Velvet Elvis...

These days I'm reading through a book called "Velvet Elvis," by Rob Bell. Since cracking the cover on this book I've been moved by deep thoughts, and great emotions; the two components of a wonderful book.

I wanted to take some time and journal some of the thoughts Rob Bell has expressed (the ideas that jumped out at me). Of course my taking the time to condense some of the book for you should be no excuse for not going out and finding a copy for yourself to read. I'll tell you, Rob Bell is far better able to express his ideas through written word then I'll ever be.

First off let's examine the idea of a trampoline and a brick. The trampoline is fun and inviting, I mean who wouldn't want to get on a trampoline and jump around (it's freeing). The brick wall is hard and it's only purpose is to keep people in or out (depending on which side you find yourself on).

Rob Bell takes the illustration of the trampoline and brick wall one step further. The trampoline has these wonderful devices called springs that give depth to our jumps. Bell says that the springs can be a wonderful metaphor for our christian doctrines. To Bell the springs aren't God, or even Jesus, they just are the doctrines that give depth to our experience of God.

Now a brick wall is made of brick...duh!!! Now using a metaphor of the brick wall each brick could be a doctrine. Each brick could represent a doctrine that we use to experience God with. Now here's the problem with the brick wall, you can hardly take out any doctrine or re-examine a doctrine without the wall crumbling down. If that wall is your faith (and it seems so solid) just remember that it's hard and uninviting and most of all it's not very flexible.

The trampoline on the otherhand is designed for flexibility. The springs stretch and move with ease. If ever a question were to arise over a certain spring "doctrine", that spring could be removed and examined without the function of the trampoline being hurt (you can still jump on a trampoline with a spring removed).

Like I said Rob Bell says it better. I encourage everyone to pick up a copy of this book and challenge yourself and your ideas about faith.

The question I'm asking myself today is, "Is my Church composed of doctrinal bricks? Is it hard and unyielding? Does it say to people you can't be on the "in" unless you fall inline with each hard doctrine? Or is my Church a trampoline? Are my doctrines flexible enough that others can jump without knowing all the answers?"

I should say, Rob Bell places great emphasis on questions. He writes that the mystery of God is one that evokes our questions. We are more able to experience God when we question, even when we question God (in reverence).

There is a quote from the back cover of "Velvet Elvis" that I like:

We have to test everything.
I thank God for anybody who is pointing people to the mysteries of God.
But those people would all tell you to think long and hard about what
they are saying and doing and creating.
Test it. Probe it.
Do that to this book.
Don't swallow it uncritically. Think about it. Wrestle with it.
Just because I'm a Christian and I'm trying to articulate a Christian worldview
doesn't mean I've got it nailed. I'm contributing to the discussion.
God has spoken, and the rest is commentary, right?

Water Heaters...

The following entry is only a personal theory and should seriously be taken with a grain of salt, okay, maybe salt of the equivalent in the Great Salt Lake.

My theory is that if you must begin your day with a cold shower the day will only proceed downhill from there. Nothing good follows a cold shower. Cold showers are a form of 19th century torture that could be considered under the following of "cruel and unusual punishment".

Last week I experienced a series of misfortunate events (to borrow a phrase). Each day's events followed a short and unpleasant cold shower. The cold shower was a direct result of my water heater malfunctioning.

Since Saturday my water heater is in proper working order, and I'm happy to be again basking in a warm shower each morning. With the return of the warm shower my unfortunate events have evaporated and I'm now back to normal day status.

Without any of the gory details of last weeks events you'll have to take my word on the cold shower theory. Then again if you've ever had the misfortunate to experience your own cold shower I'm sure you could sympathize with the idea that starting your day with a cold shower doesn't bode well for the rest of the day.

So, I wish you all the best and may warm showers greet you each morning.

Happy Anniversary...

Happy anniversary to me!! It was one year ago today that I wrote my very first blog. Why don't you back and read it : )

What about ME...

This afternoon my Aunt Barbie emailed me two pictures of my young cousin Maddie. The email was entitled something like..."this is happiness." I wanted to share with you all both pictures and then point out a little problem I'm having.

Okay this first photo is pretty cute. I mean Maddie's doing well she's got herself a man with a truck (all you girls out there feel free to say "awwww" at this time).

