Monday, January 16, 2012

Of Saints and Ghosts

True story that I have to share.  With a little backstory...

We have a little ghost in our house.  It mainly manifests itself via the lights.  It gets our attention by playing with the lights.  Lights will go off for no reason, then come back on.  I've had to replace numerous lightbulbs because it likes popping them.  When I say it likes popping them, I mean, "dammit, I just changed that bulb 4 hours ago."  Not even kidding about that.  The ghost is otherwise harmless, but obviously does not like the vibe in the house when the wife and I raise our voices.

One other thing before you say something like it's just faulty or bad wiring.  We have 4 cats.  They obviously can see the ghost.  They are curious but afraid of it.  They do not like it playing with them.  I have personally seen our cat, Hannah, walking down the hall when all of a sudden she is pulled backwards by her tail.  You heard me, something in the air pulled her by her tail and she slid about 3 or 4 feet... backwards.  When it let go, she freaked and hid for a while.  So, believe me when I say, we have a ghost.

I was watching the Saints game this weekend, and while we lost, it was a good game.  You can't make 5 turnovers in the playoff and win.  Came close, but no cigar.  And that's ok.  Still love our boys! Bless You Boys!

Anyway, not that point.  Near the end of the game, the Saints had finally taken the lead when I notice my sister in Orlando posted on Facebook, "I have been ordered by my husband and BFF to stay out of the room because the Saints are winning."  This might seem odd, but it goes back to football traditions and how the 12th man effects the game.  Like how people have a special football watching outfit to root their team on.  It's the voo-doo.  What? You don't do that?  I have a jersey that I wear. Then depending on how the game is going, I can add pajama bottoms, a fleece hoodie and a hat as the game progresses.

At this point, in the game, we were all cheering.  Then, my wife comes up from the basement for dinner and sits down to watch the final minutes of the game.  San Fransisco immediately scores to regain the lead.  In the spirit of "you're jinxing the team," I start yelling to my wife to get back down to the basement.  The vibe of the room had gone from elation to anger.  And someone was not happy about that sudden shift.

Next thing you know, we hear a crash in the kitchen.  One of the globe sphere light thingies on the kitchen light - the ghost's favorite light - had fallen crashed into a million pieces.  Obviously, my yelling upset the ghost.

And it didn't help because the Saints still lost.  No real point to this story really.  Just don't piss off the ghost.

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

New Year, New Plan

New Year means it's time for a new plan for ML.  The plan is to get the house in order.  The plan is to sell or donate the crap I don't need and have accumulated.  The plan is to do Couch to 5K when the weather is warm enough.  The plan is to keep the house in order.  And, the plan includes reminding myself of the path I am walking... or more accurately, the continue walking the path.

I started a new Bible reading plan last night - Finding Your Footsteps on the Moon.  It's a 21 day reading plan aimed at helping you live a divinely inspired life. It is designed to inspire and motivate you in finding and walking in your God given purpose for you life.  In truth, I think I may have lost some of my purpose in the past year.  Or at least, I am struggling with finding what's the next chapter of life for me.  Seems like a good time to figure that out for many reasons.

So, I started the reading plan and here's what I gathered from Psalms 139:13-18. The last line is "-when I awake, I am still with you."  This stood out to me due to the double meaning "still" can have here.  Still, as in calm, quiet, peaceful.  Or Still, as in not moving away from.  This is reassuring for a few reasons.

One, no matter where our paths lead us, God will always have our back.  It is comforting to know that while I do stray from living with God every single day, He is always willing to bring me back to Him.  His love and grace are never-ending.  So, when I "awake" from whatever has pulled me from the Christian path, I am "still" able to get up and continue the journey.

Then, consider how calming God's influence can be in our lives.  Through all the things that disturb our sleep, the things that keep us up at night, the little things that stress us out... when I awake from all of that, living a divinely inspired life helps to make those turbulent waters still.  The difficulties are made easier knowing that God is on my side and that He will never desert me.  God helps to keep me laidback.

As this New Year begins, I recognize that I will be facing quite a few difficulties.  But, I am still with God.  And that makes all the difference.