Combine liturgical church song endings with R.E.M. and there you have it!! Get out the lighters and the teen angst...
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
To Have and To Hold, So To Speak
First of all, thank you for coming back!
I have felt a smidge guilty about my last posting. I try not to post crazy, off-the-wall rants here, but there are some times where the floodgates give way to the pressure behind them, and the result is the bloviating that ensued last week. I only wish I could blame it on PMS! Alas, there is a lot of that stuff floating around in my head. My usual attempts to control it malfunctioned, and there you have it. At any rate, there really are much more important matters going on in the world, believe it or not.
For example, things are just so odd right now in my life. For once, I am feeling wonderful peace in my relationship with R., satisfaction in how God is guiding me to be a loving, efficient parent, and trying to work hard on my various endeavors. Personally, I am sailing over serene, lovely waters right now. But as I cast my gaze to my left and right, there are some seriously churning waters surrounding important people and places in my life. I feel charged up and energized to take these burdens on in some serious prayer warfare and put some heat on the Oppressor. I have started my first prayer journal just for this purpose. And I'm NOT going to guilt-trip myself, as per usual, when I cannot make an entry in it daily. It's a discipline I've wanted to develop for years, and with the gravity of all that is going on around me, I figured there was no time like the present to embark on this journey.
On a somewhat-different-but-not-altogether-unrelated note, I was reading through I Thessalonians the other day for my Pauline epistles class and was struck by what a timely read this is for me. It is a short book, only five chapters long, but it leaves such an impression of connection and relationship that I cannot help but be encouraged by it.
Being one of many books in the New Testament attributed to Paul's authorship, it is considered to be the oldest known Christian document that we have access to today. It is estimated to have actually been written by Paul (not true of all of the epistles bearing his name) a mere 15-18 years after Christ's death and resurrection. I personally see this as a great barometer of what the early church must've been faced with, the energy amongst the new believers and leaders, and the challenges they faced at the time. For someone involved in various areas of ministry in their own church and looking to further that somehow, I Thessalonians turned out to be important for me to read anew.
At first, I started off thinking about my Chicas and some of the amazing Christian women I have known over the years in reading the first chapter. These are individuals that I feel have mentored me in some way, helped me get a step or two down the path that leads me closer to the cross. The reputation of their faith and understanding precedes them wherever they go, and I am humbled by their example. I struggle daily with how I can take the person God created me to be and follow their example, except in a way that is true to myself. Quite a task! And don't get me wrong -- I care nothing about mimicking someone that I admire; rather, I want to pick up the flecks of Jesus in their demeanor and personality and make it my own. Their love and nurturing have been balm for me, having just picked me up like a stray puppy and loved me unashamedly and unconditionally (I Thess. 2:7b-8).
Then my thinking shifted to my church. This group constantly has me in a state of utter confusion. I can get such a negative vibe hovering over our congregation at times; other times, it's bursting with brotherly love and the true presence of the Holy Spirit. As with any group of people, there are those who make it their life's work to attend to the various needs within the church, and there are those who expect red carpet service, and everyone in between. Really, I could be describing every single church on earth. This seems to be the nature of human beings everywhere, and believe me, it's not limited to churches or "religious" people. But it is what it is.
Being involved in a couple of different areas of my church, my attitudes fluctuate. One day I'm energized, mission-oriented, ready to go. The next day I'm out of steam, feeling burnt out and unappreciated but willing to continue working. On my lowest days, I wonder why I even care. Who wants to serve a person or group of people that stagnate, get comfy, and don't want to leave their spiritual grungy, old armchair? Or worse yet, what about those who walk away from the body of Christ because they got their feelings hurt or don't agree with someone else's theology, but they take the back door out of the community, not even desiring to mend the relationship? I toss my hands up in exasperation and think, "Lord, I'm done. D.U.N. You can have it all back. I'm obviously not cut out for this kind of stuff." Worse yet, I see other faithful servants hit their burnt out stage and I have nothing left with which to edify them, to build them up and tell them to hang in there. I try to be there for them, when in reality I could use someone doing the very same thing for me.
