Good reads

I just finished filing out taxes. A very nice return once again. I am pleased. This will go directly into savings once again. But as I was looking at my W2 from Liberty I know that is not correct. What I mean is, I usually have a set amount taken out of my paycheck to ensure we don't have to pay for taxes and if we have a nice refund then great. We still have a nice refund so it's ok, but when I first looked at my W2 I was worried. Let's just say that if I had made $1000 then only $41 would have been withheld. Hmmm, well, maybe that is right. I don't know. It seems awfully low though. On my W2 from St. John's if I made $1000 then $200 was withheld. So I don't know if before I just over estimated... or if the amount I set aside at Liberty was too little. I suppose this will all be cleared up if I meander down to HR some day on my lunch break. It seems like such a hassle to do that. But I suppose it would be worth it if I did have too low of an amount and we ended up owing income tax next year. Another thing I was very pleased about, the amount we made total the past year. It was surprising. It feels good to be a grown up making a grown up income.

I am currently reading "Uncle Tom's Cabin". It makes me so incredibly sad. I've already had to stop three times because I was crying and couldn't see the words. It breaks my heart to think that only a few years ago (really) that was where our nation was. How could we possibly think it correct and just to treat our cousins in this way? It is even more upsetting to hear some southerners who still view themselves as being part of an elite group of humanity. They have been taught that whites are superior to other races. I was surprised to hear this view from Liberty University students. It makes me so sad that some people hold on to such unfounded prejudices. We all came from Adam and Eve and truthfully, African American's are probably closer to them in kin than white people. And here white people go thinking they're a superior species. Oh humanity the depraved. And yes, it breaks my heart to think that around the world people are still in bondage and there is so little I can do. Slavery is very real in today's world. All over the world, not just in countries far away. Here in America. It is a different form of slavery than in "Uncle Tom's Cabin", but it is essentially the same. Families being ripped apart, broken heart,s oppression. It reaks. I hate it.

I am also reading Genesis. Funnily enough, there is slavery evident there too. Nothing knew under the sun (I read Ecclesiastes not too long ago). It amazes me how often I forget how incredible the stories in Genesis are. I have grown up hearing the creation, fall, flood accounts and so they seem like everyday matters. But in truth, how incredible! Our God is such a good, powerful, amazing, forgiving God. Look to Genesis. That is where we have come from. So many different stories told in so many different ways. So much truth to be added to our everyday lives if we will but learn from the patriarchs. Our very first forefathers. Learn from the mistakes of Adam and Cain. Seek to follow God like Noah and Abraham. So often we forget where we have come from. We have come from God's heart. He has thought of us and made us into being. Without Him we are quite literally nothing. All He need do is stop thinking of us for one split second, and we will cease to exist. But He loves us. He gives us this life to choose Him and to serve Him in all we do. And so many choose to turn their backs on Him, to be ungrateful. To be hateful even. And yet He loves us the same.

Amazing.

I have a had a very good day. The last few things on my agenda: finish the last load of laundry, vacuum the house, do pilates, do my nails, and watch Gladiator. Typical Sunday evening. Matthew is working right now. I have been maneuvering around the mac to try to get used to it. It's getting better... but I still get lost since there's no "Start" tab and my information is no longer easily accessed from "My Pictures", "My Documents", and "My Music". But I'm learning. And with each click I am getting closer to being mac fluent. So far, I like it!