...never gonna happen

for those people who 'get it'

my thoughts exactly.

covert operation

It may come as no surprise to some of you, but i enjoy doing strange things to make my life interesting. Frequently i try to accomplish tasks as if I am on a top secret, covert operation.
There I was- nestled very comfortably in my lower flat when i decided a pretty mug was definitely needed for me to properly savor my morning brew. My mission? Retrieve the Mexican- painted coffee mug from the upstairs kitchen without being spotted by people or the dog. Pretty confident that my upstairs roommates were gone for the better part of the morning, i crept over to the stairs and listened for noise. I heard something and decided it was not safe. I busy-d myself for a while before reattempting my mission. I slowly made my way up the stairs being careful to sidestep the creaky spots. At the top, I breathed a sigh of relief. No dog or people. Just as my hand touched the cabinet door, the back door opened. FAILED! If this were a top secret sniper mission, I would have been dead.

No sniper rifle, but they did catch me in my bath robe.

I heart naughty children

Little Natalie just couldn't stand the crying anymore. She came and she conquered with a few swift strokes of a marker.

...Turning her sister into a marker face.

Can we say 'early bloomer'?

In relationship, not religion

“Let’s be honest. A lot of people confuse religion with God and walk away from both. The point isn’t Christianity. The point is being a Christian. It means being a follower of Jesus. It’s being connected with everything that is true and good and right…”

Rob Bell, speaking

Nooma DVD series- 004

The kiddies

Jotham and Grandma read books together.

Liala just kicking back and relaxing.

morning according to me

I woke up this morning fully refreshed.
The cold hit my face like a bully's fist as I stepped out the door.
I hurried to my car and didn't bother to scrape the frost off my windshield. The defroster will do just fine.
The juicer doesn't like cold either. He sputtered and started with hesitation, and it made me think he hates mornings and cold just as much as me.
Sometimes he has attitude in the morning and refuses to turn on the blinkers. I just assure him that soon enough he will roar to life on the open freeway.
Lifehouse serenades me on my drive up north. I wave at the southbound traffic and thank God once again that I don't drive into the city.
I pass a sign that reminds me it's -3 degrees but by now my car is cozy & warm.
An eye twitch develops and I realize my need...
Detour to Starbucks--> but I look like a fool. I can't figure out how this drive-thru road twists and turns.
The nice lady just smiles and hands me my latte.
I smile right back and go the last few miles to work.

Musings from the other side

Pain is the storm that strips away the frills of life. He knew everything. The anguish of my crushed hopes, devastated dreams, and unrealized expectations reached to the deepest parts of my heart.
It was in the vulnerability of this deep pain that I saw God and His sovereign sufficiency as I never had before. Every tear reminded me of my helplessness. Every suppressed sob told me I couldn't go on alone. Sifting through the scraps of my life drove me to the One who alone held the power to bring good out of the bad. I found a Friend who understood my hurt, and through pain-tinted glasses, He was even more resplendent than ever. I echoed Job's words at the end of his suffering: "My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you" (Job 42:5)
Part of the mystery of suffering is God's choice to be silent in the midst of pain. Sometimes heaven says nothing during our torrents. Cries of 'why?' or 'how long?' are often not answered. Job demanded answers from God, but his tortured words seemed to bounce off the clouds. No answers came. Even at the end of the book- God never told Job why his life was ravaged.
The Almighty is not obligated to explain His actions or allowances.
- excerpt from Living Whole Without A Better Half by Wendy Widder

To be able to see a reason for the pain is a gift. I have been given that gift, and I pray that I will not take it forgranted. To be used by my Savior, my Healer- that is my heart's cry. :)

Micro and Gamma waves

One time I received an email forward from my grandma cautioning me to be careful around microwaves. Ever since then I have developed a small fear that someday whatever I'm heating in the microwave will explode as I pop open the door. I can literally visualize my body flayling across the kitchen as I am projected backwards and come to an abrupt stop rather awkwardly against the cupboards. The only remnants of my once microwave that provided me with countless meals in 5 minutes or less is a smoky shell of blownout plastic and metal.

Also- If I am ever diagnosed with cancer, I know it will be my fault for standing in front of my microwave while it's heating my food or beverage. Sometimes it's as if I can feel the cancer rays seeping into my skin through my face and my stomach core. I try to protect my woman pectoral muscles because i don't want to get boob cancer from my microwave.

Dear reader- you would do well to learn from these self-protective measures. Only you can prevent microwave explosions by standing to the side when popping open the microwave door. You could also cross your arms across your chest if you must stand in front of the operating microwave. Always protect your face- wear eyewear.

A critic

WHY

....I ask you....
do radio people INSIST on talking sooo much on air?

Correct me if I'm wrong
BUT
last time I checked,
people turn on the radio to hear music NOT talking?

*argh!*

This especially eats away at me in the morning. All I want to do is turn on my radio and have a couple good radio dial selections to flip between. but NO- everyone thinks they need to get their word in edge wise!

AND
to top it all off...

the obnoxious, never-ending laughter that radio announcers do should be banned. Nobody wants to hear that much laughing about NOTHING when they are waking up. No one.

So just knock it off.

Music to my ears

I would describe myself as a radio junkie. In the great Twin Cities we have a radio station that is supported and run by the locals. This makes the music selection absolutely impeccable! 89.3 The Current is unlike any other station I have encountered in my decades of life.

