Tired Tuesday's Thoughts

• What is with all of us having "low neuroticism"? That is the mamby-pambiest personality test I've ever seen because everyone I know ranks way up there on the neurotic scale, with me topping the charts!
  
• You simply haven't lived until you have heard a rendition of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" performed solely with 5th grade percussion and vocals. That's all I have to say about that.
• My internet was out for about 18 hours. I survived. Barely
• Is Thanksgiving really next week? While I have been ticking off the days until a week off of school, I am now realizing I should probably be making a grocery list, etc. My main goal in life is to NEVER be in the grocery store the day before Thanksgiving or Christmas -- and I usually am. At least once.
• Thanksgiving next week means a birthday and anniversary betwixt and between. The birthday is one of the small people in the house. Which means a party. NOT my forte' as a mother. But it will be over -- but not soon enough.
• Late. Tired. More captivating rambling later.
  

Personality Profile -- whatever.

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have medium extroversion. You're not the life of the party, but you do show up for the party. Sometimes you are full of energy and open to new social experiences. But you also need to hibernate and enjoy your "down time." Conscientiousness: You have medium conscientiousness. You're generally good at balancing work and play. When you need to buckle down, you can usually get tasks done. But you've been known to goof off when you know you can get away with it. Agreeableness: You have high agreeableness. You are easy to get along with, and you value harmony highly. Helpful and generous, you are willing to compromise with almost anyone. You give people the benefit of the doubt and don't mind giving someone a second chance. Neuroticism: You have low neuroticism. You are very emotionally stable and mentally together. Only the greatest setbacks upset you, and you bounce back quickly. Overall, you are typically calm and relaxed - making others feel secure. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is low. You're a pretty conservative person, and you favor what's socially acceptable. You think that change for novelty's sake is a very bad idea. While some may see this as boring, many see you as dependable and wise.

The Five Factor Personality Test

Suggestions, please...

Roxanne recently mailed me -- did you catch that?? MAILED, not emailed -- she had to walk into a post office and everything!! -- a CD 'specially made for ME!

Side note -- Roxanne, that is such a you thing to do. I especially love that you did your "cutting and pasting" electronically, other than the cover! Now I have something I enjoy AND I don't have to dust it!!

Anyway -- I love it, as anyone would love something 'specially made for them! I don't get to listen to all of it very often, because the kids especially love 2 tracks on there (All In This Together and Trashing the Camp) and we listen to those over and over. Riley commented the other day that he wished "Why Should I Worry" from Oliver and Company were on there. Which of course made me think of how easy it would be to make a custom CD from purchased downloads 'specially for each of my kids and what a great gift that would be. The problem is that I don't know any fun songs!

Ashley made me a list of a few songs she would like on a CD -- most of them from "High School Musical" (which is GREAT with me!)

Do you have any suggestions of songs you would put on a CD for a 9 and 11 year old? What's fun? What makes everyone want to sing along? We want to turn our house into our own "Up With People!" :-)

Works For Me Wednesday

I have already replaced the latch on my 4 year old dishwasher once and I think soon it will need it again. Recently, as I was trying to hold my mouth just right to get it to close and praying I could get it closed just this one more time so that please, please, please I could make all of the dirty dishes turn into clean dishes, I remembered a very handy trick Roxanne passed along to me when her dishwasher was out of commission.

If you're anything like me, the dishwasher is, obviously, glorious for washing dishes, but it also very neatly holds the dirty dishes UNTIL it washes them. Here's the deal -- it can still hold dirty dishes when it's broken! Better yet -- it also holds CLEAN dishes while they dry!!! Can it get any better???? Well, yeah, it could actually NOT be broken and wash the dishes, but still!

So, the system goes like this: Start, before you do anything else in the world, by calling the appliance repair man, for the love of all that is clean and sanity-saving!! Then, while waiting the obligatory 4-6 days for his 12-hour window of when he will show up, store dirty dishes in the bottom of the dishwasher. If you ever get the urge to stand over a steamy sink-full of spaghetti-chunked soapy water, then place the clean dishes on the top rack to dry. When they drip on the bottom dishes, it's like a pre-rinse! If the dishes on the bottom begin to tower precariously and scrape the top rack -- it's time to stop waiting for an urge and just get busy washing.

Obviously, the best trick of all is for the dishwasher to actually work, but when it doesn't, this Works for Me!

For more Works for Me tips, check out Shannon's blog.

