Sleeping on a Cloud

After more than four years, my husband and I finally have a real bed to sleep on! For the entirety of our marriage, we have been sleeping on a futon, which was absolutely killing my back. We are now proudly using our futon as a couch (and emergency bed if we have guests, so they can sleep on it), and have a new memory foam bed to call our own.

TempurPedic will tell you that theirs is the only one out there like it, but the reality is that there is another company out there that makes the exact same mattresses for about half the price, and they have the same 20-year warranty. So, we went with the other company: Sleep Level.

My husband and I did a lot of research into the kind of mattress we wanted to get, because this is something you don't want to have to be buying every five to ten years. I talked to my family doctor and also my orthopaedic doctor about it, too. They both said that this is the best mattress we could possibly get. About 98 percent of people who had woken up with back pain or other muscle pains reported that after sleeping on a memory foam mattress, their pain was dramatically reduced, if not gone completely.

I've only slept one night on it so far, and my back already feels soooooo much better! I had been seeing a physical therapist about it because it had gotten so bad! (But I stopped going a few months ago, even though I was still having problems.)

Now, I can't wait to get into bed at night. I pray that I'll be tired during the day so I can take a nap on the new bed, just because I like it that much! But today, I wasn't tired enough to need to sleep, even after sleeping only about 6 hours, compared to my usual 8! And I work until midnight tonight!

This bed is such a good investment. Actually, anytime you make an investment in your health, it's a good investment.

Sweet dreams!

My nephew will be born in two months!

The picture at the right is a picture of my sister's pregnant belly as of one month ago. She's a little bigger now.

The lower picture is what she looked like in October.


I'm really looking forward to meeting my nephew. My mom is helping me plan a baby shower, which we'll have in January. The baby will be born in February, and the baptism will be in March.

My sister said she feels like she's starting to waddle now. And one of her frustrations is finding warm sweaters she can wear over her baby belly. Most maternity sweaters she's seen are really thin, and if she tries a non-maternity large sweater, it bags in the arms. Any suggestions would be great.

I've got some catching up to do!

It's been some time since I've posted anything other than the rules for commenting on my blog (which, by the way, still apply). So, I've published another new post below this one.

My sister is now about 6 1/2 months along in her pregnancy, which means I'm going to have a little nephew very soon! It also means that I have a lot of planning to do before the baby shower I'm throwing for her in January!

The pictures of her belly that I posted before look so small now compared to how big she is now. And still, she is the cutest pregnant lady ever!

The little baby in her belly is very active. I've felt him move around and kick several times, and it is just the coolest thing in the world! I'm looking forward to meeting, holding and babysitting the little guy!

It makes me more anxious for my husband and I to try to have a baby, too. I want our kids and my sister's kids to be close enough in age that they can play together and relate to one another easily as they grow up.

In other news, my husband and I will finally be going to visit his parents and grandparents on the west coast over Christmas and New Year's. This will be the first time we've seen them in three years, because travel hasn't been very possible on either their end or ours for so long. Please pray for my husband's maternal grandmother, who is in very bad health and who will celebrate her last Christmas and New Year's this holiday season. We're basically going to visit with the knowledge that we're saying goodbye to her for the last time. She'll never know any of our kids, and that makes me very sad.

Also, my grandma's eye surgery went well, and she's able to see much better now. She still has to have a total knee replacement, which is scheduled for sometime in March. That's going to be very difficult for her, because she's not going to be able to go back to her hometown until she's completely healed. The reason is that she likes to help her husband (who is in a nursing home) stand up, get into bed, etc., and it's too stressful on a newly-remodeled knee for her to be doing that sort of thing. But she'll do it anyway, given the way to go back home too early. Please pray for her, too.

Nothing particularly interesting in the news today that I could share, unfortunately. I'll try to post something more before we leave for the west coast in a couple of weeks.

God bless you all.

Non-Christian Organization Serves Godly Mission

I may not work for an organization that would be listed in a Christian business directory, but that doesn't mean that we don't do God's handywork.

Every year around Christmastime (and apparently for the last 30 years), the company I work for organizes a charity drive in which listeners call in to the radio station they listen to within our broadcast group, and "adopt" a child for Christmas. By "adopt," I mean that these kids have been put on a list by the local police department because they live in a family with little to no income, and would otherwise not get any gifts this Christmas.

