…and I ain’t referring to the movie. (Didn’t like that movie, either. Not one bit.)

I took the day off yesterday to get some freelance work done in anticipation of going to visit friends overnight tonight. I slept in a little bit, got up and fed the starving felines and went back to bed until…gasp…11 AM. And proceeded to get so much done yesterday, it was astounding – and I don’t only mean freelance work. I was like a powerhouse. I did laundry, I packed up books to give away, I moved things and organized things and just generally took care of things that had been languishing and driving my organized little mind insane every time I looked at them. My friend called and said that they had been down with the stomach flu all week and I quickly decided to pass on our visit. So today, much a repeat of yesterday…including the getting back in bed & sleeping until 11 thing. More freelance work, more cleaning & organizing. Amazing.

I know it all sounds simple and probably quite silly to some of you that I am so happy about all this but frankly, I can’t remember the last time I felt well enough to do so much and not end up crashed out on the couch at midday. I really think my body is craving the extra sleep wildly. It’s quite crazy, since I have been getting to bed by 10 or 11 each night and truthly don’t extract my butt from the bed until nearly 7:30…and really that should be enough sleep for any normal soul. But apparently not for me. I feel like I am always working at a deficit in terms of sleep and so many other things.

A while back, some of the ladies and I were doing a discipleship study and came upon a section that talked of “margin” and the need to have it in your life. We are constantly on the go, running here, there & everywhere for this and that and who knows what, and all the while leaving nothing – no time, I suppose – up for grabs. It’s bad. That’s all I can say, having no margin is bad.

This weekend, I found a little bit of margin and little bit of my self. I realized that I have to start making some changes in my life right away. Some may be easy, while many will take more work on my part. I need to work on my life, my health, my spirit. ‘Cuz something’s gotta give…

I just got home from Good Friday service. It was excellent. Our church doesn’t have a building and hence, we don’t have Good Friday service. But this year and last, some friends and I have attend a service at another nearby church. I have to admit, albeit selfishly, that it is especially nice for me because I don’t have any work to do or anything to be concerned about. I can just sit and enjoy the service. What a concept! And something sometimes all too unfamiliar.

Anyway, I took the afternoon off today. I had lunch with my peeps from my old job (good to see y’all – missed you, Tomas!), went shoe shopping and then treated myself to a manicure & a pedicure…sandal season, you know. But again I digress from my point…

While I was in the salon the owner’s wife came in with her son, probably around 10 or 11. She said in English that he had asked her why they called it Good Friday when it was the day Jesus died on the cross. A flurry of questions and what I supposed were answers flew from the people working in the salon. Unfortunately, they spoke to him in another language, so I’m not sure what answer they gave. I would have been very interested to know. This was a question I asked as a kid, to a mom who wasn’t a believer. I don’t even remember what her answer was, truthfully. (The other reason for that was her father died suddenly, very young, on a Good Friday – so in the family, Good Friday always had a pall to it anyway).

I understand clearly the question. If you have seen The Passion of the Christ, you can even more understand it. And in the book of Isaiah, it is even worse, saying that Christ was beaten until he was unrecognizeable. He was tortured, scorned and mocked, and then hung on a cross to die a most terrible death. If you have ever heard anyone describe the physiologic effects of being hung on a cross – it is stunning. I believe it is one of the most horrid ways to die. And yet, we call that day Good Friday?

Yes. It was a day that had be prophesied for years and years. If you study the Bible (not just read it cover to cover like a book – you’ll never get through Leviticus if you try it that way, trust me), you cannot help but be amazed about how all that was written came true through Jesus Christ. Even this – the horror of his death. Through his torture, his horrible death on the cross, he was made a sacrifice for us and for our sin. The pastor tonight made an analogy – it was like our sin was written down and God took some “Red Out” and covered up the words/sins and it turned white as snow over them. That doesn’t sound as powerful as I write it and it’s probably a little bit off but I hope that you are getting the point. Jesus’s blood can wash away our sin. How amazing is that?

So in the horror, in the darkness, in all the distress he felt and those who loved him on earth felt…there was truly good.

Today was one of those days where you think you are being productive but really, things keep going wrong just when you think you’re almost finished and you practically have to start all over. But I am going to put that all aside now and tell you about my little lovebug.

This is Norman.

Norman has obsessive compulsive disorder.

I am certain of it.

He scratches at closet doors incessantly until I open them.

He cries for hours at the basement door, each and every night. If I let him down there, he comes back up quickly. If I close the door, he cries again.

