Today Is Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving, but not for me.

Tears are falling down my cheeks.

Pumpkins are baking; turkeys are dead.

Today is Thanksgiving, but I did nothing instead.



The leaves are falling, but so is the rain.

Forgetting my blessings, I only feel pain.

I'll eat some dinner and go to my bed.

Today is Thanksgiving, but I'm crying instead.



My family is gathered around for the feast.

But somehow they sense a small missing piece.

I am not home; I'm merely a thought.

Today is Thanksgiving, but here it is not.

Contraceptive FYI (TMI?)

a) Did you know that all birth control is free in the UK?
b) Did you know they have implants now?
c) Did you know that the implants are free in the UK?
d) Is that creepy or amazing? I'm still trying to decide.


****PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT OVER****


So... so, so. Edinburgh was great. We visited Jonathan and Sarah/Bryce and Ashley's church. Bryce preached, and he did a fine fine job. I was very impressed. And he spoke out, man, about how crap some churches/evangelicals have become. Preach it, brother. Hallelujah.

Let's see. Something interesting to talk about...

Well,
a) I'm going to look into teaching classes at the college here in Greenock. You get paid like £22 an hour for teaching a class there and all you need is a degree!! I'm gonna mail off my CV and see what becomes of it. Can you imagine £22 an hour? Holy moly!

b) I'm also gonna bite the bullet and start mailing out my poems to publishing magazines. If I get rejected, so be it. But it's about time I try. I'm dead nervous just thinking about it, and it makes my stomach turn, but if I never try, I'll never know. (But if something does get published, I expect all of you to go off and mail the publisher asking for more and more these Lori McF poems.)

Scott and I are currently reading through Romans. It is very hard to start a consistent quiet time on your own, let alone with someone else. Because when you feel motivated, they may not, and when they feel motivated, you may not. But this can come in helpful if you are both truly interested in growing in the knowledge of God. So we are taking Romans one chapter at a time each morning and discussing the troubly bits (which is practically all of it.) I'm glad my husband is so clever. He helps me through the parts that make me go, "huh?". It's been very rewarding. We've also started praying together during these times. It's hard enough to pray alone and be honest and say embarrassing things to God by yourself, but doing it with someone else is even weirder. I find I giggle a lot more now when we pray out loud, but its good. It seems when you talk to God there's less room for hiding the truth so you end up hearing the truth come out of your beloved in a much more honest way. It's very good. Because, see, apparently, you are supposed to become one flesh in a variety of ways, not just physically, in marriage. :D So, we're learning what those ways are. And we're trying to keep in mind that it's ok to not understand it all--we are newlyweds.

I need more friends in Greenock. Girl crush who is to remain nameless, talk to me.

I like my friends in Edinburgh. They should move to Glasgow.

I miss my friends in Fayetteville. They should come visit. (March is lovely, Miss Emily.)

Me mum is coming over in just a few weeks. I cannae wait to hug her and show her my grown-up, married, Scottish life.

My work is having its Christmas Night Out in two weeks. It'll be my first party with my very own friends. I'm gonna dress like a party girl and talk about boys (my husband). I'm gonna drink cocktails on the company and probably end up discussing Christianity with my boss again. Bottoms up!

My husband will be home from work soon, and I can't wait to see him, because he is a FOX. (...Can men be foxes?)

This is a tribute to my other best friend besides Scott.

Amanda is my best girl friend in the world. We've been friends for many moons. She is even probably one of the most significant figures in my salvation story. We lived in the same dorm, in our separate single rooms, and stayed friends even after both liking and dating and making-out-with-behind-each-other's-back the same guy. That's friendship. That's true sisterly love.

Amanda used to hate when we got crafty. Crafty, as in, making crafts. She was something like a Communications major or an English major or something at the time. She didn't like it when her friends got in crafty moods.

Yet one day, Amanda says, "I'm going to change my major to art." Art? Amanda who hates craftiness? Hmm... I would've suggested she stick with English, but then again, that's what I majored in.

Amanda has impressed us all. I think I am the most impressed, though, because I remember un-crafty-manda. I think I am the most impressed, because I thought I knew Amanda so well, and here she comes with some crazy hidden talent that I am entirely and lovingly jealous of. So, because this is Amanda's last semester of university (finally! hurray!) have a look at what an ex-communications/english/elementary education major has done with herself. Amanda is my favourite artist.

