It's not FAIR

Okay. First of all, I don't really "advertise" this, so...feel special. ;)

I started Weight Watchers in January. I didn't really tell too many people because I just don't like the idea of being on a diet. But WW is online and easy to do, and I'm down with online and easy. That works for me.

I lost five pounds (I was shooting for 15), and, really, if I just lose five more, I'll be THRILLED. Anyway, I'm digressing. Because this post isn't about me. Not much, that is.

It's about Superman.

Superman decided to start WW. He did it before our wedding and lost a ton of weight. Unfortunately, he got off of it and gained it back. (The Married 19 hit us both.)

I signed him up for WW today. Now, I get 21 points. That's about equivalent to 1260 calories a day. I get to eat whatever I want...but it is limited. But not too much. Or so I thought.

Now, I know that Superman is a boy and that he weighs more than me and has more weight to lose than I do. I EXPECTED him to be allowed more points than me.

He gets 37 points. A day. THIRTY-SEVEN POINTS!!!!

WHAT??!!!

That's sixteen points more than I get EACH DAY. For lunch I ate two pieces of cheese toast. It was like...five points. Maybe six. I can't remember. But that's about a third of my daily points.

Superman ate a lean cuisine and TWO granola bars. It was 11 points.

That's LESS THAN A THIRD of his daily points.

So not fair.

He's in the kitchen making omelets right now. Well, maybe just an omelet. Because HE has points to spare.

Me? I used the last of mine of the day on Indian food.

And he just started eating his third granola bar of the day.

No fair.

Of course I'm focusing on the mooner

I should sweep the floor.

I should go to the grocery store.

I should put the clothes in the dryer.

But I am so TIRED.

We just got back from our trip to N'awlins -- and it was fantastic. Not only did we get to see Superman's family and do a little shopping, but we also got to spend time with Rachel and her husband and daughter. We ate so much food that I don't want to see another piece of seafood in my LIFE and I am terribly behind at work, but it was soooo worth it.



But, out of all the stories I could tell you (such as how great Rachel's husband did preaching Sunday morning or how we went to the Gretna warf), of course...I'm focusing on the mooning.

Full moon, too.

Superman was getting gas, and Rachel and I were in the backseat of my Mustang, and Preacher (Rachel's hubby) was in the front seat. We were in a part of town that, well, might not have been so savory, when an SUV pulled up to the gas station entrance, and a man emerged from the vehicle. We all kinda giggled when his pants dropped a little because, yes, obviously we have the humor of a sixth grader. But we didn't think too much about it and continued on our conversation, whatever it was.

The man returned to his SUV before Superman was finished, and as he turned, his pants, which were belted, btw, fell again. But not just a little bit on this go around. Oh, no. This time it was full foot and a half of crack.

But only Preacher and I saw it. Rachel had noticed that Superman was done pumping the gas, and I was yelling out as Preacher turned to me, his face slightly green. "Did you just see that?!!" we were exclaiming, shocked that not only did we just get mooned but also the belt was obviously there just for decoration.

Only in New Orleans will you get mooned at 9 p.m. at a gas station in Gretna.

Also only in New Orleans...

...will you see a Mercedes convertible drive by with three weird, psycho looking Chucky dolls in the backseat.
...will people volunteer -- and pay! -- to go on NIGHT swamp tours. Seriously, where's the logic in that?
...will an underground explosion occur in the French Quarter yet people continue to party like it's 1999 (or whatever year they think it is).
...is jambalaya on a restaurant menu as an appetizer and a full meal.

But it is good to be home.

Precious prayer

Last night at Mission Friends, we were talking about our missionaries who live in Florida and what we can do to help them. As a segway, I said we can all pray for them, and then I asked the six 5-year-olds, "Would any of you like to pray?"

I was not surprised when Austin*, who was sitting beside me, piped up and said, "I will! I will!"

Austin, by the way, is a super sweet little kid who's a bit on the hyper-active side but really does have a heart of gold. He always comes over to me and says, "I have to tell you something!" This happened five times BEFORE we started the lesson. But if I ever need anything done, he is the best little helper to have.

"Okay," I said. "Everyone, let's bow our heads and close our eyes. Austin, you can pray now."

This was, without a doubt, the sweetest prayer from a kid I've ever heard.

