logic?

 

I was recently visiting a friend (yes, I have one), and she asked about my headcovering habit. I mentioned 1 Corinthians 11 as being the “proof text” and she promptly opened up her giant KJV coffee table Bible and started right in. Good for her!

I don’t know if she was trying to change my mind or just explaining her views, but she exegeted the first couple of verses (3-5), saying that if a man “covers” Christ and tries to go to the Father without going through Jesus, he dishonours Jesus. OK, I’ll buy that. So, she continued, if you take that and apply it the same way to the next verse, if a woman doesn’t “cover” her head/husband and go to Christ herself, she dishonours her head. She stopped there and “clapped to” the book, as Howard Pyle used to say.

So, it makes sense. It would “dis-honour” (give the wrong honour to) Bob if I had to filter my prayers through him. I don’t know if I’d ever heard it put that way, but it resonates as a spiritual truth, and we left the conversation there.

However, even though my friend acknowledges that the covering is a separate item from the hair, she’s apparently happy to think of it as a purely spiritual/attitude “item.” I get it, I think. A lot of people sing “Standing on the Promises” while sitting, after all.

But…

There in the second half of 1 Corinthians 11 is the discourse on communion. A physical item is presented as a symbol of spiritual truth.

The point of communion is that without Jesus’ sacrifice we are separated from God; that His spirit fills us, and that we participate in His death and His holiness by “consuming” His “flesh and blood.” We don’t eat it because we are hungry. It’s a symbol. But I’m willing to bet that my friend participates in the physical symbol of communion, as well as the spiritual side of it.

So, what am I saying? In this single chapter, we are presented with two spiritual truths represented by physical symbols. Wouldn’t logic compel us to treat both in the same manner? Maybe it’s my brain type, but I don’t see the difference. I once heard a sermon – I think it was Alistair Begg – on the headcovering. He went through the chapter verse by verse, proving that the covering was a physical thing separate from the hair, and that it was certainly a Christian practice (not a Jewish or Corinthian one). All the way through I was silently cheering at his plain factual way of dealing with it, until the very end, where he asked if the women of his congregation ought to do this, and answered “of course not – it has no cultural significance today.” What?! Does eating a stale cracker and drinking a thimbleful of lukewarm grape juice have cultural significance? Or baptism, for that matter. No one outside of the Church would do any of these things, or understand why we do them. But that’s not why we do them! And again, where’s the consistency, when you pick some symbols to keep – not because of their scriptural or cultural significance, but because of your personal familiarity with it – and discard others?

Disclaimer: I don’t think headcovering is a salvation issue. For that matter (and I realize this wouldn’t fly with a great many churches), I don’t think communion or even baptism is – strictly speaking – a salvation issue (see the thief on the cross). Salvation comes by grace through faith in Jesus. Period. Obedience FOLLOWS (and sometimes precedes) salvation, but it doesn’t bring or cause it.

So, again, what’s the difference? The same Spirit, through the same author, says, “Let her be covered” and “take, eat.”

His Story

 

I was probably 16 years old when my Sunday School teacher once played a little game in class.

Each student was allocated a million dollars, and the teacher opened an imaginary auction. We were asked to bid on items like good looks, popularity, maybe even superpowers like x-ray vision or invisibility. I don’t remember exactly. But what I do remember is that I was willing to blow my whole budget on “being understood.”

Which leads me to believe that I’ve always felt myself to be misunderstood.

As an adult, I’ve done some learning and introspection, and come to the conclusion that I am autistic, which makes sense of the fact that I often misunderstand others, and they misunderstand me. Though, I have ironically found that those who have the most trouble understanding me are those who most vehemently deny that I could have autism.

All that to say that I have kept diaries or blogged or tried to write poetry over the years, in the hope that someone, somehow, someday, would “understand me.” And then I morphed into talking about my thoughts (with a few people), trying to explain my perspective. That often sounds like complaining, I’m ashamed to say.

Anywho, I’ve been reading the Betsy-Tacy books to R. Betsy once wrote some “trash” stories based on the dime-store paperbacks of a friend, and upon becoming ashamed of herself, she burnt the stories. Where I would have put them in a box to be read posthumously in order for someone to know where I’d been.

THEN, two weeks ago at church, Pastor talked about “locked doors” – places we don’t want God to clean out. Sort of the concept of holding on to our own ways in case we decide to revert to them. I didn’t take a lot of notes, and I didn’t write this right away, so I’m not able to fill in the blanks very well as to what was actually going through my head. But the grand conclusion of all this is…

I don’t need people to understand ME. I just need to point them to God!

