We attended the annual Christmas and Easter services, filling the church with others like us who felt the obligation on the “Christian” holidays. I think we attended Sunday school on occasion, but not sure why. Little chairs, the church basement smell, those colorful worksheets with Bible verses and lessons, and a picture of Jesus on the wall.

Later on in high school, there was a social component. Some of my friends were involved in the Youth Group at church. They were people I liked, so I thought I’d give it a whirl. I’m sure I was guided there by something (Someone) “Bigger Than” what I could conceive, but it didn’t occur to me at the time.

I don’t actually remember attending the Youth Group regularly, but I did go on a Mission Trip to Mexico one time. You’re probably thinking, “So this chick isn’t involved in church, doesn’t attend regularly, but GOES TO MEXICO with the Youth Group?” Yeah, I don’t really get it either. I remember certain parts of the trip, like stopping in Disneyland and getting in a water fight on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. We got in trouble and had to wipe down the boat we were in. We also went to the zoo. I actually can’t remember anything about being in Mexico. I think we helped to build a house. I have a vague memory of being hot and handing people nails. I’ll have to see if I still have some photos to refresh my memory…  In any event, the memories of the trip are mostly of being social with my friend and LONG RIDES in vans. I would say that God may have been talking, but I definitely wasn’t listening.

There were a couple other trips with that group, but again, they were generally motivated by the social aspect vs. the spiritual aspect.

After High School, I can’t say that I attended church again except for a Compline service or two. I didn’t know how to spell Compline or have any idea of its significance, and of course I wasn’t Catholic, but the chanting was cool. After that … Nada. (And lest you be curious about what WAS rumbling around in my head when I was a kid, during high school, and then in my 20s before I met Kevin… Just wait, it’s coming.)

Anyway… I met Kevin in 1992. His upbringing was about as non-religious as mine, although it was even tinged with anti-religion. His dad was raised Baptist and apparently witnessed such hypocrisy that the proverbial Baby (Jesus) was thrown out with the bath water. I wouldn’t say it scarred him for life on curiosity about religion or making his own choices, it just wasn’t a part of his childhood either.

My Youth Pastor married us in the church where I had “attended.” I always liked him, but don’t have a memory of any spiritual discussions with him. Again, likely he (and HE) were talking, but I just wasn’t listening.

Fast forward about 5 years. We relocated to North Idaho in the summer of 2000 and Kevin suggested we “check out some churches.” Being new to the community, we thought it would be a positive way to meet people, and you know, religion is a “good” thing, right? (The Social aspect at work again). What we didn’t count on or expect that we’d actually have a LIFE CHANGING experience.

So, church shopping … Attended a few. Ended up at Real Life Ministries (back when they “only” had about 5,000 people attending). Kevin always liked to stay “off the radar.” He wanted to drift in and out of different places, make his assessments, and the eventually decide on the one that “felt right.” Well, on the way out of RLM at the very first service we attended, there was Jim Putman (senior pastor) at the door greeting people as they left. He spied us and recognized us as newcomers. I remember this vividly as he welcomed us and said this or that about coming to church. Kevin gave his standard, “well we’re just checking out a few churches, blah blah blah” answer and Jim said confidently, “If I could prove to you that the Bible is true without opening it, would you let me?” Kevin skeptically replied, “Well, you could TRY.” Challenge accepted. Jim showed up at our house, probably within the next week, and proceeded to freak us out.

He sat down at our dining room table and talked about the Historicity/Historiography, archaeological and scientific evidence, consistency, etc. He wrote notes on a pad of paper to outline certain points. As we watched and listened we both became increasingly more uncomfortable. The icing on the cake was when Kevin asked Jim if he could have the pages he had written. Of course Jim willingly handed it over. Kevin later said that if Jim had been hesitant to give us the page he would have been more suspicious of a “used car salesman” or “health club membership” ploy where you can’t take the “notes” home to review later and that deal is ONLY GOOD IF YOU SIGN RIGHT NOW.

In any event, after Jim left, Kevin said to me, “Are you as freaked out as I am right now?” We continued to mull over the situation. How could two intelligent people NOT KNOW THIS STUFF?

