It is Halloween.
It is Wednesday.
Where is everyone in Oklahoma? At church.
Since when does going to church on a Wednesday become something that is completely un-miss able? When your options are trick-or-treat, or go to church--that's when.
Apparently it is not okay to miss church on Wednesday night for this tradition once a year. And I'm not okay with that.
I'm not okay with being measured to the plumbline of picking Halloween over God. I'm not okay with the fact that if I chose to stay home and hand out candy to the pagans (gasp!) I'm judged by it.
I'm not okay with the expectation of showing up to church on Wednesday nights for appearances sake. So people don't think I'm "falling away" or something dreadful because I chose to dress up like Batman and enjoy myself. On a Wednesday. Not at church.
I remember many occasions in my youth where the announcement would be made that church would be on Thursday this week instead of Wednesday. Sometimes because of things like Halloween.
Welcome to the Bible belt, Kari.
Nobody is any holier here, but they sure do pretend to be.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Thursday, October 25, 2007
New Year's Resolutions
Why is it that whenever we want to change something in our lives, we wait until the new year?
Or next week?
Or even "tomorrow morning"?
What is it in our nature that makes us feel like a new day brings a new chance? Is it just because they both have the word "new"?
I do this a lot. I do something (or don't do something) I wish I hadn't (or should have) done, and I say "it's okay. . .tomorrow is a new day." I'll do it tomorrow, and I won't mess it up next time.
It's always next time.
Next time it will be better.
And tonight, I was contemplating what I am going to do tomorrow (that I should have done today), and I realized that just because the sun is down, it doesn't mean I have to wait until it has to come back up. Why not NOW?
Anything I can't stop to do NOW, I'm pretty sure isn't important enough to wake up early to do tomorrow.
What am I waiting for? How much more fresh would a start be 8 hours premature!? Who needs a new day for a new resolution? Who needs a new YEAR? Do it NOW. Don't wait. Because the longer you wait, the longer the enemy has to delay your further. And we all know, if you didn't do it today; you're not going to do it tomorrow. Or next week.
I wonder how many times God told his people to not delay. . .and how many times it landed them in trouble when they didn't listen. . .
Or next week?
Or even "tomorrow morning"?
What is it in our nature that makes us feel like a new day brings a new chance? Is it just because they both have the word "new"?
I do this a lot. I do something (or don't do something) I wish I hadn't (or should have) done, and I say "it's okay. . .tomorrow is a new day." I'll do it tomorrow, and I won't mess it up next time.
It's always next time.
Next time it will be better.
And tonight, I was contemplating what I am going to do tomorrow (that I should have done today), and I realized that just because the sun is down, it doesn't mean I have to wait until it has to come back up. Why not NOW?
Anything I can't stop to do NOW, I'm pretty sure isn't important enough to wake up early to do tomorrow.
What am I waiting for? How much more fresh would a start be 8 hours premature!? Who needs a new day for a new resolution? Who needs a new YEAR? Do it NOW. Don't wait. Because the longer you wait, the longer the enemy has to delay your further. And we all know, if you didn't do it today; you're not going to do it tomorrow. Or next week.
I wonder how many times God told his people to not delay. . .and how many times it landed them in trouble when they didn't listen. . .
Thursday, October 18, 2007
My Hero
I think I have a somewhat unhealthy preoccupation with heroes. I think about them all the time. Every story I've ever written has something to do with a hero--and I don't just mean a protagonist. I mean an actual hero. A character who saves the day.
I started writing a novel my senior year in high school. It was going to be amazing, but I never finished it. There were two main characters: Blue, and Rocket. Blue was a girl who was graduating high school and very ordinary. Everything about her was ordinary, and she did nothing special. She didn't like her family. Her sister was deaf, so she couldn't really understand her. Her house was un-homey, and her life was ordinary. Her best friend was herself, and always felt like something was missing. Someone was missing. And every day she would wait, because something earth shattering was going to happen.
Rocket, on the other hand, was the complete opposite of Blue. He was a hero. He flew around on eagles and watched the world from above and fixed things. He flew in and out of peoples' lives and solved their problems. He was fast-paced, and kind hearted. He gave all of himself to everyone he met and their lives were never the same when he left. Rocket was born a hero, and didn't know how to be anything else.
In my story, it is very obvious that Blue needs Rocket to fix her brokenness. And they almost cross paths like every other page. But they never do. Rocket is the only person who could help Blue, and he can't seem to get to her. She knows there's a hero out there, and she waits for him every day. . .but he never comes.
In the book, we see a lot of Rocket's heroism; and we see a lot of Blue's emptiness. But how it comes to be is that Blue isn't even real. She is an ongoing dream that Rocket has created, and her brokenness represents the parts of himself that he can't fix--even though it's his daily job to fix lives. He can't get to her because she is part of himself. He can't fix her because heroes aren't about self, they are self-sacrificing. Should Rocket ever turn his attention from the world and to himself, to heal his wounds, he would stop being a hero.
