Food for Thought...

"All right, Christianity will do you good - a great deal more than you ever wanted or expected. And the first bit of good it will do you is to hammer into your head (you won't enjoy that!) the fact that what you have hitherto called "good" - all that about "leading a decent life" and "being kind" - isn't quite the magnificent and all-important affair you supposed. It will teach you that in fact you can't be "good" (not for twenty-four hours) on your own moral efforts. And then it will teach you that even if you were, you still wouldn't have achieved the purpose for which you were created. Mere morality is not the end of life. You were made for something quite different from that.... The people who keep on asking if they can't lead a decent life without Christ, don't know what life is about; if they did they would know that "a decent life" is mere machinery compared with the thing we men are really made for. Morality is indispensable: but the Divine Life, which gives itself to us and which calls us to be gods, intends for us something in which morality will be swallowed up. We are to be re-made. All the rabbit in us is to disappear - the worried, conscientious, ethical rabbit as well as the cowardly and sensual rabbit. We shall bleed and squeal as the handfuls of fur come out; and then, surprisingly, we shall find underneath it all a thing we have never yet imagined: a real Man, an ageless god, a son of God, strong, radiant, wise, beautiful, and drenched in joy."

Excerpt from: "Man or Rabbit?"
in God in the Dock, by C.S. Lewis

Nerdy fact about Libby:

My Coke Light collection - which now consists of unopened bottles from Egypt, Greece, Turkey, Guatemala, and Belize - has been in the works for 18 months. Unfortunately, this choice beverage is only sold in non-English speaking markets. Lastima mi corazón.

A Wise Man Once Wrote:

"As you look for your place in this world, as you get a job, change jobs, go after higher degrees, or whatever your dream is or becomes, inevitably you will question yourself. I have learned that people can look down on you or up to you for what you do or have, but it's all smoke and mirrors. Your value in this world, after all is said and done, is that you were made in the image of God. That is the only thing worth living up to."

This is an excerpt from a letter I received from my dad after my graduation from Grove City College. I love this quote because it's brimming with wisdom and pertains to my life right now.

Changes in Latitude

While we were there, I knew it. The scorching sun must be directly above Belize. My online research, however, didn't yield any affirming results. Given the fact that the sun is direct at about 23 degrees north latitude on the Summer Solstice, I figured that it moves about 1 degree per week (52 weeks/yr, 46 degrees/yr). Therefore, it would take about 5 weeks (after the Summer Solstice) for the sun to reach 18 degrees north latitude. My rough calculations led me to believe that mid May and late July are the hottest dates at our house, which - according to our GPS - is located at almost exactly 18 degrees north latitude.

Maybe I learned this in school, but I coudn't rememeber the term for the latitude at which the sun is directly overhead. So today I researched it some more and found the vital term: The sun’s declination is the angle between the rays of the sun and the plane of the earth’s equator. In other words, it’s the latitude at which sunlight is most direct. You can find the equation for the sun’s declination at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declination. And for an quick reference, here’s a link for the sun’s declination throughout the year: http://www.wsanford.com/~wsanford/exo/sundials/DEC_Sun.html

As this chart shows, the sun is most direct at 18 degrees north latitude on May 12th and August 1st. Good thing I wore sunscreen, because for the first time in my life I experienced the sun's most direct rays!

Lahoo-Zaher

I have no excuse. I'm a lamewad. Thus, I filled out this blog questionnairre thingy...

1. What's your middle name?
Anne

2. How big is your bed?
Full size

3. What are you listening to right now?
Mae

4. What are the last 4 digits of your cellphone number?
6032

5. What was the last thing you ate?
Yogurt

6. Last person you hugged?
My mom

7. How is the weather right now?
The disgustingness that is humidity.

8. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone?
Joseph Scott Greene

9. What is the first thing you notice in the opposite sex?
That's a tough question, but I suppose it's eyes, smile, and demeanor.

10. Favorite type of food?
Coke Light, Starbucks, Sugar Free Fudgesicles, green bean casserole, and anything involving fresh fruit, chicken, turkey and/or salad.

