Excerpt: Hard Times

"If it hadn't been mercifully brought about that I was to have you to speak to," pursued Rachael, "Times are when I think my mind would not have kept right. But I get hope and strength through you..."

Book the Third, Chapter V, Hard Times, Charles Dickens

Moses in the Know, Moses in the Glow

Exodus 33:11 "The LORD would speak with Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend."

Exodus 34:29 "...he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord."

Exodus 34:35 "...they saw that his face was radiant."

Moses had a good sort of problem. His conversations with God rubbed off on him, so that he took on (albeit to a much lesser degree) the quality of God in His radiance. It was enough to be noticeable. Not easily hidden. Somewhat distracting.

What do you look like after you've spoken with the LORD?

Diagnosing Squirrels

So, squirrels.

I am wondering if these creatures have adrenaline.

When they run out in front of your car and you find yourself looking in the rear-view mirror to confirm they made it through alive because they really didn't give you a chance to stop...or even swerve...does the adrenaline kick in? If so, squirrels really have a corner in the adrenaline rush market.

According my research, excessive amounts of adrenaline can cause tinnitus. So now I am wondering, are there a bunch of squirrels out there with ringing in their ears?

But excessive amounts of adrenaline have also been linked to ADHD.

So I'm guessing the answer to my original wondering is that yes, they do have adrenaline. Case closed.

Finished: The Deerslayer

I discovered this book in on my husband's bookshelves - where normally nary a fiction work is to be found. I had evidently begun to read it at one point...one of my bookmarks was in it. In retrospect, after having finished reading it a week ago, I have no idea why I didn't complete it the first time. It was marvelous.

There is something for me in literature that makes honor so, well, honorable. If I had to make an argument about honor, I would say that it is best displayed when up against the grotesquely dishonorable. But The Deerslayer refutes that idea. I would say that there are no grotesquely dishonorable "creeturs" in this book. Sinners, yes. Men with messed up ideas about how to live, yes. But Cooper has managed to paint a redeeming value into each character.

The fascinating part about this approach, to me, is that I didn't walk away from the book with a feeling that the author thought everyone is right, and that each person has a right to his own worldview and there is no truth. The question for me is, what was the author's intent? Did he want me to walk away knowing that the Deerslayer has the most honor, and the other characters pale in comparison? Or did he want me to think, as the Deerslayer does that each man has his own gifts according to his nature, and honor must be viewed in light of that nature?

I guess this wouldn't pass for an essay test. I didn't answer any questions, I just came up with my own.

James Fenimore Cooper, The Deerslayer

Diverging Cars, Diverging Thoughts

Many people use their car to advertise. Not just business advertisements, but people choose to proclaim something about themselves through their car. I'm not just talking about the make, model and color. I'm talking about the information we plaster to the back.

Two cars diverged on two-lane road.

The one had Hebrews 11:6 written on the back. "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

The other had a skull with the words FEAR THIS.

There is no middle ground.

Delighted in Crusts

I was eating toast at the kitchen table, and my 1 year old son sat on the floor beneath me. He was delighted by the crusts that I was handing to him.

As I watched his delight, I immediately thought of Matthew 15, when the Syrophoenician woman claimed her right to delight in the mercies of God by saying "even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their master's table".

Delight today, in the mercy of God.

I Have A Watch

It's a Bulova watch. It's been missing for a long time.

Let me describe it to you. It is white and yellow gold. It has a face without numbers. It probably wouldn't fit around most people's wrists...I had a lot of links taken out of it. It says water resistant on the back.

That last part was really important.

Because I just found it.

At the bottom of the washing machine.

It's True

I've just got to say: I've had no random thoughts of late.

They've all been orderly and scholarly, with a little bit of bakingly for good measure.

Got Bloat?

For my own delightful personal reference (and anyone else who cares), here is a link to a photo-documentary on foods that relieve bloating.

Such Is My Custom

I was driving behind a Comcast van this morning. At stop lights, I really have nothing better to do than to read the propaganda plastered to the rear of vehicles. Such is my custom.

This van had a warning on it. "Caution: Vehicle Makes"

How is that helpful?

Mr. DeLuxe and His Testimony

So I was driving with my windows down the other day. In the lane next to me was a DeLuxe Travelling Motorcycle (I'm pretty sure that's not the offical name). It was a fancy, non-Harley type with packing cases on the back, well-taken care of, clean and shiny dark metallic red.

