25 Things About Me

Ugh. I didn't even make it the first month in posting at least once every 2 weeks. I think my mom is the only one who checks this still so sorry Mama. (By the way if you do read this, first thank you and second, leave me a comment and let me know!)

There is a note floating around Facebook (I guess the FB version of email forwards) that requires you to make a list of 25 random things about yourself. I am a big dork and like these kind of things so I did it when my friends sent it to me. Because I can't seem to finish a blog that I start on this thing I will just recopy it here. I made a few changes to remove personal/identifying information.

1. I want my life to reflect the joy and peace I have of knowing Christ as my Savior. That is what matters that you know about me, the rest of the list is just fun.
   
2. I have ridiculously ticklish feet. I love the result of a pedicure but getting it done is torturous.
3. I am married to the guy I had a crush on in 7th grade, was my high school sweetheart and I still continue to find even more things to love about him.
4. I am a mama and can’t describe how wonderful that is.
5. 2008 was quite a year- it contained the most amazing time of our lives (having our son), and the hardest time of our lives (our church being closed). I am hoping for a less emotional 2009 (well…sort of).
6. I am a horrible housewife. I don’t like to cook, I don’t like to clean and I am really disorganized. God bless a patient husband.
7. My son’s smile is one of the most wonderful sights I will ever see. And I love that it is his daddy’s smile.
8. I started a “Read the Bible in a Year” program this year and am so glad that I have.
9. My husband is my absolute favorite person in the world. I love his character, how he makes me smile, how much he encourages me, what an amazing daddy he is….the list can go on but it is 25 things about me, not him :)
10. I would really love to be a writer and/or speaker and/or teacher.
11. I am a minister’s wife and actually love it. Didn’t think I would, but I do!
12. My husband and I talked about what we thought our son’s personality would be like when I was pregnant and were surprisingly close!
13. I love the little lake in our backyard. It has lots of ducks that my son now loves and makes for great walks. It saved my sanity the first few months with a newborn.
14. ***This one was impossible to remove personal city related info so I'll make a new one*** I can take or leave desserts but really like hot desserts with fruit (like cobbler)
15. I still revert to my old junior high and high school insecurities every once in a while and I wish I didn’t.
16. I have an awesome little sister and love spending time with her. Luckily she loves my son enough that she comes to visit more often now.
17. I have lived in "current city" for 5 and ½ years and just drove to "another neighboring big city" by myself for the first time on Friday. And I am grateful for GPS.
18. I love learning. I enjoy hearing about research findings, reading studies, watching documentaries and miss the lectures from my wise professors. It is the only reason I am still considering PhD work.
19. I enjoy shows on the Game Show Network and my mom and I could win Chain Reaction.
20. I love my family. My parents are wonderful people who I really admire and I really enjoy being with them. I respect them even more now that I am a parent. I also consider it a great blessing to have my extended family.
21. Do not talk to me while Dancing with the Stars is on. I have called the final 3 for every season since I started watching during season 3 (except Marie Osmond but she didn’t count, that was a dark period in the show). I can also often guess what the judges will say even though I really have no clue what makes a specific dance. And I dance around the apartment afterwards. My absolute favorite is the waltz.
22. I love hot tea and drink at least one mug a day, often two. Today I had three.
23. My favorite hobby is creating art work and craft projects. There isn’t a particular favorite and I will try most things. Cross stitching relaxes me, I love painting but it stresses me, I am getting back into scrapbooking, sewing intimidates me so I haven’t tried it but I have a hundred other things I like to do.
24. If I had the money, I would have a house on the lake and a cabin near ski slopes that are big enough so that our family could stay too.
25. After rereading this list, I sound like a 73 year old woman. I really am cool I promise!

So that is some info about me! I PROMISE I'll start blogging more. I have lots of ideas, just haven't had the mental energy once my son has gone to bed to write them out.

Two in a Row

I should just stick with what I know. I have plenty of talents and things I am good at that I enjoy. Cooking is not one of those. We have to eat though and I have some dishes that I do well so I should be wise and not try things that are too involved. This point was made tonight.

