Street Cars???

Just a quick blog entry here, to pose a question to anyone who can provide an answer:

Why, in the name of all that makes sense, is the city of Cincinnati asking for stimulus for a STREET CAR when we don't have a decent east-west metro bus route?  We live just off the same street that my husband works on, yet he can't take the bus to work unless he wants a commute that is almost 2 hours both ways.

Why?

Because the big metro routes run north-south.  So, he'd have to take a metro to downtown and then take a separate metro up to the east side of town.  

So, the street cars are going to create exactly what?

Ugh!  

We are Known by the Company We Keep

I think we can see under whose counsel the Republican Party started heading in the wrong direction: 

Why I Hate the Easter Bunny

If you've read my blog for a while, you might have noticed that I have some strong opinions about certain things.  Maybe.  Well, in this case I do have a strong opinion about something:  The Easter Bunny.

Now, if you're reading this, you might think, "Deb, how could you possibly hate the Easter Bunny?  A cute fluffy bunny that brings candy to small children?  How innocent is that?"

But I ask you to consider this.  Have you ever seen a cute fluffy Easter Bunny?  No!  First of all, most Easter Bunnies I've seen are the size of an adult human.  In fact the ones at the mall are about the size of men that can't find full time employment elsewhere.  Based on mall experiences, too, I think the Easter Bunny smokes.  Another strike against him -- especially since I'm evangelical and we don't bode to well to smoking bunnies.  

Think about the Easter Bunny's face.  You've got a head that is not only 3 to 4 times bigger than the average bunny, but is proportionally large for his body.  And the teeth!  To quote Monty Python, "LOOK AT THE FANGS!" Can you really trust that plastic smile? Really?

Then there is his color.  What sick genetic mutation or radiation causes a bunny to be pink or purple or blue.  But the freakiest thing is that he, HE I might add, lays EGGS!  That's just creepy!  Do you people really believe that the egg shaped things coming out of a bunny's rear end are chocolate? 

All kidding aside, we don't let the Easter Bunny visit us.  Santa doesn't stop here either.  And, yet, somehow our kids are happy and well behaved.  Santa doesn't visit because there was no way that I was going to give credit for money spent by me, time spent by me, and creative energy spent by me to some lazy old guy who forces little people to work relentlessly and himself only works once a year.  In addition to that he is no longer based upon the story of St. Nick but on a great marketing scheme thought up by Macy's in  the early 20th century.  Although lots of Christian publishers and marketing companies would really like us to believe we can tie the two together, they really aren't the same.  Santa of today is a marketing tool to manipulate parents into standing outside a Toys R Us over night in order to make sure that they can get the gift that their kid asked for from Santa.  It's really an ingenious scheme. 

 We celebrate Christmas, and the gifts are all from people who love them, know them and were excited to take the time to purchase them,  And those gifts are not given based upon the kid's behavior but on our unconditional love that wants to give them good gifts.  

Now, my intense hate for the Easter Bunny dates back to a time in my life when I was teaching Sunday school to 4-year-olds.  It was Easter time and I asked the kids, "What is Easter all about?"

The entire class looked at me and answered in unison,  "CANDY!"

That was disturbing to me because these kids were kids that were from homes where I'm confident that the true significance of Easter was being taught.  However, with kids, chocolate trumps eternity in paradise and so the message that came across was, "Candy!"

While we do have some candy at our house at Easter, and we do an Easter Egg hunt, we've made a point to intentionally point it toward the empty tomb.  The empty Easter Egg gets you a prize and we have a special box and book we use to tell the story of Easter in the weeks leading up to the day. There are no evil oversized bunnies that poop chocolate in our house, and nobody misses him. The only star of Easter is Jesus and we don't want to ask him to share the stage with a mutant bunny.  

 

Easter is a celebration of the single most important event in the entire history of the world!  Until the moment that Jesus came back to life, it looked as though death had conquered and there was no hope.  On Easter, though, we won the victory over sin and death and could now be in relationship with God again!  No longer was there any separation at all.  

I love to tell my kids the part of the Easter story where the curtain in the Temple rips in two.  Every time I tell it, we stop to talk about how, in the times before Jesus they would tie a rope to the ankle of the priest who was required to enter the Holy of Holies where God's presence resided.  

