on hymns

There is a lot of friction in the church today over music. So much so that it is a super hot topic on every side of the fence imaginable.

You’ve got what some call “the old people” howling about how we don’t sing hymns anymore.

And you’ve got the young kids saying they can’t relate to the archaic lyrics of hymns and prefer a more “modern worship experience”.

And there are many shades and facets and opinions all the way around the table on this.

Sometimes I’m not sure where I stand on the whole thing. I really enjoy some current music and enjoy when I am able to sing it in church instead of just in the car by myself.  But the only problem with this scenario that I’ve come across is…and I am not talking about any church in particular, but this is something I have heard expressed in many places…the only problem is that I seldom know a single song that is being done. So I just stand there. And look around. And watch all the other people just standing there. Not singing, just like me.

So this “corporate worship time” is in actuality a “concert”. But the only thing is, I usually know the words when I go to a concert because I know the artist. At church, I usually end up staring at the screen at lyrics I’ve never seen before…and will most likely never see again. And a part of my soul that wants to sing out to my Creator is stifled.

And the reason I am telling that part is not to rat on anybody, but to make an important point. About hymns.

And before you say “oh boy, there she goes, harping in hymns and hating other music”, hear me out, ok?

Almost any worshipful song has the potential to bring believers into the presence of God..and isn’t that the goal? But one of the things that bothers me about this strange trend to be led in singing a lineup of things no one knows is that there is no continuity there.

I am struggling to explain myself, so it feels like things are getting very wordy and I’m just now getting to my point, so bear with me. I have shared before how we sang two songs at Bub’s memorial. One was a more contemporary song, You Are My All in All (by Dennis Jernigan) and the other was a hymn, Great is Thy  Faithfulness. The interesting thing about both of these songs is that God has used both of these songs in many contexts in my life. I have sung the contemporary one during happy times and obviously sad times, and yet the words remain true and become stronger within me the more I sing them. The same is true for the hymn. I have been singing that song my whole life in every possible context…from a ‘nothing’ Sunday as a child or as an adult at a wedding and at a funeral and beyond. And every time I sing the song it takes me to all those places. And reminds me of the past and where I am now and where God has taken me and wants to take me from here and continues to anchor those words to my heart that indeed, God is faithful. Every word and every phrase means more to me now than it did the last time I heard it. And God shows me something new of Himself the next time I sing it that I didn’t know all the other times. And that brings me full circle..not to worship the past, as many people “accuse” older adults of wanting to do…but to a new place, yes connected to the past, but only knowing the now because of it.

I am a poor communicator, but those last sentences are what I’ve been trying to get to. So many times I’ve been in modern worship services and there is no connection to the past or the present in what I’m singing,,,or just listening to. And I miss that gentle knowing that there is no shadow of turning with Thee…all I have needed Thy hand hath provided..Great is Thy Faithfulness, Lord Unto Me. And knowing that I know that.  Or whatever lyric that God choses to use to draw me to see more of Him this time in the hearing of the same words than I heard and knew of Him last time I heard those same words. This…THIS is my struggle with the modern way that is constantly in flux..constantly introducing the new and throwing out the old..or the older. We’re missing a gentle jewel that God has for us.

*Please don’t hate me or tell me that I am wrong in this or that I don’t understand or that I am being judgmental or slamming this or that..I am merely sharing my experience and what God has revealed to me through his Spirit.

school’s out!

We have now officially completed 10th grade! She was down to two finals left. And spent a week studying for one and then almost  a week studying for the last and she took that one a little over a week ago.

We have returned her books from this year and registered and purchased her books for next year. She’s turned in every little odd and end required in every class and received her final grade in all her classes. 

We are done.

It’s been nice to let her sleep in some. And it’s been nice to see little doodles on her whiteboard calendar instead of things like “study” and “test” and “write paper”.  Little doodles are a lot more fun.

We have no big plans for the summer…or the fall. Which is kind of sad. She’s taking a beginner cake decorating class with some friends.

I ate some of her classwork when she got home.

I like this class. Yum. : )

a living, furry parable

We knew a short time after we lost Bub, that a pet was going to be in our future. We had the tug of war…dog-cat-dog-cat? But then finally settled on getting a cat. The girl has been crazy for kitties since she could barely say “kitty”. So that was settled. We would get a cat. I remember one day the hubs and I were out shopping at Walmart while she was at school and we bought food bowls, a carrier, litter, toys, a bed etc. But we didn’t get a cat.

We waited and waited and waited. But “someday” we would get a cat.

