This weekend was unique for Jamie and I: Because he had to go to inservice in Charleston for three days this week, Jamie actually worked dayshift all week and had the entire weekend off -- a "normal people" schedule! Despite the fact that I still had to study this weekend, we took advantage of his time off and had some fun.
Friday:
We went to Black Bear to see Chris Cendana (one of my friends from high school and an excellent musician) play. It is rare that Jamie gets to hang out with our group of friends since activities usually occur on evenings and weekends so it was nice to get some people together to eat good food, drink some margaritas and listen to some great music. Afterward, we went out on the town for a bit before settling in for the night.
Saturday:
We had a pretty chill day (which was nice after a night out -- man, we are getting old). We did "married people stuff" i.e. taxes and my FAFSA and Jamie watched some TV while I studied. We did venture out for Schroder's second trip to Petco (the first was on the first day we got him and I think he was a little traumatized). This time went much better. We got him a few toys and got a few new fish since our cannabalistic goldfish ate all the other ones we had. After our trip to Petco, we felt inspired to watch "It's Me or the Dog" to get some training trips for Schroder, especially since he has been pulling on his leash a lot lately. We thought a harness was the cure until Schroder figured out that he hated it and chewed through almost the whole thing while we were taking a nap. He may hate training, but at least he's smart.
Sunday:
Jamie and I slept in a bit, made waffles for breakfast, then enjoyed actually getting to go to church together. The rest of the day was spent running errands, relaxing (Jamie) and studying (me) before heading to dinner with our community group. Despite the misery of studying on a weekend that my husband actually had off, I did get caught up before starting the dreaded test week.
Overall, we spent a significant part of the weekend dreaming about what it would be like if I didn't have to study, Jamie worked a regular schedule and we had real, relaxing weekends all the time. Hopefully someday it will happen, but who knows. It definitely didn't help my desire to quit school, but did increase my desire for spring break in 2 weeks and my appreciation for the time that Jamie and I actually do get to spend together.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
just for laughs
It's Monday so I'm sure you need a good laugh :) This is my new favorite YouTube video....It makes any day brighter!
Friday, February 20, 2009
redefining failure
Lately, I have been struggling a lot with inadequacy, especially in the area of being a wife. It seems that when I look around at other Christian wives I see women who stay at home, cook dinner every night, plan meals for the week or month, budget, stay on top of cleaning, have babies and raise them. All of that stuff is amazing (if you are one of these wives you rock my life), but it simply isn't my life right now. I am the wife whose house may look like a tornado hit it, especially on test week. I am the wife who is more likely to pick up dinner somewhere while running between school, meetings, etc than to cook a big meal. I am the wife who will probably eat cereal for dinner if her husband's at work. I am the wife whose husband is more likely to do laundry than I am. The longest my planning of meals usually goes is this: what are we eating for the next one? I am the wife who doesn't know when she'll have kids and questions if she'll ever be ready since sometimes she can't handle taking care of a puppy.
Believe me, I know that I'm not supposed to be comparing myself to other people (easier said than done for me!) but as I look around at other Christians it is difficult to find wives in a similar situation as mine, or at least those women are not the ones in my life or my community. All this to say that lately I have been calling into question what my life is supposed to look like in light of my role and responsibility as a Christian wife and the call that I feel that God has for me and feeling like a failure on most counts.
Fortunately, yesterday I was able to attend a lunch seminar with Charles Lee, who is a pastor and co-founder of an organization called Just One. His talk was about creativity, but as a part of it he also addressed redefining failure using this video as illustration:
He made the point that outcomes are God's business and that our part of the equation is simply faithfulness. His spin on failure was this: "If you stay faithful to the passions God has formed in you, you cannot fail."
Does this mean I don't want to be better at domestic things and taking care of my home? No, but it does mean that I am free to leave the results up to God while I worry about staying faithful to His calling.
Believe me, I know that I'm not supposed to be comparing myself to other people (easier said than done for me!) but as I look around at other Christians it is difficult to find wives in a similar situation as mine, or at least those women are not the ones in my life or my community. All this to say that lately I have been calling into question what my life is supposed to look like in light of my role and responsibility as a Christian wife and the call that I feel that God has for me and feeling like a failure on most counts.
Fortunately, yesterday I was able to attend a lunch seminar with Charles Lee, who is a pastor and co-founder of an organization called Just One. His talk was about creativity, but as a part of it he also addressed redefining failure using this video as illustration:
He made the point that outcomes are God's business and that our part of the equation is simply faithfulness. His spin on failure was this: "If you stay faithful to the passions God has formed in you, you cannot fail."
