Things That Make Me Say, "Brilliant!"

This is a random post. Chaos has been at an all time high here, with the start of homeschooling for our five kids and having a torn-apart basement (we had a little water here, enough to displace our boys for 2 weeks). When things get chaotic, I start thinking about strange things. I think it's a coping mechanism... or it could be that I'm still waiting for my next 24 cd from Netflix.

I was thinking the other day of things that make me say, "Brilliant!"

My short list:

Tagless tee shirts

Cup-holder shaped boxes for french fries - THANK YOU BK!

Magnetic pen holders (for the side of my fridge - Dollar Tree special!)

Virtual sticky notes for email

Mountain Dew Game Fuel commercial - marketing perfection! Side note: Mountain Dew Game Fuel has 48mg. of caffeine per 8oz. compared to 85mg. for 8oz. of brewed drip coffee. I'll keep swigging my java, but I LOVED the commercial.

It's those little brilliant things that make life fun for me.

Spock and Kirk

I literally guffawed out loud at this, being a closet Trekkie and all.

Kirk & Spock Ride The Bus

There be a lot o'piratey talk here!

The kids (and I) are counting down to you-know-what. All 5 of my kids will be in costume. Yo ho yo ho...

If you have high speed internet and want to see a really cool trailer, click here.

Indeed!

It's Stargate Friday!!! The long awaited second half of the LAST season of Stargate SG1 is upon us. Tune in to Scifi channel tonight.

I know it's all pretend, but it's cool. Well, OK, the past few seasons have been, in my opinion, not stellar, (What's the deal with the Ori? B O R I N G!) but now we'll get a chance to see how the powers that be chose to end an excellent and entertaining science fiction series.

I did read somewhere that our beloved Dr. Carter will be showing up in Atlantis. 'Should make for some interesting banter between her and Dr. McKay. Rodney cracks me up.

Yeah I know - my inner geek is showing again. Sorry!

What'll They Think Of Next?

Free Google TisP in-home wireless broadband service.

How TiSP Works
Google TiSP (BETA) is a fully functional, end-to-end system that provides in-home wireless access by connecting your commode-based TiSP wireless router to one of thousands of TiSP Access Nodes via fiber-optic cable strung through your local municipal sewage lines.

Reminds me of the time they were cleaning the phone lines here and a local DJ told everyone to put a plastic bag over their phones so the line dust wouldn't get shot all over their homes.

Go on - check the link. You know you want to. How would you like to be one of Google's PHDs (Plumbing Hardware Dispatchers)? LOL

Too Impatient To Wait For Your Coffee Maker?

The guys 'n gals over at Thinkgeek.com have some pretty amazing stuff. I discovered today that they are offering "Rocket Chocolate". More zip than a sip, indeed. Each chocolate contains 150 milligrams of caffeine - which is roughly as much caffeine as you'd consume in a cup of coffee.

Where was this product when I was struggling through the baby years? Rocket Chocolate is pricey - almost $25 for 50 chocolates. Yikes. But I felt I needed to alert you all to this, since it combines two of my favorite things. And their logo is great. If you're a sci-fi fan as I am, you will enjoy the little write-up on the Rocket Chocolate link above.

Oh, and if you're a hardcore Trekkie, ThinkGeek is also selling Star Trek 40th Anniversary Phasers!

Oops. Is my inner geek showing? Sorry! **smile**

Brilliance

Oh boy! I think I have found heaven in a can! ;-) I picked up some of this delicious chocolate whipped cream from the store yesterday, thinking it would be a nice surprise for my kiddos, and then it struck me... wouldn't this be great floating on top of my nice hot cup of coffee? Mmmmmmmmmmm. Spray-out whipped cream is cool enough, but for it to be chocolate, in my opinion, is brilliance, and an Amazon best seller, too, which begs the question, who buys whipped cream online?

Yeah, this isn't a spiritual post at all, but I can make it into one I bet. Here goes: I am thankful to God that He created us in such a way that we can truly enjoy the wonderful taste of chocolate. I am serious. I am literally in a thankful, grateful to God mood for this little thing.

