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Color My World . . . Or My Hair.

Being the good little hypocrite that I am, I decided to forgo my resolve to go gray gracefully by adding a few highlights to my hair. 

This isn't the very first time I've highlighted my hair, actually.  I did so once before, back in my pre-gray days.  Just for grins and because . . . uh . . . I'm not sure why, actually.  I think my hairdresser talked me into it because I'm not one to artificially enhance my physical appearance beyond a bit of blush and a coat of mascara.  So yeah, I'll just blame her.

But the gray hairs are coming in fast and furious of late so I started paying attention to the manes of my gorgeous friends, which includes just about every female I know - they're just all gorgeous.  What I noticed is that I seem to be the only salt-n-peppered one in the bunch; they all color.

I know it's all the rage to add those big, bold, chunky highlights that contrast greatly with one's natural hair color.  And I think it looks all fun and cute on everyone else.  As for myself, however, I'm a color weenie with a strong aversion to sporting anything which God Himself did not genetically endow me.  It's my own weirdness that I do not impose upon those who alter their physical appearances.  Except for Michael Jackson-type freakishness; that sort of thing absolutely crosses the sanity line.

I have a big, French nose that could use a bob.  Extensions would help my non-existent eyelashes.  A few surgical tucks here and there (and there and there and maybe there), a few years of serious dieting and exercise, weekly manicures, daily facials, some body wraps, lip and eye liner tatoo-ing, tanning beds, a few gallons of waxing....Yeah, given all that I could, MAYBE, approach the world's standards of physical female beauty.

But seriously, I don't even have the guts to buy a bottle of Miss Clairol.

Some things, like hair color, are temporary and reversible.  No harm done, really.  I could go there.  If I thought it looked 100 percent natural, didn't require constant upkeep and was cheap enough to not cause me any fiscal guilt, that is.  So, now we know the real reasons I don't; it's the upkeep, right?  Yeah. 'Cause I can't even keep up with my laundry, much less my hair.

Well, I did not get the hip, cool, big, chunky, high-contrast highlights.  I almost didn't get any highlights at all, in fact.  My hairdresser (a different one from yesteryear) and I had a difficult time agreeing on what should be done.  I wanted little, skinny highlights.  She wanted to put in  hip, cool, big, chunky ones. She wanted to put in caramel highlights and I wanted the same color red as my daughter's hair.  Which any hairdresser will assert is the same color envied by women everywhere but hairdressers never seem to be quite able to emulate.  (I guess God reserves a few colors that only He can apply to a head and my daughter just happens to be a recipient of that particular grace.)  My hairdresser argued that the two colors would blend together too much and I wouldn't be able to notice them as well unless I did big, chunky stripes.  I argued that that subtlety was my goal.  She maintained it would be too subtle and what was the point.  I countered that the point was at the top of MY head.

So we compromised.  I got two colors, caramel and almost-my-daughter's red.  They're not big, chunky, highlights but they are bigger than the skinny ones I initially went in for.

It turned out fine. The colors are nice. It looks very natural.  And I still have enough gray to keep me humble.

'Cause if I was gorgeous it would just go to my pointed head and I'd be more obnoxious than I already am. 

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Speak Engish

Why do I have to press one for English? 

What ONE Super Power Would You Choose to Have?

The problem with this question is that it limits me to having only ONE super power.  I'm pretty sure I am somehow opposed to that limitation.  It's like taking me to Neiman's and saying you can have ONE free article of clothing.  I mean, one is better than none and I'd be ever so grateful for the opportunity to have just one.  Truly.  The problem lies with the impaired functionality of my decision making process.  Yep.  That's the problem. 

Yesterday, The Fam was all out hanging by the pool.  Some weeks ago, we'd agreed to take a long weekend down to the beach, but Galveston, being the closest beach to Far Western Suburbia at 6 hours' distance, was pretty much destroyed last fall when a hurricaine put it 14 feet under water.  Maybe things will be great there in three years (didn't happen for New Orleans, but no surprises there) in which case, we'll visit the new and improved Galveston some time.

So, as we floated about with our pool noodles, letting our fingertips get all pruned up, we discussed our mini-vacation options.  And that's where the trouble started.

The Boy didn't want to go to the beach at all, "Too hot and gritty."  Which is true.  This isn't exactly San Diego, y'all.  And we are now paying a very steep price for that lovely winter we enjoyed while the rest of the country was cryingin their fruitloops about snow and more snow and sub-zero temperatures.  Paying dearly, we are.  It's hot, man!  But he did want to do something that involved water and hotel accommodations.