It's rider was perhaps in his early 50's. A salt and pepper mustache. A responsible looking fellow, with a friendly face.

As we came to a stop side by side at a light, I heard it.

Country music (mellow, not twangy).

Not only could I hear the music from the speakers, I could also hear the man singing. He was right on key, singing with emotion, meaning every word that he said and not at all abashed that I and everyone else could hear him.


It occurs to me that I should be equally unashamed to talk of my Saviour.

It Bears My Name

I grapple with Thomas' demand.

"Unless I shall see in His hands the imprint of the nails..." John 20:25

The Christ replies to Thomas, "Reach here your finger, and see My hands." John 20:27

And God replies to me, "Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands." Isaiah 49:16

Could that be what the Christ was saying to Thomas? "Here are My hands. Your unbelief is there. Now believe."

That is what the gory hole in Christ's hand is about. The nail hole bears my name.

It was my sin that held Him there, until it was accomplished. His dying breath has brought me life. I know that it is finished.

Excerpt: The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog

Coyotes don't speak the same language as dogs, don't you see. Some of the words are similar and some aren't. Modern Doglish and the coyote dialect both come from the same linguistic root, which was the ancient language spoken by our common ancestors many years ago before the species split into Dogus Domesticus and Dogus Coyotus.

This is pretty technical stuff, and I don't want to bore anyone, but it's important that the reader understand these things.

The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog, John R. Erickson, chapter 7

Thy Savior Knows It All

Look up, the clouds are breaking,
The storm will soon be o'er
And thou shall reach the haven,
Where sorrows are no more
Look up, be not discouraged;
Trust on, whate'er befall
Remember, O remember,
Thy Savior knows it all.

Fanny Crosby, Hymn verse 3, O Heart Bereaved and Lonely

Credentialing

I have found myself giving my children my credentials.

• I've been around a lot longer than you.
• I finished the first grade.
• I'm your mother.
• I can read.
• I have worn sweatpants for over 30 years, and I know what they look like.

What's That Van Thinking?

I'm currently driving around a rental car. There is a button in it that I am afraid to push. It reads, "ESP OFF".

A McFree Meal

Permit me to wax eloquently for a few moments...

We're in a recession (so I've been told). Will McDonalds survive? Does anyone care about McDonalds?

First, the disclaimers:
I do not prefer to eat at McDonalds.
Sausage McMuffins with egg are not good for you.

Neither of those are the point, so let's move on.

I had a coupon for a free breakfast sandwich, with the purchase of a breakfast sandwich. I was hungry, and decided on my way to work, I could eat 2 Sausage McMuffins with egg.

I pulled up to the pay window, and handed the woman my credit card to pay the $2.75 for my breakfast. She informed me that the credit card machine was broken, and wanted to know if I had any cash. I checked my change purse, and informed her that I had 75 cents. She told me to pull up to the next window.

As I waited, I searched my purse for more change. I came up with a total of $1.08 worth of change in my purse. The manager came to the window with my credit card. I offered him my measly $1.08 - less than half of the suggested value of the meal (which was really a quarter, since I was getting one free). He informed me that I could take my meal for free, and to tell my friends. Then he clarified...don't tell them our machine isn't working, tell them we're...and I interrupted and said, "gracious".

I suppose it may have simply been a good business practice. But in a recession, do good business practices count? He could have turned me away.

So will McDonalds survive? That I cannot predict. But I do know that a man who treats his customers fairly is wise.

And so I'll tell you: the manager at the McDonalds by the mall is a fair and reasonable man, who runs his business well, at least in my opinion.

P.S. (I enjoyed my breakfast. Thanks for asking.)

Name Changing

It will no longer be said to you, "Forsaken," nor to your land will it any longer be said, "Desolate"; but you will be called, "My delight is in her," and your land, "Married".
Isaiah 62:4

And they will call them, "The holy people, the redeemed of the LORD"; and you will be called, "sought out, a city not forsaken".
Isaiah 62:12

No longer do I call you slaves; for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give it to you.
John 15:15-16

In summation: from forsaken to delighted in, from desolate to sought after, from slaves to friends.

A Protest

With regard to the store name Superfresh: I believe thou dost protest too much.

Flossie: She Was In The Bobbsey Twins, Right?

Just in case you weren't aware:

flossing is a discipline.