Sacred and Secular May 30, 2007

My sister wrote a post on her blog that got me thinking about how we tend to separate the sacred and the secular in our lives.  I know there are those that think if a song or book isn’t overtly theological, then it’s secular.  My personal opinion is that anything that is good and true and decent is authored by God.  The fact that they sky tends to be blue (most of the time) is true and while not theological per se, is from God.  Anything that is deceitful or harmful is authored by satan and the consequences of sin. 

My choosen profession is not one that people automatically think of as being a ministry and is usually viewed as a secular job.  It is however, the profession God has called me to; therefore, it is my ministry.  It is what He has charged me with doing.  It is how I live out Isaiah 61:1.  “The Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners.”  If He had called me to be gardener, then doing so would be no less a ministry than being a preacher.  He has a plan and has put me in my particular spot for a reason.  My job is to do my best at what He has asked me to do.  It is sacred because it is what He desires for my life. 

This is something that I need reminding of quite a bit lately as the stress at work seems to be pouring from a never ending fountain.  Staying focused on my charge as a social worker will help me to deal with all the issues the come with my job.  Thanks for the reminder.

Wait!…That Looks Familiar! March 7, 2007

Welcome to everyone stopping by for the Ultimate Blog Party. For my official party post, click here!!!

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For Christmas this year on my side of the family, we decided to make our gifts for each other.  It was so much fun coming up with gifts for each other that we put time and energy into.  We got some wonderful presents. 

My sister, C, did a painting for each of us as her gift.  Our painting was one of M that she did based on a photograph.  It’s wonderful.  Here’s the photo and the painting that C did.

    

M has discovered this painting that is currently sitting on one of our bookshelves until I get it framed and hung up.  She loves to pick it up and look at it.  She’s not always as careful as one would like, so she only gets supervised visits with her painting.  At least until she is older. 

  Here M is contemplating the art she inspired.  I wonder if she knows it’s her or not.  I’ll probably never know.

By the way, C has other artwork posted on her myspace and has even sold one of her paintings.  Just one more talent that God has blessed her with that she in turn shares with us.  Thanks, Aunt C.

Morgan Got a Package Too! March 3, 2007

Welcome to everyone stopping by for the Ultimate Blog Party.  For my official party post, click here!!! 

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M loves phones.  When she was first starting to crawl, we’d put the cordless phone on the floor across the room from her to motivate her to skedoodle right over.  It worked great!  She crawled after that phone quicker than she’d crawl to T or me. 

As she’s gotten older, the phone fascination has continued.  At present, M has no less than 3 different toy phones of different sizes and that make different noises to play with.   While she does enjoy the toy phones, she much prefers real ones.  Although any phone will do, her favorites are Todd’s and my cell phones.   I don’t really mind her enjoying fiddling with my phone, but it does get a bit old to have nothing but photos of the couch cushions or floor or underside of the table in my photo files or stumbling across odd entries in my phone book that seem to be entered in some super-spy CIA code. 

I’m sure that all of you current or past toddler parents out there didn’t even have to guess on that one.  The toddler cell phone fascination seems to be universal.  T can’t walk into M’s room at daycare without at least two of her classmates trying to hang from his belt while they remove his phone from the beltclip.  Okay, maybe they’re not quite that bad, but he does find it easier to get in and out of the room with her if his phone is out of site. 

Knowing this about our sweet bean, Aunt C decided to send M her old cell phone when she got a new one a week or so ago. 

       

Now, M has her own real cell phone that we can charge up so it beeps and lights up JUST LIKE MOMMY’S AND DADDY’S.   We’ll see if it keeps her from always wanting ours or not.  Thanks, Aunt C!

Clear Ears, Beanish Babbling, Pants That Don’t Fall Down February 4, 2007

M had her check up with the ENT doctor this past week. Despite the fact that she’s had a cold all week, her ears look “perfect.” She’ll go back in 3 weeks to have them checked again and have her hearing re-tested.

