whereisjodi.

Last night my parents and I were watching a movie when the power went out. Not completely surprising since it was our first 100+ weekend and air conditioners all over town were gasping from the strain. My first thought was of a book I read a couple weeks ago where the power goes out worldwide and people are forced to start over from scratch. Quite quickly I checked my watch and cell phone to make sure fiction wasn't becoming reality. ;)

We ended up playing pinochle by candlelight and headlamp and had quite a few laughs before the power kicked back on an hour later. What a different world it is with electricity! I remember standing around the desert in Senegal when our car ran out of gas, surrounded by complete black stillness...

Saw a great cartoon as I read the funnies yesterday before church -- it reminded me that a couple months ago I was watching an 80's movie <courtesy of Netflix> and was astonished to hear the enviromental pitch that manmade global cooling was going to bring about a new ice age. We humans must be mighty powerful, only 20 years later we've now made it too hot to survive. Check out the cartoon here.

And I just saw the trailer for the new movie from the folks that brought us Facing the Giants. Looks pretty good:

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I'm not sure which is the bigger irritation -- junk mail or forwards. Unfortunately my spam filter isn't 100% perfect, so every once in awhile I have to scan through my junk mail folder with one eye closed trying not to see the profane subject lines. I've been getting loads of Nigerian bank scams lately, but this morning I got a new one that actually made me sorta mad. I know I shouldn't invest emotional energy in scammers, but is nothing sacred anymore?

Dear Beloved in Christ,
 
It is by the grace of God that I received Christ in my life, knowing the truth and the truth have set me free, having known the truth; I had no choice than to do what is lawful and right in the sight of God for eternal life and in the sight of man for witness of God & his mercies and glory upon my life.
I am Mrs.Edwards the wife of Mr. Spelling Edwards, my husband worked with the Chevron Texaco in Egypt for twenty years before he died in the year 2002.We were married for ten years without a child. My Husband died after a brief illness that lasted for only four days. Before his death we were both born again Christians.
Since his death I decided not to re-marry or get a child outside my matrimonial home which the Bible is against. When my late husband was alive he deposited the sum of ($6, 000, 000,00) with a Bank in Nigeria. Presently, this money is still with the Bank and the management just wrote me as the beneficiary to come forward to sign for the release of this money or rather issue a letter of authorization to somebody to receive it on my behalf if I can not come over.
Presently, I'm in a hospital in Ghana where I have been undergoing treatment for esophageal cancer. I have since lost my ability to talk and my doctors have told me that I have only a few weeks to live. It is my last wish to see this money distributed to charity organizations anywhere in the World. Because relatives and friends have plundered so much of my wealth since my illness, I cannot live with the agony of entrusting this huge responsibility to any of them.
Please, I beg you in the name of God to help me Stand and collect the Funds from the Bank and as soon as the fund enter your account take 30% of the total money, while 70% will be for work of God.
I want a person that is God fearing that will use this money to fund churches, orphanages and widows propagating the word of God and to ensure that the house of God is maintained. The Bible made us to understand that blessed is the hand that giveth. I took this decision because I don't have any child that will inherit this money and my husband's relatives are not Christians and I don't want my husband's hard earned money to be misused by unbelievers. I don't want a situation where this money will be used in an ungodly manner. Hence the reason for taking this bold decision. I am not afraid of death hence I know where I am going. I know that I am going to be in the bosom of the Lord. Exodus {14 VS14} says that the lord will fight my case and I shall hold my peace. I don't need any telephone communication in this regard because of my soundless voice and presence of my husband's relatives around me always. I don't want them to kn! ow about this ! d evelopment. W it
As soon as I receive your reply I shall give you the contact to the Bank in Nigeria where the money is been deposited. I will also issue you a letter of authority and deposited certificate of claim that will prove you as the new beneficiary of this fund.
Psalm 23
Your in Christ,
Mrs.Edwards

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My parents and I took Bertha to the mountains this past weekend to celebrate mom's completion of 6 1/2 weeks of radiation treatments. We found a lovely spot right next to a fast-flowing river under a canopy of pine trees. It was tremendously beautiful and relaxing, including the benefit of no cell phone reception since we were in the middle of a deep canyon. As a bonus, instead of melting in the heat we actually had to run the heater a good portion of the time.

Saturday we had spurts of rain and one brief hailstorm, but Sunday broke beautiful and sunny and the mountains were calling to me. I struck off just after noon on a little hike, telling my parents to expect me back by four at the latest but probably sooner. As witness to the fact I was expecting a short hike, I only took two small bottles of water and no food, although I did take a sweatshirt in case the rain started up again. Oh, and the ever-present mace I carry that makes dad feel better, although I did hope not to have to test the efficacy of mace against a rattlesnake... :p

Continue reading "Climb Every Mountain, Ford Every Stream." »

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I just read a very uplifting piece about the generousity of average Americans -- the truth about our philanthropy toward the developing world vs. the perception that everyone hates us and we're not doing enough. You can read the whole thing here in just a few minutes, but here are three of my favorite quotes:

• ...the $8.8 billion in giving from American religious institutions to developing countries was $1.5 billion more than the total giving from all private sources in 30 of the world's major industrialized democratic countries combined.

