What Goes Around

This is our first Christmas in America many years.  It has been weird.  I can't believe how many presents people give and get.  And people seem to have gotten crazy with the yard decorations.  You can't say "Merry Christmas" without offending someone, and you can't not say "Merry Christmas" without offending someone else. I found myself sad this morning as I was thinking about how different this year was for my family.  We usually go to Christmas Eve service at our church and expect it to be a little odd at times.  That's what you get in a third world country.  The speaker system will do weird things or the electricity will blink on and off or the times we have to go through security checks to enter the service.  And then we usually would go out to dinner somewhere with some friends.  Finally we arrive home and move our mattresses out to the front room by the Christmas tree with the familiar ornaments and we watch Elf in our pajamas. ...

Sometimes you hear people tell stories of how God provided exactly what they wanted and they didn't even ask.  You know the stories, how someone won a car and it was the purple mustang that they had always dreamed of.  Well that isn't how God provided for us, but He still has provided what we need plus more. We were able to move to an apartment this week.  It is more expensive then we would like for a one bedroom and not in the exact location that I had hoped for, but it is our home now and I am thankful for it.  We already have it full of stuff too, which is surprising since six months ago we only had six suitcases worth of belongings.  But Steve's grandma is now in an assisted living place so she had to get rid of her stuff.  So we have all of grandma's stuff.  Not exactly my style, but again, I am very thankful for all of it. We have all the pots and pans and dinnerware and furniture and pictures for the wall.  We have a hair dryer, some j...

At work we now have to answer the phone, "Happy Holidays from BBB, this is Leslie, how can I help you."  Well yesterday when one of the employees answered the phone, the lady on the other end didn't like her saying "happy holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" so she started complaining about it.  The employee was caught off guard and said, "What?"  The lady said, "You heard what I said.  Repeat back to me what I said."  The employee was still confused as to what was going on and what the lady wanted.  That of course didn't help the situation and the lady was mad.  She asked what time we closed and sadly the employee didn't know because each night is different now that it is the "holidays".  They lady said, "You should know.  Why don't you know?  Let me speak to a manager."  The employee was in tears at this point and transferred her to a manager.  The manager listened to the complaint and told the e...

"I can't eat that.  I'm gluten free." I started a gluten free diet on Saturday.  After a wonderful breakfast of pumpkin waffles followed by a two hour nap I decided that maybe I have a problem with gluten.  After eating pancakes or waffles I have to nap.  That seems ridiculous.  So I did some research and also looked in to hair loss associated with gluten and decided to give it a try. I am on day 6 now.  I wish I could say my hair has all grown back but it hasn't yet.  But I am hopeful still.  Some people say they notice a difference in just two weeks, others say two months.  I hope I am a two week person. Way back in January I noticed a bald spot on my head.  I've always had an itchy scalp and a time before I had a bald spot, so I wasn't too shocked.  But then I got another one and my hair started falling out more and more.  I was mostly just concerned about the spots until a few months ago.  I noticed how thin my ...

I've been wanting to do this for a few weeks and finally made myself do it today.  I bought a $1.49 balloon at the 99 cent store (ummmm, why was it $1.49?) and tied my message to the balloon.  My message was a statement about how I am releasing my desire for an apology.  Also that I can't make people do anything they don't want to do.  And that I give that desire over to God who knows exactly what I need.  My movement forward in healing isn't going to be tied to an apology I never got.  So I brought the balloon home and read my statement out loud and then released it.  It was a bit windy today so at first the balloon didn't seem to gain much height.  As I watched it race away it gradually climbed higher and higher towards the dark clouds in the sky.  I thought about the releasing and trusting that I was doing. My little nephew is watching Elmo right now.  I guess Elmo made his friend sad by saying that her pet rock, Rocco, was just a ...

