Give us this day our daily bread

As you can tell from my sidebar, if you've been visiting my blog for very long, I've been reading Luther's Large Catechism for quite a while now. You may not believe this but I'm an avid reader. I can usually devour a book like that in a matter of days. But with school and a new love of blogging, visiting other blogs, and being opinionated on my favorite discussion boards {wink}, I just haven't devoted the time to reading that I normally do.

Today while we were at McDonald's (eating large meals so I could get the cool glasses they're giving away now), I was reading the sections devoted to the Lord's Prayer. (It's amazing how much you can read when your kids are blissfully occupied in a play area.) In light of the election and other "stuff" that's going on now this section of Luther's explanation of the fourth petition stood out.

To put it briefly, this petition includes everything that belongs to our entire life in this world; only for its sake do we need daily bread. Now, our life requires not only food and clothing and other necessities for our body, but also peace and concord in our daily business and in associations of every description with the people among whom we live and move - in short, everything that pertains to the regulation of our domestic and our civil or political affairs. For where these two relations are interfered with and prevented from functioning properly, here the necessities of life are also interfered with, and life itself cannot be maintained for any length of time. Indeed, the greatest need of all is to pray for our civil authorities and the government, for chiefly through them does God provide us our daily bread and all the comforts of this life. Although we have received from God all good things in abundance, we cannot retain any of them or enjoy them in security and happiness unless he gives us a stable, peaceful government. For where dissension, strife, and war prevail, there our daily bread is taken away, or at least reduced.
It would therefore be fitting if the coat-of-arms of every upright prince were emblazoned with a loaf of bread instead of a lion or a wreath or rue, or if a loaf of bread were stamped on coins, to remind both princes and subjects that through the office of the princes we enjoy protection and peace and that without them we could not have the steady blessing of daily bread. Rulers are worthy of all honor, and we should render them the duties we owe and do all we can for them, as to those through whom we enjoy our possessions in peace and quietness, since otherwise we could not keep a penny. Moreover, we should pray for them, that through them God may bestow on us still more blessings and good things...
But especially is this petition directed against our chief enemy, the devil, whose whole purpose and desire it is to take away or interfere with all we have received from God. He is not satisfied to obstruct and overthrow spiritual order, so that he may deceive men with his lies and bring them under his power, but he also prevents and hinders the establishment of any kind of government or honorable and peaceful relations on earth. This is why he causes so much contention, murder, sedition, and war, why he sends tempest and hail to destroy crops and cattle, why he poisons the air, etc. In short, it pains him that anyone receives a morsel of bread from God and eats it in peace. If it were in his power, and our prayer to God did not restrain him, surely we would not have a straw in the field, a penny in the house, or even our life for one hour - especially those of us who have the Word of God and would like to be Christians.

As I was reading this different things in the news kept coming to mind. An election in the States (as well as around the world). Droughts and cyclones. Earthquakes and flooding. When you consider how great are the responsibilities being dumped in the laps of our soon-to-be-elected leaders, you see how important it is to prayerfully consider whom you will choose. It's not just a matter of choosing someone who sees things the way you do (although it's very important), but choosing someone who's competent and capable enough to do the job well. To handle the pressures and strain that come with it and not succumb to their pride when things look they might not be going as planned.

When we see the reports of natural disasters, wars, etc. we need to not lose heart. It's the devil at work and losing heart is exactly what he wants us to do. We need to pray all the more and be more resolved in our hearts that he will not prevail. As one commenter on Jungle Mom's blog put it: I've read the end of the Book and we win. THAT's homeland security.

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/luther/large_cat/files/large_catechism21.htm

Opinions

I recently found the Arab Times...I prefer it to the Kuwait Times...online. Here's an editorial that I thought was good. Enjoy!

http://www.arabtimesonline.com/kuwaitnews/faqdetails.asp?faid=1134&faqid=9

We don’t want all of us to become bombers

By Ali Ahmad Al-BaghliFormer Minister of Oil

I HAVE not commented on reports about two Kuwaitis who allegedly carried out a suicide bombing attack in Iraq because they are members of two big tribes in Kuwait — Dawaser and Ajman. We are currently facing a critical phase in our history as the elections are fast approaching and tension escalating between the tribes and security authorities. We all witnessed how members of the Awazem and Mutair tribes in the Fifth and Fourth Constituencies attacked police officers when they staged a protest to demand the release of their fellow tribesmen accused of organizing primaries. The confrontation looked like a scene from the ‘Wild Wild West’ movies in the USA.
However, when reports about another Kuwaiti, Hamad Al-Harbi, who allegedly carried out another suicide bombing attack in Iraq, was published in local daily newspapers, I could not help but comment since he is a member of my tribe — Harb. Several young Kuwaitis, who fought in Afghanistan, ended in Guantanamo Prison. Many Kuwaitis criticized me for my refusal to participate in moves to demand the release of Kuwaitis detained in Guantanamo. I detest the prison, especially the atrocities being carried out inside it. I also oppose the detention of individuals in Guantanamo as there were no cases filed against them. However, I chose not to discuss the issue because I believe the US State Department knows the prisoners well, their way of thinking, and their plans after being released from prison.
Now, the assumptions of the US State Department have been proven true. It had earlier claimed that some of the prisoners’ actions are based on their terrorist ideologies. I offer no condolences to the Chairman of the Committee for the Relatives of Kuwaiti Guantanamo Prisoners Khalid Al-Adwah, who keeps on demanding the release of the prisoners as his son is one of them. The US had earlier agreed to release two Kuwaitis from Guantanamo but a high-ranking government official thinks the US will withdraw its decision after the reported suicide bombings in Iraq.
A few weeks ago, Ayman Al-Thawari commended one of the most notorious extremists in Kuwait, who was arrested several times and owns a website encouraging young Kuwaiti men to become suicide bombers. I wonder what kind of information he is secretly passing on to these young men.We are against the way security authorities treat Kuwaitis detained in Guantanamo as this is a violation of their constitutional rights but we should also maintain harmonious relations with the US. We can’t also blame the government for taking action against the Kuwaiti detainees as the problem lies in our laws, which are obsolete and loaded with loopholes. When are we going to pass laws that are appropriate for such actions?

