I amuse myself too much sometimes...

My friend won our last Words With Friends game by playing a word that neither of us had heard before. It's not an unusual occurrence, and I've gotten in the habit of looking up words I don't know. Spending time playing a game feels a little more justifiable to me, that way. So I searched for his.

And it turns out it's a narcotic.

The bad sportsman in me decided to harass him about it a little bit. Hours later, I remembered something else...

I'm not completely innocent, either. Bummer. :)

Butterfly exhibit

Are you wondering why there's a random bridge at the beginning of this post?  Well, let me relieve your curiosity.  It goes like this:  Once upon a time, or the other day, this bridge made me think of my Aunt Kathy, so I put it here for her to see.  The End.

 We took a day trip with some friends to see a butterfly exhibit at a public garden.  I have come to the conclusion that I like photographing flowers much more than butterflies.  They're not as skittish.  :)  And there were lots of beauties.  Like this...

And this...

I did, however, manage to get a couple butterflies.  It was so exciting!  After chasing them around for several minutes, I can sort of tell why guys like to hunt, with the adrenaline rushes and all.  Except I still don't understand the part that involves blood.   Don't worry, that's as graphic as it's gonna get.  :)  Anyway, the fact that I don't understand is okay.  Dad can hunt, and I can eat. It works.

Come to think of it, that statement might get me in a lot of trouble in the future.  To avoid confusion, I will now proceed to put limits on it:

I can eat it as long as:

1. I do not have to touch the raw meat with my bare hands in order to prepare it.
2. It is not something disgusting.  And yes, Uncle Earl, squirrel is on the list of "Disgusting Somethings."  As are quite a few other things.
3. It is fully cooked.  I don't foresee this being an issue, but I included it for clarity's sake.
4. It was not found on the side of the road.  Technically, that's not hunting, but I don't want anyone to get crazy ideas.  :)

As you may or may not have guessed by the above list, I am not an outdoorsy type.  Nor do I eat wild game very often. 

Anyway, back to the subject at hand.  Which was what, again?  Gun control?  Oh, no, it was butterflies.  Good!  Let's proceed...

Can you believe the vibrant blue color of that last picture?  It isn't even edited.  I like to try to imagine what God was thinking when He made certain things, like emeralds or oaks or ice cream (say what you want, I am convinced that nothing that delicious could come from anywhere else.) or that shade of blue on those butterfly wings.  I don't know, of course, but I think He must have been pretty happy.  That's how it makes me feel.

Happy Easter

He is risen!

Plot Summary

     We recently vacationed in Florida.  It was beautifully sunny, in case you'd wondered.  :)  As a result, we missed one of our literature co-ops.  You may think that I cheered and yelled, "Yeah, homeschooling!"  Actually, I was a little sad.
      However, all is not lost.  Although we missed talking to everyone else, our teacher emailed us the activities and homework assignments, so we'll be on track for next month.
     One of the activities was to pair up and write plot summaries from prompts.  I figured we could do that at home, since there are two of us.  At co-op, we wouldn't be paired up, because siblings tend to feed off each other, but we weren't at co-op. 
     I love writing.  Allison does not.  I wish she did, because when she occasionally chooses to write something, I love it.  She has a knack for being hilarious and unexpected.
     I think you might agree with the "unexpected" part, after you read one of our plot summaries.  I apologize for the lack of description, if that bothers you.  Allison told me that I must be brief.  :)
  

     Exposition:  (The prompt that we selected.)  Sara notices that a stranger is following her.  She pretends not to notice.  He follows her home and watches her go inside.  When he leaves, Sara turns the tables and starts to follow him.

     Rising Action:  She follows him to a duplex, and sees him practicing his ("What is it that Larry plays in the theme song?"  Allison asked me.)  tuba.  It's super loud.

     Climax:  She enters the house.  He discovers her.  Oh, no!

     Falling Action:  He explains why he was following her:  He had mistaken her for a noted brass band conductor and wanted to inquire about a job.

     Conclusion:  They laugh and she leaves.  The End.


