I just read this on CNN and almost...almost teared up.
For some evacuees who returned to their destroyed homes [in San Diego, CA], there was hope amid heartbreak. Escondido resident Jim Noyes found what he called his most prized possession: a silver dollar and a letter written by his late mother to his father on their wedding day -- in 1958.
"Take this coin and hold on to it, and you'll never be poor," said the letter, which Noyes found in a fire-proof safe. "I'll always love you, my husband. Hold this silver dollar. Always keep it, and we'll never be completely broke."
Friday, October 26, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
I had the day off yesterday and after wine tasting, lunch at Olive Garden and an hour long, deep tissue massage, I was now resting on the couch waiting for Joey to get home. I flipped through the channels and ended up on Little House On The Prairie. In this episode, Mr. Edwards has moved in with the Ingalls and received a job at the mill. He has taken a fancy to the widow, Grace, who works in the post office. She likes him as well and they start courting. Or, they go fishing together...a lot.
Grace makes Mr. Edwards dinner one night and he asks her to go fishing with him the next day. She says yes but it would have to wait until after church. He states the fish bite better early in the morning. Confused, she says, "but Sunday is the Lord's day. Why don't you come to church with me and then we'll go fishing." He then explains he is not a church going man.
Her smile fades. Clearly, this is no good.
But how is this tv show going to handle the situation? Biblically or...American style, meaning, they make her out to be a judgmental prude who is losing out on a good thing. I sat back and waited as Joey joined me on the couch.
Mr. Edwards says to Grace, "I'm the same person you liked for the past two weeks."
"So am I," she said and then he left.
Cut to Mr. Edwards packing up his things at the Ingalls' home ready to skip town. Caroline approached him and asked him why he was leaving. She asked him if he even believed in God. He asked why he should believe in someone who took his wife and daughter from him. He then continued to pack and Caroline lost her cool.
"Mr. Edwards, do you know what you are doing?!" she yelled. "You're punishing God. If you continue to hold on to the past, you'll never have room for the future." Caroline put the smack down on Mr. Edwards. Joey and I were amazed.
In the end, Mr. Edwards ended up at church and sat next to Grace.
I guess I miss those kind of shows on tv.
Oh yeah, I ran a half marathon on Sunday but I'm not ready to talk about it...yet.
Grace makes Mr. Edwards dinner one night and he asks her to go fishing with him the next day. She says yes but it would have to wait until after church. He states the fish bite better early in the morning. Confused, she says, "but Sunday is the Lord's day. Why don't you come to church with me and then we'll go fishing." He then explains he is not a church going man.
Her smile fades. Clearly, this is no good.
But how is this tv show going to handle the situation? Biblically or...American style, meaning, they make her out to be a judgmental prude who is losing out on a good thing. I sat back and waited as Joey joined me on the couch.
Mr. Edwards says to Grace, "I'm the same person you liked for the past two weeks."
"So am I," she said and then he left.
Cut to Mr. Edwards packing up his things at the Ingalls' home ready to skip town. Caroline approached him and asked him why he was leaving. She asked him if he even believed in God. He asked why he should believe in someone who took his wife and daughter from him. He then continued to pack and Caroline lost her cool.
"Mr. Edwards, do you know what you are doing?!" she yelled. "You're punishing God. If you continue to hold on to the past, you'll never have room for the future." Caroline put the smack down on Mr. Edwards. Joey and I were amazed.
In the end, Mr. Edwards ended up at church and sat next to Grace.
I guess I miss those kind of shows on tv.
Oh yeah, I ran a half marathon on Sunday but I'm not ready to talk about it...yet.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
My Niece
Me: Lyndsay, did you bring enough warm clothing for Cedar Point. It will probably be chilly.
Lynds: My mom anticipated it being cool so I have an extra bag with warm stuff.
Lynds: I don't know a whole lot about Science.
Me: You don't?
Lynds: No, but I can tell you all about our country's core Democratic values.
Me: (Stumped)
Lynds: My mom anticipated it being cool so I have an extra bag with warm stuff.
Lynds: I don't know a whole lot about Science.
Me: You don't?
Lynds: No, but I can tell you all about our country's core Democratic values.
Me: (Stumped)
I really need to go to bed...
