Ruzzled

Thank you for allowing me to guilt you into commenting yesterday. Keep the guilt comments coming. It validates me.

Are you guys playing Ruzzle? If not, why not?! Get the app. Basically, I’m horrible at it. It’s a word-finder game — kind of like Boggle. Is Boggle a game? I think it is. I am too lazy to google it. … I just googled it. Yes, Ruzzle is like Boggle. I pretty much lose to everyone I play, but it’s addicting and I love it.

Since I haven’t been blogging, I haven’t been thinking to take pictures for you guys. And we all know that a blog is better with a good photo or two. Let me see what I can find…

This was my room after comps. Complete, shameful disaster. I couldn’t keep up with both learning how to parse Hebrew verbs and making my bed. I just couldn’t.

Andrew, me, Diana and Andy went to Disneyland a couple of weeks ago. I had never been. It was honestly magical. I loved it. I even blogged about it. This is us on Splash Mountain, which was one of my favorites. I think that girl behind Andrew was not enjoying it quite so much.

This is a picture of a duck who loves to surf. All he does is win.

This was my car last week. Colorado: May is one week from today. One week from today. Get it together.

Are you bored yet? I am.

I’m teaching at CCU today on Hebrew poetry and wisdom literature. Basically, the Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and Job. It’s a lot to cover in one day, so most likely I will not cover any of it well. I love the book of Job. It’s kind of a weird book to love, but I just think it’s interesting. What I find fascinating is when God finally responds to Job after he’s been questioning for ages. God doesn’t give him any answers. None at all. Instead he talks a lot about the things in nature that he created and all the animals he cares for. He demonstrates his power over all of creation. And Job is stunned. He recognizes who God is and who he is not. It’s pretty amazing.

OK, that’s all I’ve got. To get to know each other a bit better, let’s each share our favorite Friends character. Mine is Ross. Or Chandler. Also, Monica. Maybe Baby Kangaroo Tribbiani. I can’t choose. You?

Always Winter. Never Christmas.

Two days in a row. Not to brag or anything.

It’s just a winter wonderland out there, guys. No big deal. I think we’re all super excited that it’s still winter. No one wishes it were sunny or warm or green. Everyone would rather have this.

Today I need to learn 64 Greek vocabulary words for a quiz tonight. Any guesses on how many I’ve memorized already?

I also need to finish preparing my lecture for the OT class I’m teaching at CCU. My plan was to finish this lecture Sunday night, and then last night. Any guesses on how well I did?

Guys, let’s say congrats to my roommate, Heather, who got engaged this weekend!! She and Dalton are pretty perfect for each other, so it’s really exciting. Yay for love!

Umm, I just discovered that the shirt I’m wearing right now has a stain on it. I’m good at life.

I made avocado egg salad last night. I’m on a bit of a protein kick lately. This means that I bought a new blender so I can make protein shakes for breakfast. (My new blender is red. My old blender wouldn’t blend things.) I read something awhile back about how the soy content in most protein powders can be bad for women. So I have some that is gluten-free, soy-free, additives-free. Also, it is taste-free. But whatever. Just add raspberries. That’s my motto.

Remember how no one left a comment on my blog yesterday? I know you guys were reading it. Leave me a note. Mean.

So if I make it through the next few weeks of Greek and lesson-writing, I will be off to Canada for the summer at the end of May! I’m going to hang out in Alberta with Andrew. I’m super excited because 1. Andrew is my favorite, 2. The sun stays up until after 10 in Alberta in the summer(!), and 3. I may see a moose. ALSO, the biggest sign that this is a good plan is that the very first Target is opening in Andrew’s city in May. I will leave America, but not my beloved Target. God is good to me. (I’m kind of not kidding.)

Until then, I have a lot of boring things to do. They’re boring. I’m bored. Let’s go out for dinner instead. Leave me a comment and tell me when you’re free.

Joves!

