Chris Loehmer Kincaid's Blog, page 6

Things We Say

 

“You’renot going to like this,” Hubby announced once again as a preface to an idea hehad. I don’t remember which idea it was the last time, but his brilliant planscan range from both of us taking the car in for an oil change on our way outfor a fish fry to stocking up on flashlights on sale at Harbor Freight.

Okay,I don’t think he ever proposed either of those scenarios, and usually, what hecomes up with are things I’m agreeable to, so I don’t know why he always usesthat opening line.

Buthere’s the thing – that could be the name of a TV show. What do you think?“You’re not going to like this” – a comedy about a somewhat demented father whohas to move in with his middle-aged daughter and son-in-law. It’s been donealready, hasn’t it?  

Speakingof somewhat demented, when my brother calls once a week to check in, hisopening line is usually, “I have a big problem” followed by “It’s so cold out,” “My TVisn’t working,” or something else that is earth-shattering. In his world, butnot mine.

Ashow titled “I Have a Big Problemt” could be a reality show about a group of teen-age girls, because when do they not have a big problem? Or it could be a crime drama where after someone commits a crime, they contact this special agency to provide a cover-up.    

Thatreminds me of another one of Hubby’s and my favorite lines. “Did you hear whodied?” is a line we probably use an equal number of times. Like just this week.He shouted from the living room on the far west end of the house to me in myoffice on the far east end the name of someone who had died. It wasn’t until hegot home from work three hours later that I was about to ask, “Did you hear ValKilmer died?” when I realized that was who he was talking about.

Ofcourse, the title “Did you hear who died?” sounds like a show where JessicaFletcher is solving crimes in Cabot Cove. But how about instead, it’s about asmall-town radio station where there is no crime, just a long list of morningobituaries?

Allright, so now it’s your turn. What phrases do you and your loved onesfrequently use on each other, and what TV program could be titled that?

Whining about the weather and some updates

Ihave a friend who hates the month of March because of the weather. And I haveto admit, weather in March in my part of the world is like living with a bipolarpsychopath who is off their meds. Yet, here we are in April and I can’t saythat elements in this month are any better. It’s like a concerned doctor istrying to adjust that bipolar psychopath’s meds and every night is a full-moon.Anyone who’s ever worked in health care, law enforcement, or pretty much dealtwith the public knows what I’m talking about.

Sothis was our driveway last Tuesday morning, a bright sunny day after a weekendof snow.

This video is of the freezing rain on Sunday. If you turn up the volume, you can hear the gentle pitter-patter. Okay, nothing gentle about it. 

Our cat Emma and the dog Hannah preferred to stay in bed. 

Then Monday, it was back to sun glaring mockingly off of the snow.

The forecast for last night was for one to three inches of snow and up to another three inches today. Overnight, maybe an inch of snow fell, and it's only overcast now. So, we'll see what happens. I'm sure the weather forecasters find this time of year frustrating too. 

Two other things I wanted to mention. Remember two weeks ago when we had a chip in our windshield. Hubby took it in a few days later and came home with not only that same chip but a distinct large handprint on the glass where the technician took a picture of the defect for insurance purposes. Could they have wiped it off? I wished I had a crime kit; I would have tried to lift a print just for fun. The good news is that they got it in the other day already and did the glue-fix on it, and it didn’t cost us anything.

The other thing – please pray for Hannah and me this evening as we go to our first obedience class. Hoping the roads are clear, and she is not a terror on the drive there and back, and she doesn’t have any accidents while there. And that I’m not a worse student than she is.

Celebrating Passover

Now the day of the Passover celebrationarrived, when the Passover lamb was killed and eaten with the unleavened bread.Jesus sent Peter and John ahead to find a place to prepare their Passover meal.

“Where do you want us to go?” they asked.

And he replied, “As soon as you enterJerusalem, you will see a man walking along carrying a pitcher of water. Followhim into the house he enters, and say to the man who lives there, ‘Our Teachersays for you to show us the guest room where he can eat the Passover meal withhis disciples.’ He will take you upstairs to a large room all ready for us.That is the place. Go ahead and prepare the meal there.”

