My Favorite Smoothie

This is my favorite smoothie. It is easy, pretty economical, and delicious.

Place in blender:

1 banana (I like it to to be pretty ripe so it is sweet)
1 cup frozen blueberries (more or less)
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (more or less)
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. honey

Blend until smooth, then add about 4-5 ice cubes, one at a time. Serve immediately, while it is still thick and frozen. All measurements are approximate and for your convenience only. I never measure anything and this smoothie is a little different every time, but always delicious.
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Laura went to prom at the school district next door with her best friend and another friend of theirs. Here are Amber, Laura and Aubree, doing super model poses.




Below, you can see Amber's date (how nicely they match!), Amber, Laura and Aubree.


Laura doesn't take these things too seriously. Here, she was trying to crack Amber up, and it looks like she succeeded.


Here are Laura and Aubree. They had a great time dressing up and having fun.

Jonathan's flower

This is the flower that Jonathan made at the Corning Museum of Glass.



Here he was getting directions.


Here he began to roll out the hot glass. It is over 2000 degrees Farenheit.


You can see Jon using a tool to pull out the design.


Another view of the final product.

Humor

This is a picture of Jonathan, suited up to work with hot glass at the Corning Museum of Glass. You pretty much can't tell how cool he is when you see this picture, but I promise, underneath all that protective gear, there is a happenin' dude. Pretty soon I might have a picture of what he made...

It would be nice to be funny.

Sometimes I make people laugh, but it is usually unintentional. That's OK, really. I'm just glad if people laugh at me, even if it is really at me, and not along with me. I'm not too proud to be the butt of a joke.

What I really hate is when people are horrified by me. That is uncomfortable. A good healthy dose of humor can remedy some of the most awkward situations. I appreciate people who laugh at me.

Once I had a friend, Ginny, who laughed her head off at nearly everything I said. This was at a point in life when I was probably clinically depressed, and I was beyond pessimistic. We would get on the phone, and I would start describing my day, and she just laughed and laughed and laughed... before I knew it, I was laughing with her, and life didn't seem all that bad. I don't know if she was doing it on purpose to cheer me up. She was the kind of person who would have done such a thing, if she had thought of it. But she seemed completely genuine. She moved away to somewhere near Seattle and we tried to exchange Christmas cards for awhile, but both of us being mothers of multiple little children, the relationship didn't survive the distance very well. I missed her so much when she first moved away. I think she was the first good friend I had in New York.

Someone else could have heard me say the same things, and instead of laughing, a different person might have scolded me, or condemned me, or told me that I was wasting their time, being a drain. It's interesting how I can see the futility of such an approach from the outside, when I myself am the subject in debate. I think our natural response to people is to condemn them and criticize, but when it happens to us, how quickly we see that it doesn't work. You never make a person feel better about herself by telling her everything that is wrong with her. Obviously.

You make people feel better about themselves when you love them and have positive interactions with them. Demonstrating that you will "put up" with someone just demeans her all the more. Delighting in someone enables her to feel delightful, and when she begins to believe that she has the capacity to delight someone, she is empowered with a sense of security and esteem that helps her in every ensuing relationship.

It is usually pretty easy to delight in your friends; after all, that's why they are your friends... because you enjoy their company. Sometimes it is harder to delight in your family, or sometimes we are just lazy about it. When someone isn't "cutting the mustard" it is easier and much more natural to read him the riot act than to creatively come up with a plan for having positive interactions and building confidence, self-esteem and love. Self-esteem originates in being loved. And in family relationships we often forget that love needs to be more than a duty, it needs to be our delight.

God calls us to love one another. Jesus said in John 15:12, "This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you." He also said, "Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples," (John 13:35). Later, John wrote, "Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God," (1 John 4:7). Again, I think it is important to seek a love that surpasses duty and expresses itself with true delight for those it loves.

Which includes humor. What parent has not experienced the excruciating joy of laughing at the hilarious antics and conversation of a two-year-old? Why does it stop when they get older? Why is it so much harder to laugh at a 12-year-old? Or a 15-year-old? How do you hold on to that mirth, or recapture it?

"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person's strength," (Proverbs 17:22).

Let's learn to laugh together, in our families, in our friendships, in our churches. Let's be willing to be a little ridiculous and accept others when they are, too.

Lord, please help me to love through laughter.

Forgiveness

The hardest thing for me to forgive is someone who needs to forgive me and won't.

I have been a Christian for approximately 39 years. I have read through the Bible three times, and am sort of working on the fourth. I teach Sunday school and Bible studies. And yet, I seem to be paralyzed in this area of life.

My family was very forgiving. My mom made a lot of mistakes, and so did I, but each day was a fresh new beginning. Often, apologies were not spoken, but grudges were never held. A new morning came with a new civility, kind words, open conversation, and the wordless communication that bygones would be bygones and we would move on.