Listeners called a hotline number, asked what the children wanted for Christmas, and bought those items and brought them to the station to be gift-wrapped and delivered by the police officers.

There are other times when we have charity drives or relay races or other fund-raisers for organizations that help children or adults with whatever may be plaguing them. Some may call these publicity stunts or things we do for public relations, but as someone who's actually gotten to know the people behind these events, I've realized that these people are different: Sure, the PR is good, but they really do care about these people that they're helping.

At a time when there are so many people all-too-willing to receive gifts this year, it's wonderful to see so many people volunteering to give to complete strangers without anything in return.

Trolls like Susan

It seems that my husband and I have a few trolls that have been leaving uninformed, harassing comments on our blogs from people who obviously know nothing of what it is to be Lutheran, and feel they must "correct" our behavior because we're not pious enough for them. (Guess what: We don't care what trolls think about how pious we are. The comments of trolls don't matter enough to be displayed. Trolls are inconsequential to us.)

Because of this, I have enabled comment moderation. This means that before any comments are displayed on my blog, they will pass through my e-mail first for my approval or disapproval. Furthermore, any comments that I deem harassing or otherwise inappropriate for my blog will not be posted, and no one will see them.

This means that if you have a complaint, you'll need to leave an e-mail address for me to respond to if you actually want a response. If you are so embarrassed that you actually read my or my husband's blogs that you don't want to leave your name or contact information, then you have no business visiting or leaving comments.

If you are going to leave comments and want your comments to be displayed, I suggest you leave a comment that is non-threatening, non-harassing in nature, and give your real name. I will not respond to aliases or anonymous commenters.


Ground rules for commenting (if you expect your comment to be displayed):

1. No foul language. This is, and will continue to be, a family-friendly blog that even children can read without their parents fearing that they will be reading something inappropriate.

2. No commenting on topics not posted on this blog. This means that if you've found a questionable topic on another blog (a.k.a. my husband's), you may not post your comment on my blog in response to that topic.

3. No anonymous commenting. I don't care if you don't have an account with Blogger. Leave your name at the end of your comment if you don't have or don't want to create an account. Comments left without a name will not be allowed into the comments section for anyone to leave, and they will not be responded to.

4. IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH ME OR ANYTHING THAT IS POSTED ON THIS BLOG, YOU DON'T HAVE TO READ IT. That goes for any blog on the web, including my husband's. What's the point in visiting a blog you don't approve of unless you enjoy having your blood boil? Get a life!

5. I have the ability to track my visitors. If you truly want to be anonymous, you will be unsuccessful, because I can track where you live and I have your IP address. One way or another, if I have to, I can find out who you are and turn you in for harassment. I have the national and international connections through my media connections to find you and have you prosecuted, if I need to.

Bottom line: If I don't approve of the comments you're leaving, they will never see the world wide web. Anonymous commenters or those who use aliases will not receive responses. I don't tolerate disrespectful people on my blog. Other bloggers may be different. I don't care.

I thought that because of the longevity of my blog and the history of people who have commented on this blog before, I didn't have to spell out my rules in so many words. I guess now, I do. Those of you who are used to commenting on my blog and who have done so without problems or response from me don't have to worry about your comments not being displayed. They will be, I'm sure.

Those who read my blog generally consist of friends and pastors. Many of these friends are those who have been reading my blog and whose blogs I have been reading for a few years. Many of the pastors who visit have become friends or were friends before I started this blog. These are the people who are welcome in my comments section. Newcomers have to go through me first now. I'm taking back control of my blog.

Working on Sundays

Usually, I work on Sunday evenings. I don't really like to work on Sundays, but I don't work too many other days of the week regularly, so I do so mostly for the hours and pay.

Today is the first (and hopefully only) Sunday that I have been asked to work on a Sunday morning. The only reason I consented to doing so is that the lady who usually works this shift had another commitment, and she couldn't find anyone else to take the shift, and she covered a Saturday shift for me not long ago. My boss knows that this is a big favor to be asking of me, because I told him some time back that I didn't want to work on Sundays at all, let alone on a Sunday morning or early afternoon.

To say that working or doing any kind of laborous work on Sundays is not a Lutheran statement. It's full of pietistic sentiments that I don't share, nor do many Lutherans. But Sunday, nonetheless, is a very holy day that should be kept holy. Remember that even Jesus worked, or rather performed miraculous works, on the Sabbath, against the wishes and understanding of bystanders.