Don't ever say they don't appreciate us

http://www.arabtimesonline.com/kuwaitnews/pagesdetails.asp?nid=17540&ccid=9

Kuwait honors fallen soldiers
WASHINGTON (KUNA): Kuwait joined thousands of Americans in honoring fallen soldiers from the American Revolution to Operation Iraqi Free-dom in the National Memorial Day parade in Washington. Kuwaiti children waved to spectators while passing on a float preceded by a group of Kuwaiti students from the National Union of Kuwait carrying Kuwaiti and American flags. Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Sabah, Kuwait’s Ambassador to the United States, attended the parade, alongside the organizing team, Kuwait Embassy staff, and the Kuwaiti community in Washington. Crossing Constitution Avenue from the National Archives to the Washington Monument, 5,000 volunteers including marching bands, active duty and retired military units, youth groups, and parade floats portrayed a historic recollection of American history.
Over 100,000 Americans came together to honor active duty military personnel and all those who died in service in this annual event, co-organized for the fourth year in Washington by the American Veterans Center and the White House Committee on Remem-brance. Featured as a ‘Gold sponsor’ of the event, the State of Kuwait is participating for the second year in a row in this parade to pay tribute to Kuwaiti and American soldiers who died in the Gulf War while liberating Kuwait in 1991.
Kuwait was the only Arab country represented in the parade, alongside countries like France, Taiwan, UK and South Vietnam. The 2008 Parade featured actors Mikey Rooney and Gary Sinise, Miss America 2008 Kristen Haglund, and Baseball Hall of Famer and Navy Veteran of World War II Bob Feller, in addition to a tribute to the 100th anniversary of Navy Nursing. The parade paused for one minute of silence to observe the national moment of remembrance. This is a tribute to over 24 million living veterans and 1.5 million who died in service featured, as honorary marshals, notable veterans from World War II and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Food for thought

I remember many years ago during the Murphy Brown/single mom debate when Dan Quayle was asked about what he would do if his daughter found herself pregnant without being married. He answered very firmly that that wouldn't happen. The interviewer thought he was being arrogant and tried to get him to answer the question, "But what if?" Quayle knew the answer to that question. He and his wife were raising their daughter in such a way that they knew it was a moot point. He wasn't being arrogant. He wasn't implying that he knew every thought his girl had. He was speaking as a parent who knew what he was teaching his children and that they were taking it to heart. It caused quite a stir. He was out of touch. He was stupid. What did he know? His daughter.

Barack Obama made the remark that if his daughters made a mistake, he didn't want them punished with a baby.

A father who is taking the time to teach his daughter right from wrong and is sure of his daughter's character is mocked for being foolish and gullible. A father who makes no assumptions of his daughters' characters is basically ignored. Kind of makes me glad I'm living overseas.

Little Boys!

I wrote Friday that we missed church due to the twins having the crud and the Little Prince having a slight fever. The Boss having exams this week didn't help either. Then the next day we had company for dinner. (See pics below.)

Well...Saturday morning, long before I got the heads up about dinner, I took the twins to the clinic. I have to say I like the way they do (some) things here. For the bargain price of 1 dinar ($3.50) you go to the clinic, see a doctor, and get any meds, tests, etc. you need. So if you have kids and you pretty much know what they have and what you need, it's a great deal. I've been there numerous times myself. Some of the doctors...you feel like you wasted your time for all the help they are. Other doctores...I smile when I see them. It's always the luck of the draw (or maybe how good an impression you make on the person you check in with).

So Saturday morning the doctor kept reminding me that weekend hours are just for emergencies. We've been there DOZENS of times on the weekend and have never had anyone act like they couldn't figure out why we weren't just waiting until Sunday or later. Other than that she was nice, but just preoccupied with reminding us of this. {sigh} She looked in the Prince's ears and the right one looked fine but she couldn't see in his left one. She couldn't tell if it was wax or a foreign object. She said to come back "when it wasn't the weekend" so one of the other doctors could look at it.

We went back last night because he still had a bit of fever and I did need to check on that possible foreign object in his ear. The doctor looked in and said that there was something there and it looked hard. She thought it was something stuck in there. So she wrote up a referral for me to take him to the hospital.

We go to the hospital and the doctor is very nice and looks in. No problems so far. Just sees it and grabs this little "gun" that blows air through a tube. He uses it on the Prince's arm and he's cool with that so he uses it on his ear. He holds still but it doesn't work. So he uses something else to try to loosen it. Big mistake. The Prince refuses to cooperate after that. He will not let him use anything else. Until another doctor comes in and suggests irrigating it. He grabs a similar looking "gun" that shoots out a small stream of water. The Prince is cool with it after it's demonstrated on his arm. Unfortunately it wasn't enough pressure to do the job. So he tries a syringe. For some reason the Prince refuses to allow it. With me holding his arms, the nurse holding his head, and the Boss holding his feet, the doctor still can't get to his ear. (Y'all do remember he's half Lebanese, right?)

