Quick One

Okay, so I was just looking over the comments on an earlier post. I was invited to post myself, and the word verification prompt asked me to type "mofeo." Fortunately, I didn't have to comment, but I think someone somewhere had a good time with that. It's a little close to "mofo," don't you think? (Far be it from me to post something so in the "gray" area....)

Equality

For anyone who knows me, this post will come as a surprise. I usually tell people that women and men are mostly equal. We are definitely equal in the eyes of the Lord. We're all humans. The differences tend to be biological, mental, and emotional, but in the end there's still no "better" way to be. Or so I thought.

I'll be good to the man who inspired this post, but I was shocked at a man this week who came to me with good intentions for his wife's Christmas present. He is a great guy, so that didn't shock me. What shocked me was his wife approaching me to talk about the present later that day. She was asking where to find the gift and how she could pay for it. I know I'm being vague to protect a very innocent man, but get this - the man was overwhelmed with the "shopping" and, thus, told his wife about it and sent her in his frustration.

Arguably, the wife probably took matters into her own hands (she's a go-getter) when she saw her husband's frustration. Still, though, what is it about guys that cripples us when it comes to some things? Why do department stores, kitchens, home products, and presumably feminine products scare us? Why did my mom take it upon herself to ensure this would not happen to me (in most cases)?

By the way, women, before you start man-bashing and insulting because you're glad a man gave you that leeway, please beware that women don't help men. They take over, occasionally thinking, "Hmmph...men." We've got your number, and I will expose it on this blog if you bash men.

Destiny

Okay, who has a niece? Maybe you all do, but you know that your niece isn't as precious as mine. (If Natasha were reading over my shoulder, she'd tell me how comparisons aren't nice. Unfortunately for you, she's typing a paper on the laptop right now. Thus, my niece is better.) Destiny was in Moncton this weekend at my in-laws. She and her parents are in town for a week for American Thanksgiving. The family's Canadian, but living in Chicago meant they had some time off. I just spent several hours with them all, a few of which were spent holding, feeding, and walking Destiny. I even have the spit-up marks to prove it! Anyway, it was good, and I hope you all have a niece like mine some day. She's amazing!

Other young women of note:
Bailey Erskine (my sis; less than two, counts over 20, knows most of the alphabet, speaks in full sentences)
Emily Brewer (honestly...do I have to say more than her name? AWESOME kid!)
Rebecca and Aubrey Simcik (our neighbors whom we absolutely adore)
Crystal Birtch (friend's daughter whose personality is already lovely at such a young age)
Zoe Janes (cutest Newfie I ever met)
Grace Rhyno (smallest angel on record)
the three Dezeeuw girls (haven't seen them in a long time, but they are all breathtakingly beautiful and sweet)

Other women of note:
Natasha (after whom no woman shall be recorded, since she is the most outstanding and only woman for me)

Bio-communities

There's a bio-community on our back deck. No seriously. (And I'm not talking about the Townhouse crime.) We cannot open our back door without the invasion of creatures of the six- and eight-legged variety. Natasha has been convinced that our deck doubles as an insect jungle, but I've assured her that this is just not true. I'm wrong. We just had the Simciks down for Thanskgiving 2005 II, and she opened the back door to shake out the tablecloth. She hadn't opened the door more than a centimeter when I heard the familiar, "UGH!!" She slammed the door, and I knew that the ICE (Insect Community Ecosystem) had invaded our home again. The ICE came out in force this time, as several multi-legged creatures scurried across our kitchen floor (the subject of another blog that was never written). Undaunted, Natasha attacked the ICE with balled-up paper towels. One cunning member of the ICE invasion squad, Arnie the Arachnid, actually slid back into the crack between the door and the doorjamb. Natasha called in the reinforcements, the HID (Husband Insecticide Division), to destroy the invader. The HID won this one because I sprayed into the crack with Mr. Clean kitchen cleaner. (Don't laugh; we've all used chemicals to destroy creaturely invaders.) Victorious, Natasha put the HID away and called out the HOTS (Husband Outdoor Tablecloth Shaker) to take the tablecloth upstairs and shake it out the front door of the complex. The HOTS walked away victoriously from that one, too...without any more ICE invasions.

