Another Saturday Morning

Bob and I went to breakfast this morning at 7:30 at Sirloin Stockade. Then I took him home and began working on getting stuff together for the church's rummage sale. That will be September 11th and 12th. It will take me several Saturdays to get my closets cleaned out and stuff boxed up that I no longer use or need. We have a storeroom at church where we are stacking this stuff. I will price mine as I take it out and put it on the tables. Everyone should price their own stuff.

I've been working on this for over an hour now and didn't realize how hard it is to make those decisions.

Then I got sidetracked and worked for awhile on my August 30th sermon.

I finally finished everything but my bedroom closet and the dining room closet.  I called Bob and we took our backpacks out to the church and I took the two boxes I collected of rummage. I will work on it again next weekend.

We then went over to Braums and I had a sundae and he had a chicken sandwich with fries and a drink about 2:30. Then I took him home.

I went over to the Country Time Antique Mall and walked around after that.  I saw Lynette from the courthouse there and we had a nice visit. Then I came home and visited with Marilyn, my neighbor, for awhile.

We had another noise disturbance in the neighborhood this afternoon. The neighbor across the street turned their truck radio on full blast and opened the doors. Once again my curio cabinet shook on the wall. Marilyn came out and looked over across the street too. I managed to get the police this time and the neighbors saw me go out and glare at them. That stopped it this time. The police said, the next time it happened, to call and they would go out and give them a warning for disturbing the peace and if that didn't stop it, they would give them a ticket.  I gave Marilyn the number the police gave me and she will call them if it happens while I am at work.

Bob did not come over this evening. He was probably as tired as I am. I watched a bit of TV after I took my bath and then Missy and I went to bed.

Friday Again at Last

I am always so glad to see Friday come. I will be interviewed at the college sometime the end of next week, according to Aime. I received another e-mail from her yesterday.

Today we will have our spaghetti with green beans and a salad. I still have apple crisp and ice cream too.

Tomorrow is supposed to be 100 degrees hot and so is Sunday.

I tried to watch the Republican debate last night but it was a zoo. Donald Trump is a clown. He would make a terrible president.  It's like if he doesn't get the nomination, he will not support anyone else and will run as a third party candidate.  If that happens and he splits the party, Hillary will almost certainly be our next president. That suits me fine. I would rather have Mickey Mouse as president then a spoiled brat who will just pick up his toys and go home if they don't play by his rules.

Missy is being really patient about going outside this morning so I will finish this later.

More later....

Well we went out for an hour and a half and Bob came over too. My neighbor across the street, Stacy, had the animal control officer over to take away a kitten from under their deck. They have a litter there from some stray. The little male stray cat that looks like Missy is next. He's a stray too and he's the one who attacked Missy a couple of weeks ago.  I would love to get rid of him.

I gave that family the chairs that I have kept on my patio. The patio is not covered and I have had to keep them covered since I've lived here . I want to get rid of them since I never sit out there in the sun. She says when the boys get up she wil have them come to get them. She works at Taco Tico and she is the only one who works. She has four children there plus the men in that two bedroom house.

Bob went on to exercise class.  He will be back for lunch.

More even later....

Our lunch was good and we had the rest of the apple crisp (apple brown betty afterward.

I went on to work about 12:45 and worked most of the afternoon on putting away DVDs.  Then I worked on sorting the microfilm.  I made a list of all the microfilm that are missing.There were about 6 or 7 missing so far.

I got home shortly after 5:00 and read my mail.

Bob came over at 6:00 and we watched Brooks and Shields on PBS. I love their commentary.

He left at 7:00 and I took my bath and have been sitting here with my laptop on my lap ever since...instead of Missy. I had hoped they would mow our yard this evening but it didn't happen. It was 102 this afternoon when I got home from work. Maybe that's why.

Thursday and Cleaning Day

I slept pretty well last night but woke up at 4:00 so I just finally got up. I'm ready for my day now.  I even have the laundry in the washer.

I haven't heard a word from the college yet. That may not develop. I may just have to tough it out at the library.

Missy is wanting to go out but it's much too early. It's only a little past 5:00 now. I usually wait until at least 6:00. Then at 7:00 I get her back in so I can start my cleaning. I need to take her litter box out and dump it and wash it and start new. I do that every once in awhile.

We plan to go over to Cherryvale for lunch today at the buffet "Just Us". We will have the spaghetti tomorrow.  I will need to get some money at the bank and also go to the market sometime this weekend.

