i just found out that i'm from manchester!

and this, didder dear, is our dear dom in front of a manchester united sign. just so you know - they're an english football team.

my eye is twitching and it is driving me absolutely insane

we have a new resident at the home. today he wanted a 'hiaf a cup a cwofee.' and one of my coworkers was surprised to find out that he's from new york.

seriously? this is this woman's job?

so i called the doctor's office today because i have to get some blood work done (actually it was supposed to be done 2 months ago, but that's beside the point). i asked to schedule a lab.
'what do you need done?' she asked.
'i don't know. whatever is on the paper they gave me.'
'well, what is it?'
'i don't have the paper in front of me, so i don't know.'
'but you have an order for it?'
[no, i figured we'd make it up as we went along.] 'yes.'
'who ordered it?'
'a doctor at the epilepsy clinic.'
'so a doctor ordered it.'
[seriously, woman?] 'yes.'
'who's your primary doctor here?'
'i don't really have one. um...' and i named the last doctor i saw there.
'you might have to fast before you have this done.'
'no, i don't. i just need this done.'
'when do you want to come in?'
'today, if possible.'
'have you eaten today? because you might have to fast. i'm going to have you come in a different day.'
'i've never had to fast before this lab work before. i'm fine. when can i come in?'
'how about 2:30?'
'actually would 3:00 work?'
'yes. that would be fine. 3:00 today.'

i hung up, then went to take my meds. and it was then that i remembered that they want the lab work done right before i take my meds. ok, fine, so i have to reschedule.
so i called and got a different woman. i told her the problem and she said, 'oh, okay, so you need to cancel the appointment you have for the 3rd.'
'what?'
'we have you down for 3:00 on wednesday, september 3rd. when would work better for you?'

oh yeah

and if you have any prayer requests or praises, feel free to let me know. for once i'll probably actually get around to lifting them up to HIM!

"Be Still and Know That I AM GOD"

"O GOD, THOU art my GOD, I seek THEE; my flesh faints for THEE, as in a dry and weary land where no water is." - Psalm 63:1

JESUS, Paul, Moses, David - each one of them knew the importance of taking time away from normal life and spending time alone with GOD. Few people in our society do. And so we live in a dry and weary land, exhausted because every day is the same and we have no Spiritual replenishment. We have nowhere to go to get away from all the noise and spend time in prayer, Scripture reading, and meditation.
The last three years have been very dry for me. And I'm tired of it. I'm just plain burned out. And so, next Tuesday evening through Friday morning, I'm going to go to a little cabin in the woods, where there's no plumbing, no eletricity, no neighbors, no cars, no nothing, and spend time alone with GOD. I'm very excited. A little nervous, but mostly excited. I'll have a bed, a chair, a desk, a gas lamp, candles, and a gas burner for a teapot (and an outhouse and access to a shower). And that will be it. Should be interesting. But good.
So if you're going to need to get a hold of me, do so now, because I will be without access to a phone or a computer. Crazy thought, but a good one.

how scandalous!

dolores was tapping on the table with her fork yesterday. i asked her if it was morse code.
'no.'
'oh. i thought maybe you were sending a telegram to your boyfriend.'
'why would i want to do that?'
'uh-oh. has he been causing trouble?'
'no. i have!' and she laughed.

for those of you intimidated by the length of the slowey post

there's a summary in the comments :)

I need to figure out how to meet this boy!

My daddy brought a full-page profile on Kevin Slowey home for me today. :) (It's good to know that the St. Paul paper is good for something. Last year he brought one home for me on Mark Madsen.)

I need to meet this boy. Some of the things in the profile (the rest can be found at http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_10293518?nclick_check=1):

"I would like my friends to say I'm genuine. I wouldn't mind if someone said, 'I don't think he's all that funny. Or say, 'He's kind of annoying.' As long as they say, 'He's genuine around other people.'"

"My dad has had the biggest influence on my life. Everything from how he works at his job to the way he carries himself. I'll never forget him showing up for our Little League games in his suit, straight from work. He was very clear that family came first."

"This is what I wanted to do. You grow up hoping and dreaming you'll play professional baseball at some level. Guys in this clubhouse all say we've been very blessed." [I've never seen him use the word 'lucky.']

"I was a pyromaniac as a kid. There were a couple of times I got in trouble for lighting matches in the house. I shouldn't have had matches to begin with. I was 7 or 8. I wanted to see if I could light things on fire in the bathroom. I tried to be as safe as possible and be around a water source."

