God is a Jealous God

Lately, I have been bothered by a particular thing - we live in a "don't offend me" society. While we are expected to be polite and compassionate, we are also called to be honest. I see this mentality come up a lot when dealing with witnessing to others and portraying a life of Christ likeness.

Yes, we seek to witness to others, but we are so focused on not offending them. Because if we offend them, then they may not want to listen to what we have to say. There must be a balance...

We need to tell them about Christ! He is the sovereign Creator; He has the right to be jealous. He is jealous of our time, our affection, and our worship.

Our jealous God is also a holy God. And our holy God is just. God created us, gave us His Son to lead an example for how we should live and then died to give us hope; God gave us a choice, it's His way or the high way.

In witnessing, we must tell the WHOLE story. Even the bad parts - we are sinners and deserve a life in hell. Without accepting God's free gift of salvation we will spend eternity in hell, but we have the choice to accept Him as Savior and live with Him forever in Heaven. Jesus spoke more of hell than of heaven; if He spoke of hell, so must we. If hell really exists, it would be the cruelest thing in the world to keep it a secret.

So instead of worrying about being the debbie downer, be the bearer of TRUTH!

Throughout the day [while I'm driving, cleaning trays at work, writing discharges on my patients, waiting for my patients to be done warming up/cooling down] I pray...for anything that comes to my mind. No, I rarely stop what I'm doing, kneel, fold my hands, close my eyes, and pray throughout the day. But it's more of a conversation with my God when I'm out and about. Some things are more urgent than others. The more "urgent" things I find myself praying for more than once daily. Well, today I had too many things going on obviously...

I caught myself praying for Jack Bauer to find a solitary island so that he could live life peacefully.

Yes, I am a big 24 fan...and the finale was this past Monday. It was so sad! Mainly, I think, because it was the last season. I guess I am so attached to it that I feel that it's real life.

It made me chuckle. I've done that before though too! I love Karen Kingsbury books and I have caught myself praying for her characters sometimes!

Just a funny snippet from my day that I thought I would share :)

Grasses Go Amish

Yesterday I was reminded how thankful I am for electricity! Our electricity went out yesterday evening for about 3 hours. I had just gotten home from work and was getting ready to log onto my email in my room when all of a sudden my computer shut down, fan stopped, ceiling fan slowed, light went off, and clock started blinking. Hmm....

Well, I really wanted to take a shower because I felt gross and smelled like chicken from work. But my mom wanted to conserve the water because we weren't sure how long the electricity would be out. I thought surely it was just our house that was struggling, but my friend's house didn't have electricity either! I still took a shower despite the lack of electricity. Thank goodness one of their bathroom's has a window so I didn't have to shower in the dark!

Even though I knew the electricity was out, I forgot about all that that entails. No hair dryer, no straightener, no AC, no light, no nothing. So, needless to say, it was interesting.

But, happy ending, the electricity came back on eventually!

Yes, I love when I am the only one home and I can blast my music and sing at the top of my lungs and dance around from room to room using my hairbrush as my microphone.

Don't judge, because if you were honest, you like to do the same thing...

Today, while driving home from work, I saw an old man riding his bike...with swim floaties on his arms.

I guess you can never be too safe

Tonight while babysitting we were playing with Play-doh. Squashy was getting frustrated that his play-doh was getting stuck in the 'spaghetti maker' and made it all messy. I offered an alternative, but I don't think he was sold on the idea. So, he just continued to use the spaghetti maker. He was getting so frustrated! He pushed his play-doh and buried his face in his hands.

Bella just turned to him and said, "you know, you should just do what Miss Lindsey says; she's always right anyways."

Squashy sighed loudly and looked up at me and said, "are girls ALWAYS right??"

Then, little 2 year old Banana replied, "YEP!"

Oh how I love them :)

When I Was Your Age...

I have heard this phrase several times. It bothers me...I don't know why. Following this phrase comes something saying that I have it easier and that I am spoiled. I am not disagreeing, it may be true. But, of course it's gonna be different. I mean, the people that tell that to me are atleast 15 years older than me; I really do hope America has improved somewhat in 15 years. But instead of just ending the conversation short by "agreeing" with them or telling them 'they just don't understand' maybe introduce them to the thoughts and ideas of those born into the digital world. Those classified as Millennials. Those who are between the ages of 10 and 29. A good majority of you who read my posts fall into this category. Recently there have been many sociologists who compare and contrast baby boomers to us as millennials. They hypothesize what the workplace will look like in a couple of years as the baby boomers start to retire as well as the common trends we tend to follow. Doing some research on my own and observing for myself, I have found that they are not that far off...

