Look at the beautiful sunsets and sunrises and see the majesty of God!!!

Hey all. I realize it has been 21 days since I have even looked at this blog let alone thought about posting something. I have been extremely busy with school and everything else, though I realize that is not that great of an excuse.

Guess what, 26 days till Christmas!!!! I absolutely love this time of the year. I have never been allowed to put up decorations before the day after Thanksgiving....before this year. My mom delivered the wonderful news that I could put them up early at a time when I was so busy with everything. Well, Thanksgiving morning, I decided that I wasn't going to let this opportunity go to wast. So I got up before 7am and waited for it to get light enough for me to see to put them up, and then I spent the next three hours getting everything up. If I do say so myself, and I do, my house looks especially cheerful.

I found an article just a few minutes ago that made me think. And I want to know what all my readers out there in blogging land think about it too. The article posed the question of "is the cross crucial in worship?" The question deals more with the message of the cross being presented in the worship music during Church. But I was thinking about its importance both literally and metaphorically. In other words, how important is it to have physical representations of the cross in Church? And is it just as important, or more or less, to have the message of the cross presented not only in the message, but also in the songs sung in praise of God? I haven't read the article yet, but will this evening. I do look forward to hearing your opinions on this topic, as well.

Now, I have to go to class. I only have a little over a week before finals, so I am not guaranteeing that I will be able to post anytime before that, but I will try. I will get back to you before Christmas though, because I have a couple of ideas for logs before then. Till then, chow!!!

Humor

I thought that we all needed a bit of humor today. That's Jessie, by the way.

So here are a few periodicals that speak to life's situations.

Challenges

I have been reading the psychological thriller by Feodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment. Not of my own free will, mind you. It was a requirement for my Russian Literature class. Yesterday, we had a visiting professor come in to discuss his perceptions of the novel, as well as ways that he taught it to his classes in the past. He brought up an aspect of the novel that we had not yet considered. Many of the characters in the story are presented with a very striking dichotomy in their behaviors. For instance Porfiry Petrovich, a Russian detective, has a very rational mentality, and is given to intense spirituality. The character I chose to discuss was that of Sonya, a young girl who chose prostitution in order to provider for her siblings. Although she is living in such blatant sin, she is a deeply devout Orthodox Christian, who recognizes her sinful state.

Now, after all the technical details, the professor asked us to consider any dichotomies in our own lives. Not something that was easy to do on such short notice. But, I did come up with a list of about 3. Though not on the level of rational/spiritual, or sinner/saint, my dual natures are just as interesting, I think. My deals with speaking. I have no trouble at all speaking in front of people. In fact, I am a very outspoken individual (I know, you don't believe it, but it's true). Put me in front of a group of people, 5 or 500, and I could talk for hours, well...maybe an hour and a half. But, and here's the duality, I cringe at the thought of one-on-one confrontations. It doesn't matter who it is, it could be a stranger, or my best friend, and I still fear confrontation, to the point where I will become physically ill.

I'm not sure if anyone else finds this as intriguing as I do, or not. But I am putting a challenge out to all those in blog land who read corismindlessponderings. What is a dichotomy in your own character, two seemingly incompatible aspects that reside within one shell (uh, that's you). May not seem interesting to you guys, but this is what nerds sit around doing all day. Fun, huh???

Out of fairness, I will respond to the challenge I received a while ago concerning eight things people don't know about me.

1. I love watching cartoons, more so than 'real' movies.

2. I know 95% of the words to 98% of the songs in the Veggie Tales movie catalog.

3. I actually enjoy being able to read things written in dead languages.

4. I really want to have more kids. As much as I can't stand kids, I really do long to have more, and to be able to actually experience and enjoy a pregnancy. Guess I'll be waiting a bit on that.

5. I hate the telephone. Whatever happened to writing a well thought out letter and experiencing the anticipation of waiting for correspondence from a loved one, or claiming that the letter from the bill collector, or the annoying relative, got "lost in the mail."

6. I'm a republican. If you know me, you know that is a profound self-realization.
6b. I hate politics!!!!!

7. I have a shoe fetish, which for someone with a size 11 wide, that is a very difficult indulgence.

8. I see dead people.

Hehehe, ok, not really.
8. I find men in uniform irresistible. That's what I get growing up on a military base surrounded by men in uniform.

Well...now you can fulfill your challenge. And this is probably alot more than you wanted to ever know about me. Oh well.

Godspeed!!!