So after a while we have Baba on the phone. Now I was offering anything I could think of...Skittles, ice cream, sleeping with us tonight, ... It didn't work. I don't know what Baba said to him (and it took a while to say it too) but he finally, begrudgingly, let the doctor do it. He ended up not minding it too much. I mean, I don't think I'd be as still with someone shooting a syringe full of water into my ear, but he did great.

The offending little object came out after being squirted at a few times and we couldn't quite tell what it was. Now, when I'd asked him earlier if he'd put something in his ear and what it was, he said, "Food." That helped a lot. The closest thing we could up with is cereal. You know, the something Smacks? With the frog on the box? I can't remember the last time it was in the house!

We asked him later if he was ever going to put anything in his ear again. He said, "No." Good answer. (I can believe him, right?)

Djaj mah riz (Chicken and Rice)

Today around 2:00 Baba called me and said he was bringing someone home for supper and asked me to make this dish. It's one that I've made dozens of times (or at least it feels like it) so it's pretty easy to throw together in a hurry. Good thing, too. LOL I thought I'd share it with y'all.


First I wanted to get the eggplant in the oven for the Baba Ghanouj. Before I put it in the oven, I cut off the tops and made 6 stabs in each one with a knife.





Then I got my chickens ready to go in the microwave.





While the eggplant baked and the chickens defrosted I got out the ingredients for the hummus. I juiced the lemons and then added the other ingredients to the food processor and turned it on.





I almost forgot to mash the garlic. Oops!





Then I mixed the ingredients to rub on the chicken.





After I put the chicken in the oven, I began preparing the Baba Ghanouj. It requires the same ingredients as the Hummus, only you use eggplant instead of chick peas.





Then I turned on my trusty Moulinex.





And voila! I have my dips ready to go. I'll just need to drizzle some olive oil on them before I take them to the table.





After Baba deboned the chicken for me I browned the nuts and raisins.





Then I added them to the finished dish. Sorry I forgot to take pics of the rice preparation.





Here's the recipe!


For the chicken and rice:


Step A:

1 roasting chicken (or in my case, two smaller ones)
salt/pepper/cinnamon
2 T. butter
2 cloves garlic (crushed)


Step B:

1/4 c butter
1/2 lb. beef or lamb (ground)
2 c. long grain rice (I use brown)
salt/pepper/cinnamon
4 c. water (use a bit less if you're using white rice)


Step C:

1/4 c. each slivered almonds and pine nuts (a.k.a. pignolias)
1/2 c. raisins
1/4 c. butter

Preheat oven to 450F.


Clean chicken and rub all over with the butter, salt, pepper, cinnamon, and garlic. Place in roasting pan with 1/2 c. water. Bake for 1 1/4 hours or until chicken is tender.


While chicken is baking prepare the stuffing. In a saucepan saute butter and meat until meat is brown. Then add washed and drained rice, salt/pepper/cinnamon. Saute for a minute or so and then add water. Bring to a boil and then lower heat, cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes or until rice is done and water is gone. Rice should be nice and tender.


While rice is cooking, saute nuts in butter until golden brown (be careful not to let them burn). Add raisins and saute for another minute (sometimes I add them sooner so they can get nice and juicy with the butter. Yum!)

Debone chicken and set aside. Place rice on large platter and arrange chicken pieces over the top of rice. Then sprinking nuts and raisins mixture over the chicken.


For the BABA GHANOUJ:

1 large eggplant
2 cloves of garlic (crushed)
salt to taste, about a tsp.
1/4 or less of tahini (according to taste-I use about 2 T.)
1/4 c. lemon juice (or to taste)


Preheat the oven to 375. Wash eggplant and remove the stem then pierce with a fork about 6 times. Place in baking dish and bake for about 45 minutes or until tender. Remove and set aside to cook until you can handle it.

While you're waiting you can juice your lemons if you have a juicing attachment for your food processor. Otherwise after you peel the eggplant you need to mash it. (I hate doing it without a food processor.) After you juice the lemons, replace the juicing attachment with the metal blade. Add peeled eggplant and the remaining ingredients. Process until nice and smooth. (If you're not using a food processor, mash the eggplant and then add the other ingredients, stirring very well.


To eat, scoop up with broken off bits of pita bread.


For HUMMUS:

Follow the same recipe as above except replace a can of chickpeas for the eggplant. You will, before you turn on processor, add a bit of water...not enough to come to the top of the peas. Process until smooth. Eat the same way.


Oh, and don't forget to drizzle both of these with a bit of olive oil. If you don't want to eat a lot of bread with them, try using them as a veggie dip.


Sahtayn!

After so many weeks of faithful worship we missed church this morning. It felt strange but I didn't feel too guilty. We had good reason.

First of all, the Boss has a French exam Sunday (it's the beginning of the end of year exams) and he just doesn't have the stuff down yet. The Diva has had a cough since Wednesday night and I keep expecting her to get worse. The Little Prince woke up stuffy and complaining of a tummy ache and sore throat. I gave them both Claritin and I gave the Diva a suppository that has a real good expectorant in it (lasts for 12 hours). Then after a couple of hours Prince was complaining of being cold (it's 100+ outside) so I took his temp and it was 100.4. So I gave him some Panadol. When he was running around hitting his sister I knew it was time to head for McDonald's. LOL

We've been avoiding the place on Fridays per Baba's request. First, it's not healthy. Second, for the price of ONE value meal I can buy schwarma for all of us (and we usually eat 2-3 each). But they now have a promotion. With each large value meal you get a free Coke glass shaped like their cans. When I pointed it out to Baba last night, he said, "So take them." So we went and got 4 meals. The twins shared one and when they begged for their toys (stuffed Looney Tunes characters) the lady was nice and gave them a couple. So the Prince has Bugs Bunny and the Diva has Tweety. Prince wanted Road Runner but they only had these two. Oh, well. We might have to go back for more glasses sometime so maybe we'll try another location and he can get his Road Runner.

