AudioPlay, General

Theme Song for 2009

I heard something on the radio today and thought it was interesting …

If you could pick one song to represent you for 2009, what would it be?

I think for me, it would be Christina Aguilera’s “I’m a fighter.” It’s rather a mean song (which can apply to me at times), but overall, I think of strength and determination whenever I hear it.

If you’re unfamiliar with the song, have a listen:

This song inspires me. And it serves as a reminder that though it’s important to get along with people, in the end, I must do what I feel is right regardless of whether the population agrees with me or not.

And that, I think, is my overall goal for this year – to submit my writing, the writing from my heart, and hope for the best.

In fact, I read a quote over at 70 Days of Sweat that I thought truly applied to me:

Write what you want to read. The person you know best in this world is you. Listen to yourself. If you are excited by what you are writing, you have a much better chance of putting that excitement over to a reader. -Robin McKinley

And that’s what I’m going to do. I’ve been denying what I truly wanted to write for too long. I read romance/chick-lit. I will write romance/chick-lit and I will get over my snooty attitude about the genre and do what’s in my heart.

Period. And if people in my life don’t like that, listen to the above song.

Please. πŸ™‚

Life

A Sad, Sad Morning

Something died at our house this morning. Don’t worry, it was nothing in the physical sense of the word but rather the joyous, happy spirit of carefree souls. Today was the day that the husband and both boys had to go back to work/school and none were too happy about it.

The morning started out as usual, hubby got up first and his clanging around the kitchen getting his breakfast woke me up. I slithered out of bed, turned on my computer and poured myself the requisite cup of coffee. I ran through my emails, updated some websites, updated my blog and toggled through Google Reader to see what my favorite bloggers had been up to.

Six fifteen hits and it’s time to begin the arduous task of getting the boys out of bed. I turn on MK’s light (because that’s all it takes to wake him up) and then I walk into GD’s room. I flip on his light switch, pull back his cover, tell him good morning and click on his radio (to country music – BOY that makes him cranky – hehe).

I get back on my computer, surf around to my favorite websites, finish my coffee and then when the clock hits 6:35, I get back up and stand in GD’s doorway until he forces himself to sit up in bed. If I don’t wait for the boy to sit up, he’ll go back to sleep.

In the meantime, MK is up and eating breakfast. He’s my early bird.

The next thirty minutes zoom – clothes are being thrown across the room, hair is first matted down with water (because God forbid it LOOKS like they might have done anything with it), trappers are dug out of the closet and the sound of zippers reverberate throughout the house.

I pry my lazy butt out of my computer chair and make the boys’ lunches.

After the lunches have been made, I go out and start my car so it can warm up, come back in and make beds. MK is ready to go by this time and is on his computer.

GD, who got up later, ate his breakfast later and is about five steps behind the rest of us has just enough time to watch a few YouTube videos before it’s time to get into the car.

The time is now 7:20 a.m. and if we don’t get going then we’ll get caught up in the HORRENDOUS traffic by GD’s school and we’ll be reduced to crawling only a little faster than a snail and our lack of progress to get close enough to the school so that GD can jump out and sprint to class (as if he would do that anyway HAHA!) will stress GD out and make him crankier (than usual).

Both boys are in the car and we turn on the radio because I have learned, long ago, that trying to talk to the boys in the morning is hopeless. GD is sitting next to me, MK is in the back seat.

It’s so quiet in the back seat I have to turn around to make sure MK is still breathing. His eyes are glazed over and his mouth is so droopy it’s nearly touching his chest. It’s not that he’s tired, it’s that he has to go to school.

A fate worse than shopping for clothes, don’t you know.

I bite my tongue, after all, there is absolutely nothing I can do to cheer him up, short of turning the car around and heading back home and that’s NOT happening. Are you kidding me?? The kids are going back to school! Yippee!

I contain my glee knowing instinctively this reaction would not go over very well.

We arrive at GD’s school. I dutifully navigate my car into the cattle, er, car line and we inch our way through the winding parking lot until we finally reach the door that GD needs to enter.

“Have a good day! I’ll see you later,” I say.

“Humpf,” he says.

Some days, I don’t even get a grunt but am rewarded with a dirty look. Yay me!

We leave the congested lot and head toward MK’s school. By this time, morning traffic has picked up and it takes sitting through several red lights before we really get going.

We pull up in front of MK’s school right on time.

