May | 2006 | The View from My Chair 2006 May | views of life expressed by a woman using a powerful wheelchair

May, 2006

Freedom Is Not Free

May 29, 2006 by Karen of Scottsdale

Memorial Day 2006: what am I remembering today? I am remembering those who have died so that I might live free. Thank you for your sacrifice. I also remember the one who died so I may have spiritual freedom — thank you God for the sacrifice of your son Jesus Christ. In both cases someone had to die in order for others to be free. I don’t ever want to take for granted the freedom I have because that freedom is not free. I owe a debt I can never repay because freedom is not free. I pray that I will be responsible with the freedom I have and I pray that our nation never forget those who have given so much so that we might be free.

My dad wrote something for his congregation about Memorial Day. Here it is for you to read and think about today.

If you have never done so I encourage you to visit Fort Rosecran National Cemetery on Point Loma. (San Diego) It is an experience you will never forget. Take your children! Walk the rows of markers, look at the dates and understand the tremendous sacrifice made, not only by these men but by their families as well. Remember that “freedom is not free.” It cost a lot and in order to maintain it, it will cost a lot more. We must also understand that freedom is not licensed to do as I please, when I please. That is the road which will lead right back to bondage. Freedom requires us to do by choice that which no law can ever make us do.

There is another trip I would like for you to take with me. While we cannot go and see the greatest of these people, they, nonetheless, speak to us as clearly as a walk through one of our National Cemeteries. This list is found in the Bible, Hebrews chapter 11. I will not list the names here but when it is finished the writer says: “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”

By the way, I like to add a few names to that list. Names like my father’s and others I know who have gone on before us. I would encourage you to add your own list to that one. The names of people who influenced you in your Christian walk. After adding your list then read the next verses: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily in tangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and protector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 11:39-12:3 NIV) Let’s not forget this Memorial Day!

Category faith, family, politics, San Diego | Tags: | 1 Comment
Lunch with Good Friends

May 27, 2006 by Karen of Scottsdale

We were blessed to have lunch with my blogson Simon and his lovely wife Anjana and their nine-year-old son Sylvanas. They are from Fiji but are now ministering to Asian Indians in the US. They live in California but were traveling to Tucson for a service on Sunday. This was the first time we met in person but we have been communicating by phone and e-mail for the past couple of months as I was helping Simon with his web site. Norm and I enjoy their company and we look forward to seeing them again.

I feel so blessed to be able to use my skills to help Simon and Anjana with the work they are doing in spreading the gospel. God has very unique ways of utilizing anyone who is willing to be of service — even someone who is disabled can be used by God. I remember a few months ago when Norm and I had prayed that God would utilize our talents for his kingdom. The next morning I got a phone call from Simon. Be careful what you pray for!

Category blogging, faith | Tags: | 1 Comment
Walking the Cat

May 26, 2006 by Karen of Scottsdale

Norm and I decided to take a walk around the block this evening and let the neighbor behind us know that the shingles on his roof were starting to flip backwards. We don’t normally walk in the neighborhood because it’s too hot and Norm does not like to go for walks. But the sun had gone down and there was a nice breeze so the temperature was only 92° instead of 102° Fahrenheit.

Our cat Miss Ellie decided she wanted to join us on our walk. I had forgotten that Miss Ellie likes to go for walks. She used to do that with me when I lived in San Diego. She followed us about halfway to the other house and then waited for us in the yard of a house on the corner. As soon as we came back she followed us back to our house. What a funny cat! Oh, in case you’re wondering, we don’t use a leash. She just follows us and stays right near us.

Category cats, life in Scottsdale, life with Norm | Tags: | 4 Comments
Friday Funny

May 26, 2006 by Karen of Scottsdale

Be weird when ever you get the chance!

Category funnies | Tags: | Comments Off
24 Day 5 5:00-7:00 a.m.

May 22, 2006 by Karen of Scottsdale

My mind is swirling with scenes from tonight’s two hour jampacked episode. There I was sitting next to my husband, wrapped up in a blanket to ward off the chill from the air conditioner, watching Jack Bauer come to the rescue of the nation once again. He was able to subdue the terrorists on the Russian submarine with the help of just three other people. What a great idea to wrap his knees around Bierko’s neck so he could snap it at just the right moment to give Henderson enough time to disable the missiles aimed at civilian targets in the US. (The only city they mentioned was San Francisco — interesting.) And then Henderson thought he could get away with killing Jack Bauer, but Bauer gave him a useless gun. He’s so smart!

Now Chloe has to go to work doing secret stuff for Bauer and we learned that she has an ex-husband named Morris. That was a total surprise. For a minute I thought he would turn out to be a bad guy, but I guess he still has a soft spot for Chloe and he knew better than to cross Jack Bauer.

Martha Logan turns out to be a hero and a pretty good actress. The look on her face when Logan was being arrested was awesome. The question is did she or didn’t she know about the bug when President Wiesel was roughing her up in the airport hangar? As that scene in a hangar progressed I surmised that Jack Bauer had planted a bug on President Wiesel. Chloe did a good job of getting everyone together at just the right moment, but then again she always does a pretty good job with stuff like that. She is the female high-tech version of Jack Bauer.

