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Gay Lord Jesus?

Friday, February 19th, 2010

Elton John is claiming that Jesus Christ was gay. I am interested in his reasoning.

My own thoughts on this subject is that Jesus Christ is not gay and looks down upon homosexuality. Of course, God loves all His children, and homosexuals are not an exception. But it is not logical for Christ to be gay while simultaneously being God.

God created Man in His image (that means we look like God does, with eyes and arms and toenails). To multiply and subdue the Earth, He created the forms of male and female, which cannot procreate alone nor can they procreate with like forms (that means that two males do not make babies). This is a fact in humans and most all species, although some fish and invertebrates can switch their gender or spontaneously procreate. I don’t know if it’s possible with non-animal living organisms.

It is illogical that Christ is a homosexual. It would make more sense if He is asexual because God has no reason to procreate. But I do not believe that to be defending it further.

Aside, when speaking of Jesus Christ, because He is the living Word of God, we use the present tense.

He does want us to be loving and forgiving, but He also wants us to make good choices, which do not include perversion.

Posted in Cultural Rants | No Comments »

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle isn’t just for Greenies.

Friday, June 19th, 2009

With seven people living on a part-time income, we have to use our resources efficiently to feed, clothe, and entertain ourselves.

We don’t have a mango tree, but our kitchen has processed at least a hundred pounds of mangoes in the last several weeks. Several of the families for whom I teach music have given me a bag or two of mangoes at each visit. I made eight small jars of chutney and froze them. I think we are down to four jars. I had only eight jars, so I made smoothies with leftover mangoes. And with the mangoes that I didn’t use to make smoothies because there were too many, Dad sliced up and put into our beans and rice. He added curry, green peppers, and other spices. It was delicious. And we are still collecting mangoes because some trees give two (or three) harvests. Some trees aren’t ready for the harvest until weeks after the first. So every week, there are two or three families that are giving me bags and bags of mangoes.

As the babies are growing out of their old clothes and into Taylor’s clothes, I’ve been putting away their baby clothes. I’ve also been noticing stains and rips in both sets of small and medium clothes. So I’m cutting them. Yes, cutting them with scissors (and it’s wearing out my scissors!). I’m making my first freehand quilt. I’m just cutting pieces and sewing them back onto an old bed sheet that I cut into square foot blocks. They are coming along nicely. I was thinking of making a larger patchwork piece and using it as fabric for clothes, being that it used to be clothes. Perhaps it can serve as the skirt of a dress.

Last week was the first week of summer for the public school children. We at the Greenleaf School took that week off for catching up on housekeeping and play. Ty saw that one of his favorite television characters, Curious George, had made musical instruments using things around the house. Ty made a guitar out of a milk carton and rubber bands — It was more like a lyre than a guitar. He used Taylor’s kitchen pot lids as cymbals. And he asked me to help him make a water xylophone out of beer bottles. THAT was difficult. All of Thursday morning, I was tapping glass bottles with a spoon and adjusting the water level in an attempt to play a major scale. And all afternoon, I was suffering a headache from the high-pitched dinging. Albeit, it was worth it. The boy learned a bit about musical instruments.

The question is not, “How do you do it?”
The question is, “How will you use it?”

Posted in Green Living | No Comments »

To Health, Food, and Taste

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009

The babies are eating more and more kinds of food. Now that they are nine months old, they can tolerate new foods better than when they were four months old. When they did turn four months, a lot of moms were telling me that I can start feeding them regular food. Food at four months? That’s crazy to me. With our first child, we followed what the books (Doctor Spock, Babywise, et cetera) were preaching to us. But trying to feed a four month old who can barely sit up and is continuing to make a mess with his sloppy food was frustrating. “Give it time. He’ll get used to it.” More crazy talk. So with our second, I waited until he was six months to feed him. It was easier, but I still did not feel that I was doing the very best for him. One mom told me that she exclusively breastfed her baby until the baby was almost one year old. “Can babies survive on breastmilk for one year?” Well, God made my mammary glands to make the milk that provides nutrition. This nurse-for-a-year concept didn’t seem as ridiculous as giving a baby slop at four months. It was like being taught a strategy and slapping one’s own forehead for not realizing the simplicity! I took our third baby to work with me for ten months, and she nursed exclusively because we were attached to the hip, which is where babies are supposed to be: attached to their mother. I know that it’s nearly impossible for a modern mother to be with her baby 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the first 45 weeks, but we made it happen.

