Oh yeah...and on a sadder note...

my fish had to be flushed last night.

He'd been somewhat paralyzed for the past month and a half, just hanging vertically in the tank at the top of the water. Really sad, actually. He looked very strange. So, last night, when I realized he was loosing all of his beautiful blue color, and barely responding to tapping on the tank side, Husband suggested flushing him, as he had many times before. I had hesitated all those other times, because I'm a very loyal pet-mom. I couldn't just flush him. But last night, I knew he wouldn't last much longer, and it was bothering me to look at him like that. So, I left the room, and Husband took him to the porcelain cemetery. Sad.

Today I went fish shopping at the mall. The lady who was working in the pet store there suggested I buy a pair of guppies. All I know about guppies is that they procreate like nothing else, and you end up with 100 guppies. Apparently, however, they are also cannibals, as they eat their young! GROSS! One must have a plant that the young can hide in. Good grief. I just want a low-maintenance pet.

My next stop is Petco. If I don't find anything there, I guess I'll go back to the mall and get guppies....

Obituary:
Sinatra "Blue Eyes" Fish died of unnatural causes on Wednesday evening, June 28th. He was a good fish: always coming to the side of the tank to say hello. He left behind his adopted mother, Heather. He was 2.5 years old. Services were held last night at the deceased's home.

Welcome to Thursday...

a day that has been filled, thus far, with (of course) a latte, a bit of shopping, a chiropractor visit, the wearing of one of my hats (receptionist), and soon, the wearing of my normal hat (therapist). This is good. Then I am going home. I really, really like the fact that I'm not tied down to an office all day long. That is for the birds. I like the freedom to come and go as I please, no set schedule, blah, blah, blah.

I spent some time at the mall this morning, and whilst I was browsing Creative Kitchen, I found the first Gadget on my list: the Mango corer! They had marked it up a bit in price, but I think it's worth it, anyway.

New gadget: http://www.gourmac.com/sthu.html
Strawberry Huller! For hours of hulling enjoyment....

Tonight I get to discuss postmodernism with my other philosophically minded friends. I did most of my research in a Christian theology book by Millard Erickson. I understood pretty much everything, until the last 3-4 pages of the chapter. Everything else was very interesting and applicable to our discussion tonight, I think.

Tonight I also have to host my in-laws. They're coming up to watch Husband and Brother-in-law play softball.

I found some beautiful, BEAUTIFUL napkins and placemats on clearance at Creative Kitchen. They were $.98 each. When the clerk rang them up, they were $98.00 each. Needless to say, there was a bit of a typo. The pieces are for my mother for her birthday. She wants to get new pottery - actually the pottery that they bought us (and then we returned because it was too expensive) for our wedding. It's Denby pottery: tres belle. I think the pottery will go beautifully with the items I purchased, and I can just hear my mother now, "OH HEATHER! They're BEAUTIFUL!!!!" I should record her reaction when she opens them - I can GUARANTEE you that's exactly what she'll say!

Must go now and put on my other hat.
Au revoir.

Wednesday's Gadget: For Mature Audiences Only

http://www.shopinprivate.com/fununfortwo.html

The Many Hats of Heather

So, over the past couple weeks, my job description has been changing hourly. Sometimes I come to work to play receptionist (one of our two receptionists is in Africa till next week), sometimes I go to the back and play with Sandi and learn how to do her job, which I will be performing for 7 days in July, and sometimes I go to my office to do my real job. And, so far, I haven't confused any of the jobs. Like, I haven't sat down with a client and said, "Family Life Credit Services, this is Heather." Or, I haven't sent credit companies any proposals for therapy. This is good. And last night, I even helped Husband while he was being his brother at a kayaking class.

And let me just say this: I have never seen so many mosquitos in my ENTIRE life. Bastards.

My house is a disaster area and my in-laws are coming to stay overnight tomorrow. I know they don't care what our house looks like, but presently, the bed they would be sleeping on is covered in paperwork. I suppose I should do something about that.

I redid my resume yesterday, and I must say that it looks exquisite. I hope companies like it, too. Now I'm redoing Chris' resume. Hopefully it'll look just as good.

Yesterday it was Darold's birthday at work and we had DQ Ice Cream Cake to celebrate. I was "good" and only ate a bite. It was hard, but my willpower won out. However, there are leftovers in the freezer right now...

