Scary? Skanky? Spiritual? Happy Halloween

Halloween. For the last ten years or so, I have not even realized when this holiday is upon us. Of course as soon as pumpkins go on sale, like in July or something like that, I buy one. I love pumpkins. I do remember in college when Halloween fell on the same night that the episode of Dawson's Creek came out where Dawson's dad died. I was watching it and crying so hard that my friend Kandi made me hide when the little kids came to her door. She said I would scare them all more than any haunted house in the city. In addition, I remember being in New York on Halloween a few years back. It started snowing, and the locals informed me that the ground would be white until April. I stated I would not survive the winter (much like my unlucky family members on Oregon Trail) and came home as soon as possible.

However, this year, I have actually participated in a few Halloween festivities. Here is a picture of me as Snow White. I couldn't find a little person to follow me around and be Bashful, though.



This is a picture of my friends and I outside of the Bricktown Haunted Warehouse. I hate haunted houses so much that I wanted to eat my head at this point in the night. I did okay until one guy scared me so badly that I yelled, "Get away from me! I will rip your teeth out of your head!" I realized then that I needed to simply pray in tongues until we were done.



Of course my students were dying to have a free day all day long since it is a candy ingesting day of fun. While at the mall, Jenn and I witnessed too many young girls dressed like hookers all in the name of fun. Gotta love those knee high socks and short skirts. Ladies, remember, the guys you want to look at you aren't. The old nasty men in the corner with pit stains are the ones who are remembering you later in the night. Nice, huh?

However, tonight I went to a Judgment House that one of my students was performing in. For those of you not familiar with this concept, it is basically a Christian version of a haunted house. I wanted to go because I love my student, and he invited me. I thought it would be cheesy and not so good. Instead, I left wanting to change the world.

That doesn't mean there wasn't some cheese factor, but I learned a few things. When the actor playing satan is spitting lies at us from his all black hell set, I have an urge to rebuke him in the name of Jesus Christ. But how come when satan tries to send me the lies saying things about how God doesn't really love me or that I will never be pretty enough to be married or whatever the case don't I feel the same need to rebuke with the name of Jesus and with scripture?

I am going to eat the candy that the kids didn't come get. Have a fantastic day, my dear Friends.

~ Steph ~

Collage of People and Hair

I watched the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders reality show tonight with my good friend. As we sat and ate the mint chocolate chip ice cream that her husband had delivered to us as we sat on the couch, the women on the show were being poked, prodded, and dunked in water to calculate their percentage of body fat. The show only got better after one girl was told that her nails, hair and dance style made her look like a stripper and the girls had to try on the infamous uniform.

I was watching and thought, "Where are their friends?!?!" As these young women were going through a form a torture that could only be equal to something like seeing your extremely cute ex-boyfriend in line at the bank when you have not washed your hair in two days and put on yesterday's clothes, I wanted to reach over, grab their skinny 10% body fat hands and say, "You don't have to do this! Let's go shoe shopping instead." That seems like it would be much more fun and less humiliating. However, none of this will effect the fact that I will continue watching the show.

You see, I have some of the most amazing friends in the world. I must say that they are some of the most drastically different people you will ever meet. Take Jenn. She is the blonde haired, pre-K teaching ballerina. She has a hope chest filled with cherry dishes and matching tea towels. She loves Focus on the Family, and she reads children's books for fun. She even sent me a text message recently asking me if I would disown her if she bought herself a Christmas sweater to wear in her classroom. I said no, but it would give me free reign to make fun of her for the rest of her life.

Now take Lealyn. Once, Lealyn drew a picture of the female anatomy on my mirror to teach a simple lesson to our engaged roommate. She enjoys a good cigar, and she can also make a mean banana pudding. She lives a life out of some sort of twisted trust. Once when spending the night at her house, she stated, "We were robbed a few weeks back. The man tried to hit my Grandpa with a baseball bat. But, we still don't lock the doors. We are safe here." I didn't sleep all night long.

Of course I can not make a list of my friends without discussing my Megan Busby. Megan has moved to Germany with her husband and two boys. She just found out that is she is pregnant with a girl! Yea! However, Megan thinks a great name for a little girl is Prudence. Her favorite desert is astronaut ice cream, hot rollers are her every day hair care, and panty hose go with everything including jeans. She grows her own herbs in her garden and loves the Asian food market. She thinks she is Asian because her maiden name was Rice. I just let her believe that.

These are just a few of the collage of people that have made up my life. These three women will stand beside me one day when I say "I do," will have my children named after them, will room next to me at the old woman's home, and will make sure I never, ever have a panty line. They don't care that I am the friend who talks in her sleep, can't smell a single thing, wears a uniform of dresses with jeans and heels, gets car sick, cries at all movies including High School Musical 3, sends them podcasts to listen to on a daily basis, and falls asleep even when they are talking. We all make each other's lives fantastic. I wouldn't trade them for all the chocolate in the world.

