Travel light

I read this piece, The Tao of Travel,  and was highly motivated by Leo Babauta's ability to pack light. I've done it before, not quite to his level, but I've been tempted more than once to throw caution to the wind and go for it: pack the least that I can get away with. This weekend seemed to be the perfect time. I was meeting friends to see Beth Moore in Columbus and staying with them overnight at the home of one of their daughters.

I grabbed my backpack and tossed in my regular travel 1quart baggie, my small makeup bag, a clean top, pjs, socks, and my Bible. Before walking out the door, I grabbed the charger for my cellphone, my knitting, and the wristband I needed to entry into the event.

I am proud to say that I used every single item that I took with me. There was nothing extraneous.  There was, however, something I missed. As I neared Schottenstein Arena the thought occurred to me, "Did you pack underwear?"

Drat!

Simple Black Coffee

It's not what he said that got my attention. It's the title of his blog: Simple Black Coffee. I looked at the title. I looked at my coffee with milk and artificial sweetener and suddenly the latter felt very wrong.

I know that artificial anything is not good for you, but I use the "pink stuff". You know the one that was villainized in reports of rats getting cancer after the equivalent of 80 cans of pop ("soda" for the rest of you) a day.

"I don't drink 80 cans of pop. I'm fine," I rationalize.

Today's coffee is sweetener free. We'll talk about the milk later. After all, I need my calcium.

Finding Balance

I've run across some bloggers lately who are reigniting my thoughts about simplifying my life. I poke at the concept from time to time, but it's never seemed as real as it does now. I wonder if it's because the hubs and I talk about actually moving to the cabin by the lake (CBTL) and we know there is no way all the stuff in this 4 bedroom 3 floor house is going to fit into a 2 bedroom slab.

I started paring things down months ago, although you can't really tell it. It was easy to do after moving my office to a different room, and Salvation Army was coming anyway to pick up my old, too-large clothes. But there is a voice inside of me that keeps thinking that I should be selling my stuff on Ebay or CraigsList. Having worked in shipping for a couple years, I know just how annoying that can be. Add to that photographing, listing, and all the headaches that go with selling things online, I know I don't want to do it. Then I read Decluttering 101: to Sell or not to Sell. It gave me an interesting perspective on getting rid of stuff.

Miss Minimalist talks about the process of selling her stuff and how the loathing of the process now keeps her from buying new stuff. I realized that for me, selling my stuff seems like a penance for owning it in the first place. It's like the stretch marks and hangy skin after losing 100+ pounds are the battle scars for being stupid enough to gain all that weight in the first place. Selling this stuff is the cleansing I need to get me out of the chaos and into a simpler life.

I'm adding selling stuff to the list I've been thinking about. Over the next 6 months I will:

• scan family photos left by hubs' mom and grandmothers so I can pass the actual photos to other members of the family. 
• after making as many Christmas and birthday gifts as possible with my craft stash on hand, follow up with my previous plan of purging craft supplies. If they don't fit in the craft cupboard they are gone.
• reassess what things I really don't want to live without. I may even toy with the idea of a 100 things list. Not sure I'm ready for that yet.
• start listing items on Craigslist and Ebay.

Not sure how far I'll get in 6 months, but it has to be better than where I am right now. Like losing weight was a one step at a time process, so will simplifying my life. I didn't lose this weight overnight. It took a while find balance between eating healthy and exercising. It's time to seek that balance in other areas of my life.

When Willpower is Trumped by Bad Habits | zen habits

When Willpower is Trumped by Bad Habits | zen habits

I read this blog earlier in the week and I gave the idea some thought on my walk this morning. Last year I was much better about getting up and hitting the paths for my walk first thing. Then winter hit and it was too cold. That was followed by spring, which was too wet and summer, which was too hot. Still, I plan to walk a 1/2 marathon in September and I need to get strong enough to walk it. What happened to my habit and how can I get it back?

The the aforementioned blog I was reminded that last summer I got out of bed, dressed, and was out the door. This year, I eat a little something, maybe have some coffee, visit with my friends on Twitter, and then wonder where my morning went. That has to change.

This morning, I was dressed in my workout clothes before I walked downstairs. I stretched, filled my water bottle, and was out the door before I had a chance to be distracted. I need to continue this trend if I'm going to finish the half and lose these last 15 lbs. It's time to reestablish last summer's good habit.

Raise the roof, or the debt ceiling...or not

My friend Rick commented on the debt ceiling standoff to his Circles and I wrote a comment, which I soon realized was a blog. To leave something this long on someone's comment is, well, just rude. I decided to C+V it over here:


Just once I want to see this sort of discussion without bringing up the military, Social Security and Medicare. Yes, they are big budget items, but it's usually the little things that break a budget. Take those 3 big items out of the picture and start cutting the rest. I know how much my house payment is and I can't change that. But I can stop eating out so often. It's the little things.

Here's the thing. We need our government to stop funding every little research program that comes down the pike. Stop funding social agendas with the carrot-and-stick approach. Meet this benchmark and we'll give you money. That is the only power that the Department of Education has, by the way. An estimated $71 billion goes to the Department of Education, plus another $23 billion from the stimulus plan, and the DoE has no power to implement these programs over the states. They can only reward states for meeting their agendas--and effectively removing the power from individual school districts. It's an estimated $93 billion savings if the Federal government butted out of a local issue.  BUT there's a catch and the perfect example is the shuttle program.

How many thousands of unemployed people are there now because they shut down the shuttle program? Think about how many programs, large and small our tax dollars support. Our government funds so many programs that the number of unemployed would skyrocket if they stopped funding them. Not just research programs mind you, but education, social programs; there's a lot of good stuff being funded that would need to find funding elsewhere or shut down.


The ugly truth is that too many of us live off the federal government. The easiest ones to identify are the military, the elderly, and the disabled. However, through federal programs, a lot of us make our living because the government is picking up the tab. Shut down those programs and a lot more people are out of work. 


What we  need are jobs. Real jobs. Not jobs created by the stimulus program that are funded by the government. We need our American companies to come back from other countries and employ American people. We need to stop telling our kids that the only good jobs are jobs in a high rise in a major city, where they wear a white shirt and a blue tie and make a bunch of money. It is okay to work in a factory. It's good, honest work.


I'm no expert. I don't know how to fix the budget, but I do recognize that cutting the budget might be like pulling the 7 of diamonds out of the bottom row of that house of cards. That's probably why Washington throws the military, Medicare, and Social Security under the bus. Those three pull on the heartstrings and we'll fight to save them. Washington doesn't really want to start reshuffling the deck and cutting programs because it will put more people out of work and we can't afford that right now--literally.

My take on Google+ circles

A couple conversations about filtering messages to the right circles got me thinking about how G+ works and how I want it to work. I see G+ Circles like Twitter lists in that I can corral people into lists by topic, but I don't expect them to only post about that one topic. My NCIS tweeps might also be Dr Whovians, for example. There will be crossover and for me, that's okay.

Circles add another dimension. They add the ability for the sender to filter their posts by topic, kind of like adding a Twitter hashtag that we can follow and add to our tweets to be included in the conversation. In some ways when we post publicly or to our circles or extended circles, it's like we're posting our non-knitting comments with the #knit tag. That will be considered noise.

Personally, I like the noise because I recognize that the people I follow are more than knitters or geeks or SM experts. I like finding out that my NCIS friends also are Whovians or Whedonites. The fact that G+ allows us to post to Public, all our Circles, and Extended circles tells me that we're not expected to sort everything we post by topic.

Until G+ comes up with a way to listen multiple circles into our streams*, we may have to drop some of the noise in a circles into our Incoming or into a noisy circle. I would much rather do that than lose a voice that I want to hear. Having said that, I'm giving fair warning that I will not be filtering everything I say by topic, but there will be times when, for example, I'm talking about the Kitchener Stitch, that I will grab my Yarnies circle. If you feel you need to remove me from one of your circles because of the noise, I won't even notice.

note: I know there is an extension to add checkboxes in the stream. Broke my audio/video capabilities when G+ was running and I uninstalled. If you added it, check your Hangout to see if it still works. I'm running Ubuntu Linux YMMV.

Computer clean up

Spent much of the day cleaning up my bookmarks on Delicious, cleaning files on my Ubuntu computer (and a little on the iMac) and then installing Back In Time so it has an actual back up happening.

One of the things I discovered is that I have way too many copies of some knitting patterns. They are bookmarked on Delicious, multiple copies are on my computer, and saved on Ravelry. I also have way too many screen caps from NCIS episodes. Those are stored on 2 computers and on Flickr.

