Proverbs 27

"Just as water mirrors your face, so your face mirrors your heart." Proverbs 27:18

This Is Why We Cannot Root for the Steelers

Football Super Bowl Winners

	Year	Winner	Opponent	Score	Location
XLIV	2010	New Orleans Saints	Indiana Colts	31-17	Miami, FL
XLIII	2009	Pittsburgh Steelers	Arizona Cardinals	27-23	Tampa, FL
XLII	2008	New York Giants	New England Patriots	17-14	Glendale, AZ
XLI	2007	Indianapolis Colts	Chicago Bears	29-17	Miami, FL
XL	2006	Pittsburgh Steelers	Seattle Seahawks	21-10	Detroit, MI
XXXIX	2005	New England Patriots	Philadelphia Eagles	24-21	Jacksonville, FL
XXXVIII	2004	New England Patriots	Carolina Panthers	32-29	Houston, TX
XXXVII	2003	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Oakland Raiders	48-21	San Diego, CA
XXXVI	2002	New England Patriots	St. Louis Rams	20-17	New Orleans, LA
XXXV	2001	Baltimore Ravens	New York Giants	34-7	Tampa, FL
XXXIV	2000	St. Louis Rams	Tennessee Titans	23-16	Atlanta, GA
XXXIII	1999	Denver Broncos	Atlanta Falcons	34-19	Miami, FL
XXXII	1998	Denver Broncos	Green Bay Packers	31-24	San Diego, CA
XXXI	1997	Green Bay Packers	New England Patriots	35-21	New Orleans, LA
XXX	1996	Dallas Cowboys	Pittsburgh Steelers	27-17	Tempe, AZ
XXIX	1995	San Francisco 49ers	San Diego Chargers	49-26	Miami, FL
XXVIII	1994	Dallas Cowboys	Buffalo Bills	30-13	Atlanta, GA
XXVII	1993	Dallas Cowboys	Buffalo Bills	52-17	Pasadena, CA
XXVI	1992	Washington Redskins	Buffalo Bills	37-24	Minneapolis, MN
XXV	1991	New York Giants	Buffalo Bills	20-19	Tampa, FL
XXIV	1990	San Francisco 49ers	Denver Broncos	55-10	New Orleans, LA
XXIII	1989	San Francisco 49ers	Cincinnati Bengals	20-16	Miami, FL
XXII	1988	Washington Redskins	Denver Broncos	42-10	San Diego, CA
XXI	1987	New York Giants	Denver Broncos	39-20	Pasadena, CA
XX	1986	Chicago Bears	New England Patriots	46-10	New Orleans, LA
XIX	1985	San Francisco 49ers	Miami Dolphins	38-16	Stanford, CA
XVIII	1984	LA Raiders	Washington Redskins	38-9	Tampa, FL
XVII	1983	Washington Redskins	Miami Dolphins	27-17	Pasadena, CA
XVI	1982	San Francisco 49ers	Cincinnati Bengals	26-21	Pontiac, MI
XV	1981	Oakland Raiders	Philadelphia Eagles	27-10	New Orleans, LA
XIV	1980	Pittsburgh Steelers	Los Angeles Rams	31-19	Pasadena, CA
XIII	1979	Pittsburgh Steelers	Dallas Cowboys	35-31	Miami, FL
XII	1978	Dallas Cowboys	Denver Broncos	27-10	New Orleans, LA
XI	1977	Oakland Raiders	Minnesota Vikings	32-14	Pasadena, CA
X	1976	Pittsburgh Steelers	Dallas Cowboys	21-17	Miami, FL
IX	1975	Pittsburgh Steelers	Minnesota Vikings	16-6	New Orleans, LA
VIII	1974	Miami Dolphins	Minnesota Vikings	24-7	Houston, TX
VII	1973	Miami Dolphins	Washington Redskins	14-7	Los Angeles, CA
VI	1972	Dallas Cowboys	Miami Dolphins	24-3	New Orleans, LA
V	1971	Baltimore Colts	Dallas Cowboys	16-13	Miami, FL
IV	1970	Kansas City Chiefs	Minnesota Vikings	23-7	New Orleans, LA
III	1969	New York Jets	Baltimore Colts	16-7	Miami, FL
II	1968	Green Bay Packers	Oakland Raiders	33-14	Miami, FL
I	1967	Green Bay Packers	Kansas City Chiefs	35-10	Los Angeles, CA

Old Friends

Through the beauty of facebook, we all have been able to connect with old friends from our past. What I am really enjoying right now, is the connecting to old friends who I might not have even been that good of friends with. What I am finding out now is that some of these folks are people I would REALLY like to spend time with and get to know better.
I have an old neighbor who I rode the school bus with every day to school, had a crush on her older brother, but didn't really spend a lot of time with her. As an adult, I find her witty, clever and quite smart. I'm actually working on getting together with her...hopefully sometime in the near future.
I also have a couple of Hillcrest friends who I was friends with, but not close friends. I find myself drawn to how they write.
All three of these women are Wonder Women to me. The way they juggle everything in their lives. I am excited when they publish a blog post, or when they post something thought provoking on facebook. Often times they provide me with a chuckle that I need at that exact moment.
What I am mostly contemplating now is how life changes people. People I may not have been good friends with in high school, for many reasons, are now people I am drawn to by the way they express themselves on a computer. They make me want to get to know them better.
This cyber-world, while not new, is a wonderful way for people to express themselves, myself included. We all have a need to feel heard.
These three women especially, I am indebted to their online friendships. While it may seem lame to some, I find them powerful!

