January Observances

January 2009 is:

Monthly Observances

Book Blitz Month
Birth Defects Month
Celebration of Life Month
Cervical Cancer Screening Month
Family Fit Lifestyle Month
Financial Wellness Month
Get Organized Month
International Creativity Month
National Clean Up Your Computer Month
National Get Organized Month
National Glaucoma Awareness Month
National Hot Tea Month
National Lose Weight, Feel Great Month
National Mentoring Month
National Personal Self-Defense Awareness Month
National Poverty in America Awareness Month
National Skating Month
National Volunteer Blood Donor Month
Oatmeal Month
Thyroid Awareness Month

Weekly Observances

Diet Resolution Week: 1-7
New Year's Resolutions Week: 4-10
Home Office Safety and Security Week: 5-9
Women's Self Empowerment Week: 5-11
Elvis Presley Week: 8-11
International Consumer Electronics Show: 8-11
Universal Letter Writing Week: 8-14
International Printing Week: 11-17
Kid Film Week: 12-25
National Soccer Coaches Week: 14-18
Sundance Film Festival: 15-25
Healthy Weight Week: 18-24
Hunt For Happiness Week: 18-24
National Medical Group Practice Week: 19-23
National Activity Professional Week: 20-25
National Nurse Anesthetists Week: 25-31
Take Back Your Time Week:26-30
National Cowboy Poetry Gathering Week: 24-31
World Leprosy Week: 24-30

Daily Observances

New Years Day: 1
Rose Bowl Game: 1
Saint Basil's Day: 1
Tournament of Roses Parade Day: 1
National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day: 3
Trivia Day: 4
Bird Day: 5
Thank God It's Monday Day: 5
Asarah B'Tevet: 6
Epiphany or Twelfth Night: 6
Three Kings Day: 6
Harlem Globetrotter' s Day: 7
Midwife's Day or Women's Day: 8
Show and Tell Day at Work: 8
National Cut Your Energy Costs Day: 10
United Nations Day: 10
Stephen Foster Day: 11
National Clean Off Your Desk Day: 12
Organize Your Home Day: 12
Get to Know Your Customers Day: 15
Humanitarian Day: 15
Bald Eagle Appreciation Days: 16-18
Customer Service Day: 17
Kid Inventors' Day: 17
Judgment Day: 17
Pooh (Winnie The) Day: 18
World Religion Day: 18
Martin Luther King Day: 19
Camcorder Day: 20
Inauguration Day: 20
National Disc Jockey Day: 20
National Hugging Day: 21
Celebration of Life Day: 22
Women's Healthy Weight Day: 22
National Handwriting Day: 23
National Pie Day: 23
National Compliment Day: 24
Macintosh Computer Day: 25
Chinese New Year: 26
Better Business Communication Day: 26
National Speak Up and Succeed Day: 27
World Leprosy Day: 29
Fun at Work Day: 30

I had no idea there was a Winnie the Pooh Day! And NATIONAL PIE DAY! Wow...we're gonna party on the 23rd...

Birthday

I'm sure it says something about me that I can post my own birthday post on time, but I'm always late with everyone else's. However, I think that it might just say that my Speech class got out early and I had a few extra minutes to blog.

Since today's Monday and I have a full day of classes, we went out for my birthday last night. Matt and the kids took me to Golden Corral for dinner and then we went to Border's where I bought a lot of Christmas presents and Matt got mad at me and made me buy something for myself. It was sleeting and slick on the way home; we saw several cars in ditches, and at least one that was upside down and pretty badly wrecked. But my sweetie is a good driver and got us home safely.

I got the best presents ever; Matt gave me the Frank Capra collection, which includes Mr. Deeds, It Happened One Night, Mr. Smith, You Can't Take It With You, and one more (a lesser known one, I can't remember the name right now). David gave me the movie Meet the Robinsons, one of my favorite Disney movies, and we watched it together when we got home. Sabra got me some delicious Jamaican coffee and a pretty watch, and Abby bought (with her own money!) a beautiful hand-made wooden cross that is going on the living room wall as soon as we get it painted. So, it's barely noon, and it's already been a great birthday.

A year ago, on my last birthday, I set some goals for the next year, as I usually do on my birthday. They were:

+ lose 30 pounds
+ finish the first draft of my book
+ make $50,000 myself, without including Matt's income

Obviously, I didn't do any of those things. It's a bit depressing. But still, I don't have anything to complain about. I have the best life a person could have, and I often go through my days waiting for the other shoe to drop, because it sometimes seems that if someone is this happy, there must be a price to pay. I don't know if things actually work that way--I hope not, because there's nothing I'm willing to give up.

Life is good, and I am grateful to be given another year to live it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We've had some tragedies in our community in recent weeks. People to whom we have connections have suffered terrible losses. One family lost everything in a fire, including their 9-year-old son, and one family lost a 36-year-old daughter to cancer just two days after she gave birth to her second son. These tragedies were fast, brutal, and unexpected, and left their survivors reeling from shock and grief.

Our family has felt some of that shock and grief, and done whatever we could to help the families involved. But it has reinforced something I've always tried to keep in mind...to be thankful for every day and every person. It could all end or drastically change in a heartbeat.

Our lives are filled with imperfect people who do stupid things--sometimes to us. Our lives are filled with frustrating situations--we don't have enough money, we don't like our jobs, we're sick to death of our house, our car, our clothes, our town, or the people we have to see day in and day out. I know that, I know life isn't perfect, and sometimes it isn't what we imagined or hoped it would be when we were dreaming our dreams of the future.

Obviously, we have both the right and the responsibility to change the things we can change, to make our lives as satisfying and generous as they can be. But today is the perfect day to stop dwelling on the things we wish were different, just for a day. Today is the day to look around and tell ourselves, and tell God, and tell each other, even if nothing ever changes, even if this is as good as it gets, I love you, and I am so grateful to have you in my life. I am so grateful to have a home, a car, a job (or three), dear friends, and family who is always there for me. I would be shocked and grieved if any of these people or things were taken from me, though somtimes it takes a tragedy (or two) to remind me how grateful I am.

I love y'all. I tell God thank you every day for letting me be your mommy, your wife, your daughter, your sister, your relative, your teacher, your pastor, your friend. I'll try to show my thankfulness by being better at all those things, and I'll try to change what needs to be changed. But not today. Today I'm just thankful, grateful from the bottom of my heart. I just wanted you to know.

Happy Thanksgiving!

December's Commemorations

December 2008 is:

Monthly Observances

Bingo's Birthday Month
Colorectal Cancer Education and Awareness Month
Identity Theft Prevention and Awareness Month
National Drunk & Drugged Driving (3D) Prevention Month
Choose A Summer Camp Month
National Write A Business Plan Month
National Tie Month
Safe Toys and Gifts Month
Spiritual Literacy Month
Take a New Year's Resolution to Stop Smoking

Weekly Observances

National Handwashing Awareness Week: 7-13
Human Rights Week: 10-17
Gluten-free Baking Week: 14-20
Posadas : 16-24
It's About Time Week: 25-31
Kwanzaa: 26-1/1

Daily Observances

International Voluntary HIV Counselling & Testing Day: 1
World Aids Day: 1
International Day for the Abolition of Slavery Day: 2
Rockerfeller Center Xmas Tree Lighting: 2
Special Education Day: 2
Special Kids Day: 3
International Day of Disabled Persons: 3
Extraordinary Work Team Recognition Day: 4
National Dice Day: 4
International Volunteer Day for Economic & Social Development: 5
Coats & Toys for Kids Day: 6
Miners' Day: 6
National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day: 7
International Civil Aviation Day: 7
National Cotton Candy Day: 7
Human Rights Day: 10
UNICEF Birthday: 11
Poinsettia Day: 12
International Shareware Day: 13
National Childrens' Memorial Day: 14
Bill of Rights Day: 15
Wright Brothers Day: 17
International Migrants Day: 18
International Human Solidarity Day: 20
Hanukkah: 21
Humbug Day: 21
National Haiku Poetry Day: 21
World Peace Day/Winter Solstice: 21
Christmas: 25
Boxing Day: 26
National Chocolate Day: 28 & 29
New Years Eve: 31
Universal Hour of Peace Day: 31
World Peace Meditation Day: 31

Not a lot of observances in December; maybe because there's already so much going on. I always remember World AIDS Day because it's on my birthday. And don't forget to hug a miner on the 6th!

Veterans' Day

I am working on a post about the elections, but every time I go to try to find sources for my thoughts, my computer decides that opening two browser windows is too much work. So, that's coming. I apologize to my loved ones who are veterans for not posting in a more timely manner yesterday; you were in my thoughts and prayers and certainly those of my children as well.

My dear friend Michelle sent this post, with her experience yesterday and the simple prayer that was part of it. I offer her thoughts to you in gratitude for all our veterans have done for us, and for all those who pay the price of freedom so that we don't have to.

Michelle writes:

Those of you who know me well will recall that I have served 15 years in the Navy, between active duty and Reserves. I took my children to the commemoration ceremony in town today, and in the moment of silence this prayer came into my heart. I'd like to share it with you.

Heavenly Father, bless my brothers and sisters who have died in the service of our nation. Bless and comfort their familes.

Lord, guard and protect my brothers and sisters who are serving right now. Bring them home safely.

Father, send comfort and healing to my brothers and sisters who have been wounded in service of our nation, whether in body or in soul. Hold them close, and help them become whole again.

In Jesus's name I ask these blessings. Amen.

