25 Things and Other Fun Stuff

I've got a few links for you... we'll get there. 

If you're on Facebook, you've no doubtedly seen the "25 Random Things About Me" notes that have been flying around, amongst the others that have come out of it. As the hubby states, "this is so myspace." And it is, but we all indulge, at least to a point. I did succumb to peer pressure and posted my own 25 things. I tried to combine sarcastic humor with quiet truth. That's always my goal, and I feel certain I almost always fall short. 

Anywho, as a result (of the rampant 25 Random Things posts, not my post in particular), the blog for the Wittenburg Door (a great satirical website I have discovered as a result of this blog post I'm about to talk about) has posted "25 Random Things About God." It is wonderful. Go read it and laugh. 

In searching around this site (Wittenburg Door) I discovered two other gems in the world of Biblical humor. Noah's Blog and God's Creation Blog. Priceless. 

I love thinking of God and Jesus and other biblical figures as actually human, like me. It makes them relatable. I don't relate to the stuffy, proper, eloquent Father-figure that's always looking down his nose at you judging your actions to see if they are socially correct. I'm sure God can do that, if God wants to. But I don't think He does. 

Hence, number 11 on my list of 25 Random Things: "I believe Jesus laughed. A lot. I believe he fell in love. I believe he made his mother worry. And I believe that he didn't come to earth intending to die like he did. I believe that if we could have listened to what he was really saying, he may have not had to die. I believe it could have ended differently. I believe it can always end differently."

Hey, I had to add my own stuff in there somewhere. It being my blog and all.

Brothers and Sisters

In the midst of the party excitement, my family had some sad news to digest. My father's youngest sister, Martha, passed away last week. She was 52, and died of a massive stroke. It was very unexpected.

My father's family is not that large. There are about 10 of us now. Stark contrast to my mom's family, and even more so to my husband's family.

As a result of the small family, my sister and I felt it would be really good if we could go to the service. We weren't exactly close to this aunt, but wanted to be there for our cousins and dad. And since there are so few of us on that side, we knew our presence would be missed.

So we, with the wonderfully loving husband in tow, drove the five hours to her service Monday, and then turned around and drove the five hours back. It was a long day, but I'm very glad we went, to be there for our family, if not only for the words my father spoke at the service.

My father, the pastor, amazes me. How he is able to put on his preacher face and lead in the midst of grief I will never understand. He led the whole service, which was beautiful. And when the time came for the sermon/homily/honoring of the one who had passed, his words were peaceful and comforting, and quite beautiful.

He talked about brothers and sisters. And how the relationship between and among siblings is like no other. He used two quotes that he sent to us after the service, and me being a quote person, I latched on to them quickly:

"To the outside world we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each others' hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time." –Clara Ortega

"Our brothers and sisters are there with us from the dawn of our personal stories to the inevitable dusk." –Susan Scarf Merrell

As I was listening to him, I got to thinking about my sister and our relationship, and how we travel through life sharing something with our siblings that we can't share with anyone else in the same way. Sure, our parents were there for our childhoods, and probably remember it better than we do. But that shared experience of living through growing up together not only affects who we are and how we see each other, but how we relate to one another once the growing up is done.

It has been a hard time for my family. It's one thing to bury your parents, you expect to do that sometime in your life. And the grief of burying a child must be on an entirely different plane. But the experience of burying a sibling is one I have never much contemplated before.

The words he added at the end of the service: "Go with God into the dawn of that new day and wait for us—we are on our way."

Surprise!

Well, I actually pulled it off! My 'rents-in-law and I have been planning a surprise party for dear sweet hubby for about 2 months now. We did a movie theme, to go along with his current occupation and his general love for cinema. His mom made two wonderful cakes - a clapboard, and a movie reel. And our friends from a singing group we used to be a part of helped out with all the food. I made a slide show of pictures of him (I love iPhoto!). We had about 60 people in attendance, which was a great turn out! I was so excited, and very appreciative of everyone who helped out and attended.

And the best part? He was completely surprised! We had told him that he was needed to play dinner music for a birthday party, and he even had his stack of music with him as he came in. He had no idea! I was pretty much resigned to the idea that he would figure it out at some point, or at least get suspicious, but he never did. I was very pleased with our success. The downside is that he's sworn to never believe anything his mom or I tell him ever again. Eh, I think it was worth it!

I'm so excited...

The tag line gives me chills...

Kinda like the poster for HP4 did...

Thanks, mugglenet!

What Office Supply Am I?

My friend over at gavoweb tipped me off to this quiz. And, since I'm battling insomnia at the current moment, what better way to kill time than take an innocent online quiz?

You Are a Red Pen

You have an eagle eye for detail, and this often means you end up finding mistakes in people's work. You may seem quick to criticize or correct, but you think accuracy and truth is important. You like to be involved in every project. You feel like you put the polishing touch on things. You would make a good editor, detective, or accountant. When facts matter, you're the person to call on.

What Office Supply Are You?

I think it's quite interesting that, of all the office supplies out there, I am a red pen. In college, my mentor loved using a red pen. He always found fault in something. He'd write all over tests and papers with that red pen, marking corrections and adding in what we left out. The thing was, it wasn't a bad thing, he was probably the best teacher I had, and we always joked with him about his inability to give a perfect score, no matter how much my classmates and I put into our work. He inspired us to always do better.

I digress. We did joke a lot about that red pen, I think we even bought him a box of red pens upon our graduation, or at least talked about it. At one point we tried to tell him that using red was psychologically damaging to students, and he should use blue or green, as it would be more peaceful, and uplifting to his students. He would have none of it!

And now, according to this silly little online quiz, I'm a red pen. At first, I almost laughed out loud. Seriously? But as I think about it, if this is saying I'm in any way similar to this loved professor, I'm more than okay with that.