Family & Friends

Categories Family & Friends, Following Christ, Reflections, Thankfulness

My GREAT Aunts

1 Comment by

The Cook Clan, to which I belong, is a clan that is blessed with women.

Of my mother’s eleven siblings, nine of them are sisters.

So I grew up in a world dominated by aunts (although they managed to bring not a few men into the fold as in-laws.)

Some of my earliest childhood memories are of taking romps with a whole passel of aunts, attending the wedding of one aunt or the other, picking up an aunt from her university classes.

My aunts are all smart, brilliant even. The Cook girls were almost universally valedictorians of their class. Most of them went to the University on academic scholarships.

The Cook family, Christmas 1984

The Cook Clan, Christmas 1984

But it isn’t their brains or even the fond memories of childhood play that make me declare that I have the greatest aunts in the world.

It’s Facebook that has convinced me that my aunts are the best.

My aunts read my Facebook stati, the links I post, the blog posts that get automatically transferred as notes. And they comment with wisdom and humor.

I linked to an article about an amusing medical condition. An aunt commented her LOL–and then later privately messaged me. “I’ve been thinking about that article a little more and realized that your younger cousins can see it as well. It’s pretty graphic, and I’m not sure their parents want to have to explain those things.” She was absolutely right–and I never would have thought of it. I removed the link and, thanks to her wisdom, spared my younger cousins from seeing something inappropriate.

I spill my heart, share some of the difficulties I’ve been experiencing–and an aunt comments just to say “I feel you.” When I demonstrate inappropriate thinking, an aunt steps in to lovingly rebuke me, encouraging me to be compassionate towards myself. When I comment on her stati, an aunt responds with an affirmation “Bekah, maybe you should stay in school and get that PhD. I can see you being a professor.”

I mention the “fertility charm” I received as a gift, stating that I won’t be wearing it as I’m lacking certain prerequisites. An aunt comments to say that there are more ways to be fertile than just having babies. “And I would say Rebekah you are very full of fruit, in the Godly way!”

What a blessing to have aunts who are full of wisdom and encouragement–and who are willing to share it so freely.

Cook girls, Thanksgiving 2009

Some of my aunts in their traditional kitchen cabal,
discussing some important issue of the day
Thanksgiving 2009

“…the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things–that they admonish the young women to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.”
Titus 2:3-5

I am so grateful to have such wonderful aunts, who fear God and seek to follow His ways–and who encourage me to do the same.

Categories Family & Friends

I don’t read your blog

4 Comments by

I love my siblings dearly. They’re all wonderful, and wonderfully supportive.

But some of them DO NOT and WILL NOT read blogs. Others do and will read blogs–just not MY blog.

Three siblings have blogs of their own and read mine in turn (Anna, Joshua, and Grace). My mom reads my blog faithfully. The other 3 siblings don’t read blogs (except maybe ones very specifically related to politics, the Marine corps, eRepublik, or Husker football). And my dad reads plenty of political blogs but not mine.

I don’t anticipate this changing anytime soon.

Here’s a simple excerpt from an old e-mail to give you an idea for why I might think that way. Daniel writes in an e-mail with the subject “Blog”:

What’s with the multiple color schemes and formatting depending on which page you are on?

I am not reading it … just trying to find out which class you teach … you can check the times … too short to read

daniel

Don’t you love that? He wanted to know what the deal was (I was switching from all html pages to php constructed html pages while changing my blog design)–but wanted to make sure that I knew that he wasn’t reading. And to make double sure, he reminded me that I can check my statistics to see that he didn’t spend enough time on my site to actually read anything.

If you don’t read my blog, by all means, let me know!

Categories Everyday Life, Family & Friends

Easter dresses

1 Comment by

Today, I sat down beside my pastor’s young daughter and struck up a conversation. We got to talking about my new watch–and how it has interchangeable wristbands (black, white, tan, and pink). Ashley asked that I wear the pink wristband next week.

“I’ll have to figure out something to wear to match it.” I said. And then I realized my mistake: “But chances are I’ll have no problem, next week being Easter.”

Because Easter is the time for fancy pastel dresses and big hats.

[Click on the picture for a slide show of some of our Easter outfits through the years.]
Easter outfits

My grandma always bought the girls Easter dresses and the boys Easter suits. Oftentimes, they were the only truly NEW clothing that we got all year (well, except for the Christmas outfits that she bought us.) Everything else was hand-me-downs or used store garb. Not that we complained about the rest of our clothes–but it sure was fun to have some new clothes.

