The Sky is Falling

During my rather long hiatus lots of things have occurred. The sun has risen and set, the clouds have covered the sun, babies have been born, snow has fallen, melted, and more recently, fallen again. I usually get a severe case of the winter doldrums between February and April. It has been especially bad these last two years as I've been living in a place where many people don't plant vegetables until the weekend before Memorial Day (in other words, spring comes late here). I love seeing all the seasons come and go, but to be honest, February always seems like the longest month of the year. I'm tired of dead things. I'm tired of being cold. But the pre-spring season this year has been punctuated by even more depressing happenings than snow storms. It has been a season of death and disaster.

A family in my hometown recently lost 7 of their 8 children in a house fire. It's a loss that I can't even fathom, and I'm not sure many people can, with the exception of Job, who lost 10 children. Unlike Job, this family has had the unwavering support of the community and even the nation, as donations and prayers have poured in. The immediate community has already framed a replacement house for them. But what little comfort these donations must be to them. Their arms will never hold their children again. And how can they keep from wondering why this has happened to them, despite the fact that they're a godly, Christian family. Or maybe because of that fact. Isn't God supposed to protect his people?

On a world-wide scale, the earthquake and tsunami in Japan has killed an unfathomable amount of people (over 18,000 as I write this). And the nuclear plant's struggle to keep the reactor stable - or make it stable, rather - certainly has the world concerned. Add to this the protests in Libya and Egypt, and some people are thinking about the movie 2012. One of my 7th grade students emphatically assured me that the movie events were happening in real life and that we're all going to die next year.

I've been reluctant to speak on the subject, but I can barely go a day before I hear of someone's untimely death. And maybe it's always been this way, and I'm just more sensitive to it because of the Japan disaster and the deaths of those 7 children. It seems trite and selfish to say that it's gotten me "down," but apparently I'm not the only one. I've heard a lot of talk about the end of times recently. And I know I'm young and I don't have the knowledge and experience that many older, wiser people do, but it's a free country after all, so I thought I'd post my thoughts on this subject.

This, of course, is coming from a Christian point of view. And a Calvinistic one, at that. If you're not a Christian or don't believe in a Sovereign, all-powerful God, the end of the world, I suppose, will look quite different to you. I mean, can you prevent it? Can anyone? I can't pretend to know the beliefs of anyone but myself and those who I've personally heard speak on the subject so I will remain silent on them.

The most commonly quoted Bible verses on the end of times are probably from Revelation (naturally) and the 3 gospels that contain Jesus' comments on the fall of Jerusalem and the coming of the Son of Man. Of course, many of these verses have been interpreted differently by many different people, and once again, these are only MY thoughts. I didn't go to seminary, and I am female, so you can take this with however many grains of salt you wish. But here is the verse I've seen quoted:

"For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places." Matthew 24:7

I've always liked history. When I see that verse, I see the whole of human history in it. Has there ever been a time when two nations or kingdoms haven't been at war against each other? And how many times have there been famines and earthquakes? Even in the last 10 years? This, to me, is not conclusive evidence that the world is ending immediately. If you go in the passage it says, "All these are but the beginning of the birth pains" (v. 8), and then it talks about the destruction of the temple for a while. But it's hard to say where Jesus stops talking about the destruction of Jerusalem and starts talking about the end of the world. The commentators that have published my Bible say that at around verse 29, the talk turns to the end of the world. To be sure, it doesn't sound pleasant. But what I'm more interested is Jesus' own comments on his prophesies.

"But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." Matthew 24:36-39

Now, you may be thinking, that's not quite fair! How can God take these people away before giving them a warning to stop their sinning and repent! Well, my answer would be that he did. I mean, isn't every day a chance and a warning? Isn't every earthquake, every war, every death a warning and a sign that someday, be it tomorrow or 20 years from now, we will all die? This life will come to an end, whether it be from World War III, or natural disasters, or global warming, or whatever. I will come to an end. Whether it be from a car accident on the slippery roads this morning, or from old age, or cancer, or heart disease, or any other malady.

Christ follows up his warning with an entreaty to "stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect" (Matthew 24:42-44).

So, I don't really care much if the world is ending. I care very much for these people who are going through horrible, sorrowful times. But I hope that they can take comfort in Jesus' words in John 16:33 - "In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart, I have overcome the world." I have peace from this verse. I believe in a sovereign, mighty, all powerful God. I believe that he has a plan and that nothing will deviate Him from His plan (Romans 11:33-36). I know that He works out all things for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). And I know that no matter where I am when I die, He will take me to His side and I will praise him eternally (Mark13:27). Everyone who believes in God, sincerely, with his or her whole heart and soul and mind, has these promises to hold onto. Nothing can take us out of God's hand (John 10:27-30). Those who trust in God have a strong foundation. It's not volatile like the nuclear reactor. It's not shaky like the earth's foundations. It's secure. We are secure.

