Reach the world?

I was driving to grandma's house right after I got off today, and admist the craziness that is called holiday traffic I see this boy walking down the road. Like I always do when I see people walking down the road, the thought swept my mind if picking him up. Before I get told every reason why this is not safe, I'm going to say I know and would probably never do it (although today I wondered if God would want me to ignore my instincts and the millions of people I know who would tell me I'm crazy. So this kid is walking; he was maybe thirteen and this thought passes though and then I notice something. It's freezing outside and he has no coat on. None. I have a stack of coats at my house I'm about to take to our coat drive. And this kid is walking down the road in short sleeves, either holding something in his hands or trying to keep his hands warm. Couldn't really tell. Here I am in my truck with the heat going and a Carhartt on. Not to mention about 10 coats in my closet at home to keep and 10 on the floor to go to our drive.
Did I mention why I'm driving to Grandma's?
To pick up a box of Christmas food for this family who almost didn't have Christmas. Their story is a whole nother blog.
We're doing this coat drive. Yay, good for us.  And although I type that sarcastically, it really is a good thing and for a little bit I was proud to be doing something. Still am glad we're doing something. But is it enough. We'll get those coats out there to people who need them. But what are the odds of me tracking this one boy down? Not only that, we can't help everyone.
I don't feel like I'm doing enough.
Anyway, bring every used coat, scarf, blanket, whatever to Union Grove. The more we get, the more we help.

It Happens

Driving home from work today, and I look back and smoke is billowing out from under my truck. Bad too. I pull over and hop out. Long story short, something blew on the radiator...one of the valves. I don't know mechanics. Even though the guy told me several times. But I can point right to where it is. It's just funny how things like this happen. My entire life has been built around it happens. All you can do is deal with it and pray God's glory will shine through somehow. God is great. Sometimes I get a little defeated. Not today. I was quite cheerful for someone who was once again standing by the road with strangers. Cute firefighter strangers, but still strangers. Looking back on my life, it's those moments that have made me into who I am. It happens. And I'm not just talking about those small times where my tire blew on the interstate or when ran into some other kid at a band competition in the middle of a show (who's bright idea was it for me to back up anyway?) Those big things, the really bad ones that I'm not going to mention in cyberspace: those are the one's that make me Megan. Every little bit of my character came from something back there. Maybe I could pinpoint it is I tried. Thank God for every moment He allowed in my life. And maybe I can thank Him one day for these things today, these problems. The waiting. It happens.

Short little post

So I keep getting told I should start a blog, which this is. So I'm guessing I will start one eventuallu on word press. But for now I'm using this one. I just wrote this amazing bio on facebook and then deleted it. It would have fit perfectly right here. It was pretty amazing. I'm sure I'm supposed to have some great statements to say here. Something about life. I'm out of stuff to say at this moment. So I'm ending my short little blog.

Review of The Least Among Us

It took me a while to sit down and watch this. I received The Least Among Us from blogspot.com about two weeks ago, maybe more. By the time this review gets finished it will be a lot more. Maybe a whole month. It wasn't something I'd usually watch, but it turned out pretty good. A little slower than I'm used to. The characters were a little cliched, especially the roommate or the guy with a chip on his shoulder. It was overall a good story with a good ending. It was based on a true story so that's always a nice added touch. Somehow I got confused about the prison at the beginning. I think I was expecting to be about the guy going to prison not the story of how this guy overcame his own prejudices and the prejudices of the university. The acting was good. I probably would never watch this movie again. Although good, it was slow and I had a hard time focusing. Besides it's not a movie I would usually watch. I'm not the based on a true story kind of girl unless it's Seabiscuit. Once again I received this from booksneeze.com and hope you enjoyed my review.

Review of The Butterfly Effect

The Butterfly Effect by Andy Andrews is a small book that blew me away completely. I was expecting a cute story about how what you do affects the world with a sweet moral ending. What I ended up reading was a powerful historical story of how someone actually impacted the world. The first story was one I’d never heard and one that overwhelmed me in its significance. The other story and the events leading to changing the world made me think more of how each action on my part can have a huge significance in the scheme of things. I had heard the story of George Washington Carver before, but this put it in a whole new perspective. I let a friend read it and she also enjoyed the book. She said she read through it twice. Before I began reading it, I planned on passing it on as a gift to someone who likes butterflies. It was difficult to pass it on after reading it though. I highly recommend this book to anyone. It’s a small book, but will have a huge impact on your thoughts. I received the book from booksneeze.com. Everyone should read it as soon as possible.

