Wednesday, October 31, 2007

1804 Brouhaha

Maybe it's just me, but does HB 1804 mention the word "Hispanic" anywhere? I was under the impression that it targeted "illegal aliens." I don't know about you, but in my dictionary if you look up the word "Hispanic", the words "illegal aliens" are not to be found in the definition. Could it be that those against it are having their consciences tweaked just a bit? I don't have a problem with Hispanics; I do have a problem with illegal aliens.

I saw the news tonight about the rally held against 1804 and noticed they were pinning up ribbons. DH had a good idea (I'll beat him to it & put it on my blog before he does his!) - what about ribbons for the victims of the crimes caused by illegal aliens? What about ribbons for the millions of dollars spent by legal citizens of the United States to support the illegal aliens living here illegally? Again, I'm all for people coming from other countries who arrive here and make a decision to become a legalized United States Citizens My beef is with those who want to have their cake & eat it, too, those who want to work here & get all the benefits without the responsibility.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Update After Week 1

Well, it's been a little over a week since I began "the first day of the rest of my life." Okay, maybe that's a little dramatic, but nevertheless, I've embarked on a new journey: life with dentures. Have you ever realized how much you use your teeth? As I write this, I'm only able to wear my top dentures. The swelling is finally beginning to go down on my bottom gums, thanks to the steroids (on a side note, maybe I should try out to be a pitcher for the Rockies - can't do any worse than any of the others in the Series). I go back to the dentist on Wednesday to have the stitches removed.

It's nice to know that I'm a pioneer - my extractions were the first ones that took the dentist two days to perform. Apparently I have a strange body in the fact that it metabolizes the numbing medicine at a fast rate, so much so that he was unable to extract the bottom teeth without a great deal of pain (okay, an inordinate amount of pain). In fact, even when I was completely numb, he still couldn't, so he had to numb each tooth individually. Anyway, after this exciting adventure, I spent most of last weekend taking Lortab and holding ice packs to my face. I made it for my first public outing on Monday - off to the dentist to have stitches out. Could anything go "normal" for me? Of course not. The gums were still too swollen to take them out, hence the steroids. They do seem to be working, thankfully. Now, back to the question I posed earlier - did you ever realize how much you use your teeth? My diet consists of Slim-Fast shakes, Carnation Instant Breakfasts, soups, cottage cheese, yogurt, and jello. I have made a couple of recent discoveries, however. I can handle baked potatoes, eggs, M&M's, and Reese's Pieces. My immediate goal is to try and get the lowers in for church in the morning; I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Oh, on another side note, I do not wish to receive a copy of the Koran, in case anyone is wondering. I know that I wasn't asked, but I figured I'd head it off at the pass. If they have the right to offer it, I have a right to reject it.

Friday, October 12, 2007

This Isn't Called "Ramblings" for Nothing

I feel like I need/should blog, but I can't think of anything pressing at the moment, so y'all are going to get to hear what's going on in my life at the moment. I'll try to balance the negatives with positives, rants/raves, so to speak:

Rave - I got a promotion at work! As previously stated, I work for the company that Mr. KIT owned until recently, when he sold it to Enterprise. Heck, with the moolah he made he could build himself and KIT their own pedestrian bridge to nowhere, but I digress. After a change in management, I was not happy with the way things were going in our department, so I took the initiative and attended a 3 day class to learn about insurance. This class would prepare me to take the Oklahoma Adjusters Licensing exam, which I did and I passed, thank you very much. The next week one of our claims adjusters left for greener pastures so I knew my time was at hand. I've been biding my time until this past Tuesday, when I was informed that I got the job, which comes with a nice raise! I am going from an hourly position to a salaried position. I've never had a salaried position before, so this is a whole new realm for me. This will take effect Friday, 10/19/07, but will I be there? No, and why, you may ask? See next paragraph --

Rant/Rave - I am going in Thursday for dental surgery. I'm having my teeth extracted and getting dentures. Don't I just sound excited as all get out about it? I'm too busy being nervous about the pain I'll have to endure, though the insurance coordinator assured me that my teeth are probably in bad enough shape that once they start the extractions, they'll all fall out with no problem. I'm picturing a row of dominoes all lined up; the first one gets knocked down and the rest follow. I knew my teeth were in bad shape, but I didn't think they were that bad. Word to the wise - get your yearly dental checkups and save yourself from this down the road. On the surface, I'm not jumping for joy in the fact that I'm 42 and will have a full set of dentures, but I know in the long run it'll be all good. I'll be able to eat what I want, I'll feel better, and I'll be much less self-conscious about my looks. As an added plus, I'll lose even more weight because I won't feel like crap for about a month and everything will taste like plastic (so I hear). As for another positive, this will help me make my weight loss goal at Weight Watchers faster.

In regards to one of my earlier posts, I'm still in a wait and see mode with the ORU situation. I'm not sure what to make of the fact that Billy Joe Daugherty has returned to the Board of Regents. I know we should continue to pray for them, that God will work through this situation and bring them to a place where they can discover who God really is and they will be able to see the errors of their false teachings.

