Taking the Scenic Route

I have been reading blogs with lists of “100 things you might not know about me” (or something along those lines) and I thought that since Zane is down for a nap and I don’t feel like cleaning, I might try it.  So here goes…

1. I’m Christian, more specifically, Mennonite.  I don’t always agree with everything said in the sermons, but overall, my church fits me fairly well.  I do miss my church in Kansas City a lot…that was just the neatest congregation.  The church here in town that I like has it’s services at 9:30 in the morning and is across town, a good half hour drive from us.  Therefore, we only rarely go to our church because it is waaaaay too early.  We have been going to a Mennonite Brethren church instead because their services are at 11:00.  Still early when you have to drive across town (actually within a mile of our church), but not as insanely early.  We could go to the Saturday night services at the MB church, but it sounds like it is geared toward singles and I am not sure that it would be a good fit.  The MBs are a little different then the Mennonites,  (more evangelical), but if I can get past that, I enjoy the services overall.  I understand evangelical churches, but I am more into expressing my faith through service than preaching.  If somebody asks me about my faith, I am happy to share, but I am not going to push it on anybody.  I find it rather annoying when I run into people who say “praise Jesus” every other sentance like it is a Christain Terret’s Syndrome…I just find it as distracting as somebody who cusses constantly and I can hardly hear what they are actually saying.  To me, it makes me wonder if they are that insecure in their faith that they have to constantly remind themselves.  I think it is probalby a cultural thing.  I grew up around a community of faith and, although the people around me were VERY devout, they just didn’t verbalize it like that.  Asking somebody to pray for you, or verbalizing comfort or joy, or saying that you will pray for them was normal, but “oh, this sandwich tastes good ‘praise Jesus!’, was not normal. lol.
2. I am a pacifist.  Traditionally, this goes hand in hand with Mennonite, but that isn’t as true in many modern congregations, nor in my family…it used to be you couldn’t be in the military or work with a gun, like a policeman, and still be Mennonite (you will probalby never see a Mennonite president because a Mennonite *shouldn’t* also be a Commander-In-Chief and in charge of military forces).  I believe violence begets violence (he who lives by the sword, dies by the sword) on every level, from international politics to disciplining your child.  I honestly hope that there is no mandetory draft reinstated.  Zach registered as a conscientous objector when he was 18, but I don’t know if they would still honor that.  I tell you what though, in a lot of ways it sure would be the ‘easy way out’ as hard as the military has been recruiting Zach, but it goes against his belief system.  He already knows that there are some jobs he will not apply for because they are to help develop weapons and he can’t do that.  However, that is just us, we don’t have a problem with other people in those professions and have several family members who have served in the military and totally respect that choice.  In fact, Zach was concieved on a military base, and my Mom would have been a ‘military brat’ if not for the death of her natural dad, so we were raised to be respectful of military.  It just isn’t the path we are called to take.
3. I am pretty liberal socially because I believe that is how Jesus calls us to be.  He didn’t just hang out with the politically correct people, he hung out with prostitutes, tax collectors, and all sorts of the most feared, hated and socially ‘unacceptable’ people around and demonstrated love by defending them…the “he who is without sin can throw the first stone” type comments.  All of us have screwed up, and continue to screw up daily.  I know I am working to improve my self all the time.  I am a pretty much live and let live kind of person.  I am not understanding why so many Christains will only be friends with other Christians.  Having friends that only believe what you believe offers you little chance to learn and grow. 
4. I like Dr. Phil.  I don’t always agree with him, but I like his overall message.  I am most likely going to disagree with him on parenting issues.  He is against co-sleeping, for example.  The funny thing about it is when he was questioning a couple where one was pro-cosleeping and one anti-cosleeping he asked his usual “so, is co-sleeping working for you”…for them it wasn’t, and there needed to be a compromise, but I was able to honestly say yeah, it is working for me.  lol.  so, I don’t substitute his judgement for my own, but I do enjoy hearing his perspective.  I also am not a fan of strict Behaviorism school of psychology, but I think it has value and has aspects I agree with. 
5. I wish I had the money to be more of a hippy freak sometimes.  lol.  I know, that sounds hilarious, but I can’t even come close to affording organic foods, natural fibers, or to figure out which natural cleaners and detergents will work for me.  I do a lot of cleaning with just plain water, but when I need to really clean something, I turn to my collection of cleaners I have stored away (and I do say collection, because every time I move, I end up buying more cleaner to clean either the old place or the new place because what I need is packed…the last few months is the first time I have thrown away bottles because I actually used all the cleaner, but had other similar cleaners on the shelf so I didn’t need to purchase them)  If I don’t move for another year or so, I might actually use up all the cleaners I have and begin to experiment. 
