tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977338678463782162024-02-07T19:53:21.624-05:00Beck's Threebeck'sthreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15210547864713460125noreply@blogger.comBlogger461125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797733867846378216.post-40057538832755579232014-02-25T23:41:00.000-05:002014-02-25T23:41:47.092-05:00A letter to Joshua<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Bradley Hand ITC"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Dear Josh,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Bradley Hand ITC"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Tonight you made a few comments that made me think maybe you
weren’t feeling so confident about yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Nothing huge, but you seemed to think that maybe you aren’t in the “smart
group” in math and that maybe you can’t succeed academically as easily as
someone else can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, you made
the remarks as if you were joking, but at the risk of sounding like President
Obama, I want to be clear about a few things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is so much more to you than the grades on your progress reports or
your math test.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Of course, that doesn’t
mean we’re going to let you get away with a half-hearted effort; we will demand
the best you can do, because not to do so would mean we were not doing the best
parenting we can do.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Bradley Hand ITC"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Josh, there are some thing s that are easily measured on
report cards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Things like this:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does he know how to multiply? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do long division?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can she spell?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can she memorize the parts of a plant?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can he name the state capitals?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Memorizing and understanding those things
comes easily for some people and not-so-easily for others, but they have one
thing in common.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are easy for
teachers to evaluate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Bradley Hand ITC"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Other things are not so easy to put on a test in
school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like how much a person loves and
values nature and being in the outdoors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>How good he is at building something out of random objects other people
would throw away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like how fearless a
kid is when he faces a challenge and how he jumps in with both feet to try new
and dangerous things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tests cannot show
how a person will spend hours searching for something in the woods without
giving up and how he sees the beauty in every piece of nature he finds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A test can’t prove how good a kid is at
finding a snake every. single. time. he goes in the woods in the summer or how
he finds and preserves turtle shells that no one else would have even noticed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No test can reveal how strong and agile and
coordinated is a boy who (just for the heck of it) climbs a tree to see if he
can get onto the roof like the cat does . . . and then he does it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> (Of course, when that same boy thought it would be fun to ride his scooter on the roof, he was also obedient enough not to.) L</span>et’s don’t forget the boy who tried
tenaciously to perform tricks on a scooter and then set up an obstacle course
for himself out of baseball bats and sneakers just to see if he could master
it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(And he did.) No teacher will ask on
a test if that same boy a few hours later built a fire in the backyard and made
scrambled eggs and bacon over it with nothing but a stick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If a teacher tried to come up with a test
that revealed how many times in this boy’s life he had asked his mother, “What
would happen if . . .,” well let’s just say she would be working on that one for
years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(The truth is I haven’t known the answers to
most of your hypothetical questions since you were about five, but I try not to
let you know that.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Bradley Hand ITC"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Josh, you have amazed me since you were just a toddler with
your love of the outdoors and your sense of adventure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You long for adventure, and if no one will
provide you with one, you invent one for yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is a trait that can’t be taught in a
classroom with a book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is the innate
way God made you, and I absolutely love it about you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When other people see some sticks and duct
tape, you see a pirate ship waiting to take shape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I say it’s too windy to build a fire,
you spend hours building a snow shelter to block the wind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is problem-solving and ambition of the
highest degree, but it won’t appear on your PSSA’s.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Bradley Hand ITC"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Never let the world or the classroom convince you that you
are any less smart or gifted or able than any other person on the face of the
earth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You are uniquely you, and until
the school system finds a way to measure tenacity, ambition, curiosity,
creativity, imagination, and adventurousness, those things aren’t going to show
up on your report card.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But they show up
every day in the person that you are, and I see them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I see them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Make sure that you always see them, too.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Bradley Hand ITC"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With more love than you could fathom,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Bradley Hand ITC"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mom</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Bradley Hand ITC"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You still need to
bring up your math grade, but only because I know you can. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sorry, kid.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
beck'sthreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15210547864713460125noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797733867846378216.post-74812837369189583592014-01-26T22:51:00.001-05:002014-01-26T22:51:56.236-05:00A Truth I can rest uponIt's no secret that I've been battling depression over the past year or so. A few months ago, I began to notice some slight progress in moving out of the darkness, but, like most journeys in life, it's been touch-and-go. Many days have felt like one step forward, two steps back.<br />
<br />
This morning God spoke to my heart in a way that carried me from despair to hope in a moment. It was a moment I've been waiting for, praying for, desperate for. But, I'll be honest, mostly just waiting.<br />
<br />
I've sung my way through many a worship service over the past year, and it's been a struggle. It's been auto-pilot participation, wanting to connect with my Savior but feeling like my words were just empty and that the fog between me and the joy and the victory about which I was singing was too thick. There was too much disconnect, and it wasn't "helping."<br />
<br />
But still I sang.<br />
<br />
Today, God spoke to my heart in a way I have not experienced in a <i>long </i>time, and I am breathless with thankfulness and joy at having heard His precious, but long silent, voice. <br />
<br />
Wanna know what He said? (If you were there, you already know, so sorry about the repeat.)<br />
<br />
He said, "Dear child, sometimes you can stand on mountain tops and shout that you are an OVERCOMER! Other times, you can barely crawl through the valley and whimper it. That doesn't make it any less true. Truth is absolute, and it is not changed by your circumstances. Was I any less the Son of God when I cried and sweated tears of blood in the garden than when I walked on water and raised the dead to life? I AM WHO I AM regardless of my circumstance, and you my child are an overcomer because I have said you are. So, if all you can do is crawl, and cry, and whisper it through your tears, that's okay . . . it's still true."<br />
<br />
There was more.<br />
<br />
He said, "I am your firm foundation. You have been crushed down by the enemy. I have seen. You have despaired and felt like you were so deep in the pit that you may never find your way out. But, my child, I am your firm, unshakeable, unmovable foundation, and YOU CANNOT SINK LOWER THAN YOUR FOUNDATION. You are okay because I am holding you up. Your despair will not overtake you because I AM HOLDING YOU."<br />
<br />
As if that wasn't enough, God then delivered a sermon through a guest minister that was titled, "When You've Reached the End of Your Rope, You Haven't Reached the End of Hope." If I could get a copy of it in every one of your hands I would; it was that good. It spoke to my soul, and it healed me.<br />
<br />
I am okay.<br />
<br />
I thought today of friends I know who go to Universalist churches because they like the idea of connecting with other people, of affirming each other, and singing uplifting songs about shiny, happy, encouraging things. And I felt so sad for them. Because there is no Foundation there. There is no Truth. When the shiny, happy fades away, and the bottom falls out from under them, there is nothing to stand on.<br />
<br />
But for a child of the most high God, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, there is a Foundation, and no matter how low I sink, I am held. I am secure. I am loved. I am His. And I am okay.<br />
<br />
Even if I can only whisper it for now.<br />
<br />
Below is a video of one of my favorite and most-listened-to songs. (Hope it works. If not, it's "I Have a Shelter in the Storm" by Sovereign Grace Music.) <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/cSxdqIEJ13Y?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />beck'sthreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15210547864713460125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797733867846378216.post-70445519853179673552013-12-09T22:39:00.001-05:002013-12-09T22:39:10.580-05:00Speechless (Originally published December 2009)I enjoy the gaiety of the Christmas season as much as the next
person, but I have to admit I'm finding it harder and harder to keep a
reflective spirit this time of year.<br />
<br />
Radio stations, in
an effort to spread "holiday cheer," play so-called Christmas music
round-the-clock. But, how many of these songs have anything to do with
the birth of our Savior? How many of them speak of joy and good cheer
but don't point listeners to the only Source of lasting joy? We hear of
good tidings to men, but do we reflect on just how good the news really
is?<br />
<br />
While there's nothing wrong with "Frosty the
Snowman" or "Jingle Bell Rock," I find myself thinking that we have let
the pendulum swing way too far with the holiday songs and not far enough
with the sacred.<br />
<br />
One of my favorite things about our
church in Georgia is the music. The wealth of timeless songs with deep,
spiritually reflective lyrics. One of my favorite Christmas hymns that
I just learned last year is <a href="http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/l/e/letallmf.htm">Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence</a>. (Click the link to hear the beautiful melody.)<br />
<br />
Based
on Habakkuk 2:20, the words to this song were originally penned in the
4th century. (It was translated into English 1500 years later.) <br />
<br />
I
need the reminder that we are marking the birth of a sovereign God, and
this is no trivial event. In fact, if we had any comprehension, any
true understanding of what this means, it would render us speechless.<br />
<br />
Let all mortal flesh keep silence,<br />
And with fear and trembling stand;<br />
Ponder nothing earthly minded,<br />
For with blessing in His hand,<br />
Christ our God to earth descendeth,<br />
Our full homage to demand.<br />
<br />
King of kings, yet born of Mary,<br />
As of old on earth He stood,<br />
Lord of lords, in human vesture,<br />
In the body and the blood;<br />
He will give to all the faithful<br />
His own self for heavenly food.<br />
<br />
Rank on rank the host of heaven<br />
Spreads its vanguard on the way,<br />
As the Light of light descendeth<br />
From the realms of endless day,<br />
That the powers of hell may vanish<br />
As the darkness clears away.<br />
<br />
At His feet the six winged seraph,<br />
Cherubim with sleepless eye,<br />
Veil their faces to the presence,<br />
As with ceaseless voice they cry:<br />
Alleluia, Alleluia<br />
Alleluia, Lord Most High!beck'sthreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15210547864713460125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797733867846378216.post-67753813851769070452013-12-04T23:51:00.000-05:002013-12-05T15:49:07.374-05:00Some Words about Words<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I have some grammar tips I'd like to offer you, my dear reader, free of charge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Maybe you’ll use them and thank me; maybe you’ll ignore them and
mentally note what an obnoxious grammar Nazi I am.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would, however, ask that the record reflect
the fact that I do not correct people individually for their misuse of the
English language.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> (</span>Unless you’re my
father, you won’t find me correcting your Facebook postings or your online musings.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, I see no harm in using my little corner of the internet to offer correction to
anyone who just happens to read it, thereby making me kinder and more
thoughtful than if I corrected you personally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Either way, take the tips or leave ‘em, but
let not ignorance of the (usage) law be your excuse any longer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1 1.</span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Note that I said these tips are being offered “free
of charge,” not that I’m giving them away “for free,” because that would make
no sense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One cannot give something away
FOR free because “free” is not a thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One simply gives away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, instead
of saying “The gas station is giving away coffee mugs for free,” just say “The
gas station is giving away coffee mugs.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Not only is it correct, it uses fewer words, thereby saving you
breath.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See, proper grammar can make you
healthier.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2 2. <span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If you decide to use the word “whence,”
which a surprising number of people do, don’t preface it with the word “from.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sure, it’s commonly used and widely accepted
despite its grammatical shortcomings, but is that really the standard for which
we’re aiming?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s shoot for a lack of
redundancy instead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Whence” means “from
where,” so when you say “from whence,” you are saying, “from from
where,” and I think we can all agree that sounds ridiculous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, if you must say “whence,” please say “whence”
and only “whence.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3 3. <span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Don’t say literally unless you
literally mean literally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was watching
Cupcake Wars tonight, and the judge said that one of the cupcakes was “literally
exploding with patriotism.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While an
exploding cupcake would have made for good television, it didn’t happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, rather than <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">literally</i> exploding with patriotism, the contestant’s cupcake simply
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">figuratively</i> exploded with
patriotism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which is way different. And probably way less messy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4 4. <span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Regardless means “without regard to.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a handy word; use it freely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Irregardless is not a word and, therefore,
does <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not </i>mean “without regard to.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stop saying it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5 5. <span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Lastly, contractions such as “could’ve”
or “should’ve” are short for “could <i>have</i>” and “should <i>have</i>.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are not short for “could <i>of</i>” or “should <i>of</i>.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not only do the latter phrases not make any
sense, they actually use fewer characters (if one counts the apostrophe) than
the purported contraction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which kind of
defeats the purpose of a contraction.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That’s all for tonight folks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I probably should of stopped sooner, lest you wish for me to crawl back
under the rock from whence I came, but since I’m giving these tips away for
free, you have no place to complain, and I would of literally burst if I didn’t manage to get them all in,
irregardless of whether you like them.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">See, it’s possible to use all five errors in one
sentence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t let it happen to
you.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span>
beck'sthreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15210547864713460125noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797733867846378216.post-65113006061206327162013-12-03T22:56:00.001-05:002013-12-04T09:14:49.639-05:00On Just Breathing (But also using the word "bowel" . . . sorry.)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Sometimes I
do Lamaze even though I’m not giving birth or even carrying a child. At least, it’s what I imagine Lamaze breathing
to be, having never actually given birth sans epidural.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">But I do the
breathing all the time because of a
chronic digestive disorder from which I suffer.
