Books of 2014 Part 1: Fiction

In going through the books I read in 2014, I realized that I didn't read a lot of fiction (at least not compared to non-fiction). I think there were more books, but they were re-reads, and I only count those if it's been many years between readings. And a lot of the re-reading was kid's stuff that I read to relax.

Still, based on my records, here are my favourites for the year:

1. Brandon Sanderson: Elantris, The Rithmatist, and the last 2 books of the Mistborn Trilogy: The Well of Ascension and The Hero of the Ages. I really, really enjoy Brandon Sanderson's writing. He's one of my favourite fantasy writers. I enjoyed the different story lines in Elantris, and how they all overlapped in the book and eventually merged. The Rithmatist is a young adult book (I meant to bring it to my nephew at Christmas but forgot) with a good premise (and the promise of sequels, yay). I was pleased with the ending of the Mistborn Trilogy. The last book brought everything together nicely without dragging things out forever. If you like fantasy, go read Brandon Sanderson.

2. Chris Colfer: The Land of Stories books 1 and 2: The Wishing Spell and The Enchantress Returns. My nephew introduced me to these, and I admit I was a bit hesitant because the author is best known for his role on Glee, and actors don't always write as well as they think they do. I'm glad I gave them a chance, though, because I liked them. They're a nice read when you want a good story and they give a new perspective on some of the fairy tales and the villains and their motivations (and some of what happened after: for example, Little Red Riding Hood has been elected queen of one of the fairy tale kingdoms, but is rather full of herself and not a great ruler). The overarching story is about 2 children who discover that their grandmother is the Fairy Godmother and who learn how to travel to the Land of Stories.

3. Dee Henderson: Undetected.  This is my sole foray into romance, and I read Dee Henderson because her books are more adventure and intrigue than romance and they tend to deal with a world that I don't know (usually military life, but also various forms of law enforcement). In Undetected, Mark is the commander of a ballistic missile submarine, so I learned about submarines, how the men train, and how the commander deals with the real possibility that he might have to launch a nuclear missile. The more I read, the greater my appreciation for the people who defend us.

4. Lois Lowry: Son. I picked this up in the library because I like Lois Lowry. I missed the part about it being the sequel to The Giver, which I have always loved (actually there are 4 books; Gathering Blue and The Messenger come in between, but Son is the most directly connected to The Giver). I figured it out, though, in the first chapter. It was a good book and a good ending to the story. Also, years ago a friend and I had an argument about what the end of The Giver meant, and I was proven right! I definitely recommend it, but it's best if you read all 4 books in order (Son won't make as much sense without the others).

As a side note: The Giver has been made into a movie and I watched it on the plane on the way home from Thunder Bay. It's not bad so far as movies go, and it keeps most of the ideas of the book intact. There are some unnecessary changes (at least that's my opinion). The main one is that they add some romance between Jonas and Fiona (which is not quite as bad as it would be if they had left them as 12 year olds, but they also make them 16).

That's really the best of what I read. I know it doesn't look like much, but there are actually 8 books (although only 4 authors). It really wasn't a great year for fiction; I read more, but a lot of it was just okay.

As a bonus, I'll give you one more list of books that were okay (sort of the "honorable mention" list). These are the other children's books that I read and am willing to recommend:
Diango Wexler: The Forbidden Library
Polly Shuman: The Grimm Legacy
Gordon Korman: Ungifted
Jean Little: His Banner Over Me

Tomorrow I'll give you my favourite non-fiction books. There were a lot more of them.

When God Became Flesh

After the time of Malachi, the last of the Old Testament Prophets, God was silent for around 400 year. And then He spoke again, not only with words, but by sending the Word to us.

Matthew 1:18-25
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. 20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.21 She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” 22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” 24 And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, 25 but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.

John 1:1-18

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him.8 He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.

9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’”16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

What Made Me Happy Today

This is a very, very stressful week. Work is crazy (as always) and I'm trying to get people to figure out the holiday schedule. I don't understand these people. I emailed the schedule twice and I still have them asking about our holiday hours. Just read the emails!

Speaking of emails: corporate sent out emails last week about Canada's anti-spamming laws. They emailed everyone who has every even inquired into our services. In a moment of pure irony, they even emailed people who had opted out of our services, thereby spamming them with anti-spamming information. The emails had a big, orange button to click if people wanted to keep receiving emails from us. All that was necessary to never receive an email from us was to not click the big, orange button. And I still received 3 emails from people telling me to take them off the list (and one of them was rather rude). Just don't click the big, orange button!