Yesterday at work, I put away DVDs and checked in those as well as books. I put away the new fiction. I kept looking for work to do and brought home my index cards with the lists of magazines they carry. Some they keep forever, some they keep for 3 years and some they will have me (or someone else if I am gone) bundle at the end of the year for recycling. Katie has never recycled the ones I bundled when I started there last fall. They are just stacked around on bottom shelves in the back room.

Bob came over and we gave the new Big Bang Theory another try. Neither of us liked it anymore so he went home after wine and cookies and I took my bath and later at 9:30, after I woke up in the recliner, Missy and I went to bed.

Wednesday and Half Way Through the Work Week

We are under a severe thunderstorm watch.  I never worry about that. This is southeast Kansas.  They think the storm won't arrive until 9:00 or so and there may be hail with it and high winds.

I didn't sleep quite as well last night. My hands hurt but somehow I got to sleep.

I don't know what Katie will have me do today. Yesterday I had only a couple of baskets stacked double to put away.  Then I put away the new fiction and filed the library cards that they use for inner library loans. Then she put me to scanning. I got three bookcases finished before my hands gave out.  Today I sign my time sheet and tomorrow I will be paid by my program. I already made my first car payment this month. I will make another before the month is out. My social security doesn't come in until the 12th this month....that's the second Wednesday.

I am going to bake cookies this morning. Bobby was here for lunch yesterday for the last day. Karan was to come home last evening if their plane was not late. She and Marilyn came home but Pat stayed a few more days.

We are having spaghetti at lunch. We will have green beans and Bob's salad and garlic bread with it. Then we still have apple brown betty for dessert and Bob's vanilla ice cream.

More later......

We decided to finish off the tuna noodle casserole for lunch along with Bob's salad. We did have apple brown betty for dessert . Tomorrow we plan to go over to Cherryvale fora meal at "Just Us".  We always enjoy that.

Bob came over for awhile this evening but we had seen the Nature show on PBS so he decided to go home and get ready for bed and I took my bath after he he left and put my PJs on. Missy and I sat in the recliner for awhile but I wanted to finish my blog so I came into the den to do that. She is here behind me on the daybed taking a nap on her afghan. I will go to bed soon. It's nearly 9:00 and I get up at 5:00 as a rule. Tomorrow is house cleaning day too.

Tuesday and Hair Day

I slept really well again last night. I don't know why I'm sleeping so much better nowadays. But I'm not going to complain.

I'll take Missy out in a little while... as soon as it gets light.  Then at 8:15 I need to leave for Independence to get my hair done. When I get home I will bake my apple brown betty and make my tuna casserole.  The casserole has peas in it so... with Bob's salad, and the dessert, we should be fixed for lunch.

I haven't heard a word from Aime. I e-mailed her last night to see if she had contacted the college again. She hasn't yet answered. Of course, Outlook was not connected to the server...for some reason...so she couldn't contact me anyhow. I see the TV is freezing up so Cox must be having some problems again.

I took Missy out for an hour and a half.  She really seemed to enjoy being out. It was nice and cool. Then I left to get my hair done in Independence. I went out to their Wal Mart store afterward and bought a few things I will need this week...including my apple.

More later.....

Today was another nightmare of scanning. I scanned another three bookcases of books in genealogy.  My hands are hurting really badly again. I will have to take Aleve tonight to sleep.

I finally heard from Aime. She just e-mailed the HR person at the college to tell her I was still interested in an interview. I haven't heard a word from them.  I don't know how long my hands will hold up.

Lunch was very good and we will have it again on Thursday. And that apple brown betty always goes over well. Tomorrow we will have spaghetti with garlic toast and salad. We will have a veggie too. Then, of course, we will eat the apple brown betty again for dessert.

Tomorrow is Wednesday so it is hump day. On Thursday, I always clean and do my laundry.

Bob will probably be over shortly. He comes right after 6:00.

More later...

He came right after 6:00  and we watched a couple of interesting programs on PBS. Then he went home and I took my bath and went to bed. I was exhausted.

Monday Again and Looking for Books

I slept very well last night. I did wake up once but got right back to sleep.

Today for lunch I will fix the pork sirloin Bobby brought Thursday. I will bake it in the oven. We will have boiled potatoes and a veggie and Bob will bring a salad. I will fix some pudding for dessert. And we still have cookies.

I imagine I will be searching for books that are not in the system in the genealogy department  this afternoon.  Those will be the ones I scanned last week. It looks like I will only scan every other week for awhile and then search out those books on the off weeks....unless Aime gets me an interview at the college and they want me. Then it will be someone else's problem.

