A Gift Outside, Inside, and on a Plate (Joy Dare)

Joy Dare Day 2

Outside: Christmas lights that are still up even after Christmas. We were walking around the Americana after watching a movie and it still felt like Christmas time (without all the snow or cold weather). I love that time of year with all the fun lights and I really miss it when its over. I made my mom and sister walk around the Americana one more time.

Inside: Friends dvds. I got all 10 seasons for my birthday and Christmas. I have loved being able to laugh with them and to watch them while calling Sol and sharing millions of quotes over text messages.

On a plate: Sushi. I love sushi and San Bernardino does not have very good sushi restaurants. I love going to the place near my dad's house. And I've even got my mom hooked on it as well.

Three Things About Yourself that You are Grateful For (Joy Dare)

Joy Dare Day 1

It seems narcissistic to just say the things you like about yourself on a blog, but sometimes you have to admit what you like about yourself. We can easily tell ourselves all the things we do wrong in life or in the world and then we want others to correct us. But these are three things about myself that I am grateful for.

My voice: I love to sing and I am very thankful that I can carry a tune. Not that you have to be able to carry a tune in order to sing but I am still grateful that I don't feel like I have to hide in my shower or car just to sing.

My laughter: Laughter brings joy to so many people and I enjoy how easily I laugh at things in life.

My writing: I know that I have blessed people through my words of encouragement. Words are very powerful and I know that I have been blessed with an ability to put words together for others.

January Joy Dare

I pray about many things when I'm stressed. I pray for peace, protection, courage, restful sleep, but I don't usually pray for joy. Joy is something I am learning to understand. It's not the same as a happiness but this deep feeling that no matter what is happening around you, thing are going to be ok. Joy is more than just a feeling - in many ways it is a attitude choice.

I have never been good at making resuoltions. They are too vague for me. But this year I am going to start small. I am going to participate in the January Joy Dare. My friend Sol got this from her friend Ann Voskamp. Each day I am going to think of the things that give me joy in life. Each day I will have a sentence prompt to think about what give me joy in life.

Enough with the explanations. Let's begin.

Get Psyched for the New Year

This is what Barney has to say about getting psyched for the new year. Bring it on 2012.

"I'm getting dangerous levels of psychage - must do robot."

Wall-E agrees that the robot dance must me done.

A Call to Action

Sometimes it is just not enough to talk about things. We like to do that in our culture. We like to talk, theorize, conclude, write papers, do research, and sit in the comfort of our desk chairs and coffee shops debating things. We like to talk about how serious urban poverty it, how wretched sex trafficking is, how frustrating our economy has become, or whatever else we can think of. It is good to process and think through these issues to let them seep into our minds and brains and let them effect our souls. But then at some point, if we really care about the issue we have to get off our ass and do something. Not with every issue or problem ever in the world, but the ones we care about. I don't want to say that you have to go rush off to Africa to feed the orphans or even feel guilty for not doing so. But if all I ever did was talk about the stuff we care about - I have to ask myself, how much do I really care?

Here is a chance to do something simple - like sign your name. Which is all you have to do - sign your name to a petition combat sex trafficking in brothels posing as massage parlors in Fresno, CA. Yes Fresno - not India or East Asia or Africa or some foreign country with an unpronounceable name but a major city in California. I don't wan t

What have you got to lose by singing it anyway? Just something to keep thinking about while you drink that cup of coffee at your desk table.

Human Trafficking Petition

The Return of the Deep Sexy Voice

I only get this when I'm sick with a chest cold. My voice goes down almost an octave. I think my body thinks I just finished finals week and it is ok to be sick.

"No body! You have 2 more days with students left. Keep going until then and then you can sick!"

And here is how Barney Stintson deals with illness:

The Effects of Bullying

I came across this video because a friend posted it on facebook. It makes me think of the power of internet in spreading news as well as the reality of bullying in today's schools. 

It is late at night and I'm still processing this video. In short this is what I feel -  I see the effects of it on my students who are beaten down and tired of being made fun of. And its not just in junior high. They have been made fun of since they started school. It breaks my heart to see students picked on because of the color of their skin, their appearance, their speech, their likes or dislikes, their sexual orientation, their grades, their athletic abilities (or lack of), or whatever it is. It hurts me to see other students be mean to each other, even in jest. Sometimes it is the jokes that hurt the worst. I had friends jokingly say mean things about my appearance in junior high and sometimes it was worse than them saying an outright mean comment. I never knew where the line between joke and hurtful was and was left to determine it on my own. There is more to say and do about this subject, but again, it is late and my brain has little room for processing.