But as the old Amy Grant song says, I reach out for the Lamp, the Light, picking up the Word I find, and there's another letter... I Thessalonians gives me that little boost I need to realize I'm not alone here. It was I Thessalonians 5:12-15 (NRSV) that just floored me:
I will not be be specific or "air dirty laundry" here, but let me ask you all to be in prayer for my pastor and my church. As happens during the life of any group that chooses to gather in the name of Jesus, we're experiencing ups and downs on our journey. Our council met today, and despite the issues on our agenda, I felt a positive energy around the table. We have serious decisions to make in the coming months, and we as a council have been charged to facilitate wise decision making. We have a responsibility to not only communicate concerns to our congregation, but to live out I Thessalonians 5:12-15 and model it for them. God has called each of us to serve on this council at this time for a reason, and it is imperative that we take this scripture to heart. We cannot expect the pastor to be the remedy for every problem, nor can we sit around complaining and not desire to be part of the solution. Why, then, Lord, is it so difficult to rekindle the passion and the fire that once burned so brightly?
I think part of the problem that so many of us have overlooked is the "God" factor. We think that, if we only have more fellowship, or convince people to come back and be involved, etc., that we could solve some of our problems. Where does God fit in to this picture? Have we gotten so focused on what WE are doing or not doing that we have completely overlooked the lesson God might be trying to teach us here? What, in fact, is God trying to reveal to us by allowing us to go through a valley, rather than keeping us perpetually perched on the mountaintop?
I've got some theories, but that's all they really are. Bottom line, it just pains me to see such a precious group of people, a community in which I grew up and was nurtured and have chosen to to with my own children, struggle and pitch back and forth like this. I get so caught up in my passionate philosophizing that I completely forget where the cross should be in this picture, which is front and center. So, I'm taking it on in prayer. I've decided to make a serious committment to shut my mouth, open my heart, and listen for the whispers of the Holy Spirit concerning what our futures will hold.
I have felt a smidge guilty about my last posting. I try not to post crazy, off-the-wall rants here, but there are some times where the floodgates give way to the pressure behind them, and the result is the bloviating that ensued last week. I only wish I could blame it on PMS! Alas, there is a lot of that stuff floating around in my head. My usual attempts to control it malfunctioned, and there you have it. At any rate, there really are much more important matters going on in the world, believe it or not.
For example, things are just so odd right now in my life. For once, I am feeling wonderful peace in my relationship with R., satisfaction in how God is guiding me to be a loving, efficient parent, and trying to work hard on my various endeavors. Personally, I am sailing over serene, lovely waters right now. But as I cast my gaze to my left and right, there are some seriously churning waters surrounding important people and places in my life. I feel charged up and energized to take these burdens on in some serious prayer warfare and put some heat on the Oppressor. I have started my first prayer journal just for this purpose. And I'm NOT going to guilt-trip myself, as per usual, when I cannot make an entry in it daily. It's a discipline I've wanted to develop for years, and with the gravity of all that is going on around me, I figured there was no time like the present to embark on this journey.
On a somewhat-different-but-not-altogether-unrelated note, I was reading through I Thessalonians the other day for my Pauline epistles class and was struck by what a timely read this is for me. It is a short book, only five chapters long, but it leaves such an impression of connection and relationship that I cannot help but be encouraged by it.
Being one of many books in the New Testament attributed to Paul's authorship, it is considered to be the oldest known Christian document that we have access to today. It is estimated to have actually been written by Paul (not true of all of the epistles bearing his name) a mere 15-18 years after Christ's death and resurrection. I personally see this as a great barometer of what the early church must've been faced with, the energy amongst the new believers and leaders, and the challenges they faced at the time. For someone involved in various areas of ministry in their own church and looking to further that somehow, I Thessalonians turned out to be important for me to read anew.
