I really enjoyed these two perspectives on Rowling's authoritative outing of Albus Dumbledore:
John Mark Reynolds
Jeff Meyers
Monday, October 29, 2007
an A.M. with C.S. Lewis
Now that I've entered my second trimester, filled with energy and vigor, I have been able to get up before Colson and get some reading in. It's been fantastic for me. Let me share with you an exerpt from C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity that jumped and grabbed me by the throat.
"Now repentance is no fun at all. It is something much harder than merely eating humble
pie. It means unlearning all of the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training ourselves into for thousands of years. It means killing part of yourself, undergoing a kind of death. In fact, it needs a good man to repent. And here comes the catch. Only a bad person needs to repent: only a good person can repent perfectly. The worse you are the more you need it and the less you can do it. The only person who could do it perfectly would be perfet person - and he would not need it"
Lewis goes on to say what makes it possible for us to repent. And that is with God's help. This is obvious, of course, but what is meant by God helping us? "We mean God putting into us a bit of Himself, so to speak. He lends us a little of His reasoning powers and that is how we think." Because Christ, submitted, unto death, even being a perfect man, he enables us, because of his indwelling, to submit unto death, to cut off the sin in our hearts, to undergo a death, to follow Christ, and to be resurrected unto a new start, a new life. You and I can surrender our will, and suffer and die, only because God does it in us; and the only means he can do this in us, is because He did it Himself, in the form of a man.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Not for the Faint Hearted
This sums up our life right now, from Mom's eye view. He sure is cute though isn't he?
My how the time goes...
Last night after dinner we went to the mall and picked up some new bedding for Colson's new adventures in his big-boy bed. His sheets are splattered with cars and trucks of every sort, and his new quilt is very masculine. It helps the bed itself look more rough and tumble. Oh how I love little boy things.
It was his first night in his new bed. He slept safe and sound, snug as a bug all night long. I kept waiting for the thud that would be his body hitting the floor, followed by crying, but it didn't come, and it was a sweet night's sleep for all.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
17 Weeks
Here is my first posted belly pic.
17 weeks and counting.
Feeling fantastic.
Hurray for Babies!
Feist
Well, she crawled under my skin, and in my head and now I can't get rid of her. It all started with that video, 1-2-3-4 I saw. I purchased this album, her first, and I'm not disappointed. Her sultry, alto voice is perfect for having around the house. Definately a good album for my collection, very much my style.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Avocado. My baby is about the size of an avocado. I really enjoy avocados in general, but this makes me like them even more. I have one sitting on my counter right now. I'm excited about it because it reminds me of our little one. The avocado's green shell and flesh give me no hint about the sex of the baby though. Our baby is "green", one of those neutral colors. Could be a boy. Could be a girl. I guess this is what I get for looking at an avocado and trying to unlock the mysteries of our unborn child.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Prego Update
Today I had a doc's appointment. It was wonderful to hear that heartbeat and know that my baby is swimming away as happy as can be. We have decided to not find out the sex. We did with Colson, but for some reason the waiting game won't be so tempting for us this time. I'm really excited to experience the surprise at birth, it seems like it will be such a wonderful gift. My belly is definitely growing and I'm unable to button most of my pants. Thank God for the bella-band. I'm feeling fantastic, not a care in the world, and I love being pregnant. I'll post a picture soon, but for now, I have some beckoning laundry.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Sound the Alarm!!!
...if not for yourself, then for any woman you know who is not married:
Our pastor's wife, Nancy Wilson, has stores of invaluable wisdom to give to women. Although, this post no longer applies to myself, I think it's a gem of advice, and something that our unmarried sisters need to consider, as well as a bit of advice our married sisters need to share. And that's what I'm doing here: http://femina.reformedblogs.com/2007/10/18/falling-in-love-is-the-easy-part/.
Our pastor's wife, Nancy Wilson, has stores of invaluable wisdom to give to women. Although, this post no longer applies to myself, I think it's a gem of advice, and something that our unmarried sisters need to consider, as well as a bit of advice our married sisters need to share. And that's what I'm doing here: http://femina.reformedblogs.com/2007/10/18/falling-in-love-is-the-easy-part/.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Maternal Tempation
I'm currently reading C.S. Lewis' Four Loves.
A certain section struck me as I was reading about Affection and our need for affection. This can come out in two ways, either through a need-love, or a gift-love. We all need affection. We all need to be needed through affection, and we all need to give through affection. However, as I was reading about gift-love and an inherent temptation that comes along with it, I was struck with something that will be very good for me to keep in mind as a mama.
He goes on to talk about the temptation of gift-love that needs to give; therefore needs to be needed. That's obvious right? but the temptation comes, when we don't realize that the "proper aim of giving is to put the recipient in a state where he no longer needs our gift...The hour when we can say 'They need me no longer' should be our reward."
