Every Wednesday at noon in the state of Ohio sirens are tested by the Emergency Alert System and National Weather Service.
On radio devices and television the following message is usually broadcast, “This is a test, this is only a test for the next 60 seconds…”
Recently while shopping I heard a child in some other lane having a meltdown. Sounded like the child needed a nap! It is so hard not to be embarrassed when a child loses control and blasts the surrounding area with its discontent.
Then I remembered that when my children were very young and had a meltdown I would often recite to myself or to my husband, “This is a test. This is only a test. For the next 60 seconds WE’LL SEE WHO IS REALLY IN CHARGE HERE.”
In other words, would we cave to the meltdown or do what was needed in that moment. Care for our family’s needs or react to societal pressure to hush that child at any cost. Oh the troubles of parenting.
And now, there are no more children in our home. There are times though when my wailing over ‘things as they are’ rather than how I WANT them to be must be quieted before the LORD. I am trying to become aware of my discontent and realize it is an affront to my faith in God’s goodness. He is my Shepherd and is able to keep me regardless of the circumstances. I can create much misery and suffering in my life by wishing for things to be other than they are.
In Resilient by John Eldredge he insists we must “Keep our head.” On Page 34 he points out the following
“Let your fears, anxieties, anger or rage alert you that you’ve been taken hostage; stop and get your bearings.”
Resilient
We could add brooding and other moodiness, too, as things that can take us hostage. In other words, to keep you head focus upon Jesus and the Word of God. Is this fear, etc. you are experiencing from God or the enemy of our souls? From self or the Father?
For the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments 5 and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NRSV
Are you willing to use the weapons you have been given? Will you fix your eyes upon Jesus in such a way as to glorify His name regardless of how you feel about any given situation? We are given warning and instruction in Isaiah.
Rise up, you women who are at ease, hear my voice; you complacent daughters, listen to my speech.
Isaiah 32:9
Am I at ease? Complacent? Stuck in my feelings about things as they are? And if we are willing to listen to the voice of the LORD there is a promise at the end of the passage.
The effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust for ever.
Isaiah 32:17
Who couldn’t use more peace, quietness and trust? All of this is a discipline, an awareness of my thinking. It requires a determination not to just let my mind run wild with “if onlys” and other such nonsense. Things are as they are and my job is to obey Hebrews 12.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
Hebrews 12:1-4 NRSV
Am I willing? Take this old girl-woman and help her to submit to God’s highest and best for her? Yes I am, with God’s help!
Above is our youngest Grandgirl leaping to stop a ball! Ellie, plays on a team whose initials crack me up! NKJV! New King James Version? Nope, Northern Kentucky Junior Volleyball. Recently they played a tournament at the Indianapolis, Indiana. My daughter kept us posted of the standings as the play went on Saturday and then into Sunday.
It was the 2023 Central Zone season. “Not only one of the most competitive junior leagues in the Midwest, but also in the Nation!” Our daughter, Emily, told us there were 900+ teams overall. Ellie’s division had 36 teams. They were in the club division which is the lowest.” Did not matter to us! We are so proud of her! She has been at this for many years.
The team played really well Saturday though Ellie’s first set her play was not her best. Coach moved her to the other side and she did great from then on. Sunday they won a set and then another set. And then another set and they were “golden” playing for the gold in their division.
And they WON! They won the Gold!! First time ever in her club volleyball years that her team has melded and won!!
NKJV – gotta love it!
We read her stats from Emily as the Bengals lost to Kansas City. And life, goes on.
Things were fairly dismal as we watched the game between Kansas City and Cincinnati. Cincinnati had not even scored yet. We always walk Lucky around 8-9PM. As I put on my coat and got her on her leash the TV was making noise. I told Bob about it. The dog and I stepped outdoors and before we got to the sidewalk heard people screaming from inside the house across the street. Bob came to our front door and hollered “We scored!” I yelled back, “I know!”
Our dog is very skittish and hates fireworks. You guessed it, next thing I knew a neighbor set off a firecracker! Now she no longer wanted to pee, just GET IN THE HOUSE. I did not want to come outside again, so I proceeded to pace the sidewalk and coax her to do her business. Finally, she went.
For us, that was the last high point of the match up. As you likely know, Cincinnati lost to Kansas City and we did not proceed to the Superbowl. It is only with Joe Burrow’s arrival and the team building in the last couple years that I have taken any interest at all in American football.
The next morning our entire area was shrouded much of the day in deep fog. It was rather indicative of the city’s mood. We will be looking forward to what next year brings for our Bengals. In the meanwhile we will watch the Superbowl to see if Mahone’s high ankle sprain gets healed completed before he takes the field again. Hope so!
We must empty ourselves of all that fills us, so that we may be filled with what we are empty of.
Augustine
Our small group is studying John Eldredge’s book Resilient. There is a free app he has released through the app stores. It is called the One Minute Pause. A little misleading as there are daily devotions for 30 days, morning and evening. The devotions last about 10-15 minutes. WELL worth your time! Please download it and try this out. Even if you cannot do each morning and evening, work through what you can accomplish and then have another round with the times you missed!
