So these are all the random personal thoughts I’ve been thinking that I wanted to write about.
Five Months After Facebook
So it’s been five months since I quit Facebook. I miss two things. I miss interacting with some people I never see now. I knew that would be the case, but it isn’t enough to make me change my mind and go back. But I did genuinely enjoy seeing pictures of their kids and such. I don’t see that now.
And, as hard as it is to believe, I sometimes miss discussing politics. I have no one to discuss politics with now other than David. I will catch things on YouTube and have found some YouTube channels I like. But there is no discussion on YouTube of any real value. I use Twitter to catch a few things here and there, but Twitter is a cesspool and the comments there aren’t even worth skimming. There is virtually ZERO critical thinking happening on Twitter.
I even flirted with the idea of adding a politics section to my site. But then I decided I don’t want to deal with the potential drama. But I do miss discussing politics and big ideas. I really like discussing big ideas and I don’t get that any longer. I miss it. And I miss the Facebook friends who would discuss big ideas with me.
(And I won’t even get into the entire Facebook censoring people thing which I find seriously disturbing.)
So there’s that if anyone was wondering if I was thinking about going back to Facebook. Not even remotely a possibility.
My Women in the Church Site
(I honestly thought about not saying anything about this, but I felt I owed it to my long-time readers to do so.)
I had a website where I put all my research about women in the church from the past fifteen years or so. It was the place where I was thinking out loud and sharing what I was studying. I shared my struggles with various topics related to women in the church, using my gifts, raising a daughter, etc. If you are familiar with the site, what I’m about to say will make sense. If you aren’t familiar with it, this might all seem kind of vague. I’m not trying to be evasive. Just guarded in what I say.
I took it down for good and won’t be putting it back up. Partially it was due to the fact that a lot of the posts were dated and new people who found the site wouldn’t have the proper context for what I had written in the past. The posts made sense at the time given events that were happening in real time, but less and less as time went on. Without proper context, I was uncomfortable with some of the things I had written. If I were to write them today, I would write them differently. I was not willing to rewrite the site to keep it current because I really don’t want to write about those topics any longer. I’ve moved on.
Part of the reason I don’t want to write about those topics any longer is because I’ve become increasingly uncomfortable with some of the rhetoric I hear coming from some of those who profess Christ and write about women in the church. I especially find the sweeping anti-male rhetoric coming from some who call themselves Christian feminists absolutely abhorrent and blatantly unbiblical. I deliberately distanced myself from the Christian feminist movement because I did not agree with them on many things. However, I felt increasingly uncomfortable having a site up that even looked like I might lean in that direction.
I never felt completely comfortable falling into one camp or the other which I think was obvious to anyone who read that site. I could never make that final leap completely into the egalitarian camp. I kind of forced myself to pick a side in order to express what came closest to what I believed and understood from the Scriptures because I wanted to control the label I had, not have one assigned to me that was incorrect. Because of some people I was interacting with online and some of the traffic my site was getting, I felt compelled to lay out what I thought before someone else labeled me. But I never felt like I was there 100% because I am very complementarian in some of my views, but not in the way that concept was hijacked by people with an agenda. Anyway, over the past year or so I’ve become really uncomfortable with what I’ve seen and read and heard to the point that I simply needed to walk away from the entire thing.
What’s really interesting is that it wasn’t an argument from the Scriptures that ultimately pushed me to take it all down. It was a discussion between Jordan Peterson and Camille Paglia (of all people) that I watched online. I have always believed and have experienced so many times that God works in interesting ways and will reach us just where we are.
I’m sure I’ve said just enough to confuse and maybe offend people who don’t know the entire back story. But I think the people who have known me for thirteen plus years online and have thought about these topics with me will understand what I’m saying. I wrote these paragraphs for you because I didn’t want to just erase it all and pretend it never happened. That’s not my style. I value people too much to do that.
The Importance of Checking on Those Credit Card Points
I kept getting these reminders in the mail that we had all these points to use toward a free gift. I didn’t do anything with it because I went to the rewards site and had to register and it was just one. more. thing. I didn’t have the energy to do. I decided I didn’t want to mess with it for a $10 gift card to Krispy Kreme or something that I wouldn’t even be able to use.
Well, I got two more notices and decided I would make the effort to register and check it out since one of the things offered on the postcard was a small Vera Bradley bag and I like Vera Bradley stuff. So I registered, logged in, and what do you know? I had enough points for a full size Vera Bradley purse/tote and still had a lot of points left over. WOOT!
I have a black quilted Vera Bradley purse that my parents bought for me for Christmas a number of years ago that I use all the time in the winter. It is starting to show wear. Now I will have a replacement that even has more space!
