the election

After an almost five month break from blogging, it makes total sense that I'd write a post about something as controversial as politics. Here goes...

Tomorrow is an important day for our country. Although I am more than ready for this crazy election season to be over, I know that it'll be a few weeks before things die down, no matter the outcome. At least the bashing of both candidates will mostly be over. Until 6:30pm tomorrow, I'll be on a bus with 45 high school freshman; thankfully, my attention will be focused on something other than projected outcomes. My method to get through Election Day is to unplug. [Mom, I voted early.]

I hope that no matter the outcome, the leader--our President--will be respected and revered by all, but especially by believers in Christ. More importantly, I hope that Christ-followers, instead of lamenting or heartily rejoicing over the outcome will approach the throne of grace, covering our President with prayer. We're called to this, y'all; take a look at 1 Timothy 1:1-2 (NIV):

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people--for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

Praying for our leader doesn't have to include praying that all he wants will happen or that all of his legislation will be approved. I'm sure that by recalling each president, we can think of at least a half-dozen things with which we do not agree. We don't have to align our beliefs with our leader, and we certainly don't have to agree with all that they do. But it is important and Biblical that we lift them up in prayer. Without being a fan of a President, we can pray for wisdom, pray for blessings over him, pray for his family, his relationships, his safety, his stress level, his leadership. Pray for future Presidents. And even past Presidents.

I know we're in election season, so there's been lots of bashing going on. As Americans, we have the freedom to say what we think; praise God for that! Unfortunately, that means disparaging the President. The Bible is clear that we are not to speak harshly about our leader: You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people. ~Exodus 22:28 (ESV) There's an adage that floats around, "If you don't vote; you can't complain!" Mostly that's interpreted as: if I vote, I can say whatever I'd like about the office. But you know what? As a believer, you shouldn't. God is pretty clear about that.

Over the next days, be careful with your words. Be mindful to pray for our country, for our President-elect. Again, Paul writes in 1Timothy for "...petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving...for all those in authority..." That means interceding for Tuesday's President-elect that may not have received your vote. Our God is sovereign. Even with an outcome with which we don't see hope, He can move and work and do great things.

Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. ~Romans 13:1 (NIV)

Learning During Lent

This year, for Lent, I gave up facebook. For the first two weeks, all I wanted to do was write on this blog about HOW HARD IT WAS. But I was convited that complaining about sacrifice is not the purpose of sacrifice. So I refrained. And writer's block set in. Thus my lag in blogging (if you were wondering).

Overall, signing off of facebook for 50 plus days was the best thing I've done in a long time. It was a hard decision. I'm always tempted to give up something that won't be challening. (Like not eating English peas or cooked carrots. No problem there since I don't care for either!) But I KNEW that the Lord was urging me to change my focus drastically. I think that you could call my obsession with facebook an addiction. I had a discussion with my advisory group at school that it's automatic to sign into facebook whenever a computer is near--and sometimes we don't remember getting there. Yikes!

So on March 9, I signed out of facebook and Husby changed my password. Although temptation was abundant, there was NO WAY I could sign on. Initially, I had an issue with asking for help from him since it removed an element of self-control from the sacrifice, but later decided that it's okay to have help from others when a change needs to be made.

During my time away, we bought a house (which we found in the first few days away). I feel like the Lord blessed this sacrifice. Does he always bless when we sacrifice? Probably not. Would we have found the house if I'd been on facebook? Maybe so. Will I only sacrifice in order to receive a blessing? No way. But I do feel that this is a gift from Him for obedience.

And OH IT WAS HARD when we hit snags in being approved for our mortgage! I came up with clever status updates that I could have posted IF I'D ONLY BEEN ABLE, but I wasn't. I wanted so badly to type a snide comment, but I couldn't. Each time I felt frustrated, my option was to pray about it. I've felt REALLY convicted about this. How often do I turn to facebook or a friend or my husband about a problem before I turn to my God?

