The Gospel According to The Dress

It's Friday and the world is a buzz about "the dress."  Is it white and gold?  Is it blue and black?  This debate literally took up a majority of the Today Show this morning and was featured in the first half hour, which is usually reserved for more pressing news items.  

I'll admit I see both, depending on the picture.  When I first saw this dress hit social media last night, I saw white and gold.  While watching the Today Show this morning, I still saw some pictures as white and gold and others as blue and black.  If this wasn't a marketing ploy for the dressmaker, they missed a grand opportunity.  I think there has been more coverage of this dress than the Oscars.  Brian Williams says it's a red dress (I kid).  

There are a couple of scientific reasons cited for this phenomenon.  First, older people's eyes are less sensitive to blue light.  This could explain why older folks see white and gold.  (No comment, people.  I see blue and black too)  The other explanation is the illumination of the digital images we see.  Depending on the lighting, some settings have a blue hue, causing the blue to look white.  Digital images, or anything not in person for that matter, can be deceiving.  

The interesting part of this debate is there is one way you can accurately identify the dress colors (sans color blindness of course).  If you see it in person.  For those who see it in person, there is no optical impediments to assessing the colors.  With no barriers between the real dress and us, there is no question the color.

I'm reminded of a verse in I Corinthians 13:12: For now we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known.

When I look at this dress and I see different colors, I begin to doubt my own eyes.  Is it truly white and gold?  Is it truly blue and black?  I know if it was right in front of my face, the doubts would be over.  

Some days I wonder, "Did God protect me from that?"  "Is God really listening?"  "Does God really care about me?"  I trust in faith that He is protecting me.  He is listening.  He does care.  But one day, I'll see Him face to face.  No more looking through a glass darkly.  What I know in part will be fully known.  And there will be no doubts.  

Lessons Learned from Snowpocalypse 2015

Last week our city was essentially shut down (or on slow motion) as 11 inches of snow fell in the region and then -25 wind chills came in as the icing on the snow.  I spent almost the entire week working from home (thank you technology!) but being a hermit didn't bother me anyway.  Heh.  But, given my time secluded from physical contact, I learned some lessons I thought I'd share.

1.  Our local school system needs to enter the 21st century - Currently along with my full-time job I'm a full-time student, pursuing my MBA.  I should be complete by the end of June (everybody sing Hallelujah!) and I've done my entire studies via online learning.  Being employed because of technology, I love the things technology allows.  As I entered this online learning world, I wasn't sure if I'd like it or if I'd feel like I learned nothing.  Now within three classes of completion, I can tell you, it's extremely educational.  Aside from the content I'm learning, I've also been forced to manage my time without the prod of a face-to-face professor reminding me to get things done.  Some of our local Catholic schools have started leveraging online learning to help on those snow days.  Brilliant.  Why our public school system hasn't adopted this is beyond my understanding.  Does every child have easy access to the Internet?  Probably not, but I'd guess a majority of them do.  Let's take all these so-called lottery earnings we've generated for improved education and equip students with laptops and access.  

2.  Even when I'm home, I still procrastinate - You'd think being cooped up at home would garner motivation to get those niggly household projects completed.  You know, clean out closets, organize shelves, etc.  Alas, it did not.  I had plenty to do to just get through each day.  Working 8+ hours, then doing homework, preparing for teaching at my church and for the upcoming conference I'm speaking at, those never-ending projects still remain.  So that my whole week wouldn't be for naught, I did repair a dining room chair!  The top slats in the chair were loose and I had purchased some wood glue about, oh, 4 months ago (don't judge), and hadn't fixed it yet.  Part of my delay was the need for a "clamp" to hold in the repair for 24 hours to ensure solid seal.  I had a revelation to use shipping tape to wrap around the chair to "clamp" it.  Voila!  Success!  Though no closets were cleaned, I did repair my chair. So there.

3.  I understand better the life of the elderly or home bound - When the week started, I was determined to stay content.  I had a warm home, running water, enough food and Internet.  I was fine.  And really, I enjoyed my time sequestered.  The time hermitized help me realize what it's like for those who are older and won't get out in this type of weather (or who can't) or those who are strictly home bound.  When my Dad and Stepmom were alive, Dad wouldn't venture out in weather under 20 degrees.  I would check on them, bring them things they needed, but they were content in their warm home.  If you wrestle with cabin fever during these times, remember those who are in their "cabins" 24/7 not of their choice.  It will truly make you thankful for the abilities you have.  It did for me.  

