In my continuing efforts to explore the power of words -- and to offend just about everyone I know -- allow me to offer my rules for the use of cuss words. (Because, if we're going to cuss, we may as well do it with intelligence and integrity, yes?)
1) Do not cuss in front of children or teenagers who behave like children. They copy everything they hear and do not have the maturity to execute the task artfully. Plus, we want their primary language to be clean, for reasons delineated below.
2) Do not cuss in front of religious people unless they cuss in front of you first. Unfortunately, even in the population where grace should dominate, there are those who, the moment they hear a cuss word out of your mouth, will knock you down ten degrees in their estimation and then be on the lookout for every other fault you may have to discredit you. Their problem, not yours -- agreed. But if you are one who wants to have an impact on even these, you need to maintain their respect.
3) Do not use cuss words that refer to sexual activity or anatomy. They are simply vulgar. They take a beautiful gift from God and drag it through mud and stench.
4) Do not use God's name -- any of His names -- as cuss words. This is disrespectful enough to be one of the Big Ten. Even if you aren't a believer, you want to have respect for those around you for whom this is painfully offensive.
5) Do not use cuss words as "sentence enhancers", as Spongebob calls them. We all know people who can hardly get two sentences of conversation out without an off-color word thrown in. Such casual use strips the words of their power; they end up going the way of "awesome" and "epic", excellent words that are all but meaningless anymore. Plus, it is indicative of a small, lazy mind. Seriously -- get a vocabulary, dude.
6) If you are a person who finds that cuss words fall out of your mouth uncontrollably, without your even thinking about it, get a grip and fix that. Do not allow yourself to be enslaved to any unwholesome behavior. That's a danger signal you shouldn't ignore. Control your tongue -- do not let it control you.
7) Do not throw cuss words in for shock value. Shock is cheap and short-lived; strive instead to impact.
8) Avoid using substitutionary words in situations where it's clear you're simply scrounging for a substitute (e.g. What the frick . . ?) It just sounds awkward and strange.
9) When using cuss words, use them to express intensity or outrage in a controlled manner. Use them calmly, confident that they do not need to be shouted to be effective. In fact, shouting your cuss words lessens their impact -- they sound like an irrational explosion that is of no consequence. And when the use of such words is appropriate, do not shy away from using them.
10) And above all, use them grammatically and spell them correctly. "Damn" has an "n", people.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
Order is a Virtue . . Right?
So, I'm debating whether I should write this post. I don't want to offend any friends. I don't want to make any of them feel guilty or reluctant to invite me over. I don't want to imply some righteous behavior or attitude in me that doesn't exist. I don't want to be inaccurate in my portrayal of myself and hear about it from loved ones later.
But I write about what's on my mind, and right now, housekeeping is on my mind.
A blogger friend wrote today about how she struggles with keeping her house in order. And how she basically has given up -- decided she's gifted in many other areas but not this one, and hired a housekeeper. For a short time in NJ, right after we started homeschooling, we had a cleaning service come in once a month. I stopped the service because 1) I was still having to spend lots of time picking up the house before they came so they could clean under the junk, 2) within an hour after they left, the house was cluttered again and my husband would come home and say, "I thought the cleaners came today!!", which annoyed me, and 3) I finally decided this was stupid -- I and my two daughters are all home all day, and we should be able to keep the house in order.
My mother was the ultimate homemaker. Her sister said it was really all she ever wanted to do in life. I remember after mom's death, my sisters and I reflected on her home and the fact that we never saw her clean the bathrooms, but the bathrooms were never dirty. She had it all down to an art form.
I'm trying to decide if it's because of her example that I feel stressed when the house is a mess. Could be. Or it could be some underlying pressure I feel to make my husband happy (he has the same issue with a messy house, interestingly enough). Or maybe a need for a sense of order is just innate to me.
Not that I'm very successful at maintaining order in the house. Even as a kid, my mom would get on my case about never hanging up my clothes, etc. But a few times a year, the mess would reach a point where it unnerved me, and I would spend a day putting everything in place, and often reorganizing in the process. And I loved doing it! I still love doing it, when it's done on my time.
