Friday, January 29, 2010

Pressing On with Baby Steps

I read an interesting article today at Exemplify Magazine where the author talks about never planning on being a thirtysomething single woman and how she started studying Ezekiel and learned a valuable lesson to apply to her disheartened thinking on her singleness. Here is an excerpt:

"I never expected to be a thirtysomething single woman. Growing up I always thought I would meet and marry my husband by the time I graduated from college. My mom got married at 20. Most of my married friends got married in their twenties. As those last couple years before hitting the big 3-0 dwindled down I felt a tinge of desperation rising. Didn’t God know this desire of my heart? Wouldn’t He grant me the one constant prayer request I’d been petitioning Him with over the last decade? I fell into a numb acceptance of my marital state by the time that all important birthday hit in mid-May. I was a thirty year old single woman. The woman I never thought I’d be."

"Ezekiel is one of those books of the Bible I hadn’t really spent a lot of time studying. I knew it had a lot to do with prophecy and I had read portions of the book but this time I felt the urging to do a little background studying on the author himself, Ezekiel. I was surprised to find myself sympathizing with this prophet.


The first verse of chapter 1 of Ezekiel starts simply enough: “In the [a] thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.” Just that takeaway is amazing, right? Sitting there among his exiled people this ordinary guy starts seeing visions of God. That, of course, is huge. Monumental. Life-altering. But something else struck me as I read. That thirtieth year. According to some commentators that referenced Ezekiel as being thirty. Just like I was at the time. I read that Ezekiel would have become a priest had they not been taken into exile. According to my research priests entered into their service at age 30. I couldn’t help but wonder if that was what Ezekiel was pondering sitting beside his fellow kinsman in exile. I wondered if those “if only” and “I thought I’d be” kinds of thoughts crossed his mind. As a child he probably expected his life to have been different at age 30. But how like God to come to Ezekiel in that all important thirtieth year and reveal to him his true calling, the plan God had for him all along.

That revelation floored me. Surely Ezekiel was broken hearted over his priestly calling being thwarted, and because of such devastating circumstances as his, it must have been all the more depressing. Yet God in his infinite wisdom had called this would be priest to be a prophet to his exiled people. In that moment I realized the parallel with my fellow thirtysomething. God is infinitely in control. What I had expected for my life hadn’t turned about before turning 30. Neither had Ezekiel’s life plans. My plans were outside of my control, just as Ezekiel’s were. But there at the center of both of our lives was God, working out his plan for each of us. A better plan that would bring Him much glory. Ezekiel’s is recorded in the Bible. Mine is still being written. In this I can take hope. God knows what He is doing. His plans prevail beyond dashed expectations. Right now my calling is to be single though my heart longs for marriage. It’s a time to trust God and press on. I’m exactly where He’s called me to be. And so are you. "

After going through many failed relationships including three failed marriages, I long for someone to share my life with but my calling is to be single now. To find myself. To center myself. To devote the right amount of time to raising my daughter so she can fulfill His plans for her. I don't know but like this author says "its time to trust God and press on."

This subject falls perfectly in line with The Rest of Your Story that I am doing over at Heart to Heart with Holley. We are doing a 21 day Challege which you can check out here.

Yesterday's challenge: What's one little thing that helps you give God the red pen and make peace with who you are? My response: Remembering that He has a plan for me. It might not be my plan but His is the only one that really matters.

Today's challenge: What's a S.T.E.P in your story? (Small - The tinier the better. We tell ourselves we've got to do something amazing right now...ignore that voice. Tangible - We're not trying to walk on air. "I want to be happy!" isn't a step. Choose something with results. Easy - Yep, not only small but easy. If it can happen in five minutes or less, you get bonus points. Positive - The whole point is going forward. Now isn't the time for, "I'm going to stop...X" Focus on what you'll do instead. A S.T.E.P. might be making a phone call, getting a book, writing something down, exercising for two minutes, reconnecting with a friend, leaving a comment, anything that moves you forward.)

