And now philosphical musings...specifically about religion.

:::Religion....:::

I've struggled with it for a long time. I've always believed in God,
and that has never changed. But the search for the path to God is a
bit more difficult than just the faith and belief in Him.

I was raised as a Seventh-Day Adventist. I was always drawn to the
Adventists, especially in their belief that hell, as generally
pictured by many christians, is not eternal torment and pain. That
particular aspect of God's percieved character always troubled me.

Not long after my parents divorced, we stopped going to church.
Sometimes in the midst of everyday life and struggles, you lose sight
of spiritual matters.

I went to several churches with friends, though I was always a
proclaimed Adventist. I've studied other religions as well, and at
one point I got lost in easter philosophy. I found alot of wisdom
there, especially with Buddhism. I've always been drawn to their
reverencee for life, though I may not agree with every aspect of
their system of beliefs.

When my oldest brother Michael met his now wife-Sarai- I was
introduced to Islam. He eventually converted to Islam, as did my
other brother. I find alot of truth in Islam and the Qu'ran, though I
don't agree with how some Muslims interpet it. It is filled with
Hadith- stories of the prophet Muhhamed not in the Qu'ran which seems
to go against the teachings in the Qu'ran. But I digress... :)

They have a reverence for God that I find beautiful. Everything in
their lives is built around Him. Prayer times are beautiful to watch.
They stop everything, and devote daily prayer to God.
The only conflict I saw between Islam and Christianity was obviously
their views on Jesus. They see him as prophet, and believe he sits at
the right hand of God. But they do not share the belief of the
Trinity. I still struggle with that belief myself.

For me, I find myself studying. I see truth everywhere I look. Even
in Hinduism you see a direction to One God above their many lesser
gods. I've found in the vaguest religions that if you dig deep enough
you will find One God. I always remember the scripture in the Bible
that the Lord has sheep in many folds. I don't know if I think there
is one true religion, but that many religions had a small piece of
it. In the end I think there are many paths to God, and some are in
unlikely places. Most important is your free will. He gave it to us
all, and if we exercise it to come back to God, the path we choose
matters very little.

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I posted that at one of my Yahoo Groups, and I felt like putting it down here. I always get introspective and philosophical late at night..especially when I am suffering from sleep depravation. :)

I did okay at work today, and they let me leave early. Well, they made me leave early because I was going into overtime. I wasn't going to complain. I have to be back at 6am for a store meeting though. I guess it's a good thing I took a nap when I got hom, because I have little inclination to sleep at the moment.

So now I've waxed philosphy for a bit and gotten it out of my system, I am going to go see if I overcome my writers block at the Tomb and post to the story.

As Always....
~Liz

::I'm actually quite pleasant until I'm awake:::

You guessed it...another bit of insomnia. It always happens when I'm supposed to open at work. Some sadistic part of my brain says "she's supposed to be up early, so let's keep her up all night...muahahahahahah!" So now I'm sipping some extra stout coffee and have abandoned any thoughts of sleep. 1.15 hours of sleep is just not enough. Better to stay up than get to sleep and wake up to the damned, obnoxious alarm clock.

Let's see, what's new....?

Jason left on wednesday to head back to Benning. Jason took him out there, and they are staying with his cousin's, Charlotte and Alan. They are nice people. We stayed with them when we went to Alabama.

Jason will be leaving for Germany soon I think. I wasn't really expecting it honestly. I kind of thought (or perhaps hoped) they would end up giving him a state-side post. *for a moment ponders if state-side should really be hyphenated...shrugs*

After Jason being home for a while, it seems quiet with both him and Jason gone. (egads, having two Jason's is confusing...O_o)

Work has been going pretty good. I finally got full-time, and they moved me to special services. I like it, though it's hard adjusing to a new position. I'm used to knowing everything, and though I like a challenge, it's hard for me to have to ask so many questions.
My first few days I felt like I was more of a hindrance than a help. They are all really nice, and seem to think I am catching on fairly quick.

The past few days I've been reading alot. That and working on the story at the Tomb.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tombofthelastheroes2

http://www.geocities.com/tombofthelastheroes

It's a Yahoo (may it reside in the 43rd level of the abyss forever..amen) dragonlance group. It's basically a series of ongoing stories.
I really enjoy it. I've been doing it for about 2 1/2 years. There are alot of talented writers who participate, and it helps me to be more creative.

But I digress...though from what I'm not sure. My thoughts tend to be a jumbled mess when I don't sleep, and I babble alot. (newsflash..heh)

And now, since I lack anything better to do...

Recent books:
Avalon, by Anya Seton

Fire Sea: Deathgate Cycle, by Hickman and Weis

Serpent Mage: Deathgate Cycle, by H&W

Movies:
Vanilla Sky (just weird O_o)

Hackers (I must be the only peron alive who hasn't seen this movie until now)

Kung Pow: Enter the Fist (funniest damn movie I've seen since Holy Grail)

and

Lord of the Rings (again..and again ^_^)
And I just want to say that seeing the characters from LotR out of makeup and or costume is really odd. Legolas has a mowhawk!? Pretty damn funny if you ask me. The previews for the Two Towers looks absolutely amazing. *can't wait*

CRAP! 1 hour before I have to get ready for work. It's NOT FAIR! *stamps 'er feet* (okay, so I'm a little brat when I don't get any sleep...it's gonna be a long day) What I want to know is why the hell do I got so damn tired when I've been wide awake up to this point.
I need a vacation. *urfs*

Anyway, I guess I'll go take a cold shower to wake up. Maybe fix a sandwhich for lunch. yeah...

~Liz