Lost in February

I'm listening to the wind, NCIS in my parents' bedroom. And my dad clearing his throat about every 35 seconds.
I'm thinking about how I think I'll stay up a little later tonight just for some extra thinking/prayer time.
I'm proud that I got the courage to go to Latin mass again.
I'm praying about how to be the person, woman, Catholic, Christian, daughter, sister that God has created me to be.
Specifically my plans for Lent - both in prayer and in deed.
1. I need to pray about what clothes I want to choose to wear, what standards of modesty I am called to have for myself.
2. Along those lines, what bathing suit that would please God and make me feel comfortable. Summer is coming, I love swimming, I hate showing so much of my body. My body belongs to no one but me and God - and if I get married, I will share it with my husband. But no one else has a right to it. On the other hand, I don't want to stand out. Check out HydroChic. This might be the way to go.
3. Praying over starting my MSW in the fall. I've already applied for financial aid and will get my app in ASAP - state school is very affordable for me, even on my income (which I am grateful for and praying for the grace not to be ungrateful).
(oh my gosh my dad has cleared his throat about 10 times as I'm writing this).
4. (he just did it again)
5. I'm giving up television for Lent and using this time for Biblical and spiritual reading. Check out the books on my Shelfari shelf (there's two pages of it, you have to click "next"). The spiritual ones listed are real
winners in my mind.
6. (and again)

Oddly enough, the idea of genuinely praying about things is sort of new to me. Just one of the things that Duggar family has encouraged me in.

Anyway, that's why this post is called Lost in February. I'm trying to figure out what values and standards I will have for myself as my own caretaker, as a Christian. And February is sort of a lost month to be in. Suspended in winter like water in maple syrup.

The Mass

I've written in the past about my struggle with mass as it is in many parishes I'm at. This week, the priest told us during the homily that we should go home and tell people we "love the terrorists" - you know, like love your enemies - and see what their reaction is. (I'm really tempted to put a sarcastic comment in here, but I'm practicing for Lent).

All I want at mass is to be able to pray without people bothering me and to participate in - focus on - the Holy Sacrifice without all this extra language. I don't mean that for the most part people aren't there for the same reasons as I am. They are. And I'm by far not among the holiest, the most prayerful, or the most Catholic, even. But, the mass is not a prayer service. Personally, I don't think it's the time for holding hands during the Our Father (although I don't mind shaking hands), collecting money, or wearing name tags. We collect the money while the priest is breaking the bread and pouring the wine, preparing for the consecration - it's my favorite part of the mass because it's such a personal, quiet prayer that the priest says as he prepares the "meal."

I've been to prayer services. We had a lot at L'Arche and they were beautiful, and so genuine. It was one of the best part about L'Arche. I've also been to Protestant Sunday services. Not great, but they knew what they were and that's what they were - worship services. A time to pray together, even emotionally, sing pumped-up Christian tunes complete with drums and electric guitar, and for people to publicly acknowledge their acceptance of Jesus. I've known enough of these people personally to realize that for them, often this is a very genuine experience. And the way some of these folks live their lives attests to that. I take example from them in my own life (part of the reason I like the Duggars so much). But again, that's not what the mass is. And the mass is what makes us Catholic (of course not the only thing).

But in my experiences (very limited) with traditional Catholics, I've found some to be treading on dangerous ground - I've even read that in some circles, people have attested that popes elected after Vatican II are not valid. (This is NOT a statement about even most traditional Catholics - it's just what I read on websites claiming to be traditional Catholics and to offer the Latin Mass - I would truly like to hear from people who have had other experiences in this area). But even among Catholics who are simply very conservative and dedicated to the Latin Mass, I feel like there's a lot of exclusivism. I'm just thinking, again, of people I know personally.

What did Vatican II do to us? Is there a second Reformation coming? Has it already happened?

Anyway, I found an EXCELLENT article about this very issue, and I invite people to read it, because it really explains a lot more clearly what I'm trying to say: One Family's Journey to the Latin Mass - and Back.

I'm thinking about perhaps going to Latin Mass during Lent. I'm going to pray about it.