Our generation is comprised of impatient (microwave ready), experiential learning, multitasking, and electronic consuming individuals. We demand more selectivity, personalization, and customization in the choices we make.

Sociologists say that there is a common trend among millennials in that we value education more than we value family. I agree with this statement; let me explain. Most students graduating from high school, both male and female, attend college. And yet, we go further; we go to med school, we get our mba, we get our master's in education, we get our phd in chemistry. We want to be the biggest and best we can be. We look at "getting married and starting a family" as something that can wait. Most of us are fine with getting married at 30 instead of at 22, right out of college. We would first like to get out there and make a name for ourselves because that's what we value.

According to demographics, the largest birth year for Millennials is 1990. In about a year or two, we can expect a great incline in competition among graduate students and continuing professional education. The standards in the workplace will be set higher; employees looking for more and more credentials. This encourages us to keep going, and going, and going...

We like to have choices. We like things to be immediate. We are very unhappy with limited choices. For example, there should not be just one professor teaching a specific course. The school should have atleast a couple of professor's teaching each course so that we can have the choice of who to take from.

We prefer learning by doing. We almost never read directions. We love to learn by interaction; we find average lectures boring.

We prefer to keep time commitments flexible longer in order to take advantage of other options. We may make decisions last minute so as not to foreclose a better option later (job offers, college acceptance, etc).

We like to make our things personal. Personally, I don't like people to have the same clothing as me. Selfish I know, and I am getting better at it, but it takes all the originality out of it.

We have no tolerance for delays. We want things ready when it is most convenient for us. We require constant feedback to know how things are progressing. We are permeated by instant gratification. We want to learn what we have to learn and then we are ready to move on...we live speedy lives.

We excel at juggling several different tasks at once. It is perfectly normal for me to be chatting to 2 people online, listening to music, watching TV, and doing homework at the same time; it is almost weird not to be doing all these things at once...almost boring.

We expect communication mobility; whether it be online communication, email, cell phone, texting...we love to be able to communicate to whomever, whenever. This allows us to live the speedy lives we like to live, the instant gratification, we even use shorthand and abbreviate to communicate even faster.

Our view on intelligence is changing. When group projects are assigned, everyone wants to be partners with the smart student because they value their grade. Being smart is cool.

We want balanced lives. We don't want to sacrifice our health so we set aside time to exercise. We believe that we need some sort of leisure time each day to 'reward' ourself, so we set aside an hour of "me time". Work is important, but it must not be the only thing that fills our day. We also picture ourselves making more than our parents; living the same [or better off] of a lifestyle than our parents do now right when we graduate from college.

Good bye old school...hello upbeat, multitasked, immediate, and ever changing world!

Fashion 101

Today, while talking to a friend, we got onto the subject of "women and fashion" as he called it. Haha! It makes me laugh. But, by the end of our discussion I think I set him straight on some things. Such as...

- Why women need much more shoes than men. Men can get by on three pairs of shoes: tennis shoes, black dress shoes, and casual shoes. Women on the other hand cannot. They need flip flops to match every outfit. Sandals. A couple pairs of tennis shoes...one pair to workout in and another pair to get dirty. Heels...however many your heart desires and so on. Women can never have enough shoes.

- Matching. One of our roles as females in the world is to help men match their clothing. I am amazed at some of the things men put together. A free tip: just because it's a stripe doesn't mean it goes together. There are differences; horizontal, vertical, and slanted stripes...enough to make one looking at you dizzy. And you may wonder when you wear your favorite striped or polka dot tie with a striped shirt that none of the ladies notice you. Oh, we notice you all right...we just can't look at you without getting a headache!

- The meaning of fat clothes. You know, the shirts that have the empire waists, that flow away from the body...otherwise known as pregnant or poofy shirts? Yep, we wear them when we go out to dinner. Hey, they're fashionable and they hide EVERYTHING.

- Why we are VERY particular about our hairdressers. A good man may be hard to find, but finding the right hairdresser is next to impossible. They know the way we like our hair and we feel confident handing our head over to her scissors. I have been going to the same hairdresser my whole life...no one else has cut my hair.

- When a girl tries to help you out in the fashion department, don't get offended or try to defend yourself. Just accept the fact that you may need some help, take her advice, and you will be better off. She'll only help you out if she thinks you have potential, so take it as a compliment. She knows you have the potential to look good, she's just helping you out so that you can be the best you can be.