So at nine months, both babies can confidently sit up and tolerate new foods. This morning, I mixed in two table spoons of cow’s milk into their cereal, which is barley and breastmilk. They didn’t seem to notice the change in taste, and two hours later, they are not looking like they’ve reacted with allergy. I think we should try goat’s milk because it is supposed to have a composition similar to breastmilk.

A few nights ago, Dad made a delicious soup with white beans, pork, onions, celery, and carrots. I mixed their cereal not with breastmilk but with the stock. The cereal disappeared from the bowl faster than you can say, “Bob’s yer uncle.” They liked the taste of taste! Not that they think that breastmilk is bland, but it kicked the jarred Garbar junk in the derriere.

I’m aware that some might think that I am being over-protective about the babies’ intestinal flora. If I had the choice of being over-protective or unaware, I’d chose the former. There was a police officer who made the news recently for going out of his way to save a choking two-year-old girl. The girl was feverish, so her mother gave her meat. Meat. With a fever! When my children have fevers, they get breastmilk, even if they are two years old.

Posted in Kendall, Mom Wisdom, Talon | 1 Comment »

But I Love My Dog? Why Can’t I Marry My Dog?

Wednesday, November 5th, 2008

I’m happy to see that the amendment to define marriage [between a man and a woman] had passed. Yet I don’t understand how someone can vote for that amendment and vote for the current President-elect, aware that he is the most liberal member of the U.S. Senate. *shrugs* In my peacenick, hunky dory, liberal youth, I thought, What’s the harm in letting two people who love each other get married? But that leads to What’s the harm in letting first cousins get married? Brothers and sisters? Sisters and sisters? A man and his horse? A woman and her television? I know! It gets ridiculous!! Besides, marriage is the foundation of the natural family. You can’t call yourself a Christian or Jew or Muslim and believe that two people of the same sex can be married. God made Adam and Eve. And Adam and Eve made babies. Like a male tiger and a female tiger make tiger cubs. Two men can’t make babies. Two women can’t make babies. It is physically impossible. And even if you don’t believe in the Bible and Adam and Eve, historically, marriage is an institution that begins a family. Marriage is older than any of today’s religions. Marriage is as old as the Law of Man. Marriage, in its own constitution, is about Family. Not about Love.
Two men can love each other. That’s a little crazy, I think. But possible. If they want to live together, that’s possible. If they want to be on each other’s wills, then they can do that through other venues and laws. If they want to visit each other in the hospital, they can grant each other power of attorney. If they want to rear children, sorry, I can’t allow that. Every baby deserves a mother and a father. That’s what marriage is about!!

Now that the amendment passed, we will have to decide what defines a man and a woman. A man who goes through surgery to superficially change his gender (because he will never have ovaries or lactating mammary glands) and goes through the courts to change his name is not a woman. Yea, here we go again.

Posted in Cultural Rants | No Comments »

Election Day 2008

Tuesday, November 4th, 2008

Dad and I watched the Democratic presidential nominee’s informercial on Wednesday night (10/29). We both chuckled hard (actually, we were in hysterics for at least a minute) when we saw the image of Democratic presidential nominee’s standing in an office that looked very much like the Oval Office with darkened walls and furniture. It’s amusing that he likes to believe that he’s the president. Well, after that, we were bombarded with stories of families who can’t afford a gallon of milk and old couples on Medicaid who have to work at Wal*Mart after retirement. It was depressing. The Democratic presidential nominee showed us that we are a country of losers. Really depressing. We can’t put gas in our cars. We can’t pay our mortgages. We can’t put food on the table. But the Democratic presidential nominee also gave us hope. He’s going to be like Robin Hood: Steal from the rich and give to the poor. The Democratic presidential nominee will do it in the form of taxes, so it won’t really be stealing. It’ll be a legal confiscation of funds, making him more like Prince John than Robin Hood. If you don’t pay your taxes, you’re a criminal. If you don’t vote for the Democratic presidential nominee, you’re a racist.
Today, we woke up at 5:30am. At least I did. I started waking up the boys, but they didn’t stir. Dad woke up. I started the coffee. I woke up the boys again. I changed the babies’ diapers but didn’t feed them because they both nursed about an hour earlier. Brushed Kyle’s dreadlocks out of his hair while nudging Taylor with my foot. Changed Taylor’s diaper and changed her clothes. Ty made toast, prepared my coffee, and shined Dad’s boots. I’m only kidding. haha! He did make toast, though. We were locked and loaded in the van at 6:41am.

