I'm Still Breathing.....Believe it Or Not

May has just been tumultuous....it always is. For a couple of weeks, I just didn't seem to have anything to inspire me. Last week, I was just too frazzled. This week, I have so much I want to write about that I can't seem to start....but be assured, I am still here and will write soon!

I came across this in the Large Catechism.....thought it was something to chew on for a while.

"Since the children are baptized and received into the Christian Church, they should also enjoy this communion of the Sacrament, in order that they may serve us and be useful to us. They must all certainly help us to believe, love, pray, and fight against the devil."

Martin Luther - Large Catechism, Sacrament of the Altar

The Difference Between a Lutheran Homeschool Retreat and an Evangelical Homeschool Retreat.....

This week, several of the Lutheran homeschoolers from the email list that I belonged to made the (almost) annual pilgrimage from surrounding areas to the seminary in Fort Wayne for a few days. It was unbelievably nice.

I don't think many of these women know what they mean to me. They have at times been my sanity through the many times they have shared their wisdom, included me in their prayers, or shared their weaknesses so that my imperfections didn't weigh so heavily, either. I view their words daily....I see their faces only a few times a year.

I live so close to the seminary, that I don't stay there for the retreat, so it is a bit disorienting what it does to life for a few days....all of a sudden, without my surroundings really changing, my life is filled with things that are drastically different...daily liturgical worship and theological talks replace typing on the keyboard and school books; the comparative quiet is replaced by hoards of children and all the joys and controversies that come with it; and for goodness sakes, we went shopping at "the 'nice' Goodwill" for fun !!(who'd think that was possible??)

I've been to several homeschooling activities before with other groups, but I've only experienced Lutheran homeschooling with these people....and it is always a blessing. I would say the one thing that was missing was the male presence that had been at previous ones. I think having our heads of household there helps things keep sane. We had a couple of dads there, including my husband when he could, but the male presence was sorely missed.

But, getting back to the title of this entry......one of the joyous differences with a Lutheran retreat that you miss out on at any other.....

Chocolate martinis after Compline.

(hey, Martinis could be a Lutheran drink anyway....they have the name of our beloved church father!)

The Year was 1989......

Okay, I decided to revisit yesterday when I saw a post from Indiana Jane's Journal. These are the top 100 hits from the year I graduated from high school....1989. What I found was it was better forgotten. 1989 was one of those "cusp" years. It was leaving the really cool, anti-reality (see Talking Heads, Mr. Roboto, Oingo Boingo, etc.) songs of most of the 1980s and going into the sappy, self-pitty crud of the 1990's. What else can you say about a year where Milli Vanilli and Bobby Brown made the list 5 times, not to mention that killer come-back by Donny Osmond!?????

I guess I did have a few favorites that tapped into my dramatic, 17 year old heart. After all, 1989 was the year I first fell in love (Richard Marx had love song claim to that short relationship) and still some others managed to touch my overdramatic 17 year old heart. My favorites are in bold.

so here we go: Welcome to 1989:

