Mission Arlington

The Cornerstone Group

left to right: Jeff, Erin, Me, Katelynn, Josiah, Joe, Ian, Sherrie, Brian, Dylan, and Luke. (not pictured: Stephanie)

Our church group (about 10 or 12 of us) went to Mission Arlington with another church group from the city. This was my second year to go there and it still amazes me how everything functions and works... I can't even begin to explain all that they have going on to share with the town of Arlington the love of Jesus. From apartment churches to the Christmas store to clothes, food, and a medical clinic... as I said, I can't even begin to explain what they do.
So I will tell you what we did.

On the way down there, we were following Darrel.. I was in my own car at the end of the line.. without a GPS.. in Texas... and I missed an exit when everyone barely made it. It was a little sweaty stressful time. Plus I was literally praying the entire time that I wouldn't get pulled over because I was speeding to stay with everyone. I am on probation in Texas for driving 15 mph over the speed limit. I don't usually speed and I didn't know at this one area in town that it was 55 instead of 70. oops

Anyway we stayed at this apartment/church/building. I'm not really sure what it's classified as. Either way we were across the street from:

The New Dallas Cowboys Stadium

This was our room:

7 of us slept in here

A balanced breakfast is very important before a hard day's work at Mission Arlington

and great attitudes

Most of the day we sorted through the bins. It can be very overwhelming because the donations never stop and we either recycle or store everything... very little is trashed Everything is sorted and divided into glass, metal, trash, clothes to be hung up, clothes to be stored, things that go in the 2nd house (home furnishings) or 1 1/2 house (new toys).

We did this from 8 in the morning until about 7pm, sometime stopping to load boxes of toys upstairs. One of the things we do at Mission Arlington is assembly lines. We are pros at assembly lines now. Zig zagging is what it's all about.

Isn't it amazing the amount of toys that people give? It's such a blessing... this picture doesn't even touch on how many brand new toys are donated... this is probably a tip of a pen compared to all of the toys. No joke.

The next day we split into groups and went to different apartment to do apartment church. It goes to show that you don't have to confine worship into a building with a name, you can take Jesus anywhere. Some of these people don't have cars and are not able to hear the Truth. Some of these people are thirsty for Jesus, and really want to learn more... some have never been introduced to Him. We knocked on everyone's door (like Jehovah's witnesses?) noooo. ;-) We invited everyone to our service by the pool. Most of them did not speak English, so my brother translated into Spanish (iglesia Mission Arlington. Biblio Estudiar. La Piscina. Once') Which he found out later didn't mean much. haha. One guy even laughed in his face. Eh. We tried.
We had 6 little kids end up coming to our church, other groups had different ratios of adults to kids. It was a good time. One little girl asked, "Are those animals gonna eat that baby?" Referring to baby Jesus when Michelle told them that Mary put Jesus in a trough and wrapped him in cloth. It was precious. This was our group:

The next day (today), which was my last day because I had to go home early to work, we raked leaves, packed & sorted through some moldy boxes from a moldy trailer (NOT even close to being as bad as last year) :) and helped in the Christmas store.

I had a great and exhausting time as always at Mission Arlington. I talked to one of the main people about volunteering for a couple of weeks in the summer at the Medical clinic. He said they are always needing nurses and he'd check on whether I would need a Texas Nursing license or not. I'm excited about this possibility. Goodbye Mission Arlington! See you soon!

(P.S. Don't be jealous of my awesome picture taking skills) ;-)

Couponing

This girl at work has started couponing and last week she saved around 120 bucks. Apparently if you work it right you can get tons of free stuff at Walgreens. I haven't really mastered it... or even tried for that matter. haha. Anyway, last year at church Anne started a couponing thing, and it was great. I think that fizzled out though.

Homeland doubles coupons.
Walgreens has a $5 reward thing.
Amazon has some amazing deals.

I've been looking at this website and she's is pretty efficient. She has it down to a science and I believe she has saved over $3000 in only 1 1/2 years. Pretty cool. She updates probably 5-6 times a day and shows some really good deals. Now if you are generally a lazy person (like me) it may be hard for you to start in on it. I actually clipped some useful coupons yesterday, even on products I use a lot!

Oh, here's the website: Hip2Save It's a blogger website, so you can add it to your following.

She has videos on the sidebar to the right, deals she's found at walmart, walgreeens, etc...

Here's one of the videos. If you have some time you should check them out!

