Why Apartment Living Beats the Snot Out of Owning a House

When Billy and I moved here, we had lots of people encouraging us to buy a house, but we opted for an apartment instead. Oh, I am so glad we did!

Here are some reason I like renting an apartment instead of owning a home:

Yard Work: We have the best of both worlds here in the apartment. We have a grassy field out our back door for the girls to run around, but we don't have to mow it. We also have a little tucked away area between our patio and the air conditioning unit where I plan to put some plants next year. But if I don't get around to it, it's not a big deal, because landscaping isn't something I have to maintain while renting. So, if I want to, I can. If I don't, then I don't have to. Who can complain at that?

Cooling Off: We just got back from swimming in the complex's pool. It opened 2 weekends ago, and we've been making nearly daily trips to cool off for about an hour at a time. Not to mention that living on the bottom floor of an apartment building seems to keep us cooler than living in our one story house did. It's currently 92 degrees here, but it's quite comfortable in our apartment without the a/c on. In fact, the only times I've used the a/c so far has been while cooking dinner or working out. Those are times you tend to get extra hot, so I've needed the cool-down. Hopefully, this will reflect well on our bill this summer. (Of course, we'll have to see if this is still a good thing come winter, when our hot air rises!)

Size, location for our money: For the same amount of monthly payment, we could get a $100,000 home loan at the current rates (according to mortgage-calc.com). This is about what our last house was worth, and trust me, we are not wanting to go back into the kind of house you can get for $100,000. It will either be so old that we'll constantly do repairs, or so small that we'll literally trip over each other on the our way to the 1 bathroom (been there... trust me, I don't want to go back!), or in a location that is too busy for my tastes. So, here for a comparable cost, we gained 400 square feet, including one bathroom, and we have no responsibility for repairs, and we have a nice suburban feel with a lake to walk around.

Seriously, if renting this apartment, isn't a gift from God, I don't know what is.

Merchandise Credit is from God

...so are 3 hour long gymnastics camps.

Oh, seriously. It was heaven on earth. No one who knows me would ever doubt my undying love for my family, but gosh is was good to drop Eve off for an extended time at her gymnastics studio.

Ashlyn and I headed over to TJ Maxx to use a Merchandise Credit voucher we had left over from a gift we returned. See, those stores that let you get cash back when you return a gift just screw those of us that are overly responsible with our money. If we get cash, it immediately goes into our budget and ends up paying for something like rent or lights. But I had no choice today other than to go and buy something that I would never buy for myself - ever.

We've had this card since Christmas, and Billy insisted that I take today to get some new pajama pants, since mine have no fewer than 5 holes in the upper legs and, ahem, other areas. I ended up getting the pants, a father's day present, sandals for Eve, and a pair of goggles without spending a thing.

It was nice to get a treat and not feel guilty about where my money should be going.

So, thank you, God, for merchandise credit.

Beautiful Day

I'm about to unveil the extent of my dorkiness. Mark this day on your calendars, it won't happen again. Billy will love this. He accuses me of always wanting to look cool and not doing fun things because I'll look like a dork. He's right. But here, in all my dorkdom, let me tell you about my beautiful day.

As you faithful readers know, I've been gearing up to be organized. With a new baby and selling a house, schedules flew out the window. But now that we're fairly settled in the new place, I've been aiming to get some structure back in our lives. Oh, my gosh! Is it ever glorious!

Last night, I spent some much-needed time planning my week. I use Google Cal, and I have 4 calendars that I keep. Here's what my week looked like online:


So, here, I have my green events, my red reminders (i.e. anything Billy doesn't need cluttering up his calendar view), my purple meal planning, and Eve's pink. Google rocks and e-mails me one agenda for the day to print out and reference.

The day was highly organized, highly productive, and highly full of scheduled fun (and delicious food, I might add).

Commenting on my brilliant rigidity may now commence.

June Goals

Here's how I did on goals for the month of May:

• Work out 3 times a week - eh...it was more like 2, but it was something, at least.

• Pick out photos for Ashlyn's first year baby book - we're up through 8 months on this one.
  

• Figure out a scheduling/calendar system that works for us - looking good...Billy and I use GoogleCal to coordinate between the two of us, and I have a separate calendar book for taking with me. It's a little cumbersome to have both, but since I don't have a way to carry Google around, I have to use both for now.

• Read a couple of non-fiction books - The Emerging Church and Why We're Not Emergent. I also read The Bridge to Terebithia.
  

