…but it is! Four years have now passed since I started blogging at Buried Treasure. I had three faithful readers: my husband, my son and the friendly neighborhood web spider that peeked in occasionally to see if there was anything new. I’m not sure if hanging in there so long means I get an A+ for perseverance or that I am like a dog with a bone I refuse to give up.

I’m thankful if anything I say blesses anyone out there who has managed to find this blog around the corner. It had humble beginnings, and it continues to be a humbling experience as I type groggy, late-night thoughts for others to critique, judge, enjoy, empathize with, scratch their heads over or be encouraged by. Though some may think my prairie muffin persona is all about creating jumper-clad clones, the truth is that the many people I’ve “met” through this now-ubiquitous medium have widened my horizons as well as my eyes. I deplore the modern buzz-word “diversity,”but I adore the idea that God has created His people with unique gifts and talents, and though I am firmly ensconced in the biblical-principle-over-pragmatism seat, I appreciate even more that we all have failures to forgive and strengths to admire.

Thank you for reading, for commenting, for emailing and for any prayers you have offered for me or my family. Our “real life” has been enriched by the ideas we have discussed and by the many new friends we have made online and in person, all because of that small beginning. I am excited to learn what our sovereign Lord brings our way in the days ahead, and may we give Him all the glory for the blessings we don’t deserve.

Chalk one up for the baby factories:

THE more babies a woman has, the less likely it is that she will get breast, colorectal, ovarian and uterine cancers, Australian research suggests.

Scientists at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) found increasing numbers of pregnancies were associated with a significantly reduced risk of certain cancers.

Even if having more babies meant an increase in all those diseases, I hope I would be willing to accept all the children that God sent me as a blessing from His hand just because He says that’s what they are. But it is not a surprise that trusting God with our fertility would generally result in benefits to our health. It completely goes against the grain of common assumptions that having all those babies will destroy your body and your health, but we know that God’s ways are not our ways. When we act on the promise that a quiverfull of children is a blessing, we may not even understand the full implications of that promise, but we do know that God is faithful to keep His promises and that we can believe Him and anticipate the fulfillment of His promises to us, even in ways we don’t expect.

Dear Carmen,

I’m sorry that I didn’t respond to your email right away. I am swamped for the next few days with my mom’s visit, different activities and that conference coming soon. I’m afraid I’ve been very bad about responding to emails recently, and I’ve been almost as bad about updating my website. In the spirit of multi-tasking, I have decided to respond to your email with a weblog post. The article you sent covers several of my pet peeves in one convenient issue, as well: improper use of public monies, libraries turning into media and entertainment centers rather than places to get books, teenagers enjoying an extended childhood and the seeker sensitive trend which permeates modern life. As you pointed out, libraries were once a kind of refuge where a certain amount of decorum and etiquette were reliably practiced, including the “shushing” librarians enforcing a standard of quiet concentration.

With your astute and acerbic comments embellishing the article, you have not only once again blessed me with interesting material to read and ponder but you have helped me during this hectic time by providing a new post for Buried Treasure readers while the hostess is distracted with other things.

I appreciate your prayers and encouragement, Carmen. I promise the next email won’t be so public .

Hugs from your friend,
Carmon with an ‘o’

TEEN LIBRARY TO OFFER FOOD, NO ‘SHUSH’ RULES

For many teenagers, going to the library means being hushed by a librarian and studying on an empty stomach.

But when the Knowasis Thunderbird Charities Teen Learning Center opens in the fall, teens won’t have to worry about being quiet or sneaking in contraband food.

Knowasis, housed in the Scottsdale Civic Center Library downtown, will be a hangout and homework area for teens.

It will operate in the former periodicals room and will offer internet access, a plasma TV, study rooms, the library’s complete teen fiction collection, books about career and college opportunities, a lounge area, a stage for teen bands and copies of 40 teen magazines. (PLASMA TV, TEEN BANDS, TEEN MAGAZINES!!!!!)

Teens will also be allowed to eat and drink and will not have to worry about whispering, said Medina Zick, teen coordinator for the library.

“It’s not going to be a big ’shush’ zone,” Zick said. “It’s going to be much more relaxed.”

Zick said many teens are turned off by libraries because of their food bans, which is why Knowasis will include vending machines. (VENDING MACHINE FOOD CAN HARDLY FIT IN A “FOOD” CATEGORY, LOL. ALSO, OUR STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS IS TRYING TO REMOVE JUNK FOOD FROM THE SCHOOLS.)

“We are all like, ‘Ooh, food’, ” she said. “It’s a big library taboo.”

The projected cost of the teen center is $570,000, so far paid for by donations and fundraising efforts. (SO FAR? ANY HIDDEN COSTS? ALL TAX DEDUCTUBLE DONATIONS, OF COURSE….NOT TRUE CHARITY AND CARING)

The center is named for Thunderbird Charities, (THOSE ARE THE BIG-WIGS FROM THE GOLF WORLD HERE) which donated about $100,000 towards construction.

