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My blog before this one wouldn't allow comments--I'm seeing what happens. I wish I were more computer savvy...

Darren Aronofsky's "The Fountain"

Power, love, beauty, passion.
Have you ever wished that you could be Adam or Eve in the Garden of Eden? Maybe you wouldn't have eaten from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Maybe you would have relished in the presence of God and had nothing to hide. Maybe you wouldn't have been banished from perfection, freedom, and eternal life. I would like to think I would have listened to God and that His word against eating from the tree would have been enough for me.
This film is about a husband's encompassing love for his wife, and her story inspired by the Tree of Life from the Garden of Eden. Although most of the story is fiction, it does bring me to think about how the tree really was. Was it beautiful? What was it about it that wasn't as appetizing as the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil? I think that the TKGE that although it looked good for eating, mustn't have been as beautiful as the TOL, or Satan wouldn't have had to push it on Adam and Eve. They were attracted to all of the other trees, satisfied with the fruit from the others. I also wonder how long it took before Satan tempted them. How long did he wait before pouncing on these two people?
Life! So powerful. And yet so many people take it for granted. People die for it, sell everything for it, and some give up hope of having it. This couple's--from the movie--passion for each other and life is breathtaking.

Encouragement

Are you having a good day? A bad day? Did you do well for somebody or mess up? Did you have really good intentions but fail? Did you have nonchalant intentions and brighten someone's day anyway? You're HUMAN. You're bound to please people, let them down, but most importantly, YOU ARE YOUR TOUGHEST CRITIC. You know whether you tried your best. God knows whether you tried your best. Why are we trying to please other people?? I am a people pleaser by nature, to those who didn't know...
What I realize (after attempts to please people, some that work, some that don't) is that I need to please THREE people: God, Bryan, and myself. There are ways, though, that I must come before Bryan, as must all of you come before your spouses. You know more than your spouse if you are trying the best you CAN. Don't let anybody make you feel bad about the effort you're attempting. You know the level you're working and only you know if you need to work harder. If you are working hard, feel good about it. Be YOU.
It is what it is. You will succeed, you will fail. So will I! The best I can do is to work my hardest to please my God and savior, then Bryan, then me. I can do my best to make other people's lives better, but ultimately, it comes down to our personal relationships with God.
I'm writing this blog because there are times I feel down about myself and what I haven't done, and I forget to be proud of things I have done. I feel bad about myself for letting people down, forgetting about the fact that I did the best I could. I just want you to know that you are amazing people who have pressures and relationships to build, and I hope that you don't waste your time feeling bad when you can't please everybody. Help others, yes, but put God and your family first. The people that you can't personally help can be helped by your church, whether it be by prayer, financial encouragement, etc. This is one of the benefits from going to church. We have people to lean on and to let lean on us!
Love to all, and I pray for all of you. ^_^

A shout-out to the talented

Regular people who perfected their craft, not stopping when they made mistakes. Maybe we could all learn from these people....^_^
First off, Happy Mother's Day to my Mom
She's lovely, intelligent, and incredibly hard-working. I owe my "fun-ness" to her. ^_^ I've learned a lot from her...

All the other people, Steve Carell, Edward Norton, Reese Witherspoon, Pearl Jam, Joni Mitchell, Josh Groban, Matthew Perry--they're all incredibly talented as well...
inspires us all to not just settle for doing a mediocre job, right?
They all worked passionately and have succeeded. We all can succeed at whatever we want!!! ^_^ Just do it.

I've got it...

I know what I want to do! Okay, so I love Pennsylvania. It's perfect entertainment-wise, people-wise, and weather-wise--well, spring/summer/fall, I mean. So this is my plan. Eventually, I will have a house in Florida where Bryan and I will live from January-April. If I miss the snow, I can always come back to PA for a day or so, just in time to get snowed in. Then, I'll go back to those lovely warm winter days. Ever been to Disney World around Christmas? It's PERFECT. I know it's a lofty goal, but it sounds pretty nice. ^_^ I was just thinking about those lovely palm trees and driving up and down the roads, looking across the distance and seeing the beach...mmmmmmmmmmmm, sounds good. Hmm--I could be licensed to counsel in a coupla different states...
Well, anyway, today is my day off, so I have time to work on stuff but also to dream. Here's to dreaming--in the midst of hard work--and not giving up on those lovely thoughts that bring smiles to our faces. God wants us content, but He also instilled in us the desire to dream. Whether that dream be raising Godly babies, being singers in the church praise team, or being top-notch counselors, dream big--whatever your dream may be--and put forth the effort to succeed.
Love to all! K ^_^