Okay, just have to put in a geeky/backdoor bragging bit of Monty Python for those of you who took Latin - or any language - but especially Latin in school.
Jewish rebel writes this on the wall as graffitti in the middle of the night: "Romanae eunt domus."
Roman solidier comes across him writing it: "People called Romanae.... they go.... the house?"
Jewish rebel (nervously): "It.... it says Romans go home."
Roman solidier: "No it doesn't."
(then follows a latin lesson about the correct ending of Romanae - Romani, the use of the plural imperative to indicate a command, and the dative case to indicate direction toward. The Roman soldier then commands him to write it 100 times all over the walls).

Vale, amici!

Joy!

Just a little something:

I admit that at L'Arche I had one or two *favorite* core members. I still love both these guys as though they truly are my brothers. I'll write more about why that was later. But, for now, I just opened up the Amazon.com website and was looking at their suggestions for me (18 Kids and Counting, sock knitting books, when suddenly, on the amazon page, the image of one of these young men met my eyes. A very artistic, contemplative photo of him was used for the cover of a book someone wrote about L'Arche. Seeing him pop up on amazon like that made my morning. :-)

Hope everyone else has a good morning and a good day.

If you have time, I'd like to hear what people are thinking of doing for Lent.

Discontent

I've just realized that I've got a little bud of discontent growing inside of me. And it's growing even though I tell myself all the things I have to be grateful for. It's just that I get very resentful when I feel undervalued, or taken advantage of, or disrespected. I'm very sensitive to that. So, I'm not sure how much I've explained about the situation with my job. I'm employed by a private nonprofit that has a contract with the state. The state pays this private nonprofit (PNP) to employ on their payroll individuals who then work for the state. That's what I do. I'm employed by the PNP, but I work at the state and for the state. My coworkers are state employees, with the exception of the handful of other people who do what I do.

State employees are among the best compensated employees anywhere - from pension, to health insurance, to paycheck. And the holidays and vacations? Very, very generous. But as an employee of a PNP, I get paid about 2/3s or less of what they make. I have 3 personal days this year - that's it. And my next holiday is Memorial Day (the state employees get President's Day, Lincoln's birthday, and Good Friday before Memorial Day). I have two bosses - one at the PNP, one at the state. (I like the one at the state better).

Why am I grumpy and complaining when millions of people are going to go to bed hungry tonight? Because the state kids get more cookies than I do. Okay, I feel a little better now. And you know, by international standards, I'm grossly overcompensated. And, as Aslan says, "No one hears anyone's story except his own." Not a direct quote, something like that. Jesus really is not interested in what my holidays look like compared to my next-cubicle neighbor's.

Okay, I'm over it :-)

Care: My Word for the Year

At Aussie Coffee Shop, people are writing about their word for the year, which got me thinking about what mine might be. And I came up with "care." Just care more in general - about myself, my family, my friends, my job, my home, my belongings. Care about my teeth and my mental health. Care about my car and my sister's difficulties. Care about my friends, who I too often neglect.

Various things have got me to this point. The root canal was a big red flag, but there have been other things along the way - putting on weight when I started my new job (Weight Watchers is my way of caring about that), my sister's continued life difficulties that I just have never really noticed the real extent of until recently, the fact that my car is dying for an oil change. I just get so wrapped up in "Maria" - and not even in ways that are helpful to me - nothing else makes its way to the forefront.

I want to write about my little sister. We're three years apart and shared a room for 10 years. Fought a lot, but loved each other and were best friends until I started getting my first battles with mental illness. She saw me fight depression starting from the time I was 10 - mild and sporadic - until it finally exploded when I was 15. In retrospect, I think underestimated how much this affected her. It was such a dark time in my life and I was so absorbed in it I really couldn't know what she was dealing with. And when I went away to college, that's when her difficulties seemed to start. Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying her life has totally revolved around mine, but I'm just saying that, looking back, I could have cared more, seen more. Since she was about 17 or so, maybe earlier, she's been having subtle but real signs of self-loathing, self-sabotaging behavior. It's hard to recognize, because it manifests itself in just being irresponsible and making poor choices. But when a bright young woman starts off with A's in college and a couple semesters later is failing and has incompletes - at two separate schools - that's not slacking off. She's in the middle of her second disfunctional relationship with a boy. She allows herself to be treated disrespectfully (of course they always "make up"). And she tends to physically destroy her and others' belonging just by neglect. All this used to make me angry - but really, who is like this unless they have a very serious problem, and need to know that they are worthy of love and care? Anyway, I'm going to care more. Please pray for her.

And I'm going to start flossing and get an oil change :-) That's for me.