But I have had many friends over the years whose houses were, frankly, almost always a mess. Most of them had young kids -- and maybe a lot of them -- so the mess was understandable. And it never offended me or bothered me to be at their house in the mess. I actually find it soothing to be with a friend who trusts your friendship enough to not feel like they have to put on their superwoman mask for you. But I know if I lived every day like that, I would never be at peace within myself. There would always be the overwhelming urge to stop the world and get this place in order . . . and the unbearable frustration that I simply couldn't do so.
I bring this up because the condition of my daughters' rooms and bathroom can make my blood pressure rise to dangerous levels sometimes. And I'm not sure if the problem is with them, or me, or the meeting of the two extremes. I don't know if I need to buckle down and get them to live more orderly lives, or if I should accept that they, perhaps, are far more "normal" than I am.
And it seems I need to figure this out, before I make someone in this house completely neurotic.
But I write about what's on my mind, and right now, housekeeping is on my mind.
A blogger friend wrote today about how she struggles with keeping her house in order. And how she basically has given up -- decided she's gifted in many other areas but not this one, and hired a housekeeper. For a short time in NJ, right after we started homeschooling, we had a cleaning service come in once a month. I stopped the service because 1) I was still having to spend lots of time picking up the house before they came so they could clean under the junk, 2) within an hour after they left, the house was cluttered again and my husband would come home and say, "I thought the cleaners came today!!", which annoyed me, and 3) I finally decided this was stupid -- I and my two daughters are all home all day, and we should be able to keep the house in order.
My mother was the ultimate homemaker. Her sister said it was really all she ever wanted to do in life. I remember after mom's death, my sisters and I reflected on her home and the fact that we never saw her clean the bathrooms, but the bathrooms were never dirty. She had it all down to an art form.
I'm trying to decide if it's because of her example that I feel stressed when the house is a mess. Could be. Or it could be some underlying pressure I feel to make my husband happy (he has the same issue with a messy house, interestingly enough). Or maybe a need for a sense of order is just innate to me.
Not that I'm very successful at maintaining order in the house. Even as a kid, my mom would get on my case about never hanging up my clothes, etc. But a few times a year, the mess would reach a point where it unnerved me, and I would spend a day putting everything in place, and often reorganizing in the process. And I loved doing it! I still love doing it, when it's done on my time.
But I have had many friends over the years whose houses were, frankly, almost always a mess. Most of them had young kids -- and maybe a lot of them -- so the mess was understandable. And it never offended me or bothered me to be at their house in the mess. I actually find it soothing to be with a friend who trusts your friendship enough to not feel like they have to put on their superwoman mask for you. But I know if I lived every day like that, I would never be at peace within myself. There would always be the overwhelming urge to stop the world and get this place in order . . . and the unbearable frustration that I simply couldn't do so.
I bring this up because the condition of my daughters' rooms and bathroom can make my blood pressure rise to dangerous levels sometimes. And I'm not sure if the problem is with them, or me, or the meeting of the two extremes. I don't know if I need to buckle down and get them to live more orderly lives, or if I should accept that they, perhaps, are far more "normal" than I am.
And it seems I need to figure this out, before I make someone in this house completely neurotic.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
A Sobering Death
I've been fascinated by the discussion happening this week about how we should be reacting to the death of Osama bin Laden. For my own part, I wasn't dancing in the living room, but that may primarily have been because of the late hour. My reaction was rather sober. "I hope this is for real. I hope it's for sure. I hope we don't have serious, violent reactions to this."
On the other hand, I found the videos of all the people celebrating to be rather exhilarating as well. At least, I wasn't offended by them. The reaction is quite understandable. The question is, is that reaction right? Or, perhaps the more important question for most of my friends, is it Christian?
It's a tricky question. One can find scripture to support both sides of the debate. In Ezekiel, God tells us that he takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but longs instead that they turn from their ways. On the other hand, there are passages throughout the Bible about God bringing justice upon the wicked and often using governmental authorities to do so. God's victory over evil sure seems like something we should celebrate.
Once again, there is danger in pulling out individual scriptures to back up whatever view you espouse. Rather than picking out our favorite trees, we need to study the layout of the entire forest. We need to examine the principles taught in the Bible. And one of the primary principles I find there -- particularly in the New Testament, the teachings of Christ -- is that God looks on the heart.