Sorting through those multiples is a project for another day.

Ann Cannon: Yes, I knit, but I’m not one of those ‘Sister Wives’ | The Salt Lake Tribune

Ann Cannon: Yes, I knit, but I’m not one of those ‘Sister Wives’ | The Salt Lake Tribune:

"Then I throw down a “sl st,k1, PSSO, k1” combination, after which I shout, “Boo-yah,” as well as “Who’s your daddy!”"

Need I say more? Except unlike the author, I'm not stopping.

Gatsby's knitting.

Gatsby's knitting., a photo by sandbar17 on Flickr.

I don't just think about NCIS. I knit as well. This is a tie I'm working on as my carry-around piece. Snapped it at Gatsby's, where go to see friends play. The pattern is from Lion Brand's site. It's the Vertical Striped Tie. You can't miss it.

NCIS Photos: Lost Photo on CBS.com

NCIS_Gary (NCIS Executive Producer, Gary Glasberg) says if we wish real hard, we may get Abigail Borin to come back for a visit sometime soon. I hope so. We love her.

NCIS Photos: Lost Photo on CBS.com

Battelle hired to help fight lake algae | The Columbus Dispatch

This is potentially good news. Our lake cabin, which I call CBTL (or Cabin by the Lake in a nod to the Michael Weatherly flick of the same name) is at this lake. My mom worked at Battelle. If anyone can solve this problem, it is they.

Battelle hired to help fight lake algae | The Columbus Dispatch

The Play’s the Thing « NCIS Exposition Faerie

Latest post by my alter ego. Shakespeare and NCIS collide.

The Play’s the Thing « NCIS Exposition Faerie

Still thinking...

I'm still giving thought to my idea about blogging something regularly--again. I may try the something new idea again. I liked the concept. Since we're at the end of the month, I'm hoping to kick it off for July. *fingers crossed*

Carrying through is not my strong suit

It's pretty obvious from the last few attempts to blog consistently that I'm lacking on follow through. I'd like to think that it's because I'm busy. It's more like I'm easily distracted. Tweeting, Facebooking, improving my web design skills, knitting, watching TV, hanging out online with my friends, training for to walk a 1/2 marathon leave little time for other things. I'd like to get back into the habit of writing regularly and reading every day. I'd like to finish sorting through the junk in my house and getting rid of the excess. I feel like I need a TARDIS to have enough time.

I think I really just need to focus better. On my computers I have multiple work spaces. My work computer usually has my inboxes on one, my set up browser on two, my calendar on three, and my play-space (Tweetdeck) on four. I wonder if using this technique is making me ADD or if I've learned a way to cope with all the information coming at me and need to learn that skill in the real world.

When it comes to blogging, I think I'm on the right track. A new thing everyday. I liked that. I may need to try that one again. Or at least, I need to have a purpose for whatever blog I'm writing. I'm thinking of "Julie & Julia" or a blog of which I caught the last post. A woman had explored being a woman and a geek. Interesting concept. That's what I need: an interesting concept.

Playing catch up

I've missed a week's worth of posting firsts, but I've been busy. I worked the Heartbeat Conference as an exhibitor, went to the convention center for the first time. I walked down High Street through the Short North after having my first wine tasting at Camelot Cellars. Green Apple Riesling. Good stuff.

I also met almost all my coworkers, Qui-Gon couldn't make it. Went back to the Apple store and picked up my Mac. Whew! I've pushed the envelope of newness. Still thinking on today's something new. It needs to be something relaxing.

Monday's new thing

Still on the thirty days of new. Monday had a couple changes. First, the rainy weather kept me close to home for my walk. Took a new route so I would be only a few minutes from home if the clouds opened up. Secondly, since iMacGee is in the shop, I worked on my own personal computer for the day. Learned alot about shortcuts and trick with some of the software that I have or is in Ubuntu's repository. This will be handy at our lake house since I'll be taking an old computer running Ubuntu to the lake when I go up with the hubs this summer.

Cbusr - Meet new people. Discover Columbus, Ohio.

Today's something new is Cbusr.com, a website recommended by my friend, Rick. I think I'd like it better if you could search by interest not just area and occupation, but since they encourage meeting in real life that makes sense. If you're in Columbus, check it out. Cbusr - Meet new people. Discover Columbus, Ohio.

Something New Every Day

I read an article on LifeHacker.com suggesting that every day for 30 days we try something new. It doesn't have to be anything big, just something to shake up the routine. I'm on day three, and I would have blogged this sooner, but Blogger was down. Anyway, this is a great idea and I'm going for it.

On Day One, I did something easy. I made an iced coffee smoothie for my afternoon caffeine pick-me-up. Day Two was more strenuous. I dug up about 70 bricks in the yard so we could move the hostas to a shadier spot.



Today, I'm taking my work computer to the Apple Store at Easton. It's doing this random shut down thing again. Anyway, my first time to the Apple Store. This could be dangerous.

Bin Laden is Dead

When the Towers fell, before the news said anything about Bin Laden claiming responsibility, I knew that he was behind it. He'd tried to bring down the WTC before, he had made it clear that he was targeting Americans. I had no doubt.

When the news broke last night about Bin Laden's death, after a bit of whooping and hollering, my mind turned not only to the memory of the first tower falling--which at the time I my mind couldn't comprehend and my son had to tell me it was gone--to the attacks on Khobar Towers and the U.S.S. Cole. Finally, the bastard got what he deserved.

I'm proud of our Navy SEALS who went in on a CIA-run operation and took him out. Thank you.

An NCIS script? Are you nuts?

Over the last few weeks I've been tweeting then Facebooking with a newly discovered online friend who feeds my analytical writing side--the English major in me who likes to discuss story, symbolism, and the dreaded significance. We're not talking Shakespeare or Dickens or even Austen. We're talking NCIS. Up to this point we've created some McMayhem and some fantastic t-shirts dedicated to the writers of NCIS. But we've also caused one another to think about what we write, and how we learn about writing in different ways.

Colorguard28 writes that she's not a visual thinker, and that she struggles to see the images she writes. I, on the other hand, see the images and struggle to describe what I see with the detail that exists in my imagination. I've considered for months participating in Script Frenzy this year, but since I completely bombed at NaNoWriMo in the fall, I've hesitated. The more I've thought about it, the more committed I've become. The theatre muse who helped write 3 summer shows for the teen theatre is ready to try her hand a an NCIS script.

Our Texas Trip

The hubs and I flew to Texas last week to visit with our sons and to see the newest Barton, Moriah (born Christmas Day). We're still here and loving it, even though snow arrived today and I picked up a cold somewhere--probably from the woman next to me on the flight from Chicago to St. Louis. Still I'm very glad we came.

Yesterday we went to Central Market, a grocery store that I am tempted to relocate for. The produce section was amazingly the size of some markets alone with huge amount of organic produce. When we walked in the door, there were ruby red grapefruit so large that Bekah called them pumpkins. The fish and meat section had butchers, not just clerks. The wine and beer section was massive and then there was the rest of the store. We went on Saturday, so samples were on the agenda. Who needed lunch?

We drove back past the campus of Rose Bowl champions TCU. I was tempted to bring home a Rose Bowl shirt, but figured my Ohio State neighbors wouldn't be amused.

Today we visited my sons' church. Very nice congregation that seems to know the  meaning of worship. I have strong opinions on music in church and that it shouldn't resemble a concert. I want to hear the congregation singing, whether I'm off stage or on. I'm told that the congregation was a little light because of the pending bad weather, still I could hear those gathered for worship over those on the the stage. My younger son played percussion today. He tells me that the worship leader told the singers not to sing too loudly, only if the congregation needed help with the music. Apparently, it's not them performing but rather assisting the congregation in singing together. Mmmmm. I love that concept.

We'll be heading back on Tuesday. I'm not anxious to get back, but working from here on the laptop has not been the easiest thing to do. If I could hang out here longer, I certainly would. I know that I'm not waiting so long for the next visit.

Christmasy things

Christmas started for me at the end of last summer, or at least my Christmas knitting did. This is the year of the scarf and I have knit a bunch of them. Everyone got a scarf or a shawlette, with the exception of my granddaughters who got vests. One also got a poncho--oh and my daughters-in-laws got socks. I suppose I didn't really grasp the amount of knitting and purling I've done until my youngest son texted me on their Christmas (two days later) and said that I must have been knitting like a mad woman.  He also said that they had received an inordinate amount of knitted things. *blush*

In other news, their Christmas was two days late because my newest granddaughter was born on Christmas Day. Moriah certainly brought a new meaning to the Christmas story as I waited through the night for news. For the first time in probably 26 years I didn't have to stay up late to wrap or assemble Christmas gifts after Christmas Eve service, and I still stayed up late, this time on baby watch.

