Power of Prayer (POP)

Hello www, How are things in your world today? I pray this posting finds you well and happy. Anyone who's acquainted with me (and I want you to be familiar with me, dear reader) knows that I am a Serious Prayer Person (SPP). By this I mean I pray...A LOT. I believe in the POP. Yesterday before I began looking in earnest for a Beachhouse (BH) for my bday, my mom and I prayed that I would find a good place for my friends and I to enjoy, and something that was reasonably priced. My mom threw in, "and safe." Then I began looking on the web. Nothing was working out for my friends and I, at first. The dates were taken. The BH wasn't available for just the weekend. Now, if some other party rented the BH for a week, and that weekend was open, we could have it. I heard many, "Call me later this month," suggestions. My fear was that later they would be booked; people were starting to book their vacations, it's June. So calling later wasn't going to work for me. I searched farther down the coast, and farther up the coast to see if anything would suit our needs. Nothing did. Then there was the whole, "Email the owner," process which just took more time away. Then there was the deposit money. I only had around 300 dollars and most places wanted at least 375 to 500. Remarkably, I kept my faith in God. I knew He was helping me, I just hadn't figured out how He was helping, lol. But I kept thinking positive and knew that something was going to hint me in the direction God wanted me to go. OR, if I wasn't supposed to go to the beach with my friends, I was open to that as well. On one of my calls, I reached a cantankerous owner living in Fl, who had property here in Tx, but he didn't have any BH's I could rent, for the number of people going, or the amount I was willing to pay. Then he said, "Why don't you try staying in a hotel? That would probably be your best bet." Perhaps he was right, so I googled hotels. Hotels.com came up, but when I entered in the information, nothing happened, the site was down. It was then that I just googled businesses in the area I wanted. I thought maybe I could find hotels close to the beach that way. What I found instead was a Bed and Breakfast (a BandB). When I spoke to the owner, Carol, she was v. nice and listened to what I was looking for in a place to stay. She said, "Let me check my calendar for those dates...I know I have a family reunion the first part of the month. It will be a miracle if I have that date open. Yes! I do! Wow, that is a rare thing. I'm usually pretty booked by now. " When she used the words that I put in italics above, I decided to mention how my friends and I were Christians. She said she was Christian also, and invited me to her church. :) At first I didn't think a BandB was going to work for my group, but it turns out it does. AND: for Less money for the time of our stay than the other places; in addition, the deposit was also Less. Needless to say, I reserved the place. I hung up the phone and went into my mom's room and we said a prayer of thanks to God. So, dear reader, I encourage you to pray. Pray for people, and for situations, not just for things. When your prayers are answered, remember to pray a prayer of thanks. The prayer of thanksgiving is almost as important as your supplication. I know my example is about a thing, but that isn't the only thing I pray for, and it shouldn't be all you pray for either. :)