So, this morning, my husband is going to church without me. I had to be in to cover this shift beginning at 5 a.m., and I don't get off work until 12:30 p.m. Even though our church is about an hour's drive from home, in the time I'm working here this morning, my husband has been able to sleep until about 7 a.m., be at church by 9 a.m., and be back to pick me up from work at about 12:30 p.m., without being late (I hope).

The good thing about working Sundays is that all of the newscasts are recorded ahead of time, so if I'm really on top of my game, I have all of the newscasts pre-recorded and in the system ready to play within about 1 1/2 to 2 hours after I arrive at work. That way, I can work on writing up or updating other stories, pay better attention to police and emergency scanners so I know exactly what's going on without being distracted ... and, in the evenings, watch my favorite show: "Desperate Housewives" while keeping the scanners pumping through my headphones in my right ear.

But since I don't work tonight (because the lady whose shift I'm covering this morning is working my regular shift tonight from 7 to midnight), I get to watch my show at home without those pesky police and emergency scanners distracting me.

Maybe eventually, I'll be a full-time employee and won't have to work at all on weekends. But, that could just be a pipe dream. One of the full-time guys here does work on weekends ... both days of every weekend.

I'm glad that I know that it's not commanded to do absolutely no work on Sundays, since Jesus showed us differently in the Scriptures, but I look forward to the time when I won't be asked or scheduled to work on Sundays. I enjoy going to church, and I enjoy spending quality time with my husband, making him suffer through an episode of "Desperate Housewives" with me. :D

The influence of Pentacostal/Charismatic Christians on our church services

I know it's been a very long time since I've blogged about anything, and I apologize to those who've been waiting to read something new. I've thought a lot about what I wanted to post on this blog, and I've got a few stories for you. This is one of several, but it's one that explains a lot about what's going on in even our LCMS churches.

I got this story from the National wire service at work on October 5. It got me thinking: So that's why some LCMS churches have "happy clappy" worship services, praise bands, the Ablaze! movement, Promise Keepers, Heritage Keepers, etc. Our churches have lost track of what it means to be Lutheran, because they're paying too much attention to what the Pentacostals, Charismatics and Methodists are doing.

Without further adieu, here is the story to which I am referring:

WASHINGTON (AP) A new ten-nation survey of Pentecostal and charismatic Christians shows they are deeply influencing the Roman Catholic and mainstream Protestant churches and are poised to make a big impact on global affairs.

Pentecostals and charismatics are considered the fastest-growing stream of Christianity worldwide.

The poll by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that ``spirit-filled'' Christians, who speak in tongues and believe in healing through prayer, comprise at least half the population of Brazil, Guatemala and Kenya, 44 percent of Filipinos and nearly one-fourth of U-S citizens.

The study also found that charismatic and Pentecostal Christians increasingly are willing to bring their values into public debates, which could shape government policies in the years ahead.

And we wonder why our churches are so screwed up! It's not entirely President Kieschnick's fault, although he is certainly not blameless.

Election Day: What's your candidate's position on abortion?

Lutherans for Life published a tract called "Is Abortion an Election Issue?" in 2000. Before you go to the polls, consider your favorite candidates' positions on abortion. It is literally a life or death matter.

The following are excerpts from the Lutherans for Life tract. The portions in quotes are direct quotations from text. The rest are paraphrases of my own:

God doesn't give Christians any "wiggle room" when it comes to destroying human life. "He says, 'You shall not murder.'

"We must not forget what abortion is. All the rhetoric surrounding abortion has deceptively blinded us to the truth. We hear it described as a 'right,' a 'choice,' or a 'medical procedure.' It becomes too easy – even for the Christian – to see abortion as just another one of those 'election issues.'

"Think about it! What is a candidate who supports abortion rights really supporting? Abortion is not on a par with a woman's right to equal employment and equal pay.

"Let's be honest.

"The candidate who supports abortion rights supports a woman's right to have her innocent child murdered. Abortion is not just an 'election issue.' Abortion is a grave sin. Abortion assaults God's Word of truth about the sanctity of human life and, therefore, assaults the Word Himself Who became flesh that we might have life. Abortion is a sin against God Who is the Author and Redeemer of life. Abortion is not an 'election issue.' Because abortion destroys human life, it is a spiritual issue."

...

