Saturday, October 30, 2010

Halloween on Our Corner

The Lion and Dorothy, from The Wizard of Oz, and Batman arrived at our house around 5:00.

We ate Pizza and watched Auburn vs. Old Miss get off to a very dramatic beginning.
It was hard to think about Halloween.

Salty Snacks for Adults 

and Ann made Caramel Corn.  We couldn't NOT eat it.  It was so good - there was no way to stop eating it.

The three getting photographed by MOM


Ellie and Luke had as much fun handing out candy as they did going around to ask for it.
They loved sitting there and receiving the Trick or Treaters.

Little Lion in the dark

and cider for the adults


That was it.
And Auburn won.

Friday, October 29, 2010

I Was Being Silly

Yesterday's post was a bit silly - with little depth - but fun - and I really do like Candy Corn - but

this morning -

moving to something with much more depth - much more -

Well - I recently read the book, Radical, by David Platt.  I recommend it.

The following is a summary of the book - I found it on the site  which I just "sited" for you or "linked" for you in the previous sentence - and now again:


What is Jesus Worth to You?

"Do you believe that Jesus is worth abandoning everything for?"

In Radical, David Platt invites you to encounter what Jesus actually said about being his disciple, and then obey what you have heard. He challenges you to consider with an open heart how we have manipulated a God-centered gospel to fit our human-centered preferences. With passionate storytelling and convicting biblical analysis, Platt calls into question a host of comfortable notions that are common among Christ's followers today. Then he proposes a radical response: live the gospel in ways that are true, filled with promise, and ultimately world changing.
At the end of the book he leaves the reader with 5 challenges.  2 of which are:
1.  Read the Bible through in one year.
2.  Pray for the world consistently for 365 days.
I'll let you read the book to be challenged with the other 3.  I've said this because I have begun reading the bible through....again, having begun this project before....knowing I always bog down knee deep in Old Testament and distractions of daily life.  This time I researched, or googled, the chronological order of the books of the bible, choosing to read it chronologically - the order in which it was written.  I'm loving this method!  So guess what?
I'll give you the order, as far as I've read.  


Genesis 1-22
JOB
Genesis 23 - 50  
Exodus
Psalm 90  

Okay - so Exodus was getting tedious, especially since I've read it ten zillion times and all the details and all the dialogue between Moses and God and all the disobedience of the Israelites - and Pharaoh always has the hardened heart - and those horrible plagues - but this time - well - let me tell you first, what helped so much.  www.bibleatlas.org  YES!  click on that link and see the alphabet at the top? well, pick any location that is named in the bible, like Beersheba, click on the B and you can find Beersheba - and so forth and so on.  It helps.  So - this time I was able to get a visual of Moses running away after he murdered that Egyptian and his return to Egypt and then his leading the Israelites out of Egypt.  I could see it and see where they were moving.  (It helps that I really really like maps - I do - I love maps - so entertaining to me).  
Okay - go back - to Genesis - when I was in Genesis - and actually that's where I started using the Online Bible Atlas - because you remember that God told Abraham to go and leave his people and all of that - so I traced Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and the places they were and the altars they built - all those significant locations - fascinating - but in the last chapter when Jacob who has been named Israel by God - he's dying and is blessing his twelve sons - who would be the twelve tribes of Israel - Fascinating what he says about each of them and how they will be.  You know what he said about Simeon and Levi, together?  He said:
"Simeon and Levi are brothers - their swords are weapons of violence.  Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased.  Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel."  I find this fascinating because Simeon and Levi were the two brothers who sought revenge when their sister, Dinah, was raped and abducted - practically stolen - in Genesis 34: 26 - but also, Moses was a Levite, and we all know how he took up that offense for the Hebrew who was being beaten by the Egyptian - so he killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand to cover it up.  Wow.  and then following Moses through Exodus - and his 40 days and nights on the mountain with God and the laws being engraved into the stones - and most of the Israelites were worshipping the golden calf, led by Aaron, Moses' brother, and God saw it and was going to destroy them all - but Moses pleaded with God not to - yet - when Moses got to the foot of the Mountain and found all of that - his anger boiled.  and he threw down the stone tablets and they broke into pieces. 
Then he said to the people, "Whoever is for the Lord, come to me."  And all the LEVITES rallied to him.  And then the Levites went around with swords and killed about 3000 people.  Wow.   Then Moses said, "You have been set apart to the Lord today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day." Exodus 32: 29
So - while uncontrollable anger is not good and Israel(Jacob) did not seem to mean it as a good thing that his two sons had such anger - still - fascinating - the grace of God - he chose a Levite to lead his people out of Egypt - and it was the Levites who became the priestly tribe.  Amazing.  
Even after Moses had them kill all those ungodly men and women with the sword - God was not done with how He would handle it.  in Exodus 32:35 "and the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made."
So - after all of that discipline and "house cleaning" the Lord addresses the situation and is still not done with His anger toward their severe disobedience - in chapter 33: 1-6 - and then they all move on and once again in 40 days and nights God gives Moses the Law again and tells them how to build the tabernacle and all that goes in it - the Ark of the Covenant - and its Atonement Cover - and all of the other furniture and articles - okay - so twice in Exodus we read the details of the crafting of all of this - 
So I returned once again to google.com and found this site and once there click on articles and there is an itemized list of those things ordered by God and it gives the spiritual meaning and relates them to the New Testament and how Christ fulfilled all of this.  I mean - I have heard and read a lot of this before but it loses itself in my brain - and once again - I'm studying this - it's spine tingling - the connect between the Old Testament and Christ's fulfillment of the Law.  So - this time the remaining Israelites are obedient and construct this stuff exactly how God told them to - and the final verse in Exodus reads:


