Setting: Car on Sunday afternoon at a major intersection
Me: Things are so bad. At least we aren't standing on the side of the road with a sign asking for work.
Whitney: (and she is dead serious) Where do the homeless poor people get their cardboard and markers?
Friday, July 31, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Sarcasm - My Spiritual Gift
Been feeling pretty down lately actually told my husband the other day that that was just one more reason it sucked to be me. (I know, Newspring, I heard the sermon on being a victim, I’m working on it. It’s okay for you to feel sorry for me. Compassion is a good quality. Self pity is the sin.) Instead of hearing what I deserved from that comment, he listed several things that were good about me. I say he’s the number one reason it’s good to be me. Some of the things he said I’m good at are not things that people want to be good at, and some I’m not willing to share, but it reminded me of the episode of Friends where Monica is upset because she finds out she doesn’t give good backrubs until she finds out that she gives the worst backrubs which makes her the best at bad backrubs so she is excited to be the best at being bad.
I think of the scripture in Ecclesiastes 9:10-11 “10Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. 11I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.” (KJV)
“10 Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave,[a] there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom. 11 I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.” (NLT)I love the last line of verse 11 in the Message “Sooner or later bad luck hits us all”.
We are told whatever we do, do it with our might, do it well. And we are told that the strongest and fastest don’t always win. (I particularly love this). And a college degree doesn’t necessarily guarantee a successful life. This comes from Solomon’s wisdom, thousands of years ago. I wonder, who decides whether we win? Who decides if we’re good enough? Of course, God does, not going to debate that. But here, on this earth, who gets to tell me I’m not good enough, that what I do doesn’t matter? Anyone who has the guts. BUT I DON’T HAVE TO BELIEVE IT. When I run 5.5 miles in 51:53 and it’s the best time I’ve ever had, only to have my 16 year old nephew tell me he ran his 5.5 miles in cross country conditioning in 35:32, that doesn’t take away from my success (I know, comparing myself to a 5’11” 16 year old boy is a ridiculous, however true example), it just makes me proud of him. And I will go and watch him run cross country this fall and cheer him on. And comparing myself to the lady that had gastric bypass and lost 100+ pounds in less than a year while I’m still working my 80 off after 3 years? Good for her, but it doesn’t diminish what I’ve done. I need to remind myself that God doesn’t expect me to be better than someone else. He expects me to do it mightily, to do it well, to the best of my ability, not try to keep up with or outdo everyone else. God has given me unique and special gifts. I sometimes think I have the kind of gifts your crazy grandma with Alzheimer’s gives. The crocheted doll that covers your toilet paper. A card for your 16th birthday with a clown holding a balloon that says “For the birthday girl” and there’s a dollar inside. The pierced earrings that weigh 6 pounds each that make you look like an African goddess after wearing them for 10 minutes. I have unique and special (crazy???) gifts. I’m not sure what to do with them. I still haven’t figured out what Steve meant when he said I was good at sarcasm. I do joke that it’s my spiritual gift, and I know that my warped view of life has probably kept me off anti-depressants for the last 6 years. I am not alone with my uniqueness, I have a friend who told me her calling was to be the “Junior Holy Spirit” which I found hilarious, and offered to make her a cape. Do you have a unique gift? Something you are good at that might seem odd to others?
I think of the scripture in Ecclesiastes 9:10-11 “10Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. 11I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.” (KJV)
“10 Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave,[a] there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom. 11 I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.” (NLT)I love the last line of verse 11 in the Message “Sooner or later bad luck hits us all”.
We are told whatever we do, do it with our might, do it well. And we are told that the strongest and fastest don’t always win. (I particularly love this). And a college degree doesn’t necessarily guarantee a successful life. This comes from Solomon’s wisdom, thousands of years ago. I wonder, who decides whether we win? Who decides if we’re good enough? Of course, God does, not going to debate that. But here, on this earth, who gets to tell me I’m not good enough, that what I do doesn’t matter? Anyone who has the guts. BUT I DON’T HAVE TO BELIEVE IT. When I run 5.5 miles in 51:53 and it’s the best time I’ve ever had, only to have my 16 year old nephew tell me he ran his 5.5 miles in cross country conditioning in 35:32, that doesn’t take away from my success (I know, comparing myself to a 5’11” 16 year old boy is a ridiculous, however true example), it just makes me proud of him. And I will go and watch him run cross country this fall and cheer him on. And comparing myself to the lady that had gastric bypass and lost 100+ pounds in less than a year while I’m still working my 80 off after 3 years? Good for her, but it doesn’t diminish what I’ve done. I need to remind myself that God doesn’t expect me to be better than someone else. He expects me to do it mightily, to do it well, to the best of my ability, not try to keep up with or outdo everyone else. God has given me unique and special gifts. I sometimes think I have the kind of gifts your crazy grandma with Alzheimer’s gives. The crocheted doll that covers your toilet paper. A card for your 16th birthday with a clown holding a balloon that says “For the birthday girl” and there’s a dollar inside. The pierced earrings that weigh 6 pounds each that make you look like an African goddess after wearing them for 10 minutes. I have unique and special (crazy???) gifts. I’m not sure what to do with them. I still haven’t figured out what Steve meant when he said I was good at sarcasm. I do joke that it’s my spiritual gift, and I know that my warped view of life has probably kept me off anti-depressants for the last 6 years. I am not alone with my uniqueness, I have a friend who told me her calling was to be the “Junior Holy Spirit” which I found hilarious, and offered to make her a cape. Do you have a unique gift? Something you are good at that might seem odd to others?
