It IS good!

Being a Believer is giving all that you know of yourself, to all that you know of God. We should be growing in our understanding of ourselves, and of God. If that is true, then the Christian life is never static, but always changing and growing. There are no formulas or easy answers, just a call for us to keep on the path of commitment and dedication. We never arrive, but always are in pursuit of God's fullness. That's life as it's meant to be lived; with purpose, with adventure, seeking God and humbling one's self. The steward is always submitted to the master, looking for ways to please Him and celebrate life. And it is good! : )

Techno-gadgets ~ friend or foe?

My friend, Dan Edelen over on his blog, Cerulean Sanctum http://ceruleansanctum.com/ made some really astute points that I wanted to share here....

"Nothing we do replaces the face-to-face. God wrapped so much of who we are in these flesh-and-bone bodies. He gave us intonations, facial expressions, and all other manner of communication that is lost through the Internet (sadly, so true.) Most of all, He gave us a soul. And no matter how eloquent we might be online, we can’t communicate that soul through our high-tech gadgets.

That distance so readily on display in the flame war above only illustrates the ultimate Achilles heel we build into every techno-whizbang toy we consider so vital to our personae. Yet how easily we lose ourselves in the the distant world of iPods, tweets, Myspace, texting, and Facebook pages.

This is not to say that high-tech social networking tools have no value, only that their value may be far more limited than we realize or understand (YES!) The devil in this is that none of us is ubiquitous and neither is our time. Something MUST give. If the sociologists are to be believed, perhaps the give is our surrendering of the face-to-face for the security of a Twitter tweet.

One last illustration culled from a previous post:
I remember many years ago how my old neighborhood experienced a power outage that blackened TVs, silenced video games (Atari 2600s back then), and quieted the bits and bytes of computers (Commodore 64 and Apple IIe). Right after supper, with the electronics stilled, the soft voice of that beautiful summer night called to people. The next thing I knew neighbors were chatting in each other’s yards, kids were playing impromptu games of Kick the Can and softball, and the neighborhood came alive. But when the power kicked on an hour or so later, the neighborhood took on the feel of a tomb. People had trudged back to their electronic distractions, each homeowner shutting the door on his or her personal fortress (wow, how some things still haven't changed!)

We’re still locked up today. Perhaps more so. Bowling alone, anyone? On the Wii?

I don’t believe we have to live this way. I don’t believe the disconnected humanity depicted in Pixar’s Wall-E must be our future.

As for the irony of me discussing this through a blog, well, you’re right. Still, this is more about trying to make a difference than it is about getting someone to notice yours truly. And yes, if no one noticed, then nothing in this blog would make a difference. It’s not a perfect medium. God help me if it substitutes for my time in flesh-and-blood, face-to-face connection. May that never be the case."

Thanks for reading and I'm interested in your thoughts on this topic!

Only at American Airlines....

Airline to passenger: Sorry, we've lost your wife's body! Oh my gosh, I couldn't even imagine!
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,420041,00.html

I Love Words!!

This word happens to be one of my current favorites....

circumlocution
\ser-kum-loh-KYOO-shun\

Meaning
*1 : the use of an unnecessarily large number of words to express an idea
2 : evasion in speech

Example Sentence
Mr. Harvey was notorious for his tendency to engage in endless circumlocution when a simple, brief explanation would suffice. (And boy, don't we know people like that! lol ; )

Ooooh, Ahhhh...MAMA MIA!!!

And I'm NOT talking about the movie (just the thought of hearing Pierce Brosnon sing makes me a little queasy!) I'm actually talking about the best pizza in the southwest!!! I LOVE VENEZIA'S PIZZA....YUM!!! It's the uber, buber best and if you grew up in NYC then this place is like home. The way it looks, feels, smells. Even the people working there are almost authentic, and they're just awesome peeps all around. The pizza is as close to NYC pizza outside of NYC as I have ever come across, if not the same. Nothing quite compares to a Venezia's pizza fresh from the oven. The huge, mouthwatering slices are covered in the perfect amount of cheese, sauce (to die for) and toppings. Have I made you hungry yet?? I guarantee you won't find a better pizza or a better value anywhere. Boy, do I sound like a commercial or what?!! lol Anyway, definitely check out their pizza!! http://www.venezias.com/

The best policy of honesty

The truth will set you free is something I've always been told. However, my grandmother once told me there is such a thing as being too honest (at the time I didn't quite get what she meant by that.) The reality is that sometimes brutal honesty can cost friendships and huge misunderstandings. So I ask the question....is honesty really the best policy?

Recently, a family member said some very hurtful things to me. Instead of confronting her at the time of the incident I decided to leave. Now that I've had a chance to gather my thoughts, that situation taught me a valuable lesson ~ "being honest doesn’t mean being hurtful." The people closest to us know not only our strengths but our weaknesses and insecurities. It's human nature to examine the flaws of one another, but it’s an individual decision to continue to remind a person of what’s wrong with them. Overall, there is a fine line between honesty and rudeness. My daily challenge is to choose my words carefully and understand that sometimes what I say can hurt someone.

So honesty still is the best policy and in the grand scheme of things, I believe integrity is one of the greatest attributes to possess. The challenge is to maintain my integrity while being tactful and respectful at the same time. Over the years I've learned that if I give what I think is constructive criticism to someone then I have to be able to receive it as well.

"Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." Proverbs 12:18

God shows up in the most interesting places...

The other day while I was engaging in some retail therapy at ROSS (oh how it does a girl good! : ), I had some clothing items to try on and sauntered through the Ross dressing room maze and finally settled on one toward the back. I pulled the door shut and hung up my items. As I was about to get the first item off its' hanger, I noticed some writing on the wall with a beautifully drawn butterfly. I was going to just ignore it as some graffiti, but something kept telling me to read it. So I indulged that little voice and read it. Here's what it said...."It's so hard to wait around for something you know might not happen, but it's even harder when you know it's everything you want." Wow! Right then, I knew God was speaking to me!! Did it give me answers to my waiting quest? No, not at all. But what it did give me was assurance and hope that He's with me and has been with me every step of the way and He knows I'm still down here waiting on Him. And it really will be okay and in his timing He will reveal His plans for me.