Wholly, Holy Bible

For the twentieth day, and third Sunday, of my ‘Thirty Days of Thankfulness,’ I thank God for His Word. I have at least ten different translations in print on my shelves at home (and one in my desk at work), including the Good News Bible, the KJV, several NRSV study Bibles and a couple of NIV devotional ones. I may even have a few children’s editions and the teen editions from when my kids attended youth group and Sunday school at our local church.

But my favorite place to read and study the Bible is on my computer or my Nook Color via a website called Bible Study Tools. It’s my one stop shop for research, searches and a plethora of translations. When I’m looking for just the write devotional or inspirational verse, I can always find it there.

As an example, let’s review my favorite Bible verse, Philippians 4:8, first from the King James Version:

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

As compared to the NRSV edition:

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Or the Good News translation (popular back in the 60s or 70s I believe):

In conclusion, my friends, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable.

Or one of my favorites for a really modern devotional paraphrase warm fuzzy translation called the Message:

Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious – the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.

And for the occasional status update on Facebook or Twitter, I like to use the New Century version:

Brothers and sisters, think about the things that are good and worthy of praise. Think about the things that are true and honorable and right and pure and beautiful and respected.

If I want to delve deeper into a verse, passage or chapter, I’m just a click away from a dozen study tools. The site also can help me read the Bible in a year, has several daily devotions and study guides and provides a daily verse. And I’m just scratching the surface! I follow the site via Twitter and receive daily trivia questions that I can sometimes answer without having to look it up.

While I always take my study bible with me to an evening Bible study gathering, if I’m leading the discussion, I do most of my research and preparation online.

I am so very thankful for the abundance and availability of God’s Word, leaving me no excuse not to read His Good News whenever I can.

Thank You, Lord!

Lost Leonids

Although this week has been chock full of fantastic sunrises and sunsets, the wind and clouds have hampered my ability to view the famed Leonid meteor shower. With the sun rising and setting during my daily commute, I have few safe opportunities to snap a successful photograph. So I just enjoy the eye candy while avoiding the cars around me as I drive into the sun (except for the first or last ten miles of my commute which is along a north-south corridor between Bonner Springs and Lansing, Kansas).

On a whim, last night after meeting my dad at a local eating establishment for a quick birthday dinner (not the official one, but a quickly arranged one to get his freshly baked bread into his hands), I stepped out into my backyard and looked up (as you’ll recall from my earlier post, I always look up when I exit a building). Much to my surprise and delight I saw a prominent shooting star streak across directly overhead from east to west, leaving a trail like a laser beam across the sky for a second or so. I immediately ran in the house and told Terry what I’d seen, then cranked up the laptop to see if I still had hope of seeing more of the Leonid meteor shower that night.

Leonid-meteor-shower — The Leonid meteor shower peaks the night of November 17/18, although its shooting stars will have to battle a nearby Last Quarter Moon after midnight. Astronomy: Roen Kelly

I logged onto Astonomy magazine‘s website and found a nice graphic that confirmed I still had time to view some more meteors. I tried to force myself to stay awake until the moon rose, but read myself to sleep (again) around 11:30 p.m. My husband woke me up in the middle of the night, but the swiftly scudding clouds obscured all but the glow of the moon. No sight of Mars, Regulus, Denebola or any shooting stars seemed likely. Naturally, I fell back asleep, dreaming of clear, dark skies next year.

All-Teaism

As I steep my morning cup of Irish Blend, I am thankful for all varieties of teas on my nineteenth day of ‘Thirty Days of Thankfulness.’ Except for a brief flirtation with flavored coffees a decade ago, I cleave to my morning cup of green tea with an occasional afternoon bracing black tea to spur me on through the rest of the workday.

For many years I associated the taste and smell of green tea, with just a touch of milk and sugar, with childhood colds. Whenever I had a scratchy throat or an irritating cough as a child, my mother and/or my grandmother would fix me a cup of green tea to sooth away the soreness and quiet the cough. As I grew older, I learned the value of tea beyond just the common cold ailments of childhood. I expanded my tea horizons to other blends, trying Darjeeling (my next favorite after green teas), Earl Grey (never again … I’d rather drink coffee), English Breakfast (my next favorite black tea after Irish Blend) and various herbal fruit blends for summer iced tea adventures.

