Last night, my brave husband decided to teach me to drive a *standard transmission using his nice shiny black Mazda 3.

(Honestly, I much prefer a motorcycle. The gear-shifting pattern is more intuitive to me.)

While I didn’t cause any traffic accidents, I did have a few moments where I felt like I wasn’t sure what to do next - how to choose the correct gear from neutral when coasting around a corner, for example.

I also stalled at a green light. Behind me was a silver car whose driver was communicating their lack of patience by revving the engine. I started the car and made a second attempt. As I was getting ready to take off, I noticed in the rear view that car was trying to go around me - and there wasn’t much room for this. It made me nervous. I pulled my foot off the clutch too fast and stalled the car again.

My husband calmly reached up and turned the rear view mirror so that I couldn’t see the car behind me. I was able to start the car and take off. Once we got going, he straightened the mirror.

As I was crossing through the intersection, the driver behind me decided that I was too slow in the takeoff and he gunned his engine and zoomed around me before the nose of my car passed under the light. Given that there was on-coming traffic and I would have been stuck in the middle if someone would have hit him as they blindly came over the crest of the hill, it was a little frightening.

This morning, as I was thinking about this incident - which happened in the span of a minute or less! - it underscored for me how difficult it is to focus on the task at hand when we are concerned about people who are watching. Fear of man is quite a stumbling block!

Colossians 3:23-24
Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.

Proverbs 29:24-26
He who is a partner with a thief hates his own life;
He hears the oath but tells nothing.
The fear of man brings a snare,
But he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted.
Many seek the ruler’s favor,
But justice for man comes from the LORD.

Galatians 1:10
For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.

*The first time I attempted to drive a standard transmission was my Dad’s boxy white Chevy Blazer, complete with custom Navy blue pinstripes, he purchased from my uncle.

Since then, my friend Elly once allowed me to spin her car around in a K-Mart parking lot, but other than that, sans the Eliminator, my uncoordinated self has stuck to automatic transmissions.

Random Resources

Mechanical Stuff:

How Stuff Works: Manual Transmission
How Motorcycles Work

Mental Stuff:

When People Are Big and God is Small

My father once told me that people are like pendulums. If they are even-keeled, they will swing a little to the left and a little to the right. They more passionate and exuberant they “swing”, the pendulum swings back equally as angry/depressed.

My daughter is a perfect example of the latter. She is way hyper-cheerful OR dramatically crying into her pillow or making death threats towards her brothers.

This afternoon, out of the blue, Tab was a WRECK. She was crying because she no longer liked the black-lace overlay on her bright pink “princess” (fancy Easter dress way on sale, couldn’t pass it up for dress up!) dress. In the middle of talking about that, she said she was hungry. She was ANGRY (stomping, yelling) because I ate the last piece of spaghetti pie (in all fairness, we split it for lunch and she ate the larger of the portions). So, I prepared a glass of chocolate milk for her. Still mad that I had eaten what was my lunch, she pouted, cried and refused to say “thank you”. I gently talked to her about having anger and discontentment in her heart. (She does understand these things… little twerp constantly points out these characteristics when she sees them in others… and then we talk about grace, mercy and overlooking!) She agreed but would not confess them to God.

I sent her to her room for a nap and prayed that the Holy Spirit would work in her heart.

She did not sleep, but she went from sobbing (and not getting attention for it) to contemplating.

Thirty minutes later, she came down a new little girl and said she was ready to talk to God. We prayed and she readily sought the Lord’s forgiveness. She asked for the milk, and said thank you. A free Highlights Hidden Picture puzzle with stickers came in the mail today. I let her do that for fun.

To avoid exasperating her, and creating a situation where she is overwhelmed and tempted to sin, I do try to keep her fed (she is strong, and sturdily built), hydrated and rested the best I can. I try to avoid exasperating her with school work, as she is five years old and does 2nd grade work - very bright! This is not to say that I walk on eggshells with her, it’s just that she tends to be more sensitive to physical discomfort than some of my other children.

I do think I handled it okay today (goal of seeking forgiveness and changed attitude was achieved), but I’m wondering if there are specific things I can do to more head off such mood attacks before they get out of hand?

Any particular soothing or thought provoking phrases that would diffuse a tense situation?

