I recently wrote here about a tracker software called Do Not Track Plus (or DNT+), which is available here as a free download. This software is installed quickly and puts a discreet little green button in the top right corner of your browser. The button shows a number indicating how many things are being blocked at the site you are currently visiting. If the button turns yellow (as it does when googling something), that means the tracking attempts being blocked are through the roof.
As an update, I thought I'd let you know that, since I installed this software on December 30, 2011, the cumulative total of things blocked for our computer is.......(drum roll please)..............
21,039!
(You do the math.)
I quote Kyla: "That's creepy."
Yep, I agree.
(Disclosure: This software is a free download, and I am not being compensated in any way for this review. I'm simply writing this to impart joy to my fellow human beings who are tired of slow performance due to tons of loading ads.)
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
10 Habits of Happy Mothers--Habit #3
If you haven't read my first post on this, you can read more about this book here. I'm writing about the third habit in this author's list, which is: Value and Practice Faith.
I will start by saying that I very much appreciate her opening sentences: "I have a confession. Faith is a struggle for me."As Dr. Meeker also states on page 44, "I think that the toughest part about faith is that it fundamentally requires a lack of control." I agree.
I've been told by some friends that they appreciate my being "real." What I really am is a mess. My flesh regularly leads me around by the nose--I nag my husband and my kids; I struggle to forgive when someone hurts me; I rehearse mistakes and bad decisions (even though they are under the blood of Christ now); and I compare myself to everyone else, judging my weaknesses by their strengths. That brings up another sentence I enjoyed on page 44:
I can personally testify to that. I have a task-oriented mentality, and it is very hard for me not to treat my daily prayer and Bible reading as part of my to-do list. What is worse, I almost cross over into a superstitious realm, at times feeling like my day went bad because I didn't read my Bible that morning. Hogwash! The Bible says that God "causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous" (Matt 5:45), so bad things happen to everyone. Furthermore, His love is not determined by what we do. It is ours because we are His.
Dr. Meeker's suggestions for making faith a habit in your life are :
1. Think before you leap -- Essentially, know whom you are surrendering to, and what you believe. Don't just go blindly--study to be anchored to the Rock.
2. Make it personal--Like you've heard before, life with Jesus is a relationship, not religion. You can't build relationship without communication, which means prayer, praise and Bible reading, if you want to know God deeper.
3. Find community -- "In a faith community, each of us learns more about God, people, humility, and acceptance than anywhere else on the planet." (Meeker, page 65)
4. Serve -- Basically, don't focus on yourself. Yes, as moms of young children, our lives tend to revolve around our families--and that is what God expects. But, when we find ourselves feeling depressed and negative, looking to the needs of others can give us a fresh perspective on just how blessed our lives are, and that creates thankfulness and deepens our love for God.
Long post longer . . . to sum up my thoughts on faith, I would say that faith is not a feeling. Faith is directly linked to trust, and trusting is hard--especially trusting One you cannot see. I have felt spiritually dry for some time now, because I was carrying something that God asked me to lay down a long time ago. I think I did, but I kept picking it up and laying it down over and over. For some (Holy Spirit dictated) reason, this morning it all came to an emotional head. I had a major God-moment, and He touched me in such a personal way through the sermon that I know He heard my prayer this morning, even though it was furiously scribbled in my journal instead of spoken aloud. I say all this to say--don't let your emotions get in the way of your faith. They will lie to you (and tell you God is not there, or He's disappointed in you), so you need to talk back to them. The only way to fight this is to battle the feelings and stick with God, even when He feels miles away.
He is near and He will reward you. Keep seeking Him.
I will start by saying that I very much appreciate her opening sentences: "I have a confession. Faith is a struggle for me."As Dr. Meeker also states on page 44, "I think that the toughest part about faith is that it fundamentally requires a lack of control." I agree.
