‘THERE FOR YOU’

Posted on February 6, 2005 by thathobbitlady

On an episode of Seinfeld, when an attractive couple they know breaks up, Jerry and Elaine dream up an ingenious way to be sure they are first in line with the suddenly romantically available. They decide to call up the broken-hearted just to say “I’M THERE FOR YOU.” Like a lot of the phrases from Sienfeld “I’m there for you” has become a catch-phrase. I hear a lot of people using it. But I wonder what it really means, if it’s really true. And I’ve come to the conclusion that despite everything we’d like to believe about the human race, we are all basically self-centered creatures (present company included) who can be “there for” others as long as it’s convenient and does not interfere with our own personal agenda.

Now maybe there are absolutely lovely people somewhere in the world who will really be “there for you” 100% of the time, but I haven’t met them, and if you live long enough, I think eventually everybody will disappoint you at some time. This is my opinion of the human race. I know it’s very pessimistic, but sorry, I think it’s true. We are sinful, self-centered beings. We (hopefully) strive to be better than we are, but basically you can’t please all the people all the time, and if you put your faith in other people to make your life happy, you will eventually be disappointed.

But that is not the point I came here to make. I wast thinking about the phrase “there for you” and I came to the conclusion that the only person who is always there for you 100% of the time is God. Because He is God, and not imperfect, and not sinful, and the only agenda He has is making the universe the best possible universe it can be, and that includes every living person.

The thing about God, though, is that when you say He is THERE for you, you have to really think about WHERE that THERE is. Sure, He is there, He is always there—but WHERE? Well, He is where God should be, in the most perfect place, and He wants you to be THERE with Him. That’s where, ideally, you should be, right there with God, if you want your life to be the best life it can be, right? Sometimes you might feel that God is far away, and when you feel that way, then somebody moved, and guess what? It wasn’t Him. Why would He move out of the perfect place? Pretty clear to see that if you were still in the perfect place, then God would be near, right? So God is always “there for you” but maybe sometimes you aren’t “there” where you should be.

But here’s the best part of all. I remembered this verse in Isaiah (59:1) that describes it perfectly: “Behold, the Lord’s had is not so short that it cannot save.” So I have this image of God as a kind of X-man—not to be disrespectful at all, but I think the image works—God is like this X-man, isn’t there one who is like made of rubber and can stretch incredible lengths? I don’t know too much about X-men, but I have this image of some supernatural being who can stretch out His arm as far as it needs to go, and tap you on the shoulder, or take you by the hand, or pull you by the arm, or whatever He needs to do to get you back to where you need to be, right next to Him.

So God is always “there for you” but sometimes you yourself are not “there.” But if you keep thinking about God, and trusting in Him, then eventually you will get back “there,” where you need to be.

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HAPPY

Posted on January 22, 2005 by thathobbitlady

I just read Mary’s list of what makes her happy, and I was inspired to make my own. So, for whatever it’s worth, this is what makes me happy, and pretty much in this order:

1. Jesus. If you don’t know why, you need to find out.

2. Mary. Because a mom could not possible ask for a better daughter.

3. My Mom. Because we have a good relationship. Some people don’t get along with their mom, and that’s sad. It’s really great when you actually LIKE the people who are most important in your life.

4. Stories. This is my all-inclusive term for movies and books. I like to take mini-vacations, and this is how I do it. I also get a kick out of seeing something creative done really well. It’s art. Which kind of leads into my next one…

5. Writing. Not that I’ve done too much of it lately, but when I do write, and it comes out good, there is no greater high. And speaking of “high”…

6. Music. All kinds, except rap and metal, and there is even some metal I can tolerate. One of the best things about my job is that I can listen to music from the time I punch in to the time I punch out. One day I was really digging the soundtrack from The Producers and one of the guys came in my office and I exclaimed, “I have the absolute best job in the whole city!!!” The Producers is awesome, but it could just as easily have been Tom Jones, or Mozart’s 40th Symphony. Or the Monkees. Go, Monkees!