6. My least favorite season:  Summer.  I really don’t like summer.  It is hot and bright all the time which makes me feel lethargic and seems to shut down my brain.  I think that is the main reason I am such a night owl, especially in the summer.  As soon as the sun starts setting, I get energy and can think and get things done, but during the day…blah!  I feel like the sun sucks every ounce of life out of my body.  The sun makes my skin itch and I live with a layer of lotion on me all summer just to cope.  It makes my eyes burn and I almost can’t keep them open at the height of the day.  It gets hot enough it is almost hard to breathe…this summer it at least hasn’t gotten as hot, so that has been a blessing. During daylight hours in the summer I stay inside with the shades drawn and the AC pumping in cool air just to stay awake. 
7. My favorite season:  late autumn.  Everything is so beautiful, the air is crisp and cool, I can start wearing snuggly sweaters and all is right in the world.  With a little allergy medicine, I am able to go outside and enjoy the color changes and the cool air.  There aren’t as many kids at the playground and Zane is able to play without being harrassed by other kids (the kids at the apt. complex playground throw sand, push, and say ugly things to him and eachother…so NOT what I want).  The public school kids are all in school and there aren’t nearly as many people around during the afternoon, so I am able to go about my business without having to deal with a whole lot of people.  Unlike summer, when clothes are worn only for modesty’s sake (and are completely irritating to the skin), in late autumn, clothes are worn for comfort, and that is so much nicer.  I love the feel of a soft sweater or sweatshirt in cool air.  The sun is lower in the sky and makes pretty shadows instead of just bleaching everything out, so everything takes on richer, more dramatic look.  I feel like I can conquer the world and have energy to actually get the things done in life that I want to get done.  I like winter too, as long as it isn’t just bitter cold…the scary “you can get frostbite in 30 seconds” type cold isn’t fun either, but in general, winter is really nice too.  Cold and quiet.  A blanket of undisturbed snow across the landscape is one of the most beautiful sights there is.
8. I also love rain, most of the time.  I don’t like storms, especially at night when you can’t see if there is a tornado heading towards you, but just plain rain I like.  When everybody else is pulling out umbrellas I am looking up to feel the drops on my face.  I can really understand Zane’s love of puddles, baths, swimming and showers…he got that from me.
9. My first strong memory:  a tornado that came through my parent’s farm when I was 4.  Sometime I will have to write all my memories of this day out, but for now, I will just say this:  my mom said that afterward my biggest concern was that my tricyle was caught under some tree limbs.  The first thing my dad did when we re-emerged from shelter, was pull the trike out for me.  Everything destroyed, and he took the time and cared enough about what was important to me to do that before anything else.  I have a great dad.
10. My first memory:  I only know it is my first memory because it occurs in a building that was destroyed by the tornado.  I can remember dad taking me out to see mom in the farrowing builidng.  It is a low shed/barn with pens lining the center isle.  We walked all the way to the back and on the northeast corner mom was sitting next to a sow that had just given birth and helping to clean off the new baby piglets.  The only light in the building at the time I went in there was the heat lamps above mom, so it made a yellow/orange glow over everything.  One of the funny things is that whenever I imagine the manger scene with baby Jesus, it has the exact same glow over him…totally illogical, but that is what stuck in my head for some reason.
11. Star Wars vs. Star Trek:  The age old question, which is better.  ok, so mayby only in nerdville, but I have actually been asked this.  I like Star Wars better.  I used to like Star Trek better and never missed a Next Generation episode, but I wasn’t thrilled with Deep Space Nine.  I probably watched about 70 or 80% of Voyager, but by the time Enterprise came around, I didn’t/don’t really watch it any more.  So many continuity problems as time went on and it just lost me.  The series really lost it’s punch when Gene Roddenberry died.  On the other hand, I really like Star Wars.  It is quite literally the only set of movies we “have” to see in the theater.  We took Zane with us to SWII, Attack of the Clones….of course it was only because it was during naptime and he slept through all but a few minutes of the movie.  (he was 4 or 5 months old) and during a matinee so it wasn’t so loud.   I won’t take him to the next one, because he will only be 3, but I can’t wait until he is old enough to share it with him.  It is such a great series.  The books are really good too and add a depth to the movies because you can “hear” their thoughts as you are watching the movie.

Zane’s awake…to be continued