I was level 10.2 angry

Have you ever been angry and it caused you to do something that was actually productive? It happened to me the other day as I was about to start a workout at Planet Fitness. One might say I channeled my anger and this day, it was channeled towards the treadmill. 

I got it up to level 10.2 and was determined to not reduce the level till I finished. I also had Prince singing “Purple Rain” in my ears (thanks to these ear buds I found on Amazon for a decent price) so somehow that helped, too. 

Gosh, sometimes people make me so mad! I guess I should thank the person who helped me run the fastest mile I’ve done all year. 

-Out of the Wilderness

 

A Bible verse exposing the “glass half empty” personality

I read this verse in Jeremiah and it struck a chord with me. Please, please, please don’t read this as me coming off as judgmental because this can apply to any of us at any point in our lives. I’ve for sure been a Debbie Downer in certain situations but as I read this Bible verse below, I couldn’t help but think of a friend of mine who is virtually always negative about everything. 

Jeremiah 17:5-6

“This is what the Lord says: The man who trusts in mankind, who makes human flesh his strength and turns his heart from the Lord is cursed. He will be like a juniper in the Arabah; he cannot see when good comes but dwells in the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land where no one lives.”

My friend is definitely a “glass is half empty” type of person. On the positive side, though, if you win the lottery and need someone to tell you why that sucks, he’s your man. 🙂 All joking aside, he really can find something to complain about in almost any scenario. So when I read the verse in Jeremiah, I thought of him. I don’t think my friend is a Christian, so the part that reads, “he cannot see when good comes but dwells in the parched places…” really had me thinking. But just to be very real, this could apply to Christians, also. Sometimes it’s just human nature to not really see the good when it comes our way. But in this context, the words are just devastatingly real. Without God, life is the Arabah… a desert. You may be a tree (the Juniper), but you’re in a dry land and you’re alone. As I’m just thinking out loud, I’m remembering the reference to Christ-followers being like a tree planted by the water. How vivid is that imagery given this picture from Jeremiah of the lone tree in the desert? Interesting.  

My friend can, and will, find fault in the most full glass– it’s not the right flavor or it’s too full or he didn’t even ask for a glass full of anything– maybe that’s just his personality, I don’t know. But I hurt for him sometimes. I just wish he’d see the good things he has going on… and better yet, find the Living Water 😉

-Out of the Wilderness

18 Elvis Presley songs with a woman’s name in the title

I was listening to the Elvis channel on SiriusXM the other day and the DJ had just played a song with a woman’s name (“Sylvia,” I believe) and threw in an Elvis trivia fact I wasn’t aware of… Elvis has 17 songs with a woman’s name in the title. I hadn’t thought to count them before but don’t you go counting them now… I’ve put together the list! Of course, if I’ve missed any or I’m a little off on one or two, comment below…

[UPDATE:  An observant reader pointed out a missing title. Thank you for the addition of “Susan When She Tried,” scroll down to the bottom to check that one out, song #18]

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17 18 Elvis Presley songs with a woman’s name in the title… 

“Sylvia”

“Mona Lisa”

“Maybelline”

“Cindy, Cindy”

“Judy”

“Polk Salad Annie”

“Mary in the Morning”

“Sweet Angeline”

“(Marie’s the Name) His Latest Flame”

“Lawdy, Miss Clawdy”

“Charro!”

“Long Tall Sally”

“I’ll Take You Home Again Kathleen”

“Santa Lucia”

“Marguerita”

“Mary Lou Brown”

“Proud Mary”

“Susan When She Tried”

Thanks for stopping by!

-Out of the Wilderness

Leap Year in music and movies

In honor of Leap Day (Year), here’s a list of a few movies and a few songs that are about (or mention) Leap Day or Leap Year…. or any kind of leaping 🙂


Movies…

Leap Year (2010) 

Pirates of Penzance (1983) 

February 29 (Korean, 2006)


Music…

“Circle of Life” (Elton John) …it’s the leap of faith… 

“Leap of Faith” (Etta James) …And when I went ahead and spread my wings, I found out that I could fly, Sometimes, all it takes is a leap of faith…

“Leap of Faith” (Bruce Springsteen) …It takes a leap of faith to get things going, In your heart you must trust…

**Ok, I need to interject here that originally I was going to list songs that mentioned any kind of leap or leaping, but now I know there are a million songs about “leap of faith,” so the rest are strictly about “leap year” 🙂 **

“Shirts and Gloves” (Dashboard Confessional) …I’ll call your cellular phone to tell you TV night was lonely without you, And so am I, so am I, It seems our day keeps falling on a leap year…

“Beach Chair” (Jay-Z) …So I’m ’bout my paper, 24/7, 365, 366 in a leap year, I don’t know why we here, since we gotta be here…

“Just Waitin'” (Hank Williams) …The old maid’s waitin’ for leap year to come, The crooner’s just waitin’ to sing…

“Oxygen” (Switchfoot) …And I’m running out of oxygen, Can’t go back to the first, Losing stories like leap year, Fake smiles and worse…

“I Try To Think About Elvis” (Patty Loveless) …I try to think about Shakespeare, Leap year, The Beatles or the Rolling Stones, I try to think about hair-do’s, Tattoos, Sushi bars and saxophones…

“Curbside Prophet” (Jason Mraz) …At a west end avenue at 63, The beginning of a leap year, February, ’96, With a guitar picked up in the mix…


Honestly, I thought there would be more movies about this rare day, but oh well. Thanks for stopping by… have a good leap year! 

-Out of the Wilderness

Midsommar… not exactly a movie review

Recently I watched Midsommar on Amazon Prime. I read comments following the YouTube trailer so I knew going into it that it would be weird, possibly disturbing, and it’s a horror movie. I even prayed to God that if this movie was going to harm me that I’d be compelled to turn it off!

I watched it over the course of two days, because that’s just what I do, starting it late one night and finishing it the next night. Sometimes I start a movie way too late and can’t stay awake. What can I say, I’m 41 yrs old!

So my expectations were high regarding it’s wow factor, it’s horror factor. I have to admit, there were some strange things going on, but it wasn’t quite as emotionally disruptive as I was expecting. It’s not so much that it’s a wild and crazy movie, but the story is pretty wild. What I enjoyed is that it didn’t get into a situation where everything was happening in someone’s mind, know what I mean? Like those movies or shows that end with the main character waking up and oh wow, it was all a dream! I hate those endings. So this was very much something that could really happen in real life, and I appreciated that.

There are a handful of scenes that are for adults only, not that kids would even want to watch this one haha. I’ll be reading an explanation of the movie after I post this but if you’re into movies that aren’t cookie-cutter, that don’t follow a formula, and if you like horror but not in the “everything happens at night” kind of way, you should give this movie a try! But like I said, there are a few scenes that are easily considered disturbing, so if you’re curious about those, do some research first to make sure you’re up for it.

Thanks for stopping by!

-Out of the Wilderness