7. My house. I don’t own it, but I love it. All my favorite stuff is here, and when it rains outside, I don’t get wet.

8. Cats. Obviously cats in general are the coolest creatures God has ever created, but my particular two cats are my favorite in all the world at the moment. (Though when they are wrestling at 4am, I may not say the same thing.)

9. Food! Of course I love eating delicious food, but I also enjoy cooking quite a bit. Food is so wrapped up in memories, and a defining sense of self. Can you really talk about who you are without talking about what foods you most enjoy? You ARE what you eat.

10. Free time, down time, time when I don’t have to really be anywhere or do anything in particular, and basically I can stay in my cozy little home with my cats and cook up something really delicious to eat while I am watching a favorite movie.

Man! I’m easy to please!

In the interest of keeping this list at a round number, I’m stopping at ten, though of course there are many other things that make me happy. Among them: the great feeling when the gym workout is OVER…listening to Pastor Bob on tape or TV… cool, clear weather like we’ve been having lately… the fact that I do not mind going to work each day (I stop short at saying my job makes me happy, but it is a wonderful feeling to not HATE what you have to do 8 hrs a day)… my little red music mobile…a big fat juicy refund check to arrive shortly from the IRS… and also that I recently realized that my son will not be 16 forever! Praise God! Everything is always changing, and that makes me happy. Life is full of ups and downs, but in general, the trend is UPWARDS.

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LONG WEEKEND

Posted on January 17, 2005 by thathobbitlady

It has been a lovely, lazy, long weekend. I say “lazy” because I got the chance to sit around the house and did not really allow myself to get stressed out too much (as is best in January) but it also was NOT lazy, because I did in fact get a lot of things done that I wanted to get done. So it was the perfect blend of getting things done without getting stressed. And sleeping late. And doing a little bit of exercise, but not too much. And some reading. And some good movies. And some good food. Nothing exciting, but all in all, very nice.

And February will have another long weekend!

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JANUARY BLUES

Posted on January 12, 2005 by thathobbitlady

It’s January, the second worse month of the year (August has NO redeeming qualies, stuck right in the middle of hurricane season. At least January may bring cooler temps and virtually no chance of a hurricane, and there are TWO holidays) but anyway, here it is January, and true to form all I want to do is hibernate. January is a time when you should power down after the holidays and get as much sleep as possible, and not look for anything new. It’s enough to just survive January. This happens to me virtually every year to some degree, and yet I still feel guilty about it, because society is always telling you to go, go, go and do, do, do—and if you don’t you are worthless and lazy. I HATE society!!! Why do I still feel compelled to listen to it? Sometimes I think I am free of it, but in times like this, times like January, I’m not so sure. It’s a real pain.

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THE MOVIE BLANKET

Posted on January 8, 2005 by thathobbitlady

Everybody knows that when you go to the movies, it is a good idea to bring a sweater in case the air conditioning is too cold. Years ago I developed a habit of bringing, instead of a movie sweater, a “movie blanket.” I kind of got out of the habit for a while, but I’m taking it up again, and finally it has occurred to me WHY a movie blanket makes so much sense.

Remember when you were a kid, and your parents would tuck you into bed under all your comfy blankets and you would say, “Tell me a story!” And if you were lucky, you would get a really good story to hlep you wind down before bedtime. Well, going to the movies is kind of like that for grown-up kids. You sit down facing the giant screen and say, basically, “Tell me a story!” And if you’re lucky, you get a really good story. So why not be cozied up with a nice blankie while you get your story? For a couple of hours all your troubles go away while you lose yourself in another world. It’s a comfort, an escape, even a mini-vacation. Why not do it up to the max?