Wow, as a Mom of a toddler, and of a baby not yet born, this is almost unimaginable. All that i'm doing is providing for needs: getting him out of bed, getting him dressed, going potty, changing diapers, feeding, playing, reading, teaching, correcting.....the cycle goes on and on. So, to remember when Colson tackles a certain accomplishment on his own, whether it be to go potty all on his own, or in 20 years when he leaves our home and becomes one with another, and every task achieved in between, shall be a reward. What a blessing if we can see it that way, and what a disappointment, if all I want is to be needed, if all of my worth is in providing for his needs.
To quote Lewis again: "We feed children in order that they soon be able to feed themselves; we teach them in order that they may soon not need our teaching."
This is helping me realize that not only when Colson and all our children are grown will this be important, but all along the way, it will be something I'll need to remember: that in my relationship with my children, I need more than a need to provide. As a human, as a mother, this temptation will certainly be there to want to grasp and hold, "to keep my object needy, or to invent for them imaginary needs." Lewis says that in order to let go of this desire, something more needs to be added, and that his goodness; patience, self denial, humility, and the coninual intervention of a far greater sort of love than Affection, in itself can ever be. "If we live by this 'Affection' alone, affection will go bad on us." And ultimately it turns into a form of, not love, but hatred.
A certain section struck me as I was reading about Affection and our need for affection. This can come out in two ways, either through a need-love, or a gift-love. We all need affection. We all need to be needed through affection, and we all need to give through affection. However, as I was reading about gift-love and an inherent temptation that comes along with it, I was struck with something that will be very good for me to keep in mind as a mama.
He goes on to talk about the temptation of gift-love that needs to give; therefore needs to be needed. That's obvious right? but the temptation comes, when we don't realize that the "proper aim of giving is to put the recipient in a state where he no longer needs our gift...The hour when we can say 'They need me no longer' should be our reward."
Wow, as a Mom of a toddler, and of a baby not yet born, this is almost unimaginable. All that i'm doing is providing for needs: getting him out of bed, getting him dressed, going potty, changing diapers, feeding, playing, reading, teaching, correcting.....the cycle goes on and on. So, to remember when Colson tackles a certain accomplishment on his own, whether it be to go potty all on his own, or in 20 years when he leaves our home and becomes one with another, and every task achieved in between, shall be a reward. What a blessing if we can see it that way, and what a disappointment, if all I want is to be needed, if all of my worth is in providing for his needs.
To quote Lewis again: "We feed children in order that they soon be able to feed themselves; we teach them in order that they may soon not need our teaching."
This is helping me realize that not only when Colson and all our children are grown will this be important, but all along the way, it will be something I'll need to remember: that in my relationship with my children, I need more than a need to provide. As a human, as a mother, this temptation will certainly be there to want to grasp and hold, "to keep my object needy, or to invent for them imaginary needs." Lewis says that in order to let go of this desire, something more needs to be added, and that his goodness; patience, self denial, humility, and the coninual intervention of a far greater sort of love than Affection, in itself can ever be. "If we live by this 'Affection' alone, affection will go bad on us." And ultimately it turns into a form of, not love, but hatred.
Love it.
This is our new bed. I nabbed it up off of Craigslist before a slew of following callers were begging for it. We've been looking for a twin bed for Colson, and although this is not what I had in mind for our little boy, I just could not pass it up. (Never mind that Colson has been sleeping in a pack'n'play since we moved this summer. We chucked his crib. It wasn't cut out for another baby.) The bed was a great deal, and I think it's timelessly fashionable. The wood is currently finished in a cherry dark, but I may paint it black. I took a b&w pic of it to get a preview. Any ideas from blogger-space? anyway, I'm very excited.
Let's here it for Craigslist!
Monday, October 15, 2007
My Little Cowboy
"I'm a cowboy and I round up cows. I can lasso anything." ...or so goes the first page of one of Colson's favorite bedtime books.
Happy Birthday Hubby
We threw KC a suprise birthday party on Saturday evening. When we pulled into the driveway, he stated, matter-of-factly, "So you are throwing me a suprise party?"
"You wish," I said back, but he was right. He always knows.
It was a wonderful time, and extra thanks go to Jesse and Anna. They're always ready to show kindness and hospitality.
Bitter-Sweet End
Last night KC and I finished the final Harry Potter book. I'm so sad that it's all over. This has provided much joy to us lying in bed together, gripped by the story as it went on, saying goodnight to each other and Harry as we slipped into sleep.
