...

I wouldn't automatically assume that he didn't put any thought into it.

Sometimes people aren't very good at buying gifts, and they might try and figure out what "they" would like to have if it was them on the receiving end.

Since you said he just bought a new truck, he's probably in every automotive department in every store he goes into, looking at all the vehicle accessories going "This is so cool! Maybe I should get one of these! Wow, look at this!" etc... Maybe at this point in his life, nothing could be cooler than car accessories. ;-)

While it may have been a bit short-sighted on his part, he probably meant well. Though telling you it was a "small" gift was a rather bad idea, because 99% of all girls will automatically think "jewelry" on that. But he's not a girl, so he doesn't think that way.

Also, jewelry, to a guy, might symbolize "commitment" of some kind. You say he's an out-of-town boyfriend... How long have you been going out? How often do you get to see each other in person? (or did you just mean he was temporarily out-of-town?) What kind of relationship does he think you have? He may not want to give you jewelry because he doesn't want to give the wrong impression. Just a thought.

Bottom line: One person's "Tacky" is another person's "Wow! Cool!" ;-)

...

It's strange that there would be two very similar questions asked here suddenly... and at the same time I stumble upon something completely by accident tonight, that addresses these very questions.

When you have time, please read this:

http://www.doesgodexist.org/AboutClayton/PastLife.html

It's an absolutely fascinating read about a former die-hard atheist who was determined to write a book called "All the Stupidity of the Bible". As a teacher of physics and earth science, he is a logical and analytical person.

He also looked into many religions and read the Vedas, Koran, Sayings of Buddha, writings of Bahaullah and Zoroaster.

I think you might be interested in his story.

...

Actually I understand exactly what you mean. In your additional info when you say "i dread going to church becuase it's so boring and ppl are snotty" My husband and I have taken to calling this type of thing "Churchianity"... People who think that going to church once a week is what Christianity is about. The rest of the week you wouldn't even know they were a "Christian" unless they had little symbols on their car or something.

Imagine facing Yahweh (God) on judgement day and saying, "No, I never fed the poor, helped the widows and orphans, or visited people in prison, but once a week I dressed up in nice clothes, sat in a pew and listened to a guy in a suit tell me his version of what the Bible says... I even put money on the plate to make sure he was able to drive around in a nice Cadillac. Oh, and I had a cute little fishy thing on my car."

It's even worse when these Churchians act all superior on top of it. We call those kinds "Sister Bertha-Better-Than-You". ;-)

My husband and I do not currently go to a church. We have yet to find one that actually tries to follow the Bible and Christ's teachings.

Please understand I'm not saying church is bad, and I'm not saying that people who go to church are bad. I'm just saying that some people who go to church lose sight of the important things. The true Church is not a building or a denomination. We, Christians (followers of Christ), ARE the Church. We can fellowship in the middle of a field, we can fellowship on an airplane, we can fellowship in the middle of McDonalds. It doesn't matter where.

Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

I Corinthians 3:16 "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and [that] the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?"

...

Last week, we went into a Christian book store and our conversation with the guy behind the counter led around to the church he belonged to. Hubby asked him what his church "does" for others. And the guy just had this blank look on his face. He was speechless. Hubby asked if his church fed the hungry. "No." Does his church take care of widows and orphans? "No." Does his church visit people in prison? "No."

What does his church do? Like many, many other churches, it basically holds a "meeting" once or twice a week. Wee.

The guy behind the counter was amazed. He knew something hadn't been right with his church. He knew something was missing. He had never even formally "signed up" with the church because he felt it. (and his own Father was the pastor there!) Maybe he will start a revolution in that church. I hope so.

We left that store praising Yahweh.


Matthew 25:34-40 says:

"Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed [thee]? or thirsty, and gave [thee] drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took [thee] in? or naked, and clothed [thee]? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done [it] unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done [it] unto me."


I guarantee that you will not be bored if you live the way Christ wants us to.

...

Sorry, I kind of went off on a tangent there, mostly talking about one small portion of what you had typed... But it all just came rushing out. I'll move along now. ;-)

...