One day I was driving home from taking the girl to school and I had this really strong impression that today was ‘the’ day we had been waiting for. The day to go shopping for a cat. It sort of threw me off, and I prayed about the whole cat thing. And more and more I knew it was cat shopping day.

So I came home and told the hubs this, since he was home from work that day…coincidentally.  (I add that word as a joke because there really isn’t room for coincidence when God is at work.)

So we went to our local shelter. There were two cats. One of them pretty much had a sign on the cage that said she was the spawn of the devil didn’t get along with kids, had trouble with this or that etc. You get the picture. So we focused on the ‘other’ cat. But she was our only choice. So we headed to a pet store or two and another shelter, but there were NO kitties available for us. So we went back to our shelter and looked again at ‘the other cat’ again.

She was cute as a button and purred constantly.

And I guess you can figure out that the other cat was our Annabelle. We adopted her on Valentine’s Day of 2003. She was born in the fall of 2002….the same year we lost Bub.

This little kitty came into our lives and as you can guess, we fell for her immediately. We read all the books and did everything we were supposed to do so that she would bond especially with the girl. As this was kind of supposed to be her cat. But she didn’t really care that much for the girl. My husband on the other hand would rough house her and I was afraid she would become afraid of him. Instead she fell madly in love with him. And she still is.

And then there is me…I was pretty much crazy about her from the git go. She was cute and funny and she filled our home with the pitter patter of little feet once again. And not unlike parenting a human child, I took most of the care for her as well. Vet visits, scooping, feeding etc. And I as I said before, I fell in love with her.

I loved her no matter what.

I loved her when she begged for food. I loved her when she bit my feet in bed. I loved her when she meowed wanting that toy that went behind the couch and I had to crawl around on the floor to pick it up. I even loved just plain ole looking at her. Even when she ignored me.

And I’ve tried through the years to show affection to her by picking her up and wrapping her in my arms. But she fights and fights and pushes with those little paws until I have no choice but to put her down and let her do her thing. The only time that she seems to really crave me or my affection is when we go to the vet. She crawls into my arms like a baby and I hold her like one with her little head resting against my shoulder and cheek. I love it, but all too soon, we’re done with the vet and back home. And she goes back to ignoring me interspersed with pouncing my feet as I walk across the living room. And still I love her.

For many years, I have struggled with why God wanted us to have this cat. This cat that doesn’t love me…and merely tolerates my girl. (she has gotten a little better with the girl, btw)

And then one day God said something to me.

You and your cat are a lot alike. You come to me “meowing” expecting Me to do certain things for you. But sometimes when I try to love you, you push and shove Me away and run and hide. There are times when you come to Me just to be with Me and let Me hold you and those times are beautiful. But there are other times you do not and yet I still love and care for you. And yet when you’re pushing Me away, I can’t give you a fuller measure of the very thing your heart desires more than anything else. Me.

At first I didn’t know what to think about this. I would say in my heart that it was true. Or that it wasn’t true, depending on my mood. But that was about all. It’s only of late that I have really been letting myself be broken and made small so that I can have more of the very thing my heart desires more than anything else. Him.

ants

Called the bug man earlier this week because we have ants in our kitchen. About once every year or couple of years we get the same type in the same place. He comes. And then it’s over.

Yesterday afternoon the girl was eating a snack in  her room when all of the sudden I heard an AAACK sound coming from her room followed by a lot of spitting PPPHHHTT sounds. Come to find out that little snack she’s been stashing on her desk for a little too long ended up with some little teeny buddies.

Ants. So I called the bug man…again…this morning. After I explained what they look like, he paused and asked me if I kept one. He knows I always keep one if it’s something like ants, because he needs to know exactly what they are before he can treat them. So yes, I saved him some.

He thought for a minute and told me they don’t sound like anything he’s ever seen before. He read that there is a new kind just coming into Texas. So now he’s wondering if we’ve got them. Nice.

Leave it to us to be the first!

I also had to ask if it would hurt if she accidentally ate one. Very harmless. Protein.

Good to know. In case ya know, she ever decides to be on Survivor.

*my* chicken and dumplin’s

I got a cookbook for Mother’s Day! I’ve been reading Christy Jordan’s blog, Southern Plate, for quite a while and decided that I needed her cookbook for Mother’s Day. And being the sweetie that he is…and knowing that some good food was sure to follow…hubby obliged.

I really enjoyed reading Southern Plate. It’s more than just a cookbook, but also a collection of stories about her family and her southern heritage. It made me laugh and made me cry a couple of times too.

It also made me hungry. Very very hungry.