While we were there we met another mom there with her kids. She's Lebanese, grew up in Kuwait, and married to an American. Her daughter is a couple of years younger than the Boss and the little boy is a year younger than the twins. They had fun playing and we had fun chatting. We traded phone numbers and talked until they kicked us out for a birthday party starting soon.

I think I'm having salad for supper tonight...and calling my neighbor to see about heading to the gym this weekend. LOL

You gotta read this!

http://jungle-hut.blogspot.com/2008/05/how-to-handle-wire-tapping-of-your.html

Jungle Mom had this post on her blog today. It's hillarious. I can see her doing that. Heck! I can see myself doing that. Comes from being onry, I guess.

Enjoy!

Women Candidates

The last election was this past Saturday. The Amir dissolved Parliament a while back because, quite frankly, they were doing a pretty poor job. In this election there were more women running for parliament. It was the 2nd election since women were granted the vote and allowed to run for public office.

In an interview on Al-Jazeera women were being interviewed and one woman mentioned that some women were being threatened with divorce if they voted for a woman. Hopefully between now and the next (hopefully scheduled) election, women (and men) will be better educated on the benefits of women in Parliament.

Here is the link to the article from a local paper.

http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=MTI0NTkxNDU5NQ==

What Would Webber Think?

On our second trip to Lebanon we went to see a musical at the Casino. I was looking forward to it because on our first visit we'd seen a musical by the same composer called "The Last Days of Socrates". That was the first time I heard Carole Samaha sing (above-the pretty one). The musical we went to see this time was called "He Rose in 3 Days" and she was playing Mary Magdeleine. Ghassan Rahbani was playing Judas (above-the bearded one).

We were sitting on the 2nd row with our friends. A family friend worked in the box office and was able to get us free tickets. Not bad, huh? The show started and even though it was in Arabic I was still able to follow what was going on and enjoy the music. (I mean, I should, right? LOL) After a while I noticed that the hats the priests were wearing looked a bit familiar. After listening a bit more closely, I realized the music sounded familiar as well. I leaned over to Baba and asked, "Are they singing 'ho sanna, hey sanna, sanna, sanna, ho, sanna, hey sanna, ho sanna?' " He looked very impressed at my ability to pick up Arabic (?) and I said, "Honey, it's 'Jesus Christ Superstar'."

Now to understand this next part there's something you need to understand about my husband. When it comes to movies he has absolutely no memory. Now over the years this has improved slightly but only just. Several years ago we saw the movie "American Beauty". About 3 days later or so I was referring to something that had happened in the movie and he had no idea what I was talking about. I had to tell him the whole story. The whole story. Then he remembered what I was talking about. So understand that without the ability to remember a movie 3 days after seeing it, this next part of the story is an outright miracle.

When we were first married we rented the movie "Jesus Christ Superstar". Now, 4 years later we were sitting in a theater in Lebanon watching this musical. The last scene in act 1 opens. It's the scene where Judas is in the temple and he's made the deal for the betrayal. They did not change a single note. Even Baba, with his inability to remember a movie 3 days later, recognized the music.

I'll repeat it in case you missed it. He recognized the music!

We started laughing because this was funny on so many levels. Our friends who were with us (we're on the 2nd row, remember?) look over at us like they don't know who we are. I mean, we're laughing at a great work by a famous Lebanese composer that tells about the Passion!

So we settle down and then they come on stage. The dancers. I honestly don't remember there being any dancers in this scene in the movie. My first reaction was, "What are these Cats doing here?" You notice I said, "Cats?" Then I realized they weren't actually Cats. They were just Jellicle Demons. {insert rolling eyes smilie here} I lean over to my husband and tell him what they're supposed to be and he starts cracking up. So here we are on the 2nd row laughing our heads off at Judas' impassioned song. Our friends not only no longer know us, they no longer even want to be there. They're just hoping for a big gaping hole to open up in the floor and swallow them.

I do feel sorry for the poor guy. He did a fantastic job playing Judas, he's a really good singer, I loved his performance. I just had to laugh my head off! Sorry.

So during intermission we're chatting with our friend who got us the seats and a couple of priests who were sitting in front of us. They're talking about how this was "Jesus Christ Superstar"-NOT (it would never play in a Maronite Catholic country like Lebanon-that would cause rioting that would teach Hezbollah a thing or two). They said a few overly flattering things about it but I'm afraid if I tried to write about it I'd start laughing so hard I'd start crying and there would be too many typos from trying to type through tears.

The first time we saw a musical there I loved the music so much I bought the soundtrack. This time there were no soundtracks. I wonder why?

The Rules - from the Guys

At last a guy has taken the time to write this all down

Finally , the guys' side of the story. (I must admit, it's pretty good.)

We always hear " the rules" from the female side. Now here are the rules from the male side.

These are our rules! Please note..

These are all numbered "1 " ON PURPOSE!

1.Men are NOT mind readers.

1. Learn to work the toilet seat.You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down.We need it up, you need it down.You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.

1. Sunday sports...It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be.

1. Crying is blackmail.

1. Ask for what you want.

Let us be clear on this one:

Subtle hints do not work!

Strong hints do not work!

Obvious hints do not work!

Just say it!

1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become Null and void after 7 Days.

1. If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us.

1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one

1. You can either ask us to do something or tell us how you want it done. Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.

1. Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials.

