Too much thinking!

There is a danger in having too much time on your hands--you start thinking quite a bit about things.

Lately, I've been thinking of a lot of things I would like to do before going back to work in two weeks. That in itself is good; however, I'll make myself crazy if I keep these things up.

For example, lately I've been thinking quite a bit about my choral director in high school (yes, from 8, 9 years ago). I did some stupid things while in her classes, like use the music office phone without asking, telling her I'd go on a choral trip to Disney, only to back out and cancel my deposit check after she'd already deposited it... Stuff like that. Then, when I graduated, she sent me a card with $10 (I remember that because she was really the only one who sent me anything for graduation--I definitely wasn't expecting anything from her) in it. I never sent a thank you card. So now, to have peace within myself, I have to track her down, and send her a thank you card. Oi vey... I guess it's not a bad thing, but it's just one more thing on my list of things to do.

We have several couples that we have said, "You should come over for dinner sometime!" and have never followed through with. I need to remember who they are, and track them down, send 'em an invite, and have 'em over for dinner. Now, I love having folks over for dinner. I just feel bad that it took this long for me to actually do something about it. Jeremy's got family that lives in the next town over--we haven't seen them since our wedding. :-( We'll try to be better about this!

Yesterday, I was thinking quite a lot. A few months ago, I started reading Blue Like Jazz because I've been told by many people how great it was. I brought it up in small group, and Tarsi mentioned she didn't care for it. So I was intrigued. I borrowed the book from her, and started reading it, and yes, the first half of the book I didn't like. There was one part in particular that really bugged me... In brief, one of Don's (the author) friends was an athiest, even though she came from a Bible believing, daughter of a preacher background. Everyone else in her family was a Christian, but she couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that Jesus was the Son of God, and that He's the way to eternal life. At the end of one of the chapters, she emails Don and tells him, "So I think I believe that Jesus really is the Son of God. I guess this makes me a Christian. Talk to you later." and I'm thinking, NOOOOO! That's not it! That's a good start, but only a start! EVEN THE FREAKIN' DEMONS BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD! Well, it rubbed me the wrong way, especially since this is a seeker's book, for those who have yet to find their faith (I know it's for those who have faith as well, but you gotta admit--his audience is those who were like him, those that had a tough time wrapping their mind around this whole God thing and going through the journey to truth with him). If they stop reading at that point, they won't have the whole truth. Hopefully, they go to a Christian friend, or a church, and ask more about it.

The book is getting better, though. So far, I like the middle of it the most. Of course, I have yet to reach the end, so I'll post my final 'critique' at that time. It has got me thinking, though... Which is good and bad. I find myself thinking like the author, asking the same question from different angles, and putting it all together for one concise thought. I don't like thinking like this, though. It makes my head hurt.

One thing I do like about it is that it's pretty clear you should think for yourself. I think a lot of people, including myself, allow themselves to be influenced by other peoples opinions, instead of thinking, "How do I really feel about this?" This can be a minor as an opinion on a movie or a book, to as big as you stance on political issues, and even how you feel about God. Classic example: I'm a conservative Republican, therego, I'm opposed to abortion. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't like abortion, I don't believe it in, and I wish it could be illegal. But at the same time, taking away abortion would be detrimental to this country in the long run... Why? Because all of a sudden, women who have been used to this "right" will start going to the back alleys and the undergrounds to find a solution to their problem (nevermind the fact that, except for the 1 or 2% of women who get an abortion due to rape or sexual abuse, those women have bigger issues on their hands, like improper birth control methods, premarital sex, etc). Because of this, I'm also a minor supporter of the "Plan B" pill. Again, don't get me wrong, I don't really like it, but it's better than the alternative (to me at least). I'd rather think they are helping a more natural progression of the human body by interrupting their luteal phase in order to prevent pregnancy, rather than destroying an already formed embryo. But with this also comes issues, in that we could see an upsurge of STD's in users (why use protection? just get the morning after pill), more teens becoming active at earlier ages, so on a so forth. Of course, I don't know if any of that will happen... I just know that as much as I hate abortion, taking away those "RIGHTS" (I really hate that term... part of me wants to side with the guy who wants to terminate his rights as a father because he didn't want the baby, and his gf chose to NOT have an abortion or place it for adoption, and is now demanding child support... see how sticky it gets?) could be disatrous.

SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HAVE TOO MUCH TIME TO THINK?!

/rant

I'm gonna start thinking about happy things--the peace I have knowing that God is watching out for me and my family, my new job, puppies, and shopping sprees. Our anniversary is coming up soon. ONE YEAR BABY! Woo! Interesting ride... Fun! But interesting. Looking forward to the future. Unfortunately we'll be spending our Anniversary at someone else's wedding. I mean, it's a good thing! I'm looking forward to the wedding, and meeting more of Jeremy's family. But it's also a bad thing, because I didn't really want to spend our anniversary meeting more of Jeremy's family. Oh well, se la vie. I'm sure it'll be a nice weekend. And it'll be nice to see Jeremy's parents again--haven't seen 'em since Thanksgiving. I just hope everyone realizes we'll be saying our goodbyes on May 20th, because as of 12:01 am May 21st, the our room door is getting locked and no outsiders are allowed. :-)

Coming Soon: V for Vendetta: Love it or Hate it.