Back to the stress: this is also Christmas concert week. There's a rehearsal on Saturday and a rehearsal on Sunday morning and the concert Sunday evening. It seems that's too many rehearsals for some people. It also seems that there are people unable to read their email or the bulletin, which listed the rehearsal times and the concert time.

Now I'm reading comics. I would like to direct your attention here and here.

They made me smile. They may do the same for you.

Have a happy Thursday.

Christmas Greetings from my Geek Side

The Things I Didn't Say

A lady called work last week looking for some information about our programs. She has received a flyer for a free assessment and wanted to bring her child in even though she knows that we're really expensive. I explained that it's "free testing upon enrollment" which means that she pays for the test and when she enrolls we apply the fee to the tuition. She seemed okay with that. Then she asked about our prices. I explained how it worked.

Her response, and I quote: "Those are hooker prices."

I did not say, "And how exactly do you know that?"

I really had nothing to say, which was okay, since she kept talking about how expensive we are. Then she asked if I knew of anyone else who was cheaper.

I did not say, "Seriously? Are you asking me to recommend our competitors to you? Does that sound like a good idea?"

I simply said that I didn't know about other places.

She finally decided to come in for the assessment. I told her that I could hold the test spot for 24 hours and she had to come in to pay by the following evening.

Is anyone surprised that she didn't come in to pay?

Close Enough to Christmas

I tried to wait until December 1st, but it's cold and snowy, there are Christmas decorations everywhere, and I've been working on the Christmas concert. Besides, I love Christmas. I love the music and the lights and the bigness of it all.

So: Let's start celebrating!

Remembrance Day

A Lighter Thanksgiving Song

Good luck getting this one out of your head.

Thanksgiving

This year I am thankful for...

1. My family. The whole lot of them, from the smallest to the oldest. We don't always understand one another because we can be very different, but happily love does not require complete understanding. I don't love anyone more than my family, even the ones I haven't met.
2. My church family. They really are family and I have always felt loved and at home with them. Church is my happy place and is exactly what God asks of His family. It's also a place for me to use my gifts to serve God and His people.
3. My friends. Of course, this is not an entirely separate category because many of my friends are part of my church family. These are the people I can laugh and cry with, the people who know me too well, the people who pray for me and who I pray for. They are also the people who know that sometimes words are not necessary or even helpful.
4. My job. I like what I do (most of the time) and my coworkers. I like the organizational aspects, I like being the boss (and having a boss to turn the worst problems over to), and I love teaching.
5. Vacation. It's been a pretty long week and month (and fall, really), and I leave for vacation in 3 days. I need this time to get away and regroup and relax.
6. Knowing that for the price of a bowl of carrots, peeled and cut, I get a full Thanksgiving dinner and an afternoon of fellowship today.

From the Children

I was doing a comprehension assessment with a grade 1 child yesterday. He read about children getting ready to go on a field trip and then I asked him some questions.

Question: Why would Mrs. Brown tell the children not to push one another?

His answer: Because if they were shoving they might accidentally hit the ejector button and the person would go in the air and float back down.

Official answer: So no one would get hurt. Accept other reasonable responses.

I accepted his answer as a reasonable response.


This morning we were talking about snakes in Junior Church during colouring time. One student insisted that all snakes are poisonous. I corrected that (and told them they should never pick up a snake anyway unless a grown up tells them it's okay). Another one told me that snakes stick out their tongues and lick you and then you turn into a snake. He insisted that it happened in a cartoon. I insisted that it never happens in the real world.

And...this morning I was called upon to unlock a room for the Junior/Senior High Sunday School class. I found my keys and went to the room to find the entire class standing around outside. I asked if anyone had tried the door and they told me that someone had. Then I tried the door. It was unlocked. Someone needs door-opening lessons.

Nicknaming a Child

Last week we had a visitor in Sunday School. He came with one of my regular students; I think he was visiting with his family from out of town. His name is Thomas. I told him that he couldn't be named Thomas because we already had a Thomas so he would have to change his name.

We tried Thomas 1 and Thomas 2, but that didn't sound right.

We tried Thomas W (his last name started with W) and it was okay.

Finally, we asked him his middle name in case it would work. His middle name is James. There are too many James's in the church (although none in our Sunday School class) so I didn't want to name him James.

We finally settled on T.J. It was short, easy to say, and seemed to suit him. His response was "Yeah, DJ TJ!"

Sunday morning I assigned a nickname to a new student, and possibly a career choice. I'm sure his parents will be okay with it.

