Completely Dangerous

Okay, I can just see it. Guy takes his girlfriend out for a cheap meal before the hockey game, hands her a packet of hot sauce, and WHAM, finds he's just proposed. A $3.00 burrito just became 2 months salary (that's the estimated cost of an engagement ring, right? who thought that up anyway?) (Dumber proposals have happened)

Making it even harder, how does he explain that he doesn't want to marry her, even though he's inferring that she's "hot?"

Good Ol' INFP

Still me....

INFP - "Questor". High capacity for caring. Emotional face to the world. High sense of honor derived from internal values. 4.4% of total population.

Free Jung Personality Test (similar to Myers-Briggs/MBTI)

I love personality tests, but the Myers-Briggs has always rang the most true to me. They were always my favorite classes in college and grad school. I don't talk about it much, but when I grow up someday, I want to be a psychologist.

The first time I heard of this one was when my brother was telling me about it. He'd taken it at work, and when telling me about it, he was expounding why his type, ESTJ, was clearly the best. Of course, when I took it, I ended up being everything he disdained ..... I'm kind of proud of that.

I am however, just about convinced that most confessional Lutherans are ISTJs. Maybe that would make an interesting masters thesis.....

The Blue Ribbon Task Force Proposal

The District Conventions are starting, and that creates a good opportunity to reallly dig in and try to understand the Blue Ribbon Task Force Proposal for restructuring the Synod, right? After all, if we are going to completely restructure, we should fully understand it and be able to discuss it, right?

Scott Diekmann at Stand Firm has the testimonies of pastors who have just attended the North Dakota District Convention...that this is not the case. Please give this a read. It's going to be a long couple of years before this reaches the congregations, and so we all need to be up on it.

I also recommend reading the Blue Ribbon Task Force proposal and Pr. Matt Harrison's statement that is linked at the top right of my blog. It's a lot of reading, but VERY insightful. Pr. Harrison will be running for the office of president. I think he is the best hope we confessionals have had since Al Barry. God bless him, and I pray we all unite behind him.

Interesting Post

Fearsome Comrade over at "Cruising Down The Coast of the High Barbaree" presents some really interesting and impressive arguments on homosexual rights.

Getting to Know You

I got this from By Sun and Candlelight. I took out the ones that didn't apply, because it originally went around by email.

1. What is your occupation right now? Homeschooler/Homemaker. (the current research project I was working on is done..woohoo)
2. What color are your socks right now? I'm currently not wearing socks, or shoes for that matter.
3. What are you listening to right now. The sound of my computer fan and I can occasionally hear my husband typing in the next room.
4. What is the last thing you ate? A baked potato
5. Can you drive a stick shift? Yes I can, in fact, I prefer stick shift.
6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My husband called me from Wal-Mart
7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? I copied it off of a different blog
8. How old are you today? 37
9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? Baseball. Can't wait for things to start up again
10. What is your favorite drink? Non-alcoholic: iced tea. Alcoholic: Margaritas or Amaretto sours
11. Have you ever dyed your hair? yep
12. Favorite food? Sushi...nothing like a good golden roll.
13. What is the last movie you watched? Jeff and I watched a bit of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" while we were waiting for the kids to go to bed. The last whole one was probably "Casablanca" a few weeks ago.
14. Favorite day of the year? Easter
15. How do you vent anger? I storm and occasionally yell. I don't insult though. I have to get the physical energy out before I can really work through the problem.
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? My stuffed dog Chocolate. I still have him, though he no longer has a nose, because that was a convenient place to grab on.
17. What is your favorite season? Spring.
18. Cherries or Blueberries? Blueberries. Neither really top my list
19. Living arrangements? Parsonage -- 3 bedroom ranch house with full basement on the church property.
23. When was the last time you cried? Last week..
24. What is on the floor of your closet? My husband's shoes. Probably some clothes that have fallen off hangers.
26. What did you do last night? Went to the Higher Things Reception and saw old friends and had a beer.
27. What are you most afraid of? Parties. I'm practically phobic if I don't REALLY know some people there.
28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? Plain. Though my husband adds cinnamon or curry to the meat, and they are EXCELLENT
29. Favorite dog breed? My best dog ever was a border collie, but I'm rather fond of my Catahoula Leopard Dog.
30. Favorite day of the week? Friday. Jeff is off and we get to hang out. We don't do school lessons on Friday.
31. How many states have you lived in? Nevada, California, Utah, Arizona, and Indiana -- so five.
32. Diamonds or pearls? Pearls. My mother gave me her pearls when I got married.
33. What is your favorite flower? Plumeria or Beauganvilla.
34. Favorite Hobby? Reading, but blogging is a close 2nd.
35. Have you ever tried singing Karaoke? Nope

Walking Together

A few days ago, I attended a conference at Redeemer in Fort Wayne. For those of you who don't know of it, Redeemer has the reputation of being one of the most "high liturgical" churches in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. Some aspects of the level of ceremony would throw your average liturgical Lutheran into a tailspin. I love it, but know that this is Redeemer. It would somehow not fit in my congregation and probably not yours, either. But Redeemer is there, letting all of us know that yes, this is beautifully Lutheranism as well.

At some point in the service, sitting in the chapel, I looked around. Most of the people there were pastors from various congregations. It was so crowded (close to 50) that we were fitting four of us on a corner pew that was probably meant to seat 2 comfortably (and I am more woman than many) and we were sitting 4, including my daughter on my lap. Because of this, Chris and I didn't even bother opening our hymnal for the liturgy and I was wonderfully surprised that my six year old didn't seem to have much problem either. I love reciting the liturgy from memory...I flub a word here or there occasionally, but it allows me to concentrate on what I am saying. When I am reading off of a page, it can go through my eyes and to my lips without my really ever thinking about what I am saying.

Anyway, staring at the hymnal, I began thinking. I am in a room with people representing at least twelve Lutheran congregations. We don't all use the same hymnal, and as much as I believe the new hymnal is wonderful, the fact that we aren't all looking at a burgundy cover every Sunday isn't THAT important. For the most part, the liturgy is the same, with the exception of some thees and thous. The reality of how unified we are in practice became very powerful, despite the fact that some were genuflecting or other observations you wouldn't find in every Lutheran congregation. I could be in that service and know completely what is going on and fully respond because we were all saying the same words that I say in my own congregation, in every congregation I have ever been a member of. There was no feeling completely out of my element while I figured out what I was supposed to do.

Going back a year to when my husband and I attended an installation of a friend down south, where they use blended worship, it was COMPLETELY different. There was no way I could've sat there and appreciated all of this because I was too busy scrutinizing the changeable music and the confession of faith that applied to THIS week in order to even deduce that we were of a common faith, even though there was the LCMS symbol on the sign outside.

Thinking about that grieved me in realizing how many people aren't aware of how precious a gift our liturgy is. It feeds us with God's Word, it focuses us on Word and Sacrament, and it unites us all in common practice not only in location, but in time since the liturgy is historic and has come to us from the Early Church. No wonder Satan works so hard to convince us to be bored with it or to disdain it.