 

Some Things

It’s Monday. As good a day as any to write a blog post. That’s my motto.

Here are some things I’d like to say:

* Peplum tops look bad on me. I need this trend to be done because I can’t pull it off. I also need to get rid of that peplum shirt I bought when I was fooling myself into thinking I could pull it off.

* Not today.

* Winter will not freaking end. Why is it almost May and snowing today? Probably because I live in Colorado where things like this happen every spring. But still

* I’ve been gone from the bloggy so long that you don’t even know all of my favorite shows right now! Basically, I don’t have any. (Why does Parenthood have such a short season?!) I’ve been watching Scandal. Totally unrealistic drams. Also, Project Runway. More totally unrealistic drams. And my favorite, Parks & Recreation. The best drams.

* Drams is short for “drama.” Except that it has the exact same number of letters.

* I am pretending like it hasn’t been a literal three months since I last blogged. Can you tell?

* I can’t pretend with you guys. It has been forever. This is mainly because January, February and March were pretty miserable months for me. I had my comprehensive exams on March 2, which meant that January and February involved a lot of cramming, crying, librarying and overeating. Comps was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. It probably wouldn’t have been so bad if I hadn’t been working on my thesis as well, but I was. Also, it wouldn’t have been so bad if comps didn’t involve a six-hour-hand-written essay test that covers everything you have ever learned, plus a whole bunch of stuff you’ve never learned. The worst. I spent so many nights memorizing pages of notes and then promptly forgetting them. Then eating chips. But, somehow I managed to pass, and I felt so good when they were done. Then I finished the rough draft of my thesis by March 18, and this past Friday I just finished the revisions. Done!!! So happy.

* Now I just have to figure out how to pass Greek and then I will be all graduated. Like a boss.

* Graduation is 3.5 weeks away. It feels like 3.5 years.

* This is my absolute new favorite thing. This guy takes pictures of his son, who is crying, and then tells us why. Go there now. I laughed until I was crying just as hard as his son.

* I am done writing now. BUT, I am going to write again soon. Because there’s so much to catch you up on — (spoiler alert: A lot of it probably has to do with TV.)

K, I’ll be back soon!

Feeling Turquoise

Blogging is the last thing I should be doing right now (Martha is going to be mad at me), but I woke up feeling a tiny bit blue today, and I knew that talking with my bloggy friends would fill me with cheer.

Denise, why are you blue? you ask. (You didn’t really ask that, but you should have. It’s rude for someone to admit that they’re blue and then not ask what’s wrong. Also, why are you “feeling blue” when you’re sad? Where does that come from? Let me scour the Internets to see … umm, the Internets are proving to be unreliable. I’m finding all kinds of theories for the etymology of “feeling blue.” Some people say it has to do with rain or the fact that blue is a dark color (boring). Others say it has to do with Zeus, which I think also has to do with the idea of storms (less boring). Others say it has to do with deepwater ships. If the ship lost a captain or crewmember during its voyage, it would fly blue flags on its return (least boring, but I’m not sure I buy it). Also, I think we could be more creative. What about feeling aquamarine? Or feeling navy? Or feeling Carolina blue? Thanks for nothing, Internet! Although I did find Tobias.)

Where was I? Oh, yes. The blueness. Basically, I have so many things to do and none of them are fun. That makes me a bit whiny and sad. For the next two months, my life consists of the library and frantic writing/studying. It’s the worst. A rough draft of my thesis is due by March 18. And a rough draft it shall be. Most programs at my school either do a thesis or comprehensive exams. I wisely (unwisely) chose the program that does both. That means that I will be taking a six-hour essay test on March 2. This test covers everything I’ve supposedly learned at school. And according to the reading list, it also covers a whole lot of stuff I’ve never learned. I’m supposed to study for this test for two months. I am behind. I am also teaching two Old Testament classes at Colorado Christian University, doing other freelance projects, taking Greek and trying to keep up with the demands of Pinterest and Facebook. It’s a lot, you guys. Feeling blue.