Some Nonsense for Friday

I found this last night while reading over some old writing:

Bob the paperclip was very lonely. He lived in a kitchen drawer with a lot of other stuff. Bob tried to be friendly with the other inhabitants but to no avail. The elastic bands snapped at him, the twist ties tried to shut him up, and the pair of scissors was very cutting. Bob learned to keep himself in a dark corner.

That's all I wrote. I don't know where I was going with that one.

I am trying to get back into writing (which is why I'm digging out old notebooks and finding bits of stories and stuff). Maybe I'll figure out the adventures of Bob the paperclip.

What I Need Today

Overheard

For your entertainment, things that I overheard on October 14, 2003...

In the post office:
2 older guys talking; one is standing in line; the other (Fritz, who talks with a slight German accent) has seen him and come over to talk. They are talking about the new staff in the doctor's office, whom Fritz does not like.After all, his wife was 5 months overdue and they didn't even contact her. (I'm hoping it was "overdue for her appointment" and not "14 months pregnant".)

On the bus:
A girl and an older guy. She is not supposed to be with him, which is make clear by the conversation where they are trying to come up with a story for her mom explaining:
a. why she's with him
b. where her female friend is
c. why she's taking the bus home

And from December 2003 (undated, but between December sermon notes):

Overheard on the elevator:
"She just said that thing, you know, about the tea calling the kettle black. Or the tea kettle calling the pot black..."

At the dollar store:
"Well, you know, I just ain't all that impressed with him."

I just wish I knew the rest of the stories. I think I was writing things down that might make the starts of stories one day. I should start writing more again.

Randomness

The other day I was going through some old notebooks (I have a lot of them) and I found one from several years back. It was mostly used for sermon/Sunday School/Bible study notes, dated August 2003-June 2004. There are other notes and stuff scattered through it, and I bring you some of those now....

From Beanstalk Bistro, Children's Market, Granville Island, Vancouver: "He uses name brand ketchup bottles - the cool ones you use to make ketchup designs, but I watched him fill them with no-name ketchup!"

It looks like there was the possibility of being sent to run another centre back then. I have pros and cons for Yellowknife, Camrose, Maple Ridge, and Edmonton. I don't remember thinking through this, but I'm glad I stayed in Edmonton (especially since Camrose and Yellowknife centres have long since shut down). My conclusion at the time was that I wasn't ready to move and I did not want to be a director right away; also, I figured that eventually, someone would need me (both as a Director of Education and then a director). I was right.

There is, for some reason, an alphabetical list of animals. I'm sure I had a reason. I think I was making up animal rhymes (one of the many children's books I never wrote).

Later there is a list of authors of children's books, including Zilpha Keatly Snyder, Kit Pearson, Jean Little, and Julie Lawson. I'm not sure why they're there.

I have a page of math. I think I was figuring out how much money I needed to pay student loans for a year (based on the monthly payments) and how long it was going to take to pay them off.

Very random, on one page:
Rodman Philbrick
Drawing cartoon animals, people, etc.

On another page:
Old-fashioned Christmas
"Did-you-know" about Christianity
Plastic Canvas Christmas circles
If the 3 wise men were 3 wise women

My personal favourite: "Do you bear fruit? Do you bore fruit?"

And it goes on! Eventually it settles into mostly sermon/Sunday School/Bible study notes, but even then there are bits of stories and poems scattered here and there. Next time, I'll write out some of my observations from that time (I occasionally write down what I can see or hear around me as writing practice; I also write down overheard conversations) for your entertainment.

Church Stuff

It's September and that means everything is starting up again in church. For me, the main things are Junior Church and Sunday School.

Junior Church started this week. For the first time, I asked the parents to come down with their children to register them (it was a very short registration form) and everyone complied. I had 10 children (there may be a few more) and we had a pretty good class. The best part was when we were taking prayer requests and one student wanted to pray for his friend Levi who had hurt his arm (he fell in the fire pit and had some burns, although his dad grabbed him out so quickly it wasn't as bad as it should be). The problem was, he kept calling the poor kid "Violet" and it took a while to figure out who he was talking about!

Sunday School starts next week. Yesterday we had registration (with much longer forms) after church. Almost everyone came (I think only one family forgot), and only one person complained about having to fill out the form for each child (and she only has 3 children; families with 5 didn't complain). It went remarkably well given that we've never done pre-registration or had parents fill out forms before. Now we actually have contact information for everyone and I know how many children will be in each class.

