Another One Bites the Dust...

Ok, here's the dealy-o. I can't figure out technology. I can't; it's no use. The faster and fancier computers and keyboards and cell phones and PDAs and all other things technological become, the faster my brain grands to a painful halt. It should come as no surprise, then, for you to realize...I DON'T KNOW WHAT TWITTER IS. I mean, I've seen people's twitter updates popping up in my e-mail news updates. Friends talk about it on facebook. Good grief, even Max Lucado twitters. But, me? Eh...not so much.

Until today.

Today I'm determined to figure out this twitt thing. Cue Beauty and the Beast music and Be My Guest:

3:16pm @ work, reading a Boundless article and noticed a link to follow Boundless on twitter. Impusively clicked, taking the plunge into twitterocity/technoligical madness.

3:18 um...the help link on twitter isn't helping. Am I getting phone updates? On my browser? Via texts? Via e-mail? Help?

3:19 bathroom break. Always helpful.

3:23 began blog post.

3:24 hold that thought...resident stopped by to talk about work order problem...

3:35 ok we're back. Wait. The carpet guy is here. Geez, do people think I'm at work or what?

3:50 google "twitter" and get a wikipedia entry. Still doesn't answer my question; how do I get my updates?

3:57 EUREKA! "You can receive tweets by visiting the Twitter website, IM, SMS, RSS, email or via a third-party application." So...now...how do I choose?

3:59 check e-mail. Realize I have a message from Twitter, sent at 3:10. Hmmm. It seems my timemap has now lost all accuracy and, perhaps, relevancy, as the e-mail also explains how I can receive twitters--er--tweets on my phone.

4:13 standing a little taller, knowing I have faced, fought, and defeated my twittering giant. Tweet on, Max Lucado, NASA, and Taylor Swift. Tweet on.

Five Things to Be Happy About on Friday

1. Leases! I've sold several apartments this week at work, and I'm excited. I am NOT the natural born salesman (woman), so when I have any success at all I get little thrills of happiness.
2. Books! I bought "How to Master the Art of Selling" last night. (see #1)
3. Best friends and the beach! That's right--we're going MONDAY. Hell-O Monday Funday!

4. A really, really, REALLY good night's sleep. *Sigh.* It's about time.
5. Friends. Good friends. The kind you live with. The kind you pratically live with. The kind you fight with because you live with them. The kind who pull you up when you fall, ignore you when you're grouchy, and comfort you when you're sad. The kind who you can be yourself around, even when you'd like to box yourself up and ship you to Timbuktu.*



*Which, by the way, is in Mali. Did you know that? Me neither...

Day Three

I didn't start this morning off with Jesus; I started it off with orange juice and a shower. A nice way to start a morning...but not quite. After an errand, I ended up back home for a few minutes before running to work, and my eyes fell on my open Bible:

But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel:
“ Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you.
For I am the LORD your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I gave Egypt for your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
Since you were precious in My sight,
You have been honored,
And I have loved you;
Therefore I will give men for you,
And people for your life.
-Isaiah 43:1-4

How much better would my brief few hours have been this morning, had I started with this? How much happier would my heart be, if I had secured and anchored myself in this? This love that honors me, considers me a precious possession, gives men for my life. Today is my third day of 100 Days with Psalm 119, and the first few verses of that psalm have straight-up poured conviction over my life. It is so good, then, after dwelling on the blessed life of the blameless, to be reminded that my life is blessed, also--not because I have been blameless, but because my Savior's blood makes me blameless. I was bought with a price. That truth holds me secure through every fire and flood imaginable. It is peace.

Cool New Thoughts

Elisabeth Adams lives and writes in Jerusalem. I've scoured her website, desperate to figure out how she got there, because seriously how cool is that? I mean, if it means being able to come up with cool descriptions like this:

She leaves the high, fertile tableland of Moab, and winds down craggy slopes towards the heavy, hot atmosphere of the Rift Valley. She fords the slimy, mineral-rich waters of the Dead Sea at its narrowest point, and turning north, climbs into the Judean hill country, encountering cool, clear air, terraced hills, and tiny villages. She reaches Bethlehem just in time for the barley harvest. This time of year, as a matter of fact. Tawny grain fields are dotted with indigo-blue globe thistles, and the early summer sun beats down on the reapers.

sign me up!

The above quote comes from an article Adams wrote for Boundless about Ruth. I've always loved the story of Esther--but Adams has made me look at Ruth in a new, exciting way. Did you realize Boaz's mother was Rahab? A prostitute who became an Isrealite! I knew, but it never dawned on me; in the midst of people despising and looking down at Ruth, of course it was the grandson of a prostitute who could see beyond his cultural confines to love a Moabite. Can't you just hear his parents and grandparents telling him about the refuge-providing wings of the LORD, just like he told Ruth: "May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge." (Ruth 2:11).

2 Samuel 14:14
Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him.

100 Days with Psalm 119

I woke up this morning with a little dark thundercloud hovering over my head. Thankfully, the sky outside is full of white (not black) clouds, and the sun is pouring in through every window in the office. The clouds sailing above and the sun warming me on my walk to lunch placate my heart. Bad days come and go, but eternity remains alive in my heart. The natural world is God's way of giving us perspective.

Day One
On a happier note, I am starting something I've always wanted to do: 100 days with Psalm 119. I've read the psalm through at some point before, and have underlined, highlighted, and generally just marked the heck out of the first twenty verses or so. I've always wanted to get to know it on a deeper level, though, to really walk with and apply it on a daily basis. I anticipate being surprised by new revelations on familiar and not-so familiar passages, but ultimately I want to be polished and honed for the time I've spent digging deep, instead of wide.

There are 176 verses and 22 "sections" (letters of the Hebrew alphabet??). I don't have a plan yet, but I'll let you know when I come up with one. In the meantime, here's my prayer for these next 100 days:

"May my cry come before you, O LORD; give me understanding according to your word."

-Psalm 119:169