Skip to main content

potions, breathing, and deus ex machina


well, we've put away the halloween decorations for the year, but i thought i'd show you one of my highlights from this year.  shannon found a website that had vintage looking "potion" labels featuring many of the potions and powders from the harry potter stories.  you just print them out, cut them out, and then affix them to old bottles (which i happen to have many of sitting around {can you say "hoarder?}).  we filled them with various colored liquids (mostly water and food coloring, with some oils and other secrets thrown in), and capped them off with corks and wax.  they turned out pretty cool, and were a fun contribution to our "magical" halloween decor. 




-in other randomness, it is the steelers bye week this week, so i feel like i can breathe again.  first time since september.  feels good.

-or maybe the breathing is a result of the fact that church conference is over and went well.  that is a major stressor for me each fall, and it is a huge relief for it to be in the rearview mirror for another year.  this breathing thing is nice.

-yesterday the boys and i were taking turns making up stories.  mine were pure ripoffs, in that i retold classic stories in which my children's toys come alive when they aren't looking; the dog talks to me when they aren't around, and i took a spaceship to cybertron (okay, maybe not classic).  but jackson's and caedmon's stories all included some kind of conflict (usually involving ghosts, bad guys, king cobra's, etc) and then, without fail, a deus ex machina, literally.  i mean, in each story, right after the bad guy punched caedmon, or the cobra was poised to strike jackson, Jesus showed up and took care of it, punching or wrangling or doing whatever needed to be done to restore peace.  i'm not sure, but for a 4 and a 6 year old, i feel like this is fairly decent theology.  at least, i'm okay with it for now. 

"...and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people...." - matthew 1:21 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

i'm giving away the swamp

so this is a collage called swamp. i made it in february of last year. it is currently framed in a homemade, hand-painted frame. it is paper collage on a book binding panel. it is 7" x 10". and i am giving it away. i've been wanting to have a blog giveaway for some time, and the time has finally arrived. here's how it works. all you need to do is leave a comment on this post. by leaving a comment you are automatically entered into the contest (as long as your comment offers a way for me to get in touch with you, or you know that i know you). the contest will be open until next wednesday at noon, eastern standard time. at that time the contest will officially be closed and i will pick a random number. the person whose comment matches that number wins! for example, if i happen to pick the number 33, the thirty-third comment will win. oh, and one more rule: you can only post ONCE. if you win, i will send you the collage, signed by me, the artist, free of c...

bad haircuts (for a laugh)

everybody needs to laugh.  one good way i have found to make that happen is to do a simple google image search for 'bad haircut.'  when you do so, some of the following gems show up.  thankfully, my 9th grade school picture does NOT show up.  otherwise, it would certianly make this list!  please laugh freely and without inhibition.  thank you and have a nice day. 

affirmed

i cannot express today the feeling i have. this picture that i found sort of expresses it but not really. for the last ten years i have poured myself into this vocation, daring to believe that God, the very God of all creation, has called me, even me, to this work. along the way many have affirmed me in this journey, but i have continued to work for the ultimate affirmation, ordination as an elder in the united methodist church. and now i have it. after two grueling (and i mean grueling in every possible sense, really) days i recieved the call today that the board voted to recommend me to the annual conference for ordination as an elder. and as i have already said, i cannot even begin to express the emotion i feel with words like relief, joy and satisfaction. there will be plenty of time for me to reflect on this and i will have more to say about it as i do that reflecting, but today is really a day for celebrating for me, and for thanking those who have journeyed with me and s...