Holidays

Tops of 2012

57 Comments

2012

2012 is all but gone. This year we watched people win Olympic gold. Hammond had yet another scandal. The Northeast had a superstorm. America elected a President. SFL went on a field trip to Sri Lanka. It was a very busy year.

Time for our year-end round up of stuff that happened here on SFL! (The most-viewed posts on SFL in 2012 all had to do with Jack Schaap’s fall from grace but I’m not going to include any of those in my selection.)

Top 10 posts arbitrarily picked in no particular order

10. A Modest Proposal
9. How It All Began
8. Christmas Trees
7. Top 10 Things Fundies Expect People To Say
6. Easter
5. A Baptist Timeline
4. Commandments Concerning Motor Vehicles
3. Shepherds
2. Love Defined
1. Sunday School Catechism

Award for Adorableness goes to Dancing IFB Mom.

And if you haven’t read about the World Vision trip I took to Sri Lanka in August do feel free to go back and peruse those posts. It was the most amazing event of my year.

57 thoughts on “Tops of 2012”

  1. First?

    I watched that little thing from WordPress and have no idea why the WordPress logo would explode in stars above the silhouette. Any ideas?

  3. Whatta year! Thanks Darrell!

    An Irish Blessing for the New Year

    May the New Year bring:
    The warmth of home and hearth to you,
    The cheer and goodwill of friends to you,
    The hope of a childlike heart to you,
    The joy of a thousand angels to you,
    The love of the Son and God’s peace to you.

    1. Warmth? Cheer? Hope? Tsk-tsk, you’ll never be a good Fundamental Christian spouting blasphemies like that! 🙄 😈 :mrgreen:

    2. Don, do you ever make it to the annual Celtic Festival at Bethabara Park? We go every year. Can’t wait for the next one, along with the Greek Festival. Opa!

      1. Just now getting out to see what the world has to offer. I have been so deluded and seculded over the years spending all my time in “church” activities. Here three years after my escape I find I am still dealing with old habits and IFB monasticism.

        1. Grrr, this is about the fourth time I’ve lost a reply I was typing to one of your comments! It must be the work of Satan, LOL!

          OK, trying again:

          I thought you might be familiar with the Celtic festival because you posted an Irish blessing, and the Scots-Irish heritage is so rich and strong hereabouts.

          I hope you can make it this year! It’s always in early or mid May, and it’s a blast. Tons to do and see, including some fascinating people-watching. You will never see so many guys in kilts, LOL. Even toddlers and babies in kilts — it’s a riot. The events are so much fun, too: e.g., the Highland Games (the caber toss is a hoot); Irish step-dancing (our local troupe is one of the best in the country!); the border-collie demonstration; country dancing; harp concerts in Bethabara Church; and, of course, music, music, music, ranging from traditional Celtic to bluegrass/roots/”mountain.” Plus the Massing of the Clans, which is pretty darned impressive, and lots of bagpipe music. Not to mention many cool ways to spend your money.

          The Greek Festival’s wonderful, too, although there’s less to do–it’s more about eating and drinking and shouting “Opa!” while the Greek Orthodox School students do traditional dances. But the Greek festival has wine and beer, while the Celtic Festival just has weird orangeade from Scotland. 🙂

          Both are in May. I will keep you posted. Opa!

        2. In 2012 we did get out to the Greek Festival. I hve been in Winston-Salem for 46 of my 49 years and that was the first Greek Festival I have ever went to. Plan on going back this year.
          One would think that I would have embraced my Scot-Irish heritage here in NC a little more but between “doing” church and being a 32nd degree Apathetic Master trained in the advanced art of “Meh…” *sigh* See, I just don’t look good in a Kilt. 🙄

        3. “See, I just don’t look good in a kilt.” LOL!!!!

          Well, that has never stopped the guys who participate in the Highland Games. Picture to yourself a short, stocky guy whose neck is as wide as his head…wearing a kilt and a “wife-beater” T-shirt.

          But I guess that’s the physique you need for tossing cabers. We recently watched the Disney/Pixar flick *Brave,* and I noticed that the king in that flick looked a lot like the guys at the Highland Games. :mrgreen:

          Happy New year, y’all!