But let’s move on and talk about some happy things.

* The Bachelor is back, which means that Knox McCoy is back! He is the only reason to suffer through that show, and he makes it so worth it.

* This is a thing.

* I started teaching at CCU this past week. I am a professor! I’ve already had fun teaching the kids things about the Old Testament, and I think they didn’t hate it. I’ve also already received bribes in the form of Skittles, so my plans are going perfectly.

* I ran away from work and spent two weeks in Canada over Christmas. Andrew’s family goes to a hot springs resort every year, and it was lovely. Our days consisted of sleeping in, eating breakfast, lounging around, going snowshoeing or hiking or skiing, eating a snack, taking a nap, eating dinner, playing wallyball, going to the hot tub, eating a snack, playing a game, and going to sleep. I literally never knew what day it was because time didn’t matter. So relaxing.

This is wallyball, by the way. Notice my fierce athleticism as I gently tap the ball into the net because I have absolutely no skills.

Andrew took me cross-country skiing one day, which was a huge treat for him. I’ve done it before in Minnesota, but on a very flat trail. The trail we were on had a few hills. Guys, cross-country skis have no edges. You’re trusting your feet to two long sticks of sheer gliding crap. I fell about 16,000 times, and the trail that should have taken us about 35 minutes took over 40 hours. I was crabby and prideful, and Andrew was patient with me. (Also, he laughed at me a lot, which was rude.)

* My mom sent me a DVD of the PBS series Frontier House. I love it, you guys. It’s about three modern-day families who do a project in which they go live in Montana for five months. But they live as though they were in the 1880s! They build cabins and milk cows and sew clothes and grow crops. It’s like Little House brought to life. This is what I would have died to do when I was 10. Here’s the thing, though. Life was hard in the 1880s! Just think of all the whining I’d have to do! It’s fun to watch, though.

* And finally, Grumpy Cat is always feeling more blue than I am. And that cheers me up.

Okey, dokey. I feel better. Have a really wonderful weekend, friends!

Cheese and Carrot Christmas Cookies

Oh, hi.

Just a normal day on the blogster with my daily update like usual, because I’m a super consistent blogger, everyone.

This is what my life looks like every day right now.

Actually, that picture makes it look much more romantic and peaceful than it is. Constant curriculum writing, thesis reading, and life fretting. It’s gotten bad. People have started looking for me at “my table” in the library. No one wants to be known for being nerdy enough to have their own library table. No one. I never make food anymore, so most of my lunches and dinners consist of pieces of cheese and old carrots I found in my fridge. Every day I wear whatever is most comfortable because I know there’s a possibility that I will be sleeping in the library. Case in point: Today I am wearing a sweater that looks like an afghan and some Fuggs (Fake Uggs). Like I said: bad.

At least I’m never dramatic. I have that going for me.

How are you guys? Did you know that Christmas is on its way? Well, it is.

My friendsies are coming up on Saturday for our annual Christmas dinner extravaganza. This year we’ve decided to upgrade from Chili’s. This makes me both excited and a tiny bit sad. Because: queso. Then on Sunday, I will drive down to Colorado Springs  for another Christmas cheer dinner at our friend Amber’s! I might make some Christmas treats at some point during the next couple of weeks (do any Christmas treats consist of cheese and old carrots?) What are some of your favorites? I’m thinking of making caramels, cherry cookies and peanut butter balls.

What is everyone watching on the old television set these days? Because I like to feel simultaneously heartwarmed and severely depressed on Tuesdays, I watch Parenthood. Tears. Every. Week. Except this week I thought I had gotten by unscathed — until they played the preview for next week. Oh, Bravermans. Happy Endings has not been my favorite this year, but this week’s episode was fantabulous. One word, five syllables: Hair helmets. (I’m not good with counting or grammar.)

We’ve had such a warm fall/almost winter, you guys. This was me on Sunday when it was basically 70 degrees on December 2.