I do want to touch on the subject of the rapture just a wee bit. In case you didn't know, I wanted you to know that there are many schools of thought on the timing of the rapture. Some Christians believe it happens pre-tribulation (like in those Left Behind books), some believe it happens mid-trib (half-way through the 7 year tribulation), some believe it happens pre-wrath (sometime during the tribulation but before the really bad stuff starts happening), and some believe it happens post-trib (right at the end when Christ returns).

Basically, the Bible isn't clear on when it happens, so people pick apart scripture and try to figure it out. Some people believe in the rapture but admit they really don't know when it will happen... That's sometimes called pan-trib (it could happen any time.)

I just wanted you to understand that, because if the rapture doesn't happen pre-trib, there are some pre-trib believers out there whose faith will be sorely tested because they didn't think they were actually going to have to go through any of the trials and troubles of the tribulation. Or maybe they will think that the Bible actually said that the rapture will happen before the tribulation, and so they will be mad and think that the Bible lied... instead of understanding that it was some people's opinions that were wrong, not the Bible.

I've actually read comments from some "Christians" that if they don't get a free ticket out of the tribulation, then what's the point? As if they are somehow more special and deserving than the Christians who have gone through trials and troubles (and martyrdom) throughout history. I'm not at all saying all pre-tribbers are like this, but I have absolutely seen them, and that's a dangerous path they are walking.

Personally, I am pan-trib. Whatever Yahweh thinks is best, I accept it. If it does happen pre-trib, great. If not, then that's the way it is. It's certainly not worth arguing over. It'll all "pan" out in the end. ;-)

...

Now I'm getting to the part that I originally wanted to say.

Lots of people go through the things that you are going through... It's not unusual at all.

I want to ask you a favor. Please listen to the following MP3. It's perfect for the questions you have asked.

It's hard to explain how awesome this is... That's why you just have to listen to it. After you listen to it, if you have any other questions or concerns that I didn't address, or that this MP3 didn't address, please feel free to email me at DangerWench@gmail.com

Here is the link to the MP3:

http://www.dangernerd.com/kirkcameron.mp3

(It's 9 megs, so it may take a bit to download)

If you can't download MP3's for some reason, you can download the zip file.

http://www.dangernerd.com/kirkcameron.zip


I hope you will let me know what you think about it. :-)

...

Edited to add: Reading mylordwon's answer to you, I wanted to agree with that.

I also wanted to make sure that I wasn't misunderstood to be saying that we can be saved by doing good works. Because if we are guilty of even one sin in our lives (which we are) we are guilty of all of them, and we all fall short. None of us is worthy of eternal life on our own merits, no matter how many good works we do.

That's why we need Yeshua (Christ), so that we can be forgiven our sins when we repent of them.

The good things come after that. As a product of becoming a follower of Christ, we should want to obey our Creator and do the things which please Him.

He wants us to love others as we love ourselves, and even love our enemies.

Also, what better way to reach the lost? How many people who are non-Christian will be saved by people who do nothing but go to church and then go home and behave just like everybody else in the world does (worldly and selfish... we all struggle with selfishness). How is that a good example or something to admire and want to find out more about?

But what if the non-Christian sees someone behaving differently... Someone doing selfless things and giving of themselves to others when they don't have to, and who gets no perceivable reward from it? Maybe they will wonder about it. Maybe they will ask about it. Maybe that Christian can tell them they are doing it because they follow Christ's true teachings and so they love others even to the point of putting them before their own personal comforts. The very example Christ set for us.

Leading by example can certainly be a wonderful way to reach the lost. Just a thought. :-)

...

I think most people have thoughts about things like this sometimes.

It's funny, I wasn't really planning on answering this question, since others have answered it... but literally minutes ago I finished reading something that I stumbled upon completely by accident, and I think it might help you.

When you have time, please read this:

http://www.doesgodexist.org/AboutClayton/PastLife.html

It's an absolutely fascinating read about a former die-hard atheist who was determined to write a book called "All the Stupidity of the Bible". And not only that, he looked into many religions and read the Vedas, Koran, Sayings of Buddha, writings of Bahaullah and Zoroaster.

I think you might be interested in his story.

...

(This is written from a "Christian" perspective. By "Christian" I mean a follower of Christ, not Catholic or Protestant or any sub-group. Just a believer of the Holy Bible.)

