Archive for January, 2006
Pray for Craig Ferguson
(And any other Hollywood folks while you're at it.
)Last night I was up way too late printing out our annual free credit reports, and I caught Craig Ferguson's monologue. He informed everyone that he wasn't going to be doing any "pretty ponies" or "chicky monkeys" (some trademark phrases of his), and that the show was going to be pretty different than usual.
His father passed away this past weekend.
So he spent his monologue telling all about his dad. It was quite neat actually. Bless his heart, at one point he got choked up. I thought I was gonna lose it myself.
His "guest" (not sure if it was his only guest or just his first one...I went to bed LOL) was a friend of his, and they just sat there talking and sharing more about Craig's dad. I believe the friend was a psychologist-type dude (but don't quote me on it), and he asked Craig if he was a spiritual person at all.
Craig shared that no, he wasn't very spiritual. He'd LIKE to think there is something more out there, but he wasn't really sure. He'd like to think that he's going to see his father again. He thinks spirituality should primarily be about service. Etc.
Nevermind his dad dying...this was so, so sad. This man is lost and knows that he is without hope.
Pray that the Lord would send someone Craig's way to tell him about Jesus, that the Holy Spirit would draw him to Himself, and that Craig would answer with a resounding YES!
Star-gazing
Check out Stellarium Astronomy Software! It's a program that allows you to plug in your location and date and then get a constellation map of stars you should be able to see! How cool is that?!?!?!
Here’s your comic relief of the day, Scooby Gang…
Cindy Sheehan Considering Senate Run
And don't miss this short paragraph at the end of the article:
Sheehan and other peace activists met Saturday with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, himself a critic of Bush and the Iraq war.
Oh, OK, so now she's a foreign dignitary or something????
Some may consider me a war-monger after this post
But I came across an interesting article today. Lots of food for thought. I have heard similar sentiments from several of the troops on the ground in Iraq. It's a pretty old article, but I think it's good to regroup, refocus, and remember.
I’ve been tagged!
This time I've been tagged by Dolly Mama.
Four jobs you have had in your life:
1. Server at Pizza Hut (ate pizza nearly everyday, and I STILL love it!!!)
2. Telemarketer at a cable company (I usually was calling people to tell them to pay their bills LOL)
3. sales associate at JCPenney
4. small group billing clerk at United HealthCareFour movies you could (or do) watch over and over:
1. Anne of Green Gables (either of the first 2 but NOT the 3rd - gag!)
2. Any of the Lord of the Rings trilogy
3. The Princess Bride
4. ?????Four places you have lived:
1. Ohio
2. Colorado
3. Arkansas
4. LouisianaFour TV shows you love to watch:
1. The Amazing Race
2. Everybody Loves Raymond
3. NCIS
4. Criminal MindsFour places you have been on vacation:
1. Eureka Springs, Arkansas (my honeymoon)
2. Dallas, Texas
3. Germany
4. ?????Four websites you visit (almost) daily:
1. Hearth Keepers
2. ?????
3. ?????
4. ?????Four of your favorite foods:
1. my homemade chicken pot pie (I can hurt myself on that stuff!!!)
2. pizza
3. chili
4. chocolateFour places you would rather be right now:
1. sitting on the couch, watching NCIS with my man
2. in a hotel room all by myself
3. back in time so I could re-do a whole bunch
4. heavenFour bloggers you are tagging:
1. Dawn
2. Kelli
3. Virginia
4. Barbara
So um, like, am I a flake or what? ;-)
What can I say? I'm a flake.
OK, not really, but I sure feel like one!
I'm sorry to say that things will be pretty boring for a while around here...tax season is on its way, and I'll need to be working on that on top of everything else around here. *sigh*
My littlest one is almost 16 months old, and I may have some hope for her sleep. She is *not* a sleeper (she slept a whole 20 min. today, and she was just as happy as anything come bedtime...well I take it back, she was not happy to learn that it was bedtime LOL!), so it has always been a struggle. But I think we may be onto something, thanks to a mom at the Hearthkeepers board. Woo hoo!
