My T.all G.irl friend.

A couple of months ago a friend of mine from college named Allison started a tread on the facebook which included random people from her past. I don't know everyone on the thread but we share what is going on in our lives and ask for prayer and what-not... Allison, is one of the top-five funniest girls I have every met and she posted something really funny that I wanted to share.

Background: I met Allison at Grace Bible Church in Nacogdoches in the fall of 2005. We met at a leadership retreat and my first memory of her was how bad she sucked at dodgeball but how unashamedly she played. Seriously, she was awful but was having a blast. I find it encouraging when people naturally enjoying things (even if they aren't good at them.

So this is what Allison recently posted:

I joined an intramural basketball team.


I'm going to say it again so you know that I'm not even kidding.
I joined an intramural basketball team.

WHAT??? I've never been on a team of any sort. I've played a game of ultimate frisbee once and that was fun. They asked if I've even played a "pick up game" and I had to ask what that was. Anyway, they were desperate for a 4th and I said sure, why not, it's probably the last opportunity in my life to be on a team/play basketball. I have to get tennies and shorts. And someone has to explain me the rules.

I'm supposed to be at work this morning but they are revamping the front desk area and so I went home. I hate working but I love that they gave me the opportunity to earn easy money while in school. Thanks, system. Mostly the Madison system because we are under their govern.

My GBob sent me $100 for earning all A's in the summer. He said to take a buddy for a steak dinner with a vintage, high-caliber wine. My first response is "what a waste of money" and then my next one is "about 15% of the world's people are living on less than $1 a day*." Then my next thought was "this is GBob's money and he chose what is to be done with it." And then I thought this; "If I live as though I'm in poverty in order to give to those in poverty, I am essentially aiming to help them to a goal they have already reached." Which, I think, is not actually true, but I have a tendency to look down on America as a whole, when I should actually remember that where "we" are today is somewhat where we are hoping to bring all people at some point (the "where" I refer to is the level of health and access and power (?) and independence and freedom we have). Maybe this is a dumb goal because blessed are the rich is not one of the Be-Attitudes. If we were not in the position of abundance that we are, we would not be able to reach out to those less fortunate. Truth? I want to clean the Ganges and feed the hungry and rock the babies in Chernobyl. It's so hard for me to sit her and not DO that. I know that the essential butterfly effect is not idle and what I'm doing now is a part of the whole; either my contributing to a people who will feed the hungry or working toward a living that will enable me to GO rock babies. Or, maybe I'm just following God's will to another end completely. Perhaps I will end up the next Duggers mother; raising a brood of 20 who will go be my hands and feet in the next generation because we all know it's only to be worse 20 years from now. And knowing that, why are we making an effort to feed the hungry anyway? I'll tell you: Because 1) we are commanded to, 2) it matters to the individual (if you were hungry, you wouldn't say "Don't worry about it, it's only going to get worse.") and 3) selfishly, it's great to serve and compassion is the best. The greatest atrocity these days is apathy toward other humans.* It is simply inhumane. Which brings me to my next rant.

I hate PETA.
I've never really supported treating animals "humanely" because they are, get this, not human. I believe in not abusing animals because 1) animal abuse precedes human abuse, and 2) they are innocent. But I think it's okay to eat them and hunt them (maybe limiting the sport of it is good, but when deer numbers exceeded human numbers in Austin 15 years ago, the roads were outrageously dangerous. What are we; pygmies?). It's also okay to have pets and keep them outside and name them Spot or Dookie or whatever you want because they aren't human (there is a camp that believes you should name animals human names because you treat them more like humans when you call them Ashley or Mike). I love animals as company, as food, as business, but I believe they were created to be subordinate to humans. Why don't Americans eat horse or cat or dog? We are too sentimental toward Fluffy and Dakota and unable to separate ourselves from that. Even if (and when) they are bred to be eaten. Evan, Matthew Richardson's righthand man, once suggested we feed all the stray animals to the hungry/homeless of America thereby killing two birds with one stone and meeting the needs of so so so many. This will never transpire, regrettably, but I really support the idea. It seems at this point like a slightly lesser version of Jonathon Swift's A Modest Proposal wherein he suggests the Irish eat their babies because there is a huge famine with potato blight et cetera. Because humans have souls (and animals do not but this is hard to prove to PETA), A Modest Proposal is ridiculous and remains satirical. Evan's theory, however, is most logical and I love it. No one cares. In addition to this, PETA has implemented rules (like a union does) for farming. At a surface level, they sound totally fine. "Chickens that are kept 20 to a 3-chicken-pen need to be given more space and be required to have access to outside." Well, yeah, let's put 3 chickens in a 3-chicken pen. But any chicken farmer knows, if you give a chicken an option of being outdoors or in, the chicken will stay inside. So this law was passed in California, and all the chicken farms (which feed us, btw, so this is why it matters) had to build runs for the chickens to have access to the outside. This cuts into their farming area (where they could potentially have more chickens or other animals or et cetera) and funding (that went toward building these areas could either have made the cost of chicken lower or increased productivity or et cetera). The chickens never go outside. The same goes for horses. My dairy-farming uncle has a horse and built him a shed (you know; for rainy days) but the horse hated it and kicked it down and would rather run and roll in the mud than stand under a shed. But PETA, in their infinite wisdom (how much experience do they have on farms anyway?) went around having these "unsheltered" horses kidnapped due to unfit parenting. How stupid. We have bigger fish to fry, people. Like children who are being abused and kept 3 to a 1-child pen. (I'm using analogies, but this one is sadly quite literal.) So I wish Ellen Degeneres and PETA and Bob Barker (I do like the spay and neuter your pets campaign for obvious reasons) should put their efforts to a little more useful and HUMANe causes.

I can't believe that I just said all that or that it took me so long. I have opinions.


I never thought I would miss Texas summers, but now that the trees are changing here in the north, I feel wildly jipped. I've never spent a summer without 100+ degree weather. Last year we had 70 days of it (actually, I left in the middle of that). And here I am with cold feet, wishing I was sunburned and encouraging the cancer.

I had a discussion with Chris Chan a couple weeks ago regarding faith versus expectations of God versus disappointment of unanswered prayer (which you may know as "no-answered" prayers). Like, as a believer if you earnestly as God for what you want (as long as this request is righteous or God-honoring?), this is exhibiting faith, and he will hear your prayer. But if he says no and you don't get what you want in his name, do you have the "right" to be disappointed or, continuing in your faith, do you submit that he is the Sovereign Lord that you know him to be and has your best interest (which is his further glory) in mind? Can you do both? I don't think I have the capacity to do so. I cannot be disappointed while I am trusting Him with my life and His kingdom. I don't know if I should be able to and this is one of my areas of weakness or I should view it as a blessing that my trust is rewarded with ease of believe and lack of disappointment in life. I know some of you were praying that I get the position in Denver and some of you refused to do so (in a holy way). I love your prayers whether they are for the same things I "want" or not because ultimately, we are all praying for God's name, fame, glory, and purpose to be fulfilled in our lives now and eternally. And I cannot imagine anything greater. Why have I put God in a box? Why is he so small? He's not; I am.


I hope you all know I love you the best I can right now. I will continue praying for you because it is such a privilege. Let me know if you have a specific way I can be interceding with you. I kind of apologize that this was so long, but I know that if you don't want to read it, you generally don't. Which is cool by me.


*Sterns, 2009.


I was giggling so intensely people on the other side of our office kept looking at me suspiciously.
T.G. is one funny dame.

Later-
Jp