Note the jacket in hand and the carefree smile of someone unburdened by scarves or snow or mittens. Do not note whatever is happening with my lion’s mane of a hairstyle. The weather people (Is that the politically correct way of saying weathermen? Should weatherpeople be one word? Because weathermen is. Please advise.) are saying that we have a cold front moving in, however. Luckily, I’ve got my Fuggs to keep me warm.

I feel like so far this post has been useful to absolutely no one. OH, but here is something you need to know: International Delight’s white chocolate raspberry creamer is the best thing that has ever happened to me. It’s seasonal, so partake of that sweet goodness immediately.

OK, that’s about as useful as I get. Except that yesterday I was doing some reading for my thesis and I found something interesting. My first chapter focused on how God is a God of action. He reveals his character through what he does. This next chapter is focusing on the community of Israel — how God wanted them to follow him and remember/worship him through their own action. One of the ways they did this was through celebrating the holidays like Passover and the Feast of Weeks, etc. I’m just starting to research, but already it is clear that God wanted people to remember through the things they did. The word that we often translate “celebrate” in our Bibles is actually “do” or “perform” in the Hebrew. And when they “did” these holidays, they were supposed to do things like go to the temple, eat unleavened bread that reminded them of their hasty departure, or build physical shelters that reminded them of God’s provision. Remembering God is more than just reading a passage or thinking about its implications. God wanted his people to remember him through sight, sound, taste, smell. With all that we are. And that didn’t change from the Old Testament to the New. Jesus took part of his meal and told us to remember him when we taste the bread or sip the wine. I think it’s kind of nifty.

OK, I best get back to it. This thesis isn’t going to whine about itself.

Be good. See you soon!

Friday Listday: Afternoon Style

OK, guys. Let’s not even discuss how long it’s been or why I decided to blog now or how I’m a failure at being a Professional Blogger. Let’s not discuss it because there aren’t any valid reasons. (Unless laziness, thesis-writing-is-the-worst-ness, and I-spend-a-lot-of-time-painting-my-nails-itis are valid reasons.)

OK, I lied. We’ll discuss. I think I haven’t been blogging lately because I have so much writing to do this semester. I’ve been working on multiple curriculum projects, a 15,000 word e-book and a 100-page thesis. I write constantly so, as much as I love the bloggy, it sometimes just feels like more writing. And my MacBook and I get tired.

But, for whatever reason, I missed you all today, so here is a blog post which will probably talk about a whole lot of nothing. As usual. Also, here’s a happy coincidence: my blogging itch just happened to fall at the end of the week. Which can only mean one thing:

Let’s Friday Listday like it’s 1999.

1. OK, most important things first: Last night I painted my nails purple. But then I painted one nail on each hand a lighter shade of purple. Kind of like this. But not really. Because I didn’t use gold. But you get the gist, you guys.

Anyway, I feel self-conscious about it. I see nails like this all the time on Pinterest and TV, so I know it’s all the rage. But I’m just a small-town girl (living in a lonely world). Anyway, thoughts? Have you tried this? Is it weird? Should I take it off immediately?

2. I finished a chapter of my thesis yesterday! Technically, I should probably have completed about 9 million thesis chapters by now, but I haven’t, OK? So let’s just take these small victories where we can get them. I’m finding out some cool stuff. I’m talking about faith in action, and the first chapter I wrote centered on the action of God. The Bible talks a lot about what God has done. Israel trusts God because he proved himself to be faithful through his actions — by following through. You can read more about it here cause I wrote a blog post on another site that is not this one.

3. The second hand picture below is actually what it looks like when I try to draw a hand. It’s super shameful. I am the worst at drawing. When I was little, we went to an art class and some lady taught us how to draw a person, step-by-step. Like, it took us weeks to do the project. It was the most thorough instruction I’ve ever had on how to sketch correctly. My finished product was a man with hands like the second picture. The worst.