• When consolidating all assistance funds flowing from the United States to developing countries, the total is $129.8 billion. This is the total of government aid, philanthropy, and remittances -- funds sent directly by private individuals to other private parties in developing countries, often family members. A far second in total giving behind the United States is the United Kingdom at $20.7 billion.

• Barack Obama spoke at the commencement ceremony at Wesleyan University the other day. He talked about national service and, recalling John F. Kennedy, committed to doubling the size of the Peace Corps if elected president. From what I see and what the data shows, Americans don't need government to make them care, contribute, and volunteer. If anything, they need less government so they'll retain and keep control of more of what they produce and subsequently share with those in need.
  

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A number of years ago I was having one of those awkward first-date chats when our conversation veered, as is often the case with me, into fiction. Our budding relationship took a decided turn for the worse when he said he didn't read fiction because "I prefer truth." Oooh, that steamed me. :p

I'm not in the mood to wax eloquent about the benefits and impact of fiction just now <I defended it here not long ago>, but yesterday I was deeply moved by my current read: Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton. The book is about South African race relations, published in 1948. One of the characters is writing about his love for his country, but disgust with the injustice he sees in its treatment of blacks:

Therefore I shall devote myself, my time, my energy, my talents, to the service of South Africa. I shall no longer ask myself if this or that is expedient, but only if it is right. I shall do this, not because I am noble or unselfish, but because life slips away, and because I need for the rest of my journey a star that will not play false to me, a compass that will not lie. I shall do this, not because I am a negrophile and a hater of my own, but because I cannot find it in me to do anything else. I am lost when I balance this against that, I am lost when I ask if this is safe, I am lost when I ask if men, white men or black men, Englishmen or Afrikaners, Gentiles or Jews, will approve.

Therefore I shall try to do what is right, and to speak what is true. I do this not because I am courageous and honest, but because it is the only way to end the conflict of my deepest soul. I do it because I am no longer able to aspire to the highest with one part of myself, and to deny it with another. I do not wish to live like that, I would rather die than live like that. I understand better those who have died for their convictions, and have not thought it was wonderful or brave or noble to die. They died rather than live, that was all.

To me, that passage is as moving as some of the great calls to action in Scripture. It reminds me of Joshua, of David, of Shadrach and the boys going into the fire because they would not bow, of Daniel praying his way into the lion's den. Sometimes I feel that the country I have loved with fierce devotion is disintegrating around me, ashes falling from the sky of a once great nation. There is a conflict in my deepest soul when I think of the battle that lies ahead, the lines already being drawn, neutral territory shrinking by the day -- and yet at the same time, a soul-deep yearning within to follow with unswerving devotion that One and Only Star that will not play false. Life does indeed slip away.

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I've always disdained forwarded e-mails. The $100 check personally signed by Bill Gates; the gift certificate from the Gap; the blessing chain that hasn't been broken in 20 years; the virus that will bring about the end of Western Civilization as we know it unless you delete a particular directory file; and my personal least favorite...the Jesus wasn't ashamed of you so you shouldn't be ashamed of Him and thus you'd better send this to everyone you've ever met and maybe even some you haven't. Of course I'm not speaking of personal forwards -- I get lots of lovely forwards from friends about different issues they know I'm interested in -- but the mass anonymous forward really gets to me.

However, over the years I will admit I've come close to hitting the button a time or two. The problem as I see it is one of the slippery slope: if I forward the cute kitten e-mail one day, the next I might be telling all my friends not to buy gas on May 1st <1987> to show the gas companies we mean business. ;)

This morning my dad forwarded me an e-mail entitled "Why Women Outlive Men" which contained a number of hilarious pictures of men and the stupid unusual solutions they sometimes come up with for various problems. I would love if some of my friends could get as much of a laugh as I did, but I'm unable to send it on as I'm sure it's been circulating for years. That's the problem with mass forwards in an age where almost everyone has a computer -- it's all been done before. Oh well...I'll just post one of my favorite pictures from the e-mail and retain my spotless anti-forwarding record. :p

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Once, in an effort to help me understand myself better, my mother gave me a book on birth order. It wasn't called the curse of the firstborn...but it might as well have been. ;) Within, I discovered a fabulous label for myself: the frustrated perfectionist. We FP's like doing things perfectly, but recognizing the sheer impossibility, we often give up without even trying. I've used that label as an excuse for my messy room <house, car...> for over a decade. :p

However, we can all grow and stretch, right? I'm visiting family on Camano Island this week and every time I'm confronted by the majesty of the view out their window, unfailingly I find myself wishing I were a painter. I probably ought to mention before continuing that my artistic abilities were inherited from my maternal grandmother, who freely admits that every animal she creates looks exactly alike, save the elephant recognizable by his long trunk alone. Out of self-preservation I've figured out how to draw a house and can identically reproduce it whenever I'm asked to draw something <usually by a small child sketching something better than me in about 30 seconds>.