Since coming out of the Charismatic/Word Faith movement, I've had to basically start over again in learning about the Christian faith. I've had to realize that it's not about what you want God to do for you, but what God wants you to do for Him and what He can do through you. This has not been an easy journey as I've had to discard many of my former beliefs; in fact, it's been quite earth shattering at times - just ask my DH. There have been nights I've cried because I've been so confused; I felt like my foundation had been shattered. I've become a little more discerning about who I listen to and read now and who I let influence my beliefs. I've discovered that there's more to know about the Christian walk than meets the eye. I've learned that between the book of Acts and the present day, there is a rich church history waiting to be discovered by many Christians. I've learned how important foundations can be. I'm also learning what those foundations are and how important it is to be grounded in them. For anyone else who might be going through this situation, I recommended some books in an earlier post.

See, I told you this blog wasn't titled "Ramblings" for nothing.

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Change of Pace

Now that the river vote is over with, I'm tackling another local piece of news, the lawsuit brought against Richard and Lindsay Roberts. As I'm writing this, I'm listening to Larry King interview them. Is it me, or do they sound like politicians? They were not able to give straight answers to any questions that were asked. I think my favorite response was regarding the text messages to troubled males. Lindsay answered the direct question in a roundabout way and blamed it on her teenaged daughters and their friends. Richard chimed in that "they have a ministry to these wayward young people." Like I said in an earlier post, I'm sure Lindsay was just sending them Scriptures.

Right, and Jimmy Swaggart was just ministering to the prostitutes, males buy Playboy Magazine to read the articles and then go to Hooters for the wings...

Don't try to pull the wool over my eyes, Roberts family. I'm trying to do my best to keep in mind "innocent until proven guilty," but I'm finding it really hard. Richard mentioned how he received an overwhelming vote of confidence from the ORU Board of Regents. Has anybody checked the Board of Regents lately? The last I knew, it was filled with the who's who of the Word Faith movement and, unfortunately, I don't think most of them know the meaning of the word "accountability." It is said that you are known by the company you keep. What shames me the most is that not many people seem to be surprised at this turn of events. Is that what most people think of Christians? I pray that we can use this time to examine our own hearts.

Monday, October 08, 2007

Tuesday

Don't forget to get out and vote on Tuesday. In case you haven't figured it out yet, I'm voting NO. If they had a space for HECK NO, I'd vote that way. This city does not need another tax; it needs politicians who will handle the money already given to them instead of misspending it then asking us for more. We also need leaders who know the meaning of the word "prioritize." Wouldn't you just love to go to these people's homes and look at how their budgets are handled? Are they spending their money on "wants" instead of "needs"? Isn't that what they're asking us to do? I don't fall for the idea that our city, nay, our region will completely fall off the face of the earth if this tax doesn't pass (sarcasm fully intended). Also, who's to say they'll actually spend the money on the river? They'll probably spend King George's 117 million then use the actual tax they take in on the arena or some other "need" they see fit. I'm thinking we need to buy our politicians a dictionary for Christmas.

On an upbeat note...

BYE BYE YANKEES!!!!

I'm not upset in the least to see the Yankees beaten by the Indians. I've been a Yankee hater for as long as I can remember. Why? I think it's because my mom liked them, so I felt the need to create a rivalry and have hated those da** Yankees ever since. Since my Cubs didn't make it, I'm rooting for the Rockies since I've seen several of them play when they were with the Drillers.

Saturday, October 06, 2007

A New Talent

Apparently the Yes crowd has a new talent - they can see the future. The quote is that "we won't have this chance again for a long, long time." Bull hockey. I'm sure if/when this one doesn't pass, they'll reorganize and try to shove it down our throats again and again and again until it passes; look how many times the Vision 2025 ideas were thrown at us until we fell for it. I admit it, I was guilty and fell for the "it's better than nothing" mentality that was fed to me by the local media. Thankfully, since then I have discovered the alternative forms of media since then and have become better informed.

Guess what? I can see into the future as well. I predict that, if/when this tax passes, they'll come back to us sometime soon with a road tax/bond proposition...and, we'll fall for that, too.

On a happier note - OU 28, Texas 21

BOOMER SOONER, BABY!!!!

I know, my Cubs are down 2 games to none...don't remind me. I'm starting my "Go Rockies" chant...and the Yankees are down 2 games to none as well, so we're in good company.

Friday, October 05, 2007

My Take on Happenings at ORU

I'm surfing along and what do I see on Yahoo! News, but the headline "Scandal Brewing at Oral Roberts U." Now, living in Tulsa and knowing that a lawsuit has been filed by 3 former professors, seemingly stemming from Richard Roberts need to have RPM (Randi Miller) as Mayor, I was curious. I about blew up when I got to this section:

Richard Roberts is accused of illegal involvement in a local political campaign and lavish spending at donors' expense, including numerous home remodeling projects, use of the university jet for his daughter's senior trip to the Bahamas, and a red Mercedes convertible and a Lexus SUV for his wife, Lindsay.
She is accused of dropping tens of thousands of dollars on clothes, awarding nonacademic scholarships to friends of her children and sending scores of text messages on university-issued cell phones to people described in the lawsuit as "underage males."


