Sunday, May 25, 2008

Here kitty kitty

Thanks to The Kramers for the newest additions to Hyde Family Farm. We're hoping these will help with the rodent and reptile situation. (We saw another mouse on Saturday and picked up these kitties that afternoon). They will be barncats, not housecats. I'm gonna need some willpower on that one, though, 'cause gosh, they're cute. I had three orange cats forever at home (Alfred, P-Sang, and GG, may they rest in peace), so I was excited to get orange ones again.

Name suggestions, anyone? Jonas' idea was Anyone, No one, and Someone.


Puerto Vallarta

A great time was had by all. Thanks Mimi for coming with us.

Now I need to go rest. Vacation is hard work.

...

Happy Memorial Day

Me: Sometimes bad guys want to hurt us. So good guys go out, like army men, or guys in planes or boats, and fight the bad guys, so they don't get us. But sometimes the bad guys kill the good guys. So we have Memorial Day to remember the good guys who died to keep us safe.

Jonas: Like the bad guys that killed Manuel?

Me: Yes, like those bad guys.

Jonas: Why did they do that? They didn't like him?

Me: I guess not.

Jonas: And the bad guys don't like us?

Me: Some bad guys don't, that's right. But there are good guys, like policemen and army guys, who will fight them and protect us.

Jonas: They don't like anybody. They don't love anybody.

Me: Some bad guys are like that. But some of them do love their family, but don't like other people. I don't know why.

Jonas: Because they're mean. That's why.

Me: You should run for president.

Jonas: OK. Goodnight.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Burma visit

Check out The Ripple Effect and read everything she's ever written.

I wanted to call attention primarily to her recent visit to Burma. But she's a great writer with an amazing story. Read "About" for some background info and then just scroll through the whole blog.

...

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Bacon Tutorial

Seriously. You need to know how to do this.

1. Buy Farmland bacon. (Personally I avoid the thick sliced, but maybe you're into that kind of thing.)

2. Turn oven on to 375. You don't actually need to wait for it to preheat. You can put the bacon in a cold oven.

3. Line a rimmed cookie sheet (a.k.a. "jelly roll pan") with tin foil.



4. Put bacon in the pan. (I make no assumptions of cooking acumen here.)

5. Put in oven. (See?) Turn on the light so you can watch the goodness.

6. Bake 10-15 minutes, to desired crispness.


7. Drain on paper towel.



8. Enjoy! Dipping in maple syrup is optional.



we're going to puerto vallarta this week. hasta luego!

...

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Pesky Varmints

Which would you rather have in your yard: rats or snakes?????


This is not a game. Apparently that's the decision I'm up against. Mom says that if we keep killing the rat snakes, we're going to have a rat problem. This author agrees with her and much prefers the snake. The crazy fool actually put one in his attic as a mousetrap! The snake is not poisonous and barely even breaks the skin if it bites, or so they say. Rats, on the other hand, break the skin and carry disease.



Please vote in the poll to your right. And pray for spiritual discernment the next time I see a serpent.

...

Saturday, May 10, 2008

happy mother's day


A couple of weeks ago, Justin preached on Jesus' High Priestly prayer in John 17. I loved the sermon, and was happy to transcribe it for him for use in his homiletics class at HBU. I wanted to post a portion for you today.

Here's the text from verses 20-21:

20"I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Here's a bit of the transcribed sermon:

The first statement is this: “that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You.”

For Jesus to accomplish His mission of glorifying the Father, we must all be one. This is not to say that the success of Jesus' mission is in any way contingent on us, or our faithfulness. It is not. He is not dependent on us in any way. If we do not do our job, the rocks will cry out. He is sovereign over all things, every aspect of our lives. But He chooses to use us in very specific and deliberate ways, for our joy, and His ultimate glory. He chooses us as His means of glorifying the Father. Unity, or community, is of the highest priority to Jesus.


This unity is not defined by our past or present experience of "togetherness." Rather, it is defined by the Trinity. In verse 21 Jesus says "I want my followers, not only these disciples here, but all of those who will believe because of their word, to be one, just as You and I are one." So we take our cue from the Trinity. In the way that the Trinity is one, so are we to be. (....) Jesus is saying, "Do not judge your oneness, your connectedness to fellow Christians, by your own standards. I am giving you the standard. The standard is the Trinity. Just as I exist in community with the Father and the Spirit, so are you to dwell in unity with your fellow believers."