1. Look Away, Chicago (this was #1???? GAG)
2. My Prerogative, Bobby Brown
3. Every Rose Has Its Thorn, Poison
4. Straight Up, Paula Abdul
5. Miss You Much, Janet Jackson
6. Cold Hearted, Paula Abdul (this was the song that epitomized the breakup with my first love)
7. Wind Beneath My Wings, Bette Midler
8. Girl You Know Its True, Milli Vanilli
9. Baby, I Love Your Way/Freebird, Will To Power
10. Giving You The Best That I Got, Anita Baker
11. Right Here Waiting, Richard Marx (then, when I felt sad about it all)
12. Waiting For A Star To Fall, Boy Meets Girl
13. Lost In Your Eyes, Debbie Gibson (he had nice eyes)
14. Don't Wanna Lose You, Gloria Estefan
15. Heavan, Warrant
16. Girl I'm Gonna Miss You, Milli Vanilli
17. The Look, Roxette
18. She Drives Me Crazy, Fine Young Cannibals
19. On Our Own, Bobby Brown
20. Two Hearts, Phil Collins
21. Blame It On The Rain, Milli Vanilli
22. Listen To Your Heart, Roxette (when he's calling for you...why won't he call?)
23. I'll Be There For You, Bon Jovi
24. If You Don't Know Me By Now, Simply Red
25. Like A Prayer, Madonna
26. I'll Be Loving You (Forever), New Kids On The Block
27. How Can I Fall?, Breathe
28. Baby Don't Forget My Number, Milli Vanilli
29. Toy Soldier, Martika
30. Forever Your Girl, Paula Abdul
31. The Living Years, Mike and the Mechanics
32. Eternal Flame, The Bangles (will it ever go away???)
33. Wild Thing, Tone Loc
34. When I See You Smile, Bad English
35. If I Could Turn Back Time, Cher
36. Buffalo Stance, Neneh Cherry 3
7. When I'm With You, Sheriff
38. Don't Rush Me, Taylor Dayne
39. Born To Be My Baby, Bon Jovi
40. Good Thing, Fine Young Cannibals
41. The Lover In Me, Sheena Easton
42. Bust A Move, Young M.C.
43. Once Bitten, Twice Shy, Great White
44. Batdance, Prince
45. Rock On, Michael Damian
46. Real Lov, Jody Watley
47. Love Shack, B-52's (well, I still did have some fun)
48. Every Little Step, Bobby Brown
49. Hangin' Tough, New Kids On The Block
50. My Heart Can't Tell You No, Rod Stewart
51. So Alive, Love and Rockets
52. You Got It (The Right Stuff), New Kids On The Block
53. Armageddon It, Def Leppard
54. Satisfied, Richard Marx
55. Express Yourself, Madonna
56. I Like It, Dino
57. Soldier Of Love, Donny Osmond
58. Sowing The Seeds Of Love, Tears For Fears
59. Cherish, Madonna
60. When The Children Cry, White Lion
61. 18 And Life, Skid Row
62. I Don't Want Your Love, Duran Duran
63. Second Chances, .38 Special
64. The Way You Love Me, Karyn White
65. Funky Cold Medina, Tone Loc
66. In Your Room, Bangles
67. Miss You Like Crazy, Natalie Cole
68. Love Song, Cure
69. Secret Rendesvous, Karyn White
70. Angel Eyes, Jeff Healey Band
71. Patience, Guns N' Roses
72. Walk On Water, Eddie Money
73. Cover Girl, New Kids On The Block
74. Welcom To The Jungle, Guns N' Roses
75. Shower Me With Your Love, Surface
76. Stand, R.E.M.
77. Close My Eyes Forever, Lita Ford
78. All This Time, Tiffany
79. After All, Cher and Peter Cetera
80. Roni, Bobby Brown
81. Love In An Elevator, Aerosmith
82. Lay Your Hands On Me, Bon Jovi
83. This Promise, When In Rome
84. What I Am, Edie Brickell and The New Bohemians
85. I Remember Holding You, Boys Club (I could cry now....ok, not really)
86. Paradise City, Guns N' Roses
87. Iwanna Have Some Fun, Samantha Fox (and more fun...man this song stinks)
88. She Wants To Dance With Me, Rick Astley
89. Dreamin', Vanessa Williams
90. It's No Crime, Babyface
91. Poison, Alice Cooper
92. This Time I Know It's For Real, Donna Summer
93. Smooth Criminal, Michael Jackson
94. Heavan Help Me, Deon Estus
95. Rock Wit'cha, Bobby Brown
96. Thinking Of You, Sa-fire
97. What You Don't Know, Expose
98. Surrender To Me, Ann Wilson and Robin Zander
99. The End Of The Innocence, Don Henley (no...we didn't...just a cool song)
100. Keep On Movin', Soul II Soul


Wow....you can tell in my song choices....a 3 month Summer Camp relationship and 9 months of brooding about it. Worked with him for 2 days up at Summer camp again, and I was completely over him. LOL. Well, my next Summer Camp relationship worked much better...I married him (3rd time is a charm).

But like I said, the music was bad. I guess I spent most of that year listening to cassette tapes (gasp). Jane's list was much cooler.

