tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-327360722024-03-14T02:27:48.440-06:00Lady of LongbournI sign every blog with 'To God be all glory.' I mean that. What I write here, I try to remind myself, however controversial or light-hearted, is written to bring glory to my awesome God, and His incarnate Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.comBlogger980125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-34841919742534737602023-08-20T09:20:00.005-06:002023-08-20T09:20:50.089-06:00Not IdiocyWe're watching Fellowship of the Ring, and between bedtimes and what not, we watched Weathertop twice. Both times, the kids I live with declared Frodo "Idiot!" the moment he, facing getting caught, facing terror, not knowing what it will do, facing external urges to do so, puts on the Ring. And I just find myself in Frodo in that moment, too weak against temptation. But I don't think idiocy Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-74120037380770671772023-08-08T22:46:00.004-06:002023-08-08T22:46:50.704-06:00Anxiety Deposits At work this week one of the front desk staff had to call our notoriously grumpy, entitled other office to ask them to schedule an emergency patient in one of their same day open slots. Everyone was nervous. Anxious that whoever at the other office answered the phone would react badly. It ended up going smoothly, but I noticed that it is unlikely the emotional memory of the 15 minutes Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-54144132156117944682022-12-25T16:26:00.001-07:002022-12-25T16:26:37.130-07:00Settings of Christmas Etymologies This year’s theme for Christmas etymologies is Settings. To start, we have the hometown of Mary, the place Jesus grew up, Nazareth. And, we don’t know what it means or where it came from for sure. Some have speculated that it is related to Gennesaret, another name of the Sea of Galilee or Sea of Tiberius in northern Israel. Gennesaret means “a harp”. Jesus’ birth occurred in Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-65782504887407456352022-07-27T20:58:00.000-06:002022-07-27T20:58:03.043-06:00Thoughts about Patriarchy I believe God is male.I believe Adam, the first man, had a special position of responsibility toward and representation of the rest of humanity. I believe women are made in God's image and have equal inherent value to that of men. I believe men and women are together called to exercise dominion together. (Two togethers in that sentence on purpose.)I believe God gave special responsibility, Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-24244389370075741722022-07-19T00:35:00.004-06:002022-07-19T00:35:44.908-06:00Cantillon Effect Sometimes I sit a few cars back at a stoplight that has just turned green and imagine how efficient it would be if we could all trust each other to accelerate at the same moment at the same rate. The light could turn green and we could all press the gas pedal without running into each other. The way it works now (and I am not interested in any technologies or systems that would enable or enforce Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-72907319369116412342022-07-03T01:26:00.002-06:002022-07-03T01:26:53.943-06:00Contentment?It's been coming up a lot lately: this tension between knowing God has already given us so much more than we deserve, so to be content with what we have - but also seeing that there are things broken or out of place in our world and lives and for it to be ok to desire healing and progress towards the ideal - while accepting it if God keeps us living somewhere short of perfect through no fault of Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-2351696035820110392022-06-23T20:57:00.003-06:002022-06-23T20:57:24.473-06:00Turn the Other Cheek Some Facebook friends got me thinking about turning the other cheek this week, and whether it could possibly apply to sexual abuse. Obviously our impulse is to say NO! But I wanted more than a feeling to justify this interpretation, and today I thought of one. Turning the other cheek isn't participating in violence. Giving your tunic to the thief stealing your coat is generosity, not Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-47666561950644798292022-06-20T17:12:00.003-06:002022-06-20T17:27:19.633-06:00Beautiful Colorado Drive near LarkspurOnce upon a time just over a year ago I was out for a drive with my brother and his wife. We were off the beaten path (not on the Interstate), and found ourselves winding through hills and valleys that did not seem like Colorado to us, but maybe more like Sweden or somewhere old and less industrial where sheep may bleat down the path. It was greener than Colorado usually is. I tried to go Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-1944942890666777622022-06-09T09:53:00.002-06:002022-06-09T09:53:53.428-06:00RatiosMy friends taught me to play a board game which starts with each player dividing 100 into three categories: fame, happiness, and wealth. What if I divided 24 hour vacation days into my own preferred formula? I think I want to sit with my toes skimming the surface of a lake or stream, reading a novel. But if I could choose, I wouldn't do that all day, and may even do it only one or two hours Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-26942311494118444592021-12-25T10:38:00.004-07:002021-12-25T10:38:52.647-07:00HanabiThere's this cooperative game called Hanabi (that I love), where, in order to play a card, you are dependent on hints other players have given you. I decided early on to play with hope. I will hope that my fellow players gave me good hints and didn't neglect to give me necessary hints. It can backfire when the constraints of the game limit the available hints, and so my fellow players were Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-80047693688554369352021-05-30T00:27:00.002-06:002021-05-30T00:27:31.205-06:00WertI cried tonight. I didn't expect it. I was watching a movie that wasn't sad, that didn't have me in the least feeling teary, and it ended without anyone dying, and I remembered something I told someone earlier in the day, that I didn't feel very deeply when I said it. And I just cried. I mean, I know that I have had a long and overwhelming few weeks. I know that the whole world feels like itLisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-2185183612105003962020-07-29T17:58:00.002-06:002020-07-29T18:07:02.417-06:00Two FieldsOnce upon a time there were two fields and two farmers. One field was fertile, and the farmer who lived there worked diligently to plant crops, care for them, and harvest. His harvests were so abundant that he made more than he and his family needed. The second field was sandy and dry. Harvests tended to be small, and many years there wasn't enough to feed the farmer and his family. Their Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-5115636892815085272020-07-21T17:35:00.000-06:002020-07-22T17:04:46.762-06:00Mask Decisions: Stacking, Not Choosing Between, Facts
When I am allowed to make personal judgments about how I behave in this pandemic, I am not just considering one or two facts. In the case of wearing masks when out shopping, here is how I would reason it, if the government weren't superimposing their will:
A. Transmission is extremely rare in circumstances without prolonged close exposure, and
B. Transmission by people without current symptomsLisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-18479742385091157562020-06-12T14:37:00.001-06:002020-08-04T11:54:58.481-06:00Black Lives Matter and Non-Profits
Black Lives Matter Global Network uses a non-profit fundraising technology company used by many democrats and leftist organizations, ActBlue(1). This organization has at least three branches(2): one for 501(c)3s - charities, one of 501(c)4s - civics, and one for a PAC. BLM uses the charities branch as a pass-through.