"So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels."


The next thing to read after Exodus - since I'm reading it chronologically - is Psalm 90.  That is powerful - having been through the 2nd half of Genesis and then all of Exodus and having to trod through Exodus to get it all in my head and heart - it is indeed powerful to read this Psalm which my bible says is "a prayer of Moses the man of God."  


that's when I just HAD to post about it - and share it all - my heart was full - so I can't imagine that anyone lasted through this whole post.  Still - I feel relieved having shared this.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

I Like Candy Corn.

Okay - I'm sad.  I just ran across this link and after reading a post which bashed the traditional Halloween candy, "candy corn", I had the opportunity to vote.  I voted.  I voted in favor of candy corn.  I lost.  We're down.  Candy Corn people are down.  I don't care, but am a little embarrassed to be on the losing side.  I've always liked Candy Corn and still do.  I know it has a waxy texture - and I've wondered about it - like - is that clogging my arteries?  Probably not helping.  It's wax, for pete's sake!  It has to be clogging my arteries.  but still - I like it.

Guess what else?  Mix a proportionate amount of peanuts with candy corn - and you've got a PayDay candy bar!

In the poll I only had two options - to either say it is the nastiest candy ever or to say it's the best ever.  Well, naturally, I don't think it's the best ever!  What would I call the best?  ummmm - Snickers?  Almond Joys?  hmmmmm - Caramels?  Mr. Goodbars?  Even M&M's are good.  Especially the seasonally colored ones.  Oh the delight of seeing a bowl of candy which is seasonally packaged.  But there is no delight in paying for it.  It's too expensive.

That's another good thing about Candy Corn - it's cheap.  Large bag I bought was $1.88.

I'll tell you this - I bought two bags last week only for decoration - I knew that Ellie and Luke don't like it. I didn't think Charlie did.  He doesn't.  I didn't think Andrew knew about it.  I have a clear glass pumpkin candy jar - got it from my secret sister years ago - in Baptist Young Women.  Remember that?  I was in that.  A grownup version of GA's.  I was never in GA's because I was raised Methodist - Didn't know about all that women's stuff in the Baptist Church until...well.... I'm sidetracked.

Okay, so I bought the Candy Corn for decoration - it would be in the jar and have that Halloween Seasonal look.  Noone would eat it.  I didn't think I would.  I'm 59.  I've outgrown it.  Wrong.  I started with 6 at a time.  I grabbed 6.  Came back for 6 more.  (I count food - I eat in numerical proportions - like chips - I eat 10 at first - then go back for 10 more - it's a weird little thing I do - it's from way way way back when I was an obsessive dieter - I have some leftover stuff)  Then I remembered that we had peanuts in the pantry - in little tiny bags - Charlie had had to sell them for Kiwanis - only rather than sell them - we hate doing that - he bought 2 big boxes of peanuts - and they are in our pantry.  So - I've been mixing the candy corn with the peanuts and I have a Pay Day candy bar.

Also - Andrew loves it!  I don't know how he knows about it - He says over and over, "Corn! Corn!"  and I have to get him a little cup of them.  He likes the candy corn over Smarties!  That says a lot - so my candy corn decoration has diminished a bit and I had to buy a new bag today....while I was in Wal Mart with Ann and her 3.  Andrew cried tears because I wouldn't go ahead and open the bag.  He cried into my face while I comforted him and he had cheese cracker breath - because Ann had been feeding him out of the box of cheese crackers she'd bought.   I couldn't reseal the cheap $1.88 bag of Candy Corn - so I had to tell him no.

anyway - after all of that I ran across this blog post  I was saddened and finally had something to write about - not very interesting - but still - am I the only one left besides a few others who like Candy Corn.  Try it with peanuts.  I think you'll like it.  Still - it's a good visual image for Halloween - Isn't it?

