ZAYIN: In the House of My Pilgrimage

Jul19

Remember the word to Your servant,
Upon which you have caused me to hope.
This is my comfort in my affliction,
For Your word has given me life.
The proud have me in great derision,
Yet I do not turn aside from Your law.
I remembered Your judgements of old, O LORD,
And have comforted myself.
Indignation has taken hold of me
Because of the wicked who forsake Your law.
Your statutes have been my songs
In the house of my pilgrimage.
I remember Your name in the night, O LORD,
And I keep Your law.
This has become mine,
Because I kept Your precepts.

Key words: remember, comfort, Your law,

There’s a discussion at Intellectuelle, started by my Baylor friend, Laura, about the relationship between right thinking and right actions–and by extension, how emotion plays into our Christian pilgrimage. It seems to me that according to the psalmist we are to use our minds to remember God’s law, and as a consequence we are to be comforted (emotion). Of course, keeping God’s precepts involves right action that is based upon our remembering and being emotionally strong enough (comforted) to do what God commands. Yes, the intellectual act of remembering comes first, but it is no more vital to righteousness than emotion or action. Right thinking, which comes from God as the first verse indicates, produces both comfort and right action. I remember what God says; I am comforted by His word; I keep His precepts. Then His statutes can become my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.

GTW (Gone to Walmart)

Jul19

Engineer Husband and the urchins are GTW to buy some school supplies to donate to the “Fill a Backpack” drive at the church where the urchins are attending Vacation Bible School this week. In the meantime, via Betsy’s Page I found this City Journal article by Steve Malanga about how the Walmart critics are all wrong. Key quotes:

Walton figured out that one key to success was to develop a corporate culture in which management and employees worked together with the sole aim of serving the customer, a revolutionary idea at the time, though now a standard management technique.

It is instead a clash of worldviews, as unions and their allies, representing a narrow band of special interests masquerading as a populist movement, try to convince the public that super-efficient discounters like Wal-Mart lower workers’ standard of living even as they actually raise living standards by offering goods to so many at such low prices.

Regardless of the campaign against it, Wal-Mart is generating enormous support in many of its newest markets, especially in lower-income urban areas where shoppers often have few choices among stores, and where prices are typically high—especially for groceries, which account for so big a percentage of low-income budgets. Minority communities traditionally friendly to the Left’s agenda have shocked opponents by welcoming Wal-Mart and working closely with it.

Some of the critical drumbeat doubtless reflects the fact that Wal-Mart and its founding family still promote causes and values that the mainstream media oppose. Sam Walton supported conservative and free-market groups.

Ay, there’s the rub. The Big W builds stores in the inner city and in rural areas, charges low prices, operates efficiently, doesn’t pay huge salaries to its executives, and gives money to conservative groups, and won’t allow the unions to drive a wedge between workers and management. Ergo they must be evil, right?

William Makepeace Thackeray

Jul18

I wrote about Thackeray here and here.

I really like Victorian novelists, almost all of them: Dickens, Thackeray, WIlkie Collins, the Brontes, George Eliot, Mrs. Gaskell, Trollope. They could all tell a story, make up characters that entice the reader to care what happened to them, come to a satisfying conclusion. Modern novels are so often lurid, sexually explicit, and inconclusive. I’d much rather lose myself in a Victorian literary world where certainly bad things happen: Becky Sharp prostitutes herself for money and security; David Copperfield is put to work in a sweat shop by his evil step-father; Jane Eyre is almost trapped into a bigamous marriage. Nevertheless, the authors don’t describe violence and sin in excruciating, and ultimately boring, detail. And still in Vanity Fair, I read the story of a young girl who becomes a fallen woman, trapped in a vain and empty life by her own evil desires. Anthony Trollope said of Thackeray, “Whatever Thackeray says, the reader cannot fail to understand; and whatever Thackeray attempts to communicate, he succeeds in conveying.”

And he did it without spending multiple pages describing the intimate details of Becky’s dissolute life. Nor is Thackeray concerned in describing the Battle of Waterloo with giving us a gory narration of every nasty thing that happens in war. He describes George Osborne’s death thusly: �Darkness came down on the field and the city; and Amelia was praying for George, who was lying on his face, dead, with a bullet through his heart.� Can you imagine what distracting and lengthy description a modern novelist would have given of such a death scene? Because the Victorians had some sense of propriety, we’re allowed to get on with the story instead of skimming through the gore.

