I thought Monday was Wednesday this week. Well, it's finally Wednesday! I am not sure why, but this week just seems to be dragging by. Tuesdays & Wednesdays are ridiculously long days for me, but usually they fly by. Yesterday did not fly by. I found myself looking at the clock and thinking, "It's only 1 o'clock!?" or "Wasn't it 4 o'clock three hours ago!?". Today is an equally busy day that ends with two hours of babysitting, so I am hoping that my 5:15 a.m. wake-up call (aka, Elaine the kitten) doesn't affect the rest of my day the way it did yesterday.
In other news, I've been reading James lately. Slowly but surely I'm making my way through. I've finally made it to the last chapter, but I'm in no hurry to wrap it up. James is probably one of my "favorite" books in the New Testament. Really, it's probably one of my "favorite" books in the whole Bible. James' words are so heavy and powerful.
Chew on these:
James 1:17, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like the shifting shadows."
James 1:22, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."
James 2:10, "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it."
James 3:9 (this one hurts!): "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God's likeness."
James 4:8 (this one makes you feel better, but can be confusing), "Come near to God and he will come near to you."
It's good stuff, I know! Hard to take at times, but edifying.
So, that's Wednesday. Hoping it's an excellently wonderfully exuberant day.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Why my mom is awesomer than yours.
I just need to preface this by saying that I don't know whether my mom will read this or not and it might be awkward if she does. Because... if you have ever met my mom and seen us interact, you know that we are not sweet and sappy people! More often than not, we are constantly giving each other a hard time and [lovingly] cracking jokes with each other.
Lately, I have been reminded of just what a gift I have in my mom. I have always loved her and known that she is truly an incredible mom, but sometimes I get reminded of just how incredible she is. The past month or two has been one of those times.
Mom and I have certainly been through many, many rough patches - some were so bad that I never thought we could reconcile. But, what Satan meant for evil, God meant for good! Those difficult times shaped us as individuals and shaped our relationship. I am so thankful to say that things are better than ever and I have recently been reminded on a daily basis just how fortunate I am to have been given Mary Kathryn Lewis as my mother.
One of the things I have always loved about my mom is that I have always wanted to tell her everything - even when I knew I would get in trouble! I have told on myself so many times - it's ridiculous! I have always appreciated how she will always listen, even when I ramble about nonsense at 7am. But, even better than that - I truly can tell my mom anything. When my feelings are hurt, I tell her. When I disagree, I tell her. All in love, of course, and within the boundaries I have as a daughter, but... I can still tell her. I guess what I'm saying is that I don't have to "fake it" in front of my mom in order to make her happy. I don't have to hide things from her or walk on eggshells around her. I don't have to do certain things or say certain things to please her. She is pleased with my honesty, and that is what I love the most.
See? My mom is awesomer than yours. Okay, maybe not, but she is definitely awesome. She has really taught me how to be true to myself - in a good selfish way, not bad selfish. She is a fantastic lady and her boyfriend isn't too bad, either. :)
So, Mom, if you're reading this - you rock! And, no, this is not an attempt for me to sweet talk my way to $100. :)
Lately, I have been reminded of just what a gift I have in my mom. I have always loved her and known that she is truly an incredible mom, but sometimes I get reminded of just how incredible she is. The past month or two has been one of those times.
Mom and I have certainly been through many, many rough patches - some were so bad that I never thought we could reconcile. But, what Satan meant for evil, God meant for good! Those difficult times shaped us as individuals and shaped our relationship. I am so thankful to say that things are better than ever and I have recently been reminded on a daily basis just how fortunate I am to have been given Mary Kathryn Lewis as my mother.
One of the things I have always loved about my mom is that I have always wanted to tell her everything - even when I knew I would get in trouble! I have told on myself so many times - it's ridiculous! I have always appreciated how she will always listen, even when I ramble about nonsense at 7am. But, even better than that - I truly can tell my mom anything. When my feelings are hurt, I tell her. When I disagree, I tell her. All in love, of course, and within the boundaries I have as a daughter, but... I can still tell her. I guess what I'm saying is that I don't have to "fake it" in front of my mom in order to make her happy. I don't have to hide things from her or walk on eggshells around her. I don't have to do certain things or say certain things to please her. She is pleased with my honesty, and that is what I love the most.
See? My mom is awesomer than yours. Okay, maybe not, but she is definitely awesome. She has really taught me how to be true to myself - in a good selfish way, not bad selfish. She is a fantastic lady and her boyfriend isn't too bad, either. :)
So, Mom, if you're reading this - you rock! And, no, this is not an attempt for me to sweet talk my way to $100. :)
Friday, June 18, 2010
Thoughts on the Oil Spill
As usual, I have lots of thoughts. Today, they're directed toward the Gulf Coast oil spill.
Thought #1: Blame. Why are we only pointing the finger at BP and the government? Have we not once been reminded that we are the reason the oil rig was there in the first place!? We are the ones who fuel the oil industry and BP is only trying to supply our demand. Let us not forget that BP, though potentially "corrupt" and certainly powered by money, is not alone in this. We are to blame, as well. We want gasoline, we want it cheap, and we want it in abundance.