Thankful Dings

My car is paid for. Troy's truck is paid for. We have become gloriously accustomed to not having a car payment, and are willing to put up with some interesting quirks of the vehicles. The one where my car will start and then die is less amusing than some, but so far it's been fairly harmless.

Last week my car developed a new quirk. Some sort of sensor has been thrown and after you start the car and all of the other dinging, etc., has gone off it will start dinging. Loudly. Five sets of five dings, with about 15 seconds between sets. It originally didn't bother me too much, but started the day before we went to Dallas last week. We have since learned that sometimes after an hour or so the car will burst forth with another 25 dings, grieving that it has been running so long without dinging. Neither Troy nor I really enjoy repetitive loud noises, but Troy really did not enjoy the new quirk of the car. So I decided that it's all in your attitude about the dings. The dings are simply our car reminding us, "I have served you well for many years. Do NOT take me for granted. Just a reminder..."

Troy didn't really appreciate this new outlook, either. I decided that the dings could be my reminder to think of 5 things I'm thankful for. I shared this new philosophy and insight on the way to church Sunday morning, shouting my idea to the kids over the dinging and Troy's yelling at the dinging. I proceeded to list things I was thankful for as the car dinged away.

I have continued to be thankful as my car dings. On my errand day and I had opportunity to be ultra-thankful as I started and stopped the car at least 5 times, giving me no fewer than 25 opportunities to be thankful (and 125 dings in my ear, if you're doing the math). That was the day that I was the bug, though. Finally, later in the evening, REALLY not happy about getting back out of the house, we all piled into the car -- minus Troy, who had other obligations. As the car began dinging, Riley asked, "Mom, what are you thankful for?" I HAD come up with 25 things earlier in the day -- but I was completely out. I wanted to shout, "NOTHING!!! I am not thankful for one darn thing in this day!!!!" Realizing that wouldn't be a very good example, I simply said, "Riley, I've got nothing."

He launches in, "I'm thankful for a warm car!!" Bless his sweet little heart. Next ding was Ashley's turn, "I'm thankful I have Expedition 56 (new group at church for 5th and 6th graders." And away we went, thankful for our wonderful, blessed lives, in our blessing of a quirky vehicle reminding us to be thankful.

We continue to be thankful with our dings. Sometimes Riley is thankful that the dings are almost over -- and that's good enough for me. If my decrepit, quirky car can be the catalyst that leads all of us to walk through life looking at the tiniest of blessings as blessings (when I leave the gym I'm thankful for a healthy body, when I leave the grocery store I am thankful for financial blessings, when I leave work I am thankful the day is over! ;-) then I need to continue my faithful relationship with John, our good and faithful mechanic. I need to keep my dinging car around for a long time.

Sometimes You're the Windshield; Sometimes You're the Bug

Remember that song by Mary Chapin Carpenter? I've been thinking about it a lot lately -- just making an observation on the ups and downs we all go through. Why is it that somedays you can fight back and believe in who you are and what you can accomplish, and other days you just feel run over by it all and believe that you and the world in general would just be better off if you stayed in bed.

For me it doesn't seem to go away on a given day, either. If I wake up on top of the world, nothing deters me or knocks me down that day. If I wake up with the world on top of ME, then I don't ever seem to be able to make it back to the top. Why is that? Granted, I have reached a certain age and stage of life where I openly admit, "I'm GROUCHY today. I will try not to grouch at you but I suggest you get out of my way!" I don't mind admitting when I can't even try to be patient and/or nice!

Maybe I need one of these:


Okay, if not one of those, how 'bout one of these:


I leave you with a Riley-joke for the day, that seems somewhat fitting considering the topic:

What do you get when you cross a Hummer and a Volkswagen?




A HUMBUG!

Maybe tomorrow I'll wake up and be the windshield!

Hollywood Tape!

Gals, here is what I have learned: we all NEED this stuff:

While my cleavage for the big event looked nothing like this lady's, I did hunt down and employ some Hollywood tape to avoid too much "gappage" up top. And, looking around, there were plenty of women who could have stood to hear all about Hollywood tape for various and sundry other reasons, as well. The best use for me was MY SHOES!! I had some really fancy-schmancy strappy shoes that were so cute and strappy that at any given moment one strap or all would just fall off of my foot causing me to walk right out of my shoe. So I stuck some tape to my foot and kept my shoes on all night!

I was afraid, of course, that after I peeled my dress and my shoes off of myself and tried to get the tape off, I would be left with some terribly attractive sticky residue that would collect lint for the next week -- not at all! Hollywood tape is the way to go!