I do not know if this is the best way to handle conflicts. I think a direct apology is a better route to take. But sometimes you can make a direct apology. You can say, "I was wrong. I'm sorry. I made a mistake and I hurt you. I am sorry. I promise I will never do that again." You can do that... and the person may continue to treat you with hostility. At such a point, you can't grow bitter and resentful, much as it seems impossible not to. But, neither, I think, should you grovel and snivel and do all manner of deeds to try to earn the person's favor. At a certain point, you have to leave it up to the other person to work things out with the Lord. At a certain point, it is no longer about your heart, but about the other person's heart, and you just have to let go.

The first time I was in a situation like this, I never imagined that the hurt feelings could be permanent. I had been hurt, and I was not gracious about it. I did not suck it up like a grown up lady; I let it be known that my feelings were hurt. The result was a condemnation of my character that has held through over 22 years. No apology, no forgiveness, just silent, everlasting condemnation with no end in sight. And yet, I have to forgive. I have to, or I will shrivel in my spirit and perish. It is a battle that seemingly will never end, this need I have to forgive in the face of condemnation. I throw myself on the mercy and grace of God, and still I fail more often than I succeed.

Now I've done it again. I allowed hurt feelings and stupid desperation to lead me to bad decisions and bad actions. I have tried to make things right. I have apologized, hung my head in shame, wept. And yet, I am facing bitterness, unforgiveness. I've already been through 22 years of this. I pray that this doesn't add another lifetime sentence to my penance on earth.

But even if it does, I pray that God will give me grace to forgive those who will not forgive me. If Jesus could forgive those who abused Him and hung Him on a cross to die, surely I can at least do this, with the power and strength of His Spirit living in me.

"Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1

Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong. They are weak, but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so.

Nails and stuff

Every time I go to Sam's Club, I break a fingernail. Since I go to Sam's pretty much once a week, my fingernails are getting really short. Not that I'm into manicures or anything, but I do like the protection and functionality that a modest fingernail affords.

My mother drinks jello for her nails, and she hates it. She literally gags on it. She heats it up and drinks it because she finds it slightly less loathsome as a warm liquid than as a cool gel.

If I went to Sam's as infrequently as I update this journal, my family would starve. I haven't been doing well at either cooking or writing. Guess I'm busy.

Laura seems to be doing better, finally.

Watership Down, a review

Watership Down, by Richard Adams, is just about a perfect book.

The rhythm is wonderful, allowing the book to last for much longer than the average suspense novel. You can actually read a chapter or two and then put it down to come back to later... and even in so doing, you will neither lose interest nor forget the characters. A book about rabbits, it is masterfully crafted throughout to mimic the brain patterns of a rabbit, which is one of its most stunning features. Now and then, in the last section, it slips into a more straightforward, human-type prose, but that is appropriate for the timing and rhythm of the book as well, a rousing final movement to this stirring lapine symphony.

The author writes a compelling forward, explaining how he told these stories to his children in the car on long drives through the country. I can only imagine that his imagination was stirred dually by the scenery of the English countryside and his memories of Peter Rabbit from his own childhood. Watership Down is what I would call Peter Rabbit on steroids. A British man thought of the old Beatrix Potter rabbit stories and then thought, "And what would it take to make these really interesting...?" Suddenly we have big strong buck rabbits-of-war on an epic odyssey, scheming for territory and fighting for their freedom (and sometimes even their lives).

This book made me laugh out loud. I sobbed through a few chapters, and other chapters literally raised the hair on the back of my neck. When you think you can't stand it anymore, Adams inserts a rabbit storyteller with a tale about El-ahrairah, the most fabled rabbit trickster of all time (yes, he even outdoes Br'er Rabbit), to change up the pace and give you a breather, entertaining all the while.

I was sad when I finished this book, because I had enjoyed it so much. But even so, the end was written in such a way that I felt finished and satisfied, like an American after a big turkey dinner on Thanksgiving. Speaking of Americans, why is it that the British always outwrite us like this?

1 Peter 3:18-22

It was inevitable. We are studying 1 Peter, so of course we had to come to this.

1 Peter 3:18-22
For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also--not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand--with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.
It is only a group of four little verses, but oh, what trouble these four verses have caused for theologians thoughout the ages.

The first sentence is straightforward and fairly easy to understand. For all those who are able to grasp the gospel message, here it is, in simple, plain words. "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God."

But then, oh then, what fantastic turns Peter takes. Oh my!

"He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also--not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God."

Well. Now we see why this isn't the classic text that pastors and teachers use to explain how salvation works.

There are three main questions that theologians have tried to answer over the years:

1. Who are the spirits in prison?
2. When did Jesus preach to them?
3. What did Jesus preach to them?

There are a number of possible answers for each of these questions, and through the ensuing combinations, one can come up with a multiplicity of possible interpretations of the passage.

The traditional interpretation, which was most widespread in the early church, was that between Jesus' death and resurrection (during the three days his body was in the tomb), Jesus went in disembodied form (his Spirit) to the underworld and there proclaimed His victory over sin, with the result that unbelievers such as those who mocked Noah before the flood were shamed to learn how wrong they had been to resist God and mistreat His prophets.

This view sufficiently answers questions 1 and 2 above, but it does not provide a helpful answer to question 3. If these spirits are those of people who rejected the message of salvation during their lifetime, and they were already in hell, what would be the point of Jesus preaching anything to them? As they were already "in prison," would they not already realize how wrong they had been?

