Thirteen Song That Remind Me of My Childhood

1. Hangin’ In - Tanya Tucker

2. Gonna Take A Lot of River - The Oak Ridge Boys

3. God Blessed Texas - Little Texas — Warning: There are scantily clad women in this video. Forget Barbie, it’s the girls in bikinis in this video that messed up my body image…

4. Ships That Don’t Come In - Joe Diffie — I remember, back when we were after Saddam the first time, how people would call in and request this song for fallen soldiers. I still get goosebumps and want to cry just thinking about it. Seems appropriate again.

5. I’ll Make Love To You - Boyz II Men — Let me be upfront and tell you that this was my favorite song in 5th grade and I had no idea what it was about. And now it makes me laugh to think about how often I listened to this song.

6. Daddy’s Money - Ricochet

7. Remember Me This Way - Jordan Hill

8. Something to Talk About - Bonnie Raitt

9. Is There Life Out There - Reba McEntire

10. Boot Scootin’ Boogie - Brooks & Dunn

11. What’s It To You - Clay Walker

12. Breakout - Swing Out Sister

13. Come On Eileen - Dexy’s Midnight Runners

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HEADS! This week’s theme is flower. This is my fifth week!

Appetizer
When you drink soda/pop/coke, do you prefer to drink it from the bottle, a can, or after pouring it into a cup? I really enjoy it more from a bottle, but I think the taste is best when it is fresh and in a cup, chilled, and unadulterated by any ice. Who knows where that stuff comes from.

Soup
What television show are you willing to stay up late to watch? There are a few…but I don’t know if you mean shows that come on late, or just ones that I would stay up late to watch if they did. Nothing that is on late appeals to me anymore. Now, as far as what I would stay awake for: LOST, The Office, Deadliest Catch, Man vs. Wild.

Salad
Name one person, place, or thing you think of as brilliant. Here.

Main Course
Would you be willing to work 4 10-hour days instead of 5 8-hour days in order to save gas? Absolutely. But I just got hired at a place about 2 miles from my house (instead of the 25ish that I’m driving each way now) so it’s not much of a worry anymore.

Dessert
If you were a superhero, what would you call yourself? I’ve talked about this before — The Bleach Queen. You’d be able to quench your thirst with the pure, clean water flowing from my sparkling white toilet.

Thirteen Things About My Faith

1. I was raised in a Christian family and have a long line of very faithful women who came before me. I feel blessed to claim that and have felt the blessings of their faithfulness throughout my life. It seems like you go one way or another when you are raised in a Christian household (at least, in my experience) — you either embrace it or run in the opposite direction. I can’t say that many of my childhood friends that I know had the same upbringing as me are much different. They are now either passionate about their faith or have none at all. Which is preferable (Revelation 3:15-16).

2. I wasn’t always sure about my faith. My parents don’t know this, most of my friends and family don’t either. I’ve talked about it some on GodlyGals, but not very much.

There was a period in my life where things were, in my mind, very dark and I dwelled there for a number of years. Not that I could really identify with the Goth culture (I thought dressing in all black, white makeup, etc. was ridiculous — that opinion hasn’t really changed), but some of their interests were things that I was into. I read Sylvia Plath obsessively, wrote pages and pages of what can really only be described as “gothic” novels (Southern Gothic is more my style now), spent all extra time at school reading while the rest of my peers were socializing, never contemplated suicide but read literature and watched films that dealt heavily with the subject, and got sucked into a world of introspection and solitude. I still find my peace in the quiet by myself, but this was different.

I didn’t want to be different, but I felt the pain of it every day at school. A line from Sylvia Plath’s journals spoke to me back then, about an animal returning to the herd with the touch of human hands upon it. I felt like that animal. I felt that I knew something they did not, not in a pompous way — no. This was not a conscious decision on my part. I felt…just plain alone. I’d never had a boyfriend, my family and strangers told me I was pretty but I felt fat and nothing more, to this day…I don’t believe any of the people that I counted as my closest friends at the time have ever said words that were just meant to be “kind words” or a compliment. I’m not saying that to try and elicit them, what I’m trying to explain here is the effect that the absence of those sentiments had on my heart and mind. It was like all my friends back then did was take take take. By the end of high school I was fed up with that and ready for some giving (I did get that in college).

My interests were different from those of my peers, I preferred the company of older people, hated the hypocrisy and fickle ways of the people around me, hated the way that I was tormented (quietly and in such a way that it was permitted by the adults that should have stopped it) by young people in my church, and just the general behavior of people that I expected more of. I wanted truth, stability, and people that cared. Not some watered-down, “go to church on Sunday and live like the devil the rest of the week” version of “faith” in Jesus Christ (in quotations because it most certainly is not).

