tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-327360722012-02-16T12:31:45.455-07:00I 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.comBlogger8461100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-70168778157276367502012-02-16T12:31:00.002-07:002012-02-16T12:31:45.464-07:00

My brother says there are songs for almost every experience, every emotion.  Most of them just express well what you feel.  Psalms, he says, does a great job of identifying where you’re at so that you can take it somewhere: offer it to God, learn, move to a new place of trust and worship.  But something I have been thinking this week is that there aren’t always songs.  Or I don’t know them.  My

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-65507714359640400902012-01-17T20:43:00.000-07:002012-01-17T20:43:16.921-07:00

I wrote "First Save" in 2007, and did not publish it at first just in case there were privacy issues.  This far removed from the actual date, I am confident that the details are sufficiently ambiguous.  After several months of sidewalk counselling almost every Saturday, at last I was privileged to witness God saving the life of a tiny human being: He was a big man, but not scary.  He wore a pink

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-69156433226102114532012-01-17T20:38:00.003-07:002012-01-17T20:39:48.886-07:00

I happen to think that a great many things are God’s department.  I believe that nothing happens without Him ordaining it.  This isn't to say that I don’t believe in personal responsibility, especially in obeying God.  It’s an interesting thing about obedience, though: you can’t obey an order that isn't given, even if you feel urgently like the Master needs to get you moving.  A servant is still

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-13185657803678629092012-01-12T00:17:00.002-07:002012-01-12T00:17:21.746-07:00

Once upon a time, right before I started this blog, I was noticing a lack of male leadership in my church.  Women who notice such things are usually pro-patriarchy; we’re complementarians, ok with pastors being only men and husbands being the head of the households (even of the wives!).  Those kinds of people are supposed to believe in submission, in not taking over authority not given to them;

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-26991787071051616862011-12-16T00:34:00.000-07:002011-12-16T00:34:18.209-07:00

This Christmas I’ve been thinking of bells.  Wearing jingle bells reminds me quickly of the season.  Hearing “sleigh bells” conjures nostalgic stories.  The Polar Express is memorable to me for the beautiful silver bell and its mystical note.  Most of our words for the sound a bell makes are imitative, but what other associations do common bell-words have?  “Bell” comes from the Old English,

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-65520238050979475122011-12-09T13:21:00.002-07:002011-12-09T13:21:48.662-07:00

I first heard of celeriac because Harriet Smith mentions it in Gwyneth Paltrow’s film version of Emma.  To be honest I only looked up the vegetable because the scene was running in my head like a parallel to my feelings.  You can’t really find it in grocery stores, and even the farmer’s market, sell grains in bulk, entire sections devoted to vitamins and organic produce stores didn’t have it. 

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-6662615164554349132011-11-13T10:37:00.000-07:002011-11-13T10:37:09.212-07:00

All That Was LostBy Michael Card Why are you crying?Who are you looking for?This is a graveyard.Were you expecting more? You feel abandoned,Like every hope has died,The death of all your dreams -This is the price of life: He will claim His lost possession,Repossess you, pay the cost.He will purchase you for freedom.He will find all that was lost. There stands the StrangerThere on the flowering

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-49047657261342207352011-10-01T17:24:00.002-06:002011-10-01T17:24:15.478-06:00

Moneyball is a movie about a man who almost single-handedly made baseball even more boring than it already was.  Yet I loved it.  I am not a baseball fan; the only way you can get me to watch a game is if I’m only giving it cursory glances in between laughing with my friends, enjoying the energetic atmosphere of a ball field.  The back of a baseball card, covered in stats, means nothing to me. 

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-36440745875256229652011-09-15T16:04:00.003-06:002011-09-15T16:05:44.778-06:00

One would think that the root word of ‘gravity’ is related to that hole we dig in the ground and put coffins into, commonly called a grave.  Both bring the sense of “down.”  And how can one miss the weight of solemn sorrow that is associated with burying a human being in the dirt?  But it turns out that etymologists have two histories for the word grave, a sort of convergent evolution: one in the

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-68816387995896701792011-09-09T15:00:00.000-06:002011-09-09T15:00:52.593-06:00

Ending the life of an innocent human being is wrong! So.  Some analysis:Pro-choice people cannot legitimately say thatthe "product of conception"is not aliveor that he is not innocentor that he is not a human being.All are quite obvious facts.By definition they are ending whatever-he-is through an abortion or "termination".  The only thing left is to doubt the assertion that the act is

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-13667088970509076252011-09-04T15:51:00.001-06:002011-09-04T16:00:28.303-06:00

Media (books and movies) should not be censored.  Original authors may censor their own works, in a sense, by omitting immoral content.  Should this resolution be adopted, there would be no fast-forwarding unwanted scenes in movies.  Ideally there would be no need to fast forward, since creators of media would not put inappropriate things in their works.  But this highlights a clash of values,

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-90162602400768281632011-08-31T21:52:00.001-06:002011-08-31T21:52:18.856-06:00

So what God has been teaching me lately is to be responsive where I am, pressing forward from this point, not aiming to reach one ideal because I’m not the one who decides what “done” looks like.  And I need to ask myself whether I’m rejecting opportunities to do good things because they aren’t ideal.  I owe my life to my maker, a lump of clay submitted to the potter’s design, intention, and

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-55879135779924499382011-08-31T21:48:00.000-06:002011-08-31T21:48:39.991-06:00

