August Happenings!

I haven't written since the dramatic rooster incident!  As much trauma and tears as that caused, it led into a couple of really wonderful weeks!

Within  a few days, the chickens became a tightly
bound social unit again.  What a relief!

Soon after the pecking order was established, Scrambled started
laying eggs.  She seems to be on schedule to lay 5 or 6 eggs
a week!  Good little Scrambledsaurus!

I picked peaches as soon as the u-pick place opened.  YUM!

I canned 20 quarts of peaches this year, and I froze six gallons.
Not to mention all of the smooooothies with fresh peaches!

I turned 25!

Matthew took off a few days this week in observance of my
birthday and our anniversary.  We decided to take on the project
that was our unfinished hearth.

Here's Matthew removing the particle board that was in our way.

 Now we're down to the thinset from the tiles that used to be here when
it was a not-woodstove-fireplace. 

We definitely deliberated about what we'd do to finish the hearth.  To buy the resources needed to tile this, we anticipated that it would cost around $100, especially since this was such a small project with no economy for size.  If you've read much of this blog or if you know me well, you may realize that I take how we spend our money and how we use the earth's resources quite seriously.  I felt really uncomfortable spending that much money on the cosmetics of the hearth, so I encouraged all my creative brain-power to think of a different solution.  I asked myself, "What do people use to keep fire in its place?"  My brain answered, "Rocks and stone."

So that's what we did.

I remembered that we had a bunch of stones in the used-to-be dog run. We gathered some with the prettiest colors and designs, washed them off, and used grout/adhesive to finish our hearth.  Total cost?  Twelve dollars.  It would have been $9, but neither us nor our neighbors had anything to cut out the old torn up particle board, so we headed to the little local tool shop (go small businesses!!), and we bought a wood chisel.  

Here's the final result:

 We like it, and I'm really glad that we decided to rock the system and try to find an alternative to traditional tiling.

Anyway, back to our happenings...

For our anniversary we decided to go camping in our backyard the night beforehand.
We made dinner over the fire, and it was really fun.  The one caveat?
We didn't have any good padding under (or on!) us, so we found our bones
crushed into the ground at night.  I became wide-awake around 2:30am, and
by 3:30am it became apparent to both of us that we were needlessly getting a bad
night's sleep.  We crawled out of the tent and back inside... Oh well!  It was fun, and
we learned!

I made homemade marshmallows (seriously!) and graham crackers for s'mores.

Sooooo good!!!

The next day, on our actual anniversary, we made a bunch
of homemade pizza and watched a movie.  Yum yum yum!
And lots of leftovers to enjoy!

I also sported a skirt and running shoes while loading the dishwasher.

Four years together can make you happy!

Four years together can make you silly!

Yay for our fourth anniversary!!

FASHION!

Did I mention that I miss writing in my blog?  I really do.  I don't know what's wrong with me... Actually, I do.  Fact:  I find it challenging to just sit unless I'm doing something at the computer for my students.  I like to DO!  However, today I'm kind of tired, and sitting on the couch writing a blog post sounds just right...

But I digress.

FASHION!

Those who know me well may wonder why I am writing a post about fashion.  I think it is fate.  (It's certainly not because I can tell you what the current fashions are...)  Two people brought clothing to my attention through two articles/blog posts on Facebook this week.  The first is an article written by a journalist who does some research about the "afterlife" of much the clothing we buy in the U.S.  The second is a blog post written by a Christian woman who is giving her two cents about the Great Christian Modesty Debacle.  I am not going to summarize or paraphrase what these people say since they do such a good job of speaking for themselves, so I would recommend reading the links before you continue.

Done?  OK.  Let's go.

I honestly don't have much to say about the article about the afterlife of clothing except that I continue to hope and pray that we come to our senses when it comes to "stuff".  It truly baffles me that we discard so much clothing in the U.S. that after thrift stores get stuffed to the gills, the natural solution is to turn perfectly good (sometimes brand new) clothing into rags or to ship it off to Africa.  The whole thing reeks of waste.

The post regarding the Great Christian Modesty Debacle earns more of a response.  Sheila and I agree that rules about modesty may very well go beyond what God requires (for example, a rule where women are only allowed to wear skirts/dresses down to the ankle).  We also agree that the clothing that we wear does not have to be societally unfashionable.  However, Sheila makes the argument that, in fact, Christian women have the duty to God and their husbands to be societally fashionable.   It is with this thesis that I am taken aback.

The following ideas run through my own head as I consider Sheila's post:

My husband loves me, is proud of me, and is attracted to me regardless of the clothes that I wear.  He loves me because we are called to love.  He is proud of me based on my actions and the content of my character.  He is attracted to me because he loves me and he is proud of me and I'm ME!