Beyond Opinion Review

Beyond Opinion by Ravi Zachari is an excellent, although sometimes deep, book compiled of several essays from different people on topics relating to Christianity. Topics include teaching youth, atheism and the Muslim. The authors knew their subject. The depth of each essay is increased because each writer has experince with the topic raised. Some essays I found uninteresting, based on the topic and at least one was confusing to understand. I think this had more to do with my interest level than anything. I found many good points in each essay that I was willing to share with others in discussions. I did get distracted by another book, Radical, and returned to this one later. It was hard to restart in the middle. Sometimes I had problems getting into certain essays. I admit, I'm not too interested in Hinduism. I recommend it to anyone who wants to increase his or her level of knowledge of Christianity and topics relating to it. I enjoyed it.

Billy Graham

Last night, before watching a great movie on Hallmark channel, I just finished "Billy Graham" by David Aikman, which covers this famous evangelist's life. There were so many things I did not realize about Billy Graham, and this biography gave me more insight into his life and influence. The biography takes a deeper look at how Graham impacted the nation spiritually and the also how he related to national affairs and the presidents. I learned a great deal about this man than I already knew, and as each page turned I was even more impressed with him. I didn't realize how his evangelism and personality had also impacted other national events such as communism or preventing our nation from going to war. Aikman did well in researching Graham's life and he answered any questions I may have had plus some. He did well in dividing up each chapter and showing each aspect of Graham's life in an organized fashion. I also enjoyed the details on Ruth Graham and how she impacted Billy's life. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone else interested in either Graham's life or history. I received this book from booksneeze.com.

I Am Hutterite by May-Ann Kirkby

I wasn't sure what to expect when I ordered "I Am Hutterite" by Mary-Ann Kirkby. I've read biographies and nonfiction before, but never anything about someone running away from a community like this. When it arrived, I was excited to get started and I wasn't disappointed. It only took be a couple of days to finish reading it because I couldn't put it down. Kirkby is an excellent storyteller, making everything come alive. She fills the pages with stories of her past and who she is. There wasn't a dull moment. She really did her research on her parent's history and brought the thoughts and opinions of the other characters of her past to life. The various stories of the communitity and then after life there, added layers to her characters and the history. Kirkby did well telling about her childhood, and the research on her parents gave more meaning to the book. Overall, I enjoyed reading the book, even though it took such a short time to read it. I would recommend it to any body who would like to read an account of a girl who's entire world and mindset had to be changed to adjust to her settings.

Slow runs

Something I've learned about myself recently: when I run somewhere new, I always run way slower than my normal pace. I just returned from running in a neighbourhood near my gma's house. I think it's supposed to be 1.5 miles. I know I didn't run it in 15 minutes. At least, I didn't time myself, but by looking at the clock... (I did feel good when I got back from it. This morning it rained and cooled everything down outside.) The same thing happened the other day when I added an extra .5 miles to my run. I'm going to have to learn to actually pace myself and keep my speed up. I have less than a month before the 5Ks start by the monkey park. I plan to run them with or without the rest of my family. I'm starting to think I'll be able to. It'll just be slow and embarrassing. At least for me. When I'm running I think about a couple of stories I've read in magazines of ladies in their 60s beginning to run and now they're doing marathons. I'm hoping in a few years I'll be running in marathons, but I'd also like to have a little speed on me. Maybe one day even win something. It would be nice to enter something I can win. I'm starting to think I'm never going to start barrel racing. I guess I can start on that when I'm 60.

Another Day

Last week I had a really amazing ride! I was riding Bullseye with no one else around on the doctor's trails, which doesn't seem to happen to often lately. Brittany was riding with me for a little while and I keep inviting other people over to ride. Anyway, we went out and I rode around the trials. The ground has finally dried completely out so I don't to worry about Bullseye sinking in. I got into the pasture and ran him back anf forth and practiced turning at faster gaits. He does well at turning. It's the brakes that don't work too well. After riding to the part I like to call the clover patch, I rode him back to the big pasture. I worked on his 'brakes' the whole way over there. I think he finally started to understand the concept of STOP when I pull back. I was having to spin him in circles to get him stopped. Anyway. This one section I always open Star up. It's about a tenth or more long. You can't get her to stop going down it. I took him to the top of it and opened him up. And he flew. Except for one time when he tried to jump on Ruby. I can't tell who's faster, him or Star. I really want to race them one day. They run different. He's short lengthwise, but he has a lot of power. Star is longer, half-Throughbred, a barrel racer and just like to run. Bullseye's ADD kicks in sometimes. I'm going to have to get Brittany out there with me and see.