And it’s a great story, too. Thackeray wrote Vanity Fair to illustrate the emptiness and futility of life without God. “Thackeray expressed this sentiment in a letter to his mother: ‘What I want is to make a set of people living without God in the world (only that is a cant phrase) greedy pompous mean perfectly self-satisfied for the most part and at ease about their superior virtue.'”
Read more about Vanity Fair here, or just read the book. Writers who complain about the restrictions Christian publishers place on the treatment of sensitive subjects could learn a few lessons from the Victorians. They certainly didn’t let such restraints keep them from writing fine literary fiction.

Picture Book Preschool: Week 30

Jul18

Picture Book Preschool is a preschool/kindergarten curriculum which consists of a list of picture books to read aloud for each week of the year and a character trait, a memory verse, and activities, all tied to the theme for the week.

WEEK 30 (July) WORDS AND MESSAGES
Character Trait: Sincerity
Bible Verse: By the word of the Lord the heavens were made. Psalm 33:6

1. Parish, Peggy. Amelia Bedelia. Harper, 1963.
2. Merriam, Eve. Epaminondas. Follett, 1968. OP
3. Petersham, Maud and Miska. A Bird in the Hand. Macmillan, 1951. OP
4. Merriam, Eve. A Gaggle of Geese. Knopf, 1960. OP
5. Minarik, Else Homelund. A Kiss for Little Bear. Harper, 1968.
6. Keats, Ezra Jack. A Letter to Amy. Harper Row, 1968.
7. Krauss, Ruth. A Hole Is To Dig. Harper, 1952.

Activities: Play word games this week: rhyming words, written messages to each other, picture writing.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of the preschool curriculum, Picture Book Preschool by Sherry Early, or a set of the picture books listed in Picture Book Preschool, click on the PBP link at the top of this page for more information.

Others Born July 18th

Jul18

Former astronaut and U.S. senator John Glenn, was born in Cambridge, Ohio, July 18, 1921. Interesting note from Glenn’s wiki bio: “Glenn and his wife both suffer from varying degrees of hearing loss, and concern for this issue has always been one of Glenn’s foremost interests.” Read about how Johyn Glenn jumpstarted Cindy Swanson’s radio interviewing career.

Nelson Mandela, b. 1918. From Mandela’s wiki bio: “In 2003, Mandela attacked the foreign policy of the George W. Bush administration in a number of speeches, going so far as calling Bush a racist for not following the UN and its secretary-general Kofi Annan (who is African) on the issue of the War in Iraq. ‘Is it because the secretary-general of the United Nations is now a black man? They never did that when secretary-generals were white,’ Mandela said. The comments caused a rare moment of controversy and criticism for Mandela, even among some supporters.” I missed that little kerfluffle (if everyone else can use that word, I can, too), and I also didn’t know that he divorced Winnie in 1996 and then two years later married Graca Machel, who was the widow of the president of Mozambique.

Isaac Watts

Jul17

How is this for a lullaby?

Hush, my dear, lie still and slumber,
Holy angels guard thy bed,
Heav’nly blessings without number,
Gently falling on they head.
How much better thou’rt attended,
Than the Son of God could be,
When from Heaven He descended,
And became a child like thee!

Soft and easy is thy cradle,
Coarse and hard thy Savior lay:
When His birthplace was a stable,
And His softest bed was hay.
Oh, to tell the wondrous story,
How His foes abused their King;
How they killed the Lord of glory,
Makes me angry while I sing.

Hush, my child, I did not chide thee,
Though my song may seem so hard;
‘Tis thy mother sits beside thee,
And her arms shall be thy guard.
May’st thou learn to know and fear Him,
Love and serve Him all thy days;
Then to dwell forever near Him,
Tell His love and sing His praise.

Today is the birthday of Isaac Watts (b. 1674), author of this lullaby/hymn and many other more familiar hymns, such as:

Alas, And Did My Saviour Bleed
Am I a Soldier of the Cross?
I SIng the Mighty Power of God
Jesus Shall Reign Where E’er the Sun
Joy to the World
Marching to Zion
Our God, Our Help in Ages Past
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

What a legacy of hope and encouragement for one man to leave behind (d. 1748) after having gone to be with the Lord! Isaac Watts is buried at Bunhill Fields near the final resting place of fellow non-conformist John Bunyan. You can find pictures and information on a recent visit to Bunfield Fields by blogger Phil Johnson here, but no mention of Isaac Watts. Which of these hymns do you know and love? Are there others by Isaac Watts I’ve left off the list?