An Important Lesson...Learned?

Most of you know that I am an Exercise Science Major...dealing with physical therapy and athletic training. I have learned many things while in school, one of which is putting a joint back in socket. Yes, quite fun, I know.

This weekend, I learned that I may need a little more practice.

At work on Friday, I was in the walk in fridge and was stocking. There was a heavy box that was falling off the shelf. So, being the genius that I am, went to grab it so it wouldn't fall...with one hand. Yes, my wrist bent back all the way and popped out of place. So, practicing my skills, I nonchalantly popped it back into place. Yes, it hurt...really bad. But I was very proud of myself for doing it correctly.

Until today, when I was just moving [light weight] bags while organizing. My wrist, still sore, bent the wrong way and popped out of socket AGAIN. This, was too much. Yes, I popped it back into place but I could handle it no more. I was on my home from work and felt really light headed. So light headed, that I felt I may pass out. I pulled over in Walmart and called my mom crying to come pick me up.

I now have a lovely brace on for the time being. Every time I look at it, it reminds me why I have 2 more years of school left...I still have a lot to learn, and practice.

Redo Please?

I was looking at all my photo albums the other day and you know what?

There is almost always a story behind a picture. And half of those stories aren't the greatest. I look at those pictures and think, 'well I should've done this instead' or 'man, i really wish that didn't happen' and so on. But who cares right? After all, it's not like I can go back in time and do it all over again. There are several important lessons behind those pictures.

Growing up, I was the biggest Barney fan alive. And, yes, even though Barney is weird and he gets a bad rap, I will let my kids watch it someday. It's better than Tellatubbies and Spongebob, so it's not the worst. For my third birthday my mom made me a Barney cake. Everyone knows that Barney is purple. Well, I was very disappointed to find out on my birthday that my Barney cake was blue. You can eve tell by the picture that I was disgusted. I think about that every year; how that cake was so not right. AND I remind my mom that she was the one that messed it up. So, this year (yes, for my 20th birthday) she made me a Barney cake. And yet, I was still not impressed. Yes, I love her and give her an A for effort, the icing was even purple; but even I, the Barney expert, could not even tell that it was supposed to be Barney. So, whoever can make me a Barney cake that looks like him AND is purple will be my new best friend.

Speaking of kids television shows, do any of you remember Molly and the Big Comfy Couch? I loved that show! I watched it all the time, until I picked up on one of Molly's bad habits. For those of you who have seen it, remember the episode Molly's Bad Day? Yeah, she sticks her tongue out in that episode. If Molly does it, then it's ok for me to do it right? Yeah, well not so. I was watching TV and my dad asked me to put my clothes in my room. I didn't want to, so what did I do? Yep, I stuck my tongue out at him. And when he asked where I learned to do such a thing, I told him I learned it from Molly. Needless to say, I never watched that show again...

My brother and sister and I used to sit at the edge of the driveway and throw little rocks across the road to see who could throw it the furthest. And, of course, we were good kids and only threw when there were no cars coming...except for this one time. Yes, we hit a car. BUT, only the tires so it was ok...no damage. Well, the driver didn't think so. As soon as we realized what we had done, we ran around to the back of the house to "hide". The wonderful driver came storming back around the house and angrily explained to our poor babysitter what we had done. Thanks to her, she is called The Rock Lady to this day. It wouldn't be so bad if that was the first and last time we saw her right? But of course, she has been one of my coworkers, she goes to our church, and her daughter is one of my mom's students. So, that always makes it awkward.

One time, I baked cookies and didn't realize I had left the oven on until we got back home from church...3 hours later. Yeah, you can only imagine how that one turned out.

Or, the other time that I had put meat in the freezer outside in the garage and didn't close the freezer door all the way. 10 days later, after coming home from vacation, my dad informed me that I had ruined about $200 worth of meat. Now that's a great feeling. Especially when you get the special privilege of cleaning it all up.

One thing you may know about me is, that I am deathly scared of clowns. In fact, I am scared of anything dressed up. Don't ask me why because I don't know; I have always been that way. Well, my sophomore year of high school I was standing and waiting for the Christmas parade to begin. When, all of a sudden, 2 of my classmates decided it would be funny to get a clown to come over and wish me a happy birthday. Needless to say, I started freaking out and even cried. #1, it wasn't my birthday. #2, that was a very embarrassing and frightening moment I must say.

