It's a few days after my birthday, but it still feels like I am special.
Growing up, my mom made birthdays a big deal. We woke up to a decorated room - from a couple balloons to streamers in our doorway to a light up sign complete with faux flowers (that was for me, I don't think my brother probably would have appreciated the flowers).
We also got to use a special birthday set of dishes, a red goblet and a red plastic plate with gold stars on it. They were set away all of the year except for our birthdays.
My parents also wrote happy birthday on the refrigerator in magnetic letters (and now they send us a text with a picture of the refrigerator when we're not at home :) )
We had cake and ice cream, and we even had parties. Although most years I chose to forego the party and we went to a theme park to celebrate instead.
When my brother was away at college, my mom sent his friend some special birthday decorations to surprise him on his big day. This last weekend, when my parents visited, my parents decorated my bedroom with a pink floral streamer. It's simple, but looking at it now still makes me feel loved.
I know birthday's aren't a big deal. Woohoo, I naturally grew a year older without really accomplishing anything. However, it's one day a year that we get to celebrate something for just ourselves. It's not about anybody else. For instance, it was the one day a year that my parents got German chocolate cake, and they didn't even have to share it with us kids - neither my brother or I like coconut.
When it's Nate's birthday, I like to make him some signs or decorate too. I know that he doesn't think it's a big deal, but I still want him to feel special.
I look forward to the day that I can spoil my own children on their birthdays and make them feel truly special and loved. It's little things like that which make lasting memories.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Detailed design
When my Olde English Bulldogge puppy was sleeping next to me the other morning, I was looking at her cute, smushy face.
Look closely at her. She has white hair all around her eyes, and her eyelashes are the exact same color. However, there is a distinct difference between her hair and her eyelashes even though they look the same. Her hair goes in directions opposite of her hair. The small line of eyelashes on her upper eyelid goes the opposite way and grow straight out to catch debris that would fall in her eyes.
I was just amazed looking at her, how perfect her design is and how much thought God had to have put into all those little details.
It's times like this that I am amazed that people can believe that there is no intelligent design in the world. Last night at premarital counseling our pastor said that even though we can't see God, we can see his fingerprints all around.
I think one of his fingerprints looks just like Novie's eyelashes.
Friday, May 25, 2012
24 and old growed up
My birthday is next Tuesday, and it's interesting to think about where I am in life and where all my friends are.
I was talking to a friend from high school on Monday, just catching up as I came home from work. We talked about wedding plans, my dog, my job, my new car.
"What else is going on?" she said. "You're getting married; you have a dog, a new car. You have such a grown-up life."
"Yeah, I do. I'm all grown up," I said.
I really am. When did it happen? One day you're a kid, the next day you're trying to grow up but you're still a kid at heart. Then it's like it's done. You're an adult. You're all on your own.
Even my parents aren't really buying me things anymore. (Which Nate laughed at when I said it, because he said his parents stopped that years ago.) I told Nate that they have made me his problem now!
My friends also are grown up. I have two friends who just bought houses with their husbands. I have other friends getting married; others have left the state to find new jobs.
Life sure is interesting. It crawls by slowly until you start to think back and realize just how far you've come in such a short time.
But when I think back, you know the times that really stick out? It's not really the grown-up things of paying bills and going to work but the grown-up blessings of close friendships, fun vacations, playing with my own puppy, planning the flowers and cake topper for our wedding. It's the little things that make up a life.
At work, someone mentioned that a local business owner said he didn't have a story to tell. Again, I completely disagree with that. We all have a story to tell of where we came from and dreams for where we're going. It may be little items that make up our life, but it is a story nonetheless.
I was talking to a friend from high school on Monday, just catching up as I came home from work. We talked about wedding plans, my dog, my job, my new car.
"What else is going on?" she said. "You're getting married; you have a dog, a new car. You have such a grown-up life."
"Yeah, I do. I'm all grown up," I said.
I really am. When did it happen? One day you're a kid, the next day you're trying to grow up but you're still a kid at heart. Then it's like it's done. You're an adult. You're all on your own.
Even my parents aren't really buying me things anymore. (Which Nate laughed at when I said it, because he said his parents stopped that years ago.) I told Nate that they have made me his problem now!
My friends also are grown up. I have two friends who just bought houses with their husbands. I have other friends getting married; others have left the state to find new jobs.