"And do you guys remember why they tied a rope?" I ask.

And every time, with big eyes and hushed voices they reply, "In case he would DIE from being the presence of God!  Then they could drag him out!" Needless to say, they are pretty impressed with a God whose presence is holy enough to cause someone to just drop dead! And any story involving pulling a dead guy with a rope is a great story. 

But, thanks to Jesus, there's no more rope.  In fact, there's no more curtain!  You can just be in the Holy of Holies, we can be in the presence of God, and he can inhabit us.  Kids can understand this, they really can, and they can celebrate that truth. 

That is so much more exciting than a stupid bunny that lays eggs!  Why would we even want to draw attention away from the exciting good story to the utterly ridiculous one! 

So, at our house the Easter Bunny is in the same boat as Santa Claus.  Because I don't like either of them, that is a really small row boat, with a tiny leak in the bottom that will hopefully one day sink and they'll both die. 

Until then, though, when nice people ask my kids if the Easter Bunny is going to visit they just look at them with totally blank faces and nod their heads.   But don't worry, they know they aren't allowed to tell other kids the truth about the Easter Bunny or Santa.

And, as far as the tooth fairy goes, I have them pretty convinced that Dad dresses up in a fairy costume, steals into their rooms and exchanges the tooth for money.  

 

Swimmer Girl Turns 10!

March is birthday month in our house, and the problem is that I'm tired of birthdays by the end of the month.  Actually, I'm tired of holidays period.  They need to be spread out more.  Anyway, the end of March is my little Swimmer Girls birthday, so I must do a tribute to her as well before I can move on with any other blogging that might be swimming around in my mind.

Swimmer Girl was born in a small city in north west/central Ukraine.  I know the city fairly well because I was forced to stay in it for 3 weeks while waiting for a council to meet and tell us that we were allowed to apply for a court date in order to try to adopt her.  :)  

From the moment we met her, Swimmer Girl was outstanding.  She called me "Mama" from day one, and declared her love for both me and Rob, despite the fact that she found Rob's beard to be an unsightly disfigurement.  She really does love unconditionally.  At age three, she was speaking Ukrainian, understood Russian and started picking up English from us immediately.  This girl can talk.  I am convinced that if you dropped her anywhere in the world and left her stranded, she would be fluent in that language within months.  Now, that would happen not so much because she has a desire to communicate with others, but mostly because she's really nosey.  She would just have to know what other people are saying.  I'm convinced that her love of history, civics and government is based in her need to know other people's business.   

This is a child that, at age 4, asked me, "Mom, exactly how do you go about taking over a government?" And, at age 5 would routinely stop people and ask them, "Have you ever considered adoption?  My mom and dad adopted me from an orphanage.  I'm a great kid.  There are so many great kids like me.  Don't you want a great kid like me?"  And when she was about 7 told me, "It must be so hard to be a person with a disability.  I'm glad I don't have one!" 

Not only an athlete, Swimmer Girl loves to write and read.  She's currently working on a book called "Toucan's Song", and has written stories about Detective Dogs, Wolves and also a family living through the Great Depression.  

She'd probably rather eat worms than work on math.

Since swim season is over, she is currently trying to run a mile every day.  You just can't keep her down.

And, it's in part because of her beautiful little heart that our family is now sponsoring a little boy in Rwanda, through World Vision.  She has emptied her piggy bank to help send food to Ukrainians rallying in Ukraine during the Orange Revolution, to send Bibles to persecuted Christians in Asia,  and to feed hungry kids in Africa.  She looks forward to feeding the homeless people we see that wander about Colerain Avenue near our home. For the longest time, her dream was to train service dogs to take back to Ukraine and give to people with disabilities there. 

But the coolest thing about my Swimmer Girl is her undying belief that no matter what, God is good.  No matter what this child has faced, she has always pressed on with a joy and faith that just isn't shaken.  Not after abandonment, poverty, gaining an understanding of her disabilities and differences, and not even when she can just never place first in a heat at a swim meet.  She just keeps going and goes in joy.  

Happy Birthday to my beautiful little girl! 

Green Bottle Boy Turns 11 and Gets an Orthodontic Device to Celebrate!

