Someone Worth Checking Out

I'm not really big into the blog scene. I know, I know, I HAVE a blog...but really this is a place for me to get on my soapbox about crazy Christians and ugly shoes. I would not consider myself a wheel in the blog-cog.

Until about a month ago, the only blog I follow religiously is ThePioneerWoman. I'm addicted to her witty anecdotes and beautiful photographs of dicing onions and cracking eggs. Her Grilled Ribeye Steak with Onion-Blue Cheese sauce will go without mention here because even the thought of the deliciousness makes me put on 5 pounds.

I wish I was kidding. (About the poundage, not the recipe.)

However, if you like blogs about real people doing their best to love the Lord and deal with the ups and downs life throws at them, this girl is totally worth checking out:

http://www.sarahmarkley.com/

If there is one thing I dislike...hate...dispise even, it's a preachy Christian. I get mad at people that only post things on their facebook status like "God is SO Gr8!" or "I am so FULFILLED in HIM I don't know what to do with myself!!!".

I get mad for 2 reasons:

1. God is not extra honored because of weird capitalization.

2. NO ONE is always that happy and fulfilled. So to me, they just come across as desperate and fake. Some of my most intimate moments with the Lord come from conversations that start with an expletive (from me, of course, not God) or a phrase like, "God, I'm so mad at you right now." There's a brokenness found in that sort of place that can lead to a deeper insight into who God is.

Think of the words of Jesus on the cross. "My God, why have you forsaken me?" Obviously, Jesus would not have tweeted while on the cross, but still, that wasn't a "Jesus Christ is: super-excited for what the LORD is doing in His life!" kind of moment.

And the Bible says to "work out your faith with fear and trembling" not "and on your facebook status so everyone can know how spiritual you are"

So if I can't handle hyper-spirituality in 140 characters, I'm sure as heck not reading some pompous, self-righteous blog.

ALL OF THAT TO SAY:

Read Sarah Markley. She has a beautiful balance of insight and wit flavored with a deep and honest relationship with the Lord. She's articulate. She's genuine. She's refreshing.

And she has 2 adorable little girls.

And an amazing husband. (Usually I don't say things like that about other people's spouses, because clearly, Mr. Awesome has no equal. But just read their story, and you'll see what I mean.)

And she has an amazing God...I think He's pretty gr8 2!

So, They Announced the Date for the Premier...

And I am not a happy lostaway.

February 2nd.

That's 74 days from now. And that is lame.

What about the Olympics? Will they take a break? Can't they just show it all at once. We're talking one 18 hour (or wherever the count is now) chunk. Eating and sleeping would only be allowed on commercial breaks at my house.

URGH! I'm so impatient to get to the end.

The Three Camps of Christmas

Want to walk into a group of people and immediately stir up controversy? Sing a Christmas song in the middle of November.

Other than national health-care, nothing will polarize a group of people more quickly. There are only three camps:

1. The Buddy-the-Elf:
"OMG! I created my Dean Martin Christmas station on pandora.com two months ago! I've been listening to it and drinking peppermint mocha's from Starbucks every afternoon!"


2. The Traditionalist:
Covers their ears. "No, no! I will hear none of it until after Thanksgiving! You will leave my presence for trying to ruin the sanctity of Christmas by forcing it to precede Black Friday. Now begone with you, and your misguided holiday spirit."


3. The Ebeneezer Scrooge:
"Bah! Christmas. It's nothing but a commercial crock to make us spend money on frivolity and airline tickets. Frankly, my favorite holiday is Boxing Day. Yeah, Boxing Day. It's as far away from sugar-flake-gum-plum's as possible."

I promise, there is no middle ground here. Please, please try this in a very large, very public gathering of people and let me know what you find. :)



Make Buddy proud. You know you want to.