I'm kind of trucking along on a pair of socks that are pretty basic. They're sized for a man, though, so they take a little longer. My goal is to have one finished and the other started within the next two weeks. I'm trying desperately not to cast on a million things that I want to start so I can focus on a few projects at a time.



Or several.

I also have a pair of baby leggings I'm designing on needles. These are pretty small, but are ribbed, so they stretch to almost twice their size. These are going to be a baby gift for a couple at church, if they aren't too feminine. They have a little boy, so I thought the x's and o's might be too girly, but in the green, I thought it might be doable. Thoughts on that?



And a baby hat, to match my design submission (I had extra yarn, how could I resist making a set?), plus one to match the leggings planned. And a crocheted ballet bag for Amira that is just started. I'm itching to start something else, though. This is good practice in self control for me.

I'm reading an interesting book, based on a recommendation from a very holy and thoughtful person. He said this was a rather fair look at how different Christian groups viewed and treated homosexuals in their midst. Neither of us particularly agree with the author's conclusions, but his writing is thought provoking and much more fairly presented than I would have expected. His credibility is compromised in my eyes, because in the first chapter he presents the trope that fourth century Rome adopted Christianity as its official religion. Any decent encyclopedia could have dispelled that myth. The Edict of Milan simply introduced toleration, making it illegal to imprison, torture, kill, or in other ways persecute, Christians because of their faith. While that is certainly a good thing, it is not the same thing as making Christianity the official religion. This taints any other facts he presents, either about the groups he interviews or history or religious theory in general.

The chapter on Westboro Baptist is particularly surprising, both in how they receive him and in how he presents them, and is, perhaps, the most touching account of a group that is so despised by most of us that I have ever read. The most humorous line in that chapter comes when the author goes to the home of one of the church members and is offered refreshments.

"Do you want anything to drink?" he asks, opening the fridge to do a quick inventory. "We have Coke, Diet Coke, iced tea, juice, water. But we don't serve Kool-Aid. It makes people a little nervous!"

Reading that chapter made me think that they have the same basic understanding as the author, only from the other side. The author wants to believe that if God loves you, He must approve of what you are doing. Westboro Baptist teaches that if God does not approve of what you are doing, He must hate you. They are both wrong. In any case, the book is engaging, interesting, and likely won't change anyone's opinion.



My next book is either going to be The Forge of Christendom: The End of Days and the Epic Rise of the West or something from my Lenten book basket. I try to choose something spiritually edifying during Lent and Advent, and we're almost there. I have a stack of four books to tackle this year. A friend gave me another recommendation, but I couldn't easily get it, so it may go on next year's list.

Labels: Books, Crochet, Homemaking, Knitting, Yarn Along