For the next 1-2 years we attended RLM, got Baptized, joined small groups, helped with the Children’s Ministry, etc. and made many connections and friends. It was sometime during this “transformation” that I wrote my sister the following letter… It was originally handwritten, but before sending it I typed it up (possibly for future review & dissection?)

So, here it went:

Dear Cam –

Hey. I can’t sleep! It’s 4:30 am on Saturday morning. I started thinking about you and how you wanted to know what’s in my head and heart – what I’m thinking/feeling, etc. Thought I’d try to jot down some ideas.

Becoming a Christian is a complicated process. My first instinct is to try to “save” all my family, but the point is not to try to convince anyone that JC is the answer, because that’s usually the very opposite thing to do. I guess my goal is to plant a seed and get you thinking. They say that God knows everything and will talk to you if/when you’re ready to hear – not like it’s some exclusive club or anything J but more like your heart has to be open. It’s funny – If someone had told me a year or even 2 months before we started going to church that I would truly BECOME A CHRISTIAN I’d have thought they were crazy. The word “Christian” had all sorts of negative connotations for me – WEIRD, CLOSE-MINDED – ANTI-SCIENCE – FREAK, UNEDUCATED, LACK OF FREEDOM, LACK OF THINKING, AN ESCAPE OR EXCUSE FOR WEAK PEOPLE. When CL told me a couple of years ago that she accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior I was like, “OK… Uh… That’s nice…” and I thought, well, another one bites the dust and she’s going to change (for the worse) and not be the same person, etc. I really thought of it as a negative thing.

Anyway…I think Kevin has been closer to REALLY believing in a supreme being for longer than I have. He’s more of a thinker and analyzer on the subject and for a very long time he’s believed that the universe is WAY TOO PERFECT to have just happened by chance. I was definitely more BIG BANG and evolutionary in my thoughts about it all. Actually thought, I’m getting off track because I think that YOU think there is some sort of God/Supreme Being – so that’s not really the issue.

Let me way this about what I believe to be facts –

That there IS a God, and that when Adam and Eve sinned, they separated us from being able to talk to God. We could worship and praise Him, but we couldn’t really have a relationship with Him because we were/are imperfect and have sinful natures.

I believe that Jesus was sent so that we could have a relationship with God, AND, that by his dying on the cross, he has taken all our sins away – we are forgiven and we can be in a relationship with God now.

Now, I know that is hard to swallow. If someone had told me that 5 years ago, or 18 months ago I would have said, “Oh that’s nice… You FREAK!” At this point I have NO interest in convincing you that this is true. I would only say one thing. Kevin and I are NOT patsies. Kevin especially DEMANDS to see the evidence, ask questions, research, etc. before he accepts ANYTHING (Almost to a fault). And I am not such a mental pee wee myself. I just ask you to consider that if we have investigated, researched, etc. (the supporting AND opposing evidence) and BELIEVE – that this be worth a second look, consideration, etc.

I realize it’s kind of scary. When Kevin and I were first presented with pretty compelling evidence (prior to us doing more research), we were like, “OH S*&T!” because we realized that taking the next step(s) was going to point our lives in a WAY different direction than we expected – and that we were suddenly (or eventually) going to be in a DIFFERENT place spiritually, emotionally, mentally, etc. than our families, many of our friends, etc. It was kind of a scary yet exciting place to be.

Anyway…That was a bit of our “intellectual” process, and like I said, I don’t have any interest in trying to convince you – I can give you books, resources, etc. if you want, but me sitting here preaching to you about it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. So, what DOES make sense?? Let me share with you want becoming a Christian has meant to me.

Wow. I can’t even think of where to start. I think two important and integral concepts are:

