Words of Truth

Sin sucks.

Ha Ha...And You Think That Will Reassure Me?

A quote from an Associated Press article on the Health Effects of the Gulf Spill on those working to clean it up and at the safety of the seafood to those who love their fishes:

Q: How about the seafood? Is it safe to eat?

A: The president thinks so. Barack Obama ate Gulf seafood during his last visit to Mississippi. He declared that seafood from the region is safe, and also announced stepped-up inspections.

President Obama telling me whatever food is safe/not safe for me (or anyone to eat) is about as reassuring as me telling a cancer patient how to treat the cancer. I'm sorry, I am unqualified to make that assessment. President Obama is unqualified to tell anyone whether food is safe/not safe for anyone to eat.

One more thing President Obama is NOT QUALIFIED to do. There is a running list...

LOVE-ing the New Mac

I recently went from a PC to a Mac. "Mac-Daddy" is really what I want to shout for some reason (ha ha ha).

I was pretty ambitious too the day I converted, I also abandoned Microsoft Office for the Mac version of iWorks. I thought I had bit off more than I thought I could chew (but when have I ever not been that way???).

So I like it. Its been one week and one day since my rebirth of sorts and I'm getting to know the tricks and shortcuts of iWorks that I knew in Office, a few I have yet to learn, and I've found that the Mac is helping me be more focused than the PC. Here's how:

Mac does not come with Freecell, Spider Solitaire, Hearts, Pinball, Solitaire, etc... except Chess and Chess, as we all know, is the game of kings, warriors, and any person in a place of strategy and skill (all components of focus).

Mac (well, more specifically the web browser Safari) has a feature that previews recently/frequently used websites and it lays out all options together (games and academic sites) that face me with my choices and priorities.

Mac, I believe, uses monitor space more efficiently. I have a 13" for two reasons: it was significantly cheaper than the 15" and I like the smallness of it. So space at that rate, is prime.

Mac's keyboard is quieter as you hit the keys. Really nice for the Tetris aspect of my class time.

Nuf said. Mac you've won me over and it took 8 days.

Wondering If Anyone Reads This Anymore...

Yeah but I'll probably be still blogging even if no one reads it. ha ha ha

So I encountered computer problems on day two of my ten day class. Grrr.... All over, well, mostly over. I won't be going into detail about that.

I have mixed feelings on how that class ended (Marriage and Family Therapy). On the one hand I'm simply amazed at the B that I ended with. On the other hand I'm disappointed it wasn't an A. Here's why: Entering the final exam, I was at an A. Exiting the final exam, I was at a B. That's right...flat-out failed it - by miles! Can you even believe that??? Hence the reason I'm amazed that I got a B. It is just about as thrilling as that B I got in NT Biblical Theology.

Nuf about the final grade...this is how that failing grade arrived on that final. In the two week duration of the class I did this: wrote a 10 page paper, read 433 of 500 pages of the collateral reading, got an A on the midterm, celebrated my 4 year anniversary, and visited the ER 4 times. That is simply why I had no energy to study the night(s) before the exam.

That is about all I have. Pray that I find my flash drive and that I get about two more clients for my internship. THANK YOU!!

New Testament Biblical Theology Class Last Night

Last night in my NT Biblical Theology class the question was posed about Paul's reaction to today's statistic that 60% of Christians believe that Jesus sinned while he was on earth as a result of today's church leaders not teaching the biblical truth. So if that is true, 60% of Christians believe that Jesus did, in fact, sin, I wonder if they have eternal salvation.

Lets look at the facts:

1. All through the OT, God's people looked forward to the perfect sacrifice (Jesus) to free them from sin. In looking forward to that, they sacrificed spotless lambs
2. The bible says, Jesus was the perfect sacrifice, not giving into temptation and living a sinless life.
3. If Jesus did sin, then how is his death different than mine?

I'm sure there are other truths to look at but if we just take these three, can that 60% still be saved if they believe that, even tho Jesus sinned, he still died for the sin of the world. Is that possible?

Comments welcome.

Anxiety

Like most of Americans, I have anxiety.

I have anxiety over not being able to help my clients, repaying loans, commitment and decisions. I have anxiety over homework and getting things done before on time, picking out the right things. I have anxiety over anxiety sometimes. I have anxiety over the things my friends and family go through and I have anxiety about getting enough sleep on the weekends (although, I will admit that one is subsiding). I have anxiety, probably the most anxiety, over house shopping - the more we, the more serious we get and that creates anxiety in me.

I have anxiety about not being a good therapist. Which is absolutely ridiculous at this point in my life as I have been seeing people for exactly 3 months and 2 days. Of course I'm not good at it. And this is okay, I'm not expected to be great three months into the job! Good gravy!

Well, I work in a therapists office, you would think that I would just take my anxiety to them...well, there probably is a bit of anxiety over that too...somewhere.

Thinking About Specs and Planks

A while back a friend came over to visit. He had been struggling with things for a while and I asked him, "Why don't you just do something about that? ...There are options you know." He (humbly maybe) said, "Well, others have it worse than me and I can live with this."

I have been thinking about that statement for the five months since that conversation because I too, have just been living with stuff.

I have learned, in "my years of counseling experience" (go ahead, laugh) that we as human beings love to just not change. We love to live in our dysfunctional way of being even though there may be a gazillion ways to improve our way of life. But is that really what we ought to do?

Yes, there is a lot to be said for being content and satisfied with the place and ways God has ordained things but I believe that He loves us too much to leave us in our dysfunction.

I couldn't say much to the comment he made. I think I said something like, "Well, one thing I have learned mentoring kids is that even though this is not the worse thing in the world and that people do go through worse things than you are experiencing, this may be the worst thing for you and you only have certain experiences."

So to point out the ginormous plank in my eye, I do settle for less than God's best for me. I sit with anxiety with opportunities for others to help me day after day. I have squandered opportunities to grow countless times before. And as one of my girls said to me a few months ago, "I want to change now and I don't know where to start! I realize I have done what I needed to do to go forward and get through things, and now I don't know where to start! ..."