Tuesday, November 25, 2008

thankfully.

Thankfully, I am alive and I am well. 

Thankfully, I have a job, one that I like going to everyday.

Thankfully, I have hair that continues to defy statistics.

Thankfully, I have two parents who love me and each other.

Thankfully, those parents raised me to know Jesus.

Thankfully, I have friends that care about me just as much as my family. 

Thankfully, my best friend is daring and moved to South America, so I could visit. 

Thankfully, the water in my apartment is paid for, because my shower leaks like crazy. 

Thankfully, Southwest flies to Little Rock and I can get there for a very small fee. 

Thankfully, I live in a country where opinions are allowed and welcome. 

Thankfully, people everywhere are learning about Franklin Pierce. 

Thankfully, there is another football season ahead for the Arkansas Razorbacks. 

Thankfully, the Lord continues to mold me and change me daily. 

Thankfully, my roommate has a sense of humor and a listening ear. 

Thankfully, some smart, smart man invented DVR. 

Thankfully, Beyonce continues to bless the world with her music. 

Thankfully, Skype is free.

Thankfully, Gap occasionally has items on sale. 

Thankfully, I get to spend this Thanksgiving holiday in a warm house, with lots of food on the table.


Monday, November 24, 2008

labels.

The other day at lunch I climbed in the back of a co-worker's car and immediately spotted a soup can (container, rather) that had the word, CHUNKY stretched across it with HEARTY a bit smaller just under it.

I immediately gagged a little bit and was distraught at this attempt to market the soup in the container. Nothing in me wanted to buy this soup and I definitely did not want to eat it. Ever. Actually, I didn't even want to see said soup that was hidden beneath the label.

Looking at that label got me to thinking about how I describe people to those who may or may not know them. One of my most-used phrases is, "bigger, but not bigger." And quite often I throw out, "you know, the girls I hang out with in Dallas."

Bigger, but not bigger? I should slap myself for that one. If anyone I know was ever describing me like that to someone, I would promptly be offended and cross them off any Christmas card lists that I hope to have in the future.

The other moniker of girls I hang out with in Dallas, is just plain dumb, because I hang out with upwards (on a good week) of four to six girls in Dallas and each of them are unique in their own way and should be described as such.

All of that being said, the chunky soup label made me realize that like soup, people must be marketed well, too...you know in order to pad your facebook friends and g-chat lists.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

new life goal.



Every so often I like to challenge myself. Recently, I quit caffeine, went to the mall by myself and purchased some clothes, bought a bottle of wine on my own and now...now, I want to learn and perform this dance somewhere.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

total request live.

Total Request Live, the mere mention of it brings a nostalgic tear to my eyes. Thinking of J. Timberlake (how heavy is that?) in his red Tommy Hilfiger turtleneck with his bleach blonde curly hair honestly makes me feel like a confused 8th grader again. I vividly remember semi-rushing home from school (in my brother's white Buick) to catch the last few minutes of TRL everyday. 

Who would be number 1-- Backstreet or usually N'Sync? Christina or Britney? Oh, the drama of 1998.  I would always be so upset with other MTV viewers when a Korn video would be number 1. What were people thinking? Korn was the devil's music...or so I thought. They were at least really freaky for an 8th grader from little baby Arkiesaw. 

I honestly don't recall the last episode of TRL that I watched. It had to have been sometime in high school. About two years ago and still somewhat new to Dallas, I went through a brief unemployment stint. Each day I would create a new challenge or goal. One day, I decided my goal was going to be "watch a complete episode of TRL." So many things had changed since the Carson Daly days of watching a complete video. I made it through approximately nine minutes and shut it off forever. It was almost like I shut off my youth with it. 

I would like to thank TRL for introducing me to people like Kid Rock, who was my very much guilty pleasure back in the day. I haven't been the same since. Let's be honest, I probably never will be-- I just admitted to a somewhat public forum, that I, in fact, did (possibly still do) listen to Kid Rock. 

Goodbye TRL, as Fall Out Boy would say, "Thnks fr th mmrs."

 And as I would say in 1998, as an extremely comedically gifted 8th grader, "Don't cry for me Argentina."

I will live to see another day and TRL will live in my heart forever. 




Monday, November 17, 2008

crimmas list.

Every year around this time I'm faced with the fortunate dilemma of creating a Christmas list for my family to pick and choose from. This year, being no different from last, I am having an immense amount of trouble coming up with anything to tell them.

I have decided to post my Christmas list for the world to see.

Dear Family,

As economic times have hit us all hard this year, it is with great pleasure that I present to you, Christmas 2008, in list form. I hope you will notice that I went less extravagant than usual, but also have kept in mind that gas prices are declining at rapid pace, opening up the floor for even more Christmas goodies under the tree. Remember the reason for the season and that the more you give, the more you (could possibly) get in return from me.

Lovies,
ln

The list:
1. Pony (will accept unicorn)
2. Spinners for the CR-V
3. Hannah Montana tickets (you may have to pull out the big guns for this one)
4. Mustard colored Doc Martens (to replace the ones I got in 1998)
5. Live-in chef (I'm trying to eat better)
6. Scuba gear (I love to try new things)
7. Champion show Poodle (that I can breed and sell the puppies)
8. Any animal on the endangered species list (really want to help the environment more, but am not into recycling)
9. Karaoke machine (to work on my American Idol try-out)

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

God in a box.


Disclaimer: The blog you are about to read is much different than my other posts. There's no deep, hidden meaning behind it. It's not for anyone in particular and there's no motive in posting it, other than the fact that it's something that I've needed to put into written words for quite some time. I will return to my usual, mullet filled posts later this week. 


