Ode to my cell phone

Oh how I often dislike you.
Sure you can be convenient or helpful at times.
But also unnecessary, a money-guzzler, and time waster.

Oh how I wish I could drop you.
Sure people would be irritated at only being able to minimally reach me.
But due to unsafe societies for women or cars that break down, I keep you along.
Grudgingly so.

Oh to be Amish...a life of simplicity...
--No unwanted calls by random solicitors who happen to find or dial your cell phone number; no texts from the phone company telling you what great deals are available or that it is time to renew; no useless texts from people who lovingly send one-word texts that cost as much as a 20 word text, like yes, no, or thanks; and sometimes you are really lucky to received one-letter or one-number text...those are a real treat, like "k."

--No hour long phone calls, to who knows where but most likely outside of the USA phone calls, whenever we have a problem we need to fix that undoubtedly will take at least three phone calls which means at least three hours to fix when all that will need to be done is to enter some silly code and voila! it works again. And of course, the only time you can call for help is during work hours which probably isn't work-friendly per the boss or customers.

--No unused minutes because even though they roll over, you are still required to buy more minutes by a certain date which means that instead of minutes actually going down, each time you renew your unused minute count gets higher and higher which is a lot like money going down the drain if you ask me. Oh and if you don't renew your minutes by the magical date, you lose your phone number which I just did...yay me! Now I can spend all my cell phone minutes trying to remember to call everyone important to give them my new cell phone number but only once I know the new number and once my cell phone works again which will take another phone call to arrange, at least.

--No need to worry about changing cell phone laws: can I or can't I? Bluetooth or no bluetooth? First offense or second offense? Make all the rules you want for the people who drive recklessly or slowly because they need to get out of my way and shouldn't be so distracted except that I (still) have a cell phone (even though its not working) so as of now the laws still affect me (unless I can justify throwing it away).

One thing I want

Dear Santa--

I know this letter comes a bit early this year but I know what I want so why wait?

Since I don't make a practice to bribe people, I won't promise you to be a very good girl if you get me what I want. I mean, I'll try to be a good girl regardless and I hope you'll get me what I want but both are mutually exclusive of each other.

I know I haven't written you a letter in approximately...well...actually never. But there's a first for everything. If possible, could you please send me the following (I even included a picture just to be clear):

I don't believe that you are some cosmic grandfather waiting to spoil me just because. I'm more inclined to believe that like your legends of old, your sole intention is to bless others, most especially those in need. So it's only fair that if I am the recipient of your blessing, I should be willing to bless others too, which I try to do. So I came with the following list of how I can bless others with the above Schwinn bike:

1. I could encourage people to buy their own bike for pleasure and exercise.
2. I could use the back rack thing to carry people's things.
3. I could bring joy to someone who watches me ride with excitement...although I'm not really sure how much joy that could bring.
4. I could bring joy to people as they remember the days of their childhood when they too had a sweet bike like mine.
5. I could yell encouragement to people as I breeze by them.
6. And I suppose I could let someone borrow my bike, if really truly needed.

So there you go, Santa! My first ever letter. How did I do?
Say hi to Mrs. Claus and all the munchkins...I mean, elves.
Thank you for considering my request.
Mindy

Integrity

Back in 1997-1998, I was told for the first time that I was a person of integrity, which those people appreciated. Even though I was a high school graduate, I didn't really understand what that word meant...so I asked. I was told integrity is doing what you say you are going to do. Your life is consistent with your word.
I'll admit, when I was told this, my first thought was "well, of course I have integrity then...why wouldn't people, especially Christians, do what they say?" I know...I was a naive good Christian girl who thought the best of everyone.

Fast forward 13 years and I find myself observing this person that I have become wondering where the integrity has gone. Integrity isn't just doing what you say but also consistently doing what you should...living one's life to a high standard regardless if people are watching or not. It's a choice to live a life that doesn't just get by on minimal effort but to do their very best even if it's a job/task that is disliked. It's to live a life as such that people cannot cast blame, as Paul encourages in the Bible...a life above reproach.

What I'm wondering now is if you can have integrity in some elements but not in others? My initial thoughts is that you either have it or you don't...no middle ground or grey area. But truth be told, even if that is possible, I don't want partial integrity and I don't want full integrity just for accolades. I want to be a person of integrity, in part, to fill good about who I am. To know that I am doing my best...to know that I care enough...to know that regardless of what goes on around me, my reputation is worth something...to know that my life is pleasing to God because God cares about the details.

I don't have all the answers. This idea of integrity has just been rolling around in my head this past week. I think most people would say that I am a person of integrity. However, there is an element of complacency that has taken residence in my heart and mind. Complacency and integrity do not make for good partnerships. So in a renewed conscious attempt to fully be a person of integrity, I need to cast out complacency and make myself do what I should regardless if I care about what I'm doing or not.

