One is Silver and the Other Gold

I have heard that a good friend is like a fine wine. I haven't a clue about wine and what makes one fine. (I am smart enough to figure out, from the saying that wine gets better with time.) So, sure, some friendships get better with time and some just die. In fact, I know that if wine has been opened it needs to be thrown out after a while. It gets pretty gross, actually; I learned that the hard way. Some friendships are like this, too. If it turns out it's shallow I'm throwing it out. Maybe this is why I only have a handful of true friends, (in addition to my brother and sister, both of whom I am glad to call friend.) These are people who truly know me and, amazingly, still want to be friends with me. I am so grateful for my true friends. I am grateful for the people that get better with and withstand the test of time.
I am grateful for the friend that I can call and know that her word is good. She is dependable. She keeps me grounded with her honest opinion. She's not afraid to disagree with me because she knows I value what she says. She knows what I'm thinking when I'm not speaking. (It's been fourteen years and I am proud to call you 'best friend'.)
I am grateful for a friend who knows that there is no distance severing friendship, neither time nor space. She gets me, truly. She can convey more meaning and presence in a short text message than most could with a long visit. She radiates warmth, because when she says 'I love you' she means it. (Myrtle loves you, too.)
I am grateful for my newest friend, who I feel like I've known all my life. She is so accepting and in her smile is the love of God. When I'm around her I am ministered to and she doesn't even realize how profoundly God speaks through her. I hope we can remain friends for a lifetime.
I am grateful for the sweet girl in Honduras and my dear friend in New Mexico, as well. I love you both so much and that is enough to keep us together.
Truly I am blessed.

One, Two, Three...

Have you seen the commercial on A&E for the show Obsessed? It is a woman counting and they make it seem so creepy. Why make it so? It's not creepy at all; in fact it's rather mundane. Let me clarify:
1-2-3 swipes of mascara on each of the three sections of my lashes, taps of my makeup brush, swipes of blush on my cheeks, spreads of mustard or mayo on a sandwich.
1-2-3-4 steps when I'm jogging and sometimes when I'm walking, presses of the 'end' button on my phone.
1-2-3-4-5 times round the outside of the glass with the rag, swirls of my brush in my face powder, dips of the brush into the mascara.
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 scrubs of the carpet with the brush and cleaner, scrubs of the clothes with the stain remover, scrubs of my teeth with the toothbrush, all eighteen sections, swishes of the water in the sink before I wash dishes, just for the heck of it, (eight seems to be my favorite count)
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 times round the inside of the glass, taps of the milk jug on the counter, rinses of the cap of the fabric softener, stirs of the soap in the washer.
See? There is nothing creepy about any of that (incomplete) list. C'mon A&E; I'm a little offended.

Everything's A-OK

Let me begin by saying that my son does not watch Sesame Street. Have you heard about the controversy they have come in to with this Katy Perry appearance? Evidently she and her breasts were going to sing a duet with Elmo. (That little guy could name-drop all day, huh?) Anyways, there was a bit of a protest from parents when the video debuted on Youtube. Sesame Street has decided to cut her appearance on the episode, to save face. The thing is, however, that they thought it was completely appropriate to have this singer on their show in her revealing outfit. (Hey kids, this episode has been brought to you by the letter 'B' and the number '2'. )
Well, I, for one, completely agree with the show's producers. There is nothing wrong with Ms. Perry teaching our children. Let's look at her credentials:
1. She has experience in experimental games
2. She has knowledge of human nature
3. She has knowledge of how to send out an S.O.S
4. She has banking knowledge, specifically withdrawing cash
5. She has extensive knowledge of opposites, for example, 'black and white', 'hot and cold', 'yes and no'
6. She is credited with the diagnoses of a new psychiatric disorder: 'love bi-polar'
7. Like Sesame Street, she also has an interest in places that are better and knows of a place where the grass is really greener
8. She has knowledge of good nutrition and has promoted 'sippin' on a juice'
9. She has experience in architecture and can build a floor with nothing more than sheets
10. She has an interest in teenagers and their dreams
It seems she is over-qualified to be on Sesame Street, teaching our children. Why would anyone have a problem with this? Why should we condemn her for bringing her wealth of knowledge and experience? I am certain, in light of the above evidence, she is merely teaching our children an anatomy lesson and we should welcome it. In fact, Lady Gaga and Britney Spears would also be highly qualified and I might list their credentials at a later time. Why are all these parents in an uproar; sheesh...

