Six Quirks & A Talent Or Two

While I was on "blogging break" I was tagged by Far Side of Fifty to do a "meme list" of six personal quirks. Ahem! I know it's supposed to just be a fun way to get to know people, but wow!--this actually turned out to be quite a struggle for me! To whoever thought up this game, I don't like it very much!!!

It's not that I mind confessing.  James 5:16 exhorts us "Confess your faults one to another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed." Quirks might not be faults exactly, but some of mine probably are. And I could use some healing! (More on that later...) So how about if I take a chance on the semantics, step out in faith, and see what God wants to do???

Except...well, check out these rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you

   Check.  You can link to Far's blog by clicking above, or on the link in "My Blog List" in the sidebar...

2. Post these rules on your blog

   Check.  Here they are...!

3. Tell about your six quirks

   Check.  Actually, I could only think of three off the top of my head. Then I got out my secret weapon (aka, my kids and husband) and they had no problem coming up with the others! (And theirs are the best!)

4. Tag six bloggers to do the same

   Okay, so here's the problem: I enjoy sharing, and receiving comments on my blogs(!), and just a tiny bit of browsing, but I'm kind of an "introverted blogger" (an oxymoron, I know...). I lack the quota of blogger connections, especially six whose sites seem particularly suited to memes. I've enjoyed a visit from one person I've never met outside of cyberspace, but her site doesn't seem suited to it, either. For fun I would love to tag a few friends and family members, but they don't blog and now that I've said that they prob'ly never will!  ;~)

5. Leave them a comment to let them know you've tagged them

   If I ever get past #4, this one will be a piece of cake. But...!

I procrastinated on this through our holiday celebration, then last night finally decided to dig in, "be an overcomer," and play this game with Far (thanks for your patience!). I stayed up late constructing and wrestling over a list of bloggers I could potentially tag (my highest tally was only five), and in the wee hours of the morning fell into a fitful sleep; then arose early with a full day's agenda, and...cold feet! (Funny how getting just a few hours of shut-eye can have the opposite effect of getting enough sleep...)

For awhile I didn't have to care, though. The morning was busy and I was nowhere near my computer. But then, as I was standing at the stove preparing a late lunch, I received inspiration. Suddenly I was reminded of the Parable of Talents (Matthew 25:14-28), in which a master entrusts different amounts of talents (a form of currency in the Middle East) to his servants, each according to their ability. Then he leaves on a long journey. When he returns, he finds that the servant he entrusted with five talents has invested and doubled the money. Likewise, the servant entrusted with two has doubled his. However the third servant, who was entrusted with only one talent, was afraid, and simply buried his talent until his master's return. 

The first two servants risked what was entrusted to them, and received praise--"Well done, good and faithful servant." The third guarded what was entrusted to him, and was condemned--"You wicked and lazy servant."

Seems like a curious and rather serious lesson to associate with a just-for-fun little old meme game, doesn't it?!

People blog a variety of ways for a variety of reasons. Some journal, some discuss, some inform, some just connect. For most of the people I'm linked with, blogging is a tool for making spiritual food gracefully available to all who visit--fresh manna served in a timely fashion and usually in small bites, so no one overeats. The burden of my heart is that this site would serve that same purpose, although having descended from a hearty bunch of gold miners, I often view my offerings less as food and more as nuggets of pure gold--treasure dredged out of rubble and entrusted to me by my Master.

I believe He would have me invest the treasure I'm entrusted with, too. Though the skillful presentation of just one nugget at a time still eludes me, and I'm not as talented at panning out all the rubble as I'd like to be, blogging is already one of my "investment tools." I'm uncertain what else I'm supposed to risk here, though--how I'm supposed to apply the Parable of Talents to this game. Later today I happened upon a blog site in which this author who'd been tagged posted her answers but chose not to tag anyone else, and I thought, "Hey!--I could just do that!" But I have a nagging sense that I'm supposed to go ahead and tag the five people on my list...

Whew!--seems like it has taken an inordinate amount of time, energy, and agonizing to get to firm ground on this, but now that I'm finally settled, here are my top six quirks:

1. I scratch and clean my right ear--and only my right ear--with the skinny barb of pen caps. (And please DO pray, as Father God leads you, for healing in this ear! It has a fungus that is incurable according to modern medical standards, and sometimes it really drives me crazy.)

2. I serve lots of awesome renditions (and occasionally a flop) of lots of awesome recipes, but never the same rendition twice. Especially when my kids aren't helping in the kitchen, I never follow a recipe to a "T" (modification is the name of the game), and I estimate rather than waste time measuring.

3. When loading the car for errands or whatever, I never remember everything in the first load. (I sometimes imagine this is a God-thing, to help me get more exercise!)

4. Despite evidence in #3 to the contrary, I'm a planner and a scheduler. I value spontaneity and love that my life and times are truly in God's hands, but spend a lot of energy planning and imposing ordered structure. My husband says many people prob'ly think this should be thought of as a "gift" rather than a quirk, but that if so, it's only because they haven't walked a mile in his shoes!  ;~)

5. Left over from my days working in salmon cold storages in Alaska, I love the smell of ice, freshly shaved in ice-making rooms or just quietly building up in warehouses and walk-in freezers when they're "On." When Christian women talk about "the fragrance of Christ," this clean, refreshing odor is what comes to mind for me. So far no refrigeration guru has been able to tell me what makes the odor, though.

6. I like to compare people to beverages. For instance, my friend Far--you remember her--she's the one who tagged me with this whole insane quirks exercise--is like a warm caramel apple cider: mellow sweet comfort that disguises a surprising tang! (But my husband thinks she's more like peppermint schnapps--sneaks right up and steals your breath away! I don't know--check out her blog and see what you think...  [That is an encouragement to meet Far--not to drink schnapps!])

Okay, that was the easy part. Now for the tagging. Please don't feel obligated to play, but I hope you'll be blessed if you do. So then...(drum roll, please!)...you're it: Czech This Out, East Side Professor, Jen & Jan, Forever His, and Truthportraits!