Once I discovered Leavenworth housed a quaint British shop, the Queen’s Pantry, just a few miles north of my home, I eschewed the tea bag and dove head first into the world of loose tea. I found all the necessary utensils and accessories as well as gallon sized jars of loose teas with samples I could smell and sometimes try in the shop. I discovered Japanese Pan-Fried Green tea among the jars and now keep several ounces stocked at home along side my Irish Blend. In addition to tea, the shop sells gifts and foods imported from Britain and at one time had a cafe that served British cuisine. It’s a delightful spot so browse and shop on a Saturday in downtown Leavenworth; a little slice of British heaven in the Heart of America.

At very nearly the end of 2010, on the 28th day of December, I decided to read several short ebooks found in the public domain at such sites like Project Gutenberg or Feedbooks. I stumbled upon The Book of Tea by Kakuzo Okakura (published in 1906) with this brief blurb:

Minor classic of the Orient. Perhaps the most entertaining, most charming explanation and interpretation of traditional Japanese culture in terms of the tea ceremony. Introduction, notes by E. F. Bleiler. “Provocative and entertaining, this edition is particularly pleasing in format.” — Guide to Asia Paperbacks.

I quickly read it and gained insight into Japanese disciplines and art. The descriptions of the tea room and the tea ceremony evoked vivid visuals I can still perceive in my minds eye. I highly recommend for all tea aficionados.

I take my tea cold as well as hot. If I’m not drinking water, I’m usually drinking tea (iced or otherwise). I rarely sweeten my teas (unless I need an afternoon kick-start with plain black tea). While I like my hot teas steeped strong, I prefer my iced teas unbrewed, relying on Tetley or Luziane‘s to steep either in the sun or on my kitchen counter. Just a hint of tea flavor is enough for my palette.

In closing, I’d like to offer up some interesting quotes, proverbs, poems and sayings about tea:

You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me. ~C.S. Lewis

Tea…is a religion of the art of life. ~Okakura

Drinking a daily cup of tea will surely starve the apothecary. ~Chinese Proverb

Bread and water can so easily be toast and tea. ~Author Unknown

If man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty. ~Japanese Proverb

Tea is liquid wisdom. ~Anonymous

Tea does our fancy aid,
Repress those vapours which the head invade
And keeps that palace of the soul serene.
~Edmund Waller, “Of Tea”

Is it tea time yet? Somewhere it must be.

Happy Birthday Dad!

265755_10150225538351492_8307017_o — Derek and My Dad (July 2011)

Today I wish my father “Happy Birthday!” and express my gratitude for all he does for me and my family. I baked him a fresh loaf of home-made bread this morning and will treat him to dinner sometime this weekend at a restaurant of his choice. I will take a stroll down memory lane when I revisit this post in a couple of days, once I’ve had a chance to recover from a medical procedure I underwent yesterday. But I at least wanted to post a quick blurb for my eighteenth day of ‘Thirty Days of Thankfulness‘ and shout out to my dad:

Happy Birthday!

Multidimensional, Real and/or Virtual, Art

Mother's Day Gift from Rachelle (circa 2007)

Another place holder for my seventeenth day of ‘Thirty Days of Thankfulness‘ … I know, a day late, but I have a really, really good excuse. I had outpatient surgery yesterday that wiped me out for the entire day. The first time I’ve spent fifteen straight hours in bed in ages.

Anyway, sometime in the next couple of days I’ll circle back to this posting and explain why I’m thankful for art and all the artists in my life, both in the family and among friends.

Food Thoughts and Water Wishes

I am grateful for food to eat and water to drink on this sixteenth day of my ‘Thirty Days of Thankfulness.’ I will expound on this theme in a couple of days as I am not feeling well right now.

I apologize for the delay.