"Dear God," Austin said, taking his position as speaking to the Lord very seriously and speaking like a preacher at a revival -- passionate and dedicated. "We just -- we just want to talk about you. We just want to. Talk. To. You. Please. You made everything in the WORLD...and the trees. You made it all. In God's name, amen."

Precious. He was fully sincere, fully innocent, fully talking to God.

All of my kids are so adorable, though...There's Collin*, who can tell me the Bible verse from LAST week AND this week and who knows so many stories of the Bible and will happily tell me...Carrie*, my sweet little girl who is so well-behaved and is probably the best big sister in the world...Taylor*, with his big grin and easy-going disposition...and Hannah*, who always makes me feel great because she absolutely hates to leave Mission Friends.

Precious.

*Names changed. Obviously.

My 100th Post -- My Kinda Short Haircut

My hair is short.

Not short-short, but short for me. If that makes any sense whatsoever.

I went to my awesome friend Angie, who has cut my hair for the past two and a half years -- and she is AH-maz-ING!! I absolutely love her, and she and her husband have the sweetest little daughter, Sarah Kate, who will turn one next month.

On to the hair! Drumroll, please.

Before...


I really did love the length, but it was getting a little weighty, and I'm very anti-tangle, so I decided to chop about 3 inches. See? Like I said, not THAT big of a deal, but it was for me.

The after!!


I like. =)

Post No. 99

Wow. I feel a bit like a posting fiend.

For those of you wondering, the Webmaster of our site DID get in touch with me and tell me they're putting new filters in and will explain how to moderate them this week. WOO HOO!! Maybe we can get the p*rn off our site! (It's just not good to have links to p*rn sites on a university-affiliated newspaper site, you know?)

...And I'm getting my hair cut today! No, not too much, though, I'm too scared, haha!

And I really wish I had something more interesting to post, but I don't because my life, for once, is calm. It was actually so "bad" last night that when Superman and I went to bed, I leaned over and said, "Something is very, very wrong with me."

He was immediately concerned. "What is it?"

"I can't go to sleep," I replied. "I'm worried because I'm not worried about anything."

That's right, people. World-class worrier right here. I'd bring home the gold for the US if it were an Olympic sport.

Superman just stared at me and shook his head.

So, to spiffy up this post a little bit (after all, it is my 99th post), I want to know what books you're reading or want to read right now. Obviously, I'm in a Dekker mode, so nothing else will be read until I finish reading every one of his books, but I do have a list of others that I want to read after I conquer the Dekkers.

Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall

I check a lot of books on www.discerningreader.com, especially ones with Christian content, and while Tim Challis did say that this book's theology was a little out of wack, he did say it was a good story to read for the joy of reading stories. And I'm okay with that. Sometimes I just want a good story, and I think this would be a good "beach book," as I like to call them.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
How sad is it that I've never read this book? Sigh...But it is on my list, and it is on my bookshelf, so I WILL read it...sometime.

Finding Calcutta: What Mother Teresa Taught Me About Meaningful Work and Service by Mary Poplin

This is on a list I made a few months back...Haven't bought the book yet, but it looks interesting!

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter Thompson

Because he's a literary journalist, and I like literary journalism. If you haven't read Hiroshima by John Hersey, you definitely should!

Your turn!

Mix it up Monday

Sara is hosting Mix it up Monday, and today's assignment is to find your best cheer up songs, the ones that always make you happy. I narrowed it down to three:

Robert Randolph and the Family Band
Paolo Nutini
Ginny Owens

Enjoy!!! And visit Sara's site to participate!

What a nice e-mail to receive first thing in the morning...

Sense the sarcasm.

I had my coffee in hand as I went through my daily ritual of checking my e-mail. Eleven this morning, about average. Half of them are usually spam, and today was no exception.

Except for this one particular e-mail from my student...

Let me back up quickly and give a little description before I reveal the e-mail. I am the faculty adviser for our student newspaper. I read each article over before it goes in the paper, and I am the moderator for the online edition. I am an overseer, really, not the one who puts the articles online or writes the articles. I just make sure the students are doing their job.

And one of them DEFINITELY was today...

"I just noticed something disturbing, and I don't know if I'm way behind on this, but I've noticed p*rn links are embedded in the titles of the random comments of old articles and some of the newer ones. You can just click on the title of the comment and it will send you to p*rn. My article has three of the fake comments."

