Driving around in the car last night with Lil'E, we were listening to "Istanbul, Not Constantinople" from They Might Be Giants. We were rockin' out, let me tell ya.
Here is a simple 13-step process for safely and effectively giving your cat a bath. Only 13 steps? That's pretty easy, right? It starts slow, but once past the opening credits it is a fast-paced how-to video.
Okay, I don't think you can get much more relaxed than this. This is Lil'E on mom and dad's bed last night.
Ever since I got downhere's Wide-Eyed and Mystified for Christmas, I haven't been able to stop listening to it. And that is a good thing. Here is "The More" from that album, which I actually got as a free download last fall. They list 2 Peter 1:5-8 as their scriptural inspiration for this song. Enjoy some good Canadian rock!
If you thought were about to be killed, would you look straight ahead so you could see it coming or would you look away?That is a tough question, but I think I found my answer for it this morning in a taxi cab on the way to the Tulsa airport. I really didn't want to know the answer to this question, but the cab driver is apparently a man who seeks to enlighten his customers through exploration of their inner psyche in times of great distress, which he kindly provides via his driving in heavy traffic on still-icy roads.
Time for a psychology experiment. Free association, music style. I'll start with Musician #1 (singer, songwriter, group, whatever selected totally at random - don't ask how) and then I will list the first musician that comes to mind (Musician #2). Reply in a comment with your association to Musician #2, and the next associates to Musician #3. If you know why that particular musician came to mind, then share.
This is a chance to get you lurkers out of the woodwork and mingle with the regulars. Come on, people, I know more people glance at this rambling blog than pipes up. That means you, sister-in-law. And you, too, Cambridge, Minnesota - I see you pop in every couple of days. California, I'm waiting to hear from you. You can reply anonymously, if you feel the need, but at least give a name and/or a location. Here we go.
Musician #1: Susan Ashton
Hi, I'm Euphrony. I hail from Spring, Texas and:
Susan Ashton --> Garth Brooks
(Susan Ashton going on tour with Garth Brooks was, I believe, her first forayer out of contemporary Christian music and into more secular music; thus Ashton to Brooks. A close second association was the Ashton, Becker, Dente collaboration.)
Now it's your turn. GO!
Tags: Delurking, Free Association, Music, Psychology
Got a story for ya. It's all true, so just ponder the truth for a moment.
Once upon a time, there was a man. He wasn't the best of men and, being a little greedy, he stole thousands of dollars worth of silver coins from his mom. Mom was understandably furious, but did not know who took her silver coins. She cursed the thief vehemently; so intense was her objurgation that the son began to fear the consequences and regret the taking of the silver. He returns it to his mother, confessing that he took it. Rather than anger with her son, the mother sees this change of heart as a sign that her son may, finally, be finding religion.So, does any of this sound familiar to you? Maybe you've seen pieces of this here or there - a church founded by reformed crooks who still don't seem to get it, a focus more on the visual presentation that on the substance, a diversion of worship from the Spiritual to the physical (idolatry) , the honoring of credentials or heritage over God-given ability or calling. This one example seemed to fit it all so well; but where was this church? Houston? New York? London? Rome? Well, to find out you must read the comments, where the truth will be disclosed. And feel free to add your own comment on this true story and how it affects each of us.
As a sign that she has forgiven her son, that she is grateful to Jehovah for the return of the silver coins, and as a means of building her son's burgeoning faith, the woman dedicates all that was stolen to the Lord and entrusts her son with the use of the wealth in God's service. Her only explicit instructions is to begin by using twenty percent of the silver to be made into two statues - one sculpted and one cast - that will be placed in the new church. (After all, what is a church without ornamentation?) With the two statues in hand, the son established this new church, adding other figurines to fill out the building. To lead them, he selects one of the early congregants who seemed best suited as the priest of their new church - conveniently, this happened to be his son. So his son will look the part, the man also has made an extravagant priestly robe to be worn during times of worship.
However, after a time, a drifter wanders through town. He's looking for work, but doesn't really seem to care if he lands a job and settles down or just gets a hand out and moves along. Meeting the drifter, the first man soon recognizes that this man is a distant relative of a family of famous, eloquent, renowned preachers. Seeing a chance to add credibility to his new church, through association with this famous family of godly men, the first man offers the drifter the job of priest (sorry, son, but I found someone better). He offers the drifter a sizeable salary, with benefits package and a per diem.
All the pieces are in place, the first man thinks. I have the ornate church, the people are gathered to worship, and I have to lead and teach them one of a family blessed by God. Surely Jehovah will prosper me, now.
