thoughts on the anniversary of the invasion

"Christianity agrees with Dualism that this universe is at war. But it does not think this is a war between independent powers. It thinks it is a civil war, a rebellion, and that we are living in a part of the universe occupied by the rebel. 

Enemy-occupied territory—that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage."

--C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (book 2, chap 2)

"The whole world lies in the power of the evil one."
1 John 5:19 

"[Jesus], though he was in the form of God,

did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,

but made himself nothing, 

taking the likeness of a servant, 

being born in the likeness of men."

Phil. 2:6-7

************************************************************************************************************

"Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly." Matt. 1:18-19

What is the connection between righteousness and not shaming Mary? 

Joseph was not selfish enough to desire the revenge of public humiliation.

Heavenly Father, what a role model you gave your son for his early life!

"And while they were in Bethlehem, the time came for her to give birth. ... And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, 'Fear not, for I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord." Luke 2: 6, 8-11.

158 chances to get it right

God allows second chances.

It's easy to say, but when a period of one's life makes one require a third, fourth, or one hundredth chance, the belief dims. Could God really still love me after another screw-up? I don't deserve another chance--if I were God, I would have fired me from myself by now. Yet here I am, awake, myself, fully aware of the sin I committed yesterday yet still having one more chance to try again.


"I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgement; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire." (Matt. 5.22)


Check--count me liable for all three. Times 20.

But God refuses to give up on me. Why? I'm nothing worth saving. Instead of grumbling about what an idiot I am, God simply says "I love you; I forgive you."

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 Jn. 1.9)


And Jesus doesn't get an attitude; he doesn't say "Get with the program already! I died for that sin--stop it!"

"But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." (1 Jn. 2.1)


I have 158 more chances to get it right. God graciously, gladly, and in love gives me every single one of those chances, plus more. Am I willing to take him up on this offer? Am I willing to rise every morning and accept another chance of victory?

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies are new every morning." (Lam. 3.22)

A Black Friday Victory

Wednesday, 3pm

The monster lurks under the surface, waiting for the email to arrive. He is weaker than last year but still strong enough to claw his way to the surface at times, to dig his talons into her mind, to squeeze her heart back toward the miserly cage he used to control. Friday is strategic--if he can reach the surface once more, if he can breathe fresh air for a few hours, he knows he can survive longer, perhaps even another year. Curse his fellow monsters who have created the chaos accompanying that day, for as she has grown closer to The Other One, she has slipped from his claws to the point where she is almost repulsed by the chaos. 

Still, he has one more card to play and he takes a gulp of air as she reads the email. One claw enters her mind: 50% off name-brand clothes. He grabs her heart in a familiar vise: just a 5 minute walk down the road. Filled with a hope he hasn't felt in months, the monster slips back under the surface.

Friday, 7am

Today. If he can only convince her to visit the store, he will be stronger, refreshed, ready to continue the battle with The Other One for control of her heart. First order of action: communicate with the lazy one, convince him to work harder today. No luck--the monster Lazy stirs halfheartedly but quickly gives up. "Habits," he moans as he rolls back to sleep. "The Other One is helping her develop habits."

There is hope still, the email remains in her inbox. His claw is still in her mind, though not very deep. He can feel his grip on her heart slipping as she reads The Other One's book, his claw loosening as her to-do list grows. He struggles toward the surface--must breathe, must get fresh air! A moment too late, he sees the lit fence, the life vibrating from it, and he is thrown backward.

Friday, 9am

The monster revives as she jogs through the neighborhood. He shakes his head, confused. This fence was new, there had never been one in that location previously. The light from the fence shines gently, illuminating the word Contentment written across it in blood. 

Out of breath, weary, the monster Greed retires. And the girl continues through Black Friday, sharing with her Savior joy in the quiet victory of the day. 

check engine. check.

A collection of thoughts from the past weekend:

Friday, 7:45pm: Why is my check engine light on?

Friday, 9pm: My small group teacher just assigned us homework. How old am I again?

