Book: "A Lineage of Grace"

I'm currently reading "A Lineage of Grace" by Francine Rivers, and I'm completely involved in the stories she weaves. I've always found the women of the Bible to be of particular interest (well, I'm a woman, and there aren't as many women in the Bible as there are men, so it's easier to keep the stories straight!), and these stories are right up my alley. There are five novellas - one each for Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary, all women from the lineage of Jesus. So far I've read Tamar and Rahab, and have started Ruth's story. I started reading the book yesterday.

In addition to the great recreations of what the lives of these women could have been like, there are also study sections at the end of each novella, which have been prompting me to make some "dangerous" prayers (asking God to search your heart, to show you areas you need to improve, and things you need to do, are always dangerous inasmuch that if you ask for it, God's going to grant it to you, and you may not like the answers you get!) - I've been learning a lot, and Rivers does a great job of using every scrap of detail from the Bible in her narration. Because of this, I've noticed things from the Biblical accounts that I wouldn't have noticed had I been reading the account straight from the Bible. After each novella, you end up reading basically the entire story in the study section, and there are questions designed to make you actually think about the passage and about what you just read.

I highly recommend these novellas to young women in particular, but to anyone who thirsts for a deeper understanding of God and the Bible, and I look forward to finishing up Ruth's story and reading through the rest of the book!

(snagged from inspire4less.com)

Why I Hate Automatic Flushing Toilets

Yes, I do feel that I need to write a blog about this, because they annoy me so very much. I'm sure the developers liked the idea, and thought the concept was a great one - after all, if you make it automatic then you won't have to touch the nasty handle, and you also won't have to worry about other people touching the handle and then not washing their hands. That's cool, right?

My complaint isn't with the idea - it's with the actual product. I was raised to be borderline "germaphobic," and I absolutely hate going in a public restroom and using the toilet only to have it flush while I'm still standing there. Why is that such a big deal? Well, water droplets from the toilet are known to fly out of the toilet in a cloud and can land as far as six to eight feet away. If you don't believe me, try putting dye or food coloring in your toilet, flushing it, and holding a piece of paper over it.

These droplets can land everywhere in this six to eight foot radius, including the walls (partitions in the stalls), doors, floors, the toilet paper dispensers (and the toilet paper itself) and even the ceilings. Yuck! If the sink is within this radius, it can be the most affected by bacteria from the spray, because it's a moist environment. Believe it or not, the seat is actually one of the areas with the least amount of bacteria, because the seat is too dry to support a lot of germs.

So anyway, this is why I hate the automatics, because they flush before you're finished. With the "old," manual ones, you could finish, unlock the partition door, slap the handle with your foot, and then bolt out of the stall with minimal spray contact.

I know I sound completely ridiculous. I mean, I should be thankful for plumbing, not ranting about the wonder of modern technology, right? Don't get me wrong - I'm very thankful we don't have to use corncobs as toilet paper anymore, but every once in awhile my pet peeves get to me and I just have to let it out. Thanks for indulging me.

Oh, and keeping your toothbrush on the back of the toilet? That's just wrong.