The Girl didn't want to go tubing down the Guadalupe. I don't know if she finds that activity boring or whether there aren't enough hot guys at the river to suit her recently acquired (and semi-secret) jones for eye-candy.   Personally, I think she'll be disappointed at the beach as well.  Especially if a bit of eye-candy approaches her for conversation and her Mama steps in to inform said hot guy that Mama's packin' heat.  (Okay, doesn't "packin' heat" sound better than "having hot flashes"?)  She is convinced there's nothing fun to do in Texas at all.  Period.

The Hubby doesn't want to fly anywhere.  Airfares are outrageous and he's saving so we can go on a cruise next spring.  So, we need to do a Texas Redneck vacation.  Which consists of staying in state, driving, sharing one room, and eating all of our meals out of an ice chest.  In other words, camping. 

They all left the decision to me since we'll be taking our mini-vaction over my birthday weekend.  But, being hampered by my desire to please everyone else, I simply could not decide.  What to do with teenagers in the heat of a Texas summer that will keep them entertained while Mom and Dad enjoy a bit of relaxation?  Hence, the cruise plan in spring.  Meanwhile, however...What to do, what to do?

So, we compromised.  We are going to a different beach, (the boy let his sister have her way this time - he's such a gentleman!  Especially after she reminded him that she is his primary means of transportation this summer.) but we're staying in Texas.  In a hotel.  Which is a Redneck Vacation Upgrade.

As for the superpower I'd choose? How about the ability to instantly dry off my family so that when they emerge from the pool to go indoors they don't drip pool water all over my hardwood floors?

Well, it's more practical than invisibility or bursting into flames.  Which I'm liable to do anyway the next time they can't agree on something.

What ONE super power would you choose?

Unintentional Wardrobe Malfunction

Yes, I had an unannounced, unplanned, unanticipated, and probably unnecessary hiatus from posting here for a while.  I sure did get a lot done, though.  I'd make a list it would be boring and redundant because it would look something like this:

Complete Unit 3
Take Unit 3 Test
Play Gig in Redneck Dive in Next County
Complete Unit 4
Complete Unit 4 Partner Assignment
Spend a day in the recording studio
Take Unit 4 Test
Complete Unit 5
Take Unit 5 Test
Play Gig for Fire Chief's Party
Spend another day in the recording studio
Complete Unit 6
Take Unit 6 Test

And so forth with all the Nursing Reentry Program coursework and the gigs and the recording ad nauseum.  You could toss in a trip to my sister's house in Austin for good measure, but that would only eat up 24 hours of my unexplained blogging absence, albeit a welcome departure from the School/Recording Studio/Gig monotony that has become my life.

Actually, I'm making it all sound more boring that it's really been. But not by much.  There have been a few weirdities.  Like my wardrobe malfunction at last Saturday's gig.  Which I am, of course, about to relate to you, dear readers.

Hot!  So I wore shorts.  In hindsight, I wish I'd worn a skirt, but it was pretty breezy that evening, so there might have been more hindsight than anyone cared to witness.

I tend to prefer loose, semi-baggy shorts.  (No, not SAG!  tsk)  We were outdoors on a ranch - the Fire Chief's place. Around the house/swimming pool/yard was all fenced and over the backside of the fence were all these black cows with their ears tagged, watching us the whole time with their big ol' cow eyes until it finally got too dark for me to see them. Beyond them was more cows and pasture land.  Beyond that, more cows.  Yeah, this is out in the country. Tons of kids.  Great food. We played atop a big, flatbed trailer, which can be fun.  Good gig!  Once I got past the wardrobe malfunction, that is.

When we were setting up, I went to step off the flatbed trailer we played on to get my bass. I heard rrrrriiiiiiiippppp!!!!  Looked down.  The the front of my shorts had a hole bigger than Texas RIGHT UP FRONT.  I wasn't exactly wearing boxers, people.  And no, my bass would not have sufficiently covered the breech in my britches.   And no, they didn't rip along the seam, so needle and thread would have been useless. We're talking one of those big rips with threads criss crossing every which way. I think the cows were the only ones that saw it happen.

I was about 20 minutes from home and we had about 30 minutes before we were supposed to start.   (This is like the ONLY time I don't have spare clothes with me at a gig, right?  I had 2 pair of shoes, though!)  So I jump into my Suburban Assault Vehicle and take off, headed for home, pedal to the metal, hoping with all I'm worth that the fire chief had invited the sherriff's department to his party and they were all on their way with their families and not out on patrol.  'Cause I'm driving really fast. 

In town, (I had to go through a town to get from the country back to Far Western Suburbia) when I was stopped at the light, it dawned  on me there was a Target and a Kohl's and Ross and bunch of other stuff right there in front of me. I'm slow like that.  So I run into Kohl's with my little, bitty purse held in front of the great big hole at my crotch, grab the first garment I see hanging inside the store to hold in front of my hole (the purse wasn't going to cut it), race around and grab about 8 pair of shorts - 3 colors, 3 sizes just in case - run in the dressing room and walked out wearing the first pair that fit.  Not FIT fit as in snug - just fit as in comfortable.  I tore the price ticket off and walked up to the checker with my ripped shorts in one hand, the price tag from the new shorts in the other, and my sad story. 