Plenty of Sunshine

So, I changed the layout of my blog. It is all happy and sunny now, don't you think? I feel like now, all my posts should be sunny and happy, as well. So, with that in mind, here is my first official happy sunny post:
How are you today? Today is a wonderful Monday morning, wouldn't you agree? How wonderful to wake up at 0645 and see the sun shining and hear the birds singing outside my window. Zippedee doo dah, zippedy ay, my oh my what a wonderful day... I just love getting ready for school. I am wearing my bright yellow shirt with the happy face because I love to smile :) My daughter was so pleasant this morning, making her bed and folding her pajamas; she even skipped into the school building when I dropped her off. I sang all the way to Lubbock. I greeted everyone in my class with a big 'hello, I love all you guys so much.' Even now I am smiling and listening to this fascinating lecture so attentively. I am so excited to go home today and wash the dishes! It's going to be wonderful! Then, if I am lucky there will be some dirty laundry that needs to be washed. I just get so much pleasure out of folding clothes. Then I will happily stand over the stove and cook. The heat reminds me of the sun which reminds me of rainbows and flowers. Oh what a wonderful Monday!
...

Blessed are Those...

My clinical rotation today took me to Second Helpings in Lubbock. It is a ministry of the Methodist church on 13th Street, feeding the homeless and needy three times a week. As I was observing the crowd sitting down eating here is what I was thinking: These are Jesus' people. This is his crowd. Were he to be walking on the earth today this would be the group of people surrounding him. I don't think he'd come to visit our mega churches and crystal cathedrals; I really don't know he'd be comfortable there. Although, he might be angry. Starbucks?!? You have Starbucks in your church?!? I wonder if he'd overturn the cash registers and drive out the tall and grande dealers? Hmmm...
We have made quite the institution out of Christianity. So much so that it is often unrecognizable. We have our own industry; bookstores and music stores. (Don't we even have some amusement parks?) It's ridiculous. Do you really think Jesus came here to corner the market on fortune cookies with a positive message? What is wrong with us? Do we really believe that good contemporary worship music and a positive message is all there is to doing the work of Christ? 'I sat through church Sunday morning, clapped my hands to the songs and I even listened to the sermon; I've done my Christian deed for the week.' Sounds ludicrous but it's the attitude of so many of us Christians. (Maybe we should rethink what the word Christian means.) We have created a monster, really. Its a smooth operator, however. We call it church. Everything is tailored to our twenty-first century needs. I think if we are going to church to feel comfortable perhaps we should reconsider our motives. Not even perhaps; I really don't think God moves when we are not willing to. Yet we come to church each Sunday to beg God to move in our lives and spend the rest of our week standing still. Can you see the disconnect? Perhaps if we weren't so comfortable we'd be willing to change our churches. We'd be willing to kill the monster who has been blinding us, making us unable to see anything outside of ourselves. If we weren't so comfortable we'd be willing to move over and let someone we don't know into our church. Maybe even, (gasp), go outside of our four walls and help some people who desperately need it. I challenge all Christians to stop going to church if the only reason you are going is to ask God to do for you. Instead, have real church, outside of our monstrous, and oftentimes eerily empty, buildings. Make church in the streets, in the jails, in your neighborhoods; where ever there is need. Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned; this is church, this is worship. The church shouldn't be a blinding monster and it shouldn't be a structure. It is you and it is I. We are the body of Christ!
I have said all of this to say that as the church, we Christians ought to live as Jesus lived. We ought to help the people he loved. We ought to look in that book we carry with us to our churches every Sunday. You know what? If you'll read about Jesus' life you will find that he was homeless. He had no place to lay his head. He was surrounded by the homeless, the prostitutes, the sick, the rejected and the mentally ill. This was his crowd; these were his people. Go figure; with all of the religious institution around him, with their fancy buildings and lucrative marketing, he chose the streets as his place of ministry. I am honored to have been in his presence this afternoon, amongst his crowd. I imagine, were he to come to earth today in the same fashion he did before, he might be sitting at one of those tables eating goulash off of a styrofoam plate.

