Ladies....

I had an epiphany last night at work. Ok, maybe epiphany is too big of a word, but I did realize something important. I was chatting with another nurse and she started telling me all about this patient she had earlier today. She was telling me how he was playing with himself, but the language she used was very crude and graphic. This nurse is older and married, and I thought what happened to the times when these things weren't discussed in front of unmarried women. I realize that in the profession that I am in, we deal with bodies, and bodily functions and sometimes seeing people naked is part of that. But do we really need to discuss it outside of the medical aspects? It was really kind of offensive to me.
Later that night I got a patient, a young girl, who was just arrested for drunk driving. She was brought in by the police because she had wrecked her car. As the police were drawing her blood to check her blood alcohol level she launched into a profanity laced tirade. Now, these officers were being very nice to her, and were intending to just issue her a ticket and let her go, but when she started screaming at them, and calling them every nasty name in the book, they decided to take her in. I wish she could have seen herself, and the look on her face, as the filthiness spewed from her mouth. And again I thought, what happened to the days when men wouldn't even use those words in the presence of ladies, let alone the thought of ladies using them. 
And then I realized that I too had used those words, not frequently, but I have been known to bust out a 4 letter word once in a while. And then I realized that we women are not acting like ladies any more. And then I decided that I am going back to being a lady. When someone starts discussing inappropriate things with me, I will take a stance, I will say that I find that offensive or inappropriate and walk away. When someone starts spouting the bad words, I will remind them that there are ladies present and we don't talk like that in front of ladies. I will watch myself to make sure that I don't behave in un-ladylike ways.
This doesn't mean that I will be a pushover. Quite the opposite really. I will take a stand for what I believe in, and I will act in accordance with those beliefs. Hold me accountable, if you hear a profane word from my mouth, let me know. If I say something that you think is inappropriate for a lady to say, let me know. And I will do the same for you.
Girls, I urge you to act like ladies. Let's do this, and let's change the world while were at it. One lady at a time.

Temporary home...

Tonight I went to Greg Laurie's special pre-Easter service. (He always has a Thursday night service in Irvine, and this was his Easter service for that group because he will be preaching at the Riverside church on Sunday.) His service was really good, and the gist of it is, Easter means hope. When Christ was crucified, His followers were lost, they believed He was dead and gone. They had forgotten that He said He would rise again. When the women went to the grave that morning, they had no doubt that they would find a body there. When He first appeared again, no one believed who He was. He had to show the disciples, men who had spent every day with Him, the scars on His hands before they believed Him. These men were lost, they had essentially given up. Then when He appeared hope was back. There was hope of life after death, for them and for us. We remember Good Friday, and the crucifixition with a different perspective than they did. We know that He has risen, we know that there is life after death.
Greg Laurie mentioned that this fact was especially poignant for him on this day. This would have been his son Christopher's birthday. Christopher was killed two years ago in a car accident. He said that knowing that he will see his son again, is what gets him through. I understand this feeling. I miss my grandma alot, but I know that I will see her again, and knowing this gives me peace. One day we will have a joyous reunion in front of Christ, a reunion that He died to give us. A reunion that he died to give me, and to give you.
This is one of my current favorite songs, and I think it fits in here perfectly. It's by Carrie Underwood and it's called Temporary Home. This particular video was recorded a few weeks ago, the night after she lost one of the drivers for her tour.


Old man, hospital bed,
the room is filled with people he loves,
and he whispers, don't cry for me
I'll see you all someday.
He looks up and says,
I can see God's face.
This is our temporary home,
It's not where we belong.
Windows, and rooms
that we're passing thru.
This is just a stop
on the way to where we're going
I'm not afraid because I know
This is our temporary home.

Refiner's Fire

As we were singing the song in church, it reminded me of this email I got a year ago....


Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get
back to the group at their next Bible Study.
That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time.
The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"
He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it."
If today you are feeling the heat of the fire , remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

Refiner's fire
My heart's one desire
is to be holy,
set apart for you, Lord.
I choose to be holy,
set apart for you, my Master
ready to do your will.

Just a thought...

In case you didn't know, Massachusetts elected a Republican Senator yesterday. This is big news around here. Anyway all the talk of how this now takes away the Democrat's filibuster proof majority and makes the health care reform bill harder to pass got me to thinking. I think every state should have to elect one Republican and one Democrat senator. Ok, before you write this off, hear me out. If there was no majority, they would have to work together. If the Republicans or Democrats wanted to pass something, they'd have to compromise, and work out something that makes both parties happy. Seems like this way, the majority of Americans would be happy. I mean really, who is 100% Republican or Democrat, both parties have things going for them, and most people, I believe, align with Democrats on some issues, and Republicans on others. No one should vote for or against an issue, just because the party they identify with says they should. And if there is no majority in the Senate, everyone would have to work together.
In addition to forcing compromise, this would ensure every voter in every state has a say. For example, here in CA, there are two Democrat senators who've been in the senate for many terms. Every election I vote for whoever the Republican Senator is, but it's a waste, because no matter who it is, the Democrat is going to win. If there had to be one Republican at least there would be a choice for us too.
So, one Democrat and one Republican from every state, compromise is the name of the game, and every voter gets a voice. Sounds like a good idea to me...

Veteran's Day

In 1918, on the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month of the year, WWI came to an end. November 11th, was proclaimed Armistice Day in honor of the returning soldiers. It was later renamed to Veterans Day to honor soldiers from all wars. Today, we thank our American Soldiers. We cannot be thankful enough for the sacrifices they have made, and continue to make. They are a rare bunch, and make me proud to be an American. No matter where I am, when I see a soldier in uniform, I feel a surge of pride.

