I think every MALE should watch this (whether you’re a boy, guy, or man). It’s a kind of long, but totally worth listening to. And don’t worry, he has another video for women, so men, you aren’t being singled out.

Some co-workers and I thought it would be fun to do some lip-syncing on Halloween. Yes, we do work around here….but we also play sometimes. I’m Mario, Erica Burnett is a Clockwork Android from Dr. Who, Jennifer Rosetta is “Mommie Dearest,” the roller derby champion, and Bryan Busch (who also put this video together) is Dr. Horrible. Enjoy!

even to the moon, if someone will join me.

This devotional recently made its way to my inbox.
It spoke heaps to me, so I had to share…

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“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.”
– Matthew 5:48

Our Lord’s exhortation in these verses is to be generous in our behaviour
to all men. In the spiritual life beware of walking according to natural
affinities. Everyone has natural affinities; some people we like and
others we do not like. We must never  let those likes and dislikes rule in
our Christian life. “If we walk in the light as God is in the light,” God
will give us communion with people for whom we have no natural affinity.

The Example Our Lord gives us is not that of a good man, or even of a
good Christian, but of God Himself. “Be ye therefore perfect even as your
Father in heaven is perfect,” show to the other man what God has shown to
you; and God will give us ample opportunities in actual life to prove
whether we are perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. To be a
disciple means that we deliberately identify ourselves with God’s
interests in other people. “That ye love one another; as I have loved you
. . .”

The expression of Christian character is not good doing, but
God-likeness. If the Spirit of God has transformed you within, you will
exhibit Divine characteristics in your life, not good human
characteristics. God’s life in us expresses itself as God’s life, not as
human life trying to be godly. The secret of a Christian is that the
supernatural is made natural in him by the grace of God, and the
experience of this works out in the practical details of life, not in
times of communion with God. When we come in contact with things that
create a buzz, we find to our amazement that we have power to keep
wonderfully poised in the centre of it all.

From “My Utmost For His Highest”

It’s been a while, eh? I know…life’s been busy.

Today is Thursday, which is quite fortunate, because it means that tomorrow is Friday. On Friday, I get to see a dear old friend who is passing through town. And what’s better, is that the day after tomorrow is Saturday, which means I’ll be traveling to Wichita Falls to visit my family. Which is even better because that means that next week is full of friends’ dinners, art nights, and roller-skate birthday parties. And that makes me happy, because the next week is Jessi & Lissa’s birthday, and the first actual day of Fall. And the week after that, I’m off to the Northwest to see the sites and visit (and meet!!) some wonderful souls.

My, how times does fly. Fall makes my heart leap!

XO,
Whit

Maude: I should like to change into a sunflower most of all. They’re so tall and simple. What flower would you like to be?

Harold: I don’t know. One of these, maybe.

Maude: Why do you say that?

Harold: Because they’re all alike.

Maude: Oooh, but they’re not.  Look.  See, some are smaller, some are fatter, some grow to the left, some to the right, some even have lost some petals. All kinds of observable differences. You see, Harold, I feel that much of the world’s sorrow comes from people who are this, [she points to a daisy] yet allow themselves be treated as that.  [she gestures to a field of daisies]

When I was young[er], my sister and I would head over to hang out with Nana & Papa almost every Saturday of the summer.  Nana always had a watermelon there waiting for us.  She would seed the watermelon, and then thoughtfully cut it into bite-sized squares.  That’s not even the best part.  Nope.  The best part was when she would drain all the remaining juice in the melon, pour it into 2 separate glasses, and hand them to me and Carly (sister).  Gosh, how I loved those days.  Now when I see, smell, taste watermelon, my mind quickly wanders back to the old days.

Things were simpler back then.  Being a “grown-up” is fun (although some of my friends would strongly disagree and say that I’m nowhere near being a grown-up).  But sometimes I just want to wake up, have mom make breakfast, watch some cartoons,  eat ice cream and not worry about what it’s going to do to my hips, spend my remaining $1.50 on bubble gum, wear my swimsuit all day/night, run in the sprinkler, and go to Nana & Papa’s.

And then the child in me says “why can’t I?”

And the truth is, I don’t know.
So, now I will be Whitney, the child-like adult, who goes on adventures, walks with barefeet, eats ice cream, pays bills on time, goes to work Monday – Friday, and cuts her own watermelon.  That works, right?

XO,
Whit

This is what you shall do: love the earth and sun, and animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence towards the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown, or to any man or number of men; go freely with the powerful uneducated persons, and with the young, and mothers, of families: read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life: re-examine all you have been told at school or church, or in any books, and dismiss whatever insults your soul.

-Walt Whitman, “Leaves of Grass”

stressed out?  wondering how to relieve all that stress?  i’ve researched this for a while and come up with the perfect solution!

breakfast: 2 eggs, 1 piece of whole wheat toast (no butter/jam), glass of water

morning snack: apple slices

lunch: salad with fat free vinaigrette,  2 glasses of water, 3 M&M’s

afternoon snack: the entire bag of M&M’s

dinner: 1 oven-ready Tombstone pizza, 2 glasses red wine, 2 breadsticks, and if you’re still hungry, a side salad

dessert: 1 pint of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream

….oh, and don’t forget a big serving of Sex & the City!
and voila!!!!

So, next time you’re having “one of those days,” do not fear!  Just revert to this diet.  The pounds may not melt away, but I assure you, the stress will. 

Yours truly,
Whitney