Does this mean I don't want to be better at domestic things and taking care of my home? No, but it does mean that I am free to leave the results up to God while I worry about staying faithful to His calling.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
random acts of kindness
So, I'm not sure how many of you know this, but this week is Random Acts of Kindness Week. Last night, at our Wired small group, we were talking about creative ways to bless others especially in light of this week (and wondering if you plan something if it can still be a random act of kindness). Little did I know, I was going to get a chance to witness a truly random act of kindness today.
Since it was such a nice day, Jamie and I decided to take Schroder to the Botanical Gardens for a little jog/walk. On our first lap around the trail, we noticed a man who had tied his dog's leash to a tree and was yelling for another dog to come to him. As we got closer, we saw that the other dog was in a creek that had gotten fairly deep because of the rain recently. On top of that, the dog was blind. Apparently, the dog had fallen off the bridge and into the water. As soon as we figured out what was going on, Jamie handed me Schroder's leash and waded down to the water to help retrieve the dog. After probably 10-15 minutes, he and the dog's owner finally got the dog out of the water and back on his leash.
The moral of this story? I love that I have the kind of husband who didn't hesitate to help someone in need (especially since the runaway dog situation was all too reminiscent of my awful night with Schroder on Friday....whole other story). In truth, it's what we as Christians are supposed to do, not just on Random Acts of Kindness Week, but always. I love the picture Jesus paints for us in the Bible of what it's like when we help others: "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." (Matthew 25:40)
I pray that this week and the above scripture would be a reminder to us as Christians that we are to live a Random (and planned) Acts of Kindness LIFE! Feel free to leave any ideas of RAOK that you have done or that others have done to bless you...I would love to hear them :)
Since it was such a nice day, Jamie and I decided to take Schroder to the Botanical Gardens for a little jog/walk. On our first lap around the trail, we noticed a man who had tied his dog's leash to a tree and was yelling for another dog to come to him. As we got closer, we saw that the other dog was in a creek that had gotten fairly deep because of the rain recently. On top of that, the dog was blind. Apparently, the dog had fallen off the bridge and into the water. As soon as we figured out what was going on, Jamie handed me Schroder's leash and waded down to the water to help retrieve the dog. After probably 10-15 minutes, he and the dog's owner finally got the dog out of the water and back on his leash.
The moral of this story? I love that I have the kind of husband who didn't hesitate to help someone in need (especially since the runaway dog situation was all too reminiscent of my awful night with Schroder on Friday....whole other story). In truth, it's what we as Christians are supposed to do, not just on Random Acts of Kindness Week, but always. I love the picture Jesus paints for us in the Bible of what it's like when we help others: "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." (Matthew 25:40)
I pray that this week and the above scripture would be a reminder to us as Christians that we are to live a Random (and planned) Acts of Kindness LIFE! Feel free to leave any ideas of RAOK that you have done or that others have done to bless you...I would love to hear them :)
Thursday, February 5, 2009
balancing act
Lately I have been thinking a lot about grace and its dispensation. More specifically, I have struggled with the balance of grace and accountability. How do I encourage my brothers and sisters in their walk with Christ and keep them accountable to that while still displaying the grace that has been so freely given to me? How do I keep others accountable for things that I have messed up on in the past without being hypocritical, legalistic, judgmental? Less it sound differently, I do believe this can and should be done but in my humanness I find it a constant struggle that I probably mess up more than I get right.
This balancing act is one of the things that makes living in community so difficult. Inevitably you are dealing with a group of people that are not in the same place spiritually and it is often difficult to know how to deal with individuals in the place where they are instead of treating everyone the same or assuming everyone is at the same place spiritually as you are. As the pastor from my home church likes to say, "Sameness isn't fairness," and he's right. While it might seem fair and equal to treat everyone the same, it's not the way Jesus treats us and not the example given to us from the Bible. In 1 Thessalonians 5:14, Paul says, "And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone." He urges us to treat people differently based on they place they are in. If they are lazy they should be warned, if they are timid they should be encouraged, if they are weak, they need help. When we warn the weak or encourage the idle, we do them a disservice, which is why the same approach cannot work for every person. "Sameness isn't fairness."
But the part of that verse that I have the hardest time with is "be patient with everyone." Ahhh, back to the balancing act. I will admit, I struggle with being patient with those who are less spiritually mature or who are immature in general. Not that I have it all figured out by any means, but I find myself getting impatient with those who I feel should "know better." I rarely stop to question whether they do know better or examine whether instead of being idle they are perhaps timid or weak...I jump right on the "warn" bandwagon. My prayer is that as I navigate through the balancing act of grace versus action, God will give me eyes to better discern individual needs and patience with the timid, the weak, AND the idle.
