Book Recommendation

What story are you telling? from Rhetorik Creative on Vimeo.

This book is easily one of my favorites EVER!  In my opinion, a must-read!
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years - by Donald Miller

How a Haunted House Shed Light on my Faith

My good friend Stewart has long had a dream to open his very own full-scale haunted house.  He has pursued this obsession with much passion over the past two years. He has attended conventions dedicated to all aspects of running such an establishment.  He secured a building, brought it up to code, fireproofed the walls, built scenes, bought props, made a website, posted photos on Facebook, and hired actors and make-up artists.  And, even when it has been stressful, he has done all of this with a twinkle in his eye.  He has invested a LOT of blood, sweat and tears in this dream of his, and although I’m a huge fraidy-cat and haunted houses are not really my idea of fun, I promised Stewart that I would go through his haunted house. Because I'm a good friend. But more importantly, because he's a good friend. Plus, who could say "no" to someone with that much excitement to share the fruit of his labors?

Bryan & Nathon went through the haunt on opening night, back at the end of September.  All month long, I’ve been very nervous about the prospect of being terrorized by zombies and seeing gory images forever in my nightmares.  Last weekend, I reluctantly sent Stewart a message to let me know what night would be least busy this week, and he wrote back to say I should come on Tuesday.  Try as I might to get friends or family to go with me, nobody would join me. Not ONE person! (Who knew I had such wimpy friends?  I guess Christians are just that way when it comes to haunted houses, but that's a completely different topic for another blog post.) My point is... I was completely on my own Tuesday night, but I wanted to keep my promise to my friend.

I was still really nervous as I drove there in the rain, but as I got out of my car, the first thing I saw was Stewart walking toward me.  He escorted me through the parking lot - (They have creepy actors meandering around and interacting with the patrons) - and took me to the ticket window to let his wife, Tricia, know that I was there.  Then he took me around to the front entrance and had me wait in the lobby for a minute before going inside.  As I stood there in the dark, listening to the scary sounds inside, I was surprised to find that I didn't feel afraid.  I was looking around at the mural on the walls, and seeing all of the texture and detail - actually APPRECIATING all the talent and effort and vision that these people had to be able to put this together.  Instead of feeling fear, I just felt so proud of them and all they've accomplished. 

When Stewart and Tricia rejoined me in the lobby, he showed me even more details with his little flashlight.  Then Tricia said she would walk with me through the haunt.  We walked together through the creeky door into the first room, which featured an above-ground cemetery and an actor who kept talking to me and Tricia like some mad, crazed zombie.  He would come up behind me and make slurpy noises in my ear.  He even knew my name, thanks to my good buddy Stewart.  As we walked through a hallway crypt, a spinning tunnel of bones, a swamp, a spider room, a horrifying dentist's office with the Tooth Fairy looming overhead, a graveyard with the headless horseman, and a haunted mansion featuring more gruesome zombies, Tricia stayed slightly ahead of me and talked to me about different features and scenes the entire time.  Any time someone popped out of a window, or jumped out from behind a wall, they got in her face first. And we LAUGHED.  And, even though I had come by myself, I had a sense that I was never alone. And I was so glad that I went.

As I drove home, I got to thinking how Tuesday night was like my life.  And my faith.  This world can be a nightmarish place sometimes. You never know what's lurking around the next corner.  Things can seem to happen unexpectedly, even though they may have been part of somebody's design.  Strangers may not always be nice people. They could be chasing after you, or waiting to pounce.

(If you've never been to a haunted house, you might not know that one of the cardinal rules is that the actors aren't supposed to touch you.  That did bring me some comfort, knowing they couldn't "get" me.)

Even with all the creepy sights, sounds and smells (?!), I was amazed that I did not feel afraid. As I walked through this alternate universe with the ones who created it, I had confidence that nothing would harm me. They had intended this haunted house for fun, and they were excited to share the experience with me.

So, as we walk through this beautiful crazy world that God created for our pleasure, we can have every confidence that He will protect us, that He is with us every step of the way, and that He loves us. He wants to enjoy His creation with us, walk with us through all of our life experiences (good and bad), and build a relationship with us built on love and trust. Knowing that God is good, God is faithful, and God is love helps us to trust Him when we're not so sure that we are safe.

thoughts for remembering 9/11/2001

"Awake"
by Josh Groban

A beautiful and blinding morning
The world outside begins to breathe
See clouds arriving without warning
I need you here to shelter me

And I know that only time will tell us how
To carry on without each other
So keep me awake to memorize you
Give me more time to feel this way
We can't stay like this forever
But I can have you next to me today

If I could make these moments endless
If I could stop the winds of change
If we just keep our eyes wide open
Then everything would stay the same

And I know that only time will tell me how
We'll carry on without each other
So keep me awake for every moment
Give us more time to be this way
We can't stay like this forever
But I can have you next to me today

We'll let tomorrow wait, you're here, right now, with me
All my fears just fall away, when you are all I see

We can't stay this way forever
But I have you here today
And I will remember
Oh I will remember
Remember all the love we shared today

Bryan found this poem in a book he's reading about becoming a professional life coach.  I can certainly identify with the truth in this poet's heart, so I thought I'd share and see if y'all can too... Let me know your thoughts.  Which chapter is YOUR life right now?