"Therefore... a Christian cannot debate the pros and cons of abortion any more than he can debate the pros and cons of a rape or stealing or adultery. Abortion cannot be a 'right' for, in God's sight, it is a fundamental wrong.

"It is such a fundamental wrong that, when it comes to voting, a candidate's stance on the issues is irrelevant if he or she favors abortion. A vote is not a passive act. The voter participates in promoting the agenda of the candidate in an intentional action. A candidate who favors abortion should be disqualified from receiving a Christian's vote.

"Regardless of what our government deems legal, when it comes to abortion, 'We must obey God rather than man.' Those who have been called in grace and adopted as God's children through the merits of Jesus Christ should not sanction the destruction of preborn children."

...

"However, the Body of Christ is compelled to 'defend the cause of the weak and needy.' The Church is compelled to 'speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves' and to expose the 'fruitless deeds of darkness.' When a candidate for a government office promotes the sin of abortion, God's people must take action to oppose this sin and defend those affected by it."

This being said, I've recently found out that a candidate for Kansas Attorney General that I was hoping might win (and actually might) is a supporter of abortion. Since my husband and I moved, we didn't get any information as to where we would even go to vote, so I guess we're not going to. I'd rather not vote than place a vote for a candidate who supports killing babies.

My grandma needs your prayers.

My mom and I went to a couple of doctor's appointments with my grandma today before driving her across the state to my parents' house in town. The doctors didn't have wonderful news for my grandma, though.

Looks like she's going to have to have a total knee replacement, and her eyelids are drooping into her line of sight, so she's going to have to have them lifted. The latter, she will be able to get done at the end of next month. The former has yet to be scheduled.

My mom is planning to call the doctor's office where she and I go for our orthopaedic foot problems. There are doctors there who specialize in knees, and we know they're the best in the state. She will be staying with my parents for a while after her knee replacement while she recovers, since she lives alone otherwise, and will need help getting around and getting things done.

Her visit here this time, though, is for a little vacation. She's going to be working on making a maternity outfit for my sister, and she will probably be doing some shopping with my mom, my sister and me.

Anyway, please keep my grandma, and the rest of my family, in your prayers.

Baby Belly Update

It's time once again to visit my sister's ever-growing baby bump. Her hubby, Nick, has been taking monthly pics of her in the same outfit (as long as she's able to wear it, that is). She's already wearing maternity clothes and getting emotional over things she normally wouldn't have before. She's so cute!

In case you can't read those dates, the first one is 15 July, the second is 13 August, and the third is 11 September.

Famous Judge Makes a Visit

Yesterday, Judge Marilyn Milian made a visit to Wichita to speak at a satellite University location. I knew she was coming because, as as an alumn of the University, I get an e-mail with a listing of the events coming up.

I was planning to attend her speech, anyway, because I'm a fan of hers and The People's Court, but I made a proposal to my boss that I go there and get an interview with her. (She was going to be speaking about Hispanics in the media.) He agreed.

I got to the facility about 30 minutes before the event was to occur, and promptly found someone who was working the event, and asked if there was a media staging area. He said yes, and led me backstage where Judge Milian was getting ready to appear, and was talking to only about two other news outlets, both television.

I got to spend about 10 minutes talking to Judge Milian, about 8 of which was in interview form, which I recorded. She is very personable, very intelligent, very nice, and smiles a lot. She is every bit as beautiful in person as she is on television.

She responded thoroughly to every one of my questions, including questions about how she got her job, if she sees it as an opportunity to be a role model to other Latinas, etc. (She said, by the way, that that is a very cool by-product of her position, but not one that influenced her decision to take her job.) And she did so very willingly. She even recorded something for me in Spanish for the Spanish station at my workplace!

At one time during my interview with her, she said that I was asking too good of questions, because a lot of what I was asking, she was planning on talking about in her presentation!

Anyway, just before she went out on stage, she signed a T-shirt for me: "You Rule! Marilyn Milian". I thanked her for her interview and went out into the auditorium and got my sound equipment hooked up.

I tried to get pictures of her during her presentation, but she moves a lot and very quickly when she's talking. She has a lot of energy! So, here are a few pics from the back of the auditorium, where I was sitting and walking around (trying to keep a close eye on my property that I left in a chair).

What an interesting birthday!

So far, it's been a very nice birthday. One part of the day has actually been amusing! I went to my exercise class today, and then my mom and sister took me out for lunch. That was really nice, and I got to see my sister's slowly-expanding pregnant belly, which was cool. (She is now 4 months along, and already unable to fit into her regular clothes.)