I'm a YouTuber

I thought I'd never do this, but when you say (or think) never, it happens.  Today is the debut of my new YouTube channel.  After spending oodles of hours watching YouTube videos and wondering what the hype is all about, I decided to take the plunge.  I plan on doing reviews - reviews of subscription services I belong to, books, movies, you name it - and I'll even review products or services suggested by my commenters.  I'm more of a writer than a video production gal, but after reading the success of people who simply open up toys and make millions, I thought "surely I can do this." So, join the ride.  Click on the video and subscribe!

Table Topics: Frigid Wear

The temperature is dropping and it's winter time folks!  Here in the Ville, we expect a low of zero actual degrees tonight...all the more reason to watch the Cardinals play their first ACC opening basketball game in the warmth of my house.  

I'm a flip flop girl.  I was born and raised here in Kentucky, but I'd rather be wearing flip flops year round.  You'd think I was a Florida transplant.  Aside from that, I'm pretty keen on various clothing accessories for winter - scarves (fashionable these days), chapeaus (hats for you non-educated folk), gloves and various types of wraps (read: coats).  I'm a fairly warm-blooded soul, so I don't require a full regalia of these accessories when the temperature hits 40.  People, if you live here and you do, you might need to think about alternative locations.  But, as the red slowly leaks from the temperature gauge, I need to don some or all of the above mentioned items.  

For me, I normally don't wear gloves until it is a few degrees below freezing.  As the temperature drops, I'll add a scarf, just to keep everything tucked in and warm.  When it's really cold (like the teens or lower), I'll don a hat that was a very nice Christmas gift from my employer.  I normally don't mind wearing hats that, when ripped off your head, make you look like a zombie.  This is part of the blessing of naturally curly hair.  Just poof it back in place.  Of course, fashionable scarves are appropriate at any temperature.

Now it's time for our Table Topic:  

What "frigid wear" to you don when the temperature drops?

And remember...you won't feel like a Frigidaire if you have your Frigid wear! (Did you see what I did there?)

That Which Transcends Time and Space

On New Year's Eve, I finally got to see the science fiction adventure film, Interstellar.  It was definitely worth the wait, and a marvelous way to end out the year...even if it caused my mind to blow.

As is my bent, I couldn't help but see the gospel intertwined in the story (albeit unintentional).  If you've seen the move, read on.  If not, there could be some spoilers below, so be warned.

The story is set some time in the future.  Matthew McConaughy (swoon!) stars as Cooper, a former NASA pilot that now lives life as a farmer, raising food in a blighted world called Earth.  The government has shut down many agencies, rewritten textbooks to claim the moon landings were a farce, and experiencing death of the human race at a rapid pace.  Through an intricate set of clues, his daughter, Murphy, uncovers a code that leads them to the hidden location of NASA, still operating to find another galaxy and planet(s) for humankind to exist.  There is a Plan A and a Plan B.  Plan A is to move human race to one of the three possible planet locations found to save their lives.  If that plan fails, Plan B is to raise the embryos they have frozen to salvage the human race if those on the Earth are obliterated due to death.  The twists and turns of this movie that lasts almost three hours is so much more than I can encapsulate here.  This complex story line is definitely worth a watch, so get to the theater before it's gone, or put it on your Netflix/RedBox list.  

Cooper was used to save mankind, and although he was not a perfect man, like Jesus, he did make his decisions based on all of humankind, not just his family.  While physicists, astronauts and engineers mathematically argued what should be done based on numbers, Cooper argued that there was only one option...save mankind.  When God sent His Son, He didn't have to, and He made that sacrifice for all the generations to come. Nothing made sense logically to the way Jesus came, lived or died (and rose again), but it was all part of the plan.  I will say that humankind was spared in the movie.  You'll have to watch it to see how.

One of my favorite lines from the movie was spoken by Brand.  She was played by Anne Hathaway and was the daughter of the physicist solving the equation for gravity.  Without going into detail regarding the genesis of this quote (because it would take too long), Brand defends why she believes the team should choose to return to one of the three planets.  Love.  The astronaut supposedly there was her true love.  With little to no evidence about the status of the three planets' astronauts, other than a blip that that were alive, she felt drawn to that planet.  Her quote was "Love is the one thing we're capable of perceiving that transcends time and space."  Powerful.  

Scripture teaches us that God is love.  And although our finite minds can't perceive the fullness of who He is, He has made a way for us to experience that love through His Love through us in Jesus Christ.  This quote stuck with me...."that transcends time and space."  God is bigger than time or space.  He never slumbers.  He is omniscient.  He is love.  As a new year begins, it is good to know that the Creator of this universe is concerned with loving me.