Car: 0, Ang: 1

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When I noticed that one of the headlamps in my car had burned out, I checked beneath the hood but found no obvious access to the bulb. So, I consulted the owner’s manual to find out how to replace it, and it said to take the car to a dealer. For a lightbulb?!? I don’t think so. What do I look like, an Aggie?

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Popping off plastic rivets from the wheel well cover

When in doubt, check YouTube! Sure enough, I found a step-by-step video on replacing the headlamp on my particular vehicle. Turns out that you have to access the headlight assembly from underneath. (Sometimes, I think there is a conspiracy among car manufacturers to make things look difficult, so that we’ll pay to have it fixed.)

Armed with a beach towel to protect me from the scalding-hot driveway, a paper towel to keep from damaging the new bulb with my bare fingers, a pair of screwdrivers and another tool that kinda looks like a split-tip screwdriver with a slight bend in the shaft (photo, right), I went to work.

Found the headlamp!

Found the headlamp!

The boys were in the middle of an all-out Nerf war that spanned the front & back yards and driveway, so I preemptively threatened anyone who stepped on me and told them to give me elbow room to work.

Getting dirty didn’t bother me, but the heat was ridiculous. Sweat kept dripping in my eyes, but I couldn’t wipe it away with greasy hands.

There were about three screws and three rivets holding the wheel well cover in place. I finally loosened and pulled it away from the bumper and found the cover to the light assembly. It screws on like a gas cover, just about a quarter-turn to lock into place. The bulb itself is easy to change. There are plastic hooks that you squeeze to release, then just pull out the bulb. The new bulb snaps right into place, and you turn to lock it just like the cap.

Ang the Grease Monkey

Ang the Grease Monkey

I decided to document my efforts, not as another how-to post, necessarily, but like the washing machine project from a few months ago, I want to encourage others to give it a try. Why pay for labor when it’s not a huge undertaking to fix it yourself? 🙂 Besides, I think it’s great for the boys to see that Mom isn’t afraid to get dirty and fix something, because I don’t want them to think that all women are helpless, prissy princesses.

Granted, I needed another shower and a nail brush when I got finished, but wow, what a great feeling to fix something myself!

What does heavy metal have to do with the Constitution?

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I have enjoyed teaching since I went to China in the mid-90s with an English as a Second Language program, and I was grateful for the chance to return to the classroom last semester and teach a state government class through our local community college. This semester, I’m teaching federal government, and I’m pleased to report that I learned all 23 students’ names (first names, that is) in the second week. 🙂

Things have really seemed to click this fall, and I think the students are enjoying the class. Because I realize that telling the students that we’re going to spend a week and a half discussing the U.S. Constitution could make their eyes glaze over, I’ve been trying to think of ways to keep the material fresh and relevant. Since day one, I’ve tried to convey to the students that this subject matter is important because it influences every aspect of our lives, and if they pay attention to the world around them, then they’ll begin to recognize ways in which order and liberty are in balance (or in contrast).

So, I began class on Tuesday with a little heavy metal. 😉

I played “The Pride” by Five Finger Death Punch as I passed out last week’s quizzes, and then we talked about some of the issues raised by the song. We considered lines like: “I’m not selling out; I’m buying in,” and the tongue-in-cheek jab at greed in a capitalistic system, then looked at the FBI Piracy Warning on the CD case and discussed the ways that certain government regulation can actually protect the free market. We talked about the line: “I am what you fear most …” regarding the no-holds-barred chaos of anarchy and what it might look like if we really could do whatever we wanted.

Then, we looked at the seven articles of the Constitution and talked about why the founders agreed on a bi-cameral legislature (which was a compromise on how to represent the people), why the executive branch is kept in check by the other houses (and vice versa), and why the states retained so much power (because many feared a too-strong national government but also didn’t want the masses to rise up in defiance, either).

Tomorrow, we’ll wrap things up and talk about the Bill of Rights and other amendments.

Ignorance & unbelief (Prayer Devotional for the week of September 8, 2013)

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It can be difficult for us to imagine the historical rationale for decisions like the 3/5ths rule that counted slaves as partial persons, or the times when only property owners could vote (in other words: wealthy, white males). It sounds unconscionable from a modern vantage point. The Bible is full of stories about the Jews’ multi-century enslavement, so it is ironic to me that some people in U.S. history who professed to have Judeo-Christian values were also slave owners. Thankfully, what had been a relatively common practice slowly and painstakingly made an about-face, until it was finally outlawed.

 

Unfortunately, changing a law does not mean changing hearts. We see it every day from our local schools to faraway places in the world: people disagree, argue and even kill each other over racial, cultural and religious differences. In some regions of the world, Christians and other underrepresented religious groups are regularly under fire (sometimes, literally) for no other apparent reason than their faith.

 

These cases beg the question: What should be our attitude when we are mistreated? Matthew 5:10 (NIV) tells us: “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The Contemporary English Version (CEV) version puts the verse this way: “God blesses those people who are treated badly for doing right. They belong to the kingdom of heaven.”

 

I dare say that sometimes, however, we are not on the side of the persecuted. Sometimes, we are the oppressors. The good news is that God’s grace still covers us. Consider Paul’s words: “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 1:12-14, NIV).

 

Pray for the persecuted, and don’t be afraid to stand up for what is right.