And today, I had an idea. Just bear with me here. So I blame alot of today's problems on two things, 1. the failure of the nuclear family. Children today are raised without fathers, and boys don't have strong men to set examples for them. The men my age and younger today, are no better than the boys they were 15 years ago. Seems like they reach age 13 and don't mature any further, and that I blame on the collapse of families today. The other thing that I believe leads to society's problems today,  is an overwhelming attitude of entitlement. People today believe that society owes them something just for being. People don't want to work for anything, they want it handed to them. They think that just because they were born poor, or a minority, that they are deserving of more. And its not just the poor and minorities. I have friends that have been blessed with many things in life, who think their parents should work hard and buy them things. They don't want to go out and work hard on their own. They want a fancy house, fancy cars, fancy clothes, the best new cell phone, all things they can't afford. And they are not grateful for the things they do have, such as a roof over their head, food on the table, and warm clothes when it is cold.
So here's my solution to these problems... mandatory military service. Call me crazy, but it could work. I'm sure if young men had to spend a year in the military, with strong examples set for them on how to behave and act like a man, things would improve. If they had to sleep in the dirt, and eat MREs for dinner, I'm sure they would be grateful for their beds, and mom's homecooking.
I'm sure you noticed that I said young men right? And you're asking why not women too. Well, I'm old fashioned. And really, I think having strong men, who stay with their family, and raise strong, self-confident sons, and especially daughters, will make a huge difference in this world.
It's just an idea, and I know it would never happen here in America, but really think about it, and I'm sure you will think it would work too.

20 years ago...

Twenty years ago today, the Berlin Wall, and communism, fell and all the news channels were replaying President Reagan's famous line, "Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall."

And I couldn't help but wonder, what would this world be like now if Mr. Hope and Change was president then. You know, the one who is pulling troops out, cutting military spending. Would the Berlin Wall have fallen if America hadn't pressured the USSR so much. Would communism in Eastern Europe remain? Thankfully, we had a real president then and we don't have to wonder. But I wonder what the world will look like 20 years from now, when we're living in the aftermath of Hope and Change.

Me, in front of the Berlin Wall, May 2007

What has it cost you?

I'm sure you've heard Christians called every name in the book. I get so mad when I hear us referred to as naive, or ignorant, or simple-minded. Why is it that when I stand up for my beliefs I'm being ignorant, or prejudiced, but when other people stand up for theirs's, it's all about "equality"? What makes my beliefs less valid than your's? I don't think they are, and that's why it bothers me that Christianity is looked down on so much. I've had discussions with people and as soon as I say that I am a Christian, they totally disregard my opinions and such. It's like I'm a whack job. And I always wondered why that was.
At church on Sunday, the pastor said something that really made sense to me. "Christianity that costs you nothing, is worth nothing."
Jesus said " If any man come after me, let him take up his cross and follow me. For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it. And whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it. For what is a man profited if he shall gain the world and lose his own soul." --Matthew 16:24-26
Jesus gave His life for us, why should we not be willing to give up ours for him?
I believe that these situations are tests, are we willing to stand up for Him, or do we hide our true beliefs? I once had a guy that I really liked say that he couldn't date me anymore because "he wasn't the church type." In my naivete, I believed that he could change, and I questioned God why can't I be with him? Why can't I find someone who wants to be with me? I should have been asking myself, why would I want to be with someone who isn't "the church type."
If this is what Christianity costs me, a few taunts, a few names being called, even if it means I don't find someone to marry, then I still am blessed. Because Christ gave His life for ME. And if all He asks of me in return is to stand up for Him, and defend His name, then I bear that cross with gladness, and gratitude.
The pastor told the story of the movie Glory. I had seen this movie in jr high, but not since then, and really don't remember it at all. It is the story of the only all african-american regiment fighting in the civil war. The night before they were to go into battle as the front line, and were facing certain death, and one character said to another, "Let it be told to our families that we went down standing up."
And thats the attitude we should have for Christ, if someone is going to take me down for being a Christian, it won't be easy, because I'm going down standing up!

In everything, give thanks

I tend to be a glass half empty kinda girl. And while I am conscious of this, I tend to fail at the whole "look at the bright side" attitude. So I'm starting a gratitude journal. I know that I am blessed in all things, and so this is my way of reminding myself. So when I start to get that half-empty attitude, I can remind myself of all the things I have to be thankful for in my life. Big things and little things. Everything.
So I'll post some of the things I write in the journal, but mostly it's for me. To remind myself of all the good things in life. I encourage you to start one too.

(My printing is not very neat here. I'm kinda disappointed in it.)

"Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything, give thanks. For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

--1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Watching re-runs

Friday was my grandma's memorial, and I will blog about that later, but just wanted to post this now. So all the family was here and we were all at my parents house yesterday. My mom, uncle, brother and I were having a conversation about heaven when my uncle said he wanted to watch re-runs in heaven. We all looked at him like he was crazy. I've watched enough re-runs of I Love Lucy and Gilligan's Island here on earth, I don't need to spend eternity doing it. Then he explained that he meant re-runs of our lives. To watch your kids grow up again, to watch your own childhood again, and see your parents and grandparents grow up. Even to watch historical figures, ever wonder what Abe Lincoln was like as a kid? Find out now. Or maybe even Jesus himself as a child.
I realize that no one here on earth knows what heaven is like, but I'm with my uncle.... I hope at least part of it is spent watching re-runs.