Many Questions
Sometimes I wish I could dial down the incessant questions inside my own head. Here's a sampling of what's currently churning, simmering, festering there:
1. How do you best facilitate the writing of memoirs for older folks? Is memoirs what you really want them to write? Should they focus on "shimmering images" as one writer declares? How about just getting the facts right--as in an autobiography? Should they be encouraged to write in essay style if that comes most naturally? How important is this exercise?
2. How can I make sourdough bread in my bread machine? I'm on Day 4 of creating a sourdough starter using pineapple juice and whole wheat flour.
3. What's with the strange sensation I've had intermittently for the past several days? It feels like there's a tiny bug crawling on the skin right below the upper attachment of my ear to my head--between that spot and the cartilage bulge below it.
4. When a sexual sin is committed that is also a crime, is immediate reporting to authorities always the thing that must be done? When a Christian lawyer insists on this, is it possible that his bias enters in and he does not properly consider how the church might accomplish what is necessary if given the chance? Is it really as simple as assigning one of these labels to those involved--victim, perpetrator, and accomplice? Should we aim for this for everyone involved: victim--delivered and supported, perpetrator--repentant and monitored, all others--vigilant and forgiving? What is the best way to accomplish this?
5. Is the Trim Healthy Mama diet sound? I know people say it works for weight-loss and increased energy, and I like that it does not entirely exclude any nutrient category. But it is so very counter-intuitive--that fats and carbohydrates shouldn't be mixed in a meal, which is the most fundamental premise of the diet, as I understand it. That means no butter on bread or on a baked potato, no pesto on pasta, no cereal with a fried egg for breakfast, not even bread of the kind baked by the widow of Zarephath. Wouldn't it be just as good to cut out the most highly refined forms entirely and eat moderately of less refined fats, and "fibrous" or less refined carbs?
6. Why am I in the most terrible Words with Friends playing slump ever? I've lost at least 11 games in a row.
7. Should I consider taking up the juicing habit for raw veggies? My friend Rosa has done so, and is pleased with the results. I've been skeptical in the past about the merits of eliminating all that fiber from the diet, but I do understand that simply doing enough chewing to consume all the raw nutrients that are present in juiced food is unlikely to happen, even for someone like me who loves vegetables. Maybe the fiber could be routinely added to soups. I also realize that fruit smoothies are far more palatable than veggie smoothies.
8. Should I consider eating some lacto-fermented foods every day for their pro-biotic qualities? The naturally fermented dill pickles I've been making for the past few weeks are fantastic, but it would take a lot of dill pickles to have some every day, year-round. I use a one-gallon pickling jar and pickle the cukes for one week, and it produces crisp and tasty results every time for me, so far. Filtered water, sea salt, grape leaves (for the firming effect of their tannic acid), and cucumbers are the only ingredients except for dill, garlic, and a bit of hot pepper.
9. Why do people usually think of the word conservative primarily in its political or religious iterations? I think that wastes a lot of the meaning of a perfectly good word. Even this online dictionary seems privy to the narrowed meaning:
10. What are all the terms used now instead of the less precise, older term: nervous breakdown? Whatever they're called, could a more widespread understanding and implementation of the ancient practice of taking Sabbaticals for people in all walks of life be part of the prevention strategy God designed? Recovery is tougher than prevention--as we were reminded of in another context in church today. I think the church needs to initiate a conversation on this topic. After church on Wed. eve. (when we had a panel discussion on how the church can meet the needs of returning missionaries), some of the ladies had an impromptu discussion on Sabbaticals and how mothers, specifically, can embrace the concept.
11. What quirk in dementia makes my mom so very able to use sophisticated wording to say ordinary things? When others were hurrying around to get a meal off to one of our church's temporarily disabled members, she asked, "What can I do to expedite the process?"
12. What relevance does our Amish heritage have for those of us who are one or more steps removed from that background? In the past, I have mentally and sometimes openly defended keeping that heritage as a reference point for how to define modesty, to live simply, to care for each other in the community of believers, to live in the world but not to be of it, to avoid the appearance of evil, to eschew vanity and ostentation, to extend forgiveness and charity, to be good stewards of what we've been given, to maintain a strong group identity, and probably other things I'm forgetting at the moment. I think it's a benefit not to have to constantly reinvent how these things might be expressed, and the memory of how others have lived out our shared values is worth keeping alive. I do understand, however, that a form can become empty over time, and that new circumstances might call for new expressions. What I don't always know for sure is exactly how to keep these truths in balance, and I'm uncomfortable when change is advocated with half of the above context missing.
13. How can I best honor the way God made young people and still provide the guidance I'm responsible for when those young people are in my care?
1. How do you best facilitate the writing of memoirs for older folks? Is memoirs what you really want them to write? Should they focus on "shimmering images" as one writer declares? How about just getting the facts right--as in an autobiography? Should they be encouraged to write in essay style if that comes most naturally? How important is this exercise?
