Seinfeld spontaneity

Because I have to work this weekend, I was able to take a day off in the middle of the week. Since Thursday was my only day without something scheduled, I decided that would be my free day.

"I wish I had known, then we could have gone to see Jerry Seinfeld," Nate said.

A few months before, some of our friends asked if we wanted to go with them to see Jerry Seinfeld's stand-up comedy. However, it was in a town a couple of hours away, and I didn't want to drive that far when I had to work the following morning.

This changed things up though, and Nate ended up finding some last-minute nosebleed tickets that we could have.

So, in last-minute planning, we ended up heading south to see Seinfeld with friends.

On the way, we found out the only person in our foursome that was supposed to work the next day had also gotten a day off due to a funeral.

"We should have just spent the night since none of us have to work," she said.

I started to look up to see if any last-minute deals could be found online, but it seemed like $120 was the cheapest room close to where the show was. I told the others in the car, and our friend said she only had one-day contacts and couldn't see without them. Her husband started to talk about how he likes to have a little more of a plan.

I used to be like that, but a few moments of greatness thanks to spontaneity have made me a believer in spur-of-the-moment activities. But we let it go.

However, at dinner, the topic of staying the night again came up. I looked at our friend and asked if she could deal with being blind for the drive home before she could get her new contacts. Her husband suggested that a little contact solution might make it worthwhile.

So a quick hotel booking on Orbitz, a trip to Target for contact supplies, a hilarious Seinfeld show and a spontaneous night on the town --- what a wonderful Wednesday night.

Spontaneity created a night of memories. Next time you have the chance to do something on the spur-of-the-moment, don't let your need to plan get in the way. Just go with it.

Life is not about full-time ministry

Is ordinary work important work?

That is certainly a question we all struggle with. I think many Christian children are brought up to think only full-time Christian ministry was work for God, and that was what serious Christians did. But that is not necessarily true. There are lots of vocations needed that aren't churchwork.

1 Corinthians 7:17 says, "Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him."

Even Jesus gave value to ordinary work. Yes, he gave three years to full-time ministry, but for much longer he worked as a carpenter. If that was valueless, he certainly would not have done it. If he is our perfect example, it shows ordinary work is also important, when if we are capable of so much more, like Jesus was.
Ordinary work is the way we can reach people; we can love them through our regular work. When we put in effort and serve others through our everyday jobs, it is important and impactful.

This actually goes back to the original topic of my blog. I wanted to talk about the importance of everyday moments. Work is everyday. It is every day. It is a collection of little moments in which we can make a difference. It is all in how you look at your work. If you see your ordinary work as a way to serve and worship God, you can make a difference and you can shine in the eyes of God.

My best friend's dad farmed all the years she was growing up. He worked diligently. He helped provide food for thousands of people. He provided jobs. He provided a good influence on his employees. He was gifted in that area, and that was where God needed him. Out was ordinary work that turned into a lifetime of everyday moments that were acts of worship.

We've heard the passage of the Bible about how we are all parts of a body and together we are a complete being in the church --- that's what makes the church work. But that's also outside of the church. We are all gifted in different ways, and God gifted us for work, for different jobs, so we can make a difference in our daily lives. We need Christians in different jobs to make society work. I like that the pastor said, "Some of God's best work is done by people in ordinary work, not church work."

This week's memory verse is James 4:7-8: "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded."

God oversees all

We pulled up to Krystal's house, and the "It's a Boy" sign on the front door noted the extreme joy and exhaustion that were at home inside.

I thought it would be weird to see my first college friend with a baby, but when the little guy was curled up on her chest and she lightly tapped his back to try to get him to burp, it seemed completely normal. She looked like she was supposed to be a mother, and her husband looked completely at home holding his son and swaying him back and forth.

Then my best friend took a turn holding the three-day-old infant, and her face just lit up. The baby growing inside of her is going to be in wonderful hands in just a few months.

Life and its changes are certainly interesting. And what is even more interesting is the fact that God knows exactly what is going to happen while we walk around shocked at where our lives turn out. I didn't think that I would end up in a small town away from where I grew up, at ages 27 with no kids, working in the conservation field, married to my high school sweetheart and living in an old craftsman home. This is not where 8-year-old me would have thought my life would be at this point, but I absolutely love it.

Krystal and her husband have already had stresses of parenthood and the scares that come along with it. Even putting their little guy down at night, they worry that he might not be able to cough should he get spit-up caught in his throat. She said they have to remember that God is bigger than those "little" things and that he loves their son even more than they do.

Our God is an awesome God who is in charge of every little thing, from new babies to changing jobs to growing gardens. His eye is on the sparrow and the infants of the world. His eye is on the 20-something adults and the senior citizens and those who are the brink of death. In all our phases of life, he is there and he is greater.

I'm thankful for that.

Asparagus memories

My co-worker looked over at me at a volunteer event last night, and she looked from me to my dad standing next to me. Her eyes lit up when she realized who he was.

"I just realized I have met you before!" she said. "I saw you smile and realized it was Kiley's smile, and I knew you were her dad."

Yes, my father and I have the same smile. We have the same puffy cheeks and the same puffy eyes, and the same squinty smile. In fact, I look a lot like my dad, although my dark eyes will always reflect my mom.

It was a wonderful couple of days spent with my dad this weekend. He drove hours just to visit for a little more than one day. When he got here, I almost didn't know what to do. Usually, people who want to visit just enjoy shopping, but my dad certainly wouldn't enjoy that. I rattled off a few ideas, and when I mentioned asparagus hunting, he looked intrigued.

Apparently my dad has never been asparagus hunting. He said my grandma would point it out on the roadway when they were kids, but they never stopped to get it. So we put on some boots and long sleeves to protect from ticks and headed out with a knife and plastic bag.

