tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257666892024-03-13T20:26:50.882-07:00ReflectionsMeditating on God's work in my life and the world around me.celiselotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14744067171511633049noreply@blogger.comBlogger439125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25766689.post-20567578706735619922018-11-15T08:15:00.005-08:002018-11-15T08:15:57.542-08:00Welcome for the Weak<div class="entry-content" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; overflow: hidden;">
<div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_233075" style="background-color: #f8f7f7; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); float: left; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; padding: 5px; text-align: center; width: 220px;">
<img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-233075" height="300" sizes="(max-width: 210px) 100vw, 210px" src="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/702524260_txjiQ-O-210x300.jpg" srcset="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/702524260_txjiQ-O-210x300.jpg 210w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/702524260_txjiQ-O-768x1097.jpg 768w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/702524260_txjiQ-O-717x1024.jpg 717w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/702524260_txjiQ-O-105x150.jpg 105w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/702524260_txjiQ-O-175x250.jpg 175w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/702524260_txjiQ-O-188x268.jpg 188w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/702524260_txjiQ-O.jpg 1428w" style="height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="210" /><div class="wp-caption-text" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; padding: 0px;">
<em>Jean Vanier (right) with John Smeltzer, a member of L’Arche Daybreak.</em></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
By Courtney Lott –</div>
<div class="p1" style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">The first time my friend’s son met my eyes and asked me my name, I almost broke down into an ugly cry in the church foyer. He was around ten-years-old at the time and is autistic. Before I got to know this young man, before I taught him and his siblings swim lessons, before I saw his voracious desire to read anything he could put his hands on, I’m sad to say I probably would have categorized him as weird. Maybe I would have qualified that he was a blessing, but this would have been attached to a series of assumptions about him based on his differences.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">I’m grateful for the opportunity I’ve had to get to know him, but I’m afraid others share the hang-ups I used to have. Though we are a far cry from hiding people with intellectual disabilities away in asylums, our churches often struggle to include them in our services, much less our community life.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">This is one of the many reasons Jean Vanier began the L’arche community. After witnessing the sadness of one of the French asylums in 1964, Vanier purchased a small home and invited two of the men from the institution to come live with him. This safe haven grew quickly and, in 1968, Vanier was invited to host a retreat in Canada. As a result, he received an offer to start a similar home in Richmond Hill, just north of Toronto, thus starting L’Arche Daybreak.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">“What was clear,” Vanier writes in <i>An Ark for the Poor: The Story of L’Arche,</i> “from the very beginning was the aspect of ‘living with’ people who have [intellectual disabilities], a desire to create family with them.”</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">From there, they expanded across the world, welcoming individuals from multiple religious backgrounds and traditions. Each community roots itself in faith. While some homes focus on a single religion, others are a mixture, and all are welcome whether they ascribe to a certain faith or not. All L’Arche communities strive to develop unity and family.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">“Without this spiritual dimension and growth in holiness, L’Arche could become simply another group home,” writes Vanier. “It would lose what makes it unique.”</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">Through the retreats Vanier continued to offer, countless others were inspired to begin their own communities in which people live and work together. To date, there are 147 such homes, 18 of which are located in the United States.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">Striving to live out their mission to “make known the gifts of people who have intellectual disabilities,” L’Arche employees and volunteers work to provide support and guidance unique to each individual’s needs. Those with disabilities who are a part of L’Arche have the ability to live independently or in a household with others and participate in activities and work programs. Together they build relationships, strive for unity, and build a strong sense of home.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">L’Arche seeks to help those who are often overlooked in our society. Though they can’t welcome everyone who has a disability, they seek to serve as a sign that a truly human society must be founded on “welcome and respect for the weak and downtrodden.” Such a sign is a powerful reminder to the rest of the world of the dignity God has endowed all individuals, no matter their apparent limitations.</span></div>
</div>
celiselotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14744067171511633049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25766689.post-31964365190934984662018-11-15T08:15:00.002-08:002018-11-15T08:15:21.753-08:00Shoes of Hope<div class="entry-content" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; overflow: hidden;">
<div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_234591" style="background-color: #f8f7f7; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); float: left; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; padding: 5px; text-align: center; width: 235px;">
<img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-234591" height="300" sizes="(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px" src="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Shoes-of-Hope-2-e1536786784213-225x300.jpeg" srcset="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Shoes-of-Hope-2-e1536786784213-225x300.jpeg 225w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Shoes-of-Hope-2-e1536786784213-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Shoes-of-Hope-2-e1536786784213-113x150.jpeg 113w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Shoes-of-Hope-2-e1536786784213-188x250.jpeg 188w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Shoes-of-Hope-2-e1536786784213-201x268.jpeg 201w" style="height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="225" /><div class="wp-caption-text" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; padding: 0px;">
<em>Prayer time at Shoes of Hope. Photo courtesy of Heather Evans.</em></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
By Courtney Lott –</div>
<div class="p1" style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">Of all the most profound and significant ways in which our Lord Jesus served those around him, cleaning the disciples’ feet is one of the most shocking and scandalous. The God of the universe humbled himself to do a job only the lowest of the low servants performed. Although it is a practice that is foreign to most people in our modern era, Jesus cleaned the dirty feet of men who he knew would abandon him a few hours later. As he so often did, Christ weaved together a lesson and an example, teaching us about how he purifies us, and showing us how we ought to serve each other.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">Following in the curve of Christ’s humble and loving posture, Grace Church, a multi-site United Methodist congregation in Southwest Florida, has been blessing hundreds of families through their ministry, Shoes of Hope, since 2011. This back-to-school outreach event invites members of the community into the church. Together, they celebrate the coming academic year with a carnival, food, and games. The church also provides children and youth with brand new shoes, school supplies, and their very own Bible. Yet Grace Church goes a step further in serving and affirming the dignity of those who come.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">“Once it’s time for them to get their shoes, they have their feet measured, then they are welcomed by their own personal runner, who takes them into the sanctuary to a foot washing station,” says Heather Evans, Grace Church’s Age Level Ministries Director. “Once the child is seated at the foot washing station with their family, the foot washer removes their shoes and starts to ask them how they’re doing, gets to know them a little bit, asks them about their summer and the upcoming school year. And as they’re washing their feet, they tell them a little bit about Jesus and why he washed the disciples feet. And they pray together with the family.”</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">Through this ministry, dozens of children have made a first time commitment to Jesus Christ, but they are not the only ones who are reached. Single mother Lisa Johnson testifies that she had strayed from God. However, after connecting with Grace Church through Shoes of Hope, the Lord called her back to himself. Now she helps lead a Bible study she started with Evans.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">A new pair of shoes does more than protect the feet. They can create a sense of dignity and belonging, something extremely difficult for children and teenagers to find at times. Amber Wellman, another single mom, talks about how difficult it is to find shoes that fit her daughter. With the new pair given to her by Shoes of Hope, she “was ready to show them off to everybody.”</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">People with every kind of gift help make this ministry possible, Evans says. “It takes about $20 to $25 to sponsor a child, to be able to supply the good quality shoes and school supplies that we provide. [We also have] people behind the scenes before the event ever happens, that help with registration and gathering supplies. On the day of the event, we need so many people to do so many things.”</span></div>
</div>
celiselotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14744067171511633049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25766689.post-62697862771484920402018-11-15T08:14:00.001-08:002018-11-15T08:14:24.662-08:00Reflecting God's Colorful Image<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">By Courtney Lott –</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">Our God is a very big God. So big and so creative that a single human never could bear his image perfectly. In his vastness, he uses male and female, black and white, smart and simple, single and married to paint as full a picture as possible of his broad and unsearchable character. In <i>One Blood</i>, Dr. John M. Perkins weaves this truth together with grace and humility, wisdom, and love. He celebrates our ethnic diversity and confronts the sin of racism with both seriousness and gentleness, all the while keeping the gospel of Jesus front and center.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">Perkins is a legendary civil rights activist, author, and an evangelical statesman. He is the founder of the famed Voice of Calvary Bible Institute, the Christian Community Development Association, and Harambee Ministries.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">Perkins deftly frames his appeal by drawing from scripture. We are ultimately one race, one bright and shining reflection of the Godhead. However, in order to justify slavery and subsequent racial structures, we did some illogical leapfrogging. Though steeped in the idea that all individuals are created equal, the slave’s dignity was downplayed in the worst possible sense. This is where the social construction of race came into play.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">“[T]here had to be distinctions made between normal folks and this new breed of people that would be treated like animals,” Perkins writes. “The truth is that there is no black race – and there is no white race. So the idea of ‘racial reconciliation’ is a false idea. It’s a lie. It implies that there is more than one race. This is absolutely false. God created only one race – the human race.”</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">One blood, one race of people who, in all their diversity, produce a more complete picture of the godhead. When I first began to learn about ethnic reconciliation (a phrase Perkins considers more accurate than racial reconciliation), the sheer idea overwhelmed me. But in <i>One Blood,</i> Perkins lays out practical steps and devotes an entire chapter to each.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1"><b>The Measuring Line. </b>Perkins begins with a measuring line, a standard for what the church ought to look like. Citing the great congregation from every tribe, tongue, and nation as seen by John in Revelation 7, he describes experiencing a “prelude to heaven” while visiting Bridgeway Community Church, a multiethnic congregation in Columbia, Maryland.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">For Perkins, Bridgeway was a “picture of the oneness and the diversity of the body of Christ … a physical representation of it,” he writes. “And it was glorious! The melting of the cultures was beautiful; the blend of ethnicities was evident across the ranks of the leadership and the membership. And the music carried me away. I saw echoes of the great congregation that will stand around the throne shouting ‘Holy, Holy, Holy! Worthy is the lamb!’”</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">This particular church modeled biblical, ethnic reconciliation, a vital part of the gospel, according to Perkins. Though Christ came primarily to restore our relationship with God the Father, he also came to restore our relationships with each other. Neglecting this aspect of the kingdom is a grave mistake and does a disservice to Christ’s work.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">“This vision for unity is borne on the wings of the good news of the gospel. It’s good news and it’s for all the people,” writes <img alt="" class="wp-image-234612 size-medium alignright" height="300" sizes="(max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px" src="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/34457262._UY2626_SS2626_-e1536787932987-197x300.jpg" srcset="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/34457262._UY2626_SS2626_-e1536787932987-197x300.jpg 197w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/34457262._UY2626_SS2626_-e1536787932987-768x1167.jpg 768w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/34457262._UY2626_SS2626_-e1536787932987-674x1024.jpg 674w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/34457262._UY2626_SS2626_-e1536787932987-99x150.jpg 99w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/34457262._UY2626_SS2626_-e1536787932987-164x250.jpg 164w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/34457262._UY2626_SS2626_-e1536787932987-176x268.jpg 176w" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); display: inline; float: right; height: auto; margin: 0px 0px 10px 15px; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px;" width="197" />Perkins. “It’s the good news that Luke proclaimed, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord!’ (Luke 2:10-11). This supernatural announcement is one of the most compelling signs that God intends for His gospel to reach all nations and cultures.”</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">Angels announced this good news to shepherds first. As social outcasts and caretakers of sheep, they understood their need for a sacrificial lamb, understood what it felt like to be on the margins. Never meant to be an exclusive club, Perkins reminds us that the kingdom of heaven is for all peoples, including those we might be biased against. This message the angels brought was one of hope and reconciliation, both with God and our fellow man.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1"><b>Looking Back on History. </b>Though the United States started with the idea of equality for all, we quickly got off track, Perkins says. In order to justify slavery, many used the social construction of race, focusing on the ways in which we are different. However, a close look at what scripture has to say about humanity reveals we are far more alike than our physical attributes might indicate. Perkins sites the creation of Adam in his argument that we are, in fact, one race.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">“I understood from the Genesis account God’s intimate interaction with Adam when he created him, breathing into him the very breath of life,” writes Perkins. “I understood that God was literally breathing dignity and character into this man Adam … From this one man, Adam, who was created in the very image of God, the entire human race sprang.” </span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">Both scripture and science have been abused in order to perpetuate race theory, a concept that is foundational to racism and countless other ills. These wrongs run deep and at times appear insurmountable. There is, however, hope and Perkins has experienced it personally. After experiencing severe abuse – civil rights arrest and brutality – in his native Mississippi, he never thought he would be able to return to his hometown and the people who wronged him.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">Then he met Jesus. “I left Mississippi with hate in my heart,” Perkins writes. “God brought me back with a heart that was overflowing with his love. I had been reconciled to Christ, and he prepared me to return to Mississippi to be reconciled to my white brothers and sisters.”</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">The love of Christ, the “ultimate reconciler,” is our only hope when it comes to achieving the unity we are called to. This is the foundation upon which Perkins builds the rest of the book. Reconciliation that works is based on the gospel.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">One aspect of the gospel we often overlook is the call to corporate lament. As those brought up on the idea of individualism and the American dream, this heavy concept of corporately mourning can be uncomfortable, if not painful. However, if we are to be true to the Scriptures we know and love, we must face the reality that Christ calls us to lament. Though looking back on past shame is difficult, confronting our history is often the only way to move forward.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">“Scripture was never intended to be used solely for individual application,” Perkins writes. “It was meant for the community of believers. The psalms of lament were meant to be tools in the community worship experience to bring the worshipers into the presence of our God. The lament is his gift to us, his church.”</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">Confession goes hand in hand with lament. It is in this section that Perkins explains the term “white privilege”— a highly divisive and potentially polarizing term — in a helpful way. Many white Christians might need to confess denying that racism exists and that we benefit from our skin color, he writes. As this is difficult to address without offending, Perkins draws a parallel to the privilege of being a citizen of the United States.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">“Through no fault or responsibility of our own, most of us were born in the United States of America,” he writes. “Though poverty does exist in America it exists at a level far above the level of poverty in a Third World country. This could be termed ‘American privilege.’ We are afforded certain advantages just because we live in America. It’s not something that we should feel guilty about, but it is important for us to be aware of these realities … In a similar way being white in this country affords certain advantages that can be easily overlooked.”</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">We have tried to create God in our own image, says Perkins. Whatever makes us the most comfortable — liberal, conservative, Western, white — we remake Jesus into something that he is not: safe and sanitary. Fear drives us to this mistake and, according to Perkins, this is something else we must confess as sin. White individuals fear losing their power and status, black individuals fear the endless hard work that often doesn’t seem to bear fruit.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">But God. Perkins’ refrain is always “but God.” But God’s word speaks into our fears and calls us to the perfect love that casts out all fear. God’s love can empower us to be uncomfortable and reach across the aisle, extending our hearts to one another. It also grants us the power to forgive in a way the world will sit up and notice.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">As a profound example of this, Perkins sites the way the congregants of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, reacted to Dylann Roof, the young white supremacist who opened fire on a Bible study there.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">“At Dylann Roof’s bond hearing, the relatives of the victims stood to address him,” Perkins writes. “‘I forgive you.’ ‘I forgive you.’ ‘I forgive you.’ These three words were spoken again and again as the family members of the Charleston church victims spoke to the accused. It was clear that they were struggling with deep emotion and grief. Yet they chose to forgive rather than to hate … many of them saying that they were praying for his soul. The nation watched, spellbound.”</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">This church’s example was an incredible witness to the world of just how powerful God’s love is. Forgiveness is a painfully difficult thing. It means letting go of resentment for a deep wrong others have committed against you or your loved ones. This is only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit who inhabits the heart of every believer, Perkins writes, and even with this power, it is still no easy path.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1"><b>The Weapon of Our Warfare. </b>Throughout <i>One Blood</i>, Perkins constantly models prayer, a practice he calls the weapon of our warfare. He ends each chapter with a cry to the Lord based on the subject he has written on, guiding the reader on a profound and grace-filled journey through a difficult topic. Pastoral in his counsel, he offers practical topics to help guide us in our appeals to the Holy Spirit for reconciliation.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">Moreover, Perkins points to numerous examples of pastors and churches that have sought this kind of reconciliation. Motivated by the love of Christ, these men and women have developed more diverse congregations in their communities and strived to better image the great multitude from Revelation.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">“It’s going to take intentionally multiethnic and multicultural churches to bust through the chaos and confusion of the present moment and redirect our gaze to the revolutionary gospel of reconciliation,” Perkins writes. “I really believe that each of our souls yearn for this vision. We want it. We know in our heart of hearts that it is right.”</span></div>
<div>
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
celiselotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14744067171511633049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25766689.post-83755424129714250962017-11-03T11:54:00.000-07:002017-11-03T11:54:16.373-07:00We Need Each Other<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe6UWAlrIJuqbSPZE_vsKwbP7YmEmFB-M3iCPvNH7lj1YfLZlHhLwDpr7tRwHyvXlxu4JXE_7FDXkCmN2Hlbzvaw6-UVJyI4q3uDWtM7ir7YIXmdE5ZktDNn7-pVmLlaa1tkl4/s1600/Need-Each-Other.tif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1334" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe6UWAlrIJuqbSPZE_vsKwbP7YmEmFB-M3iCPvNH7lj1YfLZlHhLwDpr7tRwHyvXlxu4JXE_7FDXkCmN2Hlbzvaw6-UVJyI4q3uDWtM7ir7YIXmdE5ZktDNn7-pVmLlaa1tkl4/s320/Need-Each-Other.tif" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">“But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh” (Mark 10:6-8).</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">What a beautiful and frightening thing marriage is. Two souls on a journey, joining to carry each other’s burdens, to know one another deeply, to image the relationship between Christ and the church in a unique way, and to be fruitful and multiply. It’s fitting that weddings are celebrations, that family and friends gather before God to rejoice in a covenantal relationship, the creation of a new, single flesh.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">As the bride walks down the aisle, resplendent in white, we are reminded of John’s description of Jerusalem in Revelation 21 “coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” We are reminded of how Christ sacrificed himself in order to clothe the church for her wedding day. We clap, we sing, we dance, we cry.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">Most of these tears are free and full of happiness. Yet some are tears of longing, tears of fading hope, of loneliness. Torn between joy for friends and mourning for the feeling of being slightly displaced, these are the tears of the single, the divorced, the same sex attracted.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1"><b>The Single. </b>“We just need to get you married.”</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">I never quite know how to respond to such statements about my relationship status. Often thrown about with nonchalance, I don’t doubt the purveyors of such declarations mean well. They listen to my story, hear my words, and are sympathetic. Yet their solution is often the same: “We just need to get you married” as if this is as simple as finding a new pair of shoes, as if this always solves the problem of loneliness.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">Within our culture, both Christian and secular, romantic relationships are held in high esteem. The secular culture snickers at virginity, slapping on the label of prude, while Christian culture assumes older singles are immature or too picky.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">In movies, participation in one is often portrayed as a sign that the main character – once a stagnant workaholic/sad social pariah – has now arrived at life’s deepest meaning and will prance off into the sunset to be forever happy and contented. Phrases like “old maid,” “biological clock,” or “ending up alone” are hung around the necks of singles past a certain age.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">More frustrating still, as our younger counterparts join the ranks of the married, we start to age out of our “allotted places” within the church. In my experience, most “singles ministries” are occupied by college students or recent grads. Anyone beyond this is semi-unwelcome, considered at least somewhat awkward, and makes everyone uncomfortable. I know, because when I was just out of college, I felt the same way about older singles. The plank in my own eye is a big one.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1"><b>Who Sinned? </b>As for our married counterparts, a great many (at least in the south) married young, right out of college or even prior to walking across the stage. Their claims to understanding our singleness ring somewhat hollow and their declarations that we simply need to be “content in the Lord” before he will bring us the right person sting.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">There is a sort of unspoken assumption made based on this idea. Like the barren women in ancient Israel or the blind man in Jesus’ day, it seems as if the single is often viewed as an unfortunate misfit.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">And we singles are not alone in this category. Many in the church bear a particularly difficult burden that often brings with it a painful dose of shame.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The divorced often feel that, like Hawthorne’s heroine, they wear a massive scarlet letter “D” wherever they go.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">Communicating their experiences is difficult and uncomfortable. One or both separated spouses often must leave their shared church family after the relationship is broken, thus causing even more pain. A joined life is rent in two and the dynamics change. Like the single, the divorced can feel awkward in situations where most people are couples.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1"><b>The Outcasts.</b> Oddly enough, the writings of celibate same sex attracted Christians reflect my heart and understand my pain far better than anyone else. Writers like Wesley Hill, assistant professor of New Testament at Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania, and editor of the website Spiritual Friendship, speak of building community apart from romantic relationships, of mourning a certain kind of companionship you’ll likely never have. Spiritual Friendship, an online community of Christians who are primarily same sex attracted, embraces “the traditional understanding that God created us male and female, and that his plan for sexual intimacy is only properly fulfilled in the union of husband and wife in marriage.”</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">However, these writers also desire to change the discussion surrounding homosexuality. Through their blog posts, the contributors speak on “celibacy, friendship, the value of the single life, and similar topics.” Rather than relying on platitudes or the mistaken idea that God’s goal for all of us is marriage, this community laments their situation and challenges the church in a unique way.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">I need them. The church needs them.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1"><b>The Inner Circle.</b> But I’m often too quick to dismiss the trials and tribulations of the married. Sometimes I get irritated when I hear their complaints. At least you’re not alone, I think. At least you’ll be leaving a legacy in your offspring. Yet when I take a moment to listen, to empathize, I realize they have lessons for me. When they tell me they are lonely in marriage, when they admit their children are driving them crazy, or even worse, when they confess to feeling trapped and embittered, I am reminded marriage is never happily-ever-after. It is not the end all be all, and it will not satisfy my deepest longings, for it is not the purpose of the Kingdom of God. I know this in theory, but I don’t really believe it, not functionally.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">We all need each other. The married stay-at-home mom needs the single admin assistant. The single bachelor needs the father of 2.5 kids. The barren woman needs the mom with the child who has autism. The ultra conservative pastor needs the same sex attracted Christian columnist. Our different perspectives, our different paths, offer lessons none of us can learn on our own. Rather than dividing ourselves and telling one another “you can’t understand me,” when we share our stories, our tears, our joys, we unite ourselves in a marriage like covenant.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">Within the church, no one should ever be truly alone.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">This may all seem obvious. We’re the church. Christ died to make her his body. But we don’t always act like we believe this.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">When people don’t follow our cultural norms, they make us uncomfortable and we do what we can to “fix the problem.” We try to get the single married, change someone’s sexual orientation, find a way to quiet the distracting child, or give the barren woman a platitude. What if we mourned with each other instead? What if, rather than trying to make ourselves comfortable by changing another person’s situation, we listened a little better? </span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">I need you. You need me. That’s part of how we reflect the Trinity. We’re made to be relational, even when relationships shove us out of our comfort zones, especially when they shove us out of our comfort zones. Life is hard enough without creating barriers. We’re meant to carry one another’s burdens, to mourn and lament the effects of sin in the world, to love and challenge each other to walk with the Lord.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">We need each other.</span></div>
celiselotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14744067171511633049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25766689.post-48405959493006077132017-08-01T13:10:00.001-07:002017-08-01T13:10:20.177-07:00For the Love of Widows and Orphans<div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_92102" style="background-color: #f8f7f7; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); color: #333333; float: left; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; padding: 5px; text-align: center; width: 260px;">
<img alt="" class="wp-image-92102" height="167" sizes="(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px" src="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Both-Hands01-300x200.jpg" srcset="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Both-Hands01-300x200.jpg 300w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Both-Hands01-768x512.jpg 768w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Both-Hands01-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Both-Hands01-225x150.jpg 225w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Both-Hands01-402x268.jpg 402w" style="height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="250" /><div class="wp-caption-text" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; padding: 0px;">
The family of JT Olsen (second from left, top row), including his adopted daughter Gracie (center, bottom row). Photo: Both Hands.</div>
</div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
What would you spend your entire life savings on? Would you buy a house? That car you always wanted? The flow of our money generally reveals where our hearts, our passions, our desires lie. It’s an easy thing to hold onto, like a security blanket, or to toss around with gravitas like a lotto winner. For JT Olson, founder of Both Hands, a faith-based nonprofit that serves orphans and widows, a life savings was something that could be used to save a life.</div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">One of five children, Olson grew up on a small farm in Harper’s Ferry, Iowa. Together with his parents and paternal uncle, the family farmed 380 acres of what he describes as some of the most beautiful land in the entire state. Eight people in a 1,500 square foot home might have been tight, the hours baling hay long, and a half-mile trek to the bus stop (uphill and in the snow) grueling, but Olson also remembers having a lot of fun. Not many children can claim to be allowed to drive before having a driver’s license after all, even if it was just an Oliver tractor.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">Then, at the age of twelve, everything changed. On the way back home from celebrating their 16th wedding anniversary, Olson’s parents were killed in a car accident. When his brother told him the news, he simply remembers hitting the floor and crying. “You just don’t realize how much a mom and dad stabilize you,” said Olson. “It’s just one of those things you kind of count on. I know what it’s like to be an orphan, to hear those words ‘mom and dad are dead.’ To wonder what’s going to happen to us, who’s going to take care of us, or where we’re all going to go.”</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">Fortunately for Olson, three months before the accident his parents had made plans for their children in case anything happened. Therefore, when tragedy hit, the five siblings found a new home with their aunt and uncle, but not before the community gathered around them to help with the farm. “I remember [getting] off the bus … and there were all our neighbors in our fields with their tractors and their plows and their planters and they were planting our crops,” Olson says. “It was like all my dad’s friends were taking care of us. And I realized, this is what you do.”</span></div>
<div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_91882" style="background-color: #f8f7f7; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); color: #333333; float: right; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 15px; padding: 5px; text-align: center; width: 310px;">
<img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-91882" height="214" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" src="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Both-Hands03-300x214.jpg" srcset="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Both-Hands03-300x214.jpg 300w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Both-Hands03-768x548.jpg 768w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Both-Hands03-1024x731.jpg 1024w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Both-Hands03-210x150.jpg 210w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Both-Hands03-375x268.jpg 375w" style="height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="300" /><div class="wp-caption-text" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; padding: 0px;">
Jonathan and Amy Whitt and their adopted daughter, Emery.</div>
</div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">That sense of community established a desire in Olson to do the same for others caught up in the midst of tragedy. While working with college students for The Southwestern Company, he witnessed how an organization called Bethany Christian Services served young women in difficult situations. When one of his students became pregnant out of wedlock, the Olsons invited her into their home and Bethany came alongside her.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">“What I saw, while she was pregnant, was the way Bethany Christian Services came in and ministered to her, helped her figure it out, helped her figure out what to do, and just loved on her,” says Olson. “It’s just a great organization and they didn’t charge her a thing. So when I left Southwestern, I said if I’m going to give my life away in a volunteer position it’s going to be with Bethany.”</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">During his work with Bethany, Olson participated in a number of fundraisers – such as golf tournaments – to drum up support for the ministry. It wasn’t until a friend refused to donate because he was “simply golfing,” however, that he realized there might be a better way. “He took a magic marker and scribbled on my letter: ‘JT if you told me you were working on a widow’s house I might have sponsored you, but you’re just golfing’,” Olson says. “’Nice cause, but not my money.’”</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">This got Olson thinking, but it took hearing a friend’s adoption story to convince him to act. About three years later, a man from church named Don told him he planned to adopt four kids from Moldova, an Eastern European country and former Soviet republic, and that it would probably cost around $65,000. It was this that spurred Olson on to organize what would later become the Both Hands ministry.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">In order to raise money for the adoption, Olson and more than a dozen other men mailed letters to everyone they knew asking for people to sponsor them while they worked on the home of Ms. Lucile, a widow. The donations to fix the house rolled in. “Local merchants and individuals who loved what we were doing asked how they could help,” recalled Olson. “The only thing we spent money on was stamps. We ended up raising $72,000.”</span></div>
<div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_92295" style="background-color: #f8f7f7; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); color: #333333; float: left; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; padding: 5px; text-align: center; width: 310px;">
<img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-92295" height="168" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" src="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Both-Hands02-300x168.jpg" srcset="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Both-Hands02-300x168.jpg 300w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Both-Hands02-768x431.jpg 768w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Both-Hands02-1024x575.jpg 1024w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Both-Hands02-267x150.jpg 267w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Both-Hands02-477x268.jpg 477w" style="height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="300" /><div class="wp-caption-text" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; padding: 0px;">
Ms. Debbie served by a Both Hands project in 2016.</div>
</div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">This success led to more opportunities to help widows and orphans. “We started our organization in August of ‘08 and since that time we’ve done 652 projects in 42 states,” Olson says. “723 widows have been served. 793 kids are no longer orphans. And we’ve raised $7.5 million for families for adoption. And of that $7.5 million we haven’t taken anything out for our expenses. I set it up that way. We don’t take anything out. Whenever there’s a project we take out a grant.”</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">One of these orphans includes the Olson’s daughter, Grace. In spite of his passion for adoption, Olson was initially hesitant to do so himself. Though financially comfortable, they did have four kids of their own and had only their life savings to live on. Then, one Christmas eve, Olson had a revelation in their attic.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">“All I see is car seats, strollers, cribs, and I just thought to myself, ‘We’ve got everything we need, what’s wrong with using a life savings to save a life?’,” Olson says. “And that was my watershed moment in my life that made me realizes what’s important. What burns and what doesn’t burn.”</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">By the next July, they received a referral for a girl from China who they planned to name Gracie. Later on they found out that Grace was, in fact, the name an orphan worker had decided to call the little girl who’d been left on their doorstep. Now, whenever people ask why they went to China for their daughter, Olson says that this was where Grace was.</span></div>
celiselotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14744067171511633049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25766689.post-87776637093514653832017-08-01T13:09:00.001-07:002017-08-01T13:09:11.295-07:00A Peek Behind the Curtain<div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_91059" style="background-color: #f8f7f7; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); color: #333333; float: left; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; padding: 5px; text-align: center; width: 209px;">
<img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-91059" height="300" sizes="(max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px" src="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/John-Perkins-New-199x300.jpg" srcset="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/John-Perkins-New-199x300.jpg 199w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/John-Perkins-New-768x1155.jpg 768w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/John-Perkins-New-681x1024.jpg 681w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/John-Perkins-New-100x150.jpg 100w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/John-Perkins-New-166x250.jpg 166w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/John-Perkins-New-178x268.jpg 178w" style="height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="199" /><div class="wp-caption-text" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; padding: 0px;">
Civil rights leader John M. Perkins, founder and President Emeritus of the John and Vera Mae Perkins Foundation-Jackson, MS. Photo courtesy of Voice of Calvary.</div>
</div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<i>“I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’” </i>(Revelation 7:9-10 NASB)</div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">In John’s vision of the kingdom of God we are presented with a very diverse picture of its citizens. The worshippers come from every race, every language, every nation. Far from monochromatic, the kingdom of Heaven is an undoing of Babel, a breaking of barriers, the unification of Christ’s body. But when we look at our churches today, at our congregations, what do we see? Though in many ways the church has taken great strides against racism, the after effects of old structures and mindsets remain like fingerprints on a mirror. As Christians, we are called to take a sober look at these things. Racial reconciliation is hard, but thankfully, many have undertaken to aid the church in this difficult journey. The following books are helpful perspectives for this conversation. Each voice is different and offers its own unique angle.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1"><b>Holding Up Your Corner</b></span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">For situations fraught with sensitivity, practical guidance is essential. In<i> Holding up Your Corner,</i> the Rev. F. Willis Johnson, a United Methodist pastor, provides wisdom and insight. Offering helpful definitions and sober advice that is practical rather than preachy, this book equips leaders and readers to approach racial reconciliation with grace. Through his accounts of the racial strife in Ferguson, Missouri, and similar events, Johnson gives his audience the unique experience of seeing the world through his eyes.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<img alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-91061" height="300" sizes="(max-width: 206px) 100vw, 206px" src="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Holding-Up-Your-Corner-Cover-206x300.jpg" srcset="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Holding-Up-Your-Corner-Cover-206x300.jpg 206w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Holding-Up-Your-Corner-Cover-103x150.jpg 103w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Holding-Up-Your-Corner-Cover-172x250.jpg 172w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Holding-Up-Your-Corner-Cover-184x268.jpg 184w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Holding-Up-Your-Corner-Cover.jpg 600w" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); display: inline; float: right; height: auto; margin: 0px 0px 10px 15px; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px;" width="206" /></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">“Once we have acknowledged someone’s humanity, we can move on to affirmation – respecting their humanity,” Johnson writes. “Hear this: affirmation is neither an act of complicity nor condemnation. Affirming someone’s experience – their humanity in their own experience – does not mean you approve their ideology or behavior. We can love people without agreeing with them. That bears repeating: we can love people without agreeing with them. In the words of Howard Thurman, ‘Hatred does not empower, it decays. Only through self-love and love for one another can God’s justice prevail.’ In short, affirmation is a willingness to emphasize our interdependence and commonality over our difference.”</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1"><i>Holding up Your Corner </i>is carefully rooted in the scriptural idea of balancing both justice and mercy, truth and grace, the practical and prophetic. It reaches out with gentleness and humility that challenges the reader in such a way as to promote conversation rather than dampen it. Johnson’s humble way of engaging his audience invites engagement rather than shutting it down. This book is a desperately needed guide through the difficult terrain that the church now faces in regard to loving the “other.”</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1"><b>Unashamed</b></span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1"><i>Unashamed,</i> the autobiography of mega-star Christian rapper, Lecrae, holds as its central concept the need for acceptance. From the first page, the writing conveys the painful sting of rejection. The reader can’t help but wince through the author’s childhood abandonment issues and heartache, then rejoice at the acceptance found in Christ. Yet Lecrae offers a starkly honest picture of his conversion and doesn’t shy from sharing his struggles with sanctification.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-91062" height="300" sizes="(max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px" src="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Unashamed-Cover-198x300.jpg" srcset="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Unashamed-Cover-198x300.jpg 198w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Unashamed-Cover-99x150.jpg 99w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Unashamed-Cover-165x250.jpg 165w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Unashamed-Cover-177x268.jpg 177w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Unashamed-Cover.jpg 600w" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); display: inline; float: left; height: auto; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px;" width="198" />As a poetic artist, Lecrae makes a distinction between a “Pastor Rapper” and that of a “lamenter” – a passionate expression of grief or sorrow that is an outgrowth of his youth and the abandonment he felt. When he was free from trying to preach like a “Pastor Rapper,” Lecrae felt the words and rhythms flow when he allowed himself to be vulnerable and honest about his own battles.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">Lecrae describes his unique position within the industry and how it provides him with the opportunity to reach people others might not be able to. He writes: “Operating as a ‘Pastor Rapper’ was hard work for me because it wasn’t playing to my strengths. Rather than letting the music pour out of me when the inspiration came, I would spend hours studying beforehand … Being theologically educated is a great thing. And using music to explicitly express theology is needed. But I mistakenly believed it was the only way to make music. On the rare occasion, however, I would let go and let the ‘lamenter’ in me come out. When I did – when I let Lecrae just be Lecrae – it would spark magic… Rather than make myself the winner, I allowed myself to be the loser… People wrote to say how much that song impacted them because it was real and vulnerable. And this was one of the first moments I began to wonder if maybe God was calling me to make a shift in my music and begin producing new songs that were truer to how I was naturally made.”</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1"><b>Who Lynched Willie Earle?</b></span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">Centered around a specific event, <i>Who Lynched Willie Earle </i>approaches the issue of race from a historical standpoint. Bishop Will Willimon creatively reimagines Pastor Hawley Lynn’s thought process leading up to his sermon condemning the lynching of a black man accused, but not convicted, of murder. Pastor Lynn confronted his own congregation with the mindset he believed led to the lynching, the deeply ingrained attitudes that allowed the mob to pervert “democratic justice” and execute Willie Earle.