arrogance and authority

1 Samuel 15:23 ~ For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.

My Mom liked to quote this verse a lot growing up. Now that I'm older and watching events unfold in our country, I'm beginning to understand how vital the Judea-Christian concepts of authority and respect for God-given authority are to the well-being of a democracy. Leaders do have high standards of conduct to which they should adhere. And when they don't adhere to those standards they should be held accountable. (The above reference is actually the prophet Samuel talking to Saul, and the remainder of the verse tells him he is losing the right to be King.)
Abuse of authority is a terrible thing.
Yet too many times I see people rebelling to authority, or being stubborn about submitting to requests. I agree that there are policemen in our country who have not lived in accordance with the law and abused the authority they have. But I don't think that gives us citizens a right to rebel and be stubborn against reasonable demands and requests. Doing so not only undermines a policeman's authority, but it is blatantly rude and disrespectful.
For all the people who claim the role of victim to police power abuse, I would love to know how many of those rebelled against simple commands or requests. I can certainly understand why a person would request to see verification of a policeman's badge, but to demand to see a badge and name so you can report them to their superiors is an insult, not a right. If a policemen walked up to my house and asked me to step outside, I would be nervous and concerned, but that's not an unreasonable request.
Maybe it all goes back to Philippians 4:8 and discerning what is right and true, but if we showed the authority the respect they deserved, then they might not abuse the power they have.

3 days and counting

Sunday afternoon we will load up and head out on a grand adventure for our 10th anniversary...WE'RE GOING TO WASHINGTON, DC!!! Bobby's actually been twice before and has toured the White House and seen a few other historic things, but he's never done it with me. :O) I'm excited about going. Thanks to Senator Burr's helpful staff, we have a scheduled tour of the Capitol Building and as of Tuesday, have been worked into a group touring the White House. I am so excited!!! There's a whole list of things we hope to do, but the only thing requiring a reserved time slot/ticket that we don't have yet is for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Once your representative's office has given out their share, everyone else must stand in line at the ticket counter (which opens 8am) for a ticket for that day only. I've seen in some tour books that tickets for the day are usually all given out by 10am. But we'll give it a try on Tuesday and Wednesday, and if it doesn't work, then it's just not meant to be. Now if I can just get all the clothes washed and ready!

from fun to chores

Where is it along life's path that we cross the unseen line where fun activities become chores?
For example, as a small child there was nothing I liked better than to help my grandmother with the dishes. To move up from drying and putting away to the rinsing station was quite the achievement. Yet by the time I reached washing status and it became chore at home to be done three times a week, suddenly there was little about washing the dishes I liked.
There are other things I wished for and longed to to growing up, but when the time arrived, I found it wasn't as wonderful as I had thought. The activity hadn't changed, but my perception of it certainly did!
The grown-up part of me says it's because my values of time changed as well as an increase in responsibilities, but sometimes I wonder. Could it be the repetition of the task, or realization it was "work" instead of a privilege?
Which leads me to ponder whether or not we truly understand what a privilege is. Take washing dishes, again. I don't have to boil my water. I simply open the tap and out comes clean, usable, hot water. And to top it off, it goes into a sink, not a portable tub that must be hauled from place to place. Not only that, but I also have dish soap that actually bubbles and helps clean. I don't have to use just water and elbow grease. How spoiled can I be?
I'm not exactly sure why washing dishes stopped being a status to attain, but I'm thinking perhaps I need to regain that child-like mentality and get on with it.

hehehe

My dearest darling received the following at work several months ago and sent it to me, wanting to know if I had written it. It does sound like me, but unfortunately I can't claim credit.

Today at my physical I inquired about some myths I've heard. And here's what the doctor had to say:
Q: I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life; is this true?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?
A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A: Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc.

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A: Can't think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain...Good!
Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?
A: YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!! .... Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they're permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?
Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.
Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A: Are you crazy? HELLO Cocoa beans! Another vegetable!!! It's the best feel-good food around!

