Two Different Days At The Baltic/Psalm 19

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The skies display his craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make him known.


They speak without a sound or word;
their voice is never heard.
Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
and their words to all the world.


God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.
It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.
It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.


The sun rises at one end of the heavens
and follows its course to the other end.
Nothing can hide from its heat.


The instructions of the LORD are perfect,
reviving the soul.
The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
The commandments of the LORD are right,
bringing joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are clear,
giving insight for living.


Reverence for the LORD is pure,
lasting forever.
The laws of the LORD are true;
each one is fair.
They are more desirable than gold,
even the finest gold.
They are sweeter than honey,
even honey dripping from the comb.

They are a warning to your servant,
a great reward for those who obey them.
How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?
Cleanse me from these hidden faults.
Keep your servant from deliberate sins!
Don't let them control me.
Then I will be free of guilt
and innocent of great sin.

May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

Burning question (with a flowery picture)

Since living in Europe, I've met a few people who do not wear deodorant on a regular basis. Some of them I would've never guessed, and others, well....should at least consider it sometimes. I've also heard that some think that the aluminum in antiperspirants is linked to Alzheimer's and Cancer.
So, what about you, mostly North American readers....what do you think? Is deodorant necessary, or is it just one of those things that is like lip balm (if we wear it enough, our body thinks we need it, but plenty of people get by without it....or at least they don't use it as frequently).

Deserve

So often I hear people saying things like, "I deserve this!" or "Way to go, you deserve it!"

And I know people are just trying to be encouraging, or maybe they have worked really hard and would like to have something good come of it.

I don't know. Too me it seems like it is too strong of a word...or maybe just not the right word. It just sounds so...entitled.

Like the girl on America's Next Top Model, who is a young mother, and who misses her daughter while she is on the show...and cries because while she misses her daughter, it is necessary for her to be away for a while, in this competition, because she might win (but I hope every week that she gets sent home...her face looks like she is smelling something foul...not like a covergirl in my opinion). And, after all, she deserves it (in her own words).

But using her criteria, shouldn't a lot of the girls in the competition also deserve to win? Aren't there other girls who are missing their family (children, even), who have wanted this their whole lives, that also "deserve" it? And then, doesn't it kind of cheapen it, if everyone "deserves" to win?

I don't know. Sometimes I deserve a swift kick in the pants, but luckily, I don't always get what I deserve.

I think the next post will be of a picture of something. :)

And, by the way. I just cannot get enough of America's Next Top Model. I loves that show. And I hope Anslee goes home soon. And I hope Brenda realizes that with her short hair she looks like a model and stops her whining about how she misses her hair...and I like Raina more than just because she is from Minnesota. That's all for now. I don't know who will win this cycle yet.

Sunday Mornings

Last Sunday, as I sat with the rest of the pagans in Starbucks, enjoying my Easter breakfast, I thought back to the days when I was on the other side of the counter on Easter Sunday (or any other Sunday, for that matter), and how I've tried to brainstorm ways to make my coffee shop different.

Just a few years back I would've said the solution was to just not be open on Sunday. To make the day sacred. To make it so that Christians, on their way to church, did not feel compelled to witness to the other Christians who were serving them their coffee (yes, ironically, tons of our Sunday morning customers were those on their way to church, and yes we were witnessed to all the time (not even just on Sundays....don't get me started)).

But as I sat and drank my coffee and ate my bagel sandwich, grateful that there was someplace that was open in the city, I wondered if being closed on Sunday was the answer. (I also wondered why I always consider myself to be on the side of the pagans...whether I'm a customer on Sunday, or whether I am working on Sunday).

Maybe people who wouldn't normally go to church would like to be able to go somewhere on Sunday morning that makes them feel welcome...that makes them feel like they are a part of a community? Should my coffee shop take a different day of the week off? What if all of my employees don't want to work on Sunday?

I am all for being closed one day a week (in the name of taking a Sabbath)...but now not so sure that it has to be on Sundays. Maybe Tuesdays or Wednesdays?

What do you think about businesses being open on Sundays? Do you shop on Sundays? Would you work on a Sunday? (If you work at a church or a hospital, or some other place that doesn't take a vacation just because it is Sunday, do you take a different day of the week off?) Do you think that a coffee shop that is closed on a Sunday speaks more volumes than a coffee shop that is open on Sunday? What about all those Christians who need their lattes on Sunday morning (and whose only tip is that "Jesus loves you")? Am I being too cynical or legalistic?

More From Homeworks

Maybe by now you've noticed that my journaling homework is due on Wednesdays? Don't get too down on yourself if you haven't.

A couple of the questions that stood out to me from this week's chapter is,

"What are the parts of yourself that you have exiled to a hidden place within you? What are the marginalized and lost parts of who you are?" (p111)

How very profound. Especially when I consider number 7 on my To Do list for 2010.

This may be a big statement, but I think I have exiled my joy. I still am able to find some joys in my day to day duties...but a lot of times I feel like I have not had time to be myself or to do the things that I really enjoy*. I sing less and laugh less. I complain more. Joy used to be the fruit of the Spirit that came the most naturally to me. I would like to reclaim that.


Someone wise often told me, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." I think I might try it and see what happens.


*In sticking with my new motto, I won't list here things that I don't enjoy...but maybe someday I will do a post about all the things that I do enjoy. To remind myself. Please don't confuse my lack of joy with depression. I really don't think that I am depressed. It's not like I don't feel like doing the things I used to enjoy. I am really physically just strapped for time/over scheduled...too prone to work-a-holism.

Apparently the 5-year-old version of me was just one step ahead of us in Warsaw.

Top 3 Creeper Photos of the weekend

I've started to like taking candid shots of random people that I don't know. Actually, I've liked doing this for awhile (that's why they paid me the big bucks to take candid pictures of campers I didn't know for a summer).
There is just something magical about capturing moments as they are. I don't know any of these people.

Sharing Ice Cream and People Watching


Pumping Water.


Feeding the Birds.

I love the color of the building on the right.

Something to listen to while you read someone else's blog.