Today's Verse: Psalm 100

I just woke up this morning feeling so refreshed and well -- I had a song in my heart! And this was it (coming from v. 4):

"1Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth. 2Worship the LORD with gladness; come into his presence with singing. 3Know that the LORD is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name. 5For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations." (NRSV)

Maybe your joyful noise is musical -- singing, playing an instrument, etc. Maybe it's the sound of the washing machine as you conquer a week's worth of piled up laundry. Or perhaps it's the sound of the lawnmower as you maintain your yard. Today we are given love anew, grace anew, chances anew. The day is fresh, and the Shepherd has blessed us all with life for another day. Now get out there and enjoy your weekend!

Today's Verse: Proverbs 3:5-6

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." (NKJV)

Direction is the word I received from this passage today. I had to go to the NKJV to find this wording. The NIV says that God will make our paths straight, but that imparts a completely differnent meaning to me. (Amazing how one holy book can have such differentiation...)

To me, I read the NIV and think about God taking the chaos of my life and ironing it all out. Taking away all the uncertainty, change, self-doubt, and voila -- just getting rid of it. Without these things that make me stagger around like toddler in her mothers heels, my paths will finally be straight. But I don't buy into that explanation.

I like the NKJV because it doesn't guarantee that straigtness of path. Instead, I hear God saying, "If you trust me with your heart, your life, your future, I will point you in the direction in which I know you need to go. There are no guarantees about straightness of path, bumpiness, or possible detours. But it's still the right direction to get you where you need to go, which is back to Me."

I began my day with a headache, again, as per usual it would seem. I woke up with an agitated spirit, an uneasiness that waxes and wanes within me like the cycles of the moon. (And no, S4J, I'm not PMSing! Haha!!) Someone described me yesterday as being "needy" in regards to a hypothetical situation, and the result of this conversation left me reeling in many ways. Some Most of you have never met me in person (man, I feel sorry for you!!! Haha, just kidding... sort of...), but if you've read many of my blogs, I'm a fairly independent person. Yes, I do accept help from others when I feel it's necessary or would benefit my mental health. But by-and-large, the word "needy" is not the first thing that comes to mind when I think about my personality traits.

This whole "needy" thing is not really necessary for you all to know, but it spurred me, once again, to consider the path that my life is on, if, in fact, it is even on one. I'm the kind of person that is passionate and driven most of the time, but am also wracked with self-doubt and lack of confidence at times. I see a million things I need to do, ways to improve the kind of mother that I am, the constant uncertainty of my future, and it makes me feel so trapped. And then, like the Casting Crows song, "Voice of Truth," says, I hear the voice of Jesus singing over me and can step out of that mire long enough to hear this encouraging word. As usual, I needed that boost in the "trust" and "faith" department.

Like most people in my age range, we feel like we have to have a sense of direction for our lives. Some women feel like they have to check off the "career" box before they can even entertain the thought of marriage or children. Others believe their career is to be in the home caring for their family. Men are expected to have ambition, drive, and goals, and those who gravitate back toward the womb and live out of their parents' basement are looked at as having no direction in their lives. We've got to be going somewhere, improving ourselves, preparing for retirement while we are still young enough to work ourselves to death. Our jobs, be they in or out of the home, domestic or otherwise, socially define us as who we are. Try telling a man you meet in a bar or on a blind date what you do for a living when you're a stay-at-home mom. It's a tough pill to swallow, not because I'm ashamed of it, but because of what everyone else's perception is of me.

Direction. How do we know if we're headed in the right one? There's a delicate balance for a modern Christian between praying and laying back, expecting God to pull off something fabulous, and "taking life by the horns" and doing it your way, which can be disatrous. I long for the days when my kids were infants. You had direction then: eat, sleep, poop. Now that my life has changed so much, I feel like I'm walking down that path in "Alice in Wonderland," where those weird animals are erasing the path Alice is walking on. Pretty soon, she's lost in the woods, looking around like, "Crap -- now where do I go?!?"

