blood:water mission

If you do not read the blood:water mission blog, you should. The newest one is by Dan Haseltine. Some people have heard of him 'cause he is the lead singer of this little band called Jars of Clay. But, today he isn't talking about his small time band, he is communicating about the suffering in Africa, choices, and the here and now of the Kingdom of God.

And after you read it - do something with it.

Romance in the Park

Last night we held our own version of "Amazing Race" for our youth. We wrapped it up at the Arbor Hills Nature Preserve. I watched a man get a bouquet of roses, 2 champagne glasses, and some bubbly out of his car and walk up the main trail. About five minutes later I took off the same way and met him headed back toward the parking lot. My thought was that whatever he proposed didn't go well or that he had been stood up. Five minutes later I heard someone coming up behind me. It was Mr. Roses. He asked if I knew how to get to the tower. I told him which direction he needed to head at the fork. And then told him that I hoped I was right. So, maybe I helped romance along last night OR a guy is still wandering around in the preserve looking for the tower.

Sex Trade and Children

Have tissue ready as you click to read this post by Amy. It is not easy to read, but it needs to be read, passed on, and acted on by every person that reads it.

If you want to learn more about modern day slavery, check out these sites:
International Justice Mission
Not For Sale
Free The Slaves

22nd Wedding Anniversary

Today is the day that my husband, Phil, and I have been married 22 years. I guess it is a good thing we like each other. My mind is mush right now. We had planned to spend our evening the same way we did exactly one year ago tonight, however things didn't go quite as planned. It started out normal.

Dinner at Kelly's Eastside.
Walk around Historical Downtown Plano.
Make our way to the Fusion Cafe.
Settle in for Aaron and Jordan's concert.
Watch firetruck and ambulance go by.
During the intermission, talk to friends.
During conversation about a mission trip to Ecuador hear that Corinn's best friend has had a wreck on the way to the concert. Hence the firetruck and ambulance.
Take Corinn to hospital to be with KK.
Tell KK that Aaron and Jordan are not worth getting in a wreck over.
Ask KK if they found a brain when they did a catscan.
Watch KK struggle to get up to go potty.
Tell her that no one saw her pink undies as she walked through emergency.
Helped KK's mom get her into paper scrubs, cause her clothes had to be cut off.
Listened to nurse confirm a broken collarbone.
Said goodbye to KK, her mom and dad.
Came home and wrote this.

Darn, my anniversary is over by two minutes.

Stripping Dirty Waxed Floors

The place I work in is stripping and re-waxing the floor. Apparently this is done twice a year. Once in the summer and once during Christmas break. You don't really notice the grime until the stripping takes place and the new wax shines.

I've been watching this process for a couple of weeks now. It reminds me of how gunk builds up in my heart. Layer upon layer at a consistent pace. I don't notice because it becomes the norm, just like the brown film on the blue and white tiles. But, it has to be stripped - just like the floors. Sometimes I don't like that. I fight the Sander. I wish I could follow the floor's lead and just let it happen, lie there and let the process take place. Enjoy becoming clean again.

Another thing I've noticed is that the floor isn't mopped everyday so the dirt builds up fast. (Sort of like my kitchen floor, but we aren't going to talk about that now.) Maybe, like my soul, if it was scrubbed everyday it wouldn't take such drastic measures to keep it looking (or feeling) good.

Gunk On/Gunk Off

Andrew Osenga's Blog on the Dalits

Please read this blog about "the least of these" in India. It is heart breaking. I hope it grabs you and moves you like it did me. It is written by Andrew Osenga as part of the 40 Day Fast. Read it and act!

Warped Tour

Jacob, Corinn, Chloe, Derrick - What a group!

Corinn and Nathan

me with my redneck tan and John - this is how we really look

Corinn, Solomon, Chloe, Josh

This is how I spent my Saturday - hanging out at the Vans Warped Tour. Amazingly I wasn't the oldest person there. Some people older than me had no business being dressed the way they were. I didn't take pictures. I wanted to spare everyone the ugliness.

Corinn and I had a lot of fun. She got to see three of her favorite bands, maybe four - can't remember. The highlight of the day was seeing our friend, Chloe. She has a very stressful job and we spent the day helping her out. At some points we three were so busy that I don't see how she does it alone. She is amazing.

Some people know Chloe as "Tofu Pup". A girl asked to have her picture taken with her. I missed that. It would have been fun to see. I like watching my friends be recognized. As long as people are nice. Don't want any weirdos bothering her.

As you can see in one of the pictures I got a lovely redneck tan. Now I don't have to make a fake one for "Redneck Camp" Wednesday night. I made it all through the Yucatan without getting one and then got one at home. GRRR!

It was great to meet her employers. They are sweet and funny. John made me laugh so hard. If you ever meet him ask him about his encounter with Cher. I will never be able to see or think about her again without cracking up.

Anyway, it was a great day. I look forward to meeting up with them again at Rock The Desert.