December 31, 2010

ruh-roh

See, I got all busy doing nothing yesterday, and totally forgot to write today's post! Damn you, facebook!!!

I had intended to clean the kitchen and possibly the living room yesterday, but got entangled in a web of facebook friend-poaching and, before I knew it, it was time to go meet my friend for lunch (Panera Bread - So yummy!).

I really don't have anything terrible profound to write about today, but I do want to keep the ball rolling so that it doesn't come to a screeching halt!

I feel like I have so much to do today without the time to do it. In reality, I don't *have* to be anywhere until 8pm, so I have all the time in the world, really. I just want the downstairs clean and put back into whatever passes for order in this house. Cody's family will be coming over for dinner tomorrow afternoon/evening, and my goal is to have almost all of the cleaning done before we leave for a party tonight. That way I can prep food in the morning, then clean the bathroom and be done. Time to sit on my butt and relax before family starts showing up and the dogs go crazy.

My poor office. My goal is now to have the office project done by next weekend. I dare not say more, as I have a few tricks up my sleeve that I am going to surprise Cody with. He has been off work all this week, but when he goes back to work on Monday, I'll be going to town on cleaning while he's at work.

Being unemployed certainly has some benefits! It's so much easier to get housework done when Cody isn't here, especially when I get up to no good! If he's not here to ask questions, I have the opportunity to accomplish a task without him knowing so that he sees the finished product and is more likely to be agreeable than if I try to explain it ahead of time.

'Tis infinitely easier to ask forgiveness than to ask permission.....

December 30, 2010

did the pastor just sneeze, and no one said "bless you"?

So the first time I heard about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, I was about 21-22 years old. I was sitting in church, and the pastor made a reference to them in his sermon, causing those around me to nod their heads or whatever the appropriate reaction was in that instance. I, on the other hand, was completely befuddled! I had no idea what words had just come spilling out of the pastor's mouth. Being a full-gospel/charismatic/Pentecostal congregation, I was accustomed to hearing people speaking in tongues at various times. This was different though.

It turns out that the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego is common knowledge for those who were raised in church. I was raised by Christian parents, but as a youngster, I never really attended Sunday School. That means a lot of these "common knowledge" Bible stories are completely lost on me. I know *of* a lot of references to these stories, but not the circumstances, and certainly not the details. Daniel in the den of lions, Jonah and the whale, etc... -- They're all vaguely familiar and yet totally lost on me.

So I eventually read about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. I learned their story, and it turns out that I love it. So I was filled with joy a few weeks ago when I got to read it again as part of my daily reading. -- I have a feed that comes directly into my reader every morning, as I decided last year that I wanted to read the whole Bible. --

Daniel 3

The Image of Gold and the Fiery Furnace

1 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2 He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. 3 So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it. 4 Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “This is what you are commanded to do, O peoples, nations and men of every language: 5 As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.” 7 Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

8 At this time some astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews. 9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 10 You have issued a decree, O king, that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, 11 and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12 But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, O king. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.” 13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”

16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual 20 and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 22 The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 23 and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.

24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied, “Certainly, O king.” 25 He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” 26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, 27 and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.

28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.” 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

I can't help it; I really do love that story. I just wanted to share that with you today!

December 29, 2010

a free post in my dashboard

So after scheduling today's post yesterday, I saw in my "dashboard" a draft for a post that I started writing in October! When I started reading it, I knew exactly why I was writing it and can luckily remember enough details to finish the story. So that takes care of at least one future post for me! I just have to take the time to finish writing it.

I've also been saving a post in my reader as unread so that I could write a post about that. So I finally copied and pasted it over here to try and speed up that process. Not to mention it also gives me the freedom to not have to constantly click "Keep Unread" every time I scroll by it...

So this post will make day three, plus the two mentioned above, which brings us up to five posts! That's almost as much as I've posted this whole year!!!

I have a lot I *need* to write about as well, so that should be worth at least another week. In addition to all of that, I've been invited to participate in the "One Word" thingy by Bethany, which is vaguely intriguing to me. Hmmm.... maybe I'll be a writer when I grow up?


P.S. @Pete - I love it when you're random. It's the glue that binds all of us together!

December 28, 2010

way too cold...

...to put laundry away!

I had set the laptop aside to get dressed and get a little housework done. Since a lot of what I've got at the top of my to-do list hinges on getting my laundry put away, and my office (where my clothes are) is currently an ice-box of death, it turns out I've got time to start another post after all.

I really do need to get that damn office cleaned out. Since starting the planning and implementation of the Christmas concert at church, my office has spiraled out of control! The guest bed is piled with clutter of all sorts: books to be shared/donated, music the choir has performed that needs to be filed away, music that needs to updated/arranged/listened to/copied/distributed for future performances, files to be filed, files to be sorted/shredded/set aside to start another pile somewhere else, CD boxes that need to be tucked back into their obscure corners, etc. ad infinitum... Let's not forget that the bed itself needs to be stripped and taken apart to be donated to someone, somewhere, at some point in the near future...

Since I'm so limited on space in that office, our guest bed is going to be given away and replaced with an air bed (post-Thanksgiving sale, baby!) that can be folded up and stored in a closet. While I've lived here, that bed has been used on a total of two occasions, aside from when I was sick, so I think it will be safe to rid myself of the damn thing. Hopefully once I get everything that is currently hiding under the bed put into a new storage location, I'll have enough floor space to move around and *gasp* actually get some work done in my office from time to time!

For now, I'll settle for getting all the debris cleared off...

December 27, 2010

don't get all excited or anything

Those of you that know me are aware that I'm not a huge fan of New Year's Resolutions. I think making a conscious effort to improve yourself and the world around you is a good thing no matter what day it is, yet the once-a-year, make-myself-a-new-and-improved-(wo)man crap bothers me. I don't know if it's just the added strain we put on ourselves to follow through with our intentions or what, but New Year's goals tend to feel a bit heavier and more oppressive. Which of course stresses you out more and then you end up throwing a bit more guilt into the mix. It's just an all-around ugly experience in my opinion.

So, all that being said (written?), I really am going to try and be more intentional about blogging again. It's something I have enjoyed in the past, and has proven helpful in many situations. Not to mention it's a great way to communicate with far-flung friends and family members.

I have particular reasons for feeling like I need to write more now, which I'll cover eventually. For now, suffice it to say I've got the time and the desire. I just have to be more intentional about not writing a novella one day and then nothing for a week. I've got to shorten these posts a bit and schedule them to post later so that I don't "have" to write everyday if I get busy or just don't want to.

I'm not sure how far I'll get today. The little Christmas tree Cody and I bought to put up on the mantle out of reach of the dogs decided to take a tumble last night. Ironically enough, the reason we did that was to save our ornaments from destruction by these crazy dogs and their impromptu wrestling matches. Luckily we only lost two ornaments, despite a fall from about 4 feet.

So even though I had intended to leave the tree up through the weekend since we put it up late this year, I'm now going to be taking the tree down today. Most of the ornaments came off in the crash, so rather than take the time to re-hang them, I'm just going to put them away. I never got around to putting all the boxes back in the attic last week anyway, so getting those out of the way will be nice too.

I'm not promising anything, but hopefully I'll knock out at least a few posts this week and get them all scheduled to run this week...

Oh, and Merry Christmas!