Messes of Pottage

My dog is not too brilliant. (If you've been unlucky enough to meet her, you know that quite well.)

So the other day, Mom had this huge bone left over from a roast she made. And because we love Grace in spite of her selfishness and stupidity, we let her have the bone so she could chew on it or something like that. Now although Grace has the mentality of a Great Dane, she is most definitely just a quivering little Cocker Spaniel who could hardly hurt a fly. She did almost no damage to that huge bone. Honestly I think she just liked having something to put in her mouth.

But she loved that thing.

She guarded that thing, too.

We found her randomly holed up with the bone in her crate after we gave it to her, and whenever we got too close, she would growl and bare her teeth at us. (Obviously she never learned that sharing is caring.)

We decided to let her just stay in there for a little. We figured eventually she would get bored and come out. But there she stayed, all morning, with a bone she had no clue what to do with, but felt she had to protect. Finally I pulled out her leash in an attempt to coax her out. She almost came, but for some reason felt that her useless bone was worth forfeiting a walk, her favorite thing in her entire doggy world.

I can see the total stupidity of her decision because she's my dog. But I do the same thing with my God. Rather than abandoning the corruptible things of this world for God's eternal riches, I stubbornly cling to my messes of pottage, only focusing on what satisfies my worldly lusts. God is offering me the best gifts imaginable, but I'm too busy chewing on my bone to walk with Him. If I would just look to Jesus, I would see that these things have no value compared to what He has laid up for those who diligently seek Him.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in his wonderful face,

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace.

Randomness is fun - like glitter

Guys. Be warned. This is a post merely for posting's sake and I really have no idea what I'm going to say. It could get ugly.

Maybe we'll pretend I'm important for a while. That will be fun.

Okay, close your eyes and imagine that I'm a famous movie star/author/talk show host/comedian/chef/who even cares honestly. Just imagine that I'm somebody who's somebody instead of being me. All anybody wants to do is know what I'm listening to, watching, etc... Here we go!!

What I'm listening to: The Moldau (from Ma Vlast) by Bedrich Smetana; Christmas music from Charlotte Church, Straight No Chaser, and Josh Groban; and as always, movie soundtracks. Scads of classical music is a given for me.

What I'm watching: The usual Jane Austen era movies like Persuasion (which I watch at least four times a month), Pride and Prejudice (Colin Firth or Matthew MacFayden?), Wives and Daughters (Roger is wonderful), etc... We're also watching Sherlock again, yay. I'm a fan of anything that makes me laugh, so I rarely say no to Spongebob. Musicals are nearly always acceptable as well.

Bored yet? Me too. Let's keep going.

What I'm reading: Although I'm really very bad at actually finishing books, I start reading lots, so currently I'm plugging away at The Disappearing Spoon, which is all about chemistry and such, Pride and Prejudice, which I've been reading for like the last three years, and The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict. It's written by the same author who did the Mysterious Benedict Society books, which I loved.

But now I have run out of stuff to pretend you all want to know about me. Plus it's lunchtime, and quite frankly, food beats words in my book. (My book must be a cookbook)

Fare thee well, my dear readers.

I did an adventure...

Those of you who know me pretty well know that I can be a little tentative to try things that I've never experienced before and don't know anything about.

But I kind of did just that a couple weeks ago.

The fair was in town.

And I went, my friends, oh yes, I did.

Now I'll admit, I was a little nervous. The closest thing I'd ever done to going on funky rides and stuff was something like this:

Yeah...I think that's a little more my speed.

Nonetheless, I sucked it up (after all, my friends were there and I have a reputation to uphold, yo) and after popping some Dramamine, I hopped on the first ride, which was pretty much a glorified swingset.

And I loved it.

I could say some sappy stuff about how it felt like I was flying (cuz I kind of was) or how the wind felt delightful in my hair (it was making a mess of it, actually), but honestly, I don't want to. It was just super cool.

I also got to do bumper cars. It was actually my first time operating any sort of motor vehicle other than a bicycle, and I was so tickled that I laughed hysterically the entire time. (Also awesome)

So from then on I pretty much rode every ride I could get on. I also got to watch a gorgimous sunset from about a hundred feet up on this thing.....

It was quite a memorable experience. 

I rode one ride that was supposed to be huge and scary but, uh... wasn't, and also a ride that was supposed to be sort of relaxing but made me fear for my life and scream and cry. (Yes, I screamed and cried and cursed the progeny of some of the ride operators in my terror)

Honestly though, the scariest thing I did at the fair wasn't a ride. It was when I took a visit to the public restrooms.

Now that was frightening and psychologically scarring.

I rode a lot of awesome rides, ate some yummy food, saw some funny looking animals, and mostly just enjoyed spending time with good friends.

So let's just say that the fair was a good adventure, and I think I'd rather like to go again next year.

On the Sunrise

The sunrise this morning was beautiful.

And while I was sitting watching it (because the natural thing to do at 6 AM is to curl up with your fuzzy blanket, open your blinds, and watch the day begin), I had a thought.

You know how all artists have a personal trademark or defining style? Like something to say "This work is mine, and I'm proud of it." Even though each piece of art may be different, that same style or trademark is always evident.

So isn't it the same with God's creations?

That sunrise was a work of art. You are a work of art. Every person, animal, and plant in this world is a unique work of art.

Now I don't start off the day looking beautiful, radiant, and sporting various vivid colors. (Those of you unlucky few who've seen me fresh out of a peaceful slumber know I look anything but.) But because I share a common Creator with that sunrise, the glorious trademark of that Creator is with me, too. Some part of the stunning beauty of that sunrise, no matter how small, I carry with me everywhere. God leaves His trademark on all of His creations. The heavens declare the glory of God, and so should we as Christians. It's my prayer that the trademark of God will be impossible to miss in my life.

So isn't that kind of cool little thoughtful thing to think about during thoughtful thinking time?

Personally, I liked my sunrise better, but this one is pretty stinking adorable, too.