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales.

a week in review

When your 5 year old niece holds your camera, you will get: self-portraits
unflattering pictures of Aunt Monica attempting to replace batteries

and pictures of her feet because "it's funny".
When your 9 yr old nephew takes pictures with your camera, you get:self-portraits pictures of his now irritated sister (but I don't WANT you to take my picture!)

and his thumb because "that's cool".

And then Aunt Monica takes the camera because we've FINALLY arrived at Hidden Valley Wonders, where I had my days mixed up and we came on the WRONG DAY, but Mrs. Dottie and her girls graciously give us the tour anway, we get the following pictures:

everybody with their favorite animals

the bunny

everyone's favorite activity (until Nicole introduced them to the spinning swing)

and one of the few games played outside of hide and seek with Uncle Bobby and foosball with Aunt Monica

and the not so loveable bunny that's been eating the cabbage in my garden...sigh

nature 2 Monica 0

My day is not going as planned.
I had some outdoor projects and yard work I needed to tackle and hoped to finish at 10:30am.
It's now 10:00am and I am on my second "break" and have been stymied TWICE.

After a minor discussion of exactly WHERE the new chicken pen is going to go, I finished placing the boards and began spray painting the lines (this was step one). I'm 3/4 finished when I look up and see a branch stuck in the upper window of the chicken house. I took one step closer and it wiggled. I scream loud and long and repetitively for Bobby, who has gone back inside to do his job's work. He doesn't hear me. I run inside and yell for him. He finally comes out, and by this time the snake is no longer in the window. I'm not adventurous enough to lift the roof side near the nesting boxes where he was, so we open the nesting pole side, and see the snake on the opposing side nestled up in the far corner. It's a young black snake (also known as rat snakes or farmer's snakes because they eat mice and other small crop predators), about 24" long and about a dime's width in diameter. Bobby thinks I should just reach in and grab him out since he's harmless, but I poke him with the hoe handle through the open roof. He slithers out the edge of the nesting box (that's how I know how long he was) and drops into a hole...UNDER THE CHICKEN HOUSE!!!! I lock the dogs up, turn the chickens out, move both house and pen, and discover this snake has a tunnel (I'm assuming). There's the hole inside, two small holes outside in the pen, and a smaller hole outside of everything.
Step two of this project is to plow the lines up (the fence has to go underground due to predators). That means at some point I have to plow across the tunnel; this does not appeal to me at all!
SO, I do what I do best. I start another project! I grabbed the hoe and started tackling weeds among the flowers and the little shed. After the second or third whack, I start hearing a buzzing, just like I did in the garden. I change locations, having had unpleasant reactions to stings before, and the noise only gets louder. I put the hoe down in hopes of spotting where the buzzing sounds originates. The noise almost immediately stops. I pick the hoe up, and nothing. I start to hoe, and it becomes even louder. I throw the hoe down, and spot two holes at various points in the handle. We most likely have carpenter bees. When I told Bobby we needed a new hoe, he told me to take it to the pond and submerge it. It should then work just fine.
For now the hoe is still on the ground in front of the shed. I might tackle the tilling next.
I won't go to the gym today.
I've had enough cardio, I think.

the aging process

This week I had the wonderful opportunity of having my little sister and her family stay with us for most of the week. Watching my youngest niece is like pulling into the vaults of my memory and seeing glimpses of my grandmother's personality and character traits and body structure of my eldest niece, who is now in high school. We will miss her kisses, hugs, smile and questions. Another highlight from this week was getting to know my nephew's personality a little better. One of our fun activities was letting them design t-shirts for an iron-on transfer. He continuously amazed me with his sense of layout and design. Wouldn't it be cool if twenty years down the road the two of us could have our own graphic design company?
Other events from this week:

• countless games of "chase" with Uncle Bobby
• Carly's Toy Store
• table football
• Hidden Valley Wonders
• fishing
• the geese/dog/chicken conversations and chore time
• meals
• water balloons & more
• our brief shopping trip

I don't envy their drive on the long road home, though my heart yearns to connect all those dots with each year that passes. Yes, Sweet Home Alabama wouldn't be so sweet without the many faces that make it so dear.