So tonight was as much of a dinner disaster as last night but this time I am surprised that I came out of it without 3rd degree burns. I was making Rachel Ray's enchiladas- 30 Minute Meals my foot. It was an hour and a half. It involved making homemade enchilada sauce. I know what you are thinking "Senorita Gringo, there are plenty of good sauces that can be bought at a store." But no, I can't resign to the fact that I probably should take the less complicated route until I have burnt fingertips, a red splatter painted kitchen and a dinner that took waaaaay to long to cook. And have I mentioned that my electric stove is stupid? Luckily, I have a husband that is excited to see his son after work and kept him occupied during the time.

We're having leftovers tomorrow.

Susie Homemaker, I am Not

Oh what an evening! As written in the last post, there are some thingsI want to improve on. One of those being how I handle dinner. So, this afternoon I was quite pleased with myself. I had been to the grocery store with Baby J and stuck completely to my list and purchased all of the ingredients I would need for dinner for the next 4 nights. I got home and Baby J was in a great mood so I put him in his high chair with some cereal to snack on while I unloaded the car. A few minor bumps but all was still going well enough. I realized my box of macaroni had expired (who knew that stuff goes bad?) and the recipe for the sandwiches called for a panini grill (which I do not have), a slight oversight on my part. But I pressed on. He was still in a great mood so I thought I would get dinner started. I put in his Wee Sing cd of Bible songs and sang along to him while he munched on cereal, grinning at me as I began some risotto (sounds impressive huh?) and starting cooking the chicken on the stove. I was thinking what a perfect picture of a housewife I would be when my husband came through the door after work. Singing songs with my son (Bible songs at that) while a wonderful dinner was being prepared. Seems pretty perfect doesn't it?

That is when it all hit the fan. First, the stupid risotto kept trying to boil over which is a serious problem on my stupid electric stove. Then, while dealing with that I let the chicken begin sticking to the pan and I was using my smallest frying pan which meant that it would probably get too hot and be a hassle the whole time. And then, Baby J starts sounding unhappy and I realize that it is time for him to eat and he is likely hungry. But, I can't leave the stupid risotto or it will boil over and the chicken is already beginning to burn so I am hoping Baby J will hold out until Daddy gets home and can feed him. So, as I am pouring more cereal out for Baby J to snack on (yes I know, mother of the year right here) and still singing trying to distract him, the darn smoke alarm goes off. Oh yes, it keeps getting better. Now don't worry, I wasn't putting us in danger. Our smoke alarm goes off if you sneeze wrong and the chicken sizzling for too long in the pan while I poured cereal was just too much. This really helped Baby J's mood. I yank the smoke alarm out of the ceiling (don't turn me in please) and try and salvage what is happening on the stove and begin making a bottle, all while praying my hubby comes soon so that he can feed my now very impatient son so that I don't burn the apartment down.

So now picture the scene. There is a very unhappy baby in his high chair, a smoke alarm dangling from the ceiling, a scent of burnt stuff wafting in the air, me quite frazzled, risotto burnt to the bottom of a pot, all with kids singing "The B-I-B-L-E" blaring in the background. A far cry from the earlier scene. And in walks my husband. Perfect. Luckily my husband is a very intelligent man, just smiled and kept his mouth shut and quickly cheered Baby J up while I finished up dinner.

Shockingly, it actually turned out pretty good, especially considering the circumstances. And my table was cleaned off so that we could all eat together.

Maybe before I try and follow through with my good intentions I should try and think things out a little better ahead of time.

For the New Year I will...

I am not a fan of new year resolutions because I am the queen of great intentions with significantly less follow through (see I Will #2 below). The way I see it, if I never make the resolutions then I don't have to feel guilty in February when I have already let them slip. But, there are some areas of my life that I feel need improvement and again, being the queen of great intentions...those changes don't come easily. So, I am using a counseling tool to help myself. When I have a client set goals in counseling, the most important rules are that the goals are measurable (so that you can know you have met them) and achievable. I have heard it recommended that when writing goals it is helpful to put what you will do into sentence form. So, here goes...(disclaimer: I am putting myself out here so no judgments allowed if you can't believe I don't do/do something listed here)
Beginning in 2009...