1. Christopher Columbus did NOT need directions and neither do we.

1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not a color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.

1. If it itches, it will be scratched. We do that.

1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," We will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.

1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, expect an answer you don't want to hear.

1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine. .. Really .

1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as baseball or golf.

1. You have enough clothes.

1. You have too many shoes.

1. I am in shape. Round IS a shape!

1. Thank you for reading this .Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight; but did you know men really don't mind that? It's like camping.

Pass this to as many men as you can -To give them a laugh.

Pass this to as many women as you can -
To give them a bigger laugh.

How is this possible?

The people of Burma (I refuse to call it Myanmar) are suffering through the most horrible crisis imaginable. Unfortunately, it started long before the cyclone. The cyclone has just been the epitome of their government's cruelty to its people.

Burma's government has a long, despicable history of mistreatment of its people. Actually, "mistreatment" is the wrong word. They abuse their people. They kill them on a whim. They require that they all follow the same religion or else they're persecuted and denied the chance to serve in the government or the military, about the only way to be successful in that country.

They steal food and other items sent as aid for the people left homeless, injured, etc. When they do finally allow any aid in at all, they delay its delivery so they can stamp their names on it.

Do they really think their people are so blind? We need to pray for our Christian brothers and sisters in Burma, who have suffered persecution for so long. We need to pray for all Burmese people as they have this catastrophe added to the long list of abuses imposed upon them by their government.

Happy Sunday!

Happy Sunday, everyone!

Since we live in a Muslim country we typically worship on Friday mornings. Most people have a Sunday through Thursday work week. Until September it was the more traditional Saturday through Wednesday week, but they changed to have fewer work days out of sync with the rest of the world. But Sunday still seems like it should be special somehow, especially since I have to listen to students recite the Qur'an (I refuse to refer to it as "holy") during our weekly assembly. This is my usual Sunday morning:

For the last few months I've been downloading sermons from The Lutheran Hour and saving them on my iPod. I'm a few weeks behind on my listening but that's OK. I listen to The Lutheran Hour on my morning drive (or, if my friend is riding with me, I listen on my walk in the basement). Then during the Sunday morning assemble I have my Lutheran Prayer Book with me and I read through the Nicene Creed, pray the Lord's Prayer, read Psalm 122, or something to keep my mind where it belongs, not being annoyed to death by what I'm hearing.

This morning I listened to a wonderful sermon from a few weeks ago. The pastor's response to an e-mail was just as terrific. He really spelled things out very clearly. Basically he talked about how we're supposed to keep an open mind.Society says that if we say anything like Christ being the only way to the Father than we're being closed-minded and judgemental. His illustrations to the opposite were excellent.

After the sermon, before the Q & A portion they played one of my favorite hymns. I found myself singing along while driving up 55. It's a short stretch of road and the song was just the perfect length. LOL Here it is:


At the Lamb’s high feast we sing, Praise to our victorious King, Who hath washed us in the tide Flowing from his piercèd side; Alleluia.

Praise we Him, whose love divine Gives His sacred blood for wine, Gives His body for the feast, Christ the Victim, Christ the Priest. Alleluia.

Where the Paschal blood is poured, Death’s dark angel sheathes his sword; Israel’s hosts triumphant go Through the wave that drowns the foe. Alleluia.

Praise we Christ, whose blood was shed, Paschal Victim, paschal Bread; With sincerity and love Eat we Manna from above. Alleluia.

Mighty Victim from the sky, Hell’s fierce powers beneath Thee lie; Thou hast conquered in the fight, Thou hast brought us life and light; Alleluia.

Now no more can death appall, Now no more the grave enthrall; Thou hast opened Paradise, And in Thee Thy saints shall rise. Alleluia.

Paschal triumph, Easter joy, Only sin can this destroy; From sin’s death do Thou set free Souls reborn, O Lord, in Thee. Alleluia.

Hymns of glory and of praise, Father, to Thee we raise; Risen Lord, all praise to Thee, Ever with the Spirit be. Alleluia.

The words that I found online are a little bit different than what I'm used to but you still get the gist. Did I mention that I love this hymn?

BTW, someone had a question about a previous post of mine but didn't feel she knew me well enough to comment directly to me so she asked a mutual friend. Here's a link to an excellent answer to her question. So, if you ever have a question for me, you might want to ask her. LOL http://askalutheran.blogspot.com/2008/05/im-no-theologian-but.html

Have a nice day!

Trinity Sunday

Happy Trinity Sunday, everyone!

We had a guest speaker today at church. She's the daughter of a couple from our congregation, preparing to head to seminary. She just came from an interfaith conference in Doha. She works for a project that researches relations between Jews, Christians, and Muslims, and how it affects the secular world.

The Anglican church urges its members to study their faith using 3 tools: Scripture, tradition, and reason. In the interfaith dialogues they urge Scriptural Reasoning, where Jews, Christians, and Muslims read their books together and explore what they mean.

Our Old Testament reading for today was Isaiah 40: 12-17, 27-31.

12 Who has measured the waters[a] in the hollow of His hand, Measured heaven with a span And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scales And the hills in a balance? 13 Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has taught Him? 14 With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, And taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, And showed Him the way of understanding? 15 Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, And are counted as the small dust on the scales; Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing. 16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering. 17 All nations before Him are as nothing, And they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.
27 Why do you say, O Jacob, And speak, O Israel: “ My way is hidden from the LORD, And my just claim is passed over by my God”? 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

The Gospel reading was Matthew 28: 16-20.