She is jabbering up a storm: mama, dada, poopie, bellybutton (though it comes out "bee-bo" LOL), mine, night-night, book, shoe, please, baby...I think that's about it. The rest of the time she just jargons a lot. It's so cute. She UNDERSTANDS so much though - WOW!!!!!! I do not remember my others understanding so much at this age. She is blowing me away!
My 7yo built a motorized robot out of K-Nex today. He worked on that thing all day and finally got it to work!
And such is my exciting life. LOL!!!!
Separation of church and state
Had this thought dawn on me the other day as I was driving down the road, listening to some radio show:
All this hype about separation of the church and state, what the Founding Fathers intended, blah blah blah...
If stuff like prayer and the Bible in schools (or other things along those lines that the ACLU is always up in arms about - not just these two issues) were so contrary to what the Founding Fathers wanted, why didn't they tackle these issues right off the get go? If they were so concerned about issues like these, they should have done something about it. But they didn't and apparently were fine with these things.
What makes the ACLU and others think that they are so much more "enlightened" about the Founding Fathers' intent than the Founding Fathers themselves?
Theological snobbery?
I've been pondering something lately. When I mentioned it to my dh this morning, he thought I was nuts. So I thought I'd throw it out to y'all. Am I nuts? (ON THIS LOL...I already know what some of y'all will say in response to that question!
)The other day I caught a little bit of a radio interview. This guy wrote an article about how smaller churches are dwindling, and he wondered if it had anything to do with the rise of the mega-church - easier to get lost in the crowd, not as much accountability, etc. Anyway, he started thinking about this in an experience he had at a church in his neighborhood, that he and his wife drove past every time they went to their church, which was about 15 min. away.
He pointed that out in the interview as well - the church he drove PAST to get to their church. He said there were about 10 different churches that they drove past in just that 15 min. Historically there has been about 1 church in one area of a community (or 1 in a community period!), and you just went to that church. But now people go outside of their community to go to church (for whatever reason), and there is somewhat of a disconnect formed because of it.
His comments started me to thinking about this very thing, because that is what dh and I do. Our church is a solid 30-minute drive from our house. There are several churches (like 5 or so) that I know of in our little community right here where we live. I got to thinking about WHY this occurs. I know that often, for us, it is because the churches we've visited around us haven't quite been on the same page we are theologically. (We definitely HAD this same experience where we lived in Arkansas - we had to go to a different town completely to find what we considered a "decent" church.) Why is that, and why do we feel this way? For me personally, I've learned a lot because of the internet - I read articles, etc. But then when it comes time to find a church in my community, stuff I didn't really care about before (secondary issues) seems larger, and those churches aren't really "good enough" anymore. So I feel the need to look further, at churches that aren't in my local community.
Biblical teaching and sound doctrine is vital, of course! But at the same time we have traded sound doctrine and teaching for a true experience with the Body of Christ. Since we do live so far from our church, it is extremely difficult to get involved, so typically we don't. People at our church don't come by, or it's a hassle for them to come by, because we live so far out of the way. And the church is more that just going and listening to good preaching and being taught good doctrine. It is being a PART of the Body. And when there is a physical distance separating you from the Body of Christ, it's hard.
Which is where I think this theological snobbery comes in (if that's even what is going on). All of this information is good, but I think it has caused me to long for that "perfect church" (which I know doesn't exist) and to keep looking farther and farther from home for it. Meanwhile there is a perfectly good church that I drive by all the time.
Now, I'm not saying I want to leave my church. (I think that's what dh thought I might be saying LOL.) These are just some ponderings I have been having, as I look at our situation, hear others speak of their similar situations, and read different articles about similar things.
What about you - have you noticed these things to be the case, not necessarily with you personally, but in other people you've seen? Or am I just making this all up? LOL.