As a sidewalk counselor, I encounter various arguments for abortion.  One of the arguments is that a woman has a right to self-determination.  She has the right, they say, not to be pregnant.  A person has the right to eliminate consequences of their own choices and actions.  Of course the real world doesn’t allow us to erase causes – or effects.  When we deal with effects, we are making more

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-2500930432532692292011-08-31T21:36:00.001-06:002011-08-31T21:37:06.103-06:00

Last week after a prayer meeting I usually attend, a few of us got to talking about the Declaration of Independence.  “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”  One says he doesn’t believe in the right to life, but in the right

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-69765574424002375412011-08-31T21:31:00.000-06:002011-08-31T21:31:53.057-06:00

A friend recently asked an interesting question on his Facebook status.  He said “Are spiritual gifts rewards?”  What followed was a discussion that went a certain way because of the things that his friends had been thinking about.  It wasn’t a simple, abstract, objective discussion.  I have been reading Andrew Murray on the Holy Spirit, and it is frustrating me.  He teaches that we are utterly

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-85873186510416119342011-08-31T21:26:00.002-06:002011-08-31T21:26:15.137-06:00

Submission has come up a lot lately in my life.  I very much value authority and submission. But I don’t understand parts of it. Can you correct someone in authority over you? How do different authorities share their roles – church has authority, husbands have authority, fathers and mothers have authority, government has authority.  Can an authority delegate his leadership to someone else? For

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-41390160854539112022011-08-31T21:23:00.000-06:002011-08-31T21:23:14.218-06:00

CS Lewis wrote a book, That Hideous Strength.  It is one of my favorite novels.  Early in the story we meet a newly married woman named Jane, who has discovered that marriage is not what she imagined.  In fact she imagined a lot about her life that just isn’t so.  And some things have come up that she never intended.  Her initial reaction is to reject uninvited realities, and to be miserable

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-96889318462577422011-08-31T21:19:00.001-06:002011-08-31T21:19:28.996-06:00

“We sometimes hear the expression ‘the accident of sex,’ as though one’s being a man or a woman were a triviality.  It is very far from being a triviality.  It is our nature.  It is the modality under which we live all our lives; it is what you and I are called to be – called by God, this God who is in charge.”  Elisabeth Elliot deeply explores the subjects of calling and obedience in her book,

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-13318038842185296812011-08-31T16:07:00.002-06:002011-08-31T16:07:37.684-06:00

There is a movie called Leap Year, and I can’t recommend it because of a couple scenes that just aren’t beneficial for holding on to good morals.  But like some sort of hypocrite, I watch it occasionally.  It is thought-provoking, but then my brother says everything makes me think.  This in-control woman (whose control issues are a response to an out of control childhood) is tired of being

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-78231523205495560852011-08-30T22:13:00.000-06:002011-08-30T22:13:14.791-06:00

There’s a strategy game called Settlers of Catan that my friends and I like to play.  It’s kind of based on economics and the power of monopolies or embargoes or of trade and spending wisely, as well as taking risks.  I’m ok at it, but I don’t have enough experience or genius to keep the big picture in my head at all times.  My strategy usually revolves around starting well and going on my own

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-68936518449022141862011-08-30T22:10:00.000-06:002011-08-30T22:10:09.295-06:00

God, the Onewho created everything,and who is mightierthan everyone,and who knows the endfrom the beginning,who is all-righteousand good - is the Godwho speaks,who moved in my own little lifeto save me,who moves each dayto lead me,who prepares the waybefore meand lights itwith His own presence,who gives to metiny good giftsand listens to mytrembling prayers.And yet I doubt;I fear:one sentenceone

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-53840396928742122342011-07-18T23:43:00.000-06:002011-07-18T23:43:39.831-06:00

Made by a young pair of brothers, Divided the movie is the film version of the Family Integrated Church propaganda.  Careful oversight was given by Scott Brown, of the NCFIC, and he was also interviewed extensively in the documentary.  The film follows the research of Philip  Leclerc into the fruits, philosophies, and history of the youth ministry church model.  Divided consists mostly of

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-91314699351838890582011-07-02T20:40:00.002-06:002011-07-02T20:40:58.635-06:00

Gingersnap Chicken Fingers 16 gingersnaps, finely chopped½ c. panko breadcrumbsSalt, pepper, and paprika to taste (no more than ½ tsp. each) 1 egg, beaten 4 chicken breasts, cut into strips (3 per breast) Heat oven to 425 F.  Coat strips with egg.  Press into breading mixture, turn over and press again.  Place on greased cookie sheet.  Cook 15 minutes.  Turn.  Cook 5-10 minutes more depending on

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-30431001539263249662011-06-23T00:22:00.000-06:002011-06-23T00:22:28.726-06:00

The Bible talks a lot about sacrifice, about waiting and hoping. But lately I've been thinking about how it talks about rewards and reaping and feasting. I don't have any specific questions except: what do you know about those? UNFURL: “...he bore a tall staff, as it were a standard, but it was close-furled in a black cloth bound about with many thongs. ‘It is a gift that I bring you from the

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-85865042937863003562011-06-23T00:03:00.002-06:002011-06-23T00:03:50.638-06:00

I sat beside a stone fountain that wasn’t running.  In my hand I held a small paper cup with one scoop of chocolate ice cream in it.  My other hand wielded a long-handled spoon.  The day was hot enough to insist on rolling down car windows or turning up the AC.  But in Aurora, tens of miles from mountain ranges in the west, the sunset on the longest day of the year was already approaching.  Above