Thanks

Blah, blah blah blah blah. It is one of those days. I am running on empty and feeling sorry for myself. In the midst of all this I learn that my best friend was involved in a fender-bender this morning. She had my daughter with her. Everyone is fine but it makes you think. Well, it makes me think, anyways; a thousand 'what-ifs.' I'm very good at the 'thousand what-ifs' game. I won't start listing them here because I would never finish. The lesson learned is that God is good. I already know this but it's nice to be reminded. Gratefulness is a good remedy for 'feeling sorry for myself.' I definitely need more of it. Thank you God for all you do for me.

What's Love Got To Do With It?

I have been trying to follow this story about this crazy pastor, Jones in Gainesville, Florida. You know, the guy who thinks it's a brilliant idea to burn Korans on September 11th. Now, evidently, he has postponed or canceled this plan. But he is still dangling the threat around. He is convinced that God will use him to have the Mosque near the ground zero moved. Regardless of the consequences this crazy person is using the threat of burning holy books to gain attention. I almost feel like blogging about this guy is only adding to the problem, but then my blog has no influence so it's all right. I think he's just an idiot who has no knowledge of Muslim culture. He was probably surprised to learn how important the text is to the Muslim individual. After all, most Christians keep their Bibles in their car trunks and write and highlight in them. We don't usually hold the paper the text is printed in in reverence. This is different for Muslims, as well as many Jewish believers. The book itself, because of the words printed in it, becomes holy. To burn a Koran, therefore is a desecration. Surely, this gun-toting used furniture salesman did not know this. I am not excusing his behavior. Don't get me wrong. His actions, or threat of actions, are deplorable. Whether or not you believe in a certain religion does not mean you have to trash it!
I mention this ridiculous "minister", (no, I don't mean minister, he doesn't deserve that term), self-termed "reverend", (reverend from the same root that begets reverence; ironic, isn't it), in order to discuss a broader topic.
His actions are a symptom of a larger disease: Ignorance. Ignorance is dangerous. It causes us to be prejudice, which is a fear of something we don't understand. Prejudice begets hatred, which begets all sorts of evil. To inject God into a situation of "picking favorites" is the ultimate evil.
God loves only Christians. Do you see the evil in that statement? Can you see how one can only arrive at that conclusion through ignorance?
So, how do we remedy this situation? I believe the answer is education. Education begets tolerance, which begets kindness and love, which overcomes evil. I find it interesting that the aforementioned mosque, which is a part of a larger community center, is building an area designated to praying for other religions and tolerance. Wow! C'mon Christians; when is the last time you spent time in church praying for our Muslim population? When is the last time you said a prayer for a Hindu? Let me clarify, I am not talking about praying that they will change to your religion, I am talking about praying that they are blessed. Granted, I do not know what types of prayers for other religions are going to be said in the mosque. I have hope that we can all learn to love each other. As a follower of Christ I believe he was quite serious in his command to love.
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
Is that unclear?

Amen

Allright, allright; clearly I've been tired lately. So my new pact today is: Don't sweat the small stuff! It's exhausting to complain about things I can not change.
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change:
(The fact that I have to wake up early.
Other people's attitudes.
The poor gas mileage of my car.
A thousand other things.)
Courage to change the things I can:
(My attitude.)
And the wisdom to know the difference.