Any encouragement for me from moms who have been through this? Particularly, how to keep the trust/confidence/friendship as a little girl with this personality hits adolescence?

And yes, I do believe in using the rod as outlined in Shepherding a Child’s Heart.

Thank you for taking the time to respond!!

If I can ever be of encouragement to you, please let me know!

Much love,
SJA

This is from The Homeschool Lounge:

Some of you may have some experience with this, and (while that hurts me to think you’ve lived with it) I need a little help from those who have had some real success!

For those who have had a child who could fire up and respond in anger quickly, I’d love to know more about some of the Godly responses and tools that helped you through it.

Please consider this is a boy about the age of 7. He can become easily frustrated, and it builds rapidly. Sometimes we don’t see it coming, and even when we do, I often say or do the wrong thing.

Help?

Thanks in advance!

Hugs to you, Jennifer!

After experiencing similar anger/tattling/conflict/fighting problems, I decided to incorporate The Young Peacemaker into our day by doing a page or two each morning for our devotional segment of school.

Studying the topic of peacemaking preemptively, instead of only talking about it when there is an anger outburst, has made a huge difference in the atmosphere of our home by reducing the number of kid-conflicts. Reducing, not erasing! We still have at few each day! But, because the foundation has been laid, they are easier to work through than before.

My seven, five, four, and three year old are doing a fantastic job of memorizing the verses for each chapter (we do about a chapter a week).

If you put good things in your heart, good things will come out of your heart. Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. (Luke 6:45)

There is even a resource page dedicated to using The Young Peacemaker as part of homeschooling.

I hope this helps. I certainly have learned a lot from doing The Young Peacemaker with my kids - and I’m a moderator at PeaceGals.com! It certainly gave me a new perspective when training my children vs. talking to adults about the same topic!

Much love,
SJA

The Young Peacemaker is a powerful system that parents and teachers can use to teach children how to prevent and resolve conflict in a constructive and biblically faithful manner.

The system emphasizes principles of confession, forgiveness, communication, and character development, and uses realistic stories, practical applications, role plays, and stimulating activities.

Although the material is designed for 3rd through 7th grades, it has been successfully used with preschool and high school students.

The lessons in The Young Peacemaker may be summarized in Twelve Key Principles for Young Peacemakers:

1. Conflict is a slippery slope.
2. Conflict starts in the heart.
3. Choices have consequences.
4. Wise-way choices are better than my-way choices.
5. The blame game makes conflict worse.
6. Conflict is an opportunity.
7. The Five A’s can resolve conflict.
8. Forgiveness is a choice.
9. It is never too late to start doing what’s right.
10. Think before you speak.
11. Respectful communication is more likely to be heard.
12. A respectful appeal can prevent conflict.

The Slippery Slope

The Young Peacemaker uses a simplified version of the Slippery Slope to help children understand the various responses to conflict.

The slope is divided into three zones:

The Five A’s of Confession

Children, like adults, can learn to confess their wrongs in a way that demonstrates that they are taking full responsibility for their contribution to a conflict.

Four Promises of Forgiveness

Children can learn to forgive one another in a way that models the forgiveness they have received from God through the gospel of Jesus Christ:

These promises may be summarized in a poem that is so easy a four-year old can memorize it:

Today was the first day of the driving segment of my motorcycle class.

Above is a picture of the bike I rode in class: a silver, 2007 Kawasaki Eliminator 125.

The pace of the class was just right - it was challenging, but I gained a little more confidence with each skill I mastered.

Prior to this class, the only time I’d ever been on a motorcycle was as a passenger - once - on my father-in-law’s bike. I am tickled that I went from knowing nothing about driving a motorcycle to riding around in (go ahead, laugh!) third gear.

Admittedly, as I watched the instructor do the dry run, there were a few exercises that made my stomach feel like it does at the crest of a tall roller coaster. They seemed impossible for me to do. As I approached the course, I just took a deep breath and relaxed. I ended up doing just fine. (Everyone stalled a few times, so my stalling doesn’t count!) No crashes or bike-dropping to report.

There are two things I need to practice:

One, I have very small hands. I really have to stretch them to reach the clutch or the brake levers. The instructor said that I can put my wrist at the very top edge of the grips in order to operate the levers - this is a little trickier than it sounds! I really have to almost let go of the throttle or the left handle bar in order to squeeze the levers completely. Obviously, my hand isn’t going to grow, so I need to just be smoother in transitioning.