So I went looking. All of my searching, introspection, and diving into the darkness was at the very core a human being looking for the truth. Want to know the reason I know so much about so many cults and off-shoots of Christianity? Because I researched them with a fervor that would rival that of the most devout member of any of those groups. You name it and I looked into it as a possible new path to take. Did I ever truly step away from what I had grown up believing? No, I don’t believe so. But did I believe that those around me, those who were supposed to be my examples (my family is absolutely, well, most members, not included here) were practicing what they preached? Absolutely not.

3. Whoosh. That bit was long, huh? Thanks if you’re still here. This next part is the part where I stop caring what other people think. The part where God takes me in His hands and says, “You are Mine and I have a plan for you.”

I never saw myself as a leader. I fancied myself a princess at certain points of my life, as the first female president when I was in 3rd grade, but not much else. Wallflower to the core, my life was had become about drawing as little attention to myself as possible.But God has a funny way of working things out the way He wants. I had been going to a high school girl’s retreat with my church for the past few years (I was 18 or so at this point) and each year had come away feeling a little stronger, a little more encouraged in my faith (more on this later). But this was my senior year of high school. The end. I had started the year on a new foot. A new woman, in my own mind (the change had really happened the spring semester of my junior year), and I think the changes going on in my life really showed it. I still didn’t have the support system I needed, but things were better. I was happy and thriving. And the best thing of all? I only answered to God now. What a liberating idea — that the unfounded criticism based on worldly “values” you receive from people around you is worthless.

4. The girl’s retreat. That was a turning point, though I didn’t realize it at the time. However you feel about prophecy, I’m just going to lay it out there. In the middle of something that wasn’t some knock-down, drag-out, Pentecostal worship service (something that wasn’t foreign to me), the main speaker at the retreat walked quietly off the stage (she wasn’t speaking at the time), walked straight back to where I stood, embraced me, and began to weep. Then she spoke quietly, “God has been speaking to me about you. Follow where He is leading you. He is preparing you right now, to raise you up as a leader among women.” She hugged me a little longer and then returned to the stage.

I was a little taken aback. Shocked? Not quite. The reason for that was because this wasn’t the first time I’d had this said to me. The first time was in 8th or 9th grade, in the midst of my “dark age.” In the following weeks I had two women at church who were not connected approach me with the same thing. As we are told in scripture, I tested everything, waited it out a while, and everything really came together (1 Thessalonians 5:21; Acts 17:11) — which you’ll see later.

5. I attend the church I do, not because of the denomination (it’s not the one I was raised in), but because they teach the Bible. Pure and simple.

6. It’s Baptist, in case you were wondering.

7. I was raised in a non-denominational church that used Assembly of God literature.

8. My parents now attend an Assembly of God church and that is where my family has been for the past…ten years. Wow. That is hard to believe. I never became a member and will not because I do not agree with all of their doctrine. It’s something that I choose (on good days) not to bring up with my family. Sometimes I worry that if I ever do dive into it, try to show them scripture, etc. that they will doubt my faith and I’ll be prodded to go down front during the altar call.

9. On June 12, 2003, GodlyGals was born. I’d become pen pals with a girl named Alisha through Brio Magazine. For a while I had felt God leading me to start some kind of community for young women online and I just hadn’t seen anything around that vaguely resembled what I had in mind. Alisha and I talked about it for a while…I want to say maybe a year, so the talk about GodlyGals started in 2002 and came into fruition in 2003 when we started the community on Livejournal. About a year later, we started the boards, which later died down, only to come back in March of 2006. They have been going strong ever since. It has grown into a thriving community of over 500 women.

10. Random: Growing up I was very prejudiced against the two denominations that divided my hometown. One did everything they told me not to and then told me I was going to hell. The other accused me of going to a “snake church.” It took going to college and getting to know sincere members of the first denomination to get rid of all prejudices.

