Matters of the Heart

On Saturday I went to a Ladies Retreat with my mom at her church (the church I grew up in). The guest speaker was a woman who grew up in little ol' Elloree just like me. Let me tell you, she was WONDERFUL. I don't know how anybody could have possibly walked away from the retreat that day without feeling like they were touched in some way by the words she spoke.

Susan's topic was "Matters of the Heart" and she spoke to us about the parable of the four soils (or the sower's seeds). In the parable, God describes 4 types of soil and Susan likened them to people. The first type of soil is the soil along a pathway. When seeds are thrown on the path, they get trampled and are unable to take root. This is like the person who hears God's word but does not believe it. The words just go in one ear and out the other.

The second type of soil is that among the rocks. Seeds are unable to take root because of the rocks. This type of soil is like the person who hears God's word and believes it, but then does nothing about it.

The third type of soil is that among the thorns. Seeds take root and grow, but are then choked out by the thorns. This is like the person who hears the word, believes it, tries to live by it, but has thorns/sin that choke out the goodness or harden the heart.

And the fourth type of soil is the good, fertile soil where seeds take root and multiply with plants 100 times the number of seeds that were sown. This soil is like people who hear the word, believe it, and live the life that is pleasing to God without letting sin sway them.

Susan told us that, often, women are in the third soil. We hear the word and we believe it, but there are sins that get in the way of us being the Christians that God wants us to be. These sins are things we may not have even considered as sin before. Things like worry, busyness, and materialism. For me, the fact that she mentioned worry as a sin really hit home. I am a worrier. I worry that I won't be able to get everything done that I should, that things will go wrong. I worry about things beyond my control. But, as Susan said, when we worry, we are telling the Lord that we do not trust Him to make things right. We do not think he has the control, and we think that our worry will supersede what He can do. Wow. Have y'all ever considered that? Have you thought of worry as a sin? I never really did, but now that I had it pointed out to me, it's as clear as day.

One other sin she mentioned was busyness. How many things are you trying to juggle? While keeping all those balls in the air (family, friends, work, social activities, etc. etc. etc.), are you able to give enough time to God? Or is your heart hardened to Him because of all you have to do? This was another one that really spoke to me. Sometimes I feel like I can't fit one more thing into my day. On those days, reading my Bible may slide, or perhaps I don't talk to the Lord through prayer like I should. That's when busyness becomes a sin- a very real sin, but a sin that so often plagues women.

As far as materialism, we have all struggled with this at some point or another, I would imagine. When we see something that someone else has and we are jealous or covet it, we let materialism get the best of us. Things become more important than God. It's like the old saying, "He who has the most stuff wins." But, really, when it's all said and done you can't take the stuff with you when the Lord calls you. It doesn't matter to Him when you're standing at Heaven's gate that you drove a fancy car, or wore the finest labels. And I'm not saying that doing those things is a sin. But allowing ourselves to get so caught up in those things to the point of losing sight of God is where the sin comes in.

How many of us are guilty of these things? I know I am, and as much as I want to be living in the fourth soil, I know I often am living in the third soil. I allow the sins like worry and busyness and materialism to seep into me. And I know I need to do a better job. When these things seep in...when the worry comes, the busyness, the materialism, the impatience, the one upmanship, Susan said we should ask God to replace those things with a fruit of the spirit. Ask him to grant you love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, or self-control.

I'm working on doing these things so that I can live my life in the fourth soil. Will you?

Buyer Beware

Have any of you ever used the Blinc brand of cosmetic products? If so, I hope you did not have the same experience as I had had with them. Upon the suggestion of a friend, I ordered their mascara because it is supposed to be good for sensitive eyes, and so far, the only mascara I have ever found to not irritate my eyes has been Clinique. So, I figured I'd give Blinc a shot. It sounded pretty cool- the mascara goes on and forms tubes around your lashes, making it waterproof and smudgeproof. The claim was that no pieces would fall into your eyes while wearing it, therefore no irritation. And, all of that was true, I'll admit. Although, it didn't make my lashes as full as I would have liked, it was definitely waterproof and smudgeproof. So far, so good until I went to remove it last night.

According to their website, you should use warm water and gentle pressure and the tubes will fall right off, leaving no trace of the mascara. Um, yeah, okay. The tubes came off, BUT SO DID MY EYELASHES! After I finished removing the mascara, half of my eyelashes were gone. Not even kidding, they looked virtually nonexistent.

So, I emailed Blinc to tell them of my dissatisfaction. I mean, I paid $25 for a tube of mascara, and after one use, I will never use it again. And this morning, I get this response:

Hello Emily,

I am so sorry to hear that! I can understand how frustrating that must be and I can assure you that our product was never intended to do anything more than prevent eyelash loss. Since our formula does form tubes that are easily removed with water and pressure, when the right combination is used, it is much gentler on your eyelashes than a typical mascara would be. Especially when using make-up remover where you are constantly rubbing your eyes to remove an oil based eyeliner, with our mascara the more water you use the easier it is to remove our product with slight pressure.

