So I went to America's Best a few weeks ago and voila! I have two pairs of glasses. Yes, two. Not that I need two, but they strike a great bargain there and why not take it? It's about the same price with just one pair.
Please let me know what you think and which pair you find more appealing. Of course, I have my more studious, intellectual pair. The others are more for every day wear. Comments encouraged.
Today I got a call from Jessica at Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Jasper and Newton Counties. Monte and I were both welcomed into the program after we had our home visit and interviews on Tuesday. This means that we are now both going to be paired with "Littles" and we can then start the mentoring process. With any new endeavor, I'm a little overzealous in my plans. They'll probably tone down by the time we actually get together for the first time. I get to meet the parent of a little on Monday who will hopefully be my pal for 1-4 hours each week. I'm really excited!
Have a great Thursday. It's my brother's-in-law birthday today. Happy Birthday!
Watching Pride and Prejudice today after I've been told over and over again that it's so amazing. Monte's at work. Perfect timing. We'll also be enjoying the company of some of Monte's family this weekend to celebrate the first birthday of a little one.
Until next time...
So I'm an avid Bible reader. I was checking out some passages that reflected some points of prayer for Monte. It came from this chart I made from the book "The Power of a Praying Wife." It includes all the things that we, as wives, should pray about concerning our husbands. This one was on his work. As most of you know, Monte is currently in transition from traveling with Believe and finding a ministry position at a church. So he's working at BioLife, a quality establishment, to pay the bills while the search continues for a church where he will be utilized the most for God's glory.
In this daily prayer regimen, I read these passages and then lift up a prayer for my dear, sweet hubby. He's so great. He really does spoil me. It's just too bad that the compliments I receive about him are probably not anywhere close to the ones he may or may not receive about me. Let's just say that I'm vocal and not everyone likes vocal. On to the subject at hand. I read a verse in Ecclesiastes, chapter 5. Verse 19 reads, "Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work - this is a gift of God." Whoa! I'd say so. This is what Monte desires for his work one day. Not that what he is doing right now isn't good. But it's not the fulfillment of his talents or the culmination of his studies and experience put into practice. His passions and drives in his work ability are not utilized at a plasma donation center. That's why I keep praying. And if you know anything about this book in the Bible, King Solomon basically refrains time and time again that life is meaningless. So when he included this verse, I'd say he meant every bit of it.
If you do get to enjoy your work, you're lucky. Thank God for it. It's a gift.
Americans are so loose with words. It's a shame. Of course, all cultures have slang, contractions, shortcuts, etc. that are used in the common speech. But I'm not that old and I'm having a hard time keeping up with all of the lingo that I hear. Most of it is used with the younger crowd. I guess it's cyclical though. The youngin's of today will soon reach this point as well and wonder how they got so old in ten years after high school!
Another poor use of words was displayed as Jesse Jackson was caught saying some very inappropriate things regarding Barack Obama. Let's just all agree that someone in Jesse Jackson's position should never ever assume a microphone is off. I'd hate to be his publicist!
And then we see the drama on The View. I know this might seem to be a simplistic mindset of mine, but I see the divisiveness of race as man-made and fixable. Yes, fixable. God created one race - the human race. And it would be nice if we would teach our children that concept and live within our own existence and not those of our ancestors. Unfortunately, some think that I should never be able to live without the guilt of my ancestors even though I totally agree that anything that belittled another human like slavery is absolutely wrong. I should not be accountable for their misdeeds. Luckily, God can make good come from bad situations and our nation has benefited greatly from our diversification. Just think of what we would be like had our history been different.
And I happened to see a snippet of an interview with Mr. Taye Diggs. Although he is an extremely handsome man who happens to be a very successful thespian, I was greatly disappointed by his words. He spoke as if Elizabeth Hasselback carried part of the responsibility for the creation of "that word" because people with similar skin color were the ones who came up with it. Mr. Diggs, she had nothing to do with that word's origin.
Why can't we move towards a place in the USA where we choose not to be angry about things we can't change? All that energy could be channeled towards a greater good. It begins with dismissing those who are thoughtless and use words to hurt others or stir them to anger, not defending or justifying them based on their ethnic background, political party, economic status, gender, etc. We can all use what influence we have to reach out and embrace our similarities instead of our differences. Let's get along one with another. That, my friends, is true peace. Do I sound like a public service announcement? Maybe.
We just got back from a trip to Arkansas to see my family. Monte had a three day weekend from work and we figured we better take advantage of it. Gas was never over $4/gal luckily. We pray it stays under $4 until after we go back at the beginning of August when we vacation in Hot Springs.
We got to see our newest niece. Her name is Addison. You can check her out here. Of course, she doesn't look exactly the same now since this picture is a few weeks old. But she was born on June 5th and is pretty stinkin' cute. I have to say that I have never in my life seen so much fussing and ridiculousness over a baby. I can almost guarantee that my own mother didn't fuss over her own children like she does little Addi. But I guess that's expected. She's not exhausted from nighttime feedings and the recovery from delivering a child.
We had a good time in AR. I went to hang out with my friend Nancy and I had a surprise visitor waiting for me...It was Drea! That was a nice bonus. I love that girl. I love both of them. She has this sweet new Mustang she's driving around like she's the queen of Tulsa or something. I'm a tad jealous of the speed and hotness of her car. But she said I can drive it when I come visit. Looking forward to it.
We also hung out with the Gililland Family (AKA G-lands). They are like second parents and younger siblings. That was fun. We had a great time around the dinner table over some yummy eats - Little Caesars' pizza. Have a great week and don't forget to take the poll to the right!
I am in no way trying to be crass or inappropriate with my new poll. But I'd like a little insight to the male's mind. So tell your male friends and have them vote. I have it open until the end of July. It's strictly anonymous in case any guy was concerned about his voice being heard.
Well, I had to say goodbye to my best friend and her hubby the other day. They were able to visit us from Louisville, KY and then attend a wedding this past weekend. We love, love, love Max & Sara and wish we could live closer. We're all praying that this happens in some way. You can join us.This seems to be the case with many of my close friends. Most of you know that Martin and Jani had to move back to South Africa and that others of my closest pals have moved away for work or other very substantial reasons. Luckily, the internet has been a huge help in keeping in touch. However, there is nothing quite like a real hug or actually looking into your friends' eyes to survey their tone of voice and sense of emotion behind their conversations. I will never underestimate time spent in person with my friends. They are memories I carry with me and refer to often for comfort, a good laugh, or just to reminisce. I'm sure most of you probably agree with me. And I'm sure you have friends that are separated from you for a time as well.
On a lighter note, Max & Sara taught us this game called Bananagrams while they were here. It was quite fun. It's a good mix between a crossword puzzle and Scrabble. Plus, it's interesting to see what words are swimming around in others' heads. (snicker) I won't tell on anyone via internet. You're lucky! You know who you are...
Reach out and hug your friends who are close. Appreciate the time you have with them and never forget that life can take them out of your reach in a flash. Until next time...
(P.S. If you haven't witnessed Max & Sara's wedding dance video, you can find it on YouTube.)
