Sad Wednesday, well, not sad but lonely

Linda at 2nd Cup of Coffee, and of Random Dozen meme fame, has decided to take a sabbatical from generated the random questions every week.  I can't say as i blame her.  it is hard work coming up with those questions every week, AND working, AND writing various articles for Christian Women, AND on top of all that she is a mom and wife.  Her plate is already very full so, while i am disappointed that i will not be able to do my (now) weekly ritual of answering a dozen random questions this week, i wish her well.  And may God bless her with a flood of creativity so she can get back to the questions as soon as possible!  8)

Last week i moved to a new area in MouseHunt.  Have i ever mentioned that i tried out a "new" game over on Facebook?  Unlike many of the other games there, you do not HAVE to have a gazillion friends to help you out, other people cannot come in and steal your resources, other people cannot attack you (but they can assist you).  It's just you against the 165 different kinds of mice (currently).  Each section of the game requires different strategies.  You have to fashion different kinds of traps with different kinds of cheese to lure your prey in.  You can craft a wide variety of new traps, bases as well as different kinds of cheese with various items you find, or create as well.  There are various clues you find along the way to help you out, as well as a really cooperative community of players.  As a new Hunter you are "commissioned" by the King to help reduce the Mouse population of his kingdom.  Novice hunters begin in the town of Gnawnia where you start with a very modest amount of gold in order to buy your first trap and set of bait.  Choices include a basic glue trap and the ever dependable spring trap.  You can start with the simple wooden base, or the more expensive target base.  Basic cheeses include Cheddar, Marble, Swiss, and Brie.  Later on, as you gain experience levels (you climb by catching mice, duh) you are able to travel further abroad and fashion new and improved traps.  For example, i am currently a "Master" level hunter and i have both a Force Field and a Sinister Portal Trap (one is 'Physical' and the other is a 'Shadow' type of trap), i have both explosive base and a dehydration base (which i fashioned later in the game).  I have a large inventory of cheeses which now include Radioactive Blue and some Gnarled Cheese.  I have other things in my inventory, but you get the idea by now.  I am currently hunting for an elusive mouse known as a 'Lycan'.  I have run out of components for the special 'moon' cheese, and so i am working towards getting more bait to return to his stomping grounds.  As i move on, another thing i really like about this game, is you do not have to be sitting at the keyboard to playplayplay.  One has to be patient, and just enjoy.  Makes me want to go and watch the movie Mouse Hunt again.  8)  Get me my Gouda!

The weekend was nice with me getting the grass cut (it was mocking me so i had to act), we also had to deal with another bout of lice.  DD3 had been critter free for six weeks (roughly) and they have one music thing where they are wearing nifty hats (that they are not allowed to bring home), and viola. 8(  I HATE lice.  So, we spent all day Saturday and Monday shampooing hair, stripping all of the beds, doing all of the laundry, spraying and then vacuuming all of the bedrooms AND i got the lawn in too.  My Beloved is diligent (i.e. paranoid) about critters and will perform random head checks on all of the kids throughout the year.  I must confess here, i did not handle it well.  I grew angry at now one in particular (in other words, at God) that my little girl had lice!  Again!  I latter confessed my sin to God and repented.  Lice in and of themselves really are not much more than an inconvenience.  I was railing at all of the work i was now going to have to do to help my Beloved get all of the additional things around the house in order so as to rid ourselves of these things.  In any event, we will be spending the next ten to fourteen days searching and searching, and cleaning and scrubbing, and spraying, and shampooing.

Dirk the Daring was rated as #49 of The 50 Greatest Video Characters of all Time list.  I remember when the Putt Putt Golf and Game arcade dropped Dragon's Lair games into the middle of their floor.  It was not a difficult game to pick up, but hard to master.  I loved the game so much i named my best character after him.  Pip Boy of Fallout fame came in at #46.  Most of the others i didn't recognize. 

Lately i have been thinking about the parable of the Ten Virgins:

Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.  For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.  As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.  But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’  Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.  And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’  But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’  And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.  Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’  But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’  Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. (Matthew 25:1-13, ESV)

And

And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come.  Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’  But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business,  while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.  The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.  Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy.  Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’  And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.

“But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment.  And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless.  Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’  For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:1-14, ESV)

People have been looking for the end times since Jesus ascended back into heaven some forty days after His resurrection.  I know no one knows "the day or the hour", but the Bible is pretty clear we are to be ready as if He is to return this day.  That is scary to me at times because i know there are some days when i am not looking towards heaven, i am not anxiously awaiting his return.  It is in these times i am grateful that His propitiation cleansed me from all sin and unrighteousness.  May God continue to grant me grace to discern areas in my own life that are not like His Son, and may He also continue to grant me the strength and grace to continue to work out my sanctification.  To hear "well done" on the final day, is my the highest goal in this life.