We would take our semi-annual trips to the mall with Grandma and gasp as she urged us to try on dresses that cost 30, 40, 50, and even 80 dollars. In our minds, that was a simply preposterous sum for one article of clothing. (In my mind, it still is!)

But we ended up with quite a collection of Easter dresses.

Now that I’m a “grown-up”, I miss the fancy dresses of my youth. We don’t dress up like we used to, not even for church. Little girls could still pull off what I wore–if they could find it–but grown women certainly don’t wear pretty springtime dresses at Easter like they used to when I was a girl.

Categories Family & Friends

Mickey D’s

4 Comments by

The McDonalds at 11th and Cornhusker knows what to expect come 8:30 Wednesday nights. They’ll be suddenly inundated by a rash of students in their late teens and early twenties, all of them ordering a couple of items off the dollar menu and sticking around for at least an hour.

The manager is out to greet the visitors as they come in–and more often than not, a half a dozen employees will make their way to the front counter to exchange some remark with one or another of the guests.

We’ve been going to McDonalds after youth group since my brother first got a job there five years ago. Then, I was a youth sponsor, chaperoning a gaggle of giggling girls. The “group” that went to McDonalds after youth group was me and a bunch of youth group kids.

As we’ve gotten older, so has the demographic of the “group”. I go after Bible study. Jeremy (the youth pastor) drops by. Joshua (a youth sponsor) comes. John and Steve (who sponsor for Rock Solid, the kids group) come. Joanna comes after she’s done doing nursery for all the Wednesday night church events. Debbie stops in after classes. And there’s still the group of high school students: Tim and Grace and Kayla and John and Eli and Elinor and Brittany and others.

We take over the little nook with its two circular corner booths and little table and armchair lounge. We talk and we tease and occasionally we take pictures. We have fun. We hang out.

It’s a relaxing time, a do-nothing time. Everybody’s just being.

And then there’s the occasional game of hangman.

notebook page

Which morphs into drawing smiley-faces.

Which becomes drawing emoticons (which others scribble out.)

Then someone draws a picture of someone getting blown up by a hand-grenade.

And someone tries to write an onomatopoeia of the crazy noise he makes every so often.

Which somehow leads to genie jokes.

And then someone comments on my grading pen–and discovers that I grade with the blood of former students.

Bet you didn’t know that.

I don’t really share it often.

But now you know.

Students beware of taking a class by Miss Menter. :-P

Categories Family & Friends, Reflections

LPs. Records. Memories.

Leave a comment by

I was born in the 80s, a child of the 90s, coming of age in the millennium. But my heart belongs to an earlier day–or more like many earlier days.

Nothing takes me back to my childhood (and beyond) like the sound of the earliest Christian rock, 70s rock–the likes of Larry Norman and Randy Stonehill.

My mom and dad’s LPs that we listened to endlessly.

Larry Norman’s “In Another Land” (1975):

Turning back the table once again to enjoy our favorites.

“He’s a rock that doesn’t roll
He’s a rock that doesn’t roll
Well He’s good for the body
and great for the soul
He’s a rock that doesn’t roll!”

“He’s an unidentified flyin’ object
You will see Him in the air…
And if there’s life on other planets
Then I’m sure that He must know
and He’s been there once already
and has died to save their souls.”

And of course, trying our hand at the glorious harmonies of “Righteous Rocker #3” while Mom tells us stories of her college buddies who would break out into harmony while walking through campus.

“You can be a righteous rocker
Or a holy roller
You can be most anything
You could be a child of a slum
Or a skidrow bum
You can be an earthly king
But without love
you ain’t nothing
Without love
Without love you ain’t nothin’
Without love.”

Chuck Girard’s “Chuck Girard” (1975):

Crying for the girl from Tinagera. Crying in worship to “Sometimes Alleluia”. Walkin’ by the Sea, the Sea of Galilee. Rockin’ out to “Rock’n’Roll Preacher.”

Randy Stonehill’s “Welcome to Paradise” (1976):

Already a budding health activist, belting out the lyrics to “Lung Cancer”.

“She went down to the corner store
And bought a pack of filter kings
Don’t you know tomorrow she’ll be back for more
Cause she really likes to smoke those things
And every time that she inhales a cloud of that cigarette smoke
She’s just one step closer to the man in black
And 60 cents closer to broke
She’s been working on lung cancer,
Emphysema, a cardiac arrest…
She’s been smokin’ that C-I-G-A-R-E-T-T-E”

Meanwhile, Anna and Josh enjoyed the much more beautiful and poetic “Puppet Strings”.