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-68441255103094192782011-06-13T21:04:00.001-06:002011-06-13T21:13:44.653-06:00

Fifteen adults and ten kids filled the house of my friends and long time fellow Pigfesters for a Pigfest of their own this weekend.  There was a craft project (pig masks) for the kids, and plenty of farm-fare for our feast.  Lasting about four hours total, we covered five full-length debates and two miniature ones (something introduced last year at the Pigfest of June 2010).  The three guests who

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-91387003158853758252011-05-17T22:02:00.000-06:002011-05-17T22:02:55.636-06:00

Grace             Human beings are totally depraved.  We can do nothing good apart from God.  He enables us to be good.  According to the good pleasure of His will, He gifts us.  Grace is more than a status, more than something that rescued us from Hell and promises us Heaven; it is real now, useful for our lives.  Deserve.  Competition.             Though marriage is good and normal and to be

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-17516024695533509552011-05-10T21:40:00.002-06:002011-05-10T21:40:32.429-06:00

For Mother’s Day my family took Mom out to a restaurant we’d never been to before, Cheddar’s.  Dad was leery since the name sounded like cheese.  Mom read the menu and it sounded like there would be good food for all of our tastes.  My brother called ahead and found out that they didn’t take reservations, even on holidays.  So we arrived and were handed a little black disk, with flashing and

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-2899029849014756682011-04-24T13:57:00.001-06:002011-04-24T14:02:05.869-06:00

"But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you...He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" ~ Romans 8:11, 32 "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-23973777327789784772011-04-22T18:42:00.000-06:002011-04-22T18:42:13.134-06:00

“Thank you, Jesus, for this food. Amen.”  - the prayer children have offered in my house before meals for as long as I can remember We bless our food with a tiny word of thanks.  Before we share in the Lord’s supper in most churches, thanks is made to the Father who gave Only Son.  Thanks is in the story Paul tells of the Lord’s supper.  The Lord JesusOn the same night in which He was

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-1538150538027353902011-04-22T17:02:00.000-06:002011-04-22T17:02:45.708-06:00

I was looking for a CD to listen to last night, a sermon that, ironically, encourages Christians to turn the world upside down with the plan, “We’re going to go out there and DIE.”  He speaks from Galatians of dying to self.  But the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church (another reminder given me this week, from a Facebook friend).  On my way to finding that CD, I found another one. 

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-29303422786278105422011-04-21T17:07:00.001-06:002011-10-12T21:00:34.635-06:00

I guess God wants me to be thinking about these things.  On Saturday I was at a prayer meeting for a friend headed off to Africa on a three month mission trip.  Another prayer warrior present told me afterwards that one of his pastors has been in Nigeria for a few days, where the gospel was preached.  The report is that 150,000 people came forward to be saved by the blood of Jesus.  Numbers like

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-48406041761233836462011-04-20T19:38:00.000-06:002011-04-20T19:38:37.786-06:00

I’ll admit: I would be scared if I saw a resurrection.  Scared by such display of amazing power.  And then I don’t know what I would be.  Would I have unshakable faith?  Would I crave more?  Would I ever be able to not hope again?  Personally, I’ve only prayed for a resurrection once.  I wasn’t present with the dead person.  I didn’t get called to go over.  I didn’t pray out loud, and I didn’t

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-20002160281180903222011-04-19T20:08:00.000-06:002011-04-19T20:08:37.674-06:00

At the very end of Jesus’ earthly sojourn, He promised that those who believe in and follow Him will do miracles even greater than those He had been seen to do (John 14:12).  I’m having trouble imagining greater miracles.  But let’s at least agree that bringing dead people back to life should be included in the list of wonders accompanying the preaching of His gospel.  Peter knew this.  So did

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-1185523257884928602011-04-19T19:54:00.000-06:002011-04-19T19:54:33.472-06:00

Comparative Studybetween Church/Elders and Wives/Husbandsfrom Greek New Testament The most common word for how women are to treat their husbands is the word hypotasso (“submit”).  The word is found in Ephesians 5:22, Colossians 3:18, Titus 2:5, and 1 Peter 3:1, 5.  Women are also commanded to be submissive at church gatherings, in 1 Corinthians 14:34.  There are several

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-18950674514885255162011-04-18T20:54:00.000-06:002011-04-18T20:54:00.463-06:00

What if the Bible isn’t enough?  What if God desires us to have more of a relationship with Him than a hermeneutical understanding of morality and doctrine?  And isn’t that what the Bible teaches: walk in the Spirit, walk by faith, the Spirit will guide us into all truth, despise not prophesying?  If you’re anything like me, first you rejected these speculations.  Then you couldn’t stop thinking

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-20102379830927244012011-04-18T20:32:00.000-06:002011-04-18T20:32:23.140-06:00

Michael Card has a new album out, all from the Gospel of Luke.  The subtitle is “A World Turned Upside Down” and the corresponding book is “Gospel of Amazement.”  The two songs I like the best are “What Sort of Song?” and “A Breath of a Prayer.”  Another song, “Pain and Persistence of Doubt,” accuses the characters in the gospel, and those who hear the song, of clinging to doubt and rejecting

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-83041614764427971292011-03-25T00:59:00.000-06:002011-03-25T00:59:44.031-06:00

Today I was having a gyro near the Colorado capitol in downtown Denver, and a policeman all in black with “HOMELAND SECURITY” written across his chest in grayish white was wandering around our restaurant.  I didn’t think much of it until I realized he was carrying a little black box the size of a deck of cards that was ticking erratically.  My friend I was with said he was looking for something,