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<img alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-91063" height="300" sizes="(max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px" src="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Who-Lynched-Cover-198x300.jpg" srcset="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Who-Lynched-Cover-198x300.jpg 198w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Who-Lynched-Cover-99x150.jpg 99w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Who-Lynched-Cover-165x250.jpg 165w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Who-Lynched-Cover-177x268.jpg 177w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Who-Lynched-Cover.jpg 600w" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); display: inline; float: right; height: auto; margin: 0px 0px 10px 15px; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px;" width="198" /></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">Willimon, prolific author and retired United Methodist bishop, proceeds to analyze the sermon. Not only does he take into consideration the history of America, but also connects this with Israel, the Gentiles, and the kingdom of God. Willimon also points out Pastor Hawley’s own blind spots, in which he failed to address systemic, institutional racism. In this, Willimon says, the church was able to “disassociate themselves from the sin and to bolster their confidence in Jim Crow.” In spite of his failings, Willimon calls Pastor Hawley’s sermon “heroic homiletics”.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">“Though these sociological and historical facts about racism are significant, race is a specifically Christian problem because of the God we are attempting to worship and to obey,” Willimon writes. “In the gospel, we are given the means to be color-courageous, to talk about matters our culture would rather keep silent. That you have persevered this far in this book suggests you are exercising a bravery that is not self-derived. Paul says that, in God’s realm, Jews and Greeks, slave and free, ‘You all are one in Jesus Christ’ (Galatians 3:28). It is a baptismal call, not for color-blindness or arguing that gender or race are inconsequential, but rather a theological affirmation that Jesus Christ enables a new eschatological community where conventional, worldly signifiers don’t mean what they meant in the kingdoms of this world.”</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1"><b>Dream with Me: Race, Love, and the Struggle We Must Win</b></span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">Like <i>Unashamed</i>, Dr. John Perkins’ approach is extremely personal and humble. In spite of this, he does not shy away from calling out injustice and racism. Quoting Frederick Douglas and sighting the stark reality of his own experience with segregation, Perkins focuses on the “walls that have kept black people and white people apart, even in places where we had so much in common.”</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-91060" height="300" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" src="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Dream-with-Me-Cover-200x300.jpg" srcset="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Dream-with-Me-Cover-200x300.jpg 200w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Dream-with-Me-Cover-100x150.jpg 100w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Dream-with-Me-Cover-167x250.jpg 167w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Dream-with-Me-Cover-179x268.jpg 179w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Dream-with-Me-Cover.jpg 600w" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); display: inline; float: left; height: auto; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px;" width="200" />“Anyone who knows my story would expect this book to ooze with justice issues. After all, the pain caused by injustice has motivated me to spend a lifetime working for social change on behalf of widows, prisoners, the poor, and anyone who struggles,” writes Perkins, the civil rights veteran who has led the Voice of Calvary Ministries in Jackson, Mississippi, since 1975. “So how did someone who has experienced the anguish of poverty, racism, and oppression end up wanting to write a book about love as his climactic message? Good question… I’ve come to understand that true justice is wrapped up in love. God loves justice and wants His people to seek justice (Psalms 11 and Micah 6:8). But I’ve come to understand that true justice is wrapped up in love. The old-time preacher and prophet A.W. Tozer had a way of making the most profound truths simple and palatable. He once said, ‘God is love, and just as God is love, God is justice.’ That’s it! God’s love and justice come together in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, and we can’t be about one and not the other. They’re inextricably connected.”</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">Perkins takes a strong look at motivation. By keeping in mind questions about his own choices, he tempers his assessment with a great deal of grace and mercy. Perkins challenges parents to be mindful of the way that education choices may have a positive or negative effect on black children in public schools. Additionally, he asserts that integrating our churches is at the very heart of the gospel, the very heart of 2 Corinthians 5:19.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="s1">If we want to work toward racial reconciliation in a country that desperately needs it, if we desire to share the love of Christ with all nations, we must take steps to build empathy for our brothers and sisters. The books on this list are testimonies, a mere peek behind the curtain, but they may also serve as first steps. Ultimately, God alone through Jesus Christ can accomplish this. Racism, comparison, pride, arrogance, greed all root deep down in the hearts of man. But thanks be to God that he does not leave us in this sad state!</span></div>
celiselotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14744067171511633049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25766689.post-24762507874830820872017-08-01T13:08:00.001-07:002017-08-01T13:08:12.329-07:00Gorgeous Chaos<div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_8771" style="background-color: #f8f7f7; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); color: #333333; float: left; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; padding: 5px; text-align: center; width: 250px;">
<a href="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Danielle-Strickland-Beautiful-Mess.jpg" style="color: #0d72c7; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="Photo provided by danielstrickland.com." class=" wp-image-8771 " height="160" sizes="(max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px" src="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Danielle-Strickland-Beautiful-Mess-300x200.jpg" srcset="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Danielle-Strickland-Beautiful-Mess-300x200.jpg 300w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Danielle-Strickland-Beautiful-Mess-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Danielle-Strickland-Beautiful-Mess-224x150.jpg 224w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Danielle-Strickland-Beautiful-Mess-401x268.jpg 401w" style="border: none; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="240" /></a><div class="wp-caption-text" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; padding: 0px;">
Photo provided by danielstrickland.com.</div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
Chaos gets a bad rap. We cling to order and calm, presenting nice, tidy images of ourselves worthy of Facebook and Instagram and Pinterest. Behind them we hide, loathe to let others see what’s on the other side of the curtain. Yet, it’s often when things are upturned, broken, and exposed that we experience true growth and change. In her book, <i>A Beautiful Mess,</i> author Danielle Strickland suggests that God actually uses chaos to transform our lives and draw us closer to him.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
A major in The Salvation Army in Los Angeles and an Ambassador for the global anti-trafficking campaign Stop the Traffik, Strickland knows how messy life can get better than most. Through her own encounter with the Lord and her ministry to brothels, she is intensely familiar with the ugly, dirty chaos of this world. Rather than run from it, Strickland chooses to embrace it.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
“My experience of life with God is messy,” she says in her introduction. “It’s a mix of failure and success, courage and fear, faith and doubt. It’s-well, a beautiful mess…It’s beautiful because it’s a witness to the creative design of God’s love in the here and now of our lives. My life doesn’t look anything like it once did…I’ve been re-created by a designer who loves to recycle.”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
This serves as a thesis statement for the rest of the book. What follows are stories of God working through the chaos of people’s lives to accomplish his good purposes. Interwoven between these is Strickland’s ongoing exhortation to embrace the messes we encounter rather than try to hide or cover them up.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
One of the strongest points of <i>A Beautiful Mess</i> is the probing questions Strickland asks, and she starts right out of the gate in the first chapter. “What if the pursuit of order has created a love of the status quo and has removed the passion for justice? What if we have made a friend of comfort instead of change and as a result removed ourselves from the responsibility that demands that we fight for change to happen?”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
Throughout the book, Strickland continues to prod the reader with these types of questions. They cause the audience to stop, to think, to reconsider. In harmony with her premise, this upends the nice little boxes we might have stacked neatly in our minds, creating the kind of discomfort that challenges long held beliefs. Somewhat ironically, she also adds orderly numbered questions at the end of each chapter as well, making it easy to use in a discussion group.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
Chaos, Strickland says, is necessary to create something; and, in fact, an over devotion to order actually leads to breakdown. She writes, “If instead of clinging desperately to order we allow God to set the priorities, then the divine can and does speak a different kind of order into existence that promises permanent and lasting meaning for us personally and in the work that we are a part of.”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
It can feel like chaos to give up control, to wait on the Lord’s voice and His timing, and it requires a healthy dose of courage. According to Strickland, however, it is only when we wrench our grip from the wheel and hand it over to the Lord that we can enter real life. Of the many stories the author tells in <i>A Beautiful Mess</i>, one of the most profound is a story that starts with an affair. After catching her husband being unfaithful, a friend of Strickland’s found her entire life turned upside down. Yet amidst the chaos and mess, she sought out the Lord. It was then that he led her to Africa. From what seemed to be a dead end, God used this woman to serve widows and orphans in desperate need of her gifts. Stories like this remind the audience that there is a bigger picture; that on the other side of messy suffering is a new path, renewed life.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
“What is emerging from her chaos is something so beautiful and rich and different than her life would have been,” writes Strickland. “She now has the ability to look back and see that even the chaos was an opportunity to see God’s order emerge in her life. Even the darkness helped her [move] toward God’s Divine Order for her life.”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
Chaos also often uncovers the truth we hide from, Strickland says. An experience in Russia just after the collapse of the Soviet Union taught her about the failures of scientific and orderly modernity to answer the deep internal questions. Strickland learned from her Russian translator, Olga, that the government had fed the people many lies to make them believe that things were good. Everything appeared neat and tidy on the outside, but the eventual collapse made it evident that this was not true. The citizens of the Soviet Union chose to believe the lies they were fed until the chaos forced them to see the truth.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
Strickland writes, “It is sometimes simply easier to believe that things are ordered, reasonable, predictable, and completely under our control. But the reality of our world is that it is unpredictable, often random and unreasonable, chaotic and completely out of our control. And that’s when modernity’s promises run empty and its progress reports run dry.”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
This is not limited to secular governments, Strickland says. The church also often trips into the same pitfalls, settling for “whitewashed tombs” rather than accepting the kind of chaos that asks hard questions and risks failure. “The truth would rather embrace honest chaos than continue to whitewash the tombs of our culture so we die looking good,” Strickland writes. “It’s really about allowing chaos to show a bit, and even enjoy it.”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
Finally, Strickland says that chaos can actually bring light to darkness and allow us to join with God to create things. Injustice casts a pall over our world and when we seek to bring an end to it, a mess often ensues. As uncomfortable as this might be, it is necessary if we wish to make any kind of progress, if we want to join God in bringing his kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven. Strickland describes it beautifully. “We need a ‘curtains being pulled back in the morning’ moment where light or revelation floods in.” If we’re standing still in fear of the chaos, she says, we will never experience this kind of moment.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
Strickland concludes <i>A Beautiful Mess</i> by encouraging the reader to create a timeline in which to track times of chaos within one’s life. This, she says, will help identify the process of God’s “Divine Order”, of how he uses the mess to bring us into his light. “We get to be a part of this incredible work of beauty – this art called life,” she writes. “And then we rest. We step back and breathe in the beauty of a love-filled, creative God. A God who uses every shade and vibrancy of colour to re-create our lives in ways we could never have imagined or dreamed. We get to stop working, and celebrate the incredible truth that we are, all of us, a beautiful mess.”</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
celiselotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14744067171511633049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25766689.post-60159194435122394962017-08-01T13:06:00.002-07:002017-08-01T13:06:59.532-07:00Finding Jesus in Iran<div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_8323" style="background-color: #f8f7f7; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); color: #333333; float: left; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; padding: 5px; text-align: center; width: 280px;">
<a href="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Assyrian_Homeless_Boys_Snow_Winter_Logo_Final.jpg" style="color: #0d72c7; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="With nowhere to stay, Assyrian children try to keep warm during Iraq's long winder. Jeff Gardner, Picture Christians Project, www.picturechristians.org." class=" wp-image-8323 " height="180" sizes="(max-width: 270px) 100vw, 270px" src="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Assyrian_Homeless_Boys_Snow_Winter_Logo_Final-300x200.jpg" srcset="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Assyrian_Homeless_Boys_Snow_Winter_Logo_Final-300x200.jpg 300w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Assyrian_Homeless_Boys_Snow_Winter_Logo_Final-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Assyrian_Homeless_Boys_Snow_Winter_Logo_Final-225x150.jpg 225w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Assyrian_Homeless_Boys_Snow_Winter_Logo_Final-402x268.jpg 402w" style="border: none; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="270" /></a><div class="wp-caption-text" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; padding: 0px;">
With nowhere to stay, Assyrian children try to keep warm during Iraq’s long winder. Jeff Gardner, Picture Christians Project, www.picturechristians.org.</div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
At the age of sixteen, the Lord met Nastaran Farahani in a vision. While in the shower, she heard a voice telling her to repent and that she would be washed of her sins. Though at first she did not understand, God would soon make clear the message he had sent. Around the same time, Nastaran’s sister, who was then living in Holland, also received a message. A woman she knew came to her after having a vision in which she saw three women sitting on a bed, putting their trust in Christ. This friend gave her a Bible and told her she must go visit her family in Iran.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
“When she got home to our family, she opened her bag and brought out a Bible and said, ‘I believe in Jesus.’ And all my family started to cry,” says Nastaran. “And I told her, ‘I believe in Jesus, I know Jesus, I do not know how, but I know him. I do not have any questions.’”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
In spite of their initial reaction, the Lord was at work in the Farahani family. Within two months both of her Muslim parents came to know Christ as well and they all began to attend church. At the time, church buildings were still open in Iran, but when persecution came, they were no longer safe. The family then decided to gather at home, thus starting a house church. This marked the beginning of a long and difficult road for Nastaran. After returning to Iran from Dubai, she and her husband, Yuna Sabet, were arrested.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
“When we arrived, the officer checked our passport and then called my name,” Nastaran says. “He took my bag and started searching. Then someone else told him to take my husband’s passport too. They took us to the separate room with no window and started to interrogate us. Lots of my close friends had been arrested in the past. One was held in jail for nine months. They were constantly telling her that she would be executed. So it was really scary for me.”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
Believing that Christians planned to work against the Iranian government, the officers questioned Nastaran about her cell group. They wanted the names of</div>
<div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_8324" style="background-color: #f8f7f7; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); color: #333333; float: right; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 15px; padding: 5px; text-align: center; width: 190px;">
<a href="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Keeping-the-Hope-Burning.jpg" style="color: #0d72c7; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="An Assyrian Christian refugee, living in Zarqa, Jordan, struggles to keep her faith and hope burning. Thousands like her are waiting to return to their homes on the Nineveh Plain in northern Iraq. Jeff Gardner, Picture Christians Project, www.picturechristians.org." class=" wp-image-8324 " height="270" sizes="(max-width: 180px) 100vw, 180px" src="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Keeping-the-Hope-Burning-200x300.jpg" srcset="https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Keeping-the-Hope-Burning-200x300.jpg 200w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Keeping-the-Hope-Burning-682x1024.jpg 682w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Keeping-the-Hope-Burning-100x150.jpg 100w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Keeping-the-Hope-Burning-166x250.jpg 166w, https://goodnewsmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Keeping-the-Hope-Burning-178x268.jpg 178w" style="border: none; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="180" /></a><div class="wp-caption-text" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; padding: 0px;">
An Assyrian Christian refugee, living in Zarqa, Jordan, struggles to keep her faith and hope burning. Thousands like her are waiting to return to their homes on the Nineveh Plain in northern Iraq. Jeff Gardner, Picture Christians Project, www.picturechristians.org.</div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
members who might have been connected to people outside of Iran and asked her what her plan was. Eventually, they let Nastaran go but kept her passport so she could not leave. Two or three times they called her in for further interrogation and did not release her husband for three months. During this difficult time, however, the Lord sustained her with his word.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
“When I was interrogated, the word of Jesus in Matthew 10:19 came to me,” says Nastaran. “I was so scared and when I’m afraid I cannot talk. But I was given what to say just as Jesus promised. I told them things that would not have come up to me on my own. They kept telling me that I am a liar. He tested me to see if my hands were shaking. He offered me tea but I didn’t drink because I heard many stories about how they would give women something to drink that would make them fall asleep. I also heard stories of them raping women in the jail. And I was so scared of that.”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
When they finally returned her passport, she was told to leave and never come back. In 2011, after years of serving the Lord in many closed countries including Iran, Turkey, Dubai, Syria, and Lebanon, Nastaran and her husband came to the United States. They now live with their two daughters in California, working with Farsi speakers from Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan through church planting. When asked how persecuted Christians feel about their Western brothers and sisters, Nastaran says that they do not feel abandoned, but do believe that they don’t appreciate the religious freedom they have.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
“We know it’s not easy for those in other parts of the world to understand what life is like in Iran or countries like Iran because they live in freedom and they can worship God without the fear of being arrested,” Nastaran says. “However, these days because of the influence of…social media, it’s easier to know and to be aware of the condition of the people who live under persecution. For the same reason people in the West are becoming more aware and are getting more involved in helping their brothers and sisters, which I know is very encouraging to the people in Iran. I do not think the Iranians feel abandoned or uncared by other Christians in the West. Because, as you might know, there was some Christian prisoner who had been released as a result of Christian support in the West. However, they might think that people who do live in free countries do not really appreciate their freedom and take it for granted.”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
Nastaran went on to say that there are many more ways the Western church can show up for their persecuted brothers and sisters, beyond using a hashtag to bring awareness. “You can keep praying for them. I know that there were people praying for me while I was going through that difficult time and it’s really encouraging, when you’re undergoing persecution, to know that your brothers and sisters are standing with you by their support, prayers, and also keeping your situation in the news. The governments like Iran are afraid of losing their face because of the [negative publicity] against them. So spreading the news of persecution can be a huge help and hopefully help release them. There are many ways we can help our brothers and sisters such as writing a letter to them, talking to the government officially, or helping their family outside of prison.”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5625; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<i>For more information, check out Barnabasfund.org, Persecution.com, Christianresponse.org, worldmag.com/iraqaid, Opendoorsusa.org, Servantgroup.org, or E-n.org.uk.</i></div>
celiselotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14744067171511633049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25766689.post-544374385220162582015-12-11T09:38:00.002-08:002015-12-11T09:48:11.017-08:00Garbage City, The Cave Church, and Mama Maggie<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: x-small;">My first published articles! Be sure to check out the January/February issue of <a href="http://goodnewsmag.org/">Good News Magazine</a> for the pretty version. ;-)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Garbage City<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We
were told not to open the windows. Secretly, I was glad because I could
practically see the smell. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For
two days already I had toured Egypt. While I was enthralled by the sheer size
of the Pyramids, amazed at the artistry of the Sphinx, and baffled by the
detail of the statue of Ramses, the trash heaped up on the fringes of nearly
every street appalled me. Refuse lined the Nile River Bed. Layers of plastic
bags, cans, and paper bordered the canals and our guide told us that it wasn’t
unusual to find dead animals floating in it. Worse still, he said, the water
was used for cleaning, bathing, and drinking and the government’s only solution
is to bury the tainted water, to hide away the filth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Still,
this in no way prepared us for Garbage City. As we entered the Zabaleen
Village, located at the bottom of the Mokattam cliffs, our guide rolled up the
windows of our car. The buildings cast shadows over our small group, over the
narrow, trash lined streets. Droves of people waded through the piles. Many
sorted through it, some carried it upon their backs, others drove trucks or
wagons pulled by donkeys; everyone was smudged by dirt and grime of their work.
