Brief Recap

Thursday afternoon/evening ended up taking an unexpected twist when the 22 month old daughter of one of our chaplains fell off a dining room bench. God was good and certainly in all the details – allowing Ch. C to be home before surgery, quick healing, Christian neurosurgeon….and Sarah is home today!

Friday we were back in the saddle again with produce co-op. Our numbers were low but we found it was MUCH less work to have only 12 shares. ::snort:: We did have less variety and we miss that. I continued to work on my filing project. By Friday night I had everything in folders and the folders on my desk. My problem has been that the movers decided to just dump all out of drawers the last time we moved. Ugh. Hmmm….what else did we do Friday. We were exhausted. I ran errands in the afternoon. Mike got home late from work. We watched Happy Feet. Mike talked with Nicholas – I’ll write a separate post about that.

Saturday the older boys planned to pick up Matt, a friend, and head to the paint ball fields. They were to meet Steve and his boys there. Turns out the paintball field had changed their hours. The boys ended up going over to Steve and Debbie’s for a bit. Mike worked on his sermon all day. I continued working on files. We compromised on what had to be saved. I went and bought some “bankers boxes” and filled them with the bills etc from past assignments, the paperwork from home sales and purchases and statements from old bank accounts. Nolan and Zander occupied themselves shredding reams of papers that I thought could be shredded – 2 13 gal bags full.

Mike took me on a date tonight. We went to ZooKinis (are they local – sounds local). I was able to have soup and salad and he had a calzone that he said was really good. We walked along the river and talked. We got a call that we were out of milk again. Ouch. It hurts when I forget to buy that and Sam’s is closed. It’s 3.88 a gal at Sam’s and 4.48 at Wal-Mart. I bought 2 gal and will make it to Sam’s tomorrow…..I finished organizing files when I got home. We bought the current issue of the Consumer Report. Thanks, Liz, for the tip. It's on digital cameras.

I'm too tired to post pictures. I'll work on another post with pictures.

That’s the day……

Summer Reading Challenge Give-away!



If you would like to own this book post a comment and let me know. Please let me know how to contact you (either a blog link or an email address). I'll select a winner sometime on Wednesday - to be safe comment by Tuesday midnight if you want to be considered.

You must be a participant in the challenge - defined by having added your link to Mr. Linky or commented to the original post. It doesn't matter WHEN you sign up - you just need to be a participant. If you aren't a participant now, and would like to be, click above and go sign up. ::snort::

I'll mail this book domestically or internationally.

*The Cost of Discipleship* by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

A brand new copy. I ordered it and then remembered that I'd assigned it to the boys and we already had a copy. I really need to get that database set up. LOL

From the back of the book:

What can the call to discipleship, the adherence to the word of Jesus, mean today to the businessman, the solider, the laborer or the aristocrat? What did Jesus mean to say to us? What is his will for us today? Drawing on the Sermon on the Mount, Dietrich Bonhoeffer answers these timeless questions by providing a seminal reading of the dichotomy between "cheap grace" and "costly grace". "Cheap grace," Bonhoeffer wrote, "is the grace we bestow on ourselves...grace without discipleship...Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must know...It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life."

The Cost of Discipleship is a compelling statement of the demands of sacrifice and ethical consistency from a man whose life and thought were exemplary articulations of a new type of leadership inspired by the Gospel, and imbued with the spirit of Christian humanism and a creative sense of civic duty.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in Breslau in 1906. The son of a famous German psychiatrist, he studied in Berlin and New York City. He left the safety of American to return to Germany and continue his public repudiation of the Nazis, which led to his arrest in 1943. Linked to the group of conspirators whose attempted assassination of Hitler failed, he was hanged in April 1945.

This is not an easy read, but since reading the biography I posted about earlier, I'm determined to read through some of Bonhoeffer's writings. LOL

Summer Reading Challenge Book Give-Away Rules!

I'm getting back into a routine after the trip.

The rules are simple. You must be a participant in the Summer Reading Challenge. It doesn't matter if you're a new participant. You must have a link to your blog on Mr. Linky, or if you don't have a blog you must have let me know in the comment section of the original post on the challenge, that you are participating.

I will post books on Saturday and randomly select a winner on Wednesday. I'll post a summary of the book so that you know if you would like to own it. You must leave a comment on the post by Wednesday a.m. when I draw (could be a.m. or after school - give me some grace here LOL). You'll need to leave your blog address or be sure I know how to contact you to get your address so that I can mail the book. DO NOT POST YOUR ADDRESS ON MY BLOG! I'm not sure how often I'll do the giveaways but I'll always post the book on Saturday and draw on Wednesday.