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-31348239784273793732011-03-16T00:05:00.000-06:002011-03-16T00:05:26.835-06:00

I was reading Hebrews today, and this verse: Hebrews 10:22, "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water." made me think of something.  I’m not going to even start to say I know exactly what it means.  But what it made me think of was Manichaeanism.  I know that most of my readers are

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-43227026669334610282011-03-15T22:58:00.001-06:002011-03-15T22:58:37.339-06:00

Why are there flowers on the tops of mountains? No one sees them.  They grow and live and bloom and seed and die. I can imagine why God would want to bless us with beauty by putting pretty things in our paths.  Did His beauty-bucket just spill? How do we know there are flowers on some peaks?  Every once in a while an adventurer makes it to the top, and stands in a field of wild blooms.  He

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-82328929530105983782011-03-02T14:33:00.002-07:002011-03-02T14:33:23.416-07:00

Did God speak outside of Scripture?  Does He still?  Can we speak His (new) words?  Speaking is a big focus of the New Testament, though I think we have overlooked it.  Many of the spiritual gifts have to do with verbal communication.  Are those gifts supernatural (spiritual) or not?  Can speaking gifts come from God, but not the words?  What about this verse from Peter?  “If any man speak, let

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-3824229556417772872011-03-02T14:31:00.001-07:002011-03-02T14:31:26.150-07:00

What if Daniel had an aching back?  I tend to forget that the characters in the Bible were normal human beings.  They had to eat.  Sitting and rising may have been sore activities for a man who’d lived as long and seen as much as Daniel.  By the time he was cast into the lion’s den, he was quite old.  This man saw miracles.  He prayed and interpreted dreams.  But what if his back ached?  What

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-71281291490992982662011-02-28T19:15:00.001-07:002011-02-28T19:15:56.526-07:00

Once upon a time I went through and underlined every time “word of God” was used in the book of Acts.  The phrase occurred quite often in passages about evangelism, which of course is a theme of Acts. At the time I was accumulating evidence that if we wanted to be effective at converting the lost, we needed to use actual Scripture instead of our emotional phrases and cute metaphors.   A passage

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-65308992976017225922011-02-14T20:52:00.000-07:002011-02-14T20:52:46.165-07:00

I've been having salad a lot lately.  I bought the romaine lettuce and spinach and red pepper when I was trying not to eat simple sugars and other refined carbohydrates to keep my cold from getting too bad.  (Don't know if that worked; I'm still sick and have been rather miserable.)  The rest of the fixings I had on hand for the occasional salad.  When I came home last week with my treasure, Mom

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-45055266727106556372011-02-13T22:19:00.000-07:002011-02-13T22:19:27.209-07:00

Are all my posts the same?  All this wrestling with change? "Why am I not the same as I used to be?  How have I changed?  What shall I hold on to?  Who am I becoming?  Does anyone else notice?" I don't know where I'm going.  I never have.  When I graduated and people asked what next, even if I thought of a polite and normal-sounding answer, inside I thought of that verse in John 3, that the

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-63370652711275517302011-01-31T19:46:00.000-07:002011-01-31T19:46:52.652-07:00

If you were my Facebook friend, you would know that I've been in a questioning, controversial mood lately.  I decided that instead of just letting these thoughts float through my head, I'd expose the Facebook world to the incessant barrage of deep or significant questions that most of us choose to ignore or forget.  So I post the questions, and friends comment.  I try not to participate much.  

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-14155672726244409722011-01-04T22:17:00.000-07:002011-01-04T22:17:18.456-07:00

For a couple hours we played, this little 11-month-old girl and I.  She pushed her alligator-pond wooden walker (the quaintest I’ve ever seen), and then we read a book of old animal rhymes.  I crawled around after her, heedless of the frizz overcoming my fresh-washed curls.  We spun on the wood floor of the kitchen, and sang songs and danced around the island there.  When we were tired, I made

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-50192440169521545132010-12-31T00:46:00.001-07:002010-12-31T00:46:37.954-07:00

I was with a friend and her family this week, and her oldest daughter, age 4, was sharing her crayons with me, and her new coloring book.  Being of a Christmas theme, the book was filled with candy canes and elfs and Santa Claus.  We noted together that you can tell an elf by his pointed ears.  Fairies also have pointed ears.  “What kind of person is Santa?” I asked.  But since she could not see

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-71832696532734442892010-12-24T19:15:00.001-07:002010-12-24T19:16:50.354-07:00

Pine – from the Latin pinus = tree sap1. Evergreens with needles and cones or from the Greek poine = payment or punishment2. Suffer intense longing or yearning3. To wither through longing or grief Besides the classical metaphor using the evergreen as an image for eternal life, I think of the richness behind pine in the season of advent, when we are told several of the characters in the nativity

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-48993056739343298172010-12-06T21:59:00.000-07:002010-12-06T21:59:12.958-07:00

I made some new friends this weekend at a wedding.  We sat down at a round table for the rehearsal dinner and had a grand old time.  When I told them I like to read and write, one of them asked me what I write.  You all read my blog; what do I write?  “Do you write about life?” he asked.  Ummm…  Well, I do write about life, a little bit, but only as a frame for saying something else.  I wish I

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-8227916679347825622010-11-25T16:28:00.000-07:002010-11-25T16:28:09.236-07:00

So today, several days after I bought my car, I made it to the DMV in my county, at which I could turn in the title to have it transferred to my name, pay sales tax, and acquire temporary tags by which I may legally drive my vehicle.  Next I have to get an emissions test, get the new car listed on my insurance, and figure out what to do with my old car.  I’m very reluctant now to get rid of it.  