I have IBS, which is short for Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Lovely, I know. If I could hand-pick an affliction, I would certainly
not choose one with the word “bowel” in it.
But, alas, I was only afflicted, never consulted.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">It started seventeen
years ago during my senior year in college.
It plagued me through my student teaching and my inaugural year in the
classroom. It followed me to law school
where it worsened, thanks to the added stress and poor sleeping habits. Over the years it has waxed and waned. There’ve been weeks, even months if I’m
really lucky, where I could almost forget about it.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">And then
there are times like now. I’ve just come
out of a good season; during the entire month of October I suffered only a
handful of attacks. But November and
December have ushered it back with a vengeance.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">It’s during times
like this that you’ll find me lying in bed doing my “whale breathing” as David
calls it. It sounds a lot like Lamaze
breathing I imagine. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">But focusing
on the breathing is how I take my mind off the pain. And in the breathing, I pray. Breathe in; breathe out. Breathe in; breathe out. “Jesus.
Jesus. Jesus. Jesus.”
“Please, God. Please, God. Please, God.
Please, God.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">They’re not
eloquent prayers, but the truest ones rarely are.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">In a pig sty
of self-pity I wallowed last night, wondering how I could possibly endure
another seventeen or twenty-five or forty years of this. Of game boards set up but never played with
my children. Cleaning supplies gathered in
a burst of feeling good but sitting unused after all. Plans canceled, work obligations dreaded. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The thing
about an illness like this is that you might see me in the grocery store at
2:00 feeling just fine and never believe that at 3:15 I would be completely
debilitated and down for the count.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">So as I lie
in bed last night praying through one breath at a time as my kids were tucked
in to bed by their dad instead me, I asked rhetorically for the millionth time,
“Why?” What purpose could this possibly serve?:</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> In addition
to the scriptures that often weave in and out of my thoughts during such times
of distress, the words to one of my favorite Bebo Norman songs wandered into my
mind last night:</span></span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: small;">Take me to
the desert<br />
You will be the water<br />
I will drink forever to fill my soul</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: small;"> </span></i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: small;">And lead
me through the fire<br />
Of darkness and desire<br />
You will be my shelter<br />
You will be my shelter</span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: small;">I'll find
You there<br />
I'll find You there</span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: small;">It's here
that I call out<br />
It's here that I fall down<br />
It's here that I find out<br />
That You are everything I hoped You'd be.**</span></i></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: small;">If I could choose, I
would find another place, another way, for me to call out, to fall down, to
find out that He’s everything. But I can’t choose the medium God ordains to
bring me to my knees and, thereby, to Himself.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: small;">If I could choose, I’d
spend the evening doing, being, working.
I’d get dressed for court in the morning and think of nothing but
arriving on time and doing my job.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: small;"> But when I am struck down, I spend those
moments instead breathing in, breathing out.
One breath at a time. Jesus. Jesus.
Jesus. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: small;">It makes life a lot
harder, but I’ve learned that we often find Jesus in the "harder." How else could He be the water in my desert
and the shelter in my fire?</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: small;">So, if you can't find me, I’ll just be here breathing.
Jesus. Jesus. Jesus.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: small;">(And for the record, I
think writing a blog post about a bowel condition qualifies me for martyrdom
all on its own. Okay, God?)</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: small;">(Also for the record, if
I cancel upcoming plans in the month of December, don’t take it
personally. I’m just having a really rough
month.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">** Everything I Hoped You'd Be, by Jason Ingram and Bebo Norman, copyright Brentwood- Benson Music</span></i></span></div>
<div id="r1PostCPBlock" style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; left: -99999px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
Writer(s): Jason Ingram, Bebo Norman<br />
Copyright: Brentwood-benson Music, Windsor Hill Music, Sony/ATV Timber Publishing, West Main Music<br />
Read more at http://www.songlyrics.com/bebo-norman/everything-i-hoped-you-d-be-lyrics/#DDXRciueJIfwsrsH</div>
<div id="r1PostCPBlock" style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; left: -99999px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
Writer(s): Jason Ingram, Bebo Norman<br />
Copyright: Brentwood-benson Music, Windsor Hill Music, Sony/ATV Timber Publishing, West Main Music<br />
Read more at <a href="http://www.songlyrics.com/bebo-norman/everything-i-hoped-you-d-be-lyrics/#DDXRciueJIfwsrsH.99" style="color: #003399;">http://www.songlyrics.com/bebo-norman/everything-i-hoped-you-d-be-lyrics/#DDXRciueJIfwsrsH.99</a><br />
<div id="r1PostCPBlock" style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; left: -99999px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
Writer(s): Jason Ingram, Bebo Norman<br />
Copyright: Brentwood-benson Music, Windsor Hill Music, Sony/ATV Timber Publishing, West Main Music<br />
Read more at <a href="http://www.songlyrics.com/bebo-norman/everything-i-hoped-you-d-be-lyrics/#DDXRciueJIfwsrsH.99" style="color: #003399;">http://www.songlyrics.com/bebo-norman/everything-i-hoped-you-d-be-lyrics/#DDXRciueJIfwsrsH.99</a></div>
</div>
beck'sthreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15210547864713460125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797733867846378216.post-15705771378285493662013-11-20T10:00:00.001-05:002013-11-20T10:00:24.264-05:00On dishwashers, snake-sniffing, and superfluous languageSome snippets that are unworthy of a post of their own but that need to be freed from the clutter of my mind:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>1. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
I've been playing this game lately with a steak knife that <i>someone</i> (to whom I'm married) used to open a package. It is now covered in sticky tape gunk that won't come off in the dishwasher, so every time I unload the dishwasher I place said knife next to the sink so that I can scrub it by hand later. I inexplicably forget that the next time I load the dishwasher, and I stick it back in without thinking. Of course, upon unloading, I discover it anew. Rinse and repeat. I've been playing this game for at least two weeks now, and I don't seem to be winning.<br />
<br />
On a related note, I usually set our dishwasher on a four-hour delay so it will run at night while we're sleeping. If, however, someone opens it the door to put something else in it and forgets to press Start again, I will awaken to a dishwasher full of still-dirty dishes in the morning. <br />
<br />
A few mornings ago I commented to David that this was why there were no clean spoons. I said, "I'm not accusing you, but someone put something in the dishwasher last night and didn't press start." <br />
<br />
His response: "What are the odds that someone other than you put something in the dishwasher?" <br />
<br />
Me: What were the odds that your laziness would someday serve you so well?<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>2. </b></div>
<br />
I'm convinced Joshua will have his own television show someday. "The Snake Sniffer." He loves to hunt snakes in the summertime, and I am always amazed at how many he finds. I go outside all the time and return home snake-free, so where does he find all these snakes? <i>How</i> does he find all these snakes.<br />
<br />
I asked him.<br />
<br />
"I can smell them," says he.<br />
<br />
You're joking, I replied, you can't possibly walk through the woods and <i>smell</i> snakes. Yes, I can, he says. He claims that he gets down close to the rocks (because that's what they usually hide under) and can smell when there are snakes under the rocks. Given the number of snakes he finds, I have no choice but to assume this is true.<br />
<br />
Now, if only this olfactory gift could be put to some better use than finding snakes. Like sniffing out gold. Or oil. Heck, I'd settle for dirty socks. <i>Those</i>, he can't seem to smell <i>at all</i>.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>3. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
Lastly, I just want to share a pet peeve. (Which, in case you didn't know is something that really annoys you. The other day I was speaking with a fellow attorney who used the phrase to refer to something she cared passionately about in a positive way. I heroically refrained from telling her that people using phrases incorrectly is one of <i>my</i> pet peeves. Unless you're my friend, C, in which case it's endearing. But ONLY her.)<br />
<br />
Sooooo, my pet peeve du jour: the phrases "I'd just like to say . . ." or "I want to say . . . " <br />
<br />
There is no need to tell me that you WANT to say something. Just say it. No more, "I want to say thanks to everyone who helped me . . .." or "I'd just like to wish so-and-so a happy birthday."<br />
<br />
Just say it already! No need to be superfluous about it.<br />
<br />
And, while we're at it, could you change the recording on your voice mail if it says that I've reached you when clearly the fact that I am listening to your voice mail recording means that I have most assuredly NOT reached you? <br />
<br />
Thanks to my brother's pointing this one out years ago, it has driven me bananas since. (Note I didn't say "ever since" because that is another redundant phrase; eliminate it, too, while you're making all these positive changes. You'll thank me someday. And when you do, don't preface it by telling me that you'd like to.)<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>4.</b></div>
<br />
Okay, so I couldn't let my last one be all ranty and negative. So, I'll add one more. <br />
<br />
I have cute puppies.<br />
<br />
There, much better.beck'sthreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15210547864713460125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797733867846378216.post-61628307783848417332013-11-13T22:16:00.004-05:002013-11-13T22:17:37.372-05:00On Being Broken<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I’ve been
broken.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For a while now.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It didn’t
happen all at once.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It happened slowly
like the changing of the leaves in the Fall from green to yellow to orange to
gone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you pay close enough attention,
you can see the slight changes, but mostly you just look one day and notice
they’ve changed, and then you look again and they’re gone.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That’s what
happened to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One day I was Me, and
then when I looked again, I was a little less Me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not wanting to inspect the situation too
closely for fear of what I might find, I carried on with the Not Looking until
one day there was no escaping the absence of Me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If you don’t
live near me, or if you don’t know me well enough to see it, you may not even
have known.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe you thought my leaves
were always an orangy-yellow, or maybe you were mistaken about my having had leaves
at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the truth is my leaves were
once full and bright and green.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Until they
started dying.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I don’t know
how it started.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our bodies are
mysterious things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People talk about
physical pain and emotional distress and mental illness as if there are many
separate parts of a person, but the truth is I have only one body, and all the
parts of it make up just one Me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There has
been physical pain in the last few years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A lot of different kinds and for a lot of different reasons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They say that chronic pain can lead to
depression, but it’s hard for me to trace the exact path that took me from, “The
scar tissue on my kidney won’t stop flaring up” or “My painful digestive
disorder is incapacitating me” to “I want to hide under my covers for the rest
of my life.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet that’s where I ended
up.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The thing
about being broken is we always want to hide it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When my leaves were bright and green, I didn’t