Christmas shopping and such

It's really been hard to get into the Christmas spirit for me this year, and I'm not really sure why. I don't have a tree up, and I contribute that to the fact that I'm moving... even though I'm moving in January. Anywho, I went and did some out and about Christmas shopping yesterday instead of online. I didn't think it was going to be bad. I was wrong. Although it's weird how many random people you see when you shop.

I had a weird week last week... I won't go into details... Just a lot of weirdness.

Night shift has got me all sorts of crazy on my days off. The other day I slept 17 hours. Impressive aye? However, the day before that I only slept 2 hours and couldn't sleep anymore.

Oh.... I also fell asleep in the movie theater for 30 minutes while watching New Moon the first time. I'm a Twilight nerd. I fell asleep. During a huge chunk of action. Something's wrong.

I had to see it again, and I didn't fall asleep luckily. I'm 89 years old.

I'm trying to figure out what my next move is going to be... I have some time to figure it out before June gets here, but it's still hard trying to decide. Should I stick to a hospital setting? Should I try HH? All I know for sure is that I'm moving, but where I go from there is a mystery. I just know it's going to be a relief to get away from here and be around people that I love.

That's the update for now. Super vague I know.

So I leave you with this:

Annoyed

I've been annoyed lately, and sure I'd be glad to tell you what has been annoying me.
People on myspace/facebook posting their life story as their status complaining about things. I understand people have rough days and want to vent, heck I've done it myself. However.... when EVERY status is something bad or whiny, it makes me want to delete them as friends. I just don't want to hear about how they contracted an STD or how every day is horrible because they STILL can't find the remote. Cheese Whiz people.

Today I went to the Buckle to find a shirt for this weekend... Those workers are relentless. I mean, I was in the dressing room trying on 3 different shirts. In that brief time of being in there, this girl that works there asked LITERALLY every 30 seconds, "how are those shirts working for you?" I was so annoyed by the time I was going to try on the 3rd shirt, I decided against it and left so I wouldn't have to hear her ask me again.

Well, that was my little rant for the day.... here's a joyous moment for ya'

I'M GOING TO SEE JOHN MAYER IN MARCH!! We got good seats too! I'm going with my Sarahly, Baby Suzzle, and Dancy. It's going to be fun times.

Love this:

Letter to Non-Believers

I posted this on my facebook, but I liked it so much I'm keeping it here so I can remember to look at it.

This is the direct link but I'll just copy and paste the letter.



To all my nonbelieving, sort-of-believing, and used-to-be-believing friends: I feel like I should begin with a confession. I am sorry that so often the biggest obstacle to God has been Christians. Christians who have had so much to say with our mouths and so little to show with our lives. I am sorry that so often we have forgotten the Christ of our Christianity.

Forgive us. Forgive us for the embarrassing things we have done in the name of God.

The other night I headed into downtown Philly for a stroll with some friends from out of town. We walked down to Penn's Landing along the river, where there are street performers, artists, musicians. We passed a great magician who did some pretty sweet tricks like pour change out of his iPhone, and then there was a preacher. He wasn't quite as captivating as the magician. He stood on a box, yelling into a microphone, and beside him was a coffin with a fake dead body inside. He talked about how we are all going to die and go to hell if we don't know Jesus.

Some folks snickered. Some told him to shut the hell up. A couple of teenagers tried to steal the dead body in the coffin. All I could do was think to myself, I want to jump up on a box beside him and yell at the top of my lungs, "God is not a monster." Maybe next time I will.

The more I have read the Bible and studied the life of Jesus, the more I have become convinced that Christianity spreads best not through force but through fascination. But over the past few decades our Christianity, at least here in the United States, has become less and less fascinating. We have given the atheists less and less to disbelieve. And the sort of Christianity many of us have seen on TV and heard on the radio looks less and less like Jesus.

At one point Gandhi was asked if he was a Christian, and he said, essentially, "I sure love Jesus, but the Christians seem so unlike their Christ." A recent study showed that the top three perceptions of Christians in the U. S. among young non-Christians are that Christians are 1) antigay, 2) judgmental, and 3) hypocritical. So what we have here is a bit of an image crisis, and much of that reputation is well deserved. That's the ugly stuff. And that's why I begin by saying that I'm sorry.

Now for the good news.

I want to invite you to consider that maybe the televangelists and street preachers are wrong — and that God really is love. Maybe the fruits of the Spirit really are beautiful things like peace, patience, kindness, joy, love, goodness, and not the ugly things that have come to characterize religion, or politics, for that matter. (If there is anything I have learned from liberals and conservatives, it's that you can have great answers and still be mean... and that just as important as being right is being nice.)