Whether or not I did stupid stuff (I did), or suffered unjustly (maybe), or had long, convoluted thought processes (apparently!), none of that is what defines me. None of that is what is ultimately going to help other people. None of that is going to make me famous, or rich, or an “influencer.”

What defines me NOW, more than anything, is that God reaches down and touches my soul. Sometimes I respond appropriately and sometimes I don’t, but he never gives up on me, and so that is the best thing about me. And that is what I really want people to understand.

allergies

 Obviously no one is reading this, but it helps me remember things, so I'll write it down.

The allergy tests came back NEGATIVE for wheat and peanuts, and everything else except grass and weeds. I consulted with my allergist, and have been eating freely ever since! A good thing, too, as I never could get the sourdough to work like I did previously. I started shots again for the grass and weeds. SO, I might OUGHT to go gluten-free anyway, as I've been more tired and bloated and achy since then, but that may be because of the 20 pounds I gained once I started eating wheat, as much as because of the wheat itself. Either way, I'm trying to watch my calorie count now, and see what that does for me.

It's still a little weird to think about not being gluten-free anymore. But I'm getting used to it. Going out is much more fun this way.

Health and Worth

Yesterday I went to Tulsa with Bob and his mother, for the funeral of her Aunt. Aunt E was 92 years old; she had married at the age of 14, and was widowed 26 years ago. She had 8 children, 3 or 4 of whom preceded her in death. The living ones and many grand and great-grandchildren were in attendance. I met Aunt E once or twice, but didn’t know her. SO what’s the point? Well, based on what was said about her, and pictures of her, and my observations of her descendants, not many of her descendants followed her example in lifestyle/values choices. So I got to thinking about MY offspring, and wondered what my purpose was, if I was to have such a minimal impact in their lives, and other such gloomy and introspective thoughts.

At the graveside service (which lasted about 5 minutes), the preacher said in his prayer that we can be a good example, but people get to choose whether or not to follow that example. And I know and believe this to be true, and it cheered me up a little bit.

Then, on the way home, we stopped to have dinner with my grown daughter, T. And we talked about her growing relationship, and she mentioned moving to California for a while – and we all groaned – but then said that they want to do that sooner rather than later, because they don’t want to raise their children in California, and they DO want to homeschool, NOT in California. So it was a sort of side comment, and we didn’t address it further, but upon reflection I am SO happy to know that I/we have been an influence, and that all of our choices haven’t been dead ends as far as generational impact goes. And I’ve often said, and I think I believe it, that I don’t want people to do something simply because I do it, but I do want the fact that I do it to cause them to question why, and to realize that my choices were good choices, and then they can choose them, too – because it’s good, not because it was me. Of course, with my loved ones, I would like to think they’d want to please or imitate me because of me. But that isn’t the main reason; that’s the vain reason. :)

Today I went to my allergy doctor for a 6-month followup. Six months since I took my last allergy shot. I’ve had some sinus pressure and drainage since the trees started blooming, but not sneezing. So he thinks that’s related to the EOE/Gerd issues more than allergens. My latest endoscopy didn’t detect EOE, but I had been faithfully medicating before that, and it’s possible it was in remission due to the medication. So, he wants me to start back on that and see if it helps. We talked a little more, and he ordered a blood allergy test. That should show on paper how much good the shots have done, identify any remaining issues, AND clarify the wheat and peanut issues. He warned that false positives are common on food allergy tests, but there are no false negatives. Also, just because a person isn’t allergic to a thing doesn’t mean they can tolerate it. So, we’ll see. I hope the results aren’t too long in coming. It was five vials of blood! And thank God for insurance.

I’ve started making sourdough again. My first loaf was a little too sour, so I didn’t let the second sit so long. It’s just finished baking, so the results will be out in the morning.

 

News

 So, I'm no longer an active Pampered Chef consultant. I should probably remove the links from the review posts... 

I read some of my old posts and wondered why I stopped writing. It's so handy to be able to look back and see where I've been. And R is jealous of all the stuff I wrote about the older children. Haha. She never gave me a chance to write! But we're working on it.

Bob had surgery on his right shoulder the week before Thanksgiving, 2022. He had bursitis and bone spurs. In the weeks following, he had physical therapy, and did some work around the house. It was a nice balmy December and January, so he got quite a bit done.

