West Wing Quiz Revisted

My new TV on DVD fettish has been the West Wing. So far I am well into Season 2 and am really enjoying it. (I hear shouts of elation and a definite "I told you so" coming from a living room to the state north of me.)

While I'm drawn into the writing (again, creepy murmurs of glee) I love how the characters are drawn. I seriously can't think of which character I love the most. Sorkin does a great job of writing his characters with a warmth that endears each one of them to me in different ways.

Today as I was out running some errands I found myself wondering with which character I most identified. For some reason I kept thinking, "I think I'm kind of a Leo McGarry." I remembered my friend Jill posting this quiz awhile back and so I took it again since I now have a little more vested in the show.

As the captain of the Bartlet Administration's boat, the chief of staff is a work-a-holic. Although he is sometimes haunted by the demons of his past alcohol and drug abuse, because of his character and perserverance there is no one more admired on the staff than he.

:: Which West Wing character are you? ::

Blythe Lane, White House Chief of Staff. Good ring to it, no?

Well, the good news is it looks like I know what my next job should be!

Just some random thoughts...

So, I’ve spent the last five hours cleaning out some more junk (will it EVer end?) as I’m trying to make sure I have thoroughly gone through everything for an upcoming garage sale I’m going to have in a couple of weekends. I am still mystified as to how I one human being can accumulate so much! It’s times like these that I’m glad for TV on DVD and Amy Sherman-Palladino. Yes, Gilmore Girls is running even as I type. Lane is currently dying her hair purple.

But I digress. Previous paragraph is not why I sat down here to blog.

Tonight I came across a box of old journals dating all the way back to my freshman year in college. I spent some time leafing through some of them…some of it was quite comical. It’s funny to me what occupies the mind of 19-year old girl…and I was one. But it was fun to be reminded of some of the journey. I came across a quote that I recorded my sophomore year after reading something by Elisabeth Elliot and I thought how it was a very timely thought for me right now where I’m at…

…waiting on God requires willingness to bear uncertainty, to carry within oneself the unanswered question, lifting the heart to God about it whenever it intrudes upon one’s thoughts. It’s easy to talk oneself into a decision that has no permanence – easier sometimes than to wait patiently.

Waiting on God. It is the eternal posture of our hearts, isn’t it? Waiting for Him to speak, lead, provide, inspire. Over the last six months I think I’ve felt waiting like I never have before. Not that I haven’t ever waited for a lengthy time on God before, but this time there has been a weight to the wait, you know?

Earlier today I was up at the office finalizing some things and noticed a note to me on our LoveLines Board. (This is a place that students will often write notes of encouragement to other students.) This particular student gave me courage and it was something that I needed to hear today:

“…You show a lot of faith stepping out into the unknown for the next stage of your life…through you I have seen what God can do and that is uplifting…it has been a blessing to listen to you when I was able to, and the [campus org] is losing a real treasure next fall. May God continually show Himself to you in new ways!”

I was and am deeply blessed by those words. As I wrap up what has been the first significant part of my adulthood, it was good to be reminded that while the circumstances and scenery might change along the journey, a couple things won’t…trusting and waiting upon God and investing in people.

It will be fun to see how that takes shape in this next season…

"Call me Mara..."

Today finds me thinking about Naomi. I turned to the book of Ruth this morning in an attempt to avoid Judges which is where I’ve been for about a month now. Something in me just didn’t have the heart to read about one more battle, you know? Funny, though, how Ruth is a story that is set in the time of the Judges.

And yet, what captured my heart and attention this morning had more to do with Naomi than Ruth. Everything in Naomi’s life seems to have gone bottom up—she’s lost her husband; both of her sons have died; and she’s living alone in the land of Moab far away from her family and hometown of Bethlehem. While she has the comfort of her daughters-in-law, she is very aware that not to release them to go find husbands while still in their youth and beauty would be stealing their own futures. As I got caught up in her world, I really felt the weight of Naomi’s seeming aloneness: “She said to them, ‘Each of you go back to your mother’s home. May the LORD show faithful love to you as you have shown to the dead and to me. May the LORD enable each of you to find security in the house of your [new] husband.’ She kissed them, and they wept loudly.” (Ruth 1:8-9)

And then there is that beautiful moment where Ruth steps up to the plate, pledges not only her love to her mother-in-law, but to serve and follow the God she had come to know through Naomi. Also worthy of note, the Hebrew words Elohiym and Yahweh are used here signifying the difference between the gods of Ruth’s country.