I broke a tooth.  I was eating some delicious carmel corn and had decided to eat the whole bag of it.  I took a break half way through the bag and got back to it the next day.  And that is when it happened.  I was getting to the bottom of the bag where there were a few kernels mixed in.  I'm not sure of when exactly it happened, but when I was all done eating it (not quite all of it) I felt like I had some corn skins in my teeth.  As I ran my tongue around my teeth I felt the sharp, jagged edges on the back molar.  Sure enough, a piece of tooth was missing. Of course you only break a tooth on a Saturday, to give you extra time to feel the tooth.  I couldn't eat on that side and it hurt when the toothbrush hit it.  I had a nerve exposed. Luckily the dentist fit me in on Monday morning.  I told him to just pull it.  But he showed me how the tooth was important for chewing.  Two teeth met up with that molar to grind food up. ...

This will be our first Christmas in America in a long time.  I'm not looking forward to it.  I have a job in retail and just last night we set up the Christmas merchandise.  As I was unloading boxes of stuff I almost felt sick.  Who needs all this stuff? First I unpacked the stocking hooks.  These are different shaped items that sit on a shelf and have a hook to hang your stocking on.  There are ones shaped like trees, reindeer, and trains.  And then since we live near the ocean there are also ones shaped like lighthouses and anchors. Then I got to unpack the bathroom Christmas section.  And that is when I started to feel sick.  10 different shower curtains to choose from with all the collection of towels, soap dispensers, and even toilet lid covers.  Who spends a hundred bucks to decorate a bathroom? As I finished up and went home I thought through all the items and realized not a single one had anything to do with Jesus.  N...

I had a bit of a pity party the other night, without any cake.  What kind of loser party doesn't have cake.  I was feeling sorry for myself.  I was letting people's words get to me.  People who said I wasn't any good at something I thought I was good at.  People who told me that I wasn't worthy.  People who said things to hurt me.  I was reliving the hurt of the moment when it was said.  I felt the sting all over again. Then a few days later, Micah and I were getting out of the car in front of the house here.  I saw the neighborhood crazy guy coming on his bike.  So we just waited for him to pass.  And as he passed he said loudly, "And.... you don't matter!"  Micah cracked up.  I also thought it was pretty funny. The crazy guy's words didn't hurt me, but they did make me think.  Why do I let people hurt me with their words?  Why do I put merit on some people's words but not on others?  Why do some words...

I haven't really thought of the name of Planned Parenthood until just now.  As I made it my title here the words just sunk in.  "Planned"  So it seems that an unplanned parenthood is what we are eliminating.  If a child is created without a plan by the parents then they have permission to get rid of it.  And then I think how nothing God creates is without a plan. But what I really wanted to say is that all this talk about baby parts being harvested by Planned Parenthood is disgusting.  The thing that is heart breaking to me is the thought that all the mothers who aborted their babies must be distraught over the thought of maybe their baby being used in this way.  This must bring up a lot of hurt in a lot of women.  Maybe now would be a good time for the church to reach out with words of healing for these women.  This is just one more layer of the loss and pain they must feel.  

Yesterday I started a diet.  There are seven food items you eliminate from your diet for a week and then you bring one back at a time.  The seven foods are:  milk, soy, eggs, peanuts, gluten, sugar, and corn.  I thought that would be pretty easy.  WRONG!  I was okay with my oatmeal with almond butter for breakfast.  It was unsatisfying, but okay.  Then a sad lunch of beans and rice.  Dinner was zucchini.  I was so tired at bedtime.  No energy what-so-ever.  I weighed myself to kind of get a good starting weight.  I did it after dinner when I thought I would be at my heaviest. So this morning I get up and eat some boring oatmeal again and have a fruit protein drink.  I weighed myself and it was 3 pounds MORE then the night before.  And then I had to rush to the bathroom to have loose motion.  Not a good start.  I was again unsatisfied and still hungry and my tummy was rumbling. I ate almonds for a s...

This morning I am feeling sad.  Facebook is making me sad.  My friends are making me sad.  I also feel lonely.  The Supreme Court decision to allow same sex marriage in all states is making me sad.  And seeing so many friends change their facebook photo to the rainbow colors makes me just sad.  This is not a victory for America.  This is a big step in turning away from God.  I don't consider America to be a Christian nation, but it was founded on Christian principles.  But we have turned away.  I am reminded of this over and over as I read the Bible.  The stories of the kings and how many times they turned the country away from God had always had me puzzled.  How could it happen so quickly?  But it wasn't quick.  It was just like we are doing in America.  Slowly making big changes that are against the perfect law that God has set before us.  It is 40+ years ago since we legalized killing unborn babies. ...

Today felt like a Twilight zone episode.  Things were just weird.  I woke up at 2:30 AM and got ready for our plane trip to Charlotte.  There were new ways of checking in and going through security.  Then arriving in Charlotte we had to wait an hour for our luggage to come.  It didn't seem like anyone else was waiting so we kept checking around to see if we were in the right place.  We were told it usually takes 45 minutes.  We waited.  Checked around some more.  Then someone said it took 30 minutes.  Waited some more.  The carousel never seemed to move as we waited.  Then I found another airline employee and asked when the bags would arrive.  She said they already did.  I found our bags in the pile of left luggage.  So what I figure is that we were the only ones stupid enough to check our bags.  Everyone else knows that Charlotte airport has the slowest baggage service so they just had carry-on.  So w...

We are closing on our house today.  No, we aren't buying/selling a house.  I don't even know what it means.  We are packing up our home.  We have a huge pile of give away things.  It feels so good to have our give away be bigger then our keeping pile.  Why do we have so much stuff?  I sadly look at it and see the price of the items we have bought and are discarding.  But the good side of this is that we are able to give things away and bless others.  Some people will be able to use our stuff. We don't know if this is the end of our India chapter.  It was a long one.  It had lots of ups and downs, goods and bads.  We are actually lucky.  Many people leave and don't realize they aren't going to come back.  We at least are considering the possibility that we aren't coming back.  So we can take back to America are precious items.   Maybe this was not just a chapter, but a book.  And the book will have a ...

Today was graduation and the awards ceremony at school.  These always take me back to my grade school years and sitting through award ceremonies.  I remember sitting there wondering/hoping that my name would be called next.  Now don't get me wrong, I got some awards during many of the ceremonies.  But it is that feeling of wanting to be noticed for being good at something that makes me cringe. Awards are great!  And the students who get them really deserve them.  They are getting good grades or are being outstanding at something.  They really do deserve recognition.  I just feel bad for all the others who are pretty good, but not the best at something.  Most people aren't the best.  And some people are the best at several things academically. This year Micah didn't get an award.  But what the awards ceremony failed to recognize is how great Micah is.  He isn't the top grade earner in any of his classes (although if he want...

The little kids saying goes, "Sticks and stones can break my bones but names will never hurt me."  FALSE!  I think everyone knows that isn't true. Recently I was verbally attacked.  It was disguised in the form of care, but was clearly just a front to hurt me without looking bad himself.  I've seen the same person do it to other people so it shouldn't have come as such a surprise when it happened to me, but it did, it caught me off guard.  The things that were said were an assault on my life, my work, and my being.  And worse yet is that those around me just watched it happen without having the courage to defend me.  So the wounding seared into my soul. Like a physical injury, these lacerations by words will leave a scar.  It is something I will most likely carry with me for the rest of my life, until I get Alzheimer's.  My pockmark will be the reminder to be careful with my words for they can bring life or death.

We have cracks in our walls.  They were there before the Nepal earthquake but now I notice them daily.  I've marked the wall where the crack stops to see if it is growing.  It isn't. I felt the earthquake during the last one.  I was laying in bed, having a pity party, and felt shaking.  I yelled out to my mom, "Are we having an earthquake?"  She checked outside and said, "No."  I had gotten up to look at a fan that wasn't already moving and couldn't tell, so I assumed it was just me.  I laid back down and still felt the shaking which to me confirmed that it was just me.  But it wasn't.  It was just a really long earthquake. I've wondered out Delhi would fare in an earthquake the size of the one that hit Nepal.  It's best not to think about it actually.  There isn't anything I could really do about it. I've gone through a big earthquake in my life.  The walls crumbled around me.  The shaking seemed to last an et...

If you have been reading my blog recently, you will realize that I am going through a difficult time. So my blogging is my therapy. I recently realized that I have experienced a death of a dream.  A 30 year dream has died.  It was killed a few months ago but I didn't know it.  Like a child that is missing and you fear the worst but hope for the best, I was living in denial.  Finally it has hit me that the dream is gone and I need to grieve and bury what I have left of it.  So I let my tears flow.  I feel angry that it happened to my dream.  I yell, "THIS ISN"T FAIR!"  And then I remember.  I remember the good times.  I remember funny things that happened while I was living the dream.  And I have hope.  I'm hopeful there is a purpose in all of this.  Hopeful that I was faithful in the time I had with the dream.  And hopeful that there can be new dreams.  There will always be a place in me that misses this dream...

I have a bad habit of reading comments to news articles online.  The things I have noticed is they are either a sounding board for politics and usually someone saying something about how it is all Obama's fault, or it bashes Christian beliefs.  Today's was the Christian's turn.  The article was about the Nigerian girls that were recently freed from Boko Haram.  In the comment section someone said, "I am praying for these girls."  The reaction was telling that person that prayer does nothing and that they should actually do something about it.  Then lots of people joined in and discussed prayer and it not being helpful. The hatred of Christians is reaching epic proportion.  Haters gonna hate, prayers gonna pray.

Yesterday I stumbled upon the awkward interview that Robert Downey Jr. had with a British news reporter.  The interview was suppose to be about a recent movie he is in, but the news reporter turned the questions to focus on Robert's struggles with addiction.  Finally Robert just stood up and said, "good-bye." In an interview with someone else, this awkward interview was discussed.  What Robert said is that he only regrets he didn't walk out sooner.  He said he has struggled with boundaries his whole life and was disappointed that again he let someone cross a boundary line. I can relate, as I am sure many people can.  I sit still when my insides are telling me to move and I end up regretting my inaction because I experience unnecessary pain.  Anyone watching the first interview can clearly see Robert's pain buttons being pushed and it was beginning to surface.  He was fidgeting, looking around for help, and confused as to what was happening.  ...

Last week I joined a gym.  This is also a cultural experience.  The last gym I went to was Fitness Circle, which I owned and operated.  Since then I have taught aerobics out of my home, done P90X, and now Focus T25.  I'm not a newbie to exercise.  So the first day at this new gym, which is a ladies only gym but only has male trainers, I picked up some weights to work my arms.  The trainer dude came over and told me to stop what I was doing and he handed me different weights and demonstrated how to do bicep curls.  So I did that.  Then after I did his bicep curls, I started some other arm work.  Before I even got to 5 of whatever I was doing, he was back telling me to stop, taking my weights away, giving me different ones, and having me do a new exercise.  So I decided to pretend I knew nothing.  I told myself I could probably learn some new stuff and from then on I only did exactly what he said.  After each exercise I went up ...

I was suppose to write a scene with a woman who had just ended her love affair and a trip to the grocery store.  250 words.  I didn't read the assignment very well and my scene is of a woman who had a bad day at work and is at a grocery store.  The idea is to have the atmosphere help frame the feeling of the mood.  Enjoy!  (and any advice or comments are appreciated) Bethany was glad to be headed home after a rough day at work.  It seemed everyone was in a rotten mood.  She needed to pick up some groceries on her way home.  Something quick and easy.  As luck would have it, the grocery store was packed with people all seeming in a hurry like she was.  The flickering florescent lights must have made everyone crazy.  Bethany pushed her unruly cart down the frozen food aisle.  Two carts stopped side by side blocked her path to the frozen meals.  She sighed a bit too loud and the young mother with the cart in front...

I've been reading and thinking about the bakery that wouldn't make the wedding cake for the gay couple and now she is being sued.  I was thinking about how I get discriminated against often and I haven't made a big enough deal out of it. Many times when I am trying to get an auto rickshaw to take me home from the mall, they refuse me.  They refuse me because they don't want to come to my area.  I have been too understanding.  I understood that they don't like IGNOU Rd.  It often has traffic jams and it is quite bumpy.  But, how dare they refuse me!  They don't have a right to discriminate against me just because I live in this area! I've been looking at my situation all wrong.  What I do is just feel bad for a second that the guy won't take me and then I look for another one that will.  Instead I should attack the driver and destroy his auto for not taking me.  He has made me feel shame about where I live.  I deserve the same r...

Today I, along with my dad and son and his friend, went and helped out at a home for kids.  We were trying to fix the place up a bit.  Painting the walls, installing fans, and moving light fixtures up higher.  It felt good to do some service.  I know that it would have probably been easier and maybe better to hire local painters and electricians, but in a way this was a chance for us to feel good.  And maybe the kids and the people who run the home need to be encouraged that they aren't alone in the work.  We are wanting to help and this seems to be the only way we feel we can get involved.  Sometimes doing something is more important then just giving money.

Assignment:   Think about how mood and circumstances affect perception. In 250 words, describe a supermarket visited by a woman who has just received a promotion at work. Think about how mood and circumstances affect perception. In 250 words, describe a supermarket visited by a woman who has just received a promotion at work. Gloria needed a few items from the store on her way home from work.  She wanted to make a special dinner tonight.  Maybe some enchiladas or lasagna would be appropriate for celebrating her big promotion.  She walked down the dairy aisle and sang along to the music playing.  Gloria actually sang out loud.  It was a great song and she didn’t care who heard her or what they thought of her singing. “Baby, Baby I’m taken with the notion.  To love you with the sweetest of devotion,” she sang along with Amy grant.  This song always took her back to her college days when it first played on the radio.  A young lady was p...

When I was in grade school there was a kid who I would label as a bully.  I only remember one incident with him however, so I base the label on that.  It was either 2nd or 3rd grade and I was standing up to him.  I don't even remember what he did but I can still picture us, face to face, in the hall.  It must have been during the lunch break because I had my lunch box in my hand.  It was one of those metal ones that all kids use to have.  So as I remember it, I was saying something like "Oh yeah, and what are you going to do?"  Kind of a challenge of some sort.  Actually, maybe I was the bully.  Anyway, he hit me.  Well he hit my lunch box that I was holding up in front of my face and it smack my forehead pretty hard.  I have no memory of what happened after that, if I went to the office or what.  Or maybe I was hit so hard I lost my memory.  What I do remember is that either that evening or the next, my sister went with ...

Today’s writing assignment is to write a paragraph about a place where I worked.   There were five of us cleaners.  Some of our crew would race on so that they could find if the liquor box was still there and if by chance the flight attendants had forgotten to lock it.  When the A/C was already turned off, the plane was stuffy and smelled of old coffee and sickness, like a hospital.  I liked the seat cleaning job.  I would scoot to the middle seat and organize the pockets of the seat backs.  I would carefully put my hand in the pocket and empty it.   I was always cautious as I put my hand in the pocket because I had heard stories of used syringes sometimes being in a pocket.  I only put my hand in warm vomit once.  I guess there was no barf bag for the person.  Then I organized the glossy airline magazine, safety card, and barf bag all in a nice stack.  Next, I wiped down the sticky tray tables and windows and lastly dust of ...

Jenny and her mom walked into JC Penny’s at the mall.  Her mom had told her that she wanted to take her shopping for something special today.  Jenny had no idea but hoped it was some new jeans.  She was growing and her jeans were turning into high waters.  Money was tight though, so she didn’t ask for them.  But they didn’t walk to the jeans section, they walked to the lingerie area. “Here we are, Jenny.  I think we should buy you some bras.”   Jenny was 12 and just starting to blossom.  She wore little tank tops under her t-shirts and was fine with that.  But apparently her mom had a different idea. “Oh my gosh mom, this is so embarrassing!”  Jenny said. “Honey, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about, women have to buy bras all the time.” “But why do I have to be here?  Can’t you just do it without me?” Jenny’s mom walked over to the young girl bras and pulled one off the rack.  There were bras with Litt...

It had been only 54 days since she arrived at North Western Academy for her junior year of high school.  Her parents had dropped her off on a Sunday afternoon.  She was so excited to be starting her new adventure that she anxiously said “good-bye” and nearly skipped to the New Comers Welcome Fiesta.  Cassie had wanted to go North Western since she met a few of the students at a Young Life conference she went to the year before with her church.  It sounded so fun to live with all your friends.  Plus it was a Christian school so she knew they would be a better influence then the friends she had now.  Her parents were supportive but not too happy about the cost.  But they decided to give it a try since Cassie really wanted to go. 54 days!  The school was 3 hours from her home and her parents had visited twice.  Parents were encouraged not to visit too often in the beginning so that students could settle in to the new environment.  Ca...

Last July I bought Micah a One Year Bible.  I had one in high school and college that I read through several times.  I enjoyed it because it is laid out in daily readings of the old and new testament and a psalm and proverb.  It only takes about 10 minutes a day.  So I thought Micah would find it easy to read and enjoy it like I have.  I bought the New Living Translation, which is written in a more modern language.  Micah preferred to wait until January 1st to start, so I started reading it.  I loved it so much that I had to buy him another one come January.  And I got one for Steve too.  So now all three of us are reading through the Bible together.  I am so happy when I see Micah reading his Bible.  And he is writing down verses that stand out to him.  This is the best gift (although it wasn't a gift) I have given him. Look for a Bible - Click here

It was a house of the 70’s.  Added to it was decorations from the 70’s.  The couch was a velour orange and brown big print floral with the corners torn away from cat scratches.  It faced the TV.  An old 70’s TV that had the dial channels.  We didn’t have cable and the best station to come in was the U channel.  We watched Leave It To Beaver and Bewitched on the U channel.  When we wanted to watch another channel, my dad would have to get the broom out and go outside and swivel the antenna on the roof around.  Saturday’s was Love Boat and Fantasy Island on channel 8. The room also had a fireplace that was set at an angle.  The wall of the fireplace was made out of stones.  We had a latch hook rug wall hanging in oranges and browns, hanging on the stone wall.  When my dad pounded the nail in to hang it, the top right hand corner stone cracked and a piece fell off about 10 inches wide.  When that happened, we had our TV on t...

Today for my writing class I had to try to give a picture of my character through different types of writing.  Here is my character.  Can you tell me what she is like? Summary of a character - Sherry lit another cigarette as she stood over the stove frying chicken.  She took a drag, turned over the chicken pieces, and strained the potatoes all in a matter of seconds.  Sherry was like a whirlwind in the kitchen.  Sherry was a whirlwind in most areas of life.  Good thing she had a wireless phone.  She was often talking to her daughter on the phone while folding the laundry or playing solitaire on the laptop while watching the news.  Her husband John on the other hand could sit with the cat on his lap for hours.  They were perfect for each other.  John got a kick out of how scattered Sherry was and he in turn showered Sherry with praise. They had only been married for 7 years, each of them being married a couple times before....

Assignment number two in my free online writing class is to create a character that is based on myself, but to change something like gender or ethnic or some other main characteristic.  So here is my person.  I would appreciate feedback. He shuffled out of the room, rubbing his eyes as he did every morning.  Not a morning person.  He went straight to the kitchen to make his chai.  Ezra loved his chai.  He made it on the stove with tea leaves and crushed green cardoman pods and cloves.  Some days he would put a piece of cinnamon in or some crushed ginger.  But today it was just the cardoman and cloves.  He walked to the front room to sit and wait for the chai to boil.  His eyes weren’t able to focus yet so there was no sense trying to read a book or paper while he waited.  He just sat.  As soon as he heard the pot boiling, Ezra would get up and go pour some milk into the pot and add a bit of sugar.  Then he would wait f...

I am taking an online writing class and today I had to write a story with a round character.  A character that seems one way, like a stereo type, but then has a aspect of the character that is out of the ordinary.  So here is my character.  Mary.  You will notice that the story just leaves you hanging because it isn't about the story but about Mary.  Let me know what you think of her. Mary loves people.  I mean, really loves them.  She is one of the nicest people I know.  She gives gifts, she says hi to strangers, she even picks up crying babies out of their mother’s arms and soothes them.  So it is no surprise that she chose to be a nurse.  Mary works in the emergency room and doesn’t seem bothered by the chaos of the night shift.  Weird things happen at night.  Looking at Mary you wouldn’t think she was tough either.  She is only 5’2” and probably weighs not quite 100 pounds.  But she can handle a 6 foot 200 pou...

Here is a list of a few of my favorite things. Cheesecake - especially from the Cheesecake Factory.  I like pumpkin cheesecake, chocolate, peanut butter, and just plain cheesecake. My bed - so comfortable, especially after being away from home for a while. Steve - he is awesome! Peanut Butter Brownie Tort - from Red Moon Bakery.  Simply the best! 80 degree weather - nuff said Dr. Pepper - I love being able to get a 32 oz. drink at a gas station and suck on it all day long. Thai Iced Tea - reminds me of being in Thailand. Micah - He is the nicest kid I know. Worshipping God - I love when I am really in  a worship mood and can sing completely for God (usually by myself). Goats - they are funny looking and do funny things.

Yesterday I rode the metro (our cities train/subway).  We have a lovely feature on our metro.  The front car on every train is for women only.  This is so nice because the metro can get extremely crowded and usually the women's section is much less crowded.  And if you have to stand really close to someone at least it is a woman and not a creepy guy. So my trip yesterday was pretty uneventful.  I wore my face mask to protect myself from swine flu.  I noticed a few others also wearing masks.  I felt like we should high five each other, but that would just spread the swine flu more. As I entered the metro I noticed a young man, around 20 years old, who was talking to his girl friend in the women's section.  A lot of times a guy will stand on the in between area of the two cars and talk with a girl friend or wife, but this guy was a good 10 feet in.  I was probably 20 feet away.  I thought for sure someone would let him know that he wa...

The other night we watched the movie John Q.  This is the story of a family that is having a rough time financially and then the son needs to have a heart transplant.  The story is about what a father will do to save his son.   Spoiler Alert:  "We all know how this works, people.  In order for Mike to live, someone has to die.  I'm the father.  It might as well be me."  So you have a father that will do anything, anything for his son.  Even if that means he must die to give his heart to his son. As I thought about this story and how it so easily paints the story of what God did for us, I was amazed at the beauty of it all.  I mean, the story of a father who will kill himself so that his son can live is beautiful.  The depth of love a parent has for a child is heart wrenching.  How can a person love someone so much that they are willing to die for that other person?  And yet that is what so many parents feel when it com...

I was thinking today about how hard it must be for blind people to know if they have a clean wipe.  How do they know if they are clean?  I will need to ask a blind person but I don't know any.  But then it got me thinking about toilet paper.  I was thinking if you had different colored toilet paper it would make it interesting to see what color it would turn.  And then I thought how you can't find different colored toilet paper anymore and kids these days won't even have the experience in their lives of colored toilet paper.  There were yellow, pink, green and once in a while you could find blue.  I guess it is out of style now or people had allergies or something.  But if I find a roll of pink toilet paper I am going to buy some.

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A few years ago I went through a rough patch in life and I made the song "I Get Knocked Down" by Chumbawamba my theme.  Also the 4th chapter of 2nd Corinthians.  It was kind of like my Rocky moment of bouncing around the ring punching the air. I need that song again.  I have been knocked down and I don't have the desire to get back up yet.  And while I have been down for the count my opponent keeps punching and kicking me.  I just can't get the fighting spirit back. So what do I do while I am down for the count?  I listen.  I would like to say I listen to the voice of God all the time, but sometimes I hear my own voice, which is NOT encouraging.  I need to focus on the voice of God above all the other shouts.  Some in the crowd are taunting me while others are encouraging me to get up.  Which voice to I listen to?  His voice isn't always the loudest, but it is the only voice I know is true.  Today I choose to take at least...

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