30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 26

Day 26: What popular notion do you think the world has wrong?

Oh, boy! This is going to be an easy one for me!  I'll warn you, though.  My answer is NOT going to be "PC" or popular.  If you're easily offended, you might not want to read any further.

The popular notion that the world has COMPLETELY wrong is that we're all "good" people.  We are NOT good people.  We are all (myself included) dirty, rotten sinners.  Romans 3:10 says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  Isaiah 53:6, "All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way".  Most of us haven't murdered, but we've all lied, we've all "fudged" our taxes, driven over the speed limit, envied, etc, etc.  According to the Bible, these are all the same as murder in the eyes of God.  So, we are NOT good people.  The world has it ALL wrong!

I know why though.  The world does not want to admit that it needs God.  If we are all "good", we don't need God.  We're ok on our own.   Admitting that one is a sinner cuts to one's own pride.  Suddenly, we are the wretch in the song, we are one in need.  Not a comfortable place for most of us, myself included.  Praise God that He provided the way for us to be made, not just "good", but perfect and whole and restored to Him.  He sent His son, Jesus Christ, to be the perfect sacrifice.  If we admit that we're sinners and ask for forgiveness in Jesus, He will forgive us and we can spend eternity in heaven with Him.  It's just that simple.  Our God is just that loving!

John 3:16

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 25

Day 25: If you could have dinner with anyone in history, who would it be and what would you eat?

Ok.  I'll be honest.  As a Christian, I kind of hate this question.  I always feel like the "right" answer is supposed to Jesus or Mary or one of the apostles or Moses or some other great biblical character.   Now, don't get me wrong.  If I could magically be transported back in time and have dinner with one of those people, I would do it in a heartbeat!  It would certainly be amazing to sit at any of those people's feet and just hear their stories and learn from them, but the way I see it is that I'm going to have eternity with them.  Eternity is a really long time.  I can't even fathom it in my little brain.  I've tried to.  So, I figure I can spend all that time with them.  If I only have one shot at dinner with someone, I'm going to pick someone else.

I thought about it and I would love to go back in time and meet my great-grandfather, Pliney Mallory Pratt.  Yes, that was his real name.  He died when my mother was about 9, so obviously I never met him.  From everything I've ever heard, he was a really wonderful man.  I would love to have some real memory of him more than just a picture and someone else's story.  That would be really special to me.  And I would love to tell him about all the grandchildren, great-grandchildren (one of whom is named Mallory after him), and now great-great grandchildren he has. Unfortunately, he didn't have any sons to carry his name on, but I hope he would be proud of the way his legacy has passed on.

So there's my choice.  It's no one world famous who did anything really great to change the world, but I wouldn't be here without him and it would be really cool for me!

Thanks for reading!

Some of Pliney's descendants. I hope we've made him proud!

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 24

Day 24 (the end is in sight!): Describe your first job.

My first job was at a doctor's office. I honestly don't remember what exactly I was hired to do.  It was supposed to be a temporary job doing something with old charts.  I just remember sitting in the employee kitchen with the charts.  I was making $5 an hour and my first paycheck was $55!  I thought I was rich!! LOL They must have liked me because I went from that to doing filing after school.  More and more responsibilities were added as time went on.  I graduated high school and a full time receptionist position opened up, so I took it.  I worked at different medical offices, with college classes thrown in, until I was 25 and quit to stay home with my kids.  So, I guess you could say my first job turned into a career of sorts.

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 23

Ok. This has already taken my more than 30 days, but life is that way.  Busy, busy.

Day 23: List your top 3 hobbies and why you love them.

One of my favorites!

1. Reading.  Definitely my #1 hobby.  I'll read anything and everything I can get my hands on. Books, magazines, the Internet, cereal boxes, you name it.  I love to read!  Why? Reading is learning! I can learn about places I'll never visit, people that lived 100's of years before me, people that never even really existed, except on the written page, but become as real to me as my husband or my children.  I have books I have read over and over because the characters are like dear, old friends that must be re-visited from time to time, not because they have changed, but because I have.  I need to see them through different eyes.  Not only do I learn about others, I learn about myself.  I learn that my struggles are universal.  I'm not alone.  Humans all go through the same things.  And, sometimes, I read just to be entertained.  There's nothing wrong with that.  Just being lost in a story just for the sake of being transported for a while!  There is nothing better than that!!
2. Knitting.  Well, anything crafty, but I really love knitting.  It's so relaxing.  I love to make things to give away.  As I create things, I think about the person I'm creating for and pray for them.  I love to watch things take shape in my hands and know that I'm bringing someone joy in the process.  I also love that I can kind of do it without thinking. That makes it easy to just go on "auto-pilot" and just relax while I knit. Other crafts I enjoy are cross stitch and card making, specifically with rubber stamps (I love Stampin' Up!), but those are much more "thought intensive" and I just don't have the time or brain power for them these days.  Some day, I'll get back into them.
3. Game shows.  I love game shows.  I watch them all the time.  I've even gotten my 2 year old into them.  He's awfully cute when we watch The Price Is Right and he yells, "Come On Down!".  Ok. Maybe I'm biased!  LOL  I've thought about why I like game shows and I think the reasons are that I love to play along.  I love the challenge, especially with shows like Jeopardy (I'm a fountain of useless knowledge), but I also like watching "average Joes" like me win big.  It's fun.  I hope to go on a game show some day and it gives me hope that I'll get there, too.  One show the 2 year old and I enjoy in the morning is an old show from the 70's called Card Sharks on GSN.  So much fun, just to watch for the fashion and the hairstyles! LOL 