mind showing them to the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I loved
being a part of the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
participated in it fully, welcomed it, welcomed you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But when I began to break, I began to
hide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s exhausting to try to make
those ugly brown dying leaves look green, and let’s face it, who wants to look
at brown leaves?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s easier just to
tuck them away so no one can see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it’s
in the tucking that the disappearing begins.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At some
point I begin to notice that I was spending too much time in my bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Too much time in the cozy cocoon of cotton
and down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I liked it there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I was in that safe place of my own
making, I could drown out the Voice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
one that said, “You’re failing everyone.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Because if I let myself listen, that Voice had a lot to say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“You’re not a
good mom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What a lousy example your setting
for your children.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“You’re not
working hard enough at your job.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“You’re
failing your husband.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">"You're not praying or reading your Bible. What kind of Christian are you?" </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Your house
is falling apart.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“You’re failing
at everything.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And that’s
not the half of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I bet you know the Voice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe it hasn’t broken you, but I bet you’ve
heard it whispering nonetheless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
never content to limit its quiver of arrows to the present either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As if being a failure right now isn’t bad
enough, The Voice likes to fashion arrows from the mistakes and the pain of
yesterday and to sharpen their points on fears of tomorrow.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So for quite
some time now, I’ve been trying to hide from the Voice. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve hidden in my bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve hidden in my house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve hidden from my family and my friends and
from the world because surely if I could hear it, you could hear it, too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, instead of trying to make my leaves look
all pretty and green and alive, I just let them fall off altogether.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There was a
day when I noticed my leaves were gone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Noticed
I was broken.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was about a year
ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it was just too hard to try to
put them back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To grow leaves again is
not easy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To fix the brokenness requires
so much doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I stayed broken.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Until
recently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few months ago I decided
that maybe it wasn’t all or nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
idea of trying to put back all my leaves – all my pieces – was just too
daunting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But what if I could find just
one?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just one piece of Me that might
still be there?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One green leaf?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So, I made
plans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t mean A Plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not a plan to fix me, but plans with someone
to do something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because the old Me did
things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lots of things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The broken me did nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just do something, I thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And I did.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And it didn’t
kill me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I did another thing. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I’ve been
gradually doing more of the Things until I’ve recently begun to remember what
my leaves used to look like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’re not
all back, but the hope of them is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
that’s almost enough.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I’ve been
hesitant to share this because people – not unlike myself – can be so
judgmental about depression and brokenness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But, I decided I didn’t care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One
of my favorite leaves on the old Me was the writer leaf.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s been dead for a long time, but maybe
this is what I need to write about to bring that leaf back to life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Besides, I suspect we’re all a little broken
anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If your broken doesn’t strip you
bare and leave you hopeless, then praise God and pray for the rest of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it does, then know you’re not alone, and
maybe if all of us with no leaves stopped hiding from each other, the broken
wouldn’t hurt quite so bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because the
comfort we get from hiding in bed in our pajamas or from eating food or not
eating food or from self-medicating is that it drowns out The Voice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, if we could all speak loudly enough to
each other from our brokenness, maybe we could do that, too.</span></div>
beck'sthreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15210547864713460125noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797733867846378216.post-11106364191830038142013-02-12T21:57:00.001-05:002013-02-12T21:57:18.464-05:00Lenten Thoughts (first published in Feb. 2010)I am not Catholic. I am not even episcopal. In fact, I grew up
about as far removed from that as one can get: charismatic
non-denominational. Some would say Pentecostal, though I personally
wouldn't use that moniker.<br />
<br />
So, what in the world am I
doing observing Lent? (Heck, I can't even decide whether it ought to be
capitalized.) What is this hand-raising, church-dancing,
tongues-praying girl doing giving up something for Lent?<br />
<br />
I'll tell you: I find it good for my soul. <br />
<br />
Having
gone to a catholic high school, I have seen Lent observed in many
forms. To be honest, most of the Catholics I went to school with were
not exactly bastions of spirituality. There were a few who seemed to
genuinely love Jesus, but for the most part, I saw people going through
the motions of a ritual without giving it any spiritual meaning at all.<br />
<br />
Can't
have soda with lunch . . . it's Lent. No Now & Laters for me .
. . I gave up candy for Lent. No chocolate, no fast food, no swearing .
. . everyone seemed ready to sacrifice something for Lent. But why? <br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">It seemed to me like most of them were doing it because they thought it would earn them favor with God</span>. <span style="font-weight: bold;">I
believe strongly that I need not do anything to earn favor with God
because Jesus Christ purchased that for me on the cross, and it is mine
forever.</span><br />
<br />
So why sacrifice for Lent?<br />
<br />
David
and I spent the past few years in a semi-liturgical church (PCA) after
having both grown up non-denominational. While I certainly missed the
freedom I find in musical worship at non-denominational churches, I felt
like I experienced a spiritual grounding in my soul when observing a
liturgical calendar.<br />
<br />
There is something to be said for
corporately acknowledging spiritual seasons. Together we turn our
hearts toward celebrating the coming of the Messiah during Advent, and
together<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>we turn our hearts
toward the anticipation of His resurrection at Easter. And we are
reminded of the suffering that preceded it during Lent.<br />
<br />
Christ
did not reach the point of resurrection easily or without pain. He
suffered in the desert. He suffered on the cross. How much sweeter is
the victory of His resurrection after remembering the pain He endured to
achieve it? <span style="font-weight: bold;">How much more can I share
in His suffering if I prayerfully make one small sacrifice, one
exercise of physical discipline with the prayer that God will use it to
minister to my soul.</span><br />
<br />
Lent is observed during the
forty days (excluding Sundays) prior to Easter and is meant to mirror
the forty days Christ fasted in the wilderness. The Bible says we are
called to "share in His sufferings," and I find Lent to be a tangible
way to reflect on that. <br />
<br />
I wanted to address this
because I know that most of my friends and family - who constitute the
majority of my readers - do not observe Lent. Some have asked me why I
do, so I thought I'd share my thoughts on the subject, elementary as
they may be. Like I said, I'm not catholic, so I am not a Lenten
expert, and if I've misstated anything I apologize to the Catholics whom
I do know read my blog. This is my take on it, that's all.<br />
<br />
My
final thoughts: do I think observing Lent is necessary to know Christ?
No. Do I think it will gain me favor with God? Not at all. Do I think
it makes me a better Christian than someone else? Absolutely not.<br />
<br />
Do I think God uses it to speak to my charismatic soul? Yes, yes, He does.beck'sthreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15210547864713460125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797733867846378216.post-54301003101541134892012-04-12T22:08:00.006-04:002012-04-13T23:41:17.223-04:007 Quick Takes Friday<div style="text-align: center;">1.<br /><br /></div>I'm scared. My Blogger dashboard page says that Blogger is getting a "new look" in April, and it's asking if I want to "upgrade now." Threats of impending change like that scare me. Why can't they just leave me and my little blog alone? What's changing? Will I have to figure out new widgets? Re-crop a photo? Doesn't Blogger care that fears like this will keep me up all night?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">2.<br /><br /></div>Ever notice how it's the smallest things that sometimes lead to happiness? I'm not talking about relationships here. Or life choices. Or attitude. I'm talking about something way more happiness-inducing. I went to swap out the laundry tonight - utterly dreading having to fold and put away the load from the dryer, but needing to get the wet stuff out of the washer. Guess what I found? An empty dryer! Apparently, I had already emptied it this morning. That right there, my friend, makes an otherwise lousy day all worthwhile.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">3.<br /><br /></div>Joshua is sick. He stayed home from school yesterday and apparently spent the last two hours of school today in the nurse's office. She told him to lie down and rest for a bit to see if he felt better, and then she forgot about him. Or as she put it, "lost track of time." When she remembered he was there, it was ten minutes until dismissal, so it was too late to send him home. I asked him if he cared that he was there for so long, and of course he said no. It was better than being in class, I guess, sad as that may be.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">4.<br /><br /></div>So tonight Joshua watched several episodes of Man vs. Food on the Travel channel. As it neared for bed, I asked him if he wanted to take the liquid medicine that he took (and complained about) last night or if he wanted to try a Nyquil gelcap. He said he wanted to try the Nyquil. He can totally swallow pills, but I showed him that this one is larger than the ibuprofen or Benadryl he's used to taking.<br /><br />He saw the size of the gelcap, took a long, deep breath, and said, "Alright, mom . . . this is man vs. pill. I gotta tell you the truth . . . I'm a little scared."<br /><br />He put it in his mouth and promptly spit it down the drain. There went a dollar.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">5.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Update: In the 24 hours that have past between the writing of QT #4 and QT #5, I have taken Josh to the doctor. He has strep. Again. Third time this school year. Oh and Lauren came home from school crying of a tummy ache and promptly had, um shall we say "uncontrollable?", diarrhea. Splendid. Don't everyone beat the door down trying to come visit us at once, okay?