Kenneth - The eHarmony 'Flex Match'

I would like to call this post, "Kenneth, the 'Flex Match'.

What is a Flex Match you might ask? Well, please let me give you the complete, official eHarmony explanation:

You see, Kenneth is somewhere there on the left, the green man if you will, but if you ask me he is somewhere else completely. Oh eHarm, what on earth were you thinking?

I would be doing you a complete disservice if I did not include my favorite portions from his profile. Oh my, here we go.

Kenneth, at age 34 is an artist and a writer, stands a short 5'3 and is a non-smoker. Doing good so far Kenny. The most influential person in his life is "God, Jesus, and my friends. why? because they all give me a more meaningful life." I can buy that, ok go on. 

The thing Kenneth is most passionate about: (quoting so that I leave nothing out)
"hello I am passionate about art, reading, writing, helping others, activism, volunteering, religion, sex, walking, swimming, live action role-playing, movies, tv, dining out, cuddling, and massaging"

Ohhhhhhhhhhh Kenny you had me at hello? 

Wrong.

Going on. Kenneth would like us to know some additional information about himself, he describes this in MANY words below:

"I like to meet like-minded open-minded ladies with similiar interests that I have. I like to have fun. For example, I like to dine out, watch movies, romantic strolls on the beach, bowling, sensual massages, cuddling, hugging, kissing, and getting to know other people better. My favorite color is red and my favorite foods are chinese and japanese. I am as open-minded as a human being can get. I'm so open-minded, that I do not mind if my dates are straight or bisexual, monagamous or polygamous. I believe honesty, good communication and loyalty are very important for a good relationship. I'm looking for a long-term commited relationship."

I don't think a polygamous and committed are synonymous when it comes to a relationship Kenny. But I mean let's not get hung up there... Red is one of my favorite colors too!

And the last part from this riveting tale from "People of eHarm"...

The last book that Kenneth enjoyed reading was, "Star Trek role-playing material :) I'll try to get a full membership on may 1st so i can communicate with you. please be patient. xoxoxoxo"

Well, there is not enough patience in the world Kenny.


XOXOXO
-S

For those of you who need a visual, my bffl drew a MS Paint Kenneth for you.

The Fire

Please read past the intro - and if you must, skip the intro and go to the second part. You will be glad you did. 

Happy Monday, or Tuesday, depending on when you are reading this. First, you should know that I have a stomachache. Why? I don’t know, you just should.  Second, I am going to apologize for my lack of writing. Things have been CRAZY as of late and I just have not had as much time as I would have liked to peruse this writing adventure, BUT alas here we are and we are back in business.

1.     I failed at April’s cooking challenge – I made exactly NO bread. None. Maybe this month? Who knows… I did make 90 Tres Leche cupcakes though – and boy were they yummy!

2.     Orange was amazing – a post THIS week to follow.

3.     Change - it's happening. POST BELOW.

Beautiful melody? Can you hear it right now? It is the music that is being played as I transition into my actual blog posting for today… La da deeeee la la la deee daa de la de daaa…

 ---

Change. We all go through it but sometimes it is hard to see the end when the present is so vividly staring right at you.  The past few months have been wrapped with change and transition for Grace.  Grace is my church, my faith community, where I worship. It’s my friends, my family, my work… it is a HUGE part of my life – the biggest in fact.

To put it most simply Grace is going through a shift, changes are happing and transitions are taking place. It is not an easy time. Now, does this mean it is not a good time, no, it just means it is not always simple.  The bar has been raised, the match has been struck, and we are on the ‘move’.

I recently read a novel about a woman who falls in love with her perfect cowboy (ha, now do I wish this was me, maybe) back on topic – In this novel the cowboy works a ranch…cows, horses, the works. Well part of being a rancher is keeping up the land and with this comes great responsibility. In order to keep the land fertile for new growth and substance for the animals, great, sometimes seemingly crazy things have to happen. One of those things goes something like this: light a fire, burn everything back down to dirt, re-soil, re-till, re-plant, re-do.  It seems to me that for the most part we try to avoid burning things down- we go out of our way to prevent wild fires, house fires, land fires, but in this instance the fire is the very thing that is required for maximum potential of the land.

The match is flung into the fields and the fire begins to burn. Before you know it you are feeling heat like you never have before, so hot that it seems unbearable to face. It burns and maybe even for a moment you fear that it might lose control.  Then, after the flames have gone down and the smoke has billowed through the air you begin to start breathing again, but only then to notice what looks like complete devastation.  Ash and dirt blow through the air, and smells of scorched earth fill your nostrils.  Its ugly, its messy to the touch.  This period of in between wraps your heart with sorrow because what is now black used to be filled with green fields and summer sunsets.  This is the real test, can you see beyond the black, the ugly, the burn and remember that it is what lies beneath it all that matters? That after the rain and thunderstorms have passed, washed and nourished the land that something magnificent will happen. Just like that, one day as the wind blows, the smallest trace of life will break through the dirt and before you know it fields of green will be all that you see…

This is what I believe is happening right now as change and transition become a big part of our daily lives, at least speaking for myself.  We are facing times that might not be easy, that might be hard for us to face, and that might at times seem unbearable. Through it all it might seem ugly and to some like complete devastation.  But what I try to remember every day is not the green fields or the summer sunsets of yesterday, but the new growth that will bust its way through the dirt completely unexpected, beautiful and completely nourished. Then, before you know it life and growth will be so abundant that people will not even remember the fire that almost consumed them. 

The match has been struck, we are facing the fire, and I am nothing but ready to see how God uses this time to prepare us for something bigger and greater than we could have imagined otherwise. 

Much love my friends and to anyone who is facing the fire, 

Sara

...Ohhhhh SAMA: Some Interesting Thoughts From My News Feed.

I thought I should highlight what people were saying in light of recent events. Read on my friends. The LAST TWO are my faves. You can leave status updates in the comment box of Facebook or right here on the blog. Much love to you my dear friends. Goodnight. 

1. I like how my entire feed is posts on OBL demise
2. OBL has been killed
3. Well let's hope the last thing to go through OBL's mind was a US Bullet
4. Tonight confirms to me that Jesus Message is so counter-cultural. What if He really meant what he said?
5. Yay?
6. _________...is hiding from my news feed. Anyone who posts a status saying that this victory is the result of anything George W. Bush did, seriously?
7. President Obama called President Bush earlier this evening to notify him that Bin Laden had been killed. That must have been an awesome conversation. God Bless both Presidents our Troops and intelligence agents, especially those that are still in harms way.
8. Jehovah-Jireh
9. Osama is dead, don't make it about GWB vs. Obama
10. God Bless America! Thanks to those serving our country.
11. You're not American if you don't care about the achievement of the US Military killing Bin Laden! Go USA!
12. President Bush is the Bomb
13. Just heard Chuck Norris killed Osama. I'm not surprised.
14. So a guy leads the largest terrorism organization in decades...could he repent and be saved moments before his death?
15. Does this mean we aren't going to hear any more about THE WEDDING?
16. Justice
17. I heard Charlie Sheens face was on the bomb. WINNER
18.  This just in... Donald Trump is calling for the release of Bin Laden's Death Certificate. 

19. Why can't people just let this be a victorious moment for our country and our military? Why does it have to turn into divisive political remarks ab Obama, elections, etc?

20. Hey friends, let's not forget that osama bin laden was a human loved & valued by God & no matter how many wrongs he committed our hope should be that he called on Jesus' name before he died...may our patriotism never override our desire to be Christlike