I saw this on For Once in My Life I think it's a good idea for me to do it, because, well, after the year I've had it's hard for me to find things to be thankful for, and I need to change that. I've been saying for months that when all is said and done I want to petition to have 2008 stricken from the record. This morning on the radio, I got a perspective change. They said, "2008 has been a year full of worry. Instead of calling it that, let's call it a year of all that we lived through." I'm going to embrace that outlook.
In no particular order:
1. I am thankful for Denver, because he has shown me that I can love unconditionally and hurt more than I thought it was possible to without dying.
2. I am thankful for my parents, because they haven't kicked me out and have (not always cheerfully) provided for me during the past year.
3. I am thankful for kitties, because Lucie keeps me from sleeping alone and because Tilly is a retard.
4. I am thankful for my cousins Kelly, Lizzie, April, and Erin, because they are hilarious, they are loving, and they are just as ridiculous as me.
5. I am thankful for Grace Fellowship, because having an amazing church home really makes such a difference in life.
6. I am thankful for Kauri, because she's always praying for me, she gets me out of the house, and she doesn't think I'm crazy.
7. I am thankful for For Once in My Life (Mel), because she fills my heart and lets me cry without being a weirdo.
8. I am thankful for The Cobbs, because of the women Eryn and I have become, because Bo doesn't like tuna helper, and because Jackson is freaking adorable.
9. I am thankful for Anna, because everyone needs a friend with a cool foreign accent. Also, because she believes in me and reminds me that my heart knows what it's doing.
10. I am thankful for Ross Thomas Lucksinger, because he is the most amazing man in the world. Normally, that title should be for my husband, but these days, Ross is the one who loves me properly, and I appreciate him more than I will ever really be able to say.
11. I am thankful for Jen Hernandez, because she is a light in my life, and a total gift from God to keep me going.
12. I am thankful for the triumphant return of my period, because it renewed my faith in God's eventual blessing of children for me.
13. I am thankful for the Bible, because it's God's gift to me. It's His word, His promises, His comfort, His heart, His everything.
14. I am thankful for Bernie and Katy, because when little sister's world falls apart, having Big Brother and Big Sister to take care of you helps so much.
15. I am thankful for Natalie and Isaac, because they are beautiful and hilarious and fill my heart with overwhelming joy.
16. I am thankful for Renee Long, because she rescues me, even though she swears she doesn't.
17. I am thankful for KSBJ, because they don't play commercials and because I needed more positive jams in my life.
18. I am thankful for Whitney, because she proves that no one is perfect, regardless of the packaging. However, she's so amazing in her flaws and dorkiness and I love her so much.
19. I am thankful for the clearance section, because I'm poor but I get to own cute clothes.
20. I am thankful for Emily, because everyone needs a friend they've known since before they could do multiplication, especially when that friend is awesome AND takes you for mani/pedi on your anniversary 2 weeks after your husband tells you he wants a divorce.
21. I am thankful for my Sunday school class, because those kids are freaking hilarious and I'm learning so much from them.
22. I am thankful for electricity, because we didn't lose it during Ike and so many did.
23. I am thankful for SoMellifluous(Christina), because she's a fountain and she gives great hugs.
24. I am thankful for the Little Jen Jen that Could, because we're the only ones who think we're funny, Oh My Dad! Sudoku.
25. I am thankful for the internet, because blogger, twitter, gmail, and facebook are addicting.
26. I am thankful for knowing who my true friends are, because when your life falls apart, the ones who stick around are the ones God really wanted you to have.
27. I am thankful for my sweet sweet savior because He is always there, because His love never goes away or gets selfish, because my purpose in living is to glorify Him, because He is good all the time, because He provides, and for a million more reasons.
With more thought, I might change some of that around, but those are the main ones that came to mind. A lot of it seems small, but I have to cling to whatever I can these days.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Thanksgiving break?
Is everyone on Thanksgiving break and that's why no one is blogging?
I log in and I just hear crickets chirp.
I miss you guys. What's going on in your worlds?
I log in and I just hear crickets chirp.
I miss you guys. What's going on in your worlds?
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
prayer request!!
I just got an email informing me that one of my serving partners, Christina Mirabel, was in a serious car accident. She's in a body cast with herniated and fractured discs. Praise God she wasn't killed, but still, that's horrible. She's a mom and her youngest is only 5. It's the holidays, and she's in that cast for 2 months!!
Please pray for her comfort, for a speedy healing, and that her family is taken care of!
Please pray for her comfort, for a speedy healing, and that her family is taken care of!
Monday, November 17, 2008
why I love Sunday school...
