Is This a Good Time?

You know, I've noticed something. It's an interesting phenomenon in Christianity that has slipped my attention until recently. We have this idea that he who prays earliest prays best. You know what I mean; if I get up at six and pray for an hour that's way better than praying an hour in the middle of the day. That's funny, isn't it? It makes sense to honor the early prayer just like we honor the early riser, I suppose. It certainly is a value in our culture. You've all heard the sayings: The early bird gets the worm and early to bed, early to rise makes a man...something good I think. We naturally carry our cultural values into the religious realm but this is amusing to me. Do we really think that God pays better attention in the morning? Is there a better time than others to catch Him to ask something? Just when is the God who created time and space, and naturally exists with or without it, more apt to hear my prayer? Is this like when you're a little child and you wait until your dad is comfortable on the sofa after work to ask about that new toy you want? Is his presence like the car dealership, where the first fifty customers get a free prize? Hurry, offer ends soon...
Perhaps we think that getting up early to pray is a better sacrifice because we also value sleep. (When I'm up before five tomorrow morning I should rehash the value of sleep; only I'll be to sleepy to think clearly about anything.) So, perhaps we feel that the value of the early prayer is in the sacrifice of something valuable. (Reciprocity=yuck.) Well, I also value cleaning so if I give up an hour of that for prayer perhaps God will honor my sacrifice...
And why do we feel like God should be honoring our sacrifices, anyways. I'm not saying He doesn't, but who am I to expect it? I mean, I am certain my time would be better spent honoring His sacrifice. Perhaps I should pray about this; I just hope I catch God at a convenient time.

Three Syllables; Sounds Like...

So, about a week ago I had to take my daughter to the emergency room of (name withheld) hospital for treatment of her asthma. She is doing great now, thank God. Anyways, when we were leaving the nurse aide read the discharge instructions to me. I'm reading along with her as she is reading out loud to me. There was an instruction to 'avoid exertion' for at least five days. Now, here is what she said: "She needs to make sure she avoids extortion for at least five days." Now, I was very tired at this point in the evening so I laughed a little when she said this. She looked up at me with a puzzled look on her face and I offered no explanation. In my mind, though, I'm thinking, 'Extortion?' I'm not sure we can manage. I mean, she has this hedge fund she is working on...
Seriously, shouldn't you be able to read if you are giving discharge teaching to a parent? More over, isn't it the nurse's job to do the teaching? What if I had had questions? For example, what if I had not known what the word extortion meant? Who would explain to me that my daughter was now prohibited from illegally exacting money from her hedge fund? What if she had gone ahead and done it? She could have been hospitalized for an exacerbation of her asthma. Imagine all of the teaching that would be necessary at that point...

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Ah, Fall; my favorite time of year! I'm thinking about why I love it so much and it has occurred to me that perhaps it is because we have so many similarities. Let me mention a few to illustrate my point:
Fall weather is just right. It's not too sunny but not too cold. That's like me, on a good day. Well, I've never actually been accused of being sunny, now that I think about it...
Here, in West Texas, the weather is so unpredictable in the Autumn. Ok, well I'm fairly predictable but I like to imagine I'm not. I think my husband might argue that my moods are fairly unpredictable, but it might lead to an actual argument, so he might not.
The plants start pruning themselves in Fall. I'm all about this process. I feel so good when I clear things out. I don't keep things I don't use; I could make a trip a week to the local charity with donations. I hate clutter, which I think is anything that serves no foreseeable purpose. I also have no qualms about cleaning out my facebook friends list. (In fact, right now I have 102 friends, which is two over my limit. Sorry, two people will have to go.) I have only a few true friends because I like my distance. I'm really good at 'pruning' out potential relationships with strategic statements like, "well, I'll pray for you" and "you need to find someone you can trust to talk to." So, when I see leaves falling off the tree, I say to the tree, 'I totally understand.'
Well, one out of three, but Fall is still my favorite.

Thank God it's Monday

Wow, I had a very eventful weekend. Friday I was sure I would study all day but I had been equally sure Wednesday night I would complete my care map for OB. Then Thursday I was certain I would start my care map. So Friday I did start my care map and finish almost all. So I formulated a new plan: Study late into the night, (early into the morning), Friday, finish my care map Saturday and study the remainder of the day and study all day Sunday. So Friday night came along and my daughter had an asthma attack so severe that I took her to the ER. She is doing better now, not great, but better. So I took the book I was reading with me to the hospital. Let me tell you, the irony of studying asthma in children while waiting for my daughter to return from X-ray is not missed on me. Sooo, no studying of any significance Friday night. Saturday came along and my daughter, being exhausted from the events Friday, slept all day Saturday. I'm glad she rested but that left me hard-pressed to get any studying done. I did play trains and read books about counting and colors, though. So, new plan: commence freaking out. I have done no studying and the care map is still not done! So, Sunday I skipped church to sleep in so I could stay up late to study. This morning at 1:30 was as good as it was going to get.
Well, anytime I have a challenge I like to learn from it. So let me consider any lessons learned...
1. Asthma is awful, really.
2. It is scary to see your child sick, really scary.
3. Eosinophils are the marker for both an asthma and allergy attack.
4. I can cram an extraordinary amount of information into my brain in a short amount of time, (the staying power of this information to be evaluated at a later date...)
5. A care map looks fantastic with the use of a ruler.
6. Seeing my daughter rest peacefully and playing trains with my son is so worth it all.

Post removed due to excessive sarcasm.

Do you Yahoo (News)?

I think Yahoo feels its users are shallow. Did you know that there was a major environmental disaster in Hungary yesterday? There was a major spill at an aluminum plant flooding over 600,000 cubic meters. This sludge is full of heavy metals and is quite toxic. People are dead and some are missing. There are several uninhabitable villages. Animals are dying and the spill is threatening tributaries of the Danube. This is a major disaster and the results will be felt for years, possibly forever. Did you know this? Have you heard?
Well, not if your only source of news is Yahoo News on the homepage. However you may have heard that there is a surprising twist on Dancing With The Stars. Oh no, is Emmit Smith getting kicked off? Keira Knightly has a new haircut. I know this is pressing news because I was very stressed out about her long do. Evidently the Obamas are not walking their dog properly. This is good to know because, with all of the things the president is doing, I know I am most concerned with his dog-walking skills, or lack there of. And thanks, Yahoo, for keeping me up to date on the new housewives of The Real Housewives. I sure was stressed about who would flaunt her frivolousness on t.v. next. And, by far the most important news story on Yahoo front page: Celebrities Caught in Recycled Looks! Man, who do those celebrities think they are wearing the same outfit more than once?! Don't they know they should immediately burn their garments after wearing them out of their house? Man, Yahoo, what would I do without you letting me know about this horrendous crime against fashion? Thank you for keeping me informed. Who cares about those people in Hungary anyways? After all, I bet they wear the same outfits over and over again.