Sunday....at about 9:00 pm....Joey and I were on our way back to Persimmon Path, exhausted. The day at Cedar Point with the (almost) 11-year-old niece was much fun and the 8 miles we ran in the rain that day had worn us out. But uh-oh. Someone remembered there was no cream for the coffee. That just wouldn't do so we stopped at Kroger.
Joey told me to stay in the car and he would run in to get beloved French Vanilla Cream but he was taking the keys with him. I was happy to sit in the safety of the locked car and people watch. Joey soon arrived back to the Mazda and tapped on the window. Why did he do this? Because the remote is broken and it was easier for me to just hit the unlock button to let him in.
Have you ever done this before? Unlocked the car from the inside and then started said car?
HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK
Lights were flashing, the sirens were going off. Joey started the car hoping the chaos would end but it didn't. I resorted to laughing my butt off.
"What are we going to do?" I asked.
"What can we do?!?! The remote is broken! Dang, that's loud...we're going to drive away."
"You think driving away will make it stop? You can't drive down the road like this. We'll get pulled over!"
We pulled onto Willoughby and then Joey immediately pulled into the parking lot behind Kroger. He turned off the car, got out of the car, and unlocked it using the key.
Silence. Well, except for me laughing my butt off.
Joey told me to stay in the car and he would run in to get beloved French Vanilla Cream but he was taking the keys with him. I was happy to sit in the safety of the locked car and people watch. Joey soon arrived back to the Mazda and tapped on the window. Why did he do this? Because the remote is broken and it was easier for me to just hit the unlock button to let him in.
Have you ever done this before? Unlocked the car from the inside and then started said car?
HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK
Lights were flashing, the sirens were going off. Joey started the car hoping the chaos would end but it didn't. I resorted to laughing my butt off.
"What are we going to do?" I asked.
"What can we do?!?! The remote is broken! Dang, that's loud...we're going to drive away."
"You think driving away will make it stop? You can't drive down the road like this. We'll get pulled over!"
We pulled onto Willoughby and then Joey immediately pulled into the parking lot behind Kroger. He turned off the car, got out of the car, and unlocked it using the key.
Silence. Well, except for me laughing my butt off.
Yesterday, I was driving to work, listening to the dj on the radio talk about some website for pets. She was explaining how this website was trying to save abandoned pets from being ethuinized. Apparently, the website had a count down clock on it, counting down the final moments of some puppies needing to be adopted.
Man, I thought. That's really sad. For half a second, I wondered if there was anything I could do. This dj was going after work to adopt one of the animals. The plan had worked. Get people to adopt these pets by showing how little time they have left.
I got to work and listened to my co-workers go on and on about the cruelty toward animals. A few of my co-workers do rescue and foster abandoned or abused pets. They are pretty passionate about it.
As I worked, I heard a commercial come on my radio next to my computer. The man was talking about children all over the world who live in poverty. He asked why these children have to beg for food when we have so much to give here.
It really made me stop and think. Adopt an animal or human? Adopt a pet or a 4-year-old girl? I suddenly wondered why so many people care so much about animals but not enough for actual human beings. The same cost it would take to support Whiskers per month could feed a child for a month. This really started to burn me. What if we were all a little more passionate about the poor? Don't get me wrong. I don't think there is place for abusing animals and I would like to help them. It's just....are our priorities a little messed up or am I just being emo?
Dakota is up for adoption and would make a really nice pet (I'm guessing).
Nayeli is waiting for a World Vision sponsor. She is two years old and lives in Ecuador. Like many children in this country, she needs your love and support to have access to things such as clean water, nutritious food, and an education, so she can grow up to be a healthy and productive adult.
http://www.worldvision.org/
http://www.compassion.com/default.htm
Man, I thought. That's really sad. For half a second, I wondered if there was anything I could do. This dj was going after work to adopt one of the animals. The plan had worked. Get people to adopt these pets by showing how little time they have left.
I got to work and listened to my co-workers go on and on about the cruelty toward animals. A few of my co-workers do rescue and foster abandoned or abused pets. They are pretty passionate about it.
As I worked, I heard a commercial come on my radio next to my computer. The man was talking about children all over the world who live in poverty. He asked why these children have to beg for food when we have so much to give here.