If those celebrants chanting in front of the White House at midnight were celebrating because they hated Osama bin Laden and wanted him to suffer for what he did to our country (and the world, really), then that's wrong. Hard as it may be to fathom, bin Laden was a man just like us. The sins that led him to the evil he committed are the same sins that we struggle with: selfishness, pride, lust for power and more. That he did not turn from his ways and turn to God in time to save himself (presumably) is a tragedy that God himself is mourning today.
However, if those celebrants were rejoicing over the deliverance from an agent of evil in this world, celebrating an event that may ultimately lead to a more secure world for all of us . . . well, yes, that is worth partying about.
I just pray that a more secure world will result from this death. And I'm not confident that it will, as much as the killing needed to happen. Now that the partying has subsided, it seems to me that a day of prayer and fasting for our country would be in order.
On the other hand, I found the videos of all the people celebrating to be rather exhilarating as well. At least, I wasn't offended by them. The reaction is quite understandable. The question is, is that reaction right? Or, perhaps the more important question for most of my friends, is it Christian?
It's a tricky question. One can find scripture to support both sides of the debate. In Ezekiel, God tells us that he takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but longs instead that they turn from their ways. On the other hand, there are passages throughout the Bible about God bringing justice upon the wicked and often using governmental authorities to do so. God's victory over evil sure seems like something we should celebrate.
Once again, there is danger in pulling out individual scriptures to back up whatever view you espouse. Rather than picking out our favorite trees, we need to study the layout of the entire forest. We need to examine the principles taught in the Bible. And one of the primary principles I find there -- particularly in the New Testament, the teachings of Christ -- is that God looks on the heart.
If those celebrants chanting in front of the White House at midnight were celebrating because they hated Osama bin Laden and wanted him to suffer for what he did to our country (and the world, really), then that's wrong. Hard as it may be to fathom, bin Laden was a man just like us. The sins that led him to the evil he committed are the same sins that we struggle with: selfishness, pride, lust for power and more. That he did not turn from his ways and turn to God in time to save himself (presumably) is a tragedy that God himself is mourning today.
However, if those celebrants were rejoicing over the deliverance from an agent of evil in this world, celebrating an event that may ultimately lead to a more secure world for all of us . . . well, yes, that is worth partying about.
I just pray that a more secure world will result from this death. And I'm not confident that it will, as much as the killing needed to happen. Now that the partying has subsided, it seems to me that a day of prayer and fasting for our country would be in order.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Unaccountable Misery
Producer Kim and I spoke at our homeschool Mom's Night Out last night on the subject of "Methods of Motivation". Ironic considering how profoundly unmotivated I have been lately. And miserable. I woke up this morning just miserable.
Why? Who knows. There's any number of possibilities. Sleeping lousy. Getting my monthlies. Eating crappily over spring break and the holidays. Gloomy weather. Spiritual malaise. Some long-term, low-level illness I seem to have been fighting for a few months. Not exercising for a week or so. Brain chemistry. Hormones. Honestly, who knows.
Against all my instincts, I'm fighting the urge to spend too much time trying to analyze the whys here, because I doubt I'll figure out why and the inquiry will only make me more miserable. I'm trying to focus on what to do. The things I know to do.
No junk food today. Vegetables. Fruits. Lots of water. Easter candy and frozen cookie dough balls are OUT.
I forced myself to work on the exercise bike for a while this morning. It was only about 10 minutes, but it was something. I'll force myself again later.
The sun is out. I'm going to spend as much time as I can in it. And outside breathing fresh air.
No sitting and vegging at the computer. No isolating myself -- I 'm going to talk to my kids as much as I can make myself do it. I'm going to make jokes. I'm not going to whine or complain.
I'm going to make myself pick up things around the house, just one at a time, until my environment is a bit less cluttered.
And I'm going to praise God. Even though I don't feel like it. "Rejoice in the Lord" is a command, one not dependent on my mood. The Bible says that God inhabits the praise of his people. If I want God around -- and I most certainly need that today -- I need to open the door to where he lives.
I don't want to do any of these things. I don't feel like it one bit. This is a live-one-moment-at-a-time kind of day. And my task for this moment -- smile at my daughter's request and get up to get her a calculator. Thank you, Lord, for calculators . . .
Why? Who knows. There's any number of possibilities. Sleeping lousy. Getting my monthlies. Eating crappily over spring break and the holidays. Gloomy weather. Spiritual malaise. Some long-term, low-level illness I seem to have been fighting for a few months. Not exercising for a week or so. Brain chemistry. Hormones. Honestly, who knows.
Against all my instincts, I'm fighting the urge to spend too much time trying to analyze the whys here, because I doubt I'll figure out why and the inquiry will only make me more miserable. I'm trying to focus on what to do. The things I know to do.
No junk food today. Vegetables. Fruits. Lots of water. Easter candy and frozen cookie dough balls are OUT.
I forced myself to work on the exercise bike for a while this morning. It was only about 10 minutes, but it was something. I'll force myself again later.
The sun is out. I'm going to spend as much time as I can in it. And outside breathing fresh air.
No sitting and vegging at the computer. No isolating myself -- I 'm going to talk to my kids as much as I can make myself do it. I'm going to make jokes. I'm not going to whine or complain.
I'm going to make myself pick up things around the house, just one at a time, until my environment is a bit less cluttered.
And I'm going to praise God. Even though I don't feel like it. "Rejoice in the Lord" is a command, one not dependent on my mood. The Bible says that God inhabits the praise of his people. If I want God around -- and I most certainly need that today -- I need to open the door to where he lives.
I don't want to do any of these things. I don't feel like it one bit. This is a live-one-moment-at-a-time kind of day. And my task for this moment -- smile at my daughter's request and get up to get her a calculator. Thank you, Lord, for calculators . . .
Monday, April 25, 2011
Communism in my Home State
I'm back! Long time, no blog.
Had an interesting talk with my father-in-law over the Easter holiday. He used to be the business manager for his school district. Now that he's "retired", he still works for the district, managing grounds and maintenance or something like that, I believe. He does a million things for them. The man can do just about anything, really.
We were talking about the district budget and I asked him what percentage of their money comes from the state and what percent from local taxes. Turns out, in Kansas, the state tells every school district how much property tax they have to collect for schools. Then it takes all of that money and redistributes it equally to every school district in the state.
I'm trying to understand how this is NOT educational communism.
My husband offered an idea. What if the people in, say, Shawnee Mission school district (a wealthy KC suburb) wanted to pay more of their own money to improve their children's schools. What if they doubled their own property taxes, agreeing that a good portion of that extra money would stay in their own district and the rest could be distributed to the other districts in the state. Every school would get more money. Who loses there? But no, Dad said, that would be wrong. The rich kids' schools would have more than the poor kids' schools. Unfair.
There's something very disturbing in the basic principle here that I'm having a hard time articulating. Let me try it this way . . .
Because of our current financial state, we are able to have internet access in our home, which provides our daughters with a lot of educational resources. Some parents can't afford that. Does this mean we should not be allowed to give our daughters this resource, because another parent in town can't do the same?
Because of our current financial state, I am able to buy fresh, healthy organic foods for my children. I am also able to stay at home with them, which gives me more time to prepare healthy home-cooked meals. But some parents aren't able to do that, at least not without some stress and sacrifice. Does this mean I should not be allowed to give my children the best nutritional experience possible, because another parent in town is not able to the same?
This argument comes up with my in-laws when we talk about homeschooling, which they aren't crazy about. When I homeschool my daughter, I'm able to give her a better education than the other kids in public school get. But other parents can't homeschool and give their kids that kind of education. So, when I homeschool, I'm giving my daughter an educational advantage over other children. Can't do that -- it's not fair.
Are all "advantages" unfair? Are we never to be allowed to give our children anything that is beneficial for them unless we can make it available to every kid in town -- or the state -- or the country?
There is a basic faulty premise in this argument. Inequality does not necessarily signify injustice. The nature of what it means to be equal is being warped and misused. This is so much a "duh" thing in my mind that I can't even effectively explain the problem in the reasoning.
Unfortunately, none of the rest of us were able to explain it to my father-in-law, either. Amazing how people can see the world in such fundamentally different ways. I think this particular fundamental difference is at the heart of much of the current political strife in our country. Wish I could find a way to clarify the matter for people.
Had an interesting talk with my father-in-law over the Easter holiday. He used to be the business manager for his school district. Now that he's "retired", he still works for the district, managing grounds and maintenance or something like that, I believe. He does a million things for them. The man can do just about anything, really.
We were talking about the district budget and I asked him what percentage of their money comes from the state and what percent from local taxes. Turns out, in Kansas, the state tells every school district how much property tax they have to collect for schools. Then it takes all of that money and redistributes it equally to every school district in the state.