I'm looking at this photo a little closer, and I think to myself, I need to be pulling Maddie aside and talking to her about the facts of life. The fact is Maddie has allowed herself to be taken in by a man who drives around in a Chevy. A Chevy!!! I want to know what's next, you find her pulled over on the side of the road making out in a Chevy...NEVER!!!

On My Day Off...

Luck for me, both my roommate (Emily) and myself had Tuesday off from work. And what a beautiful day it was too, much too nice to stay indoors. We opted for a walk in the park and an afternoon drive up into Little Cottonwood Canyon here in good ol' Utah.

The park was Wheeler Historic Farm, which meant we got to see farm animals. I always like visiting there it reminds me a good deal of home. It's also a convient place to visit since it's only a half mile from where I live.

On this particular day I brought my camera with me and managed some nice photos of the antique farm equipment that they showcase at Wheeler.

Of course this picture is just a small sampling of the pictures I have available of the antique machines. It just so happens that I'm now on a dial-up connection, and it's much to long of a download to be showing you more pictures. SORRY.








As I mentioned earlier, after the park Emily and I went up into Little Cottonwood Canyon. It was absolutely gorgeous up there. There's the rough rock, pine trees, snow (we still have some snow), and wonderful views. It's all too much to describe in words, I guess I'll have to be patient and show you another picture (here goes the long download process).

Okay, after what seems like an eternity later I have this picture up of a hidden waterfall that Emily and I found near Moss' Ledge. It was a short little walk and an absolutely spectacular view of rushing water.

Oh, and to your left is that snow I was telling you all about earlier. See thar's snow on them there peaks : ) Of course it was also in the upper 80's on this particular day and I had my shoulders pretty well burned to a crisp (lack of insight and sunscreen on my part), but there is snow.

Burgers and Fries...

....we're not saving lives!!

That pretty much sums up my job at Chili's. Well atleast one would think that's what my job is all about. It should consist of me taking someone's order and then serving them up their food...simple as that.

It's just not so. It's all our American Culture of absolute customer service. As a society we've breed a distinct group of persons that take the idea of customer service to an extreme. It's these persons that irrate me to no end these days.

They tend to be overly critical and demanding in what they deem as good customer service. And here I am trying to make a living by living up to their expectations. Let me tell you it's exhausting.

Personally, I feel that my customer service skills are well tuned and the average person enjoys my service. The fact of the matter is that a good number of people going out to eat these days aren't the average person, they're the critical and demanding type I mentioned earlier. They have this inate belief that if I haven't given them five star service then their dining experience was less than enjoyable.

Let me just say once and for all, to all of you out there that have ever been frustrated over the fact that you've had less than desirable service (compared to your standards), it's burgers and fries we're not saving lives...Chill Out!

Love...

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?" The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:

------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love." Rebecca- age 8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth." Billy - age 4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other." Karl - age 5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs." Chrissy - age 6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "Love is what makes you smile when you're tired." Terri - age 4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK." Danny - ae 7 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss" Emily - age 8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen." Bobby - age 7 (Wow!) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate," Nikka - age 6 (we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday." Noelle - age 7 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well." Tommy - age 6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore." Cindy - age 8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "My mommy loves me more than anybody . You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night." Clare - age 6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken." Elaine-age 5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Brad Pitt." Chris - age 7 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day." Mary Ann - age 4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones." Lauren - age 4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you." (what an image) Karen - age 7 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- "You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget." Jessica - age 8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry"

Another Late Night Vigil...

So here I am again writing to you from the early hours of the morning (or wee late hours of the night if you need to think of it in that context). It's now exactly 1:00 a.m. and I'm still wide awake.

This late night schedule is mostly due to my working hours. For example, last night I wasn't home from work until after midnight, and then it still took me atleast two hours to wind down before I could actually sleep. And even though I took time to distance myself from my working hours before trying sleep I still had Chili's dreams.

Those are the dreams that haunt me from the worst of what happens at Chili's. I hate those dreams, they're the ones where customers are upset over food orders, or I'm being sat too many tables at once and can't keep up, or there is something else going on that is totally out of my control. These dreams always keep me from having a good night's sleep. Not very pleasant at all.