Some weeks I may say that you have to be a US resident for the book because I'll be paying for postage...just read the posts and you'll have the info you need.

*Heroes of the Faith: Dietrich Bonhoeffer* by Michael Van Dyke (Author)

One winter when Mike was in seminary I decided to read "Cost of Discipleship" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, because Mike and his buddies were constantly discussing the mans thoughts. I was fascinated. I bogged down. This did NOT stop me from assigning *Cost of Discipleship* to the boys this year as they studied the Nazi Regime. ::snort::

I have been contemplating long and hard how the church in Germany could have gone along with all that happened back during that time period. After hearing and meeting Holocaust Survivors, I was determined not to let this train of thought drift away before I researched, thought, and prayed about it....because this often happens when a new school year, with a new time period begins. I am convinced there are applications for today's church in studying the church of WW2.

This book was one that was assigned for Jared (7th grade) to read, I thought it was a good spot for me to begin my search for answers. I picked it up when he was done and LOVED it. I found much food for thought in this book. I loved it so much that now Jamin is reading it and doing one of his Writing Guild assignments on Bonhoeffer (much easier to find original sources for Bonhoeffer than for medieval times). ::snort:: We are also listening to the Focus on the Family audios on Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Reading this book led to a quick trip to the library for these books:

All either written by Bonhoeffer himself, his twin sister, or his prior students. I believe I'll be shortening my Summer Reading Challenge List and adding some of these books.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a pastor, professor, one the twentieth century's most brilliant minds, and, ultimately, a martyr. He struggled with the moral issues involved, and then joined the equivalent of the CIA in his country. From this position, he joined the resistance in Germany to his country's dictator, Adolf Hitler. Eventually, he was arrested and was executed as the allies approached. He had SEVERAL opportunities when he could have escaped Germany, but chose to stay. He did help his twin sister (who was married to a Jewish man) escape to Switzerland.

He spent his time in prison writing and it is those writings that now sit on my piano. Some quotes:

When discussing how the "modern" church thought of Jesus' commands as historical rather than immediate to be obeyed, Bonhoeffer said, "It has become almost second nature for us, as a church to put things off, to study things to death, to analyze the results of our indecision and disobedience. And all along we think that God is forgiving us. We are operating under a fallacy of cheap grace, thinking that we can bargain with God about our response." p 85.

"Revival of church life always brings in its train a richer understanding of the Scriptures.....there arises a more determined quest for Him who is the sole object of it all, for Jesus Christ Himself." p 110

When defining "cheap grace" he wrote: (cheap grace is) "The grace which amounts to the justification of sin without the justification of the repentant sinner who departs from sin and from whom sin departs". Or "Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance...." This book made me think. Bonhoeffer was a pacifist who was willing to be involved in plots against his government..... I'm really not sure at this point where all my thoughts will eventually settle...but I love a book that challenges me to think through my beliefs...and this one did.

Bonhoeffer was preaching in prison on the last Sunday morning of his life. He hadn't even had time to sit down when two Gestapo agents came and took him to be sentenced and then executed. The prison doctor was there to confirm his death. He later reported, "In the almost 50 years that I worked as a doctor, I have hardly ever seen a man die so submissive to the will of God." p203.

The epilogue contains these thoughts - "Bonhoeffer's life can serve as a model for 21st century Christians ....While the world will never make it convenient for us to be disciples of Christ, Bonhoeffer showed that it is possible to grow in faith through any circumstance, and to be a disciple in any situation or dilemma. He also showed, however, that this could only be done if the disciple was willing to count the cost, and to pay it in full if necessary. " p 205

I recommend this book for Jr High - Adults. Reading it has sparked an interest in our family to read more...and I'm thrilled. My boys were very "into" WW2 and I had hoped all year that something other than the military aspects would make the issues and time period real to them...and studying up, discussing Dietrich Bonhoeffer is doing that for our family.

Health Issues

I wasn't going to mention this, but I know that some have followed my food odyssey into crunchiness. Some have watched with skepticism and some have watched with interest. ::snort::

When we left AK I had been told that I "most likely" had early stages of MS and there was nothing to do but wait for the symptoms to be pronounced enough for a diagnosis. (I really do not think this was a thorough or accurate diagnosis). I was in chronic pain. My hands and feet tingled and were numb. My wrists ached constantly. I couldn't hold a pen, bottle, baby.....My hips would suddenly go out - they also ached. My shoulder would ache for a week or so and then stop. These symptoms disappeared as I changed my lifestyle of eating. A nice bonus to finding a solution for Zander. ::snort:: I suppose I could mention that I believe that as I learned how to eat God used those choices as an avenue of healing for my body.