The second thing I need to work on is shifting. There were a few times when I felt like the bike was getting away from me. To compensate, I’d try to do the clutch/downshift and I’d lurch a little. Or, I’d be looking through a turn and would be trying to shift up a gear and would have trouble finding or feeling the gearshift through my boot and then would kick it more than what I needed to. Eek!

Again, though, in the last quarter of the class, I was much improved compared to the third quarter. Really, if I can do this anyone can. The instructors are so thorough and really coach the riders each step of the way. Exercises were followed by a discussion time during which we identified the skills we used and the instructors offered pointers.

About 20 minutes before the class ended, Tom brought the kids by to watch. It was so cute to listen to them talking in the back seats about mommy on the motorcycle - two “m” words that I never thought I’d hear in the same sentence, EVER.

UPDATE -April 5

Well, I passed the written test but failed the driving test.

My foot touched down in the middle of a “figure-8″ (which is done within in a very small rectangle on the pavement) and I went a few seconds over in the lap/sharp corner test (gaging speed before going around a sharp corner - apparently, I could have gone faster) . I passed the quick-steering around an object (counter-weighting) test and the “stop on a dime” test.

So… I’m really bummed. BUT, the instructor said that I did great and that it’s just a matter of having more practice.

To have a little perspective, Saturday was only the second time I’d ever driven a bike in my life. Many of the other students had been riding for years, illegally, and then were regularly riding their bikes since recently obtaining their permits for the class.

I’m not sure if I’ll take the PenDot test at the driver’s license branch or if I’ll retake the free class. Either way, I’m focusing on the Bradley Teacher’s Training for the next few weeks. The next motorcycle class opening isn’t until I get back from Florida anyway.

In the mean time, Tom’s once-frightening bike doesn’t seem so scary to me anymore and I think I’ll take it to a parking lot for a spin to see if I am comfortable enough to take it out in traffic. With my permit, I can ride during the daylight and without passengers.

What do I think about motorcycles now? If you know how to ride them safely, you won’t be as afraid of them. Ladies, if you are afraid of your husband getting a bike - may I suggest that you and he take the class together and see if it changes your mind Even if you are not the primary driver of the motorcycle, and plan on just riding on the back, this skill is helpful to know if you are ever in a situation where your husband is unable to drive and you are stranded somewhere with only a motorcycle to get help or go home.

I’ve only tried about a dozen versions of kimchi in my lifetime. Obviously, I’m not a connoisseur - however, I do know what I like when I taste it!

When we were in Tokyo, we bought a container of kimchi from the Seven-Eleven. (Seven-Elevens are to Tokyo what Wawas are to the Philadelphia area - one on every corner.) By far, it was my favorite of the kimchis I had tried.

The ginger and garlic were well balanced, perfect for a light snack or a compliment to dinner. Fresh and simple, it tasted homemade.

The recipe below is reminiscent of the one we experienced in Tokyo. The only difference was that the one in Japan was redder in color - perhaps powdered red pepper was used instead of flakes.

Heat-wise, this recipe is just right. It’s spicy enough to make me reach for a beverage, but not so hot that it takes my breath away or ruins the flavor of everything else I eat for the next week!

Koreans possess a passionate fondness for kimchi, serving this spicy fermented pickled vegetable dish at most meals. While many other types of pickles—such as store-bought cucumber dill pickles—are fermented in a prepared salty solution, kimchi ferments in the vegetable’s own juices. Although there are scores of varieties, kimchi is usually made with cabbage.

• 2 1/2 pounds napa cabbage (if smaller, reduce amount of salt slightly)
• 1/2 cup kosher salt
• a walnut-sized knob of ginger, grated
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 bunch scallions, minced
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons crushed red chili pepper
• 2 jalapeños, minced fine

• a glass or plastic bowl
• 2 to 3 1-pint glass canning jars
• plastic wrap
• rubber bands

1. Wash the cabbage, then chop it coarsely. Toss it in a glass bowl with the salt and let it sit overnight.

2. Drain the water off the cabbage and rinse it very well to remove the excess salt.

3. In a large glass or plastic bowl (don’t use metal), mix together the ginger, chili peppers, jalapeños and scallions. Then, add the well-drained cabbage. Toss the ingredients thoroughly to coat the vegetables. Save the juice that accumulates in the bottom of the bowl.