We drove to our polling place and were surprised to see a fairly empty parking lot. We stood in line, maybe the 70th and 71st ones in line. I had a baby in the sling and a baby in the stroller (switched them around often, depending on which one was hungry). There was a dad with his two girls, a little older than Ty, who looked like he wasn’t used to waiting in long lines with them – not that we often wait in long lines with the children. He had a box of distractions. Literally. He had a box with paper, crayons, and coloring books. Ty and Kyle sat on the ground twice during our wait, drank water from our canteen, and read a Berenstain Bears book. Taylor was the one who was acting up – just a tad. Enough to get her doll taken from her. The dad with the two girls offered us paper, but we said that we didn’t need any. “We are practicing patience,” explained Dad. It helps to be around the children 24/7 instead of this only-on-weeknights-and-weekends kind of parenting that seems to be the trend.

Voting was a breeze. We were out of there by 8:15am. But Dad and I did notice that two of the poll workers were wearing some Black History shirts. Why is that so wrong? Because political displays are not allowed within 200 feet of the polling place. These Black History shirts (with portraits of MLK, Malcolm X, Frederick Douglass, George Washington Carver, to name a few) were proxies for the Democratic presidential nominee shirts that the Democratic presidential nominee has been selling at his rallies. We as tax payers should provide these poll workers with a uniform. A blue, green, or turquoise shirt, something easy to spot. What’s this monkey business with Black History? C’mon. Imagine if we walked in there wearing shirts with images of Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and Andrew Carnegie. We’d be asked to leave the premises. We would not be allowed to vote. There would definitely not be any allowance for a white poll worker to show up wearing a White History shirt. By the way, there should be a month designated for dead white people and not just Presidents. Oh, am I racist? Voting for the Democratic presidential nominee just because he’s black (or half-black) is racist. Voting for John McCain because he loves America is American.
We stopped by the grocery store to pick up doughnuts and chocolate milk for our Election Day breakfast, which isn’t technically “break fast” because we had toast earlier. So now we’re enjoying the rest of the morning, watching Dad save Princess Zelda, reminding Kyle to pronounce his fricatives, and mainly recuperating from waking up way too early. I have to work later.

Posted in Cultural Rants | 1 Comment »

Cvn U r33d thi$?

Friday, April 4th, 2008

One afternoon while I was working, Dad put the boys at the home schooling table, laid out blank paper, and passed out crayons. Taylor was not allowed to use the crayons because she is known to graffiti our walls. Kyle scribbled a lot, drew Mr. Potato Head’s yellow, crazy smile, and generally had a fun few hours. Ty colored rainbows, drew the solar system (in correct order and color), and drew pretty good portraits of Mr. Potato Head and various dinosaurs.

When I came home, I was very much impressed by the artwork. Most of the time, when we do art in Greenleaf School, the two younger ones scribble on the paper (and table) while Ty draws five or six renditions of the solar system. This time, they had a dozen unique drawings. One was a perfect dinosaur which Ty had labeled: Stikcores.

The “kcores” was on top of the “Sti.” So I read aloud, “K. Cores. Sti.” I looked at Ty. He was scowling. I looked down to the paper, which had a wonderful, black Stegosaurus on it. “Oh, yea! Ty, you wrote ‘Stegosaurus!’” He smiled. “Great. That looks exactly like a Stegosaurus. Good Job, Ty.” He was proud of himself.

