Perhaps you’ve been asked this party conversation starter: if you could have one superpower, what would it be? Usually the choices are things like invisibility or flying. For me, the answer is a no-brainer. It would be the ability to never need sleep. Imagine all the extra time one would have to get things done, save the day, organize the closets, combat villains, etc.

At the very least, being able to sleep restfully at night would be my current choice. It might not seem like much, but getting unbroken sleep during the night is really such a blessing. It’s not something you think about much until it eludes you, as it has with me lately.

One speaker at a UPC women’s conference a few years back compared a woman’s mind to the Windows operating system–we are capable of having so many windows open at once that we sometimes must make a conscious effort to close those which are not important at the moment. In the middle of the night, my mind feels like a bunch of open windows which won’t respond to my frantic mouse clicks.

What strategies do you use when you can’t sleep at night? Do you get right out of bed, not trying to fight it? Do you use the time to pray, to reflect on scripture, or perhaps sing yourself a favorite hymn?

Marrying my husband Johnny meant that in addition to becoming a wife, I also became a dog owner. Our dog Maya is a three year old, sixty pound, black lab mix from the pound. She has such a sweet personality and I don’t know that I could go back to being “pet-less” after living with her.

I came home from work today and was pretty tired. I had a day of meetings that included a lot of talking to people, which can be really draining for me. I was looking forward to getting home and doing nothing for a little while. As soon as I walked in the door Maya was glued to me. I patted her head once and then went on to do various things around my condo. For the next five minutes or so Maya followed me. She followed me… into a small closet, into the bedroom, into the kitchen and into the bathroom with her cold wet nose continually brushing the back of my knee. I started to get irritated at her and her cold nose and then realized that all that she wanted was a proper greeting. As soon as I looked at her and pet her for more than 2 seconds she stopped following me.

This may seem like a silly story and it kind of is, but it reminded me of myself and something that I don’t do. Maya knows exactly what she wants and needs. She wants/needs affection from me when I have been gone all day. Unlike Maya, when I am feeling down or need something from others I isolate myself. Instead of calling a friend and talking about a tough day at work I watch mindless t.v. or go to sleep when what I really need is community. Instead of taking my hurt and pain and crying out to God, I think that He doesn’t care and isolate myself from Him too. This is not what I was meant for. I think it is cool that God can use the behavior of my dog to remind me to turn to Him instead of isolating myself.

I laughed when I first saw this cartoon.  I thought it might be good for one of the Friday Funnies.  Then as I was reading it again the truth of it hit me and it wasn’t so funny anymore. No, I don’t mean that I believe that I’m not good enough (most of the time). I’m talking about the the truth in this being the message that many commercials  portray in some sense. It’s subtle, but it’s there. I like to watch commercials or look at ads, and try to figure out what emotion they are trying to get to. I’ve done this ever since I took a class at my Bible college on Adolescent Psychology a few years ago, where the professor, Dr. Kailer, pointed out that this is what good advertisers do. They think of an emotion or insecurity that is common among the group they are selling to, and fit that into their ad in order to catch our attention and convince us that we need their product in order to be happy.

Picture an average, nondescript woman getting out of her convertible at a gas station, hair a mess.  She walks into the gas station bathroom and amazingly finds bottle of shampoo and conditioner.  Then you see the men and another average woman outside the bathroom listening to the orgasmic moans emanating from the closed door.  Nest thing you know the woman walks out of the bathroom with the most beautiful, shining hair you’ve ever seen.  Everything about her is suddenly breathtakingly perfect.  The men are ogling her, and the other woman is jealous.  The newly transformed goddess spots the other woman, tosses the bottle of shampoo to her and gets in her car.

Do any of you remember this commercial put out by Herbal Essence?  It ran a few years ago, and had several other variations of basically the same scene.  It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to make the connection that obviously using their shampoo will make you beautiful and sexy - appealing to men and the envy of other women.  What woman can say that this is not exactly what we all want, deep down inside (or maybe not so deep)?  Sales for their product increased by almost 6% after those commercials started airing in 2001 (despite my personal boycott of them).

Advertisers are good at what they do, and they know how to get to us.  It’s so sad to see that we’re more likely to watch a commercial and believe what they say, than we are to remember the truths the God has given directly to us in the Bible.  Who are we really listening to?  Are we listening to God when He tells us that we are “made in His image,” Genesis 1:27 (which is perfect, by the way), and that according to Psalms 4:6-7 He has filled us with more joy than anyone else could?  Or are we believing that we need the latest hair product, makeup, car, drink, cloths, vacuum, etc…to be happy?

I challenge us all to pay attention the next time a commercial or magazine ad draws us in, and figure out what it is that it is appealing to in us.  Then think about what Jesus would have to about that.

Some of you are addicted to the hit television show, Grey’s Anatomy, and now I’ve been sucked in. In fact, I even referred to a particular guy as “McDreamy”. I’m officially obsessed.

Thanks to this great blog, now I know that Caedmon’s Call’s lyrically compelling song about redemption, “Ten Thousand Angels” will receive a rare and lengthy place on an upcoming episode of the ABC hit drama series, “Grey’s Anatomy” on January 10th. Featuring vocals by Derek Webb, the song will play for five consecutive minutes during an emotionally charged final scene.

“Ten Thousand Angels” is a bonus track only available on the limited edition of the group’s current release, Overdressed, which was in the top 5 of iTunes Editorial list of 2007 for overall “Best Christian Albums”.

This is a question that has for centuries stumped the masses. Parents and babysitters alike are stopped dead in their tracks by this seemingly simple query. Parents don’t know how much money to part with, and sitters don’t know how much to fairly ask.

As a babysitter, this is a question I hate, loath, and even run from in terror at times. I never know if I’m charging too much, or too little. Am I accurately valuing my time? What if the kid is asleep the whole time, should I ask for less? If they’re related to me, can I charge double?

The holidays are upon us now. The party season has begun, babysitters are in high demand, and this is a question that I’m sure will be discussed in many households. But don’t be distressed! Parents and fellow babysitters, there is now a solution to our problem! It’s called Sittercity. It was sent to me today by a friend, and it calculates the amount a sitter should be payed according to location, the number of children, the age of the sitter, and how many years of babysitting experience they have. I think this site is genius! You don’t have to necessarily stick with the number the calculator spits out at you, but at least it gives you a good idea of how much to pay or charge.

So parents, party on with peace of mind knowing you are not being over charged. And babysitters, quote your price with the freedom and confidence that comes with knowing a computer figured it out for you! Merry Christmas everyone! This is my gift to you!