"I'm definitely not happy after a loss. We have some great guys on the team that I'm great friends with. Somebody like Scott Baker I'll talk to. He'll remind me baseball 'is not the most important thing in your life. Your faith is the most important. Your family is the second-most important and then baseball. If you're really going to let yourself get that upset about it, maybe it's time to step back and refocus.'"

"My proudest moment as an athlete was pitching for Team USA in Cuba in 2006. It helped us qualify for the Beijing Olympics. Getting a chance to throw against the Cuban team in Cuba and wear USA across my chest was special. It went very well. We ended up winning, and I threw well that game. Barring the World Series, I don't know if I'll have that same feeling. You're in a foreign country representing your country. That was awesome."

"I'd want my last meal to be anything that my mom could make. She cooked every day for me and my two brothers and two sisters. She's an incredible cook. Everything was ready on time. I don't know how moms do that."

"The best book I've read is the Bible. You can learn something new every time you read it. I appreciate the psalms a lot. There are very genuine pieces of advice you can apply."

"I don't think there's anything I'd have to get out of the house if it's burning down. At least not yet. Hopefully, at some point, it'll be a wedding ring. There's no one possession I feel super attached to."

"I'll watch "Seinfeld" any time it's on, whether I've seen the episode or not. His humor is paramount. It's very, very funny. I own all the seasons (on DVD). It makes me laugh out loud a lot." [What kind of nerd says 'paramount'? Oh yeah, the same kind who uses words like 'anomaly.' :)]

"The best advice I ever got? I don't know if it would be advice as much as the best talk I ever had. It was with my mom when I went to play minor league baseball. She said, very genuinely, very motherly, 'We love you no matter what.' That was it. It wasn't like, 'Go get 'em and come out with some strikeouts.' It was, 'We love you no matter what.' Something like that means a lot."

"If I could trade places for a day with anybody, it would be a United States fighter pilot. I would love to fly one of those planes or get a chance to fly in one of those planes. I feel it would be unbelievable to take off from an aircraft carrier or land on an aircraft carrier."

and my very favorite:

"I want my epitaph to say, 'Here lies Kevin Slowey, who was a godly man.' After that, anybody can write whatever they want."

Bible Reading Part Eight

[At the end of each Baseball Chapel devotional, they have a suggested Bible reading. For this one Stacy Ortiz recommended Proverbs 2.]

"My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you,
making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding;
yes, if you cry out for insight and raise your voice for understanding,
if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures;
then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.

"For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
guarding the paths of justice and preserving the way of his saints.

"Then you will understand righteousness and justice, and equity, every good path;
for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
discretion will watch over you; understanding will guard you;
delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech,
who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness,
who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil;
men whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways.

"You will be saved from the loose woman, from the adventuress with her smooth words,
who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God;
for her house sinks down to death, and her paths to the shades;
none who go to her come back nor do they regain the paths of life.

"So you will walk in the way of good men and keep to the paths of the righteous.
For the upright will inhabit the land, and men of integrity will remain in it;
but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be rooted out of it." Proverbs 2 (RSV)

A Baseball Article Even Photo May Enjoy :)

http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080823&content_id=3354335&vkey=news_min&fext=.jsp&c_id=min

Bible Reading Part Seven

Stacy Ortiz concluded her devotional with this:

"There are so many treasures to be found in the Word of God! When we slow down and really soak it in, our lives will be transformed. The Lord has blessed many Christian authors with talent and ability to communicate, but it is important to begin with the Greatest Book written by the First and most important Author, the God of the universe.

"Prayer: Thank you, Father, for giving me your Word. Please speak to me through it as I dedicate time each day to read it and meditate upon it."

you know it's too hot when...

you start sweating just sitting and talking on the phone

Peace

In my dream last night, I was walking through the woods of the Shire (so it must have been closer to Buckland than Hobbiton), and it was absolutely peaceful. There may have been another person or two with me, but it was so peaceful, with no one talking, that I can't know for sure. After awhile I may have gotten tired, but I'm not sure because everything was so perfect that fatigue would be unimaginable. At any rate, I lied down on the grass beneath the trees, with some light shining through the branches giving off a green and yellow and blue and silver glow, and drifted off to sleep. It was perfect. I don't think I ever in my life have been more at peace. I would love to go there again.

Bible Reading Part Six

[this series is based on a devotional by Stacy Ortiz entitled 'Why Should I Read the Bible?']