(.....)

Second statement is this: “So that they also may be in Us.”

This is why He wants us to be together with other people. He wants us to live in unity, SO THAT, we can have community with God. "...that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us."

Our oneness with each other, which should look like the oneness that the Father has with the Son and Spirit, RESULTS IN our oneness with the Father, Son, and Spirit. Our abiding in God is a result of our faithfulness to abide with each other. Jesus says, "You need to be one just as we are one, so that you can be one with Us."

Many people espouse the belief that "You don't have to go to church to be a Christian." That's true enough, in one sense. Going to church and being connected to community is not salvific. It does not produce salvation in you. But, it does produce in you this eternal life that can begin now. This eternal life that Jesus is speaking of is not something that begins at death. It's something you participate in now. There are things to be cultivated, ways to make it happen, and ways to kill it. Jesus comes that we may have life and have it abundantly, but there is a thief, and he comes to steal, kill, and destroy. He cannot take away your salvation, but he wants to take away your current experience of eternal life. John says earlier that this thief is the ruler of the world. He won't be for long, but for now he is our enemy. We must be connected with each other if we want to remain connected with God.
(....)

Here's the third statement, the final result as Jesus sees it. Verse 21: “that they also may be in Us, SO THAT the world may believe that You sent me.”

Jesus has built progression into this verse: You need to do this, so that you can do this, so that you can do this.

Jesus is about to die. He is entrusting His mission to his disciples. He has promised to indwell them with the Spirit. Now He is praying to the Father for His disciples, that their work may be fruitful, and so that their joy may be full. "I want them to be in community with each other so that they will be in community with Us. I want them to be in Us so that the world will believe."

Many of us disregard this aspect of our mission. Our unity, our connectedness both here and with believers across the world, produces faith in nonbelievers. It results in the faith of nonbelievers. Jesus repeats Himself in verse 23, "I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me." This idea of community as mission, community as evangelism.

OK, I know this is a long post. Bless you for reading this far.

So why Mother's Day? What does this have to do with us?

We are often the foot soldiers, doing the groundwork to build the unity. Every potluck dish, every prayer meeting, the Christmas parties, the phone calls and emails, these things are the work of the gospel. They are not marginal, irrelevant to the "real work." In these verses they are commissioned, sanctified, by Christ Himself. As we unify our family, we are teaching our little ones about the Trinity! This is the beginning of eternal life. As our church community draws together in fellowship (around my pot roast!) they are drawing near to Christ, and demonstrating Him to the world.

It's not just a casserole anymore.

...

chicken express



white babies can jump

This trampoline was a great purchase. We gave it to Jonas for his fourth birthday. It's a great way to burn off some energy, especially on a rainy day. Now, when they're running in circles around the kitchen, I can send them to "jump it off."


It does take up some space, though. It's described as "folding," which it does, but not as easily as I hoped. It could slide under a bed without too much effort. The handlebar is removable and the legs fold down. I like that it uses a bungee cord rather than metal springs. No pinching!

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Look what mama did

I just killed a snake.

No, YOU shut up!

Pick your jaw up off the floor. Here it is:




I know, right???

We came in late from Mamaw's house. Daddy's out working tonight. Duke was barking his fool head off, and growling. I went to see what the ruckus was about, and lo and behold, this monster. Well, ok, a chicken snake. But still.

(It is a chicken snake, right? If anybody knows anything about snakes, let me know.)

I pulled on my cowboy boots over my capris and found the hoe in the garage (had to ask Jonas where Daddy keeps it). It took me about 35 chops before I hit the darn thing. Oooh, the way they move is so scary. ::::shudder::::

I'd better do some target practice with the hoe.

On a brighter note, while the kids were camped out at Debbie's, I found the very earrings I've always wanted:



(Debbie, if you're reading this, I really did run the errands I told you about when I asked you to babysit. It's just....well, this cute little boutique was right next door, and....um, thanks for watching the kids. Happy Mother's Day.)

Free taco to anyone who notices what's missing in the above picture. Or catches the quote from Corduroy.



In case you're wondering what I do all day around here.

Wouldn't want to leave Daddy out. Here's the snake he killed yesterday:



Yep, that's right, two snakes in two days. Right in the backyard. We have a bit of a situation.

Justin graduates tomorrow. Round of applause, please.

OK, well, welcome to my blog. Thanks for stopping by. I'll try to make it worth your while. Goodnight.