If my job required me to be involved in other people's events and/or weddings at all, I would keep a package of this stuff in my purse at all times and completely be the hero to save the day. I'm just sayin'.

For those that have wondered: the deal was great and one of the most fun one of those Troy and I have gone to in the 5 years we've been doing this. I probably didn't see your mother/uncle/ cousin/ friend from church -- there were so many stinkin' people there I saw very few people there that I know were there! I was competely over-dressed for the occasion -- black-tie optional evidently means the men need to be miserable, but the ladies can wear their work pants with a cute top -- but I don't care, it was so fun. Amy Grant was incredibly gracious as an entertainer and shared the stage with 4 year old Rivers who absolutely stole the show. Troy and I got to sit at a table with some people our age and younger -- and that NEVER happens. All in all, it was great!

More later on the rest of the trip and coming soon: the evils of the "faux pillow-top mattress" in hotels! Deliver me!

Don't you wish ...?

Don't you wish you knew what she was thinking in his arms? Don't you wish you knew what he was whispering?

I'll never tell ...

Check out more fabulous pics that Tammy took here.

We're off for a few days -- since I will be with Troy and my parents will be with my children and my house, I don't mind telling the world wide web that my husband and I are going to a fancy-schmancy event AND having about 60 whole hours to ourselves (well, minus about 7 or 8 hours that prepping for the event and being at the event will include). You know we've been married a while when the first thing I pack is my flannel pajamas and house shoes -- I know I will FREEZE all night in this dress and will want to be warm and comfy AND be able to breathe upon my return to the hotel room!

Happy weekend to all!

Works For Me Wednesday

I have mentioned that I don't generally participate in Works For Me Wednesday, but lately I have realized that I do have precious few tricks up my sleeve to make life a little easier.

Little known fact about me: I was in ballet for YEARS. Recently on Gilmore Girls, Mrs. Patty was explaining how cut-throat ballerinas can be, "They're walking around on bloody ingrown toenails and they haven't eaten in four years." I ate just fine, thankyouverymuch, but I did suffer through horrible ingrown toenails once I started on toe shoes. I had forgotten the painless trick I learned to prevent it until recently when Riley had an ingrown toenail: Simply cut a notch, or 'v', in the middle of the problem toenail. As the toenail grows, it will pull out of the sides of the toe and grow to close up the 'v'. Obviously, if the toenail is already infected, other actions need to be taken.

Okay, I know this is a fairly gross first-time-out "Works for Me" and it may not even work for you -- but it did Work For Me!

Check in at Rocks In My Dryer for other "Works for Me Wednesday" posts.

Never Satisfied

I remember through pregnancy and with newborns, I just wanted my body back -- I wanted to eat what I wanted and have it not upset my stomach or anyone else's, I wanted to not have a small person attached to me internally OR externally, I wanted one decent night's sleep. I thought that's all I wanted.

As they got older, I still wanted my body back even though it wasn't quite so involved. I wanted to not be anyone's snotty tissue or napkin for food (which was always purely accidental -- they still don't use napkins, but at least prefer to wipe on their own clothes as opposed to mine). I wanted to walk through one store without being clammy-handed from trying to keep breakage to a minimum. When I wasn't clammy-handed, I had my arms full of toddler. I wanted to sit somewhere without being crawled over, crawled on, leaned on, sat on, or slept on. I thought that's all I wanted.

I'm sure there has been a middle ground, but now? I just want my STUFF back. I want the sweatshirt I let one child wear last week that is now lost in the bowels of elementary school. I want my carpet free of smooshed up hard, red candy. Just once I would like for the paper to be on the table in it's entirity, not missing the section with the comics (although I still really like that someone other than me will go out in any weather to get the paper!) I have a ridiculous expectation that when I buy a child a pair of shoes for church that for at least two weeks in a row, both of them will be able to be located. I would like a guest bathroom that doesn't have a floating, expandable brain floating in one of the sinks. For now, I think that's all I want -- my stuff back.

I'm sure in a few short years I will still want my stuff back, but it will be bigger stuff -- my car, my furniture that is slowly disappearing into a college apartment, my life-savings that is slowly disappearing into college tuition.

Then, I will want my heart back. Because eventually they will pack that up and move out with it, as well. And I will be left with my own body and all of my stuff (much worse for the wear, but it will be here). And I will want my heart back.

Sliced Bread does NOT even compare!!!