<br /><br />The worst part is Lauren told me that she went to the nurse's office twice today at school complaining about her stomach. I know it must be hard for the nurses/teachers to know the right solution when I'm sure at least 100 kids a day complain of tummy aches, but seriously?! The day after you kept my son sitting in the nurse's office for <span style="font-style: italic;">two hours because you forgot about him, </span>you're going to keep sending my daughter back to class when she clearly felt horrible? (She said she laid on the bottom of a slide during the entire recess because her stomach hurt too much to play and that she didn't eat her snack for the same reason.) The school will be hearing from this momma soon.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">6.<br /><br /></div>On a happier note, I introduced my family to the Marx Brothers today. I grew up watching them, so it felt like reconnecting with old friends for me. Joshua has long been convinced that nothing good can come in black and white film, so I had to convince him to give it a shot. We watched <span style="font-style: italic;">Go West</span> (my favorite of them all) while he was home from school this afternoon, then we watched <span style="font-style: italic;">At the Races </span>tonight. Can't go wrong with Groucho.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">7.<br /></div>I made this cake for Easter Sunday. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLleKLp1HzD19Kj13AymgSVkHO66k7LGtYbusnfmEUD3wAqMI5jXnuNUqCKopGmnyW_3-DrL8ovYLqq_GLcGgywHu4osVxo9FxbmPoYCcDdcFprtNQYhDc_ODV9kKrjzPWoGfAmhNeOWs/s1600/cake.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLleKLp1HzD19Kj13AymgSVkHO66k7LGtYbusnfmEUD3wAqMI5jXnuNUqCKopGmnyW_3-DrL8ovYLqq_GLcGgywHu4osVxo9FxbmPoYCcDdcFprtNQYhDc_ODV9kKrjzPWoGfAmhNeOWs/s320/cake.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5731095554218581042" border="0" /></a><br />It's a banana cake with lemon cream cheese frosting and raspberry filling. Just thought I'd leave you with a happy thought. You're welcome.<br /><br />Head to <a href="http://www.conversiondiary.com/">Conversion Diary </a>to check out more Quick Takes.<br /><br /></div></div>beck'sthreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15210547864713460125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797733867846378216.post-1883120488494526172012-04-03T13:36:00.003-04:002012-04-03T13:42:30.781-04:00What I would have said (a short political soapbox)<span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:100%;" ></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:100%;" >I’ve been hearing a lot about Nikki Haley lately.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>If you haven’t, she’s the governor of South Carolina.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>An Indian-American Republican woman.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I think I like her.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>She seems articulate, intelligent, friendly, and conservative.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>However, I saw a short clip of her appearance on The View today, and she was asked this question: Most people think of women as liberals.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>How do you reconcile being a woman and a Republican with conservative values? How does that reflect on women’s issues?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>(I’ve paraphrased the question.)<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Her answer was something along the lines of, “Women don’t care about contraception; they care about jobs, the economy, raising their families . . ..”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In her defense I think what she meant was that women don’t care *only* about contraception, which the media are making into an enormous distraction from real issues, but her answer did not go over well.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>However, the question got me thinking, and I’d like to give a different answer.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>So, here’s what I would have said:</span> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:100%;" >There is no such thing as a “woman’s issue.”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>There are just issues.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>If the media or anyone else were to characterize something as a “men’s issue,” women would have a conniption.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Imagine if we called war a “men’s issue.”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Or the stock market. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Or firefighter safety.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Anything that men do, or historically have, participated in more often than women.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We would be outraged, and rightly so.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Those things affect all of us, and we should all be entitled to have an opinion and a say regarding them.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:100%;" >The same is true of contraception.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Abortion.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Rape shield laws.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>All of the things that feminists tout as “women’s issues” affect us all.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>A woman may be the only one who can have an abortion, but a man fathered the child.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The child would have grown up to be a man or a woman; we don’t know which.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The woman who has the abortion has a father, perhaps a brother.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Does it not affect them?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>What about the rest of the unnamed, unknown individuals whose lives may have been changed by the existence of the child who was never born?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>How about the husband whose wife can’t have children because of a complication from an abortion she had years before?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:100%;" >To say that abortion is a “woman’s issue” is absurd.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>All issues affect all people.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Not to mention the fact that even if they don’t directly affect me, I can still have an opinion about them.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>My personal life is not affected very much by the child-trafficking industry in southeast Asia, but I certainly have an opinion about it.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:100%;" >You can come down on either side of an issue.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Maybe you believe more strongly in a woman’s right to have an abortion.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Maybe you believe more strongly in a child’s right to be born.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Regardless of what gender you are, you get to choose which opinion to have.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Don’t tell me I have to support abortion rights or that I must support a mandate for health care or contraception just because I am a woman.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:100%;" >The same is true of “race issues.”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>How dare we try to make all black people fit into a mold?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>A black man may be conservative; he may be liberal.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>A black woman may choose to send her child to public school; she may homeschool.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>She may support affirmative action; she may believe it is unconstitutional.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Give her the option to use her God-given brain and form an opinion.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:100%;" >How would I reconcile being a woman and a conservative?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Easy.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I’m a person with an intellect, and I have used it to draw conclusions about what I support and what I do not.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It’s called freedom, and I'm a fan of it<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">.</span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></p>beck'sthreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15210547864713460125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797733867846378216.post-65030910044580466432012-04-02T22:42:00.001-04:002012-04-02T22:43:48.863-04:00Things that make me go hmmmmMy apologies to Arsenio Hall, but there are a few things on my mind lately that I just can't quite understand. Maybe you can help me.<br /><br />1. On the Today show, whenever they go to commercial, they always say that such and such is coming up after the break, "But first, This is Today on NBC." What does that mean? I do not get it. I mean, it would make sense if they said "Taylor Swift after the break, but first here are some commercials" or "but first, a word from our sponsors." However, "But first, this is the name of our show" I don't get. This is one reason I watch Good Morning America instead. That and I hate the sound of Ann Curry's voice. She always sounds so serious and pensive. "So you found the summer's hottest new designer swimsuits for 1/220th of the cost," she says in her deep, I'm-reporting-something-very-intense voice, "What must that be like for you emotionally?" Um, Ann, if you're reporting fluff, be light-hearted, and don't use the same tone you used to interview parents whose six children just died in a freak pop rocks accident.<br /><br />However, even if Ann Curry was fired (not that I'm wishing that on her), I don't think I could bear hearing them say, "But first, this is Today on NBC." Can't take it.<br /><br />2. The warm weather has been teasing us off and on for about a month now. And in northern PA, warm weather means road work. I can understand this; there is usually a limited number of months to get it done before the snow and ice return. But, every. single. day of spring and summer? This has been going on since we moved here, and I just don't get it. We only have like three roads! How can they all need work done on them every sunny day of every year? Hmmm.<br /><br />3. I was watching Dr. Oz this morning while putting on my makeup because our cable company couldn't get its contracting act together at the beginning of the year, and I no longer get "Live with Kelly." This makes me sad because, while Dr. Oz can manage to fill an hour <span style="font-style: italic;">every </span>day telling you THE most important five changes you can make to your diet (and not the same ones he told you yesterday), he's just not that funny and entertaining. And if there's anything I require in the morning, and in life in general to be honest, it's that someone at least amuse and entertain me. Sooooo, this morning Dr. Oz made this statement: "Blood Pressure is the number one cause of aging in America."<br />What?<br />I suppose that's technically true, because if I had no blood pressure, I would die and therefore not continue to age. However, the segment was on the dangers of high blood pressure, so I really don't think that's what he meant. And so I say simply . . . hmmm?<br /><br />4. "That person really knows how to pray!" I've heard this countless times during my time in the pentecostal world. I just don't quite get what it means. It <span style="font-style:italic;">appears </span>to have a correlation to the pray-er's volume, intensity, and number of times he/she can say "My God" during the prayer. I honestly don't mean this one to be disrespectful or sacrilegious (<span style="font-style: italic;">sacre bleu!), </span>but I don't get it. And so I say again . . . Hmmm.<br /><br />There are many, many more, but I feel the need for sleep. Unlike my husband who complains every morning that he is exhausted but refuses to go to bed before midnight. Hmmm.beck'sthreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15210547864713460125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797733867846378216.post-63755721477985006892012-03-28T19:53:00.004-04:002012-03-28T20:27:33.916-04:00RandomnessMy kids have been taking a few dollars to school lately to buy rubber wristbands with the school slogan on them. Ethan bought a few last week, and unbeknownst to me, took another $10 to school today and purchased TEN more. When he told me about it this afternoon, I was a little perturbed at him. "Ethan," I scolded, "Spending one or two dollars on those is okay, but you may NOT take ten dollars to school to buy junk without my permission . . . do you understand?" "Yes, but, mom, the money goes to help kids with cancer." Oh.<br /><br />Josh came tearing into my room last night right after he got in bed, hollering that something in his bed had bitten him. Sure enough, I could see a small red dot with a bite mark in the center. After only two or three minutes, the redness had spread to the diameter of a golf, and the whole thing was very swollen. I searched his bed but couldn't find the culprit, so being the sensible mom that I am, I promptly sent everyone out of the room lest the vicious creature strike again. Ethan slept in Lauren's room, and Josh slept in ours. And I closed the door to the boys' room so, you know, it wouldn't wander into any other beds. The bright side is the boys have fresh clean linens on their beds today.<br /><br />Sometimes I think Matt Lauer wears glasses just to look smart. I don't know why I suspect he doesn't really need them; I just do.<br /><br />I loved the Hunger Games books and highly recommend reading them before seeing the movie. It leaves out soooo much. (This snippet brought to you by the fact that I just hear Ryan Seacrest say to the American Idol contestants, "May the odds be ever in your favor." Seriously.)<br /><br />The boys are downstairs wrestling with David as I'm typing this, and about a minute ago my phone rang. It was Joshua screaming and laughing into the phone, "Momma, come save me . . . Daddy's got us!!" Sometimes I regret the day that kid learned my cell number.