Mi oración del fin de agosto

Quiero mucho, Dios, ser, actuar, vestirme, pensar, y poner valor en cosas diferente que el resto del mundo que no Te conoce. Es verdad que quiero ser diferente, pero también aparecer diferente. Quiero ser respetada por mis vecinos, no para ganar aplausos del mundo incrédulo, sino como un señal que estoy viviendo en una manera que agrada a Dios.

Rufus the dog has a party

Last night, we had a party. The nice people who live with me, the M’s, use their wall for a movie and computer screen. The picture is roughly 8 by 10 feet. They can listen to music, check their e-mail, browse the web, play photo slide shows, watch movies. As I lay my weary body on the couch last night, they all found a new way to have fun with the wall-screen: drawing on each other using the computer drawing tools. Jen made Mr. M a spike-backed dinosaur (like Japeth the singing goat), but she also gave Mr. M a spiky tail. Then Jen’s good friend, MMM, gave Mr. M duck lips and a big pot belly. When it was MMM’s turn to be drawn on, Mr. M made her look like a gangsta’ chick/mummy. Mr. M then made Jen into some freaky made-up lady with big red cheeks and huge classes-also a tattoo on the arm saying, “MOM.” Mr. M let himself be drawn on again, wherein MMM gave him an eye patch and a black tooth, and asked him to say,”AaaRRRRR!!!” like a pirate. Oh, Jen and her triple M friend were giggling like little girls at a slumber party. It is fortunate that I’m not tall enough to be drawn on, so I got to stay safely on the sidelines.

Score!! One for JenM, or, Who are these people?

I had the opportunity this evening to visit some dear friends and fellow Christians at the hospital. In the waiting room were several friends, all of whom we knew, except for one couple. As the time wore on, I wanted to ask straight out, "Who are you?", but everyone else knew them, so I thought it best to pretend I did, too. Then a name came out-a familiar name . . . Zimmer. I then asked, "Are you THE Zimmer from Marysville?" "Yes, and this is my wife. You see me often at your church because I am a habitue there, but I do pastor a church in Marysville, and the kids you've been hearing us talk about are our's, and the kids from church wev'e been talking about are kids in One28 ministries. Why do you ask?" "Well, sir, although you do not know who I am, I am a virtual member of your church. You see, I know many of your congregants by name, and pray for them, and for your church as a whole, regularly." The man I've heard so much about was there in the waiting room with me!! What a small world, and a great God we have. The timing of that whole evening (a long chain of events), was very provdential and divinely appointed. That was an amazing and encouraging thing to me . . . to know so well people I have never met, and to have an instant and intimate bond in Christ.

Buon gusto, le joie de vivre, y buen provecho

He decidido aprender el frances, y diez minutos despues de decidiendo aprender frances, decido tambien aprender italiano. Es que el frances es muy semejante al espanol, y recordo que el italiano es tambien muy semejante al espanol (por ejemplo, hablaba con una hormiga, ella en italiano y yo en espanol. Nos entendimos perfectamente.)--por lo tanto, el italiano debe que ser semejante al frances. La cosa es que es tonta para mi estudiar frances y italiano cuando no uso mi espanol. Por lo tanto, he decidido usar espanol cada vez que pueda, y aprender de mis hormigas hispanohablantes. Creo que es mejor que uso ingles para escribir en mi blog, porque no se como anadir los acentos ni los tildes, y no quiero hacerme perezosa en la palabra escrita. Y la cosa buena es que tengo familiares y amigos que saben los tres lenguages, y se que ellas estarian muy felices ayudarme.
Au revoir, hasta mas tarde, y arivaderci.
Mi buey, Rocinante, dice hola.

The proper and preferred pooping procedure for dogs

I’ve found that my dog waits until the end of the day, until he’s certain that we’re not going to take him for a walk, to poop. I usually walk him in the morning, and he does his thing in the glorious light of the morning sun. However, on days like today, when I happened not to be able to take him for a walk until the evening (on account of our being on vacation), I believe he had all his “stuff” saved up inside of him, holding it all in until he could release it in the wild grass that grows in the parks. Apparently, it is infinitely superior to doo all those dogly dooties in the great outdoors-the great PUBLIC outdoors. Anyone can go in their own back yard! What’s the fun in THAT?!?
I read Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck on our vacation in the homeland of that author, and he writes many observations of his dog. That may have inspired this post.

Marriage

Holy matrimony, a God-ordained commitment to someone before God and all of your witnesses. In the Bible, God compares the love a groom has for his bride to the love that He has for His chosen people. God says He hates divorce. That is good. That means God will never stop loving, give up on, leave, or abandon the people He has chosen. As a Christian, I must hate divorce, too, and look upon it as a tragedy. But what about people who do not have Christian faith? "Without faith it is impossible to please God." (The letter to the Hebrews.) Is it a sin in the eyes of those without faith to divorce? What does the holy ceremony mean? Is it really holy? How should Christians look upon the divorce of non-Christians? Is their divorce nothing more than a consequence of their lack of faith?