2. How can I make sourdough bread in my bread machine? I'm on Day 4 of creating a sourdough starter using pineapple juice and whole wheat flour.
3. What's with the strange sensation I've had intermittently for the past several days? It feels like there's a tiny bug crawling on the skin right below the upper attachment of my ear to my head--between that spot and the cartilage bulge below it.
4. When a sexual sin is committed that is also a crime, is immediate reporting to authorities always the thing that must be done? When a Christian lawyer insists on this, is it possible that his bias enters in and he does not properly consider how the church might accomplish what is necessary if given the chance? Is it really as simple as assigning one of these labels to those involved--victim, perpetrator, and accomplice? Should we aim for this for everyone involved: victim--delivered and supported, perpetrator--repentant and monitored, all others--vigilant and forgiving? What is the best way to accomplish this?
5. Is the Trim Healthy Mama diet sound? I know people say it works for weight-loss and increased energy, and I like that it does not entirely exclude any nutrient category. But it is so very counter-intuitive--that fats and carbohydrates shouldn't be mixed in a meal, which is the most fundamental premise of the diet, as I understand it. That means no butter on bread or on a baked potato, no pesto on pasta, no cereal with a fried egg for breakfast, not even bread of the kind baked by the widow of Zarephath. Wouldn't it be just as good to cut out the most highly refined forms entirely and eat moderately of less refined fats, and "fibrous" or less refined carbs?
6. Why am I in the most terrible Words with Friends playing slump ever? I've lost at least 11 games in a row.
7. Should I consider taking up the juicing habit for raw veggies? My friend Rosa has done so, and is pleased with the results. I've been skeptical in the past about the merits of eliminating all that fiber from the diet, but I do understand that simply doing enough chewing to consume all the raw nutrients that are present in juiced food is unlikely to happen, even for someone like me who loves vegetables. Maybe the fiber could be routinely added to soups. I also realize that fruit smoothies are far more palatable than veggie smoothies.
8. Should I consider eating some lacto-fermented foods every day for their pro-biotic qualities? The naturally fermented dill pickles I've been making for the past few weeks are fantastic, but it would take a lot of dill pickles to have some every day, year-round. I use a one-gallon pickling jar and pickle the cukes for one week, and it produces crisp and tasty results every time for me, so far. Filtered water, sea salt, grape leaves (for the firming effect of their tannic acid), and cucumbers are the only ingredients except for dill, garlic, and a bit of hot pepper.
9. Why do people usually think of the word conservative primarily in its political or religious iterations? I think that wastes a lot of the meaning of a perfectly good word. Even this online dictionary seems privy to the narrowed meaning:
con·serv·a·tive
kənˈsərvətiv/
adjective
- 1.holding to traditional attitudes and values and cautious about change or innovation, typically in relation to politics or religion.
synonyms: traditionalist, traditional, conventional, orthodox, old-fashioned, dyed-in-the-wool, hidebound, unadventurous, set in one's ways; More
noun
- 1.a person who is averse to change and holds to traditional values and attitudes, typically in relation to politics.
10. What are all the terms used now instead of the less precise, older term: nervous breakdown? Whatever they're called, could a more widespread understanding and implementation of the ancient practice of taking Sabbaticals for people in all walks of life be part of the prevention strategy God designed? Recovery is tougher than prevention--as we were reminded of in another context in church today. I think the church needs to initiate a conversation on this topic. After church on Wed. eve. (when we had a panel discussion on how the church can meet the needs of returning missionaries), some of the ladies had an impromptu discussion on Sabbaticals and how mothers, specifically, can embrace the concept.
11. What quirk in dementia makes my mom so very able to use sophisticated wording to say ordinary things? When others were hurrying around to get a meal off to one of our church's temporarily disabled members, she asked, "What can I do to expedite the process?"
12. What relevance does our Amish heritage have for those of us who are one or more steps removed from that background? In the past, I have mentally and sometimes openly defended keeping that heritage as a reference point for how to define modesty, to live simply, to care for each other in the community of believers, to live in the world but not to be of it, to avoid the appearance of evil, to eschew vanity and ostentation, to extend forgiveness and charity, to be good stewards of what we've been given, to maintain a strong group identity, and probably other things I'm forgetting at the moment. I think it's a benefit not to have to constantly reinvent how these things might be expressed, and the memory of how others have lived out our shared values is worth keeping alive. I do understand, however, that a form can become empty over time, and that new circumstances might call for new expressions. What I don't always know for sure is exactly how to keep these truths in balance, and I'm uncomfortable when change is advocated with half of the above context missing.
13. How can I best honor the way God made young people and still provide the guidance I'm responsible for when those young people are in my care?
posted by Mrs. I (Miriam Iwashige) at
9:43 PM
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