Of course just when Jack Bauer seems to be safe he never really is and the jig is up as soon as he says to Audrey that we have all the time we need to be together. As soon as he said that I knew something bad was about to happen. I suspect that the evil puppetmaster Graham is behind the kidnapping of Jack Bauer by the Chinese. Either that or President Wiesel made good on his promise to the evil puppetmaster that Jack Bauer would be taken care of. Either way I still think Graham has something to do with all of this.

Other unanswered questions. Bill Buchanan wants a date with Karen Hayes so will they ever get together? She will definitely be an ally for him at Homeland Security. Where is Audrey’s father? We know he is alive but what will he do about his forced resignation as secretary of defense? Will Morris be a returning character next season? He obviously possesses skills that CTU could utilize and it seems he worked there in the past. Will Secret Service agent Aaron Pierce be able to come out of hiding now that President Wiesel has been arrested?

And to think we have to wait until January 2007 to find out if Jack Bauer will be rescued from the Chinese or will he just escaped on his own? Ugg!

Category 24 | Tags: | 1 Comment
Dust Storm

May 22, 2006 by Karen of Scottsdale

We have a dust storm advisory until 5 p.m. today. That’s rather unusual because normally they issue a warning for only an hour or less. Strong winds have been blowing since last night and I can see the dust storm coming out from the West. One good thing about this is that it’s only 78° outside right now rather than the 105° temperatures we have had for the last week. Would you believe I feel cold today? It’s true!

Oh — I can feel a sinus headache coming on. Bummer. Also, because of the wind I have discovered that our neighbor’s tree is now growing over our house and the branches are scratching on the roof right over our bed. The noise is rather disconcerting when one is trying to sleep.

Category life in Scottsdale | Tags: | 2 Comments
It’s a Mexican Fiesta

May 20, 2006 by Karen of Scottsdale

Norm is taking me out for Mexican food. Chevys here we come! I just love their chips and salsa. Yummy!

Category food critic, life with Norm | Tags: | 2 Comments
Procrastination and Meditation

May 18, 2006 by Karen of Scottsdale

Lately I have been unable to get anything done. There are a lot of projects on my plate right now and most of them require my full attention in order to complete them. My full attention has been hard to come by this week. Monday started out pretty good and I got started on a project that I had been putting off for a longtime. I made some really good progress but by Tuesday it was all I could do work on it. My mind just could not focus on that project or on any tasks I tried to complete. Wednesday was pretty much the same. More projects came to mind that I needed to work on, but nothing has been done. Last night I hardly slept at all and my mind kept going over things that are bothering me causing me to have little rest. Normally I sleep pretty good so when I miss a night of sleep it’s hard to do much the next day, thus today has been another unproductive day.

This morning I read something on a blog — unfortunately I can’t remember which blog it was — which suggested procrastination could actually be a beneficial practice. Usually when we procrastinate a project it’s because we are actually thinking about it even though we might not actually work on it or see any progress made. Sometimes that thinking is in the back of our minds and when we actually sit down to accomplish the task all of that time we spent procrastinating reveals another way of solving the problem or addressing the project. So actually the procrastination brought about a better way of accomplishing the task.

After I read this it donned on me that I often procrastinate getting things done because I’m not sure how I want to tackle them. But as the project simmers on the back burner of my mind the creative juices begin to permeate and a way to handle the project becomes clear. So my lack of accomplishment is really not a lack of accomplishment and I handle my projects better because of the time spent “cooking” them.

That made me feel better but I knew something still was not right with me. This afternoon I read something on another blog that God has used to open my eyes and get me thinking about my situation in a different way. (Not my lack of progress, rather the troubles that keep me up at night.) It’s funny that God will often use something that seems totally unrelated to me or my situation and yet it will speak volumes to me as I meditate on the thoughts he puts in my mind.

Okay — I was reading the Perspectives in Motion blog by D. L. Foster and the post was titled: The Problem with Preachers. It had something to do with a pastor/bishop in the DC area who issued an apology/non-apology for perceived offenses in regards to something he said while preaching on Palm Sunday. This has nothing to do with my situation, but something that DL said in regards to his disappointment with other things that were said in this apology/non-apology turned a light on in my head.

Something was said about a support group at that church which the bishop referred to as “… a support group for those who wanted help in pursuing a heterosexual orientation.” DL was disappointed because he felt that the bishop does not have a full understanding about overcoming homosexuality. (That has nothing to do with my situation but the next part is where I had that “light going on in my head” moment.) DL writes, “God’s desire for us is never to make us heterosexuals as a goal, but that we walk in holiness. With the same level of heterosexual fornication as perhaps fornication going on in the church today, heterosexuality is not the answer, holiness is.” There it was — that phrase walk in holiness. My mind started meditating on it and as I read further this other part jumped out at me: “No wonder people get discouraged, pursuing heterosexuality instead of holiness creates the perfect inversion of Matthew 6:33.”

Matthew 6:33 NIV: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” As I meditated on this passage I began to see that I have been neglecting this in my life lately. Verses 30-33 from The Message paraphrase helps me understand it even more: “If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. ”

After I meditated on this word spoken by Jesus my mind became clear and the fog that has seemed to linger this week has been lifted. I cannot be who God has called me to be unless I am walking with him — seeking his kingdom and pursuing his righteousness or as it were pursuing holiness. God will add the rest as he sees fit as long as I am seeking him daily. God is good. I hope you know this yourself.

Category faith | Tags: | 3 Comments

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