Milo in Sepia

Yesterday Milo and I were chillin' at home, then after a while I didn't know where he had gone. His usual favorite spots - my parents' bed, a couch, my sister's room - were devoid of dog, and I started to wonder ... until I found him in my room, which he only very recently started going into. He was totally asleep. I took probably about ten pictures of him with a noisy digital camera and flash - nothing :-) Thus, Milo in Sepia.

Something to be grateful to God for today. The root canal was my responsibility - God certainly doesn't get involved in my oral hygeine. However, my health benefits kick in the day before my root canal. Even if I had needed this a couple weeks earlier I would have been out an extra thousand dollars. Now, that's something to be grateful for.

I had a really good conversation - an hour and forty minutes! - with someone who is not my direct supervisor, but leads the team I'm on. I'll write about it another time.

He's not a Real Lion, of course

From the third Narnian book (in the story's timeline), The Horse and His Boy. Bree, a talking horse who was kidnapped from Narnia when he was a foal, only knows a little about Aslan, and that he saved Narnia from the White Witch, but that he couldn't actually be a lion - a beast like everyone else. With fur and a tail and everything. At which point, Aslan shows up from behind and scares the kettlecorn out of him. He shows Bree his "real" mane, paws, etc. So, of course, during His life on earth, Jesus was as physically real as the rest of us. I wonder what the physical reality is after death. I guess that everything after death is so much more real that wwhat we live with today, physical reality here is more like a dream world, maybe. But Aslan is always very tangible, a "real beast", just like all the other talking beasts in Narnia. People who deal with Jesus the Man in this world generally hear voices and have visions, I've never read anything about him physically being present - okay, except of course the obvious - the Eucharist. But I guess C.S. Lewis has a bit of a approach to this, being Anglican. I've always wondered what it means that Jesus is "coming again." Hasn't He been showing up everywhere since the Last Supper/the first mass? So, I guess when he comes again this time it will be like Aslan, with real paws and a tail :-).

Back here on Planet Maria, my life feels like a row of dominos that is slowly falling, but as soon as I pick up the last one, the next one is already down. I'm so dramatic :-) Basically "all" it is is that I lost my wallet (license, credit cards, debit cards, insurance card, the works). And now I need a root canal and have no dental insurance. But - the plus side is (1) no one used my credit cards (2) I SHOULD be on my employer's health plan by Feb. and have dental by then (3) I had at least enough of the insurance I've been paying for myself to get the antibiotics I need to stop the infection (4) I have a job and I can, ultimately, afford what needs to happen.

I think my needing a root canal has brought to light another problem: loving myself. I think since I don't have any very obvious problems, I'm not in tears every day, or sleeping all the time, that my self esteem is okay. But this is the second infection in my mouth in 3 years, and my fourth infection in general needing antibiotics in the same time span. Clearly, I'm not doing something right. In my defense, I'm not the *worst* tooth-brusher - the root canal is from a filling that came loose, the cavity was re-infected, and it got into the root. The dental hygeinist, who is about my age, said the exact same thing had just happened to her. And if I'm not loving myself enough to take care of my basic needs (getting better with that with Weight Watcher's help), how can I love anyone else? We are called to love each other as we love ourselves... so in this case I guess it means neglecting my neighbor until he needs antibiotics... Anyway, you see my point. But - we also have to love others in a way that will help them love themselves. Show them that they're worthy of care and attention as much as anyone.

On a semi-unrelated note, you know that song Viva la Vida by Coldplay? It always reminds me of Narnia, I don't know why. Maybe The Last Battle.

That's all, friends.

Monday Morning Things

So, the start of another work week. I won't have any more work holidays until Memorial Day. But, as I always remind myself, I have a job. And, as St. Paul reminded me yesterday, not all of us can be a prophet. So, employment specialist it is. And I'm lucky to have a job that feels like a vocation. Many people don't have that. I had to go to our company's annual dinner/dance. I can generally make myself have a good time at these events, because I like to dance. And I did enjoy dancing, but the whole thing in general wasn't fantastic. It really was 90% obligation, 10%, well, another obligation I felt to "be more social." So that's what I did.

My goal for this week is to get my oil changed. My goal for this year (in addition to making friends) is to build up my emergency savings and to start a retirement account - either an IRA or a 401K or a 403B or whatever my options are.