• Change address on magazine subscriptions - I called mags to do this, and found out that the post office did this one for me! How sweet of them.

• Use the decluttering calendar a couple times a week - Ok...so I only used it a couple time this month. The result is a couple of very organized dresser drawers. Long overdue!

• Spending Fast Update - We did it! The only thing that we bought that was not a utility or food was a bathing suit for me. I know, I know...it doesn't seem like a necessity, but trust me... when your plan is to stay home as much as possible all summer in order to save gas, you have to take advantage of the complex pool. I thought about putting the purchase off until June, but I was at Wal-mart getting diapers (total necessity!) and I figured I should just go ahead and get the suit to save another trip.
  

June's Goals -
Continue "real" exercise 2x a week, but also add in mini-sessions 2 evenings
Find out about new car and drivers' licenses
Decrease auto fuel usage by 10% (in terms of dollars!)
Figure out some ways to eat healthy and cut the grocery bill
File all my crazy papers/shred unneeded ones
Finish choosing photos for the baby book

Book Review: Why We're Not Emergent by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck

I found out about this book from my old buddy Dan Kimball. It's a critique on emergent that he recommended as a fair look. You can read Dan's review, too. But read mine first.

The Set-Up

This book is written by two very different guys. One is a theology-loving logical kinda guy. He's a 30-year-old pastor in a college town. The other is a story-telling journalist, artsy type. He goes to the pastor's church.

In the intro, they tell the reader that they won't try to combine their personalities into one voice; rather, they each wrote separate chapters, and the rest of the book kinda flip-flops back and forth chapter by chapter.

The Good

These guys did tons of reading to prepare for this book, especially the pastor. His source list was insane long. I have to give a lot of credit because it can be really difficult to trudge through books that go against your deep-seeded convictions. It can be an angering process and an overwhelming one, too. But these guys kept at it and really had some determination.

They also presented their concerns with love. I thought their hearts were very much in the right place as I read their beefs with emergent. I've read lots of critiques on the "movement" and this one was by far the nicest spirited commentary. So many of the critiques lose all credibility because they appear to be rants showcasing a laundry list of grievances and sentencing participants of emergent to hell.

These guys were consistent in their overarching complaint: emergent is an over-reaction against an extreme example of conservative (and I would add - unChristlike) Christianity. These guys point out that emergents offer false dichotomies based on reacting to judgemental, stuffy, legalistic Christians. In shifting so far the toward liberty, they are just as guilty at straying from the Christian message.

The Bad

These guys did tons of reading to prepare for this book. While I admire their persistency to trudge through this, I thought everyone knew that emergent is a conversation and you have to talk about it for years on end to understand what anyone has to say. I say that mockingly, but honestly, I would've appreciated if these men had had conversations with some of the guys whose books they quoted. As it were, the journalist "interviewed" people who were probably not qualified to give much opinion, certainly not any expert opinion. For example, his story about how post-modernism hasn't really taken over the culture to the extent that emergents claim it has was based on a conversation with a college kid. That doesn't really hold a lot of water for me. I mean, how much did you really know as a college kid?

In fact, I'm not really sure the journalist added much to the book except some clever style. Not to say his clever style wasn't appreciated. I actually quite enjoyed his chapters. But I think the book as a whole would have been better if they hadn't separated the chapters by author. As it is now, the book has 2 kinds of chapters -- boring ones with tons of great information (by the pastor), and interesting ones with no real point (by the journalist). Had they worked to use the pastor's info and the journalists style, they could've had a book that was great, instead of just good.

The Verdict

If you're looking for a critique of the emergent church, this is a good choice. Though a bit difficult to trudge through at times, it is generally easy to read and clear. It presents a fair look and offers better solutions to the problems that emergents are also trying to solve.

I recommend it as part of your investigation into what the emergent church is.

My New Calling

Okay...maybe I won't be going into graphic design full-time, but I am pretty excited about the graphics that I made for this morning's worship service at Chase Valley.

I used to mess around on Photoshop and do goofy things like this:



But then I met Billy, and he showed me how to actually use the program, and now I can do cool things like this:

original photo by *hiro008

May Goals

Well, it seems like life has settled down again. It's good to be back together as a family, and we're pretty much settled in except for the stuff that never had a place in Indiana, and will take forever to get a place here in Alabama.

