Thursday, October 21, 2010

New Series on Culture

I’ve been thinking a lot about culture.  And most of the ideas I’ve had for posts lately have centered on culture.  What it is, where it is, the effects it has on us and how we can affect the culture around us. 

     This line of thought began last month when I read a couple of Francine Rivers novellas.  One was based on the life of Aaron, the brother of Moses, and the other based on the life of Caleb who was one of only two Israelites who came out of Egypt as an adult and lived to see the Promised Land.  When we think of the Exodus, we generally think of the escape from Egyptian bondage, but these books reminded me that the Hebrews were not only slaves to Pharaoh, but also to the culture of Egypt.  It only took a few chapters of Exodus for the Lord to deliver them from the land of Egypt, but forty years of desert wandering to deliver them from bondage to the culture of Egypt and transform them into the nation of Israel with its own distinct culture. 
     The Bible shows us that they continued to struggle with their cultural identity through the centuries as they entered the Canaan Land, when they demanded a king so they could be like the nations around them(1 Sam 8:5), when they were taken into Babylonian captivity, and on into New Testament times when Rome and its Hellenistic culture ruled the world.  Paul and Peter continued to address the issue as the Christian church took root, dealing with cultural issues in all of their epistles. 

I think I’ll try to do a series of posts on the topic of culture and what I think about it, so stay tuned.  In keeping with this subject matter, this week’s song is the Hag’s anthem from the culture war years of the late 60’s.
Disclaimer:  I am not from Oklahoma, I’m a native Texican, and I usually speak of Okies in a derogatory manner, but I like this song.  

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

9th-16th

Jazbo and Mimi came to visit on the 9th. Mimi kept the girls while I went to Ladies Day. They had a day filled with activities and projects. They made a Happy Birthday video for Granola, made caramel apples, a sticker project, went to the lake and met Justin and Jazbo for lunch. That afternoon, Mimi and Jazbo kept West, Annie and Georgia. Jones went to a birthday party and I went to a toe painting party. That evening, some rode bikes and some walked around the blocks and to the park.

On the 11th, Justin and I had our first parent/teacher conference with Jonesy's teacher and received her first report card. She did great! All A's and E's!
Georgia has chosen a treasure out of treasure box every time these past two weeks. Annie has not had any potty accidents and is riding her scooter. West has discovered his toes, that he can sit at the big table for Bible class, and that he likes rice cereal.

Granola and Papa came to visit on the 16th. We had an afternoon of bike riding. Then we had an enchilada dinner and a German Chocolate birthday cake. We went to church and then to Backyard BBQ for lunch before they headed back to Amarillo.(All the pictures are on Granola's camera. I'll post some at a later time.)

Now for some pictures.












Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Big Bad John

I have several posts in the works, but my computer time has been limited lately.  I hope you'll be contented with this week's song.
Dedicated to my brother-in-law and all of those miner guys in Chile, it's "Big Bad John" by that late great sausage maker from Plainview, Jimmy Dean.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Pictures Galore

Here is what has been happening in the Brown house.

Jones:
*has been doing any job to earn money for her part in a new bicycle
*can ride her (too small) bicycle without training wheels
*has a third tooth loose
*still enjoys school
*earned the Spotlight on Learners spot for the next couple of weeks
*enjoys daddy or mommy taking her to eat breakfast at school
*only wears one or two headbands now :(

Georgia:
*can ride her bike
*bought roller skates at a garage sale and can stay up on them
*has been to the treasure box four times!(out of six)
*is a fantastic dishwasher
*loves holding West and making him laugh
*can get dressed from head to toe all by herself. Bows and headbands included.

Annie:
*has a blonde streak in her
*makes us laugh constantly
*wears her clothes backwards and her shoes on the wrong feet
*can almost do the monkey bars by herself (you can check out her video on FB)
*can fold the towels and wash cloths
*puts away her panties, socks and pants
*can still throw a 2yr old fit :)

West:
*he and I have been struggling with thrush for the past seven weeks
*rolls over both ways
*reaches for your hands or objects
*has slept through the night since he was 8weeks
*gets upset if you walk past him and don't talk to him
*likes baths and story time
*4 months=12lbs 13oz, 24 1/2 in long
*the headbands have made their way to West. It took four months.







Annie took the pictures of me and West.















Gentian Violet is
messy.
I (sorta) french braided my hair myself.

Friday, October 1, 2010

Song of the Week

Continuing the theme of Heaven, Ralph Stanley makes his second appearance on TOTP performing "Shouting on the Hills of Glory" with Ricky Skaggs.

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