Sundae Sunday

Jul17

ice cream sign

I scream, you scream,
We all scream
For ice cream!

According to several sources, today is Sundae Sunday or National Ice Cream Day. Whether it’s an official holiday or not, I say any excuse to celebrate with ice cream is a good excuse.

Here’s a great page with lots of information about ice cream, including poems, trivia, stories, and a list of thirty-one suggested ice cream sundaes, one for each day of July. Hurry up, you’re 16 days behind!

I think today would be a good day to make some good old-fashioned homemade ice cream. Unfortunately, I’m not sure we have an ice cream freezer that’s in working order. Has anyone else made homemade ice cream this summer? What’s your favorite flavor?

Did you know that:

The first ice cream is believed to have been made in Italy in about 1550. Or maybe it was invented in China. Or France (Catherine de Medici). Or England (Charles I). Or not.

George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were both quite fond of ice cream, but it was Dolley Madison who served ice cream at her husband’s Inaugural Ball in 1813. President Jefferson’s recipe for vanilla ice cream.

According to this website, Americans eat the most ice cream, but New Zealanders consume the most ice cream per capita.

80 percent of the world’s vanilla bean used for ice cream is grown in Madagascar.

French vanilla ice cream has a high fat content and enough eggs to give it a yellow color. It usually contains small bits of vanilla bean.

Spumone, an Italian ice cream, is made of a layer of chocolate ice cream, a layer of vanilla, and a layer of rum-flavored whipped cream

Gelato, another Italian product, is characterized by an intense flavor and is served in a semi-frozen state that is similar to “soft serve” ice cream. Italian-style gelato is more dense than ice cream, since it has less air in the product. Typically, gelato has more milk than cream and also contains sweeteners, egg yolks and flavoring.which contains chopped nuts and fruits. (Eldest Daughter became a fan of gelato when she was in Italy a couple of years ago, but I have yet to try it.)

sign More Ice Cream History and Information

Job Interview, Psychological Assessment or Kindergarten?

Jul16

One of my teenagers went in for a job interview a few days ago. This interview was a “group interview” for a large chain retail establishment. Ten or twelve people sat around a table. Most of the people being interviewed were full grown adults, not teenagers. (This age note will become important later.) At the head of the table was the interviewer, and at the other end sat two people with pen and paper, taking notes.

The interviewer began by describing how this store was a wonderful place to work, how the employees were not really employees, but rather “partners.” After this spiel was over, the interviewer pulled out a basket of crayons and a stack of construction paper. She intructed my child and the others to draw a picture of how they imagined themselves working at this store. (OK, at this point I would have lost the job because my hysterical laughter would have convinced the interviewer that I was not partner material.) After they drew their pictures, each person at the interview shared his picture with the others, telling about what he had drawn and why. Then, the interviewer pulled out a basket of exotic fruits and vegetables. She gave one piece of fruit or one veggie to each person and asked them to sell the food item to the rest of the group. They were to tell the group what they thought was good or attractive about this particular food item. All the time the people at the end of the table were taking notes.

I haven’t interviewed for a job in a long while. Is this a typical interview nowadays, or am I justified in wondering whether or not I want my young adult to work at such a nutty place?

WAW

Jul15

Let your mercies come also to me, O Lord–
Your salvation according to Your word.
So shall I have an answer for him who reproaches me.
For I trust in Your word,
And take not the word of truth utterly our of my mouth.
For I have hoped in Your ordinances.
So shall I keep Your law continually,
Forever and ever.
And I will walk at liberty,
For I seek Your precepts.
I will speak of Your testimonies also before kings,
And will not be ashamed.
And I will delight myself in Your commandments,
Which I love.
My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments,
Which I love.
And I will meditate on Your statutes.

So where is the line between simply trusting in the mercies of God through Christ, speaking of God’s works before important people without shame, finding my hope in the word of God and not in the wisdom of men—-and simplistic trust which says “Jesus is the answer” before anyone gets a chance to ask the question? I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes (Romans 1:16); however, I am sometimes ashamed of the way that gospel is communicated. Following Jesus is not a formula: say a prayer, believe in Jesus, and go to heaven. Being a Christian is a lifetime of meditating on God’s statutes, delighting in His commandments, trusting in His word, and walking at liberty. Having been a Christian for more than forty years, I’m only beginning to understand how to do some of those things, but I keep stumbling in the right direction. I would invite anyone who’s interested to stumble along with me because even feeble progress in the direction of the Light is much better than standing around in the dark too proud to admit that I haven’t any light of my own.