I've been told by some friends that they appreciate my being "real." What I really am is a mess. My flesh regularly leads me around by the nose--I nag my husband and my kids; I struggle to forgive when someone hurts me; I rehearse mistakes and bad decisions (even though they are under the blood of Christ now); and I compare myself to everyone else, judging my weaknesses by their strengths. That brings up another sentence I enjoyed on page 44:
"We feel inadequate, because we are."Oh, I get it--that's why we need God. Because, "once we feed our faith, everything else in life gets better. Everything." (Meeker, page 47). I know this is true, not just because Dr. Meeker says it, but because it is part of God's Word:
"Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For . . . your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you," (Matthew 6:31-33, emphasis added).Dr. Meeker goes on to say that religion and faith aren't the same thing. I like the point that she makes on page 53, where she says, ". . . being religious doesn't require faith. It requires discipline." But, "following rules could never substitute for a vibrant faith."
I can personally testify to that. I have a task-oriented mentality, and it is very hard for me not to treat my daily prayer and Bible reading as part of my to-do list. What is worse, I almost cross over into a superstitious realm, at times feeling like my day went bad because I didn't read my Bible that morning. Hogwash! The Bible says that God "causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous" (Matt 5:45), so bad things happen to everyone. Furthermore, His love is not determined by what we do. It is ours because we are His.
Dr. Meeker's suggestions for making faith a habit in your life are :
1. Think before you leap -- Essentially, know whom you are surrendering to, and what you believe. Don't just go blindly--study to be anchored to the Rock.
2. Make it personal--Like you've heard before, life with Jesus is a relationship, not religion. You can't build relationship without communication, which means prayer, praise and Bible reading, if you want to know God deeper.
3. Find community -- "In a faith community, each of us learns more about God, people, humility, and acceptance than anywhere else on the planet." (Meeker, page 65)
4. Serve -- Basically, don't focus on yourself. Yes, as moms of young children, our lives tend to revolve around our families--and that is what God expects. But, when we find ourselves feeling depressed and negative, looking to the needs of others can give us a fresh perspective on just how blessed our lives are, and that creates thankfulness and deepens our love for God.
Long post longer . . . to sum up my thoughts on faith, I would say that faith is not a feeling. Faith is directly linked to trust, and trusting is hard--especially trusting One you cannot see. I have felt spiritually dry for some time now, because I was carrying something that God asked me to lay down a long time ago. I think I did, but I kept picking it up and laying it down over and over. For some (Holy Spirit dictated) reason, this morning it all came to an emotional head. I had a major God-moment, and He touched me in such a personal way through the sermon that I know He heard my prayer this morning, even though it was furiously scribbled in my journal instead of spoken aloud. I say all this to say--don't let your emotions get in the way of your faith. They will lie to you (and tell you God is not there, or He's disappointed in you), so you need to talk back to them. The only way to fight this is to battle the feelings and stick with God, even when He feels miles away.
He is near and He will reward you. Keep seeking Him.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Book Review: Safely Home, by Randy Alcorn
Back Matter:
"Is this the day I die?
American businessman Ben Fielding has no idea what his brilliant former college roommate is facing in China. But when they are reunited in China after twenty years, both men are shocked at what they discover about each other.
Thrown together in an hour of encroaching darkness, watched by unseen eyes, both must make choices that will determine not only the destinies of two men, but two families, two nations . . . and two worlds."
If you want shocked out of your own little world and to be given a dose of reality--what persecution for your faith truly is --then read this book.
Although it is written in novel form, the stories of persecution in China contained within are from true events.
It is written well and the story is so engaging that you don't want to put it down. I have felt humbled by my complaining and ashamed of my lack of dedication to reading God's word--especially when reading how these Chinese Christians would carefully and lovingly (sometimes while weeping) copy down books of the Bible to take to secret meetings so their printed Bible wouldn't be confiscated in a possible raid.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a wake-up call from their apathetic faith and to be given eyes to see how truly we are blessed in America (and to get a glimpse of how that blessing can hinder us from standing up for our faith).
You can buy this book at Christianbook.com and amazon.com
Please note that the author will donate all royalties to the persecuted church around the world.