Alice didn't have her Bible with her, otherwise maybe she would've read this verse and not panicked so much. I need to put this verse in front of my face on a daily basis. I know this condition of my life won't change overnight, and verses like this give me hope that I'm doing the right thing. And even if I'm not, God does give second chances; it's never too late to change directions in that respect.

Direction, LORD, is what I need right now...

Today's Verse: Matthew 18:3-5

"And [Jesus] said: 'I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my names welcomes me.' "

I don't know about you, but I know I could take a lesson in humility and simplicity from my children on a daily basis. The things we expect our kids to do (using manners, not exploding in rage but handling our emotions maturely, etc.), the things we expect them not to do (cutting in line, selfishly putting one's own desires before that of another, making healthy choices of what they consume -- be it food, entertainment, ad nauseum...) and so on would be a daunting task for any adult. Yet, we expect them to adhere to these standards immediately. As the great sage Shawna (a friend of mine) has quipped, "To delay is to disobey." When it comes to our children, the rule is usually to do something the first time you are asked. How many times have we put off our kids with a, "In just a minute," or, "Let me get to a stopping point and then I'll..."???

Children see things so plainly, so distilled into one category or another: right or wrong, black or white, veggies or candy. They don't get caught up in nuances or hypotheticals. Partly because they can't process these complexities, but some days I don't think that's such a bad thing.

I have put off lots of important work I needed to do this summer: I still have papers to write for Lay Ministry, there are still obnoxious, ever-multiplying stacks of crapola in my office and kitchen, and I still have a cross-stitch birth record I started for Lil' G two months before she was born that is in my dresser of projects to be finished. Honestly, this list could get out of control. But I have resolved something at the beginning of this summer, and that is to cherish every moment. They are growing up under my nose, and these precious few years when our lives are so closely connected without the interruption of hormones, extra-curricular activity, and Hannah Montana are quickly slipping through my fingers. I want to see the world through the precious, innocent eyes of my children, hear their laughter at nonsense words, see the glow of summer sun on their soft skin. I want to take their example of humility and obedience and make it stick in my own heart so that I can model my expectations consistently and not be a hypocrite, someone who expects to have perfect kids while they slack off in the shadows.

These are undoubtedly the faces that will flash across my mind as my children grow up, move on, and worry over their own chilren. It just doesn't get any better than this.

Today's Verse: Psalm 4:8

"I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety."

"Fingerpost"

This is one of my faaaaavorite blogs to drop in on. I happened upon this guy quite accidentally and love his quirky take on things. Proof positive you can be Christian AND think out of the box. He always matches up really interesting quotations with great pictures. It's something you can check out every couple of days or so and won't take much time. Totally worth putting on your Bloglines!

Welcome to Damien's Fingerpost...

"Supporting" Our Troops?

Let me warn you now: this blog has been tagged with 'rant-n-rave,' so if you're not in the mood to hear a strongly worded opinion and a foul word or two, you might want to save this one until after you've had your morning Postum. I know, you are all incredibly shocked that I would wish to opine with pithy comments here, since it is rare that I feel strongly about anything, much less come out and say anything about it...

Let me set the stage for you: We've got hundreds of thousands of military troops, of both genders, who live for years at a time away from home. Some of these men and women are married, some are not. We as military spouses are instructed not to send pornographic material to our deployed personnel, even of ourselves to our own spouses. The majority of us observe this rule, even though the inhabitants of the countries we occupy and aid do not observe this rule themselves, but I digress. One brilliant thinker has decided to support every troop serving our nation by putting on lingerie and military garb or TA-50 and making a pin-up calendar to "boost morale." Thank God she was so considerate to remember all our female military personnel, who are dying to see her almost naked body and think happy thoughts all day long as a result of her patriotic endeavor! Awesome!! Click on the title of the blog to read the slanted and biased article posted on Military.com -- what a positive and inspirational story. Maybe it should make it onto KLOVE!