I See You

So, I would really like to complain about something but I feel like my blog may be too negative. Here's the thing, I can't keep worrying about whether or not someone might be offended or put off by my writing. Yes, I am publishing on the world wide web, but my readers are limited. I would assume that you know me if you are reading this. (If you don't hey, what's up; why are you reading my blog?) (And, in addition to my previous parenthesised statement I add this one: this is clearly not a blog I am writing to be taken in an extremely serious manner.) If you know me, then you know I'm not perfect. I try to understand people but I just don't understand this: why do people give dirty looks? You know, why glare at someone or roll your eyes at someone? Maybe I'm getting old but I think this is silly. What will you achieve with this tactic? Is it to make someone feel bad? I mean, its annoying, but my self esteem is not effected. Is it to tell someone you don't like them? You could just tell me; you won't hurt my feelings, honest. I don't need to be liked by everyone. Chances are I don't like you, either. That doesn't mean we can't be cordial and work together. I mean, there's no way you will like everyone you come across in life. We are all different. But, I'm not going to shoot you looks from across the room. Hmmm, I just don't know about this. Like I said, perhaps I am getting older because I remember in high school...wait, clearly its silly if I'm referring to high school. There are no excuses for dirty looks and anyone who gives them should just stop it. Then again, this is just my opinion. If you need to shoot looks at someone to make yourself feel better don't let me stop you, (like I actually could by writing a blog post). In fact I will do a 180 here and end by advising myself: don't let what someone else does bother you, no matter how silly it is. I'm glad we could have this talk; I feel better.

Tick Tick Tick...

Why do I procrastinate? I don't understand. I am not a procrastinator. Sounds like terminator. Hey work, "I'll be back." I remember when I was a student at LCU; I never procrastinated. I need to go to the library and check out twenty books so I can learn as much as possible about the historical setting of Qohelet? Great, I'm on it! In fact, I was so excited I would skip lunch just to do this. (I know I joke often in this blog, but I am actually being serious. Yes, I am this much a nerd.) Anyways, why do I not do this with my nursing school homework? I feel like I could answer this and I might not like the response. Am I getting lazy? No, surely not. I still do all of the other things my life requires without a hitch. It seems my putting off is limited to homework. Do I really not like nursing? That can not be it. I love caring for patients and I find nursing fascinating. So, where is the disconnect? Why do I not have the enthusiasm for the homework? All weekend I have had for this 'concept map' and here I am on Monday afternoon, still un-started. Granted, I know my mind does not work this way. I hate drawing little bubbles with little puzzle pieces of information. Can't I just write an essay? (I'm aware of the fact that most of my fellow nursing students are saying something like 'are you crazy?' Perhaps, I would reply; perhaps.) I just don't want to do it. I wonder how much longer I can put it off? Hopefully I can break out of this procrastination funk, or at least root out the cause of it. I'll think about it later.

Hell hath no Fury...

So my husband brought home the new 2011 Ford Mustang 5.0, six speed today for lunch. I think I sinned lusting for it. We went for a quick drive around the neighborhood. Here's the thing; my car saw us leave. She was just sitting there in the driveway, watching helplessly as we left in this newer model. Poor Reina, (yes I gave my car a name and yes it is Reina.) How hurt and jealous she must have felt. I will have to reassure her that I still love her and I am not seeing other cars. It was just a ride around the block, nothing more. I am not replacing her. I can never let her know I would seriously consider trading her for the new car if the opportunity arose. What she doesn't know won't hurt, right? I do love her and I depend on her. We have a good relationship; we are comfortable with each other. I know when she gets cranky she doesn't like to signal turns when I push the lever down. Sometimes when she is cold she doesn't like to start. I'm okay with her flaws; I can even accept the fact that her clutch is getting a little stiff in her old age. She knows me really well, too. She knows I like to listen to music really loud and sing off tune. She knows that when I'm cranky I drive too fast. She has even accepted the fact that I have my two-year-old in the back, constantly kicking her in the seat. We have understanding and acceptance, the building blocks of a good relationship. It has taken time and no 5.0 could replace her, at least that's what I'll keep telling her. I suppose I'll make it up to her by buying her a couple gallons of premium and taking her out for a drive. She'll be allright, even if she's mad right now.