Monday, July 27, 2009
Sponge Bob vs Sports Center
I sit here on my couch with the laptop while my 17 year old son has the remote. We are surfing back and forth between cartoon network and ESPN. This is a lifelong affliction. This is the boy that became a Longhorns fan because he watched the college baseball world series when he was 6 and liked the logo and the burnt orange color. I like these two channels for him. They may have some objectionable material on them, but mostly they are suitable for his age.
On the other hand, last week I read one of the blogs I frequent and the writer was talking about letting bad stuff into your heart and mind through the television shows you watched. This kind of pricked a little, because while I'm careful, I CAN always do better. But then later that afternoon I plugged into my IPOD and tuned in one of my IPOD preachers. Guess what his sermon was on? Movies, TV, etc. that is not good to watch. He used a specific example of running into two ladies from his church that were going to see a movie that was hilarious, for the second time. He said maybe he would take his wife to see it, and their response was that he shouldn't see that movie. Of course if he shouldn't see it, neither should they. I have seen that particular movie, and in all fairness to the pastor, he shouldn't see it, and neither should I.
This sermon was from February. I download a lot of sermons, and I can't keep up with all of them. God thought I needed that reminder to be careful what I let in to my heart and mind.
So Nate has gone to bed, I have the remote, and I'm watching I Dream of Jeannie followed by the original Mission Impossible. I'm really hoping for sleep soon, but after Mission Impossible, I get the Honeymooners. If that don't work, I'm trying Whitney's method of QVC. That's what she watches when she suffers from insomnia. So my prayer for all of you this week is a great week of sleep. Because I would love that myself.
On the other hand, last week I read one of the blogs I frequent and the writer was talking about letting bad stuff into your heart and mind through the television shows you watched. This kind of pricked a little, because while I'm careful, I CAN always do better. But then later that afternoon I plugged into my IPOD and tuned in one of my IPOD preachers. Guess what his sermon was on? Movies, TV, etc. that is not good to watch. He used a specific example of running into two ladies from his church that were going to see a movie that was hilarious, for the second time. He said maybe he would take his wife to see it, and their response was that he shouldn't see that movie. Of course if he shouldn't see it, neither should they. I have seen that particular movie, and in all fairness to the pastor, he shouldn't see it, and neither should I.
This sermon was from February. I download a lot of sermons, and I can't keep up with all of them. God thought I needed that reminder to be careful what I let in to my heart and mind.
So Nate has gone to bed, I have the remote, and I'm watching I Dream of Jeannie followed by the original Mission Impossible. I'm really hoping for sleep soon, but after Mission Impossible, I get the Honeymooners. If that don't work, I'm trying Whitney's method of QVC. That's what she watches when she suffers from insomnia. So my prayer for all of you this week is a great week of sleep. Because I would love that myself.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Week 8
I had what I considered an extremely successful week. After running 16 miles on Saturday, I was able to run again on Tuesday, 4 miles, and 5 miles on Wednesday. The fact that I had legs for running again that soon thrilled me. Now, don't ask me about my Wednesday run where Steve gave me a headstart on my 5 miles, passed me, ran 6 miles and passed me on the way home. That always ticks me off, but not at him. I did my strength training with Steve also, which always lends itself to sore muscles for a couple days. Thursday I didn't feel well, and this lasted through the weekend, and because of this I halved my long run on Saturday and ran 9 instead of the 18 I had planned on running. Will have to attempt that next Saturday.
The other thing I have attempted to do is get rid of my horrible tan lines. I have major tan lines from my t-back running shirt and tan lines from my ankle socks, my below the knee running shorts, my running shorts, and my running skirt. I went to the pool today to try and even out my lines a little, had a great new book to read. For some odd reason, I can run for 2 hours in 90+ degree heat and love it, but sitting at the pool and sweating was torture. Sitting in the cold water does seem to help rejuvenate my legs, and since I can't get any sun in my bathtub, the pool works better for that.
I am 12 weeks away from the marathon. I feel pretty confident with the 15 mile and 16 mile runs behind me. I am hoping I stay healthy, and that my legs and feet continue to feel good. I have some aches and pains after I run long on Saturday, but they don't last more than the next day, and they don't keep me from any activities that evening or the next day.
The other thing I have attempted to do is get rid of my horrible tan lines. I have major tan lines from my t-back running shirt and tan lines from my ankle socks, my below the knee running shorts, my running shorts, and my running skirt. I went to the pool today to try and even out my lines a little, had a great new book to read. For some odd reason, I can run for 2 hours in 90+ degree heat and love it, but sitting at the pool and sweating was torture. Sitting in the cold water does seem to help rejuvenate my legs, and since I can't get any sun in my bathtub, the pool works better for that.
I am 12 weeks away from the marathon. I feel pretty confident with the 15 mile and 16 mile runs behind me. I am hoping I stay healthy, and that my legs and feet continue to feel good. I have some aches and pains after I run long on Saturday, but they don't last more than the next day, and they don't keep me from any activities that evening or the next day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)