Saturday, August 20, 2011
Happy birthday my heart!
My darling baby girl is no longer a baby. Brooke Evangelina turned two today. I can barely fathom that this little toddling ball of diapers will soon be skipping out the door to her first day of school. How fast this time has flown and how much my life has changed (for the better, I might add) in these past couple of years is remarkable to me still. Happy birthday my precious girl!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Myth: The best things in life are free
We have all heard the infamous saying "the best things in life are free", but I wholeheartedly and firmly disagree. It is my experience that tells me otherwise, and while I am not speaking in financial terms, the best things in life definitely do not come without great cost. In fact, the best things in life are what cost us the most- the most hard work, self-control, patience and sacrifice. If we are going to be quoting famous sayings, let's go with "anything worth having in life doesn't come easy". To prove this fact I want to briefly look at two main areas of my life.
Faith- Jesus became front and center in my life when I was sixteen. I had a couple of rocky years when I first hit the ground running; trying to live out Christianity as a high school student did not prove to be super smooth sailing for me. In college I began to realize the work I would have to put in to grow in my faith. It meant choosing some new friends who could encourage me in my walk. It meant daily obedience in studying God's word. It meant dying daily to my own flesh- and my flesh can be pretty tough to kill. It still means those same things today. I fall short many days and am thankful for His grace. Every time I fall, I get back up and continue walking in the light. Living out my faith is certainly not easy, but it's oh so worth it.
"I run straight toward the goal to win the prize that God's heavenly call offers in Christ Jesus." Phil 3:14
Health - Oh how I have been around the block a time or two battling my own self-image. I have gained weight, lost it, gained it again, and lost it once more (not counting pregnancy)! My best friend Sarah told me that she saw only slight differences in my weight from pictures where I weighed more (every girl needs a best friend like Sarah), but the struggle was very extreme for me in a psychological sense. I finally accepted that if being healthy is so important to me, I am going to have to put in hard work. Sometimes I don't want to say no to extra ice cream or wake up early to workout. Most of the time I really want seconds and thirds when it comes to dessert actually. But each day I try to remind myself that this body is not my own and therefor I need to take care of it like I care for anything else that belongs to someone else. It's a gift that I get to use for a short time and I need to put in the sweat (literally) in order to keep it in the best condition it can be.
These are just a couple of areas that require hard work, but they serve well in supporting the truth; the best things in life often cost us the most. The key is to look at it day by day and lean on the Lord for strength. I could not grow in my faith, stay healthy, or really do anything else for that matter without Jesus. I am nothing without the Lord, but thankfully
"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." Phil 4:13
Faith- Jesus became front and center in my life when I was sixteen. I had a couple of rocky years when I first hit the ground running; trying to live out Christianity as a high school student did not prove to be super smooth sailing for me. In college I began to realize the work I would have to put in to grow in my faith. It meant choosing some new friends who could encourage me in my walk. It meant daily obedience in studying God's word. It meant dying daily to my own flesh- and my flesh can be pretty tough to kill. It still means those same things today. I fall short many days and am thankful for His grace. Every time I fall, I get back up and continue walking in the light. Living out my faith is certainly not easy, but it's oh so worth it.
"I run straight toward the goal to win the prize that God's heavenly call offers in Christ Jesus." Phil 3:14
Health - Oh how I have been around the block a time or two battling my own self-image. I have gained weight, lost it, gained it again, and lost it once more (not counting pregnancy)! My best friend Sarah told me that she saw only slight differences in my weight from pictures where I weighed more (every girl needs a best friend like Sarah), but the struggle was very extreme for me in a psychological sense. I finally accepted that if being healthy is so important to me, I am going to have to put in hard work. Sometimes I don't want to say no to extra ice cream or wake up early to workout. Most of the time I really want seconds and thirds when it comes to dessert actually. But each day I try to remind myself that this body is not my own and therefor I need to take care of it like I care for anything else that belongs to someone else. It's a gift that I get to use for a short time and I need to put in the sweat (literally) in order to keep it in the best condition it can be.
These are just a couple of areas that require hard work, but they serve well in supporting the truth; the best things in life often cost us the most. The key is to look at it day by day and lean on the Lord for strength. I could not grow in my faith, stay healthy, or really do anything else for that matter without Jesus. I am nothing without the Lord, but thankfully
"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." Phil 4:13
Thursday, June 16, 2011
This. just. happened.
Yesterday I had to run to Wal-Mart to get a few things and my worst nightmare could not have prepared me for the experience I was about to encounter. Okay, maybe I am being a little dramatic, but only a little.