OH HOW I LOVE BOOK LISTS

Here are the winners of our second annual Goodreads Choice Awards. More than 157,000 votes were cast for 460 nominees and thousands of write-in candidates. View the full results!

Favorite Book of 2010: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
With a decisive 20% of the vote, the third installment of the popular Hunger Games series is our big winner this year (it also won Young Adult Fantasy, Favorite Hero, and Favorite Heroine). Mockingjay is the most-read book on Goodreads in 2010—earning more than 53,000 ratings in the four months since its publication. Thousands more have it on their to-read lists. Runners-up were The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson and Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead.

Fiction: Room by Emma Donoghue (Goodreads Author)
Donoghue may not have won the prestigious Man Booker Award (she was shortlisted), but her book about a mother and son in captivity is a reader favorite. Runners-up include Jodi Picoult's House Rules, Sarah Addison Allen's The Girl Who Chased the Moon, and W. Bruce Cameron's A Dog's Purpose. Critical darling Jonathan Franzen came in fifth with Freedom.

Mystery & Thriller: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
The Swedish thriller with a U.S. 2010 release garnered a whopping 37.8% of the vote, a huge lead over runners-up Still Missing by Chevy Stevens and Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich.

Fantasy: Towers of Midnight by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson (Goodreads Author)
This category was decided by a whisper-thin margin of only 0.5% of the vote. Paul Hoffman's The Left Hand of God just missed the top spot, and China Mieville's Kraken came in third. Sanderson also provided his own competition: His other 2010 publication, The Way of Kings, came in fifth.

Paranormal Fantasy: Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris
Vampires and wily heroines abound in this category. Harris's latest installment of the Sookie Stackhouse series took the top honor, followed by Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs and Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews.

Science Fiction: Feed by Mira Grant
Grant's near-future zombie thriller beat out Connie Willis's Blackout and Cherie Priest's Dreadnought.

Romance: Lover Mine by J.R. Ward
Reflecting their recent popularity, paranormal romances took both first and third place: Ward's latest Black Dagger Brotherhood book and Jeaniene Frost's First Drop of Crimson. Nicholas Sparks's contemporary romance, Safe Haven, placed second.

Historical Fiction: Fall of Giants by Ken Follett
Follet's World War I epic took first place, closely followed by Anne Fortier's Shakespeare-inspired Juliet. The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O. McNees took third.

Graphic Novels & Comics: Twilight: The Graphic Novel by Stephenie Meyer & Young Kim
Although Meyer's adaptation came in first, the Cinderella story in this category is Felicia Day's The Guild. Her debut graphic novel came in seventh, the highest finish for any write-in candidate in the 2010 Goodreads Choice Awards. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Retreat placed second, and Maximum Ride: The Manga third.

Poetry: Come on All You Ghosts by Matthew Zapruder
American poet Zapruder takes the top honor, followed by If There Is Something to Desire (translated from the Russian) by Vera Pavlova and Newspaper Blackout by visual artist Austin Kleon.

Nonfiction: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (Goodreads Author)
Skloot's book about the HeLa immortal cell line is one of the year's best-reviewed books on Goodreads with an average rating of 4.16. The Lost Dogs by Jim Gorant came in second, and Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain came in third.

History & Biography: The Tudors by G.J. Meyer
Voters favored Meyer's in-depth look at the English monarchy over Bill Bryson's At Home and Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken.

Memoir & Autobiography: Unbearable Lightness by Portia de Rossi
The television actress's candid account of her struggle with anorexia beat out memoirs from comedienne Carol Burnett and former First Lady Laura Bush.

Humor: Bite Me by Christopher Moore
Moore's zany story of evil vampire cats in San Francisco took first place, followed by Sh*t My Dad Says by Twitter comic Justin Halpern and Earth (the book) by Daily Show host Jon Stewart.

Young Adult Fiction: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver (Goodreads Author)
Only a few hundred votes separated Before I Fall from Only the Good Spy Young by Ally Carter, and Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan.

Young Adult Fantasy: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Collins's dystopian juggernaut was followed by Richelle Mead's Last Sacrifice, the conclusion to her Vampire Academy series, and Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Angel, the beginning of her new Infernal Devices series.

Middle Grade & Children's: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth by Jeff Kinney
Kinney's popular middle-grade series won in a landslide, followed by Lord Sunday and The Viper's Nest.