The above quote came from his devotional one day. I must be reminded again and again to let God fill me with what I am missing. I get filled up with health concerns, worries about the welfare of others, snow and ice, what to write in this blog, how to conduct myself when in the presence of ones who have wounded me, etc., etc., etc.
Empty myself of all that fills me, let God fill me what what I am empty of … sounds so simple. It is not simple but a discipline that brings me a deeper, richer life. Writing the blog entries for this week I have been distracted by many things. Many times I have not had scripture to go along with what I have written about. I have not failed, just not like I usually want to get things done.
Next week might not be much different as I return to the dermatologist for more cutting away. Yuck. Those events make it hard for me to focus, especially when they occur during the time I have committed to writing! I am learning I can write at other times, not that I never knew that. The designation of a writing time has been important for my own self-discipline. Trying my best not to violate that time has been an on-going effort that has born fruit. Hopefully fruit that lasts and fruit that nourishes you!
Eldredge says we are created for union with God. We must learn benevolent detachment. I am learning that benevolent detachment is seeing the things in my mind and realizing that many of them are like the squirrels out my window who are jumping through the snow. They are here and then they are gone. At times I let those squirrels build nests in my brain. What really belongs in their place?
But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:33 LSB (Legacy Standard Bible)
First and foremost, continuously, His kingdom, His righteousness. Romans 12:1-2 tells me that in view of God’s mercy I am to present myself a living sacrifice. I am not to be conformed to the pattern of this world, BUT transformed, by the renewing of my mind. Then I will be able to test and approve God’s perfect, good, pleasing will.
Here I am LORD, a living sacrifice to You. Holy Spirit renew my mind within me. Jesus show me the Father’s good, perfect and pleasing will. Holy Trinity give me courage and power to fulfill that will.
I have a bag-less vacuum cleaner. It has a sponge filter as well as two other types of filter. When the vacuum picks up dirt we are supposed to empty that dirt. There is a lock on the bottom of the canister that opens and the dirt drops out. If hair and other debris gets tangled at the top, it too has a lock that opens so the dirt can be removed. For me the morning and /or evening time of meditation and benevolent attachment is similar to emptying that canister.
benevolent detachmentempty debris that fills my soul
Come then, Father, and renew me, transform me by renewing my mind, fill me with what I am missing.
When I was looking for a career in 1968 I was directed to take data entry classes. We did “keypunch cards” and verification for computers that were the size of most offices. I never learned how to write computer language and really was not interested to learn, though my boss wanted me to learn. To this day I am not afraid of my computer, iPhone, tablet or other devices. Especially since kids these days say, “just start pushing the buttons until you get the result you want.” Ha! There is a new item available to the public.
I do not pretend to understand most of the technological leaps we are making, but this one caught my attention. It said you could ask it to write a poem or a term paper and it would. Schools are worried but not caught off guard. What??!?
Have you ever been online with a question and the site asked if you would like an online chat? Then you likely havehad interaction with a ‘chatbot.’ According to Wikipedia, “Chatbot is a software application used to conduct an online conversation via text in lieu of providing direct contact with a live human agent.”
There is a new computer ability that was released for free online called ChatGPT. It is causing quite a stir in the world. It was released November 30, 2022 by a company called OpenAI. (A I is artificial intelligence.)
This system is notable for ‘its detailed responses and articulate answers across many domains of knowledge. “It has the ability,” according to Wikipedia “to write and debug computer programs; to compose music, teleplays, fairy tales, and student essays; to answer test questions (sometimes, depending on the test, at a level above the average human test-taker); to write poetry and song lyrics; to emulate a Linux system; to simulate an entire chat room; to play games like tic-tac-toe; and to simulate an ATM.”
I tried to sign up so I could ask it to write a poem based on a few thoughts I had. Then I wanted to compare its creation to one of my poems. Since every news agency seems to be reporting on ChatGPT the system is too busy to accept new free accounts right now. That is okay. Not certain I want to give them my information or find out how the bot would do with my ideas! Open AI does collect data.
Wikipedia reports that “ChatGPT was met in December 2022 with generally positive reviews; The New York Times labeled it “the best artificial intelligence chatbot ever released to the general public.” Samantha Lock of The Guardian noted that it was able to generate “impressively detailed” and “human-like” text. Technology writer Dan Gillmor used ChatGPT on a student assignment, and found its generated text was on par with what a good student would deliver and opined that “academia has some very serious issues to confront.”
Oh my! Will there be any original human creativity left after the AI world finishes with us? I pray so. I wonder how extensive their knowledge base is of the Christian religion and how access to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit changes human creation? God save us all! And LORD, please help me keep writing to glorify Your name!
Is this beyond the Babel of the Scripture? God knows and time will tell.
Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.
3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel —because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
Genesis 11:1-9 NIV
Yikes what happens when A I starts talking for us? It already talks to us. God knows and I believe He is in charge!
We spent our first night at Glendalough. At the bottom of this blog is a short film to introduce you to the area. After breakfast we went for a walk around the neighboring area. We saw these sheep in the graveyard.