Music to My Ears

I am thankful for my sense to hearing, and specifically music, which will be the focus of the fifteenth day of my ‘Thirty Days of Thankfulness.’

At age five, I started taking piano lessons from a close neighbor (close being a relative term out in the wilds of northwestern Leavenworth County). Reading music came to me just about as easily as reading words. Oddly (because I love mathematics), my only long-standing issue is my (un)willingness to count out a song in my head so that I get the rhythm and tempo correct. I didn’t spend much time in a band environment (only played flute for two years before middle school), so I rely heavily upon a percussionist if I play and/or sing in a praise band. And my audio memory of how a song should sound. Yes, I’m lazy. Probably why I’m not a professional musician.

As I’ve mentioned before, my husband is a hundred times, or more likely, a thousand times better musician than I will ever be. He has impeccable timing and near perfect pitch. He has the patience and technical skills to practice a piece to perfection.

Rachelle posing as a diva a couple of years ago

My daughter inherited most if not all of her musical ability and talent from him (I can still play piano better than her, but she knows more music theory than I’ll ever understand).

Rachelle started singing about the same time she learned to talk. She surpassed my measly vocal abilities way back in early high school. Along the way, she learned how to play violin, guitar, saxophone and piano. However, her voice is her most finely honed instrument. As she approaches her final semester as an under graduate at UNT’s College of Music, I look forward to attending her senior recital, which will include all of the following songs Rachelle recently recorded for her graduate school auditions (click on the song title link, then click on the play button):

The Nurse’s Song by Benjamin Britten
Rachelle Moss, Mezzo Soprano
Violetta Zharkova, Piano

Smanie implacabili from Cosi fan tutte by Mozart
Rachelle Moss, Mezzo Soprano
Violetta Zharkova, piano

Ah scostati!
Paventa il tristo effeto
d’un disperato affeto!
Chiudi quelle finestre
Odio la luce, odio l’aria, che spiro

Odio me stessa!
Chi schernisce il mio duol,
Chi mi consola?
Deh fuggi, per pietà, fuggi,
Lasciami sola.

Smanie implacabili, che m’agitate
Dentro quest’anima più non cessate,
Finchè l’angoscia mi fa morir.
Esempio misero d’amor funesto,
Darò all’Eumenidi se viva resto
Col suno orrible de’ miei sospir.

English Translation:

Ah, move away!
Fear the sad effect
of a desperate affection!
Shut those windows,
I hate the light, I hate the air that I breathe

I hate myself!
Who mocks my pain,
Who will console me?
Oh, leave, for pity’s sake, leave,
Leave me alone.

Implacable restlessness, that disturbs me
Inside this soul, doesn’t cease,
Until it makes me die.
A miserable example of fateful love
I will give to the Furies, if I live,
With the horrible sound of my sighs.

Auf dem Kirchhofe by Johannes Brahms
Rachelle Moss, Mezzo Soprano
Violetta Zharkova, Piano

Auf dem Kirchhofe

Der Tag ging regenschwer und sturmbewegt,
Ich war an manch vergessenem Grab gewesen,
Verwittert Stein und Kreuz, die Kränze alt,
Die Namen überwachsen, kaum zu lesen.

Der Tag ging sturmbewegt und regenschwer,
Auf allen Gräbern fror das Wort: Gewesen.
Wie sturmestot die Särge schlummerten,
Auf allen Gräbern taute still: Genesen.

English Translation:

In the churchyard

The day was heavy with rain and disturbed by storms;
I was walking among many forgotten graves,
with weathered stones and crosses, the wreaths old,
the names washed away, hardly to be read.

The day was disturbed by storms and heavy with rain;
on every grave froze the words “we were.”
The coffins slumbered calmly like the eye of a storm,
and on every grave melted quietly the words: “we were healed.”

Les Berceaux by Gabriel Faure
Rachelle Moss, Mezzo Soprano
Violetta Zharkova, Piano

Les berceaux

Le long du Quai, les grands vaisseaux,
Que la houle incline en silence,
Ne prennent pas garde aux berceaux,
Que la main des femmes balance.