It really made me stop and think. Adopt an animal or human? Adopt a pet or a 4-year-old girl? I suddenly wondered why so many people care so much about animals but not enough for actual human beings. The same cost it would take to support Whiskers per month could feed a child for a month. This really started to burn me. What if we were all a little more passionate about the poor? Don't get me wrong. I don't think there is place for abusing animals and I would like to help them. It's just....are our priorities a little messed up or am I just being emo?
Dakota is up for adoption and would make a really nice pet (I'm guessing).
Nayeli is waiting for a World Vision sponsor. She is two years old and lives in Ecuador. Like many children in this country, she needs your love and support to have access to things such as clean water, nutritious food, and an education, so she can grow up to be a healthy and productive adult.
| Born: Sep 26, 2005 |
| Grade: 0 |
| Favorite Subject: Not Available |
| Health: Good |
| Favorite Play: Soft Toys |
| Gender: Girl |
| Chores: Doesn'T Help - Too Young |
| Country: Ecuador |
http://www.worldvision.org/
http://www.compassion.com/default.htm
Monday, October 08, 2007
The American Banking Association has a training program that [illustrates a great way to protect against counterfeits]. Each year it sends hundreds of bank tellers to Washington in order to teach them to detect counterfeit money,… It is most interesting that during the entire two-week training program, no teller touches counterfeit money. Only the original passes through his hands. The reason for this is that the American Banking Association is convinced that if a man is thoroughly familiar with the original, he will not be deceived by the counterfeit bill, no matter how much like the original it appears. It is the contention of this writer that if the average Christian would become familiar once again with the great foundations of his faith, he would be able to detect those counterfeit elements so apparent in the cult systems, which set themselves apart from biblical Christianity… Close familiarity with the genuine is the best protection against the counterfeit” (p.23).
Dr. Walter Martin, The Kingdom of the Cults
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Better Health
I have the day off tomorrow to prepare for Krissie's wedding. Yes, a bridesmaid needs time to relax, too. I know. That's supposed to be humorous. But I still took the day off. I decided to drive to Better Health food store before 30 Rock started. I really wanted to go to Trader Joe's but that's 5 miles away. I could go to Better Health and back in 10 minutes. Plus, I was craving Kettle Krinkle Cut Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper chips (yum!).
I went in, grabbed the chips, picked up some Jack's salsa and turned my nose up at the high prices (dang, I love Trader Joe's). As i walked back to my car, I noticed some women stumbling into Gus O'Connor's. I looked down at my clothes. My comfy, gray sweat pants, black tee, blue fleece and flip flops. I looked at them, I looked at me, I remembered.
I remembered that 10 years ago on a Thursday night, that was me. I was at the Bird and then to Boomers and then to Blackstone. I was out late. I was drunk. I was a party girl pulling good grades. As I drove home, I was happy. Comfortable and happy. I was going to sit by myself, eat my chips and salsa, play on the internet and watch tv. Better health, indeed.
I went in, grabbed the chips, picked up some Jack's salsa and turned my nose up at the high prices (dang, I love Trader Joe's). As i walked back to my car, I noticed some women stumbling into Gus O'Connor's. I looked down at my clothes. My comfy, gray sweat pants, black tee, blue fleece and flip flops. I looked at them, I looked at me, I remembered.
I remembered that 10 years ago on a Thursday night, that was me. I was at the Bird and then to Boomers and then to Blackstone. I was out late. I was drunk. I was a party girl pulling good grades. As I drove home, I was happy. Comfortable and happy. I was going to sit by myself, eat my chips and salsa, play on the internet and watch tv. Better health, indeed.
Monday, October 01, 2007
Religion bites
We sat down across from him hoping the conversation would go well. We weren't here for a fight. We just wanted to use the church facilities. We got the nice crap out of the way and broke it down plain and simple.
Him: Your church and our church have theological differences.
Us: What are they?
Him: You have a literal view of the Bible, correct?
Us: Well....(and here's where I'm thinking....doesn't everyone?!)....yes.
Him: So...you think God actually created everything in 6 days.
Us: (Again, I'm in shock) Well.....yeah....you don't?
Him: No...we think that is a figurative estimate (or something along those lines). We believe the first 11 chapters of Genesis are stories created to explain who we are in God.