Michelle
(Lieutenant Commander, U. S. Navy Reserves)

Some Thoughts on Election Day

My God! How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy!
~Thomas Jefferson


Each man must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong, which course is patriotic and which isn't. You cannot shirk this and be a man. To decide against your conviction is to be an unqualified and excusable traitor, both to yourself and to your country, let men label you as they may.
~Mark Twain


Ours is the only country deliberately founded on a good idea.
~John Gunther


It is not the function of the government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error.
~Robert H. Parker


To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.
~Thomas Jefferson


Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty.
~John F. Kennedy


Ask not what uyour country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.
~John F. Kennedy


Don't forget to vote today!

Some Last Minute Election Information

Here is some information that I got when I was doing political fundraising. My classes found it useful, so I though y'all might as well. It lays out what each political party generally says about some of the major issues. I know that not everybody follows the entire line of their chosen party, but these are generally what each party says.

Taxes

Republicans: Believe that tax cuts to all tax-paying Americans generate economic growth, which results in more tax revenue for the government.
Democrats: Believe in keeping tax rates at a higher level to provide for social programs.

Spending

Republicans: Want to control or decrease spending. If necessary, programs should be reduced to control spending.
Democrats: Believe that spending is necessary to provide services to the nation. Believe increasing taxes will allow more programs to be funded.

Size of Government

Republicans: Believe that a smaller national government is best. Believe that the states should decide how to implement programs successfully in their state.
Democrats: Believe that there should be a large national government. Believe that decisions should be made in Washington DC and then communicated to the states.

National Defense

Republicans: Want a strong and large military. Believe that decisions regarding military action may be made without United Nations approval.
Democrats: Want an average strength and sized military, because we can depend on our allies to help us. We must have United Nations approval before any action outside of our own country is taken.

Social Security

Republicans: Allow individuals to have some control over their retirement monies, including the possibility of privately investing their social security funds.
Democrats: The federal government should control the investment, investing in Treasury bills, and increasing the national debt if necessary.

Farming

Republicans: Support farmers by opening new markets for the products to be sold. Create a fair export/tariff system.
Democrats: Support farmers by giving them price supports and guaranteeing a price for the products produced.

Abortion

Republicans: Most are strongly pro-life and vote in favor of stronger restrictions on abortion.
Democrats: Most are strongly pro-choice and fight efforts to make obtaining an abortion more challenging.

Gun Control

Republicans: Interpret the 2nd Ammendment as guaranteeing private gun ownership. Want to preserve the right to keep and bear arms.
Democrats: Support gun control initiatives. Believe in national registries and regulating the sales of guns. Interpret 2nd Ammendment as allowing for state militias alone.

Environment

Republicans: Decisions should be made with consideration for the population that is impacted by the decision and the environmental impact of the decision.
Democrats: Decisions should be made in favor of the environment, whatever the other economic consequences may be.


So...everybody ready for tomorrow?

5 Halloween Character Case Files

I got this article from WebMD, by way of Alicia's blog Mental Health Notes (thanks, Alicia!).

They did case files for witches, zombies, ghouls, vampires, and werewolves. It's pretty fascinating. Some of the things we learn are that witches are probably the most psychologically healthy of the characters, since they were likely to have been women healers and herbalists, especially in the Middle Ages. Not that there haven't been women who weren't mentally ill or used their skills for harm, but mostly, they were just misunderstood and feared because of their knowledge and power.

Zombies were probably originally victims of medieval "trials by ordeal" in which accused persons were treated with a drug that made some people stumble about and walk stiffly with arms outstretched (of course, if you didn't do that, you were innocent). It's also possible that another origin was in Haiti, among voodoo priests who would drug a victim into subservience, say that it was done by magic, and make those victims their zombie slaves.

Ghouls, which are creatures that eat corpses, were probably originally people with one of those disordered compulsions that compelled them to fantasize and obsess about eating dead flesh, and then sometimes to do it. That's about all they say, but I'd be very interested in knowing more about that kind of obsession (or maybe I'm just better off not knowing!).

Apparently there are several psychiatrists who have done analyses of vampires, particularly Bram Stoker's Dracula. They talk about a pathological need to control others, which may be represented by their controlling their very life and death through their blood. They also mention anemia as a possible physiological cause, but surprisingly they don't mention porphyria, which is the one I've always heard.

Werewolves and other were-animals are probably afflicted with a rare psychiatric disorder called lycanthropy. In this disorder, the person imagines himself or herself able to turn into an animal, possibly as a way to cope with violent or murderous feelings.

So, there you go. All the spooky stories, all the supernatural things that have ever happened can be explained by the psychiatrists.

Or can they?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinical_lycanthropy

And now for something really scary...

In honor of Halloween, I'm posting a site that might interest you. It features photographs and videos of ghosts and other entities that are thought to be supernatural. The site is Slightly Warped's Ghastly Ghost Gallery .

I am warning you, though, that some of these are really scary. Not bloody or gory, but just so real, and experts have never been able to figure out how they might have been faked or whether there's another, less supernatural explanation. So, if you are freaked out by this sort of thing, you probably shouldn't check this out. I kind of wish I had given myself that advice last night; I might have slept better.

I don't have any opinion about the veracity of these photos and videos. They look real to me, but I would probably be very easy to fool. But I do know that there are things in the world that can't be explained. And I also know that most of the people of the world throughout history have believed that the supernatural world touches the natural one--at least occasionally. That's pretty persuasive to me.

Love y'all. Have a safe Halloween.

Missouri Proposition A

One of the pieces of legistlation we'll be voting on here in Missouri is Proposition A, which would remove limits on gambling losses at Missouri casinos. Two groups that make a pretty good case for both sides of that argument are Casino Watch, Inc., and the Missouri Riverboat Gaming Association.

My first reaction was to say absolutely not, no way should loss limits be lifted. The loss limit in Missouri for any person in any single visit at one casino is $500, which has been in place since riverboat gambling was legalized in Missouri in 1992. The legislature has had many opportunities to lift this limit, but those bills have never passed in in all this time. The idea is that gambling addicts can't lose too much money in one sitting; it was one of the safeguards that voters insisted on before they would approve gambling. The president of Casino Watch has a lot of other things to say about the negative effects of lifting the loss limit.

But, the MRGA makes some good points about the problems of loss limits. They claim that Missouri loses gambling revenue because tourists go to other states that don't have them, such as our neighbors Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. And if Prop A passes, people can lose a lot more money, which will go to the casinos, which the state can then tax (Prop A includes a 1% increase in the casino tax). And of course, that money goes to the schools.

The Proposition is presented in such a way that its chief arguments are, "Everyone else is doing this and we are missing out on it," and "Don't you want to give money to the schools?"

And yet, I also know how devasting and destructive a gambling addiction can be to a family and community, and how many years it can families take to recover from some gambling losses. I don't know that it's right to fund our children's future on that kind of misery. But nobody is forced to gamble--this isn't a tax--and the schools need to be funded.

I don't know how I'm voting on this yet. I'm leaning toward no, but the arguments for it make a lot of sense, too.

Samuel Isaac Joseph Schereschewsy

S.I.J. Schereschewsky is one of my favorite saints. I preached this sermon on his feast day a few years ago. It tells his amazing, humbling story.




“Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day…preparing us for an eternal weight of glory”

There are few saints whose lives I have found as poignant as Joseph Schereschewsky.

One article stated about him that he was the last person one might have expected to end his life working for Jesus from a wheelchair.

He was born to a Jewish family in Lithuania,
and converted to Christianity while he was in rabbinical school.

He came to the United States to study,
became an Episcopalian, and ended up at General Seminary.

He never actually graduated from General,
because Bishop Boone took him and ordained him and sent him to be a missionary to China.

I assume that young Joseph was a good priest.
He was certainly much beloved by the people in his care.

But his one outstanding gift,
the thing for which he is remembered
a hundred and more years later,
is his gift for languages.

He learned one Chinese dialect on the ship on his way to China, and by the time his ministry was over,
he had translated either parts or the whole of the Bible into five different Oriental dialects.

Along the way he got married to Susan Mary Waring,
and together they ministered to the people of China and Japan.

He was made bishop of Shanghai in 1877,
a post he didn’t really want,
but he took for the sake of his beloved people and beloved church.

That same year he founded St. John’s University,
so that Chinese Christians would have place to go and learn.

“Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day...preparing us for an eternal weight of glory.”

Unfortunately, he wasn’t bishop for very long.
After six years in that office, he developed a disease,
which some say was Parkinson’s,
but could have been some other disease,
which resulted in him being largely paralyzed.
He resigned as bishop.

Now I don’t know what he was thinking at this point.

He was a world-renowned expert on Oriental culture and languages.

He was a world-traveled missionary bishop with a passion for the word of God.

He was at home with people the rest of the world didn’t give much thought to.

His life to that point was full of active, assertive verbs:
He founded and built and opened and taught and gave.

He resigned as Bishop and went back to the United States, and as I understand it took up residence in a little house just over the hill there, right here in Sewanee.

But I can’t really say he went back home to the United States, because it’s very clear his home was no longer on this side of the Pacific.

I imagine, though, that he returned to the US because he thought he was coming home to die.

He was paralyzed and sick and unable to do the things he was in the Orient to do.
He and his wife came back to prepare for his death.

“Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day...preparing us for an eternal weight of glory.”

But, as it happens,
while he did remain sick and paralyzed,
while he remained in a wheelchair unable to go out among his people and to his school,
he did not die.

