I sent someone to jail

Well, actually, as it turns out, he was already in jail. But I did help to keep him there. I and my fellow jury members, found the defendant guilty on 11 counts. Overall, I would have to say the experience was a positive one. If it wasn't for a stressful week the week before and the stress of not getting my hours at work by a long shot, I don't think I would have dreaded the experience as much as I did. But now that it's over, I would say, it was kind of interesting. I learned some things that I didn't know before, so that's always good. And I got paid to read a book for most of the day on Monday.

I called my brother yesterday to tell him a little bit about the case because the whole time the officers were being questioned, he kept coming to mind. The case I heard was for an act that was committed at 3am in 2005. So, I realized that my brother works 2nd shift and responds to similar calls all the time. It made me think a little differently about his job. So I called him to tell him that. We don't talk on the phone very often, so I think he thought it was a little weird. But as a little sister, isn't it my right to be a little weird?! :)

I forgot a funny story

So, while on a break during jury duty, the women kept coming out of the bathroom saying there were no paper towels. When I went into the bathroom, I noticed that there were, in fact, paper towels in the dispenser, but that the dispenser was jammed. When I went back into the break room, I said as much. We then started discussing what could be done about it. I told them that I tried to fix it but that a) you need some type of key to get the dispenser open, and b) truthfully, I was too short to get much leverage to try to fix the dispenser. We then went back into the court room. When we were leaving for the day, all filing out of the courthouse, I stopped to put my umbrella up and the man behind me (one of my fellow jurors) said, "WOW! You are short!" I started laughing, but he just kept walking. The more I think about it, the less funny it is and the more offensive his remark was. I will choose to dwell on funny, though. After all, I could care less if he thinks I'm short.

And then I got to my client's house and realized I forgot half of the paperwork I needed to open the case. Sigh. Can't wait to here what I'm going to have to do to fix that!

12 Angry People

Since I am a woman, I have changed the title for my blog. On a side note, if you've never seen this movie, I would recommend it. I had to watch it in one of my psychology classes.

Anyway, I had to report Monday morning for jury duty. I sat in the waiting room all. day. long. Very boring. I finished almost a whole book. I got to report back today. And first thing, I was called in for the interview process for a felony case. And joy of all joys...I was selected for the jury. The case should be finished tomorrow. Then it's back to work as usual.

Scripture Saturday

My mom has been pressuring me to blog. :)

Today I was finishing up some things out of Ephesians 1:1-14 which we studied for Bible study last week. Looking at the passage as a whole again, I am struck by several phrases.

"In Him" or "In Christ" is used 8 times in these 14 verses. When I memorized Colossians, one of my favorite verses was one that say, "your life is now hidden with Christ in God." Because I know Christ as my Savior, I am no longer viewed as myself but as myself through Christ. My sins are covered over so that God only sees the pure, faultless Lamb! What an amazing concept!

Second, the phrase, "to the praise of His glory" is used twice. Those who are the first to trust in Christ should be to the praise of the glory of God. And we are marked with a seal in the Holy Spirit who is a guarantee of our inheritance which is to come, to the praise of God's glory. Everything we have and everything we are is to be a praise to the glory of God. God is always seeking His glory, even in a simple life like my own. It makes me ask the question, "what have I done today/this week/this year to bring God glory and praise?"

Last, the phrase, "according to His good pleasure" is used twice. Very similar to that mentioned above. God made known to us, through Christ and through His word, the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure. He also predestined us to adoption as sons by Christ according to the good pleasure of His will. Again, He brought us to Himself and revealed Himself to us in order to bring Himself pleasure and glory! That tells me that I am precious to Him, more so than I am precious to anyone else!

And now for the rest of my life. It has been an interesting couple of weeks. I ended up home sick all weekend and only worked a half day on Monday. I also ended up going to the doctor, so that bill will be coming soon. Just as I was feeling better, I had one day with a HUMONGOUS headache. And Friday I had to say goodbye to my office mate and friend because it was her last day. I know I will still see her and will get to spend time with her precious baby, but it won't be the same as seeing her five days a week and sharing my work with her. I also had another trying week of seeing hardly any clients, partly because I was sick, partly because some of my clients were sick, and partly because some of my clients stood me up. All in all, at the end of the week, I had only billed 5 hours of client-contact (I am supposed to bill at least 16 per week). Yuck! It has to get better, at least that's what I keep telling myself!