As a former Charismatic and onetime member of Victory Christian Center (pastored by ORU graduates the Daughertys), I feel that I need to translate these items for the less initiated. I'll take them accusation by accusation:

A) Illegal involvement in local politics: "I've had a word/revelation/new thought from above - get involved, because the way to get the people saved and onto our team is through the leaders."

B) Numerous home remodeling projects: "I want our mansion on earth to look just like our mansion in Heaven; we're worth it, because we're children of the King."

C) Using the university jet: "It will get us where we need to go quicker so that we can witness to more people." Side note - the plus being they won't be treated like Joel Osteen's wife was after she went ballistic on a public airplane.

D) Luxury automobiles for Lindsay Roberts: "I'm a princess of the King; God would want me to have them so I can show others what they can attain when they get saved."

E) Spending sprees on clothes: "I'm a princess and I need to look like one."

F) Scholarships to children's friends: "We are called to help the less fortunate. The Bible said the poor you would always have with you, but that doesn't mean you have to be one of them."

G) Texting of underage males: "I wanted to let them know that I was with them when they most face temptation (1-3 a.m.)." I'm sure she was just sending them Scriptures.

For those of you who think I'm just a bitter ex-Charismatic who's mad because she's not living in a mansion and driving a fancy car, let me set some things straight. I never completely bought into the "name it and claim it" theology. I couldn't tell you why at the time, but I knew that something about it sounded fake. I so wanted to believe in it, especially the Scriptures regarding healing. I had some health issues that I knew (well, was told) that God would heal if I just had enough faith. I struggled with that the entire time I was in the movement. I prayed, and prayed, and prayed, but eventually just settled it in my mind that it was my cross to bear. Yet, I was always analyzing and searching to see what sin I had in my life that I needed to get rid of so God would heal me. I look back at this now and think how self-centered that view is, rather than being God-centered, which is really how He wants us to live. I thank God that I was not in the movement when my mother in law was diagnosed with cancer and six months later went home to be with the Lord, at which time she received her ultimate healing. I'm sure they would have told her that she didn't have enough faith or there was some sin in her life she needed to deal with that was not allowing her to release her faith and enabling her to live in victory. My MIL was probably the Godliest woman I've ever known. She left a legacy of love that lives on through her family. She accepted and adopted me into her family before I was even married to her oldest son. If that's not a picture of Jesus adopting us and grafting us into His family, I don't know what is. There are times that I regret the time I spent in the Word Faith camp, but then I realize that it is a part of who I am today. Going through that and realizing that life is not always hunky dory and doesn't always work out the way that we THINK it should but the way He KNOWS it needs to be. We are here to glorify Him, He is not here to glorify us. I pray that these leaders will see the errors of their teachings and are one day able to strip away all of the trappings and get to know the real God, the real Jesus, the real Holy Spirit. How will they do that? By reading the real Bible thoroughly, not just the parts they want to see that will tickle their fancy.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not one of those Christians who believe that by living in abject poverty, we somehow glorify the Lord. God has not said that life would be easy and that we would just sail through until we get to Glory. He has said, however, that He would be with us every step of the way. Another benefit of having come out of the Word Faith movement is that it has given me a deeper longing for His Word and a desire to get back to the basics. I have found several books on that topic:

Major Bible Themes by Lewis Sperry Chafer and John Walvoord
Jensen's Survey of the Old Testament by Irving Jensen
Encountering the New Testament by Walter A. Elwell and Robert W. Yarbrough
A Popular Survey of the Old Testament by Norman L. Geisler

If you need more recommendations, feel free to contact me and I'll look through our books at home and see what I can come up with for you.

I've also discovered Bible teachers such as John MacArthur, Charles Stanley, Charles Swindoll, John Piper, and John Barnett. You can find most of them on http://www.oneplace.com/.

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Updates from the Rambler's Household

I'm happy to say that I was able to put my computer desk together - all by myself, thank you very much! Mind you, I had to purchase a battery powered screwdriver because the glue wouldn't hold, but, hey, it's working and I got to use my first power tool!

Also, DH now has a blog (see the Links section) - please view! He's got a lot to say and he's not afraid to say it! Just one of the many things I love about him!

As we speak, my Cubbies (NL Central Champs!) are in the process of losing game 1 to the Diamondbacks, but, as Scarlett would say, tomorrow's another day.

The latest commercial I caught for the river tax (before muting it) showed kids and their dreams. You know what one of my dreams is (other than starring on Broadway and writing the Great American Novel)? It's to live in a city that functions effectively without being bribed and held hostage by the so-called philanthropists and one that knows how to wisely spend the money alotted to them. I know, it's a pipe dream, but it could happen -- couldn't it?