As far as I’m concerned, this cold is the litmus test for the ear tubes. In the past, we could just about predict what day we’d be heading to the doctor’s office for anti-biotics when she exhibited her first sniffle. I’m thrilled that she’s been ear infection free so far.

As another bonus, we’re hearing more words in her Beanish babbling. Granted, T and I are probably the only ones who can pick up on a good many of them since we hear her Beanishness more than anyone else, but there are new and clearer words noneltheless. Hooray!

Thanks to Aunt C, I’ve also found a solution for keeping M’s pants from falling down all the time. Because, let’s face it, even when you’re a toddler, pants around the ankles just aren’t the fashion statement you want. Target, it seems, has pants with adjustible waists. We have two pair right now, but I’ll be snatching some more up before too long. Some other mother out there with a tiny-waisted toddler apparently had a wonderful brainstorm which we now can all benefit from.

Grandmother’s Birthday Dinner January 25, 2007

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, we had a special dinner to celebrate my grandmother’s 80th birthday. Many of her kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids were able to be there to wish her a happy birthday. Here’s a picture of Grandmother in her birthday corsage.

Here’s a photo of everyone who was able to be there, except for my sister-in-law, A, who was actually taking the picture.

Here’s Grandmother with the three great-grandchildren who were there. H is on the left. C is sitting in Grandmother’s lap, and M is on the right. You can see my cousin, A, on the left, and barely see me on the right, waiting in the wings to corral H and M if they decided it was time to run off and play some more.

M enjoyed visiting with her Aunt C who sweetly held cups so M could fish out ice chips to munch on. M’s little hands were so cold, but she just kept dunking them in the cold water for more ice.

My Aunt B made Grandmother’s birthday cake. It was delicions. M turned down a bite when I offered it to her, but later helped herself to her Auny A’s piece when no one was looking. Luckily, Aunt A was happy to share, and we got some good photos out of it.

Family Photos at the Beach September 17, 2006

Here are some photos of everyone at the beach. T, M, and I didn’t get the memo about bringing a white shirt for the photo, but it turned out great anyway.

Photos of the whole family.

Here are Gran and Paw.

This is Uncle C and Aunt A.

This is Aunt C.

Here’s photos of T and M and me.

On the Ferry to Dauphin Island September 15, 2006

After we visited Fort Morgan, we all decided to take the ferry across Mobile Bay to Dauphin Island. We didn’t get off and explore the island, but just rode the ferry there and back. It was 45 minutes each way, so the trip was a good hour and a half.

It was nice, but would have been much nicer if there had been a shady spot to sit on the ferry. Although the weather channel had predicted thunderstorms that day, the sun was out in full solar force while we were crossing the bay. We were all feeling the effects of the sun by the time we got back to Fort Morgan and piled in the car for a little air conditioning.

Luckily, My sister, C, had sunscreen in her purse, and I had sunscreen in M’s diaper bag which made the rounds. That kept us from getting broiled on the trip. It worked great too, since M wasn’t even pink. I think the fact that I coated her in it more than once helped too. The last thing we wanted was a baked bean.

Despite the sun, the views from the ferry were wonderful.

Eaten Alive at Fort Morgan September 15, 2006

One of the things we did on vacation was visit Fort Morgan, Alabama. There is an actual Fort Morgan that was used by the military from 1833 until 1946. Since it was less than 10 miles from where we were staying, we decided to check it out.

They had a little museum that told about the history of the fort and had a good number of artifacts on display. We were not able to spend a lot of time in the fort itself due to the mosquitos. We were inside the fort for about a minute when we decided that it wasn’t worth fighting them to stay and explore more. I would have liked to see more. But I’m glad we left when we did since M ended up with 5-6 mosquito bites in just that short time. I’d hate to see what she would have looked like if we had wandered around for 30 minutes or more. Nevertheless, we enjoyed it there and took some pictures outside.

The rest of the family (my parents and siblings) took some great photos of the fort which they shared with us. Next time we go, we’ll be prepared with some insect repellent.