Hodgepodge on a Stick

It's almost 1 a.m. and I have a sore throat, so this is going to have to be brief before bed. (Try not to clap too vigorously.) 





 

1. What is something you'll never forget about the age you are right now?

Well, considering I'm forgetting things quite often at this age, I'm not sure I'll "never forget" anything later.  Is that clear as mud?   

One thing I hope I never forget is how good it feels to finally, finally, finally, be starting to feel free of legalism in its many and varied forms.  My whole life I've struggled with looking a certain way, acting a certain way, trying to measure up to what I perceive (or was flat-out told) was expected of  "a good Christian."  And when legalism is forged into your being through people who are not free themselves, it is bondage.  

Our pastor (new church as of about 8 months ago) just preached Galatians 5:12 which I've never ever heard preached.   I've heard verse 11 and 13 preached, but 12 ? No. I'm sure preachers everywhere have been afraid to be fired for preaching certain verses, but not our pastor. It is absolutely the best feeling to be being set free in ways I've never experienced. 

I don't have to worry whether God thinks jeans are inappropriate in church. Certain people think they're taboo; God is not like us.  I don't have to admit that I'm not reading certain books that are going around the church.  I don't have to serve in multiple ways in order not to feel like a slacker. I am free. "It is for freedom that Christ has set you free!"
     

2. What's a household chore you've never done? How have you managed that???

I have done them all. Seriously.   Frankly, I'm curious to see how spoiled some people might answer this, because I am stumped.  Although, I have a friend whose mother had a housekeeper, so my friend didn't know how to clean a house when she got married.  In my opinion, that is a disservice to children and their future families. 

3. Does nature shape our personalities more than nurture? Explain? 

I have much to say on this topic, but am too tired to be erudite.  My short answer is this: we are born with a certain personality that, for the most part, wouldn't change much, regardless of how we were nurtured.  But I do think that nurturing influences the degree of expression of a certain personality.  Nurturing isn't necessarily limited to home life, either.  For example, a mother may let her child be dramatic and manipulative, but sooner or later, a teacher, classmate, coach, spouse, or boss will put a stop to it. So the personality is still there, but the expression is hampered. 

4. Friday (February 28th) is 'Something on a Stick Day'...funny because Zoanna over at A Penchant for Pens recently sent me an idea for a question relating to this topic. What's your favorite food eaten on a stick? 

Really? There is a" Something on Stick Day"? Who comes up with these things, and what do they do in real life?   I was only trying to come up with a theme for my son's birthday party --how about a stick theme?-- and was thinking of food to serve on a stick:  kebabs? corn dogs? Chinese?    (In the end, we had nothing on a stick because he thought 'sticks" was a dumb theme.)

Anyway, cotton candy is my favorite food on a stick!  I can't say "cotton candy" without remembering how I was pranked by my son and his wife (then girlfriend) at the beach one time. 
They tricked me into thinking that the machine I saw at the flea market was a cotton candy maker, so I got all excited and sort of ran ahead of them. Got there and asked how much was the cotton candy. The lady just put her arm around me and said said in a sicky sweet Southern accent, "Oh, honey, this iddn't cotton candy. This machine is making the stuffing for teddy bears."  I turned as red as the machine itself, while Steve and Ambrey just doubled over laughing. 

5. Which of your five senses do you treasure most, and why?

My sight.  I think I could imagine sounds, and I could survive without taste and smell, but would be very fearful and sad without the ability to see.  Wow, but if I couldn't touch or be touched ? Gosh, what a loss. 

6. What's the best music, theatre, or sporting venue you've been to? What made it great?



Best theatre--local college near here because of the memories I have of playing Amaryllis in "The Music Man." My dad was a River City Volunteer fireman, and my older sister was a Wa Tan Ye girl.  It was one of the best summers of my life, having my dramatic side nurtured!

 

7. It's the last week of the month...in five words or less bid adieu to your February. 

Goodbye, you pasty white boy. 

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

So much for being brief...