Oh, interesting news: Mother called this morning to tell me that some of their friends are pretty sure they're going to buy our family farmland. This, again, is very strange-feeling to me. It's hard to think that this small piece of land that's been in our family for generations will now be part of a larger farming family's land. At least we know who is buying it, I guess. Mom even asked if I was okay with it. I think it'll feel weird for a while, but, really, in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter. The really weird part will be when and if my parents sell the house that I grew up in and move. Strangeness.

I had a very strange thought last night: in my head a little voice said to me, "I want children." I snapped my head around, wondering where that came from, because it COULDN'T have come from me, could it? Yikes! I was watching A Baby Story this morning, and the woman did a natural childbirth, had the baby in a birthing tub, and didn't push at all - it just popped out on it's own! I think maybe I want to do that. I've heard there's much less ripping when you don't push. Hmmmm. Ripping is bad.

Next subject.

My best friend had surgery today to remove ovarian cysts. I hope it went well. I sent her chocolate and a Starbucks gift card in the mail! I know she'll appreciate that.

Well, I guess it's time to go do something else.

Gadget of the Day

"Cut through a superlarge watermelon with one good whack with the Lamson & Goodnow 12" Watermelon Knife ($30); wwwlamsonsharp.com"

Whack away!!!

[Taken from Good Housekeeping magazine, July 2006, page 176]

Monday, Monday

It was a pretty good day today. A nice postlude to a wonderful long weekend. My miniature vacation to the Cities was as delicious as planned! Lake Calhoun, Sebastian Joe's Ice Cream, Cafe Latte, Mill City Farmer's Market, and lots and lots of great conversation with fabulous friends. It was food for my soul! Plus, I got to speak French with one of my cohorts at supervision! And, when I arrived home, Hubby and I took a 3 hour long nap (at 6:30 pm, nonetheless) that was absolutely the best nap I've ever had in my life.

Sunday we tried ANOTHER new church, and this time, I think we hit the jackpot. Calvary Baptist is a Conservative Baptist Church in North Fargo, and while the music was decent, the building somewhat delapidated, and the minister obviously a history buff, the best part was that after the service, the pastor spoke with Chris and I for at least 15 minutes and he and his wife introduced us to several people. They win! They get the award for actually caring that we were there! Yay Calvary!

I also got a delectible new CD at an Uptown store. It's a recording of the Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrain at Carnegie Hall. It was recorded on November 29, 1957. It's absolutely scrumptious.

So, let's see...what do I have to look forward to this week? No clients late tomorrow night. Philosophical discussion group on Thursday night. Then my inlaws are going to be spending the night at our place...again.... Saturday my parents are coming to stay for the long weekend. That should be nice. On Sunday we're going to go to the in-law's farm in south central ND, because they've been asking my parents to come visit. This could be interesting... All four parents in one house together...yikes!

I am looking forward to cooking good food this weekend. I found a couple new recipes in a magazine at the chiropractor's office today. I ripped them out and brought them home! I'm a recipe stealer!!!

Well, that's really all I have to say for the moment. I do wish, however that I'd had my camera this weekend in the Cities. I saw a semi trailor with the word "DOODY" across the side of it. And my friend Kris' bulldog was sleeping with his tongue sticking out. It was cute.

Well, good night. I have to get up early tomorrow. Wish me luck.

My Skin Hurts! - or - Do I have Leukemia?

Okay, I must admit, Sara and Ann, that title was just for you! I do hope you stumble across this post soon!

Let me explain. My skin only hurts in one spot: the side of my right leg, where there is a very large, and very purple bruise, of which I have no idea the origins. The question about leukemia is that as of the past 7-10 days, I've accumulated over 10 bruises on my legs, and have no recollection of ever bumping into anything hard enough to cause a bruise! I should take a picture of the doosey on my leg. It's wicked. And quite painful.

So, my crappy trip to the chiropractor was not as wasted as I once thought. I felt like ass yesterday (the day after the adjustment - which is to be expected) but felt quite normal and good today - and could even turn my head to the left all the way! (Which, I must say, is an improvement over yesterday...long story...pinched nerve while knitting at Atomic Coffee nearly 3 weeks ago...good Lord, I can hear myself in 40 years..."Yes, and I have that old knitting injury...always acts up when it's going to rain...") Anyway...

Gadget of the day: Well, I just couldn't resist: look here. It's there. I must display it for the world to see. The sheer fact that it exists makes it necessary to display it. I know Sara and Erin understand.

