I get my husband back! Woo Hoo!

Rain, rain, go away...

Yeah, yeah, I know we need it here in good 'ol Cali, but I just completely prefer sunshine. Sorry, puppy, no walk for you today! On the flipside, it has been really nice to just veg with my hubby all day doing nothing but watch the Olympics, nap, and play on the computer. He finished his comp tests yesterday - I'm so proud of him! He has been GLUED in his office studying really hard for the last 3 weeks, so to have him in the same room with me today is oh so very nice! (I also realize a slow, unplanned day like today will be few and far between in the near future...I shall enjoy it while I can!)

I am also enjoying being in the mentor/Bible Study leader role again. The more time I spend with young people in that setting, the more I realize how much God has "built" me to do this! And the cool thing is, I get to see on a regular basis how God is busy transforming these girls' lives. How He's redeeming them to become the disciples He created them to be! It's just amazing to watch, and I feel so priveliged to be able to witness it! That's my God is Good story for today. :)

Now onto less important things: Episode 5 - "The Lighthouse"

So apparently Season 6 is all about literal titles. Jack and Hurley go to an ACTUAL lighthouse! "How did we never see it before??" "I guess we weren't looking for it."

Ah, a Jack-centric episode. I'm totally biased - flaws and all, I'm a Jack girl. Now although I'm completely shocked at the twist that (so far, for the most part,) the "Flash-sideways" has our characters changing for the better, I don't know why the writers are showing us this. Why aren't they becoming better people, evolving their characters ON island? What's so amazing about this island if it doesn't cause people to improve themselves?

I read a theory today that basically said this: Big Picture - maybe in the end, the characters will have to choose together which timeline they want to be their reality? INTERESTING THEORY.

What I loved about this episode was that Jack proactively changed his relationship with his son for the better. He sought to be a part of his life, and showed him unconditional love. This hits home for me in a big way, because I hurt when I see people in my own life who choose to continue in their brokenness instead of choose change and healthiness.

(Tangent for a minute, but hang with me here.) Now I understand it's human nature to hurt others when you have been hurt - this is, of course, why on-island Jack thinks he can't be a good father - because he was so hurt by his own father. And this is, of course, why we need Jesus' love and forgiveness in our lives. When we have been forgiven by Christ for the things we've done wrong, it becomes our Christ-nature to forgive others when they don't deserve it. This, of course, is what allows us Christ-followers to be freed from our brokenness caused by others, and choose the way of love, change, and healthiness in the future.

But back to TV land - Jack is not a Christ-follower, and he certainly hasn't forgiven his father or had any sort of reconciliation with him in this episode. So how is he able to turn things around with his own son? He just decides to, I guess. It raises the question, why is this so hard to do? Why is it so hard to just fix things? Do the right thing? Tell people we're sorry for failing them, that we love them? Well, because we're all sinners, all broken, and all in need of a Savior. And my guess is, that although for now it looks like daddy Jack has "done the right thing", his issues with his own father still remain and will ultimately still have negative implications throughout Jack's life.

Wow, okay, that was a bit heavy for a review of a stupid TV show...so back to the light stuff...

- Favorite line: "He's like Obi One, he shows up whenever he wants"

- Interesting that Kate's name WAS on this list, not crossed off, but she wasn't next to one of our 6 important numbers. What does this MEAN??

- Interesting the name next to 108 was Wallace, but it was crossed off.

- I do still think Desmond is on his way to the island somehow, and he will have a signficant role to play in the end of the game.

- So let's get this straight: FLocke and bitter Sawyer are headed back to the temple with infected Claire, to get infected Sayid, and make something really bad happen. Miles isn't a candidate but stuck in the temple, and Jin is also stuck with this group, caught in a lie to save his own life. If Kate is trying to find psycho Claire, looks like she'll be in trouble in the near future, too. Jack is angry at Jacob and just confused about everything, and we have no idea where Ben stands right now. Things don't look too hot for team Jacob. Just sayin'.

- Another observation: Why is it that right now it seems like FLocke is being straightforward and telling the truth to everyone, and Jacob is the one who's coming across as manipulative, mysterious, and playing games, and I still absolutely think Jacob is the good guy? Are there any parallels to the devil and the Lord here? I think there is. There are many times in the Bible when the devil is doing his temptation thing by using scripture and telling the truth to people! But his intentions are always evil. And how many times do we not understand what God is up to when things don't go our way, when in reality, He has a much better plan for us in the long run? Again, just sayin'.

Okay, sorry for the novel...I think I'm done now. Question of the week: What do you think this thing is that Jack has to do? What does he have to figure out for himself?