Katrina

"If you can help one person, you help the world." I just heard that quote on a special about Hurricane Katrina. This awful storm has brought out the best, and unfortunately the worst, of human nature. There are so many stories of people helping others, rescues by strangers, sharing what little you have because others around you have even less. And then there's the stories of looting, of gangs fighting, of fights breaking out over gas or food. It's sad, that even in the midst of devastation, people are so me-centered that they'd act so atrociously.

The stories coming out are devastating. Death toll is already in the thousands, total cost is more than $30 billion, millions are homeless. "One of the worst natural disasters in our country's history," is what Bush is calling it. My heart goes out to all those involved. Lord, be with them, keep them safe, and give them strength to face each day.

The things we do...

I got this forward from a friend. The things we women do in the name of beauty...

One Woman's Tale of Woe
All hair removal methods have tricked women with their promises of easy, painless removal - The epilady, scissors, razors, Nair and now...the wax. My night began as any other normal weeknight. Come home, fix dinner, play with the kids. I then had the thought that would ring painfully in my mind for the next few hours: "Maybe I should pull the waxing kit out of the medicine cabinet." So I headed to the site of my demise: the bathroom. It was one of those "cold wax" kits. No melting a clump of hot wax, you just rub the strips together in your hand, they get warm and you peel them apart and press them to your leg (or wherever else) and you pull the hair right off. No muss, no fuss. How hard can it be? I mean, I'm not a genius, but I am mechanically inclined enough to figure this out. (YA THINK!?!)
So I pull one of the thin strips out. Its two strips facing each other stuck together. Instead of rubbing them together, my genius kicks in so I get out the hair dryer and heat it to 1000 degrees. ("Cold wax," yeah...right!) I lay the strip across my thigh. Hold the skin around it tight and pull. It works! OK, so it wasn't the best feeling, but it wasn't too bad. I can do this! Hair removal no longer eludes me! I am She-rah, fighter of all wayward body hair and maker of smooth skin extraordinaire.
With my next wax strip I move north. After checking on the kids, I sneak back into the bathroom, for the ultimate hair fighting championship. I drop my panties and place one foot on the toilet. Using the same procedure, I apply the was strip across the right side of my bikini line, covering the right half of my privates and stretching down to the inside of my butt cheek (Yes, it was a long strip) I inhale deeply and brace myself....RRRRIIIPPP!!!!
I'm blind!!! Blinded from pain!!!!....OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!! Vision returning, I notice that I've only managed to pull off half the strip. CRAP!!! Another deep breath and RRIIPP!! Everything is swirly and spotted. I think I may pass out...must stay conscious...Do I hear crashing drums??? Breathe, breathe...OK, back to normal. I want to see my trophy - a wax covered strip, the one that has caused me so much pain, with my hairy pelt sticking to it. I want to revel in the glory that is my triumph over body hair. I hold up the strip! There's no hair on it. Where is the hair??? WHERE IS THE WAX???
Slowly I ease my head down, foot still perched on the toilet. I see the hair. The hair that should be on the strip. I touch. I am touching wax. CRAP! I run my fingers over the most sensitive part of my body, which is now covered in cold wax and matted hair. Then I make the next BIG mistake...remember my foot is still propped up on the toilet? I know I need to do something. So I put my foot down. CRAP!!!!!!!! I hear the slamming of a cell door. Privates? Sealed shut! Butt?? Sealed shut!
I penguin walk around the bathroom trying to figure out what to do and think to myself "Please don't let me get the urge to poop. My head may pop off!" What can I do to melt the wax? Hot water!! Hot water melts wax!! I'll run the hottest water I can stand into the bathtub, get in, immerse the wax-covered bits and the wax should melt and I can gently wipe it off, right??? *WRONG!!!!!!!* I get in the tub - the water is slightly hotter than that used to torture prisoners of war or sterilize surgical equipment - I sit. Now, the only thing worse than having your nether regions glued together, is having them glued together and then glued to the bottom of the tub...in scalding hot water. Which, by the way, doesn't melt cold wax. So, now I'm stuck to the bottom of the tub as though I had cement-epoxied myself to the porcelain!! God bless the man who had convinced me a few months ago to have a phone put in the bathroom!!!!!
I call my friend, thinking surely she has waxed before and has some secret of how to get me undone. It's a very good conversation starter - "So, my butt and who-ha are glued together to the bottom of the tub!" There is a slight pause. She doesn't know any secret tricks for removal but she does try to hide her laughter from me. She wants to know exactly where the wax is located, "Are we talking cheeks or hole or who-ha?" She's laughing out loud by now...I can hear her. I give her the rundown and she suggests I call the number on the side of the box. YEAH!!!!! Right!! I should be the joke of someone else's night. While we go through various solutions. I resort to scraping the wax off with a razor. Nothing feels better then to have your girlie goodies covered in hot wax, glued shut, stuck to the tub in super hot water and then dry-shaving the sticky wax off!! By now the brain is not working, dignity has taken a major hike and I'm pretty sure I'm going to need Post-Traumatic Stress counseling for this event.
My friend is still talking with me when I finally see my saving grace....the lotion they give you to remove the excess wax. What do I really have to lose at this point? I rub some on and OH MY WORD!!!!!!! The scream probably woke the kids and scared the dickens out of my friend. It's sooo painful, l but I really don't care. "IT WORKS!! It works!!" I get a hearty congratulation from my friend and she hangs up. I successfully remove the remainder of the wax and then notice to my grief and despair....THE HAIR IS STILL THERE.......ALL OF IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. So I recklessly shave it off. Heck, I'm numb by now. Nothing hurts. I could have amputated my own leg at this point. Next week I'm going to try hair color......