I do not need to earn the respect of society through what I wear.  I will earn respect through who I am and what I do.

There is nothing wrong with something "looking like it came from a thrift shop".  There is nothing wrong with used clothes or hand-me-downs.  There is nothing wrong with wearing "last year's fashions".  There is nothing wrong with the people who cannot afford to put together a closet of clothing that makes them look stylish.  There is nothing wrong with people who can afford to put together such a wardrobe but choose not to.

I do not believe that I can justify spending my money on a fashionable wardrobe in this society.  Women are expected to have a bunch of different outfits and be in fashion at all times (even when fashions change on a dime).  This can be expensive, and I feel that I can be a better steward of our resources.

I do not believe that I can justify the environmental and social ramifications of a fashionable wardrobe.  Creating fashion creates waste through the production of the fabric, the shipping of everything, and the discards readily cast aside as fashion changes.  Additionally, if I buy new clothing, I run the risk of supporting a company that allows horrible work conditions unless I do my research first.

I do believe that I should respect, appreciate, and thank God for the clothing and resources that God has provided.  This keeps me satisfied with what I have instead of in want for more.  This encourages me to wear my clothing until it is worn out.  This prevents me from feeling like I have "nothing to wear".

Overall, I personally found that Sheila has too much concern for appearances and plays into what I believe is one of our culture's issues.  While you may have noticed that I wrestle with some of what Paul wrote, I think that this is something particularly beautiful that he left us:

Since prayer is at the bottom of all this, what I want mostly is for men to pray—not shaking angry fists at enemies but raising holy hands to God. And I want women to get in there with the men in humility before God, not primping before a mirror or chasing the latest fashions but doing something beautiful for God and becoming beautiful doing it. 
1 Timothy 2:9-10

I pray for beauty from doing something beautiful for God!

As always, you are more than welcome to disagree with me, but I thought that I'd get my perspective out there since, after all, this is my blog. :)

Home Economics

And by this, I mean economics of my home.  I have been reading some of Bill McKibben's books recently (Eaarth and Deep Economy, in case you are curious), and he has reminded me of the power of community and supporting our local communities.  As I became an adult, I had the tendency to try to avoid spending money preferring to save for the future.  As I have become a slightly older adult, I tacked on the desire to not spend money so that I'd also have plenty to give away.  Inn the last few years I have become more and more conscious of the fact that I am accountable to God for every dollar I spend, and I want to use money well.  However, an idea has been growing in me: There may be a way to use money that may be as good (if not better?) than charity if done correctly.

What I mean is that by spending our money, we are putting it in another's pocket so that it can provide for his/her needs.  So if I participate in my local CSA, I am directly putting money into the farmers' pockets so that they can buy seeds but also help pay for their clothing, bills, mortgage, etc.  However, if I buy food from a large grocery store, I may be putting a lot of money into the pockets of a few CEOs and a few cents on the dollar into the hands of the farmers.  The same thing goes with just about anything you want to buy:  If you buy it as local as possible in as small of a store (or no store!), you are more likely to be getting money directly to someone who is going to use the money to exist and not to buy another private yacht.

Of course, some things make sense to make and distribute on a large scale (I've never heard of a local computer-maker...), but so much of what we need (food, clothing, shelter, etc) and even much of what we don't need can be done at the local level which is awesome.

I think that while there is nothing shameful in accepting assistance when in need, and I think that we absolutely should help people who are in need.  However, I think the idea of supporting our local economy is wonderful because I think it can help fewer people reach the point of being in need of assistance.  I think most people want to work for a living, and local economies can provide rewarding, authentic jobs that will help them do just that.

This is non-partisan, too!  Who doesn't want to support their community?  Liberals want to help the down and out, so let's help prevent people from getting there.  Conservatives want to support small businesses, so let's support them by purchasing from them (even if you pay more than at the bigger store).

When you spend or invest money, you are investing in something and supporting something.  The question is, are you sure you are supporting what you value?  That's something we'll keep striving for throughout our lives.

Compassion

As we near the end of the Easter season, I want to give a shout out to Jesus.  One of the attributes of Jesus that  always moves me is His compassion.  I think that we take it for granted that Jesus was a man of great compassion.  According to the Bible, Jesus was moved with compassion repeatedly.  He felt compassion when He was in the presence of the ill (Matthew 14:14). He felt compassion for his followers when they were hungry (Matthew 15:32).  He had compassion for those debilitated by blindness (Matthew 20:34).  In other stories I sense His compassion even if the Bible does not describe Him as feeling compassion at the moment.  When He speaks gently to the adulteress despite all of the men ready to condemn her.  When he restores His relationship with Peter.  When He raises Lazarus to ease the burden for a widow with no other sons.

