And your opinion is?

I've been pondering a lot lately just how the world seems to wiggle its way into your thoughts and your spirit and how damaging it can be. The first thing I notice is a negative change in my thinking. Then, my words start becoming affected and they become negative. Finally, my whole demeanor has changed, including my spirit and my attitude. So my question, dear readership, is this...how do you manage your involvement in the world? How do you keep yourself fully separated and keep a right spirit?

I was talking to a friend the other day who is a stay-at-home mom and she was commenting that because she's been away from "the world" for so long, there's so many things/phrases/images/ideas that she finds shocking because they are so not a part of her life. When we were talking over examples, I was saddened to realize that I didn't think anything of most of them because I'm around them at work all the time.

And for some reason, this week has proved to be a larger-than-normal challenge for me. Maybe it means that I'm not spending enough quiet time in prayer and reading. Anyway, I just feel like I'm surrounded by self-centered people who are ONLY concerned about themselves and about making sure that all of their needs are met. And this week, it's really getting to me!!! I can't get past it! Every time I look around I feel like I see something negative and full of filth and selfishness and its just been quite depressing.

So, I was hoping that you would share your ways to work through things like this. I know that we all face it because we ALL have to be a part of this world so I would like to hear from you. Does a Bible verse help you out? Does a line from a hymn? A prayer? What is it that really helps you to deal with all the junk around you so that you can focus on the good and keep a right spirit about you?

I really want to hear from you! Feel free and remain anonymous, if you'd like! I won't be offended by that. :) And thank you. Seriously. I look forward to hearing from you in the hopes that it helps me out in my own journey this week.

Ten Things I Could Do Without

Stolen from Shannon

1. Headaches

2. House Cleaning

3. Full time job. I sure wish I could make it on a part time job. No go, though!

4. Drama

5. POLITICS!!

6. Debt

7. Taking & typing minutes from meetings at work. Yuck.

8. Allergies!!!!!

9. My cell phone. I think I'd do just fine with only a house phone. I'd like a cell phone for traveling purposes, but other than that, it's not necessary.

10. Noise. I love, love, LOVE quietness!! One of my favorite things to do after being in a public restaurant or in any situation with a large crowd (sporting events, parades, etc.) is to go home and just sit in the recliner for awhile with quietness surrounding me. Aaahhhhh!!! :o)

Tag! You're it!

Weekend Visiting

This past weekend, my friend Monique & I headed west to visit some of our friends and just get out of town for a bit. This was a COOL mountain view along the way. I loved how the clouds were moving in over the mountain!
First stop...Chris & Kate's. Here is Fischer. I put this one up because ALL EVENING, I tried to get a picture of Hazen smiling and the ONLY thing I got was this one. Yes, I started out this paragraph talking about Fischer and Fischer IS in the foreground, but if you look in the background (to the right), you can see Hazen smiling! Or maybe he was laughing. Or hollering. But it passes for a smile, doesn't it? :)
Another up close picture of Fischer. He was trying to see the pictures that I had all ready taken, so this is what I got as he was on his way to me. *laugh* And you know what...he looks VERY similar to his dad! For those of you that know Chris, wouldn't you agree? :)
Hazen...this is attempt number 1, 300,000 in trying to get a smile on camera. This is as good as it got, I'm afraid. I loved his shirt, though! It says, "If I don't match, it's because Daddy dressed me!" *heeheehee*

The Lovely Ms. Kate. :) She was checking out some pictures on her camera that she had just taken. What was she taking pictures of?
Well, she was taking pictures of THIS! Fischer was in to "tenting" that evening. After I got tired of tenting (we'd been tenting for a LONG time!!), it was Monique's turn! :) This is Monique & Fischer and as you can see, Hazen is headed that way to check out the action.
Now they are ALL in the tent! What FUN, huh?! :)
Annnnndddd...now Hazen is done! :) It was short lived, but he did laugh and giggle during it all, so I imagine that he had a little bit of fun! :) After all, whoever was in the tent with Fischer got in on a LOT of hunting action! We were hunting bears and moose! Crazy!! ;o)
After Hazen left and headed for the hills, Fischer decided that he and Monique needed to sleep in the tent! So, this was was Monique came up with! Quite clever, I must say! :)