So, I am trying not to dwell on that and trying to get some things done around the apartment today. It has gone okay, but I was a little bit too lazy this morning, so I am a little behind schedule. That is okay though, nothing on my agenda is urgent.

There, Mom, that's my update (and whoever else reads this but doesn't comment).

Ignoring the Obvious

For the past five days, I have thought, "maybe I'm getting sick, but I'm not sure." My throat felt a little iffy but not bad at all. Today, I was cold at work. And for those of you who know me, I am NEVER cold :). And the later it gets, the more my throat feels raw. I'm officially heading toward a cold. YUCK! I knew it was coming because I know my body can only avoid stuff that's going around for so long and I've avoided everything else for about 3 weeks. The question now becomes, how bad is it going to get?!

And a great, big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my Aunt Teresa. I'm pretty sure she doesn't read my blog, but I want to wish her a happy birthday anyway :) especially since my card is probably going to be late.

Blogger brain freeze

I've realized how little I have put on my blog lately, but I just don't feel like there is a lot to tell.

It is finally starting to cool off. I am excited about this but everyone else thinks I'm crazy :). It has frustrated me every morning to look into the closet and not see anything I want to wear. I've determined that I need to throw everything out and start over. But, after going to the mall today, I also realize I should get the new clothes before I throw the old ones away. There's just not much out there that I like. I tried on a shirt at Gap that I really liked but it looked not so great on me, which was probably a good thing because it cost way to much and I would have been sad if it had fit perfectly because I don't know if I could have spent that much on it.

I was summoned for jury duty. It is my second time being summoned, but the first time I will have to serve. I was summoned when I lived in Texas, but I was able to check that I was a student taking classes and I didn't even have to report.

Emily's sister had her baby, so now we can both be the coolest aunts ever (to our prospective nephews, that is).

It was a very rainy day and I am looking forward to curling up on the couch and watching a movie tonight or reading a book. I don't know which will win out.

Can you just be whelmed?

A coworker and I were talking about interesting phrases that get repeated wrong (ex: for all intents and purposes) which led to me quoting 10 Things I Hate About You where Bianca and her friend are walking at the beginning of the movie and the friends says "I know you can be overwhelmed and you can be underwhelmed. But can you ever just be whelmed?" To which my coworker asked if you can just iterate something or can you only reiterate it. So, being the nerd that I am, I looked it up in the dictionary and I found something very interesting.

Here is the definition of the word reiterate: say or do again or repeatedly

Here is the definition of the word iterate: repeat; state repeatedly

So, that confused us. If you say something over again apparently you are just iterating it, so why is there such a word as reiterate? And if you say something just once, does that mean you are just rating it? Would the natural flow be rate, iterate, reiterate?

This was the highlight of an otherwise really bad two days of work. I was going to blog about it because it really is laughable, but let's just say that you should never assume that a neutral comment such as "I didn't expect to find you out here" will universally be received as a neutral comment. Instead it could be received as an attack on one's character, very judgmental, and cause for a new therapist, all of which might be stated to your supervisor over voice mail. Such a thing may or may not have happened in my life. That might just be hypothetical. Tomorrow is Wednesday. I am very thankful!

Scripture Sunday

I am a day late for my Saturday Scripture post, so I'm posting today instead :). I always debate how vulnerable I want to be on my blog because there are a wide variety of people who read my blog. But then I remember that I do this mainly for myself and not for those who read it, so here goes...

Last weekend I was at my mom's, as I have shared. When I got home from the weekend, I had a lot of thinking and processing to do. Emotionally, it was a hard weekend for me. I thought I hid that pretty well, but through a conversation with my mom, I realized that I'm not so good at hiding things. I am 30 and I am single. It is not a horrible thing. It does not mean I have a horrible disease or the plague. However, sometimes I feel like others put that on me or, even worse, I put that on myself. Last weekend was one of those weekends where I put that stigma on myself. One of my greatest desires is to be a wife and mother. I would have loved to have gotten married young and be on my third or fourth child by now. Last weekend I was able to spend four days with my brother, his wife, and his son. I loved the chance to see them. But, being in close proximity to them (we all stayed with my mom in her one bedroom apartment) made me very aware of what I did not have. Then, on Saturday, we went to my cousin's wedding. On my dad's side of the family there are 15 grandchildren. 13 of us are of marrying age. Now that Scott is married, 10 of us are married. Of those who are married, 6 have one or more children. All of us were at the wedding except my cousin Jenniefer (if you still read my blog...we missed you!). So, needless to say, I threw a pretty big pity party for myself, all while trying to smile, be friendly, loving, and happy for everyone else. The best news of that day was that I successfully avoided being dragged/pushed out onto the dance floor for the bouquet toss. Who would have thought I needed to go to the bathroom at the exact time that the DJ said, "Ladies..." :)