ARE YOU KIDDING ME???!!!

Naturally, I went to the admin area to check this out. Thankfully (!!!) I did not have to click on any of the sites to realize that they were indeed p*rn sites. I mean, the name of the Web site spoke for itself.

Did I say Web site, singular? I'm sorry. I meant Web siteSSSSSS. As in forty-plus.

I wanted to bang my head against a wall.

I did delete all of the comments that led to the sites, and I did send an e-mail to the Webmaster (the company is in New York) stating:

"Hey, guys, I am the faculty adviser for our student newspaper, and we just noticed that we got a TON of spam comments on our stories leading to p*rn sites. Is there a way to moderate this so we can get comments from real readers and not have links to p*rn sites on our Web page? Thanks!"

Because that is so not cool.

Good morning, world!!!

Sense the sarcasm.

Heart of worship

This is really more of an observation than anything else. Just warning. ;)

Nothing else is as wonderful as worshipping God. Nothing else can compare to it. It doesn't matter if I'm worshipping at church, at home, in the car, through song, through praise, through reading my Bible, through prayer...when it happens, love, God's pure, holy love fills me, overflowing to those around me. He grabs me and says, "You are My child, and I love you."

Nothing else in this world can compare to that.

Let not mercy and truth forsake you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
Proverbs 3:3

Happy is the man who finds wisdom,
And the man who gains understanding;
For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver,
And her gain than fine gold.
She is more precious than rubies,
And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.
Proverbs 3:13-15

Drilling in my head

It's a very, very good thing that I stopped by Starbucks this morning and got my mocha.

Though I might throw it at the window in a few moments.

SOMEONE, someone intelligent, no doubt, with a GREAT deal of time on his hands, who does NOT work in the same building as me, came up with this idea. I have no doubt of it. SOMEONE decided that our building needed cleaning.

Okay, I can buy that. Sure, why not.

Monday was not too bad. We saw them spraying the building and whatnot, but it was no big deal. This is cool.

Tuesday they took up one-third of our parking spaces. Not cool. And the spraying got harder. As in my-blinds-are-on-the-inside-of-the-window-and-they-moved spraying. And, NO, I am not making this up. Oh, and the noise? So loud that I could not talk to my students when they came in my office yesterday.

Today, though, I might lose my mind. They are DRILLING. On what? I have no stinking idea. Well, to be honest, they might be sanding. That's a possibility. But it is RIGHT OUTSIDE MY WINDOW. I look behind me and see their shadows outside my blinds.

And the sound? Ridiculous. Pandora Radio coming through my PC speakers can't drown it out.

You know what it sounds like, though? Dentist drilling. Maybe that's because I'm going to the dentist today (SO much fun going on today!), but imagine the sound of a dentist's drill magnified by 100.

Oh, and did I mention I can feel the vibrations in my feet?

I would throw something at the window. I really would. But I do realize that this would not accomplish anything.

Lucky them.

Is a Dekker kinda like a Trekker?

I really thought Superman was over-exaggerating when he came home from a three-day road trip completely catatonic. His eyes were slightly glazed over, his mind was certainly in a fantasy place, and his mouth was telling me about the best fiction book he had ever read.

Welcome, my friends, to the world of Ted Dekker.

For some reason unknown to even myself, I have never picked up a Dekker book. Okay, that’s a little wrong. I did pick up “Saint,” read it, sort of enjoyed it – but had no clue what it was talking about. That makes sense now as I probably needed to read the Circle trilogy AND “Showdown” before I dove into “Saint.”



Ahhh…Hindsight IS 20/20.

To keep from going into Dekker overload, I decided not to read too much of the Circle trilogy (books “Black,” “Red,” and “White” – in that order) every day. I tried to spread it out so I would be able to thoroughly enjoy the series.



I lasted a week. Over a thousand pages in a week.

As I finished the epilogue of “White,” I closed the book feeling wholly satisfied, mainly because “Green” is coming out in September, I hear. There are too many unanswered questions left in “White,” and, plus, I am quite excited to have a new story in the series.



As I set the book down on the coffee table, I picked up my laptop. I wikipedied Ted Dekker and the Circle series as well as visited Dekker’s own Web site, www.teddekker.com, and googled “Green and Ted Dekker” for further information.

That’s right, folks. I’ve officially become a “Dekker.”