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MARRIAGE PHILOSOPHY

Posted on January 6, 2005 by thathobbitlady

Today I had a revelation, these words just came to be out of nowhere. It goes something like this: “Marriage is something that very many people attempt, but a great number of people do not do it CORRECTLY. I do not intend to attempt marriage again, unless I am reasonably sure I am doing it mostly correctly.” I’m not talking about looking for perfection in another person, because you will never find that. I just mean there are certain BASIC principles you should be sure are being adequately met so that you do not doom yourselves to failure before you even begin.

I could go on and on about these basic principles, in fact I could write a whole essay about this, and I may sometime, but at the moment I just wanted to say this much, and also to say that when all is said and done, I think it is better to be on your own than to be tied to someone who is going to give you a royal pain in the ass (pardon my French).

It comes down, I guess, to the age-old balance of privledges and responsibilities, pluses and minuses. There is good and bad in every situation. Figure out what’s important, and make sure the good outweighs the bad.

And also don’t stupidly gloss over important issues, glibly thinking like the bubblegum pop lyrics so eloquntly put it, “Love will keep us together.” Unless you are both standing together on a solid foundation, love is NOT going to keep you together; the storms of life will come, and one or the other or both of you is going to fall off if there is no solid ground underneath you.

This could be said for anything, I suppose, not just marriage.

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I FOUND…

Posted on January 6, 2005 by thathobbitlady

Today I found…the saying I was looking for for 2005. You know how each year you say something catchy like, “The best I can be in 2003,” or “Going for more in 2004!” Well, at Faith Baptist, on my ride to work each day, now I see these words: “Christ is alive in 2005!” Amen!

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TODAY

Posted on January 4, 2005 by thathobbitlady

Today, I remembered…the great movie Amadeus. Tom Hulce plays the maniacal Mozart to perfection! I really can’t remember seeing him in too many other movies, but he did this role so great. I should have it from the library in a few days.

Today I learned…that Calvary Chapel bookstore has a booth at the Pompano Flea Market. I’ve never seen it, basically because I don’t ever go to the PFM, but it’s nice to know it’s there if I ever need it.

Today I enjoyed…listening to the Pirates of the Carribean soundtrack very loud in the little red musicmobile with the windows down and the cool breeze blowing. THIS is why I stay in Florida.

Today I tried…the ROOMBA for the first time! It’s fantastic!

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MAGGOTY BREAD

Posted on January 3, 2005 by thathobbitlady

One of the best movie quotes of all time, spoken by a disgruntler orc in The Two Towers:

“I’m starving! We ain’t had nothin’ to eat but maggoty bread for three stinkin’ days!”

I may be a little off on the exact wording, and some LOTR freak can set me straight, but I think I have at least captured the spirit of the quote.

By the way, do you all know that in The Return of the King, Peter Jackson the director is a pirate who gets shot through the heart by one of Legolas’ arrows?

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TODAY

Posted on January 3, 2005 by thathobbitlady

Today I saw…a woman in the Wal Mart parking lot who was wearing her shirt inside out. She wasn’t a punk kid trying to make a revolutionary fashion statement. She was a middle aged woman wearing a white shirt with the black tags clearly on the outside, not the inside. Maybe she had tried on something in the fitting room and didn’t take the time to put herself back together properly. It was weird.

Today I learned…from the vet, that milk is one of the worst things you can give a cat, because it has too much magnesium. Then why do we always have this idea about giving milk to cats? Because they like it! The same way that human beings like chocolate eclairs, but they are not really the best thing for us to eat on a regular basis.

Today I thought…in a perfect world, Lemony Snicket would be real, and Daniel Handler just a bad dream. I tried to read a Daniel Handler novel, and was disappointed to find that it was little more than soft porn. He tried to be inventive, and some of the language was quite good (like Lemony Snicket’s) but as far as I got, it was really just a reasonably well-written dirty book. Lemony Snicket’s writing is so creative and unique, I found it disappointing that Daniel Handler would sink to the lowest common denominator. I expected more from him.

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