I'm trying to understand how this is NOT educational communism.
My husband offered an idea. What if the people in, say, Shawnee Mission school district (a wealthy KC suburb) wanted to pay more of their own money to improve their children's schools. What if they doubled their own property taxes, agreeing that a good portion of that extra money would stay in their own district and the rest could be distributed to the other districts in the state. Every school would get more money. Who loses there? But no, Dad said, that would be wrong. The rich kids' schools would have more than the poor kids' schools. Unfair.
There's something very disturbing in the basic principle here that I'm having a hard time articulating. Let me try it this way . . .
Because of our current financial state, we are able to have internet access in our home, which provides our daughters with a lot of educational resources. Some parents can't afford that. Does this mean we should not be allowed to give our daughters this resource, because another parent in town can't do the same?
Because of our current financial state, I am able to buy fresh, healthy organic foods for my children. I am also able to stay at home with them, which gives me more time to prepare healthy home-cooked meals. But some parents aren't able to do that, at least not without some stress and sacrifice. Does this mean I should not be allowed to give my children the best nutritional experience possible, because another parent in town is not able to the same?
This argument comes up with my in-laws when we talk about homeschooling, which they aren't crazy about. When I homeschool my daughter, I'm able to give her a better education than the other kids in public school get. But other parents can't homeschool and give their kids that kind of education. So, when I homeschool, I'm giving my daughter an educational advantage over other children. Can't do that -- it's not fair.
Are all "advantages" unfair? Are we never to be allowed to give our children anything that is beneficial for them unless we can make it available to every kid in town -- or the state -- or the country?
There is a basic faulty premise in this argument. Inequality does not necessarily signify injustice. The nature of what it means to be equal is being warped and misused. This is so much a "duh" thing in my mind that I can't even effectively explain the problem in the reasoning.
Unfortunately, none of the rest of us were able to explain it to my father-in-law, either. Amazing how people can see the world in such fundamentally different ways. I think this particular fundamental difference is at the heart of much of the current political strife in our country. Wish I could find a way to clarify the matter for people.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
It's Not About You
I went to the post office yesterday to mail our tax returns. They were asking everyone to fill out a "survey". Apparently, the postal service is considering closing down this particular post office. The employees are unhappy about it. The customers there with me were unhappy about it. This survey was apparently supposed to communicate that unhappiness to the powers that be and convince them to change their mind.
I declined to fill out the survey. (Actually, I lied and said I'd already filled one out. Yeah, I'm a little ashamed. But just a little.) Mainly I declined because I was getting annoyed at the comments floating around the room concerning the matter. Comments primarily along the lines of, "I don't want to have to go all the way downtown to get to a post office."
Well, I don't either, but sometimes that's what you have to do. I don't know why they're considering closing this post office, but I assume, considering the dire financial straits our government is in, it has something to do with operating more efficiently and cost-effectively. I doubt they just decided to lay workers off and inconvenience their customers on a whim. And if that's what the post office needs to do to stay solvent, I'm not going to complain.
I forget which president it was (Reagan maybe?) who asked the American people during his campaign to consider if they were better off now than they were when the incumbent took office. I know a friend of mine, several campaigns later, used that argument as the basis for her vote: "I know four years ago I had a job and now I don't. Let's get that lamebrain out of office."
What a stupid reason to vote for someone! Basing the decision entirely on your own personal situation. In the words of a well-known author, "It's not about you."
Your personal life situation has much more to do with yourself and your own decisions than governmental policy. Maybe you were not a good employee. Maybe you picked the wrong career. Maybe your industry is suffering a temporary setback and you need to buck up for a bit -- or maybe your industry is on the way out and you need to find a different direction entirely. In any case, your life is your responsibility, not the government's. The president isn't elected to keep you well-fed and living in two rooms and a bath. That's YOUR job.
We are a very self-absorbed nation. We vote for candidates who promise programs that will make our lives easier, no matter what it's going to do to anyone else's lives -- or our children's lives, who have to pay for all this caretaking eventually. We don't vote on principle, because we're not a people of principle. We're a people of pleasure.
So, fine. I'll go downtown to mail my packages. Because it's not about me.