If you’re into a bit of fantasy fiction, this is SO the series to pick up. It’s based on Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” The main character, Thomas Hunter, is torn from two worlds – the “normal” one, as we call it, and his other world, which shows evil in a physical form instead of a spiritual (Am I making sense? I’m trying to.). But it’s not truly about the virus he’s trying to prevent in the normal world or about the enemy he’s trying to escape in the other world.

It’s about love.

It’s a big love story between God and His people – it’s about God’s love for His bride, how He courts us, how He loves us. That’s why I loved this story so much. It’s a great big love story, as Dekker himself states. And it is.

That’s why you should read this book. Not because it’s a mixture between fantasy and mystery and suspense and not because the characters are in-depth and come to life from the pages – because it’s a love story between God and His people and Thomas and his love.

And, yes, I’m reading “Showdown” right now. =)

What class is this again?

I’m ridiculous.

I told myself, “Okay, you’ve got a lot of things to do in the next week and a half, so let’s cut down on blogging. Let’s take a mini-break and focus on your work.”

Did I do it? Obviously not.

However, one huge ordeal is over. I can relax this weekend, so I thought I deserved a little swim in the bloggy ocean.

My first class for spring was Thursday, and, shock of shocks, ALL of my students were in class. The first day of class. With rain pouring down. I was pretty much amazed.

In fact, I even had an extra student. As I went down the roll, I called everyone’s name…but his. I glanced at him and asked, “Um…who are you?”

“Roy. Roy Lastname.”

“You aren’t on the roll,” I said. “Did you register for this class today?”

“Nope.” Blank look.

“Well, you’re not on the roll, so you need to go to the Registrar and check that out,” I told him.

Again, blank look.

Whatever.

I passed out the syllabus with the class name and number and went over it in detail so they know EXACTLY what is expected of them. And, if I may go off on a tangent a little bit, I’m very excited about this class. They’ve already turned in their first assignment, and they all were eager yesterday and asked a lot of questions. I hope this is how the rest of the class will continue.

After I went over the syllabus, I started teaching. We’ve got no time to spare, so we dove right into the book. I was teaching for about 45 minutes when, all of a sudden, Roy Lastname stands up with his books and umbrella and just walks out of class.

I waved after him. Yes, I am a bit sarcastic.

He was in the wrong class.

I did feel sorry for him, because it’s got to be embarrassing to sit through over half an hour of a class you’re not even taking, especially when the teacher asks you, “Are you SURE you’re on the roll?”

I just hope he knows what class he’s in now.

Making it to the 21st

I have neglected to mention how fantastic my weekend was (sans graduation). Graduation was NOT the highlight of my weekend – the tasty crawfish on Sunday was!

Hubby, a few friends and I drove a couple of hours south to see some other friends who we had not seen in quite some time. The boys, who have basically grown up together, acted just as boys do: eating a lot, goofing off a lot, and playing Frisbee in the yard. Can’t say the girls did much differently, though, haha!!

Did I mention the CRAWFISH???

I love living in Louisiana, and a big part of that is the food down here. The spicy, spicy food. The rich food filled with roux, seafood, and Tony Chachere’s. The CRAWFISH.



Crawfish boils are part of our culture. We stand around, peeling the crawfish tails, sucking the heads (well, some of us do that), and let our lips burn. That’s part of the crawfish appeal. If you’re lips aren’t burning, if your nose isn’t running, and if your hands aren’t covered in spices, it’s just not good crawfish.

But it wasn’t just the crawfish. It was the people. The friends I haven’t seen in so long, their parents, their family members, the friends who made the drive down to see them, and my sweet husband. It was getting the latest news (*coughgossipcough*), hearing about their jobs, listening to their anecdotes and stories.

It was a good day.

Now, though, it’s back to work, back to the grind. The next week and a half is NOT going to be extremely fun. I’ve got too much work to do, too many things that need to be accomplished, too many interviews set up. But if I can make it to March 21, everything will be GREAT.

Because, you see, on the 21st, Superman and I are going to enjoy his Valentine’s Day treat: a trip to a super duper cooking class.

But first I have to make it to that point…

Fish in a fishbowl

Graduation. It’s that time of the year when family and friends gather together to celebrate a milestone in a loved one’s educational career, when diplomas are eagerly awarded, and the majority of those attending sleep through the speaker’s discussion.

