Simplicity

As some other people were commenting about Michelle's blog, I thought I'd go check it out. I found myself wanting to do the same thing she was. She is advertising a simple life and that's something I wish I had from time to time. People say that I've got it easy right now, wait till I have a job and everything else, but that's what I'm working towards. I hate school. I'm just trying to get passed it so I can get on to doing the things I love to do. Anyways, back to simplicity. Finding God on a day to day basis is hard. I feel he's distant right now and I'm trying even more than usual to listen up. I can't really get anything, just little nudges, Erin this isn't doesn't feel right does it? Stop. Walk away now I want time with you. Guess that's a good start. What I'm thankful for today

~ Warm showers and clean clothes
~ Music that speaks to me
~ A God that listens all the time
~ People who love me all the time, even if its not as obvious

What do your features say about you

I was reading an article about what your features says about you. I thought it might be interesting. I found it however kind of offensive. They categorized different things such as the eyes, nose, ears, lips and eyebrows. I just couldn't understand how they found that if you had green eyes, you were more inclined to be jealous easier than someone with brown. It went on further that people with bushy eyebrows have bad intentions. It doesn't make sense to me. What proof do they have that all people are like that because of a certain feature God has given them? I don't think that's what He had in mind. I'm pretty sure he didn't decide that everyone with blue eyes were going to be the generous ones, and people with hair knuckles where destined to be rich. The most appalling part of this entire thing was at the end when they said the perfect person was ( and I quote ) "They'd likely have upward-slanting eyes, a turned-up nose, a wide philtrum, a flat chin, small earlobes, hairy knuckles, pointy fingers and a broad brow."

I guess the rest of us are screwed.

Dignity

I just read a devotion thing I get in the mail. It was about women who were in New Orleans, well Mississippi anyways, and they were all at a salon that was already having about 16 customers....Before lunch. I thought the devotion was going to be about not caring about what you look like, you should be helping out. To my surprise it was about these women and how they were on the right track.
It must be something deep in our DNA, one of them said, and she's right. It is in our DNA. We are all made in the image of God and among other things, to care about our physical appearance is to care about that. It's a shame these women felt it necessary to apologize for treating themselves with appropriate dignity.
So many of the people there have lost just that. They feel they have no dignity left.
This feeling of self worth isn't excessive, nor is it silly. It is treating oneself with the care and dignity suitable to our family line. It's the same care everyone deserves, because God is our Father, and we are all made for and loved by Him.

Pooh Bear Lessons

~It amazing how something that little kids watch could be so inspiring


Pooh, there's something I need to tell you

Is it something nice?

Not exactly...

Then it can wait.

It can, for how long?

Forever and Ever....

Another quiz

I guess we're all obessed with these things now...ah well gives me something to do.

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Good citizens?

I woke up this morning to find out there are people all over our street. I was trying to figure out what they were doing. It looked to me like they were cleaning other peoples houses. There were teenagers with rakes and adults with hammers, little kids wiping windows. To me this was amazing. People that I've never seen getting together to help their fellow man. Maybe they knew the people on our street, for they never came to our house. It was alright with me if they didn't come. A few times I felt like I should go out there, ask if I could help do anything. Being me however I got shy and didn't want to bother any of them. It would have been great to leave it at that, people helping others for no other reason than to help, until my dad got up and as he was leaving to go to work he said; if they come to our door and ask if they can do anything, tell them no. I thought that was a bit odd so I asked why I had to say no. He turned to me and said you can say yes if you want to pay for it. It dumbfounded me. I never for a minute thought that these people were doing all that for money. Maybe I'm naive. Maybe I want to believe there's still good in people. I don't see anything wrong with that. But was my dad right? Were they doing this for the money, or for the sake of helping someone?

Two-faced

I've met a lot of people that could be considered "two-faced". I'm probably guilty of being this way as well. It's something I've come to notice it so much more since school has started. I'll see people I know who have great values and think of life in a totally cool way; and then there they are hanging out with people who are ( how can I say this kindly? ) more on the materialistic side. Now this is where most people go; where is she to judge? I'm not judging, I'm just trying to make a point as to some people have more of a dominant focus on how much they spend is equal to how much their worth. What bothers me afterwards, is thinking; where did those values go? How can you be talking about wanting to make a difference in the world, and then talking about how that guy that walked past is wearing the weirdest shoes? Maybe I'm totally wrong here. Maybe that is the reason I have trouble making friends in a non Christian environment. I judge too quickly perhaps, and say who is a good person and who is not.

Violet

VIOLET You surround yourself with art and music and are constantly driven to express yourself. You often daydream. You prefer honesty in your relationships and belive strongly in your personal morals. Find out your color at Quiz Me!

A Poem

The Big Easy

Tired and sad,
but no wiser for the wear.
I spent the night
skimming the shallows
of reason and meaning,
searching for answers,
but came up with only
blood-drawn question marks
before drifting off in the
current of sleep.

I dreamed I seine-fished
the streets of Tulsa
with a chicken-wire net.
On South Peoria, I dredged up
a rotted oak branch,
the orange and white sign
from an A&W stand,
a thirty-four year-old mother
with brown, floating hair,
and some drowned child’s lunch box—
on the lid, the rusting image of the Hulk,
that icon of rage unleashed, unrestrained.

In the distance,
the boiling green fury of the clouds
passed on.

I went north—
at times wading,
at times swimming—
past half-submerged
bistros and boutiques
on Cherry Street,
then came to a man,
clean and dry,
standing alone on a quiet
expressway overpass.
His voice echoed off the
surface of the sunken city
as he preached a heaven
with no floods,
no killer waves from the sea,
no home-shattering earthquakes,
no burning forests or rolling lava.
And while he spoke,
a wet and weary cat
fought the current,
howled and scratched at
a concrete pillar, then
sank into the water
at the preacher’s feet.

I woke
to the usual unheard screams
from dying, choking throats.
Millions still starving in Africa.
Thousands still bleeding in Sudan.
Now hundreds drowning
in New Orleans.
Will this bring the fire back
to our bones?
Will our words fork lightning
after this?
Will the hands and feet of Christ
be tireless?
Or will we barely rouse
at this passing storm,
only to sink back down
into our lives of ease and
continue our slouch
toward New Jerusalem?

-Mike Snyder

Religion Board

It was early in the morning, and I thought I would check out a religious message board, just to see what other people thought of Christ. What I read truly upsets me.
I knew I was going to find a few people in there that said there was no Heaven, that God was just a myth. What I wasn't expecting were people he don't believe trashing Jesus as if he was the fat kid in class that everyone made fun of. The first post I read was a young woman making a point of that she loved the Romans for what they did to Jesus, and further more, if they hadn't and he was in our times; that she would take pleasure in doing it herself. I couldn't believe someone could have such hate for another, especially Him.
A man who was going to get married wanted to know if he should change his religion, even it he thought the religion was completely "stupid". The religion was Mormon. All the responses where of how you should never give up your faith, and that you should try to convert her because she was obviously "retarded" and needed to ( and this is a quote ) "go to the mental hospital".
The only post I actually got something out of, a post where I thought, now this person is actually trying to talk about something, was a little girl who wanted to now if our country was too cynical to have religion and just be able to believe. Then she asked if there was anything we could do. Now what got to me was that there were only two responses. One said that we were all screwed, there was no hope. The other said that we needed to have public prayer, and get rid of all the homosexuals.
What is the world coming to?