Paint colors will vary from bright blue and green to pink. (SOUNDS LIKE THE SET OF ‘FRIENDS’) Lounge chairs will be modern, yet functional.

Many of the design and architectural decisions are being made by the library’s teen advisory board to ensure that the center will be teen friendly. (NOW I HAVE A SEEKER SENSITIVE LIBRARY? WILL THEY MAKE SURE THEIR FELT NEEDS ARE MET? OH BROTHER.)

The board’s president, Jake Morgan, 16 (DID YOU GET THAT? 16!!!!) said the center will provide an interesting space for teens.

“As a teen, you don’t want to go in the youth section, where there are picture books, and you’re not sure if you want to go to the adult section, either,” he said. (A 16 YEAR OLD WHO WANTS TO LIMIT HIMSELF TO “TEEN LEVEL” READING! YUCK!)

“The center will almost be like a second living room—-a place where you can go and put your feet up.” (SO WHY DOES THIS HAVE TO BE LOCATED IN A LIBRARY?????)

He said the center won’t be like a typical library. (UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE CENTURY.)

“The stereotype people often have of a library is of a strict librarian who demands silence—–not a very friendly place,” he said.

“But this is here for teens. It’s a safe place you can come and just be yourself.” (SAFE? HOPE YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT SECURITY CAMERAS……BECAUSE MEAN, UNFRIENDLY ADULTS WON”T BE THERE.)

Julie wanted a picture of the “double wide” on our “manicured” acres. Thanks to Steve and Google satellite photos, here it is:

Can you see it? That’s the highway at the bottom of the picture. You can see our road going up the hill in the top third of the photo. The white road beginning at the middle of the top of the picture is our driveway. Follow it down to the loop and our house is in the right side of the loop, which is a small road which goes around our outbuildings. Almost all the land visible in this photo belongs to us (and the bank, but not for much longer, and not counting the rent we have to pay the local protection racket so that other people’s children can have a “free” education).

Here’s a closer view (from an airplane):

You can’t quite see the chickens, but there’s Moby Pickle parked in front of the house. Poor Steve has to make a horrible commute every morning…from the house to the building in the center of the photo, where he has his second-floor office. The automatic weapons, the tripwires and the sirens are carefully hidden. And the neighborhood watch in our friendly country hamlet is rather effective: Steve says there should be signs saying, “Trespassers Will Be Eaten.”

Samantha recently conducted a “home survey” because she and her family are looking for a house to buy, and they are getting frustrated trying to find a decent place in their price range. I didn’t participate in the survey, but it was interesting reading the responses, especially the features that people liked the most and the least about their homes. I tend to focus more on what I don’t have than on the blessings that are already mine. As I read about the various living situations of Samantha’s survey respondents, I thought about my complaining spirit.

The house needs painting. The kitchen cupboards are the same sad faux wood that came with the trailer when it was parked here. Did I ever mention that we live in a trailer? Yes, we are trailer trash . Most people don’t realize it when they come to visit because we have decks built all around the outside and a permanent roof, but it’s a double-wide with a pop-out. With the 1000 square foot permanent construction addition, you might think we live in a miniature edition of the Winchester Mystery House. With 34 acres, four bedrooms, three bathrooms and a library, what is there to complain about? Not much, but I still do. I found things to be discontented about before I got my extra 1000 square feet, and I probably would whine with another 1000 square feet.

The problem is not that my house is too big or too small or, as that naughty little Goldilocks would say, just right, but the problem is that I don’t believe God’s promises. He has blessed me with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ. What a gift and an inheritance! There is nothing wrong with using my skills and resources to make this earthly nest a warm and inviting place for my family and friends, but like other good gifts we enjoy in these “shadowlands,” it’s a picture of a much better place, a heavenly mansion being prepared for us for eternity.

We had lovely guests last weekend, Geoff and Luma and their three little girls, visiting from southern California. They came bearing gifts of homemade hummus, tabouleh and baklava, yum! But the best gift they brought was their delight in visiting our imperfect home filled with imperfect people. As we saw their excitement over our country home, weeds and all, we remembered the blessings of God and thanked Him for the opportunity to share them with others and see them more clearly through their eyes.

When we first came to California, after moving here from Oregon, I cried all summer. Everything was brown and hot, unlike the lush greenness I had always known growing up in the Pacific Northwest. They say the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, and in my homesick condition, this was literally true. But I have since come to realize that the summertime hills of my California home are not brown, they are golden. Wherever God plants you, He expects you to bloom, not whine. There will be weeds wherever you go, so get to work pulling them, and whistle while you work.

Geoff, Luma, Carmon and Steve, blessed by a weekend of wonderful fellowship in the place in which God has planted us to bloom