My response: Finally make a to-do list of all those things I have to do (those nagging thoughts that prevent me from sleeping and taking proper care of myself). I think doing this will help me realize what needs to get done so I can feel more centered, less scattered. Not to be amazing but to feel more at peace. There are so many things a single mom has to do that sometimes I just put it all off, procrastinate about it all until eventually it all blows up. Of course, I am not the type to truly put it all off since most nights as I lay down to sleep, my brain hops from one thing to another that I have to do. This way, if I list it all and start working on crossing items off of my list, I think I will feel more at ease with where we (as in my family) are right now.


Working on this list will help me to press on and enjoy THIS life that He has given me rather than waiting on the life I feel I should be living.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Remember the guy who got on a plane with a bomb built into his shoe...

I read Bev's Journeyings today and loved her post about the shoe bomber and the judge's ruling. It is really great and wanted to share.

Ruling by Judge William Young, US District Court.

Prior to sentencing, the Judge asked the defendant if he had anything to say. His response: After admitting his guilt to the court for the record, Reid also admitted his 'allegiance to Osama bin Laden, to Islam, and to the religion of Allah,' defiantly stating, 'I think I will not apologize for my actions,' and told the court 'I am at war with your country.'

Judge Young then delivered the statement quoted below:

January 30, 2003, United States vs. Reid.

Judge Young:

'Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court imposes upon you.

On counts 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in the custody of the United States Attorney General. On counts 2, 3, 4and 7, the Court sentences you to 20 years in prison on each count, the sentence on each count to run consecutively. (That's 80 years.)

On count 8 the Court sentences you to the mandatory 30 years again, to be served consecutively to the 80 years just imposed. The Court imposes upon you for each of the eight counts a fine of $250,000 that's an aggregate fine of $2 million. The Court accepts the government's recommendation with respect to restitution and orders restitution in the amount of $298.17 to Andre Bousquet and $5,784 to American Airlines.

The Court imposes upon you an $800 special assessment. The Court imposes upon you five years supervised release simply because the law requires it. But the life sentences are real life sentences so I need go no further.

This is the sentence that is provided for by our statutes. It is a fair and just sentence. It is a righteous sentence.

Now, let me explain this to you. We are not afraid of you or any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid. We are Americans. We have been through the fire before. There is too much war talk here and I say that to everyone with the utmost respect. Here in this court, we deal with individuals as individuals and care for individuals as individuals. As human beings, we reach out for justice.

You are not an enemy combatant. You are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war. You are a terrorist. To give you that reference, to call you a soldier, gives you far too much stature. Whether the officers of government do it or your attorney does it, or if you think you are a soldier, you are not----- you are a terrorist. And we do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not meet with terrorists. We do not sign documents with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice.

So war talk is way out of line in this court. You are a big fellow. But you are not that big. You're no warrior. I've known warriors. You are a terrorist. A species of criminal that is guilty of multiple attempted murders. In a very real sense, State Trooper Santiago had it right when you first were taken off that plane and into custody and you wondered where the press and the TV crews were, and he said: 'You're no big deal.'

You are no big deal.

What your able counsel and what the equally able United States attorneys have grappled with and what I have as honestly as I know how tried to grapple with, is why you did something so horrific. What was it that led you here to this courtroom today?

I have listened respectfully to what you have to say. And I ask you to search your heart and ask yourself what sort of unfathomable hate led you to do what you are guilty and admit you are guilty of doing? And, I have an answer for you. It may not satisfy you, but as I search this entire record, it comes as close to understanding as I know.

It seems to me you hate the one thing that to us is most precious. You hate our freedom. Our individual freedom. Our individual freedom to live as we choose, to come and go as we choose, to believe or not believe as we individually choose. Here, in this society, the very wind carries freedom. It carries it everywhere from sea to shining sea. It is because we prize individual freedom so much that you are here in this beautiful courtroom, so that everyone can see, truly see, that justice is administered fairly, individually, and discretely. It is for freedom's sake that your lawyers are striving so vigorously on your behalf, have filed appeals, will go on in their representation of you before other judges.

We Americans are all about freedom. Because we all know that the way we treat you, Mr. Reid, is the measure of our own liberties. Make no mistake though. It is yet true that we will bear any burden; pay any price, to preserve our freedoms. Look around this courtroom. Mark it well. The world is not going to long remember what you or I say here. The day after tomorrow, it will be forgotten, but this, however, will long endure.

