Clothe Yourselves With Love

This was written by my religion professor. I am so impressed that a professor in a public university would write this and post it publicly. I guess it helps that it is a religion class, but it gives me hope for our education system.

Clothe Yourselves With Love by Karyn Chambers
While driving home from Lebanon tonight after a particularly long teaching day, I pondered thoughts of clothing and our choices of what to wear. Actually, I thought about it earlier today as well driving "to" class--driving can sometimes be time for a meditation or a time of reflecting for me.

We Americans can get caught up with the fashion trends. I remember as a young person feeling especially upset because I wanted to fit in at school. I wanted more than anything to fit in though; I wanted more than that to be liked and have lots of friends. Well, the most popular girls wore the latest fashions, and it seemed to me, in my childish mind, that perhaps that was the key to everything. If one could wear the right clothes and be cute, the world would be open. Of course, my parents were struggling with money, so our clothes were often purchased at the Goodwill store--talk about a source of shame and embarrassment. What child, in our materialist society, wants the other kids to know his or her clothes came from a secondhand store?

So, what I was pondering today is a couple of things: Those who take monastic vows and the hippie movement. Is there any correlation? Yes, actually I believe there is. In all the world's monastic traditions, those who take vows of poverty give up all pride, material possessions, and vanity. The women shave their heads and wear no jewelry (except a crucifix) or make-up ever. The men also shave their heads. It is called tonsure: the bald center portion of the heads. Do you know why? (This is cool.) Because prisoners or slaves of Rome wore the same haircut--thus slaves of Christ. The Buddhist monks wear saffron robes--the color of prisoners. The Christian monks wore burlap--the clothing of the poorest in society to show humility and remain true to their vow of poverty and also to identify with those going through hard times.

What is the message or the symbolism of their clothing? We are all poor in Christ. We are slaves of sin and vice. It is an outward recognition of such, and thus what their vows are all about--becoming true seekers of God and renunciation of material or worldly pursuits in exchange for the spiritual path--the inward journey--not an easy path--the narrow one that's as sharp as the razor's edge, as the Upanishads state.

So why the hippie movement? Well, I was remembering how those caught up in the love and peace movement of the 60's and 70's also renounced materialism and wore clothes with holes or different from the general public to make a statement that spiritual things are of the highest most valuable acquisition, more important than materialism and being part of the crowd--the herd sucked in to believe that what we wear, where we live, or what we drive is the path to happiness and love..A similar message. Hippies were also ridiculed, scorned, and looked down upon as many of the saints, apostles, and other religious seekers...
I guess I was realizing a shift in myself and recognizing what matters most--not our outer clothes but our inner spirit, for that is what reveals who we truly are and what's in our hearts. That's not to say that there's not a time and place for presenting ourselves in the best way possible. I'm just trying to say when it becomes our focus and obsession, then perhaps we need to free ourselves from this distraction.

Amen, Lord, Jesus, let us clothe ourselves with humility, loving-kindness, and peace, for these are the most beautiful clothes of all. Also, let us not judge others by what they wear but see passed the outer appearances of others and into the heart. Thank you for this gift of insight today...Amen, Lord, come and fill my heart with your sweet gifts.

Written by Karyn Chambers

What a fantastic post this is, I just had to share with my blogger friends!

Tag you're it!

Ok, here are my 8 random Hosmeritaisms.

1. I was the captain of the cheer leading squad.
2. I have a few Musicals under my belt including my fave, Grease.
3. I eat the chocolate chips before they make it in the cookies.
4. I got purposed to in St. Maarten when I was 19 years old, by a man who called himself Loverboy Roy. Here is the proposal:
Loverboy: "Hey Baby, Are you American?"
Me (trying to run): "Yes"
Loverboy: "I'm looking for a wife."
Me (thinking to myself "greeeaaat"): "Oh yeah?"
Loverboy: "You'd be alright, you wanna marry me?"
Me (trying not to laugh outloud, but almost peeing myself): "No thanks."
Loverboy: "Ok"
He then proceeded to turn to my friend and start the same conversation.
5. I am supposed to wear glasses for an astigmatism, but they make my head hurt.
6. I am a 3/4 time student.
7. Hubby was my manager at a bar , that we both bar tended at.
8. I like walking in the rain. (I got used to it in college, walking 8 blocks to campus.)

Well that's all I can think of today! Off to do homework.
Tag, your turn...

My 6 month old the clean freak...

Ok, here is my little man. Is he laughing because the can really is all that funny? Or is he really laughing out of disbelief that I am actually cleaning? I think I should send this into AFV.

For Meghan... And anyone else feeling bad about their preggers bellies...