And, now, for the main attraction! Well, not attraction really, more like the point of this post. I wanted to leave you something before I leave for the weekend. Another wonderful weekend in the Cities!!! I shall be playing at Lake Calhoun tomorrow afternoon, with a stop at Sebastian Joe's extremely likely. Not sure what else is on the itinerary for tomorrow. Friday is supervision, which will be good. It is also dinner out with Carolyn! Hi Carolyn! I don't think you read my blog, but that's okay. I'll still have dinner with you! Saturday is a haircut with my favorite stylist in the WORLD, Nicole, at Rosedale, and coffee with my dear friend Jolene, whom I haven't seen in a few months. After that, I'm thinking I MUST stop by the new Organic farmer's market, Mill City Farmer's Market. You must visit the website and view the deliciousness that is available.

I also have just gotten my hands on the most fascinating book I've ever read. It's about Mormonism, and how absolutely, positively, utterly, fantastically, deranged this religion is. Completely amazing. Shocking. Mystifying. Ridiculous. Unbelievable. Horrifying. Should I continue?

I shall leave you with this: the crux of Christianity:

For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said,
"I will dwell in them and walk among them;
And I will be their God, and they shall be My people!"

A God who dwells among us. What does that do to your heart? It makes mine leap for joy!

Well, I'll be damned....

You know, for what I do for a living, I shouldn't be surprised by anything anymore, but somehow, I still am. So last night, when I read my friend, Dana's, blog, and she noted a website she had found, I was delightfully surprised, laughed for a few minutes, and had to pass it on. So, have at it.

It's Tuesday today. It's sunny outside this afternoon, after a dreary, ugly morning. Last night was Knitting night. We knit in the park, which was nice, but a little buggy. A couple of us stayed for the movie in the park (Chicken Little) and were surrounded by hoards of kids. My brother-in-law, who works for the Park District said that after an hour of serving free cans of pop and popcorn, they were almost out of pop. They started with 600 cans. So, one can deduce there were approximately 600 people in the park last night! The screen was inflatable, and Craig said it cost somewhere between $10,000-$12,000. It was pretty nice. The only drawback was that before the movie began, they played horrible 70's disco music.........ewwwww.....

I have been a little piggie today. I ate 2 chocolate chip cookies before coming into work at 11:30, and as soon as I got here, I ate my piece of pizza for lunch. But, while I was waiting for my pizza to warm up in the microwave, I ate a handful of chips that were sitting on the kitchen table from yesterday's lunch. Hmmm...I think it's stress...

I was having a phone conversation with my dear friend Dawn, who lives in Waterloo, Iowa now, and she was reflecting on a book she's been reading: John Ortberg's "If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat." It's been out for several years, but she said that it helps people realize their God-given gifts, and that to be able to use them effectively, you've got to go out there and risk failure. One must hop on out of that boat, as Peter did when Jesus called to him on the water. It's hard. That's all I have to say.

I went to the chiropractor yesterday and was highly disappointed. The guy I used to see in the Cities was an applied kinesiologist, and he would really work my muscles over hard (like, I was in pain, he dug in so hard) before cracking my back. This guy yesterday barely touched me. I felt like it was a big waste of time. He talked longer than he worked on my back. What a poop head. I think I'll go to my old chiro when I'm in the Cities on Friday, and forget this dude.

I'm supposed to be meeting with someone right now, but they haven't shown up, which I kind of figured was going to happen. It's a pro bono situation, so it's not like I'm out any money, but it's still a waste of my time to come in and sit here. Still pisses me off, to a certain degree, and further cements my frustration with my profession.

Instead of spending $3.50 on a latte today, I went to the gas station and spent $1.17 on a 32 oz. fountain pop. This is my effort to spend less money. However, do you think I can actually drink 32 oz of pop?! Of course not. So, having said that, I could have spent even less money and purchased the smaller cup. Somehow my eyes are always bigger than my stomach. Must have been the self-destructive eating behaviors in which I was engaged this morning!

Gadget of the day: Mango slicer, by Oxo. Available for $11.99, at www.oxo.com. Looks much like an apple corer, but with an oblong , eye-shaped pitter in the middle of the apparatus.

I like that word: apparatus.

Well, I am going to sit here for another 14 minutes, and then I am going to go home to see my hubby. Then I'm going to come back here at 6:00 to see a couple. Wish me luck.

