A Bitter Heart and Our Redeemer

I had my garage sale today. Amidst the pouring rain, it was a great success. I woke up at 5:30, made coffee, and then got ready to put the signs out. As I started to push the garage door opener a thought flashed trough my mind, "go through the front door." The idea of having to unlock the front gate and squeeze through the front door carrying boxes with "Garage Sale" signs attached to them in the rain didn't appeal to me, so I proceeded to push the garage door opener. Before the door was even fully up I realized that I should've listened to the voice in my head. Suddenly, a rush of people crowded into the already full garage. I was overwhelmed. It was only 5:45!! Were these people insane. Suddenly cash was flying around as people jockeyed for a chance to negotiate an angel ornament down from $.50. Dollars were flashed in front of my face as I realized that I had just sold two TVs for $30 when the original asking prices were $25 and $20 respectively. It wasn't even six (the original start time) and I was already being talked down on some of my biggest items. Eventually the flurry ended and I was able to sit down and realize that I had just sold $200 worth of stuff and it was barely 6:15. After I got organized I began to read my Bible. Just then an older gentleman strolled into the garage. We exchanged pleasantries and he perused through the merchandise. Before he left he noticed the bible opened in front of me. He said, "So, your reading the Scriptures, huh?" I replied briefly that I was doing the garage sale to raise money to go to the Czech. Seemingly uninterested, he said, "Well, do you want to know my favorite verse?" I said I did, but the look on his face concerned me. For some reason I didn't trust this man. I suddenly wondered what verse he was going to tell me. Was he some cynic who had flirted with Christianity at some point in his life and now was going to tell me some verse that was totally taken out of context? He then wrote down Job 19:25. Once I saw Job I knew that it could've been something crazy. We said bye and he walked out. I couldn't wait to see what he wrote. My fingers flipped through the pages with ease. Job 36, Job 3, Job 20. My eyes darted up the page. Verse 29, 28, 27, 26. There it was: verse 25. "For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth." I was immediately convicted, encouraged, ashamed, and excited. My heart hurt because I had totally questioned this man and his intention to encourage me. I was excited and encouraged, because one of my favorite songs and the one song I turn to when I am discouraged is Redeemer by Nicole C. Mullen. I'm listening to the song right now. Just to hear those first couple chords always reminds me of what a BIG God we serve.

The garage sale was a success and I made good money, but what was more valuable than the money, was the eternal investment that the older gentleman made into my life by writing down one verse.

Blue Hairs and Million Dollar Baby

A chick boxer? I wasn't too excited to see this movie, but Lisa and I didn't have another choice since the theatre was overrun by "blue hairs". We had orininally planned on seeing Aviator, but when we arrived (at 3:00 on a Wednesday I might add) the theatre was crawling with old people and Aviator was sold out. I know that I tend to exagerate, but what we saw was an unbelievable sight. First off there wasn't the usual madness in front of the ticket counter with multiple lines blending together all jockeying for the next open window. There was one long line of people each waiting for their turn to purchase a ticket. I asked Lisa to look around and tell me if she noticed anything unusual. Lisa didn't notice it at first, but it was glaringly obvious that we were the youngest people there by a good forty years! After scanning quickly for any sign of life (and finding only a seven year old boy and another teenage boy) we realized that there were hundreds of old people there. I don't know if the local retirement home was on a field trip or what, but it was very eerie. We eventually got our tickets and proceded to the theatre hoping to find some people our age. When we got into the Cine Capri it was as if they were filming a remake of Cacoon and we had stumbled into the casting call. We walked slowly up to the top where two empty seats remained next to Wilford Brimley and Jessica Tandy (notice the clever refernce to Cacoon again).

The movie was very good. I didn't expect it to be. I'm usually skeptical of female athletics (sorry girls), but this movie was about much more than that. I must say that the fight scenes were pretty sweet though. While I don't prefer female sports, it is pretty sweet to see chicks beat each other up! The movie is about relationships (broken and restored) and moral dilemmas and explores the question of euthinasia. Any movie that can get me thinking about morality and what is ethical and what isn't, is worth seeing. The movie is stirring and left me wondering what I would do if placed in the situations that the characters are placed in. Beyond that, the acting is wonderful (what do we expect with Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman starring together). Hillary Swank also does a very good job, but Eastwood and Freeman steal the show, especially in their interaction with one another. I would highly recommend this movie.

Skeeter and I

Skeeter is the name of Christian and Jenni's dog. He has a sister named Kona. Skeeter injured his knee and had to have knee surgery to repair it. Since Kona is the hyper-active of the two, Christian and Jenni decided to have Christian's parents watch Kona while Skeeter was rehabbing his knee. This has made Skeeter a very lonely dog.

I moved into Christian and Jenni's house about three weeks ago. On the day I was moving in I suffered the most extremely lonliness that I have felt since I decided to move to the Czech. At first I didn't understand what was going on. I even found myself wondering if I should even go to the Czech. I immediately captured that thought as a lie from the devil and spent some time praying and listening to worship music. The feeling wouldn't pass though.

As I unpacked boxes and got my new room ready, Skeeter kept coming into my room. I don't particularly like animals (I don't hate them-I'm just indifferent), and I don't have lots of experience with them, but I could see the loneliness in Skeeters eyes. I thought about him some and I thought it was odd that he would be lonely even though I was there. I was being extremely friendly to him and petting him, but he kept wimpering...then I realized that he missed Jenni and Christian. Even though I look similar to the other humans that he normally sees and even though I do the same things that they do, he knew I wasn't his owner...

I think it will be the same for me in the Czech. I will be around many people. They will all do similar things that my friends and family do. They will speak, act, and live in a similar fashion to how people do things here, but they will be different. And I will experience lonliness.

I'm actually thankful for that period of lonliness. I feel that it was God's way of giving me a taste of what I will experience in the Czech. It really caught me off guard here, but I am still surrounded my family and friends who love me, so the lonliness has departed for now. I don't know what I would have done if that fit of lonliness had struck while I was in the Czech...it would've been very difficult for me to break out, but now that I have experienced it, I know how to pray for it and I know that I need to be praying about it and when that feeling of lonliness occurs in the Czech there will at least be some familiarity.