***********************************

Saturday, 9:30am: Sweet, I had a decent 5k time for a cross-country race...just need to decrease my pace by 20-30 seconds to place in my next 5k.

Saturday, 10am: Wow, next year I want to win this 5k and get a free turkey.

Saturday, 10:15am: My father is brilliant, of course I should take my car to its original dealer to see if it's a warranty problem.

Saturday, 10:30am: So basically, either it's warranty problem that they'll fix for free or I pay $100 to know why the light is on...I'll take that bet.

Saturday, 11:30am: Good thing I brought stuff to do while waiting.

Saturday, 12:30pm: Insert Jeopardy theme music here.

Saturday, 12:45pm: Yay, it was a warranty issue!

***********************************

Sunday, 7am: Ouch. It appears I did actually roll my ankle during that 5k yesterday.

Sunday, 11am: I'm glad my car got fixed yesterday so I can still visit a friend in the city today...

Sunday, 2pm: Eastern Market Crepes are the best.

Sunday, 9:30pm: The Matrix makes so much more sense as an adult than as a 13 year old.

a story of math in modernity

I was never a math whiz. 

I passed math courses decently because I was motivated by a little red letter that appeared on homework and exams after the teacher saw them. I wanted that letter to be an A. (note bene: it's amazing how some kids are motivated by these letters. but let's not forget the kids who aren't.)

I didn't necessarily hate math, nor did I struggle with it. I simply never understood how higher math would apply to real life. The grocery store never says "Today we are selling x's for $20, and your total will be $82, so what is x?" And my bank would never say, "Hmm, we seem to have lost the number of deposits you made in March, but we have your February total and your April total, so can you figure out how much money you deposited?" (note bene: if your bank does ever says that to you, tell them $550,500, take the money, and leave!)

Granted, knowing math does help with physics, and I enjoyed elementary physics because there are the occasional physics problems in real life (ie--if it's snowing in October and I'm trying to turn left but that car is coming pretty fast, should I go or not go?).

Not until a few weeks ago was I grateful that my younger self was motivated by little red letters. While at work, I assigned myself the task of deciphering a complex incentive system to determine how much money we had given away through said incentives. 

During this process, I suddenly realized that I was doing algebra. 

Granted, in this real-life higher math, there were no x's or y's or even pi's. There were, however, unknown numbers and I was finding them quite successfully. So successfully, in fact, that I corrected numbers from the previous four years with the simple equation I had developed. 

So while I will never become a math whiz, I have a new appreciation for the language of numbers in everyday life. (note bene--I will confess that the use of an Excel spreadsheet assisted with this newfound enthusiasm) 

revamping is my life

As this blog nears 100 posts, I'm reevaluating yet again its purpose and meaning. Given that a blog is an inanimate thing, given life only through its "creator," it seems to me that the created should serve the creator...and not vice versa.

There are so many metaphors and theological discussions in the previous sentence that I will simply ignore and restart.

Recently, I have felt pressure from my blog. I have felt that I simply must post at regularly scheduled intervals. Why I often am more stressed about the expectations of inanimate things than about the expectations of living, breathing humans is something that befuddles and bemuses me.

Regardless, I am posting this post right now on this slightly-read, unliving internet space to tell the world that I am releasing myself from the shackles of posting daily or bi-daily or tri-daily. I'm only going to post if I have something to say. That may be once a week or five times a week.

Don't worry--I actually have several things I want to say that I haven't had the freedom to edit because I've been stressed about 'posting.' And there are several things I will have to say in the future.

For now, though, this is all I have to say:

Dear Blog, You. Do. Not. Control. Me. With love, Me.

related

You know you are related when someone says 'make a silly face' and you both make the same face.

Can't deny it, might as well embrace it.

I love that I look just like my mom.

in case you were wondering

in honor of the day

Growing up, Halloween was a fun holiday, an excuse to emulate my at-that-moment favorite character or career. Once, I was Esmeralda of the Hunchback of Notre Dame; once, I was a pirate; once, I was a clown. My favorite memories of Halloween are those involving our best friends, who also happened to be our neighbors. Our motley crew of 3 preteen boys, myself, and two toddler girls would visit every lit house in the neighborhood, our chattering parents in tow. Always chivalrous, the boys would brave the trek to the scarier houses, showing us damsels all the spooky parts while we stood in the street, weighing the candy against the creepiness.