“Ok bud, have a great day! I’ll see you later!” I say with a false lilt in my voice. MK just looks at me with dead eyes and rolls out of the car. I watch him walk toward the doors to hell and grimace. His shoulders are slumped and he’s walking as if he’s 90 years old.

Anyhoo, my guys are back in their respective “salt mines” (as hubby *affectionately* calls work) and I’m left to my own devices. Which today means heading to the university library and writing something suitable to submit to this place.

ADDED: Which didn’t happen. I got bombarded by emails from the schools so didn’t get a chance to do any writing. But that’s okay, there’s always tomorrow.

And our lives resume a mundane schedule.

Book Corner

New Books on Bookmooch

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Wanna mooch? Bookmooch, that is. I’m a member of Bookmooch which is an online forum to swap books with other bookworms.

I’ve given 35 books away and received 22. I adore Bookmooch and if you’re looking for a cheap way to get rid of your gently read books, this really is the place for you.

I just added Performance Anxiety by Betsy Burke (Good condition)

And Get a Clue by Jill Shalvis (Never read. I bought the Kindle version before realizing I had a hard copy – duh).

(I’ve reserved this book for seven days, so if you want this book, just let me know your Bookmooch ID and I’ll set you up).

If you would like to join Bookmooch (or if you’re already a member, look me up!) and mooch these books off of me, you can find my inventory and my account information here. My Bookmooch ID is: take2max – in case the link doesn’t work and you want to find me. πŸ™‚

Sorry, I’m only shipping to the U.S at this time. International shipping just isn’t in the budget right now.

Monday Morning Meme

Monday Morning Meme – January 5th

All you have to do is answer the questions below either in the comment section, or on your blog. And elaborate! Make these questions show your unique and special personalities. This meme entry will post at 12:01 every Monday morning and will be the first postentry listed on WFK all day Monday. (This is an all-day Monday meme, so please, play all day!)

Monday Morning Meme at writefromkaren.com

January 5th Questions:

1. What was the last thing you laughed at? Would you say you have a great sense of humor? What sorts of things make you laugh in general? Would you say people “get” your humor?

2. How many pieces of jewelery are you wearing at this very moment? Do you wear jewelry every day, or only on special occasions? What is your favorite piece of jewelery? Tell us the story behind one piece of your jewelery.

3. If you could offer one piece of etiquette advice that everyone should follow when dining out, what would it be?

4. What are the first three things a guest would notice when they walked through your front door?

Monday Morning Meme Participants

1. Marianne
2. Thea @ I\’m a Drama Mama
3. Sue
4. Jodi
5. Kathy
6. Dawn\’s Daily Life
7. Shannon H
8. Oregonsunshine

Powered by… Mister Linky’s Magical Widgets.

________________________

bloggersbest2 Okay, picture this – you’re trying to entice new readers to your blog. But they only have time to read one of your blog posts. Which blog post would you direct them to? Which of your blog posts really shines and says something about your life? Which blog post are you most proud of? Now take that blog post and submit it to the Blogger’s Best Carnival so everyone else can appreciate your greatness. πŸ™‚

To learn more about the carnival, read this page.

The next Blogger’s Best Carnival: January 31st.

Prize: The satisfaction of reading quality blog posts. πŸ™‚

Abundant Life

Teaching: Was Jesus Really Born December 25th?

Every Sunday I provide videos and valuable links to the Truth or Tradition teachings. We’ve been following the Truth or Tradition teachings for many years now and they have truly blessed our family. We have found peace and happiness through our beliefs and we walk confidently for God. My hope, by passing on this information to you, is that what you find here, or on the Truth or Tradition website, will guide you to a better, more blessed and abundant life.

If you would like to read my views on religion and how we got started with the ministry, you can read this.

Let’s get started:

FAQ: I have heard a number of people say that Jesus Christ was not born on December 25, the date that Christians celebrate as his birthday. Is that true? If not, why do people celebrate on that date, and when was he born?

β€œMerry Christmas!” Centuries old, those cheery words are still being spoken each December by countless millions of people, some of whom do not even believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God or the resurrected Lord. As we write, the world is once again approaching β€œthe Holiday Season,” when the name of Jesus Christ takes center stage for a few weeks. Amidst the often crass commercialism of Christmas, familiar carols and Christmas cards do herald the glad tidings of the babe born to be the Savior of mankind. And, in perhaps unwitting concurrence with our heavenly Father’s unparalleled act of giving His only begotten Son, even non-Christian families gather together in love and give gifts to one another. For many people, β€œChristmas” is their favorite time of year.