This morning I want to get some red mulch and re-mulch the flowerbed and mulch the new part.  I think Orscheln's has that and I won't have to drive way out to Wal Mart again.

In the meantime, it is ten after 6:00 and Missy is itching to go out on the carport. It's light out there now so I should take her out there. She's been very good and not made a pest out of herself meowing this morning.

More later...

Bob came over and had coffee with me out on the carport. Missy was pretty good so we stayed out an hour and a half. It was nice out there. Bob left after about 40 minutes to go get ready for exercises.

I did my nails and now am going to go over to Orscheln's and get  my red bark mulch while it's nice out.  I also need to go by First Federal and pay my rent this morning.

More even later....

At 9:00 I went up to First Federal and paid my rent. Then I went to Orscheln's and bought a bag of red mulch (to match the brick on the apartment)  and mulched the new flowerbed.

Here's a photo of the finished flowerbed. Next Spring I will plant some other flowers in there with the hen and chicks but for right now, I'll be happy if they make it though August.

 

More even later...

Dinner was good although the meat was a little tough. The rest of the dinner was fine though.

I didn't have to find books after all at the library. I did put away several hundred DVDs, checked in books as well as DVDs and put away the new fiction. 

No one has yet mentioned the firing of Joy. It's like they can't bring it up. And Katie has stopped a lot of the hilarity that used to be common there.  That may be a good thing because they are getting more done now.

Bob will be over soon to watch the reruns of The Big Bang Theory. He will probably leave at 7:00...he usually does. I think he came over this afternoon to check his e-mail. He leaves his computer here because he has no router. He can come over anytime and do his laundry and check his e-mail.  He and Missy have the house to themselves while I'm at work.

Sunday's Church Services

Today's services went well. Afterward we went out to eat...at least 8 of us did. We went to Sirloin Stockade. This afternoon, while it's 98 degrees, I won't finish my flowerbed even though I found the Miracle Grow at Wal Mart. I'll do that in the morning when it's cooler. I went out to Wal Mart to get school supplies for one of the children that lives near our church and whose parents are pretty poor. I can understand why. They have 5 children and the school supplies and back pack I bought today for just one of them ran $40.00 and I only bought the minimum. The list wanted enough school supplies for the entire school year and I certainly couldn't do that.

Anyhow, I worked on my letters after dinner and then went out to Wal Mart.

Bob will be over this evening to watch 60 Minutes. He didn't come last night. We were both exhausted after our trip to Bartlesville. What started out to be a $9.95 oil change turned into a tire rotation and two air filters to the tune of $126.00 ...and after that we bought our lunch. My IRA savings is going fast. I had to pay my car insurance and apartment furniture insurance this month  too. Life gets expensive. Luckily this Thursday is payday from SER. It's only a couple of hundred dollars but every little bit helps.

Aime is supposed to call the college tomorrow and see if they are ready to interview me. That will be interesting. Tomorrow after I put away the dozens of DVDs and put the cases on the shelf, I will probably search for more books that didn't make it into the system.

More later...

I finally got the new flowerbed enlarged. Now all I need is some more red mulch. I will get some tomorrow.

Here is a photo of it when I finally got the Miracle Grow in it and planted some of my hen and chicks. That's all that even has a chance in this heat.

While I was fixing this flowerbed, the neighbor across the street where Bob first lived after he sold his house, had a lot of very noisy friends over. They park their trucks and vehicles over there  with the radio blaring so loud it causes my curio cabinet that hangs on the living room wall to vibrate. I have walked out there in previous occasions when this has happened and stood looking across the street with my hands on my hips and they have turned it down. I did that this time and they ignored me...so I went out and called the police department and left a message on their machines. This used to be such a nice quiet neighborhood.

Here is their gathering.

It is very disturbing. Even Merrill, the son of the former owner came out and stared at them. He saw me on the telephone.

Bob came and watched 60 Minutes and had a glass of wine and a couple of peanut butter cookies but then he played out and went home at 7:00. That's when I went out and finished the flowerbed.

Now I will take my bath and watch TV...if I can find anything worth watching.

Sunday and My Personal Theology

Today is Communion Sunday at our church. We serve it the first Sunday of each month and we serve all Christians,  In fact, our tradition is unique in many ways: In the Community of Christ, we put more focus on our distinctive vision of "Restoration Christianity" where continuing revelation through individual and community guidance by the Spirit, sola Spiritus, is primary, rather than scripture or tradition as per the closed canon view of sola scriptura as the Protestants or tradition-led like the Catholics. This is a very similar focus to some of the more inclusive-minded Quakers. We focus on following the Great Commandment of Love as taught by Jesus - to Love God and to love others rather than ways to exclude others from fellowship; therefore, the Community of Christ is non-creedal.

