Just Dance

This weekend, a friend came up to me during the greeting time at church to tell me that she and her 2 little sons had dance time to music by Salvador and it made her think of me and she wanted to tell me. This gave me such great joy! On one of those days where I was kind of like “What on earth am I doing with my life?” this made me feel like someway somehow I was achieving my purpose. I mean, what more could you want than to know that somewhere a mom was having a fun and worshipful dance party with her kids and that you were thought of fondly in that moment?

I realize this may not be your dream. Perhaps for you it would be something more like hearing “I read a book and thought of you”, “I finished a math problem and thought of you”, “I saw this person riding a horse and thought of you.” Regardless, this is the kind of stuff that gets us through, folks! :-). And sometimes these seemingly small things are what build the real purpose.

Then David danced before the Lord with all his might… 2 Samuel 6:14

Image from: http://pixdaus.com/?sort=tag&tag=statue

Bring on the Sweat Pants!

A condition I do not suffer from:

I knew tight jeans had to be a bad idea...

Poor Lindsey Lohan, maybe this is why she keeps falling down.

A Summer Project, Part 1

I love Chick-fil-a kids meals and their overly altruistic themes. The one I received this Saturday was all about Kindness, featuring "Good Ways to be Sneaky" which included things like "Make up your brother's bed while he's brushing his teeth."
The inside of the bag included a recipe for Kindness Cookies - which I totally plan on baking!
My 'toy' was "Ranger Rick's Outdoor Family Fun Guide". I have decided that one of my goals this summer is to complete everything listed in this fun little book, which I've also listed below. Because I'm a dork like that. And because it cracks me up. Please feel free to join the challenge, if you dare, (duh, duh, duhhhh - that's for you Brittni!)

"Go Outside and Play!"

1. Make a Pinecone Bird Feeder. Just one of my favorite things ever! Although squirrels will eat it at my house - any takers on my feeder?
2. Give a Toad a Home by creating a cool home outdoors for amphibians. Um, I think I've already done that - see the post about being green.
3. Fly a Kite. I've tried this before and was no good at it. And I'd have to buy a kite. I am least likely to complete this task. Ooo...but maybe I can buy a Barbie kite. Things are looking up (no pun intended).
4. Be a Backyard Camper. Hmm...I don't have a backyard. And, to quote my Momma, "Honey, we're from the country. We don't camp. That's technically what we've been doing every day of our lives."
5. Be a Tree's Best Buddy by adopting a tree and getting to know it as a friend. I didn't make that up.
6. Plant a Butterfly Garden. I'm guessing they don't like the Marigolds I've already planted to keep bugs away from my tomatoes.
7. Take a Night Hike. Am I supposed to take a "buddy" on this one? Is this really appropriate for kids?
8. Be a Wildlife Detective. The CSI version of a nature walk.

I'll keep you updated! Let me know if you want any Kindness Cookies! Truett Cathy told me I had to share them or they wouldn't be Kind. They'd just be cookies.

Progress

What I feel like sometimes:

"I don't really know what I'm doing
Just watching myself in some play
And the actress looks like she wants to go home
And lie in bed all day
Yeah lie in a big bed all day"
Lyrics from 'Chief' by Patty Griffin

"Sometimes I feel like
I've never been nothing but tired
And I'll be working
Till the day I expire
Sometimes I lay down
No more can I do
But then I go on again
Because you ask me to"
Lyrics from 'Up to the Mountain (MLK song)' by Patty Griffin

God's Promises and Wisdom:

Yet those who wait for the LORD
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.
Isaiah 40:31, New American Standard

This verse has been brand new to me this week. And, I like this version because it says we will gain NEW strength. All the other versions say that He will renew our strength - but that always made me think "What if you feel like you never had any strength to begin with? What if there is nothing to renew?" I think this translation reframes the point - that He gives us strength, and it was never about what We could do on our own anyway.

I love how God re-frames scriptures with time. Learning them as a child, I always made them mean such huge miraculous things and framed them all in what otherwise seems impossible. This scripture always had to deal with healing and supernatural ability for me. Now, I see that it's about Him giving us the strength to get through - to get up in the morning, to go to work, to do the things we have to do but don't want to, and to tackle the things we are otherwise afraid of.
It's about getting us through the mundane to find the joy. :-).

No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it,but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,
Philippians 3:13 New Living Translation

Just Have Fun...

Someone just told me this. Just have fun. And, the person has said this to me more than once, so something must make them think I need to hear it. This instantly makes me feel like the tightly wound yearbook committee president in every teen movie. The seemingly insignificant phrase sets off a whole whirly-derby for the over thinking Christian Academic in me.

The thing is, I used to be fun. So fun that my youth minister always had to tell me to calm down and stop being so fun because it made the group more difficult to control. So fun that the university Resident Director had to list out the fun things I’d done the year before and tell the freshmen not to do them. (All legal, of course. Honest. Just creative, if you will).

But, somehow along my way to 2009 I’ve become a bit of a fuddy-duddy. To the point that the mere suggestion of fun makes me have an internal argument over whether or not it would be “ok.”

