From the Observation Deck

I’ve been tasked with updating my company’s Facebook page and have spent the better part of my lunch hour thinking of things to post that would be a) genius-like in its delivery, b) Funny, c) informative, d) creative, e) relevant to our business and our audience, and f) not make my company look silly.

Do you see why I’m stuck? It’s all so subjective. Which is basically what our business sometimes is—at least according to clients. We know what is creative, relevant, important, smart, and will work. But words and graphics affect people differently. Anyway, my rambling point is that I found some fun stuff online and can’t use it all for the company FB page so I thought I’d use it here since I am the master of this domain (name) and may post what I like. HA!

Being the end of one year and start of another I got on the top-ten list kick. Here are a few that I found particularly amusing.

Top ten things to put on toast.
They did not list turkey, egg, cheese, coleslaw and fries (together) which would have been on my list.

Top ten smartest dogs.
I find it somewhat unbelievable as the mother of the Grendel dog that his breed is #7. I guess figuring out how to take the lid off a can of anything lying on the counter is considered bright in dog country. Even worse however was that the poodle got the #2 spot. Shivers…

Top ten bizarre jobs that were popular in the past
By popular they probably mean there were a lot of people doing those jobs. Because I’m pretty sure that whipping boys and gong farmers were not loving life.

So there you go. And just for kicks, here’s my top ten list for today.

Top ten fun quotes I can think of right now (in no particular order)

 1. “Oh, Buddy, you’re not a cotton-headed ninnymuggins.” –One of the Elves in Elf

2. “Aunt Dawn I’m pretty sure you didn’t steal my money so I’ll think about getting you something for Christmas.” –Harmon Crowe

3. “Penny…(knock, knock, knock), Penny…(knock, knock, knock), Penny…(knock, knock, knock).” –Sheldon from Big Bang Theory

4. “You know, I saw this great thing on the Discovery Channel. Turns out if you kill a starfish it’ll just come back to life.”
    “Was the starfish wearing boxer shorts? Because you might have been watching Nickelodeon.” –Sheldon and Zack from Big Bang Theory

5. “Maybe the best baby Jesus ever, except for the real baby Jesus.” –Virginia on Raising Hope

6. “Ok, everyone get in the coffin. I mean plane.” –Josh Gates on Destination Truth

 7. “We elves like to stick to the four main food groups. Candy, candy canes, candy corn, and syrup.” –Buddy the Elf

 8. “You sit on a throne of lies.” –Harmon Crowe to his sister Zenia but stolen from Buddy the Elf

 9. “Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.” –Unknown

10.  “Oh, crap! Was that today?” –Last two Dinosaurs on earth watching Noah’s Ark sail away in the distance.

11.   “It’s not ten. You see, most blokes, you know, will be playing at ten. You’re on ten here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, you’re on ten on your guitar. Where can you go from there? Where?”
“ I don’t know.”
“Nowhere. Exactly. What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do?”
“Put it up to eleven.”
“Eleven. Exactly. One louder.” –Nigel and Marty from Spinal Tap

I just saw the movie Eat, Pray, Love and I really felt a connection. It was kind of like the first time I watched Bridget Jones’ Diary and saw myself in that funny scene where Bridget is alone in her apartment drinking and smoking and singing “Don’t Cry Out Loud”  into a fake microphone. Oh yes, it felt good to know that there were others out there just as crazy and mixed up as I am. At least that’s what I’m going to believe. Otherwise, my life is fodder for big-screen laughs because I’m a weirdo.

But back to Eat, Pray, Love. I just loved the concept about taking a year off to travel the world and really get to know people from cultures very different than mine. And of course I also connected dearly with the whole eating, praying, and loving theme. I’m a fan of all three.

My big huge dream would be to have the ability and the courage to do what she did. She talks about courage at the end—and aside from missing my family and friends and leaving the boo dog and my furry babies (the cats), the only serious obstacle is that fear factor. Not the TV show, but the risk of dropping your seemingly secure life to take on an adventure. Not that life is secure—I think we all know that, but still, it’s a dream for a gal like me. 

That is unless someone would like to pay me to write about my adventures. Then I’d be pulling out the Destination Truth map and seeing what fun places are out there to explore.

One other thing about the movie that I thought was great was in the beginning when she was pleading and praying to God. She was in a bad place and had a real deep need to fill a hole in her life. So what did she do? She turned to God—never having prayed directly to Him before—and just poured her heart out. God knows our hearts so we don’t have to formalize our words before we talk to Him. That’s the beauty of praying to Him—we can just have a conversation. And you don’t even have to start it out with what Julia Roberts says when she begins…“I’m a big fan of your work.” Awesome. Yes, loved the movie.

Hope is a hot topic of conversation around this time of year. For many, it’s lacking. For some this time of year brings about sad memories—losing a loved one; dealing with sickness or lack of employment; not having the comforts of life like heat, clothing, and food; or just feeling depressed from stress or other downers that life throws at us.

This weekend at church the pastor mentioned a quote from Christopher Reeves (the Superman actor who became paralyzed as a result of an accident). He said, “When you choose hope, anything is possible.” Wow, that really struck me hard. The word “choose” it what really stood out. It’s like faith. For me, when I chose to accept Christ’s gift, I was given hope and with that everything that really mattered. Don’t get me wrong—I get upset and stressed and down over lots of things with constant regularity. But when things get bleak I know that I’ve got the support and love of Jesus.

This season is full of gift giving (which I love), decorating, and celebrating (which I also love). It’s also full of people trying to satisfy needs and wants. We can get inundated with presents and they can provide some fun in our lives. But we will always be left wanting more. It’s in our nature. Only the gift that Jesus gave us can quench my thirst. I still want the iTunes gift cards but I know that the most joyous songs come from the heart and from Him.

Please excuse my pretense of preaching. I’m not trying to sell you on anything. I just know the joy and comfort I get when I think of how absolutely stunningly beautiful the birth of Christ was and is. He came quietly, humbly, with no demands on us. He came from love and to give love. He had his family and some admirers around him—both at his birth and his death.

Family and friends are gifts to me. I have been blessed with the best of both. To those of you who are struggling with current challenges or memories of loss, I send you my love and wishes that you will—even in the midst of tears—find and hold on to hope.

I am blessed with lots of things beyond friends and family. I am also saddened by so many around the world and right at home who are in serious need. It’s funny that we have these white elephant parties—this need to give someone else our crap because we don’t want or need it. So maybe instead of getting someone (or receiving something from someone that is) “crap,” we could instead give a gift in someone’s name to another who is in desperate need. Some of the charities below could use our spirit of generosity this holiday season.

Heifer International (I’ve always wanted to give someone a cow—awesome.)

Aone: eight (This is a catalog of sorts where you can buy essentials for people living all over the world—including Haiti where the needs of so many are still critical)

Share Our Strength (Nothing worse than a hungry child. No excuse for any in the U.S. to be hungry.)

Do you have a favorite charity—an organization, a family in need, anything? Please share it here.

And if you are curious, looking for some hope, don’t know where to start but are interested in learning, or just plain ready to get right with God, there are numerous services being held around the country—I’m sure right in your neighborhood. Don’t worry, we don’t make you do things you don’t want to do, there’s no animal sacrifices (well Turkey at home but that’s another matter), and lots of love. Join me if you want at Fairfax Community Church on December 24^th.

God Bless and Merry Christmas.