16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore[a] and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

In the reading from Isaiah the Jews are learning how to be Jews outside of Israel. Isaiah reminds them that God is everywhere, not just in Israel and Jerusalem. "The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth." How could he not be with them in their exile in Babylon? If He could do all the things that Isaiah lists, then how could He not be with them wherever they were? Even in their most distressing times?

A rabbi from Argentina, who was attending the dialogue in Doha, said that God is universal and transcendant. He has a special relationship with the Jews, but not an exclusive one. Muslims believe that God is universal and transcendent and revealed through revelation in the Qur'an. (They believe that all are born Muslims but that we are converted by our parents to other religions.) Christians, on the other hand, believe that God is revealed by His Son, Jesus Christ, come to earth to die for us.

Today's gospel reading tells us that Jesus is God come down from heaven. He is always with us. We are to make disciples of all nations. There are 4 options for interpreting this reading.

1) Be proactive- Head out to the far ends of the earth; make women wear hats and men wear suits; give them an organ, and teach them to sing good, English hymns.

2) Ignore it - Dismiss it because it's too challenging; just concentrate on people of different faiths getting along.

3) Just interpret it as an invitation to friendship. Even Jews and Muslims, when listening to a Christian speaker at the conference taking this stance, didn't buy that!

4) Scripture, tradition, and reason - Reason- God gives us a brain and expects us to use it. Jesus tells the disciples that the authority has been given to Him, not to them. As His disciples we are to follow His instruction and do what He says. We are to make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, so that they will be able to follow His commands. Tradition- We have the wisdom and examples of the saints who came before us. Christian witness is about living our faith. Christian witness in action. Throughout our traditions we have others who have lived those lives and put their faith into action. Scripture- Might there be a case for letting our Scriptures speak to us? What do they say about how we are to live and what we are to do? They tell us that we are to make disciples and to baptize them so that they may be granted with the faith that only comes from God.

Our big, universal, transcendent God, who measured the waters in the hollow of His hand and marked off the heavens with a span, to whom the nations are like a drop from a bucket and are accounted as as dust on the scales, is with us always, through the end of the age!


Almighty and eternal God, you have revealed yourself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and live and reign in the perfect unity of love: hold us firm in this faith, that we may know You in all Your ways and evermore rejoice in Your eternal glory, who are three Persons yet one God, now and for ever. Amen

The inmates are still running the asylum!

Over the last few weeks I've been very proud of a Lebanese government for sticking to their guns over the trouble they'd been giving a Hezbollah over their communications network and the sacking of the head of security at the airport. I thought, for once they're going to not give in to Hezbollah and their kind. But alas, I was wrong. It shouldn't have really been much of a surprise.


http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=92063


http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=ODcxNTAzOTcw


When the people running the government have jaded histories of their own...militia leaders, former presidents (one of whom had the backing of Saddam Hussein), suppliers of arms to Palestinian troublemakers in Tripoli, etc. can you really expect them to know how to run a democracy? They sit around shooting off their mouths on LBC and the other networks (you've never seen so many talking heads until you've turned on Lebanese television) while the people watching them are only able to do so because they are fortunate to be hooked up to a generator that they're probably being overcharged for. Please read these links...they're rather interesting. And explain quite a bit. {sigh}


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


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


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


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


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


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


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

President Bush Makes Fun of Himself (really)

This is a hoot. Enjoy!

No school for the Boss and me

I just happened to check my phone this morning to see what time it was. There were 2 messages. The second message was from my school announcing that due to the death of the Father Amir we were closed today and tomorrow. I reset my alarm for 6 and hoped I'd get a call from the Boss's school. No phone call so I checked their website. Nothing on it. I called and found out he's out of school. The lucky little devil. He was out last Thursday for Open Day and had no school Sunday and Monday (I don't really know why but who cares? He was happy.) He went back for one day yesterday and now he's off again. I'm planning on getting a lot of cross stitching and blogging done. :)





http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=Njg3MTIwMDY4

Are we too shallow?

This morning I listened to one of my favorite programs, White Horse Inn. http://www.whitehorseinn.org/ The program today was actually from a couple of weeks ago but I only listen once a week. Think of it as a special ritual.

"Today's" program got me to thinking (dangerous, I know). It was about how our society and the church are becoming more shallow. http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/The_White_Horse_Inn/archives.asp?bcd=4/27/2008 We don't want to read and study and learn. We want things spoon fed to us. We watch "news" that's made to entertain and entertainment is served up as "news"

There are whole churches of people who don't want to know any more than necessary (and not even that much) about theology or doctrine. Excuse me? How do you know what you believe then?Schools and christian education water things down, dumb things down to the point that you come out of school (or your Sunday School) knowing little more than you did when you started at the age of 5. OK, perhaps that's a bit of an exageration but not by much.

Back in Luther's day, children were, for the most part, uneducated. Education was for those who's families could afford it. Most were illiterate. Even among those who could read, few of those advanced very far. Luther's Small Catechism (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/luther/smallcat.pdf) was written to educate illiterate children in what we as Christians believe. Luther's Large Catechism (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/luther/large_cat/files/large_cat.html) was for the fathers to read and study so he could properly teach his household, including the household servants, who were also, very likely, illiterate. It's not light reading, but it's not meant to be. It's too important for that.

I'm currently reading The Large Catechism. It's not a particularly "updated" translation. In fact, the copyright is 1959. It's a good read. But it's not for those who are afraid of theology or, heaven forbid, doctrine! It's meat and potatoes. It's for those who aren't afraid to expose themselves to some good old theology.