Some have postulated that this may indicate that there is another chance for a person to turn from sin, even after death, but the body of scripture certainly does not support such an idea elsewhere.

Another take on the "traditional" view is described in the notes in my Application Study Bible: "The traditional interpretation is that Christ, between his death and resurrection, announced salvation to God's faithful followers who had been waiting for their salvation during the whole Old Testament era." The obvious problem with this is that the scripture says, "the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago." It is tremendously difficult for me to imagine that God would refer to his faithful followers from the Old Testament era with such words. I suppose it is possible, since we have all been born in sin and have all lived disobediently. But it seems unlikely to me that "the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago" describes God's faithful followers from the Old Testament.

Some people think that the disobedient spirits are fallen angels, but since when did God ever wait patiently for the repentence of fallen angels (a.k.a. demons)?

There is another view which, although it is convoluted and complicated, does seem to make a certain amount of sense. Let me see if I can explain it.

The passage says that the Spirit which raised Christ from the dead was the same Spirit through which He went and preached to the "spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago." It does not actually say that the going and preaching to the other (disobedient) spirits happened immediately after Christ was restored to life in His Spirit. Earlier in 1 Peter, Peter wrote: "...the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing..." (from 1 Peter 1:10-11). This could indicate that what Peter means is that the Spirit of Christ was in Noah, proclaiming to Noah's generation the grace that could be gained by those who would put their faith in God. The Spirit of Jesus was there, in Noah, before the flood, bearing witness to the opportunity of salvation for those who would believe, but those who refused to hear are now disobedient spirits in prison (in other words, condemned souls in hell). In this interpretation, we must understand, then, that when Peter says "spirits in prison who disobeyed" he is referring to their condition at the present time, not at the time when Jesus' Spirit proclaimed the offer of salvation to them.

This interpretation makes a certain amount of sense to me, possibly the most sense, because it offers what I think is a reasonable answer to all three of the questions above. However, it is a messy kind of answer, and I wish it were neater and easier to assemble.

We have answered a few questions, but we are not out of the woods yet.

The next passage in question is 1 Peter 3:20-21,

"who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water,
and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also--not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,"

Here is how I understand it. At the time of the flood, God purged the world of evil people. His wrath was physically, materially poured out on earth, and the wicked were physically, materially washed away in the flood. At that time, God preserved a remnant, Noah and his family. “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” (Genesis 6:8). God saved Noah and his family in the ark, miraculously preserving them from the judgment that was poured out all around them.

This is a picture of the salvation of those who are in Christ, how we will be carried safely through the final judgment (which the Bible says will come with fire rather than water, 2 Peter 3:6-7). Just as faith in Jesus is the only way to attain salvation through right standing with God (“I am the way, the truth and the life…” John 14:6), there was only one way for people to escape the wrath of God in the time of Noah—one ark, one door in the ark. Just as faith in Jesus seems foolish to many (see 1 Peter 2:7-8), it seemed foolish to the people of Noah’s day that Noah would build an ark and get into it.

So far, we have looked at the ark as a microcosm of the great spiritual truth of what God has done (is doing/will do) for all believers through Christ Jesus. However, we can also look at the ark as a macrocosm of what God does in each one of us, individually, when He saves us.

Remember 1 Peter 2:24—“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness…” When we accept Christ, we die to sins. We die to our old way of life. Romans 8:13 says, “For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.” Colossians 3:5 says, “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” Galatians 5:24 says, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.” And Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

The washing of the earth at the time of the flood is a picture of the washing of our hearts and souls when we repent and turn to Jesus. He washes away, cuts off, purges the bad stuff (Ezekiel says he removes the heart of stone. 36:26), washes it all away the way He washed away the sinful people at the time of the flood.

As the ark, a thing that was built only by the initiation and direction of God, remained safe after the flood had subsided, our newly conceived spiritual life remains safe after our spiritual cleansing, a new kernel that He has breathed life into by His Spirit (the “new birth” that we see in 1 Peter 1:3; in John’s gospel, chapter 3, Jesus calls this being “born again” in verses 3-8). This is why when Peter mentions the water of baptism, he clarifies—“not the removal of dirt from the body” (from 1 Peter 3:21)—it isn’t an outward thing. It is the spiritual event that has taken place in our spirit. The outward act of baptism symbolizes what has happened on the inside of us and is a sign to other Christians of the change that has taken place invisibly—“the pledge of a good conscience toward God,” (also from 1 Peter 3:21).

After the flood, God brought Noah and his family out of the ark and told them to multiply and fill the newly cleansed earth (Genesis 8:15-17, 9:1). This is similar to (a macrocosm of) the promise that new life will grow in us. When we accept Christ, we do not only die to sins, we also live for righteousness. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” This is our new life in Christ, the salvation that is taking place in us, presently, by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit (1 Peter 1:2). A newly born spiritual child is growing toward maturity, repopulating, if you will, the physical body that once held the “old self” (Colossians 3:9-10). Ezekiel makes it about the clearest of anyone: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”