Update Poem

Work today was long
so luckily nothing went wrong.
But all my joints are sore,
its like I'm rheumatic or
arthritic, but I'm twenty-two years old,
why does my neck creek and groan
like I'm ninety and dying?
I'm serious, I am not lying.
I'm gonna get a Swedish massage,
they're half-off at some Greenock spa!
I'm lucky my husband understands--
he'll let me go, he's no typical man.
I think I'll go next week
while Scott's at work or asleep.

I had curry tonight with the fam
I ordered chicken but somehow got lamb.
Yet I didn't complain cos it was nice,
I mixed it all up with my rice.
I didn't have wine with my meal
cos of how last night's wine made me feel...
(I drank a lot and I drank it fast,
I didn't know I'd be jaked off my ass,
I just wanted to feel a tiny bit tipsy
and I think I went overboard... I'm not gonna even try rhyming with tipsy.)

Saturday I'm visiting friends
in Edinburgh, all Americans.
Anna is from my home town
and she's staying in Northern Ireland just now.
She's coming to Scotland to shop
so we'll have lunch, and she'll meet Scott.
Then we'll go visit the Hayses,
(the fun we have with them amazes...
me) and we'll all have a really great time...
Gosh I'm so sick of this rhyme.

The End.

"[To] serve God properly we must learn to give up our own wills, thoughts, and desires. Why? Because otherwise we will be wise in our own conceits and will imagine that we can serve God with this or that, and thus spoil everything."

You are John Calvin! You're the most intellectual and thoroughly intense theologian on the block. You know what you're talking about and you recommend people to ignore you at their own risk. Yeah, baby, you know your stuff. You speak in riddles and confuse people for fun. Still, this hurts your social skills a lot... and you end up always appearing arrogant and rude.

What theologian are you?

A creation of Henderson

And now....

For the moment you've all been waiting for---

THE HOUSE!

Yes! This IS the Second to Last House in Greenock. Would you like the tour?

We'll enter through the back door, it's easier. Oh, look's like Scott's just leaving. Bye, darling!


This is the kitchen.


And on through the living room....


Up the stairs...


Let's just shut the door to the guest bedroom. It's not quite ready yet.
The W.C.


And finally our bedroom.


Oh, and check out our view! It's magnificent.

Though the pictures don't do it much justice...

Well that was the house. Here's me and Scott, a happy wee couple.


*All these images can be seen in super big style at www.zenandjuice.com/gallery/lori. It's much more effective there.


Well, that was it. The house. Oh, and just because it's really funny:


See yous when you come visit!

Congrats to Ian and Sarah

Congratumalations to the above couple, who don't read this blog (I don't think) but had a baby boy last night. I've known them both since I was yooooung (Ian was my tent leader at church camp many moons ago) so I'm happy for them.

That's all. Isn't our blog pretty again? Hurray.

Wife Lesson #6

The eviler your scheme for punishing your husband, the guiltier you feel when he apologizes first.

'Nuff said.


***********


My last post (prior to the pictures) was about seeking knowledge and truth from the Bible and not relying on feelings or emotions.

Today I'm gonna talk about the other side of the argument, since me, my husband, and a number of our readers fall too far into the knowledge bit and forget the heart bit. This is going to be hard for me to write about, because I struggle with it so much.

Given that what we believe must, simply must, be derived solely from God's Word, there is more to Christianity than just arguments. See, that's whats so amazing about Jesus Christ. He came not for the great and the wise, but the poor and humble. The Pharisees were incredibly intelligent; they could quote Scripture, they knew all the prophesies, they knew the Law by heart, but they had no relationship with God and they rejected Jesus as the Son of God. For this, they were condemned. It was the fishermen and the children and the adulteresses and the tax collectors that Jesus revealed himself to. It wasn't to the wise, but the small. What the unintelligent and poor and the lepers had that the Pharisees didn't was heart. They believed in Jesus and had faith in their hearts. They couldn't wrap their minds around it, but neither did they try. They just believed, like children. The disciples were incredibly naive and, well, let's be honest, a bit dim-witted at times, but it was the disciples to whom Jesus revealed himself. He told the crowds that unless we come with faith like little children, we cannot be saved.