I'm feeling remarkably organized this year. I have a class list (and a huge class, since most of the grade 7 students asked to stay with me for an extra year). I have lessons ready through Christmas (and the rest are planned, just not written). All I need to do is determine memory work and I'm ready to go!

Students and Church

I have a little guy at work; he's 5 and going into kindergarten and full of energy. Getting him to sit still and print letters is a very challenging task, although he will sit still when being read to. He loves stories.

The most common words from him:
"When me and mine stuffies take over the world..."
When this happens, he's going to make the clouds more colourful. First, though he has to bring his stuffies to life with the box. If you push the middle button, there will be lightning and it will go into his stuffies. If you push the other buttons, there will be food and drink.

Best conversation starter from him:
"What do you think it would be like if the world was full of marshmallows?"

I met a couple new kids at church yesterday (at least they were new to me, although I guess they may have been in the overflow room and I've never seen them). I don't know who they are. They seemed to be around 5 and 3 and they came into the library when I was working on the computer.
One of them asked: "Are you working in the Grace Church library?"
He's either very perceptive, not sure what work looks like, or he was lost and trying to get his bearings. They're nice boys, though; when I told them they couldn't play in the mess of stuff on the other side of the room, they came away from it right away.

What I'm Thankful For

my family

my church family

my pastor's willingness to preach direct sermons on tough issues without worrying about making people feel bad

my pastor's love for God, the Bible, and the church family

my Sunday School class

friends

flowers

books

Sunday afternoons

my job

life

What I Need to Remember

Banana Muffins

Today is not insanely hot and I'm not working, a rare combination in the summer. I'm taking advantage of this mix to make muffins. I don't often cook in the summer because the oven heats up my apartment too much, so today is nice.

For your cooking pleasure, I present my banana muffin recipe:

3 bananas (well, 3-ish; if you have 4, by all means use all four, especially if they're small)
1 egg
1/3 cup oil
a small container of yogurt (the size you pack in lunches) or the rough equivalent*
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cup flour

Mash up the bananas, add the egg, oil, yogurt, and sugar, and mix well. Add the baking soda and flour** and mix just until everything is wet and mushy; do not over-mix.

Fill your muffin cups and bake at 350 for around 30 minutes (maybe a bit less, maybe a bit more; it depends on your oven). You should get 12 muffins.

*About the yogurt: it's optional. The original recipe didn't call for yogurt, but one day I was making muffins and discovered that I didn't have any eggs. I searched on-line for a solution and discovered that yogurt can replace eggs when making muffins (although not for everything), so I threw in a small container of vanilla yogurt. I liked the texture, so now I add it all the time, even when I have eggs. The muffins are moister and the vanilla flavor is nice. You can leave out the yogurt or try different flavors.

**Okay, true baking confession time: I know I'm supposed to mix the dry ingredients separately and then add them. I don't. I add the baking soda and get it all mixed in, and then I add the flour. I see no reason to dirty another bowl for baking soda and flour.

School

This is the first summer in years that I haven't been heading off to school for a week. I miss it. I really liked being around other students and getting to learn all week. Finishing my degree was a great moment and a complete relief; I do not miss having deadlines and papers to write.

I miss the learning. I miss the friendships. I miss the laughter and fun.

I miss having a week where I could relax and be a student again. It was a vacation from real life.

I don't miss it enough to start another degree. I just miss it enough to be a little bit sad today.

I have a friend heading down to Masters next week for his last week of classes. I'm a bit envious. I wish I was going too.

Gearing up for Summer

School is out today or tomorrow depending on the school. The students are excited and the teachers are excited and I'm bracing myself for summer.

Summer is good. The sun shines for long hours, it's warm, there are flowers, and it's a great time to drink iced coffee. Summer at work, though, is a bit more challenging. The students are there all day: 10-2 and 4-8. I get a bit of a break in the middle to catch up on stuff. Some centres are open 9-1, 1:30-3:30, and 4-8. I have no idea how they cope with no down time (yes, they get 30 minutes twice a day, but between students who are picked up late and students who leave early, that's not really any time).

So far summer is looking very quiet this year. There aren't a lot of students coming during the early times, which is odd. Usually evenings are quieter. We haven't had a lot of calls about new students yet either; usually that's started by now. It's left us wondering what is happening out there and if we're going to get swamped next week. Usually the first couple weeks of July are wild with testing new students.

I am considering reading comprehension skills for some parents. These would be the ones who haven't returned their summer schedules despite a May 30th deadline, the words "I need the schedule even if your child is keeping the same schedule in the summer" and regular emails. The other parents are the ones who get the schedule and ask to come from 2-4. Is it really to difficult to understand that we're closed then?