So check those points! LOL!
Our Summer Weather
I thought about writing a bit about our summer, but all I could focus on was whining about the weather. I kept thinking it must have been me because so much of life this summer was difficult that I was lumping in the yucky weather with the rest of the summer challenges.,
But I’ve lived in this state my entire life and this summer was just the pits. For the sake of my mental health, I took to closing the blinds, lighting my flameless pillar candle on my desk, and turning on the thunderstorm track for hours at a time and days at a time – just to trick my mind into thinking it wasn’t horrifically awful outside yet again. I have always disliked heat and muggy weather, but now it impacts my health so it was a real mental strain. I felt like a caged animal.
And then I saw this article: Michigan just had an incredibly muggy summer; See exactly how muggy
Many of you mentioned to me you’ve never felt this muggy of a summer here in Michigan. I looked into it, and it was an incredibly muggy summer.
With the help of Ed Verhamme at LimnoTech in Ann Arbor, I looked at the highest dewpoint each day back to June 1.
We looked at June 1 to September 5, 2018. That’s 97 days.
74 days in that period at least had a dewpoint of at least 65 degrees, making muggy days.
46 of those days had the very muggy feel of a dewpoint higher than 70 degrees.
A continuous stretch of very muggy air occurred August 4 to August 21, when every day had a dewpoint warming to 70 degrees or higher. That’s an 18 day stretch with no humidity relief. It’s not the kind of weather info that has a record established, but my 26 years in Michigan make me know that is a bizarre run of weather here.
August had only three days in the not muggy category. Some would argue that dewpoint temperatures in the low-60s are still slightly muggy. If you go that way, our summer 2018 had only five comfortable humidity days with dewpoints in the 50s.
I felt better about thinking this summer was slowly driving me insane. David received a family membership to the Fredrick Meijer Gardens for his birthday in late April and we never went back ONCE this summer because the weather was so horrible. I think I have been in our backyard once this year. Once. No joke.
I am truly desperate for a breath of cool and not humid air. It’s September 20th as I write this and we have yet to have any fall-like weather. We almost always get a refreshing week of weather in August and we didn’t this year. It’s not a stretch to say I’m really desperate for the weather to change.
Which Is More Noble?
Which is more noble?
Not plastering your website with ads because you know people don’t like ads?
Or plastering your site with ads so you can provide for your family?
Our Lowe’s Carpet Installation Saga
And then there is the ongoing saga of our carpet installation with Lowe’s that is now stretching well over a year. You know that beautiful carpet I so carefully picked out when we did our home update last summer because I knew it would have to last me a long, long time? We are STILL trying to get that project completed.
They didn’t measure correctly so they couldn’t finish the upstairs landing/hall. So they had to order more carpet. And then the mill shut down for a few months so they put in some cheap gray carpet just so we would have some carpet. And then the mill closed permanently. And then Lowe’s kept lying to me about ordering our carpet and not doing it (for months last winter).
And then they finally got the carpet from the new mill and when they installed it, it was the wrong carpet even though it had the same name and number. And it was OUR fault according to the new mill because so much time had passed. This new carpet looks nothing like the carpet we have on the stairs and in the library and family room. And we were told that it won’t wear as well either.
And when we went to Lowe’s several weeks ago to pick something up THEY WERE STILL SELLING OUR CARPET IN THE MAIN AISLE IN FRONT OF GOD AND EVERYBODY. The same carpet we cannot get installed because the new mill isn’t matching what the old mill did. But they are STILL SELLING THE CARPET WE WANT EVEN THOUGH IF SOMEONE ORDERS IT IT WILL LOOK COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.
And, yes, I have video and pictures of it all on display in Lowe’s.
I finally asked the store manager in an email if I had to take it to social media and the local TV station to get this done. So then he sent someone out to measure so maybe they can put laminate down to match all the bedrooms. That was four weeks ago and no one has followed up.
To make matters worse, the wrong carpet is wrapped around the top step so if we do put laminate on the landing/hall, the laminate will have to come down onto the last rise at the top of the stairs. How stupid will that look? So I asked the guy to measure for putting laminate on the stairs which I’m sure they won’t want to do because it will be labor intensive and therefore expensive.
The entire things is so exasperating it makes my stomach churn. I cannot believe how poorly we have been treated by Lowe’s. It’s really sad.
Do You Know How to Solve Low Ferritin?
