I know I have been tagged with the “seven sevens ” survey and I will
get to that. But first I just want to share good tiding of great joy
which shall be for…well, mostly me. (and those that choose to rejoice
with them that do rejoice).
I have talked to my academic counselor at Charter Oaks to see what the
changes will mean for me. It turns out that, while they are disallowing
the 3 credit test, they will grant the 6 credit test! Nice thing is, I
apparently had a few credits to spare so I just have to take one test
that will double over the portfolio I was supposed to be working on
(but haven’t yet). So I will have to test – one more time – but I won’t
have to do all that work for the portfolio, which will save me a lot of
time!
Funny, every time some problem pops up with my degree (it has been
changed four times since I thought it was all done) I have come out
with less to do. God is so good to me, it’s wonderful to have a such a
caring friend working on my behalf.
22-Dec-2005
17-Dec-2005
THE ABDUCTION
A Jones theatrical production that shockingly
resembles real life.
Viewer discretion
advised – see below
**Caution: This post contains violence, anyone unfortunate
enough to be a single child should have this previewed by someone who
has had experience with multiple siblings.**
This drama unfolds in the somewhat abnormal atmosphere of the Jones
household. Amy is peacefully sitting at the computer, whiling
away the time, trying to think of something interesting to post.
Suddenly, in rushes Timothy, breathless and excited:
(Tim) Amy! Come outside and see my new trick on the trampoline!
(Amy) Are you kidding me? It’s cold out there! (temperature 43)
(T.) Oh please, it won’t take but a minute.
(A.) What trick is it?
(T.) I can do a flip and land on my feet! (no response while busily typing) come on, you’re almost done with that email.
(A.) All right, I’ll go see.
Please note that all other children had been outside jumping and Amy
was the only one left inside. Amy took off her socks and headed out to
watch this new trick:
(A.) Hey, the trampoline is empty (suddenly suspicious) Are the others waiting to jump me?
(T.) Ummm, (laughs nervously)
(A.) Know what? I can watch you from right here on the porch.
(suspicions are confirmed upon hearing a whispered conversation from
the shadows). Very nice Timothy, that’s really good, now I’ll go back
inside – you can’t get me that easy, I wasn’t born yesterday you know!
Suddenly a random figure rushes out of the darkness at Amy; she turns
and dashes back into the safety of the house. The cry had gone out
however and suddenly the house was swarming with them! They attacked
all at once from every angle and started to drag Amy towards the door.
(A.) Hey! What are you doing! Oof…grunt…pant….struggle….
(unidentified voice) We’re taking you outside.
(A.) What if I don’t want to go outside!? Hey! Help!
Mom and Dad continue talking as if nothing unusual was going on.
Betrayed in the time of greatest need, despair washed over the victim.
Having been thoroughly instructed to never give up without a fight, a
desperate struggle ensued. Fighting, wriggling, twisting and resisting,
Amy fought valiantly against her assailants. It took fully six other
people just to get her out of the house; arms flailing, she grabbed at
corners, chairs and door frames, using them to their utmost advantage.
Once out on the porch, efforts reorganized and redoubled, resulting in
Amy being pried off of the nearby tree. Finally the size and sheer
strength of one attacker over powered the victim as he wrapped his arms
around her and bodily picked her up while two others managed the
kicking feet. (Boy, don’t you hate it when the little brothers grow
bigger on you).
Scene two: The Trampoline
(A.) pant…pant….okay, okay, you win, what do you want?….pant…..cough….pant
(Sibling 1) We want you to get off the computer and play with us!
(Sibling 6) Yeah, you’re boring in there and need to be livened up!
The rest of the evening was spent playing blind man’s bluff (quite an
exciting game due to the potential drop off the edge) and “Bull in the
Ring”; a game of quick movement and spectacular tackles. Finishing the
evening with steam roller (I’ll leave that to your imagination) the
victim eventually made her way back inside, warmed by the love
that had been demonstrated to her by the whole abduction.
Acknowledgements:
Thank you to Stacie, Lori, Brian, David, Timothy and Katie for an excellent script and screenplay.
Thank you to Amy for her brilliant acting abilities
Thank you to Timothy, the stunt man.
Thank you to my parents who made this possible
And for comments from viewers like you.
15-Dec-2005
Ahh, the twists and turns of life…”sometimes I’m up, sometimes I’m down.”
I finally made contact with my academic advisor yesterday (she’s the
one helping me through the process of graduation). I found out that I
have several essays to write by the end of Dec. (some by the end of
this week!) That wasn’t so bad, it was the next thing that really made
for a bad blow; it seems that two of my tests will not count for credit
because of the order I took them in! I don’t know what I’m going to do
about that, tomorrow I’m going to call my other evaluator person and
see what she makes of the whole thing.
That whole conversation took place over lunch break and seemed to
affect the last half of my work day. I was on the job with dad and had
had a productive morning running electrical circuits. I had saved the
“best” part for the afternoon; running home runs through the attic (and
insulation). My good work record fell through the roof, I mean, I fell
through the ceiling. It all happened quite unexpectedly but quick
reflexes left me hanging in the rafters when my feet went through the
sheet rock, leaving only insulation to plummet to the floor below. A
little stiffly I resumed work, only to trip a circuit when my drill
rubbed through a wire coating; the bright flash followed by lights out
informing me of my mistake.
Deciding that maybe I would be more productive at home, I accordingly
stayed here today and tried to get some of the “to do’s” off of my
rather lengthy list. As far as getting things done, my day went really
well; I rode the horse and Brian accompanied me, I got several gifts
made and I put together our family newsletter (which is still printing
which is why I’m still up) I even wrote a resume! (one of those
required papers for my college). I think my brain was slightly
disturbed however because I tried something weird for lunch. I put some
lettuce, and several vegetables in the blender to see what one of those
“salad shakes” tasted like. Let me just say I’m cured of that
curiosity! I don’t know if it was the raw garlic or the celery but that
green mush was far from pleasant. I managed to get down about half of
what I had made, but finally I couldn’t stomach another bite. I have
never wished we had a garbage disposal as bad as I did this afternoon:
“down the drain you foul slime!” My
brothers found the whole thing highly amusing – guess I’m not cut out
for health food. Still feeling a little queasy and knowing I needed to
go ride the horse (lot’s pf bouncing there) I decided to try and calm
things down a bit with some Starbucks ice cream recently acquired a
most
humble and penitent Jeremy. That did the trick and I was able to go on about my day, contemplating the rarity of garlic-mocha breath.
In all, the last two days have been somewhat productive and very
instructive. Now I think I’ll just drop into bed fully clothed as I am so
that I’ll be ready to hit the streets by 6:00 tomorrow morning –
hopefully a good five miles. Good night all.
13-Dec-2005
Well yesterday was a very full day, lot’s to think about. I went to
work with my brother on his FedEx route and we had a great time
catching up on our lives and discussing life.
One thing we were discussing was life choices and what was behind our
actions. I was also reading a book and came across a really good
explanation of why we have boundaries on our behavior.
The starting point for our
guidelines has to be a heart desire to honor God…rules for the sake
of rules that are based on human traditions have no value in
restraining indulgence….that only comes by God’s grace. However, an
important part in receiving and applying that grace is establishing
behavior that flees from temptation and puts sin to death. This
involves establishing guidelines that help us. These rules…help us
put our convictions into action.
The boundaries that we set for ourselves, yes the ones I have
set for myself, are based on what would enhance Christ’s reputation.
Think of anyone going into the public area and coming under scrutiny of
the press; they better have a good track record or any “little slip”
will be blasted to the whole nation and their credibility ruined. A
stupid choice, or a little activity that “wouldn’t hurt anything” now
becomes a source of regret and embarrassment, possibly even ruining a
chance to be effective.
There was an incident a few years ago (forgive me for not
remembering details) but Bush was trying to appoint a good conservative
lady to fill a key government position. The opposition however found
that she had harbored and helped an illegal alien, albeit out of
kindness, and under the pressure of the accusations she had to turn her
back on the position offered her. She had made a slight “bend in the
law” and with a good motive too, but that compromise ended in defeat by
hurting her character and rendering her useless to serve her country in
a way that would have had incredible impact.
The same can happen to us as Christians. God has led me to draw
the line in some places that others might not; they might think I’m
weird and try to get me to change. But I’m not doing it for my
reputation but for Christ’s who dwells in me. We have to carefully
guard our reputation, lest after you have preached to others, you
yourself are cast away. Keep yourself unspotted by the flesh.
*edit*
Take a look at Peter’s site for some similar thoughts and ideas.
*end edit*
11-Dec-2005
God has done given me some wonderful things week and I just wanted to praise Him:
1. I got my test scores back for public speaking and I passed!
2. Our family did the entertainment for the Christmas party at my
Grandmothers retirement home and while talking to one of the ladies
there I invited her to our church and offered to come and get her, and
she came!
3. Dad installed a new oven (the other one was a goner) so I spent most
of this afternoon “trying” it out 🙂 I think I am in my element in the
kitchen, it’s hardly fun unless you have multiple things going at once.
4. Perfect weather for Connor’s birthday. Friday morning there was
still ice everywhere, but by Saturday afternoon, it was a sunny 60
degrees – perfect!
5. We had the opportunity to help the guys a little with their project
at the church; they were both giving a whole week of their time to
build a sound booth.
6. Sunday night I went with my brothers to AWANA and was blessed to
watch David work with the kids. David has such a heart for people and
he too enjoys ministry. It means more to me than I can say to watch my
brothers minister for the Lord. Maybe no one can be perfect, but their
heart is in the right place.
Com bless the Lord with me!