The little guy at the register was adorable.  Young, cute and probably would have been perfectly comfortable as a hair dresser or interior decorator.  I told him what happened, he laughs, rings me up, I go to leave the store and the security alarm goes off at the doors.  The stinkin' security button thing was still attached to me! 

Now the dressing room is clear over there and I'm going to have to put on the holey shorts to bring back the new shorts so they can get the security disc off.  And I'm supposed to take stage in 10 minutes, right? So I asked him if he could get the security do-dad off the back of my shorts (at the waist) with me standing there.  His blue eyes got wide and he got this look on his face that told me that was not going to happen.  As a matter of fact, he looked like he'd rather die than look down the back of my shorts.

Okay, at Kohl's the thing you stick the security gizmo in to get it off is built flat into the counter top.  So no, he can't help me get it off while I'm wearing the shorts.  So I lean backwards over the counter - took me a few tries - with my legs flailing in the air while I gazed furtively up into the security cameras.   I got it off BUT the little disk on the inside of the pants falls downwards. Inside my new shorts.  So, with my back to the security cameras, I stick my hand down the back of the shorts (good thing I don't prefer my clothes skin tight, right?) And I manage to fish it out and hand it to the little checkout guy while reassuring him that it didn't go down there too far.  I didn't want him having any hygiene questions.

Seriously.

I take off for the gig.  Got there just as my bandmates were planning to take the stage without me.  Tuned up and hit the first song before the sweat dried on my brow.

And my bandmates didn't get the story until after the gig when we went to Denny's.  I'm sure I won't live that one down for a while.

Can't imagine what the security folks at Kohl's thought.

Janet Jackson at least had velcro.

I'll be spending today in the recording studio.  Right after I start Unit 7.

Finding Faith in a Skeptical World

I often say I don't have enough faith to be an atheist.  If I were to write the reasons why, it might look something akin to Chet Galaska's book, Finding Faith in a Skeptical World only not as well-written, I'm sure.  He sent me the book, asking for a review, and I agreed with the proviso that I'd only write a review if I actually liked the book.

I'm writing a review.

Finding Faith begins with the account of Galaska's conversion from atheism to Christianity after which he takes us through a light course in Christan apologetics, beginning with the question, "Who is Jesus?"  There is a chapter on prayer, one on forgiveness, redemption and salvation, satan, sin, the Bible, hypocrisy, creation, miracles...He seems to have the major bases covered.  He even tackles historic atrocities committed by the church. 

In short, Finding Faith reads like a Christian apologetics for folks who don't know a lot about Christianity. It sets out to correct negative misconceptions about the faith. And Galaska does a good job of it.  His writing is clear and simple to understand, yet he doesn't talk down to the reader.  He tackles a good number of the world's criticisms about Christians with factual information in a way that the world simply does not have an opportunity to hear very often.  He takes on the most commonly held misconceptions about Christianity and adds a few others of interest as well. 

While Finding Faith deals with many topics pertinent to the Christian faith, I particularly liked the way he addressed the subject of evolution vs. creation. His approach to the subject - a subject that would require a book (or series) of its own to fully explore -  addresses the subject well. He brought up a point I hadn't considered before and chose to highlight in my post, Closed-Minded Christians; that the Christian faith involves a more open mind than atheism.

I found myself, fairly or unfairly, comparing Galaska's book to those in Lee Strobel's The Case for . . . books.  They're both similar in purpose. The most pronounced difference I found is Galaska's simple, gentle way of presenting each topic.  He begins each of the chapters with an engaging story, song lyrics, something with which the reader can identify before he launches us into the chapter's topic.  While Strobel's books are certainly well-written, they seem to be most suited for college-educated adults.  Galaska's book, however, could easily include anyone from a pre-teen on up.  Strobel goes more in-depth on each topic which accounts for the number of books required to take on the various points.  Galaska hits the highlights just enough to give the reader a basic understanding in a single, quick-read publication.

On the subject of Galaska's audience, people who have made up their minds to worship themselves and their functional gods probably won't read beyond the preface.  The beginning of the book is a bit slow and churchy.  I don't know that your typical  unbeliever would get past that long enough to give the book much of a shot. In my opinion, the book would need a much stronger hook to get an atheist into the meatier chapters.  I do know, however, that God is God and He can use anything He chooses to lead someone to saving faith.  I wouldn't be at all surprised if He uses Finding Faith repeatedly to that end or, I should say, that beginning.