Everyone Communicates, Few Connect by John C. Maxwell Review

This morning, after a quick breakfast and a stroll with the Chihuahua, I finished the last chapter of Everyone Communicates, Few Connect by John C. Maxwell. I have to admit, it is my favorite book I have reviewed for booksneeze.com. I picked it out based on the cover and because I had heard good things about Maxwell. At the same time, I have always been cautious when it comes to motivation books concerning leadership. There is no way a person can pick up a 400-page book and become a leader. Maxwell's book surprised me and I found great respect for him. He didn't make out like its an instantaneous experience becoming a leader or to even communicate with other people. He used many quotes, lots of ideas and a few good jokes to make his point. Through the whole book, he was very open about both his strengths in weaknesses and used his own experiences to help you relate. At first, I felt this was a little arrogant. When I realized he was using it to help the reader, I appreciated his personal experiences. This book can help a person, not only with large audiences or in corporations, but also as a spouse, parent or friend. There are several skills in the book that, although can't be applied instaneously, will help in the long run.

Atheist holy day

I don't know if this is real or not, but I fould it quite humorous. I got it in a forward.

FLORIDA COURT SETS ATHEIST HOLY DAY In Florida , an atheist created a case against the upcoming Easter and Passover Holy days. He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against Christians and Jews and observances of their holy days... The argument was that it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized days. The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring, "Case dismissed!" The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling saying, "You honor, How can you possibly dismiss this case?
The Christians have Christmas, Easter and others. The Jews have Passover,
Yom Kippur and Hanukkah, yet my client and all other atheists have no such holidays..". The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, "But you do.
Your client, counsel, is woefully ignorant." The lawyer said, "Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists." The judge said, "The calendar says April 1st is April Fools Day. Psalm 14:1 states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.' Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that, if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his day. Court is adjourned." You gotta love a Judge that knows his scripture!

The Vertical Self by Mark Sayer

The Vertical Self takes a good look at the identity of people today, Chrisitian and nonChristian alike. At first I had problems getting into the book and some of the early examples seemed too simple and made up. As I got into it, though, I found insight on the identity, or lack of, our culture seems to be facing. For the most part, I liked the book. The author is very insightful into the culture and observant of the many people he passes on the street. His observance of the people, knowledge of their behaviors and responses to their actions give him the credibility to write such a novel. Some of the examples he uses, such "Jim is yada yada yada" I am unsure whether I like them or not. Although they do provide excellent insight and connection to readers, I could have enjoyed a simple explanation instead. His use of popular images as examples of today's culture and identity add depth to the novel. The difference between vertical and horizontal is laid out in plain sight in this book, and does provide a good history of cultural self and relations to identity. I enjoyed the book and am glad I received it from booksneeze.com and would recommend it to any reader interested in learning more about the identity of today's people.

The Hole In Our Gospel review

"The Hole in Our Gospel" by Richard Stearns, World Vision's president, calls us as Christians to a higher standard in our walk with God. Using his own story weaved with the call in the Bible to help the poor, Stearns points out how one should do as God has called them to do. The book is well written and transitions well from Stearns's life story into Biblical and other references. Stearns's own story sets up a visual for the other sections of the book. This is more than a motivation, self-help book for the Christian walk, but a book which shows the journey involves more than what one wants. Stearns's use of his own life story shows that every person is human and it can appeal to anyone, regardless of one's beliefs. Its focus is on Christians who are comfortable with their padded pews and calls them to rise. Several examples of how Jesus asks for Christians to help the poor, because by helping even the least we are helping Him. Jesus had a great love for the poor and Christians should share this love. I recommended this book if you are ready for the next step in your walk.

New Book

So started reading this book, "The Hole in Our Gospel" the other and I cannot put it down. It's by Richard Stearns, the president of World Vision. So far it shows how he came to World Vision by following God's call for his life. His story weaves in with how we, as Christians, should live our life following God and doing His will. I can't wait to read more tonight.

Cold weather and job hunt

With the last few months of school, riding has become scarce. Sometimes I allow 15 minutes to just spend with the horses. Since I brought Bullseye home, he has quit biting. Right now I'm on the hunt for a job. I know God has the right one in store for me, but searching for one is difficult. If all else fails, there is the Navy. I won't get to see Bullseye at all then. Maybe that isn't where I'm supposed to go, but it is an option. Right now I seem to be mostly working, looking for a job and on occasion riding. Saturday, I rode Star up the road, but it was freezing. I didn't want to chance riding Bullseye up the road in that weather. Last week it got down to the 20s and lower. There were several threats of snow, but it never came. Last time it snowed, the horses had a blast running around in the pasture. I have a ton of pictures, but they were with my old camera.