Hermit Crabs

This is Sylvester, the hermit crab of a co-worker that I am pet-sitting while his family is on vacation. He's pretty low key. He stays inside his cave most of the afternoon, chillin'. I found him this morning digging holes by his food dish and getting sand in his water. And I'm told he likes carrots, so I put some in his dish....we'll see if he nibbles them.

I think I will find some other shells to put in his enclosure - I hear crabs like to have a few choices about what shell to wear. Must be one of the few fashion-conscious pets out there....well, that fashion is not thrust upon like dressing up your dog or cat.

Wine and the Spirit

So, I listened to Beth Moore on "Life Today" this morning. She was talking about Ephesians 5:18 "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit."

I had always heard this verse as a warning about alcohol consumption, but she was using it as a parable. Beth surmised that the author was using something people knew (the feeling of drunkenness from wine) to compare to something they didn't know (the feeling of being filled with the Holy Spirit). When people consume large quantities of alcohol, it changes how they feel things, their focus, and their boldness. The Holy Spirit does this too, but not in an "intoxicating" manner, it is by "infusion". The Holy Spirit is not toxic, but filling. I love being told things I had not thought of before - like this.

There is still warning against drunkenness in the Bible, though....this doesn't get you off the hook of being responsible. =) 1 Corinthians 10:23 "'Everything is permissible'—but not everything is beneficial. 'Everything is permissible'—but not everything is constructive."

Mothers

Paul & I have been watching the first three seasons of the new "Doctor Who". For Seasons 1 & 2, his side kick is Rose, and in season 3 he gets a new girl, Martha. I was struck after the last few episodes how much they emphasize the roles of the girls' mothers in their lives. I thought, "hmm, must be a British thing."

Then I thought about my life. When I was in college, I emailed my mother almost on a daily basis...sometimes 5 or 6 times a day. That coorespondence has slowed down a bit, but even now we IM at least once a week. Just this week, when I felt in crisis and was overwhelmed by a particular situation, the first thing I did was IM her, and we talked and I felt better.

I don't know what makes that bond so strong, but I'm glad it is there. I can count on my mother whenever I need her - I trust her opinions and advise, I know she loves me unconditionally. I hope I will have just as special a bond with my own children some day.

Offenses

My co-worker sent me this article today about a retirement home that when viewed from above, looks like a swastika. A Jewish activist complained, and now they are trying to figure out how to fix the building.

This just bugs me. Really, do you have nothing better to do than go find things that resemble symbols that happened to be used by a widely recognized bad organization and pester them? This symbol is not the sole property of the Nazi party, many world groups and religions have used it. Check out Wikipedia, they have lots of good info.

I would be outraged if this retirement home publicized their building shape, had planned it specifically, and only allowed Aryans to stay there. But really, it is a geometric shape that worked well for the architect. Quit reading stuff into every little detail. Find something more constructive to do with your time than finding bad things where they were not intended.

I like the quote by Abraham Lincoln: "When you look for the bad in mankind expecting to find it, you surely will."

Believe the Impossible

Well, we lived through "Believe the Impossible: An Evening of Magic and Illusion" at the Topeka Performing Arts Center. It had its ups and downs, like all shows, but at the end of the night, I felt ok. The biggest problem was that we could not get Topeka's Light Board to recognize the moving lights we brought, so the show had no moving lights. The biggest success was that we had over 850 people in the audience....a great crowd for the show. Lots of families and children...lots of energy.

Getting this show started was probably the hardest thing Paul and I have ever done. There were a lot of problems we hadn't forseen, extra expenditures, and even though we tried to give ourselves plenty of time, we ran out too fast. But it amazes me how one day can change your focus....by the end of the show, I felt like we could do this again and do it better. We got past the starting hump, everything after should be at least somewhat easier. It is not the complete unknown anymore. So I never thought I'd say it, but I actually look forward to booking and producing the next show - after we get our promo material together and sent out.

I want to thank everyone who helped us get our feet on the ground with this and gave us their unfailing support. We didn't get a program insert this go around, so here are our thanks:

Brittany Coughlin, Crissy Young, John Bundy Productions (John Bundy), Amazing Productions (Terry Magelssen), Cashmark Media, Inc. (Daryn Cashmark), Visual FX, Inc. (Larry Sprang), Nancy & Jerry Ebeling, Princess Coughlin, Just Off Broadway Theatre, Thin Air Theatrics (Daniel Doss), Brent Jones Productions (Brent Jones), Blair Adams, Barbara Wiggins, Nick Woods, Teresa Collins, Misty Adkins, Brian Nance, Mike Perry, All Aboard Embroidery (Carrie Worth), & the TPAC crew (Cole, Lonnie, Eric, Jason, Travis, Dan, Daniel)

Long Term Mood

I have been so busy lately, blogging is low on the list of priorities. I am on lunch break right now from a training class, so I have a few minutes. I think it is probably ok that I haven't blogged because it would mostly be sad, frustrated ramblings.

If anyone has been consistently watching my facebook status reports for the past week, they've been very bleak, especially for me. I don't like feeling bad and often make conscious efforts to be happy or content. Honestly, I'd rather forget something that upsets me & that I can't change and move on than hold on to that hurt for a long time. I don't like feeling that way, so I decide not to - thus I get over disappoints and stuff very quickly.

Paul is very different, though. He needs time to feel things and work through them - and we often bicker because I've moved on and he has not yet. So we are learning how to deal with each other emotionally over time. But this week....it has just been bad for both of us. We are both sleep deprived, feeling very behind in our work, and feeling fairly futile in most projects we try. I hope it will all end this weekend...or at least start to get better. This is just exausting!