Things were going as close to smooth as possible until I needed deli meat. It was our last stop before the checkout line and anyone with a small child knows that when you are in public your child is like a timer- the closer you get to the end of the trip the worse their behavior gets. Brooke had held herself together the whole time but now she was ready to get out of the cart and eat something. As I walked up to the counter, a pregnant woman and her husband sidled in beside me. I looked the other direction for about a millisecond and when I turned back to give my order they had somehow gotten the worker to wait on them first. It was irritating, but I brushed it off and told myself that maybe she was having a massive pregnancy craving and needed some deli meat ASAP. Ten minutes later when she was still deciding which meat she wanted by “sampling” each and every kind, I had lost most of my compassion. Meanwhile, Brooke had also lost her patience. As we waited in line while the couple ordered one lb. of three different types of meat, Brooke’s wines turned to shrieking which then turned to blood curdling screams. She dumped her cheerios on the ground and as I was crouched down, sweeping them off the oh-so sanitary Wal-Mart floor and into my purse, she began hitting me on the top of the head. All the psychology classes I have had in my lifetime cannot help when my child is having a fit at the grocery store. At this point I began to sweat. I don’t know if it was from the physical work of repeatedly picking up cheerios and things that were getting thrown out of the cart, or because my body was signaling a distress message to my brain. “Help! We’re under attack!”
About five hours later (or thirty minutes…really the same difference when you have a toddler with you), the couple finished getting their meat. I wanted so badly to inform the meat swindling pregnant lady that SHE would soon be the woman in Wal-Mart with a screaming child, but instead I just smiled politely and asked for my half lb of turkey. Brooke continued her tantrum all the way out to the car. As I was bent over and struggling to get this squirming, rage filled child into her car seat, a gust of wind caught my lose fitting shirt and actually blew it up, exposing my midriff plus some. My hands were tied up trying to strap in the wild child so it was a good thirty seconds before I could free them and pull my shirt down. Some fourteen year old kid made a cat call and I almost lost it. At that point I may have mumbled a choice word, and then I asked God if He was serious. Of course, He was. He was seriously trying to teach me patience…and I seriously needed the lesson. After arriving at home without somehow losing my mind, I vowed to never take Brooke grocery shopping again. However, I’m sure that in about two days we will run out of something and the whole cycle will replay in some fashion. Welcome to the world of being a mom.
Things were going as close to smooth as possible until I needed deli meat. It was our last stop before the checkout line and anyone with a small child knows that when you are in public your child is like a timer- the closer you get to the end of the trip the worse their behavior gets. Brooke had held herself together the whole time but now she was ready to get out of the cart and eat something. As I walked up to the counter, a pregnant woman and her husband sidled in beside me. I looked the other direction for about a millisecond and when I turned back to give my order they had somehow gotten the worker to wait on them first. It was irritating, but I brushed it off and told myself that maybe she was having a massive pregnancy craving and needed some deli meat ASAP. Ten minutes later when she was still deciding which meat she wanted by “sampling” each and every kind, I had lost most of my compassion. Meanwhile, Brooke had also lost her patience. As we waited in line while the couple ordered one lb. of three different types of meat, Brooke’s wines turned to shrieking which then turned to blood curdling screams. She dumped her cheerios on the ground and as I was crouched down, sweeping them off the oh-so sanitary Wal-Mart floor and into my purse, she began hitting me on the top of the head. All the psychology classes I have had in my lifetime cannot help when my child is having a fit at the grocery store. At this point I began to sweat. I don’t know if it was from the physical work of repeatedly picking up cheerios and things that were getting thrown out of the cart, or because my body was signaling a distress message to my brain. “Help! We’re under attack!”
About five hours later (or thirty minutes…really the same difference when you have a toddler with you), the couple finished getting their meat. I wanted so badly to inform the meat swindling pregnant lady that SHE would soon be the woman in Wal-Mart with a screaming child, but instead I just smiled politely and asked for my half lb of turkey. Brooke continued her tantrum all the way out to the car. As I was bent over and struggling to get this squirming, rage filled child into her car seat, a gust of wind caught my lose fitting shirt and actually blew it up, exposing my midriff plus some. My hands were tied up trying to strap in the wild child so it was a good thirty seconds before I could free them and pull my shirt down. Some fourteen year old kid made a cat call and I almost lost it. At that point I may have mumbled a choice word, and then I asked God if He was serious. Of course, He was. He was seriously trying to teach me patience…and I seriously needed the lesson. After arriving at home without somehow losing my mind, I vowed to never take Brooke grocery shopping again. However, I’m sure that in about two days we will run out of something and the whole cycle will replay in some fashion. Welcome to the world of being a mom.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Fireplace Makeover
After three years of living in this house and seeing an ugly fireplace every day of my life, I took the plunge(thanks to a little encouragement from my lovely neighbor who also tired of her drab fireplace).
"Oh don't paint it..." people cautioned, "the stone has such charm!" I disagreed. I know that perhaps one day someone else will live in this house and will wish the stone was still au natural, but they don't live here right now. I do. I say goodbye ugly 80's and hello white. I love the power of white paint. This took about three coats of white Kilz and a lot of patience. The ends definitely justified the means. The best part about this dramatic change is that it cost less than 20$!
"Oh don't paint it..." people cautioned, "the stone has such charm!" I disagreed. I know that perhaps one day someone else will live in this house and will wish the stone was still au natural, but they don't live here right now. I do. I say goodbye ugly 80's and hello white. I love the power of white paint. This took about three coats of white Kilz and a lot of patience. The ends definitely justified the means. The best part about this dramatic change is that it cost less than 20$!
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