Tit for Tat

Just a few interesting tidbits for you today (it's actually evening).

PROCESSED FOODS HIT WEST AFRICA
I read it last night on BBC World News. Fufu is a chewy starch that is made from cassava roots and such. It is boiled and then pounded numerous times until it becomes a taffy-like substance that can be served with African stews and soups (not akin to any American stews or soups except maybe split pea soup or such). Now, there is a company in Ghana, West Africa, that is packaging dried, instant fufu. Just add water and stir. Now true African connaisseurs would beg to differ about the taste of the instant fufu tasting anything like real, time-consuming fufu. Probably much like comparing instant mashed potatoes with the real, boiled, smashed, whipped stuff.

But the fact stands that West Africa is coming into the way of western civilization: the fast-paced world of the working woman needing a quick way to prepare supper. Grant it, the majority of women who happen to live in suburban or rural areas of West Africa could never afford or would never dream of preparing the instant fufu, but for some, perhaps it just might work. In a world that knows nothing easy or quick, it's quite certainly a novelty right now.


Read the rest of the article, if you are interested, here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5010070.stm

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I have a beef with convenient stores and gas stations now that the lottery has passed in North Carolina. Twice now I have gone in to buy a Sunday paper and a Sundrop (my favorite soft drink in the whole wide world) and have had to wait at least 5-10 minutes before being able to check out. I'm not exaggerating. Last time was two weeks ago and it took 7 1/2 minutes for me to be waited on. There were two cashiers but both were busy helping people buy lottery tickets. This one woman in front of me was getting a crash course on the different kinds of tickets, the best odds, etc.... I, frankly, could care less! But I find it highly irritating that I, because I do not want a lottery ticket, and might need to check out quicker, would have to wait behind lines of lottery-hungry citizens.

I haven't said anything yet, but when it happens again, I will most likely complain to the cashiers, write a letter to the corporate office of that particular gas station, write an editorial to the paper, and not patronize that particular store anymore. It's infuriating. Have a separate checkout line for lottery purchases. Don't make non-gambling people have to wait for small purchases.

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I think I'm finished for the night. It's time to enjoy the rest of the late spring evening with family and a bowl of popcorn. Yeah.........good stuff.

Doin' the Me Thing

So, it looks like I fell off the face of the earth....perhaps I did. Right into the world of laundry, making birthday cakes, helping to cheer on the daughter with exams, organizing my desk, visiting my mother at her mountain house, planting flowers, herbs, and vegetables, counseling, cooking, and all the other things that are done in the Town of Me.

I actually like Me most of the times these days. I had always heard and read that entering the 40's (I entered a few years ago, believe me) brought a new awakening, a loosening of judgement on self and others, a keen understanding of things that have never made sense before, a calmness of spirit that in your 20's and 30's you could only wish for, and a beauty that far surpasses botox, collagen treatments, and Oil of Olay. I declare that it is true.

I smile more with my family, I laugh more with friends, I listen more than talk, I cook more with pomp and flair, I decorate more with bold color, I sing more with the radio in the car, I think more before I speak, I spend more time looking at the flowers, and I feel more strongly about my faith than ever before!

Before this begins to sound cheesy, I will stop. I do want you to know that "doing the Me thing" --at least for me -- does NOT include: leaving my family to find myself, spending money on things that will put us in debt just because I feel it will somehow satisfy me, speaking my mind to people just because I feel I've lived a while and have the right to, and doing more for myself and less for others because I deserve it. I am weary and quite disturbed by the number of women that are walking away from their families just to find themselves, give themselves more, etc.... Our society (if you listen even with one ear) will tell us that we deserve more than our families can give us.

However, to me, that is not where true satisfaction comes in. Growing older, accepting that fact, and basking in the pure elemental bliss of the blessings that God has given us over the years is just about heaven on earth to me. I may not always come across that way to my family. There are struggles....my changing body, the raging hormones, the added physiological tension that has entered my body and threatens to blow deadly rays of fire to those around me. Oh, yeah, I struggle with all that stuff.

But having been somewhat philosophical and extremely in tune with myself and life around me for most of my life, I have chosen to call a spade a spade and a heart a heart.

My youngest daughter leaves in a week to do some volunteer counseling at a camp in the mountains for seven weeks. She will turn 16 while she is away. I am having trouble with that part. But I'm loving the realization that she just wants to do for others, invest in lives, and learn more about God for herself. Yep, that part, I'm really liking.

I am dedicated to doing some major writing on my book during those seven weeks. But there are also some other obligations and opportunities that I need to be faithful with. Balancing them into the priorities for my summer schedule is going to be the key.

So, I'll just keep "doing the Me thing" -- and thanking God for the blessings and opportunities that come with that!

Mothers and Mustard Seeds

Today I'm feeling a little melancholy. Actually it's more the pain I have had in a tooth for over a week now. I'm trying everything to treat it without going to the dentist. (Way deep inside my head I'm thinking root canal, but I won't say that outloud!) Often when we have pain, it causes us to think deeply about issues under the surface. Even though there's so many other things out there in the world that I want to comment on, my mind refuses to focus on them long enough to put the thoughts together.

So, let's talk about mothers and mustard seeds. I'm referring to the passage in the Bible where Christ is telling his disciples that faith, even as small as a mustard seed (and that's small) can move mountains and see incredible things come to pass! (Matthew 17:20) (I think I'll claim the mustard seed faith for this aching tooth!) Also, back a few chapters is the Parable of the Mustard Seed (Matthew 13) describing how the kingdom of heaven will start with just a small seed, but grow large, very large --

Mothering holds the same principle. We start with something very small, a tiny baby helpless and dependent on us, and we begin to nurture them, feed them, teach them, and believe in them. In my case, twenty-two years later, nineteen years later, and fifteen years later I look up and find these incredible, amazing, young ladies that seemingly came out of nowhere! But, I, being one of those things called a "mother" know that it didn't just happen overnight. I was there for almost every living, breathing moment. The metamorphosing (probably not a word, but you know what I mean) of a small, helpless infant into a interdependent, unique young adult is nothing more than amazing!

