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More clues to who we are…

Radioblogger’s comments today fit in nicely with my ongoing thread on who are the people who came out in droves to re-elect President Bush ( See 1 and 2). So far, it has been my contention that it is a cop-out to claim that a vast “evangelical Christian” horde descended on the polls on Election Day. I don’t believe that. I think that many people of varying faiths and backgrounds chose Bush as president because of national security issues and not because of values.

Radioblogger’s post recaps Michael Moore’s recent visit to Jay Leno and well-illustrates that “we” are the ones who don’t think elections are games (or at least not anymore). He writes:

Then the money question and quote. Jay asked why Michael thought Kerry didn’t win. Michael said, “I think Bush got more votes, but there’s another game in four years, and we’ll do the best we can.”

He admitted that the election process is just a game. If you go back to the radioblogger archives all the way back to October 8, or
here for the rest of you lazy people, I mentioned that politics was like this country’s real national pastime, except that after 9/11, the playing field had changed. The Democrats still thought of the election as the “big game”, while the Republicans realized that it wasn’t a game anymore. The election really meant something this time.

Michael just proved my point.

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Independent Spirit Posted by Hello

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My dearest daughter,

As I look back over the past 15 1/2 years, I cannot begin to explain to you just how much joy you have brought me. From the minute you were born, I sensed a special bond that we would always share. In those first years. I never wanted to leave you for very long- I didn’t want to miss a minute with you! You were always such an animated child with such a wonderful imagination. We had endless fun together as you would put on elaborate musicals, enlisting your little brother to play second to your lead role.

As you grew, I could sense your independent spirit. I encouraged that independence in you, but always reminded you to remember others, to depend on God for your strength and to be accountable for your actions. I wanted you to be able to think for yourself and learn to make your own decisions. I wanted to you to be strong. Strong enough in your own right to withstand peer pressure. Strong enough to stand up for what you believe in. Strong enough to serve God in any way He might call you. And smart enough to admit that you are a sinner in need of a savior. As I look at you, standing on the brink of adulthood, I can honestly say that I completed my task. You ARE strong. You ARE independent. You cling to God’s Son, Jesus, for your salvation. I’m so proud of the woman have become. If I died today, I know in my heart that you would go on to be the woman of God I know you are already.

You have 3 1/2 years left in our house, then four more years at college. In high school, college and beyond, you will be faced with many choices. Choices that will affect the rest of your life. I believe in you to make good choices. Choices that will keep you close to God. Choices that will bring you a good future. God has a plan for your life.

In Jeremiah 29:11, God is speaking to you as He says, “I have a plan for YOU,” declares the Lord, “Plans to prosper you, not to harm you. Plans to give you a future and a hope.” He also says, in John 10: 14: “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.

I believe in you! God knows you and you know Him. Go out into this world and make a difference.

Love always,

Mom

Thoughts on a Monday…

Matins Service

I love the Matins service. Two years ago I couldn’t have named a single service type. Now I treasure my hymnal and am learning what a treasure-filled resource it is. I even want to purchase my own hymnal. Anyway, my favorite service format has become the Matins. I think it is because it is so sweet and simple, yet so fulfilling.

Bifocals

Why me? I laughed at my mom, twenty years ago, when she thought those “Longer-arm Store” radio commercials for a local vision store were so funny. I told myself that would never happen to me. Now it’s my turn and it ain’t funny. I get up in the morning, shower, dress and go to my jewelry box to pick out earrings. I CANNOT SEE the earrings. I know they are in there, but everything is blurry. Sunday mornings, I CANNOT READ the hymnal unless I hold it at arms length. So, I bought these bifocals in bendable pink plastic. My daughter chuckles. I know exactly what she is thinking! Oh well, I comfort myself with the fact that Oprah has 22 pair and counting.

Family Advent Devotions online.

The ELS has a web page for Family Advent Devotions. Below is the first week.

The First Week of Advent

Prayer of the Week
Come, Thou precious Ransom, come,Only Hope for sinful mortals!Come, O Savior of the world!Open are to Thee all portals.Come, Thy beauty let us see;Anxiously we wait for Thee. Amen. (ELH 88:1)

Sunday, November 28
When the time was right, God sent His Son to redeem us. Galatians 4: 1-7

Monday, November 29
It was prophesied that Jesus would be born of a virgin. Isaiah 7:10-16

Tuesday, November 30
It was prophesied that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. Micah 5:1-7

Wednesday, December 1
False christs will appear before Jesus’ second coming. Matthew 24:1-7

Thursday, December 2
David prophesied concerning Christ’s kingdom. Psalm 110:1-7

Friday, December 3
Jesus predicts affliction for the believers before His second coming. Matthew 24:8-14

Saturday, December 4
Christ’s birth would bring peace and happiness. Isaiah 9:1-7

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TV Dinner turns 50 years old! Posted by Hello

I missed the 50th Anniversary of the TV Dinner! I have fond memories of TV dinners. If my mom came home from the grocery store with TV dinners, that meant she and dad were going out soon and my brother and I would have a babysitter. I don’t remember if we were excited about having the TV dinners, which were always eaten on TV trays right in front of the TV, or excited about the babysitter. When I was young - between 5 and 10 years old- we rarely ate out, so I think we thought of TV dinners as exciting. My mom also limited how much TV we watched, so the TV dinners also meant we would be allowed to watch television that night. Mom and dad going out for the evening had a basic procedure.

