Post # 100

Yes, that's right. This is my 100th post. I feel like that should be significant. I don't know if it will be, but I've decided to list some things that I'm working on or that I'm learning. And maybe some news or other little tidbits.

1. I'm a messy person. I've made peace with that. But sometimes, for the sake of someone else, I have to forego my leave-stuff-lying-around habits and be tidy. Even though it's not my style, I have to admit it feels nice not to have to quickly clean up whenever someone comes over.

2. PMS is real. And it's not fun. And we don't do it on purpose. Promise.

3. Women should be allowed to preach. Not to be pastors of churches, mind you, but just to preach a sermon occasionally. Seriously. This anti-woman activity in the church is none good. Pretty much we're saying, "Hey, you have nothing valuable to tell us. Or, if it is valuable, you should just tell it to women and hope that they tell it to their husbands and that their husbands aren't as chauvinistic as we are so they actually listen. But gosh, standing a woman up in front of a church and letting her say what God is teaching her? No, that can't be biblical. Unless she sings a song about it. Then it's okay, because the song was probably written by a man."
Okay, so maybe it's not quite like that. But really. I heard a woman preach a couple of weeks ago, and it was amazing. One of the best sermons I've ever heard.

4. So this peace thing that Jesus came to give us... it's not all that easy to follow. You, like, have to be nice to people. Like all the time.

5. No matter where you are, somehow, a person that you don't get along with will find you. And sometimes, they move in with you.

6. Now that I'm away from Mexico, I love all things Mexican.

7. I spent most of my life trying to ignore my feelings. I thought that if I didn't admit I had them, my life would be easier. I was wrong. Not acknowledging my feelings, I refused to consider them at all and so I could not possibly understand them. Now, I admit that I do have feelings. Sometimes I don't want to, but I have no choice. They're there. And now that I can say I have them, I can think about them, and maybe understand myself a bit better.
Recently, I awoke out of a feeling-free stupor and realized that even though I'd told Caleb that I didn't like flowers (because they die in like a week), when one of the girls here brought me just a couple of flowers that she pulled out of a bouquet she was giving to someone else, it felt good! Suddenly, I like flowers. Suddenly, it doesn't bother me so much that they're going to die. Is there something wrong with me? Or am I just being a silly girl (with a flower)?

8. Living in victory might not mean my victory. It's Christ's. Because I didn't save me from my sin. I am not the reason that I'm no longer a sinner!

9. When people try to start pointless arguments with me, I don't have to bite.

10. Sometimes, silence and/or a raised eyebrow is all you need. In the movie "Be Cool" John Travolta says more than once (when someone asks him what he's going to say), "No more than I have to, if that." Wish I could say that.

11.Having a stuffy nose all the time from constant dust and smog is no fun. And worse, there's nothing you can do about it.

12. The idea of getting married scared the living crap out of me. Seriously. And when I told my mom this, she didn't offer any comfort- no kind words. Just, "Good. that means you're seriously considering it as a lifelong decision." Thanks Mom. Not what I needed to hear. Sometimes, people should just be like, "Hey, you know it's gonna be okay. God's in charge and He knows what's best for you. You don't need to be scared- God takes care of His kids!" Wouldn't that be nice if people said that sometimes? Maybe I should do that for other people more often.

Okay, so that's some of what God's teaching me. What's He teaching you?

Update: Mom says she DID say God's in charge. I don't recall this. However, considering the state my memory is in (No but seriously, why did I come in here?) she's probably right. My bad, Mom.