The More I Know You, The More I . . . Hate You?

Idioms -- you gotta love them.

Take "Familiarity breeds contempt".

What is basically being said here is "The more I get to know you, the more I find to dislike about you." Or to go by the handy little explanation I found via Google:

This means that the more you know something or someone, the more you start to find faults and dislike things about it or them.

It's sort of sad when you think about it . . . especially when you think about how often *you* find more faults with people the longer you know them.

Though it is easy, isn't it, to find faults in or with others?

"I would enjoy the song service at church so much more if Person X didn't sing so loudly or off-key . . ."

"I would have an easier time of things if my spouse were more helpful . . ."

"Well, if Person B wasn't such a meanie-head, bitter and negative to boot, then I would still . . ."

Yes, we're a sorry bunch, aren't we? Which is why Jesus admonished us to take the logs out of our own eyes before dealing with the specks (talk about discrepancies, eh?) in another's eye (Matthew 7:1-5).

I've heard it said many times the things which bug us the most in other people are the very things we do ourselves, which has led to a bit of an epiphany for me, I think. Lets look at the things that bug us about other people and rather than judge or write off or try to 'fix' the fault, use that person as a mirror of sorts to look at yourself -- to see the log blocking your own vision. But don't stop there (because sometimes we do, telling ourselves and others "That's just the way I am!")! Tell God you have this nasty huge log in your eye. You know it's wrong, He knows it's wrong, and no one is fooling anybody. Then give it to Him. Allow Him to get it out (He has very steady hands!) and then be prepared to see like you've never seen before.

Maybe then the person with the speck will allow you to help them get rid of it -- they'll trust you to seeing as how you're not about to whack them in the head with a log.

Something to think about, eh?

I'm Done!!!!!

There are five exclamation points up there for a very good reason.

I'VE FINISHED MY NOVEL WRITING COURSE!!!!!

The ironic thing is when I began blogging after a hiatus (ha, ha), the purpose was to write about my experiences with said course. Then I ended up perfecting my procrastinating skills (which I'm now trying to 'unperfect') and then I heard you're not supposed to say things such as "I'm blogging today about . . ." and that idea was out the window. So, yeah.

My diploma is on the way. Now to finish the novel!

Go Left . . . No, Right . . . Wait a Second . . .

". . . your eyes shall see your teachers. Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," . . ."

~~ Isaiah 30: 20c, 21a (NKJ)

It can be hard, figuring out which way to go. Especially if you, like myself, are directionally impaired. May I always remember the day when I was to meet my grandmother at the local mall. Wanting to be sure I met her at the right set of doors, I asked if she would be by the doors at the adjoining grocery store, to which she replied she would be at the west doors. I naively asked her if those were by the grocery store. She replied she would be at the west doors. We went back and forth for a bit before I said "I'll see you there". Through my awesome logic (see October's 'Bye, Little Snat), I correctly deduced a busload of senior citizens would be dropped off at the doors by the grocery store (and, coincidentally, the west ones).

Sometimes I feel like I'm doing the same thing with God and His Holy Spirit. There He is, telling me "Go here!" And I'm all "Over there? Is it that by that thing?" And He repeats "Go here!" becasue, really, I should be able to see it and know it. But I allow the cares of this world to drag me down or tie me up and I'm just not seeing it until I finally just let all the unnecessary stuff fall away and oh, hello! There is where I'm supposed to be.

And it may even be right by the grocery store.

Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot

In just under 6 hours by MST, it will be a brand new spankin' year. Out with the old and in with the new -- new goals, new ideas, new expectations and what not.

I was flipping through my rarely pulled-out journal last night and discovered I had indeed set some goals for '07. I did okay on some, totally forgot about others, and was struck by how I seem to set the same goals year after year after year.

Get in better shape/lose weight.

Do better at work.

Do better at my volunteer work.

Write more.

Spend less time watching TV/aimlessly surfing the 'Net/time-wasting activity of the month.

Basically, :-P. Same old, same old.

I was prompted out of my 'same old' mindset in church yesterday when my pastor taught on the Holy Spirit's work in us, through us, and with us as Christians. God wants us to be blessed, to be successful, to be free and prosperous in every sense of the word. We're not supposed to look back. Like Paul wrote to one of the early churches, this one thing he did was forget those things which were behind him and press on toward the goal of the upward call in Christ Jesus.

