Friday, January 27, 2006

Yea! (Again.)

Stacy was granted parole as well! Thank you guys for praying. As I said before, please keep praying for these guys (Stacy and Jason) as they try to get out, get jobs, make good decisions, and succeed in life.

Does anyone read this? I feel like I'm posting to myself. It's cool if I am... just wondering. :-)

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Insights.

Okay, I just finished reading "The Silver Chair" from the Chronicles of Narnia. For those of you who don't know, C.S. Lewis based the stories around a character named Aslan, a lion who represents Jesus. (By the way, my sister is totally meeting C.S. Lewis's niece today. Doesn't that just make you sick with jealousy?) The symbolism throughout the stories is amazing. One part of this book in particular really struck me, and I wanted to share it.

A little girl has gotten into Aslan's country, and is about to make the journey to Narnia. Aslan has given her four signs, rules she is to memorize and follow in order to complete the quest he has given her. This is part of what he says to her:

"...remember the signs. Say them to yourself when you wake in the morning and when you lie down at night, and when you wake in the middle of the night. And whatever strange things may happen to you, let nothing turn your mind from following the signs. And secondly, I give you a warning. Here on the mountain I have spoken to you clearly: I will not often do so down in Narnia. Here on the mountain, the air is clear and your mind is clear; as you drop down into Narnia, the air will thicken. Take great care that it does not confuse your mind. And the signs which you have learned here will not look at all as you expect them to look, when you meet them down there. That is why it is so important to know them by heart and pay no attention to appearances. Remember the signs and believe the signs. Nothing else matters."

I think the parallel he's drawing here is amazing, but maybe it's only because I've read all but one of the books and by now am thorougly enthralled in Lewis's world. I would be interested to know how you guys take this.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Full Day.

Wow, enough happened today to last me three weeks. I used an entire pack of sticky notes in my planner to make notes of all the things I need to do this week. By the end of the day, I could see a little corner of my calendar. Sweet. I was very productive. Especially considering I'm sick.

Then I had my first official small group Bible study. These girls are amazing. Shout out to Whitney, who is the only one of them in the blog world. We're studying James, and I'm really psyched about that. Oh and a guy came over, asked if we were English teachers, and gave me a copy of his book. Random.

I got the new P.O.D. album. It's great so far.

I got a phone call that pretty much changed my life. In a crappy way.

I watched a documentary distributed by World Vision called "Invisible Children." Please watch it. If you know anything about what has been going on in Sudan over the past couple of decades, you know the pain and devastation that is there. Watch the video, and look at the faces of the heartbreak. You will understand my heart for Africa.

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Yes!

Jason was granted parole! Thanks to everyone who has been praying for him... I knew a lot of you would want to be updated as soon as I found out! Please keep praying as he will be released soon and has huge decisions to make about the course of his life. He isn't even 23 yet and has already spent so much of his life locked up. I hope that he will fall in love with God and learn the true meaning of what it is to be free. Pray!

Also, please keep praying for Stacy. We haven't heard the result of his hearing, yet. I know that he and his wife are waiting eagerly and nervously to hear whether or not he gets a second chance. Thanks guys!!!

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Parole Hearing.

Wow, I just typed a whole page and then lost it because my computer is being difficult today. Stupid computer. So here's the gist of things.

I went to a parole hearing last week for a guy named Stacy. While I was there, I saw another guy that I know named Jason. They both were recommended for parole, but here's the deal with that. A recommendation is just a starting point. It takes two weeks for the parole board to vote and make their decision about releasing the inmate in question. So we're in that two week period now, and it's driving me crazy! I can't imagine what these guys must be going through as complete strangers are deciding their immediate futures (and by extension the futures of their families as well!). I sign onto the website at least three times a day to check and see if a decision has been posted, even though we still have at least a week to wait.

I wish you guys could all see the lives of these men. I barely know them, yet I care for them so much that sometimes all I can do is cry for the heartbreak of it all. I long for them to know the joy and peace that come from knowing Jesus and accepting His pure and unfaltering love for us.

Getting to know inmates is probably the best, most useful thing I've ever done in my life. I understand why Christ hung out with the losers: He chose to hang out with society's rejects even when everyone else tried to deny their very existence. Get to know someone different than you. Learn to respect them. It will change your life, your love, and your outlook.

Also, tonight a group from our church is going to check out Celebrate Recovery, an addiction recovery program that has had huge success. I am so excited about it, and I can't wait to see how we can be a part of what God is doing through that.

Monday, January 16, 2006

Down Once More.

You just thought you had heard the last of my comedic "Rachel's on crutches" anecdotes. But never fear! More comedy awaits you.

So I'm at work on Friday by myself (I had to staple 400 copies of the budget to 400 pledge cards that I'd helped make the day before... fun times... no really). I finally finished, so I was walking around locking up and turning out all the lights. Because I was turning out the lights, I didn't see the slight puddle on the floor. My cane hits the puddle and slips directly out from underneath me, causing my bad knee to give out. I landed directly on my knee with full force, and heard something crack. Yuck. Because no one else was in the office, I took full advantage of the opportunity and laid in the floor and cried for about 10 minutes, thereby extending the puddle. So, now I am back on crutches until I can get in to see the doctor again. Yea!

I was sick of the cane before (it's not nearly as fun when you can't decorate it as a candy cane for Christmas), and after two days back on crutches I'm begging for the cane again.

Here's something else: when people see the crutches again, they want to know what happened. When I say that I fell, they all roll their eyes like I did it on purpose or like I'm clumsy and do things like this all the time. The more I deny a predisposition to clumsiness, the more they think I'm lying! :-) Now, those of you who have known me healthy know that I am not clumsy. The last time I fell prior to this was (I think) in front of my entire high-school. ha ha Shout out to Jeremy Phillips who is probably the only person on here who remembers our "In the Jungle" airband. Video tapes were invented to keep people humble if they ever start thinking they aren't losers. :-)

Anyway, as much as I try to amuse myself with the irony of it all, it's getting a little old. I've been on a cane or crutches for over 3 months now. Please pray that I'll start getting better.