Vancouver 2010

So my better half keeps nicely nudging me to blog more often, so I thought it would be a good time start.  With the Winter Olympics finally over, I thought I would write a few words on these latest winter games.

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoy the Olympics, even though it may take me a few days to fully get into the spirit and pageantry of the games.  There's something about rooting for your country in competitive sports that can not be matched in the NBA, MLB, or NFL.  Don't get me wrong, I love those leagues and have a great time following my teams in those leagues, but it doesn't generate that same passion that I get when rooting for the stars and stripes to beat, well, the WORLD in everything from Skeleton to Curling.

Yes, I said Curling...

...which I still do not understand at all, but I definitely want the USA to be the best at it.  And believe you me, I was rooting like heck for their stone and their sweeper dudes to do whatever it is they are supposed to do to win.  Unfortunately it didn't work out so well for our Curling team this go 'round.  But here's kudos to the two athletes that I found myself rooting the most for:  Mr. Apollo Anton Ono (you are the man!) and Ryan Miller.

I don't know what it is, but Ono is to speed skating what Jerry Rice was to football:  a cool, calm confidence.  In my opinion no one looked cooler, more talented, or more confident on the football field than Jerry Rice.  He excelled as the best wide receiver of all time and looked good doing it.  That's how I felt about Apollo.  The guy just flat out flies on the ice and looks good doing it, too.  He's just plain cool, no other way to describe him.

Then there's Ryan Miller, the USA men's hockey team goalie.  This guy was an absolute stud!!!  Not only did he shut down some of the best hockey players in the world, but the guy has to be like 120lbs soaking wet.  When he was interviewed after games, he was humble, respectful, and looked like he left everything out on the ice for his country.  It is a shame the USA didn't get the Gold and especially Miller.  No shame in giving up a winning goal to the best hockey player (Crosby) in the world right now.

So there you have it.  My first of hopefully many more blogs to come.  I hope you enjoyed this impromptu, off the cuff blog.  You're welcome honey!

Fruit of the Spirit

I'm currently in the 6th week of a 10 week women's bible study on the Fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22-23:

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

The first several weeks focused on
-how we have to be right with the Lord,
-how we need to obey the leading of the Holy Spirit,
-what true love really is,
-the experience of real joy in any circumstance,
-what peace really means (it's so much more than calm),
-and now we are learning about patience.

Without exaggeration, each week has been perfectly timed to coincide with feelings, emotions, and circumstances I've been going through.  This week is no different.

You remember my posting called Trust Walk a few weeks ago?  Well, all of the issues that led me to write that post still remain unresolved.  Right now, I want to take control and just be done with things.  I don't want to continue to wait.  I'm the kind of person that can spot a problem and can come up with ways to solve it.  Right now, though, I have to be patient, wait, and simply trust.  Yes, I said simply trust.

Isn't it funny how trust doesn't require that much from us, yet experience teaches us to make it one of the most difficult things to do and give?  Kids trust so easily--they trust you to feed them, clothe them, provide for them, keep them safe, keep them healthy, keep them alive.  And what have we really done to earn that trust besides love them and do our best?  Yet, God loves us even more and provides even more for us, and our best pales in comparison to His worst.  And we find it so difficult to trust Him...with anything, let alone everything.  This must be why the Word tells us to come to Him as little children.

Suffice it to say I continue to learn.  I learn more and more each day and I intend to keep on learning until my time is up.  Some of that learning requires stripping apart my ingrained habits and flawed beliefs in order to rebuild with a sound foundation.  That's what I'm doing now.

I place my elpis* hope in Jesus.  Here's to developing patience!

*Elpis is the Greek word for hope meaning "desire of some good with expectation of obtaining it" (from Living Beyond Yourself: Exploring the Fruit of the Spirit by Beth Moore).

Photo Friday--Camping Fun

 

  

  

 

Crazy Love

Call me an old fashioned girl, but my favorite music is comprised of vocal standards, light jazz, and oldies.  Yes, I like an eclectic mix of rock, R & B, musical soundtracks, and alternative/funk/etc.  But for the most part I love Frank Sinatra, Diana Krall, Michael Buble, and Harry Connick, Jr.  Bring on the Dean Martin, Tony Bennet, and Bing Crosby, too.

I love to listen to music when I'm cooking, baking, and cleaning.  My mood sometimes shifts to up tempo latin music if I'm cooking a Mexican-style meal or if I'm exercizing.

Most recently on my playlist is Michael Buble's Crazy Love album.  My lovely husband bought it for me for my birthday...and I am really enjoying it.  I really dig the classic sounds of "All I Do is Dream of You" and "Stardust."  The duet, "Baby (You've Got What it Takes)" is loads of fun.

I'm a fan.  You can click here to listen to samples from the album.  If you get it, let me know what you think!

Fun with Photos!