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-17934811256527442862010-11-25T16:08:00.000-07:002010-11-25T16:08:13.962-07:00

That night I called on a car I’d had my eye on for a while, but which I knew had been through several showings earlier in the week.  He told me the car had not been sold, and agreed to schedule a test drive for the next afternoon.  I got my mom to join me on this test drive, male members of the family being at work.  We met a colorful Indian man who showed us his gold Nissan Altima, the same age

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-26459492227701060252010-11-25T16:04:00.001-07:002010-11-25T16:04:08.886-07:00

On a Tuesday morning, I nervously picked up my phone to schedule a test drive of a 2003 Dodge Neon.  It just so happens that our first snowstorm of the season blew in that day.  We agreed to meet at a gas station between our two houses, since it would be after sundown and they have good lights.  I got my dad and my brother to go with me.  (I’m the research end, and the transaction I handle on my

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-9246696214828244032010-11-25T15:57:00.001-07:002010-11-25T15:57:29.884-07:00

After I had learned to identify scams on Craigslist, I got to work researching real potential cars.  I grabbed a scribble pad from the dollar store, a gel pen, and started listing cars that at first glance looked good.  I put the Year, Make, and Model as a heading for each entry.  To the side I wrote the phone number of the owner, as listed on Craigslist.  Below the heading I put the cost, and

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-21980778768288867772010-11-25T15:47:00.002-07:002010-11-25T15:47:46.577-07:00

My search on Craigslist for a used car for sale from a private seller soon yielded some exciting results.  When I compared the listed cars to the appraisal value, they were selling for way under market value, by thousands of dollars.  According to the listings, these couple cars had low mileage, were about 6 or 7 years old, good brands, and had some nice features.  I wondered what was wrong with

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-7537680614673333742010-11-25T15:44:00.002-07:002010-11-25T15:46:06.611-07:00

I took my pretty gold Saturn to a mechanic when I got the chance a few months ago.  Its engine had been idling rough, especially at stoplights, and burning through more oil than was its wont.  But the mechanic had bad news.  I have worn out my engine.  The only fix is to rebuild the engine, costing about twice what my car is worth.  So far my car still runs, but will get gradually worse.  Being a

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-50010716182407636742010-11-16T00:50:00.000-07:002010-11-16T00:50:19.401-07:00

Based on a recipe from Better Homes and Gardens, but modified to my taste! Wash, peel, and chop 2 pears into pea-sized pieces.  Set aside.  Melt 1/4 cup of butter and set aside.  Start water boiling.  Line muffin pans with paper muffin cups.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Get out two bowls. In the first bowl mix 1 and 1/2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 1 and 1/2

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-871129772640875592010-11-16T00:37:00.001-07:002010-11-16T00:37:17.659-07:00

As of this week I have had my job for 9 years. I started reading Lord of the Rings for what I estimate to be the 15th or 16th time.  A few best friends read my emails, let me visit their houses, and pray for me. My family is good and fun, and bad at communicating. When I have a question about philosophy or poetry or applied theology, I can ask my brother and we can talk for hours on how to fix

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-31791438211585105442010-11-16T00:28:00.003-07:002010-11-16T00:51:55.101-07:00

I bought a new car.  Well, it is new to me.  The other day I had my mom trim my hair, and now it is as short as it has been since junior high.  It is shorter than one of my best friend’s, and short than my little sister’s. In September I made a new friend.  In the beginning of November she moved back home to Wisconsin. To wear in a wedding in December I got a new red wool jacket. At work we just

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-72737697975328211132010-11-09T22:00:00.002-07:002010-11-09T22:00:18.835-07:00

Baptists: Thorough Reformers by John Quincy Adams is a short book demonstrating the impact on the Church and individual Christians when infant baptism is practiced.  Filled with quotes from Baptists and Paedobaptists, this is an informative resource on the question.  John Quincy Adams (yes, the president) is on the side of volitional baptism by immersion, having himself converted from the

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-20640661053302878352010-11-09T21:43:00.002-07:002010-11-11T10:32:03.761-07:00

This October my friends and I created yet another Pigfest.  It was a short two hours attended by about two dozen debaters.  There were four new Pigfesters.  A few children showed up and were passed around and played with.  The weather was fine.  My living room was packed, and the kitchen hosted an autumn afternoon feast of snack food. Topics:Pain and difficulty are the best ways to learn.  The

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-5821539617580028092010-10-26T19:51:00.002-06:002010-10-26T19:51:59.645-06:00

I was reading my own Facebook profile last night, and laughed when I saw my list of activities and interests.  Like this blog, it’s a bit eclectic.  I like etymology and prayer, baking and ecclesiology, physics and family.  Just now, mixing myself a cup of Vanilla Chai, I was thinking of reviewing the drink.  (Because I know all my readers would try and like something just because I said it was

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-68494146299241414992010-10-22T16:30:00.002-06:002010-10-22T16:40:55.924-06:00

Christians have hope.  We know that we are loved: created by God, died-for by Jesus Christ.  When we placed our trust in Jesus, our sins were forgiven.  In Christ we are a new creation, freed from guilt and condemnation.  God made our spirits alive so that we could now have fellowship with Him.  Our lives have purposes: to honor God and to walk in the good works He prepared for us.  After this

