Especially Strange

Tuesday = Town Day.

*gaggety gaggy gag gag*

=P Town... is not... my preferred choice of... Inhabitance. If that makes sense. In other words, I do not like going to town, I do not like being in town, and I find it hard to invision myself ever living in town willingly. Except for college, of course.

So this morning... I got up about 7:30. Made myself a breakfast of bacon and fried eggs, and enjoyed this scrumptious meal while listening to my iPod. It's become a little habit for me- Grandpa and Daddy eat at six, so when I eat, Tyler usually is as well, but he isn't the talkative type, especially not during meals. So I enjoyed the company of Casting Crowns and FM Static and Tenth Avenue North and a few other excellent Christian bands/artists over breakfast.

Then begins... school. *mysterious/spooky background music, dimmed lights, faint shriek*

I was rather proud of myself really. I was finished with every subject besides algebra by 11:00. I have this list on a markerboard in the living room, of my school subjects. I put a checkmark besides each subject as I complete it- this helps keep me on track and also gives me a pleasant feeling of accomplishment when I can look at the markerboard with all those checks. Here is the list:

Devotional
Piano
Grammar
Literature
German
Science
History
Algebra

Devotional may not be a school subject, persay, but is the most vital of all subjects, and the best brain food possible. Piano may not be considered school, but when you think about it, alot of kids in public school are in band, so it can be considered... Musical Education. ME. Haha.

So anyway I had finished algebra by about 11:15. Then I helped get dinner ready, and we ate about noon. We had Tiffany's Meatloaf (thank you Tiffany! very delicious!), sweet peas, and these creamy cheesey potatoes. Mmmm... Then I had a handful of these cookies Omi sent and gathered my things and out the door.

In town, we... went everywhere. Bank, library, post office, Culligan's, piano, Wal-Mart, Sam's... We also went to the livestock store, Farmer's Country Market, and the salebarn to put up flyer's for the 4-H dance in 2 weeks. Oooh we also got to go to Starbucks! Or shall I say.... I went to Starbucks. Momma doesn't like coffee, and I despise plain old hot black coffee, but Sara got me hooked on these Mocha Frappuchinos... Oh my. When you go get one of those things, you are sipping Heaven through a straw.

Then we went to Momma's friend's house for about 5 minutes, then homeward bound!

So you are probably wondering about the title. There is a guy in WalMart, and we ended up in his checkout lane about 3 times in a row, without meaning to do so. So last time we went, he saw us and chided us for not going to his lane. This time, he saw us again, and came up to us and scolded us again, it was pretty funny. He said, "That's okay, fine, just be that way... I have other customers, and we talk, and have fun!" It seriously cracked me up that a WalMart guy remembers us, out of the hundreds of people he sees. I told Momma, "Well... we must be very special. That, or very strange."

We agreed on the latter being the most likely.

So we went to Starbucks- they are nice in there, and last time I told them how I had never had anything else but a Mocha Frappuchino from there, but I was hooked. I have been there about 5 times and always gotten the same thing. And one girl remembered me and said, "Will it be your regular?" It made me laugh because they remembered me, and once again Momma and I kind of joked about the "very special or very strange" thing. I mentioned, "Well maybe it's both." Momma paused. "Especially strange?"

So there you have it. We are so special, and so strange, so especially strange, that people remember us. People in WalMart, who have hundreds of customers, take the time to walk away from their register and joke with us. People in Starbucks, actually know that I have a "regular", and they even remembered my name.

So I feel special. Specifically... Especially strange.

But ya know what? Being strange in the world of today, is comforting. It means I am not like the others- it means that I am not one of those people who are mean, or cold hearted, or dress really strange, and that I am following God's Word. We talk about this in Youth group- in order to be a Christian, we must seperate ourself from the rest of the world, and become people of God, not people of the world. We must become different from the rest of the world.

Last time we went to WalMart, I was thanked and praised profusely for simply opening the bags at WalMart and loading the groceries into the cart at the checkout line.

This afternoon, my piano teacher and her elderly student who comes after me, argued over who would get me if I ever needed another home. I was called such a sweetie, and a joy.

Not bragging. Just making a point. Being especially strange, isn't all that bad.

I am proud to say, I am different from other people.

"You ask me why I do not write something....I think one's feelings waste themselves in words, they ought all to be distilled into actions and into actions which bring results."

- Florence Nightingale

I hope that my feelings for Christ, my zest for His word, are shown through my actions, and my personality, and that those actions, are what make people remember me.

If there is anything I want to be remembered for... It's for being different. For loving Christ. For striving to live by His word. For being kind and sharing His love to people, even people in town. (That's especially difficult, being happy in town.)

I want to be remembered for being... especially strange.

In His Grip,
-- Ranch Kiddo