But it takes a lot of faith just like the principles taught in the book of Matthew about the tiny mustard seed. There are numerous times when I have to admit that I floundered in my faith for what my girls could become. But those feelings never lasted long. Motherhood in itself is a remedy for that. I am, by nature and choice, my daughters number ONE fan!

A mother's faith in a child is not in what we can see (that would be awfully defeating and depressing at times - particularly while they are in the twos and the teens), but in the persons that we believe our children will become. Our love, our prayers, our lives are wrapped up in helping that faith come to fruition!

A mother's love, a mother's faith in a child can make all the difference in the world. It frees a child to actually take those first step into adulthood with a certainty that defies nature and gravity! And it's quite the thing to watch!

Just last week all three of my girls were sitting around the coffee table talking about the days of their childhood. I pressed myself to be still and quiet and just listened. As a mother, it is natural to have doubts about the efficacy of our role and we can't help wondering if it is seen in a positive light by our children as they look back.

I must tell you that it's all I could do not to whoop it up, shout, cry, dance, and generally do a good old "boogie" dance as I was listening to them. Though they talked about some of the things that were hard as we were going through them, it was the lessons, the memories, the principles gained, the love cherished that won out in the end!

So, on the doorsteps of another Mother's Day, I want to tell my children to hold off on the presents and breakfast in bed for me. I am so honored and privileged to have three wonderful daughters that has grown from tiny little mustard seeds into beautiful thriving plants that I have no doubt can storm the testings of this life!

But on second thought, I'll just let them do the breakfast in bed thing 'cause they love doing it (don't they?) and if they want to get me a gift, it's okay, but how do I tell them that it can't measure up to the gift I receive each time I look deep into their eyes!

Keep watering those seeds. Don't give up. Never lose faith. The watering, the tending, the pruning, the plucking, the nurturing is worth it all in the end!

Politically Correct -- So To Speak

I've had it with the victimology thing. It's everywhere. Anything one says, any phrased coined, any opinion shared outside one's own home can be misconstrued, unnecessarily judged, or frowned upon in the most demeaning way. "Victimology" is a term I've known has existed for quite some time now; however, it is bravely and astutely explained and exemplified in a book I recently read. While the book is written by an African American male defying gravitating circumstances and stereotypes of his own people, it is plain to me that victimology runs along the lines of any race, any group of people bound together by a common cause who feel they are not being heard or understood or have been wronged in some way. The book gives me hope for these precious African American college students that I minister to and with on a daily basis. In them I see the desire to shake the "victim mentality" and make their own way in life -- using the talents and gifts that God has truly given them. In them I see hope and determination to be different and to make a difference in this world. This book gives them the momentum and the assurance that they are not alone in their feelings.

Veering back to the word "victimology", I must say that recently I read an article that dumped the oozing slime that makes up the word into the streets! Sea World, in Australia, has decided to change the names of the "fairy penguins" to a more politically correct, possibly less offensive name. Hold your breath -- it's a really original name they came up with! "Little penguins" is now what these unique little species will be called.

What IN the world is that all about? While, the officials at Sea World are quick and repetitive about the fact that the homosexual world has not put any pressure on them to make this change, they just felt it was conducive to being aware of any possible future sensitivities from the gay and lesbian society. To that, I say, I don't believe it for a second. Something has already come down the pipes or this kind of radical change would never have come about. Perhaps there are employees at Sea World that have voiced their concerns about the name - being of the alternative persuasion. Who knows? The article says that "someone" thought it might be offensive and so they decided to change it. "Someone" sure has a lot of pull to change the name of an animal that has had that name for a very long time! What gives anyone the right to do that? To read for yourself this newest victimology outbreak and others from around the world, follow this link. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,193744,00.html

Before I sign off, I need to be heard for what I'm really saying here. I do not believe in prejudice statements, feelings, or actions that cross over the line because of racist sentiments. No group of people should be disrespected in anyway. I am a Christian first, and the Bible is clear that there is no respecter of persons with God. We are all loved by God, but on the other hand, we are all judged by His holy and just nature -- all the same way, because we are sinners. There's no ifs, ands, or buts -- even though there are those who would like to think they can somehow slip past the judgment thing. Accepting the death, burial, and resurrection of God's son, Jesus Christ, is the only way past it! (John 14:6; Romans 3:23; 5:8; 6:23; John 3:16)

I abhor the remembrance and reality of slavery in any manner. I abhor prejudice born from traditions and societal influences. I abhor the demeaning anyone for the sake of hatred or false self-esteem. HOWEVER, "victimology" goes beyond that. Victimology requires that we erase, forget, or cover up history. Victimology requires that we give up our opinions and standards if they do not sooth the defile hearts of those in the grip of sin. Victimology requires that we become tolerant of any belief system put before us. Tolerance, while good for friendships and families and even in working relationships for the sake of unity, only weakens a culture when expanded to be all-inclusive. Psychologically it is impossible to be tolerant of all belief systems and cultural innuendoes and still remain a unique person of value and faith. There are factions in America that cry out for tolerance on all levels. To them I say, visit some of these other countries where tolerance has been put into place or where democracy has never been given the opportunity to shine in its best light. Don't be comfortable to live in this "land of the free and home of the brave" and decry the very principles that make us just that.

Victimology will always be a seed of failure.