When our group was broken up due to military reassignments, Halloween was never the same. Tonight, however, while running through several different neighborhoods in my little town, these buried Halloween memories resurfaced. As I ran, families were gathering their children, neighbors were setting out chairs and fire pits and candy, costumes were being perfected, and entire neighborhoods were preparing to enjoy an evening of candy-collecting, neighbor-chatting, and family-togetherness. As usual, there were a few extra-spooky houses (which I crossed the street to avoid, having no chivalrous male co-runner), there were many houses with pumpkins and candles, and many others with no decorations, simply a smiling neighbor with candy.

Someday, someone should do a photobook about Halloween in small town America.

PS--my contribution to the day: a picture of the creepy white spider that lived between my screen and window. My heroic housemate sprayed him with Raid, so he's dead...and I still refuse to open my window because he died where he lived.

back to doughnuts

Apparently I only get doughnuts in the fall and am thus obsessed with them.

 This little restaurant seems to be in the middle of nowhere, but it's quite the hopping place!

I think the big apple donut out front has quite a bit to with their popularity. Of course, the smaller apple donuts on the inside were much tastier, but unfortunately, I was unable to take a picture of them before their photogenicity was destroyed by the group's desire for fresh hot donuts.

peek into my life

For a blog that has Thursday in its title, perhaps I should have a regular Thursday theme. O faithful readers of whom there are not many, what thinkest thou regarding this idea?

No, really, what do you think my Thursday theme should be? The logical answer would probably be gardening, but let me nix that one right now for 2 reasons. One, it's almost winter and things don't grow in winter. Two (and more importantly), things don't grow for ME. I had a plant once...and then it died. But only after doing this weird mutant thing whereby it grew up an inch, grew two leaves at the top, grew another inch, grew two more leaves at the top while the previous two died off, and continued until it was a good 6 inches tall. Then I forgot to water it for a couple weeks. So gardening = no go.

Green could refer to eco-living, though! Hmm...having just taken out two very full trash bags today, I'm not sure I'm highly qualified to write about green living.

Green with envy? Green as in 'the equator is green year round'? Green as in evergreen trees? Or there's always "Awkward & Awesome Thursdays," though that's not very original.

Eh, for now I'll just give you a peek into my life. I present to you my new favorite snack: corn chips and cottage cheese.

a happy dance

I've been ordering a lot of stuff online recently. There's a new adage about being "too busy to shop," and I think it applies to me. (I also think I might have just made just an adage! Or a cliche. Or maybe a metaphor? Either way, could you attribute it to me? My fame would greatly appreciate it.)

Back to the point, which is that receiving items in the mail is rather quite fun! Especially when the big corporate sender decides to add a little flair to their receipt and provides instructions for a happy dance.

For all you folks making it through hump day, let's do a little celebration: 1, 2, 3-4-5-6. Woo-hoo!

so i entered a contest

The Cherry Blossom Ten Miler has been on my bucket list since 2008, my senior year of college. I missed the deadline that year, I think because it closed by the time I finished class and ran back to my room. Then last year, I tried again, entering the lottery...and proving yet again that I should never gamble.

I've been wavering about entering for 2012. The thought of losing another lottery is disheartening. And with some big life changes coming soon, I wasn't even sure I wanted to commit the training time.

Until I saw an email saying that two runners would be picked as the Cherry Blossom's "Social Media Runners." Two runners get the privilege of documenting their journey, their training, their struggles, their triumphs, their fears, as they inspire and encourage fellow runners to reach the starting line. I decided: I want to run the Ten Miler. And I wanted to enter this contest.

So here's my entry. It's submitted. Now we wait.

