Progress? For whom?

Check out this post on Slice of Laodicea. So nice to know our new president's idea of 'change' and 'progress' give so much 'hope' to society's weakest.

Now He's here...now He isn't?

I was reading a blog tonight and struck by what she wrote. It's funny because I was listening to Issues, Etc. as Pastor Paul McCain was speaking on The Lord's Supper. I can really enjoy this woman's blog. I get all kins of neat ideas from her on homemaking, etc. But when she starts waxing theological, I just want to grit my teeth. I usually ignore her rants and scroll down, but when she writes something so blatantly wrong and I know that so many listen to her, I have to say something.

This is a taste of what she said:

There is something called "communion" which occurs in Christian churches, but the Bible is clear that communion is spiritual, not fleshly, and that it is done in remembrance of Christ, and that's it. Communion is not necessary for salvation in the least, and involves no pretended cannibalism or vampirism of any god. Communion is biblical. The Eucharist is not.


For someone who claims to read the Bible and enjoy learning from it, you'd think she'd do a much better paying attention, don't you?

For much more reliable quotes about the presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper:

19And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.

20Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. (Luke 22: 19-20 KJV)

26And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.

27And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;

28For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. (Matthew 26: 26-28 KJV)

22And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.

23And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it.

24And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. (Mark 14: 22-24)

23For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:

24And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

25After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. (1 Corinthians 11: 23-25)

Being a Lutheran Christian I take the Bible literally. If Christ says that the bread and wine are His body and blood then they are. How? Not important. Do I have to understand how He does it to believe it? Of course not. I don't have to understand how He spoke the world into being, how He raised the dead and healed the deaf and blind. I don't have to understand how He turned water set aside for purification into top quality wine (although I'd love to learn that trick myself, considering where I live). I don't have have to understand how He did these things because He did them. I don't have to understand how He can be in the bread and wine that I eat...I just have to believe that He is.

As Pastor Wilken put it:

Jesus says, "This is my body… This is my blood." Now, on Judgment Day, if I am wrong in taking those words literally, and Jesus rebukes me, "Why did you misunderstand my Supper?" I will be able to answer, "Lord, I was simply taking you at your Word."

But if Jesus intended those words to be taken literally, and I have taken them figuratively, what will be my answer? All I could say would be, "I trusted my reason more than your words."

Say: "I would rather be rebuked for taking Jesus at His word, than for not doing so."

Let them eat fish!

Yesterday Baba went shopping. When he does that, there's no telling what or how much he'll come home with. I knew before he left that he was going to the fish auction with the guard downstairs. I haven't been there yet but I've been to a couple of fish markets here and they're neat places...if a bit smelly.

When I've been to the fish market with Baba we've seen fish so fresh they were still gasping for air. Yesterday Baba said that while the guys were cleaning them they were still jumping. That's what you call fresh!

The twins are in the stage of not liking fish. They've loved forever, but suddenly they don't. No problem...eat it anyway. After all those 16 kilos of fish Baba bought aren't going to disappear on their own. (Yes, you read that correctly...16 KILOS!)

We were sitting at the table and Baba started to pick the meat off the bones for the twins. These fish were delicious but very bony. Well, the Little Prince and the Diva got tired of waiting and started playing with the fish on the platter in front of them. They'd pick off a little bit and eat it. Then a little more and then a little more. So much for them hating it, right?

Finally A came in and tore one in half and gave a half to each. They dug in and started picking off the meat and eating. I told Baba to just go ahead and enjoy his fish since the twins were no longer waiting. Besides, with their little fingers they'd probably have an easier time getting out the bones.

I don't know what A put on these fish but whatever it was was delicious! I ate 4 of these things...good thing they were rather small.

Yesterday afternoon the twins were doing their homework at the table I was helping the Diva with hers while the Boss helped the Little Prince. One of the letters the Diva was practicing was 'w'. She had to practice writing it and then come up with words that had that sound and write them. I asked her what word has 'w' in it. She said, "Double u, duh!" After Baba and I picked ourselves up off the floor where we'd been laughing I explained that there actually isn't a 'w' in the double u. We wrote whale and then her twin brother's name, which has a 'w' in it. Actually she's written his name a few times in her homework now...handy name. And she can spell it all by herself.

