Thursday, December 27, 2007

Lillington Photo Correction

Ok, so the picture in People magazine was probably taken at Ft. Bragg, but the girl is from Lillington. That's still cool- and random for a national magazine.

Christmas and a Car

Christmas was really good. We had a small gathering and for the first time my brother wasn't here, since he was with his fiance's family in Tennessee. However, my family and I had a good time. We opened presents in the morning, had dinner in late afternoon, and after the others left, my parents and I watched some Christmas movies on TV. Late that night we sang Happy Birthday and had cake for my mom. Get this: My mom was born on Christmas and her maiden name is Gabriel. Fun, eh?

And of course there was the Christmas Eve service at my church. For a long time the Christmas Eve service has been one of my favorite parts of Christmas.

Gifts this year were light; nobody spend enormous amounts of money on anyone. And you know what? I like it that way. Buying expensive presents seems like a necessity until you just don't do it.

I am maturing in my understanding of Christmas. I have long since known it's about Jesus Christ's birth, but I've almost always tried to also buy the best gifts I could. Not doing that this year did make a difference in how I saw Christmas, and you know what? It's liberating. I feel that God is thinking, "I know that! I've known that forever! I am all about liberation! If you guys would stop being so materialistic, you'd experience more of that freedom!"

I know this may seem somewhat hypocritical since I just got done talking about simplicity, but my last car died and got junked and I had no transportation. I got a really great deal and bought a car. Nothing fancy, a basic 4-door (manual locks and windows even!) that will get me around. So, yea...my car troubles are over- except for those pesky payments! I now own a silver 2008 Chevy Aveo LS. I am so blessed to be able to have this car- trust me, I know this.

Well, I hope you all had a nice Christmas with family. Feel free to let me know how your Christmas was special.

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Lillington in People Magazine

So, here's something that surprised me. While perusing through the Best and Worst of 2007 edition of People magazine, I came across a section of photos sent in by readers around the nation. One of the photos was taken in Lillington, NC! It is the picture of a soldier's wife welcoming her husband home. How great!

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Goodbye, Sweet Cavalier

On Sunday morning my car died. Now my quaint little 2000 Chevy Cavalier has had a few problems in the past, but my family has found Chevys to be quite reliable. Still, my little four-door did not fair as well as others.

We actually got the car in late 1999 and it was a pretty big deal because the year 2000 was a pretty big deal. So having a 2000 in 1999 was pretty nifty.

But my first car did not live as long as most of our other cars. $100 and free towing is all my family gets for the car.

I am trying to see some positives. For instance, there was hardly any gas in the car when it died. I'm glad I hadn't filled it up that morning. And I will also be able to save on gas money.

True, it is kind of like being 14 again. I had to work at 8:30 but my dad had to work at 8:00 this morning, so I had to leave early. I love to drive and especially love driving back roads, but my trips to Cary must cease for the most part. Maybe, just maybe, I could borrow one of my parents' cars once or twice a month just to get to Barnes and Noble!

But for now I will spend more quality time with my parents as they drive me around and I am at home more evenings. I am determined to make the best of this.

I asked God to make my car fixable. Then I asked him to take care of my traveling needs. Then I asked him to make my car fixable. I even asked him to make my car fixable for under $100! He already knows my desires, so I just prayed them. So, maybe my car won't get fixed, but I'm pretty sure He'll meet my traveling needs.

May my parents and I not go crazy.

This Day in History

Today is my third college graduation anniversary. On December 18, 2004 I walked across the newly renovated D.Rich stage and got a piece of paper telling me where to pick up my diploma. What did I do that night? Why, what any college graduate would do: I went to see the Raleigh Ringers, a professional hand bell choir, with friends. (Might I add that I had a wonderful meal with my family earlier that afternoon.)

Two years ago today a friend and I went to Barnes and Noble to see the juggling Rabbi. He was amazing and told Hanukkah stories and did different juggling tricks.

And so, with such random events two years in a row, I declared December 18 'Random Day.' Except I didn't do anything random last year.....and I don't plan to do anything random today.

But my nickname is Random, so maybe that's enough.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Raindrops Keep Falling On........The Bell Peppers

So, I realize from my last post that I could sound like a fundamentalist. I'm sure if you go a few posts back to my views on the North Carolina Baptist State Convention and their policy regarding homosexuals, you'll see that I'm actually a moderate. Oh yea, then there's the fact that I'm a woman going into ministry. It's just that, we can have different views than someone in regards to theology or other matters and still say something when there's hypocrisy against that person.

Moving on, I went to one of the Ft. Bragg Commissaries with my mom the other day for some good family grocery shopping. I must say, the produce section was the highlight of the trip. As mom looked for appropriate vegetables I heard thunder. "What's that?" I asked mom. She told me it was going to rain...on the produce.

Sure enough, I soon discovered the misting action of the sprayers above the fruits and veggies. Every few minutes the sound of thunder (and I think lightning cracking) sounded from the section to be sprayed, and was audible throughout the entire produce section.

Ah, sweet tax dollars at work. But to be honest, there's far worse things they could spend tax money on than produce alarms.

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Pretending to Be Gay?

I've never been a "fan" of Jerry Falwell, but I thought I would give this topic some attention.

Years ago Falwell created quite a stir when he said one of the Teletubbies, a character on a children's television show, was gay. Critics laughed and basically said it's stupid to suggest such a thing, for a fictional character can not be gay.

Fast forward a few years and you get J.K. Rowling, author of the popular "Harry Potter" series, saying her character Dumbledore is gay. People responded with surprise, claiming things such as, "I didn't expect him to be gay!"

Seriously?

I don't care if she created the character. The argument was that a fictional character can't be gay. So why did the world throw stones at Falwell and accept Rowling for doing the same thing?