In fact, he/we finished the remodel of the old garage, turning it into a master bedroom. 

Once upon a time we'd planned for that space to be my library. Then we just about gave up on getting it to a livable condition, and just before Covid we ordered a shed/portable building that we planned to finish out and make a library/school room/play room. Bob wired and insulated it; put up lights and drywall. I painted the interior and it was quite cozy. We measured and talked... The day I ordered the 12 bookcases, I had a moment of second-guessing. And next thing you know, Riah and Ced had moved into the library/schoolroom side of the shed! They put up a partition wall, and the other side became the dedicated playroom.

But then what? 

We moved the school into the dining room and closet (where Riah had been sleeping). And the garage decided to be the master, and our old master became the library.

The garage had rough, uneven concrete floor, and that had been our biggest hangup. After discussing several options, talking to professionals, and taking measurements, we decided to just have an uneven floor. lol. We put thick sheets of foam insulation down, then plywood decking, then vinyl plank floor. Yeah, I have shims under my bed to make it level. What can you do?

We replaced all the exterior walls, and divided the space into a bedroom, a closet, and a laundry room. I had hoped for an additional bathroom (2 bathrooms for 9 residents gets a little sketchy), but it wasn't feasible. We were able to make a passage from the bedroom to our existing bathroom, so it isn't bad.

Our previous bedroom was about 9 1/2 x 12 - not a rectangle shape - with a 2x3' closet. Our new room is about 15x15, with a 7x7' closet. I haven't got used to the wide open feel yet, and still change clothes in the bathroom. We moved in the night before Bob went back to work: mid January.

Since then we have assembled 11 of the bookshelves. (2 had broken parts, and 1 was missing the hardware, so we haven't got one together yet.  Bush Business Furniture sent one replacement part, but I only requested the others yesterday. Yeah, I'm a procrastinator.) And then we carted the books in from the building - by hand at first, and then 3 trips of the Honda Pilot. If we keep the three shelves in the living room, it will just be enough. EEK! I have some duplicates, and there are some I can probably do away with. Well, actually, I already pulled out 2 boxes full. But there will be more. In fact, I sat down at the computer just now to type up 2 recipes from a cookbook that I can pull out.

 

Too much to put in all the details. But I am so happy and loving my situation right now that I hardly know what to do with myself.

So, maybe I'll write now and then. Who knows?

Stone Bar Pan

 

The Stone Bar Pan is my favorite stone.

Top features:

It’s an inch deep, so you get good circulation for things like chicken nuggets, but they don’t slide off when transporting or flipping or stirring.

Biscuits brown nicely without burning, and no danger of the butter cooking out and dripping on my oven floor.

Perfect size and shape for sheet cake (or jelly roll).

Two of the pans fit side by side in a standard American oven, so you get more pizza in less time.

Like all stones, it improves the texture and consistency of the food baked on it, and will develop a non-stick surface over time.

Now, Pampered Chef has improved on a classic by making the stoneware safe for use under a broiler, and dishwasher safe! (Please refer to the use and care guide for details)

Rapid-Prep Mandoline

 

Being a YouTube sensation in harder than it looks. Sigh. I wanted to do videos of several of the products, but it hasn’t worked out that way so far. Anyway, The Pampered Chef has already created professional videos on most of the product pages, showing best techniques and features.

The Rapid-Prep Mandoline is one of the items with videos, so go check them out.

For myself, I have used my mandoline a few times now, and am really impressed. If I have a complaint, it’s that I’d prefer an even smaller slice option, and maybe a “waffle” cut. Not that I’d use that much. So why am I impressed? I’ve had 2 other mandoline slicers before, and enjoyed them immensely (especially at pickle-making time). But both of those, with their various features, leave a good chunk of waste at the end of the useful slicing abilities, especially if you use their included food holders. I got around this some by wearing cut-resistant gloves and pushing the food through up to my fingertips. Not exactly ideal.

BUT… the Rapid-Prep Mandoline managed to safely push through every last bit of carrot! I lifted the food pusher, ready to pull out the waste chunk, and there was nothing there! I was really excited.

In addition, 99% of the sliced food landed in the container, which snaps very cleverly to the legs of the mandoline, which have suction cups on them so it doesn’t go sliding around.

It’s really easy to use, very well designed, and safer and more efficient than any other mandoline that I’ve seen. Two enthusiastic (and intact) thumbs up.