Some gave me a hard time--in love, I'm sure--about not being on facebook. I laughed it off. After a couple of weeks of not accessing it approxmiately 3843 times a day, I was out of the loop. Honesly, it was nice. Since Lent ends on Easter--in celebration--I could have signed on as soon as I woke up. Again, I was convicted that the celebration isn't about what we get back that day--in terms of our sacrifice. We celebrate because Jesus rose from the grave; we get our lives back in return for his sacrifice. I decided that I'd sign on that evening, after we'd spent time at church and with friends and family. When I did, I was bored. Since Sunday, I've signed on probably once a day.

For now, it's lost its luster. And I hope that it doesn't become the focus that it was before the sacrifice. I fear that I substitute my "friendships" on facebook for relationships in real life. And relationships are so important to me. I want to talk to people and to write letters and notes of encouragement and not comment on a funny status. I know that taking a [hopefully permanent] step back might mean that I don't know about the fun, daily things in the life of my [actual] friends, but that'll have to be okay. I want to invest in lives and not facebook.

I remember several years ago--before facebook--when my friend, Allison and me would send each other funny cards. I loved choosing the cards and writing a special note, and I loved receiving a special piece of mail addressed to me and not a bill or a piece addressed to "Current Resident." But life has gotten busy, and I've forgotten how sweet a card can be.

My goal is to send handwritten notes to my friends. Hopefully one each week. I have stamps and cute cards. Now, I have time to write without the ever-present facebook.

Life

I cannot BELIEVE that we're almost a full week into October. Time is flying! I don't think I've ever been so incredibly busy. Most of my days are 10 hour days at work, sometimes longer, and there's ALWAYS more to do at home. But I love it. I LOVE college application season. It's crazy and hectic, but it's my job to remain calm and supportive and keep my game face on so that my seniors won't flip out. I love having six kids in my office at a time. I [secretly] love answering 18 questions per minute. I love when they eat all of the candy corn out of my candy dish--mostly so I don't eat it.

Since I started getting up before 5am about three days a week for a workout, I've lost my ability to sleep late. It's a sad thing, really. On Saturday mornings, I'm ready to go by 7, if not before. And then this morning...this I think I became an adult. I've always felt like there would be SOMETHING that makes me feel grown-up. I haven't found it until today; it's not paying bills or guiding 46 seniors through 250 college applications by various deadlines. I've been told repeatedly that having kids doesn't really do the trick, either. Do you know what it is? Waking up on a non-workout day at 5:24am and thinking, "I could get the kitchen cleaned and several loads of clothes washed." AND THEN ACTING ON IT. That's right girls, I found the rite of passage. And I passed through. Scary.

If you haven't seen this video, your heart will be blessed to hear her story. Gianna Jessen is a survivor of a late-term, saline abortion. I searched, but couldn't find a video with both parts that actually works; so you have it in two parts. Gianna is speaking in Victoria, Australia on the eve of the debate to decriminalize abortion in Victoria. I love when she says, "What sort of man do you want to be? A man obsessed with your own glory or a man obsessed with the glory of God?" Wow. Amazing. Powerful. Convicting. Just watch.

Some Stuff I'd Like to Share

1. I don't foresee any posts in the near future that will not be in bullet-point or numbered format. That happens when my life is busy. Writing cohesive sentences is the first thing to go. Also, a consistent handwriting. I just wrote a list for one of my students. It started with a cute print and ended with a crazy cursive. If you analyze handwriting, I don't think I want to know what this means. Unless it's good; then you can share.

2.  I'd really like for the retail world to know this truth: if I try on a garment that's too short for work, I cannot simply wear tights underneath. It's still too short. My knees will not suddenly become higher with black tights underneath, thereby making it legal. Don't even suggest it. If it were an option, trust me, I'd offer it as the solution. After all, I do love tights with dresses and skirts. It's pretty much my winter uniform.