“We are all foolish puppets
Who, desiring to be king,
Now lie pitifully crippled
after cutting all our strings.
But God said I’ll forgive you
and face you man to man
And win your love again.
O how can there be possibly
a greater gift of love
Than dying for a friend?”

2nd Chapter of Acts’ “Mansion Builder” (1978):

Joshua singing Matthew to Anna’s Annie, harmonizing beautifully to “Mansion Builder”.

“So why should I worry?
Why should I fret?
‘Cause I’ve got a mansion-builder
Who ain’t through with me yet.”

Lamb’s “Lamb I” (1972):

Joshua singing along with his favorite band, his child’s voice mingling with Joel Chernoff’s tenor:

“The sacrifice lamb has been slain
His blood on the altar a stain
To wipe away guilt and pain,
To bring hope eternal.
Salvation has come to the world;
God’s only Son to the world;
Jesus the One for the world–
Yeshua is He.”

The songs that take me back, that make me remember the wholehearted enthusiasm of three little children digging through Mom and Dad’s records. The songs that remind me of the days when we spent hours luxuriating in melody and harmony and rhythm. When we pored over the record sleeves, enjoying the long-haired hippyness of the Jesus-music, enjoying the poetry and occasional childishness of the lyrics and tunes.

These artists created Christian music as we know it today. They were decried as singing “devil music” because the music was syncopated–a Gothard anathema. They started their own labels to create a niche for themselves, unwilling to “let the devil have all the good music” (in the words of Larry Norman). And so began Christian rock.

But we have forgotten them along the way, now in our world where Christian music is ordinary, mundane, (in my opinion) boring. It wasn’t always this way. Once upon a day, the idea of Christian rock and roll was revolutionary. These were the pioneers. They dared to think that modern music could be a medium for the Christian artist. And they created true art. The art that fed my child soul.

Categories Family & Friends, Reflections

Our Shared Addiction

2 Comments by

Although scientists have struggled to discover precise genes for addictions, it is generally recognized that certain addictions tend to run in families. Alcoholism. Nicotine addiction. Addiction to elicit drugs.

Just like most issues ascribed to genetics, the question always arises–is it nature or nurture? Do I act like my family acts because it is hard-wired into me or because I learn it from my family? I don’t know. Scientists don’t know. It’s been debated for years.

My family might be said to have an addiction. At least, my father and I share a common addiction. We’re both “information junkies”. We like to be surrounded by information constantly–whether reading it, listening to it on talk radio, discussing it with a friend, or watching a documentary. Give me information.

Cut off from information, I go through withdrawal–I start to twitch and make random noises. :-)

Thankfully, information is readily available at my local library, online, and across the yard at my parents’ house. So I rarely have to experience withdrawal.

You might say it’s genetic. My dad is a notorious information junkie.

But maybe it’s nurture. I grew up listening to Ravi Zacharias on the way to church, Rush Limbaugh on errands, and RTB Radio Podcasts while my dad showered in the room next door. I remember watching coverage of the Gulf War after dinner on the little television we took out of the closet expressly for that purpose. My family had (still has) three sets of encyclopedias. I read them regularly.

Nature or nurture, I’m an addict. So is my dad.

He got me hooked at a young age, as I took sips from the deep glasses he drank from. The encyclopedias acted as a gateway drug, the library my nearest pusher. Soon I was a full-fledged addict. Our drug choices and routes of delivery diverged throughout my teen years, although we still took time to snort together.

But now, again, we have come to share in our addiction freely.

I read blogs, a great variety. My dad reads blogs, mostly news, science, and politics. In Instapundit, we have again found a shared addiction.

“Did you read that article by the Instawife?” Dad asks.

I ask for a bit more description. I checked Insta early that morning–this hadn’t been posted until the afternoon. Dad catches me up on the latest.

“What do you think of that piece on electric cars?” I ask him right back.

We discuss nuclear energy, Supreme court rulings, male empowerment, and liberal extremism–all sparked by our new common link.

Maybe it runs in families, maybe it’s just us–but information is our shared addiction, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Categories Family & Friends, Following Christ, Reflections, Thankfulness

The Christmas Haul

Leave a comment by

Allow me to be the first to affirm that Christmas is NOT all about presents. But I have found myself amazed in recent years by the gifts I’ve received. Not because the gifts were absolutely spectacular in their own right, or because I’m all about getting new things–but because of the way the gifts I’ve received reflect the love and care of my family.