The knitting continues, however. I was one scarf short, so I'm knitting one for a brother-in-law. Fortunately, that Christmas party is not until Saturday. I also have a blanket for Moriah on the needles and a red riding hood for Bekah, and as always there are socks in my purse. This thing you do with the yarn is addicting.

No time for melancholy ramblings.

Just deleted a positively morose post lamenting how my peer group is dragging me into acting their age not mine. I am younger than my hubby and a good portion of our friends--many of who are ready to hand the baton to the next generation. I really need to remind them that while they are staring down or passing 60, I'm closer to 50 than 55 and have no intention of packing it in yet.

The Red Scarf Project

My Christmas knitting has gotten a little sidetracked with the discovery of Orphan Foundation of America's Red Scarf Project. According to their website:

OFA helps former foster children become successful adults. In most states, foster youth leave the social services system when they turn 18. In the eyes of the court they’re adults, but few 18 year olds are emotionally, mentally or financially able to support themselves. Without someone to guide them, too many end up homeless, unemployed, incarcerated or pregnant. But it doesn't have to be that way. Thanks to the generosity of thousands of volunteers and donors, OFA is changing the odds for former foster youth every day.

One of their projects is the Red Scarf Project for which crafters make red scarves to give to these young people for Valentine's Day to encourage them.

This project strikes a chord with me because I am an orphan. I wasn't part of the foster care system, but I was raised by my aunt and uncle after the deaths of my parents. I understand what it is like to be 18 and on your own, trying to find your way in the world. Not that my aunt and uncle weren't there if I needed them, but I never felt comfortable enough to ask for their help. From the day I left for college (when I was still 17) I felt that I was on my own.

The Red Scarf Project is a small way that I can encourage someone that they can make it. I've done it, and I'm passing on a scarf to let them know that I've been there and I know they can do it too.  If you'd like to join in just follow the link.

Unfollow/Unfriend: Online relationships and the written word.

I haven't written a serious post for a while, but over the last couple of days I've had some run ins with another NCIS fan that have given me pause to think. I'm part of a large community of fans of Twitter, and while I know that there are other much more volatile fan forums, serious use of the #NCIS stream is not for the faint of heart. Scattered among the "this episode is awesome" tweets and the "Mark Harmon is hot for an old guy" tweets, there is some serious discussion about character development, plot lines and the people who create them. The discussion gets hot, sometimes hotter than the 140 character porn slash that also shows up in the stream.

In some ways, it amazes me that people get so fired up over a TV show, especially one on its 8th season, but that is the beast that is NCIS. It changed from a straight crime drama to something more along the lines of a dark comedy--more kin to Monk than to its JAG roots. The change has not gone unnoticed. It hit a chord with millions of Americans and is still the number one scripted show as the crowds flocked to 8 pm Tuesday nights (or as I dubbed it on Twitter, #NCIS Day). Not everyone is happy with the change.

Becoming a dark comedy meant changing the characters. Character growth is natural, but some of them grew in ways that some of the original fans didn't like and they will let you know their feelings on the subject. That is really the point of my blog today. Dealing with those fans.

For the most part, I enjoy chatting online with my Tweeps. The conversations are usually fluff, but we do share the ups and downs of our days and we care about one another. Many of us at this point have met IRL (in real life), still others have snail mailed packages, bought and sold art/crafts, and have genuinely established relationships with one another. We've invested time and emotions into one another's lives. It's an investment that those not online may not understand, but it's no less an investment in a relationship than that of a coworker or a friend on a ball team. So, when one of the voices becomes difficult to hear, what does one do?

In my IRL experience, I have learned to overlook character traits that bother me whenever possible. I can even say that I have learned to love people not in spite of their flaws, but including their flaws (I am not perfect at this, but I've come a long way.) IRL, we have the benefit of face-to-face interaction, one-on-one time. We are more than just what we say.

Online, especially on Twitter, we are only what we say. Good or bad, we are limited to 140 character soundbites which may or may not be interpreted how we intended. Something we write, thinking we sound clever, may come across as snarky and cause a problem where none existed. Or, because of the casual anonymity of online communication, we may throw something out there that we would never say to someone face to face. We forget that we are speaking with real people with real feelings. We forget to show some respect and common courtesy and start a flame war.

If we are what we write when we are online, we should probably be more careful about what we say and how we say it. Certainly we have the right to express our opinions and carry on lively debate, but when the discussion is reduced to a steady stream of our opinion that is who we become. We are our opinion. We become less the person behind the words. We become the words. Words, on Twitter, you can filter out. We can stop following. We can use the filter tools on Tweetdeck. We can make the words stop.

But there are people behind the words.

There's the rub. There are words that I'm tired of reading. Last night I filtered and then unfollowed some of the words. The problem is, there are people behind those words in whom I have invested time, with whom I have a connection. It's easy to unfollow. Its harder to unfriend.

Snippets

Just a few of the things I'm up to:

• midnight show of Harry Potter tonight. Not dressing up, but am taking knitting. Will answer to Mrs. Weasley.
• finished yet another Purl Ridge Scarf and now working on a vest for one of the girls. It's called Boheme and if you're on Ravelry, you can find it here.
• Still chewing on the fabulous NCIS episode this week. The NCIS Exposition Faerie wrote up her thoughts. Finally we're looking at Vance's backstory. Can't wait for next week.

My queue of knitting projects keeps growing. Lots of new things to try. Just need to get through my Christmas knitting first.

A perspective nearing 100.

It's an interesting thing losing a large amount of weight. I'm looking a loss of 100 lbs squarely in the face. Only 2 more pounds to go. It's been revealing from my own perspective and from that of others. Little things like being able to easily trim one's toe nails all the way up to the big things like being able to walk a 10k race make an impression. So do things people say.

One of the most remarkable is that people don't recognize me. I find that I have to tell people I haven't seen for a while who I am; and people who do see me regularly still do a double take. I can't blame them. I did one myself a couple weeks ago. Yes, I look that good and that different.

I also find that a lot of people now find excuses for why they aren't losing weight. As much as I'd like to be able to take them along with me on my journey, it really is a matter of something just clicking inside that makes you know you have to do this. I try to remember to encourage them that when I started this adventure, I couldn't walk around the block. Now I can walk miles. Also, when I started, I ate more than my 1200-1500 calories because I needed it just to lug around the fat.

I've had an amazing support group, and very few of them have I met online. Most of them are my friends on Twitter and Facebook, and I've only met a few. Most of them don't know what I looked like before, although I do share pics if asked. They encourage me to keep going when I'm flailing, and generally I've been pretty open with them about my struggles and my victories. I hope that some of them follow me in the adventure.

I still have more to lose, but as I'm reaching for the next 2 lbs, I'm also thinking that it's less a matter of a target weight and more a matter of continuing to eat healthy and exercise. Where I land, I land. But first, these 2 pesky pounds need to say bye-bye.

I Surrender.

Given the choice between knitting and writing, I have chosen knitting. There is something about the feel of the yarn and the satisfaction of seeing the work grow on the needles that just isn't being derived from watching words stack up on the page.

I posted that I'm enjoying socks, and I am. I'm also enjoying shawlettes and interesting scarves. My current project is called the Purl Ridge Scarf (I found the pattern on Ravelry. It's knit in the round and is long enough to loop around your neck a couple times. I'm using a couple skeins of Paton Classic wool in Denim Marl in my attempt to knit through my stash for Christmas. That might be an interesting Advent calendar to blog *makes mental note*.

Meanwhile, it's another NCIS night, which is the ONLY TV show I don't knit through. I've tried. I end up frogging my work. Somethings do rate above the needles. NCIS is one of them.

Day three of NaNoWriMo

Besides it being my birthday, day three finds me with an interesting turn in my storyline and wishing I hadn't chosen to make this a fan fic. I knew I would regret it. Still, I press on. I can always edit the characters later. The important thing, everyone tells me, is just to write.

I'm also pushing through on my knitting projects. I know I haven't mentioned here, but I have in other places that I love knitting socks. Why I would attempt NaNoWriMo with so much knitting to do, I can only say, "Peer pressure."

