Beaten with a Stick

(perhaps, just in case you're all new here, I should mention that my sense of humor is, shall we say, sarcastic).

Okay, with that disclaimer aside, let me share the verse of scripture that has provided much amusement to me today. But first the story that goes with it.

When we were teenagers, my middle brother (who also has a wicked sense of humor) used to go around informing us that "stupid people should be beaten with a stick." If we questioned him, he would tell us, "It says so in the Bible."

I was thinking about that verse the other day, in the midst of a rather trying encounter with another person, and it made me smile. So last night I emailed him, hoping that he still knew the reference for what had, at one point, been his favorite verse. He came through this morning, sending me an email with the reference, and the appropriate version to find his favorite translation of the verse.

It's making me laugh as I again deal with some rather trying people today. (I think I'm developing an affinity for the practical wisdom of Proverbs. It's been speaking to me on far deeper levels than this amusement lately as well.)

Proverbs 10:13 (Contemporary English Version)
If you have good sense,
it will show when you speak.
But if you are stupid,
you will be beaten
with a stick.

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Henri on Forgiveness and Healing

Another challenging thought from Henri Nouwen

Healing Our Hearts Through Forgiveness

How can we forgive those who do not want to be forgiven? Our deepest desire is that the forgiveness we offer will be received. This mutuality between giving and receiving is what creates peace and harmony. But if our condition for giving forgiveness is that it will be received, we seldom will forgive! Forgiving the other is first and foremost an inner movement. It is an act that removes anger, bitterness, and the desire for revenge from our hearts and helps us to reclaim our human dignity. We cannot force those we want to forgive into accepting our forgiveness. They might not be able or willing do so. They may not even know or feel that they have wounded us.

The only people we can really change are ourselves. Forgiving others is first and foremost healing our own hearts.

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25 Things

A while ago a good friend of mine gave me some homework - a 25 item list. This is not that list. However, I am hoping it will help inspire me to work on that list.

There has been a 25 Random Things About Me survey/list floating around in the blog world and on facebook lately. And today I'm feeling just inspired enough to give it a shot, and tell you 25 random things about myself...

1. I think mint flavoring belongs only in toothpaste and gum. Anything else with mint is gross.
2. Everytime I pour myself a glass of wine, I get about two sips in and then I realize "I still don't like this very much." But I won't waste a perfectly good glass of wine, so I try to pawn it off on one of my roommates. If that doesn't work, I make myself drink it anyway.
3. High heels make me feel sexy.
4. I've had tendonitis in both feet and shins since high school, making it a bad idea for me to wear high heels very often.
5. I like most peach or watermelon flavored candies or beverages, but I don't actually really like fresh peaches or watermelons very much.
6. I like tea, but mostly herbal teas.
7. I don't like black tea, but do drink it occasionally. I can name for you each of the five times and locations in the world that I've had black tea in the last year or so.
8. I love getting real mail. Even though most of it still goes to my parent's house, and I have to stop by there to pick it up.
9. I also love getting email - especially from friends.
10. I have a bachelor's degree in European history, with a specialization in post-reformation church history, primarily, but not limited to groups such as the moravians and anabaptists.
11. One wouldn't think that this particular degree would be useful in an administrative assistant job, but because I work for a Mennonite company, the historical context that my degree has provided for the group of people I deal with every day has been invaluable.
12. I pick almost all music based on the lyrics, rather than the sound.
13. Despite having a passion for and a degree in history, I cannot spout off dates like an encyclopedia. I know the approximate date for many things, and can usually get you within a century, but as one of my history professor's helpfully pointed out in my first year of university, knowing exact dates is what reference books (or the internet!) is for.
14. I'm a fan of The Body Shop, and am currently quite enamored with their (unfortunately seasonal) Warm Amber Body Butter, which is scented with Myrrh.
15. I get annoyed when someone who is much younger than me gets treated like more of an adult than me, simply because she has a husband or a child.
16. I eat colored candies, fruit snacks, chocolates, etc. in the order of my color preference, from ugliest to prettiest.
17. I own a U2 special edition Ipod video.
18. I am absolutely a Mac girl instead of PC user.
19. I love taking photos
20. I will often scrap the idea of perfectly immaculate fashion for the sake of warmth and comfort in the winter.
21. I prefer clothing or accessories that are colorful, unique and possibly a bit hippy/bohemian.
22. I have recently become convinced that taking vitamins is actually helping me get my health and sleep levels back to 100%, after years of denying that this might actually be possible.
23. If I have painted toenails, it is generally a sign that I am in a good mental and emotional space, and that I have been engaging in self-care recently.
24. My toenails are not currently painted.
25. I was a synchronized swimmer. A fairly decent one. I swam for twelve years, and volunteered as a coach and choreographer for 5 and 6 year old girls for the last five of those twelve years. And I am absolutely convinced that synchronized swimming is in fact, a sport.

There you have it. 25 random facts about me. Wanna share some random facts about yourself? Leave a comment, or a link to your blog.