If anything, I would suggest perhaps using more water when removing the mascara. Another great suggestion we have heard from customers would be to remove the mascara in the shower, simply allow the spray from the shower head rinse over your eyes and usually the amount of water and pressure being applied removes most of the tubes, if not all of the product.

I am sorry again and I understand how disappointing that can be, I hope you have better luck with our products in the future!

Have a great day!

Um, REALLY!? That's it? That's all I get? The insinuation that I did not properly remove the mascara and wish for me to have better luck with their products in the future?! Not gonna happen because I will NEVER use Blinc products again, and I'll tell anybody who will listen what happened and the response I got. Oh sure, the email was quite upbeat, but the spin that was put on it clearly made it seem like my fault when I did EVERYTHING just as they said to. No offer to refund me my money, no offer to make things right, nothing. It took all I had not to send a scathing response, blasting that customer service rep for all she was worth because, man, I was certainly mad enough to!

So, ladies, beware of the Blinc mascara. I am not the only one who has experienced eyelash loss- I googled it after what happened and, come to find out, other people have had this issue. Silly me for not reading some reviews before purchasing. I've learned my lesson.

Milestones

I am clearly not a milestones-oriented girl. Does that make any sense at all? If I read that sentence I wouldn't get it either. So, here's what I mean. I read all of your blogs, and many of you will do a post to commemorate your first date with your significant other. Others of you know the exact date of your first kiss. The date you became exclusive. The date of your first "I love you."

I read these and I am amazed because I don't know any of this. Sure, I know when WEG's and my first kiss was because it was the Saturday before Memorial Day three years ago. But a date? I'd have to pull out the calendar and look. I know where we went when we first went on a date, but when that happened...who knows?! And our first I love you...no clue whatsoever.

And the thing is, my mind is usually a steel trap. I remember everything! I can remember the tiniest of details. My friends call me when they are trying to remember something and it's driving them crazy because they know I'll remember. But, clearly, I do not put much stock in the actual date that something happened. It makes me feel a little weird. Like I am a bad girlfriend for not knowing the dates of all of our milestones. But then I realize, WEG certainly doesn't know them either....I'd bank on that.

Maybe we're just not that type of couple- couples come in all shapes and sizes, right? At least it's not a source of contention because one of us knows and the other doesn't. It doesn't hurt my feelings that he doesn't know because I don't know myself, and vice versa. I still love him just the same, and I cherish those special milestones, even if I don't know an actual date. That's all that matters, right?

Please tell me that some of you are like this, too, and I am not the only one!!

**Disclaimer: I in no way, shape, or form am a Clemson fan, despite the fact that I have taken a picture with Mr. Clemson Santa, himself. We are a house divided- just wanted to clear that up.

Ah, Phil, how you disappoint me

This morning, I woke up thinking Puxsutawney Phil might be kind to us this year and NOT see his shadow. But, alas, it seems like he ALWAYS sees his shadow. And, according to Wikipedia, I'm right. Since 1999, good ol' PP has only predicted an early spring two times. Those years were 1999 and 2007. Every other year it's been six more weeks of winter. On this rainy, cold day in South Carolina, I was hoping for a bit of good news from the dear old groundhog.

I'm ready to be wearing spring clothes...bright colors, more skirts, short sleeves...you get the picture. And like one of our morning radio show hosts said, I'm ready to be out at the ballpark on a warm, sunny day eating peanuts and watching the Gamecocks play.

Quite frankly, I've had enough of cold feet (well, cold everything), turtlenecks, heavy coats, and dry winter skin (mine is a nightmare!). But, six more weeks of winter is what we can look forward to, so let's all hope those six weeks go fast! I especially hope this for those of you who live in the snow covered North.

So, boo to you, Puxsutawney Phil. You may be my most unfavorite rodent ever.

**ETA: General Beauregard Lee, who resides in Stone Mountain, GA is apparently the Southeast's weather prognosticator. He is officially my favorite rodent ever because he has predicted an early Spring. Yes, I know that good ol' Phil is supposed to be the official one, but Mr. Lee is my choice today!

The big 2-5

Happy birthday to my friend, Carolyn. She's a quarter century old today- the youngest of my closest girl friends! And what a great friend, she is. Always there if you need her (believe me, I've needed her quite a bit). Always there to lend a listening ear, be a shoulder to cry on, and offer advice if the situation warranted it.

So, thanks, Carolyn, for being an awesome friend. I hope you have a wonderful birthday and I can't wait to celebrate with you tonight! (at Tsunami for sushi- yummmmm!)

Cock-a-doodle-doo!

Last night, the Garnet Army was in full force at Colonial Life Arena to support the Gamecock Men's basketball game in a tough match-up. If you don't already know, the University of South Carolina was taking on John Calipari's Kentucky Wildcats. Not just any 'Cats team, though. Nope, they are ranked number one in the nation. They were 19-0 coming into the game. In fact, they received a phone call from President Obama yesterday prior to the game, thanking them for their Hoops for Haiti telethon (which raised over $1 million, by the way- props to UK for that!!) and telling them to stay strong and not falter against us because it was a tough place to play.

