testimony

I'm giving my testimony Wednesday and it's been interesting planning it so far. The thing about a person's testimony, is that as long as that person keeps existing, their testimony keeps going.

It's not like there was this one moment in my life where God intervened and that was it. He intervened and he keeps changing things, revealing things, and so my story of what he's doing in life keeps going. There really isn't going to be an end, till there is an end, so it's always ongoing.

And I like it. I like that my relationship with God isn't fully "set", that I'll keep learning, keep discovering, and pursuing deeper intimaticy with him.

And I think that's what I'll talk about on Wednesday, that it's a continuing process, it's not just a one-time thing. Not a siply before-and-after, but more like a before-and-after-then after that-then after that-then after that, and so on.

handmaiden

I attended A Pampered Chef party at Talia's a few weeks ago, and whilst poking around her apartment I found a box of Hebrew flashcards. I promptly broke them out, found handmaiden and copied it into my moleskine.

Though I'd still like to see what the word looks like in Greeak and Aramaic before deciding which to have tatooed.

Or when I'll have money for such a thing...

merriam wbester's words of the year

m-w.com polled it's users to determine the top ten words of 2007 which are as follows:

1. w00t - (interjection) expressing joy (it could be after a triumph, or for no reason at all); similar in use to the word "yay". This word is considered a "l33t" (elite) term, not officially in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, but included in their online Open Dictionary.

So the word of the year isn't technically a word, it's a sequence of letters and digits. Are the gaming geeks of the world rejoicing at this? Though this is coming form the girl that instead of saying "just kidding" opts for J-K... in my defence, at least I don't verbalize L-O-L...when that day comes I will have to fling myself in front of the grammar train.

2. facebook (verb) : To get on a facebook website. Did you facebook today? Another Open Dictionary entry.

Again, another word that in reality isn't a word, but thanks to our culture's shift in self promotion through technology has become a phase as ubiquitous as posting a letter (for those of you who still actually hand write notes and let the government deliver it for you).

3. conundrum (noun ) 1: a riddle whose answer is or involves a pun 2 a: a question or problem having only a conjectural answer b: an intricate and difficult problem

This is a cool sounding word. Don't even think about it's meaning, just say it aloud. Fun, eh? I remember the first time I actually put effort forth to learn this word, it was after watching The Ring and it was a word that the kid has learned while the babysitter was over. That 9 year old kid spurred me on since it seemed like an interesting word to add to my repertoire, however most of the things that I find baffling in my life usually end up in the paradoxical category.

4. quixotic (adjective) 1: foolishly impractical especially in the pursuit of ideals; especially marked by rash lofty romantic ideas or extravagantly chivalrous action 2: capricious, unpredictable

Kudos for Don Quixote's adjective to make it to the list. Yes, he is a fictional character, and no I can't remember the name of the author who penned his tale at this time, but I like the idea of have an adjective fashioned after a person (fictional or otherwise). I've always been captivated by the idea of living such a passionate life in that I could be summed in a short phase or single word. Don Quixote has actualized my dream, so he's my role-model in that sense...though there are a few windmills that need addressing...

5. blamestorming (verb): Gathering around in a group to discuss why a deadline was missed or a project failed and who is to blame or responsible. All the managers were locked up in a meeting for the all day blamestorming about the lost contract.

This isn't a "real" word as of yet, but apparently is one that is frequently used in corporate America. This bothers me in that apparently so much time and energy and spent on placing blame on a person that it has warranted it's own verb for it. Why can't people just own up to their actions, believe it or not, it's part of what makes you a responsible person. People mess up, because they're people, but there's a point in life where you kind of just have to accept the fact that you're going to screw up and you need to deal with it, not blame it something or someone else. As my husband says, "the truth is excuses are lame, accept consequences, accept the blame", you'll have more respect for yourself and I will as well.

6. sardoodledom (noun) etymology: sardoodle- (blend of Victorien Sardou [died 1908] French playwright criticized by G. B. Shaw [died 1950] English playwright for the supposed staginess of his plays and English doodle) + -dom 1: mechanically contrived plot structure and stereotyped or unrealistic characterization in drama : staginess, melodrama

Another example of my dream being actualized, though this really isn't a flattering instance of it in action. But it does also have that is that really a word or a child's gibberish vibe to it, which is funny because I would be most inclined to use this word when discussing the drama of teenagers...it's simply sardoodledom.

