a or b?

I still want to post about being nice, but the truth is, I really need to be in a nicer mood to do that.  Yes, I'm cranky.  Got a problem with that?

Ok, so instead I want to talk about Type A and Type B personalities.  I am strongly Type B.  What are you?  You can take a short quiz to find out.  I didn't need the quiz to know which I am.  But I scored a 17 on this.  

Ok, I will admit that there are downsides to being Type B.  I do struggle with procrastination and finishing things that I start.  Sometimes events go by that I had intended to attend, but somehow missed.

But Type B isn't all bad.  And it's hard being Type B in our society.  Type A are the driven ones.  The ones who get things done and make the world a better place.  Type B is looked upon as lazy and wasteful. 

But I wouldn't trade it for anything. I love literally smelling the roses.  Watching the birds and right now, watching the leaves unfurl for the summer.   I would like to have just a bit more A in me.  Just enough to help me overcome the procrastination and other issues.  But I really don't want to be like all the people I see with their schedules cram packed and buzzing about like bees.  It makes me nervous.

If you are a Type A person who would like to slow down a bit I recommend reading the book Margin by Richard A. Swenson M. D.  It's a wonderful book for helping you find time in your life to live.  In the meanwhile I am reading a book called Overcoming Procrastination by Neil Fiore, PH. D.  

So tell me about you.  Which type are you and what do you like about it?  What would you like to change?

being nice ....or not

I wanted to post something really snide about insurance companies, but I also wanted to post about being nice.  What to do, what to do...

Well, I got this letter from my insurance company addressed to Kay Day telling me that they need to know whether a patient named Kay is enrolled on my plan.   Ummmmm....... Duh?  So there is a blank for me to fill in the patients name.  I really wanted to say Kay Day - DUH.  But I figured that would only throw them into more confusion.  They definitely don't have a Kay Day-Duh listed on my plan!

Ok, let's just be honest.  Not everyone is smart.  They wouldn't have the Darwin Awards if that were the case.  *warning, don't view the site if you hold common sense in high regard*  But those people need not fear for their well-being.  They can always get a job with an insurance company!

my jesus

I'm sorry for all the videos.  I am being over-run by germs right now.  

This is one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite artists.  The footage it from The Passion and the song is 

My Jesus by Todd Agnew.

Which Jesus do you follow? 

Which Jesus do you serve? 

If Ephesians says to imitate Christ 

Then why do you look so much like the world?  

Cause my Jesus bled and died 

He spent His time with thieves and liars 

He loved the poor and accosted the arrogant 

So which one do you want to be?  

Blessed are the poor in spirit 

Or do we pray to be blessed with the wealth of this land 

Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness 

Or do we ache for another taste of this world of shifting sand  

Cause my Jesus bled and died for my sins 

He spent His time with thieves and sluts and liars 

He loved the poor and accosted the rich 

So which one do you want to be?  

Who is this that you follow 

This picture of the American dream 

If Jesus was here would you walk right by on the other side 

or fall down and worship at His holy feet  

Pretty blue eyes and curly brown hair and a clear complexion 

Is how you see Him as He dies for 

Your sins 

But the Word says He was battered and scarred 

Or did you miss that part 

Sometimes I doubt we'd recognize Him  

Cause my Jesus bled and died 

He spent His time with thieves and the least of these 

He loved the poor and accosted the comfortable 

So which one do you want to be?  

Cause my Jesus would never be accepted in my church 

The blood and dirt on His feet would stain the carpet 

But He reaches for the hurting and despised the proud 

I think He'd prefer Beale St. to the stained glass crowd 

And I know that He can hear me if I cry out loud  

I want to be like my Jesus! 

I want to be like my Jesus!  

Not a posterchild for American prosperity, but like my Jesus 

You see I'm tired of living for success and popularity 

I want to be like my Jesus 

but I'm not sure what that means to be like You Jesus 

Cause You said to live like You, 

love like You but then You died for me 

Can I be like You Jesus? 

I want to be like my Jesus

engineer's guide to cats

inner critic

No one asked what I meant by saying my, as well as your, life is a joke.  I guess you knew that already.

I am going to give you an assignment that we had.  Nancy Rue got it from some lady's book.  But I don't remember who.  So sorry.  But the assignment is to draw your inner critic.

We all have one.  You don't have to be a writer or an artist or anything to have one.  You know you do.  She follows me around and tells me I don't keep house like I should, parent like an amateur and don't know the first thing about being a wife.  You don't even want to hear what she says about my writing.  

So doing that project is how I discovered what my inner critic looked like.  It doesn't have to look like a specific person.  I could look like a blob with a big mouth or something.  Only you know.

Tell me about it when you are done.

thursday thirteen

Thirteen things I learned at Glen Eyrie.

1. Don't compare myself to anyone else.

2. I am elfin and pixy-ish.  Who knew?

3. I don't have to always be "alright".  I learned that in a very round about, strange way.  And I hadn't even realized that I am sometimes phony in my alrightness.  I had my own self fooled.

4. Writing is supposed to be fun.  Play!  Who knew?

5. If it's all about God, then it needs to be All About God.  Not me.  Not my insecurities.  Not my shortcomings.  Not my talent or skill or creativity or lack thereof.  God.

6. My inner critic is Cloris Leachman playing Nurse Diesel.  Mean, ugly, and ridiculously funny.

7. I need to nurture an inner cheerleader who will beat up my inner critic.

8. My life, as well as yours, is a joke.  

9. Creativity is not an intellectual activity.  It is a spiritual activity.

10. Enthusiasm means God Within.

11.  Excellence is precision meeting passion in a way that exploded through mediocrity and complacency.

12. The setting of a story should be rich enough to be a character in it's own right.

13. People like me!  And I can write!

calling all weird people

An editor who attended a Q&A forum at the Writers' Summit believes that there is an unmet need in Christian fiction.  That is the need for Sci-fi, Fantasy, Spec-fic, and anything "weird".  Apparently it is difficult for new writers to get this stuff published.  So he is starting up his own press!  It is called Marcher Lord Press.  It will be very professional.  He is using top notch cover designers and giving them free reign in the expression of their art.  He is allowing a way for Christian  authors of "weird stuff" to publish while getting around some of the restrictions of the CBA.

Here's something I got directly from their webpage:

"Marcher Lord Press publishes only the coolest speculative stories from the Christian worldview. So if you've got one you think is amazing but you realize the traditional Christian publishing industry is not the place for you, you're in the right place."

I think their web page could be better, but I don't think it's any reflection on the quality of their books.  They will be a real publisher, using real printers and real artists and only accepting good writers.  This man has been an editor for some time and he knows how to judge good fiction.  So if you are a reader, don't hesitate to buy books from them.  If you are a writer, don't expect to be accepted unless you are good!

  The books they publish will only be available for purchase online.  He will establish his own Amazon type store.  So go look and help support Jeff Gerke in his endeavor to get more great books into our hands!