Often times, I find myself wanting to prove God. More often than that, I find myself wanting to talk theology and get down to the bits and pieces of Christianity when talking to people. But this is not where faith comes from. Faith does not come from figuring God out, or beating people over the head with the Calvinist stick. People don't need a religion made of nuances and semantics and Covenant Theologies. What people need is a Saviour. They need help. They need to be lifted out of their sin and out of their despair and out of the path to eternal damnation. They need grace. They don't need to be bogged down with whether or not grace is irrestistable, they just need grace. Why do I always scoff at basic Christianity, when it is basic Christianity that the unsaved need?

I for one am very skeptical of feelings. I am very skeptical when someone says they "felt" God saying something to them. I'm very skeptical of my own feelings. I do not trust them. In church, when I begin to feel something rising up in me, I immediately question it and think, "Is this God or am I just getting psyched up emotionally? I mean, the worship is getting hyped. Is it just the way the music just welled-up and the drums came in with a loud crash? Am I simply being tricked into an emotional state due to the modern conveniences of a sound board?" And suddenly it's over. I don't feel anything anymore, and I feel a lot more intelligent for it. "CGR would be proud," I think.

What's with that?! Didn't David dance around like a crazy person because he was so caught up in the joy of the Lord? Didn't the Holy Spirit move him so deeply that he wrote hundreds of psalms? Feeling is a part of the Christian experience. We mustn't underestimate it. Especially in evangelism. While we shouldn't allow young Christians to be blown around with the wind because they believe every thing they hear and rely on every feeling they get, we aren't meant to quench what the Holy Spirit is doing in them. For me personally, I accepted Jesus as my Saviour because of the feeling of joy and happiness he gave me. (Though, actually it was because of the divine and sovereign mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ and God's unconditional election.*wink) I'd lived 18 years believing that Christianity was all about laws and predestination and theology. I never knew that there actually was a joy involved. But when I asked God to give me a feeling that was better than drugs, he gave it to me, and I was turned upside down. I've never been the same! So why do I trivialize others when they have similar experiences? Why do I immediately beseech them to question everything and prove it with Scripture? If I know Scripture so well, then I should know they don't have to prove it. What did the lame and the blind and the adulteress and the theif on the cross do when Jesus healed them and forgave them for their sins? They rejoiced!! They felt something real!

That is my point. Jesus is alive and real. Christianity is Truth. Jesus is the only way man can be saved. This isn't Plato or Nietche, but a real live working salvation that leads to real eternal life. We must allow ourselves to be moved by the Holy Spirit. Jesus lives in our hearts, so we say. I know for myself, I've got to remember to keep him in my heart even as I fill my head with the knowledge he has so graciously left for us.

Yes Pictures

I take that back-- hurray!

Now, this was haphazard (I used that word yesterday, didn't I?) but it makes me happy for now because I was sick to death with what used to be.

Here's a couple pictures to peruse of the wedding:



And for the unveiling of That Ever-So-Talked-About-(at-least-I'd-like-to-think-so) Groom's Cake.....



Pictures of the house (and more wedding pics) coming soon to a Blog Near You.

No Pictures

Well, I came over here (the in-laws' house) for the sole purpose of uploading pictures for you all of the wedding and so forth, yet I have encountered technical difficulties. I'm used to having Microsoft Office and using the Picture Editor for resizing and whatnot (my Macromedia suite is lurking around somewhere, but not on this computer). Plus my gallery isn't working. And I can't for the life of me get to My Documents, the A drive, without pulling up this horrid Fugi Film program that I refuse to take the time to figure out because it is so pish.

I'm sorry, fans. No pictures still. (And I was even gonna change the graphic at the top of the page.)

Bleh.

Coherent Dreams

Last night I had one of the most coherent dreams I've ever dreamed. In my dream, I accurately and thoroughly described the five tenents of Calvinism (TULIP) to three misguided strangers at the park. Actually, I woke up at the end of Limited Atonement, so I didn't actually make it to Perseverance of the Saints, but I went into great depth with the first three and spoke quickly about the fourth (for there isn't much to say about it, even though it is the most disputed of the five, I would think.)