There is nothing in the universe that makes my soul tingle more than when a child gets that huge grin and gives me a hug. I like kids. I can't help it.
I have this one little boy in my class of Kindergartners who has been more than a little difficult for me. We've been praying for ourselves more than him, because he doesn't have bad days... he has every day. I mean, he's hit, he's kicked, he's yelled, he's cried, he took his pants off once, and, according the the teachers who had him last year, he used to be a spitter. This Sunday, God finally gave us a break. This little boy, we'll just call him Timmy (cuz that kid was always falling in the well) had one of the best Sundays of his life, I'm convinced. He did what we asked with minimal discussion, he played nicely with the other kids, he kept his pants on, and he even gave me my 3 most favorite moments of the day.
1. When we were in large group worship, he pointed out a hot air balloon out the big windows. I don't know if you've just sat and watched a hot air balloon cruise across the sky, but there's something so calm and wondrous about it. Then it changed paths a bit so we got to talk about how it was like the cow jumping over the moon. We were pretty oblivious to everyone else in the room, and it was just a cool little moment.
2. When he had first arrived in the classroom, he was telling us (safe sanctuary policy is that there must be 2 adults present in the classroom at all times for there to be children. We don't want to get in any scandals like those CATHOLICS after all... lol) that he has really good deductive reasoning. We asked for examples, but he was kind of thrown. Anyway, when he and I were watching the hot air balloons, he totally busted out some deductive reasoning.
Timmy: That balloon is pretty slow isn't it?
me: yea, it is.
Timmy: is it slower than a snail?
me: no, I think its just a little bit faster than a snail.
Timmy: more like a slug?
me: maybe.
Timmy: Are snails or slugs faster?
me: I don't know. I've never raced them.
Timmy: It's slugs. Because snails have that shell and it slows them down.
DEDUCTIVE REASONING! You can't argue with that. You just can't.
3. And this one is my absolute FAVORITE. We were talking about Jesus dying for our sins so that we can be with God, because we started a new unit on Romans with the kids this week. So Timmy tells me that God is 4 parts, not 3. I said, "Are you sure? What are they?" And he goes, "It's God, Jesus, the Spirit, and Santa Claus!" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! SO AWESOME.
See why I love kids?
I have this one little boy in my class of Kindergartners who has been more than a little difficult for me. We've been praying for ourselves more than him, because he doesn't have bad days... he has every day. I mean, he's hit, he's kicked, he's yelled, he's cried, he took his pants off once, and, according the the teachers who had him last year, he used to be a spitter. This Sunday, God finally gave us a break. This little boy, we'll just call him Timmy (cuz that kid was always falling in the well) had one of the best Sundays of his life, I'm convinced. He did what we asked with minimal discussion, he played nicely with the other kids, he kept his pants on, and he even gave me my 3 most favorite moments of the day.
1. When we were in large group worship, he pointed out a hot air balloon out the big windows. I don't know if you've just sat and watched a hot air balloon cruise across the sky, but there's something so calm and wondrous about it. Then it changed paths a bit so we got to talk about how it was like the cow jumping over the moon. We were pretty oblivious to everyone else in the room, and it was just a cool little moment.
2. When he had first arrived in the classroom, he was telling us (safe sanctuary policy is that there must be 2 adults present in the classroom at all times for there to be children. We don't want to get in any scandals like those CATHOLICS after all... lol) that he has really good deductive reasoning. We asked for examples, but he was kind of thrown. Anyway, when he and I were watching the hot air balloons, he totally busted out some deductive reasoning.
Timmy: That balloon is pretty slow isn't it?
me: yea, it is.
Timmy: is it slower than a snail?
me: no, I think its just a little bit faster than a snail.
Timmy: more like a slug?
me: maybe.
Timmy: Are snails or slugs faster?
me: I don't know. I've never raced them.
Timmy: It's slugs. Because snails have that shell and it slows them down.
DEDUCTIVE REASONING! You can't argue with that. You just can't.
3. And this one is my absolute FAVORITE. We were talking about Jesus dying for our sins so that we can be with God, because we started a new unit on Romans with the kids this week. So Timmy tells me that God is 4 parts, not 3. I said, "Are you sure? What are they?" And he goes, "It's God, Jesus, the Spirit, and Santa Claus!" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! SO AWESOME.
See why I love kids?
Sunday, November 9, 2008
nuggets of, well, weird.
I've had a busy weekend of tastings, and each tastings provided me with at least one memorable moment.