During the weekend, I read about “inventive spelling” and how it is being accepted by Kindergarten teachers today. The theory is that early English spellers will progress from what looks like gibberish (id est, “O M F G” will be read aloud by the child as, “I watched TV all day.”) to correct spelling by the end of third grade. Ty is right in the middle of this progress with literal phonetic spelling.

I’m so happy that I found a label for my son. To celebrate my new discovery, I wrote down the names of his ten favorite dinosaurs (including Stegosaurus) and told him to copy my writing, disguising it as handwriting work. Perhaps that will reinforce the memorization of the suffix -saurus. While I love and support creativity, I do believe that flaws should be corrected and that everyone should be reaching for the dictionary. Yes, even when IMing and txt’ing.

Posted in Cultural Rants, Ty | No Comments »

Expecting Multiples: The Myths

Sunday, March 23rd, 2008

I have to admit that I wasn’t exactly “happy” when I learned that we were expecting twins. I was shocked, scared, and confused (Twins don’t run in my family). After getting over the initial reaction, expecting twins is a little more serious that expecting a singleton. It is a blessing and much, much more efficient than having only one at a time.

When people, most often it’s women, learn that we’re having twins, their first response is usually, “Gosh, I’ve always wanted twins.” That makes me feel a little guilty because I’ve never always wanted twins. I’ve always wanted to have children. There was a time that I didn’t want *any* children. Then there was a time that I thought I’d never have children. When I did want children, I never wanted twins. It didn’t occur to me that I’d ever have twins, being that they don’t run in my family.

I’ve always associated twins as a mother-to-daughter trait or an outcome of fertility treatments. And I learned recently that there are twins in my family, but they come from my dad’s side. My paternal grandfather was himself a twin born in 1899 – or 1898, I’m not sure. But in my grandfather’s case, like in Elvis Presley’s, one twin survived while the other didn’t (Elvis’ twin was named Jesse).

I don’t entirely believe that having twins is a genetic trait. Surely, it must have something to do with maternal nutrition. Most other mammals have larger litters if overfed. We’ve been having stair-step children, so perhaps my body thinks that there’s a human population shortage. Or maybe the gods find it amusing that we’ll have five children ages five and under. Ha ha ha. That’s funny.

Then there are comments such as, “Twins always come early,” “You can’t breast feed two babies!” and “Doctors like to schedule a C-section just in case.” I don’t know about you, but my babies are going to be born only a few days before their actual due date after four hours of labor. They’ll be weighing over seven pounds each, and they’ll learn to nurse together, dirty their diapers together, and sleep together because that’s just the way things are going to be in this house. Period.
All I know is, I get really uncomfortable being told that someone else has “always wanted twins.” That’s like being asked, “Are you expecting?” when you’ve had a baby just three months before. Or carrying a bag of groceries in one hand and holding the hand of a toddler who is holding the hand of a young preschooler who is holding the hand of an older preschooler and being told, “Looks like you’ve got your hands full.” Well, it might only look like that, but if I let go of the toddler, her brothers still have a hold of her.

And my favorite: “Better you than me!”
You. Are. Right.

Posted in Cultural Rants, Mom Wisdom | No Comments »

‘Tis the Season

Thursday, December 6th, 2007

Dear Giant Inflatable Snow Globe Owner,

I admire your festive sense. While the majority of the neighborhood waits timidly aside for the arrival of Christmas, you decorate your yard with an enormous, plastic, 100 volt round thing that reminds passersby that it’s not Christmas without snow. At night, while I drive past hundreds of unlit houses, your yard is like a beacon of blowing snow, guiding me through the dark streets, a whirring motor that serves as a fog horn.

Did you know that you spent one hundred dollars on an eye sore? It’s a good thing that you want to celebrate the season. Can you do it without the fake snow? Without the plastic snowman? It’s like you have put a round blender on your lawn and chopped up a trash bag inside. Perhaps you can put that thing in your backyard where only the people who are living with you can see it. Your closest neighbors might be insulted by the motor’s ruckus, so maybe you should just get rid of it.