I’d seen poverty in the U.S. and South America. I’d seen squalor. I’d never
seen anything like this. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Driven
to the area by a bad harvest in the 1940’s, these individuals quickly learned
how to use Egypt’s waste problem for their advantage. While other portions of
the country simply cover up the excess, the people of Garbage City, 96% of whom
are Coptic Christians, recycle and reuse what they collect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My
parents, who are currently living in Egypt for an extended time, describe the
men’s journey into the city. “They load up trash on trucks, if they have them,
or on wagons with donkeys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These animals
journey from the City to Maadi and other surrounding towns, taking freeways, as
well as small roads into the towns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
is amazing to see these little donkeys hauling huge loads that look like
they'll topple over at any moment-right in front of traffic!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Residents
are encouraged to package up their trash separately from the garbage so that
the people can recycle plastics and glass to make things. Both young and old
can be seen transporting huge loads of rubbish through Maadi and Cairo, even
amidst thick rush hour traffic. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I’d
longed to visit this part of Egypt since a friend had informed me of its
existence a few months before. While the pyramids and museums and food all held
their allure, none intrigued me more than this particular group of people. How
did they survive such deplorable circumstances? How did they hold on to hope? I
wanted to see and to understand. I wanted to learn.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We
drove through Garbage City, through mountains of trash, piles of discarded and
broken things and on the other side, carved into the side of Mokattam, the Cave
church rose up against a clear blue sky. The afternoon sun warmed the
sandstone, a sharp contrast to the shadow within the city. No trash here. No
darkness. No smell. Children played and laughed, tourists took pictures, people
smiled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Founded
in 1974 by Father Abouna Samaan Ibrahim, the Cave church, also known as the
church of Saint Samaan the Tanner, ministers to an average of 5,000 people per
worship service. What began as nothing more than an open space for people to
hear the gospel grew by the grace of God into the lofty one now seen covering
an area of about 1,000 square meters. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Discrimination
and hardship mark their lives as the religious minority. Many have fled the
attacks of Islamic extremists. Yet the 4% of Muslims living among them know
they are safe to build their Mosques without fear of violence from the
Christians that surround them. Stories of God’s power, of healing, of miracles,
are on the tongues of those who live in Garbage City, a people who live daily
in the discomfort and dirt but who are also fully convinced of the reality of
the God of the Bible. They look beyond their everyday struggles to the promise
set before them, symbolized in the church carved into the heart of the
mountain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Though
they are afflicted, they are not crushed, though they are perplexed, they do
not despair, though they are persecuted, they are not forsaken, though they are
struck down, they are not destroyed (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). Their perseverance
and faithfulness are a witness to the world, one that God uses to bring many
into His Kingdom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How
do the Coptic Christians of Garbage City live and work and praise God in such
poverty and squalor? As Eric Liddell’s missionary father once told him: “You
can praise the Lord by peeling a spud, if you peel it to perfection.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Book Review: Mama Maggie<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She
is known as the Mother Teresa of Egypt, but it’s unlikely you have heard of
her. A once successful Marketing Executive, recognized for her fashionable
clothing and wit, Maggie Groban gave up glamour and comfort to serve the poor
in Egypt. The book Mama Maggie, written by Marty Makary and Ellen Vaughn, seeks
to tell her story and the stories of those whose lives she touched.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Born
to a privileged Coptic Christian family, Maggie Groban had every opportunity to
live a life of ease. Ambitious and smart, she excelled in both school and
business and eventually went on to teach computer science at American
University in Cairo. In this venue she worked with the brightest of students, encouraging
them to reach their goals, challenging them to consider what they were doing
with their lives. All the while, she contemplated she path she had chosen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
death of her Aunt Teda, a woman who had spent her life ministering to the poor,
served as a turning point. “I had the best students, the smartest in the whole
country,” Maggie said. But in the wake of Teda’s passing, she sensed that “God
wanted to promote me. He said, ‘Leave the best, the smartest, and go to the
poorest of the poor.’” Though she already volunteered occasionally in the
slums, Groban felt the tug to do something more significant, something that
would require great sacrifice on her part. So Maggie exchanged her fancy
clothes and finery for a simple white skirt, shawl, and t-shirt, and with the
support of her husband, Ibrahim, formed Stephen’s Children. In spite of
government resistance – it takes a year to get approval to start a
Non-Government Organization <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">if</i> things
go well – their ministry to the children of Garbage City received generous
support from friends, family, and churches the Grobans had supported in the
past. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Their
first task was to tackle education. According to the book, one study reveals
“the base illiteracy rate in Egypt is 24 percent for non-poor families and 41
percent in poor families.” Moreover, women receive even less education than
men, often not being sent to school at all. They are expected to grow up, get
married, and have children. The ability to read is not considered important for
them, as they do not see it as something that will make them valuable or
socially acceptable. Stephen’s Children works to combat these attitudes that
often perpetuate the cycle of poverty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Using
a Montessori school model, Mama Maggie established schools for children as young
as preschool age. Here they are given a basic education and taught about
hygiene, as well as their religious heritage, whether Christian or Muslim.
Families who attend the schools are also given access to free medical clinics.
Many of her students eventually go on to her vocational schools, where they
learn to work on looms or make shoes. “In these settings,” the book says. “They
could begin a new way of thinking and living, a bit of empowerment rather than
shame and dysfunction.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
next step Stephen’s Children takes with its students is the bi-annual summer
camp in which the children can escape from their difficult home environments
for a few days. As Mama Maggie’s assistant Youssef says, “We can harvest what
we’ve been doing all year.” Stories of repentance and healing mark these
events. Children are given the opportunity to learn, to discuss their
struggles, to sleep in a bed. They are taught to dream big dreams. Many are
rescued from abusive home lives. Some are convicted of the abuse they have wreaked
on others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">After
twenty years of daily working in the poor cities of Cairo, raising awareness
all over the world, and being nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, Mama Maggie
has started to draw back and allow others to take over. Those she has poured
into are now stepping up to take the reigns and continue the mission to the
poor, to carry out Maggie Groban’s God-given vision. “I want to go on with our
work for the poor more and more,” she says. “Until it spreads all over Egypt,
the Middle East, and the whole world, to make a better future for
humanity-especially the children. This is the real love story, the one that
lasts forever. How many love stories on earth end or change within just a few
years? As we set our minds on God, who loved us, and gave himself for us, we
are filled up. In the poor areas, we provide simple work, but with great love.
We draw a smile in the heart and spirit of every deprived child. I hope this
goes on from generation to generation to generation.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<br /></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>1373</o:Words>
<o:Characters>7828</o:Characters>
<o:Company>Good News</o:Company>
<o:Lines>65</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>18</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>9183</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>14.0</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
celiselotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14744067171511633049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25766689.post-24820616200079572742014-12-23T21:37:00.001-08:002014-12-23T21:37:14.327-08:00The Lights of Christmas<div style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">
I have always been afraid of the dark. Since childhood it has hovered over me as a dark entity, solid and real like some sort of demon just on the edge of my vision. It left me not with the exhilarating thrill that rushes up through the stomach and into the heart, the kind that makes one vibrate with life, but rather the sort of sick wrongness th<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">at reeks of the stench of death. I tried night lights as a child but they only seemed to manipulate the dark. It bunched in corners and gathered behind doors, looming, waiting for its dark friend sleep to draw me under and claim me as a victim. The presence of a brother, a father, a mother, a friend was the only thing that robbed this monster of its solidness, banished it to its true form. I cowered alone but found strength with others.</span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">
<br />
This has followed me into adulthood, like a second shadow clinging to my being. It has brought friends along with it; exhaustion, desperation, depression, guilt. If I truly trusted the Lord I would not fear. How can I say I love Him when I let the darkness rob me of my peace. I am a failure, a fraud, a hypocrite. This darkness has become my accuser and I have listened to it, allowing its words to drown out all other voices. Like a corpse crushed at the bottom of the sea, when this darkness comes I feel utterly helpless.<br />
<br />
But I am not a corpse, and, as John 1:5 says, "the darkness has not overcome" the Light. My journey is slow. It ebbs and flows. One night I sleep in peace, the next I stare at the ceiling, pumped full of sickening adrenaline, but there is forward progression. I am seeing the Light of the world pushing back the dark that has always hunted me, and not just brushing it into corners or behind doors but revealing His Lordship over it. The dark is not an entity on its own, it has no power that was not given it, and it will not overcome. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtOMu06T9R-FpvUIzQL8KhUhXumTHTGTVVIh3vOp6IHzN8htG3WjUrlUSObx1DiSvgujA0j4ZEySU-J6bjNmnPC5Es5YpAJTQCtUouVsbF6u6_XlcL64oS_pxawaAVSjNJlGWn/s1600/bg1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtOMu06T9R-FpvUIzQL8KhUhXumTHTGTVVIh3vOp6IHzN8htG3WjUrlUSObx1DiSvgujA0j4ZEySU-J6bjNmnPC5Es5YpAJTQCtUouVsbF6u6_XlcL64oS_pxawaAVSjNJlGWn/s1600/bg1.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
As I was driving home tonight from babysitting, I took a moment to wind through my neighborhood and look at the Christmas lights. Because we are not allowed streetlights in Fullbrook, the stars are starkly visible on a clear night, but during the advent season thousands of twinkling strands spread their light together. They glow with a warmth that is felt even in the Texas heat, with the reminder that the Light of life came into our darkness to slay it and cast it down.<br />
<br />
John 1: 1-18 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.</div>
celiselotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14744067171511633049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25766689.post-56066516700972793812014-08-27T09:10:00.002-07:002014-08-27T09:11:27.016-07:00Lessons from a Facebook Status <div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This past week,
a friend of my posted a status on Facebook that caught my attention and started
an epically long chain of comments. In
her status she posited a suggestion that once a year we ought to be able to
post whatever we are thinking rather than the passive aggressive sorts of
things we often share with any and everyone who will listen (or in this case,
read). It struck me as I scrolled
through people’s responses (as well as my own) that the majority focused on
what drove us bonkers about others. From
text speak to grammatical errors, carpool line cutters, and the excessive use
of selfies each person gave vent to their anger and frustration over somewhat
trivial issues. Most of it made me
laugh, quite literally, out loud, but a lot of it also convicted me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglrTaoBzFtc3dJyWSjtSO0Shu70Sms9RXFFxXB1ylYoLi7LTVIFq_mEBM5mAu9TunpCi-Xjh_zyoubg-CrJrUIHUB6iNOBPkYT1dpEegIDTknnXInLxX-GEVSJ5jdOIcqldJbz/s1600/Wednesday+Blog+Pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglrTaoBzFtc3dJyWSjtSO0Shu70Sms9RXFFxXB1ylYoLi7LTVIFq_mEBM5mAu9TunpCi-Xjh_zyoubg-CrJrUIHUB6iNOBPkYT1dpEegIDTknnXInLxX-GEVSJ5jdOIcqldJbz/s1600/Wednesday+Blog+Pic.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As I read
through the comments I noticed a two things: I do many of the things that
irritate others, and others became defensive of the things they did that
irritated me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, I have a
personal, fiery, hatred for text speak, and while some agreed with me, others declared
proudly that they used it all the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>On the flip side, one person dumped on adult high-fivers, an action I
may or may not participate in on a daily basis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It sort of
embarrassed me a little.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I think
that’s a good thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seeing other’s irritation
at things I did rather cooled the flame of my own annoyance towards personal
pet peeves; not that I suddenly became ok with them (good grammar is no
laughing matter ;-)) but I discovered a little more grace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I think it’s the
same way with sin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Do
not judge so that you will not be judged. <b>2 </b>For in the way you
judge, you will be judged; and [<span style="color: #4f1512;">a</span>]by your
standard of measure, it will be measured to you.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Matthew 7:1-2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I can be such a
Pharisee sometimes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Growing up in a
Christian home and being born with the insatiable desire to please everyone
around me, I have always been a “good” kid who cringed at the thought of
challenging authority figures or getting mixed up in the drama my friends
always found themselves in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d been
taught that I wasn’t righteous, that Christ’s sacrifice alone made me
acceptable to God, and I would have told you I believed it, but quite frankly,
I don’t think I really did.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Then the mirror
got turned around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God began to shine a
spotlight on the ugliness in my heart, the rottenness of my motivations, the
untrusting fear that lead me to protect myself in any way possible and drove me
from deeper relationships…the stench of death was and is so overwhelming that
it often knocks me to my knees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
sucks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t like seeing myself for
who I really am, twisted and bent by sin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But as the whitewash is peeled away I find my heart becoming more
gracious towards others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like the
situation with my pet peeves I continue to hate sin; it’s a cancer, it’s not
God’s best, it poisons everything around us, but the Pharisee slowly shuts his
mouth and my standard of measure is altered significantly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Do you ever find the fire of your fury cooled when your own sin comes into view?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--[if !mso]>
<style>
v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style>
<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Georgia;}
</style>
<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1027"/>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1"/>
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My prayer is
matched with a promise, that “He Who began a good work in [me] will perfect it
until the day of Christ Jesus.”