Pointless Questions

This weekend when I was home, mom asked me what I wanted for my birthday. Then, she says she knows what she'd like me to give her for my birthday: a future son-in-law. Ok, mother dear, I know you're just showing maternal concern, but your delivery is lousy. First off, even if I were to meet someone tomorrow, I'm not getting engaged in the next month. That sort of relationship takes time, you have to really know someone before you can fully commit your life to theirs. Second, & most important, I'm not going to get hitched just to make someone else happy. If I can't be happy alone, how can I expect someone else to make me happy?

Anyway, in my surfing, I came across this article that talks about insensitive & unwanted questions that singles face. The best was the author's reply to the dreaded question "How's you love life?"

The best way I've discovered to handle this question is the boomerang effect: Throw the question back to the asker. "How's your love life?" you ask, with all sweetness and sincerity.If the person is single and not dating, he or she will also answer "nonexistent." You've now gotten that detail out of the way and can move on to discussing things that are happening in your lives. If the person is single and dating, you'll hear all about his or her new love — and hopefully will be encouraged to learn that new relationships do happen (and if you're smart, you'll ask if the new love has any single friends).If the person is married, your feisty response will probably be met with raised eyebrows and protestations that this isn't an appropriate question to ask married folk. This was my grandfather's response when I posed this question back to him one of the many times he asked about my love life. When I asked why it's OK to pry into single people's love life but not married people's, pointing out that this is an unfair double standard, he fell silent — blissfully silent.

A couple of other zingers were:
"Why Aren't You Married Yet?" "Why hasn't someone snatched you up yet?" "What's a great guy/girl like you doing still single?" "When are you going to settle down?"
Responses:
"Well, John, because my expectations are too lofty for any mere mortal to meet."
"Married? I'm supposed to get married? Wow, nobody told me."
"I am married. Where have you been for the last two years?"
"What's a great girl like you doing still single?" "Who said I'm nice?"
"God still wants to keep me all to Himself."
And the best answer: "Having the time of my life!"

The article

Cycle of Faith

I just got done chatting with 2 different friends, both are going through some tough struggles. One has moved across the country to be closer to her fiance, the other is using self-destructive behavior as an escape. I know I've had struggles, but nothing like what they're going through. I hate to see friends hurting. I just wish I were closer physically to them, so I could help in person rather than just by email & IM.

I've noticed that we (Christians) seem to go through a cycle. For a while, we're doing fine, then just as we try to draw closer to God, something comes along to test our faith. Ok, not something, some ONE. Satan doesn't care about us when things suck, but just when we start to get things back on track, whammo!

Car Woes

So my car's been acting funky for a while, having trouble starting & whatnot. So I take it in to a friend who works for a service station. Turns out the thing that connects the battery to the engine or whatever had corroded so badly that it was now leaking acid. He fixed it, & since I'm practically his sister, I got the family discount. Still set me back a pretty penny, but at least I didn't have to pay full price.

The kids are in charge of service tomorrow, first time ever that they've been solely responsible for the whole thing. Please, God, let them do well! It's a cute program, mostly just a bunch of readings, but I'm hoping that something in there will touch someone's heart. For the ministry itself, but also to show that kids can bring ministry even to adults.

Someone Else's Star

Alone again tonight without someone to love.
The stars are shining bright so one more wish goes up.
Oh, I wish I may and I wish with all my might.
For the love I'm dreaming of and missing in my life.

You'd think that I could find a true love of my own.
It happens all the time to people that I know.
Their wishes all come true so I've got to believe.
There's still someone out there who is meant for only me.

I guess I must be wishing on someone else's star.
It seems like someone else keeps gettin what I'm wishing for.
Why can't I be as lucky as those other people are?
I guess I must be wishing, on someone else's star.

I sit here in the dark and stare up at the sky,
But I can't give my heart one good reason why.
Everywhere I look it's lovers that I see.
It seems like everyone's in love with everyone but me.

Seems like this has been my theme song for so long. It's hard, seeing everyone around you being all lovey-dovey when you don't have that. Someone to hold me close when I come home, to smile when I walk in, to call me up just because he misses my voice. I've thought I was close a few times, but each time just ends in heartbreak. I wonder, how many times can a heart break before it's irrepairably damaged?

I know God has someone chosen for me, that we'll meet in His time. But sometimes I think His clock's broken.