I got to experience the goodness of God this week-end in a special way. I was a guest at a week-end retreat called the Great Banquet....and it was just that:
Great
and a
BANQUET...
-whens the last time I didn't watch a clock for 72 hours....or TV or answer the phone, etc., etc.?
-whens the last time I sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to Him?
-when was the last time I was "loved on" by the body of Christ? (or, at least let myself be!)
-when was the last time I saw other lives miraculously changed by love, and the power of the Holy Spirit?
-when was the last I felt, believed and knew that Jesus had made a major change in my life?
I don't know when I last experienced those things. What I do know is that God invited me to a feast....and feast I did: at the dinner table of the HOST I LOVE, and I will never be the same!
Monday, October 29, 2007
Friday, October 19, 2007
Thank GOD for Fridays...
Amen and Amen!
I took today off...it kept me and those around me alive! What a week? YIKES...not bad, but just way too busy: too many things going on and too many hours away from my home. So...today, I tried to sleep in (got a call from work: can you imagine what I really wanted to say?); then I did errands and took in a few of my favorite shops. I feel like I was in a bit of a haze, but in a good way!
Tonite I've been putting together a "tail gate" lunch, cause tomorrow is HOMECOMING at IU and I'm traveling down with a friend. I think it will be great fun. I've enjoying making "IU pasta salad" and peanut butter/chocolate chip bars...so relaxing and doesn't require a meeting, a presentation or a memo :-)
After reading some I'm crashing so I can be ready to root for the HOOSIERS...
Again, thanks God...for FRIDAYS!!!!
Friday, October 12, 2007
Ann Coulter and her followers
do not speak for, nor do they,represent people trying to be disciples of Jesus.
I rarely put some one's name specifically in this blog, especially if I'm writing something very negative. However, this is one of those times I'm making an exception. Also, when someone puts themselves out their publicly as their profession, they invite very direct and public responses.
Ann's shtick is to get a rise out of her followers (the religious right) as well as her detractors (the godless liberals) by a variety of means: the titles of her books, the content in the books, her speeches and her interviews. She's perfected this and is quite sought after as a result.
Her latest nasty rendition of a Christian is certainly being discussed all over the airwaves. I just know the enemy is LOVING this. Once again, Christians look arrogant, prideful, close-minded and hateful. Apparently, for Ann this is an "OK" thing, even something to be admired. I hope she will reconsider her approach. My prayers are that God will take this latest, horrific display and:
1. Protect those searching for God from becoming cynical and skeptical: that this would not be one more case they can use against seeking and coming to know God.
2. Open up opportunities for believers to honestly refute Ann's stance by "speaking the truth in love": sharing the gospel by refusing to be a part of this militant, strident approach.
3. Ann herself would experience the grace and mercy of God in such a way that she is humbled and can be used mightily to spread the love of God in a new and honest way!
I don't know when being religious and conservative became such a culture of mean-spirited, rude, and prideful behavior. What I do know is engaging in, or embracing this is not of God.
LORD BE MERCIFUL TO US ALL!
I rarely put some one's name specifically in this blog, especially if I'm writing something very negative. However, this is one of those times I'm making an exception. Also, when someone puts themselves out their publicly as their profession, they invite very direct and public responses.
Ann's shtick is to get a rise out of her followers (the religious right) as well as her detractors (the godless liberals) by a variety of means: the titles of her books, the content in the books, her speeches and her interviews. She's perfected this and is quite sought after as a result.
Her latest nasty rendition of a Christian is certainly being discussed all over the airwaves. I just know the enemy is LOVING this. Once again, Christians look arrogant, prideful, close-minded and hateful. Apparently, for Ann this is an "OK" thing, even something to be admired. I hope she will reconsider her approach. My prayers are that God will take this latest, horrific display and:
1. Protect those searching for God from becoming cynical and skeptical: that this would not be one more case they can use against seeking and coming to know God.
2. Open up opportunities for believers to honestly refute Ann's stance by "speaking the truth in love": sharing the gospel by refusing to be a part of this militant, strident approach.
3. Ann herself would experience the grace and mercy of God in such a way that she is humbled and can be used mightily to spread the love of God in a new and honest way!
I don't know when being religious and conservative became such a culture of mean-spirited, rude, and prideful behavior. What I do know is engaging in, or embracing this is not of God.
LORD BE MERCIFUL TO US ALL!
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Newsflash: "2007" is a bust...OR...is it?
I was talking to a couple of my BFF's this week (I'm being very "7th grade cool with that acronym, "donchano"?) and we agreed that 2007 was a kind of...scratch that because it isn't "kind of"...it IS DOWNRIGHT VERY YUCKY!
Drum roll please, between us we collectively have:lost a job; experienced the death of a beloved father; faced family illness; endured a family crisis; mourned the ending of a relationship; buried a dream; and confronted personal challenges that are too hard to even put down in writing...these are just the BIG ONES!
Two of us had a very nasty stomach flu this week which seemed to simply be the best "footnote" to how we felt! 48 hours of vomiting and diarrhea just seemed to say it all. Con said she decided to simply "endure and write all of 07 off"...I understand the sentiment.
