Caramba!

Nora, I have a new found respect for linguists!!! I just took my first quiz in Espanol uno cero uno. (Spanish 101) I think I did well, but it took mucho estudiar! There is little support on the home front. Jeff responds to my questions en espanol with, "I don't care." (He took German.) Andrew walks away saying, "I don't speak German!" (Jeff can help him with that.) Kaitlyn answers everything with, "Me llamo Kaitlyn." That's fine if my question was, "Como te llama tu?" (What is your name?) I need two semesters of this! I keep telling myself I will be grateful.....someday.

Acceptance

I said I wanted to comment further on the greeting from the girl at the Wiccan booth. Although I would not consider our encounter a conversation, what she said struck a chord. "Do you want to come where you will be accepted?"
Again, I was hit later with the regret of not at least talking to her. What was her experience that that is where she felt accepted as opposed to other circles?
Belonging is so important.

To speak up or not to speak up???

Do you ever have those moments where a thought comes to mind that maybe God is telling you something, and later on a completely seperate event is the 2 x 4 in the forehead telling you, "Yes, He was."?
I had one of those moments yesterday.
I was at school and they were hosting an expo event showcasing the different departments and clubs offered. I walked around from table to table and anyone who knows me knows I have NO problem striking up a conversation...most of the time. I had conversation after conversation with a very diverse group of people representing a very diverse choice of interests. (Even when I had no real interest in becoming involved.) One conversation was going very well. The woman I was talking to and I found common ground talking about having a child with special needs. Another student came up to the table and the conversation shifted. The two of them began talking about an event that had occured where a group of Christians had protested. It became very obvious very quickly that they felt it was wrong of them to protest and even used the description "religious fanatics" to describe the protestors. I stood there quietly for a moment and then excused myself from the conversation.
As I continued I began to walk past a table for a Wiccan Club. Uhhhhh... A very nice young lady asked me if I would like to come where I would be accepted. (While I am wearing a cross necklace.) -- by the way, I could go in another direction with this one and will in a later post. I simply said, "No thank you," and kept walking.
After I had left, a thought hit me. Why did I stay silent and not politely share my views with the two women who were offended about the protest? Why did I walk away and not engage the young lady in a conversation and find out why she would choose to be in a Wiccan club? FEAR! Later that night on ONU's radio station the D.J. was talking about speaking up in situations like that. (The 2x 4.) It is so easy for me to think of the right things to say when I'm alone and safe. I just need to learn to trust God to help me find the right things to say while I am in the midst of the situation.

Here goes something...

Alright, I've been mooching off of other blogs. I guess I'll give it a try.
I have really enjoyed the posts and comments I've read and participated in. Only time will tell if I have anything interesting or brilliant to share.
This is scary and fun at the same time. Off I go...