Mais viendra le jour des adieux,
Car il faut que les femmes pleurent,
Et que les hommes curieux
Tentent les horizons qui leurrent!

Et ce jour-là les grands vaisseaux,
Fuyant le port qui diminue,
Sentent leur masse retenue
Par l’âme des lointains berceaux.

English Translation:

Cradles

Along the quay, the great ships,
that ride the swell in silence,
take no notice of the cradles.
that the hands of the women rock.

But the day of farewells will come,
when the women must weep,
and curious men are tempted
towards the horizons that lure them!

And that day the great ships,
sailing away from the diminishing port,
feel their bulk held back
by the spirits of the distant cradles.

Happy Birthday Honey

Today I am grateful for my husband, Terry. Today just also happens to be his birthday. So, for my fourteenth day of my ‘Thirty Days of Thankfulness‘ series, I will take you on a walk down memory lane.

I met Terry in the fall of 1983, just a few weeks after leaving home in Leavenworth County to attend college at Wichita State University. My first room mate in my dorm was a valley girl; seriously, she was from that infamous valley in Southern California. We couldn’t have been more different, but we made the best of it. She invited me out one weekend and we tried one of the local clubs called Backstage. Remember all that horrible pop music from the 80s … everytime I hear Lover Boy or Duran Duran or Def Leppard, I flashback to that night.

I wandered around while Jill fit right in. I ended up in the balcony, watching the lighted dance floor. A guy approached me and asked my name. I told him it was Jon. His immediate reply was ‘Don’t give me that shit.’ I was a bit taken aback by his aggresive response, but I was also used to people’s unbelief in my name. I whipped out my driver’s license, which I had placed in my back pocket, having left my purse locked in Jill’s Volkswagon bug. After a somewhat rocky start, we spent the evening dancing and talking.

Over the next few months, I got to know Terry very well. He took me out on his dirt bike to the motocross courses carved out of the Big Ditch by him and his buddies. I listened to him play his Ibanez Artist (the same one he still owns and plays) and his trumpet. I’m still amazed at his musical abilities, which he seems to have passed on to our daughter, Rachelle.

Three years after meeting Terry, we had our first child, Derek. By that time, we had moved in with his father, whose health was beginning to decline after years of smoking. We purchased a house in Benton (about twelve or fifteen miles east of Wichita) and soon after Rachelle was born. We spent several good years in Benton, until we discovered Terry’s health took a nose dive. After months of test and inconclusive diagnoses, a hematologist determined Terry had sarcoidosis, but not of the ‘normal’ variety which attacks most people’s lungs; rather, his variant attacked his kidneys.

Faced with the prospect of a chronically ill spouse who would probably need my help to cope, I felt I needed a support network or safety net to help with raising Derek and Rachelle. With the passing of Terry’s father in 1991, that left only his sister living within an hour of us. I had no family living in or near Wichita. I also knew I could make quite a bit more income moving to a larger metropolitan area like Kansas City.

I found a new job without too much stress or effort, but selling our house became a problem. Terry and Derek stayed behind in Benton. Terry single-handedly remodeled our one hundred year old farm house as best he could, while still suffering from the effects of his disease. Rachelle moved in with my parents and I worked a ton of hours, sleeping in my brother’s attic and visit my parents (and Rachelle) on the weekends. Finally, in the fall of 1997, we were reunited, renting a house in Lansing so the kids could attend school in that school district. We also ended up renting the Benton, House, since we could not find a buyer before Terry and Derek migrated north.

Terry soon found a job working for H&R Block’s call center in Lenexa. He steadily moved up the chain of command, but suffered the axe during a reorganization and lay offs in the early 00s. We did manage to find a beautiful home to purchase in Lansing and some nice automobiles (including a luxurious Buick Park Avenue Ultra and a nearly new Firebird Formula). Terry joined the local SCCA and won F stock in Solo II and Rookie of the Year.

Terry found local judo and jujitsu instructors for both Derek and Rachelle on post. He fully supported Derek as he competed locally, regionally and nationally as a judoka and in wrestling at Lansing High School.