Got Teens? I Found The Perfect Alarm Clock

I am laughing so hard at the thought of using this, that I can barely type. It's a "Sonic Bomb Alarm Clock with Bed Shaker".

Brilliant!

As the mom of 3 ninjas, I'm thinking this little item could be really useful. Hopefully my next post will be something useful for parents of non-ninjas... oh, and I do think that this clock would work well for teens, whether ninja or not.

Some may be thinking, "But I thought this blog was that of a Christian woman!" True enough. As I sit here, laughing at the clock, may I gently remind you that A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones. Pv. 17:22

I know one thing for certain, anyone awakened by this clock will not be of a merry heart.

Missionaries & Cannibals

OK, I'll admit. It was a little strange for me to see a game entitled "Missionaries & Cannibals" but I took a look anyway. It frustrated my 16yo. son and yours truly so much that we thought it was a game that couldn't be won. But alas, our logic failed us. Give it a try and see if you can figure out how to get everyone across the river.

"I love technology..."

Kip, in the movie Napoleon Dynamite, sang this to his bride, LaFawnduh: "I love technology, but not as much as you, you see... But I STILL love technology... Always and forever."

OK, so this post isn't really about Kip. It's about technology and Dr. Wayne Grudem. I LOVE his teachings, especially in his book, "Systematic Theology". I am not trying to compare Kip to Dr. Grudem, either. Wayne is way cooler, as my teens would say.

All this to tell you that I was thrilled to find out that the church which Dr. Grudem attends, Scottsdale Bible Church, is offering teachings in mp3 format, some of which feature Dr. Grudem teaching a Christian Ethics class. Topics include:
Old Testament Canon
New Testament Canon
#1 - Authority (2 part series)
Inerrancy of Scripture (3 part series)
#2 - Clarity
How to Interpret the Bible (7 part series)
#3 - Necessity
#4 - Sufficiency (2 part series)
The Existence of God
"Incommunicable" Attributes (4 part series)
"Communicable" Attributes (5 part series)

To get the messages, go to this link and look along the left hand margin. In the "By Series" search field, choose "Christian Ethics Class" then click "Go". You may live stream the messages, or save them.

I sent this info. along to a bunch of people in our little church. One guy is already downloading the "Inerrency" teaching, and planning on listening to it as he travels to work.

I have been amazed at some of our people's desire to dig into the Word, but that's another post.

For now, be cool, love technology, and access some of the best theological teaching around.

Ohhhh a Fun New Toy For Me

OK, so I am a widgit person. I recently discovered that I can use a widgit called Google Reader to help me keep up with all the blogs and news sites I like, with any new content uploaded automatically to my Google Reader page. No more clicking around to my fav. sites to see if there's anything new posted. Google Reader is super easy to use, however you must have a Google Account, which is free.

Once you get yours, don't forget to add the Tumbling Monkey Cafe to your subscription list!

Oh, I almost forgot. You can also have Google Reader upload to your cell phone.
Cooooooooooooooooool.

Turn on your speakers - and enjoy the online snowglobe!

My kids think this is hysterical. So do I. Make sure your speakers are turned on. Click and drag the snowglobe to shake it up. Heheheeee. Be sure to watch it for a while. Thankful we don't have snowmen like THAT here, but of course we would need snow to actually build snowmen *sigh*.

The Pride of Experience

Today I've been thinking about the pride of experience. Those of you who
have lived life a little, and have a bit of age to you know what I mean.
I've been married for over twenty years. I'm the mother of five
children. I had five babies in 9 years. When the mother of one small
baby comes to me complaining about lack of sleep or weight gain or
whatever it is, it can be really hard for me to not scoff at her in my
mind, thinking "Yeah - what a rough life. Try doing my laundry for a
week then let's talk."

Often times we can look at the lives of others and mock them in heart,
saying "Just wait until you go through THIS thing! Then you'll have
something to whine about!" Sometimes we grin at those who haven't
experienced what we have, with that certain look on our faces that
projects nothing less than controlled condescention.

Other times we look at the lives of others, thinking that because they
look good or seem happy, that they've never suffered. We envy their
apparent lack of excruciating experiences. What I've found over the
years is that every person has his or her own suffering, and not everyone
broadcasts their sufferings to others.