The highlight of my week: one of my coworker's boyfriend said to her, "That girl looks exactly like the girl from The Office!" Oh man, I'm going to ride on that one for a while :-) (I don't really look like her; I curled my hair and have been trying to do my makeup like hers).

And, finally, some pictures I took last week (because I re-found my camera cord!)

The Chronicles of Narnia (again) and Imagining Jesus

I know I've written a lot about Narnia, but I just love the books so much. I've started reading them again, starting with The Magician's Nephew. So maybe I'll write a little series about the books as I re-read them (I think this is the 3rd time, at least).

How wonderful is the story of the creation of the world? How incredible is it that one young boy's small, impulsive act brought evil to the new world? I love reading the one on one conversations that Aslan has with characters. I think that for some people (like me), imagination is an important part of spirituality. Aslan makes it easier to imagine Jesus, because I can't see Jesus and I don't hear Jesus, but I can learn His personality and imagine what he might be saying. Imagine as in the definition, "to think, expect, believe, or suppose."

Here is a bit of the story for you to enjoy, even if you've read it, it's a good reminder and helps me "imagine" Jesus. The boy who brought evil to Narnia is named Digory, and his mother is very sick, maybe dying. Here Aslan confronts him about the harm he has brought to Narnia, and Digory agrees to help him, but then asks in desperation if Aslan can give him something that will cure his mother.
              "Up till then he had been looking at the Lion's great front feet and the huge claws on them; now, in his despair, he looked up at its face. What he saw surprised him as much as anything in his whole life. For the tawny face was bent down near his own and (wonder of wonders) great shining tears stood in the Lion's eyes. They were such big bright tears compared with Digory's own that for a moment he felt as if the Lion must really be sorrier about his Mother than he was himself.
              'My son, my son,' said Aslan. 'I know. Grief is great. Only you and I in this land know that yet. Let us be good to one another.'"

I had a good day today. I visited a state prison and helped lead two groups about what my job is and how I work with them once they're released. And, I lost a pound this week.

Haiti and L'Arche

Here's a blog article for more on mobile phone text donations: IN HIM WE LIVE AND MOVE AND HAVE OUR BEING.  But, in response to the comments from my previous post, give with consideration to the organization receiving your money, according to your values.

The earthquake in Haiti has awoken the "L'Arche bug" (hmm.. maybe butterfly? no, I think bug is a good word for it. longer life span, anyway) inside of me.  I think I've written about spending three years in a L'Arche community, but not a ton. Jean Vanier, L'Arche's founder and my favorite person tied with Thomas Merton and Aslan (sure, he counts), has said about L'Arche that it is "God's project," and it really is. Of Biblical proportions. If it was a human project, the communities would be more efficient, the "staff" more competent, and the finances more... well, just more. We all know how things went during the Exodus. Things are similar in L'Arche. But when something is God's project, the Spirit dwells within it and the people in it with you become your family - maybe one a protective older sibling, another a young cousin who thinks you're cool, another an uncle who maybe doesn't have all the lights on upstairs. But because they're your family, they know you in a unique way, and just as you've dealt with them in their darker hours, they've dealt with you. Anyway, moving on to my point, which is that when I heard about Haiti, I very soon remembered our people there. I did find out that they are all okay and actually helping their neighbors. They're sleeping on the streets, but they're alive and for the moment still had food and potable water. Caught up in my work here, I hadn't thought about that sense of community that L'Arche was/is for me, until I thought of our Haiti community. Here is the blog of a reporter/photographer living in Haiti. He's safe, but has only given minimal updates since the quake: Mwen Fa Pou.

TGIF

Friday! Halleluiah! Nevermind having a tough day Tuesday - trying to get work done this week was like trying to fill my own cavity. So glad I don't have to get up early tomorrow. This morning I was feeling really energetic, but by 2pm, I was DONE. I hung around till four, when my co-worker/friend and an older, seasoned co-worker were leaving and then I walked out with them (quitting time is 4:30, so it wasn't that bad). I figured if they're leaving I can leave. Tomorrow I'm supposed to go with my parents on a guided tour of the Met museum in NYC. It's supposed to be really good. I've decided that I need to do things that present opportunities to meet new people.

