our latest science experiment

our "butterfly" emmerged from its chrysalis two days ago. emmy and maddie look for it every day, but i have a feeling it found a quieter place to live.

miniture lumps

"the worst attitude of all would be the professional which regards children in the lump as a sort of raw material which we have to handle."
on three ways of writing for children
c.s. lewis

man-made rules

"legalist in our churches today warn that we dare not teach people about the liberty we have in Christ lest it result in religious anarchy. the christian who lives by faith is not going to become a rebel. quite the contrary, he is going to experience the inner discipline of God that is far better than the outer discipline of man-made rules. "
warren wiersbe

church the way it used to be - part 2

i want to make it clear that i believe that some of God's people actually have convictions in the aforementioned areas. i respect that. we are created by a multi-faceted being and therefore it is highly likely that convictions from one human to the next would differ. however, we become so enamored with our own belief system that we dismiss other christian's convictions.

i do believe that someone who does have these convictions need to tread carefully on the souls of believers who do not hold so tightly to their laws. (notice, i used the pronoun "their" and the object "laws".) for examle, God's choice for musical instruments used to worship Him on Sunday mornings does not appear in any version of the Bible as far as I know. (correct me if i'm wrong - my friends in "the message cult".) i love the sound of a well played, quality organ, and i do not fault any church for choosing to worship with one. i do, however fault that church if they contentiously pulpit bash another church for differing worship choices.

my purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love , so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding in order that they may know the mystery of God , namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge...i delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is. Col 2:2-3 & 5

church the way it used to be

we recieved a leaflet in the mail yesterday.

"church the way it used to be"

all the men wore suits
all the ladies wore skirts below the knee. (i'm sure their slits were below the knee as well)
hymns sung out of a hymnal - "music that stirs the soul and not the feet"
piano
organ
occassional orchestra
they neglected to mention they had pews and not just chairs
yes, it is a very bj church.

the implication of the leaflet:
our church is right;
other churches are wrong.
it's just that simple.

WHAT?
i found the pharisees, but WHERE'S JESUS?

the girls need a bath tonight, so they smell pretty for church. don't worry they'll both be in dresses that are to their knees. after all, it is Easter. my knees will be bear. the drums will be assisting the keyboardists and guitarists (acoustic, electric and bass) play familar hymns of the faith and modren praise and worship songs that will be projected onto a large screen above the platform, chairs will be set up because we don't have any pews, coffee will be served before the service begins. pastor will wear a suit, but he's probably the only one. most importantly Jesus will be the focus, the center, the main attraction not the fashion, the chairs, the instruments. just Jesus.
more thoughts later...

missing

where are you? i miss my friend.

dream big

hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but when dreams come true,
there is life and joy.
prov 13:12

intj

well i took the test...
INTJ

fledge's insight

from magician's nephew:
i'm hungry, " said digory
"well, tuck in," said fledge, taking a big mouthful of grass.
"but we can't eat grass, " said digory.
polly and digory looked at each other in dismay.
"well, i do think someone might have arranged about our meals, " said digory.
"i'm sure Aslan would have, if you'd asked him," said fledge.
"wouldn't he know without being asked?" said polly.
i've no doubt he would, " said the horse (still with his mouth full). "but i've a sort of idea that he likes to be asked."

must see

sophie scholl: the last days

lil' rockers

emmy and maddie are proud owners of their first guitar.
pink
rock on...

theatrical question from the inanely naive

one of the best ?'s i've been asked in the past three years:
do the books come with instructions how to do all the sets and lights and stuff?

only in my dreams.

it would be handy if they came with a little man named "wan" who was willing to do all the work. (elea, i think you call your "wans" grad students. :-)

and the winner is...

heritage

sweet procrastination

things to do:
finish light plot
type light plot
enter plot into light director's book
revise sound plot
type
enter into sound director's book
gather all music to be used
get info to my "mix master"
figure jout what i need stage hands to be doing
type out
enter into stage manager's book
get promotional material from designer and get it to the printer
make an actual prop list
gather the rest of the props
order rest of the flags and propaganda posters
make "black-out" curtians for the set
find an artist to help paint set once it is finished
figure out the flooring for center stage
make-up plot
etc...

clean up the "snowflakes" all over the house inspired by the real snowflakes outside.
clean up and organize the toys all over the house

o.k. so i need to get this stuff done, but here i am indulging in sweet procrastination. i enjoy procrastinating. i thrive on stress. afterall, i still have nearly seven weeks until curtin.

wonderment

child of the pure, unclouded brow
and dreaming eyes of wonder!
though time be fleet and i and thou
are half a life asunder,
thy loving smile will surely hail
the love-gift of a fairy tale.
lewis carroll - through the looking glass

educational quandary

up until last week i felt confident emmy would be attending walnut grove christian prep school. it's a classical grammar and secondary school. emmy's personality and skill sets would adapt well to their environment. maddie, on the other hand, appears to have different skills and talents. i don't feel w.g. is equipped to handle.
so, we have an appointment to tour heritage christian. this school has ample opportunities for both girls. emmy may have to venture from her introverted bubble, but that's not all bad. they offer exceptional child classes starting in the first grade. they also have a computer lab which upon seeing, she declared, "it is good!" the classical school doesn't offer computers at all. quite disappointing for our little nerd. heritage features include a brand new building, an art room equipped with a kiln, a music lab, a library, etc. we think these will contribute greatly to maddie's education. she appears to be more"artsie" than big sis. also, their seniors ranked 4th in the state on their SAT's this year, so they are doing something right. well we welcome opinions. classical or progressive. small or large.

irreverent dance

i was treadmilling with "jack"; it's not as bad when reading lewis. in mere christianity, he states,
"God is not a static thing, but a dynamic, pulsating activity, a life, almost a kind of drama . almost, if you will not think me irreverent, a kind of dance."

this made me laugh b/c i was told that we can't dance in the play that i'm doing. getting tired of tyrannical christianity. i want to dance.

exercise

i did it
20 minutes
treadmill
out
of
breath
doubt
will
do again
what was
i
thinking

identity theft

missing: one 40lb tomboy.
long light brown hair with bangs completely covering her big, beautiful, brown eyes
date missing: thursday
nate and i had an interview with the headmistress at "genius" school. emmy and maddie stayed with a friend. upon returning home that day, emmy asked if she could wear her cinderella dress.
her cinderella dress.
i said, "you want to do what?" it has hung in her closet, untouched for two years. in fact, the one and only time that she wore it (previous to thursday), i forced it on her body as she lay kicking and screaming. on friday she asked to dress up again. thankfully, it only lasted an hour and she was back in shorts (yes, it is only 30 degrees) and turtle neck.

worse yet, the day came several weeks ago when she asked if she could have a barbie. i thought i had escaped barbies, but alas, i am going to have to start shopping in the little girls aisle. (just for the record, we bought her a barbie for v-day. barbie is somewhere in em's room naked. )

if any one sees my little tomboy, i would like her back. i'm not sure what to do with a "girly" girl.

whizmo

whizmo - to fly
the baloon whizmoed away.
from the dictionary of emmy's grand and wonderful imagination.
time for me to whizmo to emmy's room