So...this morning I set aside my FP tendencies, knowing good and well my efforts would be in vain, and tromped outside to sketch a water fountain in the rose garden. The result was as I'd imagined -- my aunt thought the fountain was an owl, grandma thought it might be a frog -- but what a lovely half hour I passed sitting with the sound of bubbling water swirling around me, the wind blowing through the trees and birds chirping.

My abject failure as an artist reminded me of last week's sermon in Romans -- I may not be the next Monet, but Paul assures me that my gifts and talents are a unique and necessary part of the body of Christ. Some paint pictures of such beauty you want to cry, others sing in a way that gives you chills <another gift I do not possess>. I could go on and on, but it's comforting to know that the original Artist has uniquely gifted each one of us for the particular path He's selected. What'll be fun is when we get to see the tapestry He's weaving from the other side. Maybe I'll even get to draw something recognizable up there.

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My dad owned the first version of the Macintosh computer. I remember it didn't even have a hard drive, you had to save things to a floppy. A few years later my first computer was a Mac laptop that had something like a 250k hard drive. I may be mistaken, but I think that's about one song these days.

Over the past decade I've been fairly well pidgeon-holed into PC's because of the company I worked for and the type of consulting I did. However, I've always had rude remarks for all things Microsoft, and today I'm preparing to break rank. As painful as it always is to plunk down the change for something that goes obsolete the moment you take it out of the box, I'm quite excited. Maybe it's because I've been indoctrinated by too many Mac commercials a la:

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PETS at risk of self-harm are increasingly being prescribed anti-depressants because they cannot discuss problems in their lives with others, a leading veterinarian says.

I thought this article was quite funny, and a good way to return to blogging. It's funny how quickly a month can pass once you get out of the habit -- and things have been so far from the routine in my personal life that I haven't been able to work up the energy to blog about my usuals <sex show at a college that removed a cross some thought was offensive, co-ed showers in Maryland, 13-year-old arrested for throwing a pencil, and a brothel in Prague offering free services if you're willing to be filmed for their website>.

Since Christmas I've been in a season I jokingly refer to as payback. Though my parents aren't what you'd strictly call "perfect" and my grandma and aunts always roll their eyes when I refer to their daughter/sister as my sainted mother, I'm thoroughly and completely grateful for the parents God granted me.

Through the months of January and February I've been making small repayments for all those years of care, laundry, pocket money, moral support, meals, dishes and diapers <in no particular order>. Both have had rather significant health crisis' in the past months -- significant enough that I experienced my first real brush with thinking about them as mortals rather than superheroes who would always be around.

There are some real bummers on the road of life, but being forced to recognize your parents' mortality has got to be one of the majors.

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I spent an hour and a half on the phone with a nice gentleman from India who watched the sun come up while instructing me in the fine art of hard drive reformatting. Despite being slightly jealous that his call center desk had a view of the sunrise while the closest I ever got to that in cube world was a flourescent light exploding over my head <jk> ... we had a marvelously successful conversation.

Well, the sunrise and the fact that his compatriot yesterday assured me I had everything I needed to reformat, but as it turns out I now have to repurchase Windows Office if I want to ever read a word doc again. Ahem. How cool is technology that, at one point, I was able to allow Andrew from India control over my computer and watch while he rapidly maneuvered my mouse to install drivers, all the while still chatting on the cell phone. It really is a small, small world.

I've spent all evening reloading programs and content -- have to say I was actually a little sick to my stomach when I'd moved all my data from the last many years onto an external hard drive and then hit the self-destruct button. Who's to say the external drive won't flip out and fry itself <and take years of projects with it> in the space it takes to reformat the computer? Thank God, literally, that things seem to be ok and the instabilities are gone.

The only bummer so far <besides the office fiasco> is that I backed up the wrong browser favorites folder, so the 30 or so articles I'd saved to blog about went pooof. Oh well.

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This morning I was running late so I went tearing out the door to Bible Study without a coat, nor my cell phone. The coat was a problem because it was 19 degrees and it took the whole 20 minute drive for the car to warm up sufficiently enough that my fingers didn't stick to the steering wheel in a scene not dissimilar to the tongue-to-the-flagpole incident in A Christmas Story.

