A Fun Friday

I have laughed a lot today. I love days like this...

I went to Kroger this morning to get sodas for Sunday night's Student Worship. The lady that was checking me out was really mean. I thought for sure that it was going to be an unpleasant trip to Kroger. That was until I met Mack. Let me tell you about Mack...he is an older, African American man with cowboy boots, a cowboy hat and a face mask (because its cold outside.) The only reason I know his name is Mack is because of the gold and silver belt buckle that he had on that was the size of Texas! Mack is a very friendly, loud man. He insisted on pushing the cart out to my car. The whole trip out there was wonderful. He asked me how my day was going and I asked him the same to which he responded with something like this: "My day is great! My days are always great! Ain't nobody ever gonna make me not have a great day!" When we got out to my car, I popped the trunk and started moving the sodas in when he hollared at me, "You ain't touchin them sodas! You leave them for me!" Then he saw the cat carriers I have in my trunk and the rest of the conversation went something like this:

MACK: Woh! You got a dog in them things?
ME: No, they are for my cat.
MACK: Ooh! You got a cat! I bet its just like Garfield. Garfield is never up to any good...he just sits arooounnnd, being laaazzzzyyy alllll day!"
ME: Haha, yeah that sounds about right.
MACK: Meow! Meow! Meow! Hissss!! Hisssss!! (insert other strange cat noises here for the next 3 minutes.)
ME: (practically rolling around on the ground) Hahahahha!! Thats exactly what my cat sounds like!
MACK: Yeah, I got a dog at home. I told him this morning, 'Dog, you better get out there and catch you some food.' If he don't, he don't eat! Well...have a great day! You better have a great day, cuz I'm gonna have a great day!"

I got back to the church and told Carol that I met the greatest guy at Kroger and his name was Mack. She immediately asked me if he was black and wore a cowboy hat. Apparently he has been on the news. So I guess you could finally say that I met a celebrity at Kroger.

Then...Carol and I got locked in the prayer room at church. We went in to snoop because we had never seen it. There is an outside entrance to this room and then an inside entrance that is through a storage room in the Parlor. As we were looking around, we saw someone coming up the sidewalk to pray...Janet. (Janet sends the staff prayer emails every week. This week, her prayer concluded like this, "I pray in the name of Jesus, MVP and Super Bowl Champion".) We wanted to get out of there quickly so we started scurrying around to find the exit. Carol went through a door only to end up in the prayer room bathroom. I said, "No, Carol! It's this door!" We got through that door just as Janet was beginning to enter through the outside door. Then...tragedy struck. We were in this dark storage room and the door out of the storage room into the Parlor was locked! I couldn't even speak I was laughing so hard (but it was that quiet kind of laugh because I didn't want Janet to hear us.) We looked around frantically for a minute to assess the situation. We couldn't go back through the prayer room now because Janet was in there and that would be weird. Praise the Lamb! A maintenance guy was in the Parlor and heard us trying to open the door! He came to the door and said "hello??" with much hesitation. He let us out. I can't even imagine what he was thinking. Probably something like, 'what are these 2 cucks doing in the prayer room storage closet?!'

Oh, I love my job.

Just venting...

I went to LifeWay today to pick up a study guide for one of our Student LifeGroups. I had a few minutes to kill before I was meeting a friend for lunch so I started to wander a bit. I found myself in...well, I don't even know what section I was in but I was surrounded by books about death. Books like Saying Goodbye- For Now, and Safe in the Arms of Jesus. Where are all the books that provide comfort to people whose loved one is not "safe in the arms of Jesus?" I've always had a pretty solid understanding of death and heaven. I took a whole class on it in college...oh, Ms Jan. But what about hell? What comfort can a believer find when a person they care for so much hasn't come to saving faith in Christ?

My father has about 3 months left...stupid cancer. Never in my life have I felt such an urgency to "save" someone. But how do you tell someone of Christ when they refuse to hear the name? My relationship with my dad has always been a bit estranged. I only spent a few weeks each summer with him and just a handful of holidays. And those occurances became fewer and fewer after I became a Christian. You would think that sharing Christ with my dad would have been a priority from the get-go but when someone is constantly criticizing the person you put all your faith in, thats a little hard. And now, I only have 3 months to fit it all in. Three months to tell him of God's goodness, forgiveness and grace. Three months to tell him of the peace he can find in Christ. Three months to convince him that it's not too late.

I know Jesus can save my dad. I'm just not sure if he is going to. Does that make me...faithless? I don't doubt Christ's power or desire to save my dad. I just doubt my dad's desire to be saved by Christ. Where are all of the books that provide comfort to a Christian dealing with a parent in hell? How do I find peace in that situation?

My Old 50 Things

I wrote this blog a long time ago on myspace. My friend Brittany just did one like it so I thought I would go back to see if mine was still accurate. Most of it is...

