Relationships

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It’s All Lies

There was big news in the psychology world last week. Headlines proclaimed: “Telling fewer lies linked to better health and relationships.” Some psych professors at the University of Notre Dame actually did a study on lying, and concluded that their test subjects were healthier, both physically and emotionally, when they did not lie. The control group (who presumably went on telling lies) had no such benefits.

I always snicker when some study or other confirms what is obvious. Even people who’ve never cracked a Bible will admit that lying is a sin.

God is pretty straightforward about this one: “Do not lie. Do not deceive one another” (Leviticus 19:11).

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Mud

Two little kids throwing mud pies at one another—that’s what this year’s presidential campaign feels like. I was wondering if my impression was accurate—that this campaign is worse than usual—when I came across an article on the Time website: Why Deceit Is Everywhere in the 2012 Campaign. Yup, the usual mud-slinging has escalated to a torrential flood.

Even though most Americans dislike negative ads, politicians use them because they work. But this year, both parties are twisting the truth to such an extent that they’re telling blatant lies.

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Dialog? or Diatribe?

You think politics and religion get people fired up? I’ve discovered something even more apt to generate extreme views and robust “discussion,” and it has nothing to do with the economy or same-sex marriage. Yup, I’m talking about food.

It seems that everyone has decided they’re an expert. They do or do not eat [fill in soy, bacon, sugar, etc., etc.], and they’re convinced that you should, or should not, eat it as well.

I was chatting with a group of women a few days ago, and someone asked if anyone had a good cold veggie salad recipe. I offered that I make a broccoli salad that is pretty popular at pot-lucks, and started to list off the ingredients. Since we’re all on diets of one form or another, I mentioned that I often substitute turkey bacon for higher-fat “real” bacon—and a lady I did not know, sitting across the table, started screaming at me!

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Talk, Talk, Talk

After a month of house guests, appointments, projects, meetings, errands, and working overtime, we finally had a day all to ourselves. An entire day. Just for us. No visitors. No interruptions. No obligations.

Once a month, my sweetie and I set aside a “date day” to spend time together. The only rule is that we can’t delete if off our calendar. It can be moved, if something important comes up, but sometime during each month we take a day for ourselves. Today was the day. I was eager to get reacquainted with this wonderful guy I’d married 33 years ago.

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Raca!

Would you walk up to your friend, criticize their political or religious beliefs, and insult their morals and/or intelligence? How about insulting their friends or their spouse? You wouldn’t have many friends, at least for long!

Xxxx shared Being Liberal‘s photo.

(M) This is great. Make sure to do it (and share it), if you want an anti-gay politician’s head to explode.

Yet, people seem to be doing this all the time in blog comments, on Facebook, and through other social media. They post cartoons or remarks that are just plain nasty—and largely based on untrue stereotypes.

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Grandma Brain?

Oh my, is it time for another post already? While I’m usually prepared ahead of time, I didn’t even think about posting something for today. Not until now.

I have the perfect excuse, however. Blame it on “grandma brain.”

After driving 1,400 miles, we’re finally here in Washington meeting our new granddaughter. For some reason I have totally lost track of what day it is. We’re learning that grandchildren are a bit distracting.

Anyway, I didn’t come up with anything profound or insightful today; I’m taking the day off. Instead, I’m offering visual proof of this tiny little girl that has us totally mesmerized. I’ll be back on schedule by Friday. I think.

Here she is, just a couple of weeks old and almost five pounds. Not bad for arriving five weeks early!

The orange tube was for supplemental feedings while she was still in the NICU, where she was when this photo was taken. (The tube was no longer needed by the time she finally came home, this past weekend.)

And here’s grandpa holding his granddaughter for the first time. You can see where she gets her hairstyle.

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Surprise!

We’re all familiar with surprise birthday parties. Well, late Sunday night (and just in time for Mother’s Day), our daughter and son-in-law experienced a surprise birth! Yup, our new granddaughter arrived five weeks early, weighing in at 5 lbs, and measuring 17 inches. My husband and I are now grandparents. So far, it’s pretty amazing.

We’re in Colorado. Our daughter and her family live in Washington. We have yet to meet our grandchild. We’re definitely going to rectify that soon, but at this point we’ve only seen a couple of ultrasounds from the past eight months, a cell phone picture of her at less than an hour old, and I’ve heard her cry over the phone. Yet we already love her to pieces.

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A Timely Hug

Last Saturday, God gave me a huge hug. I’m still floating.

Last week, a few women in our home group decided it was time for a ladies’ day out. They planned to have lunch at a local tea house, then browse through some gift shops together. Normally, this wouldn’t have interested me very much—I’m not much of a window-shopper, and I usually don’t take well to “women’s events”—but this is the group we joined last May and I’m still trying to get to know everyone. Besides, I felt a nudge, insubstantial but very real, from the Holy Spirit, saying “Go!” So I went.

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The Perfect Marriage

Can you describe God’s perfect plan for marriage—or any relationship, for that matter? What is really important?

A quick Google search for “marriage compatibility quiz” turned up over a half-million hits. Many of the quizzes were quite silly, such as the “Love Calculator” that promises to predict how well your relationship will work based on your birth dates.

While I firmly believe that making decisions based on astrology is sinful (see my post on this topic), I don’t believe God has a problem with our poking a bit of fun, so I entered our birthdays and clicked the button. The results? Pete and I are “93% compatible.” (After 32 years of marriage, I could have guessed that.)

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Road Trip!

I love road trips, especially trips with no set schedule. There’s something about sitting in a car for mile after mile, watching the countryside slowly change from the ponderosas and short-grass prairies of home to Somewhere Else. I’m also a huge sucker for those brown signs erected by the Department of the Interior. Do the elk/bison/pronghorn know this is a “wildlife viewing area”? (I always turn off the road and go look, just in case.)

There’s nothing like a road trip for carving out time to connect with someone. It’s getting harder and harder to be out of touch, but in the middle of nowhere, there are no interruptions. Get far enough from civilization, and even the cell phones don’t work. This makes me very happy (unless the car breaks down, gets stuck in the mud, or runs out of gas).

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