Golden Girls party

[wiseheart]

Mum had fun with her lady friends. Said ladies appreciated the booze, the banana bread, the cheesy sticks and the financiers, so my work wasn't for nothing.

I'm a bit tired, not because of the baking - it wasn't particularly heavy - but because of my daily schedule having turned upside down. Apparently, I'm of the age when daily routine gives one the feeling of security. Ah, well, tomorrow promises to be business as usual.

I've made a bit of progress with the quiet book page. The gift boxes now have their sparkly "lids" and ribbons and bows taped on - not sewn on yet, though. But at least the concept itself is taking shape, which is good.

Tomorrow will be hunting day again, so I'll have to get up early. Grrrr! However, getting up early means a long morning and that, again, is a good thing.

Comments

[meathiel]

Good to hear your mum and her friends had a good time.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad the ladies came! Mum really needed a bit of variety in her life.

[beauty-forashes.livejournal.com]

I love my daily routine too. Always have.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Mee, too. Which is why I could adapt to life in a convent fairly easily. The routine wasn't the problem.

[beauty-forashes.livejournal.com]

I can imagine. I actually considered taking a vacation in a monastery once because I think the quiet, rules and routine would have been a comfort for me then. But since I came to believe in Christ, I couldn't because it would be a Catholic place. It would distress me to no end.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

The Catholic Church does have its faults — the hunger for power not the least of them — but there are things you wouldn't find in many other places. For me it's the Easter rituals I still miss, even after having secularized my relationship with the Creator decades ago.

[beauty-forashes.livejournal.com]

Well, anything done by humans has faults because we're so very far from perfect. So very far from perfect that the Son of God had to die to pay for our sins, past, present and future, and rise again for our justification. What distresses me is that Catholic people don't believe that, and put faith in their works, or the teachings and sacraments of a church instead of the finished work of Christ alone. No works or anything else added. My grandmother died a Catholic and I wasn't a believer back then, so I couldn't give her the simple gospel and how to get to heaven after death.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Catholic people are every bit as different as all the other ones; they have their personal faith, and that's specific for everyone. The Church itself, though, is an institution, and an old one; and institutions tend to develop their teachings and rituals and customs — partly to keep up continuity, but it's also part of the natural development. There are things within the Church that are certainly outdated and should be dismantled, but institutions, especially large and old ones, are usually reluctant to change. Although I stopped going to church a few years ago, I still consider myself Catholic — a secular one. It's better that way for both parties. I've studied theology and know what I'm opposed to, but there are things I still cherish.

[beauty-forashes.livejournal.com]

I haven't studied theology, just the Bible. But that's okay.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I was required to study theology while I worked for the parish as a religion teacher. But I made a Bible course whiles till in the cloister.

[beauty-forashes.livejournal.com]

You said you have a more secular approach to God now, I'm curious what that looks like. Oh gosh, I hope I'm not bothering you and you don't mind talking about this! I'm just very curious about others' beliefs.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

You are not bothering me at all; it's just hard to explain what all the differences are. I almost unconsciously filtered out a lot of small (or not so small) parts of the official doctrine during the last thirty years or so. Basically, I still talk to the Creator on a daily basis and steadfastly hope that in the end love and grace will prevail. *g*

Also, I'm very lucky that our language simply doesn't have a gender difference, so I don't have to refer to God as "he". I used to read a lot of feminist theology in the past but found that to be the other extreme, more often than not. So I chose to remain... well, simply secular. Mum is the same way, even though she attends to Mass every Sunday (via TV) in these days. But that part is basically done to thank for her recovery from some serious health problems.

[beauty-forashes.livejournal.com]

Thanks for explaining and that's interesting, since I don't associate with any church or group at all, so I can understand your approach. I do have fellowship with other Christians though, who are pretty much in the same boat as me. I pray every day too, and much of my thinking is centered around God. I do say "He" since Jesus is male and referred to the Father as male, and also the Holy Spirit, but at the same time I see a number of attributes of God referred to in Scripture that are traditionally attributed to females and mothers in particular.

The only thing that saddens me a wee bit is that you say you only "hope" grace and love will prevail. God made a way for us through the work of Christ. I know, beyond a single shadow of a doubt, that I have fellowship with God, belong to Him and that I'm going to heaven when I die. There's no question in my mind anymore about that. It saddens me that some churches call that presumptuous because it's not. It would be presumptuous (and wrong) if I said anything I did or do would earn me eternal life, but no person alive has any merit of their own. It's only because of what He did for me and His righeousness imputed to me, not my own. So, knowing He can't lie and that He will and does keep His promise if I put 100% trust on Him alone, I don't have to just hope. I can know with absolute certainty, and so can anyone who puts their trust in Christ.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I think different backgrounds lead to different approaches, and that's all right so. The Creator is generous enough to allow us to go our own way, being able to write straight on crooked lines too. ;)

[beauty-forashes.livejournal.com]

True, He used my very, very crooked lines to show me the way to salvation. One of these days I'll post my testimony, I just want to give it more thought and for that I need some quiet time. :)

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I'm looking forward to reading it one day. :)

[beauty-forashes.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I think it'll be a project for after the harvest when I have more time.

[adafrog.livejournal.com]

Glad it was a good visit.
Happy hunting.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Thanks! *g*

[red-day-dawning.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a party!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Oh, it was — in a manner! ;)

[elwenlj.livejournal.com]

What? I missed a party? I'm pleased it went well. Personally, I fight routine of any kind. The only thing I am obsessive about it washing the dishes.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

There is routine and there is routine. For me, it is the kind that secures me a bit of me-time amidst of all the chores.

[noadvertising.livejournal.com]

I think i´d be all ears, to hear all the gossipping that surely takes place!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I'm afraid you'd have found it deadly boring. I was quite bored myself; but the three of them enjoyed it, and that's what counts, right?

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Glad the Golden Girls Get-together went well. I must try making financiers some time.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I love financiers! They are quickly made, easy, and you can use up the leftover egg whites. Considering what eggs cost in these days, one can no longer afford to simply throw them away — not that I'd ever have done that. But one gets even more conscious about such things nowadays.

[mirasaui.livejournal.com]

Glad your Mum had a grand time.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

So am I. It's so rare that she gets to meet anybody in person — because the cleaning lady and the physiotherapist, nice though they are, don't really count in this context.