Gems

Last Tuesday, our family went to the Houston Museum of Natural Science. There are many great things at that museum, but the highlight for me on this trip was the new gem exhibit. We saw all manner of exquisite necklaces, rings, earrings, and other jewelery, including the brooch above. Some stones were cut but not set, being too large (as in egg-sized) to ever be worn. Many of the pieces were brand new, while others were centuries old. There were a few that had been part of the Russian crown jewels. Next time you're at HMNS, be sure to visit the gems.

Jury Duty

Last week I went downtown for jury duty. It was my first time to go, but most of the experience was what I expected. There were long periods of doing nothing, I was told lots of things I already knew, I was herded from place to place with only a number for identification, and I was asked probing questions by an attorney. What I didn't expect was for my entire jury panel to be dismissed because there were not enough people willing to apply the law. Out of sixty perspective jurors, thirty-six said they were unwilling to give a guilty verdict, regardless of the evidence, knowing what the minimum sentence would be. Each side was to be allowed ten preemptory strikes, so twenty-four was not a large enough pool to choose a twelve-member jury.

It would have been hard to maintain a belief in the basic goodness of man after watching all those people say they couldn't follow the law, knowing from what I heard that most of them were just trying to get themselves sent home. The charge was evasion of arrest, so it's not like the law was controversial or immoral.

Double Curse

Here's a thought I heard today:

Men never have to bear Eve's curse, trouble in childbirth, but when women become breadwinners, they take on Adam's curse as well as their own.

I'm not sure I agree with all the potential implications of that statement, but it is an interesting way of looking at male abdication of responsibility.

Tamburitzans

Two nights ago I drove to Nederland, TX, between Beaumont and Port Arthur, to watch a folk dance group from Duquesne University. The Tamburitzans are one of the best folk dance groups in the country, and I have hoped that they would come to the area ever since I heard about them three years ago. I have seen a lot of folk dancing, but I was thrilled by their show. From the costumes, to the music, to the choreography, to the energy and charisma, everything was stellar. If I was four years younger, I would be seriously tempted to go to Duquesne just to dance.

At my current advanced age, I will have to be content with going to Texas Camp. Tomorrow Katie and I will be driving to Bruceville, TX for a four-day camp. We will spend our days learning Balkan and Vintage American dances, and our nights dancing to the wee hours of the morning.

Today, my grandparents and aunt are visiting, and we're having Thanksgiving dinner today because Katie and I are leaving tomorrow.

Passionate Love

I just read about a woman who later became the wife of a Muslim terrorist. As a young person, she was full of piety, often staying up all night reading her Quran. When her family found her in the mornings, she would be on her prayer mat with the book in her hands, having fallen asleep reading.

That woman was chasing a lie, but how fervent are we, who have the truth?

If we love God, we will love his Word. When a man and a woman are in the first excitement of love, anything that keeps them apart becomes merely an annoyance which must be tolerated. The necessities of life pull them apart at times, but their desire is always to be together, and one is never long out of the thoughts of the other. This is the kind of passionate love that Christ, our bridegroom, wants from us, his bride. Do we tell our lover that we're too busy, or too tired to stay up and chat? Do we go to a movie, or watch such-and-such show, and never think to invite him to sit with us and share our thoughts? Do we stubbornly try to solve all our problems ourselves, when nothing would please our provider and protector more than to bear our burdens on his own, strong shoulders? God forbid! Instead, we should hunger and thirst for fellowship with him. Embrace every opportunity to grow deeper in relationship with him. Passionately desire to know what he wants from us, and how we can please him more.

Remember your first love.