Little less than Perfect.

Today I was reminded of a very important fact-- that we as humans are not perfect.  We have issues,  problems, events that change the course of our lives.  And they cause us to make mistakes, act differently than typical-- do crazy things.  Remember the time as a child you realized your parents didn't know everything? I distinctly do...I was discussing with my brother the decisions my mother was making about her health and thought how illogical they sounded despite her ever-present to be "logical." That's when my brother indicated to me "you know, mom isn't right about everything.."  Basically its another way of saying start thinking for yourself but its always a self-reflection sometimes.  Sorry to burst your bubble parents but I don't think we're ever called to portray perfected life...so why lay out an expectation for your kids that you can do no wrong? Anyways...

Today this fact caused me to ponder on the biblical view of those we are called to imitate in faith from Biblical-lore.  (Hebrews 11 if you need an example.) Hardly any of them were perfect. In fact, in a class about the prophets recently we discussed how Samson is included in the description of the faithful when he was self-centered and lacked maturity.  David,  despite his sleeping around, killing off husbands who didn't do what he wanted and huge lack of responsibility-- He is highly honored in the Jewish community, regarded as a king "after God's own heart" and is constantly used in reference to Jesus (a.k.a Son of David) and in his lineage.  (listen to the older christmas songs...)

What does this tell us about God? (yes, everything is a theological question to me)

What does this tell us about who we are? And Who God is working/making/made us to be?

1) We are NOT perfect and we are therefore NOT God. 

2) God still accepts and loves us despite this reality. 

3) We can still be present before God despite our imperfection.

Think again back to Genesis (people should really spend more time in this book--its just JAMMED with things to learn) -- even after Adam and Eve disobeyed God, God felt for them along with providing them with what they needed (clothing.)  And though He banished them from the Garden, it was the consequences of their actions.  

Advise?-- Don't let your perfections, either of you or your parents, let you down. 

Careful--you may become Domesticated...

Since my marriage... I have been spending a lot of time pondering on what my role as a married woman should be.  I see so many women who have either left off the married part or disregarded their individuality that I know I wanted to make sure I confirmed my definition of who I am and learn to stick to it.  I also wanted to make sure I kept my own identity as Sara, child of God along with the title as "Mrs." -- its what I committed to when I married Shawn.  And until recently, I thought this meant NEVER (and i truly mean never) becoming the domesticated woman.  

However, over the last few weeks, things have started to "change" per se, and I have done things like laundry for both of us, cooked dinner frequently (Shawn had to remind me of this last night since we have spent the last week only going out twice and had not even paid for a meal gratefully.)  I have realized it is my nature, without dispute or anger, to want to do things around the house. By definition, i have truly become "helpful"for Shawn.  I know this will not last all the time, or forever, but in my vows I know I committed to at least put Shawn first, love him and walk through life with him. So it got me thinking...

God created woman to be the helper of man.  Not meaning man would do nothing and woman does everything (probably close to the modern picture above...) Just being helpful where I can.  For me, ironically, this meant sharing my love for cooking (i love doing anything in the kitchen, especially baking and love trying new things.) It also means taking care of myself (doing laundry is a necessity as we need clean clothes--and since both of us needed this I didn't feel burdened to do this.) And as I said--last night Shawn mentioned I had cooked everything all day, that he appreicated that, and recommended that I just pick up something on the way home from dropping off my friends.  I thought--WOW! I'm so glad I married this guy (i've been saying this a lot, which is comforting to me since I was extremely nervous of making my life-long commitment to another human [God is easy--God is God.] 

I am called now to be a married woman, to help my husband where he needs and to still keep true to the identity and self that God has created me to be.  I am not called to be any less than this.  I am not called to slave away and fulfill my husband's every wish without considering what I want.  I think this is what kind of picture Genesis was meant to provide.  That the couple together as one support each other, are equally joined who God created them to be, separate individuals joined as one to equally support and love one another in their journeys with God and with each other.  