First, we had to find some asparagus so I could point out to him what we were looking for. Walking along one road ditch where I knew some asparagus was, we found two stalks that were just right for eating. Not bad at all.

Then he spotted some across the road, where I hadn't looked before. This first patch garnered a small handful, and continuing along the steep slope by a farm field we found more and more and more and more. In fact, we had so much my small hands couldn't hold the bundle, so Dad tied the bundle up with a piece of grass.

After a few more stops, we ended up with more asparagus than I had ever seen come from the wild.

It is so fun to find wild edibles like asparagus. Not only do you not have to pay for it, but it's also an enjoyable outdoor activity. We spent time in the sun. We got to bond. We have a shared experience and felt accomplished.

I'm all for technology, but having my job in conservation, I have learned a lot about the importance of slowing down and spending time outdoors. God provides us with so much outside our houses and away from our technology. He provides us with food and with opportunities for memory-making.

I saw a meme on Facebook the other day with a picture of two children standing in front of a lake. The picture said, "They'll never remember time spent in front of the TV."

You know what, that's true for children of any age. I certainly appreciated the time I spent with my dad outside that day, and I created a memory that I will have forever. I may be my dad's grown-up kid, but I'm still his kid, and I appreciate that he spent that time with me making memories.

Sermon notes --- How work touches eternity

Sunday morning today started off with work, as I served in the church coffee bar. Making coffee, arranging cookies, refilling sugar and creamer, washing and drying dishes.

That work is not only for the people who come in and feel loved by the goodies in the coffee bar, it's for Jesus. I had to remind myself of that yesterday too, when I was cleaning house. That not only serves my husband and my guests --- like my dad who is visiting today --- but also Jesus. That work is glorifying God because I am working in my capacity as wife, a job that he gave me.

The pastor today is taking about how work connects to not only today but eternity. Jesus came to Earth to not only save our souls, but someday he will also come back and will resurrect our bodies. At the same time, Earth will be restored and renewed as well.

The new heaven and earth will be much like our earth now, except with all sin and all effects of sin removed. Think about how amazing that will be. We love our earth --- that's why everyone wants to be healthy and live a long life. We want to stay here. But think about how wonderful our world will be without sin and sickness and pain.

That goes for work in the new heavens and earth. If I worked in a coffee bar, I wouldn't dread the cleanup process and emptying the garbage. I wouldn't get upset as I picked up at home and had to do load after load of dishes. It would be perfect and pleasing. Work there will be as it was originally meant to be.

Our work here also touches eternity I'm a different way. What we do with our lives, which includes a lot of time spent at work, will be examined and tested. What was done for God will be rewarded. If the time we spent at work was not given to God and was not done for God, it will not be counted toward our eternal reward. So spend your time, including your time at work and working at home, working as if directly for God. That will be credited to you. It will not be forgotten.

Sermon notes --- Working for God

We work for Jesus.

Look at your job --- no matter what it is. If you are a truck driver, recycle scrap metal, teach kids, patrol the streets or answer phones in the church office, you are serving God through your job. Since God created work, we are showing him respect and worshipping him by participating in what he created.

In our jobs, our faith should shine through in a variety of aspects.

We live in a culture of disrespect, from kids not respecting their elders to wives not respecting their husbands to the public not respecting the authority of police officers. As Christians, we are to respect people as God's creation. Respect does not mean agree with or like but to respect the authority of. That is true in the workplace, and our faith should make us different in that aspect.

Respect also includes a good attitude. The Bible says bond servants are to be well-pleasing and honest (not stealing). Then our faith shines through.

So often we live our lives without much thought. We don't realize that such little things as supporting our bosses or staying positive in a difficult situation or taking problems to the person instead of taking behind his or her back can make such a difference. Life is fast, but I think if we slowed down and thought before acting we could make such a difference. People are watching much more than we realize.

But it's not just conscious decisions that we make. We also need to work on our relationship with the Holy Spirit. If the Spirit is active in my life, I will naturally act differently. I will naturally react in a way that is God-pleasing. Because we are sinful creatures we have to remember we aren't different on our own. We are different with the help of God.

Basically, Christian employees should be the best employees. We should be sought-after, because working for God means we try to be excellent in all our work. Are you sought-after?

Vacation: Part 6 --- Trying ackee

One of the reasons that we love all-inclusive resorts is the opportunity to try new things with no downside, especially in restaurants. Since it's all prepaid, if you don't like what you order, you order something else or go somewhere else and eat something different.

In Jamaica, Nate was telling me about something called ackee.

"You mean acai?" I asked.

He insisted that this fruit in Jamaica was called ackee, but I knew he was just mispronouncing it, so I spelled it for him and told him it was pronounced a-si-ee.

Then we passed by a tree on the Sandals resort that grew the national fruit, and a sign in front showed that it was an ackee tree. Yes, ackee.

I had never heard of that fruit before.

We ended up ordering an ackee and smoked marlin calzone at the pizza place one day, and I expected a purplish fruit to be inside. What spilled out was cheese, sauce, pink smoked marlin and what appeared to be scrambled eggs.

The calzone was absolutely delicious, and I continued to poke around to try to find the ackee. I didn't see anything beyond these yellow chunks, and we finally concluded that this was indeed the ackee. It wasn't sweet --- it was kind of savory and even a little salty.

The next day Nate tried ackee and saltfish, the national breakfast in Jamaica. Fish, peppers, onions and ackee don't sound like a great breakfast, but it was in fact quite delicious. Nate's dad had told us to try it, and he was right. It's oddly good.

That's why I love to try new things. Yes, sometimes I don't end up liking them. However, other times I find something that I end up absolutely loving. It's so worth it to expand your palate and your experiences by trying a little bit of everything.