Cracked me up, as if they were hiding and on a mission!One strange sheering job!
When we returned to the inn one of the employees asked if we enjoyed our walk. I told her how amused I was by the sheep in the graveyard. She told the bartender, “Better call Mr. Mc Creary! His sheep got loose again!” Now where better to get a tasty treat than on the loose in early morning at the graveyard?
Cracked me up! Guess those sheep were sneaking around and on a mission – not to get caught! The Irish mark their sheep with paint, thus the pink and blue marks on the wool!
Baby Luke via iPhoner m dutina with actual camera and film
Years ago Bob pulled over to take the photo above. I said, “I can’t wait to see the one with barn and the horse in it.” He asked, “What horse?”
by Molly my Grandgirls standing on chairs to make cookies with me
The grandchildren above are now 20 and 17 years old. They still come each year at Christmastime to make gingerbread cookies with me. In the photo above Lizzie (the oldest) was giving a cooking show narration of how to cut out the cookies. She had watched similar shows with her mom. Ellie (the youngest) is now taller than all of us!
Here is their photo from a year ago.
And of course, the man of my dreams, still at my side after over 5 decades!
Our son in 2008 Sous Chef for Jean Robert de Cavel at Jean-Ro’s restaurant
Our son had some training from Jean Robert as he was familiarly known in Cincinnati. We enjoyed more than several fine meals at his places of business. Once we had our friends Dan and Betty Cooksey with us and our son was allowed to create a dinner menu just for us. It was fantastic!
When Jean Robert de Cavel died recently his family invited the people he had trained to attend his memorial service at the Cincinnati cathedral, St. Peter in Chains, located downtown. The prior students were asked to wear their chef jackets and sit in a particular area. After the memorial they had a group photo on the cathedral stairs and they simultaneously said, “Oui, Chef,” as he required them to say in the kitchen.
Prior students in front right rows of cathedral and along side wall
Jeff said it was a bittersweet reunion. There were people he knew and had not been in touch with for some time. He told me it was hard for the students to say “Au revoir,” to their fine instructor. May he rest in peace.
Students on cathedral stairs, our son front row, strap over his chest
What a legacy to train all those folks! Cincinnati was blessed to have him here for so many years.
Can you imagine this? Would you be able to praise like this? We read in Daniel 3:16, 19 and on that the King wanted absolutely obedience to himself. “King Nebuchadnezzar was so filled with rage against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face was distorted. He ordered the furnace heated up seven times more than was customary, and ordered some of the strongest guards in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. So the men were bound, still wearing their tunics, their trousers, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the furnace of blazing fire.” While in this furnace the men began to praise God, knowing that He was more powerful than the king ever thought about being. Here is a portion of their praise.
“Bless the Lord, all rain and dew; sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever. 65 Bless the Lord, all you winds; sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever. 66 Bless the Lord, fire and heat; sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever. 67 Bless the Lord, winter cold and summer heat; sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever. 68 Bless the Lord, dews and falling snow; sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever. 69 Bless the Lord, ice and cold; sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever. 70 Bless the Lord, frosts and snows; sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
Daniel 3:64-70 NRSV
They were eventually saved from the fire. This reading comes up often in the Daily Office and Canticles of from the Book of Common Prayer. There are times I wish my current church would use those to remind us of God’s power and glory! As you drive about this winter remember that all the seasons and elements are called to praise the Lord. We are, too!
Recently Bob saw that the Columbus Museum of Art was having an exhibit of the works of Maurice Sendak. We decided to make a quick adventure to Columbus, Ohio and see the exhibit. I was delighted that it featured “Where the Wild Things Are.” This was a favorite of my son. I did not remember until we arrived that he also illustrated the “Little Bear” series which I used to help my children and grandchildren learn to read. His book “In the Night Kitchen” was a baby shower gift when our daughter was born.
I love that they used the artwork from the book cover as wallpaper for the display!
The trust and love between mother bear and little bear are obvious in the expressions he drew.
One reason I was fascinated with his art in these books, I was working on learning to draw better and his cross-hatching is elaborate. When I read the first part of the placard below it only confirmed my observation!
In 1959, (the museum placard read), Sendak created pictures for the book The Moon Jumpers, written by Janice May Udry, which tells the story of children playing before it is time to go to bed. In this early work, the richly colored full-page scenes of children playing by the moonlight, without words, can be compared to the double page rumpus scenes in Where the Wild Things Are, which he created five years later. This work also shows how Sendak changed the scale of his images to emphasize the narratives, pictures growing larger and larger as the drama of the story intensifies, a method that also appears in Where The Wild Things Are.
sorry for the museum reflections on the glass
In case you ever had a fantasy of being WITH the Wild Things (if not an actual Wild Thing) see this one!
Wonder if this costume for King of the Wild Things would fit my son at his current height! Not likely!
Where the Wild Things Are has been translated into at least 32 languages. Sendak never wanted to write a sequel to this one. He did not want it to be a series.
The exhibit is in Columbus until March 5. If you get a minute, go see it!
Treasures in Plain Sight, A Christian Blog 