Genesis 2:7-8;18-25  Then the LORD God formed man of adust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and bman became a living 1being.  8 And the LORD God planted a agarden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed...18-Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; aI will make him a helper 1suitable for him.”  19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the 1sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.  20 And the man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the 1sky, and to every beast of the field, but for 2Adam there was not found a helper 3suitable for him.  21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh at that place.  22 And the LORD God 1fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.  23 And the man said,

“aThis is now bone of my bones,

And flesh of my flesh;

She shall be called Woman,

Because 1she was taken out of Man.” 

24 For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.  25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

I pray that every married woman can at least strive to be the woman God created them to be.  And may the same be for their spouses who have the same demand from Genesis, from God. Yay for being married! -- I pray that everyone who is married can keep this shout of joy within their hearts year-round. 

Divorce

Part Two!--here it is!

So I know it is a PURE coincidence that I want to post blog about divorce right after I just got married... It was also shocking to discover the verse I wanted to discuss in this blog was a part of my previous blog on marriage.  God working...who knows? :) But I suddenly got this feeling that something productive needed to be said about the topic. Let me also preface this by saying that I have nothing but love and compassion for my friends who have sadly experienced the horror that can be divorce. I know it is never an easy process and for some not an easy decision given the circumstances.

Still... I think the Bible can provide a lot of insight on his subject. And definitely a lot of insight on what to do if a marriage has strayed.

One of my favorite chapters in Mark talks about divorce and what as Christians we are called to do. Mark 10: 1-12 states the following

At first this verse appears threatening and accusatory. However, look at where Jesus begins. He begins with reality--with truth.  With honesty.  A good quality and philosophy to have while married.  Then he continues with a reference to creation...To Genesis where God creates woman out of man and explains the beautiful connection that is marriage.  Finally, then Jesus points out that divorce is a sin against the one who the person was married to.  (just a reference, not an accusation.) However, if I was listening to Jesus, hearing the words of Genesis... i would be saddened and would feel the heart to the same conclusion that Jesus comes to describing divorce as adultery.  You don't need to even be married to see this... just talk to the 50% of the population who has experienced divorce (Christian or not.) Pain. Separation. Anger. Hurt.... things opposite of being in a good relationship with another and reflectively with God.

So, I just wanted to say I pray that I always keep both these last blogs (on marriage and divorce) always present in my mind.  It is the biblical way of reminding me of my commitment to Shawn.  It is the truth and how the Lord calls us to reflect marriage.  And I pray that the divorce rate goes down... seriously...it does suck.

Homemade Deodorant

So, being that i'm the home-making foodie... i decided after reading a friend's blog (click here) that it may be time to try my shot at making some other items in the house. I know several people who make their own lip balm.  So decided I was going to start with making my own deodorant.

Here's my experience:

First I got out all the ingredients. Typical baker fashion.  I mixed the powder together and realized that the coconut oil was really hard.  So knowing from some advice it doesn't take much to get it melt a little...so I just let it sit and mixed the essential oil in.  [btw you can use your own combo of this... but I LOVE lime & mixed in eucalyptus lemon and it smells SOOO good i almost want to eat it (i wouldn't though...)

So finally as the coconut oil was starting to "melt" i scrapped it & mixed it into the mix of the mason jar.  Realized next time mixing in bowl first & then moving to mason jar.  It's crazy working through the opening.

But--i got it made & put it in the fridge to get it a little colder... so it hardens.  But I already used some ;)

here are the photos.

so one item made---& the trail will soon begin I have to find a way to keep it cool since the oil is a LOT funky.

Marwarge....Marwarge is what Brings us Twogether 2Day!....