For lunch after church yesterday morning, the Euphrony family went to a hibachi grill to appease Mrs. E's craving for fried rice. For those of you not familiar with eating at hibachi grills, the tables all seat around eight people in a semi-circle around the grill where the chef cooks your food. This means that for a party of three (as is our family) you get to share the table with complete strangers. And some are stranger than others. Our table was shared by three old ladies on one side and, sitting by Lil'E, a late-teen/early twenties girl and and a middle-aged woman with her (never got clarified if they were mother/daughter or not).
Upon sitting down, I hear bits of their conversation . . . "and she doesn't like air-brushing . . . no, I mean make up . . . blah blah blah . . . ". And then they notice Lil'E and her Big Sister Dora doll she brought into the restaurant. The younger girl thinks Lil'E is adorable and starts talking to her, so of course Lil'E recruits her into playing dolls. She asks what the dolls name is and her older companion replies:Older lady: "That's Dora! Don't you watch any cartoons anymore?"
Like I said, some are stranger than others.
Younger lady: "No, I don't. I never heard of Dora."
Older Lady: "Yeah, Dora is a good one. She helps kids learn Spanish. It's one of my cougar's favorites."
Me: (choking on fried rice, answering Mrs. E's query) "Yes, she did say 'cougar'."
Older lady: "Yes, I have a cougar, like the University of Houston mascot. He sits in his cage and watches cartoons a lot. Oh, I know he's a wild animal and that he's dangerous. But he's pretty good."
Tags: Hibachi, Strangers, Cougar, Bizarre
10"Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt." 11But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?" 12And He said, "Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain."What strikes me in reading this passage, which I know I've read at least a thousand times, is in God's response to Moses' complaint. Moses whines about his inadequacy to the task, trying to get out of this job Jehovah has set; God belays his complaint with a promise and a sign. His promise is that He will be with Moses, as his strength and support. The sign God gives is that Moses and all of Israel will worship Him on that mountain.Exodus 3:10-12 (NASB)
I love a good music bargain. I also love to share, so here are a few I have found recently.
It's been two weeks since I last posted, and there has been good reason. Or, I should say, reasons. This Christmas just hit #1 on the charts, with a bullet.
Which chart, you may ask. Best Christmas ever? Worst Christmas ever?
I will answer, without equivocation. But I will not answer with just one word - I'm much to verbose for that.
It all started way back on December 18th. Those of you keeping track know that this is the day I left for my little jaunt in Norway. From December 18-22, I spent 30 hours in transit (sleeping none of that time) and returned home on Friday afternoon. To a house with a sick pre-schooler. Seeing as how I had not slept in the previous 24 hours, and had eaten mostly airplane food, I (and Mrs. Euphrony) had reasonable confidence that I would catch this stomach bug. And, on Christmas Eve morning, I awoke with a start - straight to the bathroom. After a luxurious day spent doing you-know-what, I awoke Christmas morning ~8 pounds lighter than when I got home. Yeah.
Lil'E was all better, jumping all over and excited about everything that I had no energy to play with. Our plans (ha ha) had been to go to my parents on Christmas Eve and spend a few days there, leave Lil'E with the grandparents and come home to do some painting to get ready for the new baby. Didn't happen that way, did it? The new, improved plan was to drop Lil'E with the grandparents the day after Christmas, then do the painting and spend the New Year's weekend all together. Ha again! We're packed, getting in the car, when my parents call and say they're sick. No free time, no painting, no getting ready for the baby, no way, no how. And the best irony of all was that I had recently downloaded a free offering from iTunes: Sufjan Stevens' "That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!". Triple ha!
But in this unplanned free time, we found a few things to do. Driving down to Galveston for a day trip, we went to Moody Gardens. It was very nice, all decked out in lights for Christmas, and we caught an IMAX movie: The Polar Express in IMAX 3-D. The best thing was seeing Lil'E standing up in her seat, reaching out trying to catch the 3-D snow falling and the look of wonder on her face. Kinda cool.
We ended up having three full, non-sick days at home as a family before finally heading up to my parents (a seven-hour drive) for the New Year's weekend. No rain up there, so no fireworks. We had a little date-time; always nice. I got to go get my new iPod (Kat, hope your's arrives soon) and started loading the ten new CD's I got for Christmas (I highly recommend Shaun Grove's White Flag, Jars of Clay's Good Monster, and Downhere's Wide-Eyed and Mystified) along with my full collection of CDs. We had some nice time with my parents, and a lot of good, fun play.
So, No. 1 Christmas, with a bullet. On both lists. Worst Christmas. Best Christmas. All in one year. Whew, I'm exhausted.
Tags: Sufjan Stevens, Shaun Groves, Jars of Clay, Downhere, Christmas, List, iPod, The Polar Express, IMAX
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