They went off to the city and foundeverything just as Jesus had said, and prepared the Passover supper.

Then Jesus and the others arrived, and atthe proper time all sat down together at the table; and he said, “I have lookedforward to this hour with deep longing, anxious to eat this Passover meal withyou before my suffering begins. For I tell you now that I won’t eat it againuntil what it represents has occurred in the Kingdom of God.”

Then he took a glass of wine, and when hehad given thanks for it, he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. ForI will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come.”

Then he took a loaf of bread; and when hehad thanked God for it, he broke it apart and gave it to them, saying, “This ismy body, given for you. Eat it in remembrance of me.”

After supper he gave them another glass ofwine, saying, “This wine is the token of God’s new agreement to save you—anagreement sealed with the blood I shall pour out to purchase back your souls.      (Luke 22:7-20, Living Bible)

Inmy Wednesday morning Bible study, we are reading the book, “The Rock, the Road,and the Rabbi,” by Kathie Lee Gifford and Rabbi Jason Sobel. We hadn’t plannedit this way, but this week, we will learn more about the Jewish traditionssurrounding Passover and the significance of Jesus instituting communion.

Ifyou’ve watched “The Ten Commandments” with Charlton Heston, you know thatPharoah released the Israelites from slavery in Egypt after God had sent tenplagues. The final plague was that God would kill the firstborn sons throughoutthe land unless the blood of a lamb was spread on their doorposts. For twomillennia, the Jewish people have celebrated Passover in remembrance of this“passing over” of the angel of death.

Andhere we are - Jesus celebrating Passover with His disciples. Jesus is theperfect lamb whose blood would soon be shed on the cross to save all mankind.

Atthe time, the disciples didn’t know what was going on – that happened to them alot, poor guys. But we know, and we partake of communion in remembrance of ourLord and Savior.

(Today’s picture is from the Amsterdam airportwhen I was on my way to Kenya for the second time in 2013. Not quite like thebread used at Passover, but bread does seem to be a staple in most cultures.)

Interpretive Dance?

I didn’t get up until 6:30 this morning, because I was out late last night. Twofriends and I went to a Christian concert and didn’t get home til after 10:30. AndI spent yesterday afternoon loafing around in anticipation of that, so I didn’tget around to writing today’s blog.

Withthat in mind, I thought about not adding words to these ridiculous pictures. In2013, Hubby and I took a vacation for a few days to southeast Wisconsin. At apark near Waukesha, for some reason I was inspired to do an interpretive dance.

Ishare these now because last Friday I confessed to wanting to be a stand-up comedianand you already know that I’ve always want to be a writer. But when I was inkindergarten, our teacher assigned us to draw a picture of what we wanted to bewhen we grew up. I distinctly remember my picture. I wore a pink tutu, and my feet,properly on my toes, were as wide as my head, my arms encircling that tiny head. A prima ballerina. 

Ourgoals in life still pop up sometimes. 

Autumn Wandering – Where Was I Wednesday

LastDecember, when I finally finished blogging about my trip to Cambodia, I totallyforgot about any other trips I took last fall. The only one was a quickovernight to the Dells. A few years ago, the girls I lived with in the dorm myfirst two years in college decided to start having reunions. The weekend ofOctober 11, we all met up at a resort in Wisconsin Dells.

Ionly spent Friday night as I had so much going on and still felt jetlagged fromthat trip to Cambodia. I still had a good time, and it was fun to catch up witheveryone. Umm, I think there were nine of us, maybe, if I remember right. Itook only one picture (you’re shocked, I can tell), and I can’t even find itnow.

Anyway,I left late Saturday morning, and as usual, I drove backroads on the way home.After driving less than an hour, I stopped at Roche Cri State Park for a walkaround. The main road into the park was already closed for the season, so I parkedat the Prairie Trailhead and hiked around the prairie. I wasn’t quite up towalking the adjacent trail into the park.

Itwas a beautiful fall day. Once again, I felt blessed to live where I do. 

When Will Jesus Return?

 

I’msorry that today’s post is going to be so long, but I couldn’t find a goodplace to cut it off.   