My son's mission trip details

Several of my online friends have asked about my son's upcoming mission trip and have asked how they can help. Below are some of the details:

They will leave Friday, November 19, 2010 and travel to Budapest, Hungary. From Budapest, they will travel by car to the Emmanuel Baptist University in Romania. They will have classes each morning and will evangelize from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. On Friday, November 26, they will leave Budapest and travel to Paris, France. On Sunday, November 28th and Monday November 29 they will take historical tours and evangelize. they return on November 29th.

We ask for your prayers in the following areas:

1. That God's will be done and for travel mercies
2. Preparation of the hearts and minds of those hearing and responding to the presentation of the Gospel
3. Wisdom and discernment to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit
4. Provision and protection. Expenses are $2,200, not including additional expenses for baggage fees, meals and so forth.
5. Wisdom and guidance for the leadership of the mission that includes Dr. Smith (Dean of the College), Christine Hoffman (Secretary of the Dean), and Dr. Birch.

If you would like to help financially, you can mail a check to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary:

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Attn: Student Financial Aid

P.O. Box 22510

Fort Worth, Texas 76122

Please put "Mission trip, Ethan W. Barton" in the memo. The College will send you a tax-deductible receipt.

Thank you so much for your support.

A Christmas Snow

Last summer I had the privilege of attending the Gideon Film Festival in North Carolina. The primary reason I attended was to see Muse Watson, the actor who plays Mike Franks on "NCIS". However, it turned out to be more than I bargained for. I found myself on the outside looking in on a group of people who were working to fulfill their dreams of making Christian films and telling stories from a Christian perspective. One of those stories was "A Christmas Snow."

"A Christmas Snow" is the story of a grinch-like woman whose father had left one Christmas Eve and spoiled every subsequent Christmas for her, until one snowy Christmas. This year, a blizzard and a houseful of unexpected guests give her a new appreciation for the holiday.

When I saw them movie at the festival, I was charmed by its simple, yet moving story. As time passed, I thought I was just pulled in by the thrill of the festival and of meeting Muse. I had a opportunity to see the movie again recently and was still moved. This is a fine story that puts one in the Christmas spirit, even in October. It has with that substance called Christmas Magic that sits just right with the viewer and reminds one that at Christmas anything is possible.

I highly recommend this movie. You can order a copy at Amazon.com.

Changes ahead

This blog has been languishing. The biggest reason would be my change of job and my corresponding decision to get out of the visible battle for life. Not to say I'm not still actively working toward that end. It's just more as a stage manager than a director--ultimately where I'd more like to be.

So, the blog goes back to it's original focus--me. What I'm doing, reading, watching, knitting, thinking. That may or may not be interesting for some but it's better than nothing and for me it is my life.

Purple Envelope Project

The Red Envelope Project was a huge success. Over 2 million pro-lifers made their voices heard.
It showed me how powerful this type of campaign could be, and gave me an idea to put our numbers to use.

This is Holy Week and we are celebrating the Resurrection. I think it is the perfect time to support those who are working to support life and saving children from abortion.

CareNet and Heartbeat Int. are wonderful organization that have Crisis Pregnancy Centers all over the country. I have no affiliation with them, but I have heard nothing but good things about both and the work that they do.
Here's a link to their sites: http://www.care-net.org/aboutus/ and http://www.heartbeatinternational.org/

Let's take advantage of our numbers and send PURPLE envelopes to Care Net or Heartbeat Int. If you can't find a purple envelope, use a WHITE envelope and write "Purple Envelope Project" on the back. Here's the twist. Instead of sending empty envelopes, PUT IN 1 DOLLAR.

Just think how much we can raise for CareNet and Heartbeat Int. if everyone who sent a red envelope to the White House sends them a purple envelope!

Write this message:
Thank you for all that you do to protect life. Life begins at conception. We appreciate the work you do that helps women choose life. God bless you and your work.


This, like the Red Envelope Project, is something that you can do with your family. Please send your envelope and dollar to one or both of these great organizations.

Here's the addresses:
Care Net
PO Box 758530
Topeka, KS 66675-8530

Heartbeat Int.
665 E. Dublin-Granville Road, Suite 440,
Columbus, OH 43229, USA
Please leave a comment in the comment section if you're planning on participating!

Secretary of State Clinton accepts Margaret Sanger Award

Hillary Clinton accepted Planned Parenthood's Margaret Sanger Award. Here's the transcript of her speech.

What Are Pregnancy Centers?

Last week I wrote that the pro-life movement needs to get the word out on the good that pregnancy centers do. First thing, we need to let people know what pro-life pregnancy centers are.

If you do a search online, you'll undoubtedly come across some articles on what's wrong with pregnancy centers. Generally, these articles are filled with at the best bias based on out-dated information and pro-abortion views, at the worst, outright lies. Rather than rebut the comments, let's just explore what pregnancy centers are and what they do.

1. Pro-life pregnancy centers are not Planned Parenthood.


• Planned Parenthood operates on the premise of "family planning," which translates doing what is necessary to keep from having a baby before you're ready--whether that means providing birth control, emergency contraception, or abortion.


• Pregnancy centers recognize that not all women want to make the choice for abortion and give women other life-affirming options. They operate on the premise that after you are pregnant, it is too late to consider birth control, and will not provide nor refer for abortions. What's more, pregnancy centers usually promote abstinence rather than birth control, responsibility rather than avoidance. The idea being the best way to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections is by not engaging in the behavior that causes them.



2. While not all pregnancy centers are affiliated with national organizations, those that are, are required to agree to certain guidelines, such as Heartbeat International's Committment of Care. Belonging to a membership organization that pledges to uphold these standards is a requirement before calls are referred to a center through the Option Line website.



3. Pregnancy centers are generally privately funded. While some abstinence programs may have received federal funding, generally the services they provide their clients is free to the client and paid for through the center's supporters. Unlike abortion clinics, they do not make a profit through their services. Pregnancy centers provide free information and assistance to women in need.



4. Pregnancy centers are community organizations run by caring people committed to making their community a better place by helping those in need. Pregnancy center outreaches can include clothing, food, housing, job placement/training, and medical assistance. And because they are community organizations, they are in touch with programs and agencies in their area to assist women in need.

There is a battle being waged against pregnancy centers, trying to stop them from helping women facing an unplanned pregnancy. These arguments are often being made by businesses who might lose profits if their clients chose not to abort. But, they are often made by people who are genuinely concerned for women, but who have a vastly different philosophical approach to meeting their needs.

The need to protect pregnancy centers.

The time has come for life-affirming pregnancy centers and those involved in the pro-life movement to go on the offense, actively promoting the good that pregnancy centers do. A recent article in The Bulletin shows the renewal of threats--an outright campaign--against those who do the most good: Pregnancy Centers.

According to the Philadelphia newspaper, an e-mail was sent to college activists by the Feminist Majority Foundation’s Campus Program announcing a nationwide protest on April 13 against pregnancy care centers that provide free aid and abortion alternatives for women.

The sarcastic side of me wonders if they will stand outside of pregnancy centers with signs depicting babies and offers to kill them.

The realist in me knows that the so-called choice movement has been emboldened by the pro-abortion position of President Obama and the left-leaning Congress and is moving into action to stop pro-life pregnancy centers from giving information and services to women in need. After all, pregnancy centers, generally not-for-profit organizations funded by private donations, eat into the profit margin of abortion clinics.

The Bulletin quotes Virginia Cline of Heartbeat International, “Today, the abortion cartel is a multimillion dollar industry that encourages and promotes abortion for profit … Heartbeat pregnancy centers provide the crucial facts on fetal development and explain the physical and emotional risks of abortion that those selling abortion to women often leave out.”

In the coming weeks, I'll be sharing the good that pregnancy centers do and outlining some of the threats that pregnancy centers face. This is an important message that needs to spread like wildfire. Pregnancy centers are under attack and the pro-life movement must not let them fall.

Time to take care of ourselves.

In one of those convergent moments, an instant of clarity was revealed.

I was already annoyed about discriminatory language remaining in Section 803 of the the stimulus bill.

Section 803 prohibits funds for "modernization, renovation, or repair of [educational] facilities--(i) used for sectarian instruction, religious worship, or a school or department of divinity; or (ii) in which a substantial portion of the functions of the facilities are subsumed in a religious mission."

Congress refused, in spite of an amendment offered by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), to remove that stipulation. The vote failed 54-43. Congress voted to not allow funding to a facility that is used for any type of religious activity--even a school of Divinity. That leaves out schools at even Yale, Harvard, Duke, Wake Forest, any School of Divinity. Incredible!