<br /><br />I do stupid stuff all the time. Yesterday was no exception. I left the house to drop David's car off at the shop, and I was a couple blocks from home when I realized I was driving mine.<br /><br />I am on a crunchy peanut butter and jelly sandwich kick. I don't know why anyone would eat creamy peanut butter when they could have crunchy. It makes no sense.<br /><br />Speaking of things to eat, I make these smoothies several times a week. The kids and I love them. This morning I poured the leftover (which existed only because I made mine after the kids were gone to school) into popsicle molds. The kids loved them as popsicles tonight! Here's what I use:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt_dZCkvugRUdCPUI7N9HspyECVHqNsho8Pz8FImtSoZ922x3D4ZxCzhGeABj3iqEzG7M2bp9g2NBeK5cJ33JNcL78MyjNEVEpNA8yOuHMhd1GVfxCVOn-oYuc_gjgYK-6J36CgipHoVw/s1600/DSC_0643.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt_dZCkvugRUdCPUI7N9HspyECVHqNsho8Pz8FImtSoZ922x3D4ZxCzhGeABj3iqEzG7M2bp9g2NBeK5cJ33JNcL78MyjNEVEpNA8yOuHMhd1GVfxCVOn-oYuc_gjgYK-6J36CgipHoVw/s400/DSC_0643.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5725106346114226770" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs-fKK2bfRDD2WBhK77FyamtkJQcWKSiFbZzBb427YLIdsN-vS1hVJJjIZJQaHjIDecdZSgxu3iewKc2nU2snl5of_UaCimq2guWj8jHBhp054bQ8gkKDtV8_CyetqfT36BqZeGiqoqcY/s1600/DSC_0644.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs-fKK2bfRDD2WBhK77FyamtkJQcWKSiFbZzBb427YLIdsN-vS1hVJJjIZJQaHjIDecdZSgxu3iewKc2nU2snl5of_UaCimq2guWj8jHBhp054bQ8gkKDtV8_CyetqfT36BqZeGiqoqcY/s400/DSC_0644.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5725106333711109442" border="0" /></a><br /><br />A little orange juice, a little carrot juice, a banana, some frozen pineapple (I drain a can and freeze the pieces), frozen peaches, frozen strawberries, a kiwi, and some spinach. Delicious.<br /><br />There was no real need for the photos above. I just thought I'd share them because I apparently fancy myself a chef. Or a food photographer. Because that last picture looks so appetizing, right?<br /><br />My moms coming to visit soon! And bringing two of my nieces! I haven't seen my mom since Christmas, so I'm very excited. I just wish my dad loved me enough to come visit me, too.<br /><br />(In case you don't know my dad, that last sentence was not sincere. He loves me. I guess it's just that he doesn't want to see his grandkids or something.)<br /><br />For the record, this is how happy his granddaughter would be to see him:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaeqUG6EyPEMMHX1D3RjwOQxV3jQZ7RcGHUhU0340B4CXTZVpb_1vRhx_vEPpDSoQxRrci6Z0eibpSs-BZ9i7vk5BKomb6YuukW29lIcOA1QSeg8_Tg2RlGPtFaPG9IB5y21IEKNkSEi0/s1600/DSC_0403.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaeqUG6EyPEMMHX1D3RjwOQxV3jQZ7RcGHUhU0340B4CXTZVpb_1vRhx_vEPpDSoQxRrci6Z0eibpSs-BZ9i7vk5BKomb6YuukW29lIcOA1QSeg8_Tg2RlGPtFaPG9IB5y21IEKNkSEi0/s400/DSC_0403.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5725108782121335634" /></a>beck'sthreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15210547864713460125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797733867846378216.post-34059657340070273122012-03-02T06:56:00.000-05:002012-03-02T06:56:00.049-05:00Seven Quick Takes FridayQuick Takes, though I still don't have the little linky picture on my laptop, and I'm still too lazy to obtain it right now:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">1. <br /></div><br />I do not envy full-time working mothers. I worked until 6:00 pm the past two nights, and I feel like the whole darn system is crashing down around me. (Which is pretty funny if you know me, because the "system" is rather precarious as it is.) But now . . . the laundry! The dishes! The homework! Oh my!<br /><br />Today's late work day was not planned. I ordinarily leave wo<span style="display: block;" id="formatbar_Buttons"><span class=" down" style="display: block;" id="formatbar_CreateLink" title="Link" onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseup="" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);"><img src="img/blank.gif" alt="Link" class="gl_link" border="0" /></span></span>rk a few minutes before 3:00 so I can be home when the kids' bus gets here. Today, however, I got hired at 2:30 - just as I was about to leave - to represent someone at a 9 am hearing tomorrow. Obviously, I needed to stay and do some preparation, and since I couldn't find a last minute sitter easily, I said to David on a whim, "Wanna go home early today?" He <span style="font-style: italic;">never</span> leaves work that early and usually has appointments until late afternoon. But to my surprise and delight, he said sure! Sometimes it's really nice to be law partners with one's spouse.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">2. <br /></div><br />As he was leaving, we had the following conversation:<br /><br />Me: Feel free to run to the grocery store and make some dinner while you're at it.<br />David: Sure, I'll put that on my to-do list. It will be somewhere between right now and hell freezing over.<br />Me: No, I'm pretty sure hell will freeze over first.<br /><br />**I should note that my husband is not the jerk that this conversation may imply. He's wonderful. He just can't cook. He <span style="font-style: italic;">really </span>can't cook.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">3. <br /></div><br />Speaking of David and work, he has been putting together some short videos for our firm's website. To that end, he has turned our office workroom into a film studio complete with six giant photography lights, a big white backdrop, a microphone system, and a tripod. (If you know David, you know he never does anything halfway.)<br /><br />His goal is to create dozens of 2 minute videos where he or I talk about different legal topics to help drive traffic to our website. He has made quite a few already, but I have heretofore insisted that I would not appear on camera until I shed this last pesky pound or forty. He finally talked me into doing one last week. BIG MISTAKE. (Pun intended) That whole "camera adds 10 pounds" thing? It's a total lie. It doesn't add; it multiplies!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">4. <br /></div><br />In his research on ways to increase business, he came across the suggestion of having a firm newsletter. Apparently, the ideal law firm newsletter contains only 20% law related information; the rest is information that may be of interest or entertainment to anyone reading the newsletter, whether they have a legal need or not.<br /><br />This sparked what I thought was a brilliant idea. Like many ideas I've had in our dozen years together, though, its brilliance was not unanimously agreed upon. So, I ask you: would you love to read a humor column in your law firm's monthly newsletter?<br /><br />I've always wanted to write a humor column. Well, at least since I had the idea a few days ago. But since then, I've <span style="font-style: italic;">always </span>wanted to. <br /><br />I think it would be the perfect thing to keep people looking forward to our newsletter and to get them to actually read it instead of just throwing it in the trash. Of course, I suppose there is the <span style="font-style: italic;">slight possibility</span> that some people might not want their attorney to be a stand-up comic. (Which is exactly why I would write it sitting down.)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">5. <br /></div><br />The kids have no school tomorrow because it was built into the calendar as a make-up snow day. Since we have had zero, count 'em, zero, snow days this year, they just get the day off. They will be off again in two weeks as well unless we have a freak snowstorm between now and then. I find these days-off-for-no-real-reason helpful. I have been entertaining frequent thoughts of homeschooling lately, but whenever my kids have the day off from school, it works wonders toward shaking me back to my senses.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">6. <br /></div><br />We are finally going to do Christmas with the in-laws in a few days. My father-in-law had surgery back in October and has been unable to travel since then. We visited them in October and November but spent Christmas in Georgia and have not been able to make it down to see them until now. I feel terrible that it is March, and we have not managed to travel the four hours to do Christmas with them yet, but on the other hand . . . Christmas in March . . . yay! Right?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">7. <br /></div><br />Back before Christmas my mother-in-law was trying to figure out what to get the kids for Christmas. I made a few suggestions, and we decided it would be easiest for me to order a couple specific items myself and just have her reimburse me. Well, I have had these items "hidden" in the laundry room for almost three months now. Really, my laundry room is the perfect place to hide a gift: No one besides me puts it to use, there is always plenty of dirty laundry to hide things behind, and if by some <span style="font-style: italic;">miraculous </span>chance I go to the bottom of the dirty laundry baskets, there's still the Mt. Everest of socks to block a person's view.<br /><br />Unfortunately, Joshua came across his gift about a month ago when he was looking for socks. He guessed that it was for him since it was something he had specifically asked for, but he was seriously disappointed that he had found it so it will no longer be a surprise when he opens it someday. I have since moved it to three different locations so he won't keep seeing it (he says he's trying to forget what it is), but he keeps finding it again! A couple of weeks ago, he said, "Mom you're the worst present hider in the history of the world."<br /><br /><br />Check out <a href="http://www.conversiondiary.com/">Conversion Diary </a>for more Quick Takes.beck'sthreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15210547864713460125noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797733867846378216.post-12210265945225905922012-02-23T01:38:00.000-05:002012-02-23T01:38:00.368-05:00ConsequencesI put them to bed twenty minutes ago. Still their voices carry down the hall to my bedroom. Not soft whispering-in-the-night voices. Angry, arguing voices.<br /><br />"What's going on?" I yell from my just-got-comfortable spot on my bed. Apparently, Ethan has moved something and it's not right and I "have to come" see what it is. I gather that it involves a nightlight, and I bellow back that I don't want to hear anything else about it. I issue a warning that they are to close their eyes and go to sleep <span style="font-style: italic;">right now</span> and that if I hear their voices again before morning, they will be on screen restriction tomorrow.<br /><br />This is an enormous threat. Joshua has been working hard for quite some time to earn a Lord of the Rings wii game that he wants desperately. It costs $18.00, and I told him if he earned $10.00, I would pay the rest. (He has more money than that, but he can't bear to part with money he already possesses, so he asked if he could just work for credit toward the game instead of cash.) He finally finished earning his portion on Monday, so late Monday night I ordered the game. Which means it will arrive tomorrow.<br /><br />He checked the mailbox first thing when he got home from school today <span style="font-style: italic;">justincase</span> it came early. While home sick yesterday, he scoured youtube (under my supervision) for trailers of the game. Earlier tonight, he lamented that he could not will away the hours between waking and getting home from school tomorrow to obtain his new game.<br /><br />Screen restriction tomorrow is no small threat.<br /><br />Five minutes go by. I hear a thumping. A banging. I hope it's the cat, but as the noise persists and grows louder, I have to admit that it is coming from my sons' room. Again: "What's going on?" The response involves something about somebody sticking his tongue out and somebody kicking somebody's bed and somebody throwing a pillow at somebody. I am so stupefied by the fact that this is taking place after my warning that I don't pay very close attention to the details.<br /><br />Instead of responding to the allegations, I issue a simple sentence: Screen restriction tomorrow.<br /><br />A moment of silence. Then a gasp, a gulp, a sob. The consequence is real.<br /><br />No, mom, please! The tears flow in earnest as I call him to my room for a discussion.<br /><br />Were you warned? Yes.<br />Did you stick out your tongue? Yes.<br />Why? Because I was mad at Ethan for moving the nightlight.<br />Was this after I had warned you what would happen? Yes.<br />But you chose to start a fight instead of closing your eyes and being quiet? Yes.<br /><br />What is it that makes us think we will be exempt from the consequences we <span style="font-style: italic;">know </span>will stem from our actions? I can't point the finger at my 9 year-old without inculpating myself as well.<br /><br />I <span style="font-style: italic;">know</span> if I eat junk food I will gain weight.<br />I <span style="font-style: italic;">know</span> if I procrastinate getting important things done, I will be stressed and become sick.<br />I <span style="font-style: italic;">kno</span>w if I am unkind to my husband, my marriage will suffer.<br />I <span style="font-style: italic;">know</span> that by the measure which I judge others, I will also be judged.<br /><br />It's not like I haven't been warned. But, in my heart of hearts, I am just like Josh. When faced with the choice between believing that the consequence will follow or giving in to my fleshly desires and hoping I will somehow avert the foretold ending, I usually give in.<br /><br />I explain to Josh that, as important as his wii game is to him, it means absolutely nothing to me compared to his obedience. That game, I say, is as important to me as a speck of dust compared to his character.