My chronic ongoing struggle with low ferritin has finally reached the point of pushing me into the anemic range with the low energy and all. The PPI I take because of my EoE is probably interfering with my iron absorption because I consume plenty of iron. It’s gotten to the point where I’m concerned. My last ferritin reading was 7. Yes, 7. No one seems to know how to help me and I can tell it’s impacting me in ways that concern me.
If anyone has any ideas, I’m all ears. High dosage iron shots aren’t an option. Neither are supplements unless they are free of everything including fake sugars. I’m looking for baby and child level supplements here, people, because that is all my system seems to handle. Did anyone ever get iron shots when they were pregnant? I’m wondering if that might be the route to explore and if they are smaller doses than the megadoses they usually give people with iron absorption issues.
It’s so fantastic that every month we spend a small fortune to have health coverage that is useless because there are no doctors, nutritionists, or anyone else who seems capable of helping me. What makes me sad is that this is the norm for so many people in our country – spend a fortune and get no help. What a mess.
The Best Thing about Our Summer
The best thing about our summer? Caroline had a fantastic summer. She has found her activities and her people. She had a schedule this summer that offered her just enough fun and activity each week that she didn’t get bored but also had lots of downtime and time for her creative endeavors. She made new friends and found new interests. It was truly win-win-win which was a huge answer to prayer for me. It’s so satisfying to see your child happy and enjoying life as she more fully understands who she is.
So there are all my random September thoughts. LOL!
We have been sick off and on all summer due to mold allergies. Since we live pretty much in a forest (or at least heavily forested area), these very humid and hot days create a lot of mold in the air. I have seen a couple of reports from those who research such things, speculating that what we are experiencing is the results of people manipulating the weather. It reminds me of the X-Files… hmmmm.
I don’t know about weather experiments, but I do know that from December of last year to now has been a very unenjoyable stretch of weather. David says the same thing and he isn’t given to complaining about the weather the way I am. We’ve just been enduring the weather and there has been almost no stretches of even a couple of days in a row to enjoy whether it was winter, spring, or summer. I’m almost afraid to see what the fall and winter bring. LOL!
Sallie
I completely understand why you’re taking down your women in ministry site. I read it off and on as you posted items. In the hyperpolarization we have right now, it would be hard to post something like that.
Hi Ticia,
Yes, it’s nearly impossible to have a cordial discussion with people about complicated topics. Sometimes I feel like my head is going to explode over the things people are offended by.
Yesterday Wendy’s (the restaurant) tweeted out “Might need a Scott Frosty to ice down the beating Nebraska is taking.” Their coach’s last name is Frost. Nebraska was getting annihilated by Michigan. It was a funny and clever tweet. So many people were offended. I’m just sitting here shaking my head still.
It’s really sad where we are as a culture and where the church is in so many ways. It’s especially challenging for those among us who are wired by God to be strongly oriented toward truth seeking. It’s all about the feels right now and truth be damned (as well as the people trying to find it).
To be fair for the Wendy’s tweet, their account is known for tweets like that, so to some extent I think they do it to get reactions. Their account regularly gets featured in posts with titles saying “Wendy’s twitter just had the sickest burn!”
I’m with you on frustration for the state of the church and how it’s all the feels. I get frustrated with modern worship songs that are all emotions and how God makes you feel.
Hi Ticia,
I’m not familiar with their history, but I still think it’s a funny tweet. I imagine they could do something similar to my own school. I simply don’t get the outrage over something so minor.
Sallie
I definitely feel isolated because of politics these days. I have been drawing on something George MacDonald wrote (paraphrasing): sometimes you just have to endure the discomfort of being misunderstood, for a while.
I’ve thought about the ferritin thing, to the extent that I can do so from my position of almost total ignorance. It seems to me like you have three potential avenues for raising ferritin: take in more iron, absorb more, or lose less.
Taking in more iron might include supplements, injections, IV drips [infusions], or even (I am guessing) actual blood transfusions.
Absorbing more iron sounds like it might require reducing or cycling off your PPI for a while. That doesn’t sound like a great option.
I saw an abstract for a study someone was doing on transdermal iron supplementation, but that is cutting-edge research right now.
Losing less iron…if you’re not in full menopause yet, you could perhaps try to get to 100% amenorrhea sooner. (Not the greatest option, either.) Also, doctors are advised to check for gastrointestinal bleeding in anemia cases. Hopefully your doctor has done that already.
(Later) I found this journal article, which is very technical but may be helpful:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4137115/
It mentioned (in the sixth paragraph) that PPIs interfere with nonheme iron absorption, so it seems that you will need heme iron (from meat) for your oral iron intake.