I am a normal person trying to survive in our abnormal world--I work 4 jobs (one full-time!), I watch movies multiple nights a week (because we’re too cheap for cable!), I’m looking for just the right person to share my life with (male, smart, rich, and blonde!), and I struggle with finding Saturday night activities that will end in time for my Sunday morning run (Redbox, anyone?). I would be a great social media runner because I am so very normal--I'm not a marathoner, I've proudly completed exactly one half-marathon, and I have never finished in the top 50 in any 5k’s, even the small ones! Like most normal people, I often struggle to maintain the running habit, especially with a life full of work, volunteering, and friendships. I've always wanted to run the Cherry Blossom but I have never won the lottery; in fact, I’m so normal that I’ve never even won a raffle! 

The average Joe (and the average Jane) would relate to me because after all, we are each quite normal, despite individual quirks. We all want to be prettier, smarter, faster, stronger, and better at everything—the question is, can a normal person really overcome the abnormalities of our modern world to succeed at a dream? Can a normal person—one who struggles with witty tweets; who always aims to run more miles than she actually does; who facebooks in the wee hours of the morning; who desires but has yet to reach a meaningful outlet for writing on her blog—really fulfill her four year dream of running the Cherry Blossom? As one of the social media runners for the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler, I would relish the opportunity to inspire others to make real their wildest imaginings. 

Fall doughnuts are the best

Because they include such cool items as "Boston Scream," "Maple Frosted," "Fall Festival," and "Pumpkin."

Too bad trying them all would make me fat.

That's why we only eat them after hiking out to a beautiful fall vantage point.

To view the foliage.

Huh. I mispronounced that word today because I thought it was spelling "foilage." Seeing the proper spelling aids my understanding of why people were laughing at me for saying "foil - age."

Unpasteurized fresh apple cider definitely increases the atmosphere of fall.

And of course, a couple good books don't hurt either.

Go, copy my ideas and enjoy fall. You only have a few weeks left of good "foilage"!

Did you know I'm a little OCD?

When I like a song, I will listen to it repeatedly.





I don't mean I'll listen to it once or twice a day. That would be too normal. No, I put that song on repeat so it plays continuously for a couple of hours ('a couple of hours,' of course, referring to the entire 8 hour workday). I'm too cheap to buy the song that I love so much, so I'll find it on YouTube and constantly hit 'replay.' And then I'll do the same thing the next day.

My current song-obsession is Aaron Shust's My Hope is in You.* 

Yeah. Be warned, potential mates, friends, or housemates. I'm one of those people who really struggles to turn off the car in the middle of American Pie.

*Warning! Don't watch the official YouTube video unless you're ready to cry.

"You mean, my career?"

Lately, I've been thinking about the future. As in, what do I want to do with my future.

Suddenly, the other day, I realized, the future is NOW! As in, I'm an adult and I can do pretty much whatever I want and go wherever I please at my current stage of life.

Then I was overwhelmed by life and went to watch a movie with my housemates. Turns out, they'd decided upon Say Anything, a 1989 John Cusack movie, in which he plays Lloyd Dobler, a recent high school graduate with no specific plans for his future.

Except he knew what he didn't want to do: "I don't want to sell anything, buy anything or process anything as a career."

"Anyway, I can't figure it all out tonight, so I'm just gonna hang with your daughter."

And I'm going to go work at a local adventure camp for the afternoon.

chaos no more

At the end of my internship during my final college summer, the intern coordinator succinctly described every intern in one sentence. It was part of a motivational 'end of internship, how to apply this summer of boring office work to your future' closing day celebration. I don't remember any of the other interns except one; I don't remember much of what I did that summer; and I don't remember much of the office except the jeep in the lobby and this one sentence:

"Chrissy, you exist to bring order from chaos."

One sentence, spoken by one person, yet I smile whenever I hear it, because this man captured one of my essences: order.

Be careful what you say, as it may just stick with someone for the rest of their life.

Sunrise, Sunset

This is a sunset.

Its beauty almost convinced me to like sunsets as much as I love sunrises.

National Conference - The Sleep Version

Last National Conference post - I promise.

But after such a high energy week, I'm sure you are wondering: do these folks sleep?

The answer is yes. 

But not necessarily when we should be sleeping.

Meals, for example, are a great place for napping. 