At first, I started off thinking about my Chicas and some of the amazing Christian women I have known over the years in reading the first chapter. These are individuals that I feel have mentored me in some way, helped me get a step or two down the path that leads me closer to the cross. The reputation of their faith and understanding precedes them wherever they go, and I am humbled by their example. I struggle daily with how I can take the person God created me to be and follow their example, except in a way that is true to myself. Quite a task! And don't get me wrong -- I care nothing about mimicking someone that I admire; rather, I want to pick up the flecks of Jesus in their demeanor and personality and make it my own. Their love and nurturing have been balm for me, having just picked me up like a stray puppy and loved me unashamedly and unconditionally (I Thess. 2:7b-8).
Then my thinking shifted to my church. This group constantly has me in a state of utter confusion. I can get such a negative vibe hovering over our congregation at times; other times, it's bursting with brotherly love and the true presence of the Holy Spirit. As with any group of people, there are those who make it their life's work to attend to the various needs within the church, and there are those who expect red carpet service, and everyone in between. Really, I could be describing every single church on earth. This seems to be the nature of human beings everywhere, and believe me, it's not limited to churches or "religious" people. But it is what it is.
Being involved in a couple of different areas of my church, my attitudes fluctuate. One day I'm energized, mission-oriented, ready to go. The next day I'm out of steam, feeling burnt out and unappreciated but willing to continue working. On my lowest days, I wonder why I even care. Who wants to serve a person or group of people that stagnate, get comfy, and don't want to leave their spiritual grungy, old armchair? Or worse yet, what about those who walk away from the body of Christ because they got their feelings hurt or don't agree with someone else's theology, but they take the back door out of the community, not even desiring to mend the relationship? I toss my hands up in exasperation and think, "Lord, I'm done. D.U.N. You can have it all back. I'm obviously not cut out for this kind of stuff." Worse yet, I see other faithful servants hit their burnt out stage and I have nothing left with which to edify them, to build them up and tell them to hang in there. I try to be there for them, when in reality I could use someone doing the very same thing for me.
But as the old Amy Grant song says, I reach out for the Lamp, the Light, picking up the Word I find, and there's another letter... I Thessalonians gives me that little boost I need to realize I'm not alone here. It was I Thessalonians 5:12-15 (NRSV) that just floored me:
"12But we appeal to you, brothers and sisters,
to respect those who labor among you,
and have charge of you in the Lord and admonish you;
13esteem them very highly in love because of their work.
Be at peace among yourselves.
14And we urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers,
encourage the fainthearted, help the weak,
be patient with all of them.
15See that none of you repays evil for evil,
but always seek to do good to one another and to all."
I will not be be specific or "air dirty laundry" here, but let me ask you all to be in prayer for my pastor and my church. As happens during the life of any group that chooses to gather in the name of Jesus, we're experiencing ups and downs on our journey. Our council met today, and despite the issues on our agenda, I felt a positive energy around the table. We have serious decisions to make in the coming months, and we as a council have been charged to facilitate wise decision making. We have a responsibility to not only communicate concerns to our congregation, but to live out I Thessalonians 5:12-15 and model it for them. God has called each of us to serve on this council at this time for a reason, and it is imperative that we take this scripture to heart. We cannot expect the pastor to be the remedy for every problem, nor can we sit around complaining and not desire to be part of the solution. Why, then, Lord, is it so difficult to rekindle the passion and the fire that once burned so brightly?
I think part of the problem that so many of us have overlooked is the "God" factor. We think that, if we only have more fellowship, or convince people to come back and be involved, etc., that we could solve some of our problems. Where does God fit in to this picture? Have we gotten so focused on what WE are doing or not doing that we have completely overlooked the lesson God might be trying to teach us here? What, in fact, is God trying to reveal to us by allowing us to go through a valley, rather than keeping us perpetually perched on the mountaintop?