So, I'm looking for a bit more structure to our days, and I thought a good place to start would be in monthly goals. Sure the month's half over, but I've been working on these all along anyway. I just thought I'd share them with you.

Goals for the months of May:

Work out 3 times a week
Pick out photos for Ashlyn's first year baby book
Figure out a scheduling/calendar system that works for us
Read a couple of non-fiction books
Change address on magazine subscriptions
Use the decluttering calendar a couple times a week
Open a bank account down here

Book Review: The Emerging Church by Dan Kimball

The Set-Up

Kimball writes about where the church needs to go in the post-modern era by dividing his book into 2 parts. The first part is an overview of post-modern thought and the "crisis" that the modern church is in as they look at reaching upcoming generations (as well as those crazy hippy fogies who are more post-modern in thought). He gives a thorough and interesting synopsis of where our culture is and why that affects the church.

Part 2 is more of a methods book, although Kimball is careful to say that using methods without understanding the background of culture will turn out a disaster. He goes through several functions of the church (i.e. corporate worship, evangelism, discipleship, leadership structure) and discusses how these may need to change as the church engages the post-modern mindset of those around us.

Throughout the book, Kimball has included comments by about 5 or 6 people who read the manuscript. These are not just quotes that go along with his ideas, but they are people's comments about his words. Most are in agreement with him, but he was mature enough to also include some comments that disagree with his point, or expand his point to include something that may seem omitted. The commenters include Brian McLaren and Rick Warren.

The Good

First, I have to say that I love Kimball's heart in this book. So many times, I get frustrated with "emergents" (or friends of them, whatever that means) being condemning of the modern church. It bugs the crap out of me to have people use the same arrogance in their emerging rhetoric that they accuse the staunchy theologians of having.

But Kimball's heart is amazingly humble and generous. He quotes the adage that goes, "In essentials - unity. In non-essentials - freedom. In all things - charity." I feel like this really is his way of life. He criticizes without condemning, and he encourages all the while.

Another thing that I liked about the book was that he is aware of the risk of consumerism, even in positive changes. He emphasized over and over that the changes he's made must be made to put the focus on Christ and cannot be made solely to cater to the people we're trying to reach. He seems to understand how easy it is to head that direction and maintains that consumerism in the church is harmful, whether it's cheesy bumper stickers or deep spirituality of candles and incense. Consumerism is consumerism, and it needs to stay out of the church. In this vein, he also speaks against the "corporation" structure of many churches. Amen!

Lastly (although I could go on and on about "the good"), Kimball's theology is just very sound. We hear so much about emergent theology being wayward and post-modern itself. But Kimball is clear that theology is important and doesn't need to be sacrificed in order to reach new people. While methods may change to provide a deeper spiritual experience, truth is truth and the Jesus of the Bible is that Truth. It was relieving to read this strong focus on Jesus being the only way to heaven and a relationship with him being the only way to spiritual growth.

The Bad

The one thing that stood out to me the most as a negative in this book was the lack of variety in Kimball's methods. On one hand, he speaks to diversity, but on the other, his methodology indicates that ancient-future is the one way that post-moderns will feel connected. In honesty, I just can't see a lot of people liking the intensely deep, mystical, dark thing all the time. I tend to be deep and melancholy. More so than a heck of a lot of people I know, but I don't think week after week of dark depth is what would be effective toward a holistic spiritual growth. I realize that this is what has worked for his church, and this is what he uses in his community, but I would have liked to hear some other methods that work in other churches that reach to post-moderns.

Another thing that I wasn't crazy about with his methods was that many of them seemed very "Jesus and Me" worship. I'm sure I missed something here because community is so important to post-moderns and is talked about so much in the emerging movement. But a lot of Kimball's examples talked about people leaving their seats to go do something on their own, be it give offering, take communion, or pray. I tend to believe that corporate worship ought to be corporate. If I wanted to pray alone in the dark, I'd put on a CD, light some candles in my bedroom and pray. Being in the community gathering should be about communally worshiping God. It's not just me and Jesus. It's a family of believers worshiping together, and there's something about that kind of worship that cannot be done alone.

The Verdict

This is a fairly old book... that is, it's from 2003. But these days that's ancient, right? I mean, there's so much new stuff coming out everyday that most of the stuff in Kimball's book is now over-discussed. But this book is worth the read.