When I go to church, I don't want to hear a nice, little homily. I don't want to hear how Jesus loves me and wants what's best for me. (I know it's true, but that's not the whole of the Gospel.) I want to hear theology. I want to hear sound doctrine. If something's a sin, I want to hear it. I don't want it sugar coated. Like one of the men said on White Horse Inn (or words to that effect), "If I don't want a doctor who's afraid of blood, do I want a pastor who's afraid of sin?"

The question came up of having a "personal relationship" with Jesus. If you go to a friend of yours and say, "Hey, I'm in a new relationship" your friend is going to ask about that person. Would you say you love how s/he smells? Their smile, the way you enjoy long walks on the beach, yada, yada, yada? You know, how that person makes you feel? If your friend asks you what that person is like, do you even know? And if you don't know, then how can you have a relationship? You have an infatuation at best. That's shallow!

My relationship with Christ is based upon what I know of Him and what He has done for me. I know that through hearing and reading His Word.My relationship is not how I feel about Him. It's a real relationship. He came to save me from my sins.

But, like the rest of humanity, I've been so ungrateful of His gifts for me. I'm blessed with a wonderful husband and 3 terrific children. Do I appreciate them the way I should? No. Do I yell at them when I'm irritable? Yes. Do I show my impatience? Oh, you betcha.

I'm fulfilling my dream of living in another country. Since I was young that's what I've wanted to do. Do I complain about where I live? Yes. Do I wish we were living in Spain or France? You know, places like what I had in mind? Yes.

I've wanted to be a teacher since I was in kindergarten. Do I complain and wish things were different? Yes.

I have a Bible (actually several) containing God's Word. It's there for me study and learn everything He wants me to know. Do I get busy doing other things before opening it? Yes. Do I fall asleep while reading it? Yes. Do I sometimes (OK, maybe more like, often) skip it? Yes.

I've taken just about everything He's ever given me and tossed it back at Him in one way or another at one time or another. Still, knowing I'd do that, He chose to die for me. When my parents brought me to be baptized as an infant, He knew that I'd do all this with His gifts. He still sent His Holy Spirit. He still allowed me to hear Him every Sunday and during quiet times and not so quiet times. He still blessed me (and still blesses me) with the gift of faith. He still made me His child. Knowing all that.

Baptism and the Eucharist are means of grace. They're how I receive the Holy Spirit and how I remember His great sacrifice for me. When I worship with a body of believers, when we are praying and worshiping and hearing His Word corporately, that's where my relationship with Christ becomes personal. That's where I learn of Him and receive Him. We don't invite Christ into our hearts. He's not standing around waiting for us do something. We don't choose Him. We don't do anything ourselves. It's all done by Him through us. I believe because He gave me the gift of belief. I don't have faith because of anything I did myself. He gave me my faith through my Baptism and hearing the Gospel. That's what's personal about my faith. That it's a gift for me.

I apologize if the link to the Small Catechism doesn't work. I had to log in to open it. If you don't already have a username and password for this website, get one! It's a wonderful, free way of reading great classical writing.

America is in Acts!

We celebrated 2 birthdays today in church. The first one, of course, is the birthday of Christ's church, Pentecost. The other birthday is the first birthday of our Chinese congregation. Part of the celebration was a baptism and potluck at a member's home. We didn't attend that part since it makes too long a day for the twins. (Besides, while Lutherans are adamently against rebaptism, this Lutheran would have been very tempted to jump right in that pool anyway.)

Before the reading of the Gospel today the young woman being baptized shared her testimony with the congregation with another member translating for her. She shared her excitement at being baptized, having her second birth, on the birthday of the church. Her parents are Buddhist and when she called home to tell them that she was becoming a Christian her mother, rather than being against the idea, was very supportive of it.

Today's readings were Acts 2: 1-21; Psalm 104: 25-35, 37; 1 Corinthians 12: 3b-13; and John 7: 38-39.

The sermon this morning spoke of how the list of Jews in the reading from Acts were from this area around where we were worshipping this morning. Iraq, Iran, Turkey, North Africa, and Saudi Arabia. They were gathered at the birth of Christ's church. They'd seen Him die and His resurrection. They saw His ascension and they were gathered there to pray.

Our pastor confessed that he'd watched Oprah this week. He didn't go into any detail except to say that there was a Roman Catholic woman who said that for years her faith centered on Christ's crucifixion. It had crippled her faith. That's all she ever focused on. She felt there had to be more. She was right. Christ told His disciples the Spirit would come and they would be sent out over the earth. The Spirit came and they burst out onto the streets and started to preach. Why were all these people in Jerusalem? They were there to celebrate Pentecost. It measn 50, to mark 50 days after Passover, the start of the harvest season, and the giving of the Law to Moses-a new community united by the Law. But now Pentecost marks a new community united not by the Law, but by the Spirit.

Acts ends strangely. It feels unfinished because it is. There's more. There are people worshipping in our church today from the U.K., the U.S.A., Canada, China, Ghana, South Africa, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, and more. All these places, because the church has spread to these places, are now in the book of Acts. We are witnesses in our places of work and in our home.

Members of our Chinese congregation made a CD and took it back to China. We watched it and it was wonderful. It spoke of the community of believers and showed pictures of various members being baptized by our pastor in the aforementioned pool. (That's when I knew I couldn't go...I'd be in that pool in a heartbeat. What else are you going to do when the temps are in the low 100's?)

Some feel all there is to faith is a list of things to believe. Jesus said, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." That's faith!

God's Rubber Ducky?