I've got some theories, but that's all they really are. Bottom line, it just pains me to see such a precious group of people, a community in which I grew up and was nurtured and have chosen to to with my own children, struggle and pitch back and forth like this. I get so caught up in my passionate philosophizing that I completely forget where the cross should be in this picture, which is front and center. So, I'm taking it on in prayer. I've decided to make a serious committment to shut my mouth, open my heart, and listen for the whispers of the Holy Spirit concerning what our futures will hold.
Wordless Wednesday
"He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross,
so that, free from sins,
we might live for righteousness;
by his wounds you have been healed."
I Peter 2:24 (NRSV)
*picture taken of Christus statue in Salt Lake City, UT
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Racism and Sexism: Alive and Well in Central Texas?
I endured my yearly trip to my doctor this morning, and while waiting cold and naked, I vowed today to post a rant-n-rave about the pitiful state our health care system is in when hospital administrations dictate what patient care should look like. But when I opened my local newspaper today to the editorial section, I realized my words would be better spent on the letter to the editor.
The writer's name is Evelyn Poole. I want everyone on the blogosphere to know her name and have access to her First Amendment-protected speech. I know she would not be ashamed; after all, she wrote to the newspaper in hopes of being published and making her point. I searched for a link to her letter online but couldn't find one, so I'll present it to you here:
"The greatest disappointment of this election is reaction of the white women voters. Since they couldn't have Sen. Clinton for a presidential candidate or running mate, they threaten to vote for McCain and Sarah Palin.
No wonder it too so long for women to get the vote with this type of thinking. I can imagine all those women who fought so diligently to obtain this privilege turning over in their graves because of the brainless way their rights are being exploited.
But here we are, allowing Sen. McCain to make a cynical and demeaning appeal to women voters by tapping Gov. Palin as a running mate. Gov. Palin agrees with the Bush administration more than McCain and things we should show Georgia our allegiance by taking on Russia.
Only an idiot would even think of this while our country is already embroiled in two wars, one unneccessary, with thousands of lives already lost. She knows absolutely nothing about the economy, jobs, security, and our world's trashed reputation on foreign policy.
You selfish, unthinking, immature white women who threaten to jump on McCain and the soccer mom's bandwagon, go right on ahead and follow another loser because she has the right reproductive organs. See where it'll lead you, your children and grandchildren. Explain how you, with your anger and bigotry, let a man who left his crippled wife, destroy their futures because you couldn't have it your way. Russia would just love to rule America!
There are too many unethical scandals involving these politicians for conscientious Americans to ignore. Oh, I forget, if you're white, you're right, right?"
As soon as you have all picked your throbbing jaws up off the floors, you can join this rant-n-rave in progress...
OK. How shall I attack this? It's like ordering the 64 oz. steak at a local greasy spoon restaurant -- you're not quite sure upon which end you need to start, and you're already sick to your stomach at the thought of having to digest it. I guess I'll take it paragraph by paragraph.
Point #1: White women are hell-bent on voting a vagina-owner into office, regardless of what said vagina-owner endorses or believes.
Counterpoint: I'm automatically inclined to believe this writer is not white, which immediately plunges one into the cesspool of racism. She lost all credibility in my eyes with the word "white". Secondly, she insists that women vote based on gender at all costs. While I agree that there are a good many women out there who are so obtuse as to cast a vote just because it would be "cool" to finally have a woman in the White House, there are a vast majority of us who have evolved past this political knuckle-dragging to being able to walk upright on two feet to the polls. In my personal opinion, Hillary Clinton was too controversial a candidate and had probably pissed off someone with enought money and connections to have her behind handed to her. I didn't plan on voting for her to begin with, so it makes me no difference one way or the other. Also, I have to wonder about Ms. Poole. Is she one of these women who will only vote for a man because she believes that women cannot function in these roles? Is she subliminally aiming to convince women to revert back to vaccuming in our petticoats and high heels and only vote for men because it's the "right" thing to do?
Point #2: McCain only chose Palin as a running mate for demographic reasons.