I think integrity might be one of those things that is harder to achieve than it is easier to maintain.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.
Colossians 3:23

Don Miller is having a contest of sorts, asking people to share what kind of story they want for their life, whether it is just in the next year or even more long-term. I honestly haven't read his book "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" mostly because I'm too busy reading books for school. It's a book that I plan to get to one day.

I read all the details of the contest and simply thought, I have nothing. Nothing to share. I have no idea what kind of story I want to live because I have little idea of what God has in store for me. After reading a few people's story submissions, I was left feeling frustrated.

Let me start off by saying that God is faithful. Always has been. Always will be.

That being said, I often feel like I'm left in the dark in regards to my life and future. I had no clue what I was going to do my life until my second year at community college. One day, God revealed that He wanted me to go into ministry. I felt like the weight on my shoulders lifted, the heavens had opened, and the choirs were singing! But "ministry" is quite an expansive field. It was in my last year of Bible college when God revealed that missions was going to be in my future. Again, weight gone, heavens, choir. But "missions" is still quite expansive. For all I know, I could be in ministry here in the USA and supporting foreign missionaries...not directly involved overseas myself.

A few years later, God put graduate school on my heart...and that's where I am today. I'm working full time in a job I KNOW I'm not called to long-term, working my way through graduate school. The end is in sight but once more I remain clueless as to what the next step is. In some ways I feel like I'm just drifting along. But when I look back into my past, I clearly see God's hand and He has faithfully shown me the next step, even when I felt it was the eleventh hour.

As for my future, there are many things that sound interesting to me but what I'm realising is that I'm not always confident in myself and my abilities to work in those situations. Right now I mulling over whether or not to pursue my doctorate degree to be a Bible teacher/professor. I'm not sure if God is leading in this direction and I question my ability to teach well.

So in the next year of my life, my only desire is to trust God, patiently. I know that He will guide me once more. In the next year, I will finish my Master's degree and I will either begin to look for a ministry position, either here or overseas, or I will start the process of working towards a doctorate degree. I don't know if this is much of a story but it's where I am at. I just want to be faithful to what God wants of me and to where He wants me to go.

Having shared all this, I guess I might as well enter the contest. I do think this seminar would be great to attend as I relish anything that provides insight into who I am and how God is working in me. Not that this seminar would provide all the answers but it might simply provide encouragement and inspiration to keep on.

In case you're interested in learning more yourself, check out www.donmilleris.com/conference.


Living a Better Story Seminar from All Things Converge Podcast on Vimeo.

Oh to jump into the pages...

Do you ever wish you could meet some of the characters you read? You read their life's story or at least a part of it and come to admire and love them; you come to feel like they are old friends of yours; or maybe you come to really dislike them. Either way, a good fictional story has the ability to draw you in and bring out feelings as you connect or don't connect with its characters. I am a imaginative, sensitive/emotional, and relational type of person, which means that I am someone who can lose myself into a story to the point that I tune out what is really going on around me.

I'm the type of person who cries when people die in stories. Back when I was around 12-14 years old, I was reading through the Anne of Green Gables series. When I got to the last book, one of my favorite characters died unexpectedly. I was so upset and shocked, I threw the book across the room and started crying. That's me.

Anyhow, for the last two or three months, I've been listening to Jan Karon's Mitford series on CD, in my car. Listening to the story is as engaging as reading the books and I am smitten again with her characters. It got me thinking how there are some characters that I would really love to meet...if only they were real.

• Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy--I think I'd swoon if I ever met them (especially if Mr. Darcy looked anything like Colin Firth)...so it's probably good that I can't meet them. I love their quick-wittedness, their charm and sense of humor.
• Father Tim Cavanaugh--This dear man is epitome of wise thoughts, who is both sensible and compassionate. I would love to talk and listen and watch and learn from him.
• Juliet Ashton (and her Guernsey friends)--The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society book is a wonderful book to read and listen to on CD. As a writer, Juliet is a energetic and enthusiastic character who is interested in finding out the details of almost everything, which takes her to Guernsey where she meets a delightful cast of characters, with intriguing and sometimes heartbreaking stories. The only bad thing about this story is that it ends. I came to love these characters and wanted to know more about their lives only to find myself at the end of the book.
• Aslan--Meeting Aslan would be terrifying, exciting, incredible, and memorable. His character is magnetic, drawing me to him is a strong way. Yes, the Narnia books has many wonderful characters but none more so than Aslan. Seeing as his character represents God, I delight in the knowledge that one day I'll get be in the presence of the real "Aslan" and even now, get to engage with God regularly.

Not to mention: Jane Eyre, Harry Potter (and gang), Hamlet, Michael Hosea and Sarah (Redeeming Love), Anne Elliot (Persuasion), Jean Valjean (Les Miserables) and many many others!

Who would you want to meet?