Hello. It's nice to meet you!

I'm realizing that I am terrible with small talk. I've concluded that I only relate well to people on a deeper level. I CAN just "make conversation", but I'm not very good at keeping it superficial, and what is the point really? At parties, or in a club, where everything is just on the surface, it kind of makes me crazy. Obviously there are some occasions that require being comfortable operating on a certain level of formality. In general though, I want there to be substance in all my interaction with people. Even if I just met you, and I will never see you again, I still want to get to know YOU for who you are, not just the fact that you drink the same coffee as I do! I will invest 100% of myself into the relationship for the 5 minutes we know one another! If we were to meet at a mutual friend's soiree, I won't just compliment you on your shoes, (but they ARE great!) I want to know what you are passionate about and what defines who you are! I find it is especially hard with people I've known for quite some time, but only as acquaintances, with whom things have never moved past casual association. "Oh, how are your kids? Great! This weather sure is hot! So nice to see you!" The End. How can I know some one for three years and yet have no insight into who they are?! We can give so much to one another and bring so much blessing into eachothers' lives by being willing to engage and be vulnerable. Basic formalities do not equal relationship. I do try to not freak people out by coming across as nosey or prying. I'm not trying to invade privacy. However, I would rather spend 5 minutes being genuine, than waste them being trivial.

Politics Suck.

I am, at the moment, kind of reeling from the realisation that so many of my very good friends, hold such drastically differently perspectives on life than I do in some areas. I am deeply saddened by some of the things I am hearing come out of the mouths of people I love. Not that I in any way feel that I have all the right perspectives and opinions, but to see people that you thought were on the same page in allot of ways, seem to have either gradually changed over several years or just out of the blue blown me away with things I didn't know about the way they thought, is hard to ignore. Nothing like a brutal Presidential election to bring it all out either! Ugh! I am open to talking about different opinions on just about any topic and more than willing to have my own perspective broadened or changed entirely, as long as it still falls in line with the word of God and MORALS!!! But even peoples view points on what the Bible says and what morals even are, can be so different, that even a discussion based on them can be a bit volatile. Sigh. It's just hard. I want to say something because some times my heart is broken by seeing what my friends believe, but they aren't able to receive it, especially since I often fit into a stereotype they've invented and judged already. So I just sit back, and trust that God is greater than human error or our limited perspectives, and then I will go vote as well as I can and not worry about what the future holds; because it doesn't matter in the long run anyway! God is GOD, and even though he has given us free wills and the ability to makes choices that affect us and those around us, his plans will prevail and indeed our choices are already taken into account. The truth is, all that matters is that he loves us all, and has a plan to prosper us, to give us a future and a hope. People all around the world will continue to come to know him, the wonder of his love, and the power of his grace, no matter who becomes the President of the United States or what happens to the economy!