4. I am working hard to finish up my Master’s. I have Greek this semester and next. (I will not speak of Greek because it is horrendous and not worth speaking of. It would perhaps be a little better if I studied more than four minutes a week in preparation for the quiz, but it’s doubtful.) I am working on my thesis. I have comprehensive exams in the Spring. Also, I will be teaching two Old Testament survey classes at Colorado Christian University this spring! So that will be cool. I will get to tell all my boring stories about the Jewish holidays and about how it is more biblical to describe God as a rock than it is to say he’s omnipresent. (If the God-as-a-rock thing is confusing to you, I’m sorry. I’ve probably written about it here on the bloggy in a way that makes more sense and sounds less heretical, but I am too lazy to find you that post. Basically, just read the Bible and see how God is described. (Aren’t I going to be a great teacher?!))

5. This is still a thing, so that’s good.

We’re going to Minnesota for Thanksgiving to meet my family so that Andrew can learn why it is that I’m crazy. When you’re in a relationship, you learn a lot about a person. One thing that I’ve learned is that Andrew loves pictures of horses. If you are friends with him on Facebook, he would love it if you would post some horse pictures on his wall. A lot of times he’ll text me and be like, “Denise, would you please send me a horse picture? It would brighten my day so much!” And then I’m like, “I’m busy and I don’t have time to find you pictures. Do you think pictures of horses giving loving hugs to girls in super-short shorts just grow on trees?!”

6. This song from the Head and the Heart’s iTunes session is ah-mah-zing. Listen now.

7. I haven’t been blogging lately, but I am on Instagram taking filtered pictures galore. You can find me at denise_ruth. It’s quite exciting.

8. This fall I have been learning what it means to trust the Lord. I’ve talked about it a lot, but I have had to depend on him for a lot this year, and I feel like I’m just starting to get it. My thesis topic has been cool because it shows me just how much God is involved, and just how trustworthy he is. He and I have been having good talks. It’s nice.

You guys! I’m just so happy to be friends again today! How have you been? Leave me a note. And have a happy Friday!!!

30 Means Maturity. And Orange Pants.

Well, I’m 30. This blog is going to be much more mature and thoughtful and pensive from now on.

Now for a picture of a tiny pig!

I had a great birthday celebration because I have cool friends. My Denver friends brought me down to Colorado Springs and we were surprised at the restaurant with my besties from the Springs. We ate dinner and then went to the Balloon Glo (I think they spell it “glo” to be cool. But it’s not cool. But whatever.). The Balloon GLO is part of the balloon classic that Colorado Springs does every year. There are about a million hot air balloons at a park and they light them all at once when it gets dark. It’s really cool and I should show you pictures. But I’ve been too lazy to get the pictures off of my phone, so just imagine it in your head. Go ahead. Close your eyes, and imagine all kinds of colorful hot air balloons lighting up the night sky. Beautiful, yes? Yes. Then we went to the Broadmoor Hotel, which is my very favorite place in The Springs. We walked around and sat outside by the lake and then went to the Golden Bee, which is a really fun piano bar. I was forced to stand up as the piano player sang happy birthday to me. And then we ate a toffee fudge cake and it was the best thing ever. Good birthday, you guys!

Now I am at school in the student center and I’m in the kind of mental place where I have so much to do that I feel like I can’t get anything done. So I write blog posts instead.

I’m wearing orange pants today. And yes, it’s uncomfortable for everyone. In my defense, they are burnt orange, which I feel is more acceptable than neon. And colored pants are super in this year. And I got them for free. I’ll try to take a picture and maybe find the energy to transfer the picture to my computer one day. We’ll see.

In conclusion, I bet you’re glad this blog has gotten to sophisticated now that I’m 30.

OK, I’ve got to do some actual work. I hope you have an awesome day!

 

Let’s Friday Listday Like It’s 1982!