And if you are not going to die, you have to find something to do. And there was one thing Joseph knew he could do.

He could translate.

So he and Susan returned to Shanghai and then to Tokyo.

Toward the end of his life,
Joseph said the thing for which he is most famous.

He said,
“I have sat in this chair for over twenty years.
It seemed very hard at first.
But God knew best.
He kept me for the work for which I am best fitted.”

That one line, “It seemed very hard at first,”
just about breaks my heart.

It seemed very hard at first.
Most of us can probably only imagine how hard it really was.

But even illness and paralysis could not keep this man from doing what God had given him to do.

He could translate,
he could make sure that people had access to God’s revelation in the Scriptures,
and that is what he did.

With what Lesser Feasts and Fasts calls “heroic perseverance,” Joseph completed his last translation of the Bible,
typing over 2000 pages
with the middle finger of his partially crippled hand.

And after 20 years of that,
of sitting bound to a wheelchair typing away in Wenli,
yet another Chinese dialect,
he was able to say,
“God knew best.
He kept me for the work for which I am best fitted.”

“Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day…preparing us for an eternal weight of glory”

If any life of any Christian could be said to demonstrate this verse from Second Corinthians, it’s Joseph Schereschewsky’s.

For over two decades, his outer life wasted away,
and day by day his inner nature was renewed.

Saint Paul says that as our outer nature wastes away,
our inner nature is being renewed as preparation for the eternal weight of glory.

By the time Joseph died in 1906,
the eternal weight of glory was shining through him,
through his obedience,
through his work,
through his perseverance,
through his love,
so that he was a nearly transparent vehicle of God’s
power made perfect in weakness.
The eternal weight of glory.

This kind of sainthood is humbling and
somewhat frightening for the rest of us.

It has some ramifications for us a hundred years later.

It means we’ve got no right to complain,
and no excuse for anything less than heroic perseverance.

It means that everything else can waste away,
including our very bodies,
but we are still to be renewed inside ourselves,
in the dwelling place of Christ.

We are being prepared for an eternal weight of glory,
and in the face of Joseph Schereschewsky’s
extraordinary example,
we’ve got no excuse in the world,
no reason at all that that glory shouldn’t shine in us as well.

But they're not terrorists...

This weekend, the Bush administration took North Korea off the Terrorist Nation list. This is in spite of the fact that North Korea is the #1 persecutor of Christians in the world, and has been for 6 years running--imprisoning, torturing, and killing more Christian believers than China, the Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iran or Iraq.

I don't know if anyone needed more proof that the United States is not a Christian nation by a long shot, but if you did, you can read more about it here. No Christian nation would normalize relations with a country that leaves 400,000 brothers and sisters not only without religious freedom, but in fear for their lives because of their faith.

I'm not President Bush's biggest fan, but I don't usually think he's as bad as the press makes him out to be. But this...? I don't know what to do with this.

If you are a praying person, pray for Christians and other religious people suffering for their faith, in North Korea and around the world.

Apple Butter Makin' Days!

Here in Mount Vernon, Apple Butter Makin' Days has arrived again. You can read what our chamber of commerce says about ABMD here. ABMD is one of the fall festivals that they have in almost every town in this region. Crafters set up booths and sell things and all the churches and organizations have booths and activities. It's always the second weekend of October, and it's a blast. The kids get out of school for Friday, and there's a huge parade on Saturday. Matt's parents usually come down and in fact are here right now! (Hi Mom and Dad!) This year my mom was able to come down, too--Yay!

We're already having so much fun! Matt spent all day cooking a huge fried chicken dinner--one of only 3 times we eat fried chicken in a year. It was soooo good. The kids got to do a lot of stuff today (including helping to clean the house for company, but not only that!), and I worked for a couple of hours at the PTA booth in the morning.

Tomorrow, though, is the big day. The parade starts at 9:00, and we have invited several friends to come sit on our porch, because the parade goes right by our house! That's one reason we never want to move out of this house. It's the best parade I've ever seen. All our kids are usually in it, because everyone has a float in the ABMD parade, but this year David just wants to sit on the porch and watch instead of riding on the soccer float.

The only drawback is the huge crowds that pour into town on Saturday. It's great for the town, and brings in a ton of business, but it's very crowded, and I start to wish all these people would go away--and leave ABMD to us townies! But it's not so bad, and people have a lot of fun.

And yes, if you were wondering, we really do make apple butter. At about 6:00 tomorrow morning, the giant cauldrons will be set up over the fires on the square, and thousands of apples will be converted into apple butter. We always buy a lot of it, so if you want apple butter for Christmas, this would be a good time to let us know.

National German-American Day!

Today is National German-American Day! Since I am one of those, I'd like to give a big shout-out to the Teels and the Kramers. I tend to identify myself more with my Italian heritage, but I'm exactly as much German as I am Italian, and actually, my kids are more German than anything.

Some good sites to learn more about our German-American heritage can be found here and here.

Haben sie ein gutan Tag! Ich liebe ihnen!

Katja

Happy Birthday, Annie!

This is more than a week late, but I figured now I've started a tradition of the week-after birthday posts, and who I am to go agaisnt tradition?

Last week was the 29th birthday of my baby sister, Annie! Yay! She was born at the end of a sweltering hot summer; if you look through news archives, you will see that we had a terrible heat wave in the summer of 1979. We didn't have air conditioning, either. I was not quite 9, but I still remember all that.

Annie is by far the most glamorous and fashionable person in our family. I mean, even if we all won the lottery, we could never match the sheer style and personality that Annie achieves every day. And I completely admire that (actually envy it a bit, to tell the truth).

But really, the best things about Annie aren't those gorgeous externals. She has a huge generous heart--she's even gotten awards for community service. She takes charge at the VFW, running Bingo games and volunteering and singing her heart out for our country and those who served it. She puts herself out for people, and really goes above and beyond for anyone who needs it. That's what I really admire about her; she's beautiful both inside and out.

Happy 29th birthday, sweetie! I hope it was a good one, and I hope you have a great year.

Love,
Your Big Sister

The October List!

Hey, look! I found the list of October observances! This is what happens when you get 3 months behind in your emails...

October 2008 is:

Monthly Observances
Adopt A Shelter Dog Month
(World) Blindness Awareness Month
Celiac Sprue Awareness Month
Children's Magazine Month
Christmas Seal Campaign (10/1-12/31)
Class Reunion Month
Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Dyslexia Awareness Month
Eat Better, Eat Together Month
Emotional Wellness Month
German-American Heritage Month
Global Diversity Awareness Month
Long Term Care Planning Month
Lupus Awareness Month
National Animal Safety and Protection Month
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
National Chili Month
National Chiropractic Month
National Crime Prevention Month
National Dental Hygiene Month
National Depression Education & Awareness Month
National Down Syndrome Month
National Ergonomics Month
National Family Sexuality Education Month
National Liver Awareness Month
National Orthodontic Health Month
National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month
National Reading Group Month
National Seafood Month
National Spina Bifida Awareness Month
National Window Covering Safety Month
National Work and Family Month
National Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Awareness Month
Organize Your Medical Information Month
Polish American Heritage Month
Spinach Lovers Month
Stamp Collecting Month
Vegetarian Month
Women's Small Business Month

Weekly Observances
Universal Children's Week: 1-7
No Salt Week: 2-9
World Space Week: 4-10
National Work From Home Week: 5-11
Emergency Nurses Week: 5-11
Fire Prevention Week: 5-11
Mental Illness Awareness Week: 5-11
National Metric Week: 5-11
Nuclear Medicine Week: 5-11
Customer Service Week: 6-12
Financial Planning Week: 6-12
Improve Your Home Office Week: 6-10
Physicians Assistant Week: 6-12
Build Your Business with Business Cards Week: 12-18
Infection Prevention Week: 12-18
National Food Bank Week: 12-18
National School Lunch Week: 12-18
Teen Read Week: 12-18
American Association of Medical Assistants: 13-19
Freedom of Speech Week: 13-19
National Veterinary Technician Week: 13-19
World Rainforest Week: 13-19
Getting The World To Beat A Path To Your Door Week: 14-20
Celebrate Micro Small and Home Business Week: 16-22
Food and Drug Interaction Education and Awareness Week: 17-24
YWCA Week without Violence: 19-25
National Infection Prevention Week: 19-25
Kids Care Week: 19-25
National Food Bank Week: 19-25
National Massage Therapy Week: 19-25
National Respiratory Care Week: 19-25
National School Bus Safety Week: 19-25
National Businesswomen' s Week: 20-24
National Health Education Week: 20-24
World Hearing Aid Awareness Week: 23-29
Prescription Errors Education & Awareness Week: 24-31
Peace, Friendship and Good Will Week: 25-31
International Herpes Awareness Week: 31-11/6

Daily Observances
Balloons Around The World: 1
Child Health Day: 1
International Day of Older Persons: 1
World Vegetarian Day: 1
World Farm Animals Day: 2
Lee's National Denim Day: 3
National Diversity Day: 3
World Smile Day: 3
World Communion Day: 5
World Teachers Day: 5
National German-American Day: 6
Physician Assistant (PA) Day: 6
World Habitat Day: 6
Native Americans' Day: 8
Yom Kipper: 8
National Depression Screening Day: 9
World Post Day: 9
World Sight Day: 9
Naval Academy Day: 10
World Mental Health Day: 10
International Newspaper Carrier Day: 11
Universal Music Day: 11
Columbus Day: 13
National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day: 15
White Cane Safety Day: 15
Dictionary Day: 16
Get to Know Your Customers Day: 16
World Food Day: 16
International Day for the Eradication of Poverty: 17
Mammography Day: 17
World Menopause Day: 18
Sunday School Teacher Appreciation Day: 19
World Osteoporosis Day: 20
International Stuttering Awareness Day: 22
International Bandanna Day: 24
Lung Health Day: 24
United Nations Day: 24
World Priest Day: 26
Diwali: 28
National Chocolates Day: 28
St. Jude's Day: 28
Internet Day: 29
National Caramel Apple Day: 31
National Knock-Knock Jokes Day: 31
National UNICEF Day: 31
Halloween: 31

Hey, Annie and Abby! The 31st is National Knock-Knock Joke day! You guys should enjoy that!