Thought #2: Poor Tony Hayward. Even I am guilty of nitpicking at his language and rolling my eyes at his audacious statements. Currently, I believe he is more hated than Osama bin Laden. I've got to admit, I feel bad for him. That doesn't excuse the faults of his company, but all of this tongue-lashing is getting a bit ridiculous. I don't doubt that he is sorry. I don't doubt that he is feeling the weight of the world at this moment. Now let's get the ball rolling with this $20 billion dollars and get the hands & feet of the relief effort moving and take care of the needs of the Gulf Coast community.
Thought #3: To boycott or not boycott. I don't really have a gas station of preference these days. Mostly I visit Race-Way or Wal-Mart because they have the cheapest prices. But I don't for a second believe that BP is the only enemy here. I don't know how to research the safety of each and every oil rig in each and every Big Oil company so that I can be a more informed consumer. I don't know how to tell which company is "good" and which is not. I have no clue. If someone knows how to find out, please let me know. But, for now I won't be using BP and I'm sure millions of people across the country won't be using BP for a while. I heard someone say that we didn't need to boycott them because "the last thing we need is for BP to go bankrupt." Very, very true... but, Tony Hayward said that the taxpayers would not have to pay for any of the relief efforts, and gasoline is taxed therefore I believe they better start digging in their pockets, sell their multi-million dollar homes, and stop flying around the world to find the $20 billion they've pledged. They better not be using my money!
Thought #4: The Gulf Coast oil spill is certainly a tragedy that could have been avoided. It is certainly an awful, awful thing. I almost cried while looking at pictures of the damage the other day. But, THIS IS NOT THE ONLY OIL SPILL IN THE CURRENT WORLD!!! If you haven't read this article already, read it! We are so fortunate that we just happen to have a government with enough power and money (and interest) to fight for us. That is certainly a blessing. But, BP isn't the only company with problems. And we're not the only country fighting against oil spills.
Final thoughts: These are the days when I wish I rode a bike everywhere and ate only local produce and meat from local farms so that I could be free of the need for gasoline. But even then, it wouldn't be enough. I think the only thing we can do at this point is fight for higher standards and then take responsibility into our own hands - knowing that BP oil wouldn't exist if we didn't want so much gasoline.
Thought #1: Blame. Why are we only pointing the finger at BP and the government? Have we not once been reminded that we are the reason the oil rig was there in the first place!? We are the ones who fuel the oil industry and BP is only trying to supply our demand. Let us not forget that BP, though potentially "corrupt" and certainly powered by money, is not alone in this. We are to blame, as well. We want gasoline, we want it cheap, and we want it in abundance.
Thought #2: Poor Tony Hayward. Even I am guilty of nitpicking at his language and rolling my eyes at his audacious statements. Currently, I believe he is more hated than Osama bin Laden. I've got to admit, I feel bad for him. That doesn't excuse the faults of his company, but all of this tongue-lashing is getting a bit ridiculous. I don't doubt that he is sorry. I don't doubt that he is feeling the weight of the world at this moment. Now let's get the ball rolling with this $20 billion dollars and get the hands & feet of the relief effort moving and take care of the needs of the Gulf Coast community.
Thought #3: To boycott or not boycott. I don't really have a gas station of preference these days. Mostly I visit Race-Way or Wal-Mart because they have the cheapest prices. But I don't for a second believe that BP is the only enemy here. I don't know how to research the safety of each and every oil rig in each and every Big Oil company so that I can be a more informed consumer. I don't know how to tell which company is "good" and which is not. I have no clue. If someone knows how to find out, please let me know. But, for now I won't be using BP and I'm sure millions of people across the country won't be using BP for a while. I heard someone say that we didn't need to boycott them because "the last thing we need is for BP to go bankrupt." Very, very true... but, Tony Hayward said that the taxpayers would not have to pay for any of the relief efforts, and gasoline is taxed therefore I believe they better start digging in their pockets, sell their multi-million dollar homes, and stop flying around the world to find the $20 billion they've pledged. They better not be using my money!
Thought #4: The Gulf Coast oil spill is certainly a tragedy that could have been avoided. It is certainly an awful, awful thing. I almost cried while looking at pictures of the damage the other day. But, THIS IS NOT THE ONLY OIL SPILL IN THE CURRENT WORLD!!! If you haven't read this article already, read it! We are so fortunate that we just happen to have a government with enough power and money (and interest) to fight for us. That is certainly a blessing. But, BP isn't the only company with problems. And we're not the only country fighting against oil spills.
Final thoughts: These are the days when I wish I rode a bike everywhere and ate only local produce and meat from local farms so that I could be free of the need for gasoline. But even then, it wouldn't be enough. I think the only thing we can do at this point is fight for higher standards and then take responsibility into our own hands - knowing that BP oil wouldn't exist if we didn't want so much gasoline.
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