Counterpoint: Um, yeah, that seems fairly obvious. In the days where you don't make choices on who is truly right for the job but rather who can bring home the electoral bacon, it would seem as though candidates today are chosen by how many demographical boxes they cover. And hey -- if you can check off any minority box, you get bonus points! I would offer to her that perhaps the only reason Barack Obama has been chosen by his own party is because he is black, since we're using Crayola terms here, not because he has a brain one or can spell the words, "Community Organizer." Seriously, folks, I cannot think of more than two men who have served as president in my lifetime that were truly viable candidates for the job, and even then, they had their problems. When are we, as a nation, going to rise up and say, "Quit giving us the spineless idiots being used as pansies for their political parties and give us a REAL leader"?!?!? Until then, we get the candidates we deserve.
Point #3: Palin has Jello for brains and couldn't possibly know anything about the list of sundry political topics, of which Ms. Poole seems to possess some untold wealth of knowledge.
Counterpoint: For crying out loud, the only person who could ever campaign with a check in the box of experience would be a current president, and even then it might be a stretch. I certainly don't expect a United States Senator to have a true grasp on the true conditions of the FOBs in Iraq or Afghanistan, nor do I expect that Ms. Poole has pulled her head far enough out of her posterior nether-regions to have much of a grasp, either. Our senators fly over to combat zones, using taxpayer dollars, for a few hours' appearance. Our soldiers are pulled away from important missions to provide security for them so they can "see what's going on on the ground." If you really wanted to know, maybe you should ruck up and deploy for a year and a half. Let your family live in government housing, enroll in TRICARE, and eat the nasty KBR food while living on a few hours of sleep every two to three days. But I digress.
And after having travelled the world and known people from far-flung places, I cannot say that I blame our world reputation on Bill Clinton or George W. Bush. I believe that all Americans should be held responsible for our reputation in the world. I was completely ashamed of this one American woman in Rome last year, creating such a scene. No wonder we are disliked! We're loud, rude, and swagger around with a sense of entitlement. On the other hand, if taking a stand for personal beliefs and not having more affairs than fingers and toes is something that earns me a less-than-stellar reputation, then go for it. I'll sit at the UN cafeteria table all by myself while all the popular nations sniggle and sneer in my general direction. I'll wear those stripes with pride.
Lastly, the topic of war. Who really wants it? It wrenching, ugly, gruesome work. No one truly wants it, yet it seems to be part of the human experience. My Iraqi cabbie in Salt Lake City was engaging me in conversation about George W. Bush, and I said, "You know what, I think we should just let our politicians have all the disagreement they want, but the rest of us don't have to be that way. There's too much we can all learn from each other." I thought the man was going to kiss me. He was a refugee, living in America for ten years. He loves the U.S. and supports everything we're doing, and I know he's not alone.
No one wants to die in battle (unless you're one of my ex-boyfriends who needs a serious dosage of Zoloft). There are hard things that must be done in life. If you are a soldier, being deployed and preparing to give your life as a sacrifice for those back home is something you chose to do, even those who belittle your efforts and spit in your face. Sometimes the wars are just; other times they are twisted and we are told half-truths. Either way, once the troops are there, there is a right way and a wrong way of conducting business. If we could leave leading our military to the people who know what they're talking about instead of out-of-touch politicians or people who emotionalize separations that military families endure, we could press on as a nation. Unfortunately, the smoldering sites of terroristic invasions in our homeland have since stopped smoking, and we're back to being the same self-centered culture we were on 9/10.
Point #4: White women are angry bigots who endorse only other white soccer moms and their vaginas, in addition to philandering men.
Counterpoint: Shall we make a list, dear readership, of just how many men, both black and white, have hooched around on their wives and won various elected offices by a landslide? Shall we invoke the name of our dear beloved JFK, flaming democrat and adulterer? Or maybe Bill Clinton would be better. Do you think he put a notch in Hillary's bedpost for every woman he shagged outside of the bounds of his marriage? And is it just me, or don't most minority females vote Democrat? Why are all soccer moms assumed to be white? Aren't families of minority backgrounds emerging into middle class, "soccer mom" culture as well? Or do all us nasty white girls sit there and polish our big pearl necklaces whilst watching "Sex And The City" DVDs in our minivans while "Hayden" and "Destynie" go to soccer practice on the field located in our gated suburban communities? Wouldn't it be something to find out poor Evelyn got tossed by her ex-husband for one of these floozies! Maybe that would explain the unfettered rage she explodes into here at the close of her literary diarrhea.
In conclusion, I don't begrudge dear Evelyn the right she has to get things off her chest. I'm just amazed that attitudes like this have survived in our modern day culture. If you put it out there, we all get to have at it, too. So take a shot at either Evelyn or me if you like. Take a stand and use the First Amendment to YOUR advantage, too!
The writer's name is Evelyn Poole. I want everyone on the blogosphere to know her name and have access to her First Amendment-protected speech. I know she would not be ashamed; after all, she wrote to the newspaper in hopes of being published and making her point. I searched for a link to her letter online but couldn't find one, so I'll present it to you here:
"The greatest disappointment of this election is reaction of the white women voters. Since they couldn't have Sen. Clinton for a presidential candidate or running mate, they threaten to vote for McCain and Sarah Palin.
No wonder it too so long for women to get the vote with this type of thinking. I can imagine all those women who fought so diligently to obtain this privilege turning over in their graves because of the brainless way their rights are being exploited.
But here we are, allowing Sen. McCain to make a cynical and demeaning appeal to women voters by tapping Gov. Palin as a running mate. Gov. Palin agrees with the Bush administration more than McCain and things we should show Georgia our allegiance by taking on Russia.
Only an idiot would even think of this while our country is already embroiled in two wars, one unneccessary, with thousands of lives already lost. She knows absolutely nothing about the economy, jobs, security, and our world's trashed reputation on foreign policy.
You selfish, unthinking, immature white women who threaten to jump on McCain and the soccer mom's bandwagon, go right on ahead and follow another loser because she has the right reproductive organs. See where it'll lead you, your children and grandchildren. Explain how you, with your anger and bigotry, let a man who left his crippled wife, destroy their futures because you couldn't have it your way. Russia would just love to rule America!
There are too many unethical scandals involving these politicians for conscientious Americans to ignore. Oh, I forget, if you're white, you're right, right?"
As soon as you have all picked your throbbing jaws up off the floors, you can join this rant-n-rave in progress...
OK. How shall I attack this? It's like ordering the 64 oz. steak at a local greasy spoon restaurant -- you're not quite sure upon which end you need to start, and you're already sick to your stomach at the thought of having to digest it. I guess I'll take it paragraph by paragraph.
Point #1: White women are hell-bent on voting a vagina-owner into office, regardless of what said vagina-owner endorses or believes.
Counterpoint: I'm automatically inclined to believe this writer is not white, which immediately plunges one into the cesspool of racism. She lost all credibility in my eyes with the word "white". Secondly, she insists that women vote based on gender at all costs. While I agree that there are a good many women out there who are so obtuse as to cast a vote just because it would be "cool" to finally have a woman in the White House, there are a vast majority of us who have evolved past this political knuckle-dragging to being able to walk upright on two feet to the polls. In my personal opinion, Hillary Clinton was too controversial a candidate and had probably pissed off someone with enought money and connections to have her behind handed to her. I didn't plan on voting for her to begin with, so it makes me no difference one way or the other. Also, I have to wonder about Ms. Poole. Is she one of these women who will only vote for a man because she believes that women cannot function in these roles? Is she subliminally aiming to convince women to revert back to vaccuming in our petticoats and high heels and only vote for men because it's the "right" thing to do?
Point #2: McCain only chose Palin as a running mate for demographic reasons.
Counterpoint: Um, yeah, that seems fairly obvious. In the days where you don't make choices on who is truly right for the job but rather who can bring home the electoral bacon, it would seem as though candidates today are chosen by how many demographical boxes they cover. And hey -- if you can check off any minority box, you get bonus points! I would offer to her that perhaps the only reason Barack Obama has been chosen by his own party is because he is black, since we're using Crayola terms here, not because he has a brain one or can spell the words, "Community Organizer." Seriously, folks, I cannot think of more than two men who have served as president in my lifetime that were truly viable candidates for the job, and even then, they had their problems. When are we, as a nation, going to rise up and say, "Quit giving us the spineless idiots being used as pansies for their political parties and give us a REAL leader"?!?!? Until then, we get the candidates we deserve.
Point #3: Palin has Jello for brains and couldn't possibly know anything about the list of sundry political topics, of which Ms. Poole seems to possess some untold wealth of knowledge.
Counterpoint: For crying out loud, the only person who could ever campaign with a check in the box of experience would be a current president, and even then it might be a stretch. I certainly don't expect a United States Senator to have a true grasp on the true conditions of the FOBs in Iraq or Afghanistan, nor do I expect that Ms. Poole has pulled her head far enough out of her posterior nether-regions to have much of a grasp, either. Our senators fly over to combat zones, using taxpayer dollars, for a few hours' appearance. Our soldiers are pulled away from important missions to provide security for them so they can "see what's going on on the ground." If you really wanted to know, maybe you should ruck up and deploy for a year and a half. Let your family live in government housing, enroll in TRICARE, and eat the nasty KBR food while living on a few hours of sleep every two to three days. But I digress.
And after having travelled the world and known people from far-flung places, I cannot say that I blame our world reputation on Bill Clinton or George W. Bush. I believe that all Americans should be held responsible for our reputation in the world. I was completely ashamed of this one American woman in Rome last year, creating such a scene. No wonder we are disliked! We're loud, rude, and swagger around with a sense of entitlement. On the other hand, if taking a stand for personal beliefs and not having more affairs than fingers and toes is something that earns me a less-than-stellar reputation, then go for it. I'll sit at the UN cafeteria table all by myself while all the popular nations sniggle and sneer in my general direction. I'll wear those stripes with pride.
Lastly, the topic of war. Who really wants it? It wrenching, ugly, gruesome work. No one truly wants it, yet it seems to be part of the human experience. My Iraqi cabbie in Salt Lake City was engaging me in conversation about George W. Bush, and I said, "You know what, I think we should just let our politicians have all the disagreement they want, but the rest of us don't have to be that way. There's too much we can all learn from each other." I thought the man was going to kiss me. He was a refugee, living in America for ten years. He loves the U.S. and supports everything we're doing, and I know he's not alone.
No one wants to die in battle (unless you're one of my ex-boyfriends who needs a serious dosage of Zoloft). There are hard things that must be done in life. If you are a soldier, being deployed and preparing to give your life as a sacrifice for those back home is something you chose to do, even those who belittle your efforts and spit in your face. Sometimes the wars are just; other times they are twisted and we are told half-truths. Either way, once the troops are there, there is a right way and a wrong way of conducting business. If we could leave leading our military to the people who know what they're talking about instead of out-of-touch politicians or people who emotionalize separations that military families endure, we could press on as a nation. Unfortunately, the smoldering sites of terroristic invasions in our homeland have since stopped smoking, and we're back to being the same self-centered culture we were on 9/10.
Point #4: White women are angry bigots who endorse only other white soccer moms and their vaginas, in addition to philandering men.
Counterpoint: Shall we make a list, dear readership, of just how many men, both black and white, have hooched around on their wives and won various elected offices by a landslide? Shall we invoke the name of our dear beloved JFK, flaming democrat and adulterer? Or maybe Bill Clinton would be better. Do you think he put a notch in Hillary's bedpost for every woman he shagged outside of the bounds of his marriage? And is it just me, or don't most minority females vote Democrat? Why are all soccer moms assumed to be white? Aren't families of minority backgrounds emerging into middle class, "soccer mom" culture as well? Or do all us nasty white girls sit there and polish our big pearl necklaces whilst watching "Sex And The City" DVDs in our minivans while "Hayden" and "Destynie" go to soccer practice on the field located in our gated suburban communities? Wouldn't it be something to find out poor Evelyn got tossed by her ex-husband for one of these floozies! Maybe that would explain the unfettered rage she explodes into here at the close of her literary diarrhea.
In conclusion, I don't begrudge dear Evelyn the right she has to get things off her chest. I'm just amazed that attitudes like this have survived in our modern day culture. If you put it out there, we all get to have at it, too. So take a shot at either Evelyn or me if you like. Take a stand and use the First Amendment to YOUR advantage, too!
Monday, September 22, 2008
Hurricane Ike Photographs
Words really cannot do justice to some of these photographs. As I looked at each one and read the captions, I thought, 'Oh, I've got to post this one,' but then the next one was more impressive and so on. So to keep it manageable, click on the title of this blog post to link to the photographs. Just amazing.
Daybook Entry
I am wearing a black t-shirt with "OIF OEF WOLFHOUNDS" on it from the reunion and a pair of Adidas capris with some Reef flip-flops, a.k.a. heaven for your feet. Oh yeah, and yesterday's make-up. Ick.I am reading "The Mermaid Chair," by Sue Monk Kidd. So far it's been pretty interesting, but I'm only about ten chapters in. You can already tell what's going to happen, but I'm wondering where she's going to go with it. I've also been listening to "Engulfed In Flames," by David Sedaris and creating a scene by laughing and guffawing in the airports. He's hysterical!
I am hearing the sound of peace and quiet in my house, a true rarity.
Learning all the time that, no matter how hard I try, I cannot be perfect. I may strive so much to show love and concern for people, but it is rarely taken as it is meant. That is hugely frustrating to me.
I am thankful that I did not have to go to work at a job outside the home today. I always need at least one day after travelling to reset and get back on track. I'm also thankful I didn't oversleep today!
I am hoping for God to continue revealing bits and pieces of his plan for my life; for God to continue answering prayers; and, for increased patience while waiting for those answers.
From the kitchen comes the knowledge I've got a boat-load of mail and stuff to get caught up on.
I am creating time to do that catching up and not stressing about the miles on the bike I'm not riding today, or the workout I've neglected for a while. I've got to set the right priorities and set myself up to have more time for those things later on. Huge challenge for me!
Bringing beauty to my home Needing to work on this one. I think very "in the box" in this category, and ever since I decided to boycott summer and declare the onset of fall when school started almost a month ago, I have mentally checked this off my list. I'm so inspired by all of you who regularly incorporate little lovelies into your homes.
Around the house is somewhere I'm trying to make a point to be more often these days. I've often been dubbed, "The Stay At Home Mom Who Is Never At Home." As funny as that may sound initially, I cringe at the thought that this is how my children will reflect on their younger years, and I truly don't want them to remember a mother who was too busy pursuing selfish interests to be there for them or to make moments special and memorable.
Outside my window summer is trying to make a come-back, like an ex-girlfriend who won't go away and keeps trying to crash your dates. Shoo! Shoo!! We don't want you around anymore! We're trying to move on here -- get lost!
I am thinking about how, in a mere 17 days, I will get to be reunited with my dear, beloved CHICAS OF FAITH!!! HOOTY HOO!!! (Oh crap, that means I've got a lot to get done between now and then...)
One of my favorite things fall. The colors, the flavors, the CLOTHES (oh yeah, HisGirl!), the promise of family gathering and the ensuing madness of the holidays. And my 32nd birthday, which I'm looking forward to more than any other birthday I can ever remember.
A few plans for the rest of the week... I, too, will make my yearly pilgrimage to ye olde
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