Dred-ed!

Minda and I both have been wanting dreds for several years. She, however is young and can pull off anything outrageous and make it look cute. After graduation, she ordered a kit of organic wax & powder and a comb & we went to work!

(STILL WON"T LET ME LOAD PHOTOS!!!! GRRRRRRRRRR!)

Moments of Joy

Matt, Sara, and Bella are home for a short visit from the Live Lightly Tour!! What a joy to have my Sara home. I've missed her more than I knew. When they walked into service on Sunday I wanted to do back flips! It's a special thing to have someone by your side that cares about you as a person, calls you outside of your comfort zones, but doesn't judge you for those zones, and is rooted in Christ. However long she is here will not be long enough.

I recieved a late birthday gift Saturday. Ingrid sent me this beautiful necklace she made. With all that life has dealt us lately, it was a timely reminder of the blessing of each moment. The other saide reads : "Joy is not in things, it is in us." I love this gift both for its funky awesomeness and for the love behind it.

Minda has been gathering flowers. Little peeks at girliness. I so enjoy how many facets there are to this little sprite of mine. (She's wearing her brother's old camo shorts and a t shirt she cut up and ran ribbons thorugh and drew sharpie pictures on!)

UPDATE on Cassia's Trip

I'm driving. I'm nervous. The farthest I've ever driven is about 5 hours from Portland to Moses Lake by myself. Portland I knew my way to and around... Minnesota I've never even seen or set foot in!

But this means Cassia isn't going alone, and it will be only 30 hours of driving instead of 50 hours on a Greyhound. :o)

J is calling us Thelma and Louise - let's hope not!

We are going to need all your prayers ~ during the preparations, during the drive, during the Campus Preview, for the fam. staying behind, for the vehicle, and anything else you can think of to cover!

God is well able, I know. Just trying to get as many people petioning Him on our behalf as possible!

Thanks everyone!

Wake Up Call

I have made the statement:
"I love God. I want to follow Him, but right now I just feel, I don't know, indifferent."
I honestly believed it was ok to feel this way. That it was better than turning away from God completely or becoming a hypocrite and saying one thing while feeling another.
Last week on a drive along back roads with J we were listening to a podcast message by Matt Chandler. We listen to Matt often because he doesn't wear kid-gloves when he preaches, yet you walk away knowing the Truth of the gospel, and feel loved by God. Somewhere in his message Matt made the statement, "The opposite of Love isn't hate. The opposite of Love is indifference." I didn't hear the rest of the message. My heart stopped right there.
I began to hear those words every time I didn't want to read my Bible in the morning, in my dreams, and each time I felt empty or saddened by my current state of being.
I looked up 'indifference'.
Being indifferent would mean being dispassionate about the things that happen around you. Then you would enjoy the show without being involved.
Ouch!
Dispassionate, apathetic, mediocre, unconcerned, aloof, and detatched were mentioned for synanyms.
What a scary place to be. I feel like I have been hanging on by my toes at the edge of a precipice and was so aloof that I didn't even realize it, or care. Realizing it now brings tears. That I could grow so cold toward such warm and gracious love and mercy.
Time to die again.
the Crucifixtion of me.
I am crucified in Christ, therefore I no longer live. Jesus Christ, risen because He was without sin, now lives in me... Right?
Why can't I nail this to my heart? Imbed it? Allow it to take root and flourish?

Ripples of Time

Have you ever seen an oyster shell? They aren't uncommon. One of the most common shells you an pick up on the Northwest coast in fact, but have you ever really seen one?

I find them humble; homely. I don't like oysters. They have no real value to me. They aren't rare and therefore aren't treasure.

So, why am I even bringing them up if I am so indifferent to them? Knowledge. I found something out that made a difference.

Sprawling and uneven, it has the irregular shape of waves, movement, or even growth. Each is fitted and formed by its own struggle to survive. The rock, root, or shell that the oyster glues itself to will forever carry the scars from the lifetime attachment. The most ideal place for attachment is on the shell of another Oyster that is glued for life to an unyielding rock.
The longer it is attached the larger it grows. The most important function of an oyster is that it filters over 50 gallons of water in an hour. It is unique in the mollusk world in that it has gills in it's submerged shell that allow it to filter the water it takes in, leaving it better for the others who share the water with it.

Is life ever one size fits all? Is it ever, always beautiful and polished? I have spent the past 18.5 years married to one man (glued to him for life - tenaciously fought for). The cortex of my being bears the marks of growth. Knobby, uneven, undulating, but growth none-the-less. Our marriage has grown from simply the fragile bond of romance where the focus was upon ourselves to a bond of looking outward, reaching outward, working outward. Many bonds have formed a web that is taut and firm, intircate and enduring. Romance is only one strand of many now.
I would love to try to cure the signs of growth sometimes. I would love to be able to retreat to a shell that looks less like the mother of a sprawling family; something more petite, and with less wrinkles. That would not be freedom, however. That would put me back in a place of encumberance. I am an oyster. Fimly planted, for life, growing through the adversities & pleasantries, allowing that growth to take on a shape and form all it's own. My prayer is that what flows through me is clarified and becomes beneficial.
I hope others can look past the outter shell ~ and be fascinated by the glue.

Faith's Tag

It's been awhile since I posted anything, forgive the absence. Life gets so busy sometimes I forget there are people waiting for me to throw them a line. A friend in GA tagged me, so I will post that for now and try to come back soon with something a little closer to home!

1. What’s your #1 comfort food? Coffee
2. If you were on a deserted island, what one food would you want to have with you? Salsa & white corn tortilla chips
3. What is/are your signature dishes? Salsa, Baking Powder Biscuits, Chicken Enchiladas, muffins
4. It’s Friday night, you don’t know what to cook. You opt for… Bean burritos
5. What’s your biggest weakness when it comes to food? Candy- either gummy sour somethings, or cinnamin Hot Heads
6. What food can you absolutely not eat? Cauliflower, liver, & I'm allergic to chocolate and nuts
7. You need a drink. You grab…. Water ... if you are talking alcoholic drink here, probably a Smirnoff or Malbec Red wine.
8. What’s the most decadent dish you’ve had? don't know
9. What’s your favorite type of food? fresh vegtables and fruits
10. Favorite dish? Green curry with tofu, or Tomatoe Basil soup with jalepenos, tofu and parmesan.
11. If your spouse could take you to any restaurant you wanted, which one would it be? Ooooo... tough. I like too many for different reasons. Breakfast - Nova Cafe' or CatEye, Lunch- CatEye, Dana's, Dinner- McMennamins, Plonk, Chateau Lk Louise...
12. Are you a soup or salad person? Both.
13. Buffet, take-out or sit-down restaurant? sit-down
14. What’s the most impressive dinner you’ve ever made? I have no idea - Cordon Bleu?
15. Do you consider yourself a good cook? Good, but not amazing.
16. Do you know what vichyssoise is? Yes
17. Who’s your favorite TV cook? I don't have TV, but I do make recipes from Emril, Giada, and Michael Chiarello. OH! and Dave Lieberman.
18. Can you name at least three TV cooking personalities? I just did.
19. Homemade or homemade from a box? Homemade because it means that I'm cutting down on the garbage output, I know exactly what is going into it, and if it is yummy I get all the praise and don't have to divide it with Betty Crocker.

Aslan? Me?

As Aslan, you are brave, noble and have an astute awareness of morality. You may be quick to anger at times, but you have a heart of gold, and are respected greatly among your peers.

What Narnian are you?
click the banner to take the test.

HT:Athena