I remember distinctly the time when my fourth baby was two weeks old and had a little head cold. I felt like the worst mother on the planet. The baby was born in December, and had siblings ranging in age from 2 to 6.
Anyone with small children knows that December through March is pretty
much head cold season...and that siblings of new babies LOVE to stick
their fingers in new baby's mouth, occasionally sneezing on them and
showing them other signs of love.

I called my dear friend, crying, because my two week old baby had the
sniffles and was having a hard time breathing when she nursed. After
taking her to the doctor, we discovered that she also had an ear
infection. I was so sad for her. I hated to see her suffer like that.
My dear friend calmly reassured me that not only was I a good momma, but
that my baby probably wouldn't remember this time of her life. My
friend's calm words of assurance were such a blessing to me.

When I got off the phone and calmed down, I realized what an amazing
thing my friend had just said to me, and how insensitive I was to
complain to her about my baby's cold. You see, my friend is the mother
of seven children, one of whom has Lisencephaly, which is a congenital
brain problem resulting in profound mental and physical disabilities. Her
son would never walk, talk, or be potty trained. He has a feeding tube
in his tummy permanently. He has faced death many times in his life,
faced many surgeries, and has suffered much. How in the world could I
complain to her about my baby's cold?

Yet her response was filled with grace and love for me and my baby. She
didn't mock me, or lecture me on how small my suffering was compared to
hers. She saw that although my suffering was different than hers, it was
still suffering, and I had presented her an opportunity to minister life
to me through her kind words. She gave me a life-lesson I will never
forget.

I turned to her because I knew she loved me. Over the years her
faithfulness and godly counsel have been used greatly by God in shaping
me to be whom I am today. Her humility and gentleness continue to point
me to Jesus.

God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. I can't help but
think that when we boast in our experiences we're walking in pride and
taking the focus of others off God and onto ourselves... usually on how
well we endured our suffering. Pride doesn't share the throne of one's
heart with God.

I'm asking the Holy Spirit to remind me of all He is to me, and all He
has taken me through the next time I'm tempted in heart to despise
someone else's lack of experience in any given area. Even in
homeschooling, education, tragedies, motherhood, marriage, or ministry
it's easy for pride to rear its ugly head in anyone's heart. Ultimately
the fact that I even have the ability to type this post, to breathe my
next breath, and to live my life points to the truth that all I have, all
I am, all I've experienced, and all I am called to be were not created by
me but have been given to me by my heavenly Father. If I keep that in
mind, I bet I will be less likely to raise myself up in hidden pride of
experience, which is sin.

I noticed an interesting passage in Psalm 66 today:

"Oh, bless our God, you peoples!
And make the voice of His praise to be heard,
Who keeps our soul among the living,
And does not allow our feet to be moved.
For You, O God, have proved us;
You have refined us as silver is refined.
You brought us into the net;
You laid affliction on our backs.
You have caused men to ride over our heads;
We went through the fire and through water;
But You brought us out to rich fulfillment."

Ps. 66:8-12

Even our experiences are from His hand. May our boasting only be in Him!

Mommyhood Battlefield

I was browsing around on a homeschooling moms' chat board recently, and the subject of kids having candy in church came up. Normally I would ignore this type of post entirely - who could make a big deal out of this? Out of curiosity, I opened the post and read all the replies. By the time I finished reading it, I was so saddened by what I see as a HUGE foothold in the hearts and minds of Christian moms. What is that foothold? Contempt!

What? Certainly those of us who walk around claiming to be in Christ couldn't possibly be accused of being critical of other Christian moms, could we? Oh YEAH we could... it happens ALL the time, and it's wrong.

I found out that I was probably looked down upon for all those years when I was toting babies to church, along with their toys, books, crayons and (gasp!) Cheerios. God forbid that I hand my child a sucker, because apparently by doing so I am setting my child up for obesity, diabetes, cavities and more. It seems that sugar has replaced nicotine and alcohol in our evaluation of other mothers, and even of each other.

One woman commented that out of the 330 people at her church, most of the adults were overweight. Then she was quite angry that because of these people's health trouble, they asked for prayer. How could they??? She assumed many things - and among those were the assumption that prayer was needed due to weight issues. She viewed those who brought anything other than God-related board books to church for their children were fostering all kinds of behavioral problems. She then revealed that the oldest of her well behaved children was the ripe old age of 8.