Ok Ladies,

Here it is. My roadmap of a belly. By the time I delivered my belly button had gone back in and was now the size of a Silver Dollar.

Now, feel better.

Laugh with me, not at me...

So the baby shower I threw the other day was my debut as an officer's wife. Let me tell you I pulled it off in true Hosmerita fashion.

The Good:

A nicely cleaned house

Fantastic cake made by my friend Christa

Yummy Costco Veggies and Fruit

Cute Plates

Only two games, and yummy smelling candles for prizes.

The Bad:

I forgot to serve beverages, they were nicely prepared in the fridge, lemonade, peach ice tea, sparkling mineral water. But no, everyone went thirsty. I didn't discover the lack of drinks until after everyone left.

The Ugly:

The three year old that split his head open on my coffee table.

Yep, that is it in a nut shell!

P.S. Did you know that Hydrogen Peroxide gets blood out of carpet pronto!

A Better Day...

A better day consists of the following...
Taking the advice of a friend and going to church just to be still.
Leftover cake from the baby shower. (there goes the diet!)
Lunch with family.
A Costco trip with help.
Buying myself a NICE new knife set that wont break in my hand while I am cooking.
A Large Dutch Bros. Almond Mocha w/whip (yup, diet is history, oh and this explains why I am writing this at 12:42am)
A nap thanks to Mom.
Knowing that Monday is the beginning of all the season premiers.
Only 18 days left to survive.
Ava sleeping through the night last night.
Time to breathe.
Knowing that I have friends out there who are super fab!

Not so great day...
I have a cold.

Oh well not too bad.

P.S. Valerie, it is officially Monday, why aren't you up to post the results...

Dear Kari,

Thanks for the rope. I needed it.
~Kim

Mommy needs some more rope.

I am at the end of my rope and I need some more. Can I borrow any of yours? I don't know when I will be able to get it back to you, but I promise I will.
It has been one of those weeks. Princesshas decided that while Daddy is gone she doesn't need to sleep, it is ok to throw applesauce at Mommy, and that the only way to get her way is to scream. Timeouts aren't working this morning. I just want to crawl into bed and go to sleep.
For whatever reason I agreed to host a baby shower at my house tomorrow and Princess is making it impossible to clean.
Coffee doesn't work.
I have had it. I want to have Hubby here to pass the torch to, but I can't. He didn't call on his lunch break, I really could have used that.
I need you all to pray for me.
Princess has to nap today, she just has to. Although if the past few weeks are any sign of how today will be, she will either decide not to take one or Little Man will wake up from his nap just after she goes to sleep.
I need to clean. I need to shop. I need a break. I need some space. I need a shower. I NEED TO BREATHE...

Happy Promotion and Anniversary

Well my hubby got his promotion, yay! Except for the fact that we wont see the much needed pay increase for like umm a year and the fact that there is a VERY large chance that he might get lost in the paperwork shuffle and we might not get payed at all for a month, we are excited. God provides, and we will wait patiently and appreciate his gift.


So after this promotion and my straight A's, did I mention that, oh yeah I did. (I only bring it up because I have NEVER ever done that before other than elementary school, and I did it with two munchkins running around)

Anyways...

Hubby asked me what I wanted as a gift to celebrate, I chose a massage and a shirt to wear to the promotion.



When I asked him what he wanted he said this (Ladies, he wanted me to have all of you call your husbands over to the computer to ooooh and awwww at his present, apparently the men are the only ones who can truly appreciate this gift)



My word, yes ladies it is legal, and yes it is real. No ladies, I don't know what he would ever need it for. Yes ladies, I bought it for him. No men, you can't have one too.

Soooo all I have to say is I feel a lot safer having this picture on my blog. Hmmm, yeah I will stick with that for now.

Becca, your NKOB and TIVO are safe (He really wanted Matt to see this pic, he thought he would see the value in it). Val, call me if the Repo man comes back. Solicitors, don't bother even knocking. He told me he would teach me to shoot it, I said umm yeah no thanks, I like my eardrums just fine.

So honey, here is your post. We love you and congrats. Thanks for loving me as much as worldly possible in these last three years, and thanks for even loving my wobbly parts.

Here is to a lifetime of fun memories and wacky gifts.

Sir Tim, the not so stuffy Professor

So I am done with my history class. I finished the final and got this response;

I enjoyed your final ~ Tim :)

Apparently I put enough exhaustive work into the class, because I got an A! Yaya! I am a 4.0 student, at least for this last term. 3 classes, all A's I am oh so happy. So now I have a two week break and I am back to three classes again.

I just needed to pat myself on the back.
Thanks for humoring me!