The Bible that I read says that God did not send Jesus to condemn the world but to save it... it was because "God so loved the world." That is the God I know, and I long for others to know. I did not choose to devote my life to Jesus because I was scared to death of hell or because I wanted crowns in heaven... but because he is good. For those of you who are on a sincere spiritual journey, I hope that you do not reject Christ because of Christians. We have always been a messed-up bunch, and somehow God has survived the embarrassing things we do in His name. At the core of our "Gospel" is the message that Jesus came "not [for] the healthy... but the sick." And if you choose Jesus, may it not be simply because of a fear of hell or hope for mansions in heaven.

Don't get me wrong, I still believe in the afterlife, but too often all the church has done is promise the world that there is life after death and use it as a ticket to ignore the hells around us. I am convinced that the Christian Gospel has as much to do with this life as the next, and that the message of that Gospel is not just about going up when we die but about bringing God's Kingdom down. It was Jesus who taught us to pray that God's will be done "on earth as it is in heaven." On earth.

One of Jesus' most scandalous stories is the story of the Good Samaritan. As sentimental as we may have made it, the original story was about a man who gets beat up and left on the side of the road. A priest passes by. A Levite, the quintessential religious guy, also passes by on the other side (perhaps late for a meeting at church). And then comes the Samaritan... you can almost imagine a snicker in the Jewish crowd. Jews did not talk to Samaritans, or even walk through Samaria. But the Samaritan stops and takes care of the guy in the ditch and is lifted up as the hero of the story. I'm sure some of the listeners were ticked. According to the religious elite, Samaritans did not keep the right rules, and they did not have sound doctrine... but Jesus shows that true faith has to work itself out in a way that is Good News to the most bruised and broken person lying in the ditch.

It is so simple, but the pious forget this lesson constantly. God may indeed be evident in a priest, but God is just as likely to be at work through a Samaritan or a prostitute. In fact the Scripture is brimful of God using folks like a lying prostitute named Rahab, an adulterous king named David... at one point God even speaks to a guy named Balaam through his donkey. Some say God spoke to Balaam through his ass and has been speaking through asses ever since. So if God should choose to use us, then we should be grateful but not think too highly of ourselves. And if upon meeting someone we think God could never use, we should think again.

After all, Jesus says to the religious elite who looked down on everybody else: "The tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the Kingdom ahead of you." And we wonder what got him killed?

I have a friend in the UK who talks about "dirty theology" — that we have a God who is always using dirt to bring life and healing and redemption, a God who shows up in the most unlikely and scandalous ways. After all, the whole story begins with God reaching down from heaven, picking up some dirt, and breathing life into it. At one point, Jesus takes some mud, spits in it, and wipes it on a blind man's eyes to heal him. (The priests and producers of anointing oil were not happy that day.)

In fact, the entire story of Jesus is about a God who did not just want to stay "out there" but who moves into the neighborhood, a neighborhood where folks said, "Nothing good could come." It is this Jesus who was accused of being a glutton and drunkard and rabble-rouser for hanging out with all of society's rejects, and who died on the imperial cross of Rome reserved for bandits and failed messiahs. This is why the triumph over the cross was a triumph over everything ugly we do to ourselves and to others. It is the final promise that love wins.

It is this Jesus who was born in a stank manger in the middle of a genocide. That is the God that we are just as likely to find in the streets as in the sanctuary, who can redeem revolutionaries and tax collectors, the oppressed and the oppressors... a God who is saving some of us from the ghettos of poverty, and some of us from the ghettos of wealth.

In closing, to those who have closed the door on religion — I was recently asked by a non-Christian friend if I thought he was going to hell. I said, "I hope not. It will be hard to enjoy heaven without you." If those of us who believe in God do not believe God's grace is big enough to save the whole world... well, we should at least pray that it is.

Your brother,

Shane



Read more: http://www.esquire.com/features/best-and-brightest-2009/shane-claiborne-1209#ixzz0XLO0pYP4

visiting hours

I've been blessed and I actually have been getting to work the past 2 weeks. I haven't got to visit my usual people lately, so yesterday I had a day off and visited my friends Ashley & Melissa. Ashley has a cute little boy Brayden, he is 3 months old and has the cutest chubby cheeks. He's a snuggly baby.