As mentioned by others, whether or not Yeshua (Christ) is the Messiah, is the focal point around which most of the differences between Christianity and Judaism revolve.

Because followers of Judaism do not believe the Messiah has arrived yet, they believe they are still under the old Laws (aka the old Covenant). The Laws which were written in the Old Testament include the dietary restrictions (Kosher diet) and the laws regarding Temple sacrifices, among many, many others.

Judaism (like Christianity) does have some divided "denominations" based upon differences of opinion regarding Scriptures and such.

For instance, some Jews believe that the Jewish people should not move back to Israel because in the Old Testament, Yahweh (God) exiled the Jewish people from Israel... and they believe that they are still forbidden to leave their exile. (see http://www.jewsagainstzionism.com for more info)

...

Followers of Yeshua (Christ) believe that the entire Bible includes both the Old and the New Testament. The New Testament states that if anyone breaks even one of the Laws, they are guilty of breaking all of the Laws. And since everyone has broken at least one of the Laws, none of us is righteous, none is worthy, we have all sinned. Since the wages of sin is death, that means none is worthy of eternal life.

So, to summarize, many of us believe that the purpose of the Law is to show us how imperfect we are, and how we fall short of Yahweh's goals for us.

Followers of Yeshua believe that is why He came to earth, to live the perfect life that none of us could. So we believe He obeyed every single one of Yahweh's Laws, perfectly. (remember, Yeshua was Jewish so he would have lived the Jewish lifestyle under the Jewish Laws.)

We believe that when Yeshua sacrificed himself for us, He was paying our debt (the wages of sin is death, so he died for us) and because He is the sinless, spotless Son of Yahweh, His death is enough to pay for all of our sins, if we accept His Gift.

Because of this we believe we are under a New Covenant... We have been given grace. "...for ye are not under the law, but under grace." Romans 6:14

For more info about Yeshua, grace, and the old Laws, see here: http://www.letusreason.org/Doct31.htm

...

As for the Sabbath, it's true that most Christians celebrate the Sabbath on Sunday. While the Biblical (and Jewish) Sabbath is actually from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. There are many different opinions on why this happened... But here is a bit of info on the most widely accepted reason:

"The Catechismus Romanus was commanded by the Council of Trent and published by the Vatican Press, by order of Pope Pius V, in 1566. This catechism for priests says: "It pleased the church of God, that the religious celebration of the Sabbath day should be transferred to 'the Lord's day. Sunday.'"

But many followers of Yeshua don't believe that there was any reason to move the Sabbath, so they observe the original Sabbath.

For instance, we (myself and my husband) now observe the original Sabbath from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, and we are not "7th Day Adventists" (another division of Christians who observe the original Sabbath day).

On a personal note, I must say that since we have started observing the original Sabbath, we have felt it to be more restful and peaceful. :-)

...

By the same token, some Christians also think that eating Kosher (or close to it) is a good idea. Not because it's a law we have to obey, but because Yahweh knows better than us...

This one is my personal theory, but I don't think Yahweh would exclude a food just to be arbitrary. I mean, pork tastes very good (to me, anyway), and I don't think Yahweh would tell his children not to eat something tasty, just because He felt like it. I think He has a very good reason and I think it's because it's bad for us. He didn't want His children eating things that would hurt their health.

Part of the kosher dietary requirements eliminates being able to eat scavengers. Pigs are scavengers that will eat poop, dead things, and just about anything else. Catfish are scavengers too (and because they don't have scales, they aren't kosher), and crustaceans (like crabs and lobsters), and mollusks (like clams and oysters) are bottom-feeding scavengers too, and not kosher. It seems reasonable that it could be bad for our health to eat things that live by consuming questionable things.

So even though I am what people consider to be a Christian, I gave up eating pork and other scavenger creatures, not because I think it's a sin, but because I believe that Yahweh has our best interests at heart.

...

There is also a difference between Jewish people and Judaism. A Jewish person is, racially, someone who is a descendant of Jacob (son of Isaac, who was the son of Abraham) from the Old Testament. Jacob was also called "Israel", thus his descendants are also called Children of Israel or Israelites. He was the father of twelve sons, who represent the twelve tribes of Israel.

