random Facebook statuses

It's already been almost a whole week since I blogged?? Where does the time go?? And we're already half-way through February? oh my. Part of me wants time to stand still, the other part wants it to fast forward waaaay into the future. But since neither is possible, why don't I just deal with the reality? That sounds good. :-)

I'm blogging in the middle of my work day because (a) I am working from home today and it's convenient for me to do this while eating lunch and (b) I NEED to for various reasons (haven't blogged in a while, have lots to say, etc...)

Ok, so no one is oblivious (at least I hope not) to the madness that we call Facebook. Well, recently MANY of the "statuses" my Facebook friends have been posting have either read my mind, flat out spoken to me, or intrigued me! Thought I'd share several of these with you.

• Status: Leviticus 19:18--that was it. The verse was not typed out, just the reference was posted. Of course this intrigued me, so I looked it up right away. Here is what this verse says: "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD." When I read it, I knew I would need to remember this someday, and wouldn't you know I needed it less than a week later--not for anything personal-related, but for something work-related! Some people are just unbelievable, aren't they? Few things surprise me anymore. I held a grudge for the better part of an entire day, and it wore me out. Then I remembered this verse, and how I just knew it would come in handy. I sensed the Lord telling me my calling in such situations is not to invent a plan to get back at the person, or try to "hold my ground," but to do what it takes to love the person....HE is the Lord, who brings justice, in His time, in His ways. While holding your ground is certainly important in some situations, this was not one of those situations. So, I bit the bullet today. I did what I didn't want to, swallowed some pride, in a paltry effort to extend some kindness.

• Status: Snow... Would you kindly desist! NOW--yes, please. Indy has accumulated 10+ inches over the last couple of weeks and it's becoming miserable to step out and do anything that involves transportation! Not to mention the temperatures have been ~20 deg. Fahrenheit, so all the precipitation immediately freezes as it hits the ground. The snow plows in my neighborhood don't come nearly as much as they're supposed to for what we are all paying in fees either...Also, there are MOUNDS of snow everywhere you look. I am wondering if they will stick around till Summer. Probably. Sheesh. Snow is fine when Christmas is around the corner. It's even fine in January after the New Year celebrations. But come February, my body starts demanding sunshine and warmth and flip-flops.

• Status: because of this snow...individuals are getting to work...earn a wage...so there families can eat.--OK, fine. I'll put up with the snow because of this. I just saw this status today, and it put things in perspective for me. If the need to plow snow is giving someone a job so they can put food on the table, then by all means, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

• Status: bum, bum bum, bum bum bum bum...olympics!--I am loving the Winter Olympics! Skiing is my favorite, because I actually know how to ski, so I can appreciate the talent and skill the olympians bring to the sport! Granted, I don't get to watch the Olympics nearly as much as I want to, but something about the Olympics is incredibly motivating! I even thought about starting to run again, and perhaps training for a race............

• Status: "Hallelujah" was beautiful. One of my favorites.--Agreed! Did anyone watch KD Lang sing "Hallelujah" in the opening ceremonies? Amazing. I recently discovered this song through a friend and absolutely fell in love with it. I now have three or four different versions on my iPod.

• Status: Interesting to note: KU lost to Tenn; Vill lost to Uconn; Cuse lost to L'ville. UK beat them all.--Isn't this awesome? C-A-T-S...CATS, CATS, CATS! I cannot believe I just cheered on my blog. :-) Hope we make it to the Final Four this year...

• Status: I would rather go skiing or something...but I know I'm just going to nerd-it up on the brief instead. --This is pretty much what I do / did when it snows(ed). Read case study after case study for school, wrote papers, tried to catch up and tried really hard to get ahead. Not once did I go skiing or sledding when it snowed. After I finish grad school (approx. 15 more months!), I'll make up for all the fun I'm missing out on now.

• Status: I have the love of God behind me, the Spirit of God inside me and all of heaven ahead of me. I have everything I need. Kenya 2010...--three of my friends from Southeast Christian Church are leading a group of the interns to Kenya! They left yesterday and are going to be back on Feb. 24th. This was one of the leader's Facebook status on the day of the team's departure. It gave me chills! And I instantly started thinking about my Cambodia trip this July. I can hardly contain my excitement!! But I try really hard to, for the fear I would bore / annoy people with it. I've already started to prepare a lot, after all...only 140 more days!! It'll be here before I know it...

• Status: If your load gets too large, widen your base!--I'm going to take a risk and air some dirty laundry here. I felt like my "load" was unbearable this morning. I goofed big time. I felt God ever so tenderly calling me out and simultaneously redeeming me for my blunder. So, here is what happened. My Dad called early this morning, and I was still doing my quiet time. I became rather annoyed, because I don't like to be distracted during this time, but answered the phone anyway because my Mama is going through some health stuff right now and I wanted to make sure everything was OK. Once I confirmed she was fine, I thought to myself: well, my Dad knows I don't call / text / communicate with anyone until I have finished my Bible study in the morning, so why is he calling me??? So, I snapped and didn't let him respond. Not any kind of angry outrage or anything--but I was just "short" with him. Once we hung up (I feel so hypocritical as I write this!), I go back to doing my quiet time. 20 minutes later, I feel incredibly guilty (I was reminded of Lev. 19:18 once again!) so I call back. Talked to my Mom for a few minutes, wished her a Happy Birthday, and then she handed the phone to my Dad. He proceeds to tell me that he knows I like to do certain things in the morning before communicating with the world, but despite that fact, he decided to call anyway because my Mom wanted to hear my voice, especially since it's her birthday today and she hasn't been feeling well lately. And he told me he didn't appreciate my impatience on the phone earlier when he was trying to explain. I felt like the biggest loser and apologized right away. After we hung up this time, I literally said out loud to God, "Lord, I can't win, can I? This is too heavy for me to bear. I think I'm doing the right things, but then there is this 'curve ball'." I felt horrible for snapping. I know this kind of "snapping," especially in the morning, used to be a problem for me when I was in high school and by the grace of God I've matured and overcome it. But then I stumbled again. So embarrassing. Anyway, I'm airing all this dirty laundry because I'm probably not the only one who has felt her load getting too large (at least, I hope not) and this status was perfect with the next "point" I learned when I finished up my quiet time. When I was praying about this, I remembered the phrase, "...my yoke is easy, and my burden is light..." That is part of Matthew 11:30. Here is the whole thing in context: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." ~Matthew 11:28-30. SO, with all that said, I literally felt my load getting too large this morning, feeling like I can't do anything right and God immediately widened my base by reminding me of His existence, presence, gentleness, and humility.

• Status: "The beauty of GRACE is that it makes life not fair..." - Relient K--AMEN. love this song.

• Status: Giving up facebook for Lent....this is going to be tough.--Yes! I am seriously considering doing this. Not deactivating my account, just not logging in till Easter. Guess I better make up my mind soon since Ash Wednesday is TOMORROW!

Why are my posts always this long?? Apparently I'm wordy. But I cannot finish this post without a big shout out to my Mama (even though she doesn't read my blog...yet!). It's her birthday today! Happy Birthday, Mama!! Your family, friends, and everyone who comes in contact with you love and adore you! You mean the world to us.