In the dream, I explained that it was important to have a Biblical understanding of God. I believe it is incredibly important to study Scriptures in order to discover Truth. It is right to be always reforming.

I perhaps mispoke the other day to a friend in this regard, but I've been thinking a lot lately about the importance of studying Scripture for knowledge and understanding. We are all impressed with the importance of Scripture for the sake of getting to know God and having closer communion with him, for it is the way God has chosen to speak to us. This is true, indeed, and greatly important. But why aren't we encouraged to study the Bible to actually learn about God, to actually get to know Him? I told a friend, who had said he feels greatly tested in his faith when speaking to another friend, that it wasn't until I really started to study Scripture to see what it actually says that I really felt secure in my faith. After I said it, I felt it was the wrong thing to say at the time, but it is true. Before then, I just sort of knew what I'd learned in church about Jesus and the Bible. When someone had a difficult question, I wasn't sure how to answer it, and I would stumble. It wasn't until I started really studying it for myself that I began to understand who God really is (and I'm sorry, my friends, He isn't pink and fluffy and soft as a cloud like we've been taught).

My point is, is it correct to study the Bible for knowledge's sake? I believe it is. Look at Paul. He encourages us to study things for ourselves (like the Bereans of Thessalonica who went home and researched what Paul said, because they weren't going to just take his word for it.) He tells us not to feed on milk forever but to begin feeding on solid food (Heb 5:12-14). I think it is right for all of us, at whatever time in our life is appropriate, to begin feeding on the meat of God's Word.

However, there seems to be a disadvantage to this. My husband and I have often discussed the dichotomy between the relationship side of Christianity and the knowledge side. It is hard to balance the two. We mustn't forget in our studying that this faith is real and alive. Jesus desires a real live relationship with us that must thrive. Feelings are real, and important. Yet, they are not the most important to our spiritual growth. Far from it. If we only rely on the feelings we get from our faith, we are stumbling into dangerous territory. We can even (easily) stumble into heresy. We must follow up our feelings with what is written in God's Word to ensure that what we are feeling is actually genuine, is actually the Holy Spirit, and not our own deceitful hearts. Sadly, too many evangelists and pastors and teachers rely far too greatly on what they feel and what they sense, rather than what God has revealed to us in His Holy Scripture.

Here's an example of what I believe to be a good balance of these two important aspects of Christianity. Sunday, a man told us about a time when he was in church about to preach, and he was waiting for a couple to show up that he had expected to come that day. They did not arrive, but he noticed two strangers come in, and suddenly he felt God say to him, "I will build my Church." Now--let me interject. Had he stopped here, this would have been a mistake. We often "feel" things like this; how do we know if it is just our minds thinking, or the Holy Spirit? This is how: He said he then when home and started searching Scripture to see if this was true. He read Acts and began to see that, indeed, it was the Holy Spirit who led the apostles to different places and the Holy Spirit that built the Church. After this, he believed it was the Holy Spirit showing him that it is not us who builds the Church, but God. We have one agenda, but God's will prevail.

Feelings lead us astray. Feelings tell us that God said this and God said that. Feelings tell us God says things far from what He would ever actually say. Now, I've probably gone on long enough now. So, if you take anything away with you from this post, which I have written so haphazardly, consider the importance of knowing what you believe and why. Is it Sciptural or is it something that you've learned from someone? Is it Scripture or is it something you feel is true? If you are certain it is Scriptural, seek it out. Find the Scriptures that prove it. Be able to back yourself up, even if it is just to yourself, just to keep you from stumbling. "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path," says Psalm 119:105. It is also the sword (Eph 6:17) to fight anyone/thing that may try to destroy your faith. I'm not saying everyone is meant to be a theologian, for that is not true. Just don't feed on milk forever. The character of God is infinite; it is exciting and good for us to learn all we can while on this earth.

(To begin your new search into seeing if this is true, my friend Jonathan points out Psalm 1 in defense of this argument.)

Three Letters: G, T and A.

GTA: San Andreas is phenomenal. In more than it's a life eating, time chomping, wife annoying addictive monster. The sales are through the roof. Unreal.

Lots of fun, too. Racing the other guys in work to see who can buy the abandoned airfield first is fun.