And a tough place it was! You could hear the excitement and energy that filled the arena even over the TV. Everytime Sandstorm played, the crowd went wild. It was loud. And you know what, it was effective. When all was said and done, the Gamecocks came out victorious 68-62.

Now let me tell you why this was such a large feat to have accomplished. First of all, the University of South Carolina has never- that's right, NEVER- beaten an opponent that was ranked number one at the time. We made school history last night...awesome. Second of all, Kentucky has the largest lineup in the NCAA. Their smallest player is 6'4" and their largest, 6'11" 280 lbs. (DeMarcus Cousins- leading scorer for UK with 27). Our players range from 5'9" to 6'9" and not a one of them is as solid as Cousins. But, we were scrappy last night...grabbing rebounds and blocking shots like giants. Coming into the game, Kentucky was averaging 83 points per game. We held them to 20 less than that number. Our defense just wanted it, I guess!

But, the star of the game, the star of all of our games, was definitely Mr. Devan Downey. He's the smallest guy on the court nearly every time he plays, but he plays like a giant. He scored 30 points last night. He was all over the court, driving past Kentucky players for layups, pulling up for 3 pointers, and carrying the team on his back. Quite an accomplishment for a guy who looks like an elf in comparison to the other players on the court. Tell me another player in the NCAA that's better than Devan Downey, and I'll argue you down. This guy has heart and talent and he plays the game full-on, 90 miles an hour, 100% dedication every time he steps on the court. I just wish we would have been able to see a season with Dominique Archie and Devan Downey on the court as seniors. I think we'd be winning more than we have been, but Dominique Archie went down early this year with a hurt knee and has since had surgery. So bittersweet to see Dominique and Devan after the game last night.

I'm also really impressed with Darrin Horn. He's a great coach, and Lexington, Kentucky native to boot. He's a born and bred Kentuckian. And now he's 3-0 with the Gamecocks against Big Blue. Way to go, Darrin! We love you here in South Carolina!

Please let me be clear that I am under no false pretenses that we will go up to Rupp Arena later this season and get a win. I don't foresee it happening. Kentucky is a great team, full of some freshmen phenoms. If they stick around for a few years, the Cats are going to get even better. With the likes of Wall, Cousins, Bledsoe, and Orton, they'll be a force to be reckoned with.

But last night, the Gamecocks were the better team. And this morning, I'm damn proud to bleed garnet! So, SEC, send us your $25,000 fine for our students storming the court. We knew the consequences, but we had a team that deserved to celebrate. COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!

Weekend Roundup

What a great weekend!!

Friday night, WEG and I went to dinner at Harper's. I had a coupon for $20 off of a $50 food tab. Harper's is not expensive, so it took us each having to order a dessert in addition to our appetizer of calimari and our meals of tuna and filet in order to get to $50. But, the dessert was worth it- white chocolate raspberry cheesecake for me and an ultimate brownie for WEG. Dinner was delicious, but we needed someone to wheel us out in a wheelbarrow afterwards. We didn't do anything after dinner and were in bed by 9:30- HEAVEN!

On Saturday I worked the Sidewalk Sale at Just the Thing- although the weather was yucky so we put nothing out on the sidewalk! We were busy all day, so it flew by, and it was time to go home before I knew it. I love working retail about once a month- not sure I could do it all the time, but it's fun for me to do it occasionally! On Saturday night we met some friends for dinner, and after trying 2 places with what looked to be long waits, we settled on Yesterday's so we could watch the Carolina/Florida basketball game. What.a.heartbreaker. Nothing like losing on a last second three-pointer when you have just driven down the court and scored to go ahead with 5 seconds left. We then headed over to another bar so WEG could watch the Clemson vs. Duke game, and we were home by 11:30.

Sunday was the most fun of all! We went to church and heard a great sermon on relationships and honoring your father and mother. Then WEG and I went out to his grandmother's on the lake, so Abe could run around and retrieve in the water, and while they were doing that, I got a run in. Then we went to the grocery store to get some stuff to make for appetizers and dinner for the 2 NFL games. We had friends over, cooked burgers and hot dogs, and chowed down on spinach dip and stuffed tomatoes. It was a good time.

And the best part of all? This guy is headed to another Super Bowl!

I'm a huge Colts fan- don't accuse me of being a bandwagoner, I'm definitely not. I was a Colts fan when they weren't cool....back when they couldn't win the big game to save their lives. I've been loving all things Manning since I was younger. I inherited the love from my dad, who insisted that we go watch Carolina take on Ole Miss in Oxford one year simply because it was the last chance we'd get to see Eli play for the Rebels. I'm pretty sure my dad was secretly rooting for Ole Miss that day.

But the other game was great, too! I was pulling a little harder for the Vikings since they have Sidney Rice & Jasper Brinkley, former Gamecocks, but you can't be sad about the Saints going to the Super Bowl. They've never been there, Drew Brees is a great quarterback who got the shaft in San Diego, and that's a city that has been through so much. But, you know where my heart will be in 2 weeks.... GO COLTS!

Hope everyone else had a great weekend, as well!