1. Jesus is my LORD and SAVIOR, and
2. I’ve “died to self”
3. Jesus is my Lord and Savior: Jesus is the boss of me. He is my Lord. A Lord is the person you look up to, who watches over you, who you measure yourself against. He is who you should consider in all of your actions (WWJD kind of thing). Jesus was a servant. He was perfect. He had no sin. He is the leader of my life. Now – does that mean I always do the right thing”? No. He is the guide – and many times I go on a different path – one that I know is not the right one. But that is OK because Jesus is also my Savior. He died for me; he forgives me for EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER DONE and loves me anyway. He makes it possible for a poor wretch like me to go to heaven, be forgiven, not live with guilt, etc. So – on one hand he is the boss of me, and there is the potential to cower in fear at his authority, but on the other hand, if I make a mistake for this boss, he says, “That’s OK, get up and try again, do it better, etc.” He is TOTALLY COMPASSIONATE – not a dictator or a cold, hard boss. I don’t know if I’m doing a very good job of explaining this.
4. I’ve “died to self.” This isn’t exactly true because actually “dying to self” happens everyday and is an ongoing and never ending process. Basically, dying to self is GIVING UP ALL THE BS DOWN HERE – the pursuit of STUFF – money, cars, attention, pride, things that are supposed to make us HAPPY and realizing that the most important thing we can do is live a life in service to God/Jesus and to others – basically to LIFT UP others, give of ourselves, etc. The biggest way this affects me is by trying to CONTROL MY LIFE. Now, this does NOT mean, “Oh, God is in control of my life so I’m just going to do whatever or sit here like a bump on a log because it’s all been decided so it doesn’t matter what I do.” What it means to me is, that MOST of the time, if I make choices or decisions based on what I want then I am going to make the wrong choices – because by nature we are selfish and we don’t serve or make choices with the TRUE, RIGHT motive (not all the time, but the majority). Now, if I make my choices/decisions based on what God wants, I am putting myself OUT OF THE EQUATION – WWJD – Ouch. Sometimes this sucks – and sometimes it doesn’t make sense, and sometimes it really ticks us off, because it seems like God wants us to make a choice or do something that we DON’T WANT TO DO. But this is where the TRUST comes in. We have learned to trust God and to know that whatever path we’re on – there is a reason for it. We may not understand the reason right now, and sometimes it may be a long-term thing that we won’t GET for a long time – but that’s OK.

So, where does that leave us? How does that make me feel?

Cam, I have PEACE like I’ve NEVER KNOWN BEFORE. Peace and joy. Even though it’s been a tough year, marriage struggles, financial stress, busy, etc., it has been the best year of my life. There is a fullness that was not there before. Before, I wondered, what is the meaning, why are we on this treadmill (or rollercoaster) – this chaotic life that we spend trying to FIND something or GET something – basically HAPPINESS is futile if the pursuit doesn’t have the missing piece.

There is the greatest passage in the Bible – Philippians 4:12-13 that basically says, whether I am hungry or well – fed, have much or have little, have shelter, or am out in the cold (that’s not right, but you get the point), as long as I have the Lord I have the strength to do anything. It’s a lot better than how I just described it, but I just feel and TRULY BELIEVE that it’s true.

Nothing – No THING matters. It’s just stuff. God, Our families, our friends, doing GOOD for other people – THAT MATTERS. There is NO JOY like serving people, helping people. Doing what God wants us to do, BEING the people God wants us to be – is VERY Cool. I can’t really explain it, but it ROCKS.

And do I feel like I’m missing out? Do I feel like I’ve lost my freedom? NOT AT ALL. I am still completely free to make choices. God set it up that way on purpose. He doesn’t want to force or guilt anyone into doing anything. And ALL THE TIME I think, “Crap, I shouldn’t have done that,” or “Jesus would NOT have done that.” But when I slip or fall down – that’s totally OK. The point is that now I have some dialog with myself about it and THINK about the consequences instead of just blowing through life like my actions and behaviors don’t have any repercussions.

It’s VERY easy to get mired in the “clutter” of life, and to lose track of what’s important. Society makes this super easy. Just watch some of the crap on TV, or eat some of the crap in the frozen food section – society has made CRAP totally acceptable. It’s easy to say, “Well, I may not be perfect, but look at THAT loser.” The thing is, we are not supposed to compare ourselves with anyone DOWN HERE J. Oh – do you wish you hadn’t asked!

Some people use religion as a crutch. Some people say, “Oh, you just want to believe in God/JC as an excuse/crutch/catch all. I would say that more people us their LACK OF RELIGION as a crutch. If they don’t have to EXAMINE their lives, they can go on living in blissful ignorance. I don’t mean to sound negative here, but I TOTALLY believe that I was ignorant before, that I didn’t really want to learn about God/religion because I liked my life the way it was, thank you very much and didn’t want to GO THERE, uncover flaws, dig up the past, examine the present, BE TOLD TO LIVE A CERTAIN WAY, give up my life, etc.