Perhaps I've been presumptuous to speak on these things. Perhaps the world WILL end next year. But if it does, what then? I had better stop worrying and start preparing! For certainly the world will end, or I will end. One of the two has to happen. And I know it's unpopular to speak of God, but I've never cared much for popularity. It's more important to speak of the things that are on my heart, if they stand a chance of helping anyone. That's all I can hope my words can do.

Can I claim a snow day?

Alright, when I started the "useful item" blog, I had ALL these ideas, but I should have written them down, because now they're gone and I'm really struggling! I think I'm about two weeks behind? I'll post two useful things here to get back on track.

Firstly, sour cream/ricotta cheese containers. I know what you're thinking... leftovers. Period. Well, I happen to use them for my plants. Perhaps there's some horrible chemical in the plastic, and this is bad advice..., but I really think that's unlikely. If it's true, I'm very sorry. I find sour cream containers useful for planting seedlings (I tried yogurt containers, but the shape of the Yoplait kind made freeing the seedling a somewhat similar task to freeing your wet feet from rubber boots), and for holding young African violet starts - before you have a more permanent pot for them. Of course if you plant your African violet starts in terra cotta pots, you may have to cut the plastic container down and use it like those very cheap plastic watering dishes at Lowe's. But these you already paid for, and you got to enjoy some sour cream! Much better.



Next, these lovely ringed notecard holders. I found them very useful in college for studying Spanish vocabulary or anatomy terms, but now I use them for verses to be memorized and I have one for prayer concerns. They're tidy, and you don't have to worry about losing them. You can even make your own (bigger) set by punching holes in 3x5 cards and purchasing a binder ring from an office or craft store. I got a big box from amazon.com once. They may even sell 3x5 cards with holes already punched in them!



Anyhow, I hope you are enjoying your Friday. I am off to bake my Valentine's Day cake, which will be consumed tomorrow, with our epic Valentine's meal. I'm planning on outdoing myself, and I hope to remember to post pictures!

Useful Tuesdays...er, Fridays?

Today's useful item is the lovely accordion file:


Do you get magazines and find one or two useful pages inside which makes you reluctant to keep the whole magazine? I certainly didn't want to keep scores of issues of the three magazines I subscribe to. So I rip out the pages and store them in different sections of this accordion file. It's very handy and makes you feel so organized. Well, it makes me feel organized at least.



I got this one at a bookstore because it was very pretty and not much more expensive than a plain one. I am currently in the process of ripping out the pages from about 4 months of magazines. Remember that organized feeling? Well, sometimes it's just a feeling :)

On a different note, I'm going to pose a question for you all (the handful of people who read this). How do you decorate your house after Christmas? Do you have a winter theme? Do you put your spring items up to fight the winter blues? Do you go all out for Valentine's day and/or Saint Patrick's day? I'd love to hear your answers.

Have a lovely, warm, safe weekend!

My excuse for my missing useful post

So I am trying this new thing. I'm waking up around 5:15.

Yikes!

This all started, actually, because my drive to work last year took about 10 minutes less than this year (because of the lovely fact that every dump truck/water tank truck in the whole state has moved to this area!) so I could not get to work on time for the longest time. So I decided to get up earlier - about 10 minutes earlier! - right after Thanksgiving. That worked out great, and I was getting to work on time or early.

Then around the new year I decided to start a Read-the-Bible-in-a-year program, and I was feeling too rushed in the mornings to really invest myself in my devotions and Bible reading. And then I stumbled upon this: The Five O'Clock Club. This club basically states that the members will get up early (however early it takes) to spend time worshiping and communing with God before their crazy, hectic days start.

So I committed. I still don't have the details worked out yet (like when I need to go to bed so that I don't feel like a sleep walker in the morning, and how to get my husband to go to bed early too, and how to best arrange my quiet time so that I'm alone...), but I am already feeling blessed by this.

Although today was not the best, I felt that God was with me. I know that He is always with me, but now that I'm spending more time with Him, I recognize Him places that before I would have been tempted to not even see Him. And I'm loving Him more than I have in a while. It's really jump started my growth.

And I'm also not quite sure of what to do with myself in the evenings because I'm so tired now! So until I get used to this 5:15 schedule, my Useful Tuesday edition may fall on a Useful... Thursday? or Friday... But I will try to keep posting one a week until I run out of ideas.