1. I love my dogs but only sometimes.
2. I hate when people quote Dumb and Dumber.
3. I have really bad road rage.
4. I'm addicted to text messaging.
5. I love going to baseball games. Especially when I can get a hot dog and there are fireworks afterwards.
6. I feel like I have to like Hot Pockets. But I don't think I do.
7. I get scared sometimes that I won't get married. Other times I'm okay with it.
8. I hate forced conversations.
9. I'm a terrible listener.
10. I pee sometimes while I talk on the phone.
11. I love to shop and eat out. I do it too much.
12. I miss college life.
13. I would rather be outside than inside.
14. I hate being cold. Its painful.
15. Laying on the beach or by the pool is the most relaxing thing to do.
16. I screen phone calls.
17. I love wearing shorts and tank tops.
18. Black children are WAY cuter than white children. Don't be offended.
19. I love playing sports but I stink at them.
20. My niece will always be my favorite person on this earth.
21. I get annoyed when people think they are good at something when they are not.
22. I hate bad smells.
23. My dog is Native American.
24. I'm scared of turning 30.
25. I'm lazy.
26. I hate healthy foods and boring exercize.
27. I avoid conflict.
28. I have a ridiculous number of flip flops.
29. I'm competative to the point that some people won't play games with me. They're just mad because I win.
30. I have better taste in music than anyone I know.
31. I love to clean on Saturday mornings with good music blaring really loudly.
32. I love going to the movies on Friday nights.
33. I cried at a Biltmore commercial one time.
34. I think the Wendy's "fpoon" commercial is the funniest commercial ever.
35. I love Karaoke. Para Bailar La Bamba.
36. Like most girls (the good ones at least), I can quote Steele Magnolias all day long.
37. I hate politics.
38. I am embarassed easily but I say I am not.
39. I can't think under pressure.
40. I love gold everything but jewelry.
41.I can compare any life situation to a Friends episode.
42. I am Pro-Life and against Capital Punishment.
43. I will never turn away a chocolate milkshake.
44. I'm not judgemental but I am critical.
45. I love celebrity gossip.
46. I don't think I will ever be able to cook or bake a good batch of brownies.
47. I had a crush on the Indian in the Cupboard.
48. I have high standards.
49. I still have Christmas wrapping paper in the corner of my living room.
50. I will watch Vh1's "I love the..." over and over and over and over and over again.

yay for heroes (the real ones, not the tv show)

New York Cheers Subway Rescuer
Commuter Saves Man From Oncoming Train

By Rick Hampson
USA Today

NEW YORK (Jan. 4) - A day after he jumped into the path of a subway train to save the life of a stranger, Wesley Autrey got a $5,000 reward, a day off and universal acclaim in a city where you supposedly don't speak to people you don't know, let alone rescue them. "I just tried to do the right thing," said the 50-year-old Harlem construction worker.

"It ain't about being a hero, it was just being there and helping the next person. That's all I did."

On Tuesday afternoon Autrey leaped down from a subway station platform after Cameron Hollopeter, 20, apparently suffered a seizure and fell between the tracks.

Autrey had to leave his two daughters, ages 4 and 6, on the platform. It was that, he said, or have the girls see a man run over by a subway train.

Down on the tracks, Autrey saw a train's headlights in the tunnel. He shoved the disoriented student into the only space where they had a chance to survive — the shallow, grimy drainage trough between the tracks.

The train passed over them, with about 2 inches' clearance. Autrey later showed reporters grease stains on his wool hat that he said came from the train's undercarriage.

On Wednesday Autrey got the day off from work at a Brooklyn construction site and visited the New York Film Academy, where Hollopeter is a student.

"We don't have a red carpet, but we gave him a red carpet reception," said Anita Tovich, one of Hollopeter's professors. Jerry Sherlock, director of the school, presented Autrey with a check for $5,000.

The school also promised Autrey's daughters scholarships to the school when they're older.

"Here and all over the world, people are struck by this unselfish, heroic act," Sherlock said. "With so much evil in the world, it gives everyone hope."

"You're one in a million," he told Autrey, "and this is your 15 minutes of fame."

The city's tabloids celebrated Autrey. "SUBWAY ANGEL'S DAREDEVIL LEAP" headlined the New York Post. The Daily News hailed the "SUBWAY SUPERMAN." Autrey is scheduled to be on network news programs this morning and CBS' Late Show with David Letterman tonight.

Autrey gave this account: He was in the station in upper Manhattan on Tuesday afternoon when Hollopeter, also waiting on the platform, seemed to collapse during a seizure. Autrey used a pen to get Hollopeter's tongue out of his throat. Hollopeter stood up, then staggered and fell between the tracks.

As the train neared, Autrey pinned Hollopeter in the trough by lying on top of him, face to face. But the student kept struggling. "Don't move!" Autrey said. "Or one of us is going to lose a leg."

Subway car brakes screeched. One car passed overhead, then a second. Then came silence, followed by the wailing from the platform of his daughters, who'd just seen their father run over.

"We're OK," Autrey yelled to bystanders on the platform. "I got two daughters up there. Let 'em know their father's OK!"

"Who are you?" asked Hollopeter.

"Someone who saved your life," replied Autrey.

They waited 20 minutes until technicians turned off power on the subway's high-voltage third rail and were helped out.

Hollopeter remained hospitalized Wednesday in stable condition, recovering from cuts and bruises.

A relative, Jeff Friedman, told reporters that although Hollopeter is quite talented, "even he couldn't write the screenplay any better."

Contributing: The Associated Press