Bits and Pieces

It was a nice weekend, minus the fact that Husband had to work Saturday, as per usual. Friday night we went to the Red River Valley Fair, and I remembered why I don't like to go to fairs....all the crazies come out at fairs! And, I had another Sex Change Lady Siting! (Erin, it was the one we saw at Kinky Boots, if you remember!) But we did have some lovely mini donuts, so that made up for crazy people. And we got to look at baby bunnies in the small animal barn. Saturday I baked cookies and sat out in the sun at Island Park with Kiersten. We were going to read, but we ended up talking the whole time! It was fun! And, I came out of it with a nice, sunburnt back to show for it. Saturday night we went out for dinner to Uno, where they have the most delicious deep dish pizza on the face of the planet. Yummmmmmm..... I also talked Husband into stopping at Maggie Moo's for ice cream. I had a scoop of peanut butter ice cream with a twix bar in it - delish! The caramel from the twix bar froze in the ice cream, so it was crunchy!

Sunday we tried a new church - Metropolitan Baptist. It's a North American Baptist church. The sermon we heard was probably the best sermon I'd heard in months, if not years, although the delivery was quite dry, and I almost fell asleep several times. It was the longest 31 minutes of my life... However the rest of the church situation wasn't quite what we're looking for. For one thing, it was a very small church, and hardly anyone noticed that we were there, which was strange. One man even came around and shook everybody's hands around us, but completely ignored us. Interesting!

Later on that afternoon we went to Island Park again for a jazz concert. It was great music, but it was so windy that we didn't last very long. I was glad that we had gone, though, because I believe in supporting those types of things. It was sad, however, because the group took a break an hour before the gig was supposed to end, and everybody in the audience left!

Last night I made a very healthy pasta dish for supper. It contained beef from the farm, fat free cheese, ricotta cheese, grated zucchini, diced tomatoes, onions, whole wheat pasta, and fresh parmesan. We also sent out several resumes last night, which was very time consuming, but good.

So, all these bits and pieces made a pretty good weekend all around. Tonight is Naughty Knitties and I think we're going to the park to knit! Hopefully it'll be warm and not windy...
At 9:00 the Park District is showing "Chicken Little" in the park and offering free popcorn and pop. Husband is very excited. He loves cartoons. And free popcorn...

A fresh view

Well, since I've been railing on about my life's choices and whatnot, I've decided to take a different spin today. I'm sick of thinking about the ways in which my life is not going according to my "plan." (Gee, maybe that's my problem...ya think?!?!) So, I wish to explore what I will call my wanderings of this week.

Due to our current (and past) circumstances, Husband and I are dealing with our relationships with God. Or, actually, maybe we're not dealing with them at all, and that's the problem, but still, it's been a topic of conversation. Husband cannot understand why God seems so distant, why there's no "still small voice" whispering to him in the night, why he can't seem to get any answers. I've been dealing with this for so long myself, that I guess I've started to ignore it and move on with my daily life. I was writing to my mentor today, who is out of town, and made the comment that sometimes it feels as if I don't even have a relationship with God. Or maybe I never have.

What if that were true? What if it's all been a hoax? What if the relationship I've been trying to forge over the past 10 years is nothing but wishful thinking? What the hell does that mean, then? What have I been doing for the past 10 years then, thinking that I'm trying to live my life and make decisions by some supreme authority that I've been searching for direction from ? What if I've used God for my own devices and really never had a true relationship with him? To be honest, that's quite what it feels like right now.

That's a pretty freaky-ass thought. (I feel like swearing, if you haven't noticed.) I do think part of it is the transformation you go through during seminary, and for some reason, once you're out, you're a mess, spiritually speaking. I was/am, anyway.

I'll let you ponder on that for a moment.


Okay, moment's over. On to the next subject: children.

Last night Husband and I went to Husband's brother's house to do some work for him. He was playing with his 10 month old son, who, I must say, is A-DOR-A-BLE. He's crawling now, and can truck it along with the best of 'em. Every time I see this little booger, I feel the pressure to have kids. And it's not really because I WANT children, (I do, and I don't, it's complicated), it's because Husband's brother is 4 years younger than him and they had a child before we did. And for some reason, that bothers me. I know, I know. How petty can I be? Pretty petty. It's obviously not the right time for children, due to our "circumstances," and I'm still not sure I'm ready. It's just weird.

So, it's beautiful in Fargo today. The sun is shining gloriously, I'm wearing my favorite new skirt that is cotton and very flow-y, along with a new orange tank with beading, and I just made my favorite, yummiest homemade granola. Life is good.

However, Husband is still sick. He came home sick from his fishing trip on Sunday, stayed home from work on Monday, and has been back to work, but not back to normal yesterday and today. He's never been sick this long before. I feel bad for him. Thankfully, I haven't gotten sick.