Graduation. It’s that time of the year when people drive me insane. This time, they literally “drove” me crazy.

I don’t mind covering graduation. I really don’t, ESPECIALLY when I have the speaker’s notes in hand (which I didn’t this time, but no big deal). Mainly because after the speaker gives her speech, I’m outta there! It’s a nice trade.

I parked behind the assembly center on the grass (the Mustang happens to be an off-road vehicle, haha!), near the gravel parking lot so other people could fill up the vacant grassy area, and we could pack more people in. It’s what “we” (we as in the basketball fans) do.

See the area with the cars at the edge? Yes, that’s where I was.



None of these kids nor their family or friends apparently was familiar with this logic.

As I go to leave, I start circling around this HUGE empty area and discover…there’s no way out. All of the vehicles parked on the EDGE of the grassy/dusty area (there was a small line near my own car), and there was nowhere to get out.

Evidence B


Evidence C


REALLY??? I drove the Mustang futilely around for a few minutes and then just parked in the middle of the empty, grassy area. I had to write a story, but to write said story, I needed out of the parking lot. But I couldn’t get out of the parking lot.

I was a fish trapped in a dusty fishbowl.

Thankfully, my husband came and rescued me. We left the car until way past graduation time, but I’d really like to know why that last car who parked and blocked me in thought it was a good idea to do so. But, then again, I know I’m very picky and impatient, too, and I honestly don’t think I was blocked in on purpose.

Or was I…?

Dun dun DUN!

Movie Quote Answers

1. Big Fish
In telling the story of my father's life, it's impossible to separate fact from fiction, the man from the myth. The best I can do is to tell it the way he told me. It doesn't always make sense and most of it never happened... but that's what kind of story this is.

2. Legally Blonde
If I want to be a senator, I need to marry a Jackie, not a Marilyn.

3. Bringing up Baby
There is a leopard on your roof and it's my leopard and I have to get it and to get it I have to sing.

4. Remember the Titans
You take a look at her. Cause once you step on that bus you aint got your mama no more. You got your brothers on the team and you got your daddy. You know who your daddy is, doncha? Gary, if you want to play on this football team, you answer me when I ask you who is your daddy? Who's your daddy, Gary? Who's your daddy?

5. Gone with the Wind
No, I don't think I will kiss you, although you need kissing, badly. That's what's wrong with you. You should be kissed and often, and by someone who knows how.

6. Steel Magnolias
Ouiser, you sound almost chipper. What happened today - you run over a small child or something?

7. Sweet Home Alabama
You expect me to tell you look good? What, did they run out of soap at the Piggly Wiggly since I left?

8. My Big Fat Greek Wedding
When I was growing up, I knew I was different. The other girls were blonde and delicate, and I was a swarthy six-year-old with sideburns.

9. Pillow Talk
At least my problems can be solved in one bedroom. You couldn’t solve yours in a thousand!

10. Shrek
Oh and it is LOVELY. You know, you're really quite a decorator. It's amazing what you've done with such a modest budget. I like that boulder. That is a NICE boulder.

Kudos to Sarah M. for getting the most right!!

Is anyone else hating the time change as much as I am right now?

Friday movie fun

Okay, guys, here's a movie quote game. Feel free to play along and/or create your own movie quote game because I'd love to play!!

Name the movie where these quotes come from. NOTE: There are some movies here that are more than 50 years old.

Don't cheat, either, because that's no fun!! I'll announce the answers on Monday.

1. In telling the story of my father's life, it's impossible to separate fact from fiction, the man from the myth. The best I can do is to tell it the way he told me. It doesn't always make sense and most of it never happened... but that's what kind of story this is.

2. If I want to be a senator, I need to marry a Jackie, not a Marilyn.

3. There is a leopard on your roof and it's my leopard and I have to get it and to get it I have to sing.

4. You take a look at her. Cause once you step on that bus you aint got your mama no more. You got your brothers on the team and you got your daddy. You know who your daddy is, doncha? Gary, if you want to play on this football team, you answer me when I ask you who is your daddy? Who's your daddy, Gary? Who's your daddy?

5. No, I don't think I will kiss you, although you need kissing, badly. That's what's wrong with you. You should be kissed and often, and by someone who knows how.

