:: Monday, February 27, 2006 ::

"Cause I'm a redneck woman..." (Gretchen Wilson)

My daughter has a mullet!

Labels: Christmas Newsletter

:: Bethany Bassett - 10:46 PM :: + ::

"You're beautiful, that's for sure, you'll never, ever fade..." (Nelly Furtado)
(Re-adding this post that blogger mysteriously deleted)

Natalie: "Ba ba ba ba, bee, bo, boo, ba!"
Me: "Can you say bye-bye?"
Natalie, waving cheerfully: "Dye-dye!"
Me: "No, Bye-bye."
Natalie, triumphantly: "Dye-dye!" ::claps proudly for herself::

Dye-dye, folks.

Labels: Christmas Newsletter

:: Bethany Bassett - 10:41 AM :: + ::

"Isn't she lovely, made from love..." (Stevie Wonder)

Reason #5,129,401 why I love my daughter: Every time I put lotion on her chapped chin, she tries to eat it.

Labels: Christmas Newsletter

:: Bethany Bassett - 9:35 AM :: + ::

"Might be a quarter-life crisis, or just the stirring in my soul…" (John Mayer)

So I’ve been thinking lately. (A good habit; I recommend it… in moderation, of course.) I’ve been failing to see how the church attracts people. I’ve been failing to see how the church attracts me. I’ve been wondering how much of organized Christianity is just human tradition. The Presbyterian churches in our area fervently proclaim” Sola Scriptura” -- “Only Scripture” -- but if that were strictly true, women would be covering their heads and remaining silent in church. Obviously, “Only Scripture” is mixed quite heavily with culture and tradition.

What tenacious principles of modern Christianity are actually taken from the Bible?

You have to invite Jesus into your heart to be saved?
You must bow your head and close your eyes for prayer?
God wants you to stand alone?
If you kill yourself, you'll go to hell?
You must never drink alcohol?
It’s wrong to say no to a ministry opportunity?
You can claim any promise in the Bible as your own?
Dressing up for church is mandatory?
Smoking is a sin?
God wants you to harshly punish your children?
Sexual sin warrants kicking someone out of home, school, and church?
The entire gospel is about realizing sin, being saved from sin, and confessing sin ever after?
Church is where you meet God?

I think Christianity needs an enormous makeover. No, scratch that. It needs to be un-made-up. I’m tired of reading the Bible through the filter of church-mandated doctrine. I’m tired of viewing God as a messy patchwork of conflicting qualities. I’m tired of going to a predictable service every Sunday to sing songs that largely make no sense and hear a sermon so filled with Christian idioms that I can’t grasp a shred of relevant truth.

I’m on a new quest to discover God apart from what I’ve always been taught. I’m so excited to wipe my mind clear and tackle the Bible like an unread book. I’m so excited to pray honestly, without guilt or pretenses or prejudice. I’m so excited at the idea of becoming more me and less cookie-cutter Christian.

So yeah, I guess this is what comes of thinking too much. :)

Labels: Broiled Brain

:: Bethany Bassett - 12:39 PM :: + ::

"You're done with one mile and go to another one thousand..." (Ryan Cabrera)

The Olympics are like gory movies -- you don't really want to watch them, but you can't not.

Labels: Broiled Brain

:: Bethany Bassett - 7:53 PM :: + ::

"This song is meant to keep ya from doing what you're supposed to..." (Jack Johnson)

Things You May Not Know About Me: Siblings

I'm the oldest of eight children. Yep, eight. Six brothers ([approximate] ages 20, 18, 15, 12, 8, & 4), one sister (age 13).

Labels: Christmas Newsletter

:: Bethany Bassett - 3:14 PM :: + ::

"Reluctantly crouched at the starting line..." (Cake)

Valentine's Day Idea (mine): Have husband come home from work to a clean house and a deluxe romantic supper.

Valentine's Day Idea (revised, with the help of said husband): Eat deluxe romantic supper for lunch, leave the dishes for our pet mice, and load up snow gear for an evening on the slopes.

We definitely had an über-fun time. Apparently, fourth time's the charm when it comes to snowboarding -- I got it! Combined with the rush of speeding down a mountain was the equally-satisfying rush of knowing I'd conquered my first sport ever. Plus, ski lifts are very romantic.

Happy.

Labels: Christmas Newsletter

:: Bethany Bassett - 4:37 PM :: + ::

"Clouds are shrouding us in moments unforgettable..." (Maroon 5)

The wonderful husband took me to New York City last weekend (thus my shameful lack of blogging).



