Clean Out

I've been going through everything.  Each time, I end up getting rid of about half or more of whatever I look through.  See, I'm getting excited about the next adventure in my life where I move out of this job and area all the way to Dallas.  Its a wonderful feeling to get rid of things that I don't need!  There are things that are sentimental, but only the super important things get to stay this time.

I have realized that I'm very much at home here.  I love having my own place and having places for my things.  This upcoming opportunity, though, is giving me another chance to not be complacent and also letting me organize (which I'm finding is a huge passion of mine).

In 2 Samuel, I've been reading about David.  I'm almost to the place where it talks about him and Bathsheba, but up until that, I can't help finding how much David strived to please God.  He had a pretty hard life while running from Saul.  Still, God took care of him and he gave God the honor and glory and praise.  From a shepherd boy to a soldier to a king.  David, though stressed at times and seemingly always on the move, took time to praise God and clean out what he didn't need (like Saul's armor when God was already fighting Goliath for David).

I doubt that God wants us to hang on to things we don't need.  There is the physical "stuff" that we need to take the time and go through it in order to feel accomplished and cleaner.  In the same respect, there's the spiritual "stuff".  My life gets pretty busy and, therefore, its easy for me to put off what I really need to deal with (whether spiritual, relational, etc.).  After starting, I feel freer and am able to take on a new adventure for my life that God will help me to grow through.

Unplugged and Cleaned Out

On Thursday, I had hoped to do many things with different people.  None of those plans came through so I found myself (most of that day) in front of the television watching things like "Say Yes to the Dress", "Finding Nemo", "The Life of Christina Aguilera", and the end of "Titanic" (among a few other shows).  That night, while getting ready for bed, I felt terrible!  A day of doing nothing much except watching tv!  Day waisted.  I felt like I was inside for far too long.  It had been a dreary day also, therefore I was a bit down from that.  In the end, it all brought determination.

Friday, I didn't turn on the tv, I didn't get on the internet (except for 10 minutes to do something for my job), and I began cleaning.  I went through my big cabinet and all of my six smaller containers.  I got rid of lots of things and transferred all of my cds to my computer.  Once I start, its hard to stop.  I went over to Mom and Dad's to see if they wanted any of the books I'm giving away.  When we went through them, we went to eat.  My brothers, sister, and mom were there (since dad was working).  I love spending time with my family!

Later, we dropped the boys at home and we ladies went to WalMart.  I got a strawberry limeade at Sonic on the way back home.  It was late when I headed home.  After a day of organizing, being unplugged, and hanging with family, I was satisfied!

Cyrano de Bergerac

I never would've thought that tonight I would be captured by a movie that was in French and had English subtitles.  But it happened.  I had gone over to eat dinner with my mom and brother.  I watched the end of "Eragon" with her (which the book is way better) and then we began browsing.  She stopped on one entitled "Cyrano de Bergerac" since this was a story she knew.  She reminded me of the basic plot as we wondered if we would really sit and watch the whole movie in French.

The story begins with Cyrano (who has a really big nose) that falls for this drop dead gorgeous girl (Roxane).  He's very shy so he writes poetry to her.  He even goes as far as to get this really handsome guy to deliver the letters and so she thinks they're from Christian (the handsome dude).   You can immediately see where the trouble will start.

My mom went on to lie down and my brother went to play video games.  I looked around for other possible shows to watch, but my mind kept wondering what would happen in the movie.  I became enraptured by it:  the beautiful language, the poetry, the devotion, the symbolism, and found tears in my eyes as it drew to a close.  It touched my heart!

I'm glad they didn't do voice-overs.  You may understand what they're saying with your ears, but then the French would be lost and (being more of a visual learner) it was even more powerful for me to see the words.

So what was the big deal?  Cyrano gave himself to everyone and was extremely unselfish.  He was shy and thought he was ugly, but his heart and soul overcame his appearance and, thus, made me fall in love with who he was.  Roxane was drawn to the real Cyrano though she didn't know it was him.  She was very blind throughout the movie, but she still saw what was most important.  Christian even developed a bit and began to have a problem with himself (for pretending to be someone he wasn't).

There are many stories like "Beauty and the Beast" that have one person seeing the worth and beauty within someone else who might not be that attractive.  I know that those people are rare and few.  Still, people are drawn to these stories simply for the fact that people want to be known for who they are and not simply by what they look like.