Right now we're waiting to see what summer will bring. Will it stay somewhat quiet, or is everyone waiting until the weekend to start calling?

Sunday School

Today was the last Sunday School for the year. I finished by giving them their final exam. I don't take it very seriously and they're allowed to work together, use old worksheets, and copy from one another. Basically, I want them to review some key topics and go home with a short recap of the year.

A couple of my boys had most of the worksheets with them (they came prepared this year). They weren't very organized, though, so they ended up with a mess of papers all over the table and everyone searching through to find the right pages! The other teacher and I helped them find the right papers, worked on spelling, and encouraged them to help each other. In the end, almost everyone finished (some students were late and some were slow at writing).

It was interesting to watch. One of the older boys finished his test quickly with some help from the other boys' papers but did not think he should have to help anyone else. He ended up just sitting there doing nothing because I took his test away and gave it to one of the slower students so she could copy his answers. He knew all the answers and could have helped the others, but choose not to. I don't think, in the three years I had him, that I managed to get through to him on this area. He's smart and quick and I haven't been able to teach him about grace and putting others first. I'll keep praying for him.

By now I'm ready for a break from teaching. By September I'll be ready to teach again and very happy to have them back. I'm losing 4 of my boys to the junior/senior high class, but the 3 girls who should move on have asked to stay (two sets of parents are concerned about them being with the older teenagers, and the third girl will stay because there are no other girls moving up).

This summer I need to start preparing for next year. We're going to be studying Acts and the early church.

It's been a good year.

What's Up

Okay, I really meant to get back to writing somewhat regularly after school was done. I still plan to. I've just been enjoying not being stressed, not having to write, not having to read specific books within a specific deadline, not having too much to do, and not feeling behind all the time.

In the past month, I've been somewhat busy at work (one day soon I'll tell you about my new responsibilities). I finished writing the Sunday School curriculum, and today I wrote the final exam. I also finished arranging Junior Church for this year. I met with the elder and started planning teacher training and next fall's Sunday School and Junior Church programs.

I've read a lot (still mostly nonfiction, but of my own choice and at my own pace). I've probably spent too much time on the computer, reading stuff and playing games. I finally cleaned the apartment (well, most of it). I bought some plants for my balcony (I choose them based on which ones were prettiest, so they're a mix of pink, purple, red, peach, white, and yellow flowers). I made some banana muffins. I might make more later today (someday I'll post my banana muffin recipe; it's one I got from a friend with slight modifications).

This summer I need to write book reviews for the women's discipleship class at the church, sew a skirt (the material has been cut out for a long time), at least start Sunday School and Junior Church lessons for this fall, and write more.

I'm starting to feel more relaxed and ready to tackle tasks.

Competition

I have mixed feelings about competition.

We have contests at work sometimes, and we play games with a set winner. The kids sometimes get very competitive, but it's for a short period, someone wins, and they all get on with life. We have contests in Sunday School and some of the kids get very competitive (and then we talk about perspective and showing grace). Some people have told me that we should never have a contest with a winner because it's the wrong way to motivate children, and the ones who don't win feel bad, blah, blah, blah. I obviously disagree. I think there are wrong ways to do competition. I don't make it such a big deal that the ones who don't win feel bad forever, and I make sure there is always another chance to win. I also make the contests and such optional, so no one has to participate (I don't like people trying to force me to be competitive so I won't do it to the children). At work, every hour there's another transition time with a game to play, so every hour there can be a different winner. Plus, a lot of the children just like playing, even if they don't win. We keep it fun. In Sunday School, everyone has the opportunity to win the monthly prizes (it's based on who gets the most points for memory work that month, so in theory they could all win every month if they all do the memory work every week). If the person in charge keeps it fun and fair, I don't have a problem.

I can be competitive at times. I like to be right and I like to win. I did multiple quizzes with my nephew when we were on vacation. We tried to win them all (except classic rock, which we gave up on quickly and started making stuff up and gave ourselves half points for synonyms and putting down "not the Beatles" for the artist once). We did not win a single one. We got on with life and were not unduly upset. This competition did not hurt us; it ended up being something fun we could do together.

On the other hand, I can see where competition can be a bad thing. I see it in myself when I can't let go of things because I have to be right, like I'm competing against people to see who is the smartest. I see it in children's sports where winning is so important that coaches and parents yell at children who make mistakes, expecting them to be perfect. I see it in parents who don't think 90s are high enough marks for their children; they have to be better than everyone else. It's that step above "do your best" to "you have to be better than anyone because that is what defines you" and the idea that winning a competition makes you a better person (rather than better at something) and that you can look down on the losers that makes me dislike competition.