Many more Christian moms jumped on the band wagon, commenting on how disgusted they were that any Sunday School Teachers or VBS helpers would ever dare to give candy prizes. How bad to have the kids working for a reward! But somehow those little Awana ribbons for which their kids worked were inherently good, even though the motivation of the kids was the same for both prizes... to win the prize.

It saddens me greatly to think of how we, as Christian women, harshly judge our sisters in Christ by what they might feed their kids, or bring to church. As a pastor's wife I can tell you that I'd much rather see Cheerios on the carpet, with a happy toddler, than have a screaming toddler stuck with strangers in the nursery.

I remember a few years back with the whole Growing Kids God's Way was the latest parenting trend. I watched young first-time moms being told not to rock their babies to sleep ("The baby will be manipulating you!), wear baby slings ("Their spines will be injured!) or nurse them on cue ("If you feed them more than every 3.5 hours they are manipulating you!"). On the other side of the mommy wars were the attachment parenting folks who advocated co-sleeping with your baby ("Baby will be more secure with mom!"), nursing on cue for years ("Don't think of nursing in terms of months, but years."), "wearing" the baby in a baby sling ("Your baby will attach to you more easily.")

It was sad to see how the young moms critically judged the older, more experienced moms, thereby effectively neutralizing any hope of a Titus 2 type relationship. I see that very same thing happening now, except that the standard isn't parenting style, but diet.

I seem to recall a similar situation of judging others based on their diet in the book of Romans, chapter 12.

Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him.
Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.

One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it.

He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.

For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God."

So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way.

I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died.


The key verse is found in Romans 12:19
Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.

Edify - to help build up another's faith. It seems to me that this can't be done if we're looking with contempt upon our sisters and brothers in Christ for what they allow... sugar, or anything else for that matter. The base issue is pride. What does pride do? My study bible indicated:

*Pride hardens the spirit. (Daniel 5:20)
*Pride produces spiritual decay. (Hos. 7:9,10)
*Pride causes you to deceive yourself. (Jer. 49:16)
"Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him." Proverbs 26:12
"Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18

May God help us to look at each other in ways that honor him, and that show love for others, even in our thought lives!

It's Good to be Six!

My "baby" celebrated his sixth birthday yesterday, complete with copious amounts of presents from his brothers and sisters, as well as pizza for dinner and mom's homemade double chocolate cake. What could be better?

I remember when I first sensed the Lord telling me about this boy. It was September of 1997. I know this sounds crazy, but I felt like God told me I would have another baby, and I would be pregnant within a year, that it would be a son, and that I should name him Samuel. He also told me that Sammy would take his father's "mantle of ministry" when he got older.

I told my dear husband this, who told me "No way! We are done having kids!"
I then went to God in my quiet time and told Him that if this truly was of Him, that He'd have to make it so. I wouldn't beg my husband, or somehow trick him.

One year later, as I took the pregnancy test, and got the plus sign, I struggled with how I would tell my hubby about our new addition. With tears in my eyes, I said to my hubby, "Guess what?" He replied, "You're pregnant. God told me two weeks ago that you were pregnant, and that I shouldn't worry because He'd take care of everything."

Wow!

So here we are six years later, with a joyful bundle of boy. We do see in him a tender heart, but not a weak one. He is very loving, yet all boy. God really does speak to us today, and boy oh boy, does He ever give good gifts!

Stupid Blogger Tricks

Ya know, there's nothing as great as starting the day, with a big 20oz.
freshly brewed cup of coffee. Ahhhhhhh! Sometimes the only reason I
have any incentive at all to get up in the morning is the thought of
taking that first sip of hot brown goodness. Ahhhhh.

Well, this morning as I sat down at my computer with my very full, very
aromatic cup of coffee, I realized that one of the kids had been messing
around with my office chair. It was way too high. Not thinking, with
giant mug in hand, I pushed on the little pressure level thingy to lower
the chair, and guess what happened? Yep... a stupid blogger trick. This
blogger learned that coffee and mug and chair lower at the same rate, but
the coffee splashes all over. Who woulda thunk it? LOL... sometimes I
amaze even myself at my lack of foresight, although I could probably use
this as a great gravity / physics lesson for the kids.