It is the peace of the Kingdom of God  taught by Jesus that we seek, where people live justly with each other, God, and all of creation. The Community of Christ envisions a time when the promise of God’s kingdom will be fulfilled. We have a vision of that kingdom where the name of Jesus is truly honored, where God’s will is done on earth, where the hungry are fed, poverty is alleviated, and people are made whole. By opening our eyes to the unconditional and nonjudgmental love, compassion, mercy, and wisdom that embraces and interconnects all of us, accepting that grace and our interdependence with others, and then extending that love, compassion, and mercy to others no matter their religion, race, gender, sexual preference, politics, etc., we can be guided through the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

I am inclined toward Process Theology myself.


Process theology affirms that God is working in all persons to actualize potentialities. In that sense each religious manifestation is God... working in a unique way to bring out the beautiful and the good. Additionally, process theologians believe scripture and even religion represent human interpretations of the will of God. In this sense pluralism is the expression of the diversity of cultural backgrounds and assumptions that people use to approach God.

C. Robert Mesle, in his book Process Theology, outlines three aspects of process theology.

There is a relational character to the divine which allows God to experience both the joy and suffering of humanity. God suffers... just as those who experience oppression... and God seeks to actualize all positive and beautiful potentials. God must, therefore, be in solidarity with the oppressed and must also work for their liberation. 

God is not omnipotent in the classical sense and so God does not provide support for the status quo, but rather seeks the actualization of the greater good. God exercises relational power and not unilateral control. In this way God cannot instantly end evil and oppression in the world. God works in relational ways to help guide persons. If we listen to that spirit, our lives can be actualized in positive ways.

Process theologians believe God is not omnipotent in the sense of being coercive. The divine has a power of persuasion rather than coercion. Process theologians interpret the classical doctrine of omnipotence as involving force, and suggest instead a forbearance in divine power. "Persuasion" in the causal sense means that God does not exert unilateral control. 

The entire universe is characterized by process and change carried out by the agents of free will. Self-determination characterizes everything in the universe, not just human beings. God cannot totally control any series of events or any individual, but God influences the creaturely exercise of this universal free will by offering possibilities. To say it another way, God has a will in everything, but not everything that occurs is God's will.

Because God interacts with the changing universe, God is changeable (that is to say, God is affected by the actions that take place in the universe) over the course of time. However, the abstract elements of God (goodness, wisdom, etc.) remain eternally solid.

I know it's not a traditional Christian way of seeing God. But it is the way I experience God in my life. For instance, when my Bob was sick and in the process of dying five years ago, I felt a very real sense of strength which did not come from myself. I managed to get through his death process calmly and it was only after he died that I felt I was on my own...until I needed comfort. Then, once again, I felt God's comforting power..strongly. I had had the same sense of "God with me" when I sat with my stepfather when he died and with my Mom when she died and even with my sister when she died. This experience doesn't just happen at the death of some loved one, it also happens when I need guidance at any time. It's hard to explain but I know God is "with" me in all the good as well as the bad experiences in my life.   

And talk about "grace". I was a firm disciplinarian in rearing my children. I believed in spanking and insisted on structure in my life and also in theirs.  So they should resent me and even dislike me. I was hard to live with. Yet, by the grace of God, (and their grace), they seem to love me anyhow. 

I have even a more unique way of believing. And because of the nature of our church tradition, we have what is called "faithful disagreement". We are not required to agree with everything the corporate church  espouses. If we disagree, that's all right... as long as we don't sow disunity in the body by insisting that everyone see their spiritual journey alike and like ours.

I love my church and cannot even envision belonging to another. The fellowship is rich and the church school classes are interesting. The discussions are wonderful.  

And I have another group I love. It is my Living the Questions group.  It meets twice a month and we watch a video about religion and religious beliefs. Then we discuss what we have heard and seen and later have fellowship and dessert. It is always very stimulating. As soon as we finish with the last episode of the present video, we will begin again with the first one. It is called "Saving Jesus". We have been meeting for at least ten years and  we are a variety of religions. We have three Methodists, one Presbyterian, two Community of Christ,  two agnostics, and one Muslim that belong to the regular group. And then we have a few extras (read guests) from time to time. Most of the time we have twelve or thirteen.