Thanks to Tyndale Publishers for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book for review. I was not required to write a positive review (but it is so amazing, how could I not?)
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Chevy Vega vs. Chevy Chevette
If you've read my Eleven Questions Answered post, you learned that my first car was a Chevy Vega. Actually, it was my mom's car, and my dad let me have it when I moved out.
I told my husband that, during my freshman year at WVU (1984), a poster was in the Book Exchange in Morgantown that read: "You know you're a nerd when...," and "You drive a Chevy Vega" was in the top 10. Glen grew tired of my whining about my first car, because he said that the car he drove, a Chevy Chevette, was worse than mine. He looked them both up online to prove to me that his was worse.
Here's an ad for the Chevy Vega:
And here's one for the Chevy Chevette:
Now, I'll admit that I did have one on him with regard to the "coolness" factor, if you are going to judge by these ads. But, my poor Vega did not look nearly as good as the ones in the above advertisement. For starters, it was neither blue nor green. It was the color of bad foundation makeup--something that isn't cream, but it isn't yellow, either. And it wasn't just that color. It had been wrecked a few times (by yours truly) and it had a primer-gray front left quarter panel and front bumper. It was not pretty.
Glen says he still has me beat, though, because his was in bad outer shape AND the engine was bad. Once, he said, he was driving up Bridgeport hill and created such a cloud of exhaust behind him that the whole city was in a deep smog-fog for a while.
I've come a long way from that ole' Vega. Now I'm a domestic goddess driving a mini-van. :)
I told my husband that, during my freshman year at WVU (1984), a poster was in the Book Exchange in Morgantown that read: "You know you're a nerd when...," and "You drive a Chevy Vega" was in the top 10. Glen grew tired of my whining about my first car, because he said that the car he drove, a Chevy Chevette, was worse than mine. He looked them both up online to prove to me that his was worse.
Here's an ad for the Chevy Vega:
And here's one for the Chevy Chevette:
Now, I'll admit that I did have one on him with regard to the "coolness" factor, if you are going to judge by these ads. But, my poor Vega did not look nearly as good as the ones in the above advertisement. For starters, it was neither blue nor green. It was the color of bad foundation makeup--something that isn't cream, but it isn't yellow, either. And it wasn't just that color. It had been wrecked a few times (by yours truly) and it had a primer-gray front left quarter panel and front bumper. It was not pretty.
Glen says he still has me beat, though, because his was in bad outer shape AND the engine was bad. Once, he said, he was driving up Bridgeport hill and created such a cloud of exhaust behind him that the whole city was in a deep smog-fog for a while.
I've come a long way from that ole' Vega. Now I'm a domestic goddess driving a mini-van. :)
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Eleven Questions Answered
My friend Charli tagged me in her blog post with this challenge (which I've modified a bit):
--> List eleven things about yourself. (I'll list a few...)
a. My favorite color is red.
b. I collect rooster decor.
c. My favorite fashion accessory is a purse.
d. I'm a creature of habit, and when I was single and on my own, for over two years every day I ate the same thing for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a few exceptions for lunches and dinners out with friends.
e. I was told many times that I'd never have kids, but God healed my body on February 9, 1997...and I have three beautiful children.
f. I'm almost three years older than my husband, and he never ceases to remind me of it.
-->Answer the (11) questions the tagger set for you in the post (I'm not tagging anyone else, since you said that was okay, Charli :)
1. Where were you born? Fairmont, WV
2. What's your favorite food? Hmm…not sure. I like to eat most things, so it would be easier to say what my least favorite food is, which is beets. bleh. (Although I’ve been told I should revisit beets in their pre-canned form to see if my opinion changes.)
3. What one farm animal would you raise, if you could? Chickens
4. What would your "Priceless" Mastercard commercial be? Shot gun, $175; Ammo $60; getting to eat my garden produce and venison…priceless.
5. What would surprise me about you? I used to dream that I would marry Paul Stanley, lead singer for the KISS rock band. I even have pages from an old autograph album that I “reserved” for members of the band.