        5. I don’t for one second think you would look bad in a kilt. Kilts are killer bee in my book. I once saw a preliminary World’s Strongest Man competition at some games in Scotland. All the strongmen wore kilts….refuting forever the IFB mandate about men in women’s garb. It was swoontastic.

  7. December 21, 2012 came and went…

    … Now what do I do? LOL

    🙁

    I WISH ALL OF YOU
    THE HAPPIEST NEW YEAR EVER!

    Thank you Darrell for being a terrific host!

    ~~~Heart 😀

    1. Wow. I listened to the whole piece. Bizarre.

      A few years ago I’d have lapped up the KoolAid and even liked the yelling. Now I just wonder why I bought it.

  10. I nominate 2012 to be the worst year of the millenium so far although 2013 is already shaping up to give 2012 a run for its money. At least in my life. Anyway, Happy New Year Bah Humbug!

    1. It’s early for worst of the millenium, but it could be the worst of the decade or century… Lost a (distant) relative in the Newton tragedy; lost a mother; lost a sister in 2012 – it certainly wasn’t my best year, either.

      I hope your 2013 is good!

  14. I’m rather skeptical about what craziness next year will bring us. Hopefully we’ll all make it through with our jobs, tax cuts, and guns intact. 🙄

  15. For me, 2012 was a good year. 2013 has a lot of unknowns so here it goes! We’re having soup/stew contest tonight at the church games activity so here’s hoping the slight burnt taste doesn’t harm my cheeseburger soup!

  16. Last year during Christmas vacation, I somehow stumbled upon the “fundy rules”, which were my first introduction to this site. It was actually on New Years Eve that I was at a friend’s house (we were skipping the Watch Night service) and I started reading them to her. We could not stop laughing. Whoever had written them knew exactly what we had experienced! I was already having some “issues” with things I was observing in my IFB church, and started daring to question the “why’s”. But I had grown up in an extremely fundy preacher’s household and my husband had grown up in the church we were attending and he had no desire to go against his upbringing or cause problems by questioning. I also worked in the church school, where I had taught for 15 years. Leaving, or even questioning, was not an option.
    In January, my marriage fell apart with the discovery of my husband’s extensive (and expensive) online porn addiction. I asked him to get counseling; he filed for divorce; the pastor blamed me.
    In February, after my husband changed the locks on my house, a friend graciously opened up her home to me. One night while the family was gone, I was looking around the site and found the article “How It All Began”. I literally cried until I could not cry any more. I cried for hours. “And they tried to imagine what it would be like to live a life that was unafraid.” That was me! I was so very afraid. I had never known life outside of the church, and now that I was getting divorced, my parents were against me as well.
    I will always be thankful for an amazing friend who had experienced leaving the church many years before. We started meeting for breakfast every Saturday morning, and she never failed to remind me that yes, there was life outside of the church and I would be OK.
    In a 5-week period, I lost my job, quit the church, lost my house, and signed divorce papers. It’s been a difficult year, but she was right: I am okay. I got a job and an apartment, and in October I accepted a teaching position in a private school in Guatemala (not a church school 🙂 I start next Monday and can’t wait 🙂
    I joined SFL in March, and was again surprised at how many people there were who understood my background and could relate to how I was feeling. Checking SFL is usually one of the first things I do in the morning (after, of course, spending the required amount of time in “quiet time”/devotions, etc. 🙄 Knowing that people here understand where I’ve come from and can relate to how I’m feeling when I have to go back to the church for some reason or run into someone who wants to judge me for my decisions has made my transition much easier. And while I have never met any of you IRL, I still think that I have made friends, and for that I’m thankful
    So.. I didn’t mean to write a book lol but I have really enjoyed this site over the past year, and look forward to more insights in the New Year.

    4. God Bless you in your new life. I am very sorry your exit from Fundystan was so rough. Your friend is correct, though. There is life outside the church. Now that I go to a church without “rules”, that emphasizes true personal study and decision making instead of despotic decision making, I find I enjoy the church friends more. Probably because my friends are real people with real problems and failings, like me. Not a group in fear of not living up to certain standards and in fear the leadership will find out they aren’t properly toeing the line.