It's that desire to be better than everyone. The Bible teaches us to work hard, to work for the Lord and not for men (Colossians 3:23), so of course we should do our best, and trying to win is not a problem. At the same time, it tells us to consider others better than ourselves (Philippians 2:3-4), so even in competition we need to think about others and how our actions might be affecting them. Which is not to say "you have to lose so others won't feel bad" but "as you play and if you win, remember that it's not more important than this person sitting across from you".

In general, I think competition can be a good things. It can encourage people to do their best, it can be fun, and it can prepare children for the adult world where competition is real. On the other hand, competition can be a problem if it's forced on people, if winning becomes the most important thing is life, and if winners get the idea that they are better people because they win.

Sundays

Two Sundays ago I was with my family in Tampa, boarding a cruise ship, leaving port, starting a wonderful vacation.

Last Sunday I was with my family, back in Tampa, getting off the ship, ending a wonderful vacation. It was Mother's Day and for the first time in years I was spending it with my mother. We mostly spend it in airports, which I'm sure is where every mother wants to spend Mother's Day.

It was good to be with my family and especially to hang out with my mum on Mother's Day. I miss them all a lot since they're so far away.

Today I was home, in my church with my church family. I taught my Sunday School class, worshiped with a crowd of other believers, hugged a lot of people, caught up with what has been happening, and admired the babies (there are a lot of babies at my church). I love my church family and I love that I belong there and that I can call it home. My nieces and nephews tried to convince me to move back to Thunder Bay, but I pointed out that I have a job and a life here and I belong here now. Mostly it was my church that I was thinking about at those times.

If those nieces and nephews (and their parents (and my parents)) would move out to Edmonton, I could have both of my families in one place and everything would be wonderful.

I Agree

I agree with the the first statement frequently, and I completely agree with the last statement.

Go here to see what I'm talking about.

Good Friday

In the Event that I Still Have Readers....

I'd like to tell you about my friend Monika, who is preparing to be a missionary in Ireland. Actually, I think I'll let her talk to you; go read her blog.

And...I'll try to write a bit here and there, but life is busy. I'm finishing up the last of my classes and then I'll have time (and energy) to write more.

By mid-May, I will be posting a little more regularly.

My Guest Blogger

Finally, the return of Gertrude Millicent Wigglesworth with her conclusion of her book review of The Silver Chair (begun here):

After reaching the ruined city, Eustace, Jill, and Puddleglum end up making their way underground. They are eventually discovered by the Earthmen, who have been ordered to take the trio to their Queen. Upon reaching the queen's castle they discover that the queen has gone out. However the Black Knight is there and invites the three to dine with him. While they are eating he tells them about the enchantment he is under. For one hour every night, the Knight grows violently furious and will kill anyone he sees. Afterwards he transforms into a great serpent. This is why his most gracious Queen has ordered him to be bound to a silver chair every night until he is himself again. The Knight then told them that the Queen had found the only way to break the spell: he must become King of Overland. Her plan was to invade Overland using tunnels. After the meal the Knight is bound to the silver chair, and instructs them not to untie them no matter what he says. Sure enough the hour comes and the Knight does indeed plead with them to untie him, saying, “this is the only hour I am not enchanted, the rest of the time I am under the witch's spell. And in the name of Aslan let me go!” That was the fourth sign! Eustace and Puddleglum cut off the Knight's bonds. The Knight then reintroduces himself as Prince Rilian and hacks the silver chair to bits! He said could not remember who he was whilst under the enchantment. The celebration does not last long though for quite soon after the Queen walks in. Or should I say witch? She sees the Prince unbound with a sword in hand and the silver chair now in many pieces. She walks over to the hearth and throws in a handful of green powder. This causes the room to fill up with a sweet and drowsy aroma, making it very hard to think. The Witch puts them all under a spell making them think there is no Narnia, there never was any world but hers. Brave Puddleglum, in a desperate attempt to stop the spell, takes his foot and stomps on the fire, stopping the spell. After realizing they are no longer under her control, the witch transforms into a huge green serpent and attacks our four heroes. The Prince, Puddleglum, and Eustace manage to dispatch the Witch in the end. After dressing Puddleglum's burnt foot, they set out to find Overworld. With the help of the Earthmen, who were also under the Queen's spell, they find their way to the surface, where Prince Rilian says goodbye to his dying father Caspian X. With their mission complete, Aslan takes them back to their own world.