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-38314930816665270912010-10-04T23:23:00.002-06:002010-10-04T23:23:40.686-06:00

Where do you go to church? It’s a normal question, and I’m not offended by it.  But in the year since I stopped going to conventional church, I have yet to figure out an easy answer to this question.  I see the horror in friends’ eyes when I tell them I don’t go.  We’ve all known people who walked away from fellowship with believers, or who become apostate to the faith.  There is pity and

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-73185971064077173752010-10-04T19:46:00.001-06:002010-10-04T19:46:18.121-06:00

Two Stupid Comments I should have Rephrased Once upon a time way too close to the present, I was sitting at a table with an over-tired 3 year old.  We were eating a snack after visiting the museum and the park that day.  This little boy was all wound up, and began pretending to bite his finger.  And then he actually bit it.  My attempt at stifling and disguising laughter at his reckless accident

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-35786405902168757472010-10-04T19:36:00.001-06:002010-10-04T19:36:04.613-06:00

I’m so behind, reporting to you on the books I’ve been reading!  Let me catch you up. Back in August, I read The Oath by Frank Peretti.  It is the second grown-up book I have read of his.  (Monster was a fantastic book!)  I have to say that I was disappointed.  The story started slowly, and dragged on with way too many “climaxes.”  At the end of the book the real climax was not nearly as

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-74262787749694322062010-10-04T19:27:00.001-06:002010-10-04T19:27:23.144-06:00

I'm not even sure I am any kind of Dispensationalist.  And if you don't know what Dispensationalism is, you probably won't understand this skeleton commentary of what it has to do with Galatians.  But if you do, I hope you'll appreciate it.  (Intended to be read with Galatians, not independently.) Notes on Galatians with an emphasis on Dispensationalism: 1:1 – Paul, an apostle (defending equal

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-41605352461641680402010-10-04T00:09:00.000-06:002010-10-04T00:09:04.542-06:00

Isn’t it strange to be curious about one’s own motives?  Almost as an outside observer I watch myself stop blogging.  And then I wonder what is going on in my life or my psyche or even in my spirit that distracts me and stifles me and prevents me from writing.  This inquiry has produced a few related theories, and though I cannot prove that they are the explanation, they are at least interesting

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-84829539233350427402010-09-21T22:38:00.000-06:002010-09-21T22:38:33.946-06:00

I have been marveling at flying things lately.  Flocks of birds from bushes in the mountains.  A hawk above hills by a lake.  Cranes landing on a riverbank.  Dragonflies just overhead along the sidewalk.  Butterflies in my garage.  Grasshoppers along hot summer paths.  Mayflies and houseflies and wasps and bees and millers landing on walls and ceilings and bouncing their ways along. Paper

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-73080562316050087782010-08-29T17:15:00.001-06:002010-08-29T17:17:18.566-06:00

Maybe you've seen it.  One of your friends comes up to you on a summer's day and his face is all red except for a raccoon-like mask around his eyes.  The day before he'd been out in the sun, wearing his sunglasses, and gotten a sunburn. Why was he wearing sunglasses?  To protect his eyes from the sun. Is there nothing to protect his skin from the sun?  There is, but he didn't use it. Why not?

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-30682396824015610702010-08-22T15:18:00.002-06:002010-08-22T15:18:51.610-06:00

(a guest post by my brother) ...Maybe...Maybe...the silence is part of the game. What fun is hide and seek if you can see what's around the next corner? The fun is not only in the excitement of finding the one you're looking for...so much of the fun of the game is the suspense of not knowing what the next minute will bring. Where would the excitement be if you didn't have to search? If you didn't

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-5787673420834388592010-08-22T08:46:00.001-06:002010-08-22T08:48:08.970-06:00

My brother called yesterday.  He is a Marine finishing up training in Virginia.  And he’s had a lot of time to think the last few months.  His conclusion is that I am jinxing the rest of the family.  Because I, the oldest, am not married, none of the rest of my brothers and sisters have a chance.  The truth is, I’m not avoiding marriage.  I believe I’m doing everything I can do.  There are still

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-88728747785822586062010-08-10T22:31:00.000-06:002010-08-10T22:31:50.550-06:00

“Have nothing to do with the unfruitful works of darkness.” I’m a discernment person.  Heresies are a big deal to me.  I tend to notice when teachers or authors or pastors are preaching a different gospel.  But there are other issues, too.  Focusing on tolerance and friendliness with the world – the “seeker-sensitive” movement, for example – is dangerous.  Christians are a light set on a hill,

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-18254483691440289472010-08-10T22:13:00.001-06:002010-08-10T22:13:00.505-06:00

Head Coverings – an Experiment It’s been over a year now since I began my experiment.  I began it without telling anyone, and only a few people have even asked about it.  (That may be because I am generally so independent in dress and practice that my friends think nothing of an additional quirk.)  Years ago when asked about wearing jewelry in church, I suggested to a group of ladies that we

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-58742480958288170832010-08-10T22:07:00.003-06:002010-08-10T22:09:27.983-06:00

I was at the dollar store the other day.  Some things at the dollar store are great deals.  Ceramic plates and glass cups for only a dollar when anywhere else they’d be three or five.  Other items are a bit scary.  Their soaps and lotions and cleaners tend to be of lower quality.  Lotion that is greasy and dries out skin.  Cleaners that don’t actually clean.  Soaps that smell funny.  But on this