Friday, I was at the Spec's in downtown Houston. That tasting was awesome for my self esteem. As soon as I walked in, Marvin (the head of demos for that store) came over to me, calling me baby and had all my stuff set up and ready to go for me. I've heard stories about how fickle he is with who he likes. Then there was Dante. That boy decided he looooooooves me. Seriously, if you aren't feeling so hot about yourself, spend 3 hours near your own Dante. He told me I was beautiful in no less than 5 different ways, compliments galore! What a sweetie. So here's the memorable nugget of weird for that tasting. This couple walks by and one of the other reps goes, "Hey would y'all like to try some wine?" The man turns, and announces to half of the store, "Oh, no thanks. That's the wine that gave her diarrhea!" CLASSY.
Yesterday, I was at Spec's in Sugarland. This was decidedly less eventful. The nugget was more hilarious than "classy". I was pouring samples for 2 men who were very obviously a couple. One of the distributors was there stocking her wines and said to them, "Oh, your wives will LOVE that wine!" The 3 of us CRACKED UP. She had no clue! I went and explained to her after they left that their wives probably wouldn't like the wine, since they're gay. She joined in the laughter.
Today I was at HEB in, well, a melting pot of non-white races. I think I saw 10 white people total for the entire 3 hours I was there. I saw what Amy Winehouse would look like if she was black. Seriously. This woman was covered in random tattoos that didn't piece together or anything. She had the thick black eyeliner winged out. She was wearing the weird head wrap scarf thing. And she was a hot mess. She ties for the weirdest nugget of my "adventure" though. I got a tranny. That's right. A TRANNY. She was cute, but the fake lashes and nails combined with the slightly off voice made me question her gender, and so when I checked her ID and saw that her name is Brandon, I knew. And I laughed.
Gotta love my job!
Friday, I was at the Spec's in downtown Houston. That tasting was awesome for my self esteem. As soon as I walked in, Marvin (the head of demos for that store) came over to me, calling me baby and had all my stuff set up and ready to go for me. I've heard stories about how fickle he is with who he likes. Then there was Dante. That boy decided he looooooooves me. Seriously, if you aren't feeling so hot about yourself, spend 3 hours near your own Dante. He told me I was beautiful in no less than 5 different ways, compliments galore! What a sweetie. So here's the memorable nugget of weird for that tasting. This couple walks by and one of the other reps goes, "Hey would y'all like to try some wine?" The man turns, and announces to half of the store, "Oh, no thanks. That's the wine that gave her diarrhea!" CLASSY.
Yesterday, I was at Spec's in Sugarland. This was decidedly less eventful. The nugget was more hilarious than "classy". I was pouring samples for 2 men who were very obviously a couple. One of the distributors was there stocking her wines and said to them, "Oh, your wives will LOVE that wine!" The 3 of us CRACKED UP. She had no clue! I went and explained to her after they left that their wives probably wouldn't like the wine, since they're gay. She joined in the laughter.
Today I was at HEB in, well, a melting pot of non-white races. I think I saw 10 white people total for the entire 3 hours I was there. I saw what Amy Winehouse would look like if she was black. Seriously. This woman was covered in random tattoos that didn't piece together or anything. She had the thick black eyeliner winged out. She was wearing the weird head wrap scarf thing. And she was a hot mess. She ties for the weirdest nugget of my "adventure" though. I got a tranny. That's right. A TRANNY. She was cute, but the fake lashes and nails combined with the slightly off voice made me question her gender, and so when I checked her ID and saw that her name is Brandon, I knew. And I laughed.
Gotta love my job!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
no, it's not because he's black.
It's because he's LIBERAL.
I'm not a conservative because I'm stupid, y'all. I'm a conservative because that's what life has taught me.
I hate big government. That's the bottom line.
I think wellfare is a crock. I'm all for aid, but not for lifers. I'm not a fan of a system where illegal immigrants and people who have no concept of "birth control" are living on government money and can get healthcare when I can't. No, not everyone on wellfare is like that. But the vast majority of the people in my neighborhood in Dallas sure were. Liberal Denver agrees. I was denied unemployment wages. I was denied medicaid. I couldn't even get food stamps if I wanted! Why? Because when I was still living with Denver, we made more than $30,000 a year between us. And now because I live with my parents. My dad is 65 and claims social security (because use it while it's still there, right?!) so that makes me ineligible. I would love to have a job. I apply for jobs. I've even gone on some interviews. But until then, I have student loans that aren't getting paid (and so today I learned I can't get a real estate license if I decided I wanted one), I have a wonderful bill from the hospital for $9,000 that I got today (if I had just stayed home and tried to suck it up like I usually do because I can't afford to see a doctor, I could have had a heart attack at 26 because my heart rate was so accelerated or worse, died because my organs could have failed), and my parents somehow find almost $500 a month to pay for my insulin and pump supplies. Public healthcare would be AMAZING. They gave me some information about some program that I have to provide all kinds of forms saying where I live and that I pay bills in my name (which I don't, since I don't have a job) so that I can go to the cheap clinics (not HOSPITALS) an hour away from me. AWESOME.