Life sure is interesting. It crawls by slowly until you start to think back and realize just how far you've come in such a short time.
But when I think back, you know the times that really stick out? It's not really the grown-up things of paying bills and going to work but the grown-up blessings of close friendships, fun vacations, playing with my own puppy, planning the flowers and cake topper for our wedding. It's the little things that make up a life.
At work, someone mentioned that a local business owner said he didn't have a story to tell. Again, I completely disagree with that. We all have a story to tell of where we came from and dreams for where we're going. It may be little items that make up our life, but it is a story nonetheless.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
No bell, no bark
Why oh why?
I just can't figure out why Novie continues to potty inside.
She didn't take so well to us training her to ring a bell to let us know that she has to go outside. However she did decide that she would tell us by barking.
That was fine with us, because we just wanted to know when she needed to be let out. We didn't care how. Yet, she still potties inside about once a week on average, sometimes a little more.
We can't figure out why she does it. It's not that we're ignoring her barking. Sometimes she potties inside a long time after she has been let out, but we figure that she'll tell us when she needs to go.
Often it seems like she potties inside when she is sleepy or when lazy, and we're guessing she just doesn't want to extend the energy to go outside.
It's frustrating when you don't know how to fix a problem.
I know that I extend God metaphors to a lot of different things, and I've done it with Novie before, but I think that God probably feels the same way with us. We keep messing up, even when we know it's wrong like Novie does, but we don't fix it. It's like we're too lazy to try to change.
I bet God just shakes his head and gets frustrated the same way that I do with Novie.
Thank God for second, third and thousandth chances. Thank God for his forgiveness!
I just can't figure out why Novie continues to potty inside.
She didn't take so well to us training her to ring a bell to let us know that she has to go outside. However she did decide that she would tell us by barking.
That was fine with us, because we just wanted to know when she needed to be let out. We didn't care how. Yet, she still potties inside about once a week on average, sometimes a little more.
We can't figure out why she does it. It's not that we're ignoring her barking. Sometimes she potties inside a long time after she has been let out, but we figure that she'll tell us when she needs to go.
Often it seems like she potties inside when she is sleepy or when lazy, and we're guessing she just doesn't want to extend the energy to go outside.
It's frustrating when you don't know how to fix a problem.
I know that I extend God metaphors to a lot of different things, and I've done it with Novie before, but I think that God probably feels the same way with us. We keep messing up, even when we know it's wrong like Novie does, but we don't fix it. It's like we're too lazy to try to change.
I bet God just shakes his head and gets frustrated the same way that I do with Novie.
Thank God for second, third and thousandth chances. Thank God for his forgiveness!
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Fences can be good
My friend once told me about a pasture theory of Christianity.
We have a fence to stay within, guidelines to follow and a plan for our lives. However, it's not all or nothing. We have room to move and room to be ourselves. We can choose where to go, just within certain boundaries.
Many people see Christianity as a path, where one step can lead you off into the darkness. I like the pasture way of looking at things much more.
However, human nature makes us not want to stay within even a pasture. Actually, it's more than human nature; it's earthly nature.
On my way to work yesterday, I saw a trio of cows that had gotten out of the field they were supposed to be scavenging in. Another was pushing its head against the fence, trying to figure out how those cows got out.
The space outside the fence looked good to the cows. However, outside the fence the cows were in danger of getting hit by a car or never finding their way home. Even if they didn't get hurt, those cows definitely could have hurt someone else, because a car that hits a cow gets major damage and a driver can be seriously injured. It's a lot like when we leave the pasture we're supposed to be in, getting outside of God's will for our lives.
Even when an animal doesn't quite get out of its pasture, their life still isn't as good as it could be. Sometimes horses stick their heads through fence slats to grab some grass outside their home, but they can get a nasty crick in their neck doing it. A cow or a horse could even get half its body out of the fence and decide that it was far enough. It might seem freeing to be outside the fence a little bit, but they will get stuck there and not be able to move about at all.
The grass may always seem greener on the other side of the fence, but the farmer who put up the fence did it for the good of his animals.
We have a fence to stay within, guidelines to follow and a plan for our lives. However, it's not all or nothing. We have room to move and room to be ourselves. We can choose where to go, just within certain boundaries.
Many people see Christianity as a path, where one step can lead you off into the darkness. I like the pasture way of looking at things much more.