I am also not a fan of tight and crowded spaces. I don't like hugs; I just like my space. I don't like my personal space invaded. On senior trip, my dad told a group of about 12 of us that we were going to jump on the upcoming subway...which had standing room for about 4 people. Yes, my personal space was quickly taken and I did not handle it well one bit. I was smooshed between people, my face in a classmates armpit. Not something I would classify as a fun moment. I was so tired, so out of my comfort zone, and so needed just some alone time. I lost it, I cried, for the whole metro to hear me. And what did my dad do? He laughed. Thank you, thanks for your support dad.

So, yes, for some of these experiences I look back and laugh. But don't get me wrong, I would never want them to happen again. And, would probably prefer to have a chance to handle these situations and respond differently if I had a chance. But I don't, so I get to live with the memories; and I get to share them with you.

Food For Thought

The other day, a co-worker and I were discussing politics...oh the joys of politics. You can really get someone's engine going just talking about such things can't you. Well, we got onto the topic of abortion. I will not get into full detail, but will leave this post as mainly a thinking post for you :)

I had just finished reading a book (Shades of Blue by Karen Kingsbury - read it if you haven't!) And abortion was the main problem of the story line; it was what caused all the heart break.

So, we were discussing different views and the different arguments for each. I have my view, and no matter what people say...I cannot be persuaded on such an issue. I believe what I believe and that is that. And I'm not going to tell you...until you tell me your thoughts :) So, leave me your thoughts on this post ok? :)

My co-worker stated that he believed that abortion is wrong in ALMOST all circumstances...except for one. If the pregnancy is life threatening to the mother, the husband and wife have a choice to make...whether to risk the baby and mother's lives or get rid of the baby. He stated that if he was in such a situation he would abort the baby because his primary role in the family is to protect his wife and THEN his kids; to him, this would be shown by aborting the baby because he would be protecting his wife first and foremost.

Now, what do YOU think?

4 Peas in a Pod

Last night, I spent some of my evening with four of my favorite kiddos while their parents headed off to Bible study. Can I just say...kids crack me up! Oh how interesting life can be with three 4 year olds and a 2 year old :)

We started out playing hide and go seek. Banana (the 2 year old) desperately wanted to count all by herself. So the four of us hid while she counted to 20 (kind of). The best part - when she was done counting, she yelled "ready or not, yes I am!" Haha it made me laugh.

Then we went on a trip around the block...boy is that interesting with everyone! I thought it would be fun for all of them to ride their bikes. Before we headed out though, Bella reminded me that we need to be safe when riding bikes. So, after fastening 3 helmets, tying 6 shoes, putting on 6 knee pads and elbow pads, buckling one into a stroller we were finally off! Not so fast though, Dabby said that it was too bright outside and said that we all needed to wear sunglasses. So I went back into the house and grabbed 5 pairs of sunglasses. Yes, they made me wear a pair too...finding nemo sunglasses :) That was quite a trip!

We ended out the night by playing chutes and ladders (sort of), eating treats (laffy taffy), singing songs, and reading books. As I put the triplets to bed, Squashy asked if I was staying for breakfast. When I answered 'no', he suggested that I really stay sometime because breakfast is when you talk, and he liked talking to me better than his sisters. Ohhh boy :)

They are so fun!

Election Day?

I...did not vote today. Before you judge, let me explain.

I have no clue who ANY of the people are in the primaries...therefore, with my luck, I would vote for the worst person possible.

So, I justified my decision by telling myself I would be doing a disservice to America if I voted.

"Can I Have a Name for the Order?"

That is the phrase we at ChickfilA ask our customers. This helps us so that when we have one hundred customers waiting for food, we can just call out their name and they can come get it...it is much easier this way. Well, today I found out that a nine hour shift may be a bit too long for me.

Every once in a while, you get a smarty pants who tries to be funny. Key word - TRIES. Today, I helped one of these people. I asked the guy if I could have his name for the order. Instead, he said, "What about my number instead of my name?" Ha ha, well isn't that funny. So, in return I said "Or, you can just give me your name." Well, he wasn't amused that I wasn't playing along so he just gave me his name and left my register.

Here is the embarrassing part. I was moving so fast in my orders and really wasn't paying attention to anything I was saying...I say the same thing thousands of times per day at that place, that my words just spill out of my mouth without thinking. So, when it was time to ask the next guy his name for the order I messed up; instead, I asked "Can I have your number?"

Yeah, I'll leave it up to you to figure out how that one played out...