(Philippians 1:6)</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-SsZCvgHzmWw%2FU_4CtSjPFKI%2FAAAAAAAABf4%2FAKoROqMw0Cc%2Fs1600%2FWednesday%252BBlog%252BPic.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglrTaoBzFtc3dJyWSjtSO0Shu70Sms9RXFFxXB1ylYoLi7LTVIFq_mEBM5mAu9TunpCi-Xjh_zyoubg-CrJrUIHUB6iNOBPkYT1dpEegIDTknnXInLxX-GEVSJ5jdOIcqldJbz/s1600/Wednesday+Blog+Pic.jpg" -->celiselotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14744067171511633049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25766689.post-48885372345429104262014-08-20T19:19:00.002-07:002014-08-20T19:19:50.683-07:00Lessons from Potty Accidents<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTJrBWRTBOvLWHBqAjWAS15aTiQmq-Hp_jd2etrd3QNFSdPXlRT7gI-89_nVSUAiWinrHjAwXS5d3wlhBrv1ZLkCijnU0_dGbeGRVb0fVOYhoxGhOqPxlUNiwsc9uCk0As_RnP/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTJrBWRTBOvLWHBqAjWAS15aTiQmq-Hp_jd2etrd3QNFSdPXlRT7gI-89_nVSUAiWinrHjAwXS5d3wlhBrv1ZLkCijnU0_dGbeGRVb0fVOYhoxGhOqPxlUNiwsc9uCk0As_RnP/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" /></a>This week was a week of beginnings: first days of kindergarden, new jobs, inservice for teachers, and for me, my first, official class (complete with my second pair of tap shoes). Nerves abounded. Unlike some of my friends I was not sending off my little one into the hands of another adult, rather, I was the aforementioned adult (so-called). Worse still, with the baby classes mothers come to watch, fishbowl style. What if they on't like the way I teach? What if I have to keep one from falling in their tap shoes and the parents think I grabbed their kid too hard? What if I slip on my own tap shoes and fall myself? <br />
<br />
What if a kid pees on the floor?<br />
<br />
Oh the things you learn on your first day. <br />
<br />
<i>"Teacher, look!"</i> The puddle was already there by the time my attention was caught. My eyes went immediately to the shelf upon which might be paper towels but I saw none; no trash can either. Time for plan B. <br />
<br />
<i>"Ok, go see mommy, it's ok, just go see mommy. And let's all stay on this side of the room…"</i><br />
<br />
I spent the rest of the class attempting to keep three year olds from stepping, hopping, and "snow-angeling" (is that a word?) in the puddle. It's amazing how children migrate towards the things they should be avoiding. But I guess we don't change all that much, even when we get older. Whether it's eating food that's not so good for us, wasting time watching twenty hours of Netflix, or pure and simple sin, we chase after (or marinate in) things that are detrimental to us. Worse still, the more we feed ourselves these things, the more we develop a taste for them. <br />
<br />
<i>"Oh honey, let's keep your feet out straight so they don't get wet!"</i> (Read: don't snow angel your feet into the puddle of urine.)<br />
<br />
<i>"What is it?"</i> (referring to said urine)<br />
<br />
<i>"Oh it's nothing, let's bunny hop."</i><br />
<br />
I think we do this sometimes because our attention span is about as short as a three year olds and our vision just as limited. God tells us something is not His best for us, but all we want to do is stomp around in it. He's just being unfair, He's just a spoil sport. We forget that our Creator knows what we truly need, and that when He gives us commands it is because He cares for us. <br />
<br />
Thankfully, He is a gracious God Who hears our prayers.<br />
<br />
<i>"Ms. Courtney, did she have an accident?"</i><br />
<br />
<i>"Yes, but it's ok. Sweetie I never mind if you have to go potty, just let me know next time."</i><br />
<br />
"Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice deeds of wickedness with men who do iniquity." Psalm 141:3-4<br />
<br />
I am really excited to work with these little ones, potty accidents or no, and I am looking forward to learning many, many lessons from them in the near future. Pray that God will use me in their lives as well.celiselotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14744067171511633049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25766689.post-10384815294175332752014-08-13T15:33:00.001-07:002014-08-13T15:33:17.432-07:00Diving Back In Amidst the MadnessIt has been about two months or so since I last devoted any time to my blog. I made no decision to stop writing, there was no grand event in my life that drew time or energy from me (unless you count writing my final paper for apologetics and moving out to my parents house)…<br />
<br />
I just. <br />
<br />
Sort of.<br />
<br />
Stopped. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Rx3-lfiMbpM_1IQwS6L3uY2VkR48G0U_gBQHKU5IP4I_cMRS2s9mYv2EiKdokN_uqsMlYdAvb4vddsj3eSihQ8NTCo9yM9xW3g6GdkyXljgGht573DyGGn7b1p54go6ZXpzm/s1600/10407548_10104959884648284_6740061128377706961_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Rx3-lfiMbpM_1IQwS6L3uY2VkR48G0U_gBQHKU5IP4I_cMRS2s9mYv2EiKdokN_uqsMlYdAvb4vddsj3eSihQ8NTCo9yM9xW3g6GdkyXljgGht573DyGGn7b1p54go6ZXpzm/s1600/10407548_10104959884648284_6740061128377706961_n.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>Every time I tried to write felt like an upward battle, an actual, physical struggle, and rather than doing the wise thing by pushing through the block, I raised a white flag and gave up. So here I am again, trying to remain faithful to my exercise in writing, hoping to be more consistent even when things get busy at my new job (woohoo!). <br />
<br />
In June I was offered a position at a dance studio in Katy. They are branching out into Fulshear (five minutes from my parents house, which I am taking care of while they are living in Egypt) and I will be teaching little ones ballet, tap, and jazz. In spite of a few nerves (I haven't taken tap since I was about their age, 3, and I took a very small amount of jazz in high school) I am super excited at the opportunity to help these little ones learn how to dance. My prayer is that the Lord will use me in their lives and the lives of their parents; that I will be a witness by patience and gentleness and that these things will give me the opportunity to share the reason for the hope that I have (1 Peter 3:15). Thankfully, the Lord can use even His most banged up and broken tools to do great things.<br />
<br />
And our world is so broken. The last few days have been sad, painful. News of turmoil for the church around the world, the suicide of a beloved comedian, the murder of a close friend of one of the families<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8_V1vLoK7lCLXlgnutFlhZ5rIoHWtlpYE6cxigI56KR6lzPeuGOAS43IQ5n8oiPMaPdaBnHajlHcged6oEfs1jg4BUSfJU79sB1s2bepephz1DgaIKH5vNm9mPKYKY3FtyD6y/s1600/10570377_10105233784885014_8682089818424784837_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8_V1vLoK7lCLXlgnutFlhZ5rIoHWtlpYE6cxigI56KR6lzPeuGOAS43IQ5n8oiPMaPdaBnHajlHcged6oEfs1jg4BUSfJU79sB1s2bepephz1DgaIKH5vNm9mPKYKY3FtyD6y/s1600/10570377_10105233784885014_8682089818424784837_n.jpg" height="320" width="289" /></a></div>
at my church…our world is not right; our world is damaged, and sometimes, even as the children of God, things seem hopeless. <br />
<br />
In Jeremiah 50:6-7, the Lord says through His prophet,<br />
<br />
“My people have become lost sheep;<br />
Their shepherds have led them astray.<br />
They have made them turn aside on the mountains;<br />
They have gone along from mountain to hill<br />
And have forgotten their resting place.<br />
“All who came upon them have devoured them;<br />
And their adversaries have said, ‘We are not guilty,<br />
Inasmuch as they have sinned against the Lord who is the habitation of righteousness,<br />
Even the Lord, the hope of their fathers.’<br />
<br />
I think as the church we need to look to this passage and consider Israel's plight, especially in dark times. God gave His people the land of Canaan as a place of rest. Why was it their place of rest? Certainly because the Lord defeated their enemies, of course because they were no longer slaves, and absolutely because He'd made them prosperous, but I think the deeper reason is because that is where He chose to reside in a very special way. God is "the habitation of righteousness". This word is often misunderstood, I think. We view righteousness typically as a set of rules and regulations, or self-righteousness as prideful, holier than thou art living, but when broken down, righteousness means "the quality or state of being just or rightful." <br />
<br />
Think about that. <br />
<br />
Injustice permeates our world with the blood of the weak and powerful alike. Wrongness twists and bends the bones and joints of every aspect of life. But in God righteousness lives and breathes. All that is as it should be dwells within our Creator. There is no shadow in Him. Therefore, to reside in a land in which God's special presence had been placed meant to reside in a land of rest. We can't rest when things are wrong, when we feel in our souls that things are bent and out of place. It is only in the presence of the Righteous One that we are able to give up worry, and hope for the day when He has made straight that which we have made crooked. <br />
<br />
It's hard to find space for this sometimes. Our days are so full, crowded with things both meaningful and ordinary, but even in the chaos our souls can find rest in <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi178AQXbxb7YDJva0RN5wGlRxeZ1srDUL7HWajuKopcAevtyKJTe1k15DZo-dq-9tHIQe_pJQwrZqdLRD5ijEZaO5pMjHtpUav3aeeG0TKIOE-0jRgVLdGBDuakQ9kCDe316NT/s1600/tumblr_ldadxxEFVN1qdlkfdo1_500.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi178AQXbxb7YDJva0RN5wGlRxeZ1srDUL7HWajuKopcAevtyKJTe1k15DZo-dq-9tHIQe_pJQwrZqdLRD5ijEZaO5pMjHtpUav3aeeG0TKIOE-0jRgVLdGBDuakQ9kCDe316NT/s1600/tumblr_ldadxxEFVN1qdlkfdo1_500.png" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
prayer, in the remembrance of God's word, in the quiet whisper that so often reminds us that He is there. I'll be honest, this doesn't always make everything ok right away; traffic is still frustrating, my sin still casts a shadow, and work is still sometimes hard, but it is like a deep gulp of air in the middle of a hard race. You're halfway through and you just don't think you can keep running, your muscles burn, your joints are aching, and your lungs feel raw from exertion, but you see the crowds cheering you on and you take that deep breath sending oxygen to your blood cells and then, suddenly, you can carry on when you thought you were done.<br />
<br />
Take courage, dear friends, and find rest in the Creator of all things, our "habitation of righteousness".celiselotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14744067171511633049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25766689.post-90074846831403213002014-06-09T20:09:00.000-07:002014-06-09T20:09:03.062-07:00CherishedI wrote last week about how well my parents pampered me on my birthday; this week, I show how my sweet friends cherished me and helped me celebrate my 29th year...<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9OEMDS95O8Ju1QTxa_1csCbNxLX4fseTA5xoSQqHEPAmsWNuZGDPVGNXRBs4GQL0q6gJ-U86Wscw2hLUxnAKAEzTZWh3UAtAjqZ3S29a6ysPaxw_tWhYqOrf7lF9mIYATufqh/s1600/unnamed-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9OEMDS95O8Ju1QTxa_1csCbNxLX4fseTA5xoSQqHEPAmsWNuZGDPVGNXRBs4GQL0q6gJ-U86Wscw2hLUxnAKAEzTZWh3UAtAjqZ3S29a6ysPaxw_tWhYqOrf7lF9mIYATufqh/s1600/unnamed-1.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At Babaloo's, enjoying a very geeky cake</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT8BF-DIWFe3VdlJ9xrPXi8eF0Xjc6HJz2j-Cet9Ef0w2oW0LJXe-LZoJGZ6oo3EYP9bXfjvnjek0vX2VisW2yyPaWD-0QJu6YkqEyq0RPpmWV5I5iB5D7xVCVJAqqg9Yq8M9c/s1600/unnamed-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT8BF-DIWFe3VdlJ9xrPXi8eF0Xjc6HJz2j-Cet9Ef0w2oW0LJXe-LZoJGZ6oo3EYP9bXfjvnjek0vX2VisW2yyPaWD-0QJu6YkqEyq0RPpmWV5I5iB5D7xVCVJAqqg9Yq8M9c/s1600/unnamed-2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Up close shot of the Tardis cake…if you don't know what the Tardis is, then you are clearly not as geeky as I am…and I am so, so sorry</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5AYw8p5tVV-vEabzc4RvcvdBh6t2mksv5Ii0pY4YhUptCHQEKIwDciTRnrxnDkHk6vhPpU8MziJGmqFFkwWuslDZLjWrZz0Z730hQsW68Kj-kiS7cBoXJEsrDlXyaXxriY0oA/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5AYw8p5tVV-vEabzc4RvcvdBh6t2mksv5Ii0pY4YhUptCHQEKIwDciTRnrxnDkHk6vhPpU8MziJGmqFFkwWuslDZLjWrZz0Z730hQsW68Kj-kiS7cBoXJEsrDlXyaXxriY0oA/s1600/unnamed.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The girls and some of my favorite waiters around!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
celiselotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14744067171511633049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25766689.post-86864749774502401872014-06-02T20:40:00.000-07:002014-06-02T20:40:01.689-07:00The Year 29So close to thirty, so far from maturity. Tonight, I leave you not with lamentations of time wasted, hopes deferred, but instead, with times cherished, with a reminder that I am, undeservedly, unabashedly loved...<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKZ2JqDdEH8C8GVY9wHBGTQNy6ANj_rKRdNhd5eZt0XxSe2ybyiy4Gl2wiVjvnvOgtzrzElbs9Yf3RluHjajtg3_8BFgvsjpTHK93kSJ8etzMSGdTT3iDMdiNDQ4-bzqjLQpI_/s1600/140602_0000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKZ2JqDdEH8C8GVY9wHBGTQNy6ANj_rKRdNhd5eZt0XxSe2ybyiy4Gl2wiVjvnvOgtzrzElbs9Yf3RluHjajtg3_8BFgvsjpTHK93kSJ8etzMSGdTT3iDMdiNDQ4-bzqjLQpI_/s1600/140602_0000.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The best crab cake…ever.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7H5pi5Wkl7zYkf5Xo1PewzKncGJVfwl0bfEp9ALl6_z8dB-u5EOZUACSydF-gQzjr5wbz-1_wgDkFouQ1_FX1Qc1IKsn7L3ameJOhWl801yOiTEbG20NFEFkD4WRKcuOa24IT/s1600/140602_0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7H5pi5Wkl7zYkf5Xo1PewzKncGJVfwl0bfEp9ALl6_z8dB-u5EOZUACSydF-gQzjr5wbz-1_wgDkFouQ1_FX1Qc1IKsn7L3ameJOhWl801yOiTEbG20NFEFkD4WRKcuOa24IT/s1600/140602_0001.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flowers from my favorite waiter, Gus!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqGgbgLxlshmwfUIWTu8kRBuWsbGNv8yPBg86G3W3UpR7hyR9U_EFus7J9UpDDC4p2j3f-IesfU7bWHLbOj34SM4ltHlNysP1-XxKAbTDKv7WXkozkCgAQHOdG_pxl7HUihXlM/s1600/140602_0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqGgbgLxlshmwfUIWTu8kRBuWsbGNv8yPBg86G3W3UpR7hyR9U_EFus7J9UpDDC4p2j3f-IesfU7bWHLbOj34SM4ltHlNysP1-XxKAbTDKv7WXkozkCgAQHOdG_pxl7HUihXlM/s1600/140602_0002.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A special birthday cake!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiviX4NZno3RfutihCkaYAXHP5Sv8qK3FxwDP97X9-UJ2hUaiRxGgKUTj_5pB_JnbrPk0_kToXzvVQUBVTUTg-XW0iDa3R2JB4pF2CuwlEC6bUIcU4L0mU1txwtofGScQSOIM0e/s1600/140602_0003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiviX4NZno3RfutihCkaYAXHP5Sv8qK3FxwDP97X9-UJ2hUaiRxGgKUTj_5pB_JnbrPk0_kToXzvVQUBVTUTg-XW0iDa3R2JB4pF2CuwlEC6bUIcU4L0mU1txwtofGScQSOIM0e/s1600/140602_0003.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5cBYZ93x7bd3uUo-FGjucXXCKgy6e7biasF2E-KVDOYb4Dw0gGPfHd_LVrO1SzIEepIFIykwPmPOhq1JHPkf8KEX1b-zYSid5qJwzR82bTCxqTD828R7qG6UGvMnWcbf_-raM/s1600/140602_0004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5cBYZ93x7bd3uUo-FGjucXXCKgy6e7biasF2E-KVDOYb4Dw0gGPfHd_LVrO1SzIEepIFIykwPmPOhq1JHPkf8KEX1b-zYSid5qJwzR82bTCxqTD828R7qG6UGvMnWcbf_-raM/s1600/140602_0004.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gus, the man.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrfZ62pzuHg_5xyMeqBI3QSodNunisaUQWMCJZdgM1abaWYq_HhDkeYM6OmwD72jUBFu0ZBIfyfjKSZZN2IhuFWNXi-sqRNC9qW8RDy3xIKEcFAiZ5ATtFMpbEES1_U6yNiQG_/s1600/140602_0005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrfZ62pzuHg_5xyMeqBI3QSodNunisaUQWMCJZdgM1abaWYq_HhDkeYM6OmwD72jUBFu0ZBIfyfjKSZZN2IhuFWNXi-sqRNC9qW8RDy3xIKEcFAiZ5ATtFMpbEES1_U6yNiQG_/s1600/140602_0005.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He even wrapped my wine for me to take home!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><div>
Thanks mom and dad for a great birthday celebration; and thank you Lynn's for treating me like a princess!</div>
celiselotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14744067171511633049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25766689.post-76940254564730720372014-04-02T07:15:00.000-07:002014-04-02T07:15:51.200-07:00The Lonely Path of Comparison<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I know I shouldn’t complain, other