When we go out to one certain place, my hubby always orders chicken and dumplings.

Or chicken and dumplin’s, that is.

Christy’s recipe reminded me that I could make them at home. But I chose not to follow her recipe because of fat content and dairy products.

So I created my own recipe. And it got three thumbs up from the fam!

I opened a carton of chicken broth and started bringing it to a boil. I added boneless, skinless chicken breasts (would use tenders from here on out) and brought that to a gentle boil covered until the chicken was done. I did end up cutting up the chicken to speed things along. Using tenders I wouldn’t have to do that step.

I then added two cans of chicken gravy. Many recipes in books and online use a cream soup here but since I can’t use those, I opted for the gravy. I used to buy Campbells brand, but now I just get Great Value at Walmart and it tastes exactly the same. So two cans of that and stir.

Then I mixed up two batches of “dumplings” from the recipe on the side of the box of Bisquick Heart Smart. I think it ended up being about 3/4 of a cup (or a little more) of baking mix and about 6 tablespoons of water. (recipe calls for milk, but I subbed the water) It turns out fine. Mix until it seems like it wants to stick together. I floured my fingers and kneaded it in the bowl a little bit.

When the chicken was done, I spooned out rounded eating spoons of the dough and put them in the broth, careful to space them out. I reduced the heat to a bit over simmer and covered for 10 minutes, then continued to cook uncovered for 10 minutes.

The gravy was a little thin so I mixed a little cornstarch with water and thickened things up just a tad.

And we didn’t have a single drop leftover.

The end.

the best part of picture day

There are so many things I could tell you about going out to take pictures the other day.

I could tell you about learning about being the “trusty assistant”. It was sort of fun learning about using a diffuser to shade her a bit from too much light and lessen the possibility of dark shadows on her face.

I could tell you about just how much fun it was just to be out on such a gorgeous day. Soon enough it will be stifling hot and miserable at 10 am.

But the real thing I wanted to tell you about was the great attitude my girl has about some things. As we were pulling out of the driveway, she was commenting on how “all” the girls at her old school felt the need to slather on a bunch of spackle makeup every day. And how they spent forever in front of the mirror to primp during the school day.

Her comment to me as we were pulling out of the driveway…”I don’t have to put all that makeup on to look pretty”. And ya know what, she’s right! She doesn’t.

She never wears makeup and it doesn’t bother her when she’s around those caked on girls at all. She doesn’t feel the pressure to conform or be like everybody else. And I’m glad.

It reminded me of a day many years ago when I was dating my hubby. He told me that I didn’t need to be wearing makeup to look pretty in his eyes. That statement made me feel like the most beautiful girl in the world.

When the email arrived that I could go and have a look at my girl’s prints, I was so excited. And as you already know, they’re fantastic!

But the neatest thing was when she came through the kitchen and saw herself. “I look pretty!”

Yes you do, my dear.

And now I guess I’m the second prettiest girl in the world. And that’s ok.

Looking forward to the day when she meets her someone special and he tells my fresh-faced girl she’s pretty just the way she is. Because it’s true.

free style school pictures

Wednesday we did something super fun.

I decided a while back that if this home school girl was going to have “school pictures” then I had better come up with a plan.

Cuz Grandma is waiting. : )

Thankfully I have a sweet friend who is also a super fantabulous, incredibly amazing blogger, Antique Mommy. But she is also an equally amazing photographer and Photoshop artist, which is easy to see on her blog and photography area.

Soooo, I asked real sweet like and she agreed to take us/her out for a fun little photo shoot.

The results are amazing! : )

This is one of my favorite shots…just straight on!

But being that Antique Mommy is not just a photographer but also an artist, she saw many more possibilities behind the lens than I ever could.

Enjoy! (and yes, I’m freaking out a little since I don’t do a lot of pics of my girl on here. Watermarks away!)

Since my hubby is a snarky one, he had to caption this…woe is me, I’m a modern girl trapped in log cabin times..I’ll never play Nintendo again.

But I think I’ll adjust. If Laura Ingalls could do it, so can I! : )

This is one of my favorites. I love the lush green in the background contrasted against her skin and sweater.

And AM couldn’t resist a little fun with Photoshop, since she’s a genius at it. So she gave us a little glimpse into the future with this little trick.

Look mom, no braces!

She took over 200 pictures of my girl. Of course not every picture can be a winner, but we came pretty darn close. The ones I shared here are just a few from the very tippy top of the iceberg. She sent me 80 amazing shots!

There is so much more to tell about this fun day that is a post unto itself. Check back soon for the rest of the story!