Who is the Child?
Lo, how a rose e'er blooming from tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse's lineage coming as men of old have sung.
It came, a flower bright, amid the cold of winter, when half spent was the night.
Isaiah 'twas foretold it, the Rose I have in mind.
With Mary we behold it, the virgin mother kind.
To show God's love aright she bore to men a Savior, when half spent was the night.
This flow'r whose fragrance tender with sweetness fills the air,
Dispels, with glorious splendor, the darkness ev'rywhere.
True man, yet very God, from sin and death He saves us and lightens ev'ry load.
- Music: Es Ist Ein Ros’, Alte Catholische Geistliche Kirchengesäng (Köln, Germany: 1599)
Scott Boyd
Abraham Piper is encouraging his blogreaders to write on their own blogs why we appreciate our pastors. So here goes my attempt.
Pastor Scott has many great qualities, but the thing I appreciate the most about him is this:
In talking to a friend who is a former pastor of a non-denominational church, I discovered that Southern Baptists have a reputation for regarding their pastors as pope-like figures--people to respect out of fear and to address in a very formal way. That's not Scott. Not in any way. In fact, if you know Scott for any length of time, you will probably joke around with him a lot. And if you decide to play basketball with Scott, expect the trash-talking to commence.
There is much more to be said about this, but I will end here for the sake of brevity. What do you appreciate about your pastor?
Time Warp
This morning I decided to turn on the TV while James napped. Since we don't have cable, I found the only thing on even close to being worth watching--WGN. They had an hour block of 2 shows which I am not very familiar with: "Bewitched" and "I Dream of Jeannie."
First off, the Bewitched episode made me laugh because Samantha kept referring to a man from Japan as an "oriental." I've only heard one person in my entire life use that word. It was a bit bizarre.
Secondly, I had to laugh at "I Dream of Jeannie" as Major Nelson desperately tries to hide Jeannie from his coworkers. They just KNOW something is up, because, as they insist, a man just cannot be a bachelor and "put on weight." *giggles*
These days I am a bit more 1950's housewife-ish than most of my generation, I must admit. I'm working hard to have the dishes done and dinner on the table when Toby gets home (all-the-while holding a baby on my hip). But before James was born, I got off of work an hour after my Dear Husband, so he had dinner on the table for me. What would Elizabeth Montgomery think of me? ;-)
The Challenge
To you this may appear to be just a pile of junk laying around my house. But soon it will become a kitchen set for James. The inspiration? Kitchen sets are just too darn expensive, yet James loves to pull up to the kitchen set at a friend's house, bang the pots and pans, and try to eat the plastic food. All I'm lacking is another small shelf, a cafe rod and a jigsaw. Anyone out there that can help?
Food and a Printer
Last night for dinner I ate a turkey burger with salsa, green peas and rice with a glass of water. Does that cancel out the McDonald's double cheeseburger and diet coke I had for lunch?
Check out simplemom's blog for the chance to win a really awesome printer.
More Exciting Things Than An Election
Updates
It's been awhile since I've updated this blog. Baby James has 4 teeth and is quite mobile these days. Only 8 months old and already using his toys to balance himself as he walks laps around the living room.
Yesterday was an exciting day, not because of the election but because of all the good news we kept hearing. My sister found out she is having a boy! Yay! James can't wait to have another boy cousin. Then I got an email from my cousin Sara to say she is engaged and getting married in Cancun! Woohoo! God is good.
Bad News/Good News
I've been very very busy these days, which has led to me making some dumb choices and having to live with the consequences. Without giving out TMI, this weekend I got a case of mastitis (which is an infection) because I went a very long time without nursing James on Saturday. It was a lot like having the flu--cold chills, shivering, feeling achy from head to toe. I'm recovering, but it is taking a really hard toll on my health. Please pray for healing.
On a more positive note, I did something this morning that I've wanted to do since I was a little girl.
I wrote a book.
A children's book, to be more precise. This week I will be busy with my camera shooting some pics (because I don't draw) for the illustrations. After I copyright it, I promise to post it in some kind of format. Not sure that I will publish it for actual sales, but will personally publish it just as a way of fulfilling a dream of mine.