When Jesus saw people hurting, He generally seemed to feel compassion, and He would fill the needs of the people around Him.  Ultimately, I believe that Jesus' compassion for us is what led him to the cross.  He saw our need for an ultimate sacrifice to pay off a debt, and so He paid the debt.

I am moved by the compassion shown by Jesus.  Thanks be to God that Jesus didn't just see problems and say, "Well, if they had made better decisions, and if people just did things better, that wouldn't have been a problem.  They really should just pull themselves up by their bootstraps and make something of themselves!"  Instead, He first met needs, and by doing so He generally seemed to gain favor and followers.

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Recently, I have been considering how I would like our country to run with the idea of showing compassion as Jesus did.  One current hot topic is the mandate for all people to have health insurance.  This has been brought to the Supreme Court because some feel like it is unconstitutional to mandate that all people buy health insurance.  The Daily Show had a segment about this recently, and I think Jon Stewart really hits the nail at one point.  The following segment has been on my mind for a few days now (NOTE: At the end there are some graphic cartoon beheadings.  I think it's a segment with a great points and it's worth watching, but I  totally admit that the beheadings are gross.  Feel free to stop the video at 3:40 if you have delicate sensibilities!):

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

In this video, Donald Verrilli, the US Solicitor General, says that paying for our health system is predominantly done by health insurance, but over 40 million Americans do not have access to health insurance and for these people our health care system is not working.  Justice Antonin Scalia says that the US federal government is not supposed to be the government that has all the powers, but rather, it is supposed to have limited powers.  Jon Stewart then points out that the government is looking for a way to solve a problem the U.S. citizens have.  Namely, to have a system where insurance companies can afford to take all people (including those with pre-existing conditions, for example), we must have all people participating in the system to share the cost.  Stewart then picks up on a key exchange between General Verrilli and Justice Scalia:

General Verrilli: ...in the health care market, you're going into the market without the ability to pay for what you get, getting the health care service anyway as a result of the social norms that allow — that — to which we've obligated ourselves so that people get health care.

Justice Scalia: Well, don't obligate yourself to that. Why — you know?

And herein lies the crux of the matter! Until another solution is put on the table, the choice being made here is really between providing or denying health care to those without insurance, for whatever reason.

Note: For time purposes, the Daily Show obviously must exclude a lot of the exchange. For the transcript of the case, go here.

Forty million Americans don't have access to health insurance, but they still get sick and injured. How can we not have compassion on them and do what we can to heal them? I may not be able to pay all their medical bills myself, but there is a change to our system that we can make to help them to have access to the care that they need. How can I not support that change?

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Another group of people who have been the object of scorn is those in the Occupy Wall Street Movement. Mind you, I'm aware of the weaknesses of the movement. However, it's memes like this that make me sad. While I'm sure some people are lazy, wanting too much, etc., is it alright to minimize the legitimate hurts of people due to the issues in our system and country? Do we really still believe that everybody still has equal opportunity in our country? If we don't, how should we react?

In my mind, I would rather be cheated by a lazy person to guarantee that a few other underdogs get what they need. While there are still hungry and homeless in our country, our work isn't done.

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A song by Derek Webb always stirs my heart.

My Enemies are Men Like Me

I have come to give you life

And to show you how to live it

I have come to make things right

To heal their ears and show you how to forgive them

‘Cause I would rather die

I would rather die

I would rather die than to take your life

‘Cause how can I kill the ones I’m supposed to love

My enemies are men like me

So I will protest the sword if it’s not wielded well

‘Cause my enemies are men like me

Peace by way of war

Is like purity by way of fornication

It’s like telling someone murder is wrong

And then showing them by way of execution

And I would rather die

I would rather die

I would rather die than to take your life

‘Cause how can I kill the ones I’m supposed to love

My enemies are men like me

So I will protest the sword if it’s not wielded well

‘Cause my enemies are men like me

When justice is bought and sold just like weapons of war

Oh, the ones who always pay are the poorest of the poor

So how can I kill the ones I’m supposed to love

My enemies are men like me

So I will protest the sword if it’s not wielded well

‘Cause my enemies are men like me

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I ache as we struggle to extend our hands to those in need.  I ache as we go to war over and over again and innocent people die for a cause that I cannot name.  I ache for the hungry.  I ache for the cold.  I ache for those who are facing medical debt.

I ache because I know better, but I still don't always offer compassion.

I am grateful that I have opportunities to give compassion.

I am grateful that God is more compassionate and loving than we can imagine.  I celebrate His compassion, and I ask to be able to do my part to extend it to our world.

As we observe Good Friday, I thank Jesus for having compassion for all people.
Happy Easter