As for me, I will be enjoying World Priest Day. I don't know what World Priests actually do, but it sounds like fun...

And I just want to say, I don't care what the rest of the world is doing, this is America, and you can't make me celebrate National Metric week.

Kat

Rest in Peace and Awake in Glory

I am sorry for the slacking; I have had every intention of posting more often, but the next post simply had to be this one, and to write it properly I needed a bit of time--which, as usual, has been hard to come by.

On September 10, my husband's grandmother, Betty Hood, died at the age of 89. You can see a picture of her here, on my brother-in-law's blog (while you're there, be sure to check out the pics of my beautiful niece).

Betty had been going downhill for a long time, and had been in pain, and she was ready. She'd actually been ready for longer than that, since 1993, when her husband Bill died. She got herself ready to be called home, convinced it wouldn't be that long until the Lord called her to follow Bill.

But Betty had work yet to do. I always knew that Betty was a prayer warrior; in fact, I used her frequently in my sermons as an example of utmost faithfulness in even the most limited and limiting of situations. I often pictured her sitting in the little scooter she used to zip around in, single-handedly waging war on the Devil--and winning.

However, there is a story that I didn't hear until after she died that made me realize what a warrior Betty truly was--at least in the eyes of some. Most of us thought, with a mixture of affection and exasperation, that Betty just loved to complain. That's pretty typical of elderly people--the smaller your world gets, the bigger the details become in your mind, so the fewer things you can just let go. But after she died, one of her friends from the nursing home came into her room to see her, to say goodbye, and she began to cry and said, "Who's going to stand up for us now?"

What some of saw as just old-person crankiness was heroism in the lives of those who had no one else to stand for them. Betty didn't just complain about things, she got them fixed. She didn't just tell you what was wrong, she told you how to do it right--and as often as not kept at you until you did it right. For her friends in the nursing home, Betty got done things they couldn't do for themselves. She stood up for them, she spoke for them, she made sure that their concerns were taken seriously. She was their hero, and they loved her.

Betty Hood may have been old, overweight, and confined to a wheelchair. But in every way that matters, she was a warrior and a hero. I am honored beyond telling to have belonged to her family for so long, and I am grateful to God for letting my children sit at the feet of such a hero and learn from her.

Go with God, Grandma, in that place where sorrow and pain are no more, neither sighing, but life everlasting. Pray for us who remain, that our hearts will be comforted, until we see you again.

Happy Birthday to My Sweetie

Okay, well, as usual, I'm a bit late on this. But rest assured, we did celebrate Matt's birthday at home, with presents and ice cream cake.

I would like to give a shout-out to Mom and Dad Teel, who made this day possible. Thanks for doing all that, because I'm really glad he was born.

I read an article recently where the writer asserted, "Your husband is not your best friend. Your best friend is your best friend. If your husband is your best friend, you need more friends." I feel sorry for that writer. I have excellent, wonderful friends...my sisters being high on the list, as well as my gals in the Playhouse. But I can only imagine that the article writer has no experience of a marriage in which the two people laugh a lot and believe in each other and go the extra mile and share values but not necessarily opinions and find rest and comfort and sheer fun in each others' presence and rush back home at the end of the day because the other one is waiting there. How sad for her.

So, to my Sweetie, Happy Birthday. I love you, and you are my best friend. Also, you're a lot older than me, so that makes me happy, too.

Your adoring and much younger wife.

Breast Cancer Legislation

I got this from my mom, who is a breast cancer survivor. And I can tell you that what this nurse describes is true: my mom had a partial mastectomy a few years ago and they sent her home on the same day.

From a nurse:

I'll never forget the look in my patients' eyes when I had to tell them they had to go home with the drains, new exercises and no breast. I remember begging the Doctors to keep these women in the hospital longer, only to hear that they would, but their hands were tied by the insurance companies. So there I sat with my patients, giving them the instructions they needed to take care of themselves, knowing full well they didn't grasp half of what I was saying, because the glazed, hopeless, frightened look spoke louder than the quiet 'Thank You' they muttered. A mastectomy is when a woman's breast is removed in order to remove cancerous breast cells/tissue. If you know anyone who has had a Mastectomy, you may know that there is a lot of discomfort and pain afterwards. Insurance companies are trying to make mastectomies an outpatient procedure. Let's give women the chance to recover properly in the hospital for 2 days after surgery.

It takes 2 seconds to do this and is very important. Please take the time and do it! Please send this to everyone in your address book. If there was ever a time when our voices and choices should be heard, this is one of those times.

If you're receiving this, it's because I think you will take the 30 seconds to vote on this issue and send it on to others you know who will do the same. There's a bill called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which will require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It's about eliminating the 'drive-through' mastectomy where women are forced to go home just a few hours after surgery, against the wishes of their doctor, still groggy from anesthesia and sometimes with draina ge tubes still attached.

Lifetime Television has put this bill on their Web page with a petition drive to show support. Last year over half the House signed on. PLEASE!! Sign the petition by clicking on the web site. You need not give more than your name, state, and zip code.

This takes about 2 seconds. PLEASE PASS THIS ON to your friends and family, and on behalf of all women, THANKS

Guns and Gangsters in Kansas City

The article is titled, "Kansas City's Wholesome Image Belies Mob Past," which kind of puzzles me, because being from there, I had no idea KC had a wholesome image. But, the article is cool, and the actor/tour guide that you hear in it is my friend Tim Phillips! It talks about how KC was a mob town for a long time, well into the 70's. I remember when I was a little kid, my dad showing me the bullet holes in the walls from shootouts at Union Station.

You can read and listen to the article here!

Sarah Palin Is a Perfect Choice for Conservatives

I keep hearing liberals and Democrats say that John McCain's choice of Alaska governor Sarah Palin is "surprising," and "interesting." I've heard them say, "That won't go over with the conservatives..." and "The conservatives won't like that!"

Ummm...hello?

Let's get something straight, my friends. Conservative does not mean sexist, oppressive, or cultural throwbacks. If these opinions are hinting that conservatives do not want a woman in one of the highest offices in the world, the opinion holders are ill-informed and misguided.

The fact is, Governor Palin finally, finally gives conservatives something to be excited about. Up to now, we've mostly been resigned to voting for John McCain because we are appalled by the idea of Barack Obama being president. Many conservatives were actually thinking about not voting at all.

Sarah Palin changes all that.

She is pro-life, and she put her money where her mouth is when her own sonograms showed that her son would be born with Down Syndrome. Many people think that's a sufficient reason for an abortion, but Gov. Palin and her husband didn't think so.

She is a member of Feminists for Life, an activist group that protects the rights of women and their children.

She opposes same-sex marriage, but extended domestic partner benefits to all state employees in Alaska.

She is a lifetime member of the NRA, and supports the 2nd Ammendment rights of American citizens, as well as gun safety training for youth.

Her husband is a blue-collar worker (a commerical fisherman), and her son is in the Army, getting ready to be shipped to Iraq. They have 5 children in all.

She sold the governor's jet after taking office, because she said there was no need to make the tax payers pay for it. As mayor and governor, she tightened the budget, halted wasteful government projects, and rooted out corruption in both parties--she sure didn't spare Republicans.

So, yeah...she's a true conservative, and conservatives are pumped!

But you know what I like? She's a lot like me and most of the people I know. She was on the PTA, ran for city council, became mayor and them defeated her own party's incumbent to become governor. She's a working mom, married to a hard-working dad, just trying to take care of her kids and do her part to make their world a better place. That's what normal people are like.

Unlike some people who attended private schools in Hawaii...that's nothing like anyone I ever met. Governor Palin didn't come from privilege, and she makes me believe the American myth that anyone can become President. That was an ideal I'd left behind a long time ago...but maybe this one real human being can prove that it's true.

God bless America.

November Observances

I usually get these in a newsletter, and I do not know what happened to October! But, here are the observances for November.