Oh, and the last time I went to the grocery store, they had large containers of blueberries on sale, 2 for $4.98. Yum. There's nothing better than a fresh blueberry.

A Strange Thought

occurred to me this morning. I was filling in as receptionist at the office I work in. I had to change the back-up tape in the main computer, make coffee, answer the phone, do some dictation, and mail some bills. It was all quite simple and mindless. However, I really enjoyed it. I'm discovering something about myself: I enjoy details. I was discussing this somewhat with my husband the other day and realized that I might be better suited to be the director of a counseling agency, than one of it's therapists. I enjoy managing things, being in charge, and taking care of what needs to be done. Therapy is very fluffy. Intangible, if you will. Sometimes too much so for this little chickie.

On the other hand, in the past, it has freaked me out to have so much responsibility. It's another conundrum.

I want a dog.

It's Saturday evening...

and I'm blogging! Actually, I won't be blogging for long. I've got a dessert date with my friend, Dana, at Nicole's Fine Pastry, downtown Fargo. Yum. Last time I was there I had the chocolate caramel sea salt tart. Oh my Lord. It was amazing.

Anyway, last night was fun. Erin and I made dinner and had a good conversation about how hard it is to be in your 20's. She said it was even harder than middle school! :)
We discussed why we're doing what we're doing, what we want to do, how long it'll take to get there, and of course, how cute her dogs are. Cause that's just reality.

Then we went to the most hilarious movie I've seen in a long time: "Kinky Boots." It's an indie film about a shoe factory that is about to go under, when they decide to find their new "niche." (Which, in England, they pronounce, "Neesh," which I found amusing.) Well, their new niche involves making stilletto thigh high boots for transvestites! It was so funny. It was also somewhat real about the pain that the transvestite went through as a child and how he came to be a performer in a lounge. I recommend it.

We also consumed more wine than I'd had in a long time (2 glasses), and it made me quite dizzy, which was funny.

Today was World Wide Knit in Public Day, so 4 of the Naughty Knitties went to West Acres Mall and sat in the food court and knitted from 10-2 today! It was tons of fun, and I wore my knitting t-shirt. I got lots of funny looks. Actually, I didn't get to knit much, as I took my sweater to the pond (ripped the whole thing out) and started over. My guage was off and the back of my sweater was going to be about 3 feet long if I continued the way the pattern said to. Anyway, I started over and got about 5 rows done by the time it was time to leave.

Of course, I couldn't leave the mall without looking around a little. I ended up with two pairs of VERY cheap capris, that I'm rather excited about.

Husband called last night and said it was very cold, rainy, and windy yesterday, so they didn't catch any fish, although they were out on the lake from 7:45am- 10:30pm. What troopers. Hard core fishermen, I'd say. I hope today was more profitable.

This afternoon I cleaned the house. I put away a ton of laundry, vacuumed, cleaned the kitchen up, and even organized all of Husband's wood carving tools that he manages to keep underneath the coffee table in the livingroom. Don't ask.

In about 10 mintues I'm going to leave to go partake of lovely pastry items. I'm very excited about this. YUM.

Oh, one other thing I did was make 2 pro/con lists: the pros/cons of living in Fargo, and the pros/cons of living in the Cities. I made two more lists of the pros/cons of having children in Fargo vs. the Cities. I still want to move, I just want to make sure I'm making the right decision. Of course, I can't move without Husband, so it's not like I'm the only one making the decision. I'll keep you posted...

Life is a Conundrum

This seems to be the theme of my life. What do I do, where do I go, why did I do this, why didn't I do that? It seems to be an unceasing stream of questions. At what point does one make a decision and say, "This is it. I will do blah and be happy with it and if something different comes up in the meantime, well great!" Apparently I must be at that point right now. I think I'm too much of an idealist. I think I believe that I can have the perfect job and make a ton of money doing it and have a house, a dog, 2.5 children, and a white picket fence. Maybe some people can do that, but that doesn't seem to be the case for me!

It's really hard to be 28 - almost 29 - and be still asking oneself the question, "What do I want to be when I grow up?" Makes me wish I could go back 10 years and start over with the knowledge I have now. But, I can't, so I'll deal with the crap I'm dealt and figure out what the next step is.

I think that expectations have a lot to do with it. Mine are always too high, for some reason. My parents always told me I could do anything I wanted when I was growing up. They failed to tell me that I would need money in the meantime! I mean, seriously, I have a Bachelor's degree in MUSIC. Not music education, not performance, not music therapy...MUSIC. What does that get you? A receptionist job in an engineering firm in Mason City, Iowa. That's what it gets you. And a miserable attitude to boot!

