My Stupid Mouth

The disparity between my internal thoughts vis-à-vis my external thoughts (courtesy of my stupid mouth), becomes most evident when it comes to my apparent inability to complement girls. Let’s examine two hypothetical (read: not at all hypothetical) situations that I overheard (read: did not overhear, in fact said myself) recently:

Scene I:

Guy’s Internal Thoughts: Wow. I think she’s really pretty. Hmm… Maybe I should tell her this. Yeah... Billy Joel is right, I'm gonna tell her about it.
Guy’s External Thoughts: “You know… (pause for dramatic effect, trying to appear insightful) I don’t really find your looks all that offensive.”
Girl’s Internal Thoughts: What is wrong with him?!
Girl’s External Thoughts: “What is wrong with you?!”

Lesson one: Say what you mean.

Scene II:

Guy’s Internal Thoughts: Well I’m more attracted to her than anyone else.
Guy’s External Thoughts: “Yeah, so I think you’re the prettiest girl in CRU.”
Girl’s Internal Thoughts: Really, what is wrong with him?!
Girl’s External Thoughts: “Really, what is wrong with you?!”

Lesson two: Girls do not want to their beauty to be relative. Flattery does not come by way of comparison, especially to a group of roughly forty girls. And broadening the scope (i.e. saying “you’re the prettiest girl in Texas”) won’t get you much farther either. Instead, aim for a compliment independent of anyone else, a compliment that transcends time and space, a compliment that would make Helen of Troy wish more ships had been launched.

Denouement: Back to lesson number one—say what you mean. Of course there are exceptions to this rule. (That should be implicit by now)


Terrific post from Myles today that holds a tremendous amount of relevance to current events on the international stage. Bonhoeffer led an amazing life—I remember attending a lecture series at the MFA in Houston last summer and being blown away by such a strong individual. It's fascinating to look back on events when I was not yet a believer, and realize that these men, these ideas, these teachings, held a sort of intrinsic truth in them (by that I mean I knew at the time there was something special--it rang of truth).

It's only now, through the beauty of the lord, that such things are elevated from interesting to beautiful, a trend you can see in religious teachings, laughter, and rainfall alike.

From Sin and Sinner Part 1: (Myle's post)
In the cross, I believe, we find our answer, in Jesus willingly handing himself over to his captors and being killed. In this profoundly troubling picture, the answer of sin and sinner is reconciled: we are to love the sinner, even to the point of our own demise.