2006: The Year of the Lady Flames???

As March Madness slowly creeps in on the NCAA community and the faithful fans of the 64 teams who will inevitably get the opportunity to battle it out for a National Championship Title, I have to say, I'm starting to have trouble sleeping at night. Although I wear my Liberty Flames football jerseys with pride, and jump at every chance to give a shout out to my future Alma-Mater in the tradition of school spirit, I have to be completely honest. At this time last year, I had no clue that my school even had a women's basketball team. I am truly ashamed to say that considering they not only have a basketball team, the Lady Flame squad may just rank right on up there as perhaps the best athletic team of any sport ever at Liberty University. Yea, impressive i know. So my ignorance came to an end last year when I went to check the weather online and my homepage pops up with: SWEET 16: LIBERTY FLAMES -ONLY 2ND TEAM IN NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY TO ADVANCE AS 13TH SEED. It also said something about them losing to LSU 90-48, but the details there are sketchy. I was truly in shock. Of course I knew I had made an excellent choice in pursuing my education from a school that not only boasts Jerry Falwell as the dean(or the founder, or a PR guy, I dont know for sure, but he's definently affiliated with LU for some important reason....), it also boasts the likes of Mark Lowrey and DC Talk as alumni. I mean why wouldn't I have chosen Liberty? Throw in a women's basketball team that looks as if it will be the next Connecticut or Tennessee, the admission figures are bound to blow up this coming fall, I'm just glad I got accepted when I did. So, as the days draw nearer to the 2006 March Madness bracket announcements, I'm sure millions will dare to dream, as I do, that for our Lady Liberty Flames, 2006 will be our year!! (i hope the fact of that last years starting lineup all graduated won't affect too much...)

American Idol, finally

In my humble opinion, Randy Jackson had the best line of the night, hands down. Remember the guy who said he had a vocal range like Clay Aiken(his nickname was like Wolfman or something, b/c he loved wolves) and then sang one of Clays songs? As he was leaving the room, all dejected and what not,(as if he thought he compared to Clay..???) Randy said, " Hey, I like wolves too." It was a classic. Definently had to see it, but it was hilarious.

What would you say?

After receiving the beautiful tulips the other day from a sweet, sweet friend I came home and hooked them up w/ the proper environment to thrive for as long as possible(i do have better luck w/ flowers then fish). Never missing an opportunity to have a valid excuse to ask a question, or just to hear his own voice, Joey asked me why I was putting them in water. And, as simply as I could, I attempted to explain my understanding of why that's what we do. I told him that flowers had to eat and drink just like us so they didn't die, but instead of having a mouth like we do, they used their stem like a straw and sucked the water up to the flower, and that's how they stayed alive. That only prompted 4,000 follow-up questions and after realizing that maybe a better answer would have been a simple, "because," somehow the attention was redirected and it was dropped. Tonight, he came home after spending the weekend with daddy, and guess what the first thing is that catches his eye? Yup...the sucking stem straw of the dying tulips. So, this is JOey, "watching the water go up, I see it, the flower is really thirsty mom, really..." NEver a dull moment...

now:

what is to come:

What have I gotten us into...

Magna (my mom) sent Joey a Grow-a-Frog for Christmas. When she first mentioned this, I thought it was a great idea! We had a couple growing up, and you send this postcard out and then within a couple weeks you receive a tadpole in the mail. The kit my mom got included all the food, container-aquarium thing, what have you...But, you can literally watch this tadpole grow into a frog, like within a matter of weeks or something, and then this frog just lives in the water for the rest of his life and he becomes more like a fish(reguarding his status in the family pet hiearchy). It's fantastic. So, Joey's all excited (and names him George the Monkey before he even sees him, I think that might be recalculated...ill keep you posted), I'm excited for JOey to have a pet, it's just good times all around. Yesterday, it arrived. All that I really had to do was pour him w/ his water he was already in into this tupperware-type thing he lives in. It went well, but it dawned on me that although rather minimum in its upkeep, I will be responsible for it, all of it. For like, ever. No more mom to clean his tank out, or Joe, just me. And although I liked to think of myself years ago as a tough tomboy who could stand in 20 degree weather w/ no coat and be fine or combat mice, roaches, or ants...I no longer am going to hid behind that facade. I'll just come right out and say it, I am a squemish wimp, and this frog (especially the pics of him when he gets big) really really disgust me. Mine jumped out of his tank one time when I was a kid...what if that happens now? I've got no backup, I'll be the only body available to catch him and heroicly save little George's life...yuck. I've have flashbacks concerning our last attempt at aquatic life domestication(a goldfish): the day right after his death (which unfortunatly was only like 4 days after he arrived home from Meijer) when Joe was out of town, and to avoid having the entire house smell like sun-rotted, decomposing marine life, I bravely busted out the net and did what I had to do. The walk from the counter to the toilet was, well I can't really talk about it without wanting to throw up, it felt so heavy, ughhh. So, I'm torn regaurding George, or whatever he ends up going by. Not really sure what I've gotten us into!

the former Friendly Gus

Check out my brother (click on the title and it'll take you to Arrendel [previously known as Friendly Gus, and forever F.G to me]). Dan is living in the A.t.L pursuing his passion of music (which he is amazingly talented at, not that I'm biased...). I am so proud of him and consider him one of my best friends that can make me laugh even during the worst of times. Plus, how many siblings get songs written about them (yea, thats what i thought....and i've got 2 written about me:)). Love you brotha, and miss you as always!!

my (temporary) backyard

i thought they went South?

a splash...

The only thing good about gray, Ohio skies is that they seem to make tulips brighter and happier looking then I've ever remembered them being...