How does a mom face the adolescent years when her son is Green Bottle Boy? Very very apprehensively. Of course, I do have to give him credit. He is the kid that we always predicted would be our trip to the emergency room and in all 11 years of his adventurous life, including times when he fell through a window protector, fell and hit his neck on the sharp edge of a table, swallowed a bug that flew into his mouth while walking down stairs, and being my only child to ever truly choke on something, he has never had a trip to the emergency room. That's actually pretty impressive.

Of course, he didn't start out so lucky. Green Bottle Boy was born with an extremely rare neural tube defect and leading up to his birth, we weren't even certain how long he would live. So, every March I reflect on how one simple brain surgery completely fixed the defect and he has thrived since even before it was corrected. The story of his birth, though so stressful at the time, is now a beautiful monument to how precious he is.

So, in reflecting upon what is wonderful about him, I have to say that one of the things I love the most is how his brain works. For instance, several months ago, I gave him a math placement test. I assumed that he would test into 5th grade in the new curriculum (which I ultimately didn't switch to), however, I thought I better be certain. I told him that he was supposed to do the first 15 questions, have me check it, complete the next 15 questions, have me check it, complete the next 15 questions, have me check it and then finally move on to the last set of questions.

"You need to do one section at a time and then have me check it. Do you understand? Because you don't need to move on to the next section if you miss too many of the questions in one section. Got it?"

"Yes Mom, yes Mom, I get it."

So, of course, he sat down and did the entire test without having me check. That's not the great part, though! The great part is that he failed the 4th-5th grade portions of the test, but passed the 6th-7-th and 8th grade parts with flying colors! Now, what in the world do you do with that?

He's obviously a really smart kid. He loves to read, is a gifted artist and musician, and is incredibly creative.

Some of my favorite quotes of his are:

1) (While holding his head in complete anguish over my lack of understanding) "I wish you could just be inside my head and understand what I'm trying to say!"

2) "Yes mom, I'll take care of the tarantula and you won't need to help with anything."

3) "I am too paying attention!"

4) "Why in the world did you put my desk in front of the window!? You should know better! The raindrop patterns are way more interesting than handwriting!"


I also love his fascination with nature. This kid, a kid who took years to figure out where exactly our living room was located, actually found a sun dried red ant on our red deck. The ant was "frozen" in a dramatic position, one arm reaching toward the sky as though it was begging for mercy as the sun relentlessly shined its rays on him.

His first word was, "Tree!" He was 11 months old. It was just really important to him. His second word was banana, which was pronounced, "Balalala" rather than the typical "Nana" that most kids use.

He loves identifying plants, tromping through the woods and just laying in the sun. He is really the quintessential little boy.

But, he's also not so little anymore!

Society Without God

I just finished reading "Society Without God" by Phil Zuckerman. Although a very repetitive book, it provides some useful insight into how "secular" people view religion, and, without the author fully understanding, how "secular" people confuse true Christian with Civic Religion. Of course, many Christians confuse real Christianity with Civic Religion as well, so there needs to be even more grace for those who are completely separated from God and lack understanding. Obviously, it's a deceptive topic.

Apparently Sweden has a national church of which people can pay taxes and become a member. Any person who truly follows Christ sees an obvious problem with that (many people who like organizations such as Vision Forum probably don't). However, it is apparent that the Swedes have bought into their own version of Civic Religion, just as many in America have, and that the Swedes have brought it to it's ultimate outcome: death. Sweden, despite it's national church, is a completely secular nation.

What was interesting to me in reading the book, was the outlook of the Swedes towards Christianity. None of them had a clue as to what Christianity was, including the author, and yet they were convinced that they did. In fact, by definition, someone could be a Christian, even if they didn't believe that Jesus was the son of God!

Some of the rather humorous things I found in the book were:

1) The belief that believing in an afterlife meant not investing in this life. I find that so humorous because the entire reason I am able to lay down my life in service to others and to give up material possessions is because I am confident that there will be an afterlife! An afterlife frees me to focus on what is truly important (relationships) and not concern myself with accumulating wealth or meeting my selfish desires. The great benefit to that is that the more I have laid down my life for others, the more joy that I've had. That's probably because, as I said, the knowledge of an afterlife frees me from focusing on the wrong things.