07 has, like any year, had it's "ups-and-downs", but I gotta say lately the downs seem to be tipping the scale. Write it off though, I am not ready to do. There is something redeeming even about the "worst of times"...Not to be polly-anna, but here's what I know:
1. I have a couple of AWESOME friends who just....know...you know?
2. Crap-ola (yes, sometimes that word is VERY appropriate) times make me so grateful for AWESOME times and they definitely help me think about how some people that have crap-ola centuries...whole lives full of awful "junk"
3. Laughing really can make "it"better...if not in total, for just a moment, which can sometimes be what keeps you going (one step at a time, TOTO)
4. Even when you don't think you can bear to learn one more lesson, you can...and it will be worth it
5. God is always God, and God is always good...no matter what.
SO, I embrace 2007...but, 2008 is less than 90 days away...YIPPEEE (a girl needs to look forward, right?)!
Drum roll please, between us we collectively have:lost a job; experienced the death of a beloved father; faced family illness; endured a family crisis; mourned the ending of a relationship; buried a dream; and confronted personal challenges that are too hard to even put down in writing...these are just the BIG ONES!
Two of us had a very nasty stomach flu this week which seemed to simply be the best "footnote" to how we felt! 48 hours of vomiting and diarrhea just seemed to say it all. Con said she decided to simply "endure and write all of 07 off"...I understand the sentiment.
07 has, like any year, had it's "ups-and-downs", but I gotta say lately the downs seem to be tipping the scale. Write it off though, I am not ready to do. There is something redeeming even about the "worst of times"...Not to be polly-anna, but here's what I know:
1. I have a couple of AWESOME friends who just....know...you know?
2. Crap-ola (yes, sometimes that word is VERY appropriate) times make me so grateful for AWESOME times and they definitely help me think about how some people that have crap-ola centuries...whole lives full of awful "junk"
3. Laughing really can make "it"better...if not in total, for just a moment, which can sometimes be what keeps you going (one step at a time, TOTO)
4. Even when you don't think you can bear to learn one more lesson, you can...and it will be worth it
5. God is always God, and God is always good...no matter what.
SO, I embrace 2007...but, 2008 is less than 90 days away...YIPPEEE (a girl needs to look forward, right?)!
Monday, October 1, 2007
Lessons from Randy Pausch
I was blown a way (like millions) by Professor Randy Paush's Last Lecture. Not only did I print out the transcripts, but I watched it on the web...and forwarded to my friends and to my staff. He has encouraged Carnegie Mellon to keep this in the public domain, and not copyright it, and that gift to all of us is priceless...
Here are a few of my favorite thoughts of his:
"Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want"
On "hitting a brick wall: "Brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keeps us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something....because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough. They're there to stop the other people..."
"Wait long enough and people will surprise you...when your pissed off at somebody and you're angry at them, you just haven't given them enough time. Just give them a little more time and they'll almost always impress you."
"It's very important to know when you're in a pissing match. And, it's very important to get out of it as quickly as possible."
"If you are going to do anything pioneering-you will get some arrows in the back"
"When you have had something for 10 years, it's the toughest thing in the world to hand over. And the only advice I can give you is to find somebody better than yourself to hand it to."
"Head fakes"= the best way to teach somebody something is to have them think they are learning something else."
"When your screwing up and no one is riding you, you are in a very bad place"
This from a female colleague: "It took me a long time but I've finally figured it out. When it comes to men that are romantically interested in you, it's really simple. Just ignore everything they say, and only pay attention to what they do. It's that simple. It's that easy."
"I'll take an earnest person over a "hip" person every day, because "hip" is short term, earnest is long term."
"Get yourself a feedback loop and listen to it"
"Decide if your a Tigger or an Eeyore: be a Tigger..."
The title of his lecture is:
Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams1 hr 25 min 21 sec - Sep 24, 2007Average rating: (713 ratings)Description: Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch, who is dying from pancreatic cancer, gave his last lecture at the university Sept. 18, 2007, before a packed McConomy Auditorium. In his moving talk, "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," Pausch talked about his lessons learned and gave advice to students on how to achieve their own career and personal goals.
Here are a few of my favorite thoughts of his:
"Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want"
On "hitting a brick wall: "Brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keeps us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something....because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough. They're there to stop the other people..."
"Wait long enough and people will surprise you...when your pissed off at somebody and you're angry at them, you just haven't given them enough time. Just give them a little more time and they'll almost always impress you."
"It's very important to know when you're in a pissing match. And, it's very important to get out of it as quickly as possible."
"If you are going to do anything pioneering-you will get some arrows in the back"
"When you have had something for 10 years, it's the toughest thing in the world to hand over. And the only advice I can give you is to find somebody better than yourself to hand it to."
"Head fakes"= the best way to teach somebody something is to have them think they are learning something else."
"When your screwing up and no one is riding you, you are in a very bad place"
This from a female colleague: "It took me a long time but I've finally figured it out. When it comes to men that are romantically interested in you, it's really simple. Just ignore everything they say, and only pay attention to what they do. It's that simple. It's that easy."
"I'll take an earnest person over a "hip" person every day, because "hip" is short term, earnest is long term."
"Get yourself a feedback loop and listen to it"
"Decide if your a Tigger or an Eeyore: be a Tigger..."
The title of his lecture is:
Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams1 hr 25 min 21 sec - Sep 24, 2007Average rating: (713 ratings)Description: Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch, who is dying from pancreatic cancer, gave his last lecture at the university Sept. 18, 2007, before a packed McConomy Auditorium. In his moving talk, "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," Pausch talked about his lessons learned and gave advice to students on how to achieve their own career and personal goals.
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