rub-a-dub-dub

Three men in a tub ... I had to look up the rest of the nursery rhyme, and I find I didn't really know it at all. No matter, though! I think it was in one of my childhood books; at least I have a picture in my head of a drawing that had three guys in a bathtub on the ocean.

Crazy as it sounds, that picture describes what I did last weekend! No, I didn't get lost at sea in a bathtub ... I went tanking!

Seven friends and I went up to the Calamus River, rented two plastic cow tanks, and floated down the river! We had a blast--except for the hour when the sun went behind the clouds and the wind came up--and I didn't even get sunburned, thanks to my new Aveeno SPF 100. (SPF 100--a product created just for pasty white people like me!)

My pictures will tell the story better than I can, so follow this link to the album I posted on facebook ... enjoy!

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my radical experiment

A few weeks ago, I read and reviewed Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From The American Dream. In my review, I said I thought Radical would ultimately change me. It's already beginning, as I have embarked on my own version of "The Radical Experiment."

I began on May 18. Because I know how easy it would be for me to quit at some point, I want to make public what commitments I've made so you can help keep me accountable! Each commitment, which is taken directly from Radical, will be followed by what I plan to do.

1. I will pray for the entire world. I'm using Operation World, a book Radical's author recommended. My version was last updated in 2004, so I'm sure some of the "countries" I'll be praying for no longer exist! A new version will be released this fall, but I didn't want to wait that long for the book. What I really love about the book is it lists the countries by date. Since I was starting on May 18, I just turned to the May 18 page and started there.
2. I will read through the entire Word. I don't know that I've ever done this before. In theory, I did in high school, as we were supposed to read the New Testament in Freshman Bible and the Old Testament in Sophomore Bible. However, I'm pretty sure I quite liberally skimmed (or is it scanned?) large chunks of the OT. I'm using the Deliberate People reading plan. Each day's reading only takes 20 minutes or so ... the key is not to get behind!
3. I will sacrifice my money for a specific purpose. I'm not sure what purpose this is yet--I know I want it to be something that I don't currently support. As a part of this (but by no means all), I'm committing to not purchasing any dvds for myself for the next year and putting the money I'd normally spend on dvds towards this purpose, whatever it ends up being. This could very well be the most difficult aspect of this experiment for me. To some ... probably most ... of you, not spending money on dvds would be no big deal. But if you've seen my movie and TV show collection, you know that I enjoy adding to my dvd library on a regular basis. My resolve has already been tested (can we say Amazon.com's TV week?), and it's sure to be tested again. But I'm determined to do this. And if you have any ideas of where I could give my money, let me know! (I do have one dvd I fully intend to purchase, so I'll be upfront about it: Well over a year ago, I promised myself I could buy the complete series of Sports Night once I lost 30 pounds. I'm down 20 now, so chances are the remaining 10 will come off during this year. And when that happens, I'm giving myself my reward!)
4. I will spend time in another context. Platt recommends at least a week spent serving others and sharing Christ. Again, I don't know yet what this looks like, but I'm praying about it. This is the one area where I will probably need more than a year. Due to my job, it's difficult to get away during the school year, and as I don't yet know where I'm going, I doubt it will happen this summer (though God could surprise me!). So I'll probably have to do this after school lets out next May.
5. I will commit my life to a multiplying community. This means getting more involved at my church. For starters, I should probably start attending Sunday School on a regular basis ... especially considering the reason I don't is I want to get more sleep! I also need to pursue church membership. I've been considering it for a long time--and by "considering" I mean thinking about it every once in a while and not taking any steps to make it happen. I like my church and have no plans to leave, so I should commit to it.

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superman, save me!

This is probably the closest I will ever come to kissing Dean ...

(We visited the Underground Salt Museum in Hutchinson, Kansas, on Memorial Day. I highly recommend it!)

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book club

I've always liked the idea of book clubs, but I've never been in one. Until now. My sisters, a friend, and I decided to start a book club this summer. We're still a bit fuzzy on the particulars, but we met at Tommy's Family Restaurant for supper yesterday to choose our first book. The winner? Forgotten God by Francis Chan. I'm very excited to read this book--I've had it for several months but haven't gotten around to reading it yet. Since Val, Jamie, and Blendy don't have the book yet, we're meeting for our first discussion in two weeks. I'm looking forward to it!

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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excellent questions!

I promise, the Lost posts will stop someday. Probably very soon. But for now, here's a great video about the unanswered questions of Lost.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

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the end

Well, friends, Lost is over. So many questions were left unresolved, but at this point, less than a day after viewing the finale, I find that I don't care so much about the questions because the finale was so emotionally satisfying. (If you watch Lost but for some insane reason haven't watched the finale yet, you might want to stop reading now. And then go to abc.com and watch the finale!)

The show went full circle, beginning with Jack's eye snapping open in the jungle and ending with Jack's eye closing in the jungle. (Yes, my sister did fairly accurately predict the last image.) Over the next few days, just about every Lost fan with a blog will be writing about the finale, and I want to get my two cents worth in, as well.

What worked:

• Watching the characters "wake up" and remember their island lives in the Sideways world. Sawyer and Juliet's meeting was the best for me ... and they paid off Juliet's dying words to Sawyer in the season premiere. I also loved that Charlie and Claire got to be together again.
• Hurley's grin when he saw Charlie (who, ironically, didn't actually "wake up" until he touched Claire, even though he set the chain in motion by "waking up" Desmond), followed closely by Jin's expression when he saw Sawyer.
• Kate and Jack professing their love for each other and their final kiss. 
• The Smoke Monster/NotLocke's comment to Jack about being the chosen one, which perfectly reflected what I thought last week when Jack volunteered to take Jacob's place: "I expected to be more surprised. You're kind of the obvious choice, don't you think?" That made the Hurley twist at the end even sweeter. 
• Hurley invites Ben to help him take care of the island. And then Ben apologizes to Locke for killing him. Ah, Ben ... you really did become a good guy, didn't you?

What didn't work:

• Titanic? Seriously??? I hated Titanic thirteen years ago, and I hate it today. (I'm actually okay with what the Sideways world ended up being ... I think ... but when I made the Titanic connection, I just about lost it. Just ask Blendy!)
• Shannon is Sayid's true love? I don't buy that for an instant.
• Where were Michael and Walt?

All in all, great show, satisfying finale. At least that's what I think today ...

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dear damon & carlton,

(Note to all you non Lost-obsessed readers: 1. Damon and Carlton are Lost's producers/masterminds. 2. I promise I won't write about Lost too often. But for now, just humor me ... I'm sure I'll soon post something you're more interested in. Speaking of, be sure to enter the most recent book giveaway! 3. If you subscribe via Google Reader, I apologize for the unfinished post--though you might not ever see this apology since you already got the first version--I accidentally hit ctrl+p instead of ctrl+i, and it posted before I was ready!)

After watching the recent carnage on Lost, I have four words for you: Jack better not die.

As Lost wraps up (only 3 1/2 hours to go), I knew that some beloved characters would die. Sayid's death didn't surprise me at all, and I was pleased to see him snap out of his "funk" in order to save several other characters. If Lapidus is truly dead (and I don't see how he could survive the hatch door to the face which knocked him out in a waterlogged and sinking sub), his death didn't have much of a punch, sandwiched as it was between the deaths of three main characters. I couldn't believe Sun & Jin died as they did, especially just one episode after finally being reunited. Their deaths made me realize that no one is safe ... except, hopefully, Jack.

In the past few days, I've been considering the deaths that are sure to come. While I love many of the characters, I've come to the conclusion that there's only one death I won't be able to stomach: Jack's. Kate? I could do without her--especially if she isn't going to end up with Jack. Claire? She's hardly been part of the show for so long that I don't care so much about her anymore. Miles? He's hilarious, but I've never been completely invested in him. Sawyer? I love Sawyer ... and his death would make me sad. But if I had to choose between Sawyer and Jack I'd choose Jack in a heartbeat. Desmond, Penny, and little Charlie? They are a wonderful little family, and I'm glad they got their "happily," even though they might not get the "ever after." Again, their deaths would be tragic, but not a deal breaker (though perhaps Desmond's "special" nature will keep him from dying???). Ben? I used to scream for his death--literally. He seemed so evil. But now he's had a bit of redemption, and I'd like for him to live. Something tells me he won't make it to the final scene, though, and I'm okay with that. And Hurley? Losing Hurley would smart ... but again, I'd choose Jack over Hurley.

Bottom line: If Lost ends as my sister suggested tonight, with a shot of Jack's open, dead eye to mirror the pilot's first shot of Jack's eye opening in the jungle, I'm going to be very upset. (Though I must admit, I do like the idea of the series ending with a shot of Jack's eye, as long as he isn't dead!)

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