The cell phone was a problem afterward, when I had the bright idea to call a friend for a late breakfast since she lives near the church. Once I realized I'd have to pull over at the gas station and plunk an unknown amount <it's higher everytime I look> into a payphone to call my dad to get her number <because of course I don't have it memorized -- it's in my PHONE!>, then spend another unknown amount calling her, all while standing coatless in the 19 degree weather...well, I just drove home instead. ;)

Meanwhile, I wait none too patiently for DHL to arrive with my reformatting disc from Dell. Yes, my dear four year old Lulu has finally decided to lose her mind. I'm going to try to rehab her by reformatting the hard drive, but the outcome remains uncertain. Not uncertain is how painful it will be to part with $3 grand, should the maneuver prove unsuccessful.

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Technology is, at times, a beautiful thing. Yesterday morning I sat in Southern California watching a live stream of my nephew being dedicated at my brother's church in Las Vegas while texting my parents who were watching the same stream in Idaho. :)

Another marvel of technology...something a coworker showed me today that has me completely mystified. Click here for an interesting brain test -- and if you can figure out how they did it let me know! :p

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I felt a little out of the loop tonight when my father called to tell me the news channels are flush with questions about how Hillary pulled it off yesterday, despite all the polls. I didn't check into it right away because I was on my way to that paragon of American consumerism -- the home of Mr. Chuck E. Cheese -- where you can experience the privilege of dropping 5 bucks on tokens to walk away with 20 cents worth of plastic crepe. ;)

When I got back to the hotel I thought I'd flip on Fox News for a little bit and do some catching up. The first thing I saw was a story on a French-developed video game offering you the opportunity to try to shoot down planes flying at the World Trade Center. The second story was about a woman who posed as a 13-year-old boy and harassed a girl into committing suicide. I think that's all the broadcast news I can handle tonight. :(

Two stories that caught my eye in a quick online-news-browse:

• NBC reporter admits that "it's hard to stay objective" while covering Barack Obama. That's about as shocking as...nevermind...not much is less shocking than someone in the MSM finally admitting to bias.

• A woman I read about some time ago is back in the news. She's a British Airways employee singled out for wearing a cross to work who, consequently, filed a discrimination suit as the company had no problem with coworkers with other beliefs wearing symbols of their faith. She's lost the discrimination suit, but plans to return to work wearing the cross.

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I saw a commercial last night for a new show that gives children to teen couples who think they would be good parents. It must not have been more than a 30-second clip, but I think this is a reality show I could get behind! :p

Meanwhile I continue with my mini-dip back into the corporate pool. I'm experiencing the struggle I have every time I've returned over the past two years -- finding it really hard not to slide back into the political, gossipy muck that exists here with one intrigue after another.

The worst part is that they've realized the folly of dissolving my department two years ago and are now reassembling it. I'm fairly certain I could have my job back tomorrow if I nodded my head in that direction. Not so certain I could have the sweet deal of working from Boise, but it's definitely not out of the question.

Steady, hefty paycheck. Reliable money to pay off my bills. A responsible, contributing member of society... ;)

But I'm not sure I'm ready for a return to that ball and chain. I'm not sure I want to give up the faith gains of the past two years by rejoining a lifestyle where I can provide for myself quite nicely without overtly needing God.

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I had to laugh today -- I was flipping channels this morning and landed for a few moments on a special about a new movie called Mad Money. Apparently Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes conspire to steal money from the Federal Reserve. It's all for a good cause though, Diane's movie husband Ted Danson lost his job and all their money.

I can't remember exactly, but Ted Danson said something like it's good to have criminals you can root for -- yes, technically they're taking money that doesnt' belong to them, but it's a little teeny crime and you can get behind them because life has done them wrong. And come on, they have so much fun while they're doing it. 

All I could think of was the ludicrous hypocrisy of the 'piracy is stealing' campaign Hollywood keeps running. Make stealing look hip and cool in movie after movie, grind morals down into the dust and make good folk look square...then turn around and tell people stealing from you is bad. Uh...yeah.

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Too bad I don't work in Hollywood: I could blame my blogging absence on the writer's strike. ;) As it is, I've no one to blame but myself...but I guess I've dragged out my hiatus about as long as I can justify.

In the days to come I'll work back into the usuals -- like the homeschooling mom who fled her home rather than put her kids in public school <true story>. Or the mom who got kicked off a public bus for reading the Bible while on her way to church with her kids <no details yet, just heard about it on the radio>. And I'll probably start writing about my experiences in Senegal as a way of helping process some of the things I saw.

However, as the header says, I'm easing back in. Hence, three videos from youtube that have come to my attention in recent months.

• A beautifully creative youth group 'skit' <for lack of a better word> to the song Who Am I, by Casting Crowns, using only white gloves and black lights.
  