A Glimpse of His Grace

Last night I was up late studying and I hear Joey's (he's 3) doorknob start to turn. I turn around in my chair, all ready to get on his case as to what he thinks he's doing out of bed, he should have been sleeping for hours, blahblahblah. Before I could even see his little blond head, I hear a groggy voice say, " I just was coming to give you a hug," and he proceeded to come over to me, climbed on my lap, and laid his head on my shoulder with a faint "I love you mommy" before he fell back into his sweet slumber. Those moments I'd like to record and keep close to my heart, replaying them whenever I need a shot of love... I think somedays I'd just pause it, where he climbs up into my arms, and let that scene stay for a long time...treasuring the tenderness and love he throws on me, knowing he won't be 3 for very much longer. Realizing, I won't be his world in a couple years, he'll grow and find another to love and to hold. So, I think I'll keep this on pause, for longer then I thought, maybe for a very long time for I don't want to lose this precious gift...and then God reminds me I won't lose this precious gift, it's wrapped a little differently but its drenched with the same adoration and kindness, yet tenfold. It's mine, the love and tenderness and grace....its forever, and somehow its more perfect then the soft embrace of a 3 year old. God's love is mine, His attention, His embrace, and His Kingdom. It won't grow interested in other things, it's an Eternal privelage. He is simply providing glimpses of what pure love looks like in moments such as these...a snapshot of grace. I need to not miss anymore, I've missed plenty, yet still, He proves day in and day out that He is faithful, His love is real and is mine....He shows up, in the midst of a chapter outlining architectual wonders of the Greek Golden Age, sending my little boy to remind me I am loved, eternally and dearly loved.

and there's no God....?

* "The slant of the earth, tilted at an angle of twenty-three degrees, produces our seasons. Scientists tell us that if the earth had not been tilted exactly as it is, vapors from the oceans would move both north and south, piling up vast continents of ice.
* If the moon were only 50,000 miles away from earth instead of250,000, the tides might be so enormous that all continents would be submerged in water- even the mountains would be eroded.
* If the crust of the earth had been only ten feet thicker, there would be no oxygen, and without it all animal life would die.
* Had the oceans been a few feet deeper, carbon dioxide and oxygen would have been absorbed and no vegetable life would exist.
* The earth's weight has been estimated at six sextillion tons(that's a six w/ 21 zeros). Yet it is perfectly balanced and turns easily on its axis. It rotates daily at the rate of more than a thousand miles per hour, or 25,000 miles each day. This adds up to nine million miles a year. Considering the tremendous weight of six sextillion tons rolling at this fantastic speed around an invisible axis, held in place by unseen bands of gravity, the words of Job 26:7 take on unparalleled signifigance: 'He poised the earth on nothingness.'
* The earth revolves in its own orbit around the sun, making the long elliptical circuit of about six hundred million miles each year- which means we are traveling through space at nineteen miles per second or about 68,000 miles per hour.
* The nine major planets in our solar system range in distance from the sun from 36 million to about 3,664 million miles; yet each moves around the sun in exact precision, with orbits ranging from 88 days for Mercury to 248 years for Pluto.
* Still, the sun is only one minor star among the 100 billion burning orbs that comprise our Milky Way galaxy. If you were to hold out a dime at arm's length while gazing at the night sky, the coin would block out 15 million stars from your view, if your eyes could see with that
power." (Brennan Manning. The Ragamuffin Gospel)

overdue

I think I forgot that I even had this...oops. Not like I've got alot of faithful followers out there, so no big deal. Just got back from NYC, I love that city! Makes ya feel really small. Anyways, gotta go and study, but I will try to post a little more often, someday!

My Heart

So, I had a cardiologist appointment this morning. I never think anything of it until I walk into the office and I'm the youngest by at least 60 years. Everything was fine, just a pulled muscle in my chest. As damaged as my heart has been(physically), it pales in comparison to the damage of my real heart, my soul. My true heart is a complete wreck..its sinful, prideful, self-seeking, and yet the more I learn about my Saviour, the more that I realize, it's ok, thats the only way this whole Salvation thing is going to work! I read this in "Abba's Child" by Brennan Manning, and it is pretty much a description of my life thus far..
"And so, like runaway slaves, we either flee our own reality or manufacture a false self which is mostly admirable, mildly prepossessing, and superficially happy. We hide what we know or feel ourselves to be (which we assume to be unacceptable and unlovable) behind some kind of appearance which we hope will be more pleasing. We hide behind pretty faces which we put on for the benefit of our public. And in time we may even come to forget that we are hiding, and think that our assumed pretty face is what we really look like."(Simon Tugwell, The Beatitudes)
"The reason we never enter into the deepest reality of our relationship with God is that we so seldom acknowlege our utter nothingness before him."(Merton)
Yea..that would be me. I want to appear I have my act together, I'm a good person, I'm spiritual..but I don't, I'm not. Not even close. And that's the beautiful thing...Jesus can take that and run with it. I am nothing, yet that makes me something in Christ.

SweetPeace

SweetPeace...the reason this became the name was because their is a bottle of sweet pea lotion from Bath&BodyWorks that is sitting right in front of me and I couldn't think of anything else. That had already been used, so I played with it a little and got it to work. And then I realized that by playing around with it, it brought it to a whole new level. Sweet[agreeable;pleasing to a sense;wholsesome] Peace[state of calm and quiet;state of concord]. Pleasing calmness. Wholesome quietness. That would pretty much sum up my hopes... in life, in God, in my soul. I yearn for a sweetpeace and I have faith I will find it someday..maybe in pieces, a little bit at a time, or maybe all at once, just wake up oneday to find my soul calmly pleased. I know I can't hurry it up, there is One in control of distributing that quiet wholesome wholeness...and it involves my willingness to wait it out, because only when His timing is right will He let me truly indulge in just how Sweet that peace will be...