I am still the same person – I like to do the same things, but now I just consider those things more carefully, AND am aware that my choices are important. I feel like there is an aura or spirit (hey, the HOLY spirit) in and around me that sort of acts like a filter or a buffer  – the “outside world” doesn’t influence me as much through this filter, and my actions are moderated, my thoughts are considered, etc. It doesn’t always work perfectly, but it helps reduce the impulsive, destructive, momentum behaviors that are natural in all of us. I guess it IS the Holy Spirit (that confusing Trinity thing J). I am the same – the Holy Spirit thing is new and different, and VERY POSITIVE cuz it affects EVERYTHING. It can ONLY help/improve/benefit. (Like I said, it doesn’t always work perfectly, but it’s there). It has been ADDED to my life. I don’t feel like I am missing ANYTHING. IT’S VERY COOL. Okay – Now I’m getting dopey. Maybe I’ll go back to bed now – I think it’s about 6:00 am!

************

Do ya feel a little … Uh… UNCONVINCED?

Born Again and Baptized (Whoo hoo!), but I look back I realize that the level at which I “committed my life to Christ” at that time was pretty superficial.  I re-discovered this letter recently and when I read it, all I could think of was “all brain, no heart.” I’m sure I believed it and felt it, but hmmmm. I didn’t have a clue.

The fast & furious immersion in the church was fine. The sermons were good. The music was good. The marriage struggles throughout those times were not good. The counseling and support of several RLM staff during the rough times was good. But man, I was just NOT in a place to feel the REAL LOVE of Christ, or maybe the real love of ANYONE at that point. We burned out. Kevin had a discussion with Jim that ended sort of badly. We wore them out. We were worn out. I think I went for a while without Kevin, explaining that Kevin was thinking about checking out a new church.

I was a little offended at the time when Jim said something to the effect that “you won’t go to another church.” Well, we tried a few times, but he ended up being right.

And there ends Part 1 of “Gettin’ some Religion” in North Idaho.

Children’s Village Wish List (PDF)

Today’s God Sky was huge and light orange, but different than usual was that it looked like the clouds had been stirred. Sort of like how a hurricane looks when you see it from space. I considered that for a moment and thought, “Wow, God just really has his hand in everything.” I thought of two days prior when I had picked up Maya from school and the sky was SO vibrant, with infinite pink and orange ripples. It was so stunning that I pulled over into a driveway near the school to take a picture of it with my cell phone. Maya joined in the enthusiasm and opened the sun roof and stood up to get a better view. We were pretty low though, and there were buildings in the way. “Let’s head up the hill and see if we can get a better view!” We raced up the hill but every time I looked over at the sky, there were trees or buildings obstructing the view. Plus, with every passing minute, the colors were fading with the setting sun. We did get a picture or two, but so tiny on our little phone screens. So unimpressive compared to the vision we had seen.

Anyway, back to today. The God-stirred sky was beautiful and reminded me of trying to capture a picture of it a few days earlier. God has His hand in everything. I thanked God then. Just a few “Thank You Gods.” Nothing elaborate. You see, a few hours earlier, a wonderful woman, S, had told me at the end of a prayer group that when I didn’t know what to say, or how to pray, that “Thank you God” was just really OK, and in fact, what He wants to hear. I tried it out on my way to the car, thinking about S and the others I had spent time praying with today. I thanked God for guiding me to the church that day, for surrounding me with Prayer Warriors, Godly people, praying like crazy. I thanked Him for the special connection I had with S today. I thanked Him for allowing me to experience different people praying different ways.

It was my second time to the weekly prayer group. I felt a little nervous going without knowing for sure if R would be there. Would they expect me to pray? Would they wonder what I had to contribute? No, God is telling me to go, so I know it will be fine, good, what He wants. I told the group at the beginning that I didn’t know if I would say anything for awhile, but since I was a “Prayer Baby,” I thought that it would be a good thing to surround myself with “Prayer Warriors.” They of course were loving and accepting and said they could use all the “Amens” they could get.