Picture Books: It's a Book by Lane Smith
Smith's comedic picture book pits a book-loving monkey against his high-tech mouse and jackass friends. Mo Willem's Knuffle Bunny Free came in second, and Neil Gaiman's Instructions third.

Debut Author: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Nonfiction winner Skloot is followed by Humor runner-up Justin Halpern (Sh*t My Dad Says) and young adult fantasy writer Alexandra Bracken (Brightly Woven).

Goodreads Author: Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead (Goodreads Author)
This special category honors Goodreads Authors, published authors who have joined the site to connect with their fans. Runners-up were Cassandra Clare (Clockwork Angel) and Emma Donoghue (Room).

Favorite Heroine: Katniss Everdeen in Mockingjay
Gutsy teen gladiator Katniss earned 26.8% of the vote, more than vampire guardian Rose Hathaway (Spirit Bound and Last Sacrifice) and computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest).

Favorite Hero: Peeta Mellark in Mockingjay
Katniss, Peeta, and Gale Hawthorne form the love triangle at the heart of The Hunger Games series. However, Peeta dominated this category, beating third-place finisher Gale by 18.2%. Eric Northman, Sookie Stackhouse's vampire paramour in Dead in the Family, took second.

Cover Art: Torment by Lauren Kate (Goodreads Author)
Three young-adult titles won the top spots in this category: Kate's angel fantasy, followed by Brenna Yovanoff's The Replacement and Jackson Pearce's Sisters Red.

Joy

So far this week has been a week of joy for me.
Work has been great. It was fun to get back to my students, and to connect with them again.
I've been to the gym the appropriate number of times, and really worked hard.
My car broke down, and I decided to purchase a new truck.
I've been able to stick to my guns with the "moving past the heartbreak plan" as well. The Lord is giving me strength to go through each day.
Our kids have been around, and we've had evening meals around the table filled with laughter and love.
The week has gone by quickly, and I am so excited that it's FRIDAY!!

On the other hand, my dear friend and workout partner, Fiona, is going through a very personal crisis. Her mother was taken to the hospital on Wednesday by ambulance, and things have been declining ever since. As a friend, I so want to be there for her. I want to help and be supportive. I know there is no joy for her right now.

I am struck by how life goes on. I remember when Seth was diagnosed with cancer, and I felt like my life was falling apart. Yet, all around me, people were going on with their life. People were experiencing joys and were laughing. Yet, there I was, just discovering that my baby had a potentially life-threatening disease.

SO, while my week has been filled with joy, I am also very much aware that those around me may be hurting and suffering. If you are one of those people, my heart goes out to you. My hope is that the joy will come back around to you.

Best Books

Readers' Choice: Best Books of 2010
Web exclusiveFeature by Editors of BookPage

In November we asked readers to tell us their favorite book of 2010. More than 2,600 readers responded, and the results span genres from literary thriller to YA phenomenon to historical epic. Several of these books overlap with our own Best of 2010 picks. The results are in order of votes.



1. The Passage by Justin Cronin
2. Room by Emma Donoghue
3. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
4. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
5. Fall of Giants by Ken Follett
6. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
7. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
8. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
9. The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer
10. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
11. Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny
12. Still Missing by Chevy Stevens
13. Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah
14. 61 Hours by Lee Child
15. A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron
16. Ape House by Sara Gruen
17. Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin
18. House Rules by Jodi Picoult
19. Faithful Place by Tana French
20. Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

Note: Although our Readers' Choice "Best of 2010" picks were limited to books published in 2010, several older books received a significant number of votes. The Help by Kathryn Stockett, Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese and Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay remain especially popular with BookPage readers.

My Three Words

An old friend from Hillcrest, Bonny Korsmo Clark , recently wrote a blog post referencing the three words that she would like to define her 2011. Her last words were: Do you have three words for the new year? This got me to thinking. Bonny was like a good Lutheran preacher and came up with three words that all started with the same letter. Alliteration at it's finest!
I, however, will not be quite as clever as that. But, I can think of three words that I would like to own for 2011.

1. Content: Something I struggle with far too often. Accepting what I am unable to change. Being OK with how things are. Beyond just accepting, however, is also the idea of just being able to look around and be content with all the blessings that I have. Through contentment, I can let others know by my words and actions how they have benefited my life.

2. Ambitious: I too often get sucked into the computer and/or the television. I love my DVR too much, as well as Netflix. It's ridiculous. I could come home from every day and sit on my couch until bed time with my computer on my lap. I would like ambitious to be a word that I strive for this next year. Ambition to read more, spend more time in the Bible, take time to continue writing my memoir, go outside (yes, even in this horrible cold weather) and take more pictures, take my puppy for a walk. Go to the gym more.

3. Attentive: I want to be a more attentive partner. More engaged in my life. I would like to pay careful attention to the details of how things are going down each day. I want to show the worth of a person by giving my full concentration.

Hopefully I can achieve these three words!! I am definitely going to work at them!