Wednesday, January 25, 2006

get out of that tree!

here’s something I’ve been thinking about for the past few days:
Some people say that you shouldn’t give money to the rough guys- the “bums”- who stand on the corners with signs that say “Will work for food. God bless you.” People say that you can’t trust them- people say that they’re just going to take your cash & go get drunk. Well, I think every situation is different and you just never really know whether that person is seriously in need or not. I was reading the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19 the other day and it got me thinking.(Bear w/me… as I paraphrase & ramble.) Here was this guy who was a tax collector… this guy who no one liked and no one trusted… and Jesus looks up at him DIRECTLY and calls out to him and says “Zacchaeus! Get down! I MUST go to your house today!” And the people mutter among themselves: Jesus is going to hang out w/a sinner? So, this Monday, as I was sitting at the traffic light where my daily “bum” stands with his sign… and as I was thinking about what people say about “bums”, God reminded me and said “Hey, I want to go to his house.” No matter what other people may be thinking about someone else… it doesn’t matter because Jesus wants to visit their house. Even if they’re not living for God as Zacchaeus… even if they’re dirty and stinky… Jesus still says to them “HEY! I MUST GO TO YOUR HOUSE TODAY!” How cool is that? I love that. I love that God wants to visit my “bum”… He wants to visit the cool gothic girl who’s the checkout clerk at my grocery store… He wants to visit all of us… Get out of that tree!
And notice that the Bible doesn’t say that Jesus stopped, asked what the guy’s name was who was hanging out in the tree and then said “Zacchaeus! Come down here & let’s go hang out at your place!” No, He didn’t have to ask what Zacchaeus’ name was… (at least not that we know of) He already knew Zach’s name. I love that He knows the names of all the people in my life like the checkout clerk & the bum. yup, cool stuff.

Friday, January 20, 2006

yes, I'm still alive & breathing...

Hope everyone is doing really well and enjoying everyday life. :)
Rebecca & I went to the gym(the AC) last night. did some walking, then tried the elliptical machine (I lasted for a whole 3 minutes), then Rebecca taught me how to play basketball. (yes, I really know how to play but I’m afraid I’ve lost my skills). Dang! What has happened to me?!?! I need to take this working out stuff more seriously! I need to tone up and get back into shape!
New subject: OPRAH & THE MILLION LITTLE PIECES CONTROVERSY. Here’s the short version of what’s happened- the guy who wrote this book(James Frey) made some of his life story up but tried to pass it off as truth. On Oprah’s show, the book was said to be Frey’s true life story. Then not too long ago it came out that some of it was fabricated & I guess that Oprah didn’t handle it the way she could have… I don’t know what she said and I don’t know what she didn’t say… but if I was her I would’ve at least said Oh, hey, we found out that this was untrue and we’re sorry to have mislead you… please forgive us as we ourselves were mislead… or something like that. But i guess she didn't say that & some viewers are ticked with her.
Well, anyway, I say all of this to say that if you’re planning on reading this book (which I’ve heard is pretty good) then read it knowing that the author made some crap up so that he would seem like more of a superman than he really is. Or maybe if you’re looking for a good you-can-fight-through-it-and-win story, then just go pick up an authentic Superman comic? Don’t get me wrong, I see nothing wrong with a good book… it’s just that if it’s fictional then don’t lie and tell the world (via the Oprah show) that it’s all non-fictional truth.
Here’s an article on it:
http://adage.com/news.cms?newsId=47546
peace out.
p.s. for all of you who've forgotten, my happy bday is monday... feel free to send me your love via ecards or gifts. :) I hate when people remind me of bdays- i'm terrible at remembering bdays!

Monday, January 09, 2006

need more oxygen


this time last week I was in Colorado. yup, went to visit Ingrid on her b-day. Even though she never reads my blog and there’s no danger of her seeing whether or not I disclose her age, I won’t do it. had a good time even though I had a slight problem with the altitude this time… i got over it by drinking tons of water.
so now I’m back home and I feel a little bit like these guys… feel like I’m trekking!
I wonder if they had problems with the altitude?