However, human nature makes us not want to stay within even a pasture. Actually, it's more than human nature; it's earthly nature.
On my way to work yesterday, I saw a trio of cows that had gotten out of the field they were supposed to be scavenging in. Another was pushing its head against the fence, trying to figure out how those cows got out.
The space outside the fence looked good to the cows. However, outside the fence the cows were in danger of getting hit by a car or never finding their way home. Even if they didn't get hurt, those cows definitely could have hurt someone else, because a car that hits a cow gets major damage and a driver can be seriously injured. It's a lot like when we leave the pasture we're supposed to be in, getting outside of God's will for our lives.
Even when an animal doesn't quite get out of its pasture, their life still isn't as good as it could be. Sometimes horses stick their heads through fence slats to grab some grass outside their home, but they can get a nasty crick in their neck doing it. A cow or a horse could even get half its body out of the fence and decide that it was far enough. It might seem freeing to be outside the fence a little bit, but they will get stuck there and not be able to move about at all.
The grass may always seem greener on the other side of the fence, but the farmer who put up the fence did it for the good of his animals.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Cluttered sounds
I haven't really been praying lately.
I gave up on my chronological Bible reading when Nate and I were assigned to read the Bible together, because I figured I didn't have to read it twice. However, we haven't been very good about fulfilling that part of our assignment.
I guess I have kinda put my "growing in faith" on hold for a little while. It was purposeful though.
When I was going to a nearby town for an interview this afternoon, I couldn't really find anything to listen to the radio, but I kept flipping channels anyway. It was just clutter, but I liked to have the noise.
Then I started to think about how that clutter is probably one of the reasons that I don't pray very often. When there is always background noise, I don't really sit and think. That means that I don't pray either, because I don't have the quiet time to remind me to do it.
In today's times, I don't think that we Christians often ignore God purposefully. It's just that our lives get so full, we don't realize that we're pushing God out.
I think I need a little more silence.
I gave up on my chronological Bible reading when Nate and I were assigned to read the Bible together, because I figured I didn't have to read it twice. However, we haven't been very good about fulfilling that part of our assignment.
I guess I have kinda put my "growing in faith" on hold for a little while. It was purposeful though.
When I was going to a nearby town for an interview this afternoon, I couldn't really find anything to listen to the radio, but I kept flipping channels anyway. It was just clutter, but I liked to have the noise.
Then I started to think about how that clutter is probably one of the reasons that I don't pray very often. When there is always background noise, I don't really sit and think. That means that I don't pray either, because I don't have the quiet time to remind me to do it.
In today's times, I don't think that we Christians often ignore God purposefully. It's just that our lives get so full, we don't realize that we're pushing God out.
I think I need a little more silence.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Poop doesn't disappear
OK, I maybe shouldn't admit this. But this afternoon, I took Novie on a walk after work. I figured it would be about the time that she needed to do her business, so I encouraged her to do it before we left. She didn't, and I didn't grab a plastic bag before we set off, so I hoped for the best.
Of course, she stopped to poo right on the sidewalk, not even anywhere where I could shoo it into the grass. So I looked around, saw no one was looking and quickly trotted away with her.
People do that a lot too. No, I don't mean we do our business on the sidewalk. I mean that we do something we're not supposed to, look around just to make sure no one saw and act like we didn't do it.
However, on the way back home, I saw that little pile still sitting on the sidewalk. It hadn't disappeared just because I ignored it. And unless it rains soon, someone with the city will probably stop to clean it up.
Yet again, it's like sin. It doesn't go away just because we act like we didn't do it. And eventually someone will probably have to clean up the mess, either us or the people we've affected or God. It doesn't just disappear.
Of course, she stopped to poo right on the sidewalk, not even anywhere where I could shoo it into the grass. So I looked around, saw no one was looking and quickly trotted away with her.
People do that a lot too. No, I don't mean we do our business on the sidewalk. I mean that we do something we're not supposed to, look around just to make sure no one saw and act like we didn't do it.
However, on the way back home, I saw that little pile still sitting on the sidewalk. It hadn't disappeared just because I ignored it. And unless it rains soon, someone with the city will probably stop to clean it up.
Yet again, it's like sin. It doesn't go away just because we act like we didn't do it. And eventually someone will probably have to clean up the mess, either us or the people we've affected or God. It doesn't just disappear.
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