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-58519966470982797472010-07-27T21:14:00.001-06:002010-07-27T21:18:44.352-06:00

Lamentations is one of the fiercest books of the Bible.  The prophet dares to know that God is good when there is not a speck of hope, when people are suffering and dying and refusing to listen.  He declares God’s mercy, bowed for the sake of man’s sinfulness.  And God can take everything, but this worship will stay – not the tender worship, but the hoarse shout of desperate truth, aching but

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-61721888407512427532010-07-16T22:53:00.000-06:002010-07-16T22:53:18.432-06:00

II Corinthians 1:20“For all the promises of Godin Him are YES,and in Him AMEN,to the glory of God through us.” You don't hear it as much as you'd expect in Christian circles.  Should it stand out so much to me when I hear a friend say, "Praise God"?  The praise and worship music movement has swept the Church up.  Some of us even mean what we sing.  But outside of the songs, do we magnify His name

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-18101237311920901202010-07-07T00:42:00.000-06:002010-07-07T00:42:06.728-06:00

There is something blissful about finishing a good book.  It makes me want to stand by an open upstairs window in spring, or find a well-cushioned corner of a cozy room, or to make cookies.  Many good books leave one wishing the story continued.  But a really great book finishes with a satisfying sense of closure and promise, as though the story did go on, exactly as you would wish it would, only

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-4800047389106833502010-06-29T23:54:00.001-06:002010-06-29T23:58:36.368-06:00

Have you seen the show, Mythbusters?  For years a group of scientists and stunt men have been testing out America’s favorite myths.  Most involve explosions or robotics.  Some are gross.  Some are weird.  Many are preceded by “Don’t try this at home.”  You know.  So I learned something on Mythbusters the other day.  It is very exciting, and I know you’ll love it.  This one you CAN try at home.

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-41111805872397082172010-06-29T23:41:00.002-06:002010-07-17T00:04:17.622-06:00

Biblically, married couples should not use birth control.  The Bible does say that children are a blessing, and commands us to be fruitful and multiply.  Barrenness is in a list of curses that will come on a people or a country that disobeys God.  God controls the womb.  Do we also forbid attempts to get pregnant (in vitro fertilization, for example)?  What about Natural Family Planning – no

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-22239422500027610232010-06-29T23:20:00.000-06:002010-06-29T23:20:01.247-06:00

Pigfests are amazing.  In my experience it involves people piling into my living room and kitchen, laden with food, ready to talk and encourage and challenge each other.  A few people bring Bibles.  Sitting out on tabletops are dictionaries and concordances.  There is pen and paper.  We open all the windows and turn on the fans.  But energy fills the room, and things heat up.  Sometimes we hit

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-32956405523508745382010-06-29T23:16:00.000-06:002010-06-29T23:16:09.376-06:00

Flax flowers, tall and green crowned with sky-blue petals bend beneath the water falling on them, stooped double, dripping and dreary under a summer sky shrouded in grey.  Am I made for such a world where the beauty bows to necessity, where death is such a threat that the glorious sun must be cloaked, life furled?  I wish I had made these observations while on a walk, but I was driving.  My car

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-80244193863952674532010-06-18T15:19:00.000-06:002010-06-18T15:19:13.126-06:00

I want to paint, to sculpt, to create.  But my art is words.  So I'm here.  Not writing the ideas I had planned.  Just sharing again.  Being.  Not feeling much today.  Spent emotion all last week.  The response is still there, inside, deep.  Babies die and I speak words, numb from the overwhelming inadequacy - from how little my voice effects.  Friends talk and I hear, but I'm not connecting.

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-73985705573288154302010-06-10T16:13:00.000-06:002010-06-10T16:13:45.829-06:00

We can put it off, the prayingSometimes, Afraid to make ourselves vulnerable To a God who mightSay no.But when we do pray,The trust wells upAnd knowing the goodness of our GodBrings peace. To God be all glory.

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-1040713947835786452010-06-07T18:57:00.002-06:002010-06-07T18:57:21.608-06:00

JRR Tolkien reported that he discovered his stories and the world of Middle Earth.  Bilbo’s complaint that Gandalf took him home from the Lonely Mountain by much too direct a route is perhaps a testimony of Tolkien’s own experience with the Hobbit and subsequently the Lord of the Rings.  Even though the legends of the elves were sprawling through Tolkien’s imagination long before either the

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-59083797796181452732010-06-07T18:46:00.001-06:002010-06-11T15:28:22.645-06:00

I am not a shoe nut.  I don’t buy new shoes as often as I get a paycheck.  My sense of comfort preempts fashion and heels.  Second-hand shoes are ok with me.  But I am particular.  Not because I believe the world is waiting to see my shoe selection.  I note all the time that many people do shoe and sock and outfit combinations that don’t stand out as awkward, but that I would never do.  If I

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-27665459598298580312010-06-05T20:35:00.003-06:002010-06-05T20:35:38.100-06:00

Really, I’m going to try to summarize and make a few points.  But Joel Rosenberg has a lot better idea what’s going on, and will give you much more information.  Use his links in this post on the Flotilla Crisis. If you catch the news at all, you’ve probably heard that a week or two ago Israel boarded some aid ships off the coast of Gaza, which eventually resulted in the death of several of

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-81619955547186785302010-06-05T16:14:00.002-06:002010-06-05T16:14:53.950-06:00