Just about every Methodist church I've ever stumbled into has this painted portrait of Jesus with his hair swept back (yet perfectly in place), His face is glowing, His eyes shifted Heavenward and His beard neatly trimmed hanging in its Fellowship Hall. 


This is the Jesus I knew for so many years. The man with tousled, yet perfect hair,  who spent the majority of his time be-boppin' around with his 12 besties feeding, healing and preaching to peeps. 


Yep, this is the Jesus I believed to be real. Just this man who was perfect. This man who died and rose from the grave. The man who saved me from my sins. That's all I knew. 

I only knew this Jesus, because I put Him in a box. I chose to believe that's all there was to Him.  He was the untouchable. He'd come in every so often with a great line to pump me up or make me feel good, or He would put someone great in my path and always He would provide. 

Even when going through the most heart-wrenching pain I have ever felt in my life, I still chose to put Jesus in a box. I chose to believe that He was this magician who was going to come in and heal me and make me better and I'd walk away scar-free and high on life. Why? Because that's all I knew and that's all I chose to see. And because I was afraid to admit that He could do more and that I could change radically because of it. 

I believe that Jesus didn't fully present Himself to me until I was good and ready. Until I was ready to change and heal. 

He came in the most unlikely of ways. He didn't swoop in on a white horse, with his hair blowing in the wind. He didn't float over me with a halo on His head. He came banging on my car window in a parking garage, during a complete emotional meltdown. Not during a mountain top experience at church camp in Colorado (although it can happen there, too).  His hair was certainly not perfect, as if to say, I'm meeting you where you are. And He wasn't be-boppin' around like He had already had 7 cups of coffee that day. He wasn't happy-go-lucky. He wasn't the Jesus I had placed in a box so many years earlier. 

You see, I was angry at Jesus. So angry.  Because I had a very limited view of who Jesus was, I was afraid to admit that to myself and to Him. I was afraid the happy-go-lucky Jesus in the box would not be a fan of me yelling, "What the crap, Jesus?!" at Him. I was wrong, because that is when I met the real Jesus. The comforter, the healer, the hope of salvation, the deliverer, the light of the world and the redemption I so badly needed. Maybe the Jesus in the box couldn't handle my anger, but take Him out of the box and he could handle much more than that. 


Before that parking garage experience, I think I was scared to truly feel pain and open up my wounds, so I tried to be-bop around and pretend to be healed by Jesus the magician. Then, He banged on my window and poured salt over my wounds... and healed them. 

The reformation I've seen in my life since taking Jesus out of that stupid box has been surreal. Almost unexplainable. But, that's what happens when something is out of the box and you allow yourself to really see it. It's new and unexplainable. 

I hope everyone who comes across this blog will take Jesus out of His box. I hope you'll allow yourself to really see Him-- all of Him-- all parts to Him.

**If you don't know Jesus, I would be happy to draw the bridge diagram for you. 


Monday, November 10, 2008

profound thoughts from 8th grade.

8th grade in Russellville, Arkansas at Gardner Junior High meant two things: career orientations class and holding your bladder upwards of eight hours, as to not use the school restrooms. I mean, at least that is what I remember about 8th grade at Gardner Junior High School.

One day my career orientations teacher, Mrs. Lemley, took us on a field trip to the Pope County Detention Center. Side note: completely ironic that we took a career oriented field trip to a jail. When exiting the bus, Mrs. Lemley looked at me and said, "remember: for something to be interesting, you must first be interested."

Those words still ring true today, even though I am even less interested in the Pope County Detention center today than I was in 1998.



Thursday, November 6, 2008

almost crimmas time.

I was busting a move through the local Kroger the other day and noticed that Halloween candy was on clearance. I sauntered over to check out some Reece's Peanut Butter Cups, not too bad, I thought.

I didn't purchase them.

I then walked another aisle over. Christmas candy is out. Same bag of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups was a solid dollar more expensive because it was red and green and not black and orange.

I am my father's daughter. Can't fool me.

By the way, how is it that Christmas items are out? The American retail industry is apparently planning to start skipping Thanksgiving any year now. I'm just buckling down, waiting to not see it on my calendar in 2011. I guess we have nothing left to be thankful for (some could insert an Obama joke here)? Not even clearance aisle halloween candy.

It's a damn shame.


Wednesday, November 5, 2008

i'm still here.

Well, the world didn't end last night (and Jesus didn't come either). I know this to be true because of the following:

1. I am still here. I am not going to miss the Jesus Train to Heaven.
2. Starbucks was open (Some people would argue that Starbucks is so powerful they could operate even if the world ended and/or that Starbucks is so great it'll be in Heaven).
3. I saw other people driving.
4. The toilet flushed normally.

There you have it, the world didn't end. Barack Obama is the next President of the United States of America and the world didn't end (I didn't see an inordinate number of U-Hauls on the road, so I don't think Canada is about to get a huge influx of American residents either).

Again, let me repeat myself: the world did not end last night. I thought it was supposed to? I could have sworn I heard a number of people tell me specifically, the world will end before Obama is elected.

I've said all along (at least to myself and my dad) that if Obama gets elected I hope he proves me wrong. And what do you know, he already has! He was elected and the world didn't end. Touche, Mr. President, touche.

Don't think I'm jumping on any bandwagons here. I'm not trying to come to you and say, "No, I've always been a Phillies fan," because they are the reigning world champions. No, I'm very much proud of who I voted for for the most powerful position in the world. I'll stand by that decision and my decision in 2004 when I very much voted for John Kerry (clearly not a bandwagon).

I'm just saying, the world didn't end. Obama is our next president, we might as well go ahead and accept it. Especially since he's going to be spreading all of that wealth.

Now, there's a bandwagon.

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