No More Spam!!!

I'm happy. I've finally found a way to stop the Asian spammers from leaving comments that include links to who knows what! I changed the setting on my blog to allow only members of my blog to comment. While it reduces the possibility that the random reader will be able to leave a cool comment, it doesn't bother me anyhow because I'm blogging to keep up my writing skills. And if someone really wants to comment, they can always follow my blog!

That will be $20, please

I had a couple of hysterical and exciting experiences today, while in town.

We popped in to Frys so I could look for a tape to clean my camcorder. Successful, I headed to the checkout where a friendly young lady rang up my purchase. It was 9.99 plus tax, and she said, "Would you like to put this on your Frys card?" I replied, "No thank you, I'd like to pay cash." So I handed her a $20 bill for the $10.81 charge. She said, "I'll be right back, I just have to validate the bill," and off she went. I stood there thinking how ironic it was, when, I had just handed her good money, declining to pay with a card that would have no money on it and she had to verify the bill!!! Maybe there is a reason why the economy is in crisis!

At Winco we had another exciting experience. We'd just gotten our carts and started into the store, when suddenly the lights flickered and then went out immediately! Someone shouted, "all the food is free!" and everyone stood there, frozen, sort of in shock, and then someone got out their cell phone to give some light and I suddenly thought, "what a good idea" and the lights came back on. Except not all of them, the electricity to the freezers and coolers and vegetables and the phone lines to run the credit-card machines all stayed dead. So we heard several muffled announcements over the intercom saying that people would have to pay with cash or check. Thankfully I'd brought plenty of cash with me, so I continued on my way, undisturbed, as I pinched and prodded the green peppers to find a firm one, bent an English cucumber almost in half to make sure it wasn't squishy and going bad, and scooped up a bagful of fresh green beans. After locating the least wilted bunch of beets, sorting out the freshest mushrooms, and tearing open several ears of corn to make sure they looked good, I headed to pick up a couple of cartons of rice milk and headed to the cash register to check out. The young lady took my cash and did not have to verify any bills with a fancy little machine. I happily reloaded my bagged groceries and we headed home.

Truly, I am Rich

As I filled up my Brita water filter and set it aside to filter water to bring to work tomorrow, I suddenly realized it. I am rich. I never imagined myself so, but I am really rich.

I can afford to filter my water so it tastes better. Millions of people have to walk miles to get water and may not have access to clean drinking water.

I have air conditioning on at night because it helps me sleep better and I don't like the heat. There are people who are lucky to have shelter from the scorching sun or freezing winter snow.

I can choose whether I want to eat tortillas with vegenaise and artichoke or a bowl of cereal with rice milk and fruit for supper. Thousands of children around the world go to bed without supper, and maybe they didn't even have anything to eat that day.

I have a cupboard filled with clothes for work, exercise, church and relaxation. There are people who have one shirt and one skirt or pair of trousers and a pair of flip flops and that is all they have to wear.

I have a car that is paid for and runs and doesn't need repairs and I have money to buy gas to put in it. There are people who take the bus or walk to their destinations, no matter the distance.

I have a job that will be going to half-time but I will still be able to pay my bills if I am careful. There are people who live on maxed-out credit cards or who have to stand with "Anything Will Help" signs on the side of the street.

I have family and friends who love me and who make me a part of their lives. There are people who are all alone in the world or who have lost those dearest to them to famine, flood, earthquake or war.

I know that God cares for me and loves me and that He is in control of the circumstances in my life. Thousands worry about how to survive in this world and don't have hope for the one to come.

I don't live in a fancy house, drive an expensive car, have the latest gadgets, or have a lot of money in the bank. I don't wear designer clothes, take vacations in Tahiti and Hawaii, own the iPhone4 or pay for cable TV. Yet I am richer than over 1,345 million people who exist on $1.25 a day or less. (http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/world%20hunger%20facts%202002.htm)

It's been a while since I've stopped to think about how blessed I am.

What is Spirituality?

I talked to a friend on the phone yesterday and as she chatted about her life and what she was doing, I did some multi-tasking as I was at work and had some urgent projects that needed done. With my mind focusing on my task at hand and my ear half-listening to my friend talk away, it took me a few moments to realize that what she was talking about was exactly what I needed to hear.

"So you see, it's different, witnessing to friends down here, in this Adventist suburb. I have some friends who don't want to go to church, they see people being hypocrites and they have a hard time with that. So I told them, they need to decide for themselves if they believe in God; it can't be their parents' religion anymore. They need to realize that God loves them and would never do anything to hurt them."