Thanks and Merry Holidays,

Mom

Posted in Cultural Rants, Mom Wisdom | No Comments »

If You Grow It, They Will Come

Monday, October 15th, 2007

We have been getting strangers on our doorstep. They ask us if we want our lawn mowed. We always say, “No, thank you.” And they leave. We mow our lawn ourselvles with the old-fashioned, push reel mower, the kind that requires elbow grease and no gasoline. It leaves a choppy look, and if we wait a few weeks between trimmings, the grass gets so long that the mower merely pushes it down without cutting. So it’s a tough life, but we choose to live it and are happy with it.

We are most happy with the wild life in our yard. Yesterday, we went out front for a picnic and made friends with the bugs that live there. We didn’t share food, but we did thank our little friends (the boys named them all Pete) and watched their crawling on the long blades of grass, being pushed off by the gusts of wind.

Several butterflies came by: zebra longwings, viceroys, and one bright orange one that I didn’t recognize. There were dozens of little white moths fluttering about. And I realized that these wonderful animals love our yard because we supply their food. The spanish needles (weeds that are SOOOO annoying when they get the seeds stuck to laundry that was hung to dry) are butterfly favorites. The pros outweigh the cons by infinity, so I’m not complaining.

While we were still outside, after having finished our food, we saw a pair of peafowl. They came by the day before as well. I think they were eating the fallen seeds of the ficus trees. The boys were afraid that they might eat Pete, but I told them that Pete found a safe place in the soil to hide. I lost track of time while we watched them. There was a peacock and a peahen but neither showed off their plummage, not that the peahen has much to show off.

I’ve seen peafowl while driving a few miles north of here, but this was the first time that we saw them in our neighborhood. I’m not sure of the population numbers, but the birds are protected by the county.

We were out there for at least an hour, watching them walk back and forth, picking up tiny things from our tall grass. Ty was getting too confident with them, approching them too closely. I suppose that they are accustomed to humans. Still, they walked away quickly. The children were getting too excited and loud. I told them that the birds wouldn’t come back if we made their stay here unpleasant.

The pair of peafowl walked into the neighbor’s yard, so we went inside the house. A few minutes later, they were back.

A very confident pair of peafowl.

We are happy with our lawn and the nature that it brings, even if nature gets awfully close to Dad’s Miata.

Posted in Green Living | No Comments »

The Simple, Green Life is Tough

Thursday, July 26th, 2007

It finally rained again. There are pros and cons to rain. The summertime is the rainy season around here. Well, it’s more thunderstorm than rain. We had a few rainless weeks, and it was pretty nice having the sun to dry diapers and clothes quickly. I could wash up to six loads and get them dry by the time I got back home from work without the threat of rain or lightning.

But it finally rained again. We needed it, too. The grass is turning brown again, and our poor lantanas and pentas in from of the house were being baked right outside! That’s my fault, though. We have rainwater that we’ve been collecting since the first rains of spring. It doesn’t occur to me to water the plants except when it rains.

*head desk*

Now that it’s raining again, the clothes takes hours to dry. It’s so muggy and humid out, that even in full sun, the clothes is wetter than when it came out of the wash.

I’m totally exaggerating, but you get the point.

It feels hotter because of the humidity, so we don’t go outside anymore. We used to spend late mornings in the “fort,” reading books, watching bugs, and relaxing on the swing. But the threat of mosquitoes’ carrying off one of my kids is too much to bear.

I feel like a heel using the dryer on perfectly sunny days. We’re running the air conditioner now, so using the dryer just uses up more energy… Energy that is *free* when it comes from the sun! I’m at a loss. We could put up some clothes line in our basement and build a fire, but we don’t have a basement, and I’m afraid of fire.

Yesterday, I washed three loads, including diapers, and dried them in the sun. It threatened to rain, as it does on most summer afternoons, so I brought the half-dried clothes and diapers inside and used the drier on them for a few minutes. That may seem a little silly and takes more energy on my own part, but the clothes dried, right? Yes. I suppose that’s the point: to do little, silly things that make you tired of doing them, like washing diapers.

Posted in Green Living, Routines | No Comments »

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