"But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." Hebrews 5:14 (NIV)

"By constant use." Dictionary.com defines 'constant' as:
"1. not changing or varying; uniform; regular; invariable
2. continuing without pause or letup; unceasing
3. regularly recurrent; continual; persistent
4. faithful; unswerving in love, devotion, etc.
5. steadfast; firm in mind or purpose; resolute. "

Each one of those definitions should describe our commitment to reading the Word. I know that I fall short of every one of them. I wish I didn't. Oh, how I wish I didn't! However, while my transformation into the likeness of CHRIST can only be done by GOD Himself, only I can decide whether or not to strive for that by making time in HIS Word my number one priority.

Also, verse 12 also talks about learning from the Word in order that we may be teachers of It. There is no greater blessing than to be able to pass on knowledge of the Word and teach others about HIM.

And the Award for Best Lutheran Goes To...

Scott Baker, of the Minnesota Twins!

Congratulations Kevin Slowey!

12 strike-outs! best since santana's biggie a year ago! you rock! (and can i just say thank you - it was really fun to watch!)

if only it were this easy

one of the ladies at the home, kathryn, was telling me about how each of her sisters met their husbands (thankfully she only had 3 sisters - she had 10 brothers). two of them were normal enough, but then there was her sister mary.
mary had two friends (sisters) who were married and lived with their husbands in her building. one day mary was going to go out for pork chops after work. one of her friends called her, though, and said, 'oh, no, don't go out for pork chops. our nephew is in town, and we can all go out together.' so mary said alright, and waited for them to pick her up.
when she got off work, her friends were waiting for her with their nephew in the car. they then drove them straight to the priest, and mary and the nephew got married right then.
'oh, and he was the nicest man,' kathryn said. 'he was quiet and kind, and so good to her. she was yelling and screaming because she was so happy. he was the kind of guy who wouldn't have gotten married otherwise, you know, but they were so happy together.'
so alright all you married friends out there - help me out!

i'm at the library right now

it smells like someones' car after they let a wet dog ride in it

Bible Reading Part Five

[this series is based on a devotional by Stacy Ortiz entitled 'Why Should I Read the Bible?']

Psalm 119 is a beautiful love song to GOD's Word. One of my favorite chapters of the Bible. Seeing as that chapter covers pretty much everything in regards to the Word, I'll just mention the verse Stacy mentioned.

"I have laid up they word in my heart, that I might not sin against thee." Psalm 119:11

I don't know about you, but I don't want to sin. Sometimes it's just so hard, though. Especially, for me, when it comes to my attitude. I often like to be crabby. It digusts me that I do, but often I think, 'I just want to be crabby right now! I deserve to get to be crabby once in awhile!' And then I feel guilty. But I keep focusing on the things that are making me grumpy, which just makes it worse.

I've discovered, though, that if I start singing (in my head, seeing as I don't want anyone at work to hear me - nor do they want to) hymns and other Christian songs, it's difficult to stay that way. Eventually I say, 'Okay, GOD, I get it. I'll let those things go.'

Most of the time, I don't think to start singing, though (at least not til long after the fact). But if I were in the Word every day, if I were to start to commit Scripture to memory, it would come to me more quickly. I would spend alot less time sinning and a lot more time praising GOD. As Josh Hamilton said, "I've found if I remember Scripture, things go away." He avoids sin by remembering Scriptures he has laid up in his heart. So simple, yet so profound.

Happy 2nd Blogiversary to Me!

And thank you to all my faithful readers who make it fun! :)

(again - no point to the pic, other than the fact that it's jim halpert ;) )

fyi

have you ever noticed that 'fyi' always proceeds something bad? 'fyi: company's coming tomorrow, so you need to clean.' 'fyi: we're working short-staffed today.' 'fyi: that guy's dumb.' 'fyi: there's no ice cream.'
i'm thinking i don't want anything for my information.

oops - it got late so i can't post my next Bible post now. (but it's not my fault - my mother stole the computer from me for an hour.) tomorrow maybe (possibly).

Congratulations Michael Phelps!

i don't want to shave my legs tonight

football

my father told me i might actually be interested in watching tonight. booty will be throwing the ball to the tight ends. ;)

Bible Reading Part Four

[this series is based on a devotional by Stacy Ortiz entitled 'Why Should I Read the Bible?']

"All we need for life and godliness is found in God's Word. We don't need to go outside of his Word to find answers; in fact when we do, we get into trouble becase we allow ourselves to be deceived." - Stacy Ortiz

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires." 2 Peter 1:3-4 (NIV)

HE's given us all that we need to live a life worthy of him. The answers are all right there. HE didn't make it some big mystery for us to try to figure out on our own. HE doesn't just expect us to *poof!* know how to be godly. HE's given us guidance. When I can't figure out how to love people, when I don't know how to be patient, when I'm frustrated because I don't know why GOD allows (or doesn't allow) certain things in my life, and when all of these things threaten to lead me along the world's path, I can turn to the Word, where HE shows me the Way of godliness. Life and godliness come through our knowledge of HIM. How do I get to know HIM? By reading HIS Word. Through HIS 'precious promises [I may] participate in the divine nature.'