We in Spirit & Truth Fellowship are glad that the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ is recognized on the calendar each year. However, much of the beauty of the events leading up to and including the birth of Jesus as told in the Word of God has been obscured by the religious traditions of men. In this brief answer to the above question, we hope to whet your appetite to look deeper into these magnificent truths, including the poignant and inspiring examples of those players in this real life drama that forever changed the world.

You can get a panoramic yet detailed scriptural account in the two hour video teaching titled, The Birth of Christ, by John Schoenheit. For specific astronomical documentation of the birth date of Christ, see the book titled The Star That Astonished the World, by Ernest L. Martin. We believe that when all the evidence is considered, it shows that Jesus Christ was not born in December, but in September of 3 B.C.

Think for a moment about the significance of a birthday, say, your birthday. Since the dawn of time, what happened on the day you were born had never happened before, and will never happen again. You, the only you who will ever draw breath, came into existence, with a β€œclean slate” set before you on which to write the story of your absolutely unique life. And so it is for every human being ever born, including the man whose sinless life earned him his current position of β€œLord” at the right hand of God, His Father.

Knowing that Jesus was His only hope for the restoration of His shattered dream of a family living forever on a perfect earth, God, the Father, announced the impending birth of His only begotten Son in Genesis 3:15. He told the Devil that the β€œoffspring” of a woman would one day crush his head. For the next 4000 years God precisely and meticulously worked to establish and preserve the bloodline from which the Redeemer of man would be born. Throughout the Old Testament, Satan tried in vain to destroy this bloodline, sometimes coming within a hairsbreadth of succeeding, but God was always one step ahead of him, and at last, the cries of a newborn babe in a manger split the air in Bethlehem. The Promised Seed had arrived! The Plan of Redemption was proceeding toward Paradise regained.

Why was Jesus crying?

(a) He was freezing.
(b) He felt sorry for the shivering sheep.
(c) He was too young to spend the gold brought by one of the three wise men.
(d) Santa Claus had gotten stuck in the manger chimney.
(e) He was a baby.

Biblically speaking, the answer is (e). Babies cry. The other answer choices point to the traditions of men that have made their way into the beautiful account of the birth of the Savior of the world. Tradition would have us believe that Jesus was born on December 25, when it is very cold, and sometimes snowy, in Bethlehem. The truth is that Jesus was born in September. Tradition would have us believe that there were three wise men, and that they came to the manger. The truth is that there were quite a number of those who came from the East, and that they came to see Jesus when he was between 18 and 24 months old.

In this brief article, we cannot fully set forth the many pertinent biblical details, but we will give you the important facts, and we encourage you to pursue this via the avenues of study mentioned above. It is important to note that the actual chronology of events regarding the birth of Christ must be put together from what is recorded in Matthew and Luke (with some overlapping in time), as follows: Luke 1:5-25; 1:26-38; 1:39-56; 1:57-80; Matthew 1:18-24; 1:25a; Luke 2:1-20; Matt. 1:25b; Luke 2:21; 2:22-24; 2:25-35; 2:36-38; Matthew 2:1-12; 2:13-22; 2:23; Luke 2:39; 2:40; 2:41-50; 2:51 and 52.

No, we are not advocating a worldwide campaign to change the celebration we know as β€œChristmas” from December 25 to September 11 which has already become a most significant date here in the USA. But we ourselves do at least pause on that latter date to thank God for His Son and to thank the Lord for living and dying for us. Nor are we suggesting that you take it upon yourself to re-arrange the manger scene in your town square by kidnapping the three wise men. And we do not believe it is a sin to have a Christmas tree, 200,000 lights on your house, stockings hung by the chimney with care, etc., because no verse of Scripture says that. Just don’t worship the tree.

But how sad it is that so many people on earth associate the birth of Jesus Christ with a fictitious being called β€œSanta Claus,” who has come to be known as the Giver of good gifts. As we rudely learn at an early age, there is no Santa Claus. But there most certainly is a loving heavenly Father whose heart of love for all mankind overflowed in the greatest gift ever given, His only begotten Son. Furthermore, God’s Word says that β€œHe who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all…will…along with him, graciously give us all things” (Rom. 8:32). The Christmas season is a golden opportunity to do just what those shepherds of long ago didβ€”spread the word about Jesus Christ. Now that’s something to rejoice about! Ho! Ho! Ho!