I thought I was making an excellent decision to become a marriage and family therapist, but they don't tell you that you have to have a license to get job, and you have to have a job in order to get licensed! It's a vicious cycle. So, two years out from my graduate work, I still have no license, and truly, no job of any real substance. So, it's time to make some changes.

Stay tuned...changes are coming my way!!!!!!!!!!!

The weekend

was great! We had a wonderful time visiting friends and relatives. We got ice cream at the Grand Old Creamery, had drinks at what used to be the KFAN restaurant in Roseville and sat on their patio, and generally just enjoyed ourselves.

Then we had to go home.

Thus began the ride from hell.

I had come to the distinct conclusion that it's time to move back to the Cities. Life is NOT working out here like we thought it would, and we need to go where we can more readily get jobs that can actually provide for our needs. However, Husband does not agree. Large amounts of crying ensued.

So, we are at a standstill. We rest in that place of discovery - what does Chris want to do with his life? What do we want our lives to look like? Where would we be happiest? You know, it's so funny - all this time we've been here, I've thought that the reason that things have been so slow and so non-existent is because I needed to learn something. I actually think it's Chris, now, after much conversation and debate. But what?

So, we sit.

And wait.

All I can think of is this:

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

How long are we going to keep hitting our heads against a brick wall?

Not much longer.

I'm Fooling Myself!

It's Friday afternoon, 3:53 p.m., to be exact, and I'm sticking around the office until 4:30. But, what am I doing? BLOGGING! I may as well leave, because I'm not working on what I stayed to work on. But, it's Friday, and I have a delicious weekend filled with the Twin Cities in front of me. I actually had a dream last night that I was offered the chance to go to the Cities and I didn't take it because it made me too sad to go there, and I started crying. Yes, I know, the Cities are crowded, expensive, impersonal, somewhat dirty, and traffic can be hairy. But I still love it. I'd still move back if I could. I don't think I'll ever stop saying that!

We're leaving tonight when Hubby gets home, but that could be as late as 6:30 - we don't yet know. That means we probably won't get in the car till 7:00, which puts us at our friend Mike's house at approximately 10:30. Later than what we had anticipated. Saturday morning is a brunch for the MFT students and alumni at the Seminary to celebrate the program's 10th birthday. I'm really excited to see my school and many of the people who were part of my life for the best three years of my life! Then it's off to Maple Grove to see Sister-in-law, then it's back to Roseville and the Timberlodge Steakhouse to celebrate Mike's graduation from Seminary! Yay Mike! There we will imbibe and enjoy the company of good old friends.

Sunday I shall see my two girlfriends, Kris and Jolene, in Roseville, which will be glorious! Lattes will be had by all at, well, where else?!?! The Mother Ship. (Starbucks, of course. Did you know that the woman that is the company icon for Starbucks is actually a siren?! I never knew that until last week! That must be why I can't stay away from that place. Apparently, on the front of the original store in Seattle, the siren is showing her boobies !)

All said, it will be a wonderful trip.

I don't think I can stand it anymore. I'm going home. I'll use the excuse that I must pack and make supper before we hit the road. Hee hee.

The New Meeting Room Or Write Your Crap Here

What life is about...

This past week has been a good one. Sunday I planted some flowers in pots for my balcony, and they're doing beautifully. Monday Hubby and I ran around together enjoyed the nice day. And Tuesday, I met up with the Killer of Life.

Killer of Life? you're saying. Yes. Do you know what it is? Selfishness. It's why people get divorced - I'd venture to say the ONLY reason why people get divorced. It's why affairs happen. It's why kids are neglected and have to be removed from the home. It's why churches struggle financially - an old pastor of mine once said to us that the United States could erase all poverty if Christians tithed faithfully. I don't doubt it. It's why Americans are so far in debt. Need I say more?

I've been thinking a lot about the Greatest Commandment: "Jesus replied, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. and the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Mt.22:37-40)

One summer when I was counseling senior high camp, my pastor, who was the dean that week, had one rule for the campers: Love your neighbor as yourself. That's the only rule we needed - everything that could happen fell underneath that umbrella. And ultimately, it takes care of all selfishness.

What would our marriages be like if we lived by those two commandments? I can only imagine. I know that I wouldn't have a job - that's for sure!

As I've been working with my clients and gaining more and more understanding of what makes or breaks a marriage, I seem to come back to those verses in Matthew. Do they change your life? I hope so. Do they improve your marriage? I know so.