As I listened to her simple words that I had heard over and over in my life, for the first time it started to sink in and really make sense. My friend was more than ten years my junior and yet God was using her to speak to my heart and remind me that He was a loving and caring God. Tears came to my eyes.

The world looks at people and judges them immediately based on appearance, silver tongue of speech, their connections or lack thereof, their monetary value, and their presentation of spirituality. Those who measure up to an unwritten code are held up as the standard for others to follow. I have found, however, that often the people who minister to me on a heart level are the ones who others may not consider stellar witnesses. The people most genuine in their spirituality are often not the ones you would expect.

I had a very good friend once. Her name was Melissa and she had a very generous heart. Devoted to her friends, she loved to spend time with her closest girlfriends, watching a fun movie, eating junk food, and staying up till odd hours of the night. When I think of Melissa, I think of someone who tried and kept on trying to live a genuine life. She didn't hide anything, even her struggles, and she was always ready to share her joys with others. If she passed a homeless person on the street, she would hand them a $20 bill without a second thought. She was ready to go out for a meal or hang out at the mall and readily offered to drive everyone there. I remember birthday parties, giggles and laughter, the guilty chocolate brownie, arguing over music to play in the car (she wanted Avril LaVigne, I wanted Celine Dion), talks about guys, and living life.

When I heard that Melissa passed away at only 28 years of age, I couldn't believe it was true. I still have her cell number in my address book, and I can't bring myself to delete it. I feel like one day she will show up and pop into my office, make herself comfortable on a chair, draw her feet up under her knees, and say, "So. . .what'cha been up to lately?" in her confident way. We would catch up on old friends, gossip about guys, and reminisce about college, laughing at our memories. But that won't happen now.

Melissa loved God. So does my friend who called me this morning. While they may not have known how to convey in polished tones and manner the precise method of how to walk the narrow way, both of them gave me the gift of their genuine friendship and love. Each of them, and others I have had the blessing of knowing, was able to share God in their own unique way. They did not present a perfect sermon neither did they attempt to pound me over the head with counsel. They did not sit in judgement or attempt to convey what they perceived God's will should be for my life. They just shared their love.

Far Far Away From Here

Had a bit of a headache today (probably because of the lack of sleep) and of course today would be the day that everyone decides to run on the treadmill upstairs. The first one was running for almost an hour and the second one has been on it for 10 minutes already. I'm hoping the sign that says the treadmill should be used until 9 pm at night will actually be read!!! Sounds like they've sped up. It's on nights like these that I see the wisdom in sleeping in a tent underneath the stars, on a lone piece of property out in the middle of a forest, where the only noises you will hear are nature's soft lullaby as the wind blows, the trees rustle, and the animals settle in for the night.

I need a huge chocolate brownie right about now!

Some Light Reading

Having a hard time getting to sleep and inspired by other's "Monday Favourites" here are a couple of links from my late-night reading.

I wish I could be as generous as this little girl who has fed thousands of homeless people from her vegetable gardens.

For a list of hysterical baby products, click here! Some are outrageous, others hysterical, but all seem rather unnecessary.

And isn't this just too cute? A picture of Princess Elizabeth (now the Queen of England).

A Study in Futility

I think one of the reasons why conservative circles like the SOP so much is because it's clear cut, black and white. You can take a sentence "No line of manual training is of more value than agriculture." and thereby decree that everyone must participate in agriculture. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that we shouldn't learn how to grow a garden. What I'm saying is, why are we so quick to pull the commanding sentences from the SOP and so slow to engage in a deep study of the Bible first? My theory? It's easier to enforce something that has already been stated than to study out principles which can then lead to conclusions based on those Biblical principles.

It's like learning to eat healthily. Recently, I've begun trying to eat more fruits and vegetables and whole grains (I'm still working on the whole grains part!). I love reading news articles on the latest discoveries about food and enjoy learning about how food can heal the body or help prevent disease. There's just one problem, though. There is so much information out there about the different things you need to have in your diet to ensure optimum health, that to eat everything every single day would require you to be munching 24/7. Now that wouldn't be very healthy, would it?

The same can be applied to statements found in the SOP. While there are excellent chapters written on many different topics, when you are trying to condense them down to what is the most important for the task at hand, it can become overwhelming. To try to incorporate every single admonition given would require us to walk around with huge tomes in our hands to refer to, as we make sure we aren't making any mistakes. I know, I'm being facetious, but there is some truth to my point.

I haven't got it all figured out yet, but one thing I do know. I wish we could hold the Bible up high as our standard and actually study from it first, before we march to the SOP to prove our points.