      Please let us know how things go in Guatemala, and has been stated already, WELCOME!

    7. There is a verse in Psalm which says…”when thy mother and father forsake thee, then I will take thee up!”

      I read that verse years ago after I first got saved and I remember crying b/c my mom had checked out of our relationship when she married my abusive stepfather and they became fundies when I was 16 years old. She has since divorced him but it took a lot of courage to do that b/c of the manipulation of the IFB pastors.

      And I check SFL in the morning as well even before I read the Bible!

      Take care and God bless you on your new life in Guatemala. 😀

    8. Redhot, may God bless you. I’m sorry for all you have gone through; I pray that 2013 will be a better year for you.

  17. Redhot, welcome to the other side of the wall. We’re glad you’re here. I hope your 2013 demonstrates your friend’s wisdom–there is life outside the church, and you’re going to be OK.

    Happy New Year!

  18. This has been such a blessed year for Titus and me. I have been volunteering full-time at the church’s school, directing the Children’s choir at church, along with my usual piano-playing duties.

    I have been able to attend several ladies retreats and two revivals because they needed piano players there and we were able to get a guest musician for that day at church.

    Titus is doing well considering all the pressure he has been under since all that stuff happened with the Pastor. I will have to share that prayer request with you later. Needless to say, when the Pastor is gone, someone has to step up and that someone has been Titus.

    I have made 27 Green Bean Casseroles this year, sewed several jumpers, read Proverbs 31 through each month, and finally made a waffle that Titus says is better than his mother’s. Next year, I hope to be able to sew some shirts for Titus, learn at least 3 new potluck recipes, meet Mrs. Ron Hamilton, and go on a mission trip to Wichita or Arkansas.

    Happy New Year to the remnant here at SFL! I will send you each a virtual Green Bean Casserole to celebrate God’s faithfulness despite our sinful, wandering hearts.

    2. OMS, CMG!!!!!!! You’re back! Did you make any of that Jello with the fruit in it? That is heavenly!

      1. Semp, you obviously do not quite grasp the meaning of ‘heavenly.’ 😉

        CMG, I was fortunate my MIL was only a fair cook. One of her holiday specialties (inherited from her MIL) was a gelatin ring made with canned oranges and served with a dish of mayo in the center.

        On the other side, my mother made molded orange or lemon gelatin filled with shredded cabbage and carrots. Maybe you can try something like that to bring something different to the next church potluck! 😈

        1. I thought OMS stood for “Oh, my stars!”
          But around here it could just as easily be “Oh, my sanctimoniousness!”

        2. What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul,
          What wondrous love is this, O my soul?….

          One of the all-time great shape-note hymns!

        3. Yes, Redhot, it does mean “Oh, my soul!”. Picked that one up at HAC. I no longer use that phrase in normal life, but “stink” and its derivatives are in my daily vocabulary. I thought “OMS” to be appropriate here.

    3. Nice to hear from you, CMG! But I have to say, we ladies here at SFL are a bit disappointed that we didn’t get to host a virtual baby shower for you in 2012. 😉

  19. I think my favorite 2012 post was the catechism one. Believe it or not, I actually know some of those Sunday School songs. When I was a kid, we had a record (yes, one of those vinyl things) that included the song about the arky, arky (“made it out of gopher barky, barky”). And who can live in the South without absorbing the “joy, joy, down in my heart” song from the surrounding atmosphere by osmosis? 😆

      1. Genesis 6:14 definitely says the Ark was made of gopher wood. The trouble is, nobody knows what gopher wood was– that one mention of it in Genesis 6 is the only time the word occurs in the Bible, or anywhere else in written Hebrew.

        So if you want to say it means “hickory bark,” nobody can prove you wrong.

        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopher_wood

  20. Of the ones listed, it is a close tie between “Shepherds” and “Top 10 Things Fundies Expect People to Say”, but the “Shepherds” post wins as my favorite of all of these.

    Of the Top 10, numbers 10, 8, 7, and 3 are my favorites. Pardon me while I LOL.

  21. “How It All Began” was balm to my soul. I read it out loud to a victims group I’m a part of to try to help them understand what my life was like. Thanks Darrell.

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