Another reason I'm still up at this hour is because I choose to be : ) Tomorrow (actually today because of the hour) I'm taking an overnight flight into Jamaica to visit friends. The way I figure the situation is that if I can stay up late tonight I'll be more inclined to take a nap this afternoon and be more alert and rested during my flight and layover. The only problem with this solution is the following day when my body is saying I should be sleeping and I actually need to be on the go. But I'll cross that bridge when I get there (how's that for a motto?) : )

Well, I should be off I still need to pack for my trip and knowing me I'm going to need to take my time (double checking everything for I'm always bound to forget something).

Up Later Than Usual...

I don't know if that heading is really true or not (it's 12:25 a.m.). I do have a tendency of being more of a night owl. Maybe tonight it just feels as if I'm up later than usual because I'm actually pretty tired.

You'd think with my burning eyes and on coming fatigue I would just choose to fall right off to sleep. Think again. For some reason it's in this state I'm most productive. I wanted to get some writing done tonight, and it's when my brain is beginning to shut down that I'm actually getting around to that writing.

I blame this tendency on all those years spent in College. I formed a rather nasty habit of waiting to the last minute to finish my work (okay...my last entry did hint that this habit of procrastination was more a part of my nature than something I formed over time). For me waiting to the last minute was working on that final draft (sometimes it was the rough draft) in the wee early hours of the morning on the project's due date.

Even now as I'm post college I seem to do my best writing late into the night. For some reason my eyes have to feel that burn as they stare into the computer screen, and my mind has to swim in a sea of haziness. It is during this time that the words pour forth onto the screen with little effort. In these late night hours I'm not one to second guess my writing, and sit and scrutinize every sentence.

The late night hour allows my true voice to come across paper. If you want to really know what I think or feel keep me up late at night, and then give me pen and paper or a computer and you'll have your answers. Just beware the spelling and grammer might not be so hot. : )

Ode to a Procrastinator...

Sheesh...let me just say that I got it all taken care of with several hours to spare. The "all" I'm speaking of was my taxes. Yes, I know I waited to the last day and almost the last hour to finish them, but alas I am a procrastinator.

You'd be proud to know though that I actually began the process back in January. Then I never finished and papers laid on my desk for several months. It occured to me this past weekend that I could save myself the effort of handwritting the rest of the forms and save postage by e-filing. It was really a simple process and took me less than two hours to complete. I highly recommend that method for anyone in the future.

Now, I'm relaxing at my desk listening to a new cd called, "Celtic Woman." The song at present is "Danny Boy," ah...how beautiful. I enjoy peaceful music like this...puts me in a great frame of mind.

Well...that's the end of this day. Now it's off to bed to get the rest I need for the new day.

Home Sweet Home...

Very early this past Thursday I arrived in Virginia for a visit home. By very early I'm talking plenty early. I took a red eye flight into town and got to Baltimore Airport at around 5 a.m. Of course I capped off that long flight with an equally long and tiring drive home (about three hours). Bless my parents though for they did the driving home and let me sleep in the back seat. It's been a great visit so far, and I've realized recently that I'm enjoying something now that I haven't really done much of in Utah (of course I plan on remedying that situation on my return). What I've done a lot of so far is just visiting with friends and family. Often times that means giving a little advance call or just showing up unexpectedly on their front doorstep. Visiting with people in their homes or places of work and taking a little time out of my day to meet them on their home turf is actually quite great. So often in Utah I'm known for calling people up and meeting them somewhere else or they do the same with me. That's great and all, but usually we end up in crowded restaurants or very public places that are noisy. What a pleasure it is to stand out doors or sit in a quiet living room and have a relaxing and fun conversation. Well I really should be cutting short my thoughts here and getting myself off in bed. I have one more full day in Virginia and I need to be well rested to make the most of it.

A Song of Praise...

Last night was worship team practice for Church. We got together and learned this amazing new song. I wanted to take a moment to share the song with each of you and maybe it'll touch your heart like it did mine last night.

http://www.audiostreet.net/artist.aspx?artistid=30295&mode=music&recordid=67159

Here of Late...

Here of late, I've been thinking plenty of home, and by home I mean life back in Virginia. I guess I'm beginning to realize that "home" will always probably mean Virginia to me. Here I've been in Utah for almost a year now, and life is comfortable and good, but home is still Virginia.

Why, you might ask am I thinking about home? Well, partially because I'll be leaving for a visit to Virginia in about two weeks, then there is the fact I've been in Utah so long, and now my family is considering selling the one home I lived in most of my life. I know, so many thoughts that swirl around in my little head.