Life continues to be a balancing act. I'm definitely still in adjustment mode from 3 years of group home in Kansas. I didn't realize the adjustment would be so pervasive... I didn't really even think about it. I just figured life would be more normal, so it'd be no problem, but I continue to struggle. It helps working where I work. Every day I see people who also are working to adjust to changes in their lives. Today I met with a man who spent 14 years in prison and was released just this March. He can't get over all the new technology. Every day at my job is a confirmation of my vocation, in some capacity, to work for people with mental illness, to serve them in some capacity. My heart feels so full when I'm working with someone with a mental illness one-on-one, and we're working through something, or talking about goals or problems.

There is a situation here that desperately needs prayer, though. This is about as bad as you can get for an individual. Every since I've worked here, this particular client (female) has had a (well deserved) reputation for being particularly crazy, difficult and just plain nuts. Yes, she has a mental illness and I'm pretty sure some cognitive difficulties. But she also smokes pot like a chimney. And guess what, folks. She's expecting. Just this week I overheard a co-worker trying to convince her to have an abortion. If this makes any sense: she wants to have the baby for the wrong reasons; he wants her to have an abortion for the right reasons. But of course, the existence of a life is beyond reason - neither her bad reasons nor his good reasons have anything to do with whether this third person has a right to its own life. Already this poor month-old fetus is suffering from what will inevitably be a lifetime of some seriously messed-up stuff. You know, some people are just never even given a first chance.

In my own life, I swing between being lonely and really wanting a boyfriend... really wanting my own family, and realizing that there are so many things I need to get under control, so many aspects of my life that are not prepared for marriage. But truly, I think that when these thoughts get pervasive they become what work would call "symptomatic" - symptoms of the illness. And the winter. The cold and the dark just hangs over me like a heavy wool blanket, inhibiting me from doing anything extra beyond bearing its load and manuevering beneath its weight.

I'm worried about L'Arche in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. They have such vulnerable people there and were a real asset to their community. I can't find any information on them, of course, everything is so insane. Has everyone read about being able to text a donation to the Red Cross? I don't remember the info - it's on CNN's website. But I've done it and apparently like 8 million people have donated at least $10 each. Because it's just so easy to spontaneously decide, sure I can spare ten dollars, and just do it right then and there, in under 30 sec.

One of these days...

Today was just "one of those days." I had First Aid and CPR training for about 7 hours... then on the ride home I evidently hadn't eaten enough for lunch. I don't mind being hungry, but I morph into a monster if my sugar gets too low. And it affects the rest of my day. I'm certainly at a higher risk for adult-onset diabetes. It runs in my family, and my body type is typical for those people who develop it. But I don't have it and I don't need to have it. But I sure get cranky if I haven't taken in enough calories. So when I got home I ate the equivalent of about 1/3 of a chicken and a few other things and watched The Office reruns (okay, not so bad), but I've just felt out of whack for the rest of the evening. Plus ... (ahem).

I'm learning a lot about the nonprofit business... not, like everything I suppose, as innocently filled with peace-keepers and do-gooders as I had maybe expected. And sometimes, it might even feel worse than a corporate atmosphere because of the comparatively low pay and the same power games. This isn't stuff I'm experiencing first-hand, it's just flying around on the airwaves.

Anyway - you know what my new year resolution will be? To get some real friends that live nearby and whom I really like. Could include a boyfriend, that might be okay. But I just need to find some friends here in CT.  My really good friends now are scattered - Kansas, Missouri, New York City, Massachusetts, Virginia, the Czech Republic. So, I just need to find a group of people my own age to hang out with and enjoy. That's my resolution!

An Update Worthy of Aslan and Crowns

I felt like writing a real update about my life, what I've been doing lately, etc., even though I've pretty much been doing that. But this will be more reflective. More worthy of a blog with Aslan and crowns.

Firstly, I just found out the hard way that I neglected to check the expiration date on the gallon of skim milk I bought this weekend. Actually I had a coupon so it was free... Secondly, apparently Milo likes soy sauce. And expired skim milk.

I've decided to live with my parents for a longer while and postpone the apartment search. I think a lot of people my generation are choosing to move back in with their parents, especially for economical reasons. Here's a few reasons why I'm doing it:
1. I like living with people, period. Even though I'm relatively introverted, I like company where I live. If I had an apartment, I'd just come home to a small little place, maybe with a roommate... and do what? Eat cereal and surf the web. Here, I have people, a yard, a house, a dog. I used to think that I couldn't wait to live by myself but then I realized why that maybe hasn't happened yet.
2. It's cheaper for me. I'm paying them minimal rent and lately I've been buying groceries for the house so my rent is even less.
3. It's convenient for them - my dad doesn't get home until at least 8pm, and my mom teaches and then always has an exercise class or meeting after work. Someone needs to pick Milo up from daycare! It's just easier to have another car, another person to help out with stuff.

