Computer down... Productivity up!

Hey all! Sorry for my brief reappearance and then disappearance. Seems Windows on my computer is corrupted. I lost my IP address and could not get onto the internet. It has been a week. For some reason even with Doc's comp it has been hit or miss. But today... viola!... we switched over to cable from DSL and I could not be happier.

AND we got cable in our bedroom now too. Oh the luxury of watching TV in my own bed! I have not had it since we moved to MS. 7 years!

But since the computer went to the shop I have accomplished so much around here. I will not bore you with the details but needless to say things are shaping up. Our yard sale is this weekend so my front porch will be clear of all the "stuff I aim to make money off of during the sale. My storage room is so clean! Ahhhhh and *smile*

I have also discovered a show that is on first thing is the morning... 7am central... that I am so enjoying! Many of you may have seen it or heard of the host. Its called Enjoying Everyday Life with Joyce Meyers. Its a wonderful way to start the day. I only just visited her site for the first time today since I got my internet back up. But I love her section called Everyday Answers. here are some inspiring articles there for many different circumstances.

Joyce has a conference coming up in November , I believe, in Tampa, Florida. I really wish I could go. I know I would get a great deal out of the experience. I would hope it would focus my life more on God's will and clean the grime off the windows of my life so I could see clearer where God wants me to be.

Unexpected Flooding from Ike

The family woke up early on Thursday morning to get the kids ready for school. Its still dark and we have about 25 minutes to eat, dress and get down the driveway to the bus stop. A few minutes before leaving I glanced out the window and realized the front lawn was shimmering. Uh oh! This is not good. The house was an island with water on all sides. We were not expecting this. Ike was heading west and we thought we were safe. Nope.

We have been out of the house since Thursday morning staying at Doc's mother's house. This morning we waded back into the house. Enough was enough. We wanted our own beds and toys. We left the cars at the gate and made the trek. We carried kids on our backs and hips. One even found the courage to walk himself about half way to the house.

The water is now receding but again we have lost our water pump and have no water. There is a warranty on the pump but I am not sure what it covers. The plan the build the pump house up three or four feet will need to be pushed forward.

I can not wait for this hurricane season to be over! I am so sorry for the people on the coast of Texas.

What people are saying about the effects of the NRC on the country!

click here and be prepared for a change of perspective

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Knowing what I know... I don't know! *A Disclaimer*

Many of you may know that I have a religious degree. People might think that with that type of degree I would be a God expert but I am not. When you go to Divinity School they "deconstruct" your religious world view.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines deconstruction as "A strategy of critical analysis [...] directed towards exposing unquestioned metaphysical assumptions and internal contradictions in philosophical and literary language." Derrida developed the term deconstruction in relation to his critical engagement with phenomenology, structural linguistics, and literature in the 1960s. The term is also related to the traditions of hermeneutics as it works with questions of how texts should be read and interpreted and immanent critique as a deconstruction demonstrates problems or contradictions that are already operating within the deconstructed text.

One of the many things I learned while studying the Gospels is that Matthew, Mark, Luke and John did not actually write those books. They were actually written by unknown writers who had differing political and social motivations. The first canonical gospel written is Mark (c 65-70), which in turn was used as a source for the gospels of Matthew and Luke. Matthew and Luke may have also used a common source, the hypothetical Q document. These first three gospels are called the synoptic gospels because they share a similar view. The last gospel, the gospel of John, presents a very different picture of Jesus and his ministry from the synoptics. The canonical gospels were originally written in Greek.

If you head is swimming and your fingers are in your ears then you know how I felt my first year in seminary. But my point is this... as a seminarian there are things I can surmise about God but nothing I can know for sure. God is mystery. I trust and have faith in God's goodness. I believe in the sacrifice of Christ and his ministry on earth. This gives me hints into God's nature. But I can not know for sure what God thinks about issues that divide us on Earth.

I always go by the measuring stick that God loves the creation. And if God loves like a parent then God loves in spite of our bad behaviors and poor choices. And God wants the best for each of us no matter our political leanings. our gender, our sexual orientation or race. And if I believe this to be true then I too must accept and love. I will leave God to do the judging. That is not my place. And since I have no way of knowing God's criteria other than the Ten Commandments I will hold myself to those and let others do the same. God will take care of it all in the end. Doing it any other way only encourages hate and division which I am sure God is against.

Now let's move onto other realms in life. Politics, socials and economic issues. What do I know. Not much. What do i think? Well I do have some thoughts. They are based on the information above. This is one of the reasons I never got ordained. Who am I to preach each week about God's mystery when I am still trying to wrap my own head around it. This is why I do not debate. I do not like anger and confrontation... does anyone? I have my own truths and I know you have yours. Who am I to knock yours down if they are what holds you up. I like to listen respectfully to others even if I disagree and I hope the same in return. If anger and accusations come into the conversation then there is something else going on. Its defensive. People feel attacked when their beliefs are not shared. And I in no way want others to feel like I am attacking them when I share an opinion.