This balancing act is one of the things that makes living in community so difficult. Inevitably you are dealing with a group of people that are not in the same place spiritually and it is often difficult to know how to deal with individuals in the place where they are instead of treating everyone the same or assuming everyone is at the same place spiritually as you are. As the pastor from my home church likes to say, "Sameness isn't fairness," and he's right. While it might seem fair and equal to treat everyone the same, it's not the way Jesus treats us and not the example given to us from the Bible. In 1 Thessalonians 5:14, Paul says, "And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone." He urges us to treat people differently based on they place they are in. If they are lazy they should be warned, if they are timid they should be encouraged, if they are weak, they need help. When we warn the weak or encourage the idle, we do them a disservice, which is why the same approach cannot work for every person. "Sameness isn't fairness."
But the part of that verse that I have the hardest time with is "be patient with everyone." Ahhh, back to the balancing act. I will admit, I struggle with being patient with those who are less spiritually mature or who are immature in general. Not that I have it all figured out by any means, but I find myself getting impatient with those who I feel should "know better." I rarely stop to question whether they do know better or examine whether instead of being idle they are perhaps timid or weak...I jump right on the "warn" bandwagon. My prayer is that as I navigate through the balancing act of grace versus action, God will give me eyes to better discern individual needs and patience with the timid, the weak, AND the idle.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Tagged
I have been tagged by Andrea Salamanca who is pretty much the coolest mom of (soon to be) 2 that I know :)
Here are the rules:
1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer.
2) Select the 4th picture in the folder.
3) Explain the picture.
4) Tag 4 people to do the same.
Here's my pic:
Hilarious that this is the pic that was in that folder. This was taken sometime around my 26th birthday, so in September of 2007. I came home from work (yeah, somehow I always work on my birthday) to find a mini surprise party, complete with cookie cake. This is my sister Ashley's husband (boyfriend at the time though), Adam with icing from the cookie on his beard.
I am tagging: Katy Whitehair, Derek Roberts, Meghan Baird and Angela Harding
Here are the rules:
1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer.
2) Select the 4th picture in the folder.
3) Explain the picture.
4) Tag 4 people to do the same.
Here's my pic:
Hilarious that this is the pic that was in that folder. This was taken sometime around my 26th birthday, so in September of 2007. I came home from work (yeah, somehow I always work on my birthday) to find a mini surprise party, complete with cookie cake. This is my sister Ashley's husband (boyfriend at the time though), Adam with icing from the cookie on his beard.
I am tagging: Katy Whitehair, Derek Roberts, Meghan Baird and Angela Harding
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Happy (late) Birthday Jamie!
This past weekend, Jamie and I were able to travel to Phoenix (with free airline tickets thanks to Capital One!) for his 29th birthday and the Rock n' Roll Marathon and Half-Marathon. Whereas if it were my birthday, I would have chosen to relax at a bed and breakfast or beach somewhere, Jamie decided that for his birthday he wanted to run a marathon. So on Sunday, I ran the half-marathon and he ran the full. Here are some before and after pics from the race:
Jamie & I pre-race
Post-race and still smiling with our finisher medals on
Jamie WAY post-race....looking pretty tired, but he might just be in a sugar coma from the cookie and ice cream dessert we had from room service for his birthday ;)
I am so proud of Jamie for completing his 2nd marathon and for even wanting to run another one after the first (I am still not convinced to do another full anytime in the near future). Other than the pain of the actual race, we had a great time! It was nice to get away together for a while and especially nice to go from a temperature of -7 when we left Pittsburgh to 79 in Phoenix :) We did miss this little guy (although aunt Tiff did a great job of taking care of him despite his unruly behavior):
And if you didn't notice from the pics above, Jamie got me a new digital camera also! (guess I get gifts for his birthday too...ha) I love my SLR but it is nice to have a more portable camera as well. I'm sure you will be seeing lots more pics from both cameras in the future :)
One last note: Jamie and I got engaged a year ago today...Just shows you how much can happen in a year!
Jamie & I pre-race
Post-race and still smiling with our finisher medals on
Jamie WAY post-race....looking pretty tired, but he might just be in a sugar coma from the cookie and ice cream dessert we had from room service for his birthday ;)I am so proud of Jamie for completing his 2nd marathon and for even wanting to run another one after the first (I am still not convinced to do another full anytime in the near future). Other than the pain of the actual race, we had a great time! It was nice to get away together for a while and especially nice to go from a temperature of -7 when we left Pittsburgh to 79 in Phoenix :) We did miss this little guy (although aunt Tiff did a great job of taking care of him despite his unruly behavior):
And if you didn't notice from the pics above, Jamie got me a new digital camera also! (guess I get gifts for his birthday too...ha) I love my SLR but it is nice to have a more portable camera as well. I'm sure you will be seeing lots more pics from both cameras in the future :)
One last note: Jamie and I got engaged a year ago today...Just shows you how much can happen in a year!
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