1. Mom and dad get ready to go. This was always exciting. My mom, as most moms, didn’t work outside of the home, so she didn’t spend lots of time curling her hair or putting on makeup each day. She always looked nice, but she looked very pretty when she and dad would go out.

2. The babysitter arrives and instructions are given. I think the television was usually on by this time and my brother and I were already entertained. I never sat still much, so I’d bounce between the television and the babysitter.

3. The TV dinners would go into the oven right away. There was some procedure for making sure the applesauce didn’t get too hot.

4. The TV trays were set up in front of us. We sat on the couch.

5. We enjoyed our TV dinners. The meal was the same for years - turkey or chicken, corn, mashed potatoes and apple dessert.

Still putting up Christmas lights…

3rd Place in Thanksgiving Hockey Tournament


The team that kept us out of the championship game! Game was tied 1-1; they played two sudden death overtime periods and then lost the game in a shoot out. When you are on the losing side, that seems a dumb way to lose a game. I’m sure we wouldn’t think so if we had been on the winning side of the shootout. Oh well! Posted by Hello

BBC’s Advent Calendar

Beautiful interactive Advent Calendar, courtesy of the BBC. (hat tip to Clint)

Happy Thanksgiving

I am thankful that you are reading this post!

Check out my growing list of Thanksgiving posts from around the blogosphere. Create your own montage and I’ll link to it!

FM107’s A Balanced Breakfast show with Ian and Margery Punnett

If I am giving thanks, I cannot forget to give thanks to the people who put on the best morning radio show since Boone and Erickson. Ian and Margery Punnett host a husband and wife morning radio show that is the best-kept secret in radio today. I’ve encouraged them to find a way to share their show with a larger audience, perhaps through satellite or live-streaming. Ian was already well-known in radio before moving to a start-up radio station, FM107. Margery, who has already worked extensively in television, is currently using her talents to raise two beautiful boys. I’ve never actually met their sons, but from the on-air descriptions everyone is sure they are beautiful inside and out.

My sister and I go clubbing!

My sister, Kerry, and I are faithful listeners to FM107’s morning show. No surprise to my readers that I call in frequently to share my opinions with the listeners. (My blogger- friend, Terrie, puts it so well on her blog: everyone is entitled to my opinions!) My sister usually just listens since her kids are younger and need more of her direct help in the morning. My kids are somewhat more independent and I can usually squeeze in a call if the topic interests me. Anyway, I won tickets to a Jem concert through FM107 last week. I didn’t even want the tickets, since I haven’t been to a downtown Minneapolis night club since I was 19 years old. However, I started to think about my hard-working, divorced mom of two, college student and cherished sister of mine and decided I would treat her to a night out.

We were a little nervous to venture downtown on our own, because we ususally depend on the men in our family to provide the perceived safety that we require. We are, after all, suburban moms and not trendy city moms. We reminded ourselves that other young women were headed into the city tonight with absolutely no plan in their heads. So we headed downtown to The Quest Club with a MapQuest map in our hands. We found the club pretty easily and also found parking right across the street. There was a long line to get into the club, but it was a pleasant wait with mild temps and a starry sky. The people in line were definitely older than 21, so we didn’t feel that out of place. Inside of the club, we discovered oversized Victorian and Greek decor, a painted ceiling with sparkling lights and a huge water fountain. There were very few seats and we had to stand for the concert. I paid $10.25 for two small drinks that were nearly straight alcohol, so we sipped them very slowly. The club was loud, smoky and crammed with people, but I had good company!

The first act played, Blue Merle. They looked so young and we enjoyed their music. I haven’t check the lyrics out yet, but the songs seemed to be positive. I think they will become more well-known, but maybe a glowing review from a 44 year old suburban mom will be the kiss of death! If you click on their link above, you will see a photo of them. I met the boy in the back, Beau Stapleton, at the CD counter. He apologized that his CD only cost $5.00, but he said their new album was coming out in February 2005 and it would cost more. (Dan - he was planning to be a geologist…read his bio!) I had him autograph his 6 song CD, so I hope he does become famous. I shook his hand and told him he did a good job - I’m such a mom!