     "I wouldn't laugh."  Allison said, noting my addition to her narrative.
     I would.  Would you?

God's love and tautologies

     I've recently been working my way through a book by C.S. Lewis, and it has been simultaneously entertaining and enlightening.  In other words, it's exactly what I would expect from him.  That's why he's one of my favorite authors.
     Let's switch topics for a minute, shall we?  I have a lovely little definition to share with you.  You may have already heard it, but I want to make sure.

     Tautology:
   Repetition that does not contribute to clarifying the meaning.  

     I have actually heard this word used in conversation.  Last year, a quizmaster in Bible quizzing happily pointed out to us that Peter was a master of tautology with his statement of, "In the last days, scoffers will come, scoffing..."  (2 Peter 3:2, excerpt)
      
     If that helps you remember the definition, great.  When I came across it in my book, I had to look it up again.  The statement I read was this:

"'God is love' may be a tautology to the seraphim; not to men."  

-C.S. Lewis, Miracles

     Those words have been rolling around in my head for the past few days, sinking in.  I've been wondering what it would be like to have your definitions of God and love so meshed together that they become needless repetition.  It's a staggering thought.
     On Sunday, a missionary visited our church.  He spoke about how we let our own self-loathing cheat us out of intimacy with God.  It struck me, because it's something I'm familiar with.  I cannot tell you how many times, as I've marveled over God's love to me, I've simultaneously been asking, "Why?"  
            The missionary pointed out that we've done nothing to deserve God's grace, but God chose to love us anyway.  He loves us the way we are, not the way we think that we should be.  Then He begins the work of making us like himself.
     He didn't say anything that I'd never heard before, but it was exactly what I needed to hear.
     "I AM love."  God seemed to be telling me.  "It's a tautology.  Don't you get it?"
     I've been acting in a (shamefully) typical manner, trying to make this all about me.  Now that that's out of the way, I'm hoping to experience God's love in entirely new ways.  I'm so excited.

   

When in love, one must suffer

     He sat by her bed, holding her hand.  The doctor came in, followed by his assistant, a fellow from the hospital's medical school.  They did their best to be cheerful, but he knew his wife was dying.
     "Is she in pain?" he asked.
     "She's as pain-free as is humanly possible." the doctor replied.
     He stayed with her all night.  It was the least he could do.
     "I've heard that question a thousand times." the doctor said when they were out of the room.
     "I can imagine." was the reply.  The elderly man's face had been seared with pain as he'd asked about his wife's, but his pain was of the sort that the doctor could not treat.
     It was sobering, but he didn't have much time to think about it.  Soon, they were visiting the next patient, and the next, and before long it was time to head home.  His wife was waiting for him.
     He was a lucky man.  No one understood why she had married him.  Her friends thought she was crazy to trade the best L.A. had to offer for a shabby apartment in Detroit.  Her parents said she was foolish for not waiting until he graduated.  When she was reading the user's manual for the vacuum, or puzzling over basic cooking terms, even he could not help wondering why she'd ever chosen their life together over the luxury of her parent's lifestyle.
     She always smiled whenever people said anything, but she knew it was useless to explain.  She loved him.  It was as simple as that.
     When the assistant left, the doctor still had paperwork to do, but he finished it as soon as possible.  He was anxious to get home.  It was rather tumultuous at the present moment, but he knew that it was soon going to get too quiet.  His daughter was leaving in a couple weeks, heading to Haiti to teach.  He shuddered when he thought of her living alone in a country rampant with poverty and disease.
     She only laughed when he asked her- again- if she was sure that she wanted to do this.
     "Yes, Daddy."  she said.  "God is calling me, and I love Him.  I must obey."
      "And when in love, one must suffer, I suppose." he replied.
      Her eyes grew thoughtful, and she fingered the sterling cross around her neck.
     "Yes, I suppose so."

Sherlock Holmes quote #1

"For strange effects and extraordinary combinations we mus go to life itself, which is always far more daring than any effort of imagination."