In Honor of my upcoming nuptials, I thought I would provide a theology review of the Bible Verses we have looked at using in our wedding.  Here is the collection:

Genesis 2: 18-24
Psalm 100
Song of Solomon 8:6-7
Mark 10:6-9

Genesis 2-- This is probably my most favorite verse about marriage.  Because it IS the verse about marriage.  It describes how it is God who tells the man it is not good to be alone.  And Man is thankful for the woman even though she came out of his side (ouch when you think about it...literally) and he is also thankful.  I think these are some things we can take with us in regards to marriage.  1) nothing is possible without God. I know Jesus said this--but I know from personal experience when I went to God to talk about my relationships, they were a lot better then me trying to control something.  2) it is not going to be easy.  Coming out of a side is something only God was able to do without seriously causing damage to Man and now (after the Fall) it cannot be done without God (re-enforcing #1.)  3) We are to be thankful.  God has given us someone... we should be responding in gratitude.  (FYI Thank you for Shawn God :))
All of these are good things to remember.

Pslam 100--
well, continuing on with thankfulness... Psalm 100 is a psalm thanking God for his love and goodness.  It is a good reminder in marriage to always respond to God in praise and thanksgiving and to be thankful for those He has placed in your midst.  Not that complicated in my mind...

Song of Solomon -- Though there are examples of God's love throughout the Bible, there are some biblical examples of what love is between a man and a woman.  Song of Solomon describes this... and I think for marriage, obviously, its helpful to see a picture of what it means to love the one you are married to.  These emphasis to major components in my mind.... being sealed by love and what love can do.  Love seals together the marriage (all three kinds of love, mostly eros and agape of course)...  then the biblical writer describes WHAT love is... how it can be crazy and wild, not material, everlasting and enduring.  When one marries, obviously you are not going to know your whole life... but what you do commit is to LOVE, which means to endure and to last.  (since i'm writing this after the wedding partly i arguably say LISTEN TO YOUR VOWS.... they are meant to be a declaration to your spouse of your commitment of marriage to them.  I know this sounds contract-like, but you do make a promise before God and your family (at least in my tradition) and therefore it should be taken EXTREMELY seriously...

& Mark 10--- I'm going to leave this verse for the next blog. I know the suspense will kill you but it does reference the Genesis 2 verses above as well as deal with my next topic of discussion.
God-driven I guess, I wanted to mention I started this blog post before the wedding & while waiting to get on the plane to travel home AFTER the wedding the idea for the next blog came to me.  Guess you'll have to come back and check it out!

Moving Forward

With the wedding now less than a week away... I figured it was an appropriate to discuss the several things that are moving in my life.

1) Massive cleaning out & distribution of unused items in my home. Donating clothes, giving my food I know I could survive without to those who need food, period, and items that are getting replaced with wedding gifts either selling in a yard sale or donating. Because I do not need 10 skillets.  And definitely do not need all the old towels my mom used for years when people are graciously giving us new towels.

2) Finally came to the last stick of deodorant which is resulting in purchase of items to make my own deodorant . I got the idea from a friend's blog (check her out! ) ( Actually she has a lot of suggestions about homemade and simple living....highly recommend following.) and I decided I was going to give it a try.

3) I have been spending a lot of time thinking about what God wants me to do with my education. Especially since next year I am graduating with a masters in Theology with biblical studies emphasis and want to have a career using this in some form. I am looking at getting a Ph.D. In religion from Claremont Lincoln university with a Hebrew bible concentration & looking at literary-historical context. I believe this will take a little more preparation and A LOT more praying.

4) oh by the way...I'm getting married. That's a step forward, right? It's been crazy busy trying to get things all together but finally last night I realized...  I was going to be that person everyone would be staring at saying how beautiful next Saturday.  It was a brief moment, a surreal moment where you realize its really happening... the wishes and dreams and play time as a kid where i always wanted to be the bride getting married.... (i was 19 when I had my first boyfriend), lets just say it feels good to have a good man loving you in your life.

Shalom in Christ my friends!!

Blog, Blog, Blog.... BLOG!!

It's interesting ( and truthful)... the more I blog, the better they get. I noticed my last post was a little more popular than previous times.  Thanks peeps! I swear I'm trying to get better at this.

I noticed in my last year of efforts to try & write a little more--I have yet to reveal my massive PASSION for language.  So I will discuss...well, NOW :)

I have been passionate about communication and language all my life.  Ever since I was little and came across the first sentence in another language (which I actually think might have been German since our neighbor's mother was from Germany and my mom said she used to talk to me in German...) I have always been fascinated by languages.  It's amazes me that so many different words and pronunciations are at our disposal as humans and how we give them a multitude of meanings.  I also think languages bring us closer to God.  See the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  Working in everyone's tongue... everyone in their hearts understanding.  It's an amazing concept, an amazing experience (yes I have experienced something similar... I'll leave for another post) and its just boggles my mind how languages are formed, modified, and broken down. (ahhh...sigh of beauty.)

Now when I mean language, I really mean all forms of communication.  My example of this is watching my two dogs.  Since I have been "professionally" trained to be a dog trainer... I know that dogs communicate through body language & tons of non-verbal signals.  I.E. they understand when you go towards the wall with leashes it may mean a walk.  By watching my dogs I have learned how they communicate: my black & white husky Scout will come up, knock April (my puppy girl of a mix) on the side and then try to (literally) "eat" her front paw.  In response she lifts it up, growls at him and swings her butt towards his body.  Some people think this is fighting---it's really husky play and Scout has learned to come over and say "Hey, wanna play? I'll get your leegggg....." and April going " yeah I guess, but i'm going to get you first with my ... BUTT!" (exaggerated for dramatic emphasis :) ) And it makes me smile to know that their just living life as dogs were meant to live it.... playin' :D

Moving into human language-- i have an immense desire to learn what I feel like is as many languages as possible.  Here's the few I have formal school credit in:
1) Spanish (2 years High school) [side note i live in southern california--spanish knowledge is a must here...]

2) Latin, 2 years (yes- I felt like I should have learned this in grade school, so I made a commitment for a theology degree to learn an ancient language... I should have taken Greek...)

3)Hebrew, 1.5 years in undergrad, year as tutor; 2 quarters in grad school (and continuing since I want to be involved in Old Testament.)

4)Russian, 1 year.  Definitely something I want to learn more of. I love eastern European/Western Asian countries...

5)Greek, 1 year.  (well, I did go to seminary)

Now here are the few I have informally studied or at least looked at/owned books or done reports on:
1) Egyptian Hieroglyphics : YES, i did a report freshman year. We have to research something--I got REALLY dorky. And way back when (yes, Susan Miller this is true) i wanted to be an Egyptologist.  I find this EXTREMELY fascinating and even more important now that I am learning how Ancient Near Eastern culture is pertinent to understanding culture and context of the Bible.

2) German.  This is actually the language I understand the most (less the personal experience of Spanish.)  I have taught it all myself, even purchased  short stories & a Bible in German to eventually be able to read it & understand the plethora of German theological documents, papers and theologians. Plus my heritage is German. Shouldn't i have learned that somewhere???

3) Ancient Near Eastern Languages.  Suddenly, at the end of Hebrew, I felt this urge that I should look into studying Akkadian.  Then when I asked about it, my professor encouraged I start with Aramaic after Hebrew, keep going in that, look at Uggaritic and then move onto Akkadian.  And we're talking maybe a handful of texts I would even be reading. But i'm sorry--this just sounds so COOL to me. So books purchased and ready to go.

4) Latin...again.  This is how I know i'm called to do some type of research/knowledge-based something in my life. Even though I had two years of Latin, I do not remember as much as I would like. So I took information from my class, got the same materials and plan on working on this once I learn German. Besides, PhD candidates are required typically to know German, Latin and....

5) French.  I have bought the books (3 actually, because I know I learn exceptionally well by semi-indicutive method between formal book training and interaction with speakers.

6) again... Russian. I have the books used from my undergrad class, bought the 2nd year books and understand very well on how to learn a language.  Of course--this is very different from fully understanding them.

Whew.... Ok. I'm done.  Sorry for the long post and what may be rambling about something i'm completely crazy about. So as for now. .....Auf Wiedersehen!