Some canine theology

I was looking at Colossians 1:13 last night, and I was watching my very sweet and very cute little dog sleeping ever so peacefully in his favorite corner of our big blue couch. Col. 1:13 says that God has rescued His people from the domain of darkness and brought them into the kingdom of His beloved Son. I remembered going to the shelter and seeing our sweet, cute, little Rufus surrounded by big, mean dogs. He had to fight for his food, and sleep on a concrete slab. We rescued him and brought him into our house where he eats in peace and sleeps on a soft couch in our air-cooled house. I'm sure Rufus would thank us profusely and tell us how much better his life is now if he could. God did thatmuch and more and more for us, so how much more thankful should we be?

Feelin' fine, or, my weekend in reverse

So I just got hit on by a handsome man as I was walking home from Starbucks. Rufus and I went there for a little nightcap after a full Sunday, with church followed by a surprise party for a good friend. In other words, a full day of koinonia. So, I'm feelin' pretty good. Anyone who knows me via face or via blog knows that I am given heart and soul to my husband, my other half, mi media naranja. Still, it's a good feeling for a 30-year old.
Lest you think I posted for the sole purpose of bragging (never!), I would also like to share that I had an amazing weekend. After a short walk with Rufus Sat., I spent the day in blessed koinonia with a favorite friend. Bagels, coffee, pictures, shopping, potatoes, and pizza. What more can I say? It was a dream come true.
After a sad Thursday, I met a good friend at Starbucks Fri. morn., and let it all out. I cried on her sympathetic shoulder. We talked about a lot of things, the way girls do. In the evening, I went to a Dodger game (my 1st professional baseball game!) with my other half and the aforementioned favorite friend and some other friends. Very exciting!

Scene from the life of a smarty-pants and her dad

Big JB, the dad: "I made you."
Little JB, the sweet and sarcastic, smarty-pants daughter: "No you didn't. God made me."
Dad: "No, I made you."
Daughter, showing him her brown birthmark on her white skin: "Well, you didn't do a very good job!!!"
Dad, laughing,speechless, caught off guard with no comeback: "That's where God ran out of white skin and had to make a patch."
Daughter, with a triumphant twinkle in her eye, knowing she had outwitted her dad: "Oh, so NOW God made me."
Dad admits defeat and says no more.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Maybe it was just all the stuff weighing on my heart lately, but I did something I rarely do last night-I watched a horror movie; and even more weird, I actually enjoyed it-more than just enjoyed it. It seemed to me to be very allegorical of the spiritual battle that Christians fight throughout our lives. There was a very evil and headless henchman who was controlled and directed in his evil actions by a despicable overlord, who was bound to him by agreement. The evil and bloodthirsty henchman was only as evil as his commander allowed, actually commanded, him to be. The whole scenario reminded me of Satan and his minions on earth, sowing deception and lies to naive people at the bidding of the father of lies himself. I am reading Know the Truth by Bruce A. Milne, and seeing how diligent Christians must be in our pursuit of the truth, and how sincere in our love for it. Satan is active in going about seeking whom he can devour. How much more active must we be in not letting ourselves be devourable? Thanks be to our Good Shepherd that He keeps and protects His own, but we need to learn to recognize His voice, and follow only His sweet and tender commands.

Something bothering me

Deception. Sometimes obvious, sometimes subtle. I got a forwarded email yesterday that promised me riches and fame if I passed it on to my friends, and also said unmentionable peril would come into my life if I didn't. I pray the well-intentioned people who send these things don't actually believe them. They are nothing more than modern day superstitions. One from a friend instructed me to send the email to all the people I care about, and if she didn't get it back from me, she'd get the hint. Do my honest conversations and smiles, and the laughs I share with this friend not indicate my true friendship? Does she really need the reassurance of a mass email that is frought with superstion, false promises, and ridiculous threats?

A heavy heart

My heart has been weighed down and buffeted by the sin in the world, and the sin in me. In my past is a wonderful, fun and charismatic friend who left the state to pursue a life of immorality. A favorite talk show host of mine is living in that same lifestyle. I, like most people, have beloved relatives in deplorable situations that are the fault of no one but themselves. I see my own sin, my lack of vulnerability, the time and effort I spend in trying to cover up my hurts and disappointments with fake smiles. God had recently impressed on me the length of eternity. I hate to think of anyone, friend or foe, being in eternal damnation. This can only lead one to pray, to pour their bruised heart out before the Mercy seat of God and beg his mercy, pleading for myself and others.