Read the full article here.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

If you have any questions, or would like to learn more about God’s wonderful message, please visit the Truth or Tradition website. You can also keep track of the ministry through their Facebook page.

Thank you for visiting and God bless.

random stuff

Random Thoughts – January 3rd

My accomplishments for the day?

Got up.

Had coffee.

Ate two Krispy Kreme donuts.

Stripped our bedding to wash.

Checked my Google Reader.

Posted the Hope post below.

Vacuumed out my car.

And now?

I’m ready for a nap. Seriously, I’m pooped. As in, I got seven hours of sleep and I’m still wiped out, exhausted.

I was actually ready for bed at 8:30 last night. But then I made the HUMONGOUS mistake of turning on the TV. And I mindlessly surfed stupid channels (toggling between E! News and CSI: Miami) until finally, I landed on “My Fair Brady.” (My apologizes in advance for even linking to this trash).

If you don’t know what this program is about, count yourself lucky. Stupidstupidstupid show about Christopher Knight’s life (Peter Brady) and his foul-mouthed fiancee (now wife?) and their lamelamelame drama.

I honestly don’t know why I wasted an hour of my life and staying up until midnight to watch that pathetic show. I think I was partly fascinated by the notion that people actually CHOOSE to live that kind of drama. I would have dropped that nut case (both Christopher and/or his fiancee) the minute they got out of control – which was about three minutes into the show.

Have you ever been sucked into such idiotic drama that like a bad car accident, you couldn’t look away? Aargh – I hate when I get sucked in like that. Hence another reason I loathe TV.

My nephews slept over last night, which meant I had to sleep with the husband and endure his snoring. Even though I had earplugs in, I still heard him but the sound of my beating heart actually lulled me to sleep and save for the occasional jerking myself awake for no apparent reason (think about six times) because that’s what I do whenever the boys have friends over and the fact that I kept jerking myself awake by own snoring (geez, how lady like), the seven hours of sleep I did get? Not peaceful.

So, I’m tired. And I’m cranky. And I need a nap, soon.

A few things to share with you though before I resume my sluggish day:

  • I’m still collecting names for the BAFAB FREE BOOK giveaway. If you’re wondering where all of those people came from that have commented so far – I registered the giveaway at Online-Sweepstakes.
  • Attention fiction writers, aspiring or otherwise. Did you know that on my writing blog I host a writing meme every Friday called [Fiction] Friday? We supply the prompt, you write whatever story the prompt inspires. It’s just a little creative writing exercise to keep your writing muscles limber. EVERYONE is welcome to play. You don’t have to be a professional writer. You don’t even have to be a serious writer. But if you like to experiment with fiction and you need an excuse to publish a bit of your fiction, then pop over and give our meme a try.
  • The next photo contest begins next Saturday. The theme is WINTER / COLD / BITTER / BLUE / WHITE / FIRE / WARMTH. The interpretation is pretty broad so really, there’s no excuse not to participate. The winner gets a $25 gift certificate to his/her choice of online store. It’s also a chance to show off your photography skills. Take a new picture, or dig through your archives, your choice.
  • The next Bloggy Giveaway begins January 26th. The prize I’m giving away? A SanDisk 2GB Sansa Clip MP3 Player. What’s REALLY great about this MP3 player? It also has FM radio. So, listen to your favorite music or catch a ballgame, it’s up to your listening pleasure. The winner will have his/her choice of red, blue, black or pink. Mark your calendars, it promises to be a wild ride.
  • And speaking of wild rides … don’t forget to mark your calendars for sometime in early March for 5 Minutes for Mom Ultimate Blog Party. They haven’t announced it yet, but I’m assuming (hoping!!) they will host another blog party. If you haven’t heard about this, you really MUST attend. Not only can you win some fantastic prizes, it’s a perfect opportunity to discover some new bloggy friends. I can’t wait!
  • One more thing – attention RSS readers – if you haven’t had a chance to click over, I have a new blog design.

  • ADDED: Oops! Forgot one. Write Anything also hosts a monthly blog carnival called Creative Carnival. (Next carnival is January 10th). Please feel free to submit one of your fiction, nonfiction, essay, or poem blog entries. Carnivals are another great way to get your blog noticed.

Alright, I need to get off this thing and back to my nap day.

Have a great weekend everyone and I’ll talk at ya tomorrow.