Naomi can’t seem to persuade Ruth otherwise and takes her back to Bethlehem with her. Naomi’s friends and family, while they welcome Naomi back home, are quick to notice the change in Naomi. Her name meaning pleasant, she tells her old friends, “Don't call me Naomi. Call me Mara [bitter],” she answered, “for the Almighty has made me very bitter. I left full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has pronounced [judgment] on me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?” (Ruth 1:20-21) To those who knew this once vibrant and agreeable woman, the hardships and blows of life it seems were obvious to all.

In reading this interchange many different times before, I would have blown over Naomi’s reaction chalking it up as an inappropriate response to her circumstances fixing my focus instead on Ruth who seems to have it all together. But today I couldn’t brush away Naomi’s response. Today I saw Naomi in a different light. I seemed to hear her say,

“You know what? Life hasn’t turned out as I expected. Yes, I left here during the famine full of hopes and dreams knowing in the land of Moab Yahweh would provide for my family. And He did for many years. But now, I’ve lost everything and I’m returning in pain. Yahweh has brought this into my life. I don’t hate Him. I’m not running away from His affliction. If I wanted turn my back on Him I would have stayed in Moab and embraced her gods. But, He has indeed emptied my life. I have nothing but the clothes on my back and the love and friendship of this dear daughter, Ruth. Despite the fact that everything in my life hurts right now and I can’t see beyond the emptiness I’ve been given, I’ve come home to Bethlehem….a place where I can recharge…a place where Yahweh is providing for His people. For now, this is all I can see.”

Maybe I heard Naomi’s heart differently today because it gave a description into the current state of my own. It was good to hear…both hers and mine. At this point in Naomi’s Story, she can’t see beyond her current circumstances. And while I don’t yet know the end of my Story, I do know the end Naomi’s. It’s a good one, ending as she never would have expected and even more joyous than she ever would have imagined bearing eternal fruit in the line of Jesus.

If you think about it, without Naomi, there would be no Ruth, you know? While I often want to dismiss Naomi and focus in on Ruth, Ruth’s passionate pledge to Naomi came, I believe, as a result of seeing up close Naomi’s devotion to Yahweh. I think Ruth saw a woman still trusting in Yahweh and willing to return to her home country because Naomi knew that’s where Yahweh dwelled. Despite Naomi’s fallen countenance, Ruth saw a woman who was still clinging to her Elohiym.

Thanks, God, for using Naomi’s pain for good and for helping me to see my heart and be honest with where I’m at currently. Thanks for the picture of Your heart for the nations through Naomi’s relationship with Ruth. Thanks for seeing me, caring for me, and sharing Your heart with me…

Wild Kingdom

I would just like to say that the Wild Kingdom was not just a TV show, it's my backyard. Today as I was talking on the phone and checking in on my newly planted potted plants, I was shocked to find Black Snake taking in the shade on my back porch. As far as I could tell, he had an eye on a couple of birds also enjoying my back porch. Somehow I think he had dinner plans on his mind and I don't think it included a movie.

Yes, folks this is the drama that is my life.

No Southern Belle

Now I have proof that I really don't belong in Oklahoma...

Your Linguistic Profile::

65% General American English

10% Midwestern

10% Upper Midwestern

10% Yankee

0% Dixie

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

An Update...

On the recent trip to Florida
It was a Mother’s Day weekend extravaganza. I flew in (as did my youngest sister and her husband) to meet up with the entire fam. We spent the majority of our time entranced by the newest, cutest, and most entertaining member of the family. As well, some of the fam finally took a day to check out some of the Walt Disney fare. Of course, as is custom with our family, we happened to choose the day it would rain! Our fun was not to be deterred, however. We simply bought Mickey Mouse ponchos and enjoyed Magic Kingdom and Epcot in the rain. It was actually a very pleasant experience as only 17,000 people were spread out this particular day between the 4 parks.

On air travel adventures
I mentioned in the previous post that my trip to Florida was very uneventful. Not so, for the return trip. The flight from Ft. Lauderdale left me and over 200 other persons sitting on the plane for nearly an hour. Evidently some loony decided to pose as a U.S. Marshall. So, the airline had to sift through all the luggage to get the imposter’s luggage off the plane. Curious to me was how this creep got as far as boarding the plane…

As you would expect, the delay caused many to miss their connecting flights in Dallas. As if the previous event wasn’t exciting enough, one couple got cocky and actually started making a beeline toward the front of the plane just as the plane touched down. The flight attendant told them to sit back down but the man told the woman off with a, “I don’t really care. We’re going to miss our flight to Canada.” Yeah, I thought, and now, thanks to you, we all are too! People.

After that drama, I ran as fast as possible through DFW to catch my connecting flight. They had just started boarding First Class as I made my way to the gate. I was glad to get settled on the plane knowing that within the next hour I’d be in my car heading home. However, as I sat down in my seat I discovered to my complete surprise that I was sitting in a pool of someone else’s…well, I don’t know what it was but I was just praying that someone had spilled a drink versus the other option. Informing the flight attendant, she said that it was full flight and I could either sit on some blankets or if there was a free seat, she would exchange out the seat cushion from that seat to the one I was in. Hmm. If there’s a free seat, don’t you think it would just be easier for me to move to that seat??? People. Thankfully the seat in front of me was free and I moved myself into that one.

On the jungle of weeds that is my yard
The most depressing thing about returning home was coming home to my own little private jungle. My lawn mower decided to check out on me the day I left for Florida. Needless to say the lawn did not get mowed before I left town nor was I successful in finding anyone for hire. Until today. Today Blythe met Troy. Troy Bilt. And, boy is Blythe happy. And so is her lawn.

Scenes from an Airport

Okay, so this trip to Florida wasn’t quite as eventful as the one a month ago although this one did put me in just shy of 1am this morning. However, during my brief layover in DFW I dropped in to my local airport Starbucks in Terminal D for a Grande Non-fat Decaf Caramel Macchiato. I was just one in a long line of many last night who were trying to get their favorite drink to accompany them to their final destination.

Because the line was so long, one of the baristas started collecting orders. While I’m a huge Starbucks fan, I did find it quite amusing to listen to the different kinds of orders and was impressed with the barista’s ability to keep up. Remembering orders like “Venti Decaf Toffe Nut Latte Extra Hot No Whip” is no small feat! After several of these orders, I began to giggle a little out loud at the craziness of those of us enslaved to the Starbucks vernacular. One order in particular set the entire customer line as well as the baristas to chuckling. Apparently late night traveling and the recognition that we all have some serious Starbucks addictions was not lost on us. While the moment was brief, it brought a smile to my face and gave me a little extra energy after a long and emotionally draining week.

One Tired Chick

It’s been a kind of surreal last couple of days. I’ve been packing up 9 years of an office worth of files, books, and memorabilia. I wish I could say that in my sorting, packing and tossing that I allowed myself to wander back down Memory Lane but to be quite honest I didn’t really want to go there. Just took too much energy and just wanted to be done, you know? Tie up loose ends and be ready for whatever the Lord has in store next.

A couple hours out from closing my office door one last time, I realize how tired I am. I wish I could say that walking in the Unknown is energizing but I have to say, quite frankly, I’m wiped. Would I be whiney girl if I said I’m ready for the Known?

Saying Goodbye to a Season...

This has been the last week of classes and official meetings and appointments with students. Many of our students are graduating and taking steps toward trying out their degrees. Some are getting ready to spend their summers in exciting overseas worlds and experience people, food, and cultures they’ve never been exposed to before. And some of these guys and gals have decided to do life together, a fact that is proved daily by the steady number of wedding invitations in my mailbox.

Seasons are changing for many in my little corner of the world.

For me, this last week sums up the end of a season of life. Nine years ago, I never thought of my campus ministry life as anything more than a season. Other things were sure to change my season, I thought. Of course, maybe I needed to think it was seasonal because I foolishly thought marriage and family were on my horizon. Of, course, maybe it’s just that women are pretty seasonal beings – so much about our bodies and our wiring, I think, seem created for different seasons of life.

In any case, what began 9 years ago as my single campus ministry life, has ebbed into a newer and less unknown one. “What are you doing?” has been a regular question. My answer, of course, is always “I don’t know” with one of about 50 different inflections depending on the day.

Get a job?

Write a book?

Start a coffee shop?

Do all of it?

Something entirely not on the list?

It’s a weird place to be and yet not a foreign one to the people of God, right? I can think of countless persons in my Bible that had no idea where they were going when they started out. They were merely told to go, to trust, and to let Him work in and through them. Most of them didn’t have it all spelled out. At least, that’s what I keep reminding myself of when the 100^th person asks me that all too familiar question. I do know that I have a deep promise that He alone knows the plans for my life. They are for good and not for harm, plans to give me a hope and a future (Jer. 29:11-12).

So, today as I say goodbye to one season, this melancholy is trying to keep it in perspective that I’m really saying “Hello” to new one…

The Battle for My Living Room

This article was in my inbox today and I found it interesting. It’s following the recent trends in the drop of moviegoers and the attempts being made by movie theatres to lure customers back in. As a former film major, I must admit that there is something that I really love about going to the movies. It’s why I pursued a degree in it. But with the rising ticket prices and even slimier theatre environments (who hasn’t spent the significant part of two hours wondering what the heck that sticky mess is beneath their shoes? *Gag reflex*), their attempts to capture my pocketbook as well as my comfort might be a losing battle.

In my little corner, movie tickets go for over $8 a pop (significantly lower I know than in other parts of the country) which forces me to be really picky about what movie deserves my hard earned money. Probably even more than the money, watching a movie from the convenience and comfort of my own home these days is worth waiting for a movie to come out on DVD. It’s worth it to me to be able to have comfortable seating and/or enjoy foods/drinks that I like and don’t have to pay through the nose for! (Or sneak them in, but you didn’t hear it from me.)

More Thoughts from Velvet Elvis

Here are some more quotes from Rob Bell's Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith that have resonated with me over the past couple of days...

Why do we do the things we do? Many people react to and are driven by these deep, unspoken forces. They are strong and they dictate huge areas of our lives. And it is possible to be a good Christian and go to church services and sing the right songs and jump through the right hoops and never let Jesus heal your soul. (118)

I have seen many [Christian] leaders who wear their issues on their sleeves. They are raising money to build a bigger building, but the truth is they are still trying to earn their father’s approval. They never unplug their answering machine and take a Sabbath because they still believe their parents’ divorce was their fault. They live in reaction to everybody around them because no one ever taught them to have a spine. They are racked with guilt because they are not doing enough. They are trying to teach people about a way of life that isn’t true of their own life. On a regular basis when I’m with pastors, I’ll ask them if the message they are preaching isn’t the dominant reality of their own life. You can’t believe how many will say that it isn’t.

So my question for leaders – and for Christians everywhere – is, are you smoking what you’re selling?

I cannot lead people somewhere I am not trying to go myself. I don’t have to have arrived, I don’t have to be perfect, but I do need to be on the path. And that’s why for so many the church experience has been so shallow – so many leaders have never descended into the depths of their own souls. They haven’t done the hard, difficult, gut-wrenching work of shining the bright lights on all of the years of baggage and destructive messages.

It is so hard to look deep inside yourself. My experience has been that very few people do the long, hard work of the soul. Maybe that’s why Jesus said the way is narrow. (119)

Netflix Nuances: A Rant

So, today as I was putting my most recent two Smallville discs in the packet to send back to Netflix, I noticed something disturbing about the mailing address:

Nearest Netflix Shipping Facility
PO Box Yada Yada Yada
To a city OVER A THOUSAND MILES AWAY

Thinking there was some sort of mistake, I pulled out the other Netflix return envelopes that I’ve collected. Each one of them addressed to the City just north of me, a mere 20 MILES AWAY.

Okay, so maybe you’re thinking it’s some sort of weird mistake. Lest you wonder at my sanity, I will let you in on a few nefarious Netflix dealings arousing said suspicions…

Recently my Netflix queue has been feeding my latest Smallville fetish. It’s a no-brainer that my queue is set up to receive the subsequent disc in the series in the order to be watched. Netflix emails you when they receive discs back and then send another email telling you the next disc to be sent and when it is arriving.

On Monday of this past week, my most recent communication from Netflix looked like this:

We’ve received Smallville: Season 4: Disc 2
We’ve received Smallville: Season 4: Disc 3
For Wednesday, Smallville: Season 4: Disc 5
For Friday, Smallville: Season 4: Disc 4

Hmm. Shouldn’t Disc 4 come before Disc 5??? It’s in my queue that way. Sure enough, on Wednesday I received Smallville: Season 4: Disc 5. And on Saturday (yes folks, not Friday), I received Disc 4.

So, after finally getting to watch Disc 4 and 5, I start to send them back and realize they’ve given me an envelope sending discs to a shipping facility over a thousand miles away.

Mere coincidence?

I think not.

All I have to say to Netflix is:

Don’t underestimate the power of the blog and one fiesty blonde, my friends.

Turkeys.