There is more wrong with me than I let myself believe

They say "the Lord never gives you more that you can handle", but I couldn't help think that this time he was cutting it very close when I opened my email about a week ago, at 11:25pm and noticed one from an estranged friend.

WHAT???

Right! 


I'm pretty sure all the blood in my face drained away.
I was the black equivalent of white as a ghost - if that's even possible.
I mean, nothing says PANIC like when you say "Lord your will be done" and he say "Okay, in that case..."

The Power of Vulnerability

This is probably the best lecture I've ever heard! Absolutely fantastic!!!

What are you thankful for? please share

Tis that time of year again; when people get so consumed with the prospect of Christmas and getting gifts that they forget to take pause in their lives and be thankful... so I'm going to share what I am thankful for and I would love the hear what you're thankful for.

1. I am thankful for a family that thinks that the best way to celebrate American thanksgiving is turkey bacon for breakfast.

2.I am thankful for friends who keep me accountable and listen to my irrational comments when I have a 25 page paper due.

3.I am thankful for a College, that challenges my patience and forces me to think outside the box to improve it and leave it better than I found it.

4. I am thankful for that person who makes me feel like I can actually change the world and who sees the value in words that come out of my mouth - you know who you are...

5. and MOST of all I am thankful for a God, who is so gracious, that he allows me to be as stupid and as ungrateful as I am. A God who loves me so much that he would sacrifice his only son, to save me from my sins.

My path

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.23Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 

I know its been a while, but life has been busy and my thoughts haven't really made it past my brain...

Yesterday I had the wonderful pleasure of having coffee with a great woman who has, in many ways, become a mentor to me. There were many components of  our conversation that honestly would nott be interesting to anyone who wasn't part of it, but she made a comment that has been on my mind since our coffee date... a comment I think is worth sharing.

So for a little context:

For I know the plans...

My favorite musical of all time is Wicked. "Why?" you might ask. Because it has my favorite song of all time... for good. The song goes something like this,

" I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them

Why do we hurt the ones we love?

Do you remember back in  like 2nd and 3rd grade when we all had crushes on people and thought the most acceptable course of action was to pinch/hit/bush/make fun of etc. him/her? If you don't remember that, you either have very bad memory or you were a freaky perfect kid. For the rest of us who remember this unfortunate stage in our development, I have something to share with you/ask of you.

I was at work today mentoring young minds (insert laughter here) when a little girl came up to me crying. It appears that one of the boys had been picking on her for a while now and she had reached her holding capacity. Naturally, being the great mentor I am, I called them together and asked what the issue was. After some probing, the little boy asked to talk to me in private at which point he told me he had a crush on the little girl. Now as funny as this is, and as cute as it is, after talking to these kids for a little while and helping them "solve" their problem...at least for the day, I realized something about human nature.Now I know none of us pinch/hit/bush/make fun our love interests anymore...or at least I HOPE none of us do that, but we seem to have more sophisticated and complex ways of inflicting pain on each other.

So my question is this, What is it about humans that pushes us to hurt the ones we love? What is it about our nature that makes us hurt others so easily? This has been nagging at me all day and if anyone has an answer I would love to hear it. Using our personal experiences and my students as an example, I think it's safe to say that even at our most innocent stage as children, when we "love" someone we can't seem to stop ourselves from hurting them...Why is that?

something about this song...