• I will keep the dining room table clean so that the three of us can eat at the table. The mail has to find a new home.
• When I have a "great intention" I will write it down or tell my husband about it so that I won't forget it or have motivation to follow through.
• I will keep up with the calendar that is now on my fridge.
• I will read the Bible in a year. I want to do this every year. I want to buy one of those "One Year Bibles" and start on January 1. Well again, queen of great intentions...I never buy one in time. This year I did though and really want to follow through with this goal. Now, when I was with friends tonight at 9:30 I realized that I had already forgotten about day 1! But I read it when I came home and told my husband to ask me each day if I read until I get better at it. Hopefully some blogs will come from what I am reading. Leading to the next one...
• I will blog at least once every two weeks. So, don't be surprised if one week all you see is a "this is my mandatory post for the week."
• I will cook more vegetables with meals. I am about to have a little boy eating what we eat and I have got to improve my menus!
• I will always have some sort of dessert for my husband. I think all I would have to do to be the perfect wife would be to make it so that he has something sweet every night (even if I need to stock up on candy bars to hand him one when I don't feel like baking). I did well at this for about 3 weeks this summer. Again, great intentions...
• I will do one craft project each month. I love doing something crafty and don't give myself much time to. It lifts my mood whenever I do though.
• I am going to keep our home neater. I am horrible at this and I really want to be better. I am just so lazy! This is a poorly written goal because it isn't measurable but I am going to have to take baby steps!

I am sure there are many more things I can improve on but I'm starting with what is achievable! I'll give an update in February of how I am doing.

Happy New Year!

The Trip Home

Today is one year since my grandmother, Meme, went home to heaven. I have been thinking about her a lot this past week. I miss her. I so badly wish that my son could know her, be rocked by her, have her read to him. I wish I could still talk to her, get her emails, listen to her stories. The overwhelming comfort though for me is the reminder of the life she has now, fully healed and experiencing the glory of God.

During Meme's last week we were encouraged to continue to talk to her because she could still hear us. I was about 12 weeks pregnant so I talked a lot about my baby with her, told her stories about what my husband and I were doing, how much I loved her…what I would talk to her about if she were talking back. My mom suggested that I read to her from one of her favorite books, Traveling Light, by Max Lucado.

It is a study on the 23rd Psalm and uses the metaphor of the excess luggage we carry that is unnecessary. Meme loved this book. We joked that she was going to suggest it to King David, the author of Psalm 23. I had not read it so I flipped through it to find a chapter that seemed appropriate. Well, I came to the last one titled "I will lead you home". It describes the final piece of baggage that we, as Christians, must release which is the burden of the grave. We carry a lot of burdens on this earth because we live in a sinful world. But we have the joy of getting to give those burdens over to God for him to carry for us. The greatest burden we have is death, the punishment for our sins. God is loving though and also offers to carry that burden for us through the gift of salvation. This is what is written about in the final chapter of the book. Mama and I cried as I read it but it was one of the best things we could have heard at that time. It was a real reminder about what Meme was about to experience. Though she fought it hard, cancer had stolen her earthly body but it could not steal her life. When she took her last breath, Meme left this earth and was greeted in heaven. As painful as it was (and still is) to lose her, how can I not celebrate that for her? In the moments after her death, my mom said to me "she put down that last piece of luggage." What a comfort it was to think of that during that painful time. I spent a lot of time after that trying to picture what Meme was getting to experience at that time. I don’t know exactly what heaven will be like, but I do know that she was experiencing beyond what we could even imagine.