4. Pack the mixture tightly in sterile glass jars and cover with the juice. Add water if necessary to achieve 3/4-inch headroom. Cover the tops of the jars with plastic wrap, secured with a rubber band. Keep the kimchi in the refrigerator for 3 days before eating.

Follow-up:

After this batch of Kimchi sat in our fridge for a few days and turned into fermented goodness, we decided to serve some with lunch this afternoon. Leah, my youngest, kept wanting more. When she came back for thirds, she made sure to blow on it before eating.

After failing to sleep during their scheduled nap time, Aiden, Micah and Leah fell asleep in the car, moments before we arrived at the Lionville Natural Pharmacy.

Thomas and Tabitha were reading library books, Parts and More Parts, both by Tedd Arnold, to be exact. They said they’d be “bored” in the pharmacy and asked if they could stay in the car to read.

Not wanting to wake up the other children, I agreed. After all, it was a breezy 49 degrees outside and the tiny parking lot was pretty empty - not many other customers - and I knew I wouldn’t take very long.

“Keep the closed,” I instructed. “I will only be a few minutes.”

(Ah, my famous last words.)

While I stood at the pick-up counter, I asked if the pharmacist could recommend a substitute for one of my supplements that was no longer being carried by my grocery store. I handed him the empty bottle. He flipped it over to evaluate the nutritional information.

The pharmacist opened his mouth to speak, and, at that very instant, a woman’s voice started yelling for help.

It was odd. The sound seemed to be coming from him, yet he was so masculine looking. It took me a confused second, but I realized that the sound was, in fact, coming from a woman, arms flailing, who was running up behind him. We both turned to look at her at the same time.

“HELP!” she yelled again. “There are children outside who are screaming and trying to get out of a green S.U.V.! Who would do such a thing to children?!!”

She had said “SUV” in a most punctuated fashion, as if it’s carbon footprint was making the situation even worse. As if the words “green” and SUV couldn’t possibly be in the same sentence together.

I smiled at the pharmacist.

In the sweetest voice I could muster, I said, “I’m sorry - will you please excuse me for a moment?”

I didn’t wait for him to answer. I bolted. I left him standing there with my grocery store supplement bottle in his hand.

When I opened the door to the pharmacy, their once muffled screams combined with the sound of the honking car alarm blasted into the pharmacy. Thomas was in the front seat, blocking the open drivers side door, arms and legs spread out, crying, screaming “STAY IN THE CAR, AIDEN!”

Meanwhile, Tabitha, Micah and Aiden were clawing at the windows (Aiden at the windshield, of course) desperately trying to get out. They looked like children trapped in a glass cage along with an invisible swarm of bees chasing after them.

Leah, who has a grotesque bloody, fat lip from losing a fight to the pantry door earlier today, and whose lower sad-lip couldn’t possible stick out any more if she wanted it to, was squirming to get out of her car seat. A giant tear was stuck right in the middle of each cheek.

I hit the “UNLOCK” button on my key chain and the extra-loud honking stopped - but the screams did not.

When they realized I was standing there, they all started blaming each other at once.

Calmly I asked for each of the children to tell me their version of what happened.

The shocked and appalled woman came out of the store, put her pointer finger up as if preparing to lecture me. Instead she just yelled “UUUUUUUGGGGGGGH!!!!” and stomped to her car.

Apparently, Aiden woke up from his momentary nap and freaked out. His demands to get out of the car woke up the other kids. When they realized that the child locks were engaged, panic set in. Aiden unbuckled himself and climbed from the way back seat, stepping on and hurting the middle seat kids, and managed to get to the front of the car to open the driver’s side door. He succeeded. Because the car was locked from the outside, even though the front doors are still able to open from the inside, it set off the car alarm.

They all quietly climbed out of the car. I kissed and hugged each one of them. I asked them to forgive me for leaving them in a situation that was too big for them to handle.

“I was so scared!” Tabitha sobbed.