I know that one of the purposes of stipulations such as this are to control what is taught at our schools. If schools want the government funds, they have to jump through government hoops. It's rare to find a school district, college or university that is willing to sacrifice its accreditation in order to follow the community's own values and curriculum goals. As a homeschool mom, I came to understand that it was necessary to sacrifice the accreditation from my sons' school district, and to sacrifice financially to pay for their education ourselves, in order for my sons to get the education we deemed necessary.

Both sons are now freshmen at a small private college in Texas. We were surprised to find out last fall that the school doesn't take Federal Financial Aid. We were surprised again to discover that the tuition tax deduction and the Hope and Lifetime tax credits are only available to schools who receive Federal Financial Aid.

At that moment I saw our situation for what it is. Like when we homeschooled, if we don't want to follow the mandates of government-sponsored education, we have to not accept government funding. In this case, if it means that we have to forgo the tax deduction for tuition in order to get the education that we want, then we have to step up and pay for it.

The government will never give us what we want on our terms. It's always on theirs. We need to have the courage and the confidence to step out of the system and take care of ourselves.

Thoughts on this week in Washington and What it Means for the Pro-life Movement

I've been mulling over this past week and the pro-life movement. Our new president, Barack Obama, was sworn in, and Obama's abortion agenda loomed overhead while thousands attended the March for Life. There was great concern that Obama might slap pro-lifers in the face with rescinding the Mexico City Policy on the anniversary of Roe V. Wade, however, he waited until take-out-the-trash Friday when it would be more difficult for the not-so-tech-savy Right to comment or report. No worries that the left-wing media will pick up that story and run with it. Besides, we knew that it would be one of his first acts in office, and we knew there was nothing we could do about it but lament--and pray.

I am happy to report, however, that Heartbeat International's Babies Go to Congress event was a hit. People responded well to the idea of taking moms and their babies saved from abortion by pregnancy centers to meet congress persons to show them that pregnancy centers are good for America. Heartbeat is encouraged enough to consider making this an annual event.

Also, Heartbeat's president, Peggy Hartshorn, was interviewed by several news outlets. Peggy has devoted her life to making abortion unthinkable. This interview on CBN is inspiring. Be sure to watch.

It is my belief that pregnancy centers are where the movement needs to be focusing. We need to promote their work as community organizations. We need to protect their work from abortion-lobby interference. And we need to get involved on that grass-roots community level. It is working in our communities where we might just do the most good.

Babies Go to Congress

“On this anniversary of Roe v. Wade, after 37 years of the dehumanizing choice to abort a child, Heartbeat is bringing to Capitol Hill children saved by the compassionate care of pregnancy centers,” said Heartbeat President Peggy Hartshorn, Ph.D. “Members of Congress need to hear from the women we serve. I am grateful they have such positive things to say about pregnancy center help. Children are America’s greatest natural resource, and our elected officials need to preserve the bond between mother and child. Our families and the future of our country are strengthened by the life-saving work of pregnancy centers.”

Heartbeat International, founded in 1971, is an interdenominational Christian association of nearly 1,100 pregnancy resource centers, maternity homes, non-profit adoption agencies, and medical clinics in 48 states and 43 other countries. Heartbeat provides www.OptionLine.org (800-395-HELP) to connect women with the local pregnancy center for the help they need.

Blogs4Life

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 FRC-Blogs-for-Life-09

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Thursday, January 22nd at 8:30 am, Family Research Council, located at 801 G Street, NW, will host Blogs for Life, the fourth annual conference of pro-life bloggers.

Blogs for Life is scheduled to take place the day of the 36th annual March for Life, during which hundreds of thousands of pro-life advocates gather in the nation's capitol to celebrate life and demand the reversal of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion.

The conference will feature several prominent conservative voices including Senator Sam Brownback, Amanda Carpenter, Jill Stanek, Michael New, Ph.D., Charmaine Yoest, Ph.D., Michael Illions, Chris Gacek, J.D. and Martha Shuping, M.D. all speaking with bloggers live from Family Research Council headquarters.


Blogs for Life is an excellent opportunity for individuals and organizations to network with pro-life bloggers and activists and to grow in their knowledge of how internet technology can be used to strategically promote life and transform ideas into action as we move toward a post-Roe America. The event will also webcast live on www.frc.org, providing an opportunity for pro-life bloggers and blog readers to participate in the March, even if they cannot travel to Washington, D.C.


Who: Senator Sam Brownback

Amanda Carpenter, Townhall.com

Jill Stanek, blogger and speaker, JillStanek.com

Michael New, Ph.D., University of Alabama

Charmaine Yoest, Ph.D., President and CEO of Americans United for Life

Michael Illions, co-executive director of GOPUSA

Chris Gacek, Senior Fellow, Family Research Council

Martha Shuping, M.D., Shuping & Associates


What: The third annual conference dedicated to advancing the pro-life message through blogging.


When: Thursday, January 22, 2009

8:30am - 11:30 am ET


Where: Family Research Council

801 G. Street, NW Washington, DC 20001

RSVP: online at www.blogs4life.com (click on Register)


SOURCE Family Research Council

Baby, it's cold outside.

Crikey! My thermometer this morning registered -19.

Biscuits and pizza crust

Last time I shared my recipe for biscuit mix. Right now, I don't want to have a big batch in the fridge, so I make biscuit dough when I need it. This will make a dozen drop biscuits or one pizza crust. Don't hesitate to halve the recipe if you don't want a dozen biscuits.

Biscuits

• 2 cups flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 tbl shortening
• 2/3-3/4 cup milk or water

Sift together the dry ingredients. Cut in the shortening until the consistency of coarse corn meal. Add liquid, mixing with a fork until the dough forms a ball. Roll out on a floured board (or a piece of wax paper) until 1/2 inch thick. Cut with floured biscuit cutter. Bake at 450 on an ungreased baking sheet for10-12 minutes. These can be dropped from a spoon instead to make drop biscuits or dumplings.

To use as pizza crust, lightly oil the outside of the dough ball. Press into pizza pan. Top with your pizza toppings and bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes. Watch for the dough and cheese to brown.

Pizza sauce:
Pizza is a great follow up for having spaghetti. When you have leftover sauce, don't put it away with the spaghetti. Freeze it, or store it separately and use it for pizza sauce another night. You can top the pizza with leftover chicken or ham. But, if your spaghetti already had meat in it, you really can just add cheese and you're good to go.

Tomorrow--what to do with the leftover pasta.

Homemade Biscuit Mix

When Holly was here for Christmas, she asked about some of the recipes I used with Isaac was little. This one for Biscuit Mix I used for everything from biscuits to pizza crust. I also substituted it for anything on the back of the Bisquick box.

Homemade Biscuit Mix

• 8 cups flour
• 1 tbl salt
• 4 tbl baking powder
• 1 cup shortening--room temperature
  

Mix and sift flour, salt, and baking powder into a large bowl. Cut shortening into flour mixture with a pastry cutter or a fork until the mixture is like a coarse corn meal.

Store in a covered container in the fridge.

To make 6 biscuits:

• 1 cup biscuit mix
• 1/4-1/2 cup milk

Roll out and cut or drop onto cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. This also makes dumplings which you can drop into a boiling soup, or double the recipe and roll it out on a pizza pan for homemade pizza.

To make 6 pancakes:

• 1 cup biscuit mix
• 1 egg, well beaten
• 1/2 cup milk

Mix well and pour onto hot griddle.

To make 6 waffles:

• 2 cups biscuit mix
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 tbl melted butter (or use vegetable oil)
• 1/12 cups milk
• 1 beaten egg
  

Beat liquids into biscuit mix. Pour into waffle iron.

Prolife PR

I recently read an article saying that the pro-life movement is changing directions with the election of Barack Obama. Supposedly, the movement is shifting to providing care rather than attempting to strike down Roe v. Wade. Obviously, the writers were unaware of the history of the pregnancy centers.

Since before Roe v. Wade, caring people in communities all over the country set up pregnancy help centers to reach women in "crisis pregnancies". These were people who knew that women need real options, not just the "right" to have an abortion. They needed help in making an adoption plan or in finding ways to be able to raise their child.

Today's pregnancy care centers often have medical staff, ultrasounds, fertility education, and abortion recovery programs. They don't get the coverage that protests or anti-abortion legislation gets, but they are on the front lines meeting the needs of women and families. Unlike Planned Parenthood, pregnancy help centers generally don't charge for their services and generally don't received funding from the government (although some abstinence programs do receive funds).