Here in this courtroom and courtrooms all across America , the American people will gather to see that justice, individual justice, justice, not war, individual justice is in fact being done. The very President of the United States through his officers will have to come into courtrooms and lay out evidence on which specific matters can be judged and juries of citizens will gather to sit and judge that evidence democratically, to mold and shape and refine our sense of justice.

See that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America . That flag will fly there long after this is all forgotten. That flag stands for freedom. And it always will.

Mr. Custody Officer. Stand him down.
"

Pretty cool, huh?

You can see more about this here, here and here.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

10 Ways To Get Through The Rest of Winter

10 Ways To Get Through The Rest of Winter

1. Umm...is hibernating an option?
2. Treat myself to some nice nail polish and paint my toes.
3. Buy a new razor blade so I can be smooth and then swim in a vat of moisturizing lotion.
4. sleep
5 zzz
6 zzz
7 zzzz
8 zzz
9 zzz
10 zzzz

Thursday, January 21, 2010

No longer MIA

I can't believe I haven't posted anything since January 11. So much for my resolution to blog more regularly.

I have not been blogging because I have been feeling kind of ...frazzled, I guess. Hard to get focused on anything. I haven't been able to really get into anything. Not knitting, not reading. Nothing. I am feeling a bit better so hopefully, I will find (and stick to) a blogging schedule.

I have also been busy at work preparing for a huge trial that started on Tuesday. Of course, it was a useless effort since the other side dropped half of their case before jury selection. Then, they said they would waive the jury trial. So all in all, it wound up being a lot of preparing for a very short one day trial to determine how much money the person should get.

Last night, I stayed at my office (which is 45 minutes from home) until 8:45 p.m. which ruined the plan to go check out a church. Princess Ivi and I have decided to go on Sunday instead and see if that makes her feel like God is part of her life again. (This is a long drawn out story which I am not going to post about here since I feel like I have covered it over at Ravelry but if by chance anyone reads this and wants more info, just let me know.)

Monday, January 11, 2010

Bring back my Florida weather, please!!

You may not know this but it is cold here in Florida. We are on our 12th day of freezing weather. It was 18 degrees when I left the house at 7:00 a.m. There was ice on my window this morning and when I tried to use my washer fluid to melt it, the fluid froze. (I am guessing it was a bad mix since it isn't supposed to freeze.)

See the pic below, that is the icy fluid that was on my window:



I think everyone is ready for a break in the weather since it is definitely not very tropical.

Me

Inspired by Lolly Knitting Around, here is my list of 10 things you don’t know about me:

1. I had red tide poisoning (along with my entire family) when I was 4 years old.

2. I have psoriasis.

3. I am allergic to mushrooms and stone fruit.

4. My favorite song is “every breath you take” by the Police.

5. I have a tattoo.

6. I believe in ghosts or spirits.

7. I love shrimp.

8. I am right-handed

9. My favorite class was World in Conflict in 7th grade where we learned about the Prussian War, World War I and World War II.

10. I was on track and field in high school. I was a sprinter (running the 220) and I threw the javelin.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Slacker!!

I have been a blogging slacker. Mostly because I feel down and don't want to be whiny in a post. Here are some finished knitting projects for 2010.


Barry's Scarf

Princess Ivi's Digital Camera Cosy

Broomstick Bookmark

I will post more soon when I am feeling more up.

Friday, January 1, 2010

Happy New Year

Princess Ivi and I made it back from our trip all in one piece. Look for a longer post tomorrow but for now, Happy New Year!!!

Knitting Resolutions

Since it is the first day of 2010, I thought it would be appropriate to list my knitting resolutions.

1. Compete in the Ravelympics.

2. Work on my Ravelry queue to complete projects using stashed yarn.

3. Participate in Ravelry's 2010 Christmas Make Ahead Group so I am ahead of my holiday knitting.

4. Knit as much as I can.

5. Attend the knitting group at least once a month, if not more.

6. Burn through stash.