Several Posts

You know, so many posts have gone through my head in the last few days that I can hardly figure out what to write. I'll go with several thoughts, and you just read (or not...this is becoming more for me than for you, selfishly). :)

I was moved by someone this week that I hardly know. There are just certain people that have become a major part of my life without much conversation or interaction at all. Case in point? Josh McCracken. We seldom talked at BBC, and we spent time together less frequently. Yet, he was on my heart for almost three years with the type of burden that wouldn't let me look in his direction without praying. The result? I still pray for him at least once a week, each time I think about him in Central Asia. Another one? Tom Cann. I've talked with him a few times, but our paths seldom cross. He's just a wonderful guy, and I knew that before I met him. There are other guys like that (not girls, oddly enough), but I'm not going to list them on a blog that I'm discovering has a small cult of readers. I don't want someone's feelings to get hurt just because God never burdened me with you.

About the cult of readers, I know that most of you are just blog junkies. That's okay - I'll accept that.

Another thing - I was within a breath of backing out of the Christmas banquet and community Christmas show this week. Then I remembered that it's not about me. (Why do I still have to be reminded of that so often?) It doesn't matter that I don't feel like giving up ANOTHER weekend for some noble college and community event. The community event is actually a ministry, and the Christmas banquet is just plain fun. Once I stopped being selfish I realized that I really do want to be part of everything.

Finally, what's the deal with families? I was feeling a little guilty for being away from home on American Thanksgiving without calling my parents, siblings, and grandparents. Then I realized that's just the Erskine way. When was the last time any of us remembered to call another one of us on the right day? I think Ben and Lynn (brother and his wife) are the only good ones at that. The rest of us try hard. Funny thing is, we still love one another deeply. So many families call all the time and can't stand one another. Weird.

In Hot Pursuit

The extent to which God loves us has been on my mind a lot lately. Sometimes I tend to think that God loves us so much - from His great white throne. This is true. But it's not the whole truth. God loves us so much and pursues us. I mean that. If you're not a Christian and you spend much time reading this blog, then you're doing one of two things - 1) making a list of rejections you have for this post because of hurt (not because of God, I might add) or 2) wondering if this doesn't desribe that feeling you get every now and then that makes you wonder who else is in the room. If you are a Christian and you're reading this, you may be saying the same thing, unfortunately. We think God loves us, but we don't trust that His love impacts our daily living. We believe He loves us, but we continue doing X, Y, and Z because that's what Christians do or because "What would people think?" God is pursuing us like crazy. He's on our heels. He's above us, beneath us, beside us, behind us, before us.... And He's loving us with a love that's deeper than a feeling. We don't see it because we're loving church, loving people, loving our activities, loving the good feelings we get from things like praise team, Sunday School, fellowship, or philanthropic things like Compassion. (You should be sponsoring a child, but that's another blog for another day when I'm more passionate.) When was the last time you stopped long enough to listen for God and realize He's right there? When was the last time you did any of your "Christian" things because God loves you and you love Him? This isn't "proving" your love; it's just loving. He's worth it.

It Always Happens Like This

Have you ever wondered whether anyone really gets you? I mean really. There are days when I think if it weren't for Natasha I'd go out of my mind. I'd go out of my mind because I just don't run into people on my "page" in the run of an average day. Assumptions, expectations, and selfishness tend to keep us humans from really connecting, and even when we do we find we're all on different pages. That's life, right? I'm used to this by now, since I've felt this way most of my life. (In other words, yes, I'm strange.) This weekend Natasha and I had the extreme pleasure of talking with a guy we've known for awhile (who I won't name for sake of his own embarrassment) for a little over three hours. I had to admit to him that I hadn't had that kind of connection with someone for that long in a long time. There are guys I'll talk to for anything, but most of them don't live in Sussex anymore. I didn't realize I needed the refreshment of talking without explaining myself all the time. I didn't realize how much I needed a deep and personal conversation without wondering if it's too deep. I didn't realize how much I needed a three-hour conversation in which I wasn't the one doing most of the talking. It always happens like this with me. I don't necessarily realize a need before God meets it.