My apology to the Tall Gentleman

Hello World, How is everyone today? Many blessings to each and everyone, always. There has been one thing about this past Friday night's outing that I failed to mention...and it's been weighing on me ever since it happened. While sitting outside in the gorgeous evening, 'M' innocently commented on a Really Tall Gentlemen close to the door of the bar. "How tall do you think he is?" she asked all of us. I figured he was at least 6'7", but others didn't think he was taller than 6'5" or so. Being a bold, impulsive person (I am working on the impulsive part, lol) I offered to ask the guy how tall he was. There were a few in our group who didn't think this was a good idea, but I didn't hear their protests, and I was off to ask. I thought it would be a fun excursion; a close friend of mine from my childhood was tall and good-natured, I expected no less from this person. When I approached the tall gentleman, I said, "Listen, a group of us were guessing how tall you are..." Before I finished, he said, "9 inches." I tried asking him again, and he cut in and said, "7 inches. Is that what you were guessing?" He was surrounded by two other guys and I said, "Well that is rude." One of his friends said, "No, You're being rude. How much do you weigh?" With total surprise showing on my face, I walked away from them. I wasn't too hurt by the interaction and laughed it off to the others when I returned. Now I heard the, "I knew it wasn't a good idea to go and ask him. Some people have complexes about those kinds of things," comments. Oh well. I told you, I'm still learning to be less impulsive. But this guy's reaction reminded me of a Scrubs episode. Yes, a t.v. show. I like Scrubs, and even if it is a sitcom, sometimes it has v. poignant things to say. Let me give you an example. I found this transcription from a Scrubs episode entitled, "My Lips are Sealed." The episode is between Elliot and one of her patients, Mr. Gerst. Elliot: Mr. Gerst, what seems to be the problem? Gerst: I took some pills. Elliot: Come on, help me out here. Were they happy pills, sad pills, sleepy pills, wake up pills, sane pills, pain pills, brain pills, Spain pills... Gerst: Man pills? The commercial says I should consult a physician if the condition persists for more than four hours. Elliot: If what persists? [Mr. Gerst, who had a baseball cap on his lap stands up... And the baseball cap doesn't fall to the ground] Oh! Um... Let's just say you took uppers. Elliot leaves to get Kelso, the chief of medicine at the hospital. Elliot: [She's pulling Dr. Kelso by the arm.] You're coming in because you need to set an example of professionalism and you're certainly not going to do that by making fun of that man's slinky-doo. Kelso: Don't pull me, I'm your boss for God's-- Hello! [They're in Mr. Gerst's room.] Elliot: So, Mr. Gerst. Your situation doesn't seem to be reversing itself. I think we're going to need to schedule a procedure to relieve the... uh... Kelso: Woodiness. Gerst: My fiancee's only twenty-four and she said she wanted to do something special this morning. Turns out she just meant having breakfast with her family. [Elliot beings to whimper.] The pills didn't really kick in until just about the moment I'm introduced to her ninety year old grandma. Sure enough, that little lady gives me the waist hug from her wheelchair. [Elliot's finding it harder and harder to not laugh.] Elliot: Excuse me, I need that chart. [She turns around to compose herself.] Kelso: Sweetheart, it's not healthy to hold it in. Just let it out. You know you want to. Elliot: I'm fine. [They turn back around.] Gerst: I pulled away from that encounter with all of Grandma Helen's breathing apparatus. [Elliot can't contain herself and starts cracking up.] Kelso: My work here is done. Elliot: Oh my God, I can't stop! Sorry! I have to pee! [Elliot's at the Nurse's Station] Elliot: I'm such a horrible person. I mean, there I was, up on my high horse about Mr. Gerst and then I just turned out to be just as bad as everyone else. Kelso: Sweetheart, give yourself some credit. You're much worse than everyone else. Elliot: Maybe I was. But you know what? I'm going to try to better myself, and unlike you, I'm going to follow through, Mr. "Sign up on the Hospital Bulletin Board for Private German Lessons and then Never Show Up"! Yeah, that's right. That was my flyer! [In German] I waited at that coffee shop for hours. Kelso: I broke up with my German mistress. She smelled like sauerkraut. Elliot: I'm so sorry. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go into that room right now, and own up to what I did. [Mr. Gerst's Room] Gerst: [He hears the door close, but doesn't see anyone.] Hello? Did someone come in? [Elliot is hiding in the doorway, out of sight.] Gerst: [He's talking to a friend on the phone.] Dude, that did not happen. No, I'm in the hospital because I-- They think I have Avian Flu. [Elliot clears her throat and comes out of her hiding place.] I gotta call you back. How long have you been there? Elliot: Forty-seven... Forty-eight minutes. I'm not sure, I nodded off for a while. Mr. Gerst, I'm so sorry for laughing at you. But I have to tell you a story. When I was in the seventh grade, I was at a roller rink and I needed to go to the bathroom. So I just skated right on into a stall and I did my, uh, private business. And then when I went to pull up my pants, I started rolling towards the door, which as it turned out wasn't latched. Now, I don't know if you've had any experience roller skating with your underpants around your ankles--it's very difficult to stop. Unless of course, you know, you scream so loud that they turn off the music and everyone is looking at you. Anyway, that's how I wound up with the nickname "Roller Moler". Gerst: I'm sorry? Elliot: I have a mole on my ass. [She indicates the spot with her finger.] The cute kind! Not the hairy kind. Anyway, the next day at school I showed up with roller skates on and everybody cracked up. Gerst: Why are you telling me this? Elliot: Because I owned up to it. This is funny, Mr. Gerst. And if you don't just embrace it and become part of the joke then it will follow you around and devour you. Gerst: Can I get a look at that mole? Elliot: No. Ahem. No. Gerst: [On the phone.] Yeah! And then I pulled off Grandma's breathing apparatus. No, I'm serious! As my older bro so wonderfully pointed out, I did not in fact apologize to the Tall Gentleman. Having said this, I would like to apologize now: Tall Gentleman, please forgive me for asking you how tall you are. I hope you accept my apology. Thanks. Now that I've apologized, I'd like to point out: if Mr. Tall Gentleman had owned up to his 'tallness,' and made it a humorous situation, or something positive at least, then it wouldn't haunt him anymore, and that's my wish for him: that he be okay with his tallness and that it not be an issue for him anymore. SO, to all you Tall, Short, Fat, Skinny, and others who may have issues with a particular aspect of your body, my wish for you is that you consider your issue a blessing rather than a curse. Stop the haunting, lol. God bless!