6. Ouiser, you sound almost chipper. What happened today - you run over a small child or something?

7. You expect me to tell you look good? What, did they run out of soap at the Piggly Wiggly since I left?

8. When I was growing up, I knew I was different. The other girls were blonde and delicate, and I was a swarthy six-year-old with sideburns.

9. At least my problems can be solved in one bedroom. You couldn’t solve yours in a thousand!

10. Oh and it is LOVELY. You know, you're really quite a decorator. It's amazing what you've done with such a modest budget. I like that boulder. That is a NICE boulder.

Random facts via pictures

Because I'm in a picture mood, I thought I would share six weird random facts (thanks to Sara for this idea) about myself through pictures.

1. Fake pictures of me reading on the beach is cool.

For the record, I did read for a bit on our beachy vacation last summer, but I did tell Superman (who was playing his PSP on the beach), "Hey, take a picture so I can remember how relaxed I was on this trip!"

2. Superdog's middle name is Ortiz...after Red Sox player David Ortiz.




3. Now, my friends are just as weird. We do fun activities such as the nightime Easter egg hunt...and they hoisted me up so I could hide eggs in our trees...

First we tried to hoist one of my friends up...that didn't work.


So it was my turn...


...and the boys found them...FINALLY...


4. This much snow where I live is enough to celebrate.

Well, some of us celebrated.


5. A couple of years ago...um...Superman and I tried to stuff Superdog in a stocking...



I promise, that was not a posed picture. We were laughing way, way too hard...and Superdog was really, really unpleased.

6. I like to pretend I went to Harvard...

Notice the coffee in hand, too. That was not an accident; I NEED my caffeine.

It's really sad that I have documented my craziness...and there is so much more, worse, UNDOCUMENTED craziness...Might be a good follow-up post -- maybe.

As We Forgive, book review

You. Need. This. Book.



I feel like I should repeat myself.

You. Need. This. Book.

I actually watched the documentary by the same name a couple of weeks ago at church, and it brought me to tears. The documentary tells the stories of three women who suffered in the Rwanda genocide and, more than ten years later, how their lives are slowly recovering.

But it's not so much about recovery as it is about how forgiveness brings recovery. See, Rwanda released about 60,000 murderers who were convicted for participating in the genocide. That's right. How would you feel if not one, but 60,000 murderers were released in your state (Rwanda is about the size of Maryland)? How would you feel if these murderers were the ones who brutally assaulted and killed your sisters, your brothers, your parents, your elderly grandparents, your children -- and you? How would you cope?

Murderers who had showed repentance for their crimes were released, and there are dozens of organizations that are trying to unite persecutor and victim through forgiveness.

How can this happen?

As soon as I saw the film, I rushed home and ordered the book. It's wonderful yet horrifying. Catherine Claire Larson tells the stories of seven different individuals, many of whom reconciled with the men who destroyed their worlds. There's Rosaria, who lost her children, her husband, her whole family, but still managed to forgive their killers. She is at peace. There's Claude, who spent months in hiding and still lost so many in his family and became an orphan. He spent years planning his revenge, and, when he sought to kill those who had murdered his loved ones, his plan was foiled. It was not until years later that he was thankful that he did not get to kill the killers.

The most riveting part of this book, though, was the ability of many of those interviewed to forgive. How can you forgive someone who killed your children or your husband? How can you forgive the men who raped you? I can't fathom that. Seriously. I absolutely cannot fathom that.

But I can fathom those who have hurt me in the past, those who injured me with words, those who I chose for so long not to forgive. I saw myself as Chantel, the woman who could not forgive John (though now she is trying to forgive), who grew hardened and bitter through her experiences. And what did I have to show for my bitterness? Nothing.

If the Rwandans can forgive those who killed their loved ones, how can I not forgive people for such smaller hurts? How selfish, how pompous am I that I will not forgive? It made me really take a good look at myself and realize how seriously I was taking myself -- for no reason.

Forgiveness is not easy, but does that matter? Getting my master's degree wasn't easy, marriage isn't easy, my work isn't easy, but is it worth it? Of course!!

That's not to say that I condone the actions of those who I harbored anger toward. That's not to say that I think they are right in what they have done or will grow closer to them because, in the words of so many pastors and leaders, you stay away from danger. And I do not want to put myself or my family in a dangerous situation.

But I do forgive. Fully, wholly, completely forgive. It's a very freeing result.