11. Being in a position of leadership in a ministry has taught me a lot of things. 1) You can’t be everyone’s friend. Being kind to everyone is a must, but there times when you must simply put your foot down and lead. Kinda makes me feel like I understand what the pastor is feeling when 15 families invite him to lunch on Sunday and he knows he can’t just pick one. 2) Sadly, not everyone who shows interest in your ministry and becomes involved has the best interests of the ministry at heart. While they deserve to be treated as human beings…as someone once told me, “If someone walked into your house and pooped on the floor, you’d be expected to throw them out.” Let’s extend this metaphor. I’ve had a few people come into my house and poop on my floor during the middle of a happy, fun party with lots of guests. That part of being a leader makes me miserable. 3) Sometimes, “christians” hate other Christians. This isn’t good, it’s not supposed to happen, but it does. Do you feel like Christians hate you? Come on over here and sit down. We can be friends and chat. 4) Girls, girls, girls. Definitely the more difficult to deal with of the two sexes. 5) God REALLY won’t give you more than you can handle. There have been things about ministry that make me feel like I can’t breathe, that cause a deep ache in my heart from the time I wake until I go to sleep again. But I can honestly tell you that the Lord has always been there and has not let me down.

12. I try my best to do what I need to be doing, what scripture calls all Christians to. When I mess up (often), please forgive me. I have a temper, pride issues (hello, I’m a blogger. I talk about myself ALL THE TIME.), a hard time making friends with women, experience a lack of trust with most people, am very “Mama Bear”ish if you mess with my friends, am sometimes quick to speak, and can be incredibly abrasive. Little by little, those things are becoming less of me.

13. I am not who I was. This isn’t by any work of my own, nor any other human: it’s by the changing power of the blood of Jesus Christ. I often feel like a failure thinking back on the type of witness I have been in my lifetime. I’m not the girl I mentioned in #2, though there are parts of her that remain. I’m not anything close to what I was 5 years ago, when I graduated from high school. And now I wish desperately that I could show people that, but they aren’t in my life anymore. That’s life and how things go, but I do hope that someday I am able to share a little of who I am now and Who made me this way with them. Maybe this is a start.

This is, by far, the longest TT I have ever written. I can’t say that a lot of thought went into it, because it didn’t. All this is, as one of my creative writing teachers would call it, is “blood spilled on the pages”. If this mattered to you, touched you, or brought any questions to your mind, I would love to hear your thoughts. Please share in a comment or email: liz@misswisabus.com

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HEADS! This week’s theme is royal. This is my fourth week!

This week I am featuring some of my favorite photos from flickr that are tagged with the word “royal” (all have a Creative Commons license). Enjoy!

Kevin Answers YOUR 13 Questions!

1. Do you love dogs? Yes

2. What is your Myers Briggs Type? ESFJ

3. What are Elizabeth’s traits that you admire most and why? Being my opposite to best be my compliment and helper. It is wonderful that we have common things that we both can share (likes and dislikes), but it is more wonderful for there to be aspects of her that I do not necessarily have (like hospitality) whereby she can compliment me and I her. There have been times where I have thought how easy it would be to have someone that was just like me, but then I think how annoying it would be and how easy doesn’t always equal better or best.

4. What was the very first thing that attracted you to Elizabeth? I am not gonna lie…right off the bat, it was her beauty, but once I got to know her more, she became more and more attractive to me.

5. Before you went, did you ever think you’d stay in Oklahoma after graduating? Absolutely not! I was sold on graduating and moving back to Maryland and living in the house that I grew up in.

6. What is one thing you have been afraid of and have had to overcome? How did you overcome it? And what was the result? Roller coasters. When I was in elementary school I went on this one roller coaster and cried the whole time. Up until late high school, I never rode a roller coaster. I overcame this fear by facing it and getting on a roller coaster and realizing that it wasn’t bad at all and that there was nothing to be afraid of. Now, I have no problem riding roller coasters.

7. What passage of scripture have you taken most encouragement from and why? The whole story of Joseph. The man was humble, loved God wholeheartedly, was able to look temptation in the eye and run away from it. The man was faithful to God during the highs and lows of his life and God blessed him for it. He humbled himself and God exalted him before the world. He is also an example of patience, hard work, strong moral character, and non-instant gratification.

8. What would you consider to be the most pinnacle moment in your Christian walk? Has something happened that really changed the way that you walk with the Lord? The “most” pinnacle moment would have to been when I began the journey accepting Christ in high school. Getting involved with the Baptist Student Union when I came to college has really changed how I walk with God.

9. Tell me about the time that you felt most loved by another person. As I was telling Liz, anytime I am given a hug is when I feel loved because my primary love language is physical touch.

10. What is your salvation testimony? I grew up in the Episcopal church and was involved in almost everything at my church. In the summer of 1996, before my sophomore year of high school, I was in a serious car accident with my brother. He was fine, but I was stuck, eventually having to be cut out of the car. Due to some other details, I ended up at a hospital to stay overnight for observation. My mom told me what she had been informed of by one of the paramedics and told me that she believed an angel was sent to lessen the blow on my side of the car and that God had a purpose for my life. I couldn’t sleep that night partly because of what she said and partly because I couldn’t sleep slightly sitting up. I just consciously made the decision to give my life to Christ, but didn’t learn how to really grow until I came to college.