For one thing, it gives a good impression of what the emerging church can be when it holds fast to doctrinal truth and returns to depth of worship and relationship. It shows that these two ideas are not mutually exclusive. Even though this book was written previous to a lot of the current criticism over the emerging church, it's a good counter to show that the phrase doesn't just point to the liberal whackos who don't want to know anything with certainty. For this reason, I've recommended it to a friend, who has heard a lot of the criticism but none of the positives.

It's also a great read for people who haven't yet heard or investigated the term. I've already recommended it to my mom.

Spending Fast

Now that we're down here and getting settled, Billy and I have had a chance to look over our money stuff.

The move and related things (house repairs, organization needs [read: a kitchen trash can and such], bedding for Eve) have caused us to spend more than we normally do. Add to that an obnoxious bill for car repair, and we're downright tired of shelling out the cash.

So, we decided last night to participate in a "spending fast" for the month of May. This means that we won't be spending any unnecessary money.

"Necessary" will be categorized as anything that would make creditors come after us if we didn't pay. We will be paying rent. We will pay for power. We will pay for gas and groceries, although our efforts will go toward decreasing these expenditures.

"Superfluous" spending would include things like picture frames that I really want so I can hang up family pictures. These are only $2 each at Wal-mart. But $2 here and $2 there is what ends up adding up to big bucks in the long run.

I will be waiting to buy curriculum for next year until June. I'll also have to wait on getting Ashlyn's year-old pictures printed. (Heck! She's already 15 months, what's 30 more days???)

If we want, we can choose to write down things that we wanted to spend money on. Then, at the end of the month, we'll see what we really wanted by seeing if we still want it.

The idea for this came from My Simpler Life.

New

My church has been focusing on newness in Christ for the last several weeks, and today, the sermon series wrapped up with "New Strength." The biblical example was Gideon and his 300 men.

I've appreciated this whole series because my friend Elaine has pounded into my head over the last year that I'm a new creation. I've spent a lot of time learning about what that means. I've begun to understand how to take that truth -- which I've always "known" -- and appropriate it in my daily life. It takes the head knowledge and adds to it a knowledge of experience.

My church has talked about several different areas of life that our new identity and the power of Christ's resurrection in us. Some of the include

New Relationships
New Freedom
New Attitude

As I think on these phrases, I remember that the Gospel message is truly revolutionary.

Proud

Just wanted to invite you all to take a look at the current issue of Evansville Parent magazine.

It's always full of fun and helpful articles, but I'm particularly interested to know your views on my article in this issue. It's on page 15.

Here's a link to the 2nd half of the magazine. My article will be on page 2 of this electronic copy.

First Impressions

So, we've been here about 2 weeks. And I figured it was high time to get back to blogging. (Disclaimer: No promises here about how often I'll post at first, cause I still have boxes that need my attention, but it's getting significantly better!)

A few things have stuck out to me as first impressions while acclimating to the area:

1. It's super easy to find your way around here.
Pretty much everywhere I've ever gone has involved the interstate. You basically hop on and take it to your exit. Sure there are a couple of turns once you get off, but all in all, the interstate makes for a quick and easy drive.

Sometimes, it's too quick for my country-girl tastes. Coming from Indiana, I'm used to lots of open fields with 30 mph speed limits. The fastest limit in Evansville was 50 mph on the Lloyd. (The interstate up there doesn't count cause people only used it to leave town for the most part.) So, I get on 565 and see signs for 70 and it kinda freaks me out. Plus, I've never had to merge so much in my life.

2. Our apartment complex is awesome.
We have a huge lake that has been the highlight of our living experience so far. Nightly walks are a great way to get exercise when you're low on childcare. Ashlyn's taken quite a liking to the ducks, and Eve is convinced that she can call the beaver up to us by speaking Beaver language she learned by watching The Chronicles of Narnia too many times.

The complex is also in the process of renovations. Our interior renovation was complete before we moved in, but now we're scheduled to get a screened in porch sometime this summer.

The downfall of the apartment living is having a weird upstairs neighbor who vacuums at 9:30 at night and doesn't speak English.

3. There's actually stuff to do here.
Now, this may not be fair to Evansville. This could be just that I grew up in Indiana and take for granted stuff that goes on, but I doubt it.

It just seems like there's more culture here than Evansville has. This weekend, we went to an amazing art festival called Panoply. It was beyond fun.

Other interesting stuff includes The Big Read, Thursday Night Concerts, and Big Spring Jam.

Looks good to me.

4. My new church rocks.
Sundays are amazing. This goes without saying, as I get to worship God being led by the hottest leader ever. Not that worshiping God is about how hot the worship pastor is, but you know....

Plus, I'm super excited about the sermon series that I got to come into. It's called "New: the power of resurrection for today." I think that the single biggest grower in my recent faith journey has been learning and studying about my new identity in Christ and what it means to have him living through me. I'm geeked that this is the message that my pastors have chosen to preach starting on Easter.

So, am I liking it here? All in all, I'm down.

Clothes that Fit

The last few months, I've been hardcore about working out in order to (1) get in better shape, and (2) not be forced to buy a new wardrobe. I'm convinced that buying new clothes because you're fat is a big waste of money. I'd rather spend my money on the gym.

So, for a year, I was wearing a rotation of no more than 5 shirts and 2 pairs of jeans (actually, the 2nd pair, I only purchased in December, so most of the year was 1 pair of jeans).

But 2 months ago, I enlisted Blake at Bob's Gym to help me cut the blubber, and I couldn't be happier, as today, for the first time, I'm wearing pre-pregnancy clothes that fit again.

Okay, okay...they don't fit quite the same way. The waist of the jeans digs in a little and you can see a fat roll or two through my shirt. So, I still have a few inches to go. But I'm wearing them. And I am actually going to wear them in public!

The workout didn't just help my body shape and size, it also increased my fitness level. I went down 4% in fat percentage, I have better cardio health, and I increased my upper-body strength by 230% (based on a push-up test).

So, I owe a huge thanks to Blake for making my workouts challenging and fun, do-able and effective.

Retarded Car

Ok, I know... I'm supposed to be packing and whatever. But I saw one of these on the road the other day and just couldn't stop laughing.

They call it smart fortwo. The name style pretty much indicates how cramped it must be. And I wonder if they thought about ever traveling anywhere with luggage. Doesn't seem too smart to me.

brb

Well, today was the magic day. We closed on our house. What a relief. I'll write more on the trauma of the weeks leading up to today, but for now, I just have to say that I'll be gone for a while.

I'm planning to sell the desk that my computer is on and will be breaking the computer down here soon.

It should be back up and running by mid-April.

So, keep me in your reader, and I'll catch you up on the hassle of moving day.

Looking Good on a Lousy Day

Today was beyond hard. The details aren't relevant, but trust me, it wasn't a pretty day. BUT, that's no reason why I can't be pretty!

I've been feeling just plain worn out lately. I'm not the only one. Pianomomsicle feels it, too. It's part of being a mom to a baby and having... well... basically anything else going on at all.

So, as a light-hearted break from some of my normal heavy stuff, I wanted to share some of my favorite "look alive" make up solutions for those days when you're feeling like dropping over dead.

Under-eye Concealer

My current favorite is a liquid concealer from Neutrogena. It goes on smooth and blends well. I use a color 2 shades lighter than my normal foundation because it gives a more natural look. Just blend in the foundation to the bottom area of the concealer and you have a nice fade into your face color. All of Neutrogena's products have built-in skin care elements, also. So, I feel fairly confident that this concealer isn't clogging my pores to no end.

Pressed Powder Highlighter

Physician's Formula has a great product to bring extra glow to your skin to help you look brighter and more lively. I learned about this product in college, but never tried it for myself until I was shopping for wedding make up. The first time I applied it, I was sold. The last powder I got was a neutral, solid color, and I was so glad to run out the other day so that I could get this one again.

Quotable

From Lifetime Guarantee by Bill Gillham:

"It's easy to praise the Lord when everything's cool, but you can "offer up a sacrifice of praise" (Heb. 13:15) only when it's not. A sacrifice costs something. It hurts to give it. Praising the Lord when you feel bad is not being a phony either; it's being obedient. Your heart can be in it even when your emotions are not."

I highly recommend this amazing book.

Friends are a Waste of Time

Last night, my pastor was talking about friendship and our great need for it. He mentioned that in our society today, we are always busy. We always have places to be, things to do.

Sometimes simply spending time with people seems like a waste. But this "waste of time" is the most valuable time we can spend.

Today, I walked down to my old friend Mary's house and "wasted" about 45 minutes. The other night, I "wasted" time on Kara.

Who do you need to waste time on this week?

Asleep in the Light

Last week, Shaun Groves posted about Larry Norman's death, wondering if the Christian music community would really miss him. He noted that other conviction-filled Christian musicians, such as Rich Mullins and Keith Green, are rarely referenced well these days.

Now, I don't know much about Larry Norman. My knowledge is limited to a song that dc talk covered with end times theology that I don't agree with, but Rich Mullins has been a favorite of mine for years. I remember seeing him in concert when I was a wee lass in junior high. I thought he was weird for performing barefoot. I would pay lots of money today to see him perform barefoot. Since he's dead, that won't be happening. But fortunately, I have a DVD of one of his last concerts that I can play over and over.

Anyway, Keith Green is one that I haven't listened to in a long, but I got out my Keith Green: The Early Years CD today, and jammed to the first few songs on the way home from the gym.

Man! This guy has some hard-hitting lyrics. The CD opens up with "Asleep in the Light." This song is one where he chastises Christians for not caring that others around us are dying.

But it's easy to rip on the church, right?

What I liked was that Green also isn't scared to offend non-believers. It seems to me like young, hip, emerging Christians of today hold un-believers up as the idol du jour. There are calls to make things relevant for the un-believer (read: cater to them). We consult non-Christians on how they would like to be reached for Christ, and then we sell books on the topic.

But the 2nd song of Green's album is called "Soften Your Heart," and it comes with lines such as,

"You're so proud of saying you're a seeker
But why are you searching in the dark
You won't find a thing
Until you soften your heart"

So, what I appreciate so much about Keith Green -- okay there are TONS of things I appreciate, and I learned most of them in the biography of him that his wife Melody wrote -- is that he's able to call a spade a spade whether he was in Christian circles or with non-Christians.

Cause after all, we all need the same thing: Truth.

Are You Serious????

Apparently my husband forgot about this post.

Let the Journey Begin

Today was carefree.

Without jackets, we headed to the Ohio River in Newburgh.

It's been a long time since we've been down there, and it was great to walk along the river petting dogs and playing in fountains, looking at overpriced artwork and beat up used books.

We stayed there for about 90 minutes, doing everything that we won't get to do for much longer.

It's supposed to snow on Tuesday. And we'll be gone in a month.

As I walked around in Newburgh, I thought about how much I'm going to miss it. This is my town, you know? This is where I grew up, went to high school, came home to during college, bought my first house, got married, had children.

And through all that there was this quaint small-town remnant along the southern part of the Ohio, one state before it merges with the Mississippi.

This downtown where I marched in parades and went for countless walks with strollers. Where I have taken pictures year after year, even exposing photography students to the artistic possibilities all around us when we're only aware.

This is the downtown with the tree that withstood the tornado, where Billy and I made a point to go on our wedding day -- a symbol that our home will be strong through all kinds of storms.

There were so many reminders of good times and special memories. It could be easy to be upset right now. To be uncertain of the future, trying to hold on to the past.

But today was carefree. It wasn't the sadness of loss, so much as the joy in the moment. The happy remembrances of years gone by and the eager hopes for years to come.

Because more memories will be made, no matter where we are. Other places will earn my favor and become attached to the beauty of a memory. And there will be other times to mourn.

Today was a time for laughing.

Jesus Does Have a Sense of Humor...

A little while ago, at small group, Billy and I somehow started quoting the Jesus videos. The rest of the group wondered what the heck we were doing, and I told them I'd send a link to the videos so they could check them out for themselves, but I realized that these are just so funny that everyone ought to see them. And since EVERYONE reads my blog...

Here's a taste of them...

Vintage21 Jesus Video 4



More can be found at the Jesus Videos myspace page.

Vanity and Values > The Girl Scout Impact

As I noted in my last post, I lost my wallet a couple of weeks ago. I kept hoping it would turn up, but alas... nothing.

So, I headed to the BMV for a new license.

For a variety of reasons, my pic turned out less than attractive. This is a bummer cause my last driver's license was totally (and I mean totally) cute.

Anyway, the main thing I was bummed about was how chubby I looked. I've been working out religiously for the last few months, using both weights and cardio machines. So, to look overweight still was a hard pill to swallow.

So, I did what any reasonable girl would do when she's upset about her weight: I ate a handful of Girl Scout cookies....and then I ate another one.

And this got me thinking.

The Girl Scouts say that their cookie selling program is a beneficial thing that teaches girls about commitment, hard work, and the entrepreneurial spirit.

But I submit that it's really teaching girls to take advantage of people by selling addictive products that are harmful to the consumers. I mