8 Things

So Heather tagged me to do this 8 random things list. I will tell you all 8 random facts/habits about myself, but I'm not going to tag 8 people to also do it. If you want to participate, please feel free and let the rest of us know, but I don't want to tell you what to do.

“Rules:” After posting these rules, each player proceeds to list 8 relatively random facts/habits about himself/herself. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, leaving them a comment on their blogs to let them know.

1. Apparently I am a rule breaker. I have broken the rules of the game already. I'm not tagging anyone. I typically don't do these things, I guess I don't like having people tell me what to do.

2. I've danced in the Nutcracker 8 years in a row and played a total of 10 different parts. clown doll, military doll, snow, Chinese, Arabian, Russian, Spanish, sugar plum corps de ballet, flowers, and dew drop fairy

3. I have lived in the same house from the time my family moved to Maryland in 1981 until I left for college in 1998. I'm actually back there right now in my same room.

4. I've been to 42 of the 50 states. The only ones I haven't visited are Rhode Island, Arkansas, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and Hawaii.

5. During middle school I played soccer, volleyball, basketball, and ran cross country.

6. I can hold my breath for 1 minute and 20 seconds.

7. I was in the Miss Teen of Maryland scholarship pageant when I was 17, got 4th runner up and won the speech competition.

8. After college I was unemployed for 2 months and the first job I got I was fired from on the first day! I then got my job at the Hilton Hotel where I worked for three years.

I Was Just Wondering...

I just finished reading "I Was Just Wondering" by Philip Yancey and parts of it really got me thinking. Yancey poses many common questions that we as Christians have as well as those who aren't yet believers. He describes this as "a book of many questions and a few answers." Yancey lists the questions and then just ruminates. You may find answers in this book, but I found it just made me think a lot!

In one chapter Philip Yancey addresses the issue of making God seem trivial and allowing other things to become idols to us. This is how he ends the chapter:

"A friend of mine was stopped dead in her tracks by a skeptic. After listening to her explain her faith, he said this: "But you don't act like you believe God is alive." I try to turn this accusation into a question: Do I act like God is alive? It is a good question, one that lies at the heart of all idolatry, and one that I must ask myself again every day."

Needless to say, this question also got me thinking a lot too. What does it look like to live and act like God is alive? I know I believe this to be true, but do I act like it? I think this has a lot to do with joy. If I know and believe that God is alive, I know He is everything He says He is, and I know that I am His child, loved, forgiven, and redeemed. I know that I am free! What could bring greater joy? What do you think it looks like to act like God is alive?

Another chapter that really stuck with me was one that discussed who has the right to scorn others. Yancey makes the point that we are all sinners and that no sin, no matter how horrible, is powerful enough to exclude a person from acceptance by God. He goes on to say, "only a refusal to repent stands between a sinner and God's free gift of forgiveness." He then poses another question: "What does a 'forgiven' person look like?'" This caused me to reflect on my own life. Do I look like a forgiven person? I know I've been forgiven, but do I live like it? What do you think a forgiven person looks like?

I just want to leave you with two more questions from this book that I loved when I read them. I would encourage anyone to check out this book.

"How can TV evangelists so buoyantly promote a health-and-wealth theology in a world as full of injustice and suffering as this one? Do any Iranian Christians believe in a health-and-wealth theology?"

"How can TV evangelists promise prosperity and security to the faithful even though Jesus promised them a cross, sent them out as lambs among wolves, and left most of his disciples to die martyrs' deaths?"

"Why do so many Christians feel more guilty than forgiven? What does feeling forgiven feel like? If the gospel consists of grace, acceptance, and forgiveness, why do counselors see so many Christian clients riddled with guilt, self-hatred, and a spirit of criticism?"

I was just wondering...

April 6

This is what I read today in the Celtic Daily Prayer book. I really liked it and wanted to share it with you.

Let us try with all our strength to occupy our minds with only God. Even whilst doing our tasks we must keep our eyes fixed constantly on Him, never detaching our heart from Him, only keeping our attention on our tasks as much as is right and necessary, never our hearts. God must be the King of our minds, the Lord of our minds, so that the thought of Him never leaves us, and we speak, think and act always either for Him or guided by the love of Him. Let our souls be thus a house of prayer and not a den of thieves. Let no stranger enter in, no profanity even in passing. Let it always be occupied with its Beloved. When one loves on never loses sight of that which one loves.

Have a blessed Easter with your "eyes fixed constantly on Him."

New Hard Drive

Bad news: I've lost everything on my computer. To attempt to retreive anything would cost way too much money. I have to start over on just about everything.

Good news: I get a new hard drive at no cost because my 6 month old computer is under warrenty.

I'm trying to stay positive but it is rather difficult at this point. If you have a computer, no matter how old it is, remember that hard drives are built to fail. I hope no one else has to go through this.

Hopefully you'll hear more positive posts from me soon. I should have my computer back by early next week.

Happy Easter!!!

Computers Hate Me

So I don't know why it is, but computers hate me. I haven't been around recently because of my trip to Colorado but also because my hard drive failed. I have only had my new computer for six months and already it's dead. I will get a new hard drive under my warranty, but the content on my hard drive is not covered. Now before you say something smart like; "I hope you backed all your stuff up." Let me confirm that I have not backed up recently enough. Right now I am working on getting some if not all of the data retrieved from the crap hard drive without emptying my bank account. Hopefully you will hear from me again in the next couple of weeks from my own computer but until then...pray for my computer. Ask God to help it stop hating me!

JOY

God, You are Joy!
You are freedom.
In You alone can I be saved.
With the face of a child,
You came to be hope.
In you there is love.
I am lost without You
But with You is life and trust.
Because of you there is reason
To sing, to dance, to create.
You are laughter.
God, You are Joy!

Snow

I like snow. I like snow ball fights. Sometimes I even like shoveling. It gives me time to think and enjoy creation. This is my back yard. I think it looks so pretty. Thanks for visiting. That's all for this simple post. I'll be back soon with something more profound. Until then...watch your back!