Descendants of Jacob do not necessarily practice Judaism. Just because someone is born of a certain heritage, doesn't mean they will automatically practice the traditional religion of their fore-fathers. So there are Jews who do not practice Judaism.

And from what I understand, non-Jews can convert to Judaism... Though I'm not sure how that works.

There are also Jews who DO believe that Yeshua is the Messiah, and thus have those Christian beliefs. Some call themselves Messianic Jews. Usually, they still observe the Sabbath from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, among other Jewish traditions. Though there are some Jewish believers that follow the more traditional Christian paths, and consider themselves to be Jewish Christians, Hebrew Christians, or Christian Jews: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messianic_Judaism

...

Ok, I'd better stop now before I think of more things to type. ;-)

...

Your husband has every right to be angry and not want you to see or talk to her again. I think you would feel the same way.

Imagine that the situation was reversed... One of your husband's old buddies said he was going to do everything he could to split you up, and was going to bring around a bunch of hot, young chicks to try and get him to leave you. All because your husband didn't have enough time to visit with him now that he's married and has all these husband's responsibilities.

How would that make you feel? Would you want your husband to have anything else to do with him? Would you ever trust that "buddy" to not be conspiring behind your back? I wouldn't. That's not a real friend at all.

And even after confronting her with it, she turned it around and blamed it on you? She can't even take responsibility for her own choices and actions, she has to blame it on the victim? (Run away! Run away!) I'm afraid it would be foolish of you to have anything else to do with her. The writing is on the wall.

Sorry to hear this happened to you. It hurts when you find out a friend isn't really the friend you thought they were. :-(

...

I apologize for the answer below mine. We obviously have a lot 13 year olds who think everybody asking a question is the same age as they are. Though I doubt very many 13 year olds have a job, and used to make almost $4,000 a month... So it's also obvious they don't always read the questions very well, either. At least she didn't tell you to get a babysitting job or mow lawns. :-\

As far as your questions goes, I don't personally have experience with this, but I do know what you are looking for is called "loan consolidation" or "debt consolidation". You can do a Google search for those:

only search advicenators.com

only search advicenators.com

And you will have plenty of places to choose from.

Since I don't have personal experience on picking one out, I would just look through them and pick a few that look promising, and then do some more Google searches looking for reviews on that business like "{company name} reviews" and also look them up on the Better Business Bureau: http://www.bbb.org/ and Rip Off Report: http://www.ripoffreport.com/

Good luck!

...

While this is quite possibly a technical problem like an interrupt conflict, I thought I should mention that there is a chance it could also be a physical mouse problem.

It's possible your mouse's working parts might be physically dirty, as that can cause erratic behavior, and if it's gotten to the point where it doesn't move at all, it's possible that the pointer is just stuck right outside the view of your monitor, making it appear like it's not there.

If you have an optical mouse, turn it and look underneath it. Be careful not to point it right at your eyes, that's a laser in there. See if you can see any hairs or things like that. If so, try to pull them out. Tilt it around and look at it from all sides (being careful not to point it directly at your face) and make sure all hairs or lint have been removed. Then see if that helps. If not, try using a different mouse pad, as sometimes optical mice have trouble with certain patterns.

If you are using a ball-type mouse, turn the mouse over and twist off the round cover you will see right where the ball is. It's usually marked with arrows in the direction to twist.

Take the ball out, and clean off any foreign material off of it with a clean, dry, lint-free cloth. If you have to use something damp, try a little bit of alcohol. Never use anything oily, or that would leave any type of residue.

Then look into the mouse (no lasers here, so you can look with no worries). You should see a couple of little rollers. Those rollers probably have goop and lint on them, or they might even have hair caught in them. Carefully clean the goop and lint off and remove any hair. Make sure they are turning freely with no resistance. (if they still don't turn freely after cleaning, it may be time for a new mouse)

When everything is clean, put the ball back in, and twist the cover back on. If that was the problem, then hopefully it will be fixed.

Here are a couple of pages with pictures, to give you an idea:

http://www.techsoup.org/howto/articles/hardware/page4237.cfm

http://www.fonerbooks.com/r_mouse.htm

If that doesn't work, email me at DangerWench@gmail.com and I'll ask the nerd in the house about it. ;-)

...

Well... Why would you get confirmed by the Catholic Church if you aren't interested? Just for your mom's sake? That's not a good reason, that's a pretty big lie.

How much worse would she feel if she found out you had went through all the motions and they had all been lies. In her eyes you would then not only have been lying to her but lying to her church too.

You can't keep up a lie like this forever. The Catholic religion is pretty much a way of life.

Why not just tell her the truth?

Also, I appreciate that you are not interested in the Catholic Church or Christianity in general, but I just want to clarify that there is a difference between Catholic Christianity and *exclusively* Bible-Based Christianity.

The Catholic Church believes that the Bible is not the only authority. Their teachings include such documentation as Catechisms, and Papal Encyclicals (defined as "authoritative teaching instruments from the Vicar of Christ" (the Pope)) which have been written and added to throughout the years of the history of the Catholic Church.

Because of this, the Catholic Church has many teachings, beliefs, and traditions that are different from a Christian who believes the Holy Bible is the exclusive authority of Christianity.

A Catholic Christian believes in the Catholic doctrines, teachings, and traditions which include, but are *not exclusive to* the Holy Bible.

Most non-Catholic Christians believe the Holy Bible is the *exclusive* authority of Christianity... No other documents.

Much argument comes from this, as quite a few non-Catholic Christians believe the Catholic doctrines to be un-Christian and not corresponding with Biblical scripture. And obviously, Catholics disagree.

For more information about the differences between Catholicism and *exclusively* Bible-Based Christianity, see the following link:

http://www.russpickett.com/apolog/catindex.htm

...

First, I wanted to say that you have my condolences. We get used to people being a part of our earthly lives, and when they aren't here anymore, it can leave a gap that's tough to deal with.

The worst is when someone dies unsaved... They refused to accept Christ as their savior, even to the end. Those people I truly mourn.

As far as "why" sometimes "good" people die and "bad" people live... Only God knows the truth... But I can offer some of my own thoughts on the subject.

First and foremost, I believe God wants us all to have eternal life with Him. He knows that what really matters in the scheme of things, is where we will be spending eternity. Our few short years on this earth are nothing compared to eternity. He has our best interests at heart.

It's harder for us to see the big eternal picture because we haven't experienced heaven yet, so far our only personal experiences are on this earth. And this life is right here in our face, so it can be hard sometimes to see past all the worldly things that are thrown at us constantly, to distract us from what really matters.

Maybe sometimes it's important for people to leave this earth at a certain time. As long as they will live with God in Paradise for eternity, that's the most important thing.

And the murderers who are still running around alive? They still have a chance to repent. As long as they are alive, they have a chance to realize their sins and repent and turn to Christ. It's the people who are "lost" who need the time on this earth the most... Every minute more they live, is another minute they have to repent and live for eternity.

I know it's tempting to look down on murderers as being worse that us because WE never killed anybody, but the Bible says that all sins are equal. Sin is sin, and if we are guilty of one we are guilty of all of them. And we have all sinned in some way.

None of us are worthy of eternity on our own merit, every single one of us needs the opportunity to repent that Christ gave to us. So that murderer deserves a chance to repent, just as much as anybody else. And to say that we don't believe that murderer should receive forgiveness, is to say that we ourselves shouldn't receive forgiveness. I'm not going to say that. I need that forgiveness.

...

On a different note; I kind of look at things in a funny sort of way, sometimes. Sometimes I look at our earthly bodies like "loaner" vehicles. God "loaned" me this vehicle to use on Earth until I either crash it beyond repair, or it breaks down on it's own, for whatever reason. But it's just a loaner. A temporary thing.

Based on how we do with our loaner vehicle, that determines if God feels we are up to having an eternal vehicle that never breaks down, and is always brand new.

Another way I sometimes look at it is that life is like an employee training period. We're given the manual(The Bible), and told to do our best. Though it seems like we are unsupervised and can goof off and not get in trouble for it, there are actually "cameras" everywhere and the Boss knows exactly how well we are or aren't doing.

Then if we prove that we can be trusted to follow the manual as best we can, even when we think the Boss isn't looking, once the training period is finished, we can move over to a permanent position... Eternal, even. Those who wasted their opportunity get "fired".

So in other words, "death" to a Christian is just a change. A change for the better. No more pain, no more sorrow, no more worries. Eternity in Paradise. Not something to be mourned.

The death of the unsaved? That's something to be mourned.

...

Eating less calories than your body is used to will evenatually make you gain weight and lower your metabolism. (unless you can stick to the reduced calorie "diet" for the rest of your life, and for your particular question you obviously have to eat eventually.)

So how do you lose weight eating normally? Build muscle. Most people only do aerobic/cardiovascular type exercises, that increase your heart rate and such. While those exercises are good too, they aren't for building muscle specifically. You should lift weights. Weight train. You're not going to suddenly get bulky like muscle builders, but muscle burns fat. The more muscle you have, the more fat you burn. Even when sitting or sleeping. You start losing weight naturally, even if you are eating the same.

100 years ago and longer, there weren't as many fat people as there are today. And yet everybody ate butter, not margarine. Everybody drank whole milk (with the cream too!) not skim milk. Shortening was Lard! One of the biggest flavor additives to dishes was animal fat! There were no artificial sweeteners. So why are people so much fatter today? (well, besides the fact that we eat so many unnatural, man-made foods) Because people back then had to be very physically active and had muscles! Even the women had to be strong and have muscles, just imagine washing every item of clothing on a wash board. If you are physically active and have nice healthy muscle tone, what you eat shouldn't matter nearly as much.

Now on the other hand, if you try to eat less than your body is used to, (by dieting or starving yourself) your body will think that it's in a famine period, and will panic. If your body thinks it's starving, it tries to make sure to save your life, by lowering your metabolism (so you don't burn as many calories) and by storing away even more fat when you start eating more normally because it's afraid there will be another famine and it doesn't want to die. Remember, in all the thousands of years of human history, people usually had to struggle for food. Your body is made to deal with famines and keep you alive. That's why it's so common to gain even more weight than before when going off of a diet. And if you do it again and again, you get heavier and heavier every time you try to consume less calories.

So bottom line, exercise and weight train. Don't rely on the scales to tell you how you are doing because muscle weighs more than fat! Rely on how your clothes fit, or use a measuring tape to keep track of your body shape.

Also, eating more often will help to raise your metabolism. Like, the same amount of food per day that you normally would, but spread it out into 6 smaller meals instead of 3 larger ones.

One more tip, don't drink diet sodas or anything with artificial sweeteners in it (NutraSweet, aspartame, equal). That includes sugar free yogurt, ice cream, chewing gum, etc. It actually increases your appetite, and one of the known side effects of that sweetener (which the FDA fully admits to) is "Weight Gain"! Weight loss isn't even listed as a side effect of NutraSweet. Ironic, isn't it? It's also horribly bad for you, and it nearly killed me when I was around 20. If you want more info on that, or anything else, you can mail me at DangerWench@gmail.com

...

We're not machines, so we don't all have the exact same sleep requirements.

However! You might want to consider seeing a sleep specialist and having a sleep study done. Especially if you have other problems such as; tiredness during the day, lack of concentration, poor memory, feeling like a zombie, morning headaches, weight gain, no motivation, or irritability.

It's possible you might have sleep apnea, which is where a person stops breathing multiple times throughout the night and wakes themselves up constantly, gasping for breath.

A person doesn't even necessarily know they are doing it. I have sleep apnea, and I don't remember waking up all night, but I sometimes get up with bad headaches from lack of oxygen, plus other symptoms. I can't remember the last time I woke up and didn't feel like I could go right back to sleep again.

I probably wouldn't even know why if hubby didn't witness me doing it... I'll just stop breathing in my sleep.

At any rate, if you think you might have sleep apnea, see a specialist.

...

Maybe I'm weird, but if this were me, I'd probably try to give her a taste of her own medicine, while making a little game of it.

Whenever I saw her I would try to say "Hi!" before she did.

If she didn't see me coming, I would tap her on the shoulder, and when she turned, say "Hi!" and smile really big and walk off (or whatever else I was headed to do). Just don't be mean-spirited about it, be smiling and cheerful.

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. ;-)

But seriously, maybe it will make her more self-conscious about it when she sees someone else doing the same thing she does... Maybe she will see how silly it is when she can see it from the other perspective. Or maybe she will just be embarrassed at someone mocking her and she'll make a better effort to quit.

But like I said, maybe I'm weird. ;-)

...

You stated: "he says repeatedly he likes "modest, moral" girls.. i'm not really like that at all, but i find myself pretending to be like that just so i seem better to him."

Do NOT pretend to be something you are not. It's not fair to you, and it's not fair to him.

Frankly, it's lying. You are lying to him about the kind of girl you are. Lying to him about something this important to him is definitely not "respecting his beliefs".

Tell him the truth. Let him decide for himself if he's ok with that or not, but tell him the truth!

...

Look for a type of shampoo called "clarifying" shampoo. Many different brands have a "clarifying" product in their line-up We use Suave.

Also, as someone else mentioned, vinegar works wonders, and helps with dandruff too.

I use apple cider vinegar. Just leave it on for about 5 to 20 minutes (depending on how bad things are) and then rinse it out and wash as usual.

You should only have to do that about 1 to 4 times a month, but your mileage may vary. ;-)

One more thing, if you are using conditioner, either stop using it, or only use it on the very tip ends of your hair. Don't let it get near your scalp.

...

Congratulations on making the very intelligent decision to wait for marriage.

While your friends are on guy #145 and wondering why oh why they can't find a guy who truly loves them, you will know absolutely that your guy loves you for you, because he is marrying you. ;-)

Of course it's OK to want to marry a virgin. Not all that long ago, that was the expected thing. It's only been in recent history that the whole "have sex with whoever, whenever" thing has become "accepted". :-(

Yes, it is possible to still find guys like that. I did. :-)

I don't know if you are a Christian, but you may have better luck finding a virgin who is a Christian because waiting for marriage is part of the Christian beliefs.

Good Luck.

...

Why would you want to steal? You know it's wrong.

If you set up a yard sale at your house, and people kept coming by and stealing your things, how would that make you feel? Mad? Why? Because it's wrong for people to take things that don't belong to them.

If you honestly don't think it's wrong to steal, give out your address and invite people to come over and take whatever they want from your house. I mean, if it's OK to steal, why would you mind, right? < /sarcasm >

The other day we talked to a girl who works at a gas station. She said that they were having a lot of drive-offs lately (people stealing gas) because of the higher gas prices. She told us that when drive-offs happen on her shift, it comes out of HER check!

So those people who decided to steal gas are stealing from some poor girl working minimum wage and just trying to get by.

If you think that the stores and corporations will just "absorb" the losses from stealing, you don't know much about business... They pass that cost on to all of us through higher prices. (and in some cases, as mentioned above, they pass that cost to the poor employee on duty) By stealing you are only hurting yourself, the innocent employees trying to earn a living, and the other consumers who have to pay higher prices for things to make up for people who steal.

Just say NO.

...

Have you emptied your recycle bin? When you delete things, unless you hold down your shift key to permanently delete them, they are just moved to the recycle bin. (the trash can on your desk top.)

If you haven't emptied that, try emptying it by right-clicking on it and choosing "empty recycle bin".

If you have already done that, and you are still having problems, are you sure you only need 2 megs of hard drive space?

If you are talking about the original Sims game, I looked up the minimum system requirements, and here is what I found:

Minimum System Requirements
System: PII 233 or equivalent
RAM: 32 MB
Video Memory: 2 MB
Hard Drive Space: 300 MB

So you need 300 MB of hard drive space, not 2.06. The only thing close to 2.06 MB listed is for the video memory, which has nothing to do with how much hard drive space you have.

If you are talking about one of the other Sims games, it's quite probable they need even more hard drive space than that.

If you have any additional info or questions, email me. (my email is listed in my column)

...

I'm showing my age here, but some songs from the Footloose album are very good for that.

Footloose
Holding Out For A Hero
I'm Free (Heaven Helps The Man)

Those are great energetic songs.

I could list more, but they'd all be 70's and 80's songs. ;-)

...

She was absolutely right to take it. She did warn you.

You actually gave her no choice but to take it because you said yourself "When people nag me, I tune them out."

I'm sure she knows this, and knows that you obviously haven't taken her seriously because "She always makes empty threats and never follows through"... Which, to me, says that she isn't strict enough... she doesn't want to punish you, even when you need correction. (and I'm sure she thinks she's being *nice*, but that route obviously doesn't work, does it?)

If she was more strict and followed through on consequences, you wouldn't have ignored her, and you'd have your backpack right now. So in that way, it *is* her fault. She needs to start making sure that undesirable actions always have negative consequences, and not wimp out on you. She's not helping you when she does that... She's actually hurting you by teaching you habits that will hurt you in the long run (like tuning people out when they say things you don't like).

So, knowing all this, how could she make sure to finally get your attention so that you didn't "tune her out" next time?

It definitely got your attention, right? ;-)

Want to know how to keep your questions from being rated down? Click Here!

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I'm DangerNerd's wife. We met on an internet personals site back in December, 1996. He flew across country to meet me for the first time in late February of 1997, and we were married a few weeks later. We've been together 9 years now. :-)

If you want to mail me, my email is DangerWench@gmail.com

Yes, I do sometimes copy and paste my own answers to answer different people's similar questions. I still personalize/edit them when necessary... but for instance, my advice about diet and exercise it going to be pretty much the same every time, and that's a very common subject for questions here... so there's no point in typing the same thing over and over and over again. ;-)

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Yes, hubby and I were both virgins on our wedding night, at the age of 26. Yes, we are both Christians, but we greatly dislike what "Christianity" (or "Churchianity") has come to represent in many people's minds these days... Hypocrisy, greed, pride... Things which the Bible says we are NOT supposed to do. We are supposed to be a good example, not a bad one. :-(

If you have a Christian acquaintance who is hitting you over the head with "Jesus will bring you peace and joy and happiness" tell them to listen to this:

http://www.dangernerd.com/kirkcameron.mp3

(It's 9 megs, so it may take a bit to download)

If you can't download MP3's for some reason, you can download the zip file.

http://www.dangernerd.com/kirkcameron.zip

If they are an actual preacher/pastor, this one is geared more towards them:

http://www.dangernerd.com/raycomfort.zip

Send them the link, or burn it to CD and give it to them, whatever it takes.

If they really listen to that, they will see how the Bible itself says the way they are annoying you is wrong. :-)

If you are a Christian, please listen to it, even if you aren't beating people over the head with Jesus. I promise you, it will give you a new perspective. It's totally awesome.

********************************************

I'm also fascinated by prophesy, and I do think we are living in an age where we are seeing many things come true that were prophesied 1,000's of years ago.

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There has been a lot of hubbub lately regarding my views on the differences between Catholicism and *exclusively* Bible-Based Christianity... Mostly due to my not making myself clear. I did have a big long explanation here, but this time I will opt for the KISS method (Keep It Simple, Stupid). Yes, the following is the simplified version. ;-)

The Catholic Church believes that the Bible is not the only authority. Their teachings include such documentation as Catechisms, and Papal Encyclicals (defined as "authoritative teaching instruments from the Vicar of Christ" (the Pope)) which have been written and added to throughout the years of the history of the Catholic Church.

Because of this, the Catholic Church has many teachings, beliefs, and traditions that are different from a Christian who believes the Holy Bible is the exclusive authority of Christianity.

A Catholic Christian believes in the Catholic doctrines, teachings, and traditions which include, but are *not exclusive to* the Holy Bible.

Most non-Catholic Christians believe the Holy Bible is the *exclusive* authority of Christianity... No other documents.

Much argument comes from this, as quite a few non-Catholic Christians (myself included) believe many of the man-made Catholic doctrines to be un-Christian and not corresponding with Biblical scripture. And obviously, Catholics disagree.

For more information about the differences between Catholicism and *exclusively* Bible-Based Christianity, see the following link:

Roman Catholic Doctrine vs. The Holy Bible

And a final note about that link... That e-book isn't written by Jack Chick, I have a lot of problems with Mr. Chick. Some of his tracts are great, and some of them are way "out there" if you know what I mean. I do not support Jack Chick. This e-book is written by Rick Jones, who was a Catholic for many years, not Chick.

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"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." (2Timothy 3:1 - 7)

"And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring..." (Luke 21:25)

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Yahweh is my God, Yeshua is my Savior.

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