I've obviously got a few thoughts on this and other such related topics:

1. Quasi- and semi-nudity is against regulation to be sent to places "down range," if I'm not mistaken. (S4J, you probably still have that scanned page from when your husband deployed which stated this federal regulation.) I'm sure we want to boost morale of those serving away from home, so you've kind of shot yourself in your pretty airbrushed foot there, sweetheart. And Lord knows that there is a plethora of local establishments that specialize in boosting troop morale for a fee, so I highly doubt people are going to be interested in your form of patriotic expression when Bambi could "love you long time" for a small fee.
2. Why is it that seeing her nipples through mesh and lace boost troop morale? Personally speaking, I don't want to think about sex and things that make me remember the fact that I'm not getting any right now or any time soon. Tends to make my "situation" a little more unbearable, thanks. I don't understand why emphasizing this effect is desirable, but I guess I'm in the minority on this one, huh?
3. I know, as a woman, I don't want to see your hiney in my face, wearing any part of a uniform that you don't have the chutzpah to don yourself and go down range. The uniform of a soldier, airman, marine, etc., is sacred in my opinion and should not be used as a prop in a semi- or completely pornographic photo shoot. That should piss off anyone who gets paid to serve our country, especially female soldiers. Female soldiers (and given, there are lots of them who don't come CLOSE to being in this category) work hard to serve alongside men who many times don't see them as equal counterparts and would rather "hook up" with them than be caught in a foxhole with them. Women who choose to serve and can do it without being a Grade A hoochie are my heroes, and by posing in any part of a uniform, you've just taken all those generations of service and hard work, rolled them into a thong, and put them in your cute little behind. Thanks for that.
4. This Army spouse is sitting back on her heels, using the, "They're just jealous that they're overweight and don't have jobs," statement to make herself feel better about the controversy she's caused. No doubt most of the men think this is stupid and will probably never even see this dumb calendar. But their wives are standing up for what they think is right or wrong. It's pretty lame and unintelligent that she's using this excuse. She obviously doesn't know what it's like to try and keep a marriage together over the thousands of miles and years of deployment, take care of a family, put aside dreams and aspirations of her own so that she can put the needs of others before her own. I hope she enjoys her pre-baby, pre-stretch mark body while she can. I can't wait to hear what her self-centered perspective is a few years from now when she has unwittingly become one of those on the receiving end of her own criticism. (And apparently, the drama caused by all this is affecting her marriage. How sad.)
5. I agree, it's dumb that people are trying to have her kicked off post because of this. But I can tell you one thing: all actions have consequences. And if you live on post and you've done something to ostracize yourself, either because you took a stand or you were just plain stupid, it is what it is. That's just the nature of the beast. Don't come to the fight if you can't take some hits.
6. Personally, I have no problem with women doing this for their own husbands/boyfriends/whatever. Some of you will disagree here on the level of legal/religious committment necessary for this to be acceptable, and that's cool. My point is, especially if you're married, this is a one-to-one experience. You are doing this as a way to stay connected within your marriage. It is God's design for our relationships and our bodies to be physically and emotionally connected to one another, and I don't believe that, just because one of you is deployed, that the physical side of your relationship gets to be neglected. I believe, for me, that the line is crossed when this is mass-produced and widely distributed. That's when Hugh Hefner is usually involved, and that is taking your sexual energy and directing it at someone besides your spouse. In my book, that's where I draw the line. I realize that this opinion is WIDELY unpopular. I just know from my own personal experience that, if I put myself in a relationship or marriage situation where I have to compromise here, I am extremely unhappy. So for me, this rule works.

This is your opportunity to sound off -- put yourself out there and tell us what you think. Just keep in mind that we will not all agree, nor will we likely change anyone's mind on these kinds of matters. Just remember not to bloviate and keep it pithy -- what say you???

Movie Review: "The Happening"

OK, so if any of you know me very well, you know that I will drop whatever I'm doing to go see any movie made by M. Night Shyamalan. Love love LOVE his films. I had a few hours without the kids this past weekend and nearly had to push down old ladies and small children to satiate my need to see his newest flick, "The Happening." I liked it, but with caveats...