<br /><br />And, as I have come to expect after almost a decade of parenting, I hear God's voice echoing my own. He cares so much more about my character than about my comfort. When will I believe Him?beck'sthreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15210547864713460125noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797733867846378216.post-88664236145095536512012-02-22T14:05:00.006-05:002012-02-22T14:39:57.302-05:00Ash Wednesday Thoughts - Repent and Believe in the Gospel<span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">"Repent and believe in the Gospel."</span><br style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">These are the words the priest uttered as he placed the ashes on my forehead during mass this morning. ** He alternated between those words and "Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return" as he marked the cross on the foreheads of myself and my fellow worshipers. </span><br style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Both statements are powerful reminders, but my heart has stayed fixed today on the words I received: Repent and believe in the Gospel.</span><br style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Repent.</span> Why? Because we are hopeless, helpless beings. We know the right thing, and we choose the wrong. As Paul said, we do what we don't want to do, and what we want to do, we don't do. If we say we have not sinned, we deceive ourselves. We must acknowledge our state of absolute inadequacy and our immeasurable need for redemption. We must repent.</span><br style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Believe.</span> What a deceptively simple word this is. Believing is defined as "having </span><span id="hotword"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" id="hotword" name="hotword">confidence</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" id="hotword" name="hotword">in</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" id="hotword" name="hotword">the</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" id="hotword" name="hotword">truth,</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" id="hotword" name="hotword">the</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" id="hotword" name="hotword">existence,</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" id="hotword" name="hotword">the</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); cursor: default;" id="hotword" name="hotword">reliability</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); cursor: default;" id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); cursor: default;" id="hotword" name="hotword">something,</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); cursor: default;" id="hotword" name="hotword">although</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" id="hotword" name="hotword">without</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" id="hotword" name="hotword">absolute</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" id="hotword" name="hotword">proof</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" id="hotword" name="hotword">that</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" id="hotword" name="hotword">one</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); cursor: default;" id="hotword" name="hotword">is</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); cursor: default;" id="hotword" name="hotword">right</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" id="hotword" name="hotword">in</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); cursor: default;" id="hotword" name="hotword">doing</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); cursor: pointer;" id="hotword" name="hotword">so." That is no easy task. Though God has surrounded us with evidence of Himself, His love, and the truth of His lordship, we are also bombarded with doubts and lies.</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> It is no simple thing to stand firm in a belief when what we see, hear, and often feel, tells us we are wrong to do so. But believe we must.</span><br style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">In the Gospel.</span> Believing is important, but what we believe in is paramount. Most people will tell you they believe in God. Or a Higher Being. That is not the Gospel. The Gospel is our only hope. It is Christ's atonement. We can believe in a god of our own making, but ultimately, the object of our belief determines the result, not the belief itself. As Bill D. always said, you can believe that a pond is frozen solid or not. It doesn't really matter how strongly you believe it is frozen; if it's not, you will fall through. Conversely, even if you don't really believe it will hold you, if it it frozen, it will. We must believe in the right thing. </span><br style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">The Gospel: Christ crucified. Christ resurrected. People redeemed.</span><br style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Let us beginning this season of Lent, the remembrance of our Savior's sacrifice, with one goal always in mind. Repent. And believe. In the Gospel.</span><br style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">**No I have not become a Catholic. I do, however, attend Mass on most holy days, because the church I attend does not observe many of them nor does it follow a liturgical calendar. I personally<a href="http://becksthree.blogspot.com/2010/02/some-thoughts-on-lent.html"> find that my spirit is fed through the observation of liturgical seasons</a>, so I have made them part of my journey. </span><br /></span>beck'sthreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15210547864713460125noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797733867846378216.post-73383218770711052602012-02-05T15:24:00.002-05:002012-02-05T15:28:12.030-05:00Doing Hard Things<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(This post was originally published in December, 2009. I'm recycling it because it seems to be a lesson God's still teaching me.)</span></span><br />------------<br />Last year I came across a book entitled, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Do-Hard-Things-Rebellion-Expectations/dp/1601421125/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262146103&sr=1-1"><span style="font-style: italic;">Do Hard Things</span></a>. I didn't read it, but I liked the title.<br /><br />What a simple idea.<br /><br />At the time I was preparing to do something I had dreaded for years: pack up my family and leave my motherland for the frozen tundra. Such an endeavor definitely seemed worthy of "hard things" status. In fact, maybe it was one of the hardest things anyone had ever done. I was pretty sure I should have been awarded some kind of "hard things" medal of honor.<br /><br />I've realized recently, though, that it's not the grand, momentous things in life that are truly hard. Sure, it's difficult to move to a faraway land or, I imagine, to risk one's life as a missionary or to take a leap of faith in taking a new job or embarking on a new, scary endeavor.<br /><br />But, you know what's harder?<br /><br />Forgiving someone who's hurt you.<br /><br />Humbly submitting to your spouse.<br /><br />Loving unconditionally.<br /><br />They're not gradiose or attention-grabbing. There's nothing sexy about the packaging of these challenges, so it's not likely that they'll garner you any applause or pats on the back. At least not by men.<br /><br />Nevertheless, God honors them and counts them among the greatest acts to which a person can attain.<br /><br />I'm struggling with a couple of these things right now. There's a person in my life whom I've felt hurt by and am pretty angry at, and I would like to just wallow in my self-pity, wrap up in my hurt feelings, and snuggle up to my righteous indignation. I am right, after all.<br /><br />Unfortunately, God doesn't seem to care.<br /><br />"But I tell you: Love your enemies<span class="nivfootnote"></span> and pray for those who persecute you." (Mat. 5:44)<br /><br />Um, sorry, God, that's a verse I like to apply to big things like Muslim/Christian relations. Or maybe even to how Christians are discriminated against by the government . . . but not to my friend who's hurt me.<br /><br />And, so my conversation with God goes something like this:<br /><br />"<span style="font-style: italic;">Pray for her.</span>"<br />"But, she hurt me and hasn't apologized.<br />"<span style="font-style: italic;">Reach out to her</span>."<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"</span>But, SHE is wrong and I am right."<span style="font-style: italic;"><br />"But, I tell you . . . love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." (Luke 6:2-28)<br /></span>"I don't want to. It's hard."<br /><br />Do hard things. Why doesn't anyone ever mention that it's harder to pray for someone who's hurt you than it is to give an extra tithe or to spend a summer doing mission work?<br /><br />Love one another. Now that's hard.beck'sthreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15210547864713460125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797733867846378216.post-78763089904947472482012-02-04T20:55:00.004-05:002012-02-04T21:13:29.480-05:00The great thing about Pinterest on a Saturday afternoon<div style="text-align: center;"> Is that now when my kids say they don't have anything to do, I have a solution.<br /></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDrOwvtYy5FGCcN0YSuWXhB1Jlc3jJRLfNbEPf_1-uqr6pgY1FgvMJmEpHKmSgNSCVKYrucwoZ7vtEfmGNniBPBhqJP8HTHObXRHYg_VP7cLTmH5oJKj5atDKc7d1NDRbfVSV3MbK9Nlc/s1600/DSC_0415.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDrOwvtYy5FGCcN0YSuWXhB1Jlc3jJRLfNbEPf_1-uqr6pgY1FgvMJmEpHKmSgNSCVKYrucwoZ7vtEfmGNniBPBhqJP8HTHObXRHYg_VP7cLTmH5oJKj5atDKc7d1NDRbfVSV3MbK9Nlc/s400/DSC_0415.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705465775595373250" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Just get some muffin pans, milk, and food coloring.<br /></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC_lPkt6Cn_CmuC9auTQanoW9sIPe2zsspAPcxU1fn-4jtGyTUaxP_FvDY59K4X2rOwYNa2eLPGYXR6Jp1v1q2JG6kQmFysOv4V0lxRdFxSt5UhAbEPUWFkrPKNTsOFqRsnh8HDgeR6Zo/s1600/DSC_0414.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC_lPkt6Cn_CmuC9auTQanoW9sIPe2zsspAPcxU1fn-4jtGyTUaxP_FvDY59K4X2rOwYNa2eLPGYXR6Jp1v1q2JG6kQmFysOv4V0lxRdFxSt5UhAbEPUWFkrPKNTsOFqRsnh8HDgeR6Zo/s400/DSC_0414.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705465768341731682" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Create a rainbow of colors.<br /></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi5U1kDv0y3j5gsSlblZ9tUPkXPlim59liKNdd_uX8OGCHb841Q75laKvcmwVQJeV-DPgf5H7lo15fBzV1s44kovz5RVgdpWHc1rKyDkBL4DY29UKvBMfyMKG4AKNPojzUU_jb1gso2w8/s1600/DSC_0413.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi5U1kDv0y3j5gsSlblZ9tUPkXPlim59liKNdd_uX8OGCHb841Q75laKvcmwVQJeV-DPgf5H7lo15fBzV1s44kovz5RVgdpWHc1rKyDkBL4DY29UKvBMfyMKG4AKNPojzUU_jb1gso2w8/s400/DSC_0413.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705465752595756338" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Stir carefully with toothpicks<br /></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bJrzM7TKMe-nG81Lh5kO3LLQ98FNi5ww5YJV6md-R_kM2mPqY-QDXV2_ixcLNgzcEO2WtOZGq6ZgOI-12orjKrpHpF1GUOrRpOf6-163Hjc9laaqp_wJJjWDcfimd8AVbqTcX7rFzOU/s1600/DSC_0412.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bJrzM7TKMe-nG81Lh5kO3LLQ98FNi5ww5YJV6md-R_kM2mPqY-QDXV2_ixcLNgzcEO2WtOZGq6ZgOI-12orjKrpHpF1GUOrRpOf6-163Hjc9laaqp_wJJjWDcfimd8AVbqTcX7rFzOU/s400/DSC_0412.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705465746977145026" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">And paint some marshmallows.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcI8IJBGg8pr9VDrkdKj5OFAWixg7ECDbO762hoIPOkMETBxoTv8S0i5iXL1Vid-cnIh9fOB5VPPeBoI75ssDGf7C7iQMn3juBbwzLrjfp3LMjd6Jl_fJCpow3yKf4Wq0NypqLcRoZJvY/s1600/DSC_0417.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcI8IJBGg8pr9VDrkdKj5OFAWixg7ECDbO762hoIPOkMETBxoTv8S0i5iXL1Vid-cnIh9fOB5VPPeBoI75ssDGf7C7iQMn3juBbwzLrjfp3LMjd6Jl_fJCpow3yKf4Wq0NypqLcRoZJvY/s400/DSC_0417.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705465792715759186" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">If you're a girl, you might choose light purple<br /></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLZPZy6zrwMJ3RsLvlR0o6hYzDTr-pityFXwNCTsDfn3LjUTUBxGodCZ5itmBHnYDtVUSpJAQX5PCu615Tg03cprB-Uiz9s3R5_ic7P0XlBcIFJ6JiJOwtxRlgZv9-Mg1c6tSUZqhDO_U/s1600/DSC_0420.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLZPZy6zrwMJ3RsLvlR0o6hYzDTr-pityFXwNCTsDfn3LjUTUBxGodCZ5itmBHnYDtVUSpJAQX5PCu615Tg03cprB-Uiz9s3R5_ic7P0XlBcIFJ6JiJOwtxRlgZv9-Mg1c6tSUZqhDO_U/s400/DSC_0420.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705467006911259186" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> A boy may choose army green<br /></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOHsIdTvjZZOypJ4GI2JaCSDo5NwXFEqiH-n9I3W8YAOMJC3TQuL1ly4BQDWLfDz0U3viGz5L1UQQkwCx9B8G-MubEAfn7-U0K2JQssmwiO0xZTpKCu8uiDvfKGBBBmaIx0RYDXtlYNGQ/s1600/DSC_0418.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOHsIdTvjZZOypJ4GI2JaCSDo5NwXFEqiH-n9I3W8YAOMJC3TQuL1ly4BQDWLfDz0U3viGz5L1UQQkwCx9B8G-MubEAfn7-U0K2JQssmwiO0xZTpKCu8uiDvfKGBBBmaIx0RYDXtlYNGQ/s400/DSC_0418.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705466996118831570" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">His brother may abandon the paintbrush altogether and opt to dunk<br /></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr4tMa5AaI6Rq9DmDqNfk2pwdVbAuHHaLEc_LdVnKiUEynEfTXfFpC6RLm2Gez-AOZH4-KBmcYGlds0S7GwnkVMyorVCUkvW29hyBhtEV36tOxWKcSw8S1QFc-8f7rdsJ7Nniu1YwtOrs/s1600/DSC_0423.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr4tMa5AaI6Rq9DmDqNfk2pwdVbAuHHaLEc_LdVnKiUEynEfTXfFpC6RLm2Gez-AOZH4-KBmcYGlds0S7GwnkVMyorVCUkvW29hyBhtEV36tOxWKcSw8S1QFc-8f7rdsJ7Nniu1YwtOrs/s400/DSC_0423.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705467017840139602" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">At any rate, a good time will be had by all.