What a horrible parent. Me - the one who could be a very rich insurance saleswoman because of my ability to foresee the worst case scenario in every situation - who, for once, chose to chalk it up to merely paranoia and pessimism that Aiden could possibly wake up from his nap and panic.

Silently, obediently, and still sniffling, they walked in a straight line behind me, all the way through to the back of the store by the pharmacy counter.

“I’m sorry about that,” I said to the pharmacist. “The three younger children had just fallen asleep as we got here, and the older two asked if they could stay in the car with them to finish reading some library books,” I explained, not sure how he would react.

The pharmacist said, in a quite serious tone that was fitting for masculine his face, “When I first started working here, many years ago, I used to bring my kids with me. I had a little play area set up for them over there.”

(Keep in mind, this sort of place isn’t like your average, antiseptic commercialized pharmacy. This is a “health food shop”, complete with herb bottles and apothecary jars behind the counter.)

“When my customers used to tell me how cute they were,” he continued, “do you know what I would say to them?”

My children were staring intently at this white-haired bearded man, hanging on his words as if he had great authority. The shook their little heads, eyes very wide.

“I’d tell them, ‘If you think they’re so cute, then take ‘em with you! Bring ‘em back when they’re 21 and I’m no longer responsible for them!’”

Tabitha gasped and firmly clenched the back of my bell-bottomed jeans.

The pharmacist chuckled, his eyes twinkling.

Yay!

This afternoon, I was accepted to the Teacher Training Program for the Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth!

My classes will be in April in Orlando, Florida.

After experiencing five successful natural births, I get a lot of calls from friends and family to answer questions about this topic. My friend Debbie, who was also my Bradley Instructor, has been saying for a few years that I should get certified and teach on a professional basis.

Recently, I saw a screening of The Business of Being Born and my interest in teaching was renewed. My husband encouraged me to pursue the classes and both he and his mom offered their support. I’m really looking forward to this!

If you’re looking for a natural birth method that starts with a healthy pregnancy, where you learn to “tune-into” your body as a way to understand and manage labor pain, the Bradley Method is for you!

There is a teacher lookup on their website, where you can find a class near you: http://www.bradleybirth.com/

Here’s a snip from a discussion I started on a public message board (over 1,300 members now!). In my post, I had asked for advice on hiring a mother’s helper - how much to pay, what responsibilities should be include, etc.

This was one reply to my question:

I have never used a mothers helper. I would never allow another female into my home around my dh and dc. Unless it was a family member. And there are some family members that I would not trust. I have seen too many movies and heard about too many real life situations about how these things turn out. I try to handle all things related to the dc myself. That is my job since dh works outside the home.

It may be a little hard to get everything done sometimes, but it is better than worrying about if someone else is treating my dc right. I have seen situations where the dc end up liking the mothers helper better than their own mother. No, I could not do it. I would not even trust a teen girl because there is so much going on nowadays and adults being accused of things.

I think my household would go much smoother without letting someone else interfere.

Below is my response. I hope that it will encourage others to think about taking risks vs. potentially isolating themselves from ministry opportunities because of a possible outcome.

(Please feel free to leave a comment as to how you have either grown in the area of reaching beyond your comfort zone or how the Lord has helped you overcome a temptation!)

Dear ——–,

Respectfully, statistically 40% of children who are sexually abused are abused by family members. The only family members who are available to watch my children during the day are teenage boys. As much as I love them, and am in no way implying that they are perverted, I don’t feel comfortable with them caring for my baby girls because I know that some of them are at an age where they are very curious about the female body and it could be a temptation to peek. I love them so much I would not want to tempt them in this way.*

Honestly, It was hard for me to read your post. I thought it was kinda hurtful. “I would never” is an absolute statement and could imply that your way is the only way and that those who do otherwise are inferior. Your post also seemed to imply that it was shameful for a wife to seek help in order to keep up with her role-specific job.

When my husband is overseas for weeks on end and I do not have a break, I admittedly fall behind sometimes. In this situation, it seems like I can address the urgent chores and not the deep cleaning stuff. Yet, because of his travel, if I waited until he was home, I would perpetually never get the “deep cleaning” done.

