Soon...

I am now on an extended trip around Texas and eventually all the way up to Washington and back. So blogs will be forthcoming when I get a little time to update. For now I am journaling and will be back online at the end of the summer.

Love to all, Danielle.

6 Things

Okay 6 random things that Jess tagged me for, so here goes...
6. Yesterday I was called by a friend who needed a little TLC. She had to have her cat put to sleep by long distance. I was glad that she called me and I could be her friend in that moment. The couple of hours before her call I had been in a wierd egocentric tailspin. Her loss helped me to regain focus and shake off the histrionics. Later, when I told her that her loss had helped me readjust, she had a good laugh. That's always a good thing- laughing through tears.

5. The last couple of weeks I have been a phone junkie. I have been calling my friends alot! And then we have been having long (wonderful) conversations! The thing about this is, that in the lulls, I itch for a friend fix. I've even been calling my sister (whom I usually only talk to once a week) everyday! I'm jones'in for the talkie!

4. The hair on the right side of my head is a half an inch shorter than the left side. I don't like this, but I am doing my best not to chop on my hair. My mantra, "just let it grow, let it grow."

3. I hope against hope that Whitney will win America's Next Top Model! I think that it's time for a normal sized woman to win. Anya is a total airhead!
AND I really didn't like Saleisha from last season. I think it was a scam because she went to Tyra's self-esteem camp years previous. I wanted Jenah to win!

2. I am so excited to be traveling Texas next month!! I can't wait!

1. I do not like special sauces on my burgers. I prefer plain old mayo. Jess, about the mayo, can we still be friends? :>

I tag... Kristy and Craig.

Don't Acronym Me!

Today we went with our neighbors to a different church. The preacher there is good. However, today he beat around the bush a little and he called Absalom a nut job. Overall, the simple message he was trying to deliver. The T-S-C of what to do when the bottom falls out, was lost in his ramblings, rantings and just running all over the place. I have never, and I repeat never been a fan of acronym sermons! Even so, here was a simple and beautiful sermon, you just had to pan for the nuggets in the muck.
You may know that I am very, very fond of Absalom. So of course I did start to huff a little when the pastor painted Absalom with the wide brush strokes of villainy. Calling him a nut job... I mean, come on.
Is it really necessary to cast the characters opposite David as villains to cement David as the hero? We love David, but wasn't he just a man like you and I? Truth be known, prior to Absalom's coup was the most ineffective period of David's reign. His people were dissatisfied, the King was not wrecking out justice and he was not taking an active role in his kingdom. He hadn't even punished his eldest son, Amnon, for the rape of Absalom's sister, Tamar (David's daughter, and Amnon's half-sister). So in reality wasn't Absalom, just a hurt child lashing out at his impotent Father? Haven't we all felt that? Haven't we all tried to usurp authority in our lives? Are we nut jobs, too? Okay, I'm getting a little preachy.
I sense that I am becoming an adult. Because, instead of totally shutting down and focusing only on the above, I was able to garner wisdom among the chaff. During Absalom's attempt to overthrow his father, David wrote the 63rd Psalm. The Psalm was the crux of this sermon. I came away from this sermon knowing, when the bottom falls out: T- Think on God, S- Sing His praises and C- Cling to Him.

It made sense.

Psalm 63:6-8
"On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me."

Feast of Love

All I have to say is SEE THIS MOVIE!! The writing is beautiful. It's poignant and very moving.

WARNING: RATED R FOR STRONG SEXUAL CONTENT, NUDITY AND LANGUAGE.

It does contain alot of the above.

I am not pushing this as a Christian movie... but as a romantic, it was very moving.

Smaller than a mustardseed

"It's about the kind of freedom you can only know when you realize that whatever it is you're trying to do has already been done for you."
This was on an old friend's blog. It seemed to encapsulate the feelings I've had over the last few weeks.
I am humbled to realize that my faith is still so small. Smaller now that it was ten years ago. I watched this weeks episode of Home Makeover on ABC, and was so touched by the devotion of the Martinez family. What struck me even more was the family's faith, believing that dreams do come true. They truly believe the sky is the limit, that miracles do happen. I believe this too, but its been a while since I believed it for myself. I am more happy now than I have been in quite some time. But my faith is still constrained by my rational self. My prayer lately is that I will find a way back to the part of me that believes God can accomplish the amazing, in me, and in my life.
I love this quote, it seems to me to be the very crux of humanity's fear of God. That we long for God to strip us of our hard and scarred veneer. Yet, we are terrified of the cleansing. I'm scared to do battle without my armor. Hurts penetrates deeper without a good layer of cynicism and rationality. I suppose I need to learn to let God fight my battles. Let his armor, the raiment of his blood, protect me. I suppose I need to learn that I'm never going it alone. That whatever I'm trying to do has already been done for me.