He has risen, but I want to sleep

1am Easter morning and I cannot sleep. Estee and I were outside all afternoon working in the yard. You know pulling weeds and laying mulch. What I failed to realize was how much crap was in the air that I breathed in! It is late, I am so tired as a result of the work and a very poor sleep last night and the only reason I cannot relax is because with each attempt to breath in my nose there is a no air that gets in and I think I am dying from lack of oxygen. I have covered the internet only to become more freaked out of my current condition. Turns out that benadryl has a side effect of paranoia!

This is the only thing I could think of to do that could distract me but it actually has me thinking of the whole "not getting air" is a bigger issue than when I began to type.

This might be the most congested I have ever been. I tried all sorts of stuff from drinking apple cider vinegar (ACV as it is known on the home remedy sites) with garlic, salt and lemon juice, to taking an asperator and shooting water and acv in my nose (both did not help at all except make me feel I was being what I think it feels like to water boarded) to accupressure and even to deeply considering if I should go right now and get some other stuff from the store. One site suggested that I use certain oils to rub on my chest or infuse with a steam. The closest thing I had was a bit of Bert's Beeswax pepermint lip balm. I put that where I would sport a moustache and all it did was burn and make it feel like I was on fire on only 3 inches of my body.

Standing is better than sitting or laying down but I cannot sleep standing up like the Coneheads. I have gone through a half of a box of tissues and my nose hurts. I have been able to "clear" one nostril but then I am fearful to lay down because it might close again.

This is the closest thing that I have to discomfort and I know that it is not that bad. I consider what Christ did and died for in the way in which he died and I feel a bit shamed that I write about my discomfort in the midst of Easter.

I am sorry you read all this junk and I am more sorry that while on Easter morning all I want to do is sleep.

I am sorry and I seek forgiveness.

In light of my Lenten journey this year, I need to confess something. I am not proud of this and I am honestly going to work on stopping this behavior in an active way. It is my hope that we all would identify the areas of our lives where we are not super proud and perhaps keep it in the shadows of our lives. It is my hope that this Easter I would allow the light of Christ to shine into my life so that the shadows and dark places of my soul would experience the Grace, love and forgiveness of my God and neighbor.

It is in this spirit of inviting the light of Christ into my soul as well as inviting all of us to self examine, I want to apologize as publicly as I can, to all the people whom I have made fun of under my breath. I am sorry that I walked passed you and assumed I knew your story and judged you. I am sorry that I walked behind you and "knew" that you must be greedy and materialistic. I am sorry that I said to others that you "think you are cool and very important."

I am sorry for the times which I have looked down on people whom I thought were trying too hard to fit in or become just another "plastic" person. I am sorry that I judged you for the past many years through high school even to today. It is not intentional. I am working on not assuming I "know you" and each time I catch myself condescending you I promise I will stop, say a prayer of forgiveness and replace my thoughts with three reasons why God loves you and I do to.

I humbly ask forgiveness from both you and God for my immature behavior.

I ask anyone else who has participated in this same sin to join me in seeking repentance and help keep each other accountable.

Amazon Kindle Love

I dropped my kindle. I dropped it in a way that lead to the death of the screen. I dropped it on the corner and the shock waves went through the screen and while it is still readable, it is such a poor quality that it is miserable. Needless to say, I was crushed.

I called Amazon.

I spoke with a woman in Ireland who after looking at my status and warranty and account, she saw that my situation fit within the limits of the one year warranty. She was going to ship a new one and I would have it the next day!

That was the good news.

More good news came when she said that I needed to mail the broken one back and she was sending a prepaid postage to use.

Excellent news.

Finally, she said, I am sorry but we are low in stock on your version so I am going to have to UPGRADE you for free. Will that be a problem?

WILL THAT BE A PROBLEM!!!

I nearly cried. Here I was, broken Kindle and she worked to get me a new one, next day, free postage and then she asked me if if the free upgrade would be a problem for me!

No. No problem at all.

I have been an Amazon fan for some time now. Even if I did not have this experience I still would use Amazon.

But now... Now I am a walking billboard for Amazon.

You need a book? Have you looked at Amazon?

Looking at the Nook or IPad? Those are okay, but I LOVE my Amazon Kindle.

Amazon, I am a fanatic, and each year I will post on this blog the greatness of Amazon and retell this story as a way of thanking you for your wonderful customer service and support.