<br /></div>beck'sthreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15210547864713460125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797733867846378216.post-69304533699328082092012-02-03T08:12:00.003-05:002012-02-03T08:24:08.388-05:007 Quick Takes Friday1. Wow . . . long time since I did quick takes! I haven't done them since I got this laptop, so I don't have the little button logo saved on here. And I'm too lazy to fix that at the moment. So, without all the fancy fixins, here are some brief and mostly insignificant snippets of my life these days.<br /><br />2. The boys are wrestling. Ethan likes it; Josh hates it. I'm with Josh. They've been practicing since before Christmas, so David decided we should take advantage of a novice tournament about 1/2 hr away last weekend. (Many of them are much farther.) Ugh. Misery. I truly hate wrestling. I hate the spandex singlets. I hate the siting for hours waiting for your match. I hate the crowded gym and the noise and the chaos. I really hate seeing my 7 year-old's face pressed into a mat as he struggles to overcome his opponent. I hate everything about it. Unfortunately, David loves it. Sometimes it's inconvenient not to have everything my way. How's that for profound?<br /><br />3. So I was ordering flowers for my niece's birthday the other day, and I couldn't remember my address. I said 315 P__ Ave, and as I was saying it I thought it didn't sound right, but I couldn't think of anything else. While I was on the phone I went in the kitchen and dug out a piece of mail with my address on it, and sure enough, it's 415 P___ Ave. In my defense, I've only lived at this address for almost 3 years.<br /><br />4. Still sick. Yuck. I keep thinking of going to the dr for an antibiotic, but I just have a bad cold. I've had it since Monday, and it's no better, but my face doesn't hurt when I tap it, so I'm sure I don't have a sinus infection. (That's me putting my imaginary medical degree to work.) My ears don't hurt, etc. I fear they would just send me home the same way I came. So I wait. And suffer. Without complaint of course. Clearly, I'm one to suffer in silence.<br /><br />5. So my cat has decided that it wants to pee on our bed (twice since Christmas) and our LEATHER SOFA! Why? Why? I ask you! He has a litter box, and, well, he's a cat. David's been saying the couch smells like pee, but I haven't been able to smell all week, so I could neither confirm nor deny. Yesterday, however, I caught the cat red handed. Or yellow weinered. Or something. He was scraping around with his paw like he was trying to bury the pee . . . on the leather sofa. He has no claws, so scratching is not a problem, but really, what does he think he is accomplishing?! I'm baffled and annoyed. Baffloyed.<br /><br />6. I am coaching the local high school mock trial team for the third year. I love it. However, out of 12 team members, only 2 are returning. (Everyone else graduated on me!) The first round of competition is on Feb 16, and we are sooooooooo far from ready. I have little hope that we will advance this year but great hope that after they get some experience under their collective belts, we will do better next year. Let's hope none of them reads this and learns that I have no confidence in them this year!<br /><br />7. As much as I would love to stay here on my bed with my furry blanket, hot tea, and laptop, I must go. Work awaits. Hope you all have a great weekend and head over to <a href="http://www.conversiondiary.com/">Conversion Diary</a> for more quick takes. You'll be glad you did.beck'sthreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15210547864713460125noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797733867846378216.post-62231362524821585942012-01-20T21:31:00.003-05:002012-01-20T21:57:06.847-05:00Moving the goal postI know. It's been over a month since I last posted. I used to write three or four blog posts a week. I used to know how many hits my blog received each day and how many followers I had.<br /><br />Now, not so much.<br /><br />See that picture of my kids at the top of the page? It's from almost three years ago. I would change it, but the truth is, I don't even remember how I created that header in the first place. <br /><br />In the past I would have considered this a failure. Now? I've moved the goal post. I can't make it 100 yards. I can try, but I will fail. So I move the goal post closer. Fifty yards? That may be too far still. I think I'll put it at the 30 yard line, and if I pass it, all the better.<br /><br />It's not just in blogging; I've moved the goal posts on pretty much every field. Work. Housekeeping. Parenting.<br /><br />For example, a former goal may have looked something like this: We will have a fun and exciting family game night wherein we will all love being together and during which my children will realize how lucky they are to have each other.<br /><br />My new goal: We will have a family game night, and no one will die.<br /><br />Former goal: Keep a clean house with a place for everything and everything in its place.<br /><br />New goal: Keep the kitchen clean and never use the same bathroom my sons use.<br /><br />Former goal: Do several loads of laundry each day so it doesn't pile up. Have children help fold and put away all of their own clothes.<br /><br />New goal: Find two socks of the same size for each person every morning. Matching not required. Cleanliness merely preferred.<br /><br />Former goal: Cook healthy meals for my family every night, preferably assisted by sweet little hands that can reach the counter only by using a step-stool. Lovingly watch my adorable offspring pour and stir and mix. <br /><br />New goal: We will not eat pizza every night. My children are allowed back in the kitchen when they turn fifteen.<br /><br />Former goal: I will read to or with my children every night, and they will develop a lifelong love of reading just like I did as a kid.<br /><br />New goal: Ask them to recite the alphabet from time to time to make sure they haven't forgotten it.<br /><br />See? It's all about setting attainable goals. Now excuse me while I go see if those socks my kids threw in the general directi0n of their clothes hamper are really all that dirty.beck'sthreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15210547864713460125noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797733867846378216.post-81010260714601036062011-12-15T22:00:00.004-05:002011-12-15T22:47:24.985-05:00Loving herThere is little obvious to love about her. Her hair is unkempt, her teeth visibly rotten, her shoulders hunched, and her language often foul. This is what I used to see when I looked at her.<br /><br />What, I wonder, is there that's obvious to love about me? I imagine myself at my worst. Hair unwashed, breath in need of improvement, pajamas with holes and stains in them, and no makeup on the blemished and wrinkled skin of my face. Not much to look at.<br /><br />Maybe that's not where the value lies. If I look deeper at her, the other girl, beyond the physical appearance, what do I see? Poor choices. A history of drug and alcohol use. One child taken away by social services years ago, another in her care struggling, lagging far behind his peers. An abusive husband. Public assistance.<br /><br />What if I look deeper at myself? I must look pretty good. My children may wear wrinkled clothes, but I'm in no danger of being declared unfit. I've never been addicted to a substance, and I chose wisely when saying "I do."<br /><br />But, is that what's really there? I may look good on paper, but if the invisible deeds of the heart were brought to light, I know what you would see. What He can see. Selfishness, laziness, pride, deceit, obstinance, vanity. If you were a fly on my walls, you would see me speak too harshly to my children, put my own desires above those of my husband, lack gratitude, and be overly critical.<br /><br />Really, what is there to love about me? I dare say not much more than there is to love about her.<br /><br />I've prayed for the past year or two for God teach me how to love. He has been teaching me that He is love. Given that He said those exact words in the scripture, this should not be a revelation, but it has been. God is love. God elevated two commandments above all others: love Him and love each other. So what, He asks, if you love those who are nice and clean and smart and educated like you? Even the sinners do that. <br /><br />Through praying, studying, and even <a href="http://www.conversiondiary.com/">reading a particular blog**</a>, He began to make me understand that if I want to experience God more, I need to love more. That's where He can be found.<br /><br />And that's where she comes in. About a year ago God told me to love her. Not just to tolerate her or be nice to her. To love her. It's taken many forms over the past year from providing transportation since she has no car, to inviting her and her son to come over and play with our dog, to helping her with groceries. I've talked to her about God, and she's made it clear that she does not believe. She does not care for God or Christians or anything about the church. That's okay, I told her; God loves her anyway.<br /><br />A few days ago she was at my house needing help again. To her credit, she filed for divorce and got a protective order against her abusive husband. But now she couldn't pay her rent, and she was about to be evicted. She was told that day that the check she received from SSI the week before, a mere $350, was all she would receive for the entire month. There would be no second check. She was expecting a second check. Unable to pay the rent or buy any Christmas presents for her five year-old son, she was understandably distraught.<br /><br />In keeping with what I believe God has asked of me, I helped her, with my husband's blessing. But, as I've done several times before, I also prayed for her. I closed my nose to the lingering smell of cigarettes and probably pot, and I hugged her, told her God loved her so much, and I prayed that He would show Himself to her and give her strength. She did not welcome it, but wanting the financial help, she tolerated it.<br /><br />Today she came over again. You won't believe it, she said. The day after you prayed for me I got a call, and I'm getting a second check after all. I can buy Christmas gifts for my son. I can't believe it. They told me the day before that there would be no check, and then right after you prayed, they said they are sending me a check. Keep praying, she said.<br /><br />And I will. Because we are really not that different, she and I. We are both flawed and blemished souls greatly in need of help. And, thankfully, mercifully, loved by a great, great God.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >(**Jennifer Fulwieler, at Conversion Diary, wrote an amazing post about this subject a couple of years ago, but I could not find it to link to. So, I just linked to her blog. Pick a few posts to read; you won't be disappointed.)</span>beck'sthreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15210547864713460125noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797733867846378216.post-37525420682035616572011-11-17T21:40:00.005-05:002011-11-17T22:14:40.650-05:00Speechless<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtgt2ijIhhDAb1kIQfl-md44rW6lWZMdSKGAgxTnoG-p3U_c9iSNrBrnj8d1oi8_XYSSJ0gzmvzV1cHtE_8sFpxrVZDSW4nulm0THSqZfRHNkwu_ynwYiY7ghleJUag3mhnfuRzANgenk/s1600/3kidsbest+blackwhite.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtgt2ijIhhDAb1kIQfl-md44rW6lWZMdSKGAgxTnoG-p3U_c9iSNrBrnj8d1oi8_XYSSJ0gzmvzV1cHtE_8sFpxrVZDSW4nulm0THSqZfRHNkwu_ynwYiY7ghleJUag3mhnfuRzANgenk/s320/3kidsbest+blackwhite.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5676168427501410370" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Their teeth have been brushed. Covers have been tucked, heads kissed, and quiet prayers whispered. They lie sleeping now on soft mattresses under plush comforters in a warm house.<br /><br />I'm tempted to write about how blessed I am. How blessed we are. And I feel blessed, I do. But I pause. I hesitate because I'm just not sure that's how this whole thing works. Am I more "blessed" than another because I live in comfort? I've never been comfortable using my level of comfort or contentment as a gauge of my level of blessedness.<br /><br />So maybe instead of writing about how blessed I am, I'll just write about how grateful I am.<br /><br />Grateful. It seems far too simple a word to convey the well of unspeakable, bursting-from-my-soul thanks for these precious gifts I could never deserve. I'm grateful for food on the table. I'm grateful for a roof over my head and favors from friends and a job I enjoy.<br /><br />That can't possibly be the same word I use to convey how I feel about the little pieces of my heart that live and sleep and love and laugh (and argue and whine) here. The lives - the souls - that have been entrusted to me.<br /><br />Maybe there really aren't words. I tuck them, I kiss them, I stroke their hair, and breathe in the scent of them.<br /><br />And I thank God that He knows my heart and doesn't need my words.<br /><br />Because I'm speechless.beck'sthreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15210547864713460125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797733867846378216.post-25839786305423975722011-09-26T23:16:00.003-04:002011-09-26T23:26:10.280-04:00Three examples of why it's great to have a daughter1. I know more about what Lauren has done in the past four weeks of school than about what the boys have done in several years. Boys have two responses to the question of what they did at school each day: "Nothing" or "I don't remember." Lauren tells me who said what and when and how and what they were wearing when they said it. Apparently, I will have to just wait a few years to find out what the boys did in each grade. <br /><br />2. I love shopping for all of my kids, but girls clothes . . . they're just cuter. Plus the reaction when I give them something new is so much better from a girl. For instance, I went to Elmira, New York on Saturday to do some shopping and brought home a shirt for Josh and some hair clips for Lauren. Joshua's response: "Cool." Lauren's response: "Ohmigosh! They're adorable!!"