GO COLTS!!!

Ok, so this post is either late (playoffs were a week ago) or early (Super Bowl is next Sunday) but either way, I feel compelled to give a shout out to the Indianapolis Colts.

GO COLTS!!!

This is a monumental occasion for the city I used to call home and I will be watching the game on Sunday.

Lousy patient

I am a terrible patient! I developed viral bronchitis on Saturday and I'm still feeling like I was hit by a Mac truck... twice. :( Boo hoo. Poor me. Good news is the fever broke, the headache has subsided to a dull pulse behind my eyes, and my back no longer hurts. Still lingering is the chest pain, cough, and difficulty sleeping. At least I'm no longer contagious. :l The hardest part has been keeping up with class. My eyes ache from looking at the screen. Did I mention I'm a lousy patient? Pity, party of 1, your table is ready! Here's to better days and happy thoughts.

Phoenix Symphony

I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to all my family members who have visited me. I unwittingly committed a great disservice to you in my failure to take you to a Phoenix Symphony performance.

Heather and I attended a performance tonight that was awesome, phenomenal, inspiring, breathtaking, magnificent, majestic, stunning, wonderful, superb, brilliant... I could go on and on. The impetus for our attendance was a requirement for the Music Appreciation class I am taking, but it certainly won't require another homework assignment to persuade me to return.

The program was as follows:
Conducted by James Judd -
ELGAR
Froissart Overture
RACHMANINOFF - piano played by Stephen Hough
Piano Concerto No. 1
HOLST
The Planets

My enjoyment was diminished only slightly by the amorous highschoolers in front of us. They were a bit distracting, but I just closed my eyes and let my ears do all the work.

A New Year "Resolution"

Ok, so I'm not a believer in New Year Resolutions. It is my opinion that we set ourselves up for failure when we save all 17 habits we want to start or break until January 1st. There are 12 months in every year, use them! One bad habit broken per month, one good habit formed per month. You have much greater odds of success when you're not trying to make a 180 degree turn from life as you now know it.

All this to say: I'm making a resolution this year. I know!! I just finished saying I don't believe in them. And that hasn't really changed. Maybe "resolution" isn't the right word. Heather used the phrase "be intentional about doing" instead and I like it better.

The past few weeks, as the weather has decidedly dropped, the number of homeless people in the Phoenix area has become more evident. The man on the corner wearing every single article of clothing in his possession, the woman at the bus stop wrapped up in a tattered old sleeping bag, the man pretending to be grocery shopping just to escape the cold nights... God has been opening my eyes to the needs of others who are suffering more than I am and have greater needs than those that are troubling me. Lately I've been hyper-focused on Planet Becky and I have passed them all without a single glance.

So, here's my "resolution" for the year: I want to be intentional about sharing Jesus' love to any and all the homeless people who cross my path. I will say a prayer of blessing for each one. I will NOT turn my head and pretend I don't see them because they make me uncomfortable. I will give a dollar or 50 cents or 2 dollars when asked because it doesn't mean all that much to my budget and it may mean the whole world to someone else.

I'm not sharing this decision in order to receive kudos for my great "spirituality." That's not what I'm looking for or need to hear. I'm taking this opportunity to ask that you pray that I will have the strength of character and the willpower to step outside (WAY, WAY OUTSIDE) of my comfort zone and pay forward just a fraction of what God has given me.

Christmas in Arizona

I've finally uploaded the photos from Christmas weekend. Christmas Eve was spent at the Grand Canyon and Christmas day in Surprise. We had a full house: Dennis, Sharon, Heather, Wendy, Barb, Joel, Becky, John, Gwen, Daniel, Beth, & Andrew. We had brunch, exchanged gifts and stockings, played games, went on a hike in the White Tank Mountains, had Christmas dinner and ended the day with a movie. It was so great to spend the day with family and friends! I decided to add a link to my photo albums in the "Links" toolbar instead of adding a separate link for each album. Go crazy, folks!