Job Offer, Raised Salary, and a Cupcake for lunch...

Job Offer..

The job you've always wanted. Handed to you in a silver platter.

Raised Salary...

Going from part time to full time glory.

a Cupcake for Lunch...

Probably the only getaway from competition, incentive plans, and squishy anti-stress balloons.

God did it, guys! Thanks for the prayers. Becuase I got the JOB! Not the one I wrote about in my previous blog, but one two steps higher. Becuase God must be listening. I might have a long road ahead of me, but I'll take it one step at a time.

Just don't let me drown in checking accounts.

Please take me out for a cupcake once a week. Drag me to the lake. Make me take my eisle and paintbrush. Force me to paint the ocean, even though I insist on drawing my incentive plan from work. The one I am failing to meet. (God forbid)

Take me to fly a kite on a windy day. Show me how to play hockey in winter. Remind me that Dunkin Donuts still sells hot cocoa. That coupons are still mailed to my home.

Sign on the line below, if you are willing to remain friends in the good and the bad:

X______________________________________________________


Sincerely Yours,

Ann I Dee

Aspirin...

"Aspirin goes a long way back. I read in the Bible the other day that Moses took two tablets."


It's for a reason, pills were invented. But seriously... life can become exhuasting and overbearing. Here goes an email I sent a dear friend in reply to her email. I am ommitting parts for her anonymous sake:

Dear Anonymous,

I could tell you a gazillion reasons why you shouldn't feel that way. Atleast a hundred people whose heart you would destroy. A million more problems you would create. And definitely one big world you would rob of your smile.

BUT it wouldn't change a thing if you don't think about what I am about to tell you...

The night before Jesus died on the cross, He felt alone, abandoned, unimportant, unappreciated. He felt depressed with seeing humanity as it was. In that moment, Anonymous, He was reading your life's diary. He was zooming in on this specific part of your life. Waiting, trying to see beyond it. Trying to see you through it. He wanted to see what you would decide.

And He is still waiting. waiting. waiting. for you to go to HIM. Let it go. Let yourself be loved. Accept forgiveness.

Only then will be able to appreciate and take in all the love around you. The love that shines when your little brother secretly waits for you to get home. The joy you bring your mom every time you walk through the door. The peace you bring to ppl like me who need something to smile about. That sense of security you share with your sister. That everything will be okay as long as you are there with her.

You know I feel like crying. But I wont because i might get fired. yes, there is much to cry about. especially when a dear sister feels like her only option is... the inthinkable

*Sierra and Joe*

Weeks ago, on a hot day

I have put off writing this specific blog because of the depth of the topic. Becuase as hard as I try to understand it, I cannot.

I cannot understand why two people, after being together for over twenty years, are still happily... together.

I have tried but can't understand how these two admirable people play football in front of their house in unison, in love. How the whole world seems to stop for them. Just for them.

I keep trying but cannot understand how something so illogical can exist between two people who bike ride hand in hand. How their love blossoms with every exchanged smile. Year by YEAR

Yet... Not believe in the invisible. Not believe in God. Not believe in the magical powers that surround us day by day. The realm we do not see... with mortal eyes.

Now, being a a faraway observer/admirer, I am awestruck by the power in their love. It is not a power that can be touched. It is not a scientifically proven law with logical explanations that can be presented in a college classroom. It's simply palpable between them. 

I walked up to this amazing couple and asked how they remain together and in love. They couldn't explain it. And after sharing my faith with them, they shared their lack of it. We both left that conversation with a lot to think about. 

Now, dear friend, think about this: Why be ashamed of believing in something you can't touch? Why deny the existence of love when it is so visible in so many of us? Why not give in to love and hope and faith and grow from it all. And share your hurt and joy and pain with the world to make it a better place tomorrow? 

As for me: I believe in the magical, unexplainable, mind boggling thing most of us like to call love.

No A/C? During 100 Degree Weather?!

I began my day with my daily ritual this morning, walking to my workstation, logging on, and clicking on Internet Explorer for my daily news recap.