Wow. 'Participate in the divine nature.' That's just mind-blowing.

I would just like to take this opportunity to say...

ELVIS LIVES!!!

Bible Reading Part Three

[this series is based on a devotional by Stacy Ortiz entitled 'Why Should I Read the Bible?']

"For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12 (Amplified Bible)

The Word is full of power. It has the power to cut through my sinful nature and expose me for who I really am. Only by seeing who I really am in light of GOD's holy nature, can I be brought to the place where I recognize my sin and ask HIM to cleanse me from it. Only then can I be made more like CHRIST.

Concerning this verse, Matthew Henry stated that, "The Holy Scriptures are the word of God. When God sets it home by his Spirit, it convinces powerfully, converts powerfully, and comforts powerfully. It makes a soul that has long been proud, to be humble; and a perverse spirit, to be meek and obedient. Sinful habits, that have become as it were natural to the soul, and rooted deeply in it, are separated and cut off by this sword. It will uncover in men their thoughts and purposes, the vileness of many, the bad principles they are moved by, the sinful ends they pursue. The word will show the sinner all that is in his heart. Let us hold fast the doctrines of Christian faith in our heads, its enlivening principles in our hearts, the open profession of it on our lips, and be subject to it in our lives." (Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible)

Celebrity Look-Alikes: Olympic Edition

While watching the games, I couldn't help but notice that:

Michael Phelps looks a tad like Eli Manning,

And Justin Spring looks a bit like Prince Harry.

Neither of which is a bad thing. :)

Bible Reading Part Two

[this series is based on a devotional by Stacy Ortiz entitled 'Why Should I Read the Bible?']

Why should I read the Bible?

"As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless..." 2 Samuel 22:31a (NIV)

How can I not want to? If I have something in my hand that is absolutely perfect, how can I not want to examine it and absorb it? Perfection. How often do we see that on this Earth? It is so far beyond my scope of understanding, and yet the HOLY SPIRIT will help me to understand. Amazing.
The RSV translates that second part as: "the promise of the LORD proves true." The Bible is full of HIS promises. Why would I not want to read them and claim them as my own? Perfect promises from the LORD of the Universe. Wouldn't I want to know what each one of them holds?

Bible Reading Part One

[this series is based on a devotional by Stacy Ortiz entitled 'Why Should I Read the Bible?']

"Open my eyes that I might see wonderful things in your Law." Psalm 119:18 (NIV)

"There are so many reasons that we should burn the Word of God in our hearts, but with all these reasons given in scripture, the number one reason we are even alive is to glorify Him. So when we read and meditate on His Word, we ultimately come to know Him better and can better serve and glorify Him." - Stacy Ortiz

Many of us probably have 2 Timothy 3:16 memorized: 'All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,' (NIV). While memorization is a wonderful thing, and so important, it's sad how it then becomes so automatic that you don't realize what you're saying. And I know that I, for one, then sometimes get annoyed when people use the same old verses that everyone always uses. They're good verses, and there's a reason people have them memorized, it's just that I crave something new. I want more of GOD. So when I saw this verse as the first one listed in this devotional, I thought, 'okay, I know that one and it's true and good.'
But the devotional encouraged the reader to read the verse in context. So I thought, 'okay, that's always a nice idea,' and pulled out my Bible.

2 Timothy 3:14-17 (RSV): 'But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been aquainted with the scared writings which are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.'

Wait, there's a comma after verse 16? There's more to that sentence? Interesting.
The Bible is the written Word of GOD, that we may know it and be complete. The Amplified Bible gives specifics in verse 16: 'Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God's will in thought, purpose, and action)...' Wow - conformity to GOD's will in thought, purpose, and action. I want that! And how do I get that? By reading and meditating upon the Word. Then I may be complete!

