Tattoos

I am raising hippies at my house.

I'm not real sure how that happened because their dad and I are pretty conservative in most ways. I am a little bit of a Jesus freak and I don't really care that much what people think (or I like thinking that's true) but my values are pretty mainstream conservative. That is unless you consider my views on immigration (pro amnesty - I know, I know) and the environment (I think we should take good care of our planet and if corporations won't do so. I think they should be made to do so by government).  If you think that's liberal, then I'm cool with that being liberal.

This is my daughter.

That is a nose ring.  And she wants to dred lock her hair.  We said no to the dreds.  We had to draw the line somewhere.  She plans to get a tattoo and dreds on her 18th birthday.  My husband has encouraged her to do it because he says it will save him a boatload of money that he was planning to pay for college.  I'm not sure what I think about that.  I'd be more on board about the dreds than the tattoos because even if she has to shave her head to get rid of them, it's still not permanent.

I wouldn't get a tattoo for a lot of reasons.  For one thing, I'm a complete wimp and I'm pretty sure that would HURT! I don't even eat spicy food because of my moral conviction that if it hurts you shouldn't eat it.  This conviction includes activities.  In general the 'no pain, no gain' crowd and I don't hang out.  Also, I am old enough to remember how many favorite colors, quotes, shapes, and sayings I have had in my forty plus years.  I'm so glad those things weren't indelibly printed on my body.  I like being free to change my mind.  To me a tattoo limits my freedom of choice.

My daughter wants to get the globe printed on her back.  It's actually quite a lovely tattoo, as those things go . . .

But I'm not convinced she will always want that showing through her t-shirts and her formal dresses. I might have wanted it on my back at one stage or another but not now and guess what? It would still be there!

I think it's likely that tattoos are just a way for adolescents to say "I'm different than you" to their parents.    If that is the case, I got that message a LONG time ago.  She definitely is different from me in so many wonderful ways.  Time will tell if tattoos will be one of those ways.  I hope not, but at some point it will be her decision and if she goes ahead with putting permanent art on her body, I might even think it's pretty.

Oprah

Say what you want about Oprah but her life is an amazing picture of the sovereign desire of a God who does more than we could ask or imagine. I am watching Oprah Presents Master Class and it is such a reminder of God's sovereignty in each and every person's life.

Did you know her parents were 'together' ONE TIME? She was unwanted. Her mother hid her pregnancy with Oprah. She was unwanted by her mother and father but obviously wanted by God. He desired her. In the master class she says 'God has a bigger dream' and her life is such a parable of that truth.

Jeremiah 1:5 says "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,and before you were born I consecrated you". When I read that passage I see a teenager having a self image crisis as I hear Jeremiah say, 'I am just a youth' and God replies 'Do not say I am just a youth'. Don't you love that? God tells Jeremiah, and me as I read this, that he is more than any 'just' because God has a plan for him.

I was wanted. My mom took a drug to keep from miscarrying me. Oprah was wanted. Her mom hid her pregnancy and probably would have welcomed a miscarriage. But both Oprah and I were wanted by a God who tells us that the word 'just' can never be attached to his plan for our lives. I believe that's true of every one of us.

Each of our lives cause a bigger ripple in the waters of life than we can imagine. Very few of us will have the impact of Oprah Winfrey but each one of us is more than our 'just' would tell us we are.

This Weekend

We have had a fun and restful weekend. Friday night we took our girl out for a greasy burger. It rained buckets at exactly the time we were leaving the restaurant. Of course by the time we got to our house, in the safety and dryness of our garage, the rain had stopped but while we were walking to the car we might as well have been taking a bath.

She used the meal as an opportunity to attempt to convince her dad and I that it is reasonable for her to buy a plane ticket to Hawaii for a weekend trip so that she can check out the place she wants to go for missions next summer. She has a friend whose family is there for a month and has offered for her to stay with them. Seriously. She's planning to do missions in Hawaii. How do you get that assignment? And yeah. She thinks it's reasonable to just pop on over to check it out this summer. ha! I love teenagers!

Yesterday my hubby and I spent the day together shopping and having fun. Then last night we spent the evening with our adorable niece and nephew and my brother-in-law. We made gourmet hot dogs. Not really. We just grilled hot dogs and heated up some Wolf brand chili but it was fun. We hadn't seen the kids in a couple of weeks and we kind of like having them around. Cade does fun things like pointing a finger gun at you and expecting you to fall over - dramatically. I take great pleasure in obliging. He especially likes to shoot me while I'm cooking. Hmmm, hope he's not trying to tell me something. Calea does fun things like laughing that amazing little girl laugh that just melts your heart and makes you want to do whatever it takes to keep her laughing. Yes. We do silly things to produce that sound around our house. Totally worth it. My brother-in-law does fun things like bringing the kids to our house.

Today we had lunch with Mom and Dad. Mom is doing better all the time. She has her last surgery in about a week. We are all really looking forward to her being able to fully recover instead of recovering just enough to have more chemo or another surgery. Who knows? We may even take a trip together in the fall!

Tonight my husband has taken my son and some of his friends to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the NBA playoffs. Our daughter is at youth group and I'm home alone reflecting on a weekend well spent.

Tomorrow we all go back to our work weeks. We are ready. We have laughed. We have played. We have rested.

How about you? Did you get some rest and some laughter this weekend?

Random Thought about the Twilight Series

Am I the only one who thinks the Twilight series could be a big Mormon evangelism tool? I mean, eternal marriage and all that (sorry if that was a plot spoiler for you). I really enjoyed the series but as soon as I finished it this thought occurred to me. I don't submit this question in an accusatory way. For one thing, if I were a Mormon, I would feel free to evangelize any way I could. For another thing, I don't think it would have to be conscious on the part of the author. It could just be her worldview that is coming through in her writing.

I do, however, think it has strong potential for drawing young people toward Mormonism. After all, it is directed at the youth culture, does a terrific job of selling eternal, blissful marriage and it's written by a Mormon. They are a very evangelistic religion so I don't think this is too far out in left field. In case you have been in a cave recently, teenage girls are going crazy for this book and many of them are passionate about wanting a guy "just like Edward". I wonder if it is designed to cause a young person to long for that, setting them up for the Mormon evangelist to come along and say "we believe in eternal marriage" as part of the pitch.

I talked to my 13 year old daughter about it and her first response was "I think that sounds great!" When I told her that Jesus says that in heaven there will be no marriage or giving in marriage she seemed . . . um . . . disappointed. I think that's a fairly normal reaction for a person her age. I mean, if you find your "soul mate", won't you want it to last forever? Of course, no one but Jesus is perfect for anyone and He will be a great husband! But that's a pretty abstract thought for a teenager and as the child in the sermon illustration says we often want "someone with skin on."

Anyway, I know I lean toward being overly analytical and I may be way off base, but it's just something I wonder about.