During these time, I do need fellow Christians to encourage me in the Lord and walk along side of me. In the past, I have appreciated when friends have allowed me to borrow their dear Christian daughters to lend a hand with children so I can clean out the linen closet or give an extra effort to scrubbing the grout in the tub without worrying if my children are getting into trouble while I work. I don’t live in a one-roomed house - I can’t physically see them all the time! My 5 children are each about 14 months apart, and are not quite old enough to be self-governed if I need to concentrate on something for an extended period of time. Please consider that having extra help for children keeps them from being tempted to sin just because mommy isn’t looking.

I’m really am happy for you that you are able to manage to take care of “all things related to the dc and myself.” Praise God that he has given you this ability!

Please also consider that there are Christian sisters out there who may be suffering with migraines or physical problems, such as myself, or maybe are under a particular amount of stress - like not seeing their husband for over 40 days! - who could really benefit from your housekeeping and responsibility balancing expertise. I do hope that if you have that opportunity that you will do it with a servants heart, humble, loving and for God’s glory.

May I also suggest that scripture tells us that fellowship with other Christians is a necessary part of our Christian walk. Having a young woman in the home provides fellowship and an opportunity to mentor her, encourage her in the Lord, showing her first hand what a joy it is to be a mommy (how many GOOD examples do teenage girls have these days about motherhood? They are told, “don’t get married or have kids - you’ll never achieve YOUR CAREER!”). We must be careful not to become prideful in our faith and think that we don’t need to allow other Christians to use their gifts and talents on our turf.

It is hard to overcome fears of people interfering or fears of the things “going on nowadays and adults being accused of things.” However, our trust is in the Lord and we must realize that, to effectively minister to people, we are going to have to take risks. Think of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife. Joseph was falsely accused, but we know that IT WAS PART OF GOD’S PLAN for Joseph to minister to Pharaoh. If it hadn’t been for being falsely accused, Joseph would have never been in the position to help his family avoid starvation.

All throughout scripture, we see people stepping outside of their comfort zone and taking risks. Think of the ultimate example we have in Christ. Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners, after all. That was pretty risky! When the Pharisees talked down to Jesus and chastised him for this appearance of evil, Jesus said, “it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick!” What should this tell us about interacting with others? When I read this passage, it gives me courage.

Much love,
SJA

*I would say that we do have to be careful not to purposefully place ourselves or others in a tempting situation.

It probably wouldn’t be smart to leave a teenage girl home alone with a man as a “father’s helper”. And, we must think realistically here, if a woman struggled with lusting after teenage girls it probably wouldn’t be wise for her to hire a young girl as a helper, either. In these exceptions, dropping the children off at a trusted as-needed-daycare provider may be a better solution.

On the other hand, I have hired young men for lawn care when my husband was traveling and I was pregnant and physically unable to do the work. Sometimes there is no avoiding situations like this. Or, more recently, I had to hire someone to fix my boiler. Guess what? Heating and air condition repairs are jobs normally done by men. It’s not like I could say, “I’m sorry, I only let women into my house”. It was 18 degrees out and I needed my boiler fixed!

Wise women know how to deal with other people and treat them in a respectful and platonic way. I did NOT answer the door in a towel, nor did I speak of obscene activities. Duh.

I also made sure that my husband knew the repair company I called and the time the repairman would be at the house. I called my husband as soon as he left - not just to relay the cost of the bill, but to let him know that all went well and that he didn’t have to be concerned about me.

Who knows, maybe a woman reading this is sexually tempted by the repairman. Perhaps she could ask a trusted friend to visit for coffee during that time and keep her accountable so that she wouldn’t be alone.

God never places us in a tempting situation where we are FORCED to sin. He promises we will not be tempted beyond what we can bear. Part of this process is seeking wisdom from God, and thinking of God-honoring solutions to get us through.

Deuteronomy 8:2 “You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.”

I Corinthians 6:18-19; I Corinthians 6:23-24 “Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” vs. 23-24 “Everything is permissible”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”—but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.”

I Corinthians 10:12-13 “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”

I passed!

With a permit, I can only drive during the day and without passengers.

For those of you who don’t know, we bought a motorcycle (a royal blue Honda Shadow 600vlx) last weekend. There was no way I was going to be the wife who owned a bike but didn’t know how to ride it! Actually, I feel more comfortable with riding (behind Tom or on my own) after reading the safety manual. I think the trickier part will be just being more mindful of being seen by other vehicles.