As we prayed, different people taking turns as God spoke to them, I felt like I wanted to participate. As different prayers were said for individuals who were sick, for our church, for our city and community, etc. I kept thinking about cars zooming by me on Highway 95 on my way to the mall last Saturday. It was on a section of Highway that I travel almost daily, and I was surprised at how FAST cars were going by me. Now, I am typically the person who drives AT or a *little* over the speed limit. (I know, I shouldn’t). So, when people were flying by me going at least 5-10 miles per hour faster it was notable. I thought, “Wow, it’s the Christmas season hysteria. The compulsion to get to the store to buy things we don’t need, with money we don’t have. THIS is NOT what Christmas is all about.” It stuck in my mind for some reason and has remained there since. Well, during prayer group someone talked about addictions, and asked God to help those people with drug and alcohol addictions during the holidays. As I listened and prayed I felt more compelled to pray for those who are drowning in the season instead of rejoicing. So I went for it. I asked God to touch those people who were caught up in the flurry of shopping, and greed, and envy, and pride, who were buying things they couldn’t afford out of obligation. That maybe they would be in a store and hear a song and stop right where they were and REMEMBER. And THINK about the spirit of the season, and think about helping those less fortunate. I don’t think I said everything I wanted to. I don’t think I was very good at it. But my voice was shaking. And I meant it.

I spent some time with S after the group, sharing a little bit and letting her know the connection I felt with her. A few weeks prior I had met her for the first time and she had given me a hug. When she hugged me, I don’t know what it was, but I felt such a flood of warmth and compassion that, well, duh, it was God working through her. I told her today that when she hugged me, it was like she knew exactly where my spirit needed to be touched. We didn’t talk a whole lot, but we had a very deep connection and I felt very full of love and God when I left the church.

So, back to walking down the street and repeating my “Thank You Gods.” I got in the car and started heading up 4th street. I HATE driving north in 4th street because people drive too slow. Just north of Harrison I started getting agitated and the word “Trigger” popped into my head. At the prayer group the week before, I had been given a piece of paper about “Triggers” that was written by someone in the group. She described Triggers as those things that cause us to react negatively to people and situations. Like when traffic goes too slow and I get agitated. She reminded us that Triggers are an OPPORTUNITY. An opportunity to be more like Jesus. To do what He would do. OK, so the word pops into my head when I’m getting ticked about slow cars. OK, God, I hear You. Slow down, be at peace. I thanked Him some more that I received this word from Him at that moment. Freeway. God Sky. God-STIRRED Sky. God has His hand in everything. Thank Him some more.

I started thinking about how magnificent the skies have been, how much I wanted to capture the glory and awesomeness of it all. Looking at the tiny screen on my phone, it was an incredible and stark contrast between the beauty of God’s creation that I witnessed with my eyes, and what I could possibly do to capture it. Nothing compares. God has His hand in everything. I couldn’t wait to start writing this. I was scratching notes on a receipt while I was waiting for Maya to come out of the school. As we headed towards home, I asked her how her day was. She said good, and then went on to say “Mrs. L is evil.” I looked at her with confusion and asked what she meant. She said, “Mrs. L said in front of the whole class that Santa wasn’t real.” She went on to tell me that “Julian and I were both on the same page about it, that we knew that Santa wasn’t really real, but we still liked to believe it.” She also said that Mrs. L had told the class that she felt really bad, because she had said the same thing last year and there was one kid who still believed in Santa. Maya goes on to say, “so, WHY DOES SHE SAY IT?” I said I didn’t know. I asked her how she felt about it and she said OK. We talked about the tradition of Santa and that it was a fun part of the season, but not the most important.

As we continued towards home, I realized a TREMENDOUS weight had been lifted from my heart. We had always let our kids believe in Santa until they, well, didn’t. As they got older, I always felt torn between telling them the truth or not. I didn’t want them to find out at school and then feel silly for believing, but I also wasn’t ready to just blurt it out and burst the illusion. We consulted Jaeger for insight as to whether his sister still believed in Santa. He thought probably not, but it wasn’t conclusive. It had been on my mind. Sure, we can talk to the kids about Christmas and expectations, etc., but then there’s that whole “but at least Santa will bring us something” card.

In a sentence or two that burden was lifted. She knew. She was OK.