people have it worse…”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCBtObNuUy-EkhN41pNTMccdI7B2Z04QMgQORm6618HGTwDKRQjs85EdOcLt-c91dw8qjWTTAf609ki8TJwj3773LmXOgSR1asNCDa4HZ4EB-zn1Na5KRjK5f-gEIOOCO0BsyW/s1600/tumblr_m7d4xrMzPm1qc7mh1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCBtObNuUy-EkhN41pNTMccdI7B2Z04QMgQORm6618HGTwDKRQjs85EdOcLt-c91dw8qjWTTAf609ki8TJwj3773LmXOgSR1asNCDa4HZ4EB-zn1Na5KRjK5f-gEIOOCO0BsyW/s1600/tumblr_m7d4xrMzPm1qc7mh1.jpg" height="220" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">My
feet have ached before, but nothing like this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For seventeen years, point shoes rubbed and tore at heels at toes, blood
blossoming out across pink satin, gore tainting elegant beauty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Miles of pavement left inches of
callouses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A dislike for shoes in
general have flattened and spread toes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Doors have severed toenails violently; salty sea waves removed them
gently…but nothing has left my feet as swollen and worn as waiting tables.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Add to it my brilliant decision to take two
classes this semester (100 pages of reading a week for apologetics – help me,
help me!) and there are days where all I can manage is when I get home is a few
minute veg in front of the TV followed by five or so hours of oblivion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">But
how can I be tired?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t have a
family to care for when I come home?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How
do other people keep up with their reading?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>How do they stay sane with a full time job, kids, and seminary?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m weak, I’m lazy, I’m a failure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other people are so much busier, work so much
harder, have so much more on their plate and do it with a flippin’ Crest
commercial smile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have no excuse to be
tired, no excuse to be frustrated, no excuse to be behind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“I think to
have a regular job and be a mom is not as, of course there are challenges, but
it's not like being on set.”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">But at least
married people have partners in their work; as a single, I’m doing it all on my
own, creating a home, paying bills, making life decisions, worrying my family
will end with me because I’m so insanely picky I can’t find the right guy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My life is hard, it isn’t fair, I’ve always
worked so hard, don’t I deserve a break, some kind of reward?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Does anybody
else wrestle with these two mindsets?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On
the one hand, guilt overload bears down, pulling us into despair and often
paralyzing us against productivity and any possibility of deserved rest that
might just restore the energy we need to keep going…while on the other hand,
pride often rears its ugly head, lifting us up above our fellow workers in this
world, destroying camaraderie and frankly pissing everyone off (Oh GP, please
put down the mic and walk away slowly…).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Both roads lead to
the wilderness, and not just a clearing in the middle of the woods with an
awesome little stream nearby and green grass and an awesome view of the night
sky.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This wilderness is dry and desolate
and, above all, lonely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we compare
our struggles to the struggles of others, we will always isolate ourselves,
always.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">There is only
one solution to this struggle, one remedy to this faulty mindset:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">15 </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Rejoice with
those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">16 </span>Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty
in mind, but <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">[<span style="color: #510c02;">b</span>]</span>associate
with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. (Romans 12:15-16).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">We
should neither downplay nor exacerbate your struggles or the struggles of
others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The one leads to guilt, the
other bitterness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, I think we
need to allow ourselves to mourn the effects of sin, give ourselves the right
to be frustrated and stress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus wept
when Lazarus died (John 11); it is not a sin to weep in our struggles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Using the argument that others have it harder
robs you of this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But when you allow
yourself to mourn your own difficulties, an accept that they are, in fact,
difficult without comparing them to others, then you are able to mourn with
others as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Thankfully,
despite our propensity to compare ourselves to one another, despite the
difficulty of rejoicing with those who are rejoicing when we wish their
circumstances were our own, we have a God Who is working for our good, for our
holiness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“Moreover, I
will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove
the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (Ezekiel
36:26)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Georgia;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It
is only by His power that we can love one another, and flee the lonely paths of
comparison.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
celiselotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14744067171511633049noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25766689.post-58190739965649583622014-03-14T22:33:00.001-07:002014-03-14T22:33:42.324-07:00Friday Night Foodie: Facing an Eight Year Old's Fears<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">“No sauerkraut
for me, thanks.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgczRs6VxhBz8BRXT_2b9Yh3mgqzj-n760eb1zYMnI4Y9O2kZ32vDxLpPSKGvXrUS_elr233ZB5z-k2jWsJiU0iNk24_WLynrb-ajhfFX9RTO146KeYp2MnUrrXue-YDaICqDop/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgczRs6VxhBz8BRXT_2b9Yh3mgqzj-n760eb1zYMnI4Y9O2kZ32vDxLpPSKGvXrUS_elr233ZB5z-k2jWsJiU0iNk24_WLynrb-ajhfFX9RTO146KeYp2MnUrrXue-YDaICqDop/s1600/unnamed.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">She wouldn’t
have it; in fact, she demanded it be put on my sandwich, no matter how much I
wrinkled my nose.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">I remembered the
last time I’d tried sauerkraut, hair blonder, curls looser, eyes wider, I
trusted the lunch lady without the cynicism that would settle in later
years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One large, unhindered bite was my
first step towards the wisdom of the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>No amount of carton milk could possibly drive the sour (how many days
old???) taste from my mouth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With as
much determination as an eight year old can muster, I vowed never to eat the
foul substance again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yet, I found
myself again faced with, what I could only remember as, the smelly giant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would try it, but only because she was my
best friend’s mom…only because the family was of German heritage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">It takes hours
to make good sauerkraut, hours and good beer and (if I remember correctly)
bacon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Translucent and rather dull
looking, the eight year old in me could hardly imagine that it would taste
anything other than sour, bitter, and slimy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9SMuoetg-bxkSfA2kgocNlwZuWIgYg3fq-BGV7JGXbHKbh4iaOMs_0bdeOA_LFpFruu46N9j5s3EPMHwifyR9dIN3uXra8VwHi_W7E9Rt5-Wh4ms6scKLdp9A70_2AQ4QDkWP/s1600/140310_0000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9SMuoetg-bxkSfA2kgocNlwZuWIgYg3fq-BGV7JGXbHKbh4iaOMs_0bdeOA_LFpFruu46N9j5s3EPMHwifyR9dIN3uXra8VwHi_W7E9Rt5-Wh4ms6scKLdp9A70_2AQ4QDkWP/s1600/140310_0000.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gluten free bread for me, of course.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The smell of
buttered bread, melted Swiss, and turkey made my stomach growl and my mouth
water…why ruin it with what is literally translated as “sour cabbage”?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Still, retreat
was not an option.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With a polite face at
the ready, I took my first bite.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNSBvbJ2H1aIoYk1VrEABw8yTuV9ozBgHSZyN5nU04MIjWc-iDpBxHfn22LtvxFWjEPbI07P21oP1TYBpGDiZFFMJUgcIl0Nglb3AZ_nY3L9Yoe4nvXWHdqshCTw3PEmd_GAqf/s1600/140310_0007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNSBvbJ2H1aIoYk1VrEABw8yTuV9ozBgHSZyN5nU04MIjWc-iDpBxHfn22LtvxFWjEPbI07P21oP1TYBpGDiZFFMJUgcIl0Nglb3AZ_nY3L9Yoe4nvXWHdqshCTw3PEmd_GAqf/s1600/140310_0007.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swiss, 'kraut, turkey</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3pTpV_UkERA-7FQCjYLWXh6CaQhZalL8yv9aGtxvZB201pu8TJah9zKU7mXPrYK7eG-o5LeeUFxDHatlg_EsAeaKjQcRZBwbpZdC72-3GZZNQ8NKdtm8eonDky4UJUAQqliF/s1600/140310_0008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3pTpV_UkERA-7FQCjYLWXh6CaQhZalL8yv9aGtxvZB201pu8TJah9zKU7mXPrYK7eG-o5LeeUFxDHatlg_EsAeaKjQcRZBwbpZdC72-3GZZNQ8NKdtm8eonDky4UJUAQqliF/s1600/140310_0008.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Reuben </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTh_L5YRKLC9AFnYtCUwWvm1STL2RoPLt0xYN3BDkcuQol-q7aNPqT9qHcljC67yUao8J1cg-6Y6c49nUo9-O_h2U7yQNigK1Hx404q5ZeDjkZ1T-vQhr853wg_HlkSuUQxyD9/s1600/1920498_10104548122687554_111994098_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTh_L5YRKLC9AFnYtCUwWvm1STL2RoPLt0xYN3BDkcuQol-q7aNPqT9qHcljC67yUao8J1cg-6Y6c49nUo9-O_h2U7yQNigK1Hx404q5ZeDjkZ1T-vQhr853wg_HlkSuUQxyD9/s1600/1920498_10104548122687554_111994098_n.jpg" height="320" width="196" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">What I
discovered that day was that there is a world of difference between cafeteria “sauerkraut”
(if it can be so called) and fresh, homemade sauerkraut.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tart, flavorful, and crisp, this topping made
the sandwich instead of ruining it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once
again, I am surprised by food; expectations trumped, childhood aversions
upturned, new memories folded in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
more than a meal; it’s family and friends and fellowship, and I am so very
thankful for it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Thank you, Spitler family, for having me to Oklahoma, and "forcing me" to eat your sauerkraut.</span></div>
celiselotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14744067171511633049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25766689.post-22053708105072676242014-03-06T12:24:00.001-08:002014-03-06T12:24:42.885-08:00The Might of Words<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> “An English Major? Hope you’re ready to ask ‘Do you want fries
with that?’.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdntk9JVrkSoESZofbgAXn7wZsrD5GFBOq6bsdCovhLJqhXYl1PAtLs9umqwMbEZngf4O0ax_Hb7CA3IbNCpgN9EPZTzg09xE0d43ojwCk-S4F_crnVFJXTbPlSGbqzFOKem3k/s1600/blogging-is-mightier-and-more-viral-than-pen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdntk9JVrkSoESZofbgAXn7wZsrD5GFBOq6bsdCovhLJqhXYl1PAtLs9umqwMbEZngf4O0ax_Hb7CA3IbNCpgN9EPZTzg09xE0d43ojwCk-S4F_crnVFJXTbPlSGbqzFOKem3k/s1600/blogging-is-mightier-and-more-viral-than-pen.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m not a
violent person, but at this point in the conversation, I felt ripping his face
off would be an appropriate and reasonable response.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No court would convict me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Crime of passion, right?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It wasn’t the
first time my major of choice had been belittled, after all, I had not only
chosen Creative Writing as my focus but also decided that attending an
Agricultural and Mechanical university was just the place to do it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Year after year Engineers of all types
snickered at my passion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The kind ones
held up a smile supported by decency and asked, with the greatest effort at
politeness, what my future career plans were; the less tactful laughed
outright, suggested I might have nothing more to look forward to than serving
up flash frozen fries.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Words powerful enough to cut like
knives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I wanted <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">my</i> words to be powerful, too, to speak
to individuals, to the masses, concepts, ideas that would bring about change,
would rend hearts, would comfort and convict…I wanted to change the world with
my voice as a mouthpiece for the Lord, for truth…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But words made
me small; shrunk me down until I was tiny, a child looking up at adults, at
betters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My words meant nothing, I meant
nothing; my path was that of a fool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Even the armor of indignation and condescension based on their
“inability to communicate intellectualism” stood little chance against the
arrows of their words…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It only proved
how powerful words can be, how they can mend or break, build or destroy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The old adage regarding sticks and stones
proves to be nothing more than the same armor with which is clothed myself, and
poor armor at that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“…the tongue is a small part of the body,
but it makes great boasts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Consider what
a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the
body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It corrupts the whole body, sets
the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.”</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>James 3:5-6<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I was listening,
as I often do, to wrong voices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was
listening to wrong words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“If you belong
to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">heirs</span> according to the promise.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians+3:29&version=NIV"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Galatians 3:29</span></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I praise you
because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know
that full well.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>Psalm 139:14<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Words
have power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Listen to the right ones.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Georgia;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">True, This!
— Beneath the rule of men entirely great The pen is mightier than the sword.
