The Weight of Terrorism

It's 11:03 p.m. In case you're not familiar with my sleep schedule, this is now extremely late for me to be up. Living with the doc has gotten me to bed earlier, which sets well with me given my aptitude for sleep. What could be keeping me awake, you ask?

A job. Apparently, my old employer was in dire need of a last minute proofing. However, this last minute proofing has now turned into, "We'll get it to you in the morning." Isn't that how it goes?

Tonight, I successfully completed my first round of grad school classes at UNT. The first is an American Renaissance class. The old, heavy hitters--Emerson, Hawthorne, Melville, Thoreau, Jackson--nothing I haven't read before. However, my second class has me a bit . . . rattled. Besides the professor's apparent lack of sympathy (two novels and 6-8 critical essays due in two weeks), the topic is startling and uncomfortable. It's the American novel, mainly 21st century, on the topic of terrorism. In this class, I'm not discussing the themes and cultural movements of an era gone by, but dissecting the present. What is terrorism? How does America respond? What are the consequences of those responses? What is safety? How does politics play into the discussion? And all of this disguised by plot, character, and fiction. Where's the line to withdraw?

On the bright side, this should at least make for some interesting blogs, right?

Saturday and Such

Bryan just walked through the door. (Imagine him walking along the stone pathway to the door. Teehee.) He's on call this weekend . . . and it shows. He's tired from an extremely long day. Not to mention we are both recovering from some sort of stomach bug. Yuck.

Today was filled (for my part, that is) with freelance work, homework (Emerson's essays), and cleaning this or that. Bryan's day was filled with patients. This evening I watered the flowers as usual, but this time I had a new treat. Our newly guttered garage and new rain barrel provided me with "free" water. Here's a pic of the new addition:

Also, we have a vermin, a varmint, whatever you want to call it. Some wild animal has discovered our compost pile, digging and conniving any way possible to get at the goods. We've already gone ghetto with rocks around the entrances. Today revealed the nighttime culprit used its paws to dig dirt from the side slots. Thus, slinging compost all around the bin. Thanks, furry creature. Any ideas for deterring a sly fox or creative raccoon? See what I'm working with?

I feel quite certain it isn't our neighbor's cats. They are great hunters, but aren't the digging type. For the most part, they're both snobs--cute, but snobs. Poncho and Lefty think the Youree's backyard is also their domain, which is fine by me. Lefty makes you beg to pet him. Poncho runs anytime you get close. Here's a pic of Poncho I caught lounging under our deck. Silly thing.

Newly Oriented

Last night was my new graduate student orientation at the University of North Texas. Nothing too surprising; a lot of mumbo jumbo about library collections, parking guidelines, and school policies. However, the student council's presentation of the alma mater and fight song (complete with hand motions) was . . . er, interesting. Nothing like doctoral students singing the Mean Green.

One long ID line later, I was happily on my way home. Too bad there was heaps of traffic.

Another exciting thing happened yesterday. I learned that my friends at Randall House are hosting a D6 Conference in Dallas next September. This is a conference focused on connecting parents with kids' spiritual lives--based on Deuteronomy 6. The ticket has some pretty big speakers--Jim Daly, George Barna, John Trent, among others. I'm really hoping I can work with them on this project. We'll see. Until then, I'll be a frequent visitor of d6family.com/d6conference. That's all for now.

Thank you, David

This morning's devotional reading hit me where it hurts. The verses from Psalm 101 spoke loud and clear: "I will walk with integrity of heart within my house" (verse 2). I'd say the place where I falter the most--gossip, lose my temper, let down my guard--is at home. Yet, David promises to have integrity within his house. More than likely he's meaning his kingdom, but still convicting, nonetheless. And what does David consider to be qualities of integrity?

• A blameless way
• Not setting his eyes before anything that is worthless
• Hate the work of those who fall away from truth
• Avoid a perverse heart
• Know nothing of evil
• Does not slander
• Hates a haughty look and arrogant heart
• Embrace faithfulness
• Shun deceit
• Not utter lies

Yeah . . . I didn't score too well on that one. My prayer is for God to help me improve areas where my integrity falters--as David said, not just in my actions, but in my heart. How much I need God's grace . . . .

On My Knees

Today the house is very quite. We are missing the tiny tot who's been playing and laughing at our house for the last few days. Amelia, now two-and-a-half, as she can proudly tell you, is a bundle of energy and joy--so cute and so fun! We had a great visit with Jennifer, Colby, and Amelia. We rode the train, visited the cowgirl museum (Amelia loves horses), shopped at Grapevine Mills, and played ALL day at the water park. Did I mention that I'm exhausted? Ha!

During the Morgan's visit, another "incident" occurred. Um, in the church parking lot on Sunday, I was attempting to exit their HUGE Tahoe. Unfortunately, my sandal heel caught on the car, and I plummeted knee-first to the pavement. I quickly remembered why skinned knees are such a pain--figuratively and literally. Everyone had a good laugh; I hobbled to church. However, by Tuesday my knee was a little on the Rudolph-red side and very . . . well, let's say infected. One look from my doctor and I was on my way to pick up antibiotics at Walgreens. After leg propped, pills popped, and a good night's rest, I successfully avoided IV antibiotics, which was going to be my fate if the knee did not improve by morning. (You can imagine my reaction to the possibility of IV antibiotics!) Bryan joked: "Colby and Jennifer cannot come back to visit because you either faint or throw yourself out of cars." He's referring to their visit last year, when I overheated and fainted at the zoo. :-) What will their next visit bring?

Mostly Finished

After a month of construction, I'm pleased to announce our office is "mostly finished." Save connecting the phone lines and placing the gutters, we're good to go. My little yellow office makes me smile. I'm excited to "move in" and get to work! With grad school classes starting in a few weeks and new projects here and there, I'll have plenty of opportunities to "break in" the space.

I'm using quote marks waaaaaay too much.

Since January, I have been blessed to be able to work full-time freelance from home. True, it was a bit of an adjustment going from office life to computer in the guest room, but all in all, it has been a treat. God has these great ways of weaving what we need and enjoy with service for Him--a multi-level blessing! I have been humbled by His faithfulness to bring new jobs, new challenges my direction. Why He continues to love on me despite my doubt, bad attitude, and neglect . . . .

In just a few, short hours Jennifer, Colby, and Amelia will arrive to spend a few days with the Yourees! We are so excited to visit with them. Although Jennifer doesn't know it yet, she's helping me pick out curtains this weekend for the new office!

Welcome

Welcome to my blog. Hopefully, this will keep all you folks in Tennessee, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and beyond updated on the Yourees. Not that we have loads happening, but you want to see pics of the new office, right? Stay tuned for that.

Let's keep our fingers crossed that I've saved the correct settings and this is going to work . . . I'm clicking "publish."

Emily