I skipped Tyra Bank's fashion mishap, America's best cities for ice cream, and the ridiculous wedding dresses made from...balloons (ok, well not entirely skipped, but still).

As sad and embarrased as I am to say... I was about to overlook the article labeled "Crisis in Somalia". To begin with, I didn't even know where Somalia was located on the map. As it is, I have problems picturing where Central America is (alright, I know where Central America is, but you get my point). So I did the only thing a curious girl with sympathy for the people living in Third World countries could do:

I googled Somalia and found out Somalia is in Africa, near Ethiopia.

I googled their weather and found their weather for today to be 96 degrees, but feels like 103.

I almost googled whether or not they have air conditioner, but thought better of it.

And I was overwhelmed by the severity of the situation. 11.5 million people are without food or water. The nation has reached the point of famine... starvation. The point of emergency assistance. Not to mention the desperation due to heat.

...This past weekend took me to Aurora, Illinois, where I saw Josue Yrion preach. This man is a widely-recognized missionary who has traveled to more than 70 countries to preach the gospel. There, on my cushioned bench, I was able to learn 2 devastating things about myself:

1. I don't know God. I may feel Him. I may read stories about Him. But don't know even a fourth of who God really is. And that is such a terrible loss. I am losing out. All because I don't read the Bible enough.

2. I don't love souls enough. The passion that Jesus had on the cross should be in me. But I think twice before preaching to anyone. To show how far my "sympathy" runs...

3. And I guess I'll add a third for the fun of it. Cushioned seats increase body heat. What does that have to do with me? It is possible for me to sweat even with a high velocity fan hitting the back of my head.  

The fact that I even mentioned the third above shows you what a selfless missionary I would be.

But I am working on it. I promise

...I promise I will read Bible passages I have never read before. Even if it means waking up earlier each morning to do so. Even if my sleep is at stake, I will prevail.

I will even memorize all the books of the Bible in order and remember them, even if it kills me...

It's ALRIGHT. You're on the Right Track...

So you're driving down memory lane and you come across a little girl lying on her bed writing in her journal. She looks up at you, but somehow seems to be looking through you. Her thoughts are probably far away, for she smiles a cute smile that lets you know she'll be alright. Down the road, ten years from now, you just know..

She'll be OK.

And you get this familiar feeling that you know her...

It's the vague sensation you get after meeting someone you knew years ago but can't exactly remember his or her name. When you taste something strangely familiar, but can't put a name to it. Or going into a room and forgetting why you got up in the first place... "What did I just come in here for? I know I needed something. But what was it?"

So you look over her shoulder and she doesn't seem to mind. It is as if you were invisible. She is pouring out her heart on her little notebook, and you can't help but smile loudly. And that's not even possible... so you know you're really smiling like a dork.

"My life is a mess right now. But soon, I know you'll make it better. Becuase you always do."

They were no ordinary words on the pages of her small journal. In fact, the stories in them could've been written by someone much older. She had a maturity. A peace. A faith so big, that you knew she had probably moven a few mountains by now.

And she had...

But here she sits 12 years later, wondering what happened to that peace. To that beauty from pain mentality she had so long ago. Sometimes she can't imagine what could be more satisfying than buying a large iced coffee after work. It's simply all she has to look forward to, maybe.

And you do NOT want to read her diary now. In fact, it'd be easier to sit down and chat with a grizzly bear in front of a small town cafe. It'd save you more strength than wrestling with a few sumo wrestlers from China.

But this girl sits, twelve years later and she writes:

"My life is a mess right now, Lord. But soon, I know you'll make it better. Becuase... eventually... you always do."

"I'm on my way. On my way to nowhere sometimes. But I know I will get there. I will be all that I could be. I will stare at You at the eyes and tell You how many times I thought You weren't there. How many times I wished I could've been held by You. How many times I ached for a little pat on the shoulder. A little slap in the face. Anything, as long as I knew You were there. And now You're here. God. You. Are. Here."