These centers are at risk of being shut down because those who support a woman's right to choose don't want women to have access to other options. There are a couple of reasons for this. One is that pregnancy centers cut into their profit margin. Planned Parenthood makes money on contraception and on abortion. They don't want their clients going elsewhere for free care.

Another option, however, is that there is a fundamental difference in the philosophy of both sides of the abortion coin. Many on the pro-abortion side truly believe that a women is hindered by having a child, or even the risk of having a child. The Sexual Revolution grew out of Margaret Sanger's writings (among others) and the perceived need for women to be able to have the same cavalier attitude about sex that men have. We've reached that point. Women have affairs as frequently as men, they watch porn and emulate the actresses. No wonder motherhood, abstinence, and fidelity are seen as out of date.

Pregnancy centers have been around longer than Roe v. Wade, but they need to have better PR. They are in the forefront of the battle, but they are the last place receiving support. The battleground hasn't changed from the Congress to providing care for moms in need. That is the battleground. It's time that people noticed.

Countering Planned Parenthood's "Death" Certificates

You might have heard that Planned Parenthood of Indiana is offering gift certificates this Christmas for services, including abortions. Many people, even pro-choicers, are appalled. Well, here is the opportunity to counter that effort.

In response to these "death certificates," the Pro-Life Action League is encouraging its supporters to give to a non-profit service, Option Line, the life-saving 24/7 hotline (1-800-395-HELP) that connects callers to local resource centers that can help manage a crisis pregnancy or deal with the aftermath of abortion.

To encourage donations to Option Line and remember the birth of baby Jesus, PLAL will give away copies of the book, "What Mary and Joseph Knew About Parenting" to the first 100 donors who give $42 or more between now and December 25. Forty-two dollars is enough to keep Option Line open and taking calls for half an hour—helping at least 14 people in need or as many as 1,000 women if 100 people donate.

To make a tax-deductible gift of $42 or more go to the Option Line online donation form. Write "Mary and Joseph" in the comments section to receive your complimentary book. Or send your check made out to Option Line for $42 or more, with a note to request your book, to Heartbeat International, 665 E. Dublin Granville Rd., Ste 440, Columbus, Ohio 43229. Option Line is a joint venture of Heartbeat International and Care Net.

Columbus' Biggest Baby Shower

Columbus’ Biggest Baby Shower
Join 104.9 The River for Columbus’ Biggest Baby Shower on Saturday, April 19 from 10am to 1pm at Lindsay Acura located on Scarborough Blvd. just off of I-70 and Brice Road. Theywill be collecting gently used baby items and maternity clothes that will help benefit Pregnancy Decision Health Centers and Maternity Resources and kids will have the oppportunity to meet the characters from Veggie Tales. Click Here for a complete list of baby items that will be accepted.

This is the event where we're donating our knitted and crocheted baby items. I'm absolutely enamored by all things yarn, especially things with faces and things for babies. If I could, I'd spend all my time making things to give away, but alas, I have a paying job.

The KnitWits met last night. We had two new crocheters and one person switched to knitting for the first time. We have a bag full of hats to donate to PDHC. I started making booties to go with them. We're setting up a baby shower in the church to gather more donations. Hopefully, we'll have a nice stache to pass on to moms in need.

I have a little enforced yarn time on my hands this week. My youngest son and I are racing through season 3 of Battlestar Galactica before season 4 starts on Friday. To keep me from dozing, I'm knitting or crocheting. Last night my hands were busy with the amigurumi octopus from Lion Brand Yarn's website. I'll also have time on my hands tomorrow while I wait for the birth of my first granddaughter, Lydia Joy.

Focusing on Babies

Seems like it's been forever since I blogged. It has been too long and changes are afoot.

I've been enjoying time off of theatre and the coming births of Lydia and Rebekah, my granddaughters. It's gotten me knitting and crocheting and once again enjoying making baby things. So, along with making things for the girls, I've been making things to donate to Pregnancy Decision Health Center in Columbus, OH. I've even started a little group of KnitWits (AKA Happy Hookers) to make baby things to donate.

This idea not only comes from my burning desire to play with yarn, but from comments that "choicers" throw out that pro-lifers don't do anything to support the mother who chooses to keep their child. I know that's not true, but I decided to put my talent where my mouth is and help with material aid.

Our first drop will be April 19th at Columbus's Largest Baby Shower, sponsored by 104.9 The River. Our church is even holding a baby shower for PDHC to increase the donations. Just our way of helping. Pictures of the stash to follow.

Vanity Theatre

Community theatre is a strange animal. The mission is usually something about inviting the community to participate in theatre, whether as an actor, tech person, or audience member. For people who were part of theatre in high school and did nothing more with it, it sounds like fun. Sometimes it is. Sometimes you find yourself embroiled in what I call "Vanity Theatre."

Sounds almost redundant, doesn't it? Don't you have to be a little bit vain to be involved in theatre anyway? Maybe, but that's not the point. What I mean when I say "vanity theatre" is a theatre company started by one or more people who are disgruntled with the theatre company they were working for and who decide to start their own company. It's pretty common, at least in my neck of the woods. I can list off about five theatre companies who have branched off of just one in my area.

Sometimes it's really not a problem. The new company quickly gets past the hurt feelings, establishes its own identity and moves on. That's healthy growth. Other times, the connection is as clear as the plagiarized bylaws handed out to new board members. Spend enough time there and you'll know the real reason why the company was started. By the end of tech week, the entire cast and crew of the last show I directed knew the reason the company president left his previous company.

Here's my advice: If you find yourself at a vanity company to work on a show and you find that the founders haven't moved on from their past hurts, finish up the show and walk calmly to the nearest exit. If you are one of those founders, move on. Let it go. Community theatre has enough drama on its own.

The Lost Tomb of the Wilsons

As a child my father took us on regular trips to the family plot at the cemetery. On the right side of the plot lay my grandfather. Next to him lay his parents, George and Maggie Wilson. On the right, across from George and Maggie lay Francis Wilson and Ellen Boyer. All the stones identical, except Ellen Boyer's, which could make one question her relationship. One would assume, since this is a family plot, that there lay three generations of Wilsons. But without evidence, one would only be speculating.

That's what the Discovery Channel's program, "The Lost Tomb of Jesus" turns out to be: speculation. A tomb was discovered in Jerusalem in 1980 with 10 ossuaries, or small caskets for bones. Some of the ossuaries were labeled with the names of Jesus bar Joseph, Maria, Mariemene, Judah, Jose, and Matthew. Twenty some years later, filmakers Simcha Jacobovici and Titanic director James Cameron decided to "investigate." In the Ted Coppel interview following the program, Jacobovici admitted that the purpose of the documentary was to get scholars all in the same tent to investigate. Investigating evidentally wasn't his job.

Of course, for many Christians, finding the body of Christ is an impossibility. The Doctrine of the Resurrection precludes finding Christ's body on earth since He took it with him when he rose from the dead. Therefore, many Christians--myself included--find the beginning premise that the body of Christ could be found as impossible.

Another problem with Jacobovici's hypothesis is that he identifies Mariemene as the woman we know as Mary Magdalene. He uses as documentation The Gospel of Phillip, a 4th century text that recounts the story of Mary Magdalene from the point of view of her brother, Phillip. Phillip is one of the "sources" for the myth surrounding Dan Brown's book, The DaVinci Code. In The Gospel of Phillip, Mary Magdalene was called Mariemene. The problem with this source is The Gospel of Phillip is not part of the recognized canon of scripture. It was written centuries after the rest of the gospels and is not considered a trustworthy account. Other than the similarity of the name, there is no reason to connect these two women.

However, if Mariemene is Mary Magdalene, then the other Mary must certainly be Mary, the mother of Jesus. Jesus had a brother named Jose, so certainly the names are lining up. Jacobovici believes this is looking like it is the tomb of Jesus. Except, who are Matthew and Judah? Jesus had a brother named Judas, but no brother named Matthew. Jacobovici finds it's easiest to remove Matthew from the picture (after telling us that Mary, the mother of Jesus, had Matthews in her family tree), and identifying Judah as the son of Jesus and Marimene. But this is all speculation. While he does do DNA testing between Jesus and Mariemene, he does no further testing. Jacobovici doesn't even bother to mention the other three unmarked ossuaries in the tomb. He does try to connect an ossuary that turned up with the inscription "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus". This ossuary might be the missing 10th ossuary that was cataloged at the site in 1980, but never placed in the Israel Antiquities Authority archives. Except that ossuary was listed as having no inscription. The found ossuary is currently held up in litigation and cannot be examined, but that doesn't stop Jacobovici from using it as "evidence".