When I visit these girls, we usually eat and go get a pedicure. I had worked the night before and had only slept 2 hours that day before I met them. I should've known, but I was in a rush. My legs were hairy. Attractive, I know. Anyway, I apologized to the guy doing my pedicure repeatedly... my pedicure didn't last as long as the other girls... I have a strong belief it was because of the state my legs were in. (Don't act like any of you ladies have never gone a few days without shaving your legs) ;-)
I usually get a pink or red color, but I decided on this beautiful color.

Today, I went to visit my friend Leslie and her cute kids. We ate dinner and watched The Proposal. It was a cute little chick flick, not kid appropriate (we waited til they went to sleep). As I was leaving, I opened the door and it jammed into my foot. It hurt.
I'm not usually a wuss... it hurts a lot worse than it looks. BUT hey, at least my toes look cute!

Groceries

I went grocery shopping today, I was in desperate need of groceries. As some of you know, my work has not had many patients so us "unexperienced" get called off a lot. My check before this last one... let's say was much less than needed. So for the past 2 weeks I've eaten sandwiches or cereal, unless I've gone to my parents or friend's parents (Thanks Dancy). I'm not complaining, because I know I am very blessed that I am able to eat and I actually have food. I have heard from friends that are teachers in a town not far from here who have children who have peanut butter and bread every night for dinner & don't have water to bathe. Don't get me wrong. I am VERY VERY blessed.

Anyway, my last check was a much needed relief. I enjoy being able to afford food, buy gas to go places, and pay bills on time. It soothes me. I hate being in debt. Sooooo I went to Homeland to buy groceries, and it only cost me $50.00 for food that will probably last me 3 weeks.

I decided to make spaghetti tonight with lots of onions, because I love onions... I do. I'm not that great of a cook, I don't pretend to be, and I don't like to cook either. I CAN make some mean chocolate chip cookies. (No, not the store bought ones either!) My brother got all the cooking genes, he LOVES to cook, and I hate to admit it, but he is a good cook. Although he does make some spicy stuff that I can't stomach.

My spaghetti was okay, but I made enough for work tomorrow night too, so I'm happy. :)

One last thing, I noticed I was thinking in blog speak, it worried me.... but then I thought, "I'm sure I'm not the only one who does this."


By the way.. these little boogers are good stuff. It's a great alternative to a huge carton of ice cream, where you end up eating the whole thing and gaining 394 lbs. It's tasty and it only costs 1.00. I like. (Yes it's backwards, I took it on iPhoto and it made it that way.)

liver dream

i've been known to have strange dreams. I woke up having a really strange dream that seemed to last the entire night (when in reality I'm sure it only lasted a minute or so).

I went to the doctor for something I can't remember, and they told me that in my scan they found a spot on my liver.
I was to have immediate surgery today. 2 Doctors that I work with a lot in the ICU were going to perform the surgery, one being a cardiologist, which I didn't understand why he needed to be there since it had nothing to do with the heart. There was also my co-worker Ana at the bedside. I was really concerned with them seeing me naked and then having to work with them on down the road and them picturing me naked. I was also really worried about ending up on a ventilator and that I needed to be adequately sedated if I was placed on a vent. I was put out for the surgery and I woke up with my mother lying on a gurney next to me. She had a piece of liver cut out of her heart (don't ask) and she had a midline abdominal incision, while my doctor had made a mistake about my scan and I only had laprascopic little holes.
I had to miss work the next few days, and I was put in the hospital but I had to go to "therapy". "Therapy" was a broadway play that I was to sing this song by Whitney Houston:


Those of you who know me, know I like to pretend I can sing, but will probably never sing in front of a big crowd. I never finished the dream... I can handle getting part of my liver taken out, but singing that big of a song in front of a crowd... yikes.

title and such.

Yes, I'm starting a blog. We will see how long this lasts.
I've been reading my friend's blog Faith B. and wanting to have one of my own for a bit.
While I am not married, nor do I have any kids, I didn't really know what I was going to write about and if anyone would actually
read this.

This will be a random blog, with no structure... as my life is.

If you are wondering about the title of my blog, it came to me because this is the first thing I remember in my existence.
As a baby, and you may not choose to believe me.. I remember being in the doctor's office and all I see are flashes of it, but the memory is real. I see a picture with a red balloon and then I see a man with a mustache standing over me. I am a baby. Lying on a table. Probably scared.

I leave you with one of my favorite Post Secret cards: