, and Epiphanies, Kathryn Lindskoog writes,

There is no overt reference to Christ in Till We Have Faces; in fact, there is not even any reference to Hebrew monotheism. But there is a clear reference to Eros, the "Brute" bridegroom of Psyche. (In Christian tradition, the divine bridegroom is Christ: "...as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee," Isaiah 62.5.) Just before Orual's transfiguration, she heard voices say "He is coming. The god is coming to his house. The god comes to judge Orual." Suddenly "The air was growing brighter and brighter about us; as if something had set it on fire. Each breath I drew let into me new terror, joy, overpowering sweetness. I was pierced through by the arrows of it." "The only dread and beauty there is was coming, was coming." This echoes Dante's experience at the end of Paradise: "So my mind hung in abeyance, staring fixedly, immovable, intent, its ardor increasingly enflamed by the sight. Anyone who sees that Light becomes a person who would not possibly consent to turn away to any other sight; for the good that is the object of all desires is ingathered there in its fullness, and elsewhere it falls short of its perfection...For Orual (and C. S. Lewis), the answer is an encounter with divinity himself. At the end of her adventures, Orual realizes that before the face of God all questions die away and even all words die away.

lessons from Calvin

damn' good thrashing

This song makes me happy.

Recommended by Charis...

Thomas Weelkes

When Davis Heard
http://grooveshark.com/s/Thomas+Weelkes+When+David+Heard/3mnurj?src=5


Stephen Cleobury; Choir of King's College, Cambridge

The Great Divorce

After reading The Great Divorce, my thought was, "I can't believe I haven't picked it up before now!" It's a short, noteworthy, excellent read. And I hear there's talk of a movie adaptation. http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2011/04/28/an-interview-with-n-d-wilson-on-screenwriting-the-great-divorce/

Grimble

Last month, I wrote about the book, Manxmouse, and how it was a childhood favorite of J.K. Rowling's. Another such book is Grimble by Clement Freud. Rowling states, "Grimble is one of funniest books I've ever read, and Grimble himself, who is a small boy, is a fabulous character. I'd love to see a Grimble film." I've only just finished reading Grimble and Grimble at Christmas to my children, and they seemed to like it so so. I can see the appeal in Grimble, and understand what Rowling means, but the story does seem a bit flat and the secondary characters are very secondary, meaning you hardly get to know them at all. Clement Freud writes in the same manner as Roald Dahl, and one is constantly reminded of Dahl by the illustrations of Quentin Blake in Grimble. However, Grimble does not, in my opinion, possess the same magic of the stories of Dahl and Rowling. Grimble was a fun read, several funny parts, but not near enough, and in need of stronger characters. What do you think of it?

fabric

Check out this fun fabric! http://rebekahmerkle.blogspot.com/2011/05/presenting.html

And here is an interview with Rebekah Merkle.

O, Henry

My best friend and I just finished re-reading Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, and the thing that struck me was that more than any of her other characters JA shares Henry Tilney's sense of humor. I can readily imagine her making the same spirited and humorous replies as he makes. And, indeed, we do hear her make them in her letters. I can't imagine Henry Tilney saying anything that would displease his creator. Although, JA said that Darcy and Edmund Bertram were her favorites, I am sure she would've laughed a great deal with Henry. Perhaps that is why he is named after her favorite brother?

My Very Favorite Chocolate Mint Brownie Cake

Ahhhh...the perfect marriage of chocolate and mint.
My mom used to make these while I was growing up and they quickly became my favorite. She found the recipe in one of her standby cookbooks, The Cotton Country Collection. Interesting name, I know. I usually omit the food coloring. There could not be an easier recipe for the result and it is so versatile. Cut it into bite-size squares for a party, eat it right out of the pan with a spoon (not that I've ever been guilty of that), or cut into diamonds and place on a chocolate drizzled plate for something stunning.