Friendships are Relationships

Hello everyone! :)
How is the world today? I hope all is well and many blessings to everybody! I just recently met a new friend, a woman, and we have been talking on the phone Non-stop since we've met, which is great. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her better. I mentioned to my new friend, Bridget, how friendships are relationships, not romantic ones, of course, but relationships none the less. For instance I asked her, and you can laugh about this, if our friendship was moving too fast, and was she afraid things between us were moving too quickly? LOL After laughing at the comparision, and agreeing with the analogy, she confidently assured me things were moving along just fine, and I agreed.
Interesting though, right? Another good friend, a woman named Irene, said she once felt like she was getting 'friend dumped'. Irene's friend wasn't calling her v. often, Irene was doing all the calling, her friend wasn't making time to get together with Irene, and when they spoke on the phone, the conversations were brief. (sound familiar women? Ever had a bf behave this way to you?) Thankfully, they did work things out, and no, she didn't get friend dumped. :) Can men and women be friends? I don't think so, but my new friend, Bridget, thinks you can. I think she can. My perspective is that if a guy is friends with a woman, he likes her, or vice versa. Guys have told Bridget that men aren't friends with women. Men hang out with women they are interested in, and not for any other reason. I imagine that for men it boils down to 'pie.' 'Pie' gets in the way of friendships between men and women. I know when I am friends with my brother's friends, they don't want to hang out with me unless my brother is there. I suppose they believe I like them, or I might feel they like me, or they just sense it would be too complicated, or too confusing. Subsequently, I don't have any guy friends, which is sad, but that's just the way it's worked. And, yes, this sort of contradicts what I said about men/women being friends. I just wanted to let the reader know I have tried to be friends with men. The exception to the man/woman friendship is this: if the man is gay, then the man can be friends with the woman. No 'pie' question there! LOL This is a great friendship too! Talk about some great advice from the gay man on clothing, etc! It's fantastic. If you'd like to weigh in on this topic, feel free to leave comments. God bless!

Fun Night out on the town

Hello everyone! :) How's every body? I hope all is well and happy in your world. Here things are just peachy! Went to a great happy hour, mingled, met some interesting, fun and good looking people (okay, good-looking men). From Blue Mesa, the HH, a group of us went to Sherlock's. A live band, bigdaddy, was playing. They were okay. :) Discussion ranged from who is a better guitarist: Eric Clapton or Mark Knopfler (most liked EC, I chose MK), to if money wasn't an object what kind of car would you buy? Lamborghini, Bentley, Ferrari, and Rolls Royce... Of course something lead to a Seinfeld episode. I mentioned the one where George gives up sex and becomes smarter. He is able to finish a Rubik cube in minutes, if not faster, and how he knows answers on Jeopardy!; Elaine also gives up sex and becomes dumber. She sees two tires spinning on top of each other and is laughing bemusedly while clapping her hands. A Bon Jovi song came on the sound system, and there was a Bon Jovi fan in our group and I said, "Bon Jovi is a rock star wanna be." Well this sparked some lively debate. I still think he's a wanna be. 80's music was mentioned: Ratt, Talk-Talk, Eurthymics, Madonna, etc. The song, "People Get Ready," by Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart was mentioned. Wow! I hadn't thought about that song in YEARS. I looked it up and added it to my YouTube list of music, but I don't know if it holds up...U2, my all time favorite band, was mentioned and some songs by them I hadn't thought about in years, like Wire, came up, and then I started to think of all my favorite songs from the Unforgettable Fire I liked and hadn't added to my YouTube videos for U2. So I had to add them this morning. It is already a large list. Movies! Everyone likes them. Which one is your favorite? We talked about Nacho Libre. "A punch to the face, kick to the face...How did you find me? I saw you from the village." Giggles spread in concentric circles. I consider it a good night if people are laughing and smiling, and that certainly happened last night, but if I can make people laugh, and a hearty laugh, not some polite half-hearted chuckle, then it is a Fantastic Evening. Last night was an FE. Which SuperHero magic power do you wish you had? Last night flying by far was the most popular. Mine was being invisible...Just think of it! You could be at the White House, etc, and no one would know! lol I thank God for all the blessings I've received in my life, and for such a wonderful time tonight. God bless each and everyone.

Intro

Hello World Wide Web, How is everyone in the world today? :) Peace and love to all who read this, and even to those who don't! ;) In my world, the DFW area, on June 5th, 2008, things are a bit strange. There have been at least three deaths (things work in 3's), in my extended family. But you know, with death comes the Resurrection... I've decided to start blogging because of my friend Mike. Mike, here's to you buddy! Thanks for pushing this 'writer' to write on the www. Today has been rather long, and I don't want to make it longer by blogging anymore tonight. Good night world, God bless.