"O Lord, how manifold are You works! In wisdom You have made them all. The earth is full of Your possessions-This great and wide sea, in which are innumerable teeming things, Living things both small and great. There the ships sail about, there is that Leviathan which You have made to play there." Psalm 104: 24-26 (emphasis mine)

More Opinions

Apparently I'm not the only one who doesn't care for the locals' driving antics. Here are some editorials from last Friday's edition of an English-language newspaper.

http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=MTM4NDEwODIxNQ==


http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=MTM4OTgxMTIyMg==

While looking for these articles I found this one. This is the perfect description of the cats in this country. We had one we adopted for a while. Baba was too allergic to tolerate him anymore though and we gave him back to our friend. He was very sweet and affectionate, but don't expect Elektra to agree with me though. It took at least a good month for them to stop growling at each other. About the time they were snuggling together on Elektra's rug, he left. When they saw each other a few weeks later, they were back at the growling at each other. Oh, well.

http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=MTM4OTgxMTIyMg==

More pics

Here are some more pics of the sandstorm a week ago today. It was the most bizarre thing but so cool. I was almost disappointed that it had gone back to just being dusty by the time I left. But I suppose that was a good thing. LOL

Last Thursday a new law went into effect making it illegal to talk on the cell phone while driving. Not so different from laws in parts of the United States. The problem is that while they do a decent job of enforcing the law when it's violated by expats, they really drop the ball on locals.

In news reports they talk about the high accident and death rates on the roads here and blame them on expats. Yes, expats who don't respect the rules of the road back home aren't going to be more likely to respect them here. They'll probably be even worse. That's a given. However, it's the locals who are more likely to run you off the road. They cut in, they zigzag across 4 lanes of traffic on the highways in their sports cars and SUVs. If you're in their way, they'll change lanes anyway. The day before yesterday a woman in an SUV tried to do that to me. I laid on my horn and her shock that I didn't just slam on my breaks and let her in was obvious on her face. If you're in the fast, inside lane, trying to pass someone, and a local comes up behind you, flashing his lights at you, and you don't pull over immediately, he'll either ride your bumper or pass you on the shoulder. (I'm waiting for them to do it in front of a camera. Although nothing would happen to him.)

When they have wrecks over here, they're not fender benders. At least half of the car will look like wadded up aluminum foil. It's common for the cars to catch fire and burn. It's all do to the speed at which they drive and their arrogance behind the wheel. (I'm not saying that expats are never to blame for crashes...but it's mostly the locals.)

So when they passed this new law I figured it wouldn't have much effect on them. You have to remember that these are people who have their babies in the front seat with no belt on. Kids hanging out the windows, etc. They drive as if they're the only cars on the road. So would they take the cell phone law seriously? Probably not.

Well, yesterday my neighbor at school told me she'd seen a local pulled over to the side of the road. He and the police officer were standing there with a cell phone trying to figure out how to do the hands-free device. LOL Well, there was one police officer willing to pull a local over.

Usually when I go out and about I see westerners with the hands-free devices. I rarely will see a local unless he's trying to look cool. Last night I went grocery shopping. I've never seen so many local men in dishdashes and hands-free devices. They're taking this law seriously...at least the few I saw last night. They have posters up in Arabic telling people about the new law. They've said they're going to be strict about enforcing it. Could it actually be they're going to enforce it with the locals too?! Hallelujah! Of course, to really make the roads safe, they'll have to actually teach them how to drive.

Heads Up 7 Up

At the request of Sharon I'm giving the rules for playing Heads Up 7 Up. Now you have to realize that I hadn't played this game since I was in elementary until I found myself stuck inside during a sandstorm (or maybe it was late enough in the year to be rain) with a bunch of 2nd grade girls. So if anyone out there has a more accurate description, please share it.

You choose 7 children to stand at the front of the room. You tell the rest of the class, "Heads down, thumbs up." The children at the front of the room go around the room and each will choose one child whose thumb they'll press down. After they've finished and return to the place in the front, you say, "Heads up, 7 up." All the children raise their heads and the 7 who had their thumbs pressed down stand up. They take turn guessing who pressed down their thumb. If they guess correctly they take that person's place at the front of the room. If they guess wrong, they sit back down and the person who picked them has another turn.

This game works well unless you're playing in a storm of orange sand that has parents freaking out and coming to get their kids. Then your numbers slowly dwindle until you don't have enough girls to play the game and the ones who are left are in tears.

It's orange outside! Cool!

Yesterday we were going about our business in grade 2 girls. The girls had just finished their social studies work and were loading up their bags to head down to the library. Since library is the last period of the day on a Wednesday they pack up to go home before heading down to the basement.


One of my girls has been really pushing it this week. I had to write a note to her mother. I looked outside and saw that it was very dusty outside and turned to my desk to write the note. Less than 60 seconds later I turned back around and everything outside was orange. I mean, bright pumpkin orange. Visibility was almost nil and cars were honking at each other because they weren't moving.


I hurried next door and told my neighbor to grab her camera. She's a photographer by training and is on the yearbook committee so I figured odds were pretty good that she'd have it with her. She grabbed it and starting shooting. We headed down to the basement for our library visit and the librarian said she didn't have any masks in her emergency bag. I went back upstairs to check mine (didn't have any) and my TA called to say they were headed back upstairs. She came bearing paper masks. So we put on our masks and played Heads Up 7 Up until time to go.


Parents started picking kids up early. Normally if they pick up their kids before dismissal they need the principal or one of the coordinators to sign a slip. Obviously that wasn't happening yesterday. My girl count started dropping and pretty soon we didn't have enough for our game. My neighbor came in a took a pic of my girls wearing their masks. Should make for some good yearbook material. I asked her to send me the pics from the window and of my girls. When I get them I'll post them.


Here's a link to a story in a local paper about the storm that hit here and about one that hit "up north" as well.


http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=NDk0MzY5NTQ1

Gotta love the weather here!