After a fun night at their house, we headed over to another friend's house for some fellowship in the morning and a potluck in the afternoon. One of the star attractions during our time there...Corbin!!! :) Isn't he just a darling!? He was "speaking" to us in this picture (he's four months old).
While he was "speaking" to us, we went ahead and sang grace just before lunch and this is what he was like by the time we finished! Very docile and quiet! :) Do you think our singing scared him?
Later on in the day, Kristi felt like she wanted to have some family pictures taken, so we headed to the local creek where her sister-in-law took a few pictures. I tagged along with my camera, of course, and took a few pictures, too. What cracks me up about this one is that it was completely unintentional! I did NOT mean to catch Kristi with this expression on her face! Her sister-in-law had just said something funny and Kristi was laughing at it. I laugh every time I look at this picture! :)
Finally, though, some great pictures were captured and this one was one of my favorites. Corbin was way zoned in on a ripple in the stream, so he would NOT look at the camera for anyone! :)
And that was that! Shortly after the picture taking session, Monique & I headed back for home as we had a long drive ahead of us. But, we had a great weekend and it was FUN to see everyone! Thanks for the fellowship and hospitality!! :o)

Memorial

Almost a month ago, I had the privilege of helping my good friend, Julie, move to her new place of residence. It was a nice (and very quick journey!) for me and I think that Julie had a good time, too. :) Here is Julie, gearing up to check the web for some very important information (like how to get to our final destination on time!). :)

Things through the journey went very smoothly, fortunately, and we were very happy about that. :) We had some adventurous moments with getting her stuff moved into the apartment and then with fixing up the apartment, but there were definitely some great memories and a lot of laughs! :) Word on the street is that she's enjoying herself very much in her new place, so that is AWESOME (and this comes from someone who knows exactly what it's like to go somewhere where you only "know" ONE person...it's an adventure, for sure!).

Anyway, part of our journey east included a stop at the Oklahoma City Memorial. This Memorial represents the victims of the Oklahoma City bombing. We were going to pass right through Oklahoma City, so Julie & I decided that since we were going by, we might as well stop and see the memorial.

Humbling. In thinking of this tragedy along with the 9/11 tragedy, I cannot even begin to imagine what survivors go through or what the families of lost loved ones go through. It's beyond my realm of understanding. And so, in visiting this site, I just existed and took it all in.

This is the entry gate. It says: "We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever. May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May this Memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope and serenity." When you walk in, you're greeted by this reflecting pool (below). The brochure for the Memorial says that the pool occupies what was once N.W. Fifth Street. The water is very shallow and is constantly flowing off a hidden edge and then reentering the pool. It's a very calm area that is intended to provide healing and a place for quiet thoughts.

On either end of this pool are walls. You can see one of them in the picture below. Each wall has a time on it. One says, "9:01 a.m." and the other says, "9:03 a.m." These walls have the intention of framing the moment of destruction. According to the brochure, the wall with 9:01 a.m. on it, "represents the innoncence of the city before the attack," and the other wall with 9:03 a.m. on it, "represents the moment they were changed forever." The time in-between, the reflecting pool, represents that moment of destruction. As I said, very moving and very humbling. Another vision you see within the walls of the memorial are all of these chairs. There are 168 chairs that recognize each and every person who lost their life that day. You'll notice some small chairs mixed in with the big chairs...those small chairs represent the 19 children that were killed that day. The brochure explains that the chairs are, "arranged in nine rows, one for each of the nine floors of the building, [and] they are placed according to the floor on which those killed were working or visiting." Each chair rests on top of a glass base that has the name of the victim etched into it.
There is also this wall (below). This wall is the Survivor Wall. It is the only remaining wall from the Murrah Building and it contains the names of the people who survived the attacks. The names are inscribed onto salvaged pieces of granite from the Murrah Building lobby. The brochure tells us that many of those survivors had serious injuries. There are 600 names on the wall.
Another very significant sight inside of the Memorial is this tree. It's surrounded by an oval stone structure that has a quote on it. This tree is called, "The Survivor Tree." It's a 90+ year-old American Elm that, "hears witness to the violence of April 19 and now stands as a profound symbol of human resilience." Yes, this tree was next to the bombing site the day of the attack and it survived. The quote on the brick around it states, "The spirit of this city and this nation will not be defeated; our deeply rooted faith sustains us."
This last picture is a layout of the Memorial site...what the site used to be (on the left) and what it is today (on the right).

As I have already stated, this was a moving experience for me. So often, I take our freedom and our safety for granted, completely oblivious to the evilness in this world. However, this doesn't mean that I want to be found in constant state of fear of "what could be". Instead, I want to live bravely, boldly, and for God, and do so in memory of those who have lost their lives in acts of terror.