It’s Friday, y’all. The Friday before my 30th birthday. Because apparently, I’m that old. I think to celebrate the awesomeness that has been bestowed upon the world since September 2, 1982, we should party with a little list.

1. Will Ferrell was on Conan this week, and he was pretty upset about Kristen Stewart (K-Stew) cheating on Robert Pattinson (R-Patt). You don’t even know!!

2. Because I am overwhelmed by school and freelancing, I felt the need for something fun in the month of September. So, a few friends and I are going to do Kendi Everyday’s 30-for-30 challenge. You may remember it from when Kristy and I did it last year. Basically, you choose 30 items of clothing (pants, shirts, skirts, dresses and shoes). You can only wear those 30 items for the month of September, and you can’t wear the same outfit twice! Accessories don’t count, so feel free to load up on those. During the challenge, no shopping. The goal is to be creative with your clothes so that you realize how many fun outfits you already have in your closet. Anyhoo, we’ll start September 1. I’m not going to be as strict with posting pictures on the bloggy this time, but I’ll try to put a few up every once in awhile. Also, we’d love it if you did the challenge with us — it’s fun!

3. Michael Scott is not a huge fan of Toby.

4. I’ve started working on my thesis. And by “working,” I mostly mean “fretting” and creating multiple Word documents so that I can feel like I’ve done something. It’s going to be a long semester.

5. This video makes me happy every single time I see it. Like, I literally smile. Come dance with me.

6. This week I started going to kickboxing at the gym again. It gives me a good reason to complain about being sore. It also reminds me that my 30-year-old body is not made for roundhouse kicks to the face.

7. Who’s excited for fall TV to start up?! Tom Haverford probably is. Chicky-chicky parm-parm.

Have an excellent weekend, friends!

This Post is a Travesty of a Good Blog Post

You guys, I am the worst at blogging! When did this happen? Where did I go wrong? It’s a travesty. And a tragedy. Also, what is the difference between those two words? Hang on, I’ll go look it up … OK, I should probably have known the difference — I misused travesty, you guys. A travesty is “an absurd or grotesque misrepresentation.” Like a parody or spoof. A tragedy is my hair in Minnesota humidity during the summer.

I’m not very good with the English.

OK, we’ve established that I’m a bad blogger and very poor with language, so aren’t you glad I’m here writing you a post?! But I have mustered up some energy for a little something I like to call: Friday Listday.

1. You guys. The fires. Colorado is burning down. I spent a lot of time this week focusing my attention on the big fire in Colorado Springs. It has affected a lot of my friends with evacuations and with the loss of their homes. It’s so bad. It just kept growing, and eventually it rolled down the mountain into people’s neighborhoods. 346 homes have been lost. It is a bit more under control at the moment, but still only 15 percent contained. I was in Colorado Springs on Saturday when the fire started. This is what it looked like:

And this is what it looked like Tuesday night:

Please keep praying for rain for our state and for the people who have to rebuild.

2. I leave for Guatemala a week from tomorrow! What?! I am unprepared. I am such the world traveler. It’s just what I do. I am taking a class at a seminary in Guatemala City. One of my Old Testament professors will be teaching it and translating for himself. We’ll be in the class with Latin students, and we’ll spend a lot of time touring the country and seeing the culture and the class system in Guatemala. It should be interesting, and I’m excited to practice my Spanish. I was in a store today and was able to successfully eavesdrop on someone’s Spanish phone conversation, so I think I’m off to a good start.

3. Diana, Courtney and Heather are going camping this weekend near Aspen. They’re hiking nine miles to some hot springs and then sleeping in them or something. I’ve seen lots of backpacks and water purifiers and long underwear and flashlights. I suggest bringing bear spray as well, because bears love hot springs. I’ve requested that they also record the entire adventure so I can experience the joy of nature with them as Heather leads the team through the wilderness.