The next step towards a license is taking a motorcycle class. Hopefully, I can get into the same one my brothers in law are taking! Bikes are provided for the class. They teach you how to completely operate the bike. It’s like a driver’s training class.

In order to get a motorcycle license through the class, one must pass the course and then take a written and driving test.

It’s hard to believe that I’m pursuing a motorcycle license.

Lately, I’ve resolved that I need to be less fearless of things. I also determined that, to overcome the fear, it was OKAY to yield my learning style and take classes. I’m the kind of person that needs to see something a few times in order to grasp a new skill. I am not an auditory learner! Rather than just make excuses as to why I can’t learn something, I decided I need to try to find a way to learn that helps it “stick”.

Heh. This being said, my hands still sweat when I’m getting on a tall, downward escalator. I don’t think any amount of classes will get rid of this fear

How to Cook a Wolf by M.F.K. Fisher, attacked my curiosity when I saw the title amongst the cookbooks at the local library.

(My faithful readers know that book titles have a strange power over me - sometimes with life changing results.)

First published in 1942, when wartime shortage were at their worst, the premise is learning to make due and, more importantly, be content with very little.

The “wolf” is a metaphor for the feelings of poverty, particularly the growling of an empty stomach.

Do you know anyone who lived through the Great Depression? Perhaps a mother or grandmother?

Reading this book is bringing back memories of my dear late grandmother-in-law, Trudy Seymour. My eyes well with tears even as I write her name. She was the queen of thriftiness. She scrimped, saved and rationed everything she had. Her basement was stocked with enough food to feed a small army, with everything from canned vegetables to Crystal Pepsi (that had been discontinued years before). She was also notably generous.

Maybe you have a Grandma Trudy in your life. This quote will make you love and appreciate them all the more:

There are very few men and women, I suspect, who cooked and marketed their way through the past war without losing forever some of the nonchalant extravagance of the twenties. They will feel, until their final days on earth, a kind of culinary caution: butter, no matter how unlimited, is a precious substance not lightly to be wasted; meats, too, and eggs, and all the far -brought spices of the world, take on a new significance, having once been so rare. And, that is good, for there can be no more shameful carelessness than with the food we eat for life itself. When we exist without thought or thanksgiving we are not men, but beasts.

For all the self-help books out there on the self-imposed woes of managing greed and excess, this book is convicting, refreshing and even freeing.

I’m only into the second chapter, “How to Be Sage Without Hemlock”, which deglamorizes the influence of *”slick magazines” on the housewife. Instead of making simple, hearty meals, wives are faced with the panic of trying to fashion a gourmet experience at every meal. Fisher writes about the expectation that it creates, even in our young children. She noted that children growing up with plenty say things like “what kind of pudding will we have after dinner?” as if they have a right to dessert.

She writes about meal planning rituals, “You read magazine articles filled with complicated charts and casual references to thiamin, riboflavin, non-organic nutritional nutritional essentials and International Units. You try to be serious about them all, and with a dictionary and a pencil you fill in at least the first week on a monthly chart, putting little circles, triangles and arrows for minerals and vitamins and such, until you see practically the same chart in a rival magazine and realize that it has switched symbols on you.”

While her words may seem harsh and even cynical, I do think they are a wake up call. How true are her words! I confess that I have been brought to tears while hiding behind my stacks of magazines and cookbooks, wishing that I had more free time. I do believe that women should strive for excellence as they serve their family - but as I read this, I am convicted that it may not have to involve a trip to both Wegmans and Trader Joe’s to find expensive, rare ingredients for each everyday meal on the menu.

Her answer is to create simple, healthy meals (for which she provides recipes throughout the book) and to have so much simple food on the table that people can concentrate on the fellowship and not on being amateur food critiques.

Better is a dish of vegetables where love is
Than a fattened ox served with hatred. - Proverbs 15:17

* This is unbelievably funny to me - at the same time I was writing this, my husband was upstairs making this comment on my Martha Stewart magazine collection. And no, dear, if you’re reading this, it does not necessarily follow from the above epiphany that I will be canceling my subscription any time soon

How often when they find a sage,
As sweet as Socrates or Plato;
They hand him hemlock for his wage,
Or bake him like a sweet potato!

-from Taking the Longer View by American humorist Don Marquis