6. What was your first car? A Chevy Vega
7. What did you want to be when you grew up? I used to dream of being a professional ballerina, and I took ballet for seven years—two of which were spent as a member of a professional ballet company in Virginia (where I used to live).
8. What blog or website do you visit the most? amazon.com
9. Have you ever left the country? Yes. To Canada with my high school band, again to Canada for a vacation in my 20’s, and then to England and Scotland with Glen for our honeymoon.
10. What is your favorite local Mom & Pop shop or restaurant? Not sure if they’re considered Mom & Pop, but I enjoy Madeline’s in Morgantown. Great filet mignon with garlic mashed potatoes and grilled baby asparagus. Yummo.
11. What makes you smile? My children and their goofiness. Actually, sometimes they make me wheeze with laughter. Just the other day they were playing, and Kyla was asking them questions from a form that was in Spanish. Iain’s answers were—Name: Seven, Address: turn left, then right; Country: I’ve tasted it but I don’t like it.
--> List eleven things about yourself. (I'll list a few...)
a. My favorite color is red.
b. I collect rooster decor.
c. My favorite fashion accessory is a purse.
d. I'm a creature of habit, and when I was single and on my own, for over two years every day I ate the same thing for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a few exceptions for lunches and dinners out with friends.
e. I was told many times that I'd never have kids, but God healed my body on February 9, 1997...and I have three beautiful children.
f. I'm almost three years older than my husband, and he never ceases to remind me of it.
-->Answer the (11) questions the tagger set for you in the post (I'm not tagging anyone else, since you said that was okay, Charli :)
1. Where were you born? Fairmont, WV
2. What's your favorite food? Hmm…not sure. I like to eat most things, so it would be easier to say what my least favorite food is, which is beets. bleh. (Although I’ve been told I should revisit beets in their pre-canned form to see if my opinion changes.)
3. What one farm animal would you raise, if you could? Chickens
4. What would your "Priceless" Mastercard commercial be? Shot gun, $175; Ammo $60; getting to eat my garden produce and venison…priceless.
5. What would surprise me about you? I used to dream that I would marry Paul Stanley, lead singer for the KISS rock band. I even have pages from an old autograph album that I “reserved” for members of the band.
6. What was your first car? A Chevy Vega
7. What did you want to be when you grew up? I used to dream of being a professional ballerina, and I took ballet for seven years—two of which were spent as a member of a professional ballet company in Virginia (where I used to live).
8. What blog or website do you visit the most? amazon.com
9. Have you ever left the country? Yes. To Canada with my high school band, again to Canada for a vacation in my 20’s, and then to England and Scotland with Glen for our honeymoon.
10. What is your favorite local Mom & Pop shop or restaurant? Not sure if they’re considered Mom & Pop, but I enjoy Madeline’s in Morgantown. Great filet mignon with garlic mashed potatoes and grilled baby asparagus. Yummo.
11. What makes you smile? My children and their goofiness. Actually, sometimes they make me wheeze with laughter. Just the other day they were playing, and Kyla was asking them questions from a form that was in Spanish. Iain’s answers were—Name: Seven, Address: turn left, then right; Country: I’ve tasted it but I don’t like it.
Monday, March 5, 2012
10 Habits of Happy Mothers--Habit #2
If you haven't read my previous post, check it out to see where I am going with these habits. Each week, I'll touch on one of the ten habits, and this is the second week so I'm covering Habit # 2, which is "Maintain Key Friendships."
The previous chapter was about twenty pages long, full of small-font type, and I didn't get anything new until near the end of the chapter. The opposite is true for this one. Just a couple pages into this (also twenty page) chapter, a quote appeared that could have come from my own mind:
Dr. Meeker goes on to discuss friendships, and how various types have effected her life, and the lives of other women, positively and negatively. Her overall point to the chapter is that women need friends, and we flounder in life without them. We need the emotional/relational connection afforded by women friends who are there for us no matter what happens to us or our lives.