First of all, click on the title of the blog to jump over to the movie's official website. Now I'll give you my two-cents' worth:

• I love his movies because they actually require friction from more than two brain cells to watch and enjoy, unlike that of the, "American Pie," "There's Something About Mary," and, "Wedding Crasher," genre. There is actually a plot that I care about, almost always a problem to solve, and I don't get a migraine doing it.

• He almost always leaves clues or patterns laying around for the viewers to pick up. In "The Sixth Sense," with Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osmont, there were at least two that I remember -- the color red and seeing a person's breath as if the air suddenly got very cold and their cheeks blush from the chilly air. "The Village" similarly had a pattern with the colors red and yellow, red in particular. I haven't seen, "Unbreakable," with Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis, and I don't remember, "Signs," with Mel Gibson (and I think my other BFF, Joaquin Phoenix was in this, too. No kvetching, Jason!!), having much predicatability in this department. Actually, I see some similarities between this movie and "Signs." M. Night teased his faithful followers in, "Lady In The Water," by making us think we had solved his mystery and then turning it all jabber-wockied about three-fourths of the way into the movie, at which point it all comes together beautifully.

• He almost always makes a cameo appearance in his movies. I don't remember if there was one in, "The Sixth Sense," but he was in "Signs," "The Village," and "Lady In The Water." HOWEVER! I was keeping an eye out for him, even amongst the extras and seas of faces and still never found him. Let me know if you watch "The Happening" and find him in there...

• He spins a good yarn. He writes, produces, and directs all of his own films. He's not a blockbuster kinda guy like Spielberg, Coppola, or Lucas, but he's very good at what he does. He is an artist who excels at a craft, not at turning a buck. He surrounds himself with (usually) good acting (although I can't say I really bonded with Marky Mark Wahlberg in this one) and quality individuals. I can't tell you how much I loved Paul Giamati and the girl who was in both LITW and TV. In fact, LITW began as a bedtime story he made up for his daughters, who encouraged him to make it into a movie. Thus, it has the element of fantasy combined with enough reality to make it really good fiction.

Here are the caveats:

• It was very short, like only an hour and a half or so. It had a good plot but felt like it didn't take enough time to develop. I liked the fact that the very first scene, within the first two minutes of the movie, you were immediately plopped in the middle of the serious driving force of the movie. Aggressive and very cool.

• I hated the actress who played Marky Mark's wife. She couldn't act worth a squat. She did a great job portraying someone who doesn't have a lot going on in the brains department. Marky Mark himself could've been a lot better. I haven't seen many of his movies, but I hear tell that he's actually quite good. I think I'd rather see him as an antagonist and really ripping some "stuff" up. He was a little too "goody two-shoes" for me in this movie. Considering that he was a high school biology teacher, his character could've and should've flexed a little more intellectual muscle. The guy who played the quirky botanist was excellent, as was his wife.

• Overall, this one just didn't challenge me enough. I still liked it, though. I think my all-time favorite in this category is probably LITW. I really wish that he had gone a little more in-depth with the plot and the problems between the characters.
  
  Lastly, here's the official trailer. It's well-done and gives away none of the secrets, in true M. Night form...
  
  

If you get scared easily or have to go to your Bible to talk yourself off the ledge after watching a movie through your fingers because of seeing scary images, take a walk over to "Kung Fu Panda" and save yourself the experience. I won't lie -- this is a disturbing movie. But I will say this: it's just a story. There are so many other things going on in real-life that turn my stomach much, much more than this. If you were scared of the zombies in, "I Am Legend," but you were basically able to watch and enjoy that movie, then go for it. You'll like this. If you boycotted Dan Brown's book, "Da Vinci Code," because you thought he was blasphemous and couldn't just read it for the FICTION that it was (seeing as it is located in the FICTION section of the store and not NON-FICTION), then again, this may not be the movie for you. If you want a movie that is a little more challenging than "Hannah Montana" or "Cheetah Girls," then get yer popcorn and Milk Duds ready...