fun. crazy. life.

I got this cookbook for Christmas:
Deceptively Delicious, by Jessica Seinfeld
I was so excited. I really like feeding my kids healthy food, so I was super pumped to get a bunch of recipes that would share “Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food.”

Not. What. I. Thought.

Every recipe calls for some type of pureed fruit or vegetable. As in brownees made with pureed beets or chicken fingers with pureed cauliflower in them.
What??
Firstly, who has time to cook and basically make baby food from scratch to add to the food you’re already cooking?
Secondly, what about that is “simple?”
Thirdly, how is this “teaching my kids to eat good food”? This is hiding good food in food that looks like ‘bad’ food. Wouldn’t it be much, much healthier for them to keep eating the salads they love rather than sneaking beets and yams into desserts? Wouldn’t that teach them that they like desserts rather than the ‘good’ food that is hidden in the dessert? And isn’t this doing the opposite of teaching my kids healthy eating habits for life, by getting them used to having healthy food disguised as bad food?

Anyway, I am highly disappointed and will be returning this cookbook for something I will actually use. Like maybe this one…

Dumbledore is gay.

Not quite sure what to say about this…. except a) Did we really need to know this? and 2) Of all the additional she could have revealed, unanswered questions and the like, she chose to reveal that? How disappointing. I want to know what happened to the Dursleys, darn it.

Maybe she’s just trying to be controversial. “Not everyone likes her work, Rowling said, likely referring to Christian groups that have alleged the books promote witchcraft. Her news about Dumbledore, she said, will give them one more reason.”

UPDATE: So. Didn’t see that coming. I feel like I should give my opinion here, since everyone else is very passionately giving theirs. I don’t agree with any of my commenters so far. I am not upset that Dumbledore is gay. It really doesn’t change my feelings towards his character of the series. I was bummed that she didn’t reveal something much, much juicier The last time she revealed extra information, it was so great. This gay-thing was kind-of a let down. So this may explain things, this may just cause more controversy, but this is what I think about the whole thing.

First, I do not think that Rowlings is “all about pissing off the conservative Christian base” or “just trying to sell mroe books.” Is there a Christian conservative base in England like there is here? Plus, the woman is richer than the queen - do you really think she needs to cause a stir to help sell more books?
I was part of a book club for awhile with some wonderful Christian ladies and I was shocked when a book that I chose was criticized for not having a Christian message. Of course it didn’t. It was written about non-Christians by a non-Christian. Why would it? It was still a great book, a valuable read and a very accurate portrayal of how many, many people view the world.
Harry Potter books are the same. They are not meant to be religious. She was writing an epic story about the battle of good vs evil - a classic literary theme found in such Christian-approved books as Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia. (Ironically, both of which have witchcraft/wizards in their stories.) Rowling is not a Christian. Yet, there are many Biblical themes seen in the book. The same way she draws on history, myths and many other types of literature to form a timeless story.
Another big theme of the story is tolerance for all creatures. So naturally, Rowling would throw in a gay character who is worthy of great respect. But, she is announcing it now, it is not found in the actual book. The stories are remarkably G-rated on that front while still having some dating storylines, she instead sticks to her main themes. If she really wanted to be controversial, she would have thrown it in the book. But she didn’t, and I find that to be very respectful of the children who will be reading it.

My children will be absolutely be allowed to read these books. They teach the importance of self-sacrifice for a cause. That evil is present in this world and that it is unacceptable to turn the other cheek and pretend not to see it. It teaches that people may even die in the fight. Rowlings was criticized for having major characters die in a series for children, but I applaud her. That is a reality that we can no longer shield our children from in this day and age. Would I prevent my children reading them because they feature a gay character? ( it’s not even stated in the book, so will they even know?) This book in no way glorifies that lifestyle, it is just a fact about this particular character. My children will undoubtedly encounter gay people in their lifetime. What would forbidding them from this whole series teach them? Nevermind that these books are a fantastic work of fiction. I’ve read them all, so have many, many Christian friends. And we all think they’re phenomenal.
I’ve always found it very curious that people refuse to read Harry Potter because they are not Christian books. What other books do these people read, I wonder? Why such a big deal about this one?