November 2008 is:

Monthly Observances
American Diabetes Month
Aviation History Month
Celebrate Empty Nester Month
Diabetic Eye Disease Month
Epilepsy Awareness Month
Family Stories Month
Gluten-Free Diet Awareness Month
Lung Cancer Awareness Month
MADD's Tie One On For Safety Holiday Campaign
Military Family Appreciation Month
National Adoption Month
National AIDS Awareness Month
National Alzheimer's disease Month
National American Indian Heritage Month
National COPD Awareness Month
National Family Caregivers Month
National Georgia Pecan Month
National Home Care National Hospice Month
National Impotency Month
National Inspirational Role Models Month
National Life Writing Month
National Marrow Awareness Month
National Novel Writing Month
National Peanut Butter Lovers Month
National Pet Cancer Awareness Month
National Pomegranate Month
National Roasting Month
National Scholarship Month
Prematurity Awareness Month
Vegan Month

Weekly Observances
National Patient Accessibility Week: 1-7
World Communication Week: 1-7
National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week: 2-8
National Long-term Care Awareness Week: 2-8
Pursuit of Happiness Week: 8-14
National Hunger & Homeless Awareness Week: 9-15
Green Ribbon Awareness Week: 13-19
Childrens' Book Week: 13-19
American Education Week: 16-22
National Geography Awareness Week: 16-22
National Farm-City Week: 20-27
Tellabration! Storytelling for Grownups Week: 20-23
National Family Week: 23-29
National Game & Puzzle Week: 23-29
National Bible Week: 23-30
Better Conversation Week: 24-30
Travelers with Disabilities Week: 30-12/6

Daily Observances
All Saints' Day: 1
National Authors' Day: 1
Sadie Hawkins Day: 1
National Family Literacy Day: 1
Daylight Saving Time ends: 2
Digital Scrapbooking Day: 3
Sandwich Day: 3
Election Day: 4
Guinness World Record Day: 6
National Men Make Dinner Day: 6
International Tongue Twister Day: 8
National Parents As Teachers Day: 8
Kristallnacht: 9-10
National Child Safety Council: 9
Area Code Day: 10
Gingerbread House Day: 10
Marine Corp Birthday: 10
Death/Duty Day: 11
Veterans Day: 11
National Young Readers Day: 11
Thanksgiving Day ( Canada ): 13
World Kindness Day: 13
National American Teddy Bear Day: 14
National Donor Sabbath Days: 14-16
World Diabetes Day: 14
America Recycles Day: 15
I Love to Write Day: 15
International Day for Tolerance: 16
Transgender Day of Remembrance: 16
World Day of Remembrance for RoadTraffic Victims: 16
Homemade Bread Day: 17Mickey Mouse Day: 18
National Educational Support Professionals Day: 19
African Industrialization Day: 20
Great American Smokeout: 20
Universal Children's Day: 20
World Hello Day: 21
World Television Day: 21
Humane Society Anniversary Day: 22
International Aura Awareness Day: 22
National Adoption Day: 22
National Family Volunteer Day: 22
National Survivors of Suicide Day: 22
International Day For the Elimination of Violence Against Women Day: 25
Thanksgiving Day (US): 27
Black Friday: 28
Buy Nothing Day: 28

So...what exactly do we do on Area Code Day?

...and You, Sir, Are No Martin Luther King, Jr

Today's Wall Street Journal published an editorial by Juan Williams exhorting Obama to stake a stand ("Obama Needs To Take A Stand on Race and Other Issues")

Williams details the ways in which Obama has either contradicted himself or refused to take a clear stance on issues such as racial justice, poverty, education, and unemployment. To quote from Williams:

But how is it possible that Mr. Obama, as he rises to claim the mantle of Dr. King before 75,000 people and a national TV audience of millions here tonight, remains a mystery on the most important civil rights issues of our day?...If Mr. Obama is really to remind the nation of Martin Luther King, he might follow King's example of taking a moral stand.

It's ironic that it's Juan Williams of all people who is criticizing Obama in this way, since Williams is a liberal's liberal and usually saves his criticism for conservatives.

I have studied the writings, sermons, and speeches of MLK for over ten years. I know a lot about what he believed, what he did, and what it cost him. And if Obama thinks he can present himself to the world as the new MLK, he's got another thing coming. He has nothing in common with MLK but skin tone, and since I judge people by the content of their character, that's not enough for me.

I've Studied Martin Luther King, Jr....

Today is the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr's I Have a Dream speech. I use this speech in my Speech 101 class, so I get to watch it a few times every semester. If you haven't seen the whole speech, it's worth your 17 minutes.You can see the whole thing here. You can also see the text with the video here.

And It Gets Bigger

For a long time, abortion opponents have been asking, "If we can kill children in the womb, how long until the line is extended allowing us to kill children outside the womb?"

That question has mostly been blown off, tagged a "slippery slope" argument and dismissed. But it's happening. There are eye witnesses, brave enough to stand against politicians and hospital administrators and the media and tell their stories. One of the most well known of these witnesses is nurse Jill Stanek, who discovered that babies were being born alive, tossed in with the dirty laundry, and left to die. Her story is incrediby moving, as she tells how she held one such baby for 45 minutes until he died. She was later fired by the hospital for her outspokenness.

When it became clear that this was indeed happening, there was a lot of state and federal legislation drafted to protect born children. Obama voted against this legislation three times in Illinois and once in the US Senate. You can see documentation for these votes here. He voted against bills that would forbid a hospital from withholding care (including basic feeding) from a child who was born and living.

Now, I don't happen to think there's that much difference between a baby inside the uterus or outside it, but have we stopped even pretending that we care about children at all? I mean, how can it endanger the mother's health to treat the baby once it's born?

This is no longer a debate about abortion. These are not babies inside the womb, dependent on their mothers. These are babies who are outside, detatched from the mothers, and need feeding, bathing, and maybe some TLC in the NICU. My son was born early, nearly died right then and needed that kind of care. I just don't see myself voting for anyone who thinks it would have been okay just to leave him to die.

The slope is slipperier than you think...

Only One Issue...But a Big One

I'm not a one-issue voter, but I will admit that I have a pretty short list of things that will win or lose my vote. On the short list are the full spectrum of family life issues, which includes abortion, euthanasia, health care, capital punishment, taxation, child welfare, education, adoption legislation, employment, and probably some others I'll think of after I publish this post.

This post is only going to focus on one of those issues, but it will have a sequel in a few moments.

Senator Obama stated that if elected, he would immediately sign into law the Freedom of Choice Act. I want to offer two perspectives on that act, one from Pat Buchanan, called A Catholic Case Against Barack, and one from NARAL, the National Abortion Rights Action League, which is a summary of the legislation and their reasons for supporting it.

Pay special attention to the part where the NARAL document refers to a ban on a "safe abortion method." That refers to partial-birth abortion, and you can find that procedure described here, if you have the stomach for it. Also pay attention to the part in the Buchanan article where he seems to be saying that Obama not only supports abortion rights, but the rights of parents, doctors, and nurses to either actively or passively end the lives of children already born. That's going to be part 2...

School House Rock Lyrics!

This is so much fun!

If you go here, you can get all the lyrics to the School House Rock thingies! Remember those? I STILL use those tunes to remember things. I mean, anyone of my generation who actually knows the Preamble to the Constitution (WHICH I DO!), only knows it by singing it to the School House Rock tune.

Kathy

(now going to be singing "We the people...in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, and ensure domestic tranquiliteee--ee-eee...")

Bush, Obama, and McCain Write to Russian President Putin

This is from the Washington Post. It's pretty funny, and pretty accurate!

Kat

Police Publicity Video

Let's see if I can figure out how to stick a video in this post. Anyway, this is an amusing video posted by the Baltimore Police Department (who deal with serious stuff--Baltimore's a hard-core town), showing in a tongue-in-cheek way the things that police deal with every day so we don't have to.

Okay, I can't figure it out. So, you'll have to go see it here.

Even in small towns like ours, the police work hard and deal with some scary stuff. They're the good guys, so be respectful. And if you pray, send up a prayer that they will be safe and not too stressed, and give thanks that some people are willing to do some really difficult things so that the rest of us can be safe.

Kat

Happy Birthday, Pooky!

Okay, I know that Pooky's birthday was really Saturday, August 9. But on that day we were still recovering from the slumber party of the night before, for Sabra's birthday, so I am very sorry I am late with this. Though I am sure you're not surprised. Sabra was actually supposed to be born on Pooky's birthday, but it didn't quite work out that way. That would have been cool, though. Still, it hasn't stopped them from having all their 2nd-born bonding going on...

For those of you who don't know, Pooky is my baby sister, Carole Jean, who turned 35 on Saturday. She's great...she's smart and funny and caring and loyal, and probably the most generous person I know. She'll do anything for anyone, because she's just that wonderful.

I remember when my other two siblings were born, but I don't remember when Pooky was. We're only 2 1/2 years apart, but I do remember the story of how I used to stick my Baby Bean up my shirt so I could feed her like Mom fed Pooky. Good times...

Sweetie, you are my best friend and I love you. I wish you every good thing for the coming year. 35 isn't so bad--I think you'll have a good time.

Love,
Your Big Sister

Red Letter Day for the Teels

Today was a big day for all my babies.

AJ found out that she has been cast in a play she tried out for this weekend! She will be the paper delivery girl in a show called "Birds of a Feather." It's being put on by the local community theater, Rebel's Bluff Theater. I'll let y'all know when we have more information.

Sabra got her first boyfriend today! He is a very nice boy named Bradley. He has liked Sabra forever, and he asked her out a few months ago and she said no, but then she regretted it, so today they got together. (Daddy is pouting, but I think in time he'll remember that he actually likes young Bradley) Bradley told Sabra that now that they have lockers, he's going to put her picture in his.

And David learned how to ride a two-wheeler! AJ took his training wheels off and Sabra pushed him around in the street behind our house until he got it. And now he's great, like he's always been doing it. I think he just got tired of being left behind by the big kids.

So, my babies are great, and I'm very proud of them.

Kathy

Happy Birthday, Sabra!

Yesterday was my Sabra Lou's birthday! Yay! She turned 11. We went out to the free movie in Springfield, then the kids spend the afternoon swimming at John & Nancy's. Then Matt made her special birthday dinner of fried chicken (one of the two times in a year when we have fried chicken, and it is sooo goooood...). She got a new bike, a kangaroo webkins, a book about the Titanic, some new barrettes, and a huge box of gourmet popcorn. It was a truly Sabra day.