Those whose eyes and ears are open will benefit greatly from the book;  seekers, those who do have sincere questions about Christianity, new Christians, young Christians, believers who would like clear ways to defend their faith, mature Christians looking for a tool with which to disciple others. . . I would definitely recommend the book for any of these groups.

Finding Faith is well-researched.  One complaint I tend to have with apologetics written for unbelievers is that the authors frequently include biblical text references in with their content.  To an unbeliever, this referencing can be off-putting since they tend to discount biblical teaching out of hand. Rather than interjecting scriptural and bibliographic references  throughout, Galaska includes pages at the end of the book with the references to support his writing, allowing the reader access to that information without it becoming a possible distraction.  In light of Galaska's target audience, I see the method he chose as quite effective.

Looking back on my own walk, I can easily identify times when Finding Faith would have been a very welcome resource; when I led my housekeeper (with her never-ending questions) to Christ, when defending my faith to various skeptics, when a new believer asked me hard questions which I was ill-prepared to answer at the time,  and now, as my daughter is looking for concise information with which to equip herself to defend her faith to her teenage peers. 

I definitely plan to hang on to my copy of Finding Faith In A Skeptial World and anticpiate it will become quite dog-earred in the near future.  If I ever run into Chet, I'll make sure he signs it for me!

Closed-Minded Christians

I'm reading a book that I plan to share here soon.  Meanwhile, it got me to thinking a little differently about something the world vehemently preaches and people slurp up like hungry pigs at a trough: the notion that Christians are closed-minded.

The idea is that, because Christians maintain there is only one true God and that Jesus is the only road leading to God, we are closed-minded - not open to the possibility that it's okay for people to create whatever god we want in the sundry images our minds conjure up so we can worship that which we can create and define rather than Him who created us.

Which leads to the subject of science.  By definition, science is the study of that which exists - the physical and material world.  Those who reject the idea that everything in existence was purposefully created rather than spontaneously happening on its own maintain that the notion of a Creator is closed-minded.

I propose the opposite:  that the Creationist point of view opens the mind.

Evolutionists have been unsuccessful in their attempts to explain how the basic survivalist instinct that propels humans to adapt and evolve is inherently opposite to heroism - that which compels us to place ourselves in harm's way to save another person, a stranger?  The survival of the self leaves no room for altruism, justice, compassion and other moral traits.  So why should we care if there are starving people in the world?  About human rights violations in other countries?  About things over there that do not directly threaten us individually over here if, as evolution dictates, we are directed by self-preservation?

They are also unable to explain why, throughout the history of the human race, man has been compelled towards worship and the deification of that which he can not explain.  One example: heavenly bodies were once worshiped as gods and entire cultures built around stories about those gods.  More recently, now that science has given us a factual understanding of our solar system, many have turned to worshiping science. (The fact that everyone worships something is beyond the scope of this post - I'll take it on another day.)

Another flaw in evolutionary thinking is the huge gaps that exist between species.  Darwin, in his infamous book, devoted four chapters to outlining this problem with his own evolutionary theory.  He says, ". . . If my theory be true, numberless intermediate varieties linking closely together all the species of the same group, must have assuredly existed."  This would involve many thousands of minute changes over the course of time, at least some of which should be evident in some fossilized form or another. So, where are they?  So far, everything that's been discovered shows no evidence linking different species - no in-between steps to support the theory.

Creationism opens the mind to the possibility that scientific discoveries support rather than negate a Creator.  Conversely, that a cataclysmic force (like "Big Bang") initiated the process whereby the universe came into existence seems to be completely accepted by atheistic science as long as we don't call that force "God."

Is the concept of a being that is more intelligent, more powerful and infinitely larger than mankind really that difficult to accept?  Even when, with each passing century, scientists and archeologists uncover more and more information in support of Biblical teaching and the Creationist point of view?  Why would we be that opposed to the existence of a sovereign God?  Is it because the God of the Bible threatens our ability to make gods of ourselves?

While atheistic evolutionists spend considerable effort tearing down religious faith, Creationists are able to recognize how science actually supports Intelligent Design and vice versa.  The possibility of the God of the Bible opens the mind to all manner of possibilities that the narrow focus of an auto-induced beginning to a complex universe can not consider.  It equips us to truly explore a higher purpose for our existence, the possibility of an afterlife, the spirituality that undeniably exists within us all, the occurrences of that which we call "miraculous," and the fact that humans have, since the beginning of our existence, really not changed much at all. 

Those concepts can only be grasped when one's mind is open.  Faith is far more open-minded than man's finite ability to define the universe through our limited understanding of its laws. If we confine our thinking to only that which fallible humans have proven, we close our minds to all that has never been disproved.

I'm always awed by the accounts of atheistic scientists who set out to discredit biblical teaching and end up embracing the Christian faith.  It's amazing what one discovers when the mind is truly open.

Will share that book with you soon.