I believe in immigration. We're a melting pot, after all! I appreciate the jobs that so many illegals do, because I don't want to mow your lawn, cook your food, paint your house, or clean up after you. I don't think they're stealing jobs from Americans. But I do believe that they are breaking the law being here illegally, and then things fall back into the whole healthcare issue.
I believe in abortion. I think that when a woman is raped or the victim of incest, or when the mother's or child's life is at risk, abortion is excellent. But I think that the women who have had several abortions because they just keep getting pregnant are an awesome argument for being pro-life. I bet a prescription for birth control is cheaper than all those abortions.
I believe in gay marriage. I think you have no control over who you are attracted to and that saying that love can only happen between a man and woman is a violation of the separation of church and state. I don't think gay marriage ceremonies should be performed in churches, per say, but that's not a legal issue. Gay couples deserve spousal rights.
I believe in stem cell research. That's purely selfish because I know it impacts diabetes research and well, I'd like to see it cured in my lifetime.
I am a fan of energy diversification. That's totally our future. I mean, we aren't still using steam to run trains, so obviously we evolve. But in the mean time, my car runs on gas. Drill domestically. Seriously.
I'm technically a moderate, but I sit decidedly on the right side of being a moderate.
So excuse me for not peeing all over myself with delight about the new liberal president. The world didn't end, but its not like it got magically better.
I'm not a conservative because I'm stupid, y'all. I'm a conservative because that's what life has taught me.
I hate big government. That's the bottom line.
I think wellfare is a crock. I'm all for aid, but not for lifers. I'm not a fan of a system where illegal immigrants and people who have no concept of "birth control" are living on government money and can get healthcare when I can't. No, not everyone on wellfare is like that. But the vast majority of the people in my neighborhood in Dallas sure were. Liberal Denver agrees. I was denied unemployment wages. I was denied medicaid. I couldn't even get food stamps if I wanted! Why? Because when I was still living with Denver, we made more than $30,000 a year between us. And now because I live with my parents. My dad is 65 and claims social security (because use it while it's still there, right?!) so that makes me ineligible. I would love to have a job. I apply for jobs. I've even gone on some interviews. But until then, I have student loans that aren't getting paid (and so today I learned I can't get a real estate license if I decided I wanted one), I have a wonderful bill from the hospital for $9,000 that I got today (if I had just stayed home and tried to suck it up like I usually do because I can't afford to see a doctor, I could have had a heart attack at 26 because my heart rate was so accelerated or worse, died because my organs could have failed), and my parents somehow find almost $500 a month to pay for my insulin and pump supplies. Public healthcare would be AMAZING. They gave me some information about some program that I have to provide all kinds of forms saying where I live and that I pay bills in my name (which I don't, since I don't have a job) so that I can go to the cheap clinics (not HOSPITALS) an hour away from me. AWESOME.
I believe in immigration. We're a melting pot, after all! I appreciate the jobs that so many illegals do, because I don't want to mow your lawn, cook your food, paint your house, or clean up after you. I don't think they're stealing jobs from Americans. But I do believe that they are breaking the law being here illegally, and then things fall back into the whole healthcare issue.
I believe in abortion. I think that when a woman is raped or the victim of incest, or when the mother's or child's life is at risk, abortion is excellent. But I think that the women who have had several abortions because they just keep getting pregnant are an awesome argument for being pro-life. I bet a prescription for birth control is cheaper than all those abortions.
I believe in gay marriage. I think you have no control over who you are attracted to and that saying that love can only happen between a man and woman is a violation of the separation of church and state. I don't think gay marriage ceremonies should be performed in churches, per say, but that's not a legal issue. Gay couples deserve spousal rights.
I believe in stem cell research. That's purely selfish because I know it impacts diabetes research and well, I'd like to see it cured in my lifetime.
I am a fan of energy diversification. That's totally our future. I mean, we aren't still using steam to run trains, so obviously we evolve. But in the mean time, my car runs on gas. Drill domestically. Seriously.
I'm technically a moderate, but I sit decidedly on the right side of being a moderate.
So excuse me for not peeing all over myself with delight about the new liberal president. The world didn't end, but its not like it got magically better.
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