Hereis the scene. Jesus had arrived triumphantly in Jerusalem and the next day Hehad gone to the Temple. In anger, He turned over the tables of the moneychangers and merchants (remember last Sunday’s post?).

Theday after that He told many parables to anyone and everyone who would listen.He warned His audience about a lot of things and criticized the church leaders.

Finally,when He was alone with His disciples, He told them what to look for in the future.Our future.

          The 24th chapter of the bookof Matthew, verses 1 through 44, from the New International Version.

As Jesus was leaving the Temple grounds,his disciples pointed out to him the various Temple buildings. But heresponded, “Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth, they will becompletely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!”

Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives.His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all thishappen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?”

Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone misleadyou, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They willdeceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic.Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nationwill go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will befamines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only thefirst of the birth pains, with more to come.

          “Then you will be arrested,persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are myfollowers. And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. Andmany false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. Sin will berampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. But the one whoendures to the end will be saved. And the Good News about the Kingdom will bepreached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and thenthe end will come.

          “The day is coming when you will seewhat Daniel the prophet spoke about—the sacrilegious object that causesdesecration standing in the Holy Place. Then those in Judea must flee to thehills. A person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house topack. A person out in the field must not return even to get a coat. Howterrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days. Andpray that your flight will not be in winter or on the Sabbath. For there willbe greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never beso great again. In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not asingle person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’schosen ones.

“Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here isthe Messiah,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it. For false messiahs and falseprophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, ifpossible, even God’s chosen ones. See, I have warned you about this ahead oftime.

“So if someone tells you, ‘Look, theMessiah is out in the desert,’ don’t bother to go and look. Or, ‘Look, he ishiding here,’ don’t believe it! For as the lightning flashes in the east andshines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Man comes. Just as thegathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicatethat the end is near.

“Immediately after the anguish of thosedays, the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light, the stars willfall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

          And then at last, the sign that theSon of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deepmourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Mancoming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send outhis angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosenones from all over the world  —from thefarthest ends of the earth and heaven.

          “Now learn a lesson from the fig tree.When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer isnear. In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know his returnis very near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will notpass from the scene until all these things take place.  Heaven and earth will disappear, but my wordswill never disappear.

“However, no one knows the day or hourwhen these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Sonhimself. Only the Father knows.

          “When the Son of Man returns, it willbe like it was in Noah’s day. In those days before the flood, the people wereenjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah enteredhis boat. People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood cameand swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.

“Two men will be working together in thefield; one will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding flour atthe mill; one will be taken, the other left.

          “So you, too, must keep watch! For youdon’t know what day your Lord is coming. Understand this: If a homeowner knewexactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his houseto be broken into. You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man willcome when least expected.”

(The picture is of the church and convent ofSan Francisco in Lima, Peru, when I was there in 2009.)

Funny Friday, coz we all need to see the humor in life these days

I’ve been listening to way too manycomedians’ clips on YouTube. It has caused the resurfacing of my dream to be astand-up comedian. (I know – none of you saw that coming.) I can’t see thatever happening, though, not at this stage in my life, and here I sit in thefrozen north with nary a venue to showcase my talent. The groups of ladies Imeet with at Bible study and at Al-Anon are about the only available audience.

 Then I remember reading the books by Dave Barry, Bill Bryson, Erma Bombeck, andmy friend Mary Pierce. Maybe writing is a more appropriate medium for me. Plus,I would be spared the awkward silence when no one gets my jokes. If anyonereads what I write, I can sit back and imagine them guffawing at my every word.(Wow, spell check is getting better; it recognized the collection of letters Ithrew on this page in my attempt to spell guffaw.)

This all started when I was just a kid. My family decided I was so goofythat they nicknamed me Knutt (pronounced “nut,” and I don’t know who spelled itlike that the first time, but it stuck). They even got a T-shirt with that onit. Of course, they also bought me a T-shirt about being lazy, so I’m not surewhat kind of message my parents were trying to send. (But they also bought me the purple Smiley in the picture above.)