And if you were curious, yes, some speakers are more soothing than others. 

The airport is another great place for a nap. 

But I think most people would agree with that. 

National Conference blackmail

So remember back at the beginning of the week, I mentioned the 'crazy-awesome co-workers'? 

Here's the crazy part:

They do weird poses behind our back.

They pet and strangle plastic ducks simultaneously.

They dress up in funny costumes. And connive the rest of us into dressing up in funny costumes also!

And they totally go along with my 'let's look like dorks!' photo poses.

Gotta love these co-workers.

Still talking about National Conference...(hey, it's a long week!)

Now we're getting to the fun pictures: the actual conference! (previous pictures were all prep-work)

Look, I'm so excited because we have people at the registration booth!

Placing pubs orders. Don't I look all snazzy and professional in my suit with that super-amazing curly up-do...

Of course, there are always mishaps, which is why we have a first-aid kit and a certified first-aid responder. 

No thanks to my first-aid trainer, though, in teaching me how to handle this emergency: "I want Superman bandaids."

Thankfully, my off-the-cuff response of 'Oh dear, we only have big-boy bandaids left!" worked like a charm. 

We're so proud of our registration booth.

In case you ever wondered how I handle 15 hour workdays, here's the answer: I turn into a peacock.

What we do at National Conference (part 3)

We do actually work during National Conference. 

We work pretty hard too.

But we're the kind of crew that works hard and plays hard. And sometimes, we play hard while working.

Like when we are creating the 43 pound candy box.

Assembling packets is always risky--thankfully, there were fewer papers this year, so the papercut rate dropped over last year.

Assembly line with Pandora!

All these boxes were used for the registration table. About half of them are registration packets that we assembeld.

And of course, we always have fun creating the centerpieces...assuming they don't fall apart. We learned from 2010 and used superglue this year.

Pictures always necessary!

What we do at National Conference (part 2)

Of course, one should never visit somewhere without a bit of sightseeing.

The Titantic! Not. It was actually half of the Titanic. See the iceberg? It's a really classy addition to the parking lot.

Actually, most things in Branson are done with that type of class.

Sight & Sound Theater. Now there is a beautiful and classy theater.

Now here's a group of people you don't want to mess with, enjoying their only moment on stage that week.

Somehow, one of our team was "voluntold" for this section of the backstage tour...

We visited the largest boat that was built on a manmade lake.

They slid it into the water on banana peels.

No joke.

What We do at National Conference (part 1)

So, for those of you uninitiated in the crazy, fun, intense, laughter-filled week that we at work call "National Confrence," I'm presenting a week-long series on the event. 

Please note, this is from a 'stagehand's' perspective. So, don't expect glitz or glamour. 

Instead, expect me on steroids. Or caffeine. Which might actually be worse.

Enjoy the 'behind-the-scenes' peek this week. I'm off resting my eyes.

***************************

We work with crazy-awesome co-workers.

We visit random places (this is where we got our centerpieces flowers. Only in the directions, they didn't mention their flower-power shop was located in a wedding shop. So we drove right by it the first time).

Again, random places. This was supposed to be an apple farm. Apparently two days before we arrived, it was an apple farm. 

Now it's a cornstalk-and-pumpkin farm. 

And we didn't get our apples.

Sigh.

We drive through amazing scenery. Assuming, of course, that we're not asleep.

We stay at stunning and astounding hotels.

We think at one point we were followed by Evil Knievel. 

real-time update

I remember clearly the first discovery that I was myopic. We were in church, about halfway to the back, singing as the worship service started. This church was fairly small: possibly 20 rows, hard pews, a traditional stage & pulpit, with lyrics projected by overheads. My two best friends (because at 8 year old, you can have more than one) and I were the church triplets, doing everything from AWANA to choir to Sunday School together.

I tugged on my mother's sleeve: "Mom, I can't see the words. What do they say?"

She didn't express surprise or fear or even strong concern, any of the normal reactions that I now as an adult would have expected. She glanced at me, at the screen, and then simply handed her glasses to me: "Does that make it better?"