If you bring cardboard into the house, he has to scratch at it incessantly until you hide it away. I bought something tonight that came in a cardboard box and made the mistake of not taking it out to the trash immediately. He scratched at it for probably a half hour (furiously scratching – I’m sure the neighbor could hear him, that’s what a ruckus he was making!) I finally hid it in the closet until I can take it out for trash.

If he is hungry, and you choose to ignore him because (A) it is three o’clock in the morning or (B) you’ve already fed him, he will howl and run and pounce on you with all the force his ten little pounds can muster.

Oh, I knew he had issues from the moment I brought his cute furry butt home. Being my third kitty, I totally disregarded all the “guidelines” about how to introduce them, etc. He stuck close to me and literally growled at Ramona & Nellie any time either would try to come near. To this day, he rules the roost – even though they are both larger than him (and Ramona could take him in a second!)

But I love him. He is my sweet baby boy. I mean, who couldn’t love that funny face?

I had to travel for work this weekend and I forgot to pack the darn ruby slippers. And boy, did I need them. I was attending a workshop outside of DC. I love DC and decided to drive down instead of taking the train and got on the road late yesterday afternoon. It was a beautiful day and the drive really wasn’t bad…until I got to the neighborhood where my hotel/motel/whatever was. As soon as I got close, I knew it was a terrible neighborhood. I was literally praying that mapquest was wrong and that it wasn’t there. But nope, it was indeed. I got all my stuff out of the car and went to check in. The first “automatic” door opened for me, the second…not so much. I had to literally force it open…in hindsight, there was probably a reason for that…

I checked in and got my keys and asked how to get to my room. The guy at the desk told me to go outside and up the stairs, around to the back of the building. I hadn’t realized that this wasn’t the kind of “lodging” where you could access your room from INSIDE the building…no, it certainly wasn’t. I went up to the room, lugging all my stuff, and got inside. Problems with the lights and scariness aside, it was ok inside. Until I realized that the door looked like it had been kicked in at some point. It closed at the top but there was about a 1/2 opening at the bottom. This completely freaked me out for a million reasons but it was getting dark and I wanted to see where my meeting was and get something to eat.

I had had a whole plan to come down, check out the location, go find a nice restaurant and eat dinner and read my book club book. No such luck. I drove through the horrible neighborhoods (calling Michelle so I’d have a “witness” if I got carjacked – SERIOUSLY, it was that bad) and couldn’t find the building for my meeting. It was getting dark and I didn’t want to be hanging around anywhere alone in the dark so I headed back towards the hotel. There was nowhere nice to eat so I ended up getting Taco Bell and eating it in the room.

I was still freaked out about the room and the door situation. Even though it had a deadbolt and a chain, plus the regular lock, I was in no way at ease. I won’t go into all the details but suffice it to say I rigged up something (not quite MacGyver style but pretty creative, I’d say) in front of the door to at least give me some peace. I did the same with the door to the adjoining room, even though it appeared kind of locked on my side. And slept with all the lights on…I guess if you can call what I did sleeping. I probably got about three hours, if that.

Now, thankfully I am home and ready to sleep in my own bed! YAY! Hip hip hooray!!!

Note to self: when an organization RECOMMENDS hotels, take the recommendations – don’t choose a hotel simply because it is “nearby” and cheap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sigh.

I’d like to introduce you to someone who is an inspiration to me. You may read his blog but some of you may not…if not, please visit Ruben.

Ruben happened upon this blog when I first started it and commented; I went over to his blog to check him out and was totally floored by his story. He faces so many struggles each day, yet finds the beauty and the good in some many people and things in his life. Even when he is in pain and feeling low, he tries to turn his focus away from those things and to find the positive somewhere. His post today about his children and his daughter thanking him for trying to be a good daddy brought tears to my eyes.

It is amazing to me that something as simple as a blog can bring people all over the world together. I am thankful that Ruben found mine and that I am able to share in his story & his life, always reminding me that each day really does count.

Ruben & Meg are getting married very soon. I know from what he has written that Meg is his everything – his love, his strength. I pray that their wedding will be beautiful and magical, all that it should be for such special people. And I pray that Ruben will be granted the gift of health that day and that he will feel no pain and no fatigue and that he and his love will enjoy every minute of their special day.

I found this quote on a Christian writers’ blog I read.  It’s from Calvin Coolidge and I thought it was inspiring:

 

Press on: nothing in the world can take the place of perseverance. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

 

I’ve had a lot of my mind lately – in fact, sometimes I feel like my thoughts are simply spinning out of control.  But reading this reminded me not to just give up some of the things I was considering giving up just because they’ve become difficult and sometimes unmanageable.  It is a time to press on and persevere, rather than walk away.