By the 3rd week of our vacation all symptoms were back. Once again it ached to get out of bed, my hip gave out 4 times one day in AK. Give out to the point of walking one minute and stumbling or falling the next. My wrists and hip ached constantly. My hands and feet were tingling.

I told Mike I was afraid it was Alaska. He amazingly became a huge convert to crunchiness. ::snort:: He was great. He did buy fresh pineapple and produce (but it sure doesn't taste as fresh up there). I TRIED to eat well on the trip. I'm convinced that there is something on their salads and fruits at restaurants. And simply having a meal or dinner involved preservatives and ingredients I've not had in 1 1/2 years.

We came home hoping that my pain would go away when I got back to eating normally, and that it was not connected to Alaska. ::snort::

I determined to spend 3 - 7 days eating nothing but produce to give my body time to rid itself of whatever was in there. This is the a.m. of day 4. I no longer have chronic pain - just twinges. The tingling is not constant..... I can't isolate WHY or WHAT my body reacts to - but being crunchy is improving my quality of life.

I'm being careful not to eat these few calories long term (because produce doesn't have a lot of calories - I'm eating a TON of produce) but I feel it is important to let my body recup. Eating a lot of produce has also helped me build that habit back into my life (I certainly wasn't getting 10 - 13 servings a day on the trip) and it is helping to lower my cravings for french fries, mayo etc.

Just so you don't worry I've lost my mind....I do have a chocolate kiss or one of those Cacao Reserve mini truffles every night. Dr. Colbert says dark chocolate is good for us.

Another 3 a.m.

finds me sitting at the computer with Stacia in my lap. The children had asked for a sleepover. They used to do this each Friday night in previous homes. ALL the children would pile into the family room with sleeping bags, pillows, blankets, snacks and movies. They loved it. This home doesn't have a family room and I've not wanted to have them all sleeping in the living room. The older boys don't seem to want to participate any longer. Arielle misses this routine. She asked last night if they could have a sleepover in the BOY'S room (younger boys). This works. I think it will become a part of the weekly routine again.

Stacia, however, seems to prefer her own bed, thus another bout of productivity at 3 a.m.

I began going back and copying blog entries from this computer to my journal in Word. I quit doing that when MY computer broke and I began using THIS thing in September 06 - but I think it is time to get my journal udated even if it isn't on MY computer. ::snort:: An hour well spent.....but now Stacia is asleep, I'm tired from two nights of 3 a.m. and all the work yesterday, I think I'll catch a couple of more hours.

*Truly a Thing of Beauty*

I had 2 things I really wanted to complete this week (bills and Cy's portfolio) and 3 things I really wanted to organize this week (toy closet, files, school closet). I didn't think I could do Lisa's Summer Clean-up Challenge because I didn't have a "room" to tackle...but I have these closets I had planned .....so I'm going to say I qualify to play. OK Lisa? ::snort::

This is the toy closet. I should point out that this closet is really big and my kitchen would be much bigger if they hadn't built this walk in closet. ::snort:: This is also the movie closet and costume closet. I want to organize all three areas of the closet. The videos are not terribly out of order. I need to continue to think of the best way to organize the costumes. The toy mess was a priority. It will make life much easier and efficient if the boys can pick things up quickly. I'm all about preparing for an easier school year next year. ::snort::

Monday, I told Nolan and Zander to go through all their toys and throw out anything that was broken. Anything they no longer played with was to go in the Goodwill box. While they did this, I balanced the checkbook and paid bills. They found a 13 gal garbage bag of broken toys. They also "organized" everything. They had 3 rubbermaid-like tubs that had become overwhelmed with the amount of toys being placed in them (See photo above!).

Today, I had all three of the youngers take every toy out of the closet again, while Stacia napped.I found a 13 gal and a yard garbage bag full of toys. We also FILLED our geocaching backpack - from cache to cache.

Then we sorted toys into categories (dinosaurs, ocean animals, puzzles...). I'd done all of THIS before...but Darshia had inspired me. I hadn't figured out how to make it EASY for the boys to KEEP it organized - and therefore I keep doing the above things every 3 - 6 months. Today, I took a picture of each group of toys. I made labels with the title AND picture of what goes into the bin. The boys know exactly where each toy goes. I know where each toy goes. Company will know where each toy goes.....AND I'm supposed to be doing lots of visual clues for Nolan's processing problem according to the therapist at the rehab center. This makes us all happy!

About those costumes....I'm wondering if something like a suit bag would work. Put a costume and it's accessories in the bag, zip it up and hang it up. What have others of you done with something like this? I currently have them hanging in the back 1/2 of this closet and have bins above on a shelf for accessories. The problem is that the costumes are always in a heap......