We also joined a local church and eventually became the inaugural members of the praise band for the expanded contemporary service of that church. That endeavor forged a lasting friendship between Terry and the bass player, Sean. Even though neither of them play for that particular praise band, they still play together in their band WolfGuard.

We’ve come full circle now, with the children grown, off on their own, either married or still pursuing a college education. We’re left with the Rotts and a nearly empty house. Thanks to Terry’s previous experience in construction and at least two other remodels (his father’s house and our other house in Benton), he is once again putting his expertise to good use as we update our home in Lansing.

For a guy the doctor’s almost gave up on over fifteen years ago, he’s still kicking and still looking good. I thank God every day he’s still with me.

Happy Birthday Honey!

God’s Gift

Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish!

Ephesians 2:8 (The Message)

I am eternally grateful for God’s gift of grace, today and every day. So I will pause and reflect on my thirteenth day of ‘Thirty Days of Thankfulness‘ upon faith and grace.

As I imparted a week ago in my post on John and Charles Wesley, I am a Methodist, born baptized and raised one. Yet until I studied to be a local Lay Speaker for my local church that I fully understood what it meant to be a Methodist and showed me the path of discipleship.

Grace can be defined as the love and mercy given to us by God because God wants us to have it, not because of anything we have done to earn it.

Our Wesleyan Theological Heritage, UMC.org

Grace centers nearly all Christian sects and denominations. To me, it boils down to love and compassion. Keep it simple, please. Less chance for me to mess up.

But Wesley, ever the scholar, took it one or two steps farther, defining grace in triplicate:

Previent Grace: God’s active presence in our lives; a gift always available, but that can be refused.
Justifying Grace: Reconciliation, pardon and restoration through the death of Jesus Christ.
Sanctifying Grace: The ongoing experience of God’s gracious presence transforming us into whom God intends us to be; we grow and mature in our ability to live as Jesus lived.

Excerpts from Our Wesleyan Theological Heritage via UMC.org

The journey, not the destination, and Wesley provided the map, charting a course that even I can follow, called the Means of Grace. He broke his method down into two broad categories: Works of Piety and Works of Mercy. The former flows naturally out of my upbringing, Sunday school classes and worship service attendance. The personal practices of prayer, Bible study, healthy living and fasting together with the communal ones of Holy Communion, Baptism and participation in the Christian community, flow and grow naturally with regular usage. The latter stresses the outpouring of service to the sick, the poor, the imprisoned and seeking justice for the oppressed.

Yes, there was and is a method to Wesley’s ‘madness’ or rather his enthusiasm to follow God’s will and His vision for all of us, as His disciples, to bring His kingdom of mercy, peace and love to fruition here on Earth.

So Long Samsung; Welcome Whirlpool!

On the twelfth day of my ‘Thirty Days of Thankfulness‘ I am very grateful for our brand new refrigerator.

We finally received our exchange from Sears for the Samsung we purchased back in May as a 25th anniversary shared gift. Six months of dealing with overseas customer service representatives, five damaged and defective Samsungs (including the first one and the last one which was an upgrade to the next better model), abuse from the automated telephone system at Sears for weeks on end and a lost or closed case file.

We had finally reached an agreement with Sears to switch brands (from Samsung to Whirlpool) when all communication ceased for several weeks. Out of the blue, in late October, Terry received a call from his case manager. We were in the queue to receive the exchange and should receive a call in the next few days to schedule the delivery. This past Monday we finally got the call and this morning the new Whirlpool refrigerator was delivered and installed on time and without blemishes or defects.

Second of Five Samsungs Delivered (and Returned)

With all the trouble we went through during the summer and early fall, we had decided to never ever buy anything from Sears again. In fact, Terry threatened the customer service representatives more than once with selling all of his Craftsmen tools (several thousand dollars worth) and replacing them with Snap-On tools. We had resigned ourselves to living with the defective and disappointing Samsung and leaving said refrigerator with the house when we sell it. However, we have rescinded our previous plans and will take the Whirlpool with us whenever we move.