Tonight is her birthday party. We are going out to pizza, bowling, then her friends are coming to spend the night. It should be lots of fun. She pointed out that she's never had a slumber party before, which I guess is right, even though AJ has had several. Grammy and Papa are coming in, and Uncle Mark, Aunt Lisa and Baby Audrey will be down for a wedding, so they'll stop by, too.

I remember 11 years ago, when she was born in St. John's hospital in Springfield. Mom came down the day before, and she took care of AJ. Sabra was born at 2:26 in the afternoon, and weighed 9 pounds 4 ounces--she was a little pot roast! She's so skinny now, it's hard to believe she was my chubbiest baby. She slept 6 hours her first night, and the nurses kept telling me to wake her up to feed her, but I kept saying that she would wake up when she was hungry...which of course she did. Even then she loved to sleep!

She has always been my snuggliest, most affectionate baby. For her, coziness is a primary value. She has a beautiful, kind heart, a bright smile, and a quick and quirky mind. I am so proud to be her mommy. Happy Birthday, my precious girl!

Mommy

Stephen Colbert on Anglican Stuff

This was pretty funny, but if you aren't sure just what's going on in the Anglican Communion, this is a pretty decent explication of it.

You can find Colbert's Report here.

Enjoy!
Kat

Isn't This Child Abuse?

Apparently a judge thinks so. The parents of a little girl in New Zealand legally changed her name to Talula Does the Hula. You can read about it here.

Now my question today is, as is it at least once a day for various reasons, WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH PEOPLE??? WHY would you do this to a 9-year-old girl? Is life not hard enough for kids? Do they not worry enough about fitting in? Is it not hard enough for a child to navigate the mazes of social acceptance--which for kids is often like playing a game that nobody's explained but they get penalized for breaking the rules--without doing this to her on top of that?

Apparently this poor girl is being used by her parents as a pawn in some divorce/custody battle, and this name change was the latest volley in that battle. Because that's the way to show the world that you're the better parent...

If you ask me, any parent who shows so little regard for her/his child's feelings and healthy social development isn't worth the title. Apparently the judge thinks the same thing, because he removed this poor kid from her parent's custody, made her a ward of the state, and gave her a normal name. I wasn't sure from the article if he resored her old name or let her pick a new one or what. Either way, good for him.

It's good to see some common sense coming down from the bench. Good call, Judge Murfitt.

Kat

Adventures in Potty Training

I bet those of you who know that my youngest child is about to start kindergarten were suprised to read that!

So...the potty training going on is of 5 puppies. I have housebroken puppies before, but never 5 at one time! We are crate training, which works pretty well, and everybody's home for the most part, so I have help keeping an eye on them, looking for when they start sniffing the floor or squatting down. Problem is, they're already so close to the floor, it's hard to tell sometimes!

They are the sweetest little things you can imagine. One of our boys has gone to live on a farm (a real farm, not just the farm parents tell their kids the dog went to when they want to get rid of the dog...), but the other 5 are still at home. They're almost 6 weeks old, so something's going to have to happen, but we do love them. I wish we could keep them all, but we just can't.

But in the meantime, they have GOT to be potty trained! So, we're back on a schedule we haven't had to keep in 5 years...I take the midnight and 3 a.m. backyard runs, and Matt takes the 6 a.m. Did you know the moon is fully risen and very bright at 3 a.m.? I had no idea; it sort of makes the whole experience kind of pleasant. I mean, who gets to be out in their back yard at 3 a.m.?

Anyway, if you know anyone who wants a puppy (good homes only, though), let them know about us. The puppies are almost 6 weeks, half cocker spaniel, and we have 4 boys and 1 girl. They've had their first shots, and we're willing to drive to bring them to the right people.

Off to put puppies in the crate,
Kat

A Tragic Piece of History

I learned about this event, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911, from a book Mom sent me. This was the largest workplace tragedy in the history of New York before 9/11. 146 people, most of them teenaged immigrant girls, died--over 50 from jumping out of windows to get away from the fire...gruesome shades of 9/11.

I consider myself to be pretty well-informed about history, especially since I have relatives coming through Ellis Island right at this time, but I had never heard of this. It was only after this event that laws were passed mandating basic safety requirements--things the unions had been pressing for for years. To our shame, it seems to take a tragedy of terrible proportions to get us to do more than we absolutely have to.

Here's a very short (2 min) documentary on it. If that doesn't work, you can cut and paste this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf9GVbzf7Q4

Pray for China

Speaking of religious persecution, the world's host for the Summer 2008 Olympic Games is high on the list of persecutors. Christians and others are imprisoned regularly, but for some reason the IOC thought this would be a good place to go.

You can read more about China and the Olympics here.

Up until the Olympics have concluded, I am going to be wearing a bracelet that says simply, "Pray for China." You can see a picture of it, as well as a brief description of the deperate need for prayer for China, here. Also on that page, you can order a free one for yourself from Voice of the Martyrs.

I am ordering extra, too, so if you want, you can order a free one from me!

Please keep praying for China. The West doesn't dare alientate them because they represent such a huge market as well as a source for cheap labor and cheap merchandise. That gives the Chinese government a veneer of respectability they haven't earned--not while they are acting as violent tyrants over their own people. If you are a Christian, some of those people are our people--our brothers and sisters.

Kathy

My 4th of July Entry

Yes, I know it's the 8th of July. Your point is...?

Anyway, the 4th of July is sort of a big deal in our family. On my husband's side we always have a big family get-together (thanks, Mom and Dad!), one of the two or three times a year we can count on seeing uncles, cousins, etc. Then we go out and park in the Shooters parking lot and watch the fireworks. (Does anyone remember a few years ago when someone messed up and all the fireworks exploded on the ground at once about 30 seconds into the display? Good times...) This was an especially meaningful Independence Day at the Teels', because it was my sister-in-law Gaby's first July 4th as an American citizen. That's just so fantastic, congratulations and welcome to the greatest country on earth, Gaby!

Then of course, on my side, there's the parade, where the VFWs always have floats and color guards. This year our VFW got 1st place for the color guard and 2nd place for the float! Yay! Way to go Dad, Dana, and the whole VFW crew!

With all that going on for the holiday, in the back of my mind was a desire to write something here about our country, about Independence Day, patriotism, duty, honor, sacrifice, service, work...all those ideas that come up when we talk about the uniqueness and greatness of this nation.

Problem is, every time I asked myself, "What is America to me?" I started singing this Frank Sintra song and couldn't get it out of my head, so thinking was out of the question. You can find the words to the song here. It's a great song, and says a lot about this country.

But there are a few things I do want to say. I am a pastor, I have advanced degrees in religion, I teach philosophy, various Bible courses, and World Religions. The practice of religion--especially Christianity--is being curtailed and threatened every single place in the world. I'm not going to go into those details right now, but every Sunday I am very aware as I step into my pulpit that in the USA I can say what I am called to say and I will not be arrested.

Do you know how amazing that is? Do you know that our closest neighbors, Mexico and Canada, do not have those same freedoms? Nor do Britain, France, any other country in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, or Australia. They can say some things, but their governments are very closely involved in what can and can't happen in churches, and the government decides what religious people are and are not allowed to say. And Christians are jailed daily just for believing.

But not here. Not yet. There have been a few infringements, and we should be paying sharp attention--we have to be vigilant if we want to be free--but so far we are not putting Christians in jail simply for practicing their faith.

That alone would be enough to make this the greatest country on earth.

But there are a lot of other great things about this country. I don't care what other nations say about our high-handedness or arrogance or hawkishness--they know full well they'd be in a lot of trouble without us. When they complain about us like that, it makes me want to say, "Fine, we'll just take our billions of dollars in aid and go home." This country has always known it is blessed and prosperous, and we have always done far more than our fair share to help others. I am so proud to be a citizen of this great nation.

So remember--freedom isn't free. Some people will pay for it up front, with one big check written in their own blood, with life-long payments of their own peace spent to purchase ours. The rest of us have to pay for it day by day--being good citizens, living in our towns and cities with pride and compassion, taking our place through letters, phone calls, emails and votes in government of the people, by the people and for the people. And don't just criticize our leaders; pray for them, too.

It's so easy to let our freedom slip away law by law, program by program, tax by tax. Don't let it happen.

God bless the USA!

Kathy

Mark Your Calendars--September's Just Around the Corner!