3.  One more truth for the retail world: I do not have "weekend" clothes. Sure, I did at one point--before I had a job that requires me to look nice five days a week. On the weekends, I like to stay in my pajamas for as long as possible. Sometimes, I want to change out of one set into another and head back to bed. If I do change clothes for things like running errands, I'm fine wearing a sports skirt (in the summer) and fleece pants (in the winter). I can still look cute. I am not more productive if I change into jeans. I promise. And if I really need to dress up, I can wear the things that I wear all week. Sure, there are those times when we have to attend a wedding, or something of the like, but I already have outfits for those things. All that to say: change your sales tactic with me.

4.  I can barely walk today. I attended Body Pump, a low-weight high-rep workout, on Monday, and Body Vive, a cardio workout with balls and bands and such, this morning. I've never done so many squats. My quads hurt so bad that I have to let gravity do its job when I go to the ladies' room. Eventually, I sit down, but not without much resistance.

5.  The above puts me in a bit of a quandary. I'm supposed to drink LOTS OF WATER to help with the soreness. Only if I drink that much water, I have to use the bathroom. And then I'm reminded of how sore I really am.

6.  I actually like being moderately sore from workouts. I can feel the results of my work.

7.  For dinner tonight, I'm making either Reuben sandwiches or this spaghetti with fresh tomatoes.

8.  If we do have Reuben's, we purchased chips last night for the side dish. (Difficult, right?) I'm super excited to try these:

9.  Chips are quite possibly my favorite snack food. Although, Dr. Pepper and Little Debbie Fudge Rounds are way up on that list! I rarely indulge, but after doing 23587 squats in the past two days, and more tomorrow, I feel okay with a serving of Tangy Carolina BBQ Lays.

10.  My OCD prevents me from stopping a list at 9. This calms the anxiousness.

Too much, perhaps...

I may have come across the most disturbing thing on the internet. Ever. And I didn't even mean to find it. I still shiver when I remember it.

I find said item disturbing for a few reasons:

1. I'm a low-discloser, and secretly wish that more people fell into this category. (Sure, I have a blog, but I tell my 10 readers what I'd tell most of my friends. I mean, y'all are great and all, but I'm pretty cautious with my life details. No one ever new who I "liked" until college. Seriously.)

2. I know it's natural and ultra-healthy, but I don't want to know about it. (I won't share when I'm doing it.)

3. I'll think about this way too often. And I don't want to think about it.

4. It could get to the point where CPS needs a phone call. And I'm not afraid to call. (Just ask the family who got a little visit from the officials after I followed them through WalMart for an hour and then to their car so that the police could run a license plate number.)

Disclaimer: this is not my ticker. I don't care how long anyone does this. Well, until it crosses the line of inappropriate.

Dear Maybelline...

Today, the lady at the drug store check-out introduced me to your new mascara. It's $14.99. Seriously? We're kind of in a recession. I mean, I already cringe when I pay $6.99 for my current mascara. I know, I'm a little cheap. But you should know that if I wanted to pay over double that amount, I'd visit a department store.

And the fact that it vibrates really isn't a selling point. There are FOUR steps to follow to apply this new concotion with its "patent-pending elastomer brush that vibrates 7,000 times per stroke." Do you realize that at least three days per week I have to break out a Q-tip to remove mascara from under my eye? Sometimes I blink, sometimes I sneeze, sometimes my eyes water too much. I don't think I need the vibrating feature.

Maybelline, while we're on the topic of eyelashes, what's this about the drug that makes eyelashses grow longer? This is even more ludicrous than your expensive drug-store mascara. Again, we're in a recession. Not only that, but whose idea was it to research growing eyelashes when there are important illnesses that need a little more research?

Maybelline, maybe you should talk to those lash-growing drug people. The money y'all make off of the seemingly ridiculous products could be donated to things that research diseases that affect most of us. You know, something like cancer or diabetes. I bet the people and families whose lives the really bad diseases affect will be much more appreciative than those plagued by short lashses.

Thanks for listening,
Troubled in Texas