Seriously, you wouldn't believe what an issue the whole pencil thing is in 2nd grade. I love to tell my class that 2nd grade is the year to make mistakes and learn from them and that's why we have erasers, but the pencils! Neither Kendra nor I can stand the incessant "whirr/grind" of our electric pencil sharpener (especially since the kids just stand there and watch their pencil spin in circles and nothing gets sharpened) so we have a time to sharpen (8:00-8:15 or 3:00-3:15) and we have a "sharpened pencil bucket" for the kids to trade out pencils when theirs is broken. The perfect solution, right? Except out of 22 kids, at least 5 have a pencil obsession and spend what seems like HOURS standing at the "sharpened bucket" surveying each pencil point and rating it for sharpness and effectiveness. Then, the "sharpened bucket" becomes the 2nd grade equivalent of the office water cooler. Lots of deals and play dates have been made and broken at the sharpened bucket, I feel certain. And, of course, in every spelling test at least 5 pencil leads get broken necessitating a trade. It is just an ORDEAL and it really shouldn't be. It's a pencil, for crying out loud.

Yesterday, I was introduced to these:

Can you hear it?

"The Hallelujah Chorus" while the spotlight from the heavens shines on these "Never Need to be Sharpened Pencils"? I saw these back in August, but thought, "For almost $1/pencil, I don't mind walking to the sharpener!!" Oh, my sad little naive self!! Now I know, now I know the GLORY of the never-need-to-be-sharpened pencils!!! I, also, thought it was another mechanical pencil -- the click, click, SNAP(new, too long lead breaking) of a mechanical pencil.

No, these babies are LIQUID GRAPHITE!! Are you with me? They are ball-point pens with graphite as the ink. My first question is: Why didn't someone (like a 2nd grade teacher) think of this sooner???? (and, yes, to my standardized-test-grade-level teacher friends they are Number 2 lead!!!) I have now bought almost a class set (it IS the end of the month, you know) and every child in room 24 will have one (until they lose it or their neighbor steals it) and it will be a beautiful day. I shall flit about like Snow White while the butterflies arrange the sash of my dress as the children ever-so-dilligently work with their liquid graphite pencils while the birdies sing on the window sill. I can't wait.

Long Overdue

I am a fairly political person, but greatly avoid the topic here. I'm okay with our differences, but I'm not sure YOU'RE okay with our differences. And, I'm a pathetic person who really wants you to like me, so I avoid treading on controversial ground.

But there's one deal that evidently WILL NOT DIE that I have to address.

Does Freedom of Speech -- guaranteed by our constitution -- mean that I am free from the CONSEQUENCES of my speech?

Let's create a hypothetical situation: I, as a public school teacher in West Texas, publicly (in an editorial to the paper, let's say) make disparaging remarks about the entire race of Hispanics. Because of that, several things could happen:

• LULAC would probably take some sort of legal action.
• The parents of Hispanic children in my classroom would revolt and see to it that I lost my job.
• Less "proper" things than legal proceedings may take place: threats of violence to me or my family, people in town that don't want me in their business, etc.

Has my freedom of speech been violated? NO.
Have I suffered the consequences of my speech? Absolutely -- and rightfully so.

Now let's imagine that I'm a more public figure, and depend on the sales of things I make for my livelihood. As such a figure, I make comments during a time of war about how embarrassed I am to be from the same place as the president while I'm on foreign soil. Several things might happen:

• Groups of people refuse to buy the things I make.
• Other groups of people refuse to showcase the things I make.
• Some less "proper" shows of boycott take place, such as threats of violence.

Has my freedom of speech been violated? NO.
Have I suffered the consequences of my speech? Absolutely.

Freedom of speech means that the government cannot censor what you say or punish you for your speech. It doesn't mean that your speech won't have any consequences. That is the absolute beauty of our free market system. My dollars get to tell you if I like your product or not. And, if you choose to put yourself out there and attach your politics, morals, or kids' pictures to your product, I get to tell you if I like THOSE, as well. If I decide not to give you my dollars because I don't like something you've said, that isn't violating your free speech -- it's our market system at work! And it is glorious.

And, if the consequences of my speech cause me to lose much income -- as in losing my job -- if I'm REALLY smart, I will make a documentary whining about how my free speech was violated by people not buying my things so as to recoup that money. And all of the people who have bemoaned my injustice can go see it and support me!

Thank you for this little venue to get that off my chest. Feel free to disagree with me. And, if you choose to stop liking me for my political post, well, I guess I have suffered the consequences of my speech!