Monthly Observances

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Month
Baby Safety Month
Backpack Safety America Month
Be Kind To Editors & Writers Month
College Savings Month
Wild Rice Month
Gynecology Cancer Awareness Month
International Self-Awareness Month
International Strategic Thinking Month
Library Card Sign-up Month
(World) Leukemia and Lymphoma Awareness Month
National Alcohol & Drug Addiction Recovery Month
Menopause Awareness Month
Mold Awareness Month
National Chicken Month
National Childhood Injury Prevention Month
National Coupon Month
National Honey Month
National Mushroom Month
National Organic Harvest Month
National Osteopathic Medicine Month
National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month
National Sickle Cell Month
Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month
National Piano Month
National Potato Month
National Preparedness Month
National Rice Month
Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month
Reunion Planning Month
Self Improvement Month
Healthy Aging Month
Sports and Home Eye Health & Safety Month
Update Your Resume Month
National Hispanic Heritage Month

Weekly Observances

National Childhood Injury Prevention Week: 1-7
National Payroll Week: 1-5
National Waffle Week: 1-5
National Assisted Living Week: 7-13
National Historically Black Colleges & Universities Week: 7-13
Suicide Prevention Week: 7-13
Line Dance Week: 8-13
National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness: 8-14
National Constitution Center Constitution Week: 11-18
Balance Awareness Week: 14-20
Substitute Teacher Appreciation Week: 14-20
Constitution Week: 17-25
International Women's Ecommerce Days: 18-21
Christian Leadership Week: 21-27
Deaf Awareness Week: 21-27
National Adult Immunization Awareness Week: 21-27
National Clean Hands Week: 21-27
National Keep Kids Creative Week: 21-27
Prostate Cancer Awareness Week: 21-27
National Rehabilitation Awareness Celebration: 21-27
National Singles Week: 21-27
National Chimney Safety Week: 28-10/4
Remember to Register to Vote Week: 28-10/4
World Dairy Week: 30-10/4

Daily Observances

Labor Day: 1
Republican Convention: 1-4
Ramadan: 2-30
Newspaper Carrier Day: 4
Google Commemoration Day: 7
Grandma Moses Day: 7
National Grandparent' s Day: 7
International Literacy Day: 8
Patriot Day: 11
Remembrance Day: 11
Suicide Prevention Day: 12
Video Games Day: 12
Bald is Beautiful Day: 13
International Chocolate Day: 13
International Sing-Out Day: 15
VFW Ladies Auxiliary Day: 17
National POW/MIA Recognition Day: 19
America's Day for Kids: 20
International Eat an Apple Day: 20
International Coastal Cleanup Day: 20
Responsible Dog Ownership Day: 20
Wife Appreciation Day: 20
International Day of Peace: 21
Women's Friendship Day: 21
World's Alzheimer's Day: 21
Dear Diary Day: 22
Family Day or Family Table Day: 22
National Women's Health & Fitness Day: 24
World Maritime Day: 25
Dog Scouts of America : 26
Love Note Day: 26
National Public Lands Day: 27
R.E.A.D. in America Day: 27
Ancestor Appreciation Day: 27
Family Health and Fitness Day USA : 27
Kiwanis Kids' Day: 27
National Hunting and Fishing Day: 27
World Tourism Day: 27
National Good Neighbor Day: 28
World Heart Day: 28

Movie Review: Get Smart

Get Smart
2008
Rated PG-13


One of the best memories of my childhood was staying up late at night with my little sister and watching syndicated episodes of Get Smart on Channel 41. I was really excited to hear that they were making a movie out of it, but a little anxious, too—because what beloved TV show hasn’t had its memory desecrated by being adapted into a bad movie? Think Dukes of Hazzard and Beverly Hillbillies, just for starters.

I was reassured, though, when I learned that Steve Carell would be playing Agent 86, Maxwell Smart. Pre-release interviews were even more reassuring. When Carell talked about his interpretation of the Smart character, he payed proper respect to Don Adams, the comedic actor of the 60’s who originated the role for television, which told me that Carell honored the history of the show and the talents that first brought it to life. On the other hand, Carell also said that he would not be doing an imitation of Adams’ performance, that as an actor, he had to come up with his own interpretation of the character. Incidentally, all of the negative reviews of this film that I have seen centered around the fact that Carell did have his own interpretation, and didn’t just mimic Adams.

The movie begins with the premise that Maxwell Smart is a CONTROL analyst, and not yet an agent. He passes through the series of doors so well-known from the opening sequence of the show, into the same red phone booth, and into CONTROL headquarters. He analyzes information minutely and makes agents sit through interminable meetings while he reads through his tome-sized reports that nobody pays attention to. Yet, Smart is paying attention to his own data, and when events transpire to let him fulfill his dream of becoming an agent—Agent 86—most of those data are still in his head, ready for action.

He is paired with a reluctant Agent 99, played by Anne Hathaway, who objects to him as her partner because he has no field experience. In the 2008 rendition of the Get Smart world, 99 is tough and does not take a back seat to 86, as she too often does in the 60’s version. He respects her abilities, but eventually proves himself to her enough that she comes to respect him, too. The attraction and romance flow from there…quite believably, in my opinion, but I like the romantic subplots in any movie.

In the old TV show, Max was an idiot who thought he was all that, and 99, played by Barbara Feldon, was a competent, strong woman who always pulled him out of the fire (lit by his own ineptitude), and always let him take the credit for the win. If Max ever got anything right in the show, it was an accident. It was a one-joke show, enough to sustain a 22-minute sitcom and not much more. But in the new-millennium version, everyone thinks Max is less than competent—and he is terribly accident prone, providing many of the cringes and laughs of the film, such as falling out of the secret escape hatch of an airplane without a parachute—and nobody wants to make him an agent. And he sometimes does get things right by sheer good luck. But he is honest and intelligent and willing to learn, while also knowing that he knows what he knows…which is an important quality for the plot.

The plot, such as it is, is light enough for kids to follow, centering of course on the evil spy organization KAOS—who have now become international nuclear terrorists. So, yeah, it’s not a complex plot…but first movie plots never are. We don’t go to these films for the plot, we go to see 86 and 99 do their secret agent thing. (I did wonder why everyone at a Russian mobster’s party spoke English—and with an American accent…but whatever…) And they do the secret agent thing really well, because as Steve Carell put it, this isn’t supposed to be a spoof of spy movies, it’s supposed to be a spy movie that makes us laugh. There’s a big difference, and they seem to nail it. Anyway, director Peter Segal keeps the action moving, and keeps the plot going where it’s supposed to go.

Dwayne Johnson as the legendary hotshot Agent 23 is the perfect foil for Carell, in part because Johnson looks like he’s twice as tall as Carell. The differences between the two men are summed up when Max learns that 99 once had a relationship with 23, and says matter-of-factly, “I’m feeling very sexually threatened right now.” And Alan Arkin, too, gives the role of Chief more personality and substance than it ever got in the show.

Speaking as a fan of the old show, I think this film was even better. It kept true to the spirit of the show, while updating it to our time in all the good ways. And it was really, really funny. I can’t count how many times I laughed out loud, or clapped, or cheered. I would see it again, and I would take the kids to see it, too (despite a few butt jokes—because they were really good ones). I highly recommend it.

David's Turn

What a day. After a whole bunch of working, I took Sabra to a cheerleading meeting at the library (they are getting new uniforms, so we had to try them on). I brought David with me, since there's plenty for him to do at the library, and he doesn't usually require close supervision there, since it's like his second home.

About halfway through the meeting, David comes into the meeting room with blood all over his hands and running down his neck. He was running and fell and hit his chin on a chair--right underneath, so you can't see it if you're looking at his face unless he tips his head back. He wasn't really crying, so we went into the restroom to clean him up a little, and then he saw the blood and started to get a little bit upset. That's when I noticed that the cut looked pretty deep, so I gathered Sabra and we got in the car and drove over to our friend and nurse-practitioner, Nancy.

I'm sure the last thing Nancy needed was another patient waiting at home for her when she got home from the office, but she's always so good to us, so she looked at his chin, and called the ER in Aurora to see if they were crowded. I then traded some theological knowledge for the medical knowledge (who knew you could barter theological knowledge?), and took both kids out to Aurora, thankful that the storms were not that close to use yet.

It was a surprisingly easy ER visit, as far as those things go. We saw Dr. Williams, the doctor Nancy works with, and it turned out that instead of getting his little chin glued, like Nancy thought he would have to, he actually had to have two stitches put in. The absolute worst part of the whole experience for David was the needle they stuck in his chin to numb it--he really hates shots. That was really the only time he cried.

We were only there for about two hours total--not too bad for an ER visist. We didn't beat the rain home, but now David joins his accident-prone sisters in the annals of family medical history. I think we're really lucky that he made it more than 5 years with no injuries before this!

Kathy

Help Bring Jonas and Ellie Home

My friend Kristina and her husband Todd are trying to adopt two beautiful 3-year-olds from Haiti. It has been a long, hard process for them--why is it that the world works so hard against us when we just want to do a good and loving thing? Check out their blog here

The blog does include a pitch for donations...they need about $3500 for each child to get them home. They aren't asking much, just $1 a person. Go to the blog and look at those faces, and $1 won't seem like enough. Don't worry, you don't have to limit it to $1, you can give more.

Adoption is so hard sometimes; Kristina says in her blog that if they can just get these babies home, they can provide for them just fine. Why in the world are there so many roadblocks for a family who wants to love and provide for kids that have no other home? Why aren't people, agencies, charities, governments rushing to hand these families money? Every adopting family goes through something like this--it's not a smooth or easy process for anyone. The world is so stupidly upside down sometimes.

Kristina and Todd are good, loving, Christian people. Jonas and Ellie are doing okay so far, but their mom, dad, and sisters want them home so badly. If a dollar really is too much for you (and believe me, I've been there), please pray for them, and pass their blog link on to others.

Love y'all,
Kathy

Happy Birthday, Daddy and Grandma!

I've missed some important happenings in June; I mean, I've missed blogging about them. SOMEONE was supposed to send me a link or a DVD to her performance at Royals' Stadium, but hasn't yet done so.

However, today and yesterday are important days and shouldn't be skipped. Yesterday was my Daddy's 61st birthday! Yay! I saw Daddy at the Royals' game on the 1st, and we had a great time. My Daddy taught me everything I believe so strongly about honor and honesty and responsibility; thank you, Daddy. I love you so much.

