Computer Woes: Don't know when I can post for this weekend.

Due to a coffee-related disaster, I lost the use of eight keys on my laptop's keyboard, and I don't know exactly when I'm going to have the post ready for this Sunday.

At least all of my data is safe, though. I spent the last five hours backing up stuff off of my laptop and looking for a comparable replacement on Best Buy.

I do have all the materials for my blog, but I've been writing pretty much exclusively in Scrivener, and that isn't a standard program. It was only installed on my laptop.

I will be able to retrieve all of my work, but it will take time to get the new laptop, and then to get the new laptop set up for such things.

We've got a target at a local Best Buy that's within our price range, but I may end up calling this weekend's post all together.

I got my data, though. That's the big thing I was worried about.

Priests: Real People --- Real People: Priests

30th Sunday of Ordinary Time

This Sunday, the second reading will be from Hebrews 5:1-6, but definitely read the other readings for context.

Newsflash, guys: Did you know that priests are real people? People that eat pizza, and like football, and even have families with weirdo kid brothers and evil sisters.

Reformation Sunday... Day of Prayer for Christian Unity?

In Daniel’s Small Church, there are a great many people who inexplicably feel the need to celebrate “Reformation Sunday”. In case you didn’t know, it’s this weekend (the last Sunday in October).

For the life of me, I cannot cipher out why people think this is an occasion to celebrate. A run-down of what happened:

{7 QT 22} - Life, Lately (Now with 50% more good news!)

Just a few more update in how things are going, lately.

The Kind of King We Have

29th Sunday of Ordinary Time

This Sunday, the second reading will be from Hebrews 4:14-16. Make sure you read the other readings for context.

If you do it right, I’m pretty sure it’s no fun being King. People need things from you, they rely on you, they ask for your help with things because they can't do it themselves.

When you are called upon to take up a leadership role, how do you respond?

Jesus himself said, “If it is possible let this cup pass from me," and there are anecdotes about each of the last two popes indicating that at the time that their election seemed certain, each of them begged God to choose someone else.

{7 QT 21} - NaNoWriMo!

A who to the what, now?
National Novel Writing Month - is 100% without a doubt my favorite secular celebration of anything. Way, way cooler than Talk Like a Pirate Day.

NaNoWriMo is a month-long novel writing event that takes place during the month of November. The object is to write 50,000 words worth of first draft, that you can later revise into a novel.

I have been a (very) long-time participant in NaNoWriMo. Eleven years is the figure I keep quoting on the forums, but having done a little napkin math, I am able to rattle off novel titles for eleven previous years, so this may, in fact, be my twelfth year!

And I didn't get "in" on NaNoWriMo until it had already been going strong for five years.

Here are seven quick takes about NaNoWriMo for me, this year, and why it's a red letter year.

Obedience Out of Fear

28th Sunday of Ordinary Time

This Sunday, the second reading will be from Hebrews 4:12-13. I suggest reading from the beginning of the chapter, for context, and then read the other readings.

The writer to the Hebrews writes in this chapter on the Sabbath rest, though you wouldn’t know it by the brief excerpt we read today. Nowadays, Sundays are starting to look so much like every other day of the week that resting on Sundays is a hard thing for Christians to talk about seriously and really enter into.

Prayer Request for my Hashimoto's Disease

Those who have been following for a little while may be aware that I was diagnosed a few months ago with Hashimoto's Disease. And there's just a few things I need to talk about.

I seriously almost wrote my seven quick takes on Friday about the seven worst things about trying to go gluten-free because of my Hashimoto's. You might notice I didn't do one this week. There's a good reason for that - my Hashimoto's has been making me miserable for the last few days. While I know that whining is unbecoming, it's the only thing I feel like doing right now.

I've made a comparison in the past between Hashimoto's Disease and Diabetes. Hashimoto's Disease is not half so much like Diabetes as it is like Celiac. This is not to make light of either Diabetes or Celiac, just to illustrate a difference.

Image from Wikipedia.

Used under Creative Commons License 3.0.

Hashimoto's Disease (like Celiac) is an autoimmune condition. Any time I "cheat" on my new eating restrictions, my body produces antibodies that try to get my thyroid. And it continues to produce them for a while (the length of time being measured in months, as I understand it).

Between the Old and New Covenants

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

This Sunday, the second reading will be from Hebrews 2:9-11. I would suggest beginning at verse 5 - that's where the link goes. Be sure to read the other readings for context - this reflection will not make sense without them!

On description, Daniel indicated that he thought this was a “how it happened to speak to me” type of reflection. Read with that in mind!