This book is an interesting book. It has enchantments, giants and a quest to find a lost prince. It appeals to everyone's sense of fun and is a good read for anyone of any age.

From the Kids

At work...

Me: Do you know what a summary is?
6 year old: Yes. That's what you can go in and it goes underwater.
Me: Um...no, that's a submarine.


Student one (out of the blue): I loooooooove Sylvan!
Student two: Sylvan is so much fun!
Student three: I'm so bored.

At home...

Child one: Let's do a brain transplant this time!
Child two: Yeah! Wait, where's the brain?

In Sunday School...

Me: And what would happen if a slave refused to do what the master said?
Entire class in unison: They would be whipped!

Then I talked about them as my slaves. They realized that there are more of them, so they started planning a slave uprising. I told them that it never works because other people would come and deal with them. They insisted that there are more of them.
Me: Hey, there are more adults than children in this church and they would come and kill you.

Right Now

Right now there is a flock of small nuisances in my living room. They range from 6-10 years old and there are 5 of them.

So far they have made 2 bracelets, one bead person, and a mess of beads and bead accouterments.

They found the small doctor kit, and then I found them the real stethoscope. We listened to everyone's hearts, heads, and lungs. Then we all took turns being the dead person and getting heart and kidney transplants. There was a lot of drama and Skittle pills.

Eventually we ordered pizza and pop and now they're eating and watching a movie and playing and talking.

They're so much fun.

Stories

On Saturday I ended up teaching grade 9 Science, which is not my favourite thing to do (my regular tutor called in sick). On of the questions was "How are stars created?" I tried to answer twice:
1. God created them.
2. "When a mommy star and a daddy star love each other very much..."
She didn't think her teacher would like either answer, so I finally had to resort to Google.

Sunday morning I was talking with one of the small sweethearts at church. She's three and thinks it's so funny and great that I call her "Sweetheart." She told me that she used to be a baby and when she was a baby she had to live in a box. Her dad later clarified that she was premature and very tiny and was in an incubator.

One of our least favourite books at work is Fifi Ferret's Flute. We've all read it (and heard it read) dozens of times. It's so bad that once I changed the ending and killed off Fifi and everyone on the room cheered (except the rather perplexed 5-year old sitting across from me). Today one of my teachers asked her student how the problem in Fifi was fixed, but what I heard was "How was Fifi fixed?" Just for a minute the story was interesting.

Remembering

This morning I was looking through my inbox for an email. I couldn't find it, so I started looking through different folders. A lot of them have old stuff from years ago when I saved and organized almost every email. I don't do that quite as much now.

In one folder, I found a couple emails from someone I couldn't remember. I had to read one almost through before I could place her. That was a bit strange. Most people, though, I could remember, even if I hadn't heard from them or even thought about them for years. I wonder what they're doing now.

I found several from one particular friend. We've always kept in touch to some extent, and now we're on Facebook so it's a lot easier. Many years ago we spent a couple summers with Child Evangelism Fellowship, leading Bible clubs through southern Ontario. We were partners for part of one summer; the other summer (I think she only did 2 summers, but maybe she did all three with me) we only saw each other for the 2 weeks of training. Then we lived together for a year when I was at Brock. We have only seen each other one other time, I think in 2001. It's a good friendship, though: the type that could pick up where it left off.

These emails come from the couple years after we lived together. Some of them are silly and some are sad and some are sweet. Most are a mix of whatever came to mind; that's the way we wrote to each other. Somewhere I also have some letters that she wrote. We both communicate so much easier with written rather than spoken words.

As I read the emails I remembered and I laughed and I cried a bit and I missed my friend terribly. I missed the "us" that we were back then, when life was simpler (or at least differently complicated). We've both grown and changed so much, and that's good. That's the way it should be, and it hasn't harmed our friendship, but it had to change as well. And right now I miss that year and that friend and that person who I was and that life.

And I wouldn't change who I am and where I am now. I don't want to live back then again, but I would like to visit.

The Third Option

Valentine's Day has come and gone again. As a single woman, the only thing about it that made me sad is that I couldn't find discounted chocolate or cinnamon hearts today (although I only looked in one place; I'll try other places tomorrow). Beyond that, it wasn't a big deal this year.

It did get me thinking, though. There are enough people who think that as a single person, I'm just waiting for the right guy to come along. I'm not. I'm also not out looking for a guy (the other perceived response to singleness). Either one makes it sound like my life is on hold in some way until I meet someone and get married. It's not.

I'm going with the third option: live life now. My life is already full and I am already contented and I already know joy. God has given me a wonderful life full of family and friends and work and studies and service. There's nothing to wait for.

I'm not decrying marriage. Marriage is a wonderful thing. If you're single and seeking marriage, that's great! Find someone, get married, raise a family, life life together. But don't wait until you're married to start living.

Life is too short and too wonderful to waste time on waiting. Live!

Hospitality

I'm having people over for supper today. I should probably tidy up a bit; at the very least, I should pile up the books somewhere. I have room for all my books, but school and church and Bible study stuff tends to be spread out everywhere so I can see what I need to be doing. Piling them up will make the place look a bit better and will clear the second table so we can use it to eat.

Yes, that's right: second table. I have a dining room table, but I only have 3 chairs. The second table is usually in the living room (okay, truth: it's all one big room, dining room, living room, kitchen (which is at least marked off by the counter), and office (that place between the couch and the dining room table where my desk and printer table are)). It's used for doing school work, and usually has piles of stuff on it. It can be put in front of the couch and used for eating off of as well.

I have chicken in the slow cooker, veggies in the fridge, a large supply of potatoes, and a cake baking. So far as food goes, I'm good. I also have lego for the kids (and maybe their dad).

I used to stress about practicing hospitality. I thought everything had to be perfect and I was hesitant to invite people over, especially if the number of people out-weighed the number of dining room chairs. I also thought the food had to be spectacular and fancy.

I was wrong. People don't care about all that stuff (and if they do, invite someone else over. Maybe a family: the moms will just be happy that someone else is cooking). I keep the food simple so I don't have to wonder if it will turn out. Most people (even children) like chicken so it's a pretty safe choice. I serve potatoes and usually a variety of raw veggies and some buns. Add cake or ice cream for dessert, and everyone is happy. We can sit around the living room to eat and no one cares. A couple weeks ago I had 2 children at the dining room table, 1 child sitting on the floor in the booster seat (it has a tray), the parents on the couch at the second table, and 1 child and I at the coffee table. It worked.

The point is: the Bible tells us to practice hospitality. It doesn't tell us to wait until we can do everything perfectly because that day will never come. We're just supposed to love one another. If you can do everything fancy, then good for you. Otherwise, serve them whatever looks good and have fun together.

When Did They Grow Up?

First nephew is joining the navy. I'm not quite sure of the process, but he's done whatever needs to be done, got the call to enlist, and starts basic training next month.

First niece has been accepted into the Social Work program at Lakehead University.

I'm pretty sure this means they're growing up. I'm not sure how that happened.

I miss my babies.

I might be feeling a bit sentimental today.

Guest Post!

As we all know, I'm not posting enough, so I've brought in a guest blogger. She wants to remain anonymous, so she's writing under the name Gertrude Millicent Wigglesworth.

This month she brings you part one of a book review:

The Silver Chair is probably the most unusual book in the series of Narnia. It involves none of the four characters usually associated with Narnia: Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. Instead, the story involves their cousin Eustace Clarence Scrubb (a name as awful as mine!) who has already been to Narnia once before. He is joined by a girl named Jill, a fellow schoolmate who as never been to Narnia.

They are both taken off to Narnia in a most unusual way. And once there they are almost immediately separated. With no idea where Eustace is, Jill is given a quest by Aslan to find Prince Rilian. Jill is also given four signs to help her on her way. Aslan then helps her reunite with Eustace. And they miss the first sign, which would have guaranteed them an easier journey. The next sign tells them to find the ruined city of giants. To set out on this leg of their journey they are joined by Puddleglum the Marsh-wiggle. On their way to the city they get sidetracked, and almost end up being served or dinner by giants! They manage to escape and find the ruined city.

Expect more from Miss Wigglesworth next month!

Right Now

Right now I'm reading:

Lies Women Believe by Nancy Leigh DeMoss
Growing Your Faith by Jerry Bridges
Radical by David Platt
When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert

They're all for school and the class at church. My favourites are the second and fourth.

Actually, right now I'm watching Doctor Who and not doing homework (but it's Sunday so I don't have to do homework). When I'm doing homework, I watch Sherlock (it takes less focus).

And specifically, I'm trying to like the 11th doctor. I'm up to the fifth episode, and I no longer actively disliking him (actually, that happened a couple episodes ago). I'm just now starting to like him. I still miss David Tennant.

A Bit of Nonsense I Just Discovered

Okay: go to THIS LINK. Press up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A. Then just keep pressing A. Trust me.