Evidence is the one thing that Jacobovici's documentary is lacking. His work is speculation. Without evidence, even genealogical information is suspect. When I ordered death certificates for the people in my family plot, I uncovered facts. My grandfather and his parents, George and Maggie, lay to the right, but on the left side of the plot lay Maggie's parents, Francis and Ellen Boyer Wilson. George's parents were buried several counties away. Because they were in the same plot, I assumed they were the same family. I was wrong. I found I had two Wilson families who had intermarried. This was my first lesson in making sure that I have evidence, not assumptions in historical research.

Jacobovici's "research" wouldn't hold up in genealogical circles. He has theories and no real way to prove them. Yet, he hopes that scholars will research these artifacts to uncover his version of the truth. So far, the scholars weighing in don't seem to be interested in the project.

To read about the problems with the statistical evidence read: Special Report: Has James Cameron Found Jesus's Tomb or Is It Just a Statistical Error?

Time and Chance

This was a big week for Life in the news. First, both sides of the abortion issue got the cover of Time Magazine. The article nicely features Asheville Pregnancy Support Services in Asheville, NC, and also mentions both Heartbeat International and OptionLine.

Having said that, I do have some concerns that the idea of both sides of the debate coming together is really a push toward Hillary Clinton's "safe, legal, and rare", where both sides find the common ground of focusing on the woman, decrease the number of abortions, yet keep abortion legal. The side for Life will have to do some serious thinking over the next couple of years as those who Peggy Hartshorn, President of Heartbeat International, calls "the mushy middle" most likely settles for fewer abortions, not an end to the practice. Will we settle or stay the course?

The next big story deals with little Amillia Taylor, the youngest known live birth. Even Charles Gibson of ABC News admits that Amillia's birth "may have an effect on the debate over abortion, and it may change the way people think about life." According to an article by LifeNews, Gibson teased the evening's top story, “A tiny miracle that raises big questions in the debate over abortion."

Amillia was born at 21 weeks, 6 days. Since the standard of care is not to try to save a child under 23 weeks, Amillia's mother lied about Amillia's age. Life News, quoting the ABC News story says, "Bio-ethicists we spoke with today argue that Amillia is a miracle baby, and that it's unwise to change public policy based on miracles." However, since it is policy NOT to save a child at fewer than 23 weeks, how do we know that Amillia really is a miracle baby? Perhaps the miracle is not that modern science can save a baby that is younger than 23 weeks. Perhaps the miracle is that a baby younger than 23 weeks got the chance to live.

Flipsyde - Happy Birthday

This is a powerful song from a post-abortive dad. He's learning from his mistakes and making a stand for life. We had some discussion at work about the line, "I won’t tell a woman what to do with her body; but if she don’t like children, we can’t party." Here's what I wrote: </p><p>"But at least he’s making a stand for what he finds important, and he’s taking the conversation in a different direction. He’s making the point of saying I’m not going to be involved in a woman who’s going to make a choice for abortion. Now, there are all kinds of issues there. He’s not saying he’s not going to stop sleeping around either. But for a member of the relativistic generation, he’s actually decided on a right and a wrong."

Forced-abortions in the News

Don't be confused by the media stories about the rash of parents forcing abortion on their daughters. The stories are only news because Congress votes today on a bill to prevent the evasion of parental notification laws by taking minors across state lines for abortions.

First we were confronted by the story about a New England couple who kidnapped their adult daughter to force her to have an abortion. Today's story concerns a family who forced a teen to drink turpentine to induce abortion. These are NOT common tales. They are extraordinary. And they are brought to light only so we can see that parents cannot be trusted with the care of their daughters.

The pro-life argument for parental notification laws is that parents have the primary care for their minor children. They need to agree to any medical procedure being performed on their child, whether it be ear-piercing or surgery. Parents need to be involved in the decision-making process, especially since teens don't always make the best decisions. These news stories form a basis for the argument that parents don't make the best decisions either. Moreover, parents are not to be trusted.

Parental rights are continually being bombarded by our society, which believes that "it takes a village" to raise a child. That's a lie. It takes caring, commited parents who are not prohibited by rule from making decisions about their child's care. Special cases such as these two reported in the news are just that--special cases, and should be treated as such under the law. But they shouldn't be used as the wedge to further remove a parent's primary right to provide for their children.

The Road Less Traveled

I have a son who is getting married in a few weeks. His life is about to change. Change is one of those things that is inherent in human life. And change is one thing that one can't plan for, but when it happens, well, everything changes. My son is a special guy who doesn't have his life planned to the nth degree. He waits. Things land in his lap. That's how his life works.

Most people have problems waiting for something to fall in their laps. In our society, we're taught to plan. From our earliest days we're told to get a good education so we can get a good job. Women, especially, are told to hold off getting married and having children until we've reached our goals. Men are expected to have a "good job", at least be on the career path. Together they should be able to marry so they can buy a nice house in a nice neighborhood, drive nice cars and live a nice life.

But what happens when real life enters into the equation? When changes happen to spoil our plans? We've been taught by society that the point of all this life stuff is to reach our financial goals, but is that really the point? My parents died when I was a child. That wasn't part of the plan. My aunt and uncle took me in. That wasn't part of their plan. Things change. Life happens, and our plans come to a screeching halt.

Interestingly, I think that the moment we make the decision to take our eyes off our goal is when we get off the merry-go-round that our culture expects. When something shakes up our foundation and we have to start looking for the best path through the treacherous ground, that's where the rubber meets the road.

I never would have chosen the path that my life has taken. I wouldn't have chosen to be orphaned at 13 and to move to another state to live with people I didn't know; but I also know now that my life would have been incredibly different if my parents had lived. In the middle of loss, I had no idea that there would be such blessings on the other side.

From that perspective, when I read blogs about abortion and a woman's right to choose, I wonder about the ferocity with which women hold onto their plans and their refusal to come to terms what life has handed them. I think they are missing the real opportunity to make something of themselves.

Robert Frost wrote, "Two roads diverged in wood, and I--I took the road less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." Taking the road less traveled may not be the easier road. There are undoubtably some unforeseen problems along the way, and some trails may need to be blazed, but this is the type of road that can define one's character. It's not the road that everyone else is taking. It's uncommon.

Like me, my son is on the divergent road. While I was forced onto the road, I made a choice to stay there, blazing trails in home education and now in pro-life. My son has made the conscious choice to live in the moment rather than follow the well-worn road to society's goals. Who knows where the road will lead him and his future wife? One thing's for sure. They will be better prepared for change when it happens, because their goal is something out of this world.

Abortion Rights Advocates Drop Lawsuit Over License Plates

Ohio News Network (ONN) is reporting, "Abortion rights activists in Ohio are dropping a lawsuit to block sales of license plates that say 'Choose Life' because of a Supreme Court decision in a Tennessee case." This is wonderful news for those who were concerned that they lose the right to support adoption programs in Ohio by buying a specialty license plate!

Personally, I've wondered if the whole lawsuit was a bit of sour grapes. I mean, abortion supporters might want plates of their own, but how does one market that? "Choose death"? Besides, how does a movement that wants to make abortion, "safe, legal, and rare" also fight in court funding for adoptions? They were in a no-win situation, and it's about time those abortion rights activists figured it out.

Planned Parenthood's response and my comeback

I should have posted this sooner. Planned Parenthood did respond. It can be seen here.

Of course, I had to respond to his response. We're rather using the Dispatch as a blog at this point. But the point has to be firmly made that Planned Parenthood is a business that rakes in taxpayers money. Here's my response: Planned Parenthood is big-business operation

Tuesday, August 29, 2006
In an Aug. 21 letter, Gary Dougherty, executive director of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of Ohio, responded to my Aug. 6 letter by questioning my analysis of the organization’s annual report, calling it "fuzzy math." Yet, I reported only the bottom line, a $63 million profit, as also reported by numerous media.
Since 1987, Planned Parenthood has received $3.9 billion in taxpayers’ money. From 2004 to 2005, it performed 255,015 surgical abortions (a record number). Some sources estimate that it made $108 million from its abortion business alone, or 31 percent of its clinic income.
No matter how Dougherty cuts it, abortion is big business. It’s in Planned Parenthood’s best interests to keep its clients ignorant of the link between breast cancer and abortion, the risks of infertility after abortion and the reality of post-abortion trauma. Telling the truth cuts into its bottom line.

Weird Weekend

This was a weird weekend.