I don’t recall anyone outside the familythinking I was funny, even though others laughed at me, but that was justbecause I was so awkward. Back in my day, we weren’t bullied; we were pickedon. I don’t blame my low self-esteem on any of those kids, though. Rememberthose T-shirts my family bought me? But enough about that.

The goofiest thing I remembersingle-handedly doing at home was drinking a glass of water. Mom was alwaysharping on us that we weren’t drinking enough water. Water came from the tapthen, not from a bottle you bought at the store. So, one night, while everyonewas in the living room watching TV, I walked into the room during thecommercials. I pointed to the glass of water in my hand and announced, “Note, aglass of water.” Then I drank the glass dry.

I didn’t get any reaction out of myparents, but my sister Pat buried her head in a pillow. Not sure if that wascoz she was laughing or she was feeling humiliated for me. Whatever the case, Istill laugh when I think about it. What a goof I was! What a Knutt!

Most of the other comedic scenes in ourhouse revolved around things Pat and I did. Trouble we got into. Like the timewe were wrestling on one of our beds on top of someone’s homework. A pencil gotjabbed into her leg, and she wore that piece of lead for the rest of her life.And never let me forget it.

But I did the research, and what we callpencil lead has always been graphite. I guess pencil graphite doesn’t have thesame ring to it. But graphite reminds me of an incident in freshman Englishclass.

Mrs. Hanson assigned us to bring in aninteresting article to read in front of the class. Most of the girls found whatI call “squished puppy” stories – the ones where everyone cries when the puppygets hit by the car, or maybe he’s an old dog now and has to be put to sleep.But Kenny found an article about graphite fishing rods in an outdoor magazine.

I still can hear Mrs. Hanson’s sweet voicesaying, after he had read a page, “Oh, Kenny, that was so nice, but maybe youcan stop reading now and give someone else a chance to share their story.”

And I guess you want to stop reading nowtoo.

I want to close by wishing my husband andbiggest fan a very happy birthday. Taking him out for a fish fry tonight.  

More on Anger

 

          Hubby and I were driving home the other day when the car in front of us kickedup a rock which hit our vehicle. A beautiful, though quite distressing, starappeared on our windshield.

         Hubby spewed out a profanity to describe the other driver, blaming thementirely for something that wasn't their fault.

         As far as myself, I had a moment of anger which quickly turned to worry. Howmuch is this going to cost us? When is it going to get fixed? Can they use that glue stuff to stop it from spreading? Where are wegoing to take it?

         In my Sunday blog post, I wrote about Jesus becoming angry and even destructivewhen He entered the Temple. But His anger was not a sin.

         So what about my husband and I in the car that day?

         Clearly, Hubby's loss of control was a sin. He didn't use the Lord's name invain, but surely God would frown on his language. Hubby also berated anotherperson. Okay, it was far from breaking the fifth commandment – though shall notkill – but we aren't to even wish bad things on others. And according to the eighthcommandment, we aren't to speak badly of them either.

         And me? I felt no anger towards the other driver; I blamed it all on the rockand being at the wrong place at the wrong time. But then what happened in myhead? Worry.

         But certainly, worry isn't a sin. Is it?

         The very first commandment says that we are to have no other gods, and MartinLuther's take on that is that we should fear, love, and trust in God above allthings. Every time we worry about something, we are telling God that we don'ttrust Him, that we aren't sure He is going to take care of things for us.

          Or as Matthew wrote: “ThereforeI tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or aboutyour body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body morethan clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or storeaway in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much morevaluable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to yourlife? (Matthew 6:25-27, New International Version)

          But if even worrying is a sin, whatare we to do? We can never be good enough to be children of God or make it toheaven. That is what this time of year is all about - following Jesus to thecross and waking up on Easter morning knowing that He has overcome all of oursins.

After taking 2 dozen pictures, inside and out, this was the best I could get of that crack in my windshield. In real life, it really is a cute and annoying little star. 

Jesus at the Temple

When Jesus returned to Jerusalem, he wentinto the Temple and began to throw out those who were buying and selling there.He turned over the tables of those who were exchanging different kinds ofmoney, and he upset the benches of those who were selling doves. Jesus refusedto allow anyone to carry goods through the Temple courts. Then he taught thepeople, saying, “It is written in the Scriptures, ‘My Temple will be called ahouse for prayer for people from all nations.’ But you are changing God’s houseinto a ‘hideout for robbers.’”