First off is the visit home. Yeah, I guess that really got me going on my home thinking. It'll be the first time I've seen my parents or siblings in almost a year (well except for my brother who I did see at Thanksgiving). Then of course is a whole bunch of other family and friends I haven't seen in just as long and I can't wait to see them either. It's funny but when I think of my visit home it isn't the places I'll be seeing again but the people (well except for El Charo's!!!) I guess all that say "home" is about love ones not location.

I'm definitely glad it's not about location, because as I mentioned earlier my parents are considering selling the family farm and the home of my childhood. This isn't really all that bad, but I am glad I'll be going home again just to spend some time in the ol' place. I can't begin to share all the special memories that house has for me and my family. But then again when you still have your family you don't need a house to remember special times.

Strangest of all my thoughts here of late is that Utah is good for me. Sure there have been tough times here, when I missed family and friends or longed for my established life back in Virginia, but for the most part that isn't so. For the most part I have a happy and established life here in Utah. Being here (exactly where God wants me) gives me a sense of purpose and fulfillment that makes life a joy.

All of this leads me to another thought. Okay, so Utah might not be the "home" of my family and friends, but it's become a "home" of my heart.

And this is Jenn signing off from here late night ramblings. Hope you enjoyed and until next time...God's Blessings on you all!!

What a Week...

What a week I just had. I believe in this past week I went through just about every crisis a person can name (okay maybe not every crisis...but you get the point). Here's a few from my list with some stories to go with:

• Emotional
• Car
• Financial
• Physical

Well, I know you don't want to hear about all my little crisis', so here's the car and the physical to tide you over.

I've known that something was wrong with my car for some time, but every time I took it to the shop the mechanic said it was fine. Of course my car was on it's best behavior for the mechanic, but when it came to just me in the car it made funny noises and behaved very badly.

Eventually I found a mechanic who was inclined to agree with me and say that yes it did make funny noises and something was definitely wrong. In fact it was the water pump that needed to be replaced desperately for the sake of my coolant levels (I had leaking coolant - which I've learned is NOT good). Okay, so all of this meant that I had my car in the shop and out of comission for two days.

My physical crisis relates to a bump on my head that I recieved. While at work on Thursday night I crashed my head into the corner counter and blacked out. I ended up at the ER getting a C.T. scan, because nobody wanted to take any chances with my huge ol' goose egg and my dizzy spells. All in all, what should have been a short shift at work waiting tables turned into a long visit to the hospital. Then of course the next day was followed by a pounding headache, but I guess that is to be expected.

So there, you have my week of crisis in a nutshell.

Hot Tea...

Hot tea in the morning. Hot tea in the evening. That's me a one to two cup addiction each day. I've got such a collection of hot teas now that I can have a cup to reflect almost any mood that I might have.

Tonight I'm relaxing to a cup of hot jasmine. Hmmm...what mood does that reflect? I believe I drink this brand when I need to relax after I've had an especially hard day.

It wasn't that today was terrible, for some reason I felt down about it. No worries though, after a few calls home and my cup of jasmine I'm doing much better.

So, what's the point of this entry? I guess it's just to let you know the comfort and joy you can find in hot teas. Go out and get ya some!!!

When Maija Says JUMP...

I JUMP!!! You better believe it :-)

So I was reminded today by a dear friend, that it was time I got online and posted an update on my blog. It's interesting, because from what I've been hearing there are actually persons out there that enjoying reading these ramblings of mine. Well all I have to say is kudos to you if you get something from all of this.

Today went by so quickly. I was on the go from work at Chili's to music practice at Church. And most of the time I had my new roommate Emily along enjoying the ride and acquainting herself to the new "Utah Culture". Well to suffice it to say, we accomplished much ground today in Emily's first day in Utah.

Soon enough I'll have more stories (meaning more interesting than the ones at present) to share with you all concerning Emily in Utah and I'm sure to have some photos to go along with the words. Until then.............

From a Virginian to Virginians...

http://www.blogthings.com/virginia.html

Accident Prone...

So if I believed in horoscopes I'm sure mine for the week would have been the "doom and gloom" prediction of keep to your bed and pull the covers up tight. This is all NOT to say that the week has been dreadfully awful, it's more the point of the accidents that keep coming my way.

First off, yesterday at Chili's I was preparing a cup of Broccoli and Cheese soup to serve to one of my guests, when some spilled over the edge of the cup and preceded to scald my left hand. OUCH!! I spent as much time as I could spare in the busyness of the lunch rush to place my hand under running cold water. In the end I mostly toughed it out and went about my business in a mood that was somewhat less happy than before.

If that wasn't enough for the day I went home to bang up my right knee. Seeing as there is a story behind this accident I should give you curious folks the details. I was at home enjoying dinner, chatting friends, and the viewing of a rather strong hail storm. My plan for later evening was to swing by the Church for music practice and as my luck would have it the storm ended before I had to be on my way.

That is where my luck ran out. Well, either my luck or my intelligence, and I would like to think it was the former rather than the latter. In order to arrive at my vehicle I must first descend a flight of concrete stairs outside of my apartment building. Without even thinking as the condition of these stairs after a hail storm (remember hail is equivalent to ice) I proceeded down the stairs with very little caution. Next thing I knew my right foot slipped back on the ice and momentum was pulling me head first down the stairs.

Fortunately, though my luck and intelligence were at an end, quick reflexes were not. I grabbed hold of the side railing and prevented myself from a serious head injury. Though as you can probably guess my knee wasn't saved from a similar fate. The right knee caught the edge of the stair in acute pain. I limped my way back into the apartment and discovered that the concrete edge had created a nice gash in the skin from which blood was issuing. Of course I only like blood when it stays in it's proper place (you know working diligently to carry oxygen through my INTERNAL system). Something about blood of the external part of my body doesn't quite thrill me.

I began by stopping the bleeding with pressure and bandaids. Then it was on to help the swelling. At this point I made my way to the freezer to see what I had on hand that would do in a pinch. AHH!!! A nice large bag of frozen hash browns, perfect. It was truly perfect for the occasion. The hash browns in the bag were cold and formed nicely over my knee. I recommend having some on hand in your home, just in case your luck or intelligence ever desert you.

Now if you think that is all, then you are quite mistaken. Today I went back to work at Chili's (you know a little knee injury can't get me down - not with advil at the ready). I was helping another server by taking a hot skillet meal out to their table.

When I work with the skillets I'm usually careful not to become distracted so that I might not hurt myself. Unfortunately this table could have cared less that I had a sizzling skillet in my hand. As I was trying to balance the hot skillet a guy at this table was trying to shove dirty dishes into my other hand asking me to get them out of his way (first off I have to say HOW RUDE).

Next thing I know the dishes the guy couldn't wait another second (that's all that would have taken me to place the hot skillet down and pick up the dirty dishes with both hands) started to tilt in my hand. I tried to spread my hand out to balance them before they fell and my other hand with the skillet moved at the same time with the motion. That's when I experienced the major pain of my thumb being seared by the skillet. Of course I'm at the table with guests so I try to hide the injury by gritting my teeth and practically dropping the skillet into the guy's lap (don't worry it made the table). Then it was both hands to the dirty dishes and me walking away in pain (and of course I'm not perfect so I was thinking a few nasty thoughts about rude and impatient people).

So there you have it, my accident prone past few days. Here's the rest of the week may it be filled with accident free hours.

Joel Says...

ugh! dail up=dumbdail up is like grandma and a trucker teaming up to block both lanes for no apparent reason... no, there is a reason: a sick pleasure in making joel go crazy.

Welcome to Dial-Up...

Okay, so maybe I've downgraded, but atleast I've gone honest. It's probably best that I explain that sentence more thoroughly. As it happens since moving this past October I've been using wireless internet as my connection. At first, being the technological illiterate that I am, I figured that if you bought the wireless card (as I had) than any connections you found out there (space and time or whatever) were free.

WRONG. I soon learned that wireless connections are never free, some are just unprotected. For me this meant that continuing to siphon internet connections this way was paramount to stealing. Having read the 10 Commandments once or twice...or just several dozen times, I realized that stealing was probably bad.

Now I had to make some decisions, like what was the best internet for me, and what fit in my budget best? Since internet is not a high priority for me I figured I could live on dial-up (relatively the most inexpensive). Dial-up also had another advantage that of having to have a land line phone connection.

Being that I'm now out in Utah it was advantageous to have a local number for all those persons tired of calling me long distance on my cell phone. So, now I have a local number and legal internet service...aren't you all proud of me?