"It's goin'."

Sometimes life gets to goin' and it seems like your in a car moving 90 to nothin' passing life by to where it becomes a blur.

I remember when I told myself long ago that I wouldn't let my life become that, and yet, often as of late, I have found myself sitting in that moving car going 90 to nothin'. Oft times, behind the wheel.

I think that perhaps I need to re-evaluate my priorities, and recall that the brake is there...you know, the short pedal on the left. :)

Being involved in extra activities is taking its toll on me. I'm finding that I don't have enough time for myself, to do things that I like to do that help me deal with stress in a positive way. I find myself reacting to situations in ways that aren't healthy or productive. My patience level is darn near zero.

I miss painting. I miss writing. Lately, I have been to tired or too busy to bother with starting a painting project or a writing project. And I'm really not taking as good of care of myself as I should, either, physically or spiritually.

So that has led me to the conclusion that I need to cut some things out of my life, and I have decided that at the end of this year I will go off of the board of an organization I'm involved in, and that less of my time will be devoted to my church.

I think that will be best for everyone involved. I don't feel like I'm able to devote the kind of effort that I feel is required of someone in the positions that I am in, and I would like to focus my attention to those things that I can be of real help with and have a real passion for. The spark is gone for the organization and for some things I am involved in at my church.

I am actively praying that whoever those people are that succeed me in these various duties...that there will be someone who has a love and a gift in these areas and can step in. And that I can continue with what needs to be done in the mean time.

So here's to hittin' the brake...but in a slow fashion as not to cause the back seat passengers to fly into the seat in front of them. ;)

Oooh...Pretty. :)

Yesterday I happened to have my camera with me, and after praise team practice I decided to take pictures of some of the flowers in the flowerbed outside of my church.

With the abundance of rain we've had lately, everything is so green and there are wildflowers blooming all over. It really is a beautiful sight, especially after the last several years of drought conditions, where the late spring and summer were hot and the grass was brown and dry.

It is a time of rejuvenation. And a time to rejoice in God's beauty around us.

Earings for the Geeky Chick

I have now seen it all...I might have to order these...just for the geeky lol'z. :) Har, har. via.

Update Your iTunes for DRM Free Music

According to Mashable!, iTunes has released version 7.2 which includes the ability to purchase DRM free tracks for $1.29 a pop. Read iTunes' DRM-free Music Now Available.

Rain.

Bring rivers in this wasteland
Clouds into this sky
Bring springs of life into the wells that have been run dry

Rise up in this city
Gather in this light
Fall down on your people
Your glory and your life

Rain
Lord we thirst for water
Rain
We are desert Land
Rain
On your sons and daughters
Rain
Bring your rain again

-Rain Song by Day of Fire

I'm sitting here listening to the rain, and I'm reminded of how refreshing it is. It never fails that the dead brown of West Texas turns green and grows a foot taller after a good rain.

Sometimes we need God's rain. Sometimes our souls are thirsty, and the only thing that can refresh us is the raining down of God's grace and strength. Especially when our spiritual wells have run dry.

Perhaps this is why I love a rainstorm so much. It reminds me that the dry spells don't last forever. Eventually the rains come, clean the air, and revive the land.

Steve Jobs is lobbying for DRM free music

According to this article in PC World, Steve Jobs is lobbying for music publishers to release DRM free tracks. EMI has already agreed to sell DRM free tracks on iTunes, and according to this article, Jobs is writing letters to the rest of the big record companies to persuade them to follow suit.

For me, one of the most frustrating things about purchasing music online is the lack of portability of what I buy. If I could easily convert songs to MP3 format (which I prefer) or even buy those tracks as MP3 files (which I already do at eMusic) it would be awesome. I think getting rid of DRM is the first step in the right direction, and if the record companies offer consumers more choice with less restriction I believe it can only help their bottom line.

Update: Yesterday's Bomb Threat

According to the Abilene Reporter-News, several juveniles are being questioned regarding the bomb threat phone call received yesterday, which was deemed to be a hoax.

"the airport go boom boom when I get there with my bomb."

Today was an interesting day at the office. There was a bomb threat for the Abilene Regional Airport called in to the Reporter-News this morning, which resulted in delayed flights and the evacuation of the airport.

After listening to the audio, I am of the opinion that it was some dumb kid put up to a crank call by his friends. Listen to the audio, and let me know if you disagree.

Either way, it's retarded.

God's Love

Sometimes I really think that I have a hard time understanding, or maybe that I can't understand, the love of my heavenly Father.

I grew up from the age of eight essentially without my father in my life. He could have easily been a part of my life, but for whatever reason, he chose not to be. Because of this, I think that the whole idea of a Father's love can be hard for me to grasp. I haven't experienced that here on earth, and that makes it hard to relate to, and at times I find myself intellectualizing God's love for me and not really feeling it, and not really being open to feeling it.

That's not to say that I've never felt God's love---I have---it's just been a while. And perhaps that is of my own doing.

Sometimes I have to sit down and be brutally honest with myself, and the brutal honest truth is that I suck at being a Christian. I consistently act selfish and prideful and greedy, and I fail miserably at being the perfectly good Christian woman that somehow some people seem to think I am. I am a complete and utter failure at this whole thing of "acting the part" of being a Jesus Freak. And it is completely my fault, because I get prideful and think I know what's up, and forget that I'm not supposed to be in control.

It's time to stop, reflect, study, pray, and let God make his amendments in my life. Instead of feeling guilt and shame for not living up to supposed expectations, and trying to control my behavior and my life to fit a mold, I need to let God be in control.

Yet that is so very hard to do.

Sanjaya Should Have Waited a Few Years to Be on American Idol

Initially, I liked Sanjaya Malakar. I think he has a decent voice.

However, that being said, he's 17, and that shows in his performances. He doesn't have life experience (or performance experience) to draw from to help him sell a song. He does do daring and...uhm...interesting...things with his hair. But that's about all he has going for him in my opinion.

So I was a bit flabbergasted that he wasn't even in the bottom three on last week's Idol.

The combination of Sanjaya being the first Indian-American on Idol, and therefor getting votes of the Indian-American community, his appeal with 10-13 year old girls, and Vote for the Worst is proving killer, and could be a credibility nightmare for Idol if he wins the whole deal.

Perhaps if he had waited until he was, say, 20, to audition for the show, his performance abilities wouldn't be such an issue for him. I actually feel sorry for him in this regard, because he's always going to have this hanging over his head, and he's going to have to work harder to prove himself. But then again, maybe that will help him become a better performer, and it won't be such a painfully boring experience watching him sing a song.

A picture, just so you can be scarred for life...or something...

(Photo via AmericanIdol.com photo galleries.)