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 22

Day 22: Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 15 years? 

These questions are always tough for me.  I am not a long term thinker.  It's why I'll never be good at chess and it drives my hubby nuts.  

Let's see, in 5 years, I'll be 42 with a 16 year old, a 14 year old, and a 7 year old.  So, I'll probably teaching the oldest to drive, dealing with boyfriends with her (UGH), *maybe* looking at colleges,  *maybe* starting to deal with girlfriends with the 14 year old, but I doubt it (he's so shy), hopefully, he'll have matured a bit and be a bit more independent.  I love that he loves me so much, but I do try to push him away from the nest at times, too.  I'm sure the little one will just be a typical 7 year old. I have a feeling he'll be the adventurous one and I see numerous trips to the ER for bumps, bruises, and perhaps broken limbs in his future.

In 10 years, I'll be 47 with a 21 year old (YIKES), 19 year old, and a 12 year old.  I'm guessing by then I'll have to go back to work since I'll probably have 2 kids in college at that point.  I'm not sure if college is in the cards for Ian.  He is not a student.  He is a "do-er".  He learns by doing and books are just NOT his thing.  Of course, I realize he's still young and that could change, but I see him maybe going to a technical school and learning a trade versus a traditional 4 year college.  I have no problem picturing Ellie in a 4 year college.  She's so smart and learning just comes so naturally to her.  I could even see her maybe going on to more education, like law school, if she could just focus herself.  Ryan, I have no idea.  He's still too young to tell.  Right now, extreme skateboarding does not seem out of the realm of possibility with him.  

In 15 years, WOW!  I don't even know!  Like I said, I'm not a long term thinker.  I'll be 52.  Hubby and I will celebrate our 30th anniversary that year!! That will be something! Maybe I'll be a grandmother by then.  I'll have a 26 year old, a 24 year old, and a 17 year old.  My child-rearing days will be just about done.  If I don't have grandchildren, I know I'll be waiting anxiously for them! LOL  Maybe I'll go back to school.  I would love to travel some.  I'm sure God has something in store for me.  I'll just trust Him to keep revealing it to me one step at a time.  I know He has more in store for me than I can even imagine.  It's so comforting.  

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 21

Day 21: If you could have 1 superpower, what would it be and what would be the first thing you did with it?

I think I would like to be invisible.  I often say, "To be a fly on THAT wall....".  Ok. I admit it.  I'm nosy.   But then, I think that there's probably a lot of conversations that I think I'd like to hear, but I know I'd hear stuff I wish I hadn't. Ignorance is bliss.  Of course, I would have a lot of fun being invisible.  Opening doors people had closed.  Moving stuff on people.  Nothing harmful.  Just fun. 

There was a show on TV a while ago.  I don't remember the name of it, but it was about this guy who got the next day's newspaper delivered to his door every morning.  He would pick one story out of it and go and change it for the better.  For example, he might read about a woman who was going to fall out of a building and go and save her.  Of course, the story always got really complicated because he couldn't talk about how he knew what was going to happen.  I forget why.  Anyway, I think that would be cool, too, being able to help people like that.  That would be a cool super power, too.  

But, I already have the greatest super power of all.....

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 20

Day 20: Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood.

• I remember being 4 and riding my tricycle in the kitchen.  I'm still not sure why my mother was letting  me ride my tricycle in the kitchen, but whatever.  Anyway, I'm riding and I rolled over the cord for the toaster oven and it fell on my leg.  I got a really bad burn on my thigh.  The skin there is still discolored.  It doesn't show so much, except in the summer when I get tan.  
• The Christmas I was 8 and I wanted a My Child doll.  They were these dolls that had skin that was supposed to be soft like a real baby and could be bought with whatever eye and hair color you wanted.  Of course, I wanted green eyes and light brown hair like me.  I remember telling my mother that if she got me that she didn't have to get my anything else!  I was SO disappointed when I opened the gifts from my parents and I didn't get one.  Later that day, we went to my grandparents house and the very last gift I opened was the doll I had wanted.  I was beside myself!  I still remember the joy!  And, yes, I still have the doll! 
• Visiting my grandparents on Friday nights watching the Dukes of Hazzard, playing Scrabble and falling asleep on Grandpa's bed.