the absence of parenting stories and kid antidotes today. That would be because for the last 24 hours I have not been parenting. Well, I’ve been keeping my kids alive (by which I mean being vaguely aware of them not playing in the middle of the street and feeding them when they get too whiney.) but that’s about it. I have been absorbed in Harry Potter. Oh my goodness. Oh. My. Goodness. Now I don’t want to write about the book, since lots of people haven’t read it yet, but I must say: “Holy cow, that was good.”

And if you’ve never read Harry Potter before, please get off your high horse and read it. I know its technically a childrens’ book. And its about magic. I came into the game late as well, until I finally, finally read one to see what the fuss was all about. They really are brilliant. Go start with Book 1. You will not be disappointed!!

I just found this in my inbox:
“We are done reading Harry Potter, if you want to borrow our book until you get the Box set. I’ll be driving by your place later today if you want me to drop it off!”

That there, Internets, is true, true friendship right. So, you probably won’t hear from me from the second this gets dropped off until I finish reading. I am SOOOOO excited!!! Hee hee hee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 I just finished this book this morning. It was good. Not great. But worth a read. I have been wanting to read a book about marriage, since I haven’t read one in awhile. I usually find them challenging and invigorating. About 2 years ago, I read Reforming Marriage, (written by the husband of this author) and I really enjoyed it, so I thought I’d give this a whirl. Here’s the first paragraph:

“American women today are indeed gullible.They have been captivated by the lies promulgated by the modern world and have succumbed in many ways to the humanistic mindset.  Who are the deceivers? They are lovers of themselves, lovers of money, lovers of pleasure.  The modern woman has been deceived, like Eve, and led away by her own lusts from her God-given domain and her God-given responsibilities.  Loaded down with sin - discontent and envy - she is promised freedom and happiness if she will just forsake her domain - her home - and neglect her responsibilities - her husband and children.”

Woah. What does she really think, huh?  Still, I found this book mildly helpful. I thought that the author was a bit too militant in some of her views, referring to “government schools” instead of public schools and condemning the working mother as irresponsible and sinful. (Ironic, as she is also encouraging women not to judge one another’s choices in childrearing and education.) Personally I know several wonderful Christian women who work outside the home (with the blessing of their husbands) and, somehow, still manage to have amazing families.  In fact, I know one woman who worked while homeschooling her 5 children. So I don’t buy into this theory that all working families are impossible and sinful.

I was very challenged by the idea that the home is my duty. Taking care of my home, children and husband is my God-given responsibility and I need to work hard at it. Being a homemaker is not for slackers — it takes a lot of time and hard work too keep a household running. And even more work to keep it thriving.  We need to work diligently, not waste time and work joyfully, not while grumbling. My work is pleasing to God. This is my ministry. This is my offering to Him.  I found that very encouraging, as I face the monotony of loads of laundry, cooking and cleaning, and picking up after small children.  I also liked her suggestion that women should not downplay their role at home. We like to look like we’re perfect. We like to look like we’ve got it all together (at least I do!) So when someone compliments us, saying “Wow, you’re home is always so clean and neat! How do you do it?”, we downplay it, wanting it to seem effortless when its not. Instead of saying, “Oh, its nothing!” we should be honest and say, “Thanks. I work really hard to keep it like this!”

Her main point in the book (I think) was that wives are called to respect our husbands. It’s right there in Ephesians 5.  I should never bad-mouth my husband to my friends. I should keep private things private, not complaining about him to friends under the guise that I need to get something off my chest. My husband is not one of my kids or my little brother, so I should not treat him as such.  Interesting thoughts to ponder.

Overall, this was a good read. Even though she was a little hyper-reformed, it was all good, sound biblical advice about marriage. I would recommend it to all you married ladies out there who want to be challenged to really look at your marriage.