So, that was last weekend. Fast forward through a fairly routine work week to this weekend. The True Woman women's conference at church. To say that I learned a lot and got kicked in the behind a few times would be an understatement. But I think I was prepared for that before I went into the evening on Friday. Here are a couple of the things I learned:

• John Piper talked about "the ultimate meaning of true womanhood." He talked about the roles of men and women as believers in Christ is "to display the glory of Christ in its highest expression as the Son dies to make a rebellious people His bride." He gave definitions of manhood and womanhood. While talking about womanhood he made the profound point that my distinction as a woman is essential to the display of His glory. The creation of male and female was not an afterthought for Him. It was a part of His eternal plan.
• John Piper also talked about how married women and single women have ways to glorify God that the other cannot. Neither role is exalted over and above the other.
• Nancy Leigh DeMoss spoke through the Romans 11:33-36 passage. This was by far my favorite of the five sessions we had. She talked about how God's riches, wisdom, and knowledge are unfathomable to us. We will never fully understand them because they are beyond our knowing. For all eternity, we will never be able to get to the bottom or the end of God's depth of character! She made a statement, which I think was actually a quote from John Piper, "In every situation, God is always doing a thousand different things that you can't see and do not know!" I can know that God is at work in my life, working out His perfect plan for me, even if I don't see Him at work!
• In the same session, she talked about how from Him, through Him, and to Him are ALL things. When she was defining what "from Him" meant she said that He is the source of our existence. He has orchestrated all things in my life. Here is the most profound statement of the whole weekend for me and one that I am still processing: "To resent or resist my circumstances is to resent God Himself." The more I read it and repeat it to myself, the more I look back at last weekend and say, "Oops" and begin again to pray that God would reveal Himself to me as my Sustainer. That He would help me to accept and rejoice in my circumstances, no matter what they are. That He would help me to say, "Yes, Lord. You know what is best for me. You see the whole plan while I only see a little bit. You see the end goal. I could never even begin to imagine what Your best is for me. And no matter how much I think I know what is best for me, Your best for me will always be way more perfect!"

Pictures as Promised

Finally, the pictures :) I'm sure you were all checking every day to see them. Either that or you're living busy lives, just as I am and you completely forgot that you never saw pictures of my trip. Either way, here they are. This is a part of the drive that I always love. I have no idea why, but it makes me happy the way the trees grow over the road like this.
These next several pictures are really out of order, but the first morning I was in Chicago, mom and I took John for a walk. In mom's apartment complex is a pond with ducks, so that's where we ended up. John, I think, is pointing at the ducks.

John in motion. Run, John, run!

John walking. He often swung his arms really wide while he was walking. Very cute!

"Big white ducks!" Or swans, but John preferred to call them white ducks.

"We forgot the bread?!" Mom said this to John once and he repeated for the whole walk.

More ducks over there.

Surrounded by ducks. They weren't interested for long because we didn't have any bread.

This is John's concentrated face. We were coloring, but he found it more fun and entertaining to take the crayons in and out of the package.

So, that's all the pictures I have. I told you I didn't take very many. This was from the first morning we were there and then I never took out my camera again. If you knew how many cameras and pictures were actually taken over the course of the weekend, you would have left your camera in your purse too!

I was amazed at John's verbal skills for his age. I've been bragging on him a lot this last week, so most of you have probably already heard these stories. But I'm going to tell them anyway. John knows most of his colors. And by most, I mean that he even knows the secondary colors like pink and purple. He can count to ten with almost no help at all. He repeats EVERYTHING you say to him very clearly. He can recognize about a third of his alphabet. When he is just playing and he picks something up that has words on it, he will point and name the ones he knows. Apparently he gets his smartness from his aunt...

Another failed attempt

I finally loaded the pictures onto my computer, but the computer is being super slow, so I don't even want to attempt to try and load pictures onto the blog. I promise they are coming.

Another work week is over. I am heading off to a women's conference at church in about 20 minutes. I am excited for the conference, but sad because I am ready for a relaxing weekend at home. Two more weeks. I'm in countdown mode, even with the realization that the events keeping me from a relaxing weekend are events that I really want to be at and hope to learn a lot from.

Happy weekend to everyone!