I've found a new favorite blog called Stuff Christians Like. It is SO funny! Here is today's blog that had me laughing so hard that I was trying to explain it to Larry and finally had to make him read it himself because I just couldn't get the words out. You can find it at www.stufffchristianslike.blogspot.com(notice the 3 f's...that's not a mistake)
Feeling Slightly Guilty for telling People "Good Luck"
"Good luck with the 10K this weekend!"
Well, I mean, I don't personally believe in luck, but you might. I believe that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. But how am I supposed to say that to you, my colleague from work, in the break room?
"I hope God works all things for the good of those who love him this weekend at your 10K race!"
That's a mouthful, but seriously, I probably shouldn't be saying "good luck." Some Christians don't even say "Pot Lucks." They call them "Pot Blessings" which kind of sounds like the headline from an issue of the marijuana magazine "High Times" but I'm only digging myself into a deeper hole of awkwardness at this point.
Would it be weird if I told you "Have a blessed 10K?" Does that make me sound like I’m the kind of person that would throw holy water on you during the race or hand you communion wine at one of those drink stands along the course instead of Gatorade? And do I have to over pronounce the "ed" at the end of that word like some people do? Do I say “blessed” like I would say “messed” or do I need to pronounce it "bless-ed." I always feel like some random guy named Ed is getting hooked up when people do that.
This is getting so complicated. From here on out, I'm dropping luck, I'm dropping bless-ed and am just going to say "Yay running!" and throw both hands into the air with spirit fingers. Wait, are spirit fingers related to the Holy Spirit or are those bad too? Ohhh, slippery slope, slippery slope indeed. I'll go with jazz hands then, definitely jazz hands.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Gratitude
I got the following information off of a friend's blog (Thanks Brook!) and found it interesting:
Researchers studying those who kept gratitude journals concluded:
At the end of the 10 weeks, participants who’d kept a gratitude journal felt better about their lives as a whole and were more optimistic about the future than participants in either of the other two conditions. To put it into numbers, according to the scale we used to calculate well-being, they were a full 25 percent happier than the other participants. Those in the gratitude condition reported fewer health complaints.
People who kept a gratitude journal reported feeling more joyful, enthusiastic, interested, attentive, energetic, excited, determined, and strong than those in the hassles condition. They also reported offering others more emotional support or help with a personal problem— supporting the notion that gratitude motivates people to do good. And this was not limited to what they said about themselves. We sent surveys to people who knew them well, and these significant others rated participants in the gratitude group as more helpful than those in the other groups.
Now let me make a confession. I am not a fan of journaling...I guess that goes along with my extreme dislike for scrapbooking. Every time I try to journal, despite all of my good intentions, it ends almost as quickly as it started. Yet I must admit that this gratitude thing has me intrigued...again. I think I'm going to try it on a regular basis and see how it goes. I'll start today here just to get my juices flowing:
I am thankful for:
1. The sound of my boys having fun together.
2. Deep friendships
3. Our curriculum which took my reluctant reader and made him love it.
4. 18 years of knowing Larry and 13 years married to him this summer. He still makes my heart beat faster when I see him!
5. All of the people supporting us financially and through prayer. We truly love them all!
6. Sunshine
7. The fact that I enjoy doing laundry and dishes since the supply is endless.
8. Cheeze Its
9. Mail...it's the highlight of my day.
10. A book that is so good you could finish it in one sitting...if it wasn't for all of the laundry and dishes!
What are you thankful for?
Researchers studying those who kept gratitude journals concluded:
At the end of the 10 weeks, participants who’d kept a gratitude journal felt better about their lives as a whole and were more optimistic about the future than participants in either of the other two conditions. To put it into numbers, according to the scale we used to calculate well-being, they were a full 25 percent happier than the other participants. Those in the gratitude condition reported fewer health complaints.
People who kept a gratitude journal reported feeling more joyful, enthusiastic, interested, attentive, energetic, excited, determined, and strong than those in the hassles condition. They also reported offering others more emotional support or help with a personal problem— supporting the notion that gratitude motivates people to do good. And this was not limited to what they said about themselves. We sent surveys to people who knew them well, and these significant others rated participants in the gratitude group as more helpful than those in the other groups.
Now let me make a confession. I am not a fan of journaling...I guess that goes along with my extreme dislike for scrapbooking. Every time I try to journal, despite all of my good intentions, it ends almost as quickly as it started. Yet I must admit that this gratitude thing has me intrigued...again. I think I'm going to try it on a regular basis and see how it goes. I'll start today here just to get my juices flowing:
I am thankful for:
1. The sound of my boys having fun together.
2. Deep friendships
3. Our curriculum which took my reluctant reader and made him love it.
4. 18 years of knowing Larry and 13 years married to him this summer. He still makes my heart beat faster when I see him!
5. All of the people supporting us financially and through prayer. We truly love them all!
6. Sunshine
7. The fact that I enjoy doing laundry and dishes since the supply is endless.
8. Cheeze Its
9. Mail...it's the highlight of my day.
10. A book that is so good you could finish it in one sitting...if it wasn't for all of the laundry and dishes!
What are you thankful for?
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Spring is Here!
If you need evidence of spring's arrival check out these pictures I took on Saturday at Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs, AR. This is kind of like the Botanical Gardens in St. Louis. We went with our friends Matt and Emily and their kids Whitney and Jackson. It was a great day!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Confirmed
As I sit here typing this I hear the happy voices of Clayton, Evan, Devin, and Drew. I am cherishing this sound because we now know for sure that they are moving to Omaha. It's hard to believe that I am again going to have to say goodbye to a dear friend. I did enough of that when I left St. Louis to last me a lifetime! This is a great move for their family. It is a permanent location so they won't be moving around anymore and the job is exciting and much lower stress than what her husband is in now. He will be gone in 2-3 weeks but the rest of the family will stay behind for now. Once he is officially in the new position Karyn will get a call from a relocation company. From the point of that call they will be gone in 90 days. If the house sells earlier they will go earlier but if it doesn't the railroad will buy them out and they will move. We're thinking at this point that July may be a likely month for them to go but of course many factors could make that shorter or longer. The Olsons have been like family to us for just over a year now. Losing them will be horrible, but we've been so blessed to have known them. I'm not sure what life will be like without them here.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Life in a Soap Opera
I went through a small period of time when I watched soap operas because my babysitter did. Hmmm...do you think my mom knew that? Regardless, I never did like them and I decided its because there was too much drama. I've even decided recently that Karen Kingsbury books really aren't my thing. I've enjoyed many of them and can even tell you my favorite one, but I picked up one of her books recently and the first 5 pages were so full of drama that I put it down. It's unrealistic that someone can go through that much drama at one time. Or is it? After this week I am seriously re-thinking that thought.
It all started when I found out that there is a decent chance that our dearest friends here in Little Rock might be moving. That still isn't confirmed but seems likely. That alone was enough to ruin my week. On Tuesday came word that FamilyLife would be going through its second round of lay offs. This does not affect our jobs, only the paid staff, but whether you are paid staff or missionary staff doesn't matter much around here because we are all a team. Their loss is our loss.
On Wednesday we woke up to learn that at 11:30 the previous night our friends lost their 17 year old daughter, Nikki, in a car accident. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around their grief and I just can't do it. Thursday was the day of the lay offs. We all waited to see who would loose their jobs and 2 of my friends lost their jobs that day.
I figured at that point that we were Ok until Monday and Tuesday when we would attend the viewing and the funeral for Nikki. Then last night we got a phone call from another friend, and neighbor, who is on staff at FamilyLife with us. Her husband had been 1 1/2 hours out of town fishing. He went into the bathroom and slipped. He tried to grab onto the sink but when he did the sink was ripped off of the wall and shattered as he fell which cut an artery in his arm. He was airlifted to Little Rock where he had to go into surgery to repair his arm. Larry and another neighbor drove out last night to get his car and Larry arrived home at midnight last night.
Tonight we head to the funeral home and tomorrow Larry will attend the memorial service for Nikki at their church. Our friend came out of surgery fine and it looks like he will be back home today. Let's hope things calm down a bit after this and Karen Kingsbury doesn't come knocking at my door anytime soon for a story line!
It all started when I found out that there is a decent chance that our dearest friends here in Little Rock might be moving. That still isn't confirmed but seems likely. That alone was enough to ruin my week. On Tuesday came word that FamilyLife would be going through its second round of lay offs. This does not affect our jobs, only the paid staff, but whether you are paid staff or missionary staff doesn't matter much around here because we are all a team. Their loss is our loss.
On Wednesday we woke up to learn that at 11:30 the previous night our friends lost their 17 year old daughter, Nikki, in a car accident. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around their grief and I just can't do it. Thursday was the day of the lay offs. We all waited to see who would loose their jobs and 2 of my friends lost their jobs that day.
I figured at that point that we were Ok until Monday and Tuesday when we would attend the viewing and the funeral for Nikki. Then last night we got a phone call from another friend, and neighbor, who is on staff at FamilyLife with us. Her husband had been 1 1/2 hours out of town fishing. He went into the bathroom and slipped. He tried to grab onto the sink but when he did the sink was ripped off of the wall and shattered as he fell which cut an artery in his arm. He was airlifted to Little Rock where he had to go into surgery to repair his arm. Larry and another neighbor drove out last night to get his car and Larry arrived home at midnight last night.
Tonight we head to the funeral home and tomorrow Larry will attend the memorial service for Nikki at their church. Our friend came out of surgery fine and it looks like he will be back home today. Let's hope things calm down a bit after this and Karen Kingsbury doesn't come knocking at my door anytime soon for a story line!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Fun with Friends
Thursday my friend Karyn and I gave our boys the day off of school, packed them all up and drove 45 minutes to see the daffodils at Wye Mountain. Too bad the field was closed! We got to see them from behind a fence and no cool pictures of the boys in them like I was hoping. Next weekend is the daffodil festival out there so we might try to go back out. We ended up taking the boys to a park, to lunch, and back to Karyn's to play. They were thrilled just to be together so it didn't really matter to them if they got to go in the daffodil field or not. Here are a couple of pictures of the daffodils that I did get plus some of us with our friends.
We first met Karyn and her boys at Homeschool Academy. Devin was new and Clayton was assigned to show him the ropes. They clicked immediately and all I heard about was Devin, Devin, Devin. Finally one day I met Karyn and found out that she had a boy one year older than Evan. She invited us to come for a play date at her house and we've been inseparable since. She has become such a dear friend to me and our boys have also become great friends, especially Clayton and Devin who are the best of buds. On that first day meeting Karyn I learned that her husband works with the railroad and that they move a lot. For a year now I've dreaded the day when she might go and it looks like that day is coming sooner than later. I don't have details yet but her husband, Dave, is being seriously considered for a position in Omaha, NE. I'm trying not to think about it much but I've been hinting to Clayton that the day may come soon and he is not happy. Larry has decided that he is going to spend a week in Hawaii when they leave because Clayton and I are going to be two of the unhappiest people in Little Rock. For now I'm trying to enjoy having them here while I can!
We first met Karyn and her boys at Homeschool Academy. Devin was new and Clayton was assigned to show him the ropes. They clicked immediately and all I heard about was Devin, Devin, Devin. Finally one day I met Karyn and found out that she had a boy one year older than Evan. She invited us to come for a play date at her house and we've been inseparable since. She has become such a dear friend to me and our boys have also become great friends, especially Clayton and Devin who are the best of buds. On that first day meeting Karyn I learned that her husband works with the railroad and that they move a lot. For a year now I've dreaded the day when she might go and it looks like that day is coming sooner than later. I don't have details yet but her husband, Dave, is being seriously considered for a position in Omaha, NE. I'm trying not to think about it much but I've been hinting to Clayton that the day may come soon and he is not happy. Larry has decided that he is going to spend a week in Hawaii when they leave because Clayton and I are going to be two of the unhappiest people in Little Rock. For now I'm trying to enjoy having them here while I can!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Life and Krispy Kreme's
Boy have we had a month, and illness was the main theme! Colds, sinus infections, ear infections....and then just when I thought it was ending Evan gets chigger bites up and down his arms and legs. We had never experienced this so it took us awhile to figure out what exactly was popping up all over him and causing him to itch like crazy. As the nurse at the doctor's office put it "They are about the worst things you can get bit by." That was not exactly what I wanted to hear but boy was she right. At one point we were doing oatmeal baths, chiggerex, calamine lotion, benedryl, and cold comresses and it was hardly helping the itching at all. He was up all night one night because nothing we did would stop it. He ended up with huge welts on his arms and legs. This lasted for about 6 days before finally subsiding. Now he will start healing which will take weeks. Can you say BUG SPRAY?!?!
Today I took the boys on a field trip to Krispy Kreme with a rather large group of homeschooled kids. In a nutshell it was tons of kids, a small space, and donuts....the kids were thrilled. They were pulling donuts off of the assembly line as they were rolling out from under the glaze and handing them to the kids to eat. So now that we are all on a sugar high it's time to get back to reality and finish our school day! Tonight the boys have their buddies Devin and Drew spending the night and tomorrow we are taking another field trip to Wye Mountain. This will be our first time but apparently there is a small church up there that has acres upon acres of daffodils that bloom about this time each year. I'll post those pictures tomorrow but for now here are some from Krispy Kreme.
Today I took the boys on a field trip to Krispy Kreme with a rather large group of homeschooled kids. In a nutshell it was tons of kids, a small space, and donuts....the kids were thrilled. They were pulling donuts off of the assembly line as they were rolling out from under the glaze and handing them to the kids to eat. So now that we are all on a sugar high it's time to get back to reality and finish our school day! Tonight the boys have their buddies Devin and Drew spending the night and tomorrow we are taking another field trip to Wye Mountain. This will be our first time but apparently there is a small church up there that has acres upon acres of daffodils that bloom about this time each year. I'll post those pictures tomorrow but for now here are some from Krispy Kreme.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)