Here's another photo for Friday.  If you or someone you know is planning a wedding, this is a great idea for the bride & groom and their guests.  Get a photo booth.  The couple will end up with fun pictures of everyone and the guests get to take home a memento from the event.

Photo Friday

Here's a blast from the past:

From our trip to Rio de Janiero, Brazil.  Back in 2003--whew, can't believe it's been so long!

Love

Okay, so Valentine's Day already came and went.

Better late than never.

I LOVE MY HUSBAND!  God was gracious to me when He blessed me with my husband.  He is my brother in Christ, my best friend, my companion, the shoulder I cry on, the person I love to laugh with the most, and my true love.

I can honestly say that I love my husband more now than I even could have imagined when we were first married--and I loved him so much then!  Watching his love for the Lord grow and how he's developed into such a strong yet gentle man has blessed my heart.

So, Happy (belated) Valentine's to everyone.  May you find and keep your once-in-a-lifetime love by the grace of God.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails. ~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Trust Walk

Things are crazy...but good.

This is already a BIG year.  We are so incredibly blessed and we are living by faith each day.

Both of us are redefining our visions of success, family, maturity, and goals.  It's a daunting, yet EXCITING time for us.  We're poised to experience many major changes this year and all of it is requiring that we place our complete trust in God.  It's challenging!

Especially for me.

I'm a planner by nature.  I like lists.  I like checking things OFF of my lists.  I like knowing what to expect and when to expect it.  I like having a plan.  I'm not a control freak.  I'm actually pretty flexible.  I just like having some structure to things and knowing what comes next.

Right now, everything is out of my control.  But that's a good thing.  I'm learning SO MUCH through this.

Redefining your life is a humbling experience.

Success is no longer measured by a paycheck, but by the value my life has in investing in others.  Family is not just flesh and blood, but also our brothers and sisters in Christ.  Maturity doesn't mean having all the answers, but being comfortable admitting that you don't while also having the discipline to seek and find those answers.  It still requires silliness, youthfulness, and plenty of laughter.  And goals...well, let's just say that I'm working on letting God determine my goals, both short term and long term.  It's hard to break old habits.  It takes time and purposeful effort.  I've spent most of my life seeking to have the perfect job, status, paycheck, marriage, 2.5 kids, house with a white picket fence, and everything else this world tells me to value...but really, those things don't bring satisfaction and can really be very shallow.

I want more than that:  I want real substance.

For me, that means more of God and less of my petty desires.

He must increase, but I must decrease. ~ John 3:30

When it rains, it pours...indoors?

Southern California has been getting pounded by rain, hail, snow, and wind.  There have been flash flood warnings and even tornado/water spout warnings.  Mudslides have begun right alongside mudflows.  Several of our friends have been evacuated from their hillside homes and we're only half-way through the storm.  It's been flat-out crazy!

As for us, we have not been evacuated--but we have a leaky ceiling.  When the rains really started on Monday, our ceiling decided that it just didn't want to hold the water out anymore.  While sitting on the couch enjoying a movie, we heard a weird sound and looked over just in time to see a small chunk of plaster fall from the ceiling and begin raining on everything below it.  We jumped into action: moving furniture, getting plastic down, and putting large pots underneath to catch all the rain.  Within the hour, several other spots on our ceiling decided to spring leaks, too.

This has been going on this entire week with the downpour outside.  A repair guy has been working feverishly to patch the problem--but that's just it...they're temporary patches that hold for a few hours and then give way.  It's disconcerting that he looks surprised anytime his patch works, even for a bit.  Hm...

So, I've cleared my schedule for the week to be on storm watch--in our living room.  When a leak springs, I run to grab yet another receptacle to catch it.  It's definitely been keeping me on my toes.  Oh, what a fun week it's been...

Even amidst all of this, we're very thankful that we have a home and that it's only leaking in the living room.  We both know it could be worse.  With all this in mind, we will still be praising God in this (literal) storm.

 ²⁸ Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress.
 ²⁹ He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.
 ³⁰ They were glad when it grew calm,and he guided them to their desired haven. (Psalm 107:28-30 NIV)

His Excellent Name

Psalm 8 (New King James Version)

To the Chief Musician. On the instrument of Gath. A Psalm of David.

 ¹ O LORD, our Lord,
         How excellent is Your name in all the earth,
         Who have set Your glory above the heavens!
        
 ² Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
         You have ordained strength,
         Because of Your enemies,
         That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.
        
 ³ When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
         The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
 ⁴ What is man that You are mindful of him,
         And the son of man that You visit him?
 ⁵ For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
         And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
        
 ⁶ You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
         You have put all things under his feet,
 ⁷ All sheep and oxen—
         Even the beasts of the field,
 ⁸ The birds of the air,
         And the fish of the sea
         That pass through the paths of the seas.
        
 ⁹ O LORD, our Lord,
         How excellent is Your name in all the earth!