If you are a Christian out there who thinks that Harry Potter is evil, luring your child to follow satan and dark magic, you couldn't be more mistaken. I would encourage you to think about the story that you hold so dear...the gospel. J.K. Rowling understands "the story", God's story: which all stories emulate, either good or bad. I would argue that this is a fantastic book that draws many christian parallels, drawing us into God's story through fiction. Harry Potter is a tale of good and evil, of love and hatred, of life and death.
If you are a Christian out there who thinks that Harry Potter is evil, luring your child to follow satan and dark magic, you couldn't be more mistaken. I would encourage you to think about the story that you hold so dear...the gospel. J.K. Rowling understands "the story", God's story: which all stories emulate, either good or bad. I would argue that this is a fantastic book that draws many christian parallels, drawing us into God's story through fiction. Harry Potter is a tale of good and evil, of love and hatred, of life and death.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Feist - 1 2 3 4
I got lucky. I happened to discover this video on VH-1 while I was working out. (it's the only time we can watch the idiot box...and yes, I ENJOY it). anyway, i was nearing the end of my time on that treadmill when this video pleasantly captivated me. It fills me with a burst of sudden energy when I watch it, and I can't quite explain why...the joy of it, the color, the tune...I'm not precisely sure. In any case, maybe you will enjoy it too. I guess, it kind of feels like my life to me, in some weird way.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Our Boy
Colson Quotes
He's been saying lots of funny things lately:
In the middle of the night not long ago, I heard him yelling in his bed. When I got closer to his room, I made out these words being yelled repeatedly: "I...GOT....SOME...BOOGIES!!!!"
I asked him one morning, "Colson, do you want to be a strong man?"
His reply: "a hot dog man, mama. a hot dog man."
KC has been telling him that I'm "the Queen". So the other morning as I was getting him breakfast, he was looking at me saying over and over, "Mama's Queen, Mama. Mama's Queen, Mama" The boy knows how to get a yummy breakfast.
And just this morning, he was sitting on my lap and my tummy grumbled pretty loud. "What's that noise, Colson?" I asked. His reply: "Mama tooted."
Monday, October 1, 2007
Ramblings on Domesticity
I have been thinking much lately about domesticity, and well, my duties as a homemaker. And the thing that has stood out to me the most about this in my life of recent has been this:
Having a husband who appreciates and notices the work done in the home, and the work that is put into making it lovely, and is thankful, makes my duty so much easier, and so much more joyful. I'm so encouraged that he notices, that it blesses him, and that he tells me so. This helps me a great deal, and I'm so thankful that I have a husband that gives me the time to tell me so. It causes me in turn to want to give him the time, in making sure things are tidy and that he has underwear folded nicely in his drawer, and that there is "something" planned for dinner. The key here, I believe, is that he really appreciates and honors my calling, as a woman, as a wife, as a mother. His attention to the detail causes me to pay attention to the detail in his calling as a man, as a husband, as a father. It helps me to look into what he needs, and how I can bless him with little things, like a lunch to take for work or the coffee programmed to his a.m. schedule. I'm so pleased these things make him so happy, for it blesses me to bless him. And I'm so thankful he doesn't take it for granted and get disgruntled if something isn't perfect. My whole point in this post, is that my man considers me, and I'm a blessed woman for it.
Having a husband who appreciates and notices the work done in the home, and the work that is put into making it lovely, and is thankful, makes my duty so much easier, and so much more joyful. I'm so encouraged that he notices, that it blesses him, and that he tells me so. This helps me a great deal, and I'm so thankful that I have a husband that gives me the time to tell me so. It causes me in turn to want to give him the time, in making sure things are tidy and that he has underwear folded nicely in his drawer, and that there is "something" planned for dinner. The key here, I believe, is that he really appreciates and honors my calling, as a woman, as a wife, as a mother. His attention to the detail causes me to pay attention to the detail in his calling as a man, as a husband, as a father. It helps me to look into what he needs, and how I can bless him with little things, like a lunch to take for work or the coffee programmed to his a.m. schedule. I'm so pleased these things make him so happy, for it blesses me to bless him. And I'm so thankful he doesn't take it for granted and get disgruntled if something isn't perfect. My whole point in this post, is that my man considers me, and I'm a blessed woman for it.
Glorious News
It's a wonderful fact that we Rumreys are multiplying in joy and number.
WE'RE HAVING A BABY!
We are praising God daily for this blessing.
More updates are sure to come, however things have really been smooth sailing so far. I'm already in my 14th week, which means I'm past the nauseous/fatigue stage, which i didn't experience....but i was hungry!!!!
WE'RE HAVING A BABY!
We are praising God daily for this blessing.
More updates are sure to come, however things have really been smooth sailing so far. I'm already in my 14th week, which means I'm past the nauseous/fatigue stage, which i didn't experience....but i was hungry!!!!
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