A Short Series on Reading the Bible

If GOD has been trying to tell me anything lately (lately meaning the last 3 years or so), it's that I need to be spending time with HIM. I really want to, but I'm always so tired that it's really hard to read the Bible or pray. That's my excuse anyway. If I really wanted to spend time with GOD - wanted it from the depths of my soul - I would find a way.
A month or so ago, I signed up to have Baseball Chapel email their daily devotoinal to me (I had just been checking it out on their website whenever I felt like it). It's not the Bible, but I figured it would be something that might help me get started. However, I'm not the best at reading things on the computer, so those often just got skimmed. Now I've started printing them out so I can really think about them, and then from there read the suggested Bible reading that they give. Only problem is, I've been spending all my time downloading and printing off all the ones I hadn't printed off in the last month.
Today, though, finally, I read one. The one that I knew I needed to start with. The one that convicted me when I read it last year. The one on reading the Bible.
And it was really good. It forced me to dig into a few passages, and from those passages see how amazing it is that GOD has given us HIS Word - everything we need for a life of godliness. HE is so good and loving.
And so now I'm going to share the devotional, but break it up because it's too good to rush through (even though I'm so excited about it I want to share it all at once. :) ). Thank you, Stacy Ortiz, for blessing me with your words about the Word. May GOD bless you as well.

I love Tolkien

[from a letter to his son in 'The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien']
'Remeber your guardian angel. Not a plump lady with swan-wings! But - at least this is my notion and feeling - : as souls with free-will we are, as it were, so placed as to face (or to be able to face) God. But God is (so to speak) also behind us, supporting, nourishing us (as being creatures). The bright point of power where that life-line, that spiritual umbilical cord touches: there is our Angel, facing two ways to God behind us in the direction we cannot see, and to us. But of course, do not grow weary of facing God, in your free right and strength (both provided 'from behind' as I say). If you cannot achieve inward peace, and it is given to few to do so (least of all to me) in tribulation, do not forget that the aspiration for it is not a vanity, but a concrete act.'

every job should have a bullpen

a starting pitcher usually only pitches 6 or 7 innings. then someone else comes in and finishes the job. sometimes the starter goes 9 innings, sometimes 1 2/3. basically it comes down to how the starter is doing/feeling. if he's doing poorly, the manager pulls him. if he's feeling tired, he'll ask to have someone come in from the bullpen and take over.

i think every job should have a bullpen. if two thirds of the way through the day i start giving people gravy who ask for no gravy, or forget to give a coffee cup to someone who asked for one, my boss should make a call to the bullpen and have someone come in for me and have me be done for the day. if i'm feeling tired after a couple hours, i should get to ask to have someone relieve me and then be done. somedays i might be able to make it through the whole day, somedays maybe not even the first hour. there really should be a bullpen to turn to.

my poor cuddyer!

michael cuddyer has been on the disabled list since june 28th due to a finger injury. in the last week he finally got to play some rehab games and was supposed to join the team again on the 11th. so yesterday he was playing what could've been his last rehab game - and he broke a bone in his foot! so now he could be out for the season! what am i to do?! my poor boyfriend!

Word of the Day

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmGXXbRM-gk&feature=related

apparently i'm turning into purple cousin

i recently remembered that at the end of the dwts season, usher did a remix of 'yeah!' and he was so cute i was going to post it (but then forgot to). so i found it again today, and it's still cute (if you ignore the hos at the beginning). so here it is (sorry it's not more clear - you miss most of his cute smiles - but it's the best i could do):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp3OWtwLypo

also, while he's not gene kelly, i found this enjoyable:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pbyao3-s7Xk&feature=related

national night out

at work they're having fun and games and stuff for the neighborhood. this year, the fun includes minnow races. some of the managers decided to test out the minnow 'race track' beforehand to make sure the fish would actually swim. some of the fish did really well. my boss's floated upside down halfway down the track.

Dear Matthew Fox

Thank you for your willingness to stand in for the Good-Looking Maintenance Guy in pictures on my blog. It has meant alot to me and all my readers.
Love, Melilot

headline of the day

'Yanks try to stop streaking Angels' - msn.com

quote of the day

'i don't like the royals anymore, now that they switched to white pants instead of blue.' - sancho brandybuck

july 30th, 2008 chapel

'Prayer: Heavenly Father, fill me with your Holy Spirit and strengthen me to go out in the world and witness to those that don't know you. Allow them to see a hope and comfort in me that will draw them near to you.'

the end of the fish drama (i think)

the head housekeeper was extremely upset when she heard people from the kitchen calling their boss a murderer. she told my boss it just wasn't right. my boss laughed it off, and said, 'it's not a big deal. if i was going to be offended by them it would've happened long before now.'
but the housekeeper just could not handle that answer. the next day she came up to my boss and said, 'it's not right for them to call you a murderer. i just told melilot's mom, so now she can talk to her about it.'
somehow my boss kept a straight face, then came into the kitchen laughing, and said, 'get this - the housekeeper just told on you!'