Heroes are heroes for two reasons: they are born, or they are made.
If a man is born to be a hero, it is his duty to save. It's his sole purpose for being, and he saves whether he particularly wants to or not. He does it out of obligation. He does it because it's his job. These heroes include Superman, firemen, arguably even Mario.
If a man is made to be a hero, it is other men who have lifted him up to be such. He is a hero because he loves, and makes those around him feel safe. These heroes include dads, martyrs, and like cancer victims.
I am more fascinated by the first type of hero--the one who can't escape his fate. The type of hero who probably does like the intrinsic benefits of saving, but must save anyway. No, but will save anyway, even if the save is not merrited. Even if all common sense and consequence says to let the victims suffer. The real heroes drink the bitter cup, climb up into the tree, and save the world.
I started writing a novel my senior year in high school. It was going to be amazing, but I never finished it. There were two main characters: Blue, and Rocket. Blue was a girl who was graduating high school and very ordinary. Everything about her was ordinary, and she did nothing special. She didn't like her family. Her sister was deaf, so she couldn't really understand her. Her house was un-homey, and her life was ordinary. Her best friend was herself, and always felt like something was missing. Someone was missing. And every day she would wait, because something earth shattering was going to happen.
Rocket, on the other hand, was the complete opposite of Blue. He was a hero. He flew around on eagles and watched the world from above and fixed things. He flew in and out of peoples' lives and solved their problems. He was fast-paced, and kind hearted. He gave all of himself to everyone he met and their lives were never the same when he left. Rocket was born a hero, and didn't know how to be anything else.
In my story, it is very obvious that Blue needs Rocket to fix her brokenness. And they almost cross paths like every other page. But they never do. Rocket is the only person who could help Blue, and he can't seem to get to her. She knows there's a hero out there, and she waits for him every day. . .but he never comes.
In the book, we see a lot of Rocket's heroism; and we see a lot of Blue's emptiness. But how it comes to be is that Blue isn't even real. She is an ongoing dream that Rocket has created, and her brokenness represents the parts of himself that he can't fix--even though it's his daily job to fix lives. He can't get to her because she is part of himself. He can't fix her because heroes aren't about self, they are self-sacrificing. Should Rocket ever turn his attention from the world and to himself, to heal his wounds, he would stop being a hero.
Heroes are heroes for two reasons: they are born, or they are made.
If a man is born to be a hero, it is his duty to save. It's his sole purpose for being, and he saves whether he particularly wants to or not. He does it out of obligation. He does it because it's his job. These heroes include Superman, firemen, arguably even Mario.
If a man is made to be a hero, it is other men who have lifted him up to be such. He is a hero because he loves, and makes those around him feel safe. These heroes include dads, martyrs, and like cancer victims.
I am more fascinated by the first type of hero--the one who can't escape his fate. The type of hero who probably does like the intrinsic benefits of saving, but must save anyway. No, but will save anyway, even if the save is not merrited. Even if all common sense and consequence says to let the victims suffer. The real heroes drink the bitter cup, climb up into the tree, and save the world.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Twilight Zone. . .
The strangest thing just happened:
I was on Pistons.com looking at the new roster, and the new number 3 is named Rodney Stuckey. Meanwhile, I am watching Lifetime, and the TV show I was watching had just ended, and a movie has just begun. Jason Alexander is schmoozing some rich people and introduces himself as Philip Stuckey. I don't recognize the movie, so I watch for another minute--because the name Stuckey sounded very familiar --but I realize that it's because I was just reading about Rodney Stuckey 2 seconds prior.
And the movie is Pretty Woman, I realized about 2 seconds later when I saw all the shoulder pads on the women. . .and confirmed 2 more seconds later when I saw Richard Gere.
What are the odds of encountering the name Stuckey twice in the course of 30 seconds?
I'd like some mathematical computation on that sucker. . .
I was on Pistons.com looking at the new roster, and the new number 3 is named Rodney Stuckey. Meanwhile, I am watching Lifetime, and the TV show I was watching had just ended, and a movie has just begun. Jason Alexander is schmoozing some rich people and introduces himself as Philip Stuckey. I don't recognize the movie, so I watch for another minute--because the name Stuckey sounded very familiar --but I realize that it's because I was just reading about Rodney Stuckey 2 seconds prior.
And the movie is Pretty Woman, I realized about 2 seconds later when I saw all the shoulder pads on the women. . .and confirmed 2 more seconds later when I saw Richard Gere.
What are the odds of encountering the name Stuckey twice in the course of 30 seconds?
I'd like some mathematical computation on that sucker. . .
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