4. Do you all watch So You Think You Can Dance? I love it. There were three roommates who tried out this year and they all do this crazy kind of dubstep/animation/crunking dancing. I don’t even know how to explain it, but it’s amazing. Seriously, watch these first three dances — they are crazy awesome.

5. Apparently, someone I live with (who shall remain nameless) got a new toothbrush days ago. The exact same toothbrush as the one I already had. And this person didn’t tell me about it until yesterday morning. Umm. That means I go to the bathroom looking for the purple toothbrush, not knowing that there are two purple toothbrushes in the toothbrush holder! (“Toothbrushes” sounds weird. I feel like it should be toothbrushi or something. But it’s not. Travesty. No. That’s not right. Shoot.) Anyway, gross. Who even knows which one I have been using?!?! Lots of toothbrush mishaps at old Morris Mansion. (I feel like we need a name for our apartment. My house in Colorado Springs was called Cherry Springs Wonderland because we lived on Cherry Springs Drive. We’ve never named this place. Thoughts?)

6. That’s pretty lazy.

7. Batman had a little bit of trouble getting the answer to this riddle. Is it a bag of steel-cut oats?

OK, I hope everyone has a super great weekend! Please pray for Colorado. And I will pray for you too!

The Swing of Things

Pumpkins!

Can you tell that I’m slowly working my way back into blogging? Just every few days, apparently. A little bit at a time. Maybe just one tiny animal picture might help us get back in the swing of things?

Maybe?

Just one little tiny one?

I have no jet lag excuses anymore. Last week I was getting tired at 8:30. Now I am just lazy.

I have a lot of reading I have to do for this Guatemala class, and I’m also supposed to be doing reading and research for my thesis. So, because I am always committed to being an excellent student/I couldn’t think of any more ways to put this off, I went to the library the other day to get some stuff done. You guys: It was the worst. There were about zero and a half people there, and it was so quiet and tragic and my soul was filled with gloom because it was so sunny and beautiful outside. Unbearable. I checked out a book and ran away. It makes me a super awful student, but I couldn’t take it. Maybe I’ll try again next week.

I just saw a spider on the wall, but then I got distracted and forgot about it, and now I don’t know where it’s gone. So now I feel like it’s probably crawling on me.

Target is becoming the worst. They quit carrying Diana’s and my favorite low-calorie tortilla chips and they are no longer stocking Hansen’s natural sodas. I may have to quit shopping there. OK, calm down. I regret saying that. It’s not true. Target, it’s not true. I’ll be back tomorrow.

Now it’s time for Israel Musings, brought to you by: Some Random Thing Denise Remembered About Her Trip.

There are lots of little biblical reminders around Israel. Although many Israelis are very secular — a large number of them don’t even believe in God — there is no separation of church (synagogue?) and state like we talk about in America. National parks contain passages of Scripture because you’re at the spot where David and Goliath fought or where Abraham dug a well. The whole land is infused with the Bible — it’s unavoidable.

One example of this is the mezuzah. In Deuteronomy 6, God tells the Israelites to love him with everything that they are, and to keep his commandments close to their hearts. He wants them to tie them as symbols on their hands and to write them on the doorframes of their houses and gates. Because of this commandment, many Jewish people have mezuzahs on the doorposts of their front doors — some even have them on every doorpost in their house. They are all over Israel — the place we stayed at in the Galilee had them on the doorposts to our cabins, and this is a picture of one at the entrance of Jaffa Gate, leading into the Old City.

A mezuzah is a little container that contains a small scroll of Scripture from Deuteronomy in it. It contains the Shema — the passage about loving God with all your heart, soul and strength. Oftentimes, when people pass through a doorway, they touch the mezuzah — a quick reminder to love God with everything. Whenever you pass through a doorway, you are reminded that your goal is to love God and to love your neighbor — the people you will encounter once you pass through that doorway. It’s a physical reminder of God’s commandments and the way he has asked us to serve him. Kind of neat.

OK, done, guys. Have a really good day — do it! Bye!