gettin old

today i saw an elderly man in walmart with an old fashioned walkman and headphones on, hobbling/dancing around and singing pretty loudly. he did not care one bit that people were staring at him...or that he looked like he was insane (maybe he was?). he was jammin' and smiling and singing. he had a twinkle in his eye. he looked happy.

it made me smile. i wanted to ask what he was listening to that made him want to dance and sing in walmart. it must have been something good. and i like that music can make people do things like that.

i spend a lot of my day hanging out with old people, or talking about old people, or thinking about old people. pretty much my job is to make sure they are happy and to find them a good volunteer friend. unfortunately, a lot of the old people are not happy. they are bitter and grumpy and ornery. and i don't want to be like that.

i hope to be like the old man at walmart...i hope i don't care one bit what people think of me...i hope i am happy with a twinkle in my eye...even if it means i have to be a little crazy.

beautiful words

"For thus says the Lord, the Holy one of Israel, 'In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength'...For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,' when you turn to the right or turn to the left...Moreover, the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day when the Lord binds up the brokenness of his people, and heals the wounds inflicted by his blow...You shall have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept, and the gladness of heart, as when one sets out to the sound of the flute to go to the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel. And the Lord will cause his majestic voice to be heard..."
passages from Isaiah 30

Roundhouse kick to the face....

ever since someone sent me the cancer quote about chuck norris' tears...i have been a fan. so i found this really interesting:

"Chuck Norris' first column for WorldNetDaily consisted of yet another response. It began similarly to the above quote from chucknorris.com, but then disclaimed Norris' own prowess in favor of God and Jesus Christ.
In response to "There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures Chuck Norris has allowed to live.", Norris said It's funny. It's cute. But here's what I really think about the theory of evolution: It's not real. It is not the way we got here. In fact, the life you see on this planet is really just a list of creatures God has allowed to live. We are not creations of random chance. We are not accidents. There is a God, a Creator, who made you and me. We were made in His image, which separates us from all other creatures.By the way, without him, I don't have any power. But with Him, the Bible tells me, I really can do all things – and so can you.[2]
In response to "Chuck Norris' tears can cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried.", Norris said
"There was a man whose tears could cure cancer or any other disease, including the real cause of all diseases – sin. His blood did. His name was Jesus, not Chuck Norris.If your soul needs healing, the prescription you need is not Chuck Norris' tears, it's Jesus' blood."

who knew chuck norris was a christian? not me.

breathing

soooo.....
2006 was a little rough.

okay a lot rough. it started weird and ended weird. honestly, i'm glad its over, although i learned a WHOLE lot.

I experienced God in ways I didn't know was possible. I learned what it means to be loved well by your family and friends...and how everyone needs love like that. really and truly... if you are primarily concerned with loving other people (which means not thinking about ourselves so much)....it solves a lot of problems and answers a lot of questions. you want what is best for them....and whats best for them is more of Jesus.

despite all that...sometimes you just need a break...a little normalcy. and i feel like i have that for the moment.
i spent 2006 on a field on landmines. its like i was holding my breath for a whole year, afraid that if i relaxed then one more thing was going to explode under my feet.

i can breathe again.
my mom called me on the morning of new years day just to tell me that she thought 2006 "sucked" and 2007 was going to be "fabulous."

i think it will be.