• The first audition for Paul Potts on Britain's Got Talent. I wouldn't have known about this if someone hadn't sent the link, but it brought me to tears in a triumph of the human spirit kind of way.
• And I can't help but include a football video that I just read about in Time magazine. Trinity University's 15-lateral, 61-yard touchdown with 2 seconds left on the clock. Try not to laugh too hard at the announcers as the clip progresses.

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This morning as I trotted up to the store wearing a coat thrown over pajamas, a crooked ponytail and bent glasses, I realized that my life would be materially damaged by fame. You know those hideous tabloid photos of celebrities caught outside a Starbucks or going into the gym? Yeah, I'm afraid I'd be that type of celebrity. :p

But what was I to do -- my mom needed something and she wouldn't be caught dead at the store in her pajamas...and we're leaving for Senegal tomorrow so I'm in a charitable mood. ;) Actually, we're leaving before the crack of dawn. We have to be at the airport at 4:45a owing to our large group, many boxes and departure on the busiest travel day of the year.

When I returned from the store I washed down my malaria medication with a generous helping of airborne while reading the paper. The two top stories? One: BSU's heartbreaking loss last night to Hawaii. Two: the melee that took place at the mall Friday morning.

The game was a tough one and none of the BSU paraphernalia we were wearing seemed to have much effect. In truth, we were outplayed, and that's a hard thing to admit of the team you love. Especially disappointing after last year's amazing season and our history of coming alive at the end to win in the last seconds. But the headline of the sports section this morning was "Paradise Lost" and that just made me laugh out loud. Talk about an overstatement.

Our mall opened at 1a Friday for a "Rocking Shoppin Eve" or something like that. Unfortunately they were overrun, a few were injured and the paper found several people to quote as they whined about false advertising, overcrowding and lack of planning. My favorite quote was from a mall spokesman who said they wouldn't do this again since their intent was to make a fun shopping experience, not pander to greed. Good for him!

Whoops! I was meaning to have a ramble, but it's taken me two hours to write this much as I'm continually interrupted by Senegal prep. I guess I'd better get a move on and get out the door on errand duty.

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<Photo credit> 

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Cali has recovered her land legs remarkably well after a year on the road. However, she wasn't a big fan of being stuck in the basement with no outlet for her very important staring-at-the-scenery duties. My dad, animal lover that he is, constructed a lovely outdoor salon for her ladyship and I kept the window above my bed open just enough for her to go in and out at leisure.

Unfortunately, the weather has now turned wicked cold at night and the open window is a clear and present danger to Cali's sunbathing privileges.

Lucky for Cali, this evening my dad, once again, came to her rescue. He constructed a plank/pet door/duct tape scenario that will allow her to come and go without turning me into a frozen block of ice. The only problem is...she doesn't seem to comprehend the strategy. Observe the line up of four treats at the bottom of the picture, trying to lure her back inside. Can you teach an old cat new tricks?

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Saturday our Senegal team heard from a Latin American missionary who works among African Muslims. He said, among many other things, that they get along swimmingly because of similarities in cultural values. The story that struck me the most? He said you Americans have the watches, but we have the time.

Sunday I left the house at 7:30 in the morning and returned at 10:30 at night, with only an hour that wasn't accounted for by a meeting, or a luncheon, or a command appearance. This is acceptable to me because it's the final weeks before we head out to Senegal -- things have to be done and it's just too bad if, every so often, there's a confluence of all day events. When we get back I'll return to my busy though not always hectic lifestyle.

However, I know many people near and dear to me who live hectic-ly as a matter of course. I'm sorry to report that I didn't have a grand epiphany to solve the American problem of over-schedule-ization. ;) I just found it interesting to ponder this weekend in light of other cultures.

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I think if I were a kid, or I had a kid, I'd be frequenting the come-lately Harvest Parties that are now all the rage. Several years ago I volunteered at a Trunk-or-Treat at my church in California where the parking lot was full of cars decorated in various ways. All kids had to do was stroll down a couple lanes and their bags were overflowing with pre-screened-for-safety sugar bombs -- then they could hike over to the moonbounce or rockwall, grabbing a hot dog and cotton candy on the way.

I've sat at the kitchen table working all evening, getting up sparingly to hand out candy to the 25 or so hearty souls who've braved the brisk night air and I found myself wondering -- what are you doing wasting your time in a neighborhood? Half the neighbors aren't even home! Of course, we would have turned our lights out ourselves, but there's this new thing in Boise where the sexual predators are supposed to have their lights out...

There were a couple cute kids, several giddy teens and the standard smart aleck:

Smart Aleck: That's the scariest costume I've seen all night.
Me: I'm not wearing a costume.