Energy

Energy is a good thing. It feels good to have the energy to move through a day. It's empowering to accomplish a lot and know you've done well.

Today I met a lady who has a lot of energy. She knows she is good at what she does and is really a shaker and mover. (She would even keep Kathy on her toes, and that's saying something!) I couldn't help but think, "You know, you need to slow down," but I hadn't even talked to her for five minutes. Have you ever talked to someone who gives off that vibe - besides me during Booster or travel season?

Since When Did This Happen?

I attended the entire Blazer hockey game last night. It was my first FULL game in awhile. The crowd was mostly fun (except for the annoying loud hecklers for no good reason). What amazed me was the 6 - 1 win the team had! Since when are the Blazers a 6 - 1 scoring team? Since this year, apparently. I've heard that we're no longer necessarily a losing team, and I've even seen a little of that this year. It was really nice, though, to see such a fantastic win last night. Three of the goals came from our D-Group, too!

Nothing Like It

There is nothing like seeing the Lord truly move in ways you only dreamed he could previously. I'm part of a ministry right now that has allowed the opportunity for vulnerability and openness among the participants that I never thought would really happen. The point of the ministry is not vulnerability, but vulnerability certainly allows people to grow and opens them up to face the Lord. He is good, and His mercies truly endure forever! It seems as though my vulnerable times often turn out to be my deepest spiritual times. That being said, why is vulnerability so scary? We can trust the Lord with our vulnerability, right?

I've Got It!

Okay, here it is. I heard a guy say yesterday that he thinks the reason 60% of the students who actually attended chapel yesterday weren't really "into" worship is because we don't allow students self-expression. My gut wanted to say, "What are you talking about?" but I remembered that I choose to express myself without worrying what people say. I've never had to worry about that. Who I am has rarely gone against the grain. It's not that I'm a people-pleaser. I just like to study hard and get good grades. I like to dress well. I like to hang out with people. I like to worship God. I like music. I like watching some sports and playing others. I'm married to a great girl. None of this rubs people the wrong way, so they let me express myself freely. But what about other people who don't like what I like? I'm hosting a young man on campus today with hair down his back and a grizzly beard. Being raised open-minded, I will probably get along well with him without any regard to those things. However, I'm going to have to have the "Cut your hair and shave!" talk with him in his interview today. Let's NOT talk Bethany here - let's talk our culture. (This isn't a BBC issue - it's a culture issue, believe me.) Why does our east coast evangelical Christian -founded on freedom of religious expression, I remind you - choose to bind people to fitting the "Christian" image? What is the Christian image anyway?

Nothing huge

More than anything else, I'm posting this morning because I haven't in several days. It's not because nothing has happened lately. Take Booster, for example. It was the BEST Booster HANDS DOWN in the seven Boosters I've seen. Or the Brewers...you know, the extremely fertile couple who's going to end up with seventeen children at this rate. They start trying and next thing you know...expecting. (Of course, they're my personal paragon for early childhood parenting, so I'm glad they're expecting.) Or Shelley Vail. She just stopped working here. (Madre de vaca...not Shelley...if you know me, you understand.) Or the Stag Pampered Chef party I'm planning in two Tuesdays. So, there's lots going on. Surely there's something good to blog about. I'll think of it soon....

Hockey

If I hear one more person say, "Of course we can act like idiots; it was just a hockey game!" in reference to this past Monday's hockey extravaganza, I'm going to puke. What is that?! Where do we get off, letting our Christian values and examples go out the window over hockey?! People say, "It's just a game; take it easy." Don't tell me to take it easy. I'm not the one going ape over every call the ref makes. I'm not the one going crazy over players. I'm not the one making BBC students, ministers, and Christians in general look like maniacs. Seriously, folks, think about this a second. If you were pastoring a church one day and the Blues came in and saw you, do you honestly think they would give your ministry any credibility after your verbal abuse, cutting taunts, and overreactions? Hockey is hockey, yes, and it gets people fired up. There's a HUGE difference between fired up and ridiculous though. Enjoy the game, and let others do the same.