Now I have a proud emblem of my own mental lapse on my white shirt. I am
still laughing about it.

My son Jon, who was working on conquering ancient China at the computer
next to mine, thought it was pretty funny, too. I think he's amazed at
what amuses his mom sometimes. What do I find funny? Newspaper comic
strips (specifically "Zits" and "Fox Trot"), Napoleon Dynamite, Vonage
commercials "People do stupid things.", the Starburst commercial where
the one teen is going to use a wrist rocket to shoot the candy into the
mouth of his buddy, and more. Why do I even think about these things?

"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the
bones." Proverbs 17:22

God knew we'd need to be laughing about life, and today I'm laughing at
myself. Thank You, Lord, for the ability to see humor in my own stupid
actions.

Midnight Movie Musings

I love movie theatre popcorn.  But that's not why I took 6 kids to the midnight premiere of Star Wars III this morning.  There's just something about being with all the other Star Wars fans (affectionately known here as "freaks") that makes the midnight show worth the hassle.

 

My husband secured a bunch of movie tickets for us.  We arrived at the theatre a little after 10PM.  Yeah, two hours early.  I had 6 middle school and high school aged kids with me, and they erupted into cheers when we entered the parking lot!  They brought along their light sabres and zeal.  Once inside the theatre, we discovered that someone had talked the movie management into showing Star Wars Episode II in one of the theatres while we waited for the midnight hour.  What could be better?

 

It was fun to walk around and talk to complete strangers - many of whom were in costume for this momentous event.  What's the big deal?  Well, it's the last Star Wars movie ever.  For those of us old enough to have seen the original movies back in '77, Star Wars Episode III marks the end of an era.  It's a bittersweet thing for us.

 

It was interesting being in a movie theatre filled with avid fans, most of whom were at least 10 years younger than me.  People who would never have taken a second glance at each other were sharing Star Wars stories, favorite episodes, and speculation about how George Lucas was going to pull it all together for Episode III.  My older son and his friend were engaged in light sabre duels with strangers in the lobby.  My younger son was complimenting many of the people who came in costume.  All in all it was a really fun atmosphere.  I saw "community" among strangers who shared a common love. 

 

Wouldn't it be great for believers to have this level of community?  It's not an impossible dream - I've seen it in some churches.  My prayer is that the love of Christ and the love we have for each other will blossom in our little church.  They will know we are Christians by our love one for another!

Counting Down to Star Wars III

I am an admitted Star Wars Geek. So are most of my kids. And husband. We're counting down the days to the May 19 opening of the very last (boohoo!) Star Wars movie, Revenge of the Sith.

In honor of Star Wars, I found a few stupid Star Wars jokes online.

Q: How did Darth Vader know what he was getting for Christmas?
A: He felt his presents.

Q: What do you call the person who brings a Rancor its dinner?
A: The appetizer.

Q: What is Jabba the Hutt's middle name?
A: "The"

Ok, Ok, I'll quit. Only 10 days to go...

Warning! Rice and Nostrils Not a Good Combination!

My youngest child is 5, nearly 6 yrs. old. He was home with me yesterday, and I decided to let him play with a big bag of uncooked rice. I spread out a bedsheet on the floor, brought the rice, a bunch of blocks and super heroes, and left him to his own devices. He is 5, afterall, and I thought that the fascination with body orifaces had passed.

Uh, no.

I looked over at my sweet boy, only to see him digging in his nose. I said, "Honey, Ick! Go get a tissue please!" Then he turned to me, with finger still in nostril, and said, "Mom, I got rice in my nose."

Yikes.

Instead of trying to figure out how to get the rice out, I had to try to figure out how it got there in the first place.

"Honey, how did the rice get in there?"

"I was smelling it." said son.

"Smelling it?" I replied.

Who knew that rice could shoot quite far out of a little nostril.

Fortunately, my son didn't aspirate the rice. That could have been an interesting scene at the local ER.

Sigh. Kids... an endless source of entertainment for me.