Let's Meander Through the Roll

The weather was perfect yesterday. It's supposed to be perfect today. And tomorrow. And Sunday. And as far into the future as the weather man will show us. So blogging might be a bit light and/or disorganized for a bit because I'm out enjoying summer.

And my lawn and garden are calling me. Good weather means l am plagued with chickweed in the garden and dandelions in the yard. (Now I suppose Bill is going to tell me that in Texas they call dandelions yellow ball gowns, and they are the state flower. Well, even if that is so, they are still not welcome in my yard.) I have this handy dandelion destruction tool, sort of sharp metal tube on the end of a stick. I place it on top of the dandelion, right over the root, and press on it with my foot. Then I twist it a bit and pull it up. Dandelion, root and all, come out when the metal tube comes out of the ground. There the nasty thing is, trapped inside the tube until I pop it out with the handy popping-out lever. I have to say, using that tool makes dandlion destruction an irresistable chore. Press, twist, lift, pop....press, twist, lift, pop. It's strangely satisfying as I fill up my yard with the little tube shaped pieces of sod and dandelion.

Unfortunately, there is no such tool to use with chickweed, and a hoe and fingers means real work. It'll be satisfying when the garden is all weed free, but the process is not nearly as fun as the work eliminating dandelions.

I suppose by now you are wondering where this post is going. Well, I am getting to that. (There's a reason the title included the word meander.) I'm going to take a little look at some of the blogs on the blogroll and see what they are up to.

The Great Separation, whose blog I love for it's quirkiness--odd and interesting news stories that make me laugh, and stories of the persecution of Christians around the world that makes me want to cry--has a story about a scientific study on voles. Voles, for those who remain blissfully unaware, are a plague in yards; like dandelions, but worse. They can completely destroy a yard with the munching and crunching of their little rodent teeth. They are also indescribably icky. I don't like regular mice, but voles take regular mice ickiness and ratchet it up several degrees. Anyway--speaking of voles, and bringing us back to GS's post, did you know that male meadow voles are promiscuous, and male prairie voles are dutifully faithful? I wonder which one it is we have here? I hope its the meadow voles--that'll give me one more reason to feel justified in my hatred.

Next up is Tulip Girl. This is the blog to go to for info on child nurturing and breast feeding. You may not know this about me, but I am....ahem....a former marsupial mom, and only former because I found carrying a 14 year old around in my little pocket just a tad cumbersome. One day I hope to be a marsupial grandma. I am also a breastfeeding advocate, and am occasionly asked for advice on nursing, so TG helps me keep up on the lastest nursing info. Yep, she helps me in my fight to stomp out the evil effects of the misinformation that comes from detached parenting advocates. I don't know about you, but I'd rather be marsupial than reptilian. (Was that rude? And does stomping out the evil effect of misinformation qualify me for superhero status?)

And finally, J. Mark Bertrand. His blog is not like others--prolific, and with frequent updates (and also permalinks)--but what he posts is always a tightly wrapped perfect little package. As I write this, the lastest post is Are God's Hands Tied? In this piece, Mark examines the idea some have that God "made a decision early on to stay out of things and so preserve the all-important philosophical notion of libertarian free will."

(In case you don't think anyone actually believes this, I have a book in my library written by a woman I know who explains her son's devastating autism this way. She finds comfort in that notion. How that works to provide comfort is something I am unable to fathom. But let's get back to J. Mark Bertrand.)

Here are exerpts from Are God's Hand's Tied?:

Does the Bible speak of God's hands being bound? Far from it. In Scripture, God's hand is powerful. There is nowhere it cannot reach; there is no one who can force it. Far from being bound on the sidelines, God is actively engaged in the world around us. If He does not intervene in events, it is because He is already driving them to their appointed end. We are not meant to look at evil in the world and ascribe it to a lack of power on the part of God -- even if it is only a "voluntary" powerlessness -- but as a mysterious aspect of the plan by which all things work for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Yes, His actions are inscrutable and the things he permits are often past our ability to harmonize or reconcile. But in our bafflement we have no need to resort to stupid philosophical invention...

But what about human freedom? It was not necessary for God to tie His hands to make us free. Freedom is not the power to choose evil; it is the ability to do good. Being like Christ is an expression of freedom open to the sinner once God breaks his bondage to sin. According to Scripture, through the first sin we sold ourselves into slavery, and Christ has come to set us free. Far from entering the world with His hands tied behind His back, He came to bind Satan and to free His people from their sin. This is the theological view of freedom, as opposed to the philosophical. We say that we cannot be free unless God restrains Himself, but in fact, we cannot be free if He does.

That's all for now. The perfect weather and my perfect yard and garden are calling me to resume my work toward the full and final defeat of dandelions and other nasty weeds. All done, of course, while swatting bugs with my so-called free hand. Now that I think about it, defeating weeds might be another avenue to pursue in my quest for superheroism.

Later, when the mood strikes, or if sudden thunderstorm comes up, I plan to add a couple of new blogs to the blogroll. When that happens, I shall introduce them to you with suitable fanfare.