On My Mind

A week or two ago on my way to work I was quite heavy-hearted. I wasn't really dreading going to work, but it was that heavy feeling knowing that those 3 minutes were the last moments of silence, solitude, and introspection for the next 8-10 hours (reminder to self: If silence, solitude, and introspection are things you cherish, you may want to reconsider the whole teacher and/or motherhood thing.)

So I began praying for the Lord to change my heart and as I began, I said, "I know you led me to this job and it is what You would have me be doing right now." I really got stuck on that and almost had to stop the car so that I could fall to my knees in worship.

God, the Lord of creation, the Holy of Holies, the Savior of my soul, the God Who Sees Me, (and on and on) has something for me to do. That thought alone is almost unbearably overwhelming to me.

He hand-picked a task for me that Thursday -- that very mundane, nothing Thursday He wanted me to hug the most trying of the children, be firm with those that need it and be the embodiment of His Spirit by showing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in room 24.

I thought of Him handing me this task and saying, "Sarah, here's what I have for you today." Who am I to grumble and complain about a task the Lord has handed me? I have tried to have that same mindset carry over to my home -- for that is the foremost task the Lord would have me do. And, yes, the awful and mundane are all part of that task that the Lord has for me.

I would love to tell you that my new attitude/ mindset made that day go extremely smoothly. There really is no such thing in room 24. There were tears, tummy aches, hurt feelings and frustrations -- for me as well as the students. But at my most frustrated, I could say to myself, "This is what the Lord would have you do today. Are you up to it?" Well, how can I NOT be?

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." Colossians 3:23

Which Sports Car Are You?

I'm a Porsche 911!

You have a classic style, but you're up-to-date with the latest technology. You're ambitious, competitive, and you love to win. Performance, precision, and prestige - you're one of the elite,and you know it.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

Or Just Maybe ...

Maybe there's a blog-vacuum of thought out there. I HATE being on a bandwagon of any sort, but I do take comfort that I'm not alone in this loss of bloggity material.

Check out Shannon.

Check out Supermom.

What happened to Elizabeth?

I vividly remember Vann saying, "Blogging is SO 2005!" Is the age of blogging over? Have we finally all said all we possibly have to say? Not that having nothing to say has ever kept me from saying anything.

Because I have Nothing Else to Do ...

Okay, I have plenty else I could be doing (laundry, dusting, sweeping, vacuuming, planning) but nothing that I HAVE to do so here I sit. It's been a while, I know. Thing is, I'm out. Out of great blog material.

I KNOW!! I have 2 perfectly healthy, hilarious children AND teach 22 2nd graders full of stories themselves. But I've got nothing.

You know all there is to know about me, and then some, I'm sure.

If I were to tell you what is happening in my life, well, be sure to set an alarm somewhere in your house. It's not too captivating, I assure you.

Highlights for those of you that read this for family news:

• ACU Homecoming is this weekend. Reunion year (15) for Troy and me. So we'll do carnival and chemistry circus (explosions! yay!) tonight, Riley will run the McMurry 5k tomorrow before the ACU parade, then homecoming chapel, then lunch, then football game. I may go to a wedding while the fam does football -- ACU is 5-0 so far!! Then the reunion dinner. We're gloriously un-obligated this weekend, so not spread as thin as usual.
• In two weeks Troy and I have a "Black Tie" Dinner to go to. Je-hosaphat -- I FINALLY found a dress, but this is a very time-consuming affair to get so gussied. I am going to have Tammy take our pictures with me in my dress (I thought Troy would have his tux --he won't-- but we'll work around it). I'll tell you the story behind the dress when I can post a pic.
• Kids especially trying right now (my own, not my class -- although they have their moments, as well!) I will try to continue to be their best advocate even as I post about how crazy they are driving me, so no specifics, but we are definitely in a phase of testing and trying independence and how much one can get away with.

One last funny story before I close my Blog of Nothing:

Earlier this week Riley was trying to read the menu I had written on our calendar for the week. Between the cursive and my messy handwriting, he turned "Crock Beef" into "Crock Barf". It was supposed to be a recipe I was going to try (I try to make every Thursday Crock-Pot night because I am so worn out by Thursday night) called Crock Beef and Pepper Stew. We joked about it all week, "Mark your calendars!! Crock Barf on Thursday!" "Don't eat a big lunch! Crock Barf is tonight!" Well, guess what -- it looked AWFUL. The recipe (for STEW, mind you) only called for 1/2 cup of liquid which was long gone after all day in the crock pot, so it was burned and dry. So, it was Little Caesar's $5 pizza for us and Crock Barf for Duchess, who thoroughly enjoyed it. We decided everyone wins with Crock Barf.