7. apathetic (adjective) 1 : having or showing little or no feeling or emotion; spiritless 2 : having little or no interest or concern; indifferent

Generally this has been my spiritual life as of late, which is worst than my blaise stage, because I don't even care that I don't care...it is a bit worrisome...maybe I am starting to care again!

8. pecksniffian (adjective) etymology: Seth Pecksniff, character in Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens 1 : unctuously hypocritical; Pharisaical

Third example of my dream coming true, maybe those voting also have a similar dream to mine. Again, not a flattering adjective, but heck, it's a word named for a person.

9. hypocrite (noun) 1 : a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion 2 : a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings

Oh look, the more common synonym for a pecksniffian...though Christ's use of brood of vipers was a good one as well...and the fact that kind of helped make hypocrite a word in the first place. Yey, Greek class!

10. charlatan (noun) 1 : quack 2 : one making usually showy pretenses to knowledge or ability; fraud; faker

I would accuse myself of being this for the commentary I've added under each of these words. Honestly, I could probably do lengthy posts on each word, but for now we'll just stick with this abridged edition.

PS - I think that these words greatly reflect the culture that surrounds you and me and that most days I'm sorely not aware of, but none the less annoyed at.

the worth of day

in the long span of the universe, all of this will add up to nothing.

i don't mean to sound hopeless--i have hope--but there are some dots i'm having trouble connecting...like what's the point?

so God created people...any specific purpose? well we can bring honor and glory to God, and i'm not sure how the rest fits in, because no matter what i offer to Him, it's not enough; nothing is. whatever i meagerly have to offer it's because he first gave it to me...that's not any reason to not offer anything to Him, but it doesn't seem enough

it doesn't seem enough to simply wake-up each morning, go to work, and bum around home or youth group in the evenings...but what else do i have to offer at this time? maybe i'm still too selfish to do anything good.

twiddling

something has happened to the disply on Abbey's laptop, so internet usage has been very limited (currently using a friend's house, and my ride isn't ready to leave yet). it's been a strange past couple of weeks, and while there's much to catch up on i should use teh disclaimer, that this past friday i stayed up all night with the jr, high and i'm still not in normal functioning mode. i'm still extremly sore from marathon flag football games to the point where it's hard for me to drive...i had my mom drive me around this afternoon to run errands, it was fun, we went to target and b&n...it makes me very happy to have new shampoo and new books

ahh, the tangents

lunar maximus

I'm extraordinarily giggly tonight. It may have something to do with me finally figuring out how to get the exact data i need from the database...I only had to create two more tables to do such a thing...but not the procedures should be filling in all the gaps on the master tables for running daily reports. Oh the feats of an untrained data-analysis

Abbey and I celebrated with a trip to the Zebra-Stripped Whale; she got pumpkin/maple nut and I had Deep Dish Apple Pie, it was very yummy. We strolled around town in our usual fashion and lamented more about a recent out break of blank plague pedastals through out the borough...I think it would be really fun to go around and place my own random little known historical facts or point of interest in each one...vandalism's OK, if it's intended to make people smile, right?

It's funny, I'm preparing a lesson for tomorrow night's Cornerstone, dealing with what's right and what's wrong...I think it's something that no matter what age you are or where you are in your life you will constantly have to be discerning and redefining. The text is from Galations and I've always found it very convicting, living by the Spirit and discerning by action's by that standard...The whole unselfish thing so huge...I'm not always sure of how to live for others before myself...God's going to teach me...or lead by the Spirit ;-)

Well I should be off to bed, it's late and I need to get into the office early in Steph terms.

lazy sunday

this has been the third sunday in row where i've found myself to be incredibly exhausted...i never made it the morning service or even out of my pajamas for that matter.

i've been trying to make my sundays more a day of rest, but i'm getting a little worried about how much rest it is that i apparently require...granted i didn't get much sleep friday (thanks to zack and an n64), but i'm pretty sure that 14 straight hours of sleep isn't a good thing...

and last sunday i had woken up late, took a two hour nap in the afternoon and then went to bed at 8:30. something's up, i'm just not sure what.

tomorrow i'm scheduled to have two meals with deirdre my direct supervisor: lunch with out latest hire, kerry and then dinner with abbey, so d can gain a better understanding of our newtown existance...could be a very interesting, very long monday. a nice start to what will inevitably be another long week...shoot, i just realized that i'm teaching cornerstone on wednesday and i haven't at all looked over the material or put any thought into the lesson what so ever...

of course my 14 hours of sleep last night aren't exactly making me too tired right now and it's past 12 and i need to be up at 6:30 the latest...goodness