http://www.pleonast.com/user/jessdugas recent pleonast.com entries by user jessdugas en-us http://www.pleonast.com/user/jessdugas?l=5&entryID=598948 I just wrote (and then lost) an entry on Breaking Down Barriers within our congregations. The gist of what I want to get across is that as Christians we need to not compromise ourselves in order to be all things to all people. In our congregation, I feel like there are is a lot of segregation. The young, single people stay in our group and those that are married with kids are in a completely different social group. What good is this doing anyone? In order to fit in with a certain group, perhaps a group of Christian friends, do you ever feel like you have to compromise who "insert your name here" is? Do you have to pretend to be perfect? well, let me point out, not one of us is perfect. Here is a song by Casting Crowns that illustrates my feelings succinctly: Is there anyone that fails Is there anyone that falls Am I the only one in church today feelin’ so small Cause when I take a look around Everybody seems so strong I know they’ll soon discover That I donâ€... 2008-11-13 http://www.pleonast.com/user/jessdugas?l=5&entryID=581353 I have a dilemma on my hands: I have the perfect job, it is flexible, it pays enough for now, and it is giving me great experience. However, I need to start paying back student loans next month and would like to be able to put some into savings. Do I keep my perfect job or look for something that pays a bit more? 2008-09-29 http://www.pleonast.com/user/jessdugas?l=5&entryID=572547 Last week I was sitting at the kitchen table with the kid I nanny. Sam is 5 and autistic. We were writing words on a white board while eating breakfast. I wrote the word SAM and he took it and wrote UEL. It now looked like this: SAM UEL. I asked him what it said and he replied "Sam and mom." I tried everything to get across to him that it said Samuel and mom was spelled MOM. He gets up from the table, frustrated, goes to the study and comes back with a package he had got in the mail. He points to the label which read Samuel Dewitt and says "Sam and Mom Dewitt see." The package had come for Sam but had some stuff in it for his mom. We will try having another spelling lesson next week. 2008-09-07 http://www.pleonast.com/user/jessdugas?l=5&entryID=556897 I have been thinking lately about "the rest of my life." now, I know that I probably won't stay in Tampa forever. I began thinking about where I would go. This is when something terrifying happened. I started thinking about raising a family and where I would want to do that. Here is my list of places and reasons: -Lowell, MA (one of the top 100 cities to raise a family)- my family is there. - Concord,MA has always been one of my favorite places. - Colorado Springs, Colorado because it is beautiful and I like the culture of it. - my list keeps coming back to these three 2008-07-30 http://www.pleonast.com/user/jessdugas?l=5&entryID=547874 I have been studying a lot lately on my own. I have begun to read Purpose Driven Life, hoping to finish it this time around. I have been studying random sections of Scripture and I have been trying to follow the daily bible readings for the adult bible class at Livingston Avenue. But I was beginning to feel like something was missing. We have had some amazing lessons at Livingston about evangelism. I, however, have been stuck in a rut. I only seem to associate with other Christians, and the children I come in contact with through work. I have been praying hard asking God to lead me to someone who is in need. Today, I realized that God had answered my prayers, every time I enter the meetinghouse. There is a young man named Joseph who is deaf. He was brought to worship a few months ago by a friend of mine who is involved with the sign language program at USF. He always wants to sit by me at worship and I find that he is often frustrated by the fact that he can not fully underst... 2008-07-08 http://www.pleonast.com/user/jessdugas?l=5&entryID=547002 BOYCOTT NEW PEPSI CANS!!!!!!! Don't buy Pepsi in the new can. Pepsi has a new "patriotic" can coming out with pictures of the Empire State Building , and the Pledge of Allegiance on them. However, Pepsi left out two little words on the pledge of allegiance, 'Under God.' Pepsi said they didn't want to offend anyone. In that case, we don't want to offend anyone at the Pepsi corporate office, either! So if we don't buy any Pepsi product, they will not be offended when they don't receive our money that has the words 'In God We Trust' on it. 2008-07-05 http://www.pleonast.com/user/jessdugas?l=5&entryID=536463 We do not have cable in our house (yet). So I have taken to watching shows on the network websites. However, I just recently discovered surfthechannel.com. This site provides links to tv shows and movies, for free. I was wondering if anyone knew anything about this or other sites like it. Is this legal or not? 2008-06-06 http://www.pleonast.com/user/jessdugas?l=5&entryID=531596 I have realized lately that there are friends in my life that just demand too much emotional energy. While I still love and care about our relationships, I need to focus my energy on those friendships that promote positive growth on both parts. I have been focusing much too much of my time on these needy friends and it is bringing me down. However, last night I had a bible study with three amazing people: Marty Findley, Devin Harbaugh and Laurel Ladd. It was great to spend time with such amazing people. We got to prepare for Sunday morning bible class together and visit with each other. I am excited to spend more time with this type of friend on Sunday night at the Morrows home and again at twenty somethings next Friday. I realize that I am sometimes the needy friend but i hope by spending time with these positive friends, I will be able to overcome my downfall. I also realized that the reason I have failed at my spiritual goals in the past is because they were not simpl... 2008-05-23 http://www.pleonast.com/user/jessdugas?l=5&entryID=531258 I just got a job with Mad Science. I will be doing science experiments and demonstrations in schools, afterschool programs, summer camps and special events. I get to build rockets and play with dry ice. But I need your help. I need to come up with a scientific name. It has to be zany. It should include my name or part of it and it must be scientific. Any suggestions? one idea my boss suggested was Profess. Jess. 2008-05-22 http://www.pleonast.com/user/jessdugas?l=5&entryID=519250 I am anxious and excited about this change in my life. I feel like I will be far enough outside of the bubble while still being close. Over the summer, i plan to stay in Florida, granted that i get a job. If I get the job at Barnes and Noble as I plan, I will have lots of free time still. So, I need to use this time in a productive way. Yesterday, I called Big Brother Big Sister and rrequested a little sister. As the semester is closing out, I am feeling good about what I have accomplished in the last five years. It is odd how excited I am about learning now that this formal stage of learning is ending. I still have academic goals for myself, informal that is. I was excited to read some of the great books this semester and plan on reading the rest of them. I also plan to become a more educated citizen. With elections coming up, I plan to read a newspaper every day and a magazine once a week. Being in the bubble, I feel uneducated in pop culture (partly my fault). I wis... 2008-04-20