I declined to fill out the survey. (Actually, I lied and said I'd already filled one out. Yeah, I'm a little ashamed. But just a little.) Mainly I declined because I was getting annoyed at the comments floating around the room concerning the matter. Comments primarily along the lines of, "I don't want to have to go all the way downtown to get to a post office."
Well, I don't either, but sometimes that's what you have to do. I don't know why they're considering closing this post office, but I assume, considering the dire financial straits our government is in, it has something to do with operating more efficiently and cost-effectively. I doubt they just decided to lay workers off and inconvenience their customers on a whim. And if that's what the post office needs to do to stay solvent, I'm not going to complain.
I forget which president it was (Reagan maybe?) who asked the American people during his campaign to consider if they were better off now than they were when the incumbent took office. I know a friend of mine, several campaigns later, used that argument as the basis for her vote: "I know four years ago I had a job and now I don't. Let's get that lamebrain out of office."
What a stupid reason to vote for someone! Basing the decision entirely on your own personal situation. In the words of a well-known author, "It's not about you."
Your personal life situation has much more to do with yourself and your own decisions than governmental policy. Maybe you were not a good employee. Maybe you picked the wrong career. Maybe your industry is suffering a temporary setback and you need to buck up for a bit -- or maybe your industry is on the way out and you need to find a different direction entirely. In any case, your life is your responsibility, not the government's. The president isn't elected to keep you well-fed and living in two rooms and a bath. That's YOUR job.
We are a very self-absorbed nation. We vote for candidates who promise programs that will make our lives easier, no matter what it's going to do to anyone else's lives -- or our children's lives, who have to pay for all this caretaking eventually. We don't vote on principle, because we're not a people of principle. We're a people of pleasure.
So, fine. I'll go downtown to mail my packages. Because it's not about me.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Wonder-Working Power
I know. I haven't written in a while. My play with the homeschool middle and high schoolers is next week. We've got to get lights together tomorrow, along with all our set changes and music cues. Next week is dress rehearsal and filming, then performing twice on Friday. And Tuesday's rehearsal didn't go very smoothly. I'm a little stressed. Next year, I have to make this a bit less complicated.
I also have a sketch this Sunday morning with two different casts for the two different sites. One cast has changed actors twice now, the other is now having to film ahead of time -- tonight. Long, complicated story.
Then the next Sunday, I have monologues with two more actors -- one of whom is in a community theater play opening this week, so he hasn't been able to practice yet. The other is a brand new actor for my team who lives out of town, which complicates rehearsal scheduling.
Complicated seems to be the theme of my life these days. I don't like complicated.
Our small group is studying Ephesians, and last Sunday, we read the end of chapter 1, where Paul is praying that the Ephesians will know God's "incomparably great power for those of us who believe." That power which is "the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead." Power that we have access to today.
It's as if God has called me to go to San Francisco and given me a jet to fly there -- but instead of flying, I'm sitting in the cockpit, taxi-ing down the highway. He's given me POWER. And I don't even try to use it. I work in my own strength and quit as soon as I get to the end of that. So I never take advantage of what he's given me. So I can't say I really know he's given it to me.
I need power these next couple weeks -- power to concentrate, organize, solve problems, motivate people, keep peace, be pleasant, and just generally keep on keeping on. Time to take this scripture at its word.
I also have a sketch this Sunday morning with two different casts for the two different sites. One cast has changed actors twice now, the other is now having to film ahead of time -- tonight. Long, complicated story.
Then the next Sunday, I have monologues with two more actors -- one of whom is in a community theater play opening this week, so he hasn't been able to practice yet. The other is a brand new actor for my team who lives out of town, which complicates rehearsal scheduling.
Complicated seems to be the theme of my life these days. I don't like complicated.
Our small group is studying Ephesians, and last Sunday, we read the end of chapter 1, where Paul is praying that the Ephesians will know God's "incomparably great power for those of us who believe." That power which is "the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead." Power that we have access to today.
It's as if God has called me to go to San Francisco and given me a jet to fly there -- but instead of flying, I'm sitting in the cockpit, taxi-ing down the highway. He's given me POWER. And I don't even try to use it. I work in my own strength and quit as soon as I get to the end of that. So I never take advantage of what he's given me. So I can't say I really know he's given it to me.
I need power these next couple weeks -- power to concentrate, organize, solve problems, motivate people, keep peace, be pleasant, and just generally keep on keeping on. Time to take this scripture at its word.
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