Oops!

From now on I'll check my information more closely. While most if not all of the delegates are Muslim, it's an summit for economics as well as social development. I just know we had school. Darn it!

But *Christine* will be happy to know that the girls loved their gifts. If we hadn't had school they'd have had to wait to see them. :)

Sickypoo

It's the weekend...and it's almost over. {sigh}

Last weekend was rather stressful and I was so glad to get back to school. But this weekend has actually been pretty relaxing. The Boss had a friend over last night and again today. This friend is in his class at school and from South Africa. The twins like him a lot and he seems to like them. He's a very nice, polite kid. When he called today to ask if he could come over I couldn't say "yes" fast enough.

The Little Prince has been sick since Wednesday afternoon. He stayed home from school Thursday and will probably be home tomorrow too. There's a chance I'll be home the next 3 days. There's some kind of big Islamic meeting here and they'll have 5th Ring closed and that's the main way to my school. We really don't need those 3 days off since we have 2 weeks off coming up soon but I'd love to have them anyway. I'd stay home and snuggle with the Prince.

Baba is still suffering from something similar. Today the two of them took a nap together. They were so cute.

Dad sent us an e-mail this week. You may remember my grandmother who turned 100 almost a year ago. She got out of bed on her own during the night and fell. They found her trying to crawl for help. She's healing, but still tries to get out of her wheelchair if they don't watch her closely. If anyone ever wonders what's meant by "stubborn Swede", that would be Grandma.

Well, that's about it at our house. Hopefully the rest of the week will get more interesting. But for now I'll enjoy the quiet.

Have a good one, everybody.

The Top Religion Stories of 2008

This was a great segment. I love to listen to these guests and to have them all there together was great. I hope he does it again.

The All Faith Master Pastor

Rusks

2 1/2 c. milk, scaled and cool
1 pkg. dry yeast, dissolved in 1/4 c. water
1 c. sugar
2 t. salt
2 c. flour
1 c. melted butter or shortening (put in milk to cool)
2 c. flour
2 crushed cardamom seed - or more
1 egg, beaten

Add enough flour to knead (@ 6 cups). Let rise, punch down, let rise again. Make into loaves. Let rise again. Bake at 350F for about 25-30 minutes or until brown on top and done. When cool, slice (dip in sugar-optional) and dry in warm oven (200F) 10-15 minutes each side.

I should have followed my own recipe. I dried them longer toward the end of the batch but it was too long. In my oven it at least 15, maybe 20.

ISSUES, ETC.

I love this show! I listen online at school. I download the podcast for my iPod and listen in the car. I listen while I knit or cross stitch.

If you aren't listening to this show, you're missing out on something great.

Why pouring is better

One of the pastors from God Whisperers posted this on the thread that never ends (and may it never). You know...I'm really glad my children were baptized as infants. I can just see the Little Prince doing something like this.

Figures!

A few weeks before we left for the States I started some pain in my left foot. It got worse while we were there. I put off seeing a doctor until our return because the only one in the family with insurance in the States is Baba. I have insurance through my school but they only cover me everywhere in the world except the United States and Canada (the two most expensive countries for medical care). The kids don't have insurance because we normally just take them to the ministry clinic. They've not had anything more serious than an ear infection since we've been here. For the price of one dinar you can see a doctor and get meds and tests. I normally go there even with insurance because it's walk-in and only one dinar. I may never go there again, except for dental, because my insurance covered everything I had done the other night with no co-pay.

Sunday and Monday were my first 2 days back at school and it really hurt my foot. The pain is in the arch of my left foot. So Monday evening, after stocking up at the supermarket, went to the clinic. I'd called earlier and found out that I didn't need an appointment, I just had to come during their working hours. Great! I saw a doctor, described the pain, and she said it sounded like a spur. She ordered x-rays, done in the same clinic, and when they were done I took them back to her. (I love x-rays over here...I get to keep them. I even have my mammogram/sonograms from 2 years ago. LOL)

Well, it wasn't a spur...it was TWO spurs. The big one on my heel and the little one in my arch. She gave me a couple of pain meds, an ointment, and an herbal patch. The only expense for me was the patch which wasn't covered. She suggested glucosamine chondritin (sp?) and I started that too.