The rest of the drive home, I had tears in my eyes and I felt very peaceful. The God-stirred sky, prayer group, thanking God when I didn’t know what else to say, the tiny camera image of the sunset compared to the real thing, being willing to listen, opening my heart to what He has to tell me, burdens lifted in ways I hadn’t considered. God has His Hand in everything.

Thanks, God. It was a good day.

GETTING BACK TO CHURCH.

There was a LOOOONNNNGGGG dry spell. Left one church with the intention of finding a replacement shortly. 7-8(?) years later, we’re finally back. Too busy? Yep. Doin’ OK without it? Yep. (Nope). Not high on the priority list? Yep. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid… but there we were.

Crisis occurs (more on that later). We need God, and we need him NOW. Church shopping ensues. We have a short list. We visit one, it’s OK. Not “AWE-INSPIRING” but OK. Might try it again.

The next week. We walk in to Heart of the City. Kevin sees Raydeane from college (this is how we ended up here… Raydeane and her sister DeAnn were little sisters in Kevin’s fraternity, and he had read about DeAnn when she began attend her sister’s church, where her husband (Pastor “JO”) was preaching.

We find a spot as the worship team are singin’ & playin’ and watch as an Elder up front is literally jumping up and down, moshing for Jesus. A few rows in front of us, a surfer-looking dude is standing up, arms raised high, and then sitting, praying, head down and hands clasped on the seats in front of him, maybe crying. We notice a man in a cream-colored suit, who we later learn is from Africa. Brother Charles CLEARLY loves Jesus. Arms raised, obvious emotion & devotion, praising our God. A little bit later, he is on his knees, praying his heart out. Soon after, I glance over and don’t see him until I poke my head into the aisle. He is on his hands and knees. And then, I watch him lay down on his stomach, submitting, supplicating, worshipping Jesus as I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anyone do before. Kevin had glanced up and since he couldn’t see down the aisle, had not witnessed Brother Charles as he completely, genuinely, demonstrated his intense love for his Savior, Jesus Christ. Kevin asked where he went, and I pointed to the floor of the aisle in front of us. “He’s lovin’ Jesus,” I said. Oh, and one or two guys up front kept yelling “COME ON!”

As I watched the moshing, and the crying, and the laying down, I thought to myself, I WANT TO BE THAT PERSON. That person who can fully, honestly, emotionally, intensely, BE A JESUS FREAK.

Pastor JO got on stage and started his message. It was extremely appropriate to our situation (cuz of course, that’s why God puts us in the right place in the right time), and he is so passionate, and loud, and convicted, and loud, and humble, and loud. I have heard more complex messages. I have heard more eloquent messages. But I have NEVER BELIEVED the message like I did that day. Pastor JO told us that Jesus isn’t a bridge to go “over troubles,” he isn’t a detour “around troubles,” he is with us “THROUGH TROUBLES.” And boy, that is where we were that day. And everybody, me especially, said “Amen.”

I have said to many people, that I have NEVER FELT ‘JESUS IN THE HOUSE’ as much as I did that day. That was September 11. We/I have gone every week since (except today, because we didn’t go to sleep until 4:00 a.m. and didn’t wake up until 11:30 a.m…. again, another story for another day). Kevin was a little worried that I’d be freaked out, but his fears were assuaged as I talked about the Sermon and the experience ALL DAY.

We have gone to church before, went EVERY WEEK for over a year without missing a Sunday, involved in Children’s ministry, involved in small groups and connected, yet … I REALLY DIDN’T GET IT. There could be many reasons why. Maybe my heart wasn’t ready, maybe I was too busy worried about my life/stature/status/ego/etc. here and now. I’m not sure, but what I can say, is that after going through the past few months (and again, more later), I am just REALLY READY (FINALLY) to STOP ACTING/BELIEVING LIKE/THAT I AM IN CONTROL. Repeat after me: Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do NOT rely on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5).

Romans, Ephesians, Phillipians, Galations, Proverbs (OH MY GOSH.. have you READ THIS STUFF?). Do you know what it’s like to FINALLY REALIZE that I must be meek, humble, dependent… When I was reading the Bible before, HOW DID I NOT GET THAT?

Was I just not ready to HEAR it?