It started off with finding out that someone had tapped into my checkcard and helped themselves to a couple of thousand dollars worth of computer gear. I kinda feel like one of those commercials with the old woman talking with the voice of a hacker kid.


Yep, they've got web hosting and a notebook computer and who knows how much other digital equipment. And to top it off, they started the whole run with two donations to charity. I guess it eased their consciences.

After talking to the bank, I followed through with my plans to go to the Bluegrass Musicians Supply shop here in town. I got to play with a really nice electric autoharp, and then E and I listened to some jams in the basement. Next time I go, I'm taking a harp. I need to try out those new picks I bought.

Today was the family reunion in Wellston. Lots of good food and wacky family. It's one of those things that you don't necessarily want to do, but it's fun when you get there.

One of the family members mentioned being my inlaw's best man at their wedding. So, I asked him if he knew anything about the limburger cheese on the manifold of the wedding vehicle. He said, "Now, why would you think I would know anything about that? I don't know anything more than I know about the swiss cheese in the mailbox." I'd never heard about the swiss cheesed mailbox, so I figured I'd found the perp. The twinkle in his eyes told me I was right.

Planned Parenthood Capitalizes on Abortion

The fight against Pregnancy Resource Centers heated up a couple of notches when California Representative Henry Waxman issued his report last month. Editorials flew, accusing PRCs of misleading women by providing false information about the effects of abortion. In response to an editorial by Robyn Blumner that appeared in the Columbus Dispatch, I submitted this letter to the editor, which ran on the August 6, 2006.

Planned Parenthood capitalizes on abortion

Sunday, August 06, 2006

Robyn Blumner’s July 24 Forum column "Crisis Pregnancy Centers dole out misinformation in misuse of tax money," on California Rep. Henry Waxman’s recent report, did little more than pass on bad information.
While some pregnancy centers receive funding for abstinence education, in total about $30 million, state and local governments are doling out funding for Planned Parenthood to the tune of $272.7 million, according to its 2004-2005 annual report.
The abstinence programs that the pregnancy centers offer are free to clients. Planned Parenthood earned a profit of $63 million in 2004-05.
Planned Parenthood stands to lose millions if the American public learns that abortion is linked to breast cancer, infertility and abortion-related trauma.
Abortion is big business. Why are our tax dollars going to fund a multimillion dollar business that is making money by harming the women it claims to protect?

SANDY BARTON
Columbus

Bluegrass Jam

No, that's not something you spread on bread. It's an event at New Song Church in Reynoldsburg. On the second and fourth Fridays from 7-10, they hold a Bluegrass/gospel jam session. They welcome acoustic stringed instruments and the harmonica. I've gotta say, I've never seen so many banjo pickers in one room. There is a section for the audience, a section for the musicians, and the stage in the center. They rotate through the musician section and everyone gets a turn at the mic.

I took my autoharp out for a test drive on Friday, and while I didn't get up on stage, I did play along. But, I've been informed that you only get one time on the bench. Next time I have to get up and play with the rest. I'll be ready.

It's kind of weird going to an activity at a different church. It was fortunate to run across some people that I know. There is a family who was there that I know from baseball; one of the kids was on a team with one of my sons. Another older sibling worked with the other son. Turns out the kids have a bluegrass band including guitar, banjo, mandolin, and fiddle. Really, everyone there was friendly, and I had a good time. I'm planning on going next time, and I'll be ready to play.

Something like this might be fun at Logos--without the bluegrass. But I don't feel comfortable trying to start a group right now. Maybe down the road. Right now at Logos, I find myself doing a whole lot of sitting on the outside and looking in. Not necessarily because I want to, but because that's apparently where I need to be right now. It's kind of nice going to a new place where I'm not tempted to do anything more than show up. I know that sounds weird. But the things at Logos that I really feel a burden to be involved with, I've not been able to do. By hanging out somewhere as a guest, I'm not part of the community, and I have no responsibility to be involved at a deeper level. It goes against what I've been taught about using my spiritual gifts, but seems to be where I am supposed to be right now.

In the meantime, I'm learning some bluegrass / gospel tunes and getting ready for next time.

Music to Keep the boredom away.

One of the things about the boredom of my job is that I can listen to music. My autoharping led me to CD Baby, where I purchased my Brobdingnagian Bards CDs. CD Baby lets you listen to clips from CDs, and there are pages by theme, style, etc. So, I'll find something interesting and listen while I work. Some of it has been just a little weird, but here are some of my favorites--with or without the autoharp.

Graphic Recliner
ECOSSE: The Auld Alliance
Gene Moore: I Give Up

Sound-bites

When I first got online _________ years ago, I discovered email lists. What's more, I discovered the fun to be had debating a topic on a list, for me usually on the topic of education/homeschooling. Well, I haven't done it for several years, but I got to jump into the fray this week on, of all things, a puppetry email list.

Someone posted an article about PBS funds possibly being cut, and the conversation turned to all things education. I just couldn't sit back and allow the idea float in cyberspace that education is the responsibility of the government, could I?

What I discovered was that over time the art of discussion as turned into the art of creating a sound bite. According to Wikipedia,

It is characterized by a short phrase or sentence that deftly captures the essence of what the speaker is trying to say. Such key moments in dialogue (or monologue) stand out better in the audience's memory and thus become the "taste" that best represents the entire "meal" of the larger message or conversation. Sound bites are a natural consequence of people placing ever greater emphasis on summarizing ever-increasing amounts of information in their lives.

Every post has to wrap up the conversation in as few words as possible, the more cleverly stated the better. What's more every post has to end with some Fox News-ish, CNN-like barb about someone's character rather than actually discussing the topic itself. Instead of having a gourmet meal, we're having nuggets through the drive through--extra sauce, please.

I don't know that there is a point to this post other than to "point" out the phenomenon. I think maybe we could all lay off the news shows a little and try reading a book. A big one. One with lots of words. Pithy, yeah, a pithy book. Read one and get back to me.

Musings of the Harper

Sometimes the Internet is a wonderful thing. If you need a little information about something, you just Google or Ask and there it is--more information than you ever thought you'd want to have. Today I'm sharing with you my latest discovery:

Autoharp Radio

Now, you might wonder what I was looking for that I discovered Autoharp Radio. In fact, I was looking for strings for my autoharp. Yes, indeed. I own an autoharp. It's an older 12-bar Oscar Schmidt, but it's in pretty good condition (although it could use some new felt along with the new strings.)

But I digress. As I was looking for strings, I ran across Autoharp Radio, which is broadcast online on Live 365. After listening to it for a few days at work, I discovered a couple of things: 1) my playing drastically improved as I heard accomplished harpers play; 2) there are some really weird songs out there that should be shared.

I've heard songs from A Mighty Wind, quite a bit of bluegrass, folk, and gospel, some really interesting jazz, and even a rendition of "Bohemian Rhapsody". Oh, yeah!

So far, my favorite of the weird is the Brobdingnagian Bards
These guys are a Celtic Renaissance duo out of Austin, TX. Their songs are played on the autoharp, mandolin, and recorder. They play some classics and some of their own works. One of my favorites so far is "Do Virgins Taste Better?" Just think about that in the context of a song about dragons. You'll understand. But they've done parodies from Star Wars and School House Rock. Their Lord of the Rings CD was so popular that they were the headliners at the LOR Oscar party.

Things get a little weirder when you check out Marc Gunn's site. Marc is the autoharpist in of the group, and he seems to have a fetish for felines and drinking songs. But he's a good harpist, and he's the reason that Autoharp Radio exists.

So, sit back at your 'puter and take listen to the dulcet strains of the autoharp. You'll be wanting to own one too.

Kids Say the Darnedest Things

So, I had a puppet show today at Heritage Park in Groveport. They were having their first Nature Fair and I did a 20 minute show with the help of my "stage hand", Ethan. We've got the stage all set up, the audience sits down, the excitement continues to build. I come around the corner for my curtain speech and to start off things with a tongue twister, a song, and some antics with the "stage hand." Before I get a word out, a little girl in the front row blurts out:

"You look weird."

Those who know me, know that I'm not often at a loss for words, but honestly, the first thing that came to mind was, "Is my hair sticking up or something?"

I had nothing. No pithy comeback. Nothing other than, "This from a girl with a snake painted on her face." So, I laughed it off and moved on with the show.

I told a lady at BestBuy about the girl's comment and her response was, "That's exactly the look I was going for--Jerk!" Okay, I like it without the jerk. What about you? What would you have said to the little girl? You know, in case that ever happens again.