This year, I got…

  • A funnel, a filter wrench, and a oil pan from John
    The oil pan is probably the coolest thing ever. It’s ginormous, but it collects all the oil INSIDE of it, and can be sealed so it won’t spill while waiting to be disposed of. Then, when it’s time to dispose of the oil? The pan has a convenient spout for disposal. Say goodbye to messy oil changes–I’ve got all the tools to make it easy as pie!
  • Camelpack
    Time to start training for that big bike ride across Nebraska! And for me, hydration is key. Now I can do it in style.
  • Two puzzles
    Payback, I’m sure, for the many years I’ve bought “the fam” puzzles for Christmas. Now it’s time to get some of my own done!
  • A trash can for my recycling
    I’ve had a bucket in my kitchen for collecting recyclables. Now I can upgrade to a trash can thanks to John–who generally ridicules recycling but cares about me enough to get me what I care about.
  • Double 15 dominoes
    Every household should have a set, and since Anna moved out, my household’s been without. Thanks, Mom and Dad!
  • A utensil tray
    I’ve been keeping my silverware in a little cardboard box since Anna moved out. Now I have a proper utensil tray so I can keep everything divided. What’s more, my mom found it at the used store! (I appreciate my mom’s thriftiness and care. While all of us received new gifts from Mom and Dad, we also received gifts Mom found at used stores. The used gifts were far from second-rate. They were exactly what we needed/wanted–and were obtained in a way that doesn’t break my parent’s bank. My dad’s compliment is true: My mother is like a merchant ship, bringing her gifts from afar.)
  • Shampoo and barrettes
    Funny gift, you might think. But for me, not at all. I ask for “practical gifts” every year, and am supremely thankful when somebody takes up the call and gets them. You see, I HATE buying shampoo, deodorant, and the like. They’re necessary, so you don’t want to run out. Yet they’re expensive at the grocery store, so buying them generally means a trip to a different store–a WHOLE separate trip, since I rarely buy anything except food. So shampoo is the PERFECT gift.
  • A kitchen decorating ideas book
    For me books + home = love. Grace knew this and planned ahead to get me a book from the library book sale.
  • A picture for my walls
    Mom found it at a used store. It has a Bible verse on it. My living area walls suffered most when Anna left. She had so many wonderful wall decorations. Now I’m building up my own collection.
  • A bookshelf
    My current two (and a half) are stuffed full, and bowing because of the weight of my books. My “little” box of books that don’t fit in the shelves is currently overflowing. But not for much longer. Soon I shall have a bookshelf in my room. I’m excited to move all my Bible study tools up to my room, where I generally do my Bible study. It’ll be much nicer to have easy access instead of having to run downstairs.
  • The promise of another bookshelf
    Joshua has promised to make me another bookshelf (and was a bit disappointed when I received one under the tree.) But I have PLENTY of use for new bookshelves, and I’m excited to see what Josh comes up with. He’s quite a handy guy, if I do say so myself.

Beyond the physical gifts under the tree, I received a few more intangible gifts.

  • A delightful family candle-light service when our church one got canceled
    We packed into the “conservatory” while Anna played William and led us in Christmas carols. Dad and John and I had a bit of an out-loud each other contest during one, probably bringing the others’ eardrums almost to a breaking point (in my favor, my part in the “contest” was unintentional–I just don’t have the greatest concept of my volume while singing.) We lit our candles for Silent Night and sung sweetly in the almost dark.
  • The addition of a fourth girl to the family festivities
    Debbie evens us out at four girls and four boys (for the time being). She joined us for our celebration this year, and blushed massively at some of the gifts she received from my brothers. Their goal in their gifts to her this year was “cherry cheeks”–and they succeeded pretty well. Welcome to the family, Debbie–I can’t wait to have you for a sister-in-law.
  • The boys let me take their pictures
    As the family historian, keeper of the family photos, and (more) regular photo snapper, I am somewhat of an annoyance to my family. I insist on chronicling the exciting and the mundane, pulling out my camera at what they consider to be inopportune times (read, anytime). But last night, they (mostly) let me take photos in peace. John even POSED for a few photos. It’s pretty much a miracle.
  • The girls had patience with my distraction during a game of Mexican train
    Timothy announced that I’d missed a text message just as we were about to start our game of Mexican train. I broke my personal rules and texted back during our first few rounds of the game. I enjoyed the text exchange–and I appreciated my family’s tolerance for my somewhat unusual behavior of late ;-).