Then, I decided I should go outside on my patio and water my geranium, because it looked thirsty and I want to keep the blooms looking nice, and decided to do some weeding, but then, I couldn't get back inside my apartment! I was talking to my mom on my cell phone because she was having trouble reaching my grandma and wanted me to try. It was a good thing I had my cell with me because I couldn't get my sliding patio door to reopen!

I called the manager's office and told the lady there that I had gotten locked out of my apartment and was on my patio. After a brief laugh, she said, "I'll come over and let you back in. I'm going to have to walk through your apartment, though. Is that okay?" Like I'm going to say, "No, I want you to find another way to let me in besides coming through my apartment." Ha! Of course, I said, "Yes, that's fine! I don't care!" Less than five minutes later, she was over to let me back in.

She had some trouble getting the door open, herself, so she sent a couple of maintenance guys over to work on the latch. I don't think I'm going to let the door close all the way anymore, though.

Why couldn't I get out of my patio, you ask? 1) My patio is made up of a 4-foot-high stone-brick wall with a 2-foot-high lattice on top that goes around the entire perimeter of my patio, attaching to my neighbors' apartments on either side, and I have no ladder out there, and I'm only 5 feet tall. 2) I'm pretty sure my front door was locked, and I didn't have my key with me.

Anyway, my boss sent me an e-mail birthday wish this morning, and my husband and I are going to have dinner together tonight, and then we're going to see a movie.

Remembering 9/11: Not Only the WTC towers

Five years ago today, I was in a waiting room after getting my alergy shots when I saw the television. No, it wasn't the towers I saw, it was the Pentagon. I had a good friend who had worked at the Pentagon until about a year before the attack. She had a doctor's appointment scheduled there that morning. Apparently, the doctor's office was in the part of the Pentagon where the plane hit. Fortunately, she missed her appointment. Had she not, she would have been dead, incinerated by the blast.

When people remember the terrorist attacks of that fateful day, they seem to forget that the twin towers were not the only structures that were destroyed that day, and the lives lost there were not the sum total of all the lives lost.

I'm not trying to downplay the events of that day. Not in the least. I am simply trying to remind people that yes, a couple thousand people died in those towers, but between the United 93 flight that crashed in a field leaving a 50 foot crater in the ground and the plane that hit the Pentagon, there were at least 1,000 more people who died in those crashes.

About 3,000 people lost their lives that day. They all deserve to be remembered and mourned, not only those who died in the attacks on the World Trade Center towers. Remember and mourn also those who died at the Pentagon and in that field in Pennsylvania aboard United 93. Pray for those who escaped death and survived those attacks. Pray for the families of those who didn't.

United, we stand; divided, we fall. In God we trust. If we forget those who died, if we do not honor their memories, they will be lost forever. Likewise, if we categorize races with the acts of a few members of those races, we lose our ability to stay united, we lose our cultural diversity that binds us together into this great nation in which we live. We lose the wonderful gifts of diversity that God has granted us with.

We need to remember that those who died did not die at the hands of every Muslim person in this world. We need to remember that not all of middle-eastern descent are terrorists, and not all are dangerous. Not even all of middle-eastern descent are Muslim!

Remember those who died, remember those who lived and live still to remember that day. Remember those who are stereotyped as terrorists and are not. Remember that we are STILL Americans, and this is STILL the greatest country in the world. Remember that we must ALL stand together, or we will ALL fall together.

God bless the United States of America, and all her inhabitants.

iiiiiiiiiiiWESTANDUNITED
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UNITEDWESTANDUNITE
UNITEDWESTANDUNITE
UNITEDWESTANDUNITE

It's so true. I need the prayers. (and) Happy Anniversary to us!

My husband got that shirt for me when we visited Little Sweden, USA. We went to just about every little shop in town.

I also got a Swedish cookbook, an anniversary hotplate, and a Swedish rosette maker. We stayed at a wonderful little bed and breakfast called the Rosberg House. Isn't it cute?

The room we were in is the one with the three narrow windows at the top of the house. It's called the Heritage Room. Appropriate for a town that is very proud of its Swedish heritage.

I think we'll be staying there again in the future.

Sonogram Pics

My brother-in-law, Nick, edited my sister's sonogram pics so I could share them with all of you. See the baby?