We saw sights...





Walked many miles...



Stayed in a thoroughly surreal hotel...







And came home to the most precious little girl in the world...



Who was apparently overjoyed at our weekend snowstorm.



(The End.)

Labels: Christmas Newsletter

:: Bethany Bassett - 10:47 AM :: + ::

"For the day you die, you gonna touch the sky..." (Kanye West)

Natalie's toy clown has been barbarically kidnapped and is being held hostage. Who would do such a hideous thing?

Labels: Christmas Newsletter

:: Bethany Bassett - 11:39 AM :: + ::

"Could I have been anyone other than me?" (Dave Matthews Band)

Things You May Not Know About Me: Jobs

It's a new year, and I have finally graduated to an exclusively English-nerdy résumé. Gone is the mind-numbing summer I spent entering illegible survey information into a computer. Gone is the other mind-numbing summer I spent erasing duplicates from a list of every religious organization in Canada (keeping in mind that I speak neither French nor Canadian). Gone are all the Wednesday nights working in our church nursery and wondering whether God would smite me for rounding my hours to the nearest quarter-hour (or for drinking the "Nursery Only" lemonade--I was quite the rebel). Gone are the two semesters I guided prospective university students around campus, convincing them that LU was the perfect school.

Only one word can express my jubilation: "BALEETED!"

Labels: Christmas Newsletter

:: Bethany Bassett - 3:52 PM :: + ::

"I'm rockin' the suburbs just like Michael Jackson did..." (Ben Folds)

Today's word of the day: Surface.

Incidentally, my hubby and I watched the TV show of the same name last night -- mostly entirely by accident. My professional opinion? One day, in the not-too-distant future, Tom Servo, Crow T. Robot, and the rest of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 gang will eat it for lunch. Terrible!



Rule #1: If your entire special effects budget is $37.50, you probably shouldn't base your show on malicious lizards that are either the size of Germany or your grandmother's cat (a bit difficult to tell).

Rule #2: Planet-swallowing tidal waves lose their dramatic appeal if you don't show them.

Rule #3: You should have made "24" instead.

Labels: Broiled Brain

:: Bethany Bassett - 4:15 PM :: + ::

"Every bit of darkness needs some sunshine..." (Marvin Gaye)

Tomorrow, stoplights will turn green at my command.
Tomorrow, check-out lanes will move at the speed of light.
Tomorrow, gravity will not apply to tipped-over glasses.
Tomorrow, all bad memories will take a vacation.
Tomorrow, I will have more inspiration than I know what to do with.
Tomorrow will not be Monday.

Labels: Broiled Brain

:: Bethany Bassett - 6:39 PM :: + ::

"You've got a new horizon, it's ephemeral style..." (Gorillaz)

Today's inclination toward depression brought to you by Fog, of the Bleak English Moor persuasion. I wish the color of the air didn't so directly affect my core body temperature.
I miss Starbucks. I haven't been once since last summer, and I am fairly certain my creative muse responds only to warm, swirly smells. Maybe I should build a Starbucks in the scary half of our basement. Of course, it would have to be a scary Starbucks.

Labels: Broiled Brain

:: Bethany Bassett - 11:26 PM :: + ::

"The world is not waiting out there..." (The Cranberries)

Those of you from LU who knew Zack Saint, please keep his family in your prayers. Zack passed away yesterday afternoon. His friends didn't make it up here in time and are taking it hard, so please remember to pray for them too.

Labels: Christmas Newsletter

:: Bethany Bassett - 10:44 AM :: + ::

"Save tonight, and fight the break of dawn..." (Eagle-Eye Cherry)

A group of people from Texas is en route to our house right now. Ordinarily, Dan would have to keep me from dusting the baseboards and planning overly exciting meals (think "Indiana Jones: Temple of Doom"). These guys, however, are coming to say goodbye to a friend dying of leukemia.
I'm stumped. I'm not used to death. I'd rather not have to get used to it, but I know that wish is futile on this decaying earth.
What can I say?

Labels: Broiled Brain

:: Bethany Bassett - 11:06 AM :: + ::

"You did something beautiful, and I love you till I die..." (Monaco)

Happiness for the day: A very little girl with sweet potatoes in her hair singing her heart out as she smashes the rest of her lunch.

Labels: Christmas Newsletter

:: Bethany Bassett - 3:08 PM :: + ::