Us: (my heart is racing...I've never heard of such a thing) Uh....stories? Like, they were made up? Like...they never happened?
Him: Rrrrrright.
At this point I could tell he was trying to make all of this as comfortable and respectful as possible but it was starting to slip towards REALLY uncomfortable.
Me: So, just so I understand what you are saying....Adam was not a real person. He never existed.
Him: Rrrrrrright.
Me: Ok.
This was where I had to take an emotional time out. My whole life I had been taught Adam and Eve were real people. When I was a pre-Christian, I read Genesis and took on the belief that none of that could have really happened. It was impossible. Those were figurative stories which helped explain why things are the way they are. When I became a believer, I realized it was still impossible...humanly impossible. But God ain't human and He is God. Yeah, it took Him six days.
Him: You probably don't believe in evolution, either, do you?
Us: (looking at each other...looking back to him) No...well, micro evolution but not macro.
Him: Please explain.
Me: I don't believe I came from an amoeba or an ape. I was created as is. I do think we have evolved or changed due to environment. Becoming taller overtime or losing the function of our appendix....but I'm always going to be a human...just like I am now.
Him: Okay.
Me: Listen, during our wedding service, we aren't going to talk about creation or evolution. We'll probably have our pastor share the gospel which is what you and I both have in common as brothers and sisters in Christ....but just to be sure....how do we get to heaven? Or, how are we saved?
Him: You're either in or your out. There's either heaven or hell. (Joey and I both look at each other, smile, let a sigh of relief escape us). There is nothing you can do to gain salvation. Nothing. It is all up to God's grace and if you are chosen by Him.
Me: So, what you're saying is that I declare myself a Christ Follower, I accept Jesus as my savior.... but that doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to heaven?
Him: I hope so.
Me: Hope? Wow. I thought I knew.
Joey and I had many opportunities to get into heated theological debates with this man, even over the most simple things....but we didn't. We were honest with him and he was honest with us. He was also trying to keep everything as positive as possible which we appreciated and tried to follow his lead. The only time I got a little defensive was when I was talking about submission in a marriage. He said he as glad we took comfort in that but his church does not believe in it. I came back with, "I'm not the one who made it up. I'm getting this from the Bible...from Corinthians." But Joe and I stayed on track. We submitted to his authority over the position he is in.
But that doesn't mean I didn't feel sick when I left. My spirit was grieving. I wanted to gather my pastors around and say, "what the heck is going on?!?! Why have you been teaching us this stuff? Where are you getting it from?? Why do I have to be different....the outsider...the weirdo." I wrestled with that for a minute or two until Chuck called us back. He put us at ease. He smoothed some things out.
I realized I was still a baby Christian. I still need help with understanding Christianity and why a church down the street has such different beliefs than me. And is that okay?
I realized I was maturing as a Christian because really, I didn't argue with him, but I knew in my heart, what he was saying wasn't right. Scripture was jumping into my head. I may not have been able to win any kind of debate but my faith was there. It was solid. It may have Chuck Norrised him.
Today at lunch, I thought about calling another church...one from the same religion as the church we visited yesterday. Instead, I found myself driving to this church. The rain soaked through my shoes to my socks as I ran through puddles to the door. With umbrella in hand, I reached for the handle and realized it was locked. Nuts. The door was only open on Sundays. Drat.
But I didn't turn around to leave. I just stood there in the rain. And I stood there.
And I stood there.
And someone saw me and let me in. I asked to speak to someone about the beliefs of the church. That someone welcomed me into his office and within a few minutes, I felt at ease. He knew I was a Christian. We agreed on many, many points. I left there feeling so lifted, especially when I saw the rainbow appear on his screen saver.
I opened the back door to the church and pulled out my umbrella, except, it wasn't raining anymore. I smiled such a big smile for God. I blew him a kiss and my heart burst with love for Him.
I did call one of our pastors just to talk and run a few things by him but when he didn't answer, God told me it was okay. No need to leave a message. You're fine.
Him: Your church and our church have theological differences.
Us: What are they?
Him: You have a literal view of the Bible, correct?
Us: Well....(and here's where I'm thinking....doesn't everyone?!)....yes.
