The last of the lice

You might notice that I have some ads on my page now, way down towards the bottom. I am hoping to make some money with them there, but seeing as I don't have many visitors, I doubt I will. If they bother or offend you, let me know, cause I don't look at the same page you do.

Today as I jumped on to check out my new blog I glanced at the ads, the first ad up said "Got head lice? Click here for fast results!" Seriously! How creepy is that? I just want all the lice to GO AWAY.

Stillness in the Noise

(I just got my documents back after my computer was restored. This was on my  WindowsLiveWriter from back in October…)

 

Being home when my entire family is there can be a bit overwhelming. Twelve people, five of them under the age of six. It’s crowded and loud and fast-paced. Adults are cut off during the mid of every third sentence by a child reaching, grasping, crying or disobeying. There is clutter covering the floor, dishes tower high with food remnants that are nearing the consistency of plastic. Shoes misplaced, hands are grimy from fruit and pool water, and the laundry spills into the kitchen where too many people are attempting to pass through.

Among the noise and chaos, there is utter, fast-paced joy. It is the touch of a hand on an arm from the passing of rooms. It is the ice breaking, thick air cutting innocence of a toddler’s sudden nakedness. It is a sound mixture of constant laughter, audible book reading, piano key ringing, sighs of relaxation and pan clanging. Yet within the pandemonium, there is a stillness of familiarity and comfort. This is home, it is all of these things, but of them all, it is the incessant atmosphere of love. This is the place I know and want to be most of all.

(this was a little paper I had to write for my English Composition Class and I thought I would share it on here)

Lice Man

If you read my last blog you might have seen a link to a craigslist post of a man looking for lice. Well, it intrigued me so much that I emailed him inquiring if he was a scientist or if he just wanted lice in his own hair. The following is the email I received in reply...

aye , yes I do. I am not a scientist. I want lice in my hair because my hair is falling out and I have mild headaches and I am geting dreadlocks and because I have nightmares. Many years ago I had lice (when I was 9 or 10 years old) and it felt really good to have them and I stopped having nightmares for like a couple of weeks. Lice aren't dangerous and they don't spread disease what's scary is that the products for getting rid of headlice can cause convultions. I have observed that dogs which dont have fleas 'dream' while those who do have fleas dont dream. lice are to humans as fleas are to dogs. I hope this answers some of your questions , I could go on and on. thanks for writing.

Craigslist Cries

I sometimes enjoy scrolling through the general community section on Craigslist. This is just where people write about random free community things. A 22 year old christian man looking for friends and encouragement. Someone lost their head lice and wants more ... live ... will come come pick it out of your head. (you think I am joking? http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/com/1564345786.html I am not) Then there was the group recruiting for a cult. I looked up the definition of a cult, "a particular system of worship" and "a religion considered to be false." Why would you want to advertise for something that is false by definition? Well, at least in the informational part of this one they said they see themselves as a fairly good cult.

I like reading these posts because they give me a glimpse of what is going on in my community. Of what people are interested in. What they are desperate for. What their worldview is. Ways I can better reach out. What a cool ministry to just reach out to all those crying out on Craigslist.

Peters wife?

Matthew chapter 8, Jesus heals Peter's Mother-in-law. Peter had a mother-in-law. That means, Peter was married. Married?

I always thought of the disciples as these young bachelors! No, he was married. Dudes didnt usually marry until they were 30-40, and they only lived to 50-60 ..... so Peter was an olderish man. A married man.

Weird.

Provision

"And he will give you all you need from day to day if you live in him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern."

I know God provides. I trust in him for all things. For food. For gas. For bills. I trust he will provide. But, his provision is hindged upon us making the Kingdom of God our primary concern. Many people trust the Lord to provide, but they are not living for the Kingdom ... I am trying to live for the Kingdom. I want the Kingdom to be my concern, my primary concern. I am not living for me but for him ... at that point he will provide and take care of ALL our needs because we are not living for ourselves.

This sounds like a blessing preaching, its not. I am studying for a Gospels quiz tomorrow and this just stood out. The Kingdom needs to be more of a concern of mine.

Bi-Yearly Joy

Justine and I have an unlikely friendship. We have bi-yearly dinner dates that last at least five hours. When we get together, we talk about everything, mainly how our lives revolve around God, and what he is doing and how we can be more productive about getting where he wants us to be. We connect and find similarities and share our hearts. I wish we lived near each other, but for whatever reason, God thinks this relationships is best for now. All I know is that she is encouraging and a very much needed part of my life.

We met in Sunday School at peoples church when we were like four. We did missionettes with Kirsten. We went to Jamaica. Then she moved churches and we lost contact... until Facebook arrived and we found each other: She was in Germany and I was in Hungary. I lives intercepted again when we both returned home, lost and searching for the next part of our lives. We get together and eat ethnic foods, tonight she introduced me to Sushi. We partake in multiple course meals. We lament on how we wish we were MK's. Tonight we compared ourselves to literary characters. Her being most like Laura Ingles, myself most like Josephine March. We are expressive and loud water gulpers.

I shared with Justine what God really taught me this week, I think he has been trying to teach me for a long time. We have heard that in our weakness we are made strong in him. I hear this and know this and try to accept this. Then I started putting it all together: "The Joy of the LORD is my strength." OK so, when we are weak, God is our strength. The strength comes in the form of his Joy. So our strength is joy. When we are weak, we can be joyful! This makes sense when Paul tells us to rejoice in trials and persecution. It is not fake happiness, it is Joy of the Lord despite our current situation! This is so pivotal! We become weak so often, but if we can have Joy in the Lord in the midst of weakness, we will be strong! I may be weak, but you can not steal my Joy!

Goodnight Justine, Thank you for letting me share this gibberish with you tonight. I loved our moving meal at Sushi, and Coffee House, and Sharri's.

My Party.

I had a party tonight. It was probably the best I have ever thrown. I don't throw magnificent parties, we don't have hoping music or entertainment or even really a set schedule, but we have fun. Its been a long time since my group from high school as gotten together, I really wanted tonight to be special. Marshall was home for two more days before heading back to Florida. Josh was here making sure everyone knew that Mal was his WIFE! Darian came, its been a long time since we have seen each other! Nathan brought Andrea, he was like a new person! He was animated and super social, way to go Andrea!

17 people came tonight. 9/11 of my graduation class, plus some. Its great to see that two and a half years later, we can begin to look past our differences and possibly pursue friendships. These may not be the people I spend the bulk of my time with, but I do love them and want them in my life. I realized yesterday that one of my friendships might be over, but I am glad that I figured it out. I think I have been falsely clinging to the possibility of repeating the past, when I know there is no truth in that.

My sister still likes to have reunions of her old "group." Its not super often, but when it does happen, it is usually good. I mean, we are told "the friendship you have in high school wont last." Well I think there is only some truth to that statement. My closest friendships came out of high school. And of the other friendships, we are not close, but we are still friends, they are still people I would stop in the grocery store to talk to. I mean, we lived community together for 6 years some of us, no wonder we want to continue pursing relationships.

My Favorite places to be

Grammys House.
My Car, driving anywhere.
The I-5 Bridge that crosses downtown Portland, at that one curve where you can see the whole city!
Mars Hill in Athens Greece.
Thailand.
Gov Cup.
The middle of nowhere. Alone.
In the rain.