tweet or no?

If you are up on latest must-haves of the internet, you have definetely heard of the social network boom of Twitter. 

I must confess… when I first heard of Twitter, I jumped out and signed up for my free account. It wasn’t until after I’d posted my first two tweets that my fingertips came to a screeching halt on my typepad.

Good night, World

Like millions of Americans, I have trouble sleeping.

For me, the issue is not sleeping light, or waking in the middle of the night; rather it is the incessant march of thoughts, lists, conversations, and words parading across my mind. Often, I find myself lying wide-eyed for hours, planning the next day, solving a crisis at work, or reviewing the inevitable mental list of tasks pushed ahead one more day. Like an evil drone, the clamor that rises keeps me from fully relaxing and allowing myself to fall into a state of sleep.

 

Honk if you love junky cars

After years of abiding by these principles, and living according to this practice, I’ve finally officially joined the Junky Car Club!   

Okay, so I don’t crave driving an ’82 Peugeot, or cruising town in a rusted out ’73 Cadillac, but I do drive a ten year old vehicle that has seen better days.  And while I do my best to keep it clean and in good shape, I do enjoy the beauty of driving a car for as long as possible.

In a society where indulgence is praised, and people spend money on wants and flighty desires, keeping up with the Joneses becomes an increasing cancer on the sense of self-value.   All of this ridiculous and misplaced pressure makes the choice of living frugally and environmentally sound much more appealing.  It is an amazing feeling to live within one’s means and use remaining money to invest in creating memories, valued causes, social justice, and the betterment of the less fortunate.

Are you a secret junky car club member?  If so, proudly stand and join the movement that is driving across the nation; and join us in Honking your freedom to the world!   

  www.junkycarclub.com       

 

Nature or God?

Once again I opened MSNBC.com to find stories of natural disasters ripping through the lives of ordinary people. As I read the account of a family who lost their mother, and the followed them through the day, searching for her body and contemplating how to tell her son his mother was gone, I paused when I read of their search for meaning in this horrific moment.

In the article, the woman’s sister begins to grapple with why this happened to her family:

“Standing Wednesday amid the debris field of twisted metal and pink insulation, Carmon Lagunes struggled to grasp why God would take her sister. ‘That’s his wrath,’ she said, looking toward the wreckage. ‘For some reason, he’s not happy right now and this is. … Nobody understands God’s will. I sure as hell don’t understand it.’

Said Anita Goodnight, the sisters’ aunt: ‘God didn’t do it. Satan did.’”

Transparent living

Guilt.

It’s a crazy word. Even crazier, a vast majority of us seem to live by it.

In a recent, highly unscientific poll, I began asking friends what they struggled with the most. Surprisingly, a high majority said, “guilt”. Even more startling, many of them stated that when they woke up in the morning, the first emotion that ran across their mind was guilt. For what? They didn’t know.

Often this silent sense of guilt is often based on fear of rejection, of letting someone down, or of not being needed. Rather than the being the result of improper actions, this form is a direct result of denying our interests, desires, and dreams in an effort to please or be accepted by others.

A dog’s life

Okay… a quick confession.  I’m dogsitting right now.  Ten days.  Watching two small dogs.  First I must say that they are truly cute and full of life; almost too much life. 

The challenge is that they aren’t the best behaved pups I’ve ever been around (sorry, my friends who might be reading this…).  After a week of picking up strewn trash, placing pampers on them when they come inside, chasing them off the furniture, fussing at them to quit barking, and getting up all night long to let them go outside, I’m beginning to question myself.

If I can become so frustrated by two little pups… am I going to be able to handle two little kids?  I realize that raising children is a very different adventure, but I can’t help but admit that I’ve become just a little concerned.

Stupid acts with stupider motives

Yes, I do know that stupider is not a word. However, there are times when it is necessary for the word itself to depict its meaning. This was one of those.

Yesterday was one of those rare days when I find myself with free time and access to a vehicle. After waiting for what seemed like ages to have some alone time, my long-needed respite was welcomed with an unexpected snow storm and bitter, windy cold. In such conditions, normal people would hunker down in their warm homes, complete with wool throws, spice tea, and blazing fires. I, on the other hand, learned that a little gift store in a neighboring town was having a Christmas sale and decided this was the perfect time to shop. Those who know me, realize this is strange: I hate shopping, abhor malls, and often feel literal sickness rise up as I enter stores overwhelmed with commodities begging to be taken home. Yet, strangely, I chose this blizzardy moment to make an exception.

Finding myself driving alone, without a cell phone, in white-out conditions, down a windy, cliff-edged, iced-over highway, I began to ponder if the wisdom of braving such conditions was worth the value I might save on something I really don’t need. After all, should I veer off the highway and land upside down, hundreds of feet below, half-submerged in icy river water, how would anyone know that my valiant death was in pursuit of a new glass Christmas bulb?

Later, as I scurried out of the little shop, slipping across the parking lot toward my cold, frost-encrusted vehicle, I determined, Yes, potential vehicular slaughter was worth the shopping adventure. Certainly I saved a few dollars on two ornaments and four “natural-looking” artificial floral boughs for next year’s celebration. But the real value of the ridiculous venture was the definite joy of a bargain hunt.

And now that my urge to splurge has been met, I can relax knowing that it will be a long time before I find myself back at the door of a gift shop. Hopefully that far-off day will be just a little bit nicer.

Living with purpose

In a world where responsibilities mount with surprising ease, and obligations seem to accumulate with every breath we breathe, it is easy to become so overwhelmed with the mundane of life that we simply maintain our existence. The tragedy of this is that the joy of living for a higher calling dissipates amongst the daily drudgery. The purpose for which we were individually designed gets hidden among laundry, running the kids to swim class, designing a Sunday School craft, or balancing the checkbook online.

For Christians, there is an added sense of obligation that can mask purpose and further steal giftings from God. Too often, we develop a sense of responsibility, guilt, or assumption that our purpose is found in supporting church events and ministries, or maintained by simple attendance. While these are all great areas in which to invest our time, for some these can become huge distracters from true callings.

What would happen if we set aside the time consumers that are done out of sheer duty, and allow ourselves to dive into areas where our heart truly lives? Perhaps it is volunteering at a woman’s shelter, leading a fund raiser for education in third-world countries, starting an ESL class, or teaching new mom’s the significance of good nutrition.  Whatever the inspiration, if we can truly find and live in the source of our heartbeat, we’ll notice that our world becomes a more peaceful place to dwell, our time becomes treasured, and life is one truly lived.

Hidden Gem in Reality TV

There are few things that I despise more than Reality TV.  Usually filled with opportunistic, outlandish personalities hoping to be seen, often the viewing public is filled with the dreaded feeling of being patronized and let down, over and over again.

Recently, however, one hidden gem has found its way to the top of this virtual pile of rubbish; the talented Paul Potts.

Check out this amazing video of a cell phone salesman’s introductory performance on Britain’s talent for the next superstar.  It will take your breath away and inspire you to dream…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oxTy7KIAaA

Summer whirlwinds

It’s been awhile since my last post, and my world has been a whirlwind… between work, church, school, visiting family, and adoption paperwork, the Stevens’ household is roaring!

Due to the crush of events, I took a short time off from school and plan to pick up the pace again beginning in July. During this “free” time, we’re doing home study interviews, chasing dossier papers, working on the ever-evolving remodeling of our house, landscaping the front yard, and mentally preparing for the exciting, challenging course ahead of us!

I’ll try to do a better job of keeping you posted…