Hitting the Wall

Runners describe a metabolic occurrence as “hitting the wall”; their bodies use up vital stores of glycogen or quick burning sugars. The result is not what you might visualize as literally falling down in the middle of the road. Instead, the runner slows down, even though they may have been feeling just fine a minute before. They feel tired. Then they have to stop and eat or consume a sugary drink to restore the balance.

Those of us who must work outside the home “hit the wall” frequently, in our minds, hearts, and bodies. We forget (or fail to plan or just do not have time) to eat properly. We are thinking about home when at work. When at home, we think of work. At least nine hours of our day, plus commute, is eaten up in earning cash. Exercise, what is that? Errands get done during lunch hours or on the weekends. Some of us must travel for our business, away from home, state, and even country.

This is not some giant pity party I am staging; these are the honest realities we face in the corporate-military-industrial-government complex. Our masters are much harsher than the feminists claim our husbands and fathers ever were. The powers-that-are pay us just enough to keep coming back, grant us enough health coverage to keep us alive, and enough time off to barely sleep and eat. Our relationships, our bodies, our families, our communities, and -dare I say it- our world suffers for it.

Some of us working women, like runners, have a blessed finish line to the rat race. My line is nearing, though I do not know the exact location, I can hear the cheering crowds. Only…I am tired. My body is starting to refuse to wake up, which is traumatizing to an early bird. Every little unexpected thing sends me to the verge of tears. I dread work; I dread coming home to a mess. Neither is really cared for well.

Opportunities are opening for my husband’s future. We heard of a good position just yesterday. I am exceedingly grateful, like the marathoner who is handed a sports drink. Just two miles, just two months. I can make it.

A Young Woman vs. a Girl

[Ask forgiveness later, but I just had to point out this glaring societal disconnect.]

When does a teenage girl become a young woman? Apparently if she is wealthy and popular. That is this week’s lesson of Miley Cyrus [15 years old] and her parents allowing soft porn photographs to be published internationally.

What was last week’s major bruhaha in blog land? The 15 year old girls who were pregnant and wearing….prairie dresses….taken from the Texas religious compound were children being manipulated and abused by their parents/”spiritual husbands”/religious elders.

It only seems just when the State deems “girls” as such. Both cases, in my opinion, are wrong and abusive. The media can wink away one as a mistake and the other as a horror. Parents were using children for their own ends, for religious kudos on one hand and wealth n’ fame on the other.

Miley will just have to continue being a “young woman”….and being used. The other “girls”, well, God only knows their fate in the hands of the State.

Bonhoeffer, Chesterton, and a Reason to Get Feisty

“The moment two men realize they are brothers, they instantly begin to fight.”~G.K. Chesterton, Utopia of Usurers.

“Bonhoeffer was a relentless critic of any way of life that substituted agreeableness for truthfulness.” ~Stanley Hauerwas, Burke Lectureship, University of California.

“No good at all can come from acting before the world as though we knew the Truth, but in reality, we do not.” ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 1932 Youth Peace Rally in Czechoslovakia.

Try reading an essay from G.K. Chesterton every morning while eating your toast. You will have plenty to chew on for the rest of the day. Then round up an incredibly deep lecture on Bonhoeffer and the nature of Truth and listen to it over lunch time. Sprinkle in some rousing exchanges in a Bible Study group in the evening and post-rebuttals ad nauseum in Bloggy land. You have the perfect recipe for a Backbone. And it didn’t require 24 hours of marinating or soaking in whey solution.

Let me explain the above quotes. In the essay (the title of which I forgot), Chesterton is arguing that men must love each other first before they can argue. It is not a particular love; it is a love for all Men. This is the motivation behind revolutionaries. They fight to have the best world for themselves and for their brothers.

But why do we fight? Do we fight at all? Do we have anything to fight about? Do we fight ‘”fair”? Or is it just a nagging quibble that ends in, “Well, this is what the Lord has for me to do.” Or, “As long as we keep the Main Thing, the Main Thing, the rest is details.” We do anything to avoid an honest fight. Actually, what I see in most blogging discourses is a personal statement but no real gauntlets thrown at one’s feet.

Truth has no insignificant details, my friends. Bonhoeffer observed how different American students were than their German counterparts during his time at Union Theological Seminary. (No, not just pro-Nationalist vs. Democracy.) he compares the American students’ spirit as to living in a hostel where the spirit of camaraderie and willingness to help each other pervades. “The American desire to maintain community above all else.” Sounds pretty appealing on the surface.

“W hen it comes to saying the Truth or preserving the community, the latter always prevails. Fairness, not Truth, becomes the primary commitment. ” The result is a leveling of the intellectual demands in American education. There is little motivation to be intellectually [or spiritually] ambitious. Why? Bonhoeffer thought this was part of the Protestant foundations in colonial times. Most of our religious ancestors came here to escape turmoil in Europe. Americans wanted to “forgo the final suffering in order to serve God in quietness and peace.” The steeple house was no longer a place where strife and questioning were tolerated. Americans just made new churches and denominations to escape the rigors of Reformation.

“With his right to flee, the Christian Fugitive has suspended his right to fight.”

As a consequence, “…preaching becomes a series of edifying examples, a ready recital of [the preacher's] own religious experience, which are not assigned any positively binding character.” Remember last Sunday’s sermon? Sound familiar?