I'm going to post this so you can be reading it - and then I'm going to take some pictures of my Candy Corn and the Carved Pumpkins I finally bought - I love them.  And then I'll add those photos to this post.


and while I'm adding Halloween images

Here are two more

from the Barbers - you've seen these on Ann's Blog.
she and her 3 little jack o'lanterns made these.
actually, I don't think Andrew did - but he was probably somewhere in the vicinity adding to the chaos.


and I found this 1939 Better Homes and Gardens Halloween Picture and Poem,
I found it on this blog post which I enjoy:
they reminisce the way I do.

Jack o'Lantern Fever

There are brownies in the dining room,
I discovered them myself -
Three round roguish little pixies
and a grinning pumpkin elf,
with their heads so close together
and their faces all alight,
I am sure they're plotting mischief
to surprise us some dark night.

Hear their voices low and whispered,
see the twinkle in their eyes,
Do they think they can confuse us
by their Halloween disguise?
Let us tiptoe in - unnoticed,
not disturbing any one,
And perhaps they'll let us join them,
in their gay October fun.
- Marguerite Gode

and that was 1939

Doesn't our culture evolve?  Hasn't our culture evolved?
I've evolved.  I am 59.  But - I still enjoy Candy Corn.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Fall 2010 and Auburn Football 2010

I finally moved fall into my house.  

I also am as much of a football fan as I am ever going to be, which isn't much,
but it's a lot more than anyone who ever knew me would have expected.

I was glued to the TV this afternoon,
pulling for Auburn.

Naturally it's more fun to win than lose.
So - today was fun.

Our grandchildren saw their grandparents and parents and close adult friend
go absolutely nuts.  Mostly Charlie, Near, and Mommy - since we're the Auburn fans.  Although Curtis, (close adult friend), was pulling pretty hard for Auburn.  He played football at Arkansas with Auburn's offensive coach, Gus Malzahn.  That was during the Bo Jackson days.  And Steve, although a Georgia fan, was enjoying the game, too.  Everyone is enjoying watching Cam Newton play.  Amazing.

 I screamed so loud at one point that I woke Andrew from his nap.

oops.

Charlie was glad because I've scolded him so many times for doing that.  I had to eat some crow.

Prior to the game, we had a visit with Kate today.
She traveled with friends, yesterday, to Chattanooga.
So - she borrowed a car and drove down for a 3 1/2 hour visit.
She left to get back so she could watch the game with them in C'nooga.
On Monday, from Chattanooga, they go to Atlanta for more Intern Training.

It was so nice to have her back in the house again.

She was bombarded with hugs from Ellie, Luke, and eventually Andrew.
Andrew took a few seconds to get oriented - I think he'd forgotten for a little bit who Kate was.
It soon came back to him.

War Eagle and Happy Fall!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Until I Can Think of Something to Write About

I was going through my photos and began comparing last year to this year and how babies grow.
A year flies by, doesn't it?

Time belongs to our Creator, doesn't it?

I want my time to be His.

2009

2010

2009

2010

8 months ago

Now

2009


2010


2009


2010


Tuesday, October 19, 2010

I Really Like These Cookies

So, Charlie and I visited Kate last week in Winston-Salem - and we saw her cute basement apartment, which she shares with a friend - and we were asking about all that she does and also seeing her cozy little kitchen.

Kate likes kitchens and cooking and planning things and menus and events and all of that - but with her schedule she says that now she buys very few groceries because of meeting so many girls for lunches and coffee, etc.  Plus, she has a meal plan on campus which offers really good food -

Then she mentioned that in that cute little kitchen she does bake each Monday and I asked her why and what and she told me she makes the same cookies each Monday because the guy students, especially, love them when they all get together for bible study or whatever they get together for.  Of course, girls are so careful about what they eat in those situations, aren't they?

She uses the cake mix recipe and she does a variation on it each week.  Are you familiar with it?

It's any cake mix, 2 eggs, 1/3 cup of oil and any add in like chips or nuts.  It made me want to make them.

So I did.  I used a French Vanilla Cake Mix and, after mixing in the oil and eggs, added a heaping cup of well chopped pecans.  Yum!  So good.  Tomorrow night for Community Group at my house I'm going to use a Spice Cake Mix and add White Chocolate Chips.  I got that idea from Kate.  I think that's what she told me.

Oh, and bake at 350 degrees 10-12 minutes.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Fall Celebrated

by a church family.  
Games, Food, Laughter, Conversation, Crafts, Pumpkin Contests, Wagon Rides, Old and Young and In Between.  (main contest - Hobo Dog Wheelbarrow Race - you'll see the pictures)






and the sun went down which signaled, "end of party".  We picked up in the dark, our lawn chairs, blankets, empty platters, and drove home with smiles and yawns.