The chapter ends with three suggestions to help us (women/moms) to make and keep friends in our lives:
1. Have an inner and an outer circle of friends:
This is important. I took this to mean that your inner "core" friends get to be there because they know you well and still love you. They have "earned" that place in your life by seeing you at your worst and still loving you. There are a couple of people in my life who have been that type of friend, but only one person -- Kathleen -- has seen me at my messiest, sinfully indulgent, selfishly-rebellious, raw-from-torn-asunder pain, and she (and her family) didn't consider me a burden, but welcomed me into her home and loved me...just loved me. (I'm bawling just remembering this.) Not once did Kathleen lecture me. She didn't say, "OMG! You shouldn't have done that!" She just loved me, and encouraged me. (And don't get me started on her step-Dad, Bud, or I'll really be bawling.) Kathleen has been a friend to me in a way that I've never experienced, and I hope that I've returned the favor, at least in some part.
2. Balance the types of friends you choose:
Not everyone you meet can be an "inner" circle friend. One warning that I'll give with regard to friendships is to guard your heart and your mouth. During an especially difficult time in my life, which I can only sum up with the word "despair," I confided some painful things to a few people in my "outer" friend circle simply because they are Christians. I was rewarded with lectures about selfishness, and looking to God not man, etc. While I'm making it sound harsher than it was spoken, the words might as well have been hot pokers stuck in my guts when they were said. Dr. Meeker cautions against this very thing. Outer friends are for lighthearted fun and encouragement; inner friends will help you pick up the pieces when your life falls apart. Choose your friends prayerfully and wisely, or you can get profoundly wounded.
3. Love a friend better than you know how:
Dr. Meeker's main point here is that maintaining friendships takes work. Just like we have to work at keeping close to our husbands (it doesn't just "happen" because we live and walk through life together), we need to make and schedule time to cultivate friendships. Don't wait for a friend to call you--reach out to her. If she can't get together, send her a card and tell her you love her and miss her. Or just tell her you prayed for her that day. Let her know you are thinking of her. Making an effort to show that the friendship is important to you will help her to see that it is worth making time to get together. No one likes a one-way relationship where you do all the giving and the friend does all the taking. Yes, there are seasons in life where friendships lean that way, but for it to be the way all the time can be exhausting for the giver, who may decide to just give up on the friendship one day.
Speaking of seasons, I'll sum up my thoughts about friendships this way--sometimes friends come and go out of your life because of differences in your lives. Maybe you have young children and hers are grown, or you stay at home and she works, or whatever differences there are, you don't have as much in common. At times like these, friends, the ones who aren't die-hard friends, will back off from you. And the temptation exists for us to be one of the backer-offers, to withdraw when someone we were close with enters a new phase in life that we don't know or understand. Take these times to God and pour out your heart to him.
I have a friend who has been in and out of my life for over twenty years now. Once she became a Christian, I thought we'd stay close forever. But I've offended her somehow (she admitted the offense but didn't tell me what it was), and now she's withdrawn from me. Sometimes, no matter what you do, people will be offended at you and pull away from your life. Don't fight that--give the pain and confusion to God, and He will work it all out. None of it surprises Him anyway, and it may be part of His plan for you, a way to get you to see things from a different perspective, away from the influence of that now-missing friend.
The previous chapter was about twenty pages long, full of small-font type, and I didn't get anything new until near the end of the chapter. The opposite is true for this one. Just a couple pages into this (also twenty page) chapter, a quote appeared that could have come from my own mind:
"A mother who feels lonely believes on some level that she is unlikable, even unlovable. She is too inept, stupid, disorganized, or messed up to be with." (10 Habits, Meeker, page 25).
Dr. Meeker goes on to discuss friendships, and how various types have effected her life, and the lives of other women, positively and negatively. Her overall point to the chapter is that women need friends, and we flounder in life without them. We need the emotional/relational connection afforded by women friends who are there for us no matter what happens to us or our lives.