I spent last week in New Orleans and was discussing their culture with a former New Orleanian co-worker this week. He said every time he goes back he realizes how uptight we are in Alabama, and I have to agree. Now, I’m certainly not suggesting more public drunkenness and prostitution; although, a few more street performers may not be so bad. I’m just suggesting not taking ourselves quite so seriously at all times.

Just “having fun” doesn’t mean you have to go get wasted. It doesn’t mean you have to compromise your values or your witness. It doesn’t mean you have to be somebody else. It doesn’t even mean you have to be irresponsible, superficial, or self-serving. It’s about not calculating who you are in every moment in order to be all everyone expects/wants/needs you to be. It’s about having…fun. It’s about no longer wasting the energy it takes to keep up the façade. Taking a deep breath and not being sooo serious for just a second.

It’s about the fact that Jesus came that we may have life, and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). It’s that whole thing about considering the lilies of the field and how they grow and don’t stress out all the time about what they look like (Matthew 6:28).

I am still fun in some ways. I still greet my office assistant with jazz hands every morning. Still get the occasional happy meal. Still crack up at myself. I would still be doing cartwheels if my body-weight to arm-strength ratio weren’t quite so off. I’m still me, and becoming more so. Returning to myself, if you will. I’ve even worn a pink pigtail wig in public. With a feather boa.

As I look over, I see the Dove Promises message I’ve tacked to my desk wall. It says “Don’t think about it so much.” I think that’s really what this was all about.

It's Not Easy...

My apartment has long been green. Green door, green tile bathroom, green kitchen counters, green window plants. Very 70's.

Then, there is the pretty green moth on my tomato plants...

And the green lizards that like to appear in my kitchen window and scare me... (I love them, as long as they stay outside and eat bugs like they're supposed to!)

Mercy

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything, but I have a list of things waiting in line! Despite the list, I’m going with something from this morning’s Today show. That being Elizabeth Edwards’ book tour.

The purpose of this is not to make any personal judgment on John or Elizabeth Edwards’ political views, ideas on health care, or his campaigns. It is to speak to the criticisms many have voiced about her writing a book and daring to be so blatantly honest.

Do I think it’s a good idea to openly write about her husband’s affair, and so soon? Is it something I would do? I’m not so sure. Am I thankful she’s doing it? Yes.

I’m thankful because she has a message that our generation needs to hear. She is a modern, independent, highly educated woman that is very publicly acknowledging that her husband’s infidelity has been more painful and fearful than a long battle with cancer. She’s not in denial about how destructive it has been. She’s not letting today’s squishy definitions of morality make her say that it’s all ok. And at the same time, she’s saying she still loves him and that he has been the most significant and influential relationship in her life – even now that she knows he has what she referred to as a “fatal flaw”. She’s saying that she still wants him to look at her like she’s the most beautiful woman in the world.

If you study stress management, you’ll hear about how humans haven’t evolved to the stress of today’s technological world and how we have unrealistic expectations of ourselves. I think the same is true of unfaithfulness. We haven’t “evolved” enough for emotional and physical cheating to be as insignificant as our culture tells us it should be, and I don’t think we are ever meant to.

We’re not honest about how destructive infidelity is, and then expect those left in its path to just bounce back. Granted, we give them a few months, but then wonder why they haven’t just moved on. And we don’t acknowledge that everyone involved is a victim of the consequences – not just the faithful one, but the entire family and the cheater. I’m sure if you asked John Edwards, he would say he’s pretty devastated that despite all of his success and goodwill, his legacy is now one of shame and flat out jerk-dom. He is the one that has to make eye contact with his wife and kids every day while the media tosses this about. How many houses for the poor does he have to build to change any of that?

Watching Elizabeth Edward’s raw emotion makes me uncomfortable. But it reminds me that God’s law was not intended to punish us or keep us from earthly pleasures, but to protect our bodies and our hearts, and those of the people we love. That will never change.

How to Eat an Egg McMuffin

1.) Be very excited that Saturday gives you the opportunity to both sleep in and get an Egg McMuffin.

2.) Get out of bed and throw a leash on the dog. Attire is a matter of season, as in the fall and winter months a sweatshirt thrown over your pajamas is completely acceptable.

3.) Race to the McDonalds with the more friendly employees, making sure to get there before 10:30.

4.) Order an Egg McMuffin and a coffee. Request a packet of strawberry preserves.

5.) Upon receiving the coffee, open the vent to make sure it is given as much time as possible to cool. That lady sued them for a reason.

6.) Drive home and bring the food inside, taking extra care not to dump your coffee in the floor as soon as you come in the front door. This will make you very sad and you’ll have to make your own coffee at home, minus the indulgent 3 creams and 3 sugars that the friendly employees had placed in the one now being enjoyed by the carpet.

7.) Unwrap the Egg McMuffin, and proceed to cut the yellow egg yolk stuff out of the egg layer, because eggs are gross.

8.) Fill the little crater created by removing the egg yolk with the sweet, fruit-like goodness of the stuff found in the strawberry preserves packet.

9.) Reassemble the breakfast sandwich and eat.

10.) Enjoy, Enjoy, Enjoy.

So it must be ok

The new road construction "workers awareness zone" signs say to put down your phone.

But they say nothing of car dancing or clapping your hands to the rhythm ;-).