amen omen

i feel as though i need to confess to the general public...

i reshelved my own periodicals today.

i am very sorry britt. i thought myself above the rules.

you got so much soul

i love the rain!!! i love walking in it, listening to it, driving in it, and watching it. i was driving through newberg this afternoon and i came across an enormous puddle at the bottom of a hill. there is nothing quite like being engulfed by puddle-spray on a beautiful afternoon.

i found something in a book today that made me laugh out loud. on occasion my mom sends me newspaper clippings from the police reports in the grants pass daily courier (thanks mom... always a pleasure). i just thought i would share them with you all. please note that i am quoting them directly...

"A tree was reported down... on Redwood Highway. One and a half lanes were blocked. Oregon State Police was called and advised to bring a chainsaw."

"Police had a stern talking-to with a 7-year-old boy at Lawnridge Park... A caller told police the boy had been on the roof of the restrooms playing catch with another boy on the ground. When police tracked the boy down, he was in the women's bathroom. The boy was warned to stay off the roof and to restrict himself to the men's bathroom. His mother was also contacted."

"A fight between a boyfriend and girlfriend... led to a serious case of hot dog misuse. The girlfriend said she threw the unsuspecting hot dog at her boyfriend, who then threw her out of the house. Neither person was arrested."

"A brother-sister squabble... escalated to the use of weapons. The 11-year-old sister allegedly pulled a knife. The 13-year-old brother allegedly pulled a broom. Both were taked to the Juvenile Justice Center for being beyond parental control."

"A rooster got out of its coop again... The feathered wanderer was considered a potential traffic hazard. Neighbors were feeding the bird, causing it to head over there for a snack. Its owner was advised about the breakout."

"Two people were cited on forgery and theft charges, after they repeatedly inserted and pulled out a bottle at a bottle return machine... They were nabbed trying to cash in a receipt for $3.30."

"O'Brien lost electrical power Thursday morning. A now deceased squirrel apparently got too close to the power lines or transformer to bllow out."

oh grants pass...

five card poker on saturday night

children are so beautiful.
halloween has been such an interesting holiday for me. when i was a child there was always a gathering at grandma and grandpa's. we dressed up... little red riding hood, laura ingalls wilder, princess, wind-up doll... so many fantastic, homemade costumes. then i reached the age when dressing up wasn't cool. then back again to costumes being cool. this is when i dressed up like a leper for the harvest party at church. looking back this was probably not the most caring or socially conscious thing i have ever been a part of.
last night... i dressed up like a fairy. i was thinking about dressing up as a "college student" because i was told i needed to dress up for work. my boss decided that might not fly, so i settled for a fairy.
but this is where the beautiful children come in. tiny little wolverines, princesses, pirates, fairies, various animals, and supermen with inflatable muscles. forty degrees is not optimal trick-or-treating weather and these were very cold children. but they were smiling. smiling, laughing, saying please and thank you.
when adults celebrate halloween, even young adults, it is an entirely different situation. no longer is dressing up about cute. it is now about sexy. what is it about costumes that cause people to lose their inhibitions? why is this so appealing? why can't we just be who we are, even if we don't really know who that is? why must there always be a mask? are we really just too afraid of who we really are? if there is no condemnation before christ then we are in no place to condemn one another.
let us take off the mask and be uninhibited with each other. let us be together, who we are. let us no longer depend on costumes to allow us to be ourselves. let us live together as jesus intended us to. let us figure out kingdom life together and live the incarnation of christ.