It's about 11 PM, and everyone in my house, including the dog, is asleep, except me. I just have too much going on in my head. Really, a hodge podge of stuff... thus the title of this little entry. I started out by typing my packing list for my upcoming trip. Yes, typing it. I always make a packing list and generally go through several drafts. That sounds high maintenance, I know, but I'm only high maintenance for me. I try not to levy my burdensome quirks on others.
Anyway, preparing for this trip only serves to remind me that it's been quite a while since I was away from my little family, and never both of them at once for this length of time. I'll miss kissing them both goodnight and snuggling in both physically and metaphorically to this cozy little life we've built for ourselves. Instead, I'll be in a cabin with ten seventh grade girls on a trip with 113 seventh grade students - fun and wild and adventurous but not quite cozy.
Also on my mind? The stories of the three books I've been reading as of late are swirling around in my mind mixing their plots and characters in strange and intriguing ways. Also in the mix are the three different books that are in different stages of being written by me. And then there's the personal stuff - my sister's son who has been ill and for whom I've been praying for constantly, my need to get in better shape, a half a dozen dreams I have for the future of my family, all the ways I've erred as of late, and so on. Doesn't it sound like I lack focus? I don't really. There's just always a lot going on in my head. My husband, Chris, is often amused when I track backwards from a seemingly random thought and follow the train from caboose to engine
This reminds me of a little scene in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. (Yes, I'm a Potter nerd!) Harry, Hermione, and Ron are all talking about Harry's recent first kiss and all the stuff that might have been going through Cho Chang's mind when he kissed her, and Ron said, " One person can't feel all that at once, they'd explode.” To which Hermione replied, "Just because you've got the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn't mean we all have." So, I wonder what we'd have to use to measure my emotional range?
Somehow I'm going to have to quiet all these thoughts and find some rest myself tonight. I thought maybe writing about them would help, but it seems to me that it's even more jumbled than before. So, I'll choose between my two tried and true ways to calm my brain - praying myself to sleep or a little game I play. I've been playing this game for years and it actually works quite well. Hmmm, déjà vu... have I written about this before? It's a little alphabet game. I choose a category, and I go through the alphabet listing things having that are relevant to that topic. (Christmas - advent, Bethlehem, Claus, and so on; home - armoire, buffet, candlestick, etc.)
Guess we'll see how it goes....
Showing posts with label Harry Potter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Harry Potter. Show all posts
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Choosing What is Right Over What is Easy
"Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.... But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15
Over the last week or two, this theme keeps recurring in my life… in conversations, in the blogs I peruse, in my devotionals, and in the books I read. Of course you Harry Potter fans will recognize this as one of the big themes from the series. Harry is constantly faced with serious decisions where he must choose either the good or the easy. Just as Dumbledore tells Harry in chapter 18 of Chamber of Secrets, “It’s our choices, Harry, that show who we really are, far more than our abilities.” Over and over this truth is prominently displayed in the books. (There’s a whole chapter about this in Looking for God in Harry Potter by John Granger, a book highly recommend.)
One of my bloggy friends shared a story of when her husband stood for the right, lost his job, but was given an even better job less than 24 hours later. God rewarded his faithfulness. Another lady commented that the same thing had happened to her husband.
It’s amazing to me how often I’m encouraged to “just say that you’re ___________, ” and that blank is always filled with something that many would consider a “little white lie.” Where did that even come from? A lie is a lie. Lying to make a situation a bit easier for yourself is still lying; it’s still sin. Why do people encourage each other to do this all the time?
Here’s an example: I was planning on leaving work a little early the other day, but the two people I usually report to had already left early to attend a volleyball game which I was not planning on attending. When I told another lady that I was planning on leaving early, she said, “Just say that you went to the game.” I suppose it seemed harmless enough to her, but it would be a lie. Just a little bit of untruth, a little bit of sin, is the same thing as adding just a little bit of iocane powder* to your drink. You may not be able to see it, but it will definitely affect you!
It really is all about the choices we make.
*Fictional poison from The Princess Bride. The poison was colorless and odorless but deadly.
Over the last week or two, this theme keeps recurring in my life… in conversations, in the blogs I peruse, in my devotionals, and in the books I read. Of course you Harry Potter fans will recognize this as one of the big themes from the series. Harry is constantly faced with serious decisions where he must choose either the good or the easy. Just as Dumbledore tells Harry in chapter 18 of Chamber of Secrets, “It’s our choices, Harry, that show who we really are, far more than our abilities.” Over and over this truth is prominently displayed in the books. (There’s a whole chapter about this in Looking for God in Harry Potter by John Granger, a book highly recommend.)
One of my bloggy friends shared a story of when her husband stood for the right, lost his job, but was given an even better job less than 24 hours later. God rewarded his faithfulness. Another lady commented that the same thing had happened to her husband.
It’s amazing to me how often I’m encouraged to “just say that you’re ___________, ” and that blank is always filled with something that many would consider a “little white lie.” Where did that even come from? A lie is a lie. Lying to make a situation a bit easier for yourself is still lying; it’s still sin. Why do people encourage each other to do this all the time?
Here’s an example: I was planning on leaving work a little early the other day, but the two people I usually report to had already left early to attend a volleyball game which I was not planning on attending. When I told another lady that I was planning on leaving early, she said, “Just say that you went to the game.” I suppose it seemed harmless enough to her, but it would be a lie. Just a little bit of untruth, a little bit of sin, is the same thing as adding just a little bit of iocane powder* to your drink. You may not be able to see it, but it will definitely affect you!
It really is all about the choices we make.
*Fictional poison from The Princess Bride. The poison was colorless and odorless but deadly.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Morning Drama and Harry Potter
After the drama of our early morning, I had to wonder what the rest of my day would bring. It, thankfully, was quite a tame day.
A bit after three this morning, I awoke to find Chris absent from our bed. He was standing in front the bathroom sink doctoring his hand, which had started throbbing and bleeding in his sleep. Yesterday, while at work, he accidentally cut his thumb along the side of his nail and also sustained a small cut on his forefinger. The thumb wound was a pretty bad cut but he rejected the idea of going to the doctor to have it examined. That all changed early this morning.
After stumbling back to the bed, he mumbled that he was feeling dizzy. Honestly, I didn’t think much of it. However, fifteen minutes later, he was still reeling and started dry heaving. He felt really clammy and drained of color. Not wanting to wake Willow Grace and take her to the ER with us, we called his parents around 4, and his dad, who was in such a jovial mood for so early in the morning, arrived about 30 minutes later. Chris ended up with nothing more than a tetanus shot and a poorly rewrapped wound (no stitches) from the doctor although he was told that he really should have gone to the doctor yesterday. It was a deep cut that caused a lot of pain and blood loss, which is why he had all those other symptoms this morning.
On a totally different note…
I have just finished reading Looking for God in Harry Potter by John Granger, which I borrowed from a friend but now must purchase for myself since I really want to reread it and mark notations. First I must say that I greatly enjoy reading the Potter books, and Chris and I often listen to them in the car. We particularly like hearing Jim Dale; I’m amazed at his range in character voices. Anyway, the book I just finished was absolutely fascinating and clearly outlines how the stories clearly parallel the story of redemption and also contain an astounding amount of Christian symbolism. I suppose that I really shouldn’t have been surprised. It’s well known that JK Rowling had a classical education and is also a self-proclaimed Presbyterian (the intellects of the Christian world). I attended a Presbyterian college, and I would definitely say that I encountered a fair number of Hermione-like characters there. For those of you who love Harry Potter and certainly for those of you who shun the books because of “moral issues” I highly recommend this book.
A bit after three this morning, I awoke to find Chris absent from our bed. He was standing in front the bathroom sink doctoring his hand, which had started throbbing and bleeding in his sleep. Yesterday, while at work, he accidentally cut his thumb along the side of his nail and also sustained a small cut on his forefinger. The thumb wound was a pretty bad cut but he rejected the idea of going to the doctor to have it examined. That all changed early this morning.
After stumbling back to the bed, he mumbled that he was feeling dizzy. Honestly, I didn’t think much of it. However, fifteen minutes later, he was still reeling and started dry heaving. He felt really clammy and drained of color. Not wanting to wake Willow Grace and take her to the ER with us, we called his parents around 4, and his dad, who was in such a jovial mood for so early in the morning, arrived about 30 minutes later. Chris ended up with nothing more than a tetanus shot and a poorly rewrapped wound (no stitches) from the doctor although he was told that he really should have gone to the doctor yesterday. It was a deep cut that caused a lot of pain and blood loss, which is why he had all those other symptoms this morning.
On a totally different note…
I have just finished reading Looking for God in Harry Potter by John Granger, which I borrowed from a friend but now must purchase for myself since I really want to reread it and mark notations. First I must say that I greatly enjoy reading the Potter books, and Chris and I often listen to them in the car. We particularly like hearing Jim Dale; I’m amazed at his range in character voices. Anyway, the book I just finished was absolutely fascinating and clearly outlines how the stories clearly parallel the story of redemption and also contain an astounding amount of Christian symbolism. I suppose that I really shouldn’t have been surprised. It’s well known that JK Rowling had a classical education and is also a self-proclaimed Presbyterian (the intellects of the Christian world). I attended a Presbyterian college, and I would definitely say that I encountered a fair number of Hermione-like characters there. For those of you who love Harry Potter and certainly for those of you who shun the books because of “moral issues” I highly recommend this book.
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