...and always the ever-present, watchful parent waiting down on the sidewalk. Do you remember the Halloween scene in E.T.? That's how I remember Halloween growing up. You could wander the neighborhood with your little gang of friends and your parents didn't need to worry about you unless you weren't back by 9.

Ahh, the good old days. :p Well, at least I'm continuing one tradition -- my mother always signalled the beginning of the Christmas season by playing Christmas music on Halloween. I've had mine playing all night:

Just hear those sleigh bells ringaling
Ding, Ding, Dingaling Dooooooooooo

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On Tuesday I tackled Turtlehead <or Turtle Head> in the Red Rock Canyon of Las Vegas. A pal suggested it and we took off about 2pm on the 5-mile round trip. 

Yes, that means 2 1/2 miles straight uphill. Wow, were my legs burning by the time we got to the top 2 1/4 hours later! But wow was it a beautiful view.

I had no idea there were such amazing mountains so near Las Vegas -- we only drove about 15 minutes from my brother's house to the parking lot where we started. 

Why don't I do this more frequently? I love hiking and seeing the various beauty that the Lord has created for us to enjoy, but more often than not I just end up laying around on a couch reading or watching the boob tube.

Two verses kept running through my head as I drug myself up the mountain. The first was Psalm 19:1, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." The second was Romans 1:20, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

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My first nephew was born two nights ago. My parents and I drove all night from Boise to Vegas and were able to meet him about 12 hours after he popped out. He was still a bit ticked, I think, from his abrupt entry into a world quite a bit meaner and colder than the one he most recently inhabited.

Does anyone else ever think of what they'd do if they were famous? Maybe I'm alone in that...but one thing I decided was that I'd rather have a Jodie Foster kind of family where I don't allow my family to be photographed, rather than the, well, I don't want to be mean but it seems like some stars allow their kid to be photographed...or even abruptly adopt a photogenic child from Africa...just so they can boost their sagging careers. Toward that end, no pictures of C here. You'll have to trust me that, even when ticked, he's quite cute. :p

He was also born on 10/10, which as all of you know is Taiwanese Independence Day, so he's bound to become President or something. But more importantly, he has really long fingers which I think will make him a shoe-in for MVP as the wide receiver that won the game in some future SuperBowl. ;)

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Yesterday I sold my scooter just in time to pay a few bills that desperately needed paying. However, I'm sorry to say, before I even took the time to be grateful I was already boo-hooing about the fact that the money would run out by next week because of the aforementioned bills and my motorhome was never going to sell and I was never going to get a temp job and I'd be mooching off my parents for the rest of my life... :p

Thankfully I got my head back on straight and took a moment to thank the Lord for His just-in-time provision and ask that He would continue to give me what I need...just when I need it. And lo and behold, this morning I got my first call from the temp agency. It's not a for sure job -- I have to interview for it -- but just the possibility sent me to my knees in gratefulness for the Lord's gracious provision and encouragement to me in my weakness.

What a wonderfully gracious God we serve. He not only forgives our sins at the moment of salvation, He continually forgives our doubts and unfaithfulness for the rest of our lives!

This morning I was reading Daniel's explanation to King Nebuchadnezzar about why he was able to interpret the King's dream when no one else could -- he said no one on earth could do what the King was asking, "but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries." That phrase just gave me chills! It's quite likely that I'll never have the opportunity to speak before a king <or even a President>, but I hope that by my life and actions I can show to others that there is a God in heaven who can do any number of mighty things.

Posted by authorjodi at 09:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Have you heard of the new program Reaper on the CW network? Until I read this article, I hadn't. Apparently the premise is a young man who finds out his parents sold his soul to the devil, so on his 21st birthday he has to start working for Satan bringing back souls who've escaped from hell. In case you can't guess from that synopsis, it's a comedy.

On the Cartoon Network we have Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil, wherein Lucy, the daughter of the Devil falls for DJ Jesus <hay-soos> which brings many comic difficulties because she's the antichrist and he's the second coming of Christ.

I'm no stranger to watching programs I probably shouldn't <see my recent newsletter about integrity>, but the descriptions of those shows pretty much appalls me. I have a fairly large grey area regarding entertainment -- as long as it's well written, entertaining and engaging, and as long as there's not too much swearing, or too much illicit sex, or too much making fun of God...

But when a program crosses the line in such a big way it no longer falls in the grey area -- and there've been a long string of those. When Sex and the City was so popular I tried to watch an episode to be culturally relevant and tuned in to a frank discussion of a sex toy that made me blush and change the channel. Same with the Sopranos -- trying to join in on what everyone was talking about, I tuned in to Tony Soprano in a strip club with actual naked ladies gyrating in the background. Switch! Or the new summer series Saving Grace, where I tuned in because it was supposed to be a moving story of spiritual redemption...and I was treated to foul language and an opening scene better suited to a porn film.

How do we remain culturally relevant when, increasingly, we can't in good conscience engage in some of the main cultural dialogues taking place?

Posted by authorjodi at 01:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

To me, the most frustrating thing about scams is that it makes me more wary of trusting anyone. I'm trying to sell my scooter on craigslist and just got the usual I really want your item but I'm out of town and oops I paid too much can you just deposit the check and give me a western union transfer of the overage and I'll give you 100 bucks for your trouble because I'm just too rich and busy to worry about sending out another check...

ok...my name is Brian Whales from new york brooklyn...i;m out of the state right now and i  will have to instruct my secretary to mail out the check to you..you dont have to bother yourself about the shippment cause my  moving shipping company will take care of that....i cannot get good one around NY...that is the reason i look your area...i will be waiting to get your full name and address..where the check will be mail to...plus the phone number...i will be waiting to hear from you soon so,we m the seal our deal..

At least this one is obvious and slightly laughable. I wish there were an easy way to report scammer addresses, and more importantly, that they couldn't just go out and create 7 kajillion more so that reporting them is basically worthless. So, on the off-chance you're ever unfortunate enough to have dealings with this dope <and yes, he didn't even spell his alleged first name correctly>, his address is:

"brain whales" <leliky5@hotmail.com>

Posted by authorjodi at 04:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I just got back from registering with a temp agency in an attempt to earn a little cashola before Senegal. I don't know if it was the zero-sum bank account that finally knocked me out of my change-in-life lethargy, or whether I've just finally had enough time to process...but I feel like I've got a little energy back to charge ahead.

This weekend I was up in the mountains with my Senegal compadres having a team-bonding experience. We spent hours upon hours sharing our stories with each other -- everyone got a half hour and most of us used it. And I have to say, hearing where people have come from and what different pains they've experienced throughout their lives...it's remarkable. It was such an encouragement to hear how God had worked in each life -- every one a unique story, but the common thread of salvation running throughout. What a blessing to be entrusted with those stories!

Last night we had a World Vision lady come speak to us who has been to Senegal about 12 jillion times. She talked for just about 2 1/2 hours straight and we were all still leaning forward soaking it in at the end. I think we're all feeling a bit under-qualified...but it's nice to know we're all feeling that way. ;)

Posted by authorjodi at 01:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Last week I met with a gentleman who works in a closed country and, among other things, he told me how different even their daily lives are in regards to spiritual matters.

Because they're so restricted on what they can say, they have to be very careful about how they live. I had such a strong reaction to that -- it made me think that if we worried more in America about living lives that reflected the grace and love of Christ instead of just talking about it, we'd certainly be better off. I know we are

"...the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life." 2 Cor. 2:15-16

I take that to mean we'll smell regardless of how we may live out our faith, but how much better if the witness of our lives drew people to Christ even more than our words.

Posted by authorjodi at 09:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Yesterday my mom talked me into going to the first video session for one of the women's Bible studies our church is starting this fall: Beth Moore's Daniel. I've got to say, I was wildly impressed.

The thing about the first session which impacted me the most...I'm saving for next week's newsletter...which you can sign up for on the upper lefthand side of the screen. :p

But another thing that stuck in my mind was something she said about God and how He warns us again and again about certain sins. We dabble, we flirt. And then after awhile -- if we're not careful -- we get burned. She said there was a time in her life when she felt like she heard God say to her "I'm not kidding!"

It reminded me of a poem I wrote many years ago. If you want, you can laugh at the dorky flash presentation I made with it here. It continues to amaze me how God can deliver us from besetting sins, from pits that have almost destroyed us, and then after awhile we start dancing around thinking...oh, it wasn't that bad.

She also said it'd be lovely if Satan would just say "come with me and I'll have you in the worst hellhole of your life in three weeks." It'd be easy to resist that kind of call...but of course he presents his plans much differently. I love the quote Francine Rivers uses <I think it might be from Shakespeare> at the beginning of her novel Redeeming Love, "the Prince of Darkness is a gentleman." I always think of that when I think of how Satan so slyly makes his sales pitch.

Posted by authorjodi at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I guess I'm going through a transition phase, but I haven't felt like I had even a smidge of something interesting to write about lately. Part of it is pure busyness and letting blogging fall to the wayside now that I don't have quick topics like what stranger I talked to today or what's happening with the book. Part of it's probably the fact that I'm trying to clear away the haziness to figure out the next steps in my future...

Regardless, sorry about the dearth. I'll try to not let a large chunk of time go by again without at least posting some weird news. For instance, did you read about the town that outlawed dog barking? Previously your dog could be cited for a noise disturbance if it barked for more than five minutes...but as of Sept. 18 barking for less than five minutes can bring the police to your door.

Me and my sore arms will now head to bed. I spent three hours at Central District Health today with some of my Senegal compadres getting caught up on shots. I got Yellow Fever in the left arm and Hep A in the right, and I've got a Typhoid booster in the fridge. In a couple more weeks I'll go back for Meningitis, Hep B and a Malaria prophylaxis. I'm pretty sure this is the most shots I've had to get for any country I've been to...

Posted by authorjodi at 10:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Have you ever heard of that expression? I got my bell rung? I just returned from an evening at the lake with my folks, some older friends and an MAF couple who is just beginning deputation. What a fun evening we had trying out my dad's summer toy: the wake surfboard. Thankfully I didn't get my bell rung tonight as I did at the lake a couple weeks ago. That time the world didn't stop spinning until the boat was pulling up alongside. It was, however, quite a bit colder and it might have been our last boating trip for the summer as the dam is being lowered a foot a day.

Interesting conversation with the boat next to us when we were pulling out. They said "how was your night?" We responded. They asked the MAFers "why did you move to Idaho" but then didn't give them time to respond and went right into the bad economic opportunities in Idaho and how we'll all be better off when we kick those Republicans out of office. Alrighty then. That was the end of the conversation and we both went our separate ways, but I had to just laugh. Of course they're super entitled to their opinion, but I found it incredibly funny that they so vehemently expressed it, conversationally out of left field, as their third remark to total strangers. Oh well.

Posted by authorjodi at 08:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by authorjodi at 08:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I wonder if Cali's predilection for plopping near the computer has anything to do with the issues I've been experiencing the past couple months. Maybe there's a little cat hair floating around in the motherboard...

On a completely different topic, after almost a year on the road I've figured out the key to marketing a book successfully and I'm convinced it's going to make me a bestselling author next time around. I'll write the book, then publish it under someone else's name. Someone who's a salesperson by nature and not afraid of anything. Perhaps I can convince my brother... :p

Posted by authorjodi at 02:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I arrived in Pennsylvania safely after stopping for gas and a very important item at an RV dealer I passed. Note to self: never again waste precious cash buying two bottles of toilet bowl odor-controller chemicals. I purchased two big bottles when I set out last September and just recently opened the second one. Unfortunately, I soon had probably cause to read the back of the bottle and discover that the chemicals didn't retain their effectiveness after freezing in Boise over Christmas. Let's just say that, owing to the rather ripe conditions, that particular stop was high on my list today. ;)

After dinner tonight my relatives took me bowling. My first score was 66, my second 121 -- so based on my progress I'm confident that if we'd only played one or two more games I could have earned my 300 ring. ;) Did you know you could get a ring for bowling a perfect game? I didn't until tonight. I never much liked bowling, but a big honkin' ring is something I could work toward.

Posted by authorjodi at 08:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"(Hello) Kitty is a cute icon for young girls. It's not something macho police officers want covering their biceps."

So says the acting Chief of the Crime Suppression Unit in Thailand. He's created a punishment for police officers who commit misdemeanors such as parking illegally or littering -- they have to wear a hot pink Hello Kitty armband. The "shame" and "guilt" is supposed to keep officers from doing it again and possibly keep them from committing more serious offenses.

I thought that'd be a great story to start off with as I return from my lakeside hiatus. Somehow I haven't been able to kick-start my brain back into gear...reminds me of how I used to moan about being back in my cubicle the first day after vacation. ;)

Actually, I'm trying to kick-start more than just my brain -- my motivation has taken a serious hit as well. I'm heading up to Pennsylvania today to stay a couple days with another aunt and uncle, then I'll pop through Lancaster to speak at a book club. After that I'm steering Bertha onto the long road home...some 3500 miles to cover on the way back to Boise. Speaking of which, I'd better wrap up because I hear I've got a very small window of time to drive through D.C. and Baltimore without hitting the worst of the traffic.

Posted by authorjodi at 07:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As I suspected, the cell reception hasn't improved much since last year's week on the lake. The family just went to tour homes in Tamarack, so I had them drop me at the local Moxie Java which is, I think, the easiest place in town to get free wifi. I've got a couple hours before they return to get some work done and maybe even read a few news stories.

Sometime during the past year I read a story that talked about increasing levels of internet addiction...sadly, I think I might be borderline in trouble. It's amazing how disconnected I feel when I can't check my e-mail. I'm having a wonderful time on the lake and it's been quite relaxing, but I want to be able to check every night to make sure I haven't got THE e-mail from O'Reilly or Oprah or whatever... Last night I was holding my computer in all kinds of awkward positions against the window, trying to pick up even the slightest hint of a signal. :p

And now I'm going to copy one of the first blogging gurus, the Evangelical Outpost, and repost a couple of my favorite entries from the past year since I'm technically on 'vacation' and that's what I saw him do when he was in the same position...

Posted by authorjodi at 01:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)