Right now, they are playing The White Stripes....but they also play other stupendous selections by artists like: TV on the Radio, The Teddybears, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Hot Hot Heat, Feist, The Futureheads, Jem....and many local artists.

If you are interested in checking it out, you should! They stream online. If you tune in and you don't appreciate the genre being played, wait one hour and try again! They change it up just that often.

Yea, I know you all wish you lived here now.

12 months of color

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

When I think about the months of the year, I have a color association with all of them. Perhaps this is why I remember things better when color is used. Like in math class when we made Dr. Rafferty do the formulas on the board with different colored dry erase markers. I swear I remembered them better for the test. This may be connected with the little bit of photographic memory that I have.

October is all things goldenrod! From the changing leaf colors to the color of autumn sunsets to the pumpkins we carve to the october gem stone. Yes, October is goldenrod.

Personal Christianity vs. Academic

I've been reading this amazing book by Dr. Tim Kimmel entitled Why Christian Kids Rebel. I have to say it has been quite enlightening. There are people in my life that I repeatedly go before the throne of God petitioning on their behalf. There are people I went to Christian school with who have a chosen a very different life for themselves- and turned their backs on all things Christian.

Let me start from the beginning.... this book caught my eye because of the very real stage that me and my 3 siblings have gone through/are going through known as rebellion. The author outlines the various definitions and actions of rebellion. Perhaps one of the points that sticks out the most to me is how many parents think that by putting their children in a Christian school and making sure their child is going to church and involved in all of the youth group activities- they will have a clearcut course in place to make them become a Christian who is ready to step out and do anything for God. The reality is that when a person is constantly being hedged into their Christian worlds, the chance for complacency and mediocre Christianity is almost guaranteed...rebeliion. Here's what the author says in regards to youth who come from Christian homes and go to Christian school...
"Part of the problem lies with human nature. When you are in an environment five days a week that starts each class with prayer, where you have assigned reading in the Bible, where you take regular tests on Bible knowledge, where your other classes (like math, science, and history) drop biblical insights into the curriculum, and on top of this, where just about every kid you go to school with claims to be a Christian, it's real easy to overdose on all the "Christianity stuff". There's no "heavy-lifting" as far as appropriating what is being learned. The environment is tailor-made to make you look, act, and talk like a Christian." He goes on- "Unfortunately, by the time these kids get to Sunday school, they're on biblical overload. Sunday school or youth group is just a rerun of what they've been getting all week long. Many are simply tired of hearing about it." p. 117 We are in need of a system that legitimately puts faith to the test!

Thankfully, God showed me this important distinction between personal spiritual growth and Bible classwork when I was in high school. I couldn't understand why so many of my Christian friends decided to make some different and sinful lifestyle choices our sophomore year of h.s. I don't understand why, but by God's grace many of the things I was learning and memorizing had turned into something genuine for me. I'm certainly not saying that I'm perfect--because believe me- I'm NOT! I still struggle with rebellion toward authority- among other things. God revealed to me how fortunate I was when I got to Christian college and I realized many people were allowing Bible class to be the substitute for their personal time with the Lord. I struggled with complacency for a long time as well...but I still think God gave me the advantage of knowing this would be a battle.

As far as loved ones who are still floundering in their Christianity, perhaps this is exactly where God wants him/her to be. He/She just needs to be squeezed. Sometimes it takes the hard lessons and consequences of our sin to see the need and the difference that a passionate relationship with Christ can foster! And for the Christian kids who take the "broad road", it will turn all they've learned from "academics to action, from knowledge to wisdom, and from lessons to love." p. 133

Liala Annalise

My beautiful baby niece.

Have you ever noticed how much joy and innocence is communicated through the smile of an infant? The little giggles and the way they grip your fingers could melt the hardest heart.

The way she smiles the biggest and brightest at her dad speaks of an unspeakably beautiful relationship that is sure to blossom in the coming years.

The value of her life to her family. The value our Heavenly Father has for each of us, His precious children.

God whispers

The raindrops are subtle little reminders of God. It has been raining almost continuously for 2 weeks now. The first week I was annoyed by all the rain, but this week I am calmed by the gentle pitter patter of drops that fall on my windshield as I drive. I like listening to Coldplay on rainy days. There's just something about putting two beautiful phenomenons together. Good music is a phenomenon. It takes vision and purposefully placed notes to compose a beautiful melody... like the rain. God knows exactly where and how those raindrops are going to fall.

There is something strange growing inside my heart. My passions and experiences and knowledge and relationships are slowly moving towards each other to form a brilliant masterpiece that is right for the next part of my life. Once they meet up and a piece of the puzzle is realized in my life, they rescramble and begin the tedious process all over again. It's like the earth's place in the solar system- everything has to be completely in line at a certain distance for the perfect amount of time in order to support an ecosystem. I think it's that way with our lives. God knows the perfect timing and all the elements that must match up before he reveals the next part of our long journey Home. My heart yearns to be at the next place, but in my spirit I quietly remind myself that it's not time yet...I still have much to learn before I am prepared. Be here now. I tell myself to be content with where God has placed me. Take the opportunities He gives because you never can tell what will be the one missing element that is essential to the big picture.

Surprised by Humor

This is my first post ever. I realized with the mass amount of down time I get throughout the day, it would be fun to let people into my world a little. I have also become increasingly aware of the fact that often times I write funny emails to people. I never remember what I have said a week later & I surprise myself.

This space will be filled with funny thoughts...random, unorganized girl thinking...and thought-provoking reflections.