11. Where is your favorite place to go by yourself, and what makes that place so special to you? Other than the bathroom, I guess my favorite place would be my room mainly because its a place where I can be by myself to just relax.

12. If you could go back and change one things you’ve done with regard to your relationship with Elizabeth, what would it be? Maybe starting it earlier than I did, but then that would have meant that it would be longer before getting married, so I am gonna say I wouldn’t change a thing. I have loved every moment of it, good or bad.

13. What’s your dream vacation? Anywhere as long as Liz is there with me.

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TAILS! This week’s theme is Tell about your job. This is my third week!

I currently have a temp job as a receptionist for a really awesome company. The work is fun, the coworkers are the sweetest I’ve encountered, and I’ve been paid a lot less for WAY worse work (see: wiping excrement from miniature bottoms).

While I don’t really feel it would be appropriate for me to go into the details, I will tell you that right now I am working on a project (Columbine) that is by far the most emotionally taxing thing I have ever done. I am a terribly empathetic person and that doesn’t make it any easier. As I go through this articles, I am face-to-face with the victims, the killers, the families. It is heartbreaking. The first day I started working on it, I can’t tell you how many times I had to stop and compose myself. It is powerful. I cannot wait for this film to be released.

In the future I will probably write more about the impact that the Columbine massacre had on me — the impact I didn’t realize it had until nearly 10 years later. Now that I am able to look back and see the child that I was then, the path that I was on, the way I dealt with emotions…it puts a different spin on things. There are things we’ll never understand, but my, what clarity the years bring.

Appetizer
Wii, Playstation or XBox? XBox — only because I am totally a nerd and like to play The Elder Scrolls. I know. It was one of the first things I admitted to Kevin when we started dating. It’s good to get things like that out in the open.

Soup
Would you ever go skydiving? Possibly. If you gave me equine tranquilizers beforehand.

Salad
Name a sequel that you think is better than the original movie. Anne of Avonlea (or Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel, depending on your location), but I will say that I am probably biased because it’s the first movie I can remember seeing at around age 2. My mom was a fan. And of course at that point I hadn’t read the books, so I didn’t know about the changes.

Main Course
Share your most wonderful birthday celebration. Every birthday since I started college has been great. Why? We celebrate for a week. It’s called Liz-a-palooza and it’s fantastic. A couple of years ago we celebrated at Chili’s and had our own version of the “Dundies” — which I think we called the “Lizzies” (don’t remember. I happened to have a very bad cold/cough at the time and was on a lot of drugs and had no voice. But it was my birthday!). Everyone got a customized trophy with an award picked especially for them.

Dessert
If you dare, post a picture of yourself making a silly face.

Okay, you may think this is weak, but I’m serious! I’m going to interview my boyfriend for my blog. And I want your questions. All I ask is that you keep it tasteful! One question per person, please! Unless you really really need to ask another.

Thirteen Questions for Kevin
1. Do you love dogs?
2. What is your Myers Briggs Type?
3. What are Elizabeth’s traits that you admire most and why?
4. What was the very first thing that attracted you to Elizabeth?
5. Before you went, did you ever think you’d stay in Oklahoma after graduating?
6. What is one thing you have been afraid of and have had to overcome? How did you overcome it? And what was the result?
7. What passage of scripture have you taken most encouragement from and why?
8. What would you consider to be the most pinnacle moment in your Christian walk? Has something happened that really changed the way that you walk with the Lord?
9. Tell me about the time that you felt most loved by another person.
10.
11.
12.
13.

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HEADS or TAILS! This week’s theme is peace or piece. This is my second week!

Names meaning “peace” that I like:
1. Chessa (F, Slavic)
2. Eron (M, Hebrew)
3. Hume (M, English)
4. Noe (U, French) - Would look nice along with my ancestor, Helloe
5. Salome (F, Hebrew)
6. Winifred (F, Celtic/Gaelic)

There weren’t nearly as many names meaning “peace” as I thought there would be (well, not so many that I liked), so on a whim I looked up “piece” to see what might be there. I found something that might be valuable to my brother, Kyle, someday.

Kylene (F, Celtic/Gaelic) - Little Piece Of Land

So then I looked up “peas” and all I got was Nili.

Have a great Tuesday!