Behold The arch-enchanters wand! — itself is nothing! — But taking sorcery from
the master-hand To paralyse the Cæsars, and to strike The loud earth
breathless! — Take away the sword — States can be saved without it!</i> – Edward
Bulwer-Lytton </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<center>
<a href="http://kirstenoliphant.com/2014/03/04/small-stories-fifth-edition/" target="_blank"><img alt="I STILL HATE PICKLES" src="http://i1294.photobucket.com/albums/b603/istillhatepickles/storiesbutton_zpsfd8f0b65.jpg" /></a></center>
celiselotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14744067171511633049noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25766689.post-13870464815912655582014-02-26T19:41:00.004-08:002014-02-26T19:41:59.383-08:00Super Late "Friday" Night Foodie (That happened on a Saturday…)Her hands work quickly, much more quickly than mine, the long nailed fingers handling the specially sharpened knife with precision. The pile of vegetables, a mixture of various colors, grows in the corner of the warped cutting board, soon to be bound together by white string, a garnish to flavor the sauce we've been working to perfect for months. This is my father's brain child, my passion, but my mother humors us as we create a recipe found in one of our favorite book series, Nero Wolf.<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1okljTuIGsRKQVZxVn_rcIu9FNraAPh3PvEFfg9HBgWq8M87TjoDPB-LXY1S2iA7Rc5aBu68eC0ZVv3hQK-rGChnzZKL91QQ-mp6MZ97Rvf_W_jiQa00CxS3MU34I29FPyDHv/s1600/140222_0011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1okljTuIGsRKQVZxVn_rcIu9FNraAPh3PvEFfg9HBgWq8M87TjoDPB-LXY1S2iA7Rc5aBu68eC0ZVv3hQK-rGChnzZKL91QQ-mp6MZ97Rvf_W_jiQa00CxS3MU34I29FPyDHv/s1600/140222_0011.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
A wine based sauce, this particular recipe is typically served with poached eggs. My mother hates poached eggs; this time we use steak. </div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsOPqPJAkLm6BLERJ0XSwcayLOE4VtAd6HbeMwTB-G3cTNFWjP7md2mBtQquJgPbLwZU_kx8H8q3rygk_eegLE6DJPX7Vf1gQk3CWXOeJ8XoV0XHjfz4_Afv8YeqcojqfM5F5R/s1600/140222_0012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsOPqPJAkLm6BLERJ0XSwcayLOE4VtAd6HbeMwTB-G3cTNFWjP7md2mBtQquJgPbLwZU_kx8H8q3rygk_eegLE6DJPX7Vf1gQk3CWXOeJ8XoV0XHjfz4_Afv8YeqcojqfM5F5R/s1600/140222_0012.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The last few times this recipe has been attempted, the sauce met one of two ends; chunky and thick with excellent flavor, or thin and somewhat bland. Maybe this time we'll find a happy medium.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Our steaks come off the grill at different times; my father's and mine first, juice pooling on the white china beneath the knife, my mother's second, charred through and ruined in our eyes. </div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD9GpZw4fqT5xWTAR9LoARSCw1mNVMOXfiK-U4EOaJBLyUExfNxkr8jrVGXeiqCO0h4Av9iOJgfmkniEUj6FSUZbipVeF1eBEYerM263nPjhvuzwI3Q7U14lOKN9X8qs5WRrYO/s1600/140222_0015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD9GpZw4fqT5xWTAR9LoARSCw1mNVMOXfiK-U4EOaJBLyUExfNxkr8jrVGXeiqCO0h4Av9iOJgfmkniEUj6FSUZbipVeF1eBEYerM263nPjhvuzwI3Q7U14lOKN9X8qs5WRrYO/s1600/140222_0015.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We serve the sauce atop the steaks and garlic mashed potatoes, paired with my new all time favorite wine; Silverado. </div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjv-nBEsmGiOsWNkzG45uev3rnRBZyXFbCHobVqyz1MyBn6Rb17wOrSY0AC6Mmqn1kjZ5jkG4fIsbuUzbdtR2RwRm78MMySBYB-hvJEWkvzzMUPqDy0RSHcrV5CXqOubsBi0nb/s1600/140222_0017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjv-nBEsmGiOsWNkzG45uev3rnRBZyXFbCHobVqyz1MyBn6Rb17wOrSY0AC6Mmqn1kjZ5jkG4fIsbuUzbdtR2RwRm78MMySBYB-hvJEWkvzzMUPqDy0RSHcrV5CXqOubsBi0nb/s1600/140222_0017.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Perfect thickness, perfect flavor, we all agree that this version was a success, the best attempt thus far as we sit enjoying our meal, the company, and an episode of Nero Wolf A&E put together.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_PlnNBcsv3cBQeBQ9WSqW-PTLVBmOj5jDsLG0rgfZzV-XtrL0OXCsLEoLyyq6XzNs1TruJ0STsN5pxEo0PAz-f53vio5PjR_dofU9TswMtXBpmTXb5VnsAiuw7SreNddzux6Q/s1600/140222_0018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_PlnNBcsv3cBQeBQ9WSqW-PTLVBmOj5jDsLG0rgfZzV-XtrL0OXCsLEoLyyq6XzNs1TruJ0STsN5pxEo0PAz-f53vio5PjR_dofU9TswMtXBpmTXb5VnsAiuw7SreNddzux6Q/s1600/140222_0018.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I might have eaten the sauce straight from the pan…don't judge me.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
But thick or thin, bland or flavorful, I needed that Saturday morning. A lost job, the overwhelming prospect of the future, under a mountain of guilt by no means cured but eased by good company, a good meal, and entertainment. Food is more than ingredients, a meal beyond wine and flour and produce…it is fellowship and experience, it should draw you back to another time like smells and songs and movies that stir up old memories. Even failure can be success when such things bring us together. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
celiselotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14744067171511633049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25766689.post-80045260956893368582014-02-25T18:46:00.000-08:002014-02-25T18:52:52.936-08:00Song in Prose<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Linking up again with <a href="http://kirstenoliphant.com/2014/02/24/small-stories-fourth-edition/">Kiki's "Not So (Small) Stories"</a>. This week the topic is "song". I had planned to try and get super creative, but after having a very difficult week (losing my job, questioning my direction, interviewing, temping, trying to study for my upcoming class</span><span style="font-size: 15px;">…</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">ack!) I decided to try some fiction yet again. This particular piece is one side/perspective of a conversation written as practice with another writer I did recently (hence the lack of her dialogue). So read on, my friends! Hope you enjoy and will forgive my lack of energy this week.</span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span></i>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
***</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
...He followed her out of the kitchen, glancing at the floor as they went to make sure he wasn’t still dripping, and chuckled at her comments about a lack of musical talent. Drew could hardly imagine what it would be like to voluntarily choose not to play an instrument, but then not everyone was wired the same. Piano was what he’d stuck to, but from the time he was a small child any instrument he picked up could be easily mastered. On the other hand, the last time Drew had attempted to take a picture everyones heads had been cut off and the image had been horrifically blurry… clearly not his forte.<u></u><u></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZgG8gb57zZCw0i45tIoQXBnH2ICpPXycmo2eZ5BqOZqoiKCmMCJ6XaDORqeU0tP0XhSixppm58-JirVcRRA5Rr_VgscRIUpTcHT1Li62t-SWmgpH9Hhyphenhyphen5hwnwiPriraMh9B1E/s1600/Piano-piano-20460798-500-281.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZgG8gb57zZCw0i45tIoQXBnH2ICpPXycmo2eZ5BqOZqoiKCmMCJ6XaDORqeU0tP0XhSixppm58-JirVcRRA5Rr_VgscRIUpTcHT1Li62t-SWmgpH9Hhyphenhyphen5hwnwiPriraMh9B1E/s1600/Piano-piano-20460798-500-281.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
When his dark eyes landed on the piano in the sitting room he couldn’t help the grin that spread. It looked almost exactly like the piano he’d grown up with except in slightly better shape. One hand slid across the slick surface and Drew shook his head at her comment about it just being an upright. “It’s perfect,” he said. “Just like the one my grandma taught me on.” He eased down onto the slick bench<u></u><u></u><br />
, always somewhat shy about playing for an audience, and rested his hands on the keys.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Like some sort of ancient spell settling on his muscles, Drew began to play without much thought. His fingers needed little prompting from his brain as the two moved in sink and his eyes slid shut, the tune a soft, minor melody that flowed from the dark clouds hovering above, the kind of music Southern Gothic writers might have set their stories to had they become plays or been put to film. It moved low, suggesting at times that it might brush upwards but never quite reaching that peak, and sweeping on like a low rushing wave. For a moment Drew slipped away from his surroundings, disappeared from that room and from his circumstances, caught in a tide he could not control and would not have sought to, hidden in a space of gray peace he rarely experienced outside of his music…a space Genny called his happy place.<u></u><u></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
That thought brought the lids of his eyes up and focused his gaze back to the girl standing next to him and he offered a grin that preferred not to meet his eyes. “Sorry,” Drew said. “It’s easy to get caught up…” His hands continued to move over the keys, but much more quietly, the tune shifting to a major chord, the pace quickening. Easy as breathing…or at least as it once had been. He could play for hours and never tire, never grow bored, this was his paradise, his safe haven.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<center>
<a href="http://kirstenoliphant.com/2014/02/24/small-stories-fourth-edition/" target="_blank"><img alt="I STILL HATE PICKLES" src="http://i1294.photobucket.com/albums/b603/istillhatepickles/storiesbutton_zpsfd8f0b65.jpg" /></a></center>
celiselotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14744067171511633049noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25766689.post-72359730300265351702014-02-19T15:56:00.000-08:002014-02-23T14:58:40.321-08:00In the Name of LoveEven with Valentine's Day behind us, my mind remains on the subject of love. Perusing my Facebook, scrolling through Pintrest, and spending even a little time on Eharmony, I got to thinking about the difference between love and lust. Romantic love is such an odd dog. Within a family you typically love even the most obnoxious of the bunch, clearly making a choice to put up with their quirks and annoyances; with friends it isn't quite the same, but coming together on that plain makes sense even to my addled brain…but romantic love? A love that often begins with attraction? Lust even? This sort of love kind of shoots over my head. Is it more complicated than hormones? Less? Why does it seem that the guys I'm always interested in are never interested in me and vice verse? Am I too caught up in the attraction aspect? Am I so dang screwed up that lust has become a driving factor in relationships I'm willing to pursue? <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpPqvUn15OEi2js41pvxK3-RN2cF3QJsZDM5Y9ZxAg35NKpRksoWwwl4qWKPEdjeJyq2bPswsUjY8EAWoHe2xZ4chHg2VCcNXCjyk-3xjRmpcjqAbtpUyJJvWlNT7wkdtYZqdn/s1600/broken-tool-flickr-s-dot-benno-300x225.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpPqvUn15OEi2js41pvxK3-RN2cF3QJsZDM5Y9ZxAg35NKpRksoWwwl4qWKPEdjeJyq2bPswsUjY8EAWoHe2xZ4chHg2VCcNXCjyk-3xjRmpcjqAbtpUyJJvWlNT7wkdtYZqdn/s1600/broken-tool-flickr-s-dot-benno-300x225.jpg" /></a></div>
It's very stressful and likely I'm over thinking it, but it did lead me to confront some of the definitions I had in my head. Ultimately I concluded this, that the difference between love and lust is really quite simple. Once the object of lust ceases to satisfy whatever hole it has filled, it is cast aside much like a broken tool might be. The object of love, on the other hand, will not suffer this fate because love holds dear the object itself rather than its usefulness. <br />
<br />
This is how God loves us, how He loves me even though I am a broken and battered tool that might be easily tossed aside. He created me in His own image (Genesis 1:27), knit me together in my mother's womb (Psalm 139:13), and He is working to complete the good work He began in me (Philippians 1:6). <br />
<br />
This good work calls me to love in the same way, to care for those who can do nothing for me, and may even do me harm (Matthew 5:43-48). This is difficult and painful and I fail miserably at it…yet God is patient and brings me to my knees in repentance, humbling and softening me. <br />
<br />
I still don't have an answer about romantic love, it still remains a mystery, but I think learning about the difficult task of love is a good lesson that might one day help me love better in marriage, in motherhood. No matter what, I am thankful for the lesson, and pray that as I continue to walk this difficult road I will be a beacon of Christ's love to the watching world.celiselotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14744067171511633049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25766689.post-65984537117193466412014-02-18T18:14:00.001-08:002014-02-18T18:19:32.298-08:00Family of a Different Kind<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR46JvoeL8U2A1t0nC5a3SSOcsMguiru2IACrIdiAP4SSRpAlSb_4dJ-q_YNZ76HB6zzQkhPnYqDcF14ZEAEcr0bRUGcOYzfnxu3ueH1ou6_rwsohQaf7sugSx4la-uWj9v5uM/s1600/140217_0000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR46JvoeL8U2A1t0nC5a3SSOcsMguiru2IACrIdiAP4SSRpAlSb_4dJ-q_YNZ76HB6zzQkhPnYqDcF14ZEAEcr0bRUGcOYzfnxu3ueH1ou6_rwsohQaf7sugSx4la-uWj9v5uM/s1600/140217_0000.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This is my fridge. Its landscape once bare, barren, now filled with the workings of tiny hands and young minds.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4dn2F-xQDMBQlHc38vFbWo2b900T-0DD3fvSt7h6uQi3zb6_QlkO6gTtjCssp6_ThgC3Q9jXBA79qMy7Pq87H9YPtOyxrV646PaUcneC5haaSWI0PSpWTQa97Djnb1MYIbzpL/s1600/140217_0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4dn2F-xQDMBQlHc38vFbWo2b900T-0DD3fvSt7h6uQi3zb6_QlkO6gTtjCssp6_ThgC3Q9jXBA79qMy7Pq87H9YPtOyxrV646PaUcneC5haaSWI0PSpWTQa97Djnb1MYIbzpL/s1600/140217_0001.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
They are not my children, and yet in a way they are, bound to me by a bond even strong than familial blood.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg49zGVG6ES3vKYmykJe0-ESoDYsjfcuXlVunrBqsBU0FtrdABmUkuj2hG19cX071ZRkz9xvQ9l9VVFzMSE1FwHAJukhGbzvDAFx9eME_lREc0a0FAHrjbls7bd1a2nY2b1rRiK/s1600/140217_0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg49zGVG6ES3vKYmykJe0-ESoDYsjfcuXlVunrBqsBU0FtrdABmUkuj2hG19cX071ZRkz9xvQ9l9VVFzMSE1FwHAJukhGbzvDAFx9eME_lREc0a0FAHrjbls7bd1a2nY2b1rRiK/s1600/140217_0002.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
For these children are part of my covenant family - tied to me by covenant, commitment... </div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji1KeBC9xKlf0k2nFPptUgRMf56Y55q97_8-kspFS_LPkmrdsegkkJhdK-aQ8nZLjBo2F8EN2L4dAergZ8hTX99TfEMLBniZNKUFH3NNoznM4bt96Mkc7U5RMa7O01KQDQul-d/s1600/140217_0003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji1KeBC9xKlf0k2nFPptUgRMf56Y55q97_8-kspFS_LPkmrdsegkkJhdK-aQ8nZLjBo2F8EN2L4dAergZ8hTX99TfEMLBniZNKUFH3NNoznM4bt96Mkc7U5RMa7O01KQDQul-d/s1600/140217_0003.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
They are part of the body of Christ, now by profession of parents, soon by the words of their own mouths, and I have covenanted with the rest of the body to help train them up in the way they should go. Barren though I may currently be, there are arrows in my quiver, children who love, and are loved by me. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="heading passage-class-0" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px;">
<h3 style="font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Romans 12:5</span></h3>
<div class="txt-sm" style="font-size: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">New American Standard Bible (NASB)</span></div>
</div>
<div class="passage version-NASB result-text-style-normal text-html " style="background-color: white;">
<span class="text Rom-12-5" id="en-NASB-28251"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="versenum" style="vertical-align: top;">5 </span>so we, <span class="crossreference" style="vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NASB-28251A" title="See cross-reference A">A</a>)"></span>who are many, are <span class="crossreference" style="vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NASB-28251B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)"></span>one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.</span></span></div>
<br />
<center>
<a href="http://wp.me/p3IFOr-yR" target="_blank"><img alt="I STILL HATE PICKLES" src="http://i1294.photobucket.com/albums/b603/istillhatepickles/storiesbutton3_zpsed9db4c5.jpg" /></a></center>
celiselotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14744067171511633049noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25766689.post-55463442903027670722014-02-14T20:03:00.002-08:002014-02-14T20:03:50.345-08:00Friday Night Foodie: Valentime's!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
My earliest memory of Valentine's Day is at a breakfast table in Plano, TX, a table where I played 'Memory' with my mom and often refused to eat my peas. Other memories rested on the window seat near by; early mornings with my dad who, to this day, shares my struggle with insomnia, but this memory is a little further over. Easter, Valentine's, Christmas, my mother always had something special. I don't remember the specific candy or what she wrote on the card, but the warm light, the smell of scrambled eggs, and the reminder that I was dearly loved reach through the years, brought back to mind by certain sights, certain smells.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
In recent years, this day has become somewhat painful for me, dragged down by the slight jab of bitterness and longing, but the memories from that glass table soften the pain. My goal as of late has been to direct my attention to others, to remember that I can chase away loneliness and bitterness with acts of kindness. My initial plan this Valentine's was to make a heart shaped cake:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaAWYOdu5w4OdTaXlQRqGuFuk0rrKneSFzWAJzGFE4Wh8Vw3Zy7TdN1ptzHxfCmhowCRRwR7UxxyJhkmDa9wmnhJzIwDBfwhCDXP9yOZ55bLyhdhCDce9QMQcMW6fZxmswFE6f/s1600/ae687dea83cce6fc57fb0b632b318e15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaAWYOdu5w4OdTaXlQRqGuFuk0rrKneSFzWAJzGFE4Wh8Vw3Zy7TdN1ptzHxfCmhowCRRwR7UxxyJhkmDa9wmnhJzIwDBfwhCDXP9yOZ55bLyhdhCDce9QMQcMW6fZxmswFE6f/s1600/ae687dea83cce6fc57fb0b632b318e15.jpg" height="320" width="114" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I made two mistakes. The first being that I bought two round cake tins instead of one round and one square, and the second was that I did not go to the grocery store armed with an ingredient list…whoops! (P.S. Thanks everyone for chocolate cake suggestions! Will be trying them next time I go to the grocery store)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
