What have I invested?
Eleven years ago ...
1 Peter 5:6-12 January 19
not letting people bog me down 10601.19
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 6-7
Genesis 19
Increase Your Self-Confidence by Satisfying Your Own Conscience
I really must get some life insurance! Over the last couple of weeks, I know that if something happens to me I don't want Martha and our child [Sarah wasn't born until the end of February this year] doing without. Not that I think their family in Minot would let them, of course, but my legacy has got to be something they're proud to have, not a burden to bear. Of course that's not going to be just money, but that's the key to unlocking many other blessings here on Earth. What did I invest, what have I invested, what will I invest for eternity?
Li, Yuyun. A Thousand Years of Good Prayers. New York: Random House, 2005.
ISBN 1400063124
The author chose to write about what she knew, life in China and life in the United States as a person of Chinese descent. Far from being ten PC missives, these stories all seem to have strong family connections with recent history. From "street smarts" in post-Mao China for a retiree ("Extra") and the consequences of an arranged marriage ("Love in the Marketplace") to the clash between father and child, Old World and New (the title story), this collection dives deep into life and gives one culture insight into all.
Now where was I ...
Oh yes, I got home from work last night and actually enjoyed the hamburger and macaroni hot dish Martha made (at home on Wednesday; there was no choir practice and is no choir Sunday, but Martha and another church member will sing during both services!) that she asked me to pick up tomato soup to mix in it that really packed a punch for me! I'm usually not a fan of hot dish -- but it's a local ... I wouldn't say delicacy but something you can put together when you have just about anything in the house! Our son Jeffrey, he sprung up and rushed to the kitchen when he heard it was ready! And considering the kids save their big meal for the evening -- it's really supposed to be the other way around, but they're still growing physically as Martha and I should NOT be -- they did very well.
And I'm sure they looked forward to the ice cream that I brought home.
It was a great deal -- only $2.98 a carton for Dean's this week at Marketplace so I got two! But I digress. There are moments I find myself wanting as little as possible to do with historians. (Irony: for a time I wanted to be one.) And then I get into a book like Pieter Geyl's Debates With Historians (LOC 58-11924), a collection of thirteen of the Dutchman's essays that for the most part -- even with his obvious disdain for British historian Arnold Toynbee whom he excoriates in four of them -- are fun reading. The gradual transition in the Industrial Revolution from seeing history as a series of acts of God to finding out "what really happened" (Ranke's words, not mine). You just have to remember that no matter who you are or where you come from or even how many letters you have after your name, that everybody is going to see the past and its impact on the present differently from you.
AND it's better that way.
David
1 Peter 5:6-12 January 19
not letting people bog me down 10601.19
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 6-7
Genesis 19
Increase Your Self-Confidence by Satisfying Your Own Conscience
I really must get some life insurance! Over the last couple of weeks, I know that if something happens to me I don't want Martha and our child [Sarah wasn't born until the end of February this year] doing without. Not that I think their family in Minot would let them, of course, but my legacy has got to be something they're proud to have, not a burden to bear. Of course that's not going to be just money, but that's the key to unlocking many other blessings here on Earth. What did I invest, what have I invested, what will I invest for eternity?
Li, Yuyun. A Thousand Years of Good Prayers. New York: Random House, 2005.
ISBN 1400063124
The author chose to write about what she knew, life in China and life in the United States as a person of Chinese descent. Far from being ten PC missives, these stories all seem to have strong family connections with recent history. From "street smarts" in post-Mao China for a retiree ("Extra") and the consequences of an arranged marriage ("Love in the Marketplace") to the clash between father and child, Old World and New (the title story), this collection dives deep into life and gives one culture insight into all.
Now where was I ...
Oh yes, I got home from work last night and actually enjoyed the hamburger and macaroni hot dish Martha made (at home on Wednesday; there was no choir practice and is no choir Sunday, but Martha and another church member will sing during both services!) that she asked me to pick up tomato soup to mix in it that really packed a punch for me! I'm usually not a fan of hot dish -- but it's a local ... I wouldn't say delicacy but something you can put together when you have just about anything in the house! Our son Jeffrey, he sprung up and rushed to the kitchen when he heard it was ready! And considering the kids save their big meal for the evening -- it's really supposed to be the other way around, but they're still growing physically as Martha and I should NOT be -- they did very well.
And I'm sure they looked forward to the ice cream that I brought home.
It was a great deal -- only $2.98 a carton for Dean's this week at Marketplace so I got two! But I digress. There are moments I find myself wanting as little as possible to do with historians. (Irony: for a time I wanted to be one.) And then I get into a book like Pieter Geyl's Debates With Historians (LOC 58-11924), a collection of thirteen of the Dutchman's essays that for the most part -- even with his obvious disdain for British historian Arnold Toynbee whom he excoriates in four of them -- are fun reading. The gradual transition in the Industrial Revolution from seeing history as a series of acts of God to finding out "what really happened" (Ranke's words, not mine). You just have to remember that no matter who you are or where you come from or even how many letters you have after your name, that everybody is going to see the past and its impact on the present differently from you.
AND it's better that way.
David
Comments
Post a Comment