Generalismo

Contents:
1. Coffee and Science
2. Studying The Book
3. Youtube Videos
4. Galatians 5:16

OK, my title is just silliness this time, since that’s what I happen to be consuming at the moment. If I had realized earlier how good iced coffee tastes, far less stale coffee would have been poured down the drain these past few months! I couldn’t figure out why coffee tasted so good when I first got it in my cup, and then if I waited for a while it tasted bitter. Now in Columbus, OH, we were parked near a fantastic library - one that I spent many hours in while we were parked there, and I could spend hours there again and I hope I get to. But they had a nice shelf of books for sale that included The New Kitchen Science and What Einstein Told His Cook. In Kitchen Science, it states:

As the coffee sits on the warming device, its volatile aromatic compounds flee the liquid. Moreover, the heat that keeps the coffee warm simultaneously develops a bitter flavor in the coffee’s essential oils.

So there you have it! And be sure to check your library for discarded books

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If you’re a Christian, you’re supposed to study the Bible, right? And how does that usually happen? I’m not sure how it *usually* happens but what I’ve found to be incredibly interesting in my own walk is to go looking for passages talking about whatever it is that I want answers about and write down the reference. Then I’m going to a word processor and typing them all in, and then adding my own notes and questions in red font. I’m going to list them in the order they appear in the Bible so I can find them more easily. I’ve been having discussions with a friend about a few topics that we see differently on and I’m realizing that I don’t know why I believe what I do, some of the time. Even if I end up in the same place as my family is, I want to get there because God brought me there. A friend asked me maybe a year ago, “If you were born a Muslim, would you still be one?” That made me think. Do I know enough about what the truth is to defend it with my life? Would I be willing to give up everything I grew up knowing (including family, and probably my head) for the Gospel? We’re in real danger of becoming lukewarm in the US. There’s little or no persecution here. It seems as if there’s not much testing of our faith - instead of being Head Chopped Off vs Denying Christ, it’s “Which church do I want to be affiliated with?” And then there’s also “Well, I read a book about it that cleared it up…” God can work through people, and books, but there’s nothing like the Bible! Don’t settle for reading a commentary when there’s doubt in your mind.

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Youtube! I uploaded a video last night of my brother’s bunnies. Some of them, anyway. I’m sorry I just keep gushing over them in the video, I actually had to cut parts out because I couldn’t seem to stop saying “Oh, they’re so cute!” Let’s just say it’s been 8 years since a baby has been in the house and we’re all jumping at the opportunity to “aw” at something

Other videos I’ve added to my favorites list lately include El Camino Del Ray (you probably don’t want to watch if you’re really afraid of heights!), How Not To Bake a Cake, and It Don’t Mean a Thing.

El Camino Del Ray is really neat footage of a bridge in Spain.

How Not To Bake a cake is pretty funny

It Don’t Mean a Thing is not the kind of music I listen to all of the time, but this accordion player is just cool. I’m not sure why, he’s just got an interesting personality (from what you can see on his videos, anyway), and look at him grin! He’s got other neat videos up also, one being the Roland Accordion Demo.

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I’ll leave you with a quote from Galatians (5:16-18)

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

Posted by Bonnie under books, food, reading

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(The title of today’s post means “I’m hungry,” in Spanish. Literally “I have hunger.”

Today someone took us to a pancake breakfast at the place we’re staying at. Quite nice, and since I skipped the desserts after our concert last night I was HUNGRY! It helped me to pray better for people who are hungry. It’s such a shame that we so easily forget people who are suffering. Our selfish minds have very short memories. How often have we been touched by an image or a story of someone suffering, yet at this moment reading this blog you (and I) probably had nothing more on our minds that surfing the internet, and maybe a petty problem that doesn’t cause true suffering but just an annoyance of self. Now maybe I’m just not as feeling as y’all, but I surely feel ashamed that I can go hours and hours and hours without thinking about and earnestly praying for the many Christians who are being persecuted around the world, and the millions of people who are suffering from hunger or other life threatening ailments. Yet I can find time to dwell on the fact that I ate too MUCH for breakfast, or that I was annoyed by someone.

One of the best ways that I have found to learn about historical figures is through childrens’ books. Yes, that’s right. The ones that kids take out to read for school projects in elementary school. If you’re writing a big report on people you may have to go through more indepth research, but often times when I visit people who’s kids are working on reports, I find it enjoyable to read through the books they have there. They’re short (usually), in bigger print, and sum up most of the important details in a book. Don’t feel as if to learn about something you have to do all the research the author did. I’d rather know a little about each of the major historical figures than know a lot about only one and never have heard about the rest. Of course, you can pick and choose who you want to study more about.

On the school front, I’ve also discovered how math can become very disagreeable. If you don’t spend enough time on the basics, you will absolutely hate advanced math. I won’t give all of the details, but I had forgotten how to do a very simple mathematical procedure and it made finishing a lesson from my brother’s math book miserable. Then I went back, reviewed the process, and now I find it very enjoyable to write certain types of math problems down on a sheet of paper and work them out when I have spare time. If you really hate math, try going back to the beginning and drill yourself on multiplication facts and addition facts until you have them down and can figure them out instantaneously. Don’t worry about how slow you go through the memorization process, take as long as you need for each problem. If you find one that takes a long time to remember, say it over and over again in your head. I’m amazed at how studying Spanish has changed my views on studying and learning in general. If you put something into your brain hundreds of time and do it over and over again, you will memorize it. Sometimes it doesn’t come to mind immediately, but soon after it pops in and can almost be surprising how automatic it becomes!

One more thing, I’m trying a new comment filter system. I get dozens and dozens of spam comments, so I have had to moderate everything before it goes “live.” However, I’m trying something new. You need to have a previously approved comment for your comment to appear without moderating, new commenters and comments with links will go to moderation. I hope that helps the comment process move along, because I’m not always around and I want everyone to be able to SEE their comments right away, instead of leaving and wondering if it’ll ever appear.

Posted by Bonnie under books, learning, math, reading, spanish

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