Easter in March...Say Whaaat?!?

The resurrection was such an amazing event and my faith is continually strengthened every time I think about it...but this year Easter didn't feel the same. And here comes the whine:

This year Easter Sunday was March 23rd...yeah, me no likey.

I know sometimes Easter falls on March, but this year it really threw me off.
Way too early...is this date historically accurate? Can we stay on schedule, just a bit?
Living in Seattle again doesn't really help either. It's still so cold here! Had I participated in an Easter egg hunt, those eggs would have tasted a little sketchy. Getting used to Seattle weather is going to take longer than I thought.
I really had to push myself to focus on the "reason for the season". My froomie (friend + roommate) and I read all the versions of the resurrection in the Bible, then we watched the closest movie I owned that mentions Easter.
That movie was 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding'...it was the best I could do on such short notice.
My Sunday was pretty normal: prayer, laundry, lunch, cleaned up my room, got ready for church, attended church, left church, went to grocery store, came back home.

Now that Easter is over, I find myself still wanting to celebrate in April...why? Because it didn't feel like Easter!!
Maybe during the 2nd week of April I'll put on a bright colored dress, hide an egg, and watch 'Passion of the Christ'.

Vote! Easter in April 2009!!

Thanks for enduring my 1st superficial complaint of the year :) !

Amazing & Historic...'A More Perfect Union' by Barack Obama

Howard O. Jones and Liberia?

I had the amazing pleasure of listening to Howard Jones speak at a prayer meeting at the end of February. Along with being a great pastor and jazz musician, this man was the first African American to work on Billy Graham's team, starting in 1958. Among all the historical achievements, he is just adorable! It was cool watching him speak, he reminded me of my grandfather, so simple and honest with a great sense of humor.
I wrote down some things he said during our prayer meeting...

Memorable quotes by Howard O. Jones

"We need more of our people who know how to get into the fire without exploding."
"Martin [Luther King Jr.] never gave you an anwser right away, he always thought about it for a long time first"
"To speak well, you have to think well"
"The Holy Spirit reveals things"

Something he said directly to me after he signed my book:
"Go to Liberia, your life will be changed forever"

It was so cool to met this guy...

The Penelope Factor

Back in December, I read this book called, Penelope. It was on my flight back to Seattle after Christmas.

*This book was made into a movie, so if you are gonna go see it, don't read the rest of this entry*


In the story, this girl is cursed with the nose of a pig.
To break the curse she must find someone who loves her just as she is. So the whole time her family tries to hook her up with different guys. They are hoping these guys will fall in love with who Penelope is on the inside, before they see her face. Most of the guys freak out when they see this girl with the nose of a pig. Some even goes as far as calling her a "monster."

To skip way ahead, in the end, she learned to love herself just as she was. And because of that, SHE was the one who ultimately broke the curse.
Not some dude...she did it herself.
Oh snap!
Anyway...I love that book.
I am in that place myself right now...Not the nose part, but the self-love part.
God is slowly helping me to see myself as He sees me. I am learning to love who I am: my qualities, my heart, my appearance...every aspect and inch of how I was created. Even to admit that, has been a long, long process, but there is so much freedom in it.

SiCk Day Clothes

I was walking around my house today in socks, a granny skirt, a scarf, and my hair bundled on top on my head kinda like a unicorn...I am sick today. There are so many crazy combos that I have worn on my sick days...it's like I lose all sense of fashion (even more so) on days like today.

One time I was lying in bed, and found some old butterfly wings from Halloween...did I wear those babies around the kitchen?
You bet I did.

I get so lacksidasical, dizzy and feverish. And no one questions it, because you're sick. It's like a free pass to look kinda crazy.
One time my roommate did question the beanie with tassles, but when I gave her my, "I've been in the house all day, and I don't feel good" face, she knew what time it was.

Third day of Silence

My Third Day of Silence:
Having this soreness, this loss of my voice is something that I want to enter in with, examining: God how do you want me to grow from this?
The most revealing thing that happened going into 'Day one' was that I could still hurt others barely using my voice. I could still judge and put down, with only a whisper. I quickly learned how to ask for forgiveness using a pen and paper.

Then as I entered my second full day without being able to talk, I became humble and joyous, just to be in the presence of others and observe their experiences; even learning what it means to listen.

At church, I really appreciate the word of God more! I really wanted to speak the word of God as encouragement and truth for my life and in my church…but nothing. I still reveled in the energy that filled the room, as our congregation shouted verbs, subjects, and adjectives of our Holy Word. At least Brooke and I made up a cool dance during worship I even got a "shout out" from Timm during his sermon, that I couldn't respond to, oh the pain and anguish of it all!!! Day three, I began to engage more with my thoughts, almost purifying my thoughts even more, because it was the only way I could engage with God, I couldn't speak out my prayers, I had to think them and think about God, with an occasional speechless mouth movement here and there.

I was surprised that I was still able to effectively communicate with the kids at my school. I would point, motion, and give my serious "stink-eye" and they knew exactly what I needed them to do. I was excited that there were 2 girls in particular that helped me communicate any discipline to the kids, (they loved that!) and even spoke to my mom when my cell phone rang to tell her, I quote, "Miss Contina can't talk." Then they referred back to me, "She says she loves you."
Many thanks to Shanise and Alaysia for translating for me all morning.

I fear that I may have lengthened my condition by forcing whispers, which I just read, is just as bad as shouting, because that action bangs your vocal chords!

So now on 'Day three', I am vowing complete silence and lots of water! What has been the most challenging is constantly having to defend my condition.
"Really!? You can't talk at all?"
"Can you laugh?"
"Say something…"
"Did you really lose your voice?"
"Whisper!"

It has gotten to the point where the only thing that I care about is getting better. So silence it is; not for attention, not for laughs, only for healing. I know the first thing I say when I get my voice back is, "Oh, Jesus, I love you." The other thing I'll say is: "boobs!" Just kidding! Keep me in your prayers!

Tia*