IN ANY EVENT… September 11 at HOCC was the first day of the rest of my life with Jesus as my co-pilot. I have a long road ahead of me, but I’ll do my best (with HIS help).

If you’ve already ever created a custom userContent.CSS file, know what I’m talking about, and just want to get to it, then copy this snippet of code into your userContent.CSS file, retstart Firefox, and the News Feed should be gone.

@-moz-document domain(facebook.com) {
.fbFeedTicker {
display:none;
}
}

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, you can learn more about WHAT a userContent.CSS file is at Mozilla.org: http://www-archive.mozilla.org/unix/customizing.html.

If you don’t really care to learn why it works, and just want to do it, then download this userContent.CSS file to your computer. You’ll need to move it to a particular folder in a second, but start there. You can just put it on your Desktop for now.

Now remember, this ONLY works with Firefox. And – EVERYTHING I TELL YOU SHOULD BE DONE AT YOUR OWN RISK!!

Now, you need to relocate this userContent.CSS file to your Firefox Profile. Find out where your Firefox Profile is located.

I found MY profile at: C:\Documents and Settings\YOURUSERNAME\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\nkogm9g2.default\chrome

If you open your profile folder, you should see two other files called userContent-example.css and userChrome-example.css. You don’ t have to do anything with those files.

Move the userContent.css you just downloaded into your profile folder. Restart Firefox. The annoying News Feeds should be gone.

Now, if Facebook decides to change the “class” that we hid from .fbFeedTicker to something else, we’ll need to repeat the process with the new class. I’ll try to update this post if that happens.

See if you can use these words in a sentence.

BASS

That was the bass moonshine I ever had.

CHEER

Pappy sure does like sitting in his rockin’ cheer.

RANCH

Can you hand me the ranch from my toolbox?

DID

There’s a did possum in the middle of the road.

BARD

I bard that El Camino from my cousin Jimmy.

RAT

Go down the road and make a rat turn at the bait shop.

AWL

I need to get a quart of awl for my outboard motor.

FAR

My still blew up and caught on far.

The message says, “Hope you have the bass birthday ever!”

Well, Friday I wake up with a sore throat and MAJOR pain around my right eye – like towards my nose and right under my eye. I go to the Dr. and he doesn’t think it’s a sinus infection, gives me some Singulair (allergy med) and some steroid nose spray to try to calm the allergies down. Doesn’t help the eye pain…

Saturday morning I wake up and the eye pain gets steadily worse until I am literally CRYING. Kevin takes me to the Urgent Care clinic where they go ahead and give me some antibiotics thinking there is SOME sort of infection going on there if not an actual SINUS infection AND some pain killers. Yay.

Come home, crash on the couch, massaging my poor sore eye spots cuz it feels like there’s SOMETHING going on in there, blocking the tear duct. I don’t know quite the sequence of what/how it happened, but all of a sudden I blow my nose and this 3/4″ inch long 1/8″ square-ish tube of gray clay-like matter SHOOTS out of my nose like a bullet. There was almost instant lessening of pain – my eyes still hurt a bit but clearly progress had been made.

The boys didn’t want to look at it, but of course I saved it to show Maya who was at softball practice when this occurred. (This is after I stared at it in the Kleenex for a few moments and then LOST IT and didn’t know where it went for a bit, but then found it stuck in my hair.) Then I placed it on a clean tissue for safe-keeping until Maya got home. It dried up a bit, and was exactly like those really mushy gray art erasers. FYI, didn’t stink or anything, completely just clay-like, so definitely not sinus-y, but guessing it was some dirt/gunk stuck in my tear duct. HOW WEIRD IS THAT! (Yet super satisfying .

But then… the realization emerged that MIXING Fage with stuff to make say, salad dressing (e.g. super yummy lemon cherry vinaigrette for my most best salad ever at Thanksgiving), makes it AWESOME.

Think of Fage as uber healthy sour cream. Use it in place of sour cream in almost anything, even literally AS sour cream. It works with chips & salsa too. You could also use it in place of maya, miracle whip, and to “cream” up almost anything without adding fat. I even put some in tuna casserole the other day.

Give it a try. Once you get over the hump and realize that you don’t really need to eat it plain out of the tub, it’s really quite versatile.