Actually, reading that book was the second best thing I could have read that week. The best was something I read privately, a few mornings before she passed away. Meme left us a list of her favorite Scriptures. One morning that I couldn’t sleep, I opened my Bible and looked up each passage on the list. It was such a sweet time when I got to learn even more about her faith. I was surprised to learn that we shared a favorite verse. I read some of the Psalms she liked and wondered at what point in her life they brought particular comfort. I was also amazed at the strength of her faith when I read other Psalms because they did not waver in praise to God. But one in particular was the best gift she could have given us- John 14:1-14. The reason that one was so important was because it told us without a doubt what she believed and because of that, we could celebrate he home going to heaven.

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalm 23:6

A Heavenly Medal Ceremony

I loved watching the Olympics. The skill involved, the excitement of a race, the patriotism...I love it all. My favorite is the medal ceremony- when an athlete stands proudly on a stand, singing his or her country’s anthem as the flag is raised, experiencing the reward for years of hard work.

I was thinking about the life an Olympic athlete leads. To be the best in the world the athlete must spend hours each day perfecting their skill. Their diet, their habits, even where they live is all influenced by their sport. And they do it for a race that may last less than a minute, for the chance to stand on a podium for a few more minutes. And in four years it is likely that they will be replaced by someone who broke their record. Why do they do it? Well as someone who hates working out, I really have no clue as to why they would!

I then began to think about why most people do not pursue their goals with such dedication. Even further, shouldn’t Christians pursue their calling with even more determined commitment because their end goal was infinitely more rewarding? But then I remembered that someone else also had that thought and already taught that lesson…

I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
1 Corinthians 9:23-25

Okay, so Paul beat me to this bright idea. He was probably even referring to the types of races the original Olympics grew from in Greece. Anyway...

Do, I follow God with such dedication that everything I do is in response to my race? Do I run hard, all the way through the line, every time? Am I ever satisfied with anything less than gold? The answer is a sad “no”.

There is not a successful Olympic athlete who does not commit whole heartedly to their training. Sure, some have the right physique for their sport and have natural ability, but they also must work extremely hard. Well, God has given me everything I need to be “a natural” at my task and fully equipped me with everything I could need for the race. The prize is mine to run after.

And can you imagine that medal ceremony?

Final "I love my church" Post (for now)

I have been slow to write about this because every time I started, I couldn’t figure out how what exactly to write. I’ve written three or four drafts already but they never quite addressed what I wanted.

If you have read my blog in the past, you have read about the church I have been a part of and how much I love it. Well, the decision was made to close it a few weeks ago and we no longer meet together. That was a very difficult thing for me, as it was for many of my church family. We have since moved back to the sending campus and are transitioning into new roles there.

I have debated what to write about. Do I write about what I miss? I miss my church family who were so kind to us, I miss serving with a group that was such an amazing team, I miss my husband leading worship, I miss getting to play the keyboard, I miss showing up early and staying late, I miss knowing I was a part of something great…but that wasn’t really what I wanted to write about.

So do I write about what I loved about our campus? I loved the people, I loved the sense of community, I loved the atmosphere of worship, I loved watching the Body of Christ in action, I loved the leadership team my husband was a part of, I loved the challenge…but that too wasn’t what I wanted to write about.

Do I write about the feelings that have come from this? Denial, anger, confusion, sadness…no, again that is not what I wanted to write about. Plus, it would probably just get me in trouble.

So, what do I write about? I think it is what I have learned through this. Or, maybe I should say am currently learning. We went to this new campus over 2 ½ years ago knowing that God called us to go. We knew we were called there a year before that. I still have no doubt that we were obedient in going. So why would God lead us to something that would end so painfully? I’m not positive, but I do know that I am still grateful that He did. In that time I got to experience real community in a church, find real joy in service, met some amazing friends and built genuine relationships, learned so much about ministry…I will probably never know all that I learned. As much as it hurt, and still hurts, to have the door close on something we had poured our hearts into, I would not think twice about doing it again. So, the most important thing I have learned is that God is trustworthy and faithful. It makes it much easier to be obedient to the next thing He calls us to because I know that God has another incredible experience in store for us.

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:3