<br /><br />3. When Ethan came down with a 103.2 fever tonight, I asked Lauren to go upstairs and get his pillow so he could lie down on the couch. When she brought it down, she said, "Mom, anytime someone is sick, you should send me to get their pillow because I bring them something special, too." She had brought him a stuffed animal. Once I got him all set up with his pillow and blanket and movie, Lauren sat on the end of the sofa and said, "I'm gonna sit here so I can see the movie and so I'll be close by if Ethan needs me."<br /><br />There are not words for how thankful I am that God blessed me with a girl.beck'sthreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15210547864713460125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797733867846378216.post-19234543727218319062011-09-25T09:05:00.003-04:002011-09-25T21:10:31.958-04:00Friday Morning: Why I Should Have Stayed in Bed6:00 ... Wake up<br /><br />7:00 - 7:45 .... Wrangle three feral children into clothes and backpacks and send them off to school<br /><br />8:00 ... Leave for court in a neighboring county about 40 min. away for a hearing at 9:00. Having never been to said court before, I want to give myself plenty of time.<br /><br />8:10 .... Notice I am almost out of gas. Decide to stop in next town which is about halfway to my destination<br /><br />8:30 ... Stop for gas. LOCK KEYS IN CAR like an idiot.<br /><br />8:35 ... Discover keys locked in car, along with cell phone and briefcase. Panic. Go into convenience store and ask to borrow a phone and a phone book. Call police station where nice lady tells me she will contact the officer and send him right over. (The police will still get keys out of locked cars in small-town America.)<br /><br />8:40 ... Realize I left my wallet on the counter in the gas station. Thank God when I realize it is still there.<br /><br />8:45 ... Man in van pulls into gas station and asks me if I'm the lady waiting for the police officer to get my keys. When I say yes, he says that the police officer is at the elementary school doing a presentation and will not be able to get to me for another 45 minutes or so. Thank kind man for coming over to tell me instead of just leaving me waiting. Another high-five to small town America.<br /><br />8:48 ... Call attorney friend who has office in the town I am stuck in to see if she is going to court today and can give me a ride. She is not but she is on her way to said town (she lives in the town I live in) and will be glad to give me a lift. It will take her 20 minutes to get to me.<br /><br />8:49 ... Call my secretary and have her call court to let them know I'm going to be half an hour late. Random woman at gas station counter overhears me and offers to drive me to court. (Have I mentioned small towns are sometimes great?) Being desperate and deciding she does not look like a psychopath, I gratefully accept her offer.<br /><br />8:50 ... Call attorney friend to tell her never mind. She tells me her secretary - whose office is 2 minutes away - is already on her way to get me. Thank random, kind gas station lady for the offer.<br /><br />8:52 ... Friend's secretary arrives and drives me to court.<br /><br />9:10 ... Arrive to court only ten minutes late. Apologize profusely to judge whom I have never met. Borrow legal pad and pen from court administrator since I left everything in my car. Thank God that I remember my client's name.<br /><br />9:40 ... Finish successful hearing. Try unsuccessfully to bum a ride back to gas station in neighboring town. Call super amazing secretary friend again. She comes back to get me.<br /><br />10:00 ... Arrive at gas station to find my car still at the pump and locked. (The amazingly nice store clerk had said she would watch for the police officer and move my car to a parking space once he opened it.) Gas station clerk is not there so Renee (secretary) takes me back to her office to make phone calls.<br /><br />10:05 ... Call police station and speak to nice officer who apologizes for not being able to get my car open. He says he tried everything and couldn't get it. Renee calls someone else who agrees to meet us at the gas station and give it a try.<br /><br />10:10 ... Renee takes me back to gas station to meet rescue man. Rescue man spends about five minutes working on it and gets the vehicle open!!! Ask man how much I owe and he tells me to go ask Dawn at the garage where he works down the street.<br /><br />10:13 ... Arrive at garage and discover I left my wallet at Renee's office when we went back to make the phone calls.<br /><br />10:16 ... Retrieve wallet for the second time that morning.<br /><br />10:20 ... Go back to garage and pay TEN DOLLARS for rescue man's services. I'm really happy with small town USA today.<br /><br />10:25 ... Go to florist and have flowers sent to attorney friend and Renee for turning their office into my personal taxi and rescue service.<br /><br />10:30 ... Head back home to crawl under my covers and hide.beck'sthreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15210547864713460125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797733867846378216.post-58907544378956172362011-09-18T00:00:00.005-04:002011-09-18T00:41:11.694-04:00To LaurenDear Lauren,<br /><br />I know what it's like to grow up wishing for a sister. I, too, grew up as the only girl with two brothers. And I'm glad, because as a result, I totally "get" you. There are so many things about your brothers that they got from Daddy, but you little darling, you're all me. You're as pink and sparkly girly as they come . . . but . . . when your brother needs someone to have a light saber fight with, you're all in. And, I must say, you make an adorable Darth Vader.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLZ93qmyQdxXaR_U5t-1_wMXxPUp88AjvR0nxr6o4UEaU_1goYc8z2Hm0dR2p4KyFcfFiGR6U0q4o1_ON6KURMv6tp3x6YKW-VsiqJgYIr2s4z3-HWeq6xwnkQnFGwDzbpDDlM6gWNCZ8/s1600/Lauren+vader.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLZ93qmyQdxXaR_U5t-1_wMXxPUp88AjvR0nxr6o4UEaU_1goYc8z2Hm0dR2p4KyFcfFiGR6U0q4o1_ON6KURMv6tp3x6YKW-VsiqJgYIr2s4z3-HWeq6xwnkQnFGwDzbpDDlM6gWNCZ8/s400/Lauren+vader.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653549897101008146" border="0" /></a><br />You are a walking dichotomy of two different girls: the one who wore her purple frilly skirt and sparkly gold hairclip to gymnastics this morning and the one who rides through the galaxy with fierce determination to stop the Jedi forces . . . on her pink bike with the zebra-print seat.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUo9Gv-FAaLmzNYTiyuZFsgUMuQOQcKMssfxkZXxZV5C8xo2eEJp8obZyHCFJGx7VZFLXlZFtgTrlexsBpwob7XZ62si9qDTX1yfPoP_VyetfvFPgG4m5gW-Arw2koqRU1zADaMW0qNBk/s1600/L+bike+focused.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUo9Gv-FAaLmzNYTiyuZFsgUMuQOQcKMssfxkZXxZV5C8xo2eEJp8obZyHCFJGx7VZFLXlZFtgTrlexsBpwob7XZ62si9qDTX1yfPoP_VyetfvFPgG4m5gW-Arw2koqRU1zADaMW0qNBk/s400/L+bike+focused.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653549892761319170" border="0" /></a><br />Once the jedi rebellion has been quelled, you take a little time out for silly tricks. Excuse me, I meant super-amazing-never-before-seen bicycle tricks.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPDK2HcNwMAk4k8k1hG9oK3GURgSrJqJ6DrdTltRiPWTpII4InfSssP70KazpmrMRGyVO1VEtG3mXUhfErc1sS2-6wwRQ-htOKfySuUUuGjoayx-c-kDO_KAeyzRYAvOTA_kLHaC-UTVw/s1600/L+bike+trick.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPDK2HcNwMAk4k8k1hG9oK3GURgSrJqJ6DrdTltRiPWTpII4InfSssP70KazpmrMRGyVO1VEtG3mXUhfErc1sS2-6wwRQ-htOKfySuUUuGjoayx-c-kDO_KAeyzRYAvOTA_kLHaC-UTVw/s400/L+bike+trick.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653549889215871186" border="0" /></a><br />It would be impossible for me to name even a fraction of the things I love about you. But your tenacity, your feisty-ness, your amazing ability to hold your own with those brothers of yours without sacrificing a bit of your sparkly, princess girly-ness. That's at the top of the list. Ride on, Darth Lauren. The world is at your fingertips.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnpjt-Lz5AEmi4Vyc1LdgKMX_-4nrhofqazT8YDRGS-YWr82M41W9WKtVqLWw2iOu7oQGnv2W_vwYWC0zcMyhGD4_yLsfwORU66nAGvfcFQ12tzmfn-VQK1UxFkaYHHDN3vvBqkrrQQS4/s1600/L+bike+read.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnpjt-Lz5AEmi4Vyc1LdgKMX_-4nrhofqazT8YDRGS-YWr82M41W9WKtVqLWw2iOu7oQGnv2W_vwYWC0zcMyhGD4_yLsfwORU66nAGvfcFQ12tzmfn-VQK1UxFkaYHHDN3vvBqkrrQQS4/s400/L+bike+read.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653549879033005618" border="0" /></a>beck'sthreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15210547864713460125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797733867846378216.post-73344705947705439012011-09-14T21:39:00.003-04:002011-09-14T22:40:59.126-04:00A letter to my childrenDear Joshua, Ethan, and Lauren:<br /><br />You're sleeping now, but in the morning it's going to happen. I wish I could stop it, save all of us from it, but I'm powerless. It's inevitable. The alarm will go off, and you will have to get up for school.<br /><br />I know it seems like a cruel, heartless trick for me to come in your room at 7:00 every weekday morning and drag you out of bed when you clearly like to rise at 7:00 only on weekends, but nevertheless, I'm your mother, so I must. In the interest of retaining that last tiny little sliver of my sanity that seems to be holding on despite all odds, I have just a few requests for you.<br /><br />1. I will not let you wear raggedy gym shorts to school every day. Deal with it. It's not like I make you wear a tie and wingtips. Believe it or not, cargo shorts and a nice t-shirt is not exactly formal wear. You are not the only kid in school not wearing basketball clothes, and even if you are, I don't care. Be glad you don't attend a school that requires uniforms, and be glad that your mother has not begun requiring you to wear uniforms despite that . . . yet.<br /><br />2. Socks. They have seams at the end. Well, not all of them; they do make seamless socks. But, I've bought them for you more than once, and you hate them for some inexplicable reason that makes as much sense as hating polo shirts. So you're going to have to deal with the seams. You can try wearing them inside out as you often do, or you can adjust and manipulate the sock to your heart's content. But you may not - under <span style="font-style: italic;">any</span> circumstances - take the shoe and/or sock off once it is on. I don't care if you think there is a rock the size of Gibraltar in there, there is not. There never is. So, when those shoes get fastened onto your feet, you take them off at your own risk. Your momma might get all crazy up in here, and if you miss the bus because you were "fixing" your socks <span style="font-style: italic;">again, </span>you just might not make it to next year.<br /><br />3. Lauren. Dear, sweet Lauren. Your underwear are not falling down. I do not know why every pair of pants and leggings you own makes it feel like your underpants are falling down; they are not. You pull them up until they are three inches higher than your pants, and still you insist they are falling down. They. are. not.<br /><br />4. Here are your breakfast choices: oatmeal, waffles, eggs, toast, and cereal (we have the same five or six kinds of cereal we have had virtually every morning of your entire lives . . . you're not going to conjure up Lucky Charms by staring at the pantry for ten minutes). That's it. If you could begin making your choice while you're getting dressed or brushing your teeth - or even while you're walking to the kitchen - it would really speed things up. There's no reason to wait until you've looked at everything in the kitchen and asked me if you can have a yogurt pop or ice cream or a tootsie roll pop instead. Here are the cold, hard facts: the answer will NEVER be yes. So, let's not waste precious, possibly bus-missing, minutes have this conversation again.<br /><br />5. Ethan. When you have your backpack and jacket and shoes on, and it's time to <s>walk</s> run out the door for the bus, you're going to get thirsty. How about getting a sip of water sometime before then. Just a suggestion.<br /><br />6. If it's library day, don't cry to me that you "never had a chance" to read your library book. Don't ask me to read a 50 page chapter book to you at breakfast. It is your library book. With the exception of Lauren (and even she is getting pretty good), YOU CAN READ. Read your books sometime before 7:30 the morning they are due. And do not get mad at me when you don't have time to read it then. <br /><br />7. There are three of you. There are two bathrooms upstairs. All of you will need to go potty. And brush your teeth. And comb your hair. If your sibling is on the toilet, perhaps you could just wait a moment or two before bursting in to brush your teeth. If your sibling is brushing his teeth, perhaps you could go pee in the other bathroom instead of yelling and crying that he won't get out because you have to go potty reeeeeaaaally bad. And perhaps - just perhaps - two of you could be in the bathroom at the same time without killing each other. Really. I'm fairly confident it won't cause sudden, painful, and immediate death if your sister combs her hair while you brush your teeth. <br /><br />8. Joshua. You're not riding your bike to school. Period. I don't care how cool the bike rack is or how you're practically grown. It's not going to happen. Go ahead and get over it (again) the night before instead of in the morning.<br /><br />But, hey, at least we have only 168 more school days to go. This year.<br /><br />With never-ending love (even though I think you're determined to send me to the loony bin),<br /><br />Mombeck'sthreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15210547864713460125noreply@blogger.com2