"Yes!" I stared hungrily at the overhead, unwilling to return the sudden clarity I had received. "Can I use them?"

She laughed and took them back: "No, then I won't be able to see. We'll get you some glasses this week."

That was over 15 years ago, so long that even the memory of perfect vision has gone from my brain. After today, however, that will not longer be the case. After today, I will remember the day I regained my vision as clearly as I remember the day I realized I was losing it. Because right now, at this moment, I am undergoing LASIK surgery.

I have been dreaming of this day for 3 years, ever since a friend came back to college with crusty eyes and no more glasses.

I have been planning for this day for 2 years, ever since two friends sat at my parents' kitchen table and told me everything about their LASIK procedures from the previous summer. And told me which doctors to talk to.

I have been saving for this day for 1 year, ever since my optometrist told me that yes, indeed, I was a candidate for LASIK.

(here's a theme in case you didn't notice it: Big, life-changing events don't tend to happen very quickly in my life.)


To celebrate this rather simple procedure that will rather drastically change my life, I present a song:

a thought completed

It's done: I've changed the blog.

Please enjoy the new theme, inspired by a reader's comment.

Oh wait, you want an explanation? Seriously? A thesis on a blog name? Perhaps the modern world has gone further into post-civilization than I had realized...

Here's the exact reasoning for the new name and style:

Blue is my favorite color, however Blue on Tuesdays sounds rather dreary, like a rainy day that just won't end.

Green is my second favorite color and Thursday's have been awesome since the inception of Tally Ho's $3 Thursdays. Hence, Green on Thursdays.

Clear as mud? Welcome to my mind.

achtung

if I were you, I'd updated my blog roll to list this blog as http://greenonthursdays.blogspot.com.

'cuz after tomorrow, The Fab & The Funk will no longer exist.

birthdaze

I'm just in a daze

Because of September birthdays,

So many people were born,

Without whom my life would be torn.

So we took a trip to the city,

Driving through the nitty-gritty,

And there we celebrated with a rooftop meal,

As that was part of the birthday girls' deal.

Then we explored the town,

By walking round & round.

We missed the cupcakes

But not the Starbucks!

PS--Escalators are cool.

Unclaimed and Unconventional

This has to be the awesomest store ever.

They claim to have a stock of "lost treasures from around the world."

If that had been around when Indiana Jones lived, he never would have had to run from a giant rolling stone!

hand of God

Today, I get to be a hand of God.


As Proverbs states, "Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a faithful messenger to those who send him."


As Corinthians proclaims, "But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body....Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it."

Today, I get to deliver math textbooks to one of my church's missionary families.

While that may not seem like a particularly noteworthy task, let me recount the divinely orchestrated details.

1) Our church's missionaries in Mexico expressed a need for math textbooks to a church member, who also "happens" to be my coworker.
2) The family mentioned that some of them would "happen" to be in Missouri for an event hosted by my organization.
3) The church member/coworker knew that I also "happened" to be attending this event and asked if I could transport materials if we found them. Of course I said yes.
4) Our church "happened" to have the textbooks and donated 4 years worth of math textbooks--a $500+ worth value.
5) The books were delivered to me. I packed them in my suitcase (and another coworker graciously donated part of his suitcase space also!).
6) Today, I'm delivering the books to our missionary family!

Do you see God's astounding attention to detail??

Now excuse me as I fulfill my duty as a hand...

well. here's a thought.

So I'm thinking of changing the blog name.

The original conception behind the current name hasn't revealed itself. In fact, the original idea seems so "not-me" that I'm refusing to share it!

So, new name, new concept, new motivation to continue blogging.

Now, to figure out where to go from here...

Thoughts?

chop chop!

Last week, I went for a haircut.

I searched for a stylist who could cut curly hair.

I debated, I pondered, and I finally picked one. 

And I am happy. Which is a big deal, because historically, I feel great the day of a haircut and awfully frustrated the next day.

Without further ado:: 

Before

After:

Not much length removed, but layers added and bangs helped.

And even better, the day after: 

Now the real test: can I survive a whole week of an event while staying a curly??