The highlight of the night, for my sister and I, occurred sometime between Blue Merle and JEM. Two figures walked quickly past us. My sister pointed and said, “That’s Ian Punnett!”. She turned to me and said, “Do you think we should say hi?”. I don’t know if it was the few sips of straight vodka, but I grabbed my purse and her hand and jumped up. We practically ran up to them and I announced, “You’ve just got to say hi to us!”. What a great opening line! I have such great social skills! Good thing they are friendly people. In fact, we talked on and off to them the rest of the night. Ian and Margery are the same in person as they are on the radio. They are genuine, fun and interesting people.

Jem was good, but the noise had increased (along with the smoke level) so that we couldn’t hear but a few words of each song. I bought her CD also, so I will evaluate her music later. She’s a talented singer and will probably become more famous, especially since her music is featured on the new show (that I refuse to watch), Desparate Housewives. My sister and I left halfway through her gig because of the smoke and noise. Besides, the kids kept calling and it was late (11pm). We had already had enough fun to last us until the next time we venture out of suburbia. Thanks, Kerry, for being my sister. I can’t imagine my life without you. I love you.

Thanksgiving Quiz

You Are the Stuffing

You’re complicated and complex, yet all your pieces fit together.
People miss you if you’re gone - but they’re not sure why.

What Part of Thanksgiving Are You?

I got STUFFING. Who wants to be stuffing? Even my 15 year old daughter got stuffing. Must run in the family. I like the part where it says that people would miss me, but not really know why. I’m so unappreciated in this world. More correctly, people appreciate me, but they just don’t know why!

Cranberries

Remembering the Great Cranberry Scare of 1959??? From Tech Central Station, Dr. Elizabeth Whelan writes…

Forty-five years ago this week, in November, 1959, most Americans celebrated Thanksgiving sans cranberry sauce. Earlier that month, Health, Education and Welfare Secretary Arthur Fleming had announced that traces of the weed killer aminotriazole–a chemical that caused cancer in rodents–had been found in the cranberry crop. The spokesman urged housewives to “be on the safe side” and refrain from buying cranberries because the rodent data suggested that the “contaminated” cranberries could pose a human cancer risk. New York City’s health commissioner, among others, joined the chorus of those who advised “against the use of berries until they could be tested for contamination.”
Headlines in newspapers across the country read “Government Warns Cranberry Buyers” and “All Cranberries Face nationwide U.S. Test” and “Cranberry Sales Curbed; U.S. Widens Taint Check.”

Cranberry growers were furious. While most industries and manufacturers under attack by environmental critics today remain mute, just hoping the scare will

Thankful for Blogosphere

I Don’t Know You, but I Owe You by Terrie Rosas. Terrie’s blog is one you should check weekly. She’s a busy mom, wife, worker (see the caption at the top of this blog). She’s not a daily blogger; when she writes, it is something of substance. She makes me laugh, she makes me think, she makes me cry… she makes me jealous of her writing skills that are far above most of us everyday pundits. I am very grateful that she blesses the blogosphere with her God-given talents for expressing the thoughts of an everyday citizen of this great country. Terrie is also thankful for you! She writes…

When I inventory my blessings this Thanksgiving, the blogosphere will receive special attention. I am so grateful for this free and open venue where anyone can express their opinions without having to raise their hand or wait their turn. The talent and generosity of bloggers are awesome and every voice is welcomed. I may never meet any of you, but I am honored to share with you the community of ideas.

Once again, Terrie says it well; she put into words the thoughts in my head. Did you read the whole post to see my name? How cool is that?

    The Night Before Thanksgiving

    Tim Nelson from Blobjects by Timman gives us, in Fresh From the Garage, a view into his household on the day before Thanksgiving. His household is bustling with preparations and he gets to blog!

    Giving Thanks

    What I am Thankful for by Donald Sensing.

    Myths of Thanksgiving

    Rick Shenkman, editor of the History News Network tells us about the Top Ten Myths of Thanksgiving

      2004:The Year of Who’s Blog is Bigger

      More evidence of 2004: Year of the Blogger.

      Gene Veith and Lynn Vincent write an excellent column on the Year of the Blog. Can I accuse them, nationally-known and well-respected writers of stealing my post title or being inspired by my post from October 28th, 2004: Year of the Blogger or the riveting sequel, The Year of the Blogger Continues…? Probably not. I certainly wasn’t the first to use that phrase; in fact, I got it from Terrie at EveryOpinion blog. Besides, World Magazine’s got the big, fancy website and I’ve just got this cute little blog. So, it’s actually the Year of Who’s Blog is Bigger, I guess. It’s a very well-written and original article. Veith and Vincent’s article focuses more on Hugh Hewitt and the many evangelical blogs he inspired. It also gives a nice consise history of blogging. Good article to check out!