My "I Miss Bill" bumper sticker got me a hand written note on my windshield. It sure set someones hackles up. Three little words and someone felt threatened enough to sit in the Wal*Mart parking lot, write out a note and leave it for me to find. Is the bumper sticker an invitation to attack me or make assumptions about who I am and what else I believe? I don't think so. I think there is room in this society for opposing views. But knowing what I know, I don't know.

Sarah Palin anyone?

This morning at The Uneducated Housewife we are talking about Sarah Palin's speech at the NRC last night. Here are my thoughts...

Well let's see... I thought she had presence, that is for sure. And I was really excited to see a woman up there with a growing family. Many would say she was not qualified because she was a mother. She has a beautiful family and should be proud. I was a bit surprised that she had a baby. Yikes, how can you become somebody in the political realm with a child less than a year old? I was just getting over the depression and trying to figure out how to juggle. I think it probably helps that she has older kids.

I think that McCain is hoping that having a woman in his VP slot will even out the balance of the historic circumstances Barak brings as the first African American on the ticket for president. But really I would be more apt to vote for the Republican ticket if Palin were running for President. As is, she will be the bulldog that gets to say the more nasty things about the competition while McCain keeps his hands clean. She could be better than that.

Mostly, as a tuned in and quickly out repeatedly to the convention I was struck by the meanness of it all. The Barak bashing was just appalling. (Again, I did not watch the Democratic convention much either so if McCain bashing was happening as much I would have been as annoyed.)

In terms of Palin's speech, it was entertaining and riveting but it carried little substance except for the manure continually slung at Obama.

Want into the conversation? Come on over we would love to hear it.

Yoga at the YMCA

I started going to the YMCA every morning since the kids started back to school. I take Yoga three days a week and then Pilates on the off days. I am really enjoying the time I spend there even if it is at 7:45 am. I have always wanted to do Yoga but have never had the chance. But our "Y" membership includes so many classes and now that the kids are in school I actually have a chance to exercise again.

I have back and neck problems which have been managed by a chiropractor for 6 years or so. He has been encouraging me to do Pilates or Yoga for years. Now I can see why. Regular yoga classes keep my body open which counter acts the stiffness and tension that comes from stress and anxiety which I am constantly battling.

My youngest spend a nice 45 minutes in the nursery at the "Y" while I do Yoga. I could never do it without their child care. I plan on adding a 20 minute cardio to my morning exercise and hope to see some weight loss in the coming weeks too. If I do lose some weight it will be the first time I have done it without the help of a program like Jenny Craig. I am hoping this time that I can tackle it on my own. Weight loss is an expensive business if you get pulled into the hype. Maybe if I do it on my own I can actually make changes that last a life time.

Here is a great site I found about all things Yoga.

Having a little bit of political fun...

over at The Uneducated Housewife's Guide to Politics.

Kelly has asked me to be a contributor to her political blog. What fun!

I am secretly political.. or maybe not so secretly. I do not like to debate and I hate to argue. But I do have an opinion. I especially have an opinion living down here in the deep south and being from the north. So what a great way to get into the conversation without having to defend myself or my perspective.

I beleive we are all a product of our upbringing... please don't ask me to get into the nature versus nurture discussion here. I am from Massachusetts. I am a Social Democrat. I would like to think of myself as an Independent. The idea of supporting someone based on their ideas and political values has great appeal. But if you asked me if I would vote for a Republican the answer would be, "No way!". But maybe, just maybe, if people started actually presenting themselves honestly and not just wearing a mask of their ideology that might just change.

Anyway, come on over to The Uneducated Housewife and be a part of the conversation too.

We are back...

and the house is still standing. We did get water in the garage and basement room but that was expected. We lost our water pump to our well too. That was quite a cost to have fixed but the toilets are now flushing and we can all shower tonight. The water well guy suggested that we build up our well platform to the height of our front porch so we protect it from all but the worst flooding.

I have some cleaning up to do in the basement and garage. The things I did leave in there were floating around a bit. I am letting it dry out for now. The son's bedroom is now our storage room. I plan NOT to unpack it yet. I am gonna price stuff for the yard sale first. And Ike may have the potential for heading into the Gulf so we will just bide our time there.

Unfortunately, the other thing we are dealing with right now is my son's illness. He has a pneumonia and maybe the onset of asthma. He got a breathing treatment in the doctor's office for asthma which seemed to help his wheezing. So the doctor has put him on an inhaler for the next 10 days to see whether it is the pneumonia that has caused the lungs to take offense. He is home with double ear infections, a fever and coughing.