To Each His (her) Own

So I took Halle to the park again tonight, and had another interesting experience. After we finished our Chick-fil-A, she ran over to play on the tire swing with some other kids. Those kid's mom was sitting on a nearby bench, singing. Like, really. Singing. She was using that diaphragm and beltin' it out, y'all! I actually like her choice of songs...

...and I'll admit that she had a good voice. But dude, are you at a concert? I mean, I sing with my friends sometimes when we're goofing off all otgether, but she was just by herself and letting it out like she's alone in the shower. Weird. I didn't think too much of it, 'cause y'know, who am I to judge? To each his (or, in this case, her) own, right? Maybe she just likes singing. Maybe she's a professional singer and practicing for her next concert. Maybe She's Lambert herself, in disguise!!

Yeah, I was kinda judging. You would have, too. It was freakin' loud, even with her on the other side of the park.

A few minutes later, she began pushing her kids on the tire swing. She seemed nice, the way she interacted with them and stuff. As I eavesdropped on casually noticed some conversation with her children, I caught that the oldest was named Miranda. Miranda. As in Miranda Lambert. As in the singer. The singer who sings that song, the one she'd been singing. And apparently the only singer she likes, since she'd now moved on to singing Kerosene.

I have nothing against the name Miranda. It's fine. It's posh. But lady, did you really name your kid after your favorite singer and then take her to the park to perform said singer's entire discography?

To each his (her) own. I'm sure you're a lovely person.

I had to stop watching coincidentally observing the scene because Halle wanted to swing. I pushed her for a minute before she ran off to the slide, and I thought, "I can see her from here. I'll swing for a bit too." So I did. My view:

Loved these pics so much, I had to hop down and get some more. Windows into the world of children.

I wonder if people were judging me, as I balanced way up on the swing with my zebra striped iPod, trying to zoom in to see Halle across the park. Maybe even Miranda's mom was judging.

But that really doesn't matter.

To each his (her) own.

Click the badge and open a whole new world of beautiful writing!

You Save Us From Our Prayers

This morning, I heard a song called "Devastation and Reform," by Relient K. My favorite line in the song says, "You save me from my prayers." I think it earned its place as my favorite because every time I hear it, I can't stop thinking about it! Not saving us through our prayers, or saying yes to our prayers. Saving us from our prayers. Doesn't that just blow your mind?? Maybe I'm the only one, but the idea persists in mesmerizing me.

I think it shows an example of how the Son's sacrifice truly saves us from ourselves more than from some outside evil. Yes, I believe in Satan and his demons. But I don't believe they forced us into our desperate need for a Savior. Christ saved us, first and foremost, from our own sins. However, even after that sacrifice has covered our eternal salvation, He must continue to save us, on a daily basis, from our own prayers. Because we pray for things that we don't need! Not only that; we pray for things that would harm us. We pray for sunshine, and God saves us from drought. We ask for rain, and He saves us from flood. We pray for a better job, but God saves us from a bad situation there that we're unaware of. Or He saves us from missing the ministry opportunity sitting right in front at our nose at our current, lower-paying job. We pray for a relationship, and He saves us from heartbreak or mistreatment.

I'm not trying to make us out like mindless puppets who don't know what we want or need. I'm also not saying that we shouldn't ask for things. We absolutely should! We only need to remember that when we don't receive all of our requests, we are not being abandoned or punished for something. (Another line in the song: "I have mot been abandoned, no, I have mot been deserted and I have not been forgotten.") The simple fact remains that we have in mind only the moment; God has all of eternity. He created us and therefore knows us infinitely better than we could ever know ourselves. The fact that we ask for things we shouldn't receive is exactly as it should be; after all, we are His children. But remember to continue to thank Him for saving us from our prayers.

Also, I typed this whole thing on my iPod Touch. Who da boss?!