And today is Grandma Hood's 89th birthday! I realized today that Betty is our oldest living relative--way to go, Betty! (I think I have a great aunt in Scranton who is about the same age, but I'm not sure how old she is...) It is such a gift that my kids get to spend time with her and ask her about her life and listen to her stories. She has some great stories; my favorites are the ones about her childhood in Kansas City, my hometown. It's changed a lot, but I wouldn't know much about that if I hadn't gotten to hear Grandma talk about it. Love you, Grandma! Happy Birthday!

For those of you who are praying people, send up a prayer for my Daddy and for Grandma Hood.

Kathy

Young Authors Conference

I have been meaning to blog about this event since it happened on May 3, because it was one of the best things that has happened to our family recently..or EVER!!!

Every year Missouri Southern University in Joplin hosts the Young Authors Conference. Here in Mount Vernon, only 4th graders go to it, but the conference includes kids in grades 1-6. This year, my 4th grader, Sabra, had her book picked as an entry into the conference, so she got to go to it...and since she got to go, so did the rest of us.

The guest speakers at this conference were authors Roland and Marie Smith. AJ was a little jealous because Roland Smith is one of her favorite authors, but it didn't take her long to be really excited that shew as going to meet him, however it happened. The day before the conference, I read one of Roland Smith's books, Sasquatch. It was great! Roland Smith's website is here. Since the conference, I've also read Zack's Lie, Jack's Run, and Cryptid Hunters.

Roland and his wife, Marie Smith, also write books together for younger children. I'm sure you've seen these books at the bookstore, they are part of the series that features every letter of the alphabet. Roland and Marie wrote B is for Beaver, E is for Evergreen, N is for Our Nation's Capital, and Z is for Zookeeper. They're also on Roland's book page.

The conference featured talks by each of the two authors to groups of kids. They were each very different, but both were great. They talked about how they got started in writing, the things they liked to write about, and the mistakes they've made as writers. They really took the kids seriously as writers, which impressed me so deeply. AJ moved up and sat with the kids and asked questions of both authors, and all three of the kids brought notebooks and pens. The girls took scrupulous notes on both of them, while David mostly drew pictures.

At the end, each child got a book for free that was autographed by the authors, and afterward, the authors stayed around and offered to sign any other books anyone wanted. Our girls showed them their notebooks full of notes on their talks, and Roland played as though he was going to tear AJ's notes out of her notebook. He said, "You're just going to use this information to become a famous writer!" It was pretty funny. They signed their notebooks, too, and let us take pictures of them with the girls. They were so very gracious and open and funny; I was so impressed.

Finally we left, with several signed copies of the Smiths' books, at least one for each child. It was the greatest day! We spent the day as a family at a writers conference! Matt and I also realized that it would be really easy to sneak back in there next year...we'd sit in the parents' section like we did this year...nobody would ever know...

Sabra's book was called 11:27, and is about three kids who discover a dragon named Narcissa Pendragon, but Narcissa is only visible to humans between 11:26 and 11:28 every day. It was really cute. Also, there was another girl there, a 6th grader, named Sabra! That was pretty amazing in itself.

Kathy

Pentecost Sermon

This is actually last year's sermon, but I liked it:

Pentecost, 2007



I like war movies.

Of all the films in my DVD collection,
I think I have more war movies than anything else.

Not everyone likes war movies, of course,
but over the hundred-year history of film,
they’ve proven to be amazingly resilient.

It’s rather strange that I would like them so much,
because I don’t like war.

I have a cousin who just came back from Iraq,
who was involved in some of the historic
battles in Baghdad,
and I worry about him constantly.

I am the daughter and granddaughter of veterans,
and I am more proud of them than I can say.

But I can also see how war takes its toll on people,
steals pieces of their souls,
and I wonder how my loved ones
might have been different,
and if they will ever fully heal.

So, if we don’t like war, why do we like war movies?

I think there is a deep desire in people to be tested.

I think that people want to know
just how strong they are,
just how far their will-power
or love
or loyalty will go
when it comes down to it.

I probably like war movies for the same reason I have always liked the stories of Christian martyrs…
when you read how someone was fed to lions for her faith in Jesus Christ,
you have to ask yourself,
would I be that strong?

And your resolve strengthens,
and you think,
if I’m ever tested like that,
I could be that faithful, I could.

War movies do the same thing for us…
they give us the chance to ask ourselves,
would I be that brave,
that strong,
would I be that loyal to my companions?

Since most of us have not been in a war,
we can only ask ourselves…
would I? Could I?

These films offer us a test of our character,
without making us go through the real thing.

When we see someone else go through the test,
we go through it, too,
and if they can prevail, so can we.

But one of the things about actual war,
and so about war movies,
is that the people involved are never alone.

There comes a point where politics falls away,
where right and wrong are perhaps
secondary considerations,
and all that matters is the guy next to you.

You do what you have to do,
you get through what needs to be gotten through,
because you can’t let him down.

And you know he won’t let you down.

When you’re under fire,
you’ve got his back,
and he’s got yours.

That’s the bottom line,
that’s the reality,
and it’s a supreme test,
because it comes down to
whether you’re going to put
your buddy before yourself,
and whether you will trust him to do the same.

In the Middle Ages,
soldiers actually got assigned a buddy.

You had one other solider,
one other knight,
who was your buddy.

You went into battle together,
and these were battles where people got close up
to kill each other,
and you fought with your buddy back-to-back,
so that nobody could sneak up on you
with a sword or a battle-axe.

He had your back, and you had his.

He couldn’t keep you from having to fight,
from having to face the battle,
but he was there with you,
and nothing could sneak up on you
while he was there,
fighting with you,
fighting for you.

This soldier was called a paraclete.

Your Paraclete.

The guy who has your back when the going gets rough is your paraclete.

That’s a word we’ve heard before…
today we hear it translated as Advocate,
but it’s more than that.

In Greek it means, the one who comes to your side.

Or, perhaps, the one who has your back.

We translate it other ways, too.

Eve was Adam’s Paraclete, his helper.

Jesus was the disciples’ Paraclete, their teacher.

Our Paraclete is the Holy Spirit,
God himself,
and we call him Advocate,
Intercessor,
Teacher,
Helper,
even Holy Comforter.

It can’t be translated any more accurately,
because it’s a word that includes all those meanings,
but I think that’s a good thing.

Sometimes we need one kind of back-up more than another, but at different times we’ll need it all.

We’ll need all the help we can get, of whatever kind.

We’ll need someone—
an Advocate,
a Teacher,
a Comforter—
we’ll need that someone at our back
when we undergo our own tests,
face our own battles.

War movies are satisfying to watch
because the tests and battles that people undergo
are big ones.

There’s always life and death on the line,
at the very least,
and sometimes more.

We want to think that maybe we could be heroes,
like the people in the films,
at least insofar as we carry out what was asked of us.

And we can be heroes,
and sometimes we are,
but it’s not like it is in the movies.

The images of war and battle have always been used to describe the Christian life.

We fight against sin and temptation,
we battle forces of evil,
we arm ourselves against attack,
we claim victory in Jesus Christ.

We are being tested, too,
no less in our way than the soldiers in the films.

But our battles are not usually loud and bloody,
and they seldom leave casualties in the traditional sense.

Our battles are much smaller than that.

Our battles are small and personal and never-ending.

Our battles seldom require a heroic last stand,
Or a brave charge,
and they’re seldom accompanied by a swelling orchestral score.

No, they’re little choices,
little acts,
little niggling temptations
to things that aren’t all that bad
in the scheme of things.

Our test is not to survive a charge or a barrage of bullets, but it is to keep going in the face of tiredness,
to remain kind in the face of cynicism,
to have hope in the face of discouragement.

Not big tests, but never ending ones.

Once we think we’ve gotten some character flaw dealt with, we find that a different one has snuck up on us.

Once we think we’ve solved a problem,
we have to move on to the next problem.

Once we think we’ve made good choices and earned a rest, someone comes along with more demands,
more needs,
and we aren’t sure that we’re up to it.

And maybe we’re not.

And sometimes we’ve given our all,
done everything we knew how to do,
and it still wasn’t enough.
These are battles we lose more often than not.

But God doesn’t just send us out onto these battlefields to fight all on our own.

God is our Paraclete, God has our back.

He is our Defender,
our Teacher,
our Intercessor,
our Holy Comforter,
our Paraclete.

He’s fighting as hard as we are,
and while we might lose some of these battles,
we won’t lose the war.

The war is won.

He stands at our back and pushes, pulls,
and prods us toward that victory.

He has our back,
so nobody is going to sneak up on us
and take away that victory.

That’s what he did for the disciples on the very first Pentecost…
he told them you’ve got to get out there,
out in to the world…it’ll be all right.

I’ve got your back.

And that’s what he says to us, too.

We’re being tried and tested,
we get wounded and fall,
but we don’t have to look back,
because we know who’s there.

Our Paraclete has our back…
it doesn’t mean we don’t have to go into the battle…
we still do.
It does mean he goes with us.

The thing is,
we watch war movies
because we don’t really want to be heroes.

We don’t really want to have to be.

But that’s exactly what we’re called to be.

We are already victors in this battle we never stop fighting…
even when we’re tired,
even when we fail,
even when we lose the battles.

We won’t be tired forever.

We won’t fail or lose forever.

This war will end,
And these little ongoing battles are forming us into heroes.

But until then,
we’ll fight the best we can,
because we know we’re not alone.

We have a Paraclete, and he’s got our back.