The chapter ends with three suggestions to help us (women/moms) to make and keep friends in our lives:
1. Have an inner and an outer circle of friends:
This is important. I took this to mean that your inner "core" friends get to be there because they know you well and still love you. They have "earned" that place in your life by seeing you at your worst and still loving you. There are a couple of people in my life who have been that type of friend, but only one person -- Kathleen -- has seen me at my messiest, sinfully indulgent, selfishly-rebellious, raw-from-torn-asunder pain, and she (and her family) didn't consider me a burden, but welcomed me into her home and loved me...just loved me. (I'm bawling just remembering this.) Not once did Kathleen lecture me. She didn't say, "OMG! You shouldn't have done that!" She just loved me, and encouraged me. (And don't get me started on her step-Dad, Bud, or I'll really be bawling.) Kathleen has been a friend to me in a way that I've never experienced, and I hope that I've returned the favor, at least in some part.
2. Balance the types of friends you choose:
Not everyone you meet can be an "inner" circle friend. One warning that I'll give with regard to friendships is to guard your heart and your mouth. During an especially difficult time in my life, which I can only sum up with the word "despair," I confided some painful things to a few people in my "outer" friend circle simply because they are Christians. I was rewarded with lectures about selfishness, and looking to God not man, etc. While I'm making it sound harsher than it was spoken, the words might as well have been hot pokers stuck in my guts when they were said. Dr. Meeker cautions against this very thing. Outer friends are for lighthearted fun and encouragement; inner friends will help you pick up the pieces when your life falls apart. Choose your friends prayerfully and wisely, or you can get profoundly wounded.
3. Love a friend better than you know how:
Dr. Meeker's main point here is that maintaining friendships takes work. Just like we have to work at keeping close to our husbands (it doesn't just "happen" because we live and walk through life together), we need to make and schedule time to cultivate friendships. Don't wait for a friend to call you--reach out to her. If she can't get together, send her a card and tell her you love her and miss her. Or just tell her you prayed for her that day. Let her know you are thinking of her. Making an effort to show that the friendship is important to you will help her to see that it is worth making time to get together. No one likes a one-way relationship where you do all the giving and the friend does all the taking. Yes, there are seasons in life where friendships lean that way, but for it to be the way all the time can be exhausting for the giver, who may decide to just give up on the friendship one day.
Speaking of seasons, I'll sum up my thoughts about friendships this way--sometimes friends come and go out of your life because of differences in your lives. Maybe you have young children and hers are grown, or you stay at home and she works, or whatever differences there are, you don't have as much in common. At times like these, friends, the ones who aren't die-hard friends, will back off from you. And the temptation exists for us to be one of the backer-offers, to withdraw when someone we were close with enters a new phase in life that we don't know or understand. Take these times to God and pour out your heart to him.
I have a friend who has been in and out of my life for over twenty years now. Once she became a Christian, I thought we'd stay close forever. But I've offended her somehow (she admitted the offense but didn't tell me what it was), and now she's withdrawn from me. Sometimes, no matter what you do, people will be offended at you and pull away from your life. Don't fight that--give the pain and confusion to God, and He will work it all out. None of it surprises Him anyway, and it may be part of His plan for you, a way to get you to see things from a different perspective, away from the influence of that now-missing friend.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Pictures of Local Flooding
My sister sent these pictures to me that were on Facebook:
The Shell station near Dairy Creme Corner, behind Wendy's Restaurant, off I-79 Exit 137
The Exxon at the beginning of Rt 310, off I-79 Exit 137 (beside Hickman Animal Hospital)
Rt 310 (East Grafton Road)
More of East Grafton Rd/Rt 31o
This seems surreal . . . it doesn't seem possible that flooding like this could occur around Fairmont. I wonder what terror-filled thoughts went through the minds of people in Noah's day, when The Flood occurred. I'm sure they remembered all the times they were warned by Noah that it was coming. And, the Bible says that our time is like Noah's time, and that Jesus will return--in the face of biblical warnings by many prophets and teachers--and those who are left behind will be full of terror. I pray that all of us recognize that time is short and we are not guaranteed our next breath. Only God knows the number of our days, and we need to stay close to Him so we are ready when He calls us home.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)