Another update - I'm reading a couple books on frugal living (see my Shelfari along the left column), and I've had some fun finding excellent deals on things I already buy, or new things I'll try and substitue. I've had a couple successes:
1. I had an overdraft at my bank and didn't realize it until 3 $35 overdraft fees later... It was my first offense with this bank, so I went in and talked to the manager - and she took them all off! I was proud that I summoned up the courage to do that.
2. I clip coupons from the newspaper and online, and I get lots of Weight Watchers coupons from meetings. Then, I read all the circulars - from Stop and Shop and ShopRite to Target and Walmart, look for deals, and then match my coupons with the best deals (not random stuff, just stuff I would need to buy anyway). One example of a great deal that I got was 10 Weight Watchers entrees for about $11 or $12, plus a $5 Target gift card. I then used the Target giftcard at the end of this week to use on the last day of the Weight Watchers sale - so got another fantastic deal... way cheaper than buying my lunch - which is SO EASY to do.  I'm learning to memorize prices so I can recognize a good price when I see one.
3. Dannon Lite n Fit yogurt for $0.20 each! With a coupon and a sale.

Reading America's Cheapest Family, I realized that getting the most out of your money is like getting good mileage out of a car. For example, I'm paid a mileage reimbursement rate at work that is the same for everyone - not everyone gets the same gas mileage, so I end up making a bit of a profit at the end, because the reimbursement rate is for people who naturally spend more on gas. The same with salaries! A salary - a liveable wage - does not take into account people who are aggressive savers and careful spenders... so these people can truly live very good lives on less money than one would conventionally think.

I need to get to bed. I have a 6 hour CPR-First Aid training that I need to leave at 7 am for. But, I can't really complain because... I have a job!

Because who doesn't love Aslan?

I really liked my Christmas blog design, but I was itching to do something different as the end of the season approached. I have no idea where this came from, but somehow Aslan seemed to fit the bill, and then I found the cool regal background at background fairies (see upper-left corner).

I think the Chronicles of Narnia are my favorite Christian books and probably my favorite all-time books, although others follow closely. Reading the Narnia books gives me the closest, most tangible sense of Jesus that I can normally have, and I all have to do is open a book. The only thing I don't like is that I feel bad for Susan. I don't think she deserved to have her whole family die and her be left alone. C.S. Lewis doesn't seem to really go into that, but I think it's really sad. Even if she will see them in the future. I think, besides the last book, The Horse and His Boy is my favorite. I wish we also could have heard more about what the Pevensy (is that it?) children were like while they were ruling Narnia.

Work is going well. I don't mean that everything is hunky-dory - I just feel very solid about the whole thing. I had a wonderful conversation with (one of) my supervisor(s) yesterday, who was very encouraging to me when I brought up the possibility of moving on to a state job. It's basically the same job except pays a ridiculous amount more and has almost twice as many holidays. (Presidents Day, MLK day AND Lincoln's birthday? Seriously?)

Anyway, I'm off to my sister's "Shake Shimmy and Sweat" (that's what she said!) cardio dance class.

Allison's Got Skillz

After seeing Allison's awesome photo-shopped pictures of her lab-mix, I asked if she would do something with pictures of my mom and our dog Milo when they first brought him home. I gave the blown-up pictures to my parents for Christmas and they LOVED them! My favorite part is how clearly the texture and softness of his fur comes out agains the dramatic black and white.

I think I mentioned that I started Weight Watchers a few weeks ago. The holidays were very hard, but I'm back "on the wagon" and exercise about 5x/ week for half an hour to an hour. Not only does it help with the weight loss, but it's helped so much in my mood in general and my motivation to get things done. The Wall Street Journal has an article this week about "The Hidden Benefits of Exercise". It's even better for me that I realized - for physical fitness, cancer risk, mental health, weight maintenance. TONS of stuff.

Just so you know, I'm still praying for the people who asked for my prayers, and my job is still going really well. I need to ask for some prayers for my family... just some stuff that's going on.