An Autobiography in Five Short Chapters

by Portia Nelson, 1993

I

I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I fall in.

I am lost…I am helpless.

It isn't my fault.

It takes forever to find a way out.

II

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I pretend I don't see it.

I fall in again.

I can't believe I am in this same place.

But it isn't my fault.

It still takes a long time to get out.

III

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I see it is there.

I still fall in… it's a habit…but,

My eyes are open.

I know where I am.

It is my fault.

I get out immediately.

IV

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.

V

I walk down another street.

Where should we draw the line?!

During this whole national debate on health care reform, I've listened to both sides of the argument with a (fairly) open mind. It's definitely a very emotional, controversial, politically-charged topic that will affect all Americans in some way. But today, I won't get into the gory details and talking points, because I want to write about some related questions that keep bubbling to the surface in my mind. They're not so much about the bill itself, but about to what extent our leaders will take this sense of entitlement.


Something really troubles me about this bleeding-heart Democrat mantra that "Every American DESERVES free health care."  Just because they repeat it ad nauseum (hey...maybe I should see a doctor about that!), doesn't make it true.  The thing that really concerns me is that the logic of this argument is riddled with fallacy. If every American is ENTITILED to free health care from the government, why stop there?!  "Every American DESERVES..."  (YOU fill in the blank! C'mon...This could be fun.)

• Take a look at the poor and homeless in every city across America - it's a complete tragedy that people are forced to live on the streets and eat out of dumpsters! Couldn't one argue, by the same logic, that every American ENTITLED to a free home of their own, free groceries every week, and free utilities? (Hey, why not throw in free basic cable and a toaster oven?)  Who is responsible to "fix" this problem in our country? 
• Hey...I've heard enough talk about the rising unemployment rate in this country - I say, "Every American DESERVES a job!" Better yet - Why don't we just work, and our employers could contribute our entire paychecks to the General Fund, so that our honorable elected officials can decide how best to spend it for us?  Everyone would have what they need, and nobody would be burdened with too much money.  
• If everyone is entitled to an education, why quit after high school? Let’s make college free for everyone too! Problem is, when colleges are forced to accept everyone and the government pays, the value of the college-level education drastically decreases.
• A friend of mine recently posted a statistic on Facebook that wonders “how 60 million Americans struggle with obesity, while 36 million Americans struggle with hunger.”  Why isn’t the government rationing food so nobody has too much and nobody has too little?

Where else does our government feel that they need to intervene in our personal lives?  If we give them an inch, will they take a mile? What will become of the principles of capitalism and free enterprise that have distinguished our economic system as one of the greatest in the world?


My husband had a really interesting point the other day... if everyone is SO concerned about people not having health insurance, then why don't we see any non-profit charities organized to provide financial aid to the 10 million "uninsurable"  Americans - either to help them purchase health insurance, or subsidize their health care expenses directly?  We have charities for helping the hungry, and for nearly every other imaginable social problem - why not health care? For that matter, what role should Christians play in helping those who cannot help themselves?

If we lived in this imaginary utopia where there was meant to be an even distribution of wealth, the government could just print all the money and pass out the same amount to everybody, just like the "Banker" does at the beginning of a Monopoly game. Problem is, in real life - just as in the game - some loser still runs out of money in the end. You either have to keep giving them handouts or call the game over!

homeschool funnies - language arts

I know I haven't posted anything lately, but I have a little "funny" to share from our homeschool lessons this past Friday. I was teaching the girls about the three basic types of sentences: declarative, interrogative, and exclamatory.

First, I told them that declarative sentences just make a statement, or tell something that happened.

Next, I asked them what they thought an exclamatory sentence would be. Hayden immediately exclaimed, "A SHOCKER!!" Yeah, I think she gets it.

Then I pointed to the word interrogative on their worksheet, and asked what kind of sentence they thought it might be. Hayden tilted her head with an inquisitive (or confused) expression and responded, "Huh?" So, I told her that she was exactly right!

Talkative Baby

I don't know who this is, but this adorable video makes me laugh every time I watch it! Enjoy!