Anyway, I'm sure Lori is about to tsk at the fact that I actually blogged about that. Hehe.

Well, I'm just letting you people know that I'm alive (just, I had an allergy attack today) and will be blogging more when I don't have to use my parents computer. Should be next week.

Cheerio.

Wee update:
-Still don't have the computer.
-Had a great time at the Polyphonic Spree show; it was beyond incredible to see Tim DeLaughter and Mark Pirro just feet away once again, and to see Bryan Wakeland on drums for the first time ever. It was like the Polyphonic Daisy or the Tripping Spree. I was in heaven.
-I had another driving lesson today, and I did much better than usual.
-Pictures from Halloween can be found Bryce and Ashley's way.
-I talked to my best friend on the phone, and I miss her a ton.
-I'm going out tonight with my mum-in-law and sis-in-law for curry and wine.
-My husband is freaking hot.


I've got ideas for our new blog, so just as soon as we get our computer (which is just at the parents house, waiting for the family to clear off their personal stuff), and once we get some new webspace (our current webspace is inaccessible as my password has been mysteriously changed, disallowing me to upload pictures), once all this is done, we'll have pictures and stuff for you all. Wedding pictures, new house pictures, Halloween pictures, possibly by then Thanksgiving pictures (yes, we are celebrating Thanksgiving, even if we aren't in America.)

Speaking of America, the ole Bush won. I didn't get to vote because of the whole absentee ballot thing which you have to send off for like 2 months in advance, which I didn't know, but I was gonna vote Peroutka (Constitutional Party) anyway so... At any rate, I'm glad Bush won, if only because it means Kerry didn't. I don't like either man. Ooh, but some jerk came into the coffee shop today and Jean told him I was American and he said, "That prick got into office again," and Jean and I said it was better him than Kerry and then this man started going off about Americans and how "they aren't taught in schools to think for themselves!" and other such bs and it thoroughly pissed me off. I made myself an excuse to walk away and went off glaring. He continued to bitch about America and Americans for another half hour or so to anyone who would listen, and had he not been the boss's uncle, I would've totally considered telling him off. I mean, how stupid do you have to be to insult (thoroughly insult) a person's homeland right freaking to their face??? I mean, I don't think America's got nearly half of everything right, but I sure as hell don't want to hear some pompous British person tell me that we don't know how to think for ourselves! Think for ourselves? This is what I think. Changing leadership, party and all, right during the middle of a war, simply because you don't like the war, and hope the new guy will end it, is a serious threat to national security. I mean, if the other guy would've handled the war better then far enough, but how could anyone trush Kerry to be smart about the war when the guy has no personality and absolutely no ideas whatsoever??

Ok, whew that was a rant. Don't know where that came from. For the record, I'm no Bush fan. Like I said, I was gonna vote 3rd party and try to help build it up to an actual competitive party.

All right, I gotta go. Bye.



-Look on me with Thy favour; vouchsafe to me Thy grace.

Big Girl

In just a few minutes I'm off to the Polyphonic Spree gig. This post is called "Big Girl" because tonight I have to be a big girl.

It's already dark, now that it is 5:00pm, so I will be walking down to the train station in the dark to take the train to Glasgow Central where I will disembark. Then I will walk through the streets of Glasgow (in the dark) until I find the Underground, where I will buy a single from a little machine and take the subway on the right. I will get off the subway at Hill Head and walk a few steps to the left, then go down an alley full of pubs (in the dark) until I reach Boyd Orr. I will turn and head for Queen Margaret's Union where the gig will be, and I will meet Jonathan and Sarah (in the dark). Whew! Pretty grown up stuff here!

This post is merely to pass the time before I go be an adult.

In other news, Halloween was fabulous-- I met fabulous people, Ashley and Bryce being two of them. I also had my first fuzzy navel(s), and I was quite pleased. I rapped with Jonathan for a wee while, too, which is always a pleasure. Perhaps when Sarah and Scott form their bluegrass band, Jonathan and I can tour with them as emcees.

(Is it cooler to say MCs? I only know ghetto speak, not ghetto spell.)

And we promise, my husband and I, to bring you pictures and a new blog-look soon. We still don't have the computer.

Ok, I'm off to the train station. Aieeee!!