Sitting in church on Good Friday, my 3 1/2 year old daughter was very antsy, so I was drawing on a little notepad with her. I'd just finished drawing a triangle, so I drew a circle. Maggie studied it with a detail that I had not expected. She knows her shapes.

"If you draw two of those, you can draw a bra." she finally whispered, more loudly than I would've liked. "Draw a bra, Mommy."

"No, Maggie." I said.

"Please?" she said.

I shook my head no, so she took the pad from me to try out her theory. She quickly drew two circles next to each other, then studied her picture for a minute...then quickly added lots of lines coming off from it. "Its a strap bra."

Other parents get pictures of the pastor, or the cross, or flowers and rainbows......I get a bra..... :)

Maundy Thursday

Sitting in the pew listening to the sermon last night, I had an "aha" moment. My husband was preaching about how the old covenant was replaced with the new.....the blood of the bull replaced with the blood of Christ. He described what it must have been like to have Moses walk through the masses for the first time, having the blood flung across the masses, people feeling it hit their faces - soak into their clothes......and then he went on about how Moses went up to Mount Sinai, and the Children of Israel almost immediately made a new god...a calf. How they chose to worship the life that came from the bull itself, rather than the God that gave life.....

......at that moment, my 3 year old insisted she needed to go to the bathroom (don't they always have great timing?) So I could only ponder what I last heard. All of a sudden, it occurred to me WHY the golden calf was ground up and given to the people of Israel to drink.

When I go up to commune, I am partaking of the very Body and Blood of Christ. Making the Children of Israel partake of the powdery "flesh" of the golden calf says "If you are going to choose a different god, partake of it. It will not help you, it will not nourish you, it will only bring destruction." As Christians, we partake of the true Body and Blood of Christ. We become one in His body. We receive the Holy Spirit and the forgiveness of sins. The Children of Israel only received more condemnation and death after they drank the water that contained the "body" of the calf.

This realization of this was powerful. Praise be to Christ who died on the cross for our sins and rose so that we also may rise.....and who feeds us with his own Body and Blood so that we may find peace and continue to grow in Him.

Calvin and Hobbes - Which Am I


A Bit Of BothYou are 60% Calvin and 40% Hobbes


Calvin & Hobbes, like a scruffy yin and yang, are in perfect balance within you. Like Calvin, you're weird, a bit insecure, and can be a trouble-maker. But like Hobbes, you're down to earth and sensitive. It's a risk to say it here, after just a ten question test, but I'll bet you're smarter than most. Both Calvin and Hobbes are crafty, clever characters, and any one made from equal parts of each is a force to be reckoned with.


I was completely torn on whether or not to take this quiz that is at www.okcupid.com, much less post it. I am a Calvin and Hobbes fan. The characters fascinate me, amuse me, and speak to my heart. But the cartoonist has made EVERY sane effort, and a few insane ones not to let the image be marketed because he didn't want the purity and innocence of a mischievous boy and his stuffed tiger not be contaminated by crass commercialism.

If you have seen a a Calvin on a t-shirt, mug, etc it is AN ILLEGAL USE OF THE IMAGE......no ifs ands or buts about it. It doesn't matter if he's peeing on a Chevy symbol or if he's kneeling before a cross.....it is STEALING. Bill Watterson does not want you using what he has worked so hard to create.

I remember in college, one of the candidates for student body president put out a Calvin campaign shirt. Somehow Bill Watterson got a hold of the fact, and threatened to sue them. He protects his work vehemently, and if he has chosen not to make money off of such things (which he could've made a FORTUNE), he has more right than anyone to insist that no one else does either. Since he would rather not have the image be used rather than pay for it....I respect his right and his integrity and will not use the images either.

I finally came up with the fact that discussing Calvin and Hobbes, however, is completely right, because some of the things Calvin and that adorable tiger have had to say about life are worth discussing (and Watterson did not come up with the personality criteria...Gwendolyn Books did). If there is anything to this test at all, or even if it is just fun....I'm proud to be a good mix of both (or a very troublesome mix of both at times!)