The relations between churches (and Christians) has not been one of Truth-arguing. This might make a favorable situation for unity amongst the bodies of Christ. Not so. “If the struggle for the Truth does not divide the church, then surely the unity of the church must already exist? Where Truth in creedal doctrine is not the reason for argument, church disintegration is greater than anywhere else.”

Succeeding generations of Americans who were free from creedal strife, found it unnecessary to fight over anything. “The fight over the creeds that their grandfathers knew became for them something unChristian. Any intolerance is in itself, unChristian. Because Christians have no place for the conflict Truthfulness requires, they contribute to the secularization of society. Tolerance becomes indifference and indifference leads to cynicism.”

So here how this lengthy essay pertains to my situation:

At once, I will proclaim my intolerance of Immodesty. Here is the kicker: Christian women SHOULD cover their heads. Point blank, there you have it, all out on the table. I am opening myself to conflict. Thank you for disagreeing. It is so refreshing.

And I am writing a book about it.

“Better this than to go on in this vegetating way.”

References: Burke Lecture, Stanley Hauerwas. 1 hour video. Listen to at least the first 30 minutes.

Chesterton, G.K., Utopia of Usurers. Short essays.

Proverbs 31 Queen Makeover

I heard nails scrapping across a chalkboard this evening as I was listening to the local news. They were reporting on a winner of a “Queen Makeover” contest who received some rather extensive “gifts”: a personal trainer for 3 months, botox shots, permanent make-up, laser hair removal, hair restyling (for the hair that is left), and some new outfits, including a set of Spanxs for body shaping, from a trendy boutique. ACCCKK! Is this what it takes to feel like a queen these days?!? Just fathom all of the unnecessary pain involved in becoming a Queen in the world’s eyes. Except maybe the personal trainer, all of those things are just plain old cruel.

How about a Proverbs 31 makeover instead? Here is what I would really love to have:

[Updated]

1. Services of a Professional Organizer to aid you in better lay out your home and de-junk.
2. A couple of lovely dresses and aprons from The Kings Daughters. (No shapewear required!)
3. Quilting lessons or whatever craft you would like to learn.
4. A gift membership to a Community Supported Agriculture Farm for a season’s worth of fresh vegetables, fruits, and eggs and possibly milk or meat.
5. A set of cloth diapers or Ergo carrier (if you have a baby.)
6. Small business consultation, if you would like to start your own.
7. A tea party hosted for all you, your lady friends and family.
8. A grain mill and a 50 pound bag of organic wheat.
9. [If I had a yard...] A professionally installed herb garden.
10. A “wildcrafting” tour with a knowledgeable person on edible plants and mushrooms.

What else would you like to receive if there was such a makeover?

[My husband heartily enjoyed this post as I read it to him!]

Southwest Airlines - A Stand for Modesty!

You may watch the video here….you are forewarned that a young lady wearing little and tightly-clad clothing is featured in the video.

They asked her to put on more clothing. She asked for a blanket and covered herself. She is thinking of filing a suit because she was “ashamed and embarrassed” from the whole incident. Well, so were the people forced to be with her in tight confines for several hours!

Ugghh…and the whole feminist shlock on how she was picked on just because she was a young woman…hello, she was a young woman making other people uncomfortable! And I’m guessing the blanket was cozier than bare skin on an over air-conditioned plane.

Write to Southwest and tell them you support their actions to protect decency for all their customers!

Here is the letter I wrote, feel free to copy and add your name or additions to it:

Dear Management at Southwest Airlines,

I recently viewed a CNN clip online about the incident with Kyla Ebbert, a customer who was asked to add clothing to her attire to appear decently on the flight to Tucson.

I am writing to offer my support and gratitude for your airline staff in making the stance for decency and modesty in their work environment. So many times, I have had to sit in close proximity to women who show way too much of their bodies than is comfortable to be seen…and I am a heterosexual woman! I did not think I had any recourse to address my seatmate’s attire. Now, on any flight I may have in the future with Southwest Airlines, I will address any discomfort I may have to an attendant.

You have the right, as a privately-run company, to have standards of dress for your customers. Stand by them and make them clear!

There are many, many men and women who are sensitive to modesty issues. I hope they join with me in offering their whole-hearted support for your actions.

Female Solidarity

I am halfway through reading Girls Gone Mild and still enjoying the points Ms. Shalit is making. The following is from the end of chapter 5 in a list of “Ten Steps to Greater Female Solidarity”:

Accept that other women will be prettier, smarter, and more popular than you are, and that’s fine. It’s a big world with lots of opportunities. The goal is not to stand on the top of the pile. The goal is to hold yourself to a personal standard and become someone you would respect if you were someone else. Try to figure out what you enjoy doing and do that rather than looking to others first.

The other 9 steps are also excellent but this one was especially helpful for me this week after my pothole experience. Workplaces, almost by nature and even in “public service”, are competitive. I’ve never participated in sports, save one college class in fencing which I actually enjoyed. Team loyalty or striving for your personal best I can understand. Social competitiveness baffles and hurts me.

What do you think of feminine competitiveness, for perceived beauty, for men, for economic status, for the best pie at the state fair? Is it against our natures, meaning that it destroys our innate desire for stability in relationships? Is some competition good and how so?