On to plan B: <a href="http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-sugar-cookies/">Sugar Cookies</a>!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTGZFc1u8YM76I0fsk19LIPD2KNZPegp-9Ma6Jo2IEPbh0Tu5kI26tye00n9DzlqgBd-kdbNLMrwPlr79K_A_YOKvDkAP-F4MjJIkloFmhyQoZqYIreHWevQG9YiC3MWqhxvrA/s1600/140213_0003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTGZFc1u8YM76I0fsk19LIPD2KNZPegp-9Ma6Jo2IEPbh0Tu5kI26tye00n9DzlqgBd-kdbNLMrwPlr79K_A_YOKvDkAP-F4MjJIkloFmhyQoZqYIreHWevQG9YiC3MWqhxvrA/s1600/140213_0003.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1 cup of butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjctc3RR_sCb8cWdj9BzPXbMXb2SIYZDrDtFb6B-4_YFlf4Kjad4Udr2xJ1E6gH3sgoyTs2t5HpJNW_RMDf1gB9BJJPfhWF9QbswedL8ycRLtjpdX5qSfUNc5qbCHaUgSg5DrZD/s1600/140213_0004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjctc3RR_sCb8cWdj9BzPXbMXb2SIYZDrDtFb6B-4_YFlf4Kjad4Udr2xJ1E6gH3sgoyTs2t5HpJNW_RMDf1gB9BJJPfhWF9QbswedL8ycRLtjpdX5qSfUNc5qbCHaUgSg5DrZD/s1600/140213_0004.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"It's so fluffy I'm gonna die!" </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifpn_noZkN0ByCYbfYUQYAl9-8cfbFpzwcYFreLWoImYFwzqLFUVurZ7ImdxjHTADl_Rjd8mVtuR_lSOJqWaOoIpcJ46HoBe0yEW3Hs5988xUNxxZEYpH4eXp6FkPVjn-qqtsX/s1600/140213_0005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifpn_noZkN0ByCYbfYUQYAl9-8cfbFpzwcYFreLWoImYFwzqLFUVurZ7ImdxjHTADl_Rjd8mVtuR_lSOJqWaOoIpcJ46HoBe0yEW3Hs5988xUNxxZEYpH4eXp6FkPVjn-qqtsX/s1600/140213_0005.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 egg </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRFv6YyLqGmrXMEnac0HqgcJN_FktGgPujHmgWqlBnWqEExZq_A4ewqYCYA-erXImnEFL0oQPLGGnmpE5JW85Hmbv1fKrbfiPhw_-vliJFDbrAAmiF3DWmzqJDBQueJV_AyNLV/s1600/140213_0008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRFv6YyLqGmrXMEnac0HqgcJN_FktGgPujHmgWqlBnWqEExZq_A4ewqYCYA-erXImnEFL0oQPLGGnmpE5JW85Hmbv1fKrbfiPhw_-vliJFDbrAAmiF3DWmzqJDBQueJV_AyNLV/s1600/140213_0008.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2 3/4 cups of flour - real flour for the office peeps! I ended up breaking down and using my (clean!!!) hands to mix the dough because the flour kept spilling out onto the counter...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsA270w94gX2StW9niLWKZQuRkd1-eM8qPj4_rHotHrunbKq8jB9-1G20D3iM4YMrwECc-59fPxi1qPWX5kv0K9NmraxRt0CjYFXzSqAEZZKsjQqepEWmU1KPzmJ_dGvHgg6X4/s1600/140213_0010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsA270w94gX2StW9niLWKZQuRkd1-eM8qPj4_rHotHrunbKq8jB9-1G20D3iM4YMrwECc-59fPxi1qPWX5kv0K9NmraxRt0CjYFXzSqAEZZKsjQqepEWmU1KPzmJ_dGvHgg6X4/s1600/140213_0010.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No, I didn't make my own icing, I'm not quite as talented as <a href="http://kirstenoliphant.com/2013/11/20/best-sugar-cookie-recipe/">Kiki</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMJK44MTHQRkoho3aQLORbe-jM1UJmsjdhUXI0Jv7dMM5cn9Lub18ogmJQDp_qjsmMDJ9Wb7kdpvSMh6QPCVDkGwOHYlpSSrVXVRB8zHGthPJ7Lyn8Amg1KteXOKAuJnFRX4Zd/s1600/140213_0012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMJK44MTHQRkoho3aQLORbe-jM1UJmsjdhUXI0Jv7dMM5cn9Lub18ogmJQDp_qjsmMDJ9Wb7kdpvSMh6QPCVDkGwOHYlpSSrVXVRB8zHGthPJ7Lyn8Amg1KteXOKAuJnFRX4Zd/s1600/140213_0012.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Purple: the anti-Valentine's color ;-)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfN4arJppHFsV_Wzm_c1PiMW8St7x7O1Gu5_oDaNij0OPszDAxUVKLAbQmwuFSd-J6b0oucgd8DlEddOMWz3LlLz8AY3tBCPw2ot1PSWQ1em_00RxACZbl4qy-72yTN0Opf0qM/s1600/140213_0013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfN4arJppHFsV_Wzm_c1PiMW8St7x7O1Gu5_oDaNij0OPszDAxUVKLAbQmwuFSd-J6b0oucgd8DlEddOMWz3LlLz8AY3tBCPw2ot1PSWQ1em_00RxACZbl4qy-72yTN0Opf0qM/s1600/140213_0013.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soooo many cookies!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The good: I couldn't taste them myself, but everyone in the office claimed they were good!<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The bad: Not a recipe criticism as much as a frosting criticism - the sprinkles didn't much care to stick the way they should have. Next time I'll take my co-worker's advice and pour them in a bowl and dip the cookies…</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The ugly: flour chaos! </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I would definitely use this recipe again!</div>
celiselotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14744067171511633049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25766689.post-20860771985483642292014-02-12T19:44:00.002-08:002014-02-14T03:45:49.754-08:00Dewberry Pie - A Short StoryWhen I first started my blog back in college, I shared some of my fiction. After going to Peru, this blog sort of morphed into more personal life lessons and events. But this week, a little tired from studying and meetings and church and busyness at work (and, let's face it, watching the Olympics) I decided to go back to an old piece of fiction and share it with anyone willing to read. For a little background, I wrote this for my creative writing class in college to get another perspective of an ongoing character named Tommy. All of his stories are told from his perspective save this one. <br />
<div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8iPExb4ZaHAVoLWoEtqtT6TkjoH6yrjzWRPdHECsO4ND5FUllkPv7vGJfd4uz_ZWO5q7Xc6vsxfkgxQGL91yLhv1zEQenrS7kRRtKHXeFSIbQ7NcsCj0Wpq0rXDYBiE5WfRoY/s1600/dewberries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8iPExb4ZaHAVoLWoEtqtT6TkjoH6yrjzWRPdHECsO4ND5FUllkPv7vGJfd4uz_ZWO5q7Xc6vsxfkgxQGL91yLhv1zEQenrS7kRRtKHXeFSIbQ7NcsCj0Wpq0rXDYBiE5WfRoY/s1600/dewberries.jpg" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:PixelsPerInch>96</o:PixelsPerInch>
<o:TargetScreenSize>800x600</o:TargetScreenSize>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Followed by the smell of Chanel
Number 5, Judith Summers rushed into the white painted house grasping her five year old, wild haired son Tommy by the wrist.
So hurried was she that she did not even notice the smell of fresh
dewberry pie that wafted through the living room. But Judith Summers was constantly hurried and
her sister Jo told her so.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> “Child,
you need to slow down,” she said standing in the doorway of the kitchen, fists
on her wide hips. A bright red apron
that stretched across her thick midsection was covered in flour and her dyed
blue hair was just as crazy as her nephew’s.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> “Sorry
Jo, my flight leave in a few hours and you know the nearest airport is an hour
away,” Judith said readjusting the Coach purse draped over her bony shoulder. “Thanks for taking care of Tommy again.” She ruffled her son’s hair and without
another word rushed out the door back into the dusty wind.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Jo
shook her head. “That girl,” she
mumbled. Her eyes, the color of blue
bonnets, turned to her nephew who was teetering backward under the weight of
his ripped, red duffle bag. “Well, Tom
looks like it’s just you and me son.
Let’s get you settled upstairs and then you can have some pie.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Tommy
grinned revealing a large gap between his teeth. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> The
two of them clomped up the stairs, Jo pausing every once in a while to help
Tommy who constantly stumbled over his Superman shoelaces. When they reached his ‘special’ guest room, a
room Aunt Jo had made up pink in anticipation for a girl; Tommy dropped his bag
and flopped onto the frilly bed, a sigh banishing the air from belly in a loud
whoosh.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Jo
looked down at her nephew. His chubby
cheeks were red from heat stair climbing.
She sank down next to him, springs protesting her weight. He looked up at her. By some chance God blessed him with her blue
eyes rather than Judith’s brown ones.
She smiled at him. “Ready for
some pie, hon?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> “Can
I have milk?” The boy asked.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> “Of
course you can honey.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Tommy
jumped off the bed and ran down the stairs toward the kitchen, shoelaces
flopping like dog-ears. Jo followed his
bouncing, blond head. The boy slipped on
her bristly red and blue rug but recovered quickly and darted into the black
and white tiled kitchen. He hopped up
onto one of the wooden chairs surrounding the table. His legs dangled above the freshly cleaned
floor. As Jo sliced into the golden
crust he flicked the fake berries that hung from a wax plant at the center of
the table. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> From
the living room came the rusty song of the old grandfather clock. Tommy’s eyes darted through the door and he
gasped slightly. That clock had always
frightened him.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Jo
placed the piece of pie in front of her nephew on a plastic purple plate along
with a glass of milk. She then sat
beside him with her cup of coffee, black.
“So Tommy, how is school going?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> “It’s
ok,” Tommy said through a mouthful of dewberries and piecrust. He swung his legs back and forth and berry
blood stained his finger tips. “We just
had career day and there was this guy who was a fireman, and a guy who did
something with rocks, and a guy who wrote stuff. It was pretty cool. Aunt Jo, what did my Daddy do?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Jo
raised her brows. Judith hadn’t ever
told him, of course, why tell the child something like that? Mark Summers had died of a heart attack when
Tommy was two. He had been out mowing
the lawn and it just happened. One
minute there, and then the next…“Well sweetheart,” she said. “Your father was a teacher. He taught high school Chemistry.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> “What’s
Chem-ch- what’s that?” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> “Chemistry,”
Jo said rather slowly. “Is when people
study tiny little things that you can’t see with your eyes.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Tommy
cocked his head to the side. He was
still holding his fork in his fist and sucking on one of his very purple
fingers. “What kinda things?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Jo
thought for a moment taking a long sip of her coffee. The tips of her fingers traced the raised
outline of the blue cat on the front of her mug. “Small things,” she said. “You’ll learn about it one day.” She watched her nephew as he licked the
bluish juice from the plate and shook her head.
“Child, were you raised to lick your plate clean?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> The
boy grinned. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> “You
silly boy.” Jo stood and took his
plate. She walked to the sink and ran
the water. Steam rose up into her face
fogging her glasses. “So Tom, what do
you want to be when you grow up?” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Blue
fore finger still flicking the fake berries on the plant and chin resting on
his palm Tommy rolled his eyes up to the white ceiling, Jo’s glow in the dark
stars yellow in the day light. “I wanna
go to the moon,” he said finally.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> “So
you want to be an astronaut?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> “No,
I just want to go to the moon.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Jo
smiled. “How are you going to get
there?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> “Aunt
Jo,” the boy said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “I’m gonna fly.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> “Well
Tom I didn’t know you could fly.” Jo
dried the plate and put it back in the cabinet.
She covered her pie with saran wrap then walked back to the table and
put her hand on her nephew’s head.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> “Of
course I can,” he replied.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Jo
poked him in the ribs. “Oh really?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Tommy
giggled.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> “Come
on kiddo you wanna play outside or something?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Tommy
slid off the chair and ran to the back door.
Jo laughed and unlocked it watching him run outside. The boy turned around and looked at her. “Aunt Jo, can we play with your marbles?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> “Sure
we can dear.”</span></i><o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
</div>
celiselotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14744067171511633049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25766689.post-86576845679375934492014-02-10T22:05:00.000-08:002014-02-10T22:05:01.433-08:00Worshiping Types and Shadows...<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I will never
find love!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Really?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I thought I’d left the overdramatic high
schooler, well, back in high school…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I am totally
content being alone.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Seriously?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"</span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">She's </i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">getting married? But God…but…but…that's not fair!"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sometimes I feel
like I’m multiple people; one minute thanking my "lucky stars" I can have a Sunday afternoon nap with no children or spouse to demand my time...and the next minute shaking my fist at the heavens, bemoaning
the “curse” of “not being loved”, not “being chosen”...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">…Hmm, maybe it’s the
multiple personality disorder that’s scaring the men-folk away…(not to mention my girl friends…seriously guys, stop moving away to stupid places like Norman and Midland!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Oh look!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the girls I mentored four years ago
just got engaged!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And there right
beneath her on my Facebook feed is a chubby cheeked child sound asleep on his
daddy’s chest…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Roses…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">…hand holding…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">…teary eyed
engagements…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">…wedding
dresses…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">…baby belly
pics…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Maybe I should
quit Facebook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Part of me rejoices - I’m
so happy for my friends, for young people taking the difficult step to commit
to one another before the Lord…but part of me aches, longs for the same,
ponders what my dysfunction must be that I’m still alone when so many of my
friends have broken<a href="http://themattwalshblog.com/2014/02/07/i-wasnt-ready-for-marriage/"> “out of the cocoon of adolescence and [gotten] going with their lives</a>”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">...Netflix, you
will be my boyfriend…oh wait, did they just add “Say Yes to the Dress”?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe Pintrest…ooo, is that a wedding board?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I must be a glutton for punishment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">You’re too picky.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">It’s just coffee, so what if you don’t
like him.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">You’ll miss singleness once you are
married.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“…do not be
conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Romans 12:2<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">My problem isn’t
Facebook.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">It’s not that
that girls I once discipled are getting married or that my peers are on baby
number 2.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">It’s not that
there is something so screwed up about me that no man could possibly love me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">My problem is
that I allow my mind to be conformed to this world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I can’t have something, frankly, I’d
prefer that no one else had it either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
cringe just writing that sentence, but sadly it’s true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Worst still, I have made the love of an
earthly man my ultimate goal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again…I
cringe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have many married friends
whose stories alert me to the fact that not only is marriage hard, but guys,
like, think different…and I have a younger brother to prove that guys can be,
like, gross…Yet I’ve elevated earthly romantic love to this pedestal that can
likely only be found in some sappy romance novel…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6g9VdSNQQMSYzOhds4smpF6R9sufDuPegSllYk-6as7mupfWU0gxAKCZvu8DlM_ZRG-d9NzSXP076jQdByLXzt06TLtNZnr5ra-f7o6s_tpoJEdO-RIrqfr6IEdS8Pw-l24TP/s1600/Historical-Romance-Novel-historical-romance-7491579-320-500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6g9VdSNQQMSYzOhds4smpF6R9sufDuPegSllYk-6as7mupfWU0gxAKCZvu8DlM_ZRG-d9NzSXP076jQdByLXzt06TLtNZnr5ra-f7o6s_tpoJEdO-RIrqfr6IEdS8Pw-l24TP/s1600/Historical-Romance-Novel-historical-romance-7491579-320-500.jpg" height="320" width="204" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anybody know where I can get a dress like that?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yikes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Why can’t I
remember the fact that I’m infinitely loved by One Who has no reason to love me
at all? Whose love I forfeited? Why do I long for a stinky
earthly guy who will in all likelihood leave his unmentionables on the floor
and the toilet seat up when Christ died for me the ungodly, while I was still a
stinky Sinner (Romans 5:6, 8)?</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I need to
be transformed by the renewing of my mind, to meditate on the greatest act of
love imaginable…I think that’s the only way I’ll ever stop celebrating
half-heartedly the joys of my friends, and truly be able to say with Paul “…I
have learned to be content in…any and every circumstance…I can do all things
through Him Who strengthens me.”</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">
</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">(Philippians 4:12, 13)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Still, just
after this verse Paul tells the church at Philippi that they had done well to
share with him in his affliction…so pray for me, friends, call me out when I
complain and chose to dwell on the bitterness of this life rather than the joy
to come, help me remember the love displayed on the cross and to stop
worshipping the types and shadows instead of their fulfillment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Georgia;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<center><a href="http://wp.me/p3IFOr-yR" target="_blank"><img alt="I STILL HATE PICKLES" src="http://kirstenoliphant.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/second-edition-button.jpg" /></a></center>
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Happy Valentines
to you all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>celiselotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14744067171511633049noreply@blogger.com11