2) The belief that life is meaningless or that believing life is meaningless will give an individual a full life. Okay, I read the entire chapter on this and didn't know if I should laugh or cry. I'm just so glad that I'm not there! I guess a meaningless life is okay if you find enough ways to inoculate yourself against the aimlessness and isolation.

3) The belief that every Christian believes the exact same thing about the Bible, how to interpret the Bible, and how to apply the Bible. What a misconception! Obviously, this author didn't talk with enough Christians (or even Civic Religion followers) to get a complete grasp of the role of the Bible in Christianity.

4) Unbeknownst to them, the bulk of the "good" in their society is based on Christ's teachings. In fact, one guy actually said something to the effect of "I was taught don't do something to other people you wouldn't want done to you." Hmmm.... As my wise husband pointed out, Swedes claiming that they can have a "good society without god" would be like John Rockefeller's descendants writing a book about how you can be rich without working.

While I get very frustrated with American Civic Religion and I can't stand how Christianity gets mixed with patriotism and politics, I'm thankful that I live in a country where there is still some passion, some life and some desire for purpose. As Zuckerman described Sweden, I couldn't help but think of the novel "The Giver". It sounded like a society where everyone was taking their pill in order to not see color, not have "urges" and just go about their business. Not messy, but not too full of life either. I'm sure that that picture is not completely accurate, but it certainly is not ever going to be America. We are far too diverse of a culture to ever all think the same, and being the same appears to be, from reading this book, a necessary aspect to success in Sweden.

"Society without God" was certainly worth reading, or at least skimming, as it strikes me as a prophetic telling of where our nation is spiritually headed.

Cherrio -- Unless You're Different.

Well, my early morning ire was up again today.  Every time I think western humanity is past discrimination, I get a new taste of just how "civilized" we are.  This time, the taste came from Great Britain.  Yes, the land that brought us the Bible in English, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Paddington Bear, and the concept that tea can also mean little yummy sandwiches and cookies, not just a pale yucky liquid.

There is an uproar over a new character on a popular children's television show.  The show, Cheebie, has hired an energetic, engaging young lady who just happens to have been born with a partial right arm.  Since her appearance on the show, there has been an uproar among parents in Great Britain, because apparently their poor sheltered children can't handle seeing a disabled person on television.  

Here are some comments, with my thoughts following them:

"How do you explain to a three-year-old that a host only has part of one arm?" 

She was born with one arm.  Sometimes that happens, but it's okay.  It doesn't hurt and she just has to learn how to do things differently than a person with two arms.

"We are programed to shun people like that as a matter of nature."

What?!?!?!  I think that people are programmed to shun people as a matter of selfish fear, ignorance and an inability to discern what is truly important. 

My child was immediately freaked out and didn’t want to watch. There’s a time and place for showing kids all the “differences” that people can have, but nine in the morning in front of 2 year olds is NOT the place! 

The only times  I've seen children "freak out" about a limb difference is when the child is 1) excessively sheltered and only been around people exactly like them or 2) when the child has obvious severe emotional issues and is trying, desperately, to get the attention of their parent.   I don't even believe that his kid reacted this way, because 2 year olds don't even normally notice the differences, let alone freak out.  Obviously, the Dad was freaking out and putting it on his kid.  This child will grow up disabled, too, because it's got some incredibly horrible parents that aren't bothering to teach him how to embrace humanity. I would much rather have a limb difference than such a shallow and selfish mind. I would have to wonder, as well, if this parent could "stomach" this better at another time during the day.  Maybe after one or two beers? At what point in the day or in life does he think you should do the arduous task of "introducing" his child to disabilities? Is it better after a good lunch?  Probably not before bedtime because he'd worry about nightmares... maybe he could medicate his son and then tell him? What incredible ignorance! 

In my 7 years of parenting children with special needs, I know, I KNOW, that the issue here is not the children watching the show but the ignorant parents.  Kids can handle disabilities, especially young kids.  They ask a couple questions and they move on, so much better than so many adults.  

Well, kudos to the BBC to stepping out and kudos to all the parents in Great Britain who are teaching their children!  Maybe they will  be able to change a society that has, more than once in this past year,  displayed a great disregard for life. 

Here is a Today Show Link to see more about the controversy.