Jenn and I. She has really blonde hair. I was NOT lying.

Lealyn, Megan, and Myself.

That is all for this post. I must dry my hair and get ready for the students tomorrow. I was super mean today. Word to the wise, if you ever have my class, make sure that you do your homework.

~ Stephanie ~

This One's for the Ladies

Vampires. These "creatures" are not the type that I would normally ponder. Until recently when I began to read the Twilight Saga* by Stephenie Meyers (she spells her name in an odd fashion). These books are about the "creatures" mentioned above. The blood suckers. The leaches. The immortal. The intriguing. The charismatic. The vampires.

There is much to write about my level of enjoyment for this series. However, in order to not spoil anything for those who have not read these books, I will solely focus on one character - Edward. After reading about Edward Cullen, my roommate and I have both proclaimed our desire to marry a vampire. She, being in a serious relationship currently, has asked her boyfriend if there is any possibility he may be one. He says no, but I believe she is still holding out. On Wednesday night, I told my pastor I wanted to marry a vampire. He laughed. I don't think he realized I was serious.

Of course, there are some undesirable characteristics of Mr. Cullen. His skin is cold. He does not enjoy human food. He does drink blood. These are a small price to play for the characteristics that make him wanted by each and every intelligent, grown woman that I have talked to who has read these books. Now, that is four women including myself, but for a series of teen pop culture books, that is a lot. So, what is it that makes Edward Cullen so irresistible?

One word - Devotion.

Edward is handsome, rich, strong, fast, and suave. He comes from a good family, and he has strong moral character. These things add to who his character is, but it is the devotion Edward has to his Love, Bella, that stirs the hearts of women. The moment I felt myself wish that Edward might be real came on a night he saved her from impeding danger. He shows up, out of nowhere, and he defends and rescues her. He does not ask for anything in return. There is also a moment when his devotion leads him to open himself up to her and share with her about himself in a way that he has not shared before.



Of course he loves her. He loves her enough to leave when he believes it is what is best. He loves her enough to put aside his desires as a man to protect and honor her. That loves comes from his devotion to her. He is devoted to this woman. No matter if she walks away from him, he will still go to battle for her, cling to her, and honor her.

There is something within the hearts of women that stirs when we begin to know Edward. It awakens our longings. It heightens our senses. It pushes us into a part of our our lives where we feel weak and wish our own Edward would rescue us by showing up in the nick of time, opening the door to his Volvo, and saying, "Get in." It is easy for us all to let that simply scratch the surface. We read and wish that our lives had an Edward (especially when you are single at 27 and reading teen pop literature... it makes you wish you just had a life). We want a significant other who will care for us that way.

But that is not what stirs us.

No, Ladies. That is not it at all. The stirring, the longing, and the rapid heartbeat comes because the characteristics of Edward reflect God. Some may find it blasphemous to compare the Creator of the Heavens and Earth to a vampire, but you must see the similarities. Edward fought for his true love, bathed her in affection, watched her as she slept, carried her when she was weak, stood up to anything that sought to destroy their relationship, clothed her with honor and grace, and loved her more than anything else on the planet.

That is how God sees us. He rescues us without us even having to ask. He protects our integrity. He loves our vulnerability. He laughs when we make a joke. The Bible actually says he is enthralled by our beauty. This is the God we serve.

My advice? Ladies, let God captivate and woo you. Let him hold your hand and whisper in your ear. Married, dating, or single, it does not matter. God's place can never be filled by a human. Even though we have been created to be held in the arms of a man, our hearts are created to be held in the hands of God.

Gentlemen, get the book and become someone's Edward. But, make sure she loves you, too. Watching someone sleep who does not love you is called stalking.

* I would like record to state that in spite of the controversy some Christians may stir up in light of the evil surrounding vampires, I am not going to tell you that these books are wrong for you to read. In fact, I think that if you are a Christian man or woman who has never struggled with the thought of drinking blood or biting people's necks, you should give them a try. I understand we should flee the very hint of evil, but in this society, that is hard line to draw on books like this where the hint of sex is between married couples only, those who are thought to always be bad stand up for human life, and where family is seen as beautiful and necessary to survival. What about the witchcraft used by the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella? Shall we ban that as well? I will rest my case now.

The Difference 375 Days Can Make...

A little over one year ago I wrote my last blog post. That is changing. I have decided to write. Write. Write. Write. Write. I need the unwinding. I need the moment to reflect. I crave it.

Since my last post I have changed churches, quit Starbucks, left my Claire, lived at camp, gotten cankles, moved in with a flight attendant and two cats, fallen in love with Oklahoma City, now drive a car with heated seats, darkened my hair, seen a miracle happen, and become a high school teacher. I have also fallen more in love with Jesus.

This will be good for us all.