My Very Favorite Chocolate Mint Brownie Cake

Brownie:
2 squares unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon mint extract
1/2 cup flour

Frosting:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 Tablespoon milk
1/2 teaspoon mint extract
1-2 drops green food coloring (optional)

Glaze:
2 squares unsweetened or bittersweet chocolate
2 Tablespoons butter

To make brownie, melt 2 squares unsweetened chocolate and 1/2 cup butter together. In another bowl beat eggs and sugar together. Add chocolate mixture to egg mixture and mix together. Add remaining brownie ingredients. Bake in a 8 or 9 inch square pan at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. (Note: They should still be glossy and moist, but not too jiggly. Don't over bake or they will be dry.) Cool brownies in pan. Meanwhile, mix frosting ingredients together. Spread over brownies. Chill. For the glaze, melt the chocolate and butter together. Stir to combine and pour/spread over frosted brownies. Garnish with fresh mint, if desired & enjoy!

I pray you if you love me, bear my joy

I pray you if you love me, bear my joy
By Edna St. Vincent Millay
I pray you if you love me, bear my joy
A little while, or let me weep your tears;
I, too, have seen the quavering Fate destroy
Your destiny’s bright spinning—the dull shears
Meeting not neatly, chewing at the thread,—
Nor can you well be less aware how fine,
How staunch as wire, and how unwarrented
Endures the golden fortune that is mine.
I pray you for this day at least, my dear,
Fare by my side, that journey in the sun;
Else must I turn me from the blossoming year
And walk in grief the way that you have gone.
Let us go forth together to the spring:
Love must be this, if it be anything.

The Cumberland Crew (ocarina)

Manxmouse

During an interview, J.K. Rowling once said that one of her favorite books while growing up was Manxmouse by Paul Gallico. Books we read as children impact us and can shape our ideas, and knowing that this book meant something to Rowling as a child interested me. I've just finished reading it to my children and they give it a two thumbs up. I noted some things in Manxmouse which Rowling may have added to the "compost pile in her head" (as she calls it).

One of the things which may have stuck with her from Manxmouse is a "Clutterbumph". A Clutterbumph is anything that you are afraid of. They can take any form that will best frighten you. It can be a bump in the night or a large cat or anything. A Clutterbumph uses your fear to become that fear. This reminded me of the dementors in Harry Potter, and as my sister-in-law pointed out, also similar to the boggarts which the students of Hogwarts use with Professor Lupin to practice fighting their fear.

As the story of Manxmouse goes on, he becomes more widely known. A blue mouse? The only one in existence? Soon people are trying to outbid one another to own the little fellow. A bit like Harry Potter's celebrity status, which if one isn't careful can actually kill you. Learning to trust your friends is key, and not taking yourself too seriously must be implemented.

Another theme that was familiar was the idea of facing your fate. For most of the story, Manxmouse is running from Manx Cat. Manxmouse isn't afraid of Manx Cat, but just about everyone he meets (there is a variety of people that cross his path just as in HP) tells him that his fate is intertwined with the Manx Cat, that he "belongs" to the Manx Cat, that he should fear the Manx Cat. Manxmouse has a conversation that helps him resolve to go and meet Manx Cat, to face his fate. Voldemort is Harry's enemy from the beginning of Harry's life, and Manxmouse learns that Manx Cat is the one destined to end his life in what is termed the "Doom". Both Harry and Manxmouse learn of prophesies involving themselves and how they will die.

The most important idea in both stories is that only when one faces his fate will he truly be free- free from death, free from the enemy's control. Harry walks into the woods to face Voldemort knowing he will be killed, but knowing that it is the only way for Voldemort to be destroyed. The story of Manxmouse is more child-friendly and Manx Cat is quite the gentleman with a nice family, but feels obligated by the "Doom", set down by wizards or magicians long ago, to swallow Manxmouse. When the second half of the "Doom" is found, Manxmouse finds that his resolve to fight to the death has made the "Doom" null and void. This is somewhat reminiscent of Harry who willingly dies and therefore is saved. The theme of embracing your fate, perhaps dying willingly, without desiring to die makes a great story, for it is based on the Original.