It still hurts but nearly as much. Walking in the school basement everyday is fine because my sneakers are good for them. I normally wear Clarks and I'll get some inserts for when I wear not-so-good-for-spurs shoes.

The doctor who took the x-rays is from Jordon. He was so nice. When I told him my mother used to be an x-ray tech he said, "She's now my friend."

After learning I'm married to a Lebanese he said he was Palestinian. Then he asked if I was Christian. He told me, "Don't believe what you hear on the news." He remembers in his town back home where Muslims, Jews, and Christians all lived together. They went to each other's weddings. When someone died they all visited the family. They did everything together and got along.

Let's face it...the powers that be are the ones with the money and power and want more of both. The problems there have very little to do with religion...it's just their excuse. The people on the ground can get along. It's their "leaders" who are causing their suffering...on both sides.

How do you have a book fair without selling books?

Oh, the joys of living in a land where sense never reigns!

I'm on the committee that's planning the activities for Reading Week this year. Last year we had a several book fairs, one during Reading Week. Since last year the Ministry of Education has decided that they would no longer allow book fairs in schools. There is one bookstore here that they will allow to set up a fair in schools but they're not allowed to sell books. Just allow the children to look at them and then they can go to the store to buy them.

One of the people in the meeting the other day said she didn't know the wisdom in that decision and I pointed out that there was no wisdom involved.

Gotta love this country!

Yep, that's about right

We returned last night. On the flight out we had to wait half an hour for a family that couldn't get themselves to the airport on time. In spite of that extra half hour, they still managed to leave one of our bags behind. Then they lost it after it started its lonely trek. We were in the process of filling out the forms for a lost bag when it arrived. We had to replace one suitcase that was pretty much demolished. (We actually like the new bag better...it's HUGE!)

We took a few days to adjust to the time difference. We even paid a visit to Wal-Mart around 2 a.m. due to the fact that our bodies were under the impression that it was actually 5 p.m. I think the greeter was debating calling the hotline about a couple of 4 year-olds running around an almost empty store that time of night. (Mind you, they were running around with us, not lose. My Kuwaiti moments aren't that severe.)

The farm looked great. My cousin and uncle (my cousin was the first person to house-sit for us) did a great job of boxing up things and putting them in the Boss's room. However, the second person to live there decided to move his "girlfriend" in with her kids so they moved everything from our son's room to the basement. Many things were ruined due to the fact that they were in cardboard boxes and they didn't bother to use the dehumidifier that was obviously down there for a reason. Also, the Boss's giant plastic soda bottle bank had been cut at the bottom so the hefty savings he had was down to a few dollars. These are the same people who decided to take our cat with them when they moved out as well as selling several of Baba's things from the barn.

On a brighter note I found my Little House books (the girls are thrilled that we're going to start the 2nd book today) and we got new furniture! I'll post pics once I have a chance to load them. We also bought a couple of fillies. Baba told me that I will learning how to ride since we now own enough horses for us to each ride one. {sigh} Time to grow some guts, I guess.

Flicka looks like my dad's gelding, Blaze. I rode him when I was about the same age as the twins. A friend of mom's asked me after our return from Nebraska what he did. We assume she meant run, trot, etc. I gave her the raspberry. Well, that what he DID! That was the most memorable part of the ride. I'm guess there had been a few beans mixed with his oats that morning.

We had a blast with family and friends and got in a few rounds of Rook with our neighbors, whose son is now housesitting with us. He has found out he now has the extra duty of halter training the fillies. He has more experience with cattle than horses but Flicka has already taken a liking to him and her little sister is just as sweet so he should manage just fine.

We got home last night and by the time we'd unpacked it was 1 a.m. and the alarm goes off at 5. Hence the pic of the pooped pooch at the beginning of this post.

Well, it's time for lunch. I need all the energy I can get to make it until I'm home.