The leading priests and the teachers ofthe law heard all this and began trying to find a way to kill Jesus. They were afraidof him, because all the people were amazed at his teaching. (Mark 11:15-18, NewCentury Version)

Jesusand His disciples had just returned to Jerusalem amid the fanfare of what wenow call Palm Sunday. The first place He wanted to go was to the Temple. Butwhen He got there, He was not happy.

Becausethe Jewish visitors to the Temple were expected to make a sacrifice, merchantsand livestock salesmen set up shop in the outer areas of the Temple. Also, manyof the worshipers had traveled from afar, so they needed to have their moneychanged into the local currency. All of these transactions created a noisy,chaotic atmosphere in a place that should have evoked peace. And many of thesetransactions were ripping off honest, hard-working people who couldn’t affordthe high prices or didn’t know the exchange rate in Jerusalem.    

Ilose my temper fairly easily and usually regret it. But then I tell myself,“It’s not a sin to get angry if Jesus got angry in the temple.”

Wrong.My anger is way different. I usually get impatient when something isn’t workingfor me – something stupid like a knot in my shoelace. The next thing you know,I’m ready to throw that shoe across the room.

Jesushad a totally different and justifiable reason for His anger. He was madbecause people had disrespected His father’s house and turned it into a den ofthieves. 

Iget mad when things happen to me that I don’t like. Jesus only got mad when thingshappened that went against God.

(Today’s picture was taken at a market placein Mombasa, Kenya, when my daughter was there in 2010.)

Hannah Update

          In case you were wondering, our little Hannah is doing well. She goes in hercrate on her own at bedtime and sleeps quietly through the night. Well, unlessI wake up and hear her snoring. She’s been alone loose in the house for up tothree hours at a time and causes no chaos. I’m sure all she does is sleep.She’s only gotten into the garbage one time, and that was retrieving a granolabar wrapper that might have had a trace of something edible on it. Does herbusiness outside like a champ, no matter the weather, and usually chooses a farcorner of our yard to go number 2.

          I’m not happy she has taken over this chair, but she is just too cute lying onher perch. I’ve heard some Corgis think they are cats, so this makes sense. Andshe still gets along with our cat Emma fine.

         Oh, but the things she needs to work on!

         We quickly trained our last three dogs to stay in the yard with the shockcollar. For many years, we’ve had a unit in the basement that sets up aperimeter about fifty feet away. Two shocks, tops, and a few reminder beeps andthey all had it.

         We’ve been walking Hannah on the leash around the yard on the trails throughthe snow that were already there. But now that the snow is melting, I’ve beentrying out the shock collar and walking her closer to where the boundary wouldbe.

         The first few times, I carried the collar, and when she heard that beep, sheknew something was up and returned to me. However, nothing made sense to herwhen I put the collar on her. 

         As soon as she hears the beep, before even getting zapped, she starts digging.She seems to think the beeping is underground, probably because she is so lowto the ground. She’s frantic about trying to get to it.

          When I try pulling her away, she fights the leash and is even more obsessed with digging faster.

         So, I reach down and take the collar off of her. Once she hears that beepcoming from my hand, she comes right to me and tries to get the collar.

          As long as I have her on the leash and stayclose enough to her for her to hear the collar beep in my hand, she won’t crossthe invisible line. But how can I let her off leash so she can roam far enoughaway from me and the collar so that she won’t hear the beep?

         We’ll figure it out. At least she mostly comes when she’s called, whether acollar is beeping in my hand or not. 

          She won’t sit for us either. She getsangry if we try to push her little butt down, so we wonder if she had beenspanked on her butt in her previous home. That’s all we can figure. And lastly, she is horrible in the car, struggling the whole trip to sit in the driver's lap. Not happening, Hannah, let it go! The joys of getting a rescue baby. 

         We start obedience training the first of April. We’ll see how that goes. But inthe meantime, she still has my heart.