11. Do you want children?
Yes

12. Do you drink?
Occasionally, but usually I can't justify consuming something that is so ridiculously high in calories.

13. Ever get so drunk that you can't remember the entire night?
Nope

14. Hair color?
Brownish

15. Eye color?
Also brownish

16. Do you wear contacts/glasses?
Yes, contacts

17. Favorite holiday?
It's a toss-up between Bubblewrap Appreciation Day and What If Cats and Dogs Had Opposable Thumbs Day.

18. Favorite season?
Summer by far

19. Have you ever cried over a girl/boy?
Yes

20. Last movie you watched?
How's Your News?

21. What books are you reading?
(1) The Bible
(2) A Tale of Two Cities
(3) Do Sudoku puzzle books count?

22. Piercings?
Upper cartilage on my left ear, and my earlobes

23. Favorite college football team?
Ohio State

24. What were you doing before filling this out?
Setting up a tent

25. What will you do after filling this out?
Go running

26. Any pets?
Currently: one alligator (technically my brothers' pet) and one toy poodle with a shock collar

27. Favorite flower?
Hibiscus and bougainvillea

28. Have you ever loved someone?
Yes. Jesus, my family, and close friends. Maybe that wasn't the juicy answer that people are looking for, but hey, it's the truth.

29. Have you ever fired a gun?
Yes, mister survey maker, I have.

30. Do you like to travel by plane?
Yes indeed.

31. Right- or left-handed?
Right

32. If you could go any place right now, where would you go?
Oh my goodness. I can't decide, so I'm gonna have to do an "eenie, meenie, minie, mo" between Australia, Guatemala, Austria, and Costa Rica. And considering the fact that e-m-m-m has 16 beats, I suppose I'm going to Costa Rica.

33. Are you missing someone?
Yes - Abby Smith

34. Do you have a tattoo?
Nope

35. Are you hiding something from someone?
No

36. What is the wallpaper on your cell phone?
Chief Wahoo

37. Did you get enough sleep last night?
No

38. First thing you thought about this morning?
"There's no way it's already 7 am." But sure enough, it was.

39. What do you have handy at your bedside?
Bible

40. Grilled or fried?
Grilled

41. When you die, what do you want people to remember about you?
That I loved. And that somehow, in some way my life was a reflection of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

42. What makes you unique?
The fact that I've had several pet octopi. One was named "Yamir" - a conglomeration of 5 randomly chosen Scrabble letters. Another was "Jif" because my family trained him to open a peanut butter jar that contained a crab. Those are the only octopus names I remember...lo siento.

43. Are you afraid of the dark?
Only when I think someone's there but don't know for sure.

44. Favorite hangout?
Hookah bar, baseball game, my basement... Anywhere that's relaxed and casual. But it's even more fun to do something active.

45. Three things you can't live without?
God's grace and mercy.
Oxygen.
Water.
(In that order)

46. Favorite song?
Something by Switchfoot

47. What are you afraid of?
One or both of my parents dying.

48. Are you a giver or taker?
I hope I'm a giver.

49. What are your nicknames?
Lib, Libbs, Libbers, Libster, Libinator, Libitha, Libby G, Libby Anne, Lizzy Beth, Lib Master G (yes, the nickname preceded the screenname), etc, etc, etc...

50. If you knew you were going to be stuck on a deserted island and could only take 2 things or persons, what/who would you take?
(1) A Bible
(2) The man of my dreams (hope he turns up by the time I leave)

51. Favorite TV commercial?
"He was injured. Injured bad..." [Click on the link]

52. Who's you cell phone provider?
Verizon. Lame-o question.

53. First thing you'll save in a fire?
My family.

54. What are the things you always take with you?
I don't leave home without my liver or my pancreas.

55. What did you want to be when you were a kid?
A marine biologist and a doctor. Typical, I suppose.

56. What do you usually do when the clock turns 11:11?
Absolutely nothing.

57. What color are your bedsheets?
White and lime green, with a bright multi-colored quilt.

58. What do you think about before you fall asleep?
Aspirations and concerns about the future. Events (or lack of events) of the day which left me happy, sad, or frustrated.

And that's that. The end.