Public School Memories

*ghost posted by matthew, while American Texan’s hand is recovering

From this Sunday’s Luann comic:

The memories are not fond, and their benefit is that they are short.

Thoughts on Marriage- Part 2 of Infinity

Great minds think alike, right?

I was mulling over different things about marriage and contemplating writing something, when I went to ipandora and saw that Matt had already beat me to it.

So while some of this may be similar, here are thoughts on marriage from the wife’s perspective.

I tell Matt I love him often. Telling him that is not enough for me, I have to think of ways to show him that I love him.

Sometimes that is very hard to do. Like Matt said, you realize how selfish you are in marriage.

I’m a pretty independent person, so it definitely takes some work on my part.

I have to consciously think of how I’m going to show Matt that I love him.

Sometimes that is by watching a movie I don’t think I’ll enjoy because he wants to see it. (and I found out that I did enjoy the movie)

Or by realizing that he has been working hard, too, and that some time playing computer games is what he needs to relax and unwind.

Also, it’s better to give him something concrete to do to help you, rather than just inwardly fuming over him relaxing when you are working. Don’t expect them to read your mind on what you need done.

This morning, for example, I was fixing Matt’s lunch. I had a jar of tomato sauce that I couldn’t open, so I brought it to Matt and handed it to him.

It was fun to watch the smile he got on his face when I handed him the jar. He quickly opened it, no problem.

Now, I could have stayed in the kitchen and pounded around the lid the end of a butter knife (this really does work, by the way) until I could open the jar, but I didn’t. Matt likes to feel needed and this was one small way I could do that.

He feels loved when I need him. Even if it’s just to open a jar of tomato sauce.

Then there was the realization that even a selfless act can be selfish if it makes him feel bad.

Matt has been sleeping by himself on the queen bed for months, and the other night, well, I guess he forgot he had someone to share it with now.

He was taking up a rather large amount of space and by the time I realized it, he was already fast asleep. (I envy his ability to fall fast asleep in two minutes…) I had just enough space and so decided to deal with it instead of waking him up.

Well, over the next two hours, he edged himself closer and closer to my side of the bed. I tried to gently push him back and he didn’t budge. So when it got to the point that I was about to fall off the bed, I took my pillow and a blanket and moved to the couch.

I didn’t wish to wake him because he had to be at work early and needed his sleep. However, I didn’t think about how he would feel when he found me sleeping on the couch the next morning. He felt horrible and would’ve rather had me wake him up.

If there’s a next time, I’ll have to think of some ingenious way to wake him up. [evil grin]

So there are lots of lessons to be learned in marriage, and I know I have just barely scratched the surface. The next 50 years should be interesting, so stay tuned for updates!

If God Were Not Jealous…

…He would be an idolater.

Think about it- God is jealous to protect His honor, His glory. God’s jealously is righteous because He wants to be recognized for who He is.

Some Biblical support:

Exodus 20:5 “You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me”

Exodus 34:14 “(for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God)”

Deuteronomy 4:24 “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.”

Deuteronomy 5:9 “You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,”

Isaiah 48:11 “For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.”

(I included Exodus 20:5 and Deuteronomy 5:9 because when God repeats something in Scripture, He means business)

God alone is deserving of all honor and glory. God is right to view Himself as the One of ultimate value. If He were not jealous about protecting this, it would mean that He sees something else as more important than Himself.

If that were the case, God be an idolater.

Thoughts? Objections?

Unfairness

“He will get the best care possible.” - Katie Couric about Kennedy’s cancer

I’m not saying Kennedy doesn’t deserve the best care possible; but here’s a question, why does he, more than anyone else, deserve the best care possible? Because he is a well-known senator?

I have a friend who is undergoing tests soon to see if she has a fast-moving terminal form of cancer. This friend is kind, caring, loyal, and very deserving of quality care.

Kennedy will get the best possible care because he will pay for it. Either with the superb insurance plans covering members of government which they vote for themselves, or because of the relatively limitless extent of his financial ability or those who will donate to his medical bills.

Katie Couric uses her “Notebook” session to point out that Kennedy has fought hard for making the same care that is available to him available to every American (legal or not). The problem with this is one perhaps best summed up by Thomas Sowell in his recent series of articles titled “Too “Complex”?” (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3): It’s economics that provide the true and lasting solutions, but economics doesn’t bleed, and politics follows blood.

This friend of mine is bright and sweet, she’s young and incredibly skilled. If anyone deserves a future, she does. She’s articulate and thoughtful, her life is well examined. She’s tenacious and self-reliant, taking high loads of classes at a tough school while working to pay the bills.

She’d be an preeminent poster child for any socialized medicine program.

With the socialized medicine Senator Kennedy has fought for being such a good thing, why have we not gone for it already? After all, it’s been tried elsewhere, it must have been successful, right?

Well, most readers know how successful it has been. Failure.

If socialized medicine, such as that promoted by Senators Kennedy and Clinton, were the reality in America, it would be hell.

As it is, my friend is able to fly to across the country on a few days notice, receive a biopsy, get the results back within a matter of hours, and have a reliable diagnosis presented to her.

It costs money, but with friends paying for her airline ticket, and her doctor asking a colleague for a favor, she can get her procedure done in time to participate in an international internship if the prognosis is good.

If there were socialized medicine here in the US, she would be shunted into a line, put on a waiting list, told to wait her turn.

In a system with little or no incentive either to self-regulate our medical needs or limit considered options to necessary procedures, there would be bloated numbers of people seeking medical help for slight and psychosomatic symptoms.

With the fast-moving nature of the cancer my friend may be suffering from, there is little chance she’d even make it in for an exam, let alone a biopsy, before she died.

May Senator Kennedy enjoy the benefits of a capitalistic medical system, and may his efforts to deny that benefit to the rest of us perish.

**Written by both American Texan and Matthew**

The Fallacy Of Evolutionary Thinking In America

Survival of the fittest- a predominant thought and prevailing theme in our modern society (especially in the scientific world) - or at least it seems to be.

Do we really live this way, though?

No. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have homeless shelters, orphanages, food kitchens, etc.

However, if survival of the fittest is true, we should just dismiss all the programs, right? Leave the people to fend for themselves.

They either make it or they do not. That’s the teaching of evolution, right?

One species adapts and survives, and those that don’t are weak and die off.

However, in America, individuals, celebrities, etc. are praised for their humanitarian work.

If we did not have these programs, we would come across as cruel and uncaring.

And that’s the fallacy of evolutionary thinking in America.

“Smiling All The Way To Hell”

This morning in chapel at the small Christian College I attend, the speaker made several statements which I found very interesting and thought-provoking:

“I heard about a man who was accused of scaring people into heaven. I asked him about this recently and he said, ‘When my children were little, I scared them from touching a hot stove or from poking something into a plug outlet… I don’t think it’s a bad thing to scare people sometimes.’

“Now, I don’t know if I believe that that is right, it’s certainly not friendship evangelism. However, there are many people in America smiling all the way to hell. I don’t think it’s wrong, with a person you have talked to several times, to warn them about what they will face.”

“Sin is shown as being happy, go your way, suffer no consequences, etc. - and it’s not wrong to bring some sobriety into the situation.”

I have to say this wasn’t something I’d considered before.

What do you think?

Our Story, From Grace’s Eyes

It was 2004. I received a letter from Moody Bible Institute telling me I hadn’t been accepted. I was crushed. I was so sure I would be accepted.

At the time I was working for Child Evangelism Fellowship® (CEF) of Dallas, TX. As I continued working with CEF, I felt led to receive further training from them. So I applied to Children’s Ministry Institute, the three month training program offered at CEF’s headquarters. I started the program in January, 2005 and graduated in April, 2005.

While at the training, I re-applied to Moody. I cried when I learned that, through some mix-up with the Post Office, my application never arrived at the campus.

The original plan was for me to continue working with CEF in Dallas for the summer of 2005 and then attend Moody in the fall. Now, I would not be attending Moody in the fall, and due to CEF of Dallas having a new director in training, I would be unable to work with them for the summer.

Basically, all my plans fell apart.

It turned out that there was an opening with the next closest chapter, CEF of Ft. Worth. So, after being home for a month, I moved to Ft. Worth and began a year long internship there. During this internship, I re-applied to Moody for the 3^rd time. I was frustrated with the application process by now.

If not Moody, I didn’t know where I would go to school, but I was pretty much determined not to apply there again.

I received a letter back from Moody in April 2006 and was hesitant to open it. Once I did, I learned that I was accepted, but also learned that I was on the waiting list. They were to keep in touch with me over the summer to let me know whether I would be able to attend for the fall 2006 semester or the spring 2007 semester. By June 2006, I knew that I would be attending in the spring. I rejoiced over finally being accepted!

My internship would be over in the summer, so I started making plans for that fall. I was given the opportunity to learn more about CEF by participating in a three month internship at their world headquarters. Those months were a great time of learning, growing and bonding with the other interns.

I returned to Texas mid-November, unpacked, and then re-packed for moving to cold, snowy Chicago. Mom and I left Texas on January 1 and arrived the evening of January 2.

By the way, January isn’t the best time of year for a Texan to move to Chicago. [grin]

I settled into classes and began visiting churches in the area. I became frustrated, for various reasons, with searching for a church.

I knew that some of my friends picked up two other Moody students for church each Sunday morning. I asked them if they had another spot available in their car. Since they did, I went to visit the church and knew this was the church I was supposed to be at.

After church that day, a group of us went out for lunch. It was a fun time of camaraderie and visiting and the first time I met Matthew.

Incidentally, though I didn’t know it at the time, the Sunday I met Matt was only his second Sunday to be back in Chicago. He had previously lived in Chicago for year and a half, and had returned to California to work on his degree. During the time I was waiting to be accepted into Moody, Matt was working on his degree and waiting to return to Chicago. God has amazing timing!

Due to some transportation issues, I was unable to visit the church again for several weeks. When I returned, I recognized Matt, but honestly couldn’t remember his name (I’ve always been bad with names…just ask my sister). We spent a few minutes chatting after the service and then I left, not really thinking twice about him, other than as a potential friend. I went to the church once more before Spring break and was beginning to feel a little bit at home there. Because of Spring break, I was gone for three Sunday’s in a row. Upon returning, the other Moody students and I still had transportation troubles getting to church.

One of my good friends suggested I call Matt and have him give the three of us on-campus students a ride to church. My reply was, “I’m fairly new at this church, you’ve been going there longer and know him better- and I don’t have his phone number- you give him a call for a ride.” I was NOT about to call anyone, especially a guy I barely knew asking him to come pick us up for church.

So, my friend arranged everything and on that Sunday she and I left the dorm together. When we arrived at Matt’s car, I learned that I would be the only one actually riding in his car that day. Because the weather was nice, my friend and the other Moody student decided to take his motorcycle to church.

I felt so bad because Matt, someone that I barely knew, had driven all the way into the city just to pick up one student that he hardly knew. Still, it was my only option if I wanted to attend church that Sunday. As I got into his car, I was fervently wishing that motorcycles fit three people and was already planning the lecture I was going to give my friend for leaving me alone.

Though I felt awkward over the situation, Matt and I had a good visit to and from church. We found we had a lot in common and talked easily together.

During the semester, the associate pastor and his wife invited the college group out to their house a couple of times for fun, movies, games, etc. I was able to make it out to one of these, but because I was busy at the beginning of it, Matt offered to come pick me up later.

It was a good afternoon of hanging out with Matt and the other Moody students. At this point, I still thought of him as nothing but a good friend. As I like to say, I was “completely clueless” that he was interested in me.

My “completely clueless” mindset was going to start to change soon, on a Saturday, when several of us were helping some friends move apartments. Matt seemed to be around a lot that Saturday and we worked on several projects together.

I distinctly remember him giving me several compliments throughout the day. That night, after the move, I was sitting in my dorm room thinking over the day. I remembered Matt’s friendliness and was trying to remember if he had given compliments to the other girls who were there- but I really couldn’t think of any. However, I convinced myself that he was just going out of his way to make the ‘new girl’ feel welcome. (I still considered myself new at this point because I hadn’t been attending the church for very long).

So, I still just saw him as a good friend, but did occasionally wonder if there was something more. Since he hadn’t said anything though, and had always been a gentleman, I tried (rather unsuccessfully) to put these thoughts aside.

The semester ended a few weeks later and Matt offered to drive my roommate (who, ironically, was from CA as well, and knew Matt’s family) to the airport. Her terminal was first and I told her goodbye. It was a short, but very quiet, ride to my terminal. Matt took my luggage out of the trunk, and, after debating, I gave him an awkward side-hug, told him thanks, and left to catch my flight.

Once seated on my plane, I wondered again if he was interested or just a good friend. I went back and forth over mentioning anything to my mom. After all, I really had nothing to tell her. Matt hadn’t said anything to me, so I had no real reason to think he was interested. I had realized at this point that there was something attractive about this man. I couldn’t exactly put my finger on it, but there was definitely something.

I ended up mentioning something to my mom, but assured her that I really had no reason, and nothing to go on, to assume that he liked me. As I puzzled over my attraction to him, I realized that there was something about him that made me desire to be a more godly woman- one that would be able to assist him in his walk with God- even if I was just his sister in Christ and nothing more. However, I also realized that I wanted to be more than just his sister in Christ.

He called the next day and my mom answered the phone. She and I were in the middle of a board game, and well, that game never got finished. I spent four hours on the phone talking to Matt. There still had been no mention of the possibility of a relationship, but mom had fun teasing me over how long the phone call lasted.

The next day, as I was out running errands, Matt called back asking to speak to my dad. Since my dad was at work, he had to wait until the next day to actually speak with him.

Side note: Several years before this, at my old college and at various jobs, I’d had several guys express an interest in dating me. One thing I always told them was that they needed to talk to my dad first. Not only was it true, I found it a very effective tool for ‘weeding out’ the guys not worth my time. If they weren’t willing to talk to my dad, they weren’t worth dating. Matt didn’t know of this stipulation of mine and I’m very glad he approached my dad first before talking to me.

After a month of talking to my parents and even writing one essay for them, Matt was given permission to court me. At this time, I was in Missouri receiving training for a summer mission program in New York City that I was a part of. Matt drove the five hours to come see me the weekend he asked me to court him.

I stayed in NYC for five weeks, then returned to Missouri, and then headed back to Texas. Matt came to Texas for a week in August to meet my family and many of my friends. School was starting up again, and we both had the same flight back to Chicago.

It was a time of learning and growing together as a couple. I learned to appreciate his strength, tenderness, sensitivity and patience. We planned a trip to California so that I could meet his family over Christmas break. Though I was very nervous over meeting them, I fit in well with his family. His sisters and I shared many laughs together.

After we returned, Matt mentioned marriage to me. We both knew we wanted to marry each other and now we started talking about dates. We received counsel from many and spent much time in prayer.

Since we were still unsure about when we should marry, we took a week to devote to prayer and seeking God’s will for our lives. We did not contact each other at all that week. We each came to the conclusion to marry August of 2008. I knew a proposal would be coming, but I had no idea when it would take place.

When we were walking out to his car after church on February 24, he completely took me by surprise by getting down on one knee and saying, “I love you Grace, I want you to be my wife and the mother of my future children; will you marry me?”

I said yes!

I get to marry this wonderful man on August 2, 2008.

To Ponder…

What are your thoughts on the following statement?

“It is better to destroy than to create that which is meaningless.”

Grinch Award?

Last night, I turned the radio on to the Christian station I have listened to since childhood. I wanted some nice Christmas music and was looking forward to listening to a station I have always respected.

I was a bit surprised to hear “The Grinch” song being played and was about to change the station when the DJ started talking. Intrigued, I listened, for she mentioned it was time to give out “The Grinch Award”.

I couldn’t imagine a Grinch Award having anything but a negative connotation and puzzled over it. I was not left in suspense for long as she proceeded to explain the award and tell who had won it for the week.

She first apologized for the lateness of the award explaining that she did not watch the show, The View, and so had to read an article in the paper about the show later.

Apparently, Barbara Walters grumbled and complained over the Christmas card she received from President and Mrs. Bush because it contained a Bible verse. Barbara Walters was appalled that they sent out a “religious” card.

Because of Barbara’s complaint, this local Christian station gave her the “Grinch Award”.

I am not at all surprised by Barbara’s reaction to receiving such a Christmas card. What more can you expect from someone who does not know and believe the story of Jesus?

I am shocked and appalled at the action of the radio station. They should know better. Their action will only push more people away from Christians.

As believers we are called to reflect and share the love of Christ - and they did the exactly opposite of that.

If anyone here deserves to receive a “Grinch Award” it should be this radio station for their unkind, unloving, and unmerciful act.

A Sad Yet True-To-Life Christmas Song

matthew: Please welcome the newest addition to the I Pandora family of authors: American Texan. American Texan is a student who sometimes just has to write things down, and is rather good at it too. But don’t take my word for it…

As I was getting ready this morning I found the song “Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer” running through my head. I stopped and focused on the words I had just sung:

And then one foggy Christmas eve,
Santa came to say,
‘Rudolph, with your nose so bright,
Won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?’
Then all the reindeer loved him,
As they shouted out with glee,
‘Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer,
You’ll go down in history.’

The other reindeer didn’t see the value of Rudolph until someone pointed out that he was useful for something. Until that point his differences made him an outcast.

I think this relates very much to human behavior. Unless, or until, someone’s difference seems to contribute to the well-being or enjoyment of others they are often shunned.

Everyone is worthwhile regardless of their differences. I am worthwhile, not because of myself, but because I am a creation of God. My differences, my similarities, are absolutely nothing if it is just me; they have been given to me by God. Everyone is worthwhile because they are a creation of God. He made them who they are.

I remember the case of Terry Schiavo a few years back. Her husband, and numerous courts, didn’t see her life, her personhood, as worthwhile.

A potato is a potato even if someone, for example, says it is a flower. It will always be a potato no matter one’s viewpoint on it.

A person is a person and has worth no matter what anyone says. A person has worth even if you do not know what they will contribute to the world yet.

Everyone is worthwhile in God’s eyes regardless of how individuals or society as a whole views them. They are valued by God even if they seem to contribute little or nothing to others or to the world.