A Snoodle's Tale

I don't know how many of you are Veggie Tales fans. I fell in love with them when I was in college. My best friend's little sisters watched them A LOT, and I had never heard of them. I figured they'd be corny, since they were for munchkins, but quickly went head over heals.

That being said, this is my absolute favorite Veggie Tale animation ever. It's a special Dr. Seuss episode about being special just the way you are, and dealing with others' judgement.

It's only thirteen minutes long, and totally worth the time. Grab a tissue. Even if you aren't a Christian, this is such a good message for all of us, and I think you're going to tear up.

You can thank me later. <3

Reach Out & Touch Faith

Aaaaand I can't get enough of Johnny Cash right now.
I'm pretty sure the three members of Depeche Mode were beyond stoked when they learned that Cash had done a cover of their song. He didn't ask, and Depeche Mode didn't mind. While they were inspired by Elvis & Priscilla Presley, Johnny Cash was singing it for an entirely different reason.

When The Man Comes Around

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Johnny Cash? Well, I do. I've been singing his songs since I was a little bitty girl, and I love his "gospel" music as much as the rest. His voice combined with the words of the Bible seriously move me.

Brandy's Hot Awesome Dude

Hi there, bloggers! I survived the holidays...thus far. Great, right?! Yes. Yes. Well, more important than my yammering on about late nights, family, friends and gifts (though I did make my husband a clock out of a hubcap [from his first car] & he LOVED it) is the well-being of our loved ones. That's why this post is dedicated to Brandy and her lovely, selfless man...

My name is Brandy. And I have a blog.

And a plea.

I use my blog to showcase the crazy I meet everyday, share the stories of the kids I teach and document my love for tequila, dairy products and the abdominal muscles of Ryan Reynolds. Rarely do I talk about personal issues on my blog- as personal as the dude that I adore (who I actually met through my blog- single ladies, let that be a very good reason to blog, the possibility of meeting someone as wonderful as my man), but I need your help. And it involves my dude.

He’s a guy who made math comics for my class, so they would love learning about addition. He’s the kinda guy who sends my friends gift cards when they are having hard times, who remembers every story I ever told him, who was the first person I celebrated with when I got a teaching job. He’s the guy who sent flowers to me at school- dozens of my favorite pink roses just because he loves me. He’s a guy who has spent a year patiently explaining (and re-explaining) everything there is to know about football during the important games when silence is preferred. He’s made me word puzzles and comics and stayed up late playing Scrabble with me (even though I beat him almost every time). He’s listened to me cry about school and family and jobs. He is everything I never knew I needed and everything I always knew I wanted.

The holidays have hit us hard. He’s recently been told he may have something called multiple myeloma- an incurable cancer, that gives a person an average of five years of continued life. Though this news has came as a shock, he continues to be exactly who has always been- spending his time worrying about me, rather than worrying about himself. He’s the most selfless individual I know- (he stayed late on Christmas Eve to work, so his co-workers could leave early) and a post like this would never be something that he would promote or encourage but when I’m overwhelmed and feeling helpless, the blogging community has always given me tremendous support and comfort, two things I desperately need at this time.

As I write this, the future is uncertain and we aren’t sure what’s happening. He’ll need to see an oncologist soon, to verify what’s going on in his body. My hope is that everyone who reads this think positive thoughts and if you are a person who prays, could you add him to your list? (You can refer to him as ‘brandy’s hot awesome dude’). If you don’t pray, please keep him in your heart.This cancer is only a possibility and I believe that the prayers and positive thoughts of people can make sure it never becomes a reality.

I want to give a big thank you to the blog owner who scraped their original blog plans and graciously put this up. My goal is to get as many people as possible to see and read this post. If you are reading this and want to help, copy and paste my plea into your blog or send a link through twitter, so more people can keep him in their thoughts. I would be so very grateful (even more grateful than I am to my friend who first showed me the picture of Ryan Reynolds on the cover of Entertainment Weekly. If you haven’t seen it, google it. You. Are. Welcome).

I realize this all sounds dramatic, a Lifetime movie in the making- but this is life. Right now. And I’m throwing away any hint of ego and am humbly asking for you to pray or think kind thoughts. If you are able to pass this on, thank you and if you know anything regarding MM- please email me (my email is on my blog). This isn’t a call for sympathy or a plea for pity. It’s just one girl hoping you can think positive thoughts for the person she adores. If my current heartache provides you with anything, let it be with the reminder that life is short, love is unbending and no one knows what could happen next. Maybe it is silly, but I really do believe that positive thoughts can make a huge difference. Thank you for reading this and if you haven’t already? Please tell someone you love them today.

I did.

Alright, folks? Any prayers out there? Add this wonderful man to your prayer lists, and pray for him whenever you think of it. Once, twice, ten times a day. Doesn't have to be an extensive prayer. I believe the Creator of the universe knows what's going on, all our needs & exactly who Brandy's Hot Awesome Dude is, so short and sweet works. Pray for him whenever you think of him.

Power & Glory

Alright people. I'm aware that here in blogger world we're all respectful of one another's beliefs and whatnot. By respectful, I mean that I normally refrain from blogging for Jesus(plus the thought of this just kills me). Depending on the flavor of the post many, if not all, of you would be bored to tears. However, I've found something I must share, in order to gather opinions.

A friend of mine gave me this book on c.d. It's called Flabbergasted. So, I've only listened to a little of it, and am not totally sure what I think yet. I haven't gotten much past the character building part, but it's funny so far.

The last part I heard before getting to work this morning was an interesting conversation. This one character had just been pulled over for speeding, and had managed to wrangle the police officer into a conversation. What kind of car would Jesus drive? That was the conversation. I c-r-a-c-k-e-d up!

First they pondered Jesus in a Lincoln, or something equally as ginormous and supposedly fancy. Then they did it. They roped me into listening to the rest of that possibly not-so-interesting novel. I believe it was the cop that offered that Jesus would drive an old muscle car. For all the power and glory.

It makes me think of that old song. My Own Personal Jesus. Anyway, I can so see Jesus in an old Chevelle. All cammed up and sparkly...with racing stripes. I'm usually a Ford or Mopar gal myself, but Chevelles are pretty powerful and glorious. Don't cha think? ^__^