Also, there was something in there about copper helping with iron absorption. But…(following one of the authors off into his other publications)…way too much dietary iron (9x requirements) causes copper deficiency in rats:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29546308
It seems that iron, copper, and zinc are all metabolically related, and so an excess in one can mean a deficiency in one or more of the others. Elsewhere I read that too much calcium can interfere with iron absorption, and that vitamin B12 deficiency can happen in conjunction with low iron.
Here’s a book that does not appear particularly reputable:
https://www.amazon.com/Iron-Disorders-Institute-Guide-Anemia/dp/1581826923
But one of the things this author suggests is not just doing a ferritin test, but a full “iron panel”, claiming that some anemic people have good iron stores, but can’t access them. At this point an iron panel may not be necessary for you; it becomes important in more advanced anemia.
So to my initial list, you can add “iron pulled from storage”.
Another link that was not necessarily reputable suggested that the lower-acidity stomach environment created by the PPI tends to make usable iron oxidize (turning Fe2+ to Fe3+) and continue on past the iron absorption point in the upper small intestine; this is yet to be confirmed:
https://www.ebmconsult.com/articles/proton-pump-inhibitor-iron-ferrous-sulfate-replacement-anemia-evidence
I’ve read conflicting opinions on how much PPIs can affect iron absorption, anywhere from “a little” to “really a lot”. This article, about using PPIs to treat excessively high iron, says it’s “a lot”, and mentions the differential effect of PPIs on heme vs. non-heme iron:
https://gut.bmj.com/content/gutjnl/56/9/1291.full.pdf
This paper doesn’t look all that great, but it does make me think that perhaps tweaking the timing of oral iron intake vs. the PPI would be helpful (i.e., ingesting nonheme iron at times when your stomach acid is most acidic):
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3878540/
Somewhere I read an gastroenterologist saying that he was comfortable reducing PPI dosage in half in many cases, or even letting the patient only take it as needed.
There’s an overview of heme vs nonheme iron here, which also mentions some dietary factors such that can interfere with nonheme iron absorption, including tea and coffee (because of tannin):
https://www.gpnotebook.co.uk/simplepage.cfm?ID=x20110720105313880069
IV iron or iron shots would skip over the absorption problem, but they can be uncomfortable and they have some risks. I haven’t found much information on lower-than usual dosages for these, but I would think that with an IV infusion that they could stop it at any time, and not give you the whole bag. There is probably some flexibility with injection dosages as well.
It may be encouraging to note that the first article I listed said that iron metabolism tends to become more efficient during anemia. Stress reduction is probably also helpful.
Hopefully there is something in there that can be of some help to you! I did enjoy scanning through the research papers.
WOW, Peggy. This is amazing. Thank you so much for taking the time to do all this research. It will take me some time to go through it. That is really so kind of you to do this. Thank you.
Sallie
No problem–as I said, it was fun to dig around and learn something new.
I figured you probably knew most or all of it already, but sometimes it is just that one little thing more, that is what you need to get you over the worst of the difficulty.
I’ll keep praying for you as well.
And I really like that George MacDonald quote. That’s a new one for me. Thank you for sharing it!
Sallie
I like hearing all your thoughts! Thanks for the update on your Facebook exodus. This whole month I have been in newborn babyland, so I have some catching up to do on my favourite blogs!
Hi Elsie!
Congratulations on the new baby! I’m glad you enjoyed the post. 🙂
Sallie
Oh my….I had recently caught your blog about conservative biblical egalitarian journey and was looking forward to learning more. I understand your becoming uncomfortable with being used by others!! As a maturing in my faith woman I am “finally” digging into what I grew up being taught and what God actually wants us to know. If you have any suggestions about others writings/blogs I would be very appreciative.
Hi Jean,
If you want an in-depth, scholarly but accessible look at the topic of women in the Bible then I would recommend Marg’s blog. She has a lot of amazing content.
https://margmowczko.com/
Wade Burleson also has a lot of good info on women in the church from a more conservative egalitarian view.
http://www.wadeburleson.org/
It’s hard to know who else to recommend because so many of them are moving in the feminist and #metoo direction where cultural aspects seem to overtake the commitment to the Scriptures. But if I think of anyone else, I will add another comment. I’m kind of wiped out tonight so I’m not thinking the best. LOL!
Sallie
Very appreciative of the recommendations….
Sallie- thanks again for all your interesting posts! I’m sorry you’re under it with the iron issue, weather woes, and carpet caper – WOW! Praying Jesus’ peace for you, thru it all…
I took a break to read blogs today, after reading this and clicked over to Marg’s blog- much to ponder & study, and commenter Elsie’s delightful blog.