Today's Trivia

So last week in 2nd grade we were looking at our Weekly Readers and talking about the kids being out of school today (Monday, 10/9) for Columbus Day. At this point, I have no idea what Columbus Day actually commemorates. Anyone? Anyone? I didn't know if it was Columbus' birthday (like President's Day and MLK day) or when he first landed here, and somewhere in the fuzziness of my brain, I thought it may be when land was first spotted from one of the three ships.

Here is what I have found.

You may resume your usual blogging.

Weekend Reflection

I generally don't participate in much of Bloggityville's day-specific assignments. Menu-Plan Monday is a great idea, but I plan on Tuesdays so that I can shop on Wednesday. Tackle-It Tuesday? Also a great idea, but since Tuesday is a work day for me, all I am able to tackle is getting out the door in the morning and then dinner on the table at night. Wordless Wednesday OR Works-for-Me Wednesday ... we all remember how I did with my own Wordless Wednesday, and not much Works-for-Me, so I don't post. Thursday Thirteen? Again, a work day, and I would probably only find 13 things that irritate me by the time I got to post. And, Flashback Friday -- I'm just trying to make it on THIS Friday, I don't need to re-visit any other Fridays!

But I love what Judi at Mommy of Two is doing for the weekends: Weekend Reflection. And, darn, if I didn't just see this is for SATURDAYS, not Sundays. Okay, so I'm off to a bad start on the whole "Following Directions" thing. But the task is to: look back over the week and really think about what has happened in your lives. Then, list at least three things (more if you like) that were positive in your life that week.

I love that because my Saturdays I usually use for rest and catching up, then Sundays I am already working on the next week. I rarely stop and look back and see what has gone well for the previous week. With no further introduction:

** Troy was here all week. I know that seems like a little thing, but it makes the week so much nicer when he's not traveling. Sometimes it's the little errands -- "Can you pick up sour cream on your way home?" -- but mostly it's just that he's here.

** I have been fairly consistent in my Bible reading!! God really blessed me with His energy and discipline this week and I think I read every day (of course, I'm still behind, but no more behind than I was a week ago!!)

** It was a glorious "typical" week. We could eat dinner together in the evenings, spend time together, and be with each other. Very few evening obligations!

Feel free to play along, and catch others' weekend reflections at Mommy of Two.

Good Question!!

So, as you have noticed by my lack of blogging, my brain is very full of nothingness lately. So full of nothingness, in fact, that the nothingness spills over and turns into nothing being posted on this blog. No apologies, simple fact.

But, Mel at Unretouched Photo invited (crazily enough) her readers to ask her any question about herself they care to.

Um, no, I do not plan to do that here. Actually, you can always ask, but don't hold your breath waiting for much besides "None of your business!!!" But I noticed she got a fascinating question, then I noticed that it was one of my very own faithful readers, Ginger (Ginger used to be faithful when I actually posted thought-provoking posts or even funny posts -- by now I'm sure she has fallen asleep at her keyboard waiting for anything from me -- someone wake her up and tell her she has the imprint of the 'backspace' key on her cheek!)

So Ginger asked Mel: What Bible story disturbs/irks you the most, and why?

Isn't that a fascinating question that would prove great insight into the respondent? Mel's reply was:

Tough question . . . probably the story of Abraham and Isaac. I think I understand the point of the story, but it’s a difficult one for people unfamiliar with theology to comprehend. The story makes God look irrational and cruel, although I believe He is neither.

I chose a different story, but for the same reason: Job.

My "Sarah's paraphrase" of Job 1 and 2:

Job is faithful and loves God with everything he has. One day Satan is wandering the earth (and 1 Peter tells us he does that "looking for souls to devour"). God notices his wandering and says, "Have you considered my servant, Job?"

Let's stop right there. Are you kidding me? Lord, if I am faithful in all my life, please do not reward me by pointing me out to Satan!! Let's keep my faithfulness between You and me, how 'bout?

So Satan says, "Yeah, but he's only faithful because you've given him such a cushy life."

God responds (again, in Sarah's paraphrase), "Bring it on."

Yep, that one disturbs me the most. What about you?

What Bible story disturbs/irks you the most, and why?

Big News

Sadly, my husband and I get very excited over the littlest things. He shared with me something today that I was just about to post here. Then I noticed that his blog has been updated -- with the exact thing I was going to post. Truly, I am almost in tears this makes me so happy. Check it out -- and, for extra irritation, be sure and read his previous post (I said we get excited over the same things -- I didn't say we think alike!)