Him: So...you think God actually created everything in 6 days.
Us: (Again, I'm in shock) Well.....yeah....you don't?
Him: No...we think that is a figurative estimate (or something along those lines). We believe the first 11 chapters of Genesis are stories created to explain who we are in God.
Us: (my heart is racing...I've never heard of such a thing) Uh....stories? Like, they were made up? Like...they never happened?
Him: Rrrrrright.
At this point I could tell he was trying to make all of this as comfortable and respectful as possible but it was starting to slip towards REALLY uncomfortable.
Me: So, just so I understand what you are saying....Adam was not a real person. He never existed.
Him: Rrrrrrright.
Me: Ok.
This was where I had to take an emotional time out. My whole life I had been taught Adam and Eve were real people. When I was a pre-Christian, I read Genesis and took on the belief that none of that could have really happened. It was impossible. Those were figurative stories which helped explain why things are the way they are. When I became a believer, I realized it was still impossible...humanly impossible. But God ain't human and He is God. Yeah, it took Him six days.
Him: You probably don't believe in evolution, either, do you?
Us: (looking at each other...looking back to him) No...well, micro evolution but not macro.
Him: Please explain.
Me: I don't believe I came from an amoeba or an ape. I was created as is. I do think we have evolved or changed due to environment. Becoming taller overtime or losing the function of our appendix....but I'm always going to be a human...just like I am now.
Him: Okay.
Me: Listen, during our wedding service, we aren't going to talk about creation or evolution. We'll probably have our pastor share the gospel which is what you and I both have in common as brothers and sisters in Christ....but just to be sure....how do we get to heaven? Or, how are we saved?
Him: You're either in or your out. There's either heaven or hell. (Joey and I both look at each other, smile, let a sigh of relief escape us). There is nothing you can do to gain salvation. Nothing. It is all up to God's grace and if you are chosen by Him.
Me: So, what you're saying is that I declare myself a Christ Follower, I accept Jesus as my savior.... but that doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to heaven?
Him: I hope so.
Me: Hope? Wow. I thought I knew.
Joey and I had many opportunities to get into heated theological debates with this man, even over the most simple things....but we didn't. We were honest with him and he was honest with us. He was also trying to keep everything as positive as possible which we appreciated and tried to follow his lead. The only time I got a little defensive was when I was talking about submission in a marriage. He said he as glad we took comfort in that but his church does not believe in it. I came back with, "I'm not the one who made it up. I'm getting this from the Bible...from Corinthians." But Joe and I stayed on track. We submitted to his authority over the position he is in.
But that doesn't mean I didn't feel sick when I left. My spirit was grieving. I wanted to gather my pastors around and say, "what the heck is going on?!?! Why have you been teaching us this stuff? Where are you getting it from?? Why do I have to be different....the outsider...the weirdo." I wrestled with that for a minute or two until Chuck called us back. He put us at ease. He smoothed some things out.
I realized I was still a baby Christian. I still need help with understanding Christianity and why a church down the street has such different beliefs than me. And is that okay?
I realized I was maturing as a Christian because really, I didn't argue with him, but I knew in my heart, what he was saying wasn't right. Scripture was jumping into my head. I may not have been able to win any kind of debate but my faith was there. It was solid. It may have Chuck Norrised him.
Today at lunch, I thought about calling another church...one from the same religion as the church we visited yesterday. Instead, I found myself driving to this church. The rain soaked through my shoes to my socks as I ran through puddles to the door. With umbrella in hand, I reached for the handle and realized it was locked. Nuts. The door was only open on Sundays. Drat.
But I didn't turn around to leave. I just stood there in the rain. And I stood there.
And I stood there.
And someone saw me and let me in. I asked to speak to someone about the beliefs of the church. That someone welcomed me into his office and within a few minutes, I felt at ease. He knew I was a Christian. We agreed on many, many points. I left there feeling so lifted, especially when I saw the rainbow appear on his screen saver.
I opened the back door to the church and pulled out my umbrella, except, it wasn't raining anymore. I smiled such a big smile for God. I blew him a kiss and my heart burst with love for Him.
I did call one of our pastors just to talk and run a few things by him but when he didn't answer, God told me it was okay. No need to leave a message. You're fine.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)