Our local shopping mall has gone through a transformation in the last several years, as it was bought out by Simon Malls.  That mall group sought to clean up the atmosphere, increasing the security guard presence, enforcing a curfew, and generally discouraging gang activity (which was a problem there in the past).  Included in the directory of stores are Sears, JC Penny, Bath and Body Works,

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-90390044952016449132010-06-05T12:46:00.001-06:002010-06-05T17:52:01.517-06:00

It seems to me a good idea for our laws to be based on truth.  If the meaning of “miles per hour” is ambiguous, I would want to find the true definition of miles and hour rather than arbitrarily setting up some other explanation.  No argument about how an accurate definition of miles would infringe my freedom to drive as fast as I wanted should be considered.  We might change the law to increase

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-83454987678766083222010-06-03T12:56:00.000-06:002010-06-03T12:56:00.843-06:00

My heart hurts tonight.  It is sad for babies dying, especially when their parents kill them.  And I hurt for their parents.  Killing your own children is not good for you.  Nor is it good for me. And I want to be sad, to feel the reality of the loss. But today was draining.  There was spiritual warfare today.  I don't think that I gave into temptation (not today), but I feel tired and

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-61409431787695458182010-05-26T02:22:00.002-06:002010-05-26T02:22:55.720-06:00

If you ever get that craving to find treasure, just for the thrill of finding, get into words.  Open a dictionary, read the definition that catches your eye first, and ask yourself questions.  What did that one word mean in the definition?  What are the root words, and where are they from?  How is that word related to other words that sound or are spelled similarly but whose definitions you never

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-75248358344686745422010-05-26T02:20:00.001-06:002010-05-26T02:20:58.397-06:00

I made a discovery earlier this year.  Red grapes taste better than green ones.  My whole life Mom bought us green grapes.  When I was at a party, I stuck with the familiar.  On some desperate occasions when hosts inconsiderately offered only red grapes, I made do.  There was never anything wrong with them; I was just suspicious.  Surely if red grapes were not dangerous and tasted good, Mom would

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-9972396334038123422010-05-26T02:17:00.002-06:002010-05-26T02:17:48.281-06:00

“What’s New?” Usually I have no answer for this question.  I could be spiritual (insert image of pompous solemnity) and say “God’s mercies.”  But then, um, Lamentations is a bit ironic, isn’t it, when Jeremiah writes “His mercies are new EVERY morning.”  Sounds like a pattern to  me! Anyway, it just so happens that this May I have a few answers for what is new.  Since I am usually so discouraged

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-74670166309616835052010-05-21T00:59:00.000-06:002010-05-21T00:59:18.755-06:00

One of my friends has a family tradition of Oreos and peaches.  She shared it with us the other day, step by step.  First you buy canned peaches.  Then you buy Double-Stuf Oreos (because who buys any other kind?).  Take them home. Open the can of peaches.  Drain.  Divide into bowls, each with its own spoon.  Hand one bowl to each person.  Give them a napkin. Set the Oreos in the center of the

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-70834142393796080672010-05-11T18:48:00.001-06:002010-05-11T18:48:37.501-06:00

I like circles.  Hula-hoops.  Rings.  Pi.  Domes.  Time travel.  Except that’s more of a spiral… When I am embarrassed or flustered, I go in circles.  Literally.  I’ll do a little spin, adjust my hair, and be back to business.  Like a new start.  But really, circles don’t have starts.  And that’s what I really like.  Fresh beginnings.  Forgiveness.  History.  And I like endings.  Hope has to do

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-25597057250262043022010-05-11T18:45:00.001-06:002010-05-11T18:45:02.660-06:00

I'm the kind of girl who spends hours talking to a friend.  Then I go home and write a 5 page email.  Then I want my friend to write back.  So I can write back.  And so on, until we can spend hours together again. I don't need to be with people constantly; I appreciate a few hours to myself here and there.  But I want to see people every day.  And not just see them.  Not just eat dinner across

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-81741212424343047312010-05-04T21:49:00.003-06:002010-05-04T21:59:51.282-06:00

There’s a lot of cynicism about the Church today.  And while I am stimulated by argument, by addressing something I identify as wrong, I don’t think of myself as a cynic.  Rather, this confrontation with status-quo is inherently hopeful.  I invest energy because I think Church could be better.  Before I left my last church, a few people were leaving slowly.  And my friends who were staying, they

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-26580495201979373492010-05-02T17:15:00.000-06:002010-05-02T17:15:06.405-06:00

I was having a conversation about the economy last week, and my friend was talking about how to thrive in a recession.  And I recommended thrift.  Which made me think.  Thrift and Thrive have very similar spellings.  Are they related? Thrift - c.1300, "fact or condition of thriving," also "prosperity, savings," from M.E. thriven "to thrive" (see thrive), possibly infl. by O.N.þrift, variant of 

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-35006331820989830472010-05-01T19:20:00.000-06:002010-05-01T19:20:55.948-06:00

I had to buy Flowers! To God be all glory.  

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32736072.post-5917927827626082382010-04-27T19:46:00.002-06:002010-04-27T19:46:32.765-06:00

Friends are great.  I love it when I look across the room, make eye contact, and we each know what the other is thinking.  It’s great to be known so well that a friend can finish my sentences.  When my emotions are in turmoil and I can’t figure out who I am, my friends know who I am deep down, and can remind me.  People can be hard to understand.  Figuring them out, getting on solid ground from

Lisa of Longbournhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065661948900794noreply@blogger.com2