When a person donates via the ActBlue platform, their receipt(3) provides themLisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-77203342573174886072020-05-20T15:58:00.000-06:002020-05-20T16:29:03.237-06:00Herd Immunity by Relative Vulnerability
Herd immunity.
The idea that after a certain number of people in a group are immune to a pathogen, it progressively becomes almost impossible for the pathogen to spread broadly.
If we could choose which of the members of society to be exposed to the pathogen and so become immune, but not all members have equal risk of harm or death from the disease, how would we Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-33993259986788397492020-04-28T09:01:00.000-06:002020-04-28T09:01:35.161-06:00Economic Disparity
I care about disparity in wealth: I want more disparity between starvation levels and the poorest poor. If the richest rich also increase their prosperity in so doing, I have no objection to letting them.
Of course, I think it is also good to exhort rich and poor to work hard; to seek to add value to the world; to buy and sell goods and labor at just and honest prices; and to be generousLisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-78382633339331326032020-04-22T23:06:00.001-06:002020-04-22T23:06:23.418-06:00Unlawful Orders and Romans 13If the Treasury Secretary started issuing orders for which US Navy ships should go where, is it the Christian thing to do for the captains to submit to that governing authority?
Of course not! Our government is not set up for the Treasury Secretary to have authority to command the military.
A Christian captain conscientiously obeying Romans 13's directive to be subject to governing authorities Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-31261179231379495362020-01-10T23:11:00.000-07:002020-01-10T23:11:12.970-07:00GK Chesterton and Bill Watterson
Before Christmas I read a quote about feasts by GK Chesterton, and since it intrigued me, I tracked down the source. This involved my embarrassingly asking the Facebook Group which had posted the quote, whence it came - only to be told that the citation was the very first thing in the post, preceding the quote. Much of Chesterton's work is available free online, so I set about to find the entireLisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-16014170669160883962019-12-29T11:49:00.001-07:002019-12-29T11:58:35.231-07:00Christmas Etymologies: Mary This Christmas, I selected Mary as the theme of my etymologies. Please note that this is not a Bible study, but an etymology study of the English words used in the story of Mary from the Gospel of Luke. With the exception of the name, Mary, none of these etymologies touch on the Greek words used in the original text. Because of the nature of this post, I discourage you using it Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-407382615006321802019-06-08T22:39:00.000-06:002019-12-25T00:55:14.815-07:00Self-Determination at What Expense?You wake up in the passenger seat of a car. The driver has abducted you. You’re in pain, and disoriented. After a moment, you realize you are bleeding badly. By the grace of God you overcome the driver within a few blocks of the hospital and take control of the car. If you don’t get to the emergency room soon, you could die. The problem is, you’re in traffic; pedestrians are crossing at the Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-28013771385402896162019-05-28T19:40:00.000-06:002019-05-28T19:41:12.226-06:00Bramble BakeI can hardly believe I'm writing this, because I am generally very conservative (literally) about words. I try not to change them. In my opinion, this aids in communication, and communication is much more important to me than words - even though words are beautiful and exciting treasure-maps... I digress.
About a year ago, I discovered Baked French Toast. That stuff is good, Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-74576232986911443442019-03-31T07:52:00.000-06:002019-03-31T07:52:51.686-06:00Parents and the Barren and ExpectationsWhen people say "before I was a parent, I expected _____ about raising kids, but now..." What it kind of sounds like to me is "don't bother spending these waiting years preparing to be a good parent; you'll only get it wrong." Thing is, I sincerely disagree.
I know preparation isn't the same as living it. But the solution to the barren thinking they would never let their kids throw fits in Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-24426696228380808442019-01-27T22:19:00.003-07:002019-01-27T22:19:50.276-07:00How Jesus Sounds
I have never realized it before, and perhaps that’s a ridiculous fact, since I’ve read the gospels over and over, heard Sunday school stories and sermons and Christian songs for decades. But just tonight I realized how easy it is to relate to so many different people Jesus spoke to while on earth.
Here’s how I described them on Facebook earlier, and I relate to every single type, at Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-24520806001234287772019-01-16T21:47:00.000-07:002019-01-16T21:47:24.407-07:00In Defense of Like-Mindedness on Social Media
There is a popular idea coming out of our analysis of the new thing that is social media: that social media’s tendency to make echo chamber, confirmation-bias-reinforcing bubbles is a bad thing for growing as human beings. I don’t think this concept is entirely without merit. But I think it may depend on the type of person you and your friends are.
First of all, I have observed the Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-68722706296952958082018-11-11T11:27:00.001-07:002018-11-11T12:37:20.439-07:00Winter is for...
“Winter is about Innovation.” So said a slogan I saw at work recently. It sounds sloganish. The company was selling new winter sports gear, from shoes to skis to sunglasses. But it made me think. The past couple years I have been thinking a lot about winter. A few friends recently moved to places where winter is stronger than it is in Colorado. And it is hard for themLisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com1