And the greatest Christmas “haul”?

Yesterday I read these words–an unusual Christmas passage, but an amazing one nonetheless:

“For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

“ O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?”

The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

(I Corinthians 15:53-57)

At Christmas, we celebrate Christ the immortal, who put on our mortality. Christ the incorruptible who put on our corruption. Christ, who is life, who submitted Himself to death. And why? He did so in order that we who are corrupt could put on incorruption. He did so in order that we who are mortal could put on immortality. He did so in order that we who are creatures of sin and death could obtain victory over the same THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.

Now thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

**Okay, so I was planning to upload those Christmas pictures, but my computer’s acting funny about recognizing my camera today. It goes on funks every so often, so I’m not too worried. More later–for now I’m gonna go back over to the folks and (find my Bible and) spend some time with the family.**

Categories Family & Friends, Thankful Thursday

Thankfullest Thursday: Family

Leave a comment by

Today I’m thankful for the amazing family God has blessed me with–and the fantastic day I was able to spend with them.

I’m thankful for…

  • A table full of all my favorite foods
  • A dinner-table discussion of the laws of thermodynamics (okay, so we’re all nerds)
  • Fun songs on the improvised radio on the way to clean the church
  • A quick church cleaning expedition-in which we got all the vacuuming done in record time, to the sounds of rock on the overhead, John singing “Figaro”, and Dad singing “Scrub another toilet, scrub a toilet next to you…”
  • A relaxing afternoon reading and watching my brothers “Dance Praise”–da da da, da da-da-da DAH.
  • A lesson in internet stalking from my father, the master–although I’m a halfway decent pupil :-)
  • More good food with my aunt and uncle and their crew
  • A great discussion on the proper place for prophesy, the Biblical definition of prophesy, the state of education in the state of California, fraud in major ministries, the Bible answer man, and the politics of global warming.
  • A new name for the Daniel-Debbie phenomenon (still upset that he hasn’t given her a ring yet). We’re calling them “Danby” (a la Support Your Local Sheriff) instead of the earlier “Debuel”.
  • A satisfactory conclusion to the question “How are we getting to Aunt Martha’s tomorrow?”
  • A family debate over the name for Mom’s new car. Wanna weigh in? Top contenders are the “Maroon Prune” or the “Burgundy Bomb”. Let me know what you think.

For this and so much more, O Lord, I give Thee thanks.

Categories Family & Friends

One sick clan

Leave a comment by

When I started throwing up last night, my first thought was to panic. You see, I teach a food lab—and I was afraid somehow I’d managed to have a case of food poisoning in my lab.

This morning, relief (from my anxiety, not from the ickies) came in the form of an e-mail from my aunt. My cousin and another aunt had the throw-ups last night too.

The e-mails just kept pouring in. My cousin Danny has it. A cousin and uncle have it. Penny’s e-mail intimated that Alice, Sarah, Byron, Adam, and Sharon had it before the funeral.

So apparently we all got it at the funeral.

The sick counts keep rising. I added my name to the roll. Then Daniel added his. An addendum reports that Joshua has it too. Martha wrote that she hasn’t thrown up yet but stayed home because she’s feeling icky. Dad wrote in that Tim and Grace both have it. The last report has come from my aunt in Illinois. Her husband and son have it too.

Basically, we’re one sick clan.

If you think of it, pray for us as we recover. And pray for protection for my grandparents and mom (who is currently staying with Grandma and Grandpa). The last thing they need is this nasty little stomach flu.

Categories Family & Friends

Happy Pictures

3 Comments by

Emily Joy has started hosting a weekly themed photo challenge on her site–and I’m pleased to join in this week.

Emily Joy Photo Challenge

This week’s them is “happiness”–and I can’t think of a happier picture than this one of my cousin and his fiancee dancing.

Joe and Dana dancing

We had a talent show at our family Kolach days celebration–and Joe and Dana did some country swing (musicless) for us.

Dancing with the one you love. Moving to the music that only the two of you know. Present with your family. Happiness.

Check out the rest of the entries at Emily Joy’s photography site.

Update: This photo won first place in Emily’s contest! Thank you so much, Emily.
Emily Joy Photography First Place Winner