Because if I don't my husband will tease me mercilessly :)

Check back soon for another post!

Useful Tuesdays

In my quest to become a more regular blogger, I've decided to have a weekly post entitled "Useful Tuesdays" where I will feature items that I have found to be useful to me in some way. Some of the posts will feature a purchased item that I use as intended, and some will be items that I've put a new use to. And since I had a snowday today (ice day?) I have no excuse not to post! So here is my useful item for January 18th.



This is an antique key on a ribbon (and my cat, who decided she wanted to be featured on my blog as well). I used to have these keys hanging around my bedroom, but one day I was looking for something, anything, to tie back the curtains that I made. I did NOT want to make tie backs too. I like sewing, but I was done at this point. I also couldn't put any hooks or anything into the window trim because 1) we rent, so the less holes we put in the walls now, the less holes we have to putty when we leave... and 2) our trim is dry rotting and doesn't hold anything in it anymore anyway. So when my eyes fell on the keys I had a eureka! moment. They very much fit my decorating style... or they would if I actually had one. And I like how it turned out.




And I hope you do, too!
Happy Tuesday!

A New Year

Since the new year started, I have been sick with a cough and sore throat. I love my family and saw them all over Christmas. Many of them had colds, sinus infections, etc. so I am not surprised that I contracted one as well. Although I hate getting a cold (who doesn't?) and particularly despise coughs (mine usually last about a month), I try to tell myself that "this too shall pass," and that there are people out there suffering from much, much worse right now. It doesn't bother me too much at this point, but it does put a damper on one of my goals for this year: to be healthier.

My husband and I have read a lot of things lately about high fructose corn syrup, and although we know that we can't believe everything we hear and read, we are doing our best to only have moderate amounts of this... product. Since HFCS is in practically everything these days, and we have no desire to go completely organic (mostly because of the astonishing price differences), in order to eat several of our normal foods I have to make my own versions.

For instance, these granola bars:



I found the recipe in a magazine even before I knew that my beloved and trusty granola bars had HFCS in them and had wanted to try them, so when I realized that the only granola bars I could find without HFCS were organic and pricey, I decided it was a good time to try the recipe. I'm glad I did, because I like them better than (almost) any granola bar I've ever had, and they are easy to make. Here is the recipe with some alterations according to my taste:

3 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 egg lightly beaten
2/3 cups butter, melted
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sunflower kernels
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/4 cup dried apples (if available)
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Combine oats and walnuts in a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until toasted, stirring occasionally.

In a large bowl, combine the egg, butter, honey and vanilla. Stir in the sunflower kernels, coconut, apples, cranberries, brown sugar and cinnamon. Stir in oat mixture.

Press into a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 13-18 minutes or until set and edges are lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Store in an airtight container. Yield: 3 dozen.

The original recipe called for almonds instead of walnuts, but I liked the taste of the walnuts better. Also, it called for more cranberries and apples. But I don't really like cranberries all that much, and I don't like chopping up dried apples at all, so I lessened the amounts. This recipe is very flexible, so I might end up playing around with it even more. We'll see.


Also, I wore two different shoes yesterday for the first (and hopefully the last) time in my life. I didn't even notice it until halfway through the day when my curiosity as to why one foot was louder than the other prompted me to check the bottom of my shoe for a paper or something else that was muffling the sound. I am now going to move my brown heels so that they aren't next to each other, as they are apparently the exact same color and height.

Christmas on our own

Yesterday I decorated the house for Christmas. I was very excited as I pulled my four boxes of Christmas decorations out of the basement clutter and trudged upstairs. Then I opened them.

What? This is it? One box full of Christmas cards I got on clearance last year during the post-Christmas sale season, one box full of Christmas ornaments, and the two smallest boxes filled with candles and lights. I have two wooden-crafted wall-hangings, and a bag of cinnamon pine cones. And one (granted, large) nativity set. Really? I was a little depressed.

See, I always spend a lot of time crafting Christmas decorations or cross-stitched projects, but they're always gifts for my family or friends. And by the time post-Christmas clearance items come around I'm pretty much out of money due to my love of giving Christmas gifts (My grandma's the same way, so I do get it honest).

Maybe this year I will save some money specifically to find Christmas decor for my little house so that next year when I get my boxes out I will be singing "Joy to the World" while bustling around the house deciding where to put it all. But I did make two items that will stay in our house for as long as they last (or as long as the cat decides they aren't worth ripping apart). So here they are, in all their glory. Ribbon Christmas Trees. Part of the very limited Christmas show at the little white house with black shutters. They're very easy to make and can be found on Michaels' website under projects - Christmas.


Happy December!