Hmmm.

So Paul wasn't looking back and he was moving onward and upward. And I need to do the same.

It's time for me to quit looking back at all the things I was going to do, but to look at where I want to be and figure out (prayerfully!) how to get there.

On that note, I have one goal already which is more defined than my . . . wait, I'm not looking back! Okay, here is the one goal I have thus far: Write one new chapter for my novel every 3 weeks (this is a minimum number -- if it's every two weeks, that's great).

Happy New Year, everyone!

Time Flies . . . Does Cake?

I technically have another 18 hours and 35 mintues (if I remember correctly -- or else it's 19 hours and 5 minutes) before I turn the big 3-6. Yup, I'm on what some would call the downward slope to the even bigger 4-0. No longer can I say I'm in my early thirties. It's now the mid-to-late thirties and I think I lost an important note or something along the way or else I would be feeling more prepared for this.

Such is how life seems at times, eh? It's happening, we're not ready, but on it goes none the less. %-P

Not that I'm really having issues with getting older or regretting things not done and even a few things that were done. I think it's more just me being in a contemplative mood as I look toward the new year and wonder what sorts of things are going to happen in '08.

Now I was feeling as if I should write something all profound and meaningful about getting older and making changes and what-not. But the facts of the matter are presently as follows:

#1. It's (as I type this) 11:18 PM where I live.

#2. I'm tired.

#3. I have these really great flannel sheets which make going to bed even more appealing in my sleepy state.

#4. Ramblings of a tired mind can be oft-regretted in the morning. Or revered for their awesome depths. Either way . . . it can be dicey at best.

So g'night. I'm too tired to pull my foot out of my mouth so I best not be creating an opportunity for it to get in there to begin with. ;-P

Look at the Time!

Oh my word!

I was going to do a big update on mine & hubby's sunny California vacation so far (2nd day in!) when I realized it is 11:46 PM in the Pacific Time Zone. :-P

So in a nutshell for now:

1. Going to The Gospel Brunch at The House of Blues in Disneyland was an interesting experience, and I'm not just talking about the singing. (Lord, please help me to get rid of some more incorrect & preconceived ideas!)

2. "The Glory of Christmas" live Nativity The Crystal Cathedral has been putting on on for the past 25+ years is *amazing*! Live animals, a very large crew involved on stage and off, amazing music and some very brave actors on harnesses!

3. Waiting in line is fun when with my hubby.

4. There is a right time and place to let someone know toothpaste *and* mouthwash are not cutting it for their breath. :-/

*<):-/

People, myself included, can confuse me.

I regularly post on a message board where people share the ups and downs of their daily lives along with some good (some bad -- LOL) jokes and some amazing recipes and travel stories/pictures. Some solid friendships have been formed, in my opinion, in this little corner of the world wide web. And it has been at times frustrating, challenging and just plain fun and encouraging.

So please pardon me, but I do wonder why some people choose to leave and then wonder why I'm wondering about it. Am I naive? Blind? As negative a . . . okay, I can't think of an 'n' name that isn't the name of someone I know . . . okay, am I as negative or of as ill of a character as the people supposedly causing other people to leave?

Hmmmm.

Well, the Bible does say many things of how we're to judge people by their fruit and watch who we associate with for 'a little leaven leavens the whole lump' and all of that is true. But as my pastor stresses time and again, we have to look at the context of the verses before running willy-nilly with them. Because the same Bible says not to judge others and try to deal with their little speck of a problem when we have our own logs to deal with. It also says only God knows the true intents of a person's heart. Yet we all try to figure out just that. And then we act on it.

Gadzooks, it's not like I'm perfect in my relationships. I'm not. But such *grace* has been shown to me by God and He does say as I have freely received such grace, so must I give it to others. Does that mean I become a doormat? Or put up with all kinds of sin and garbage?

Mmmm, no. It doesn't.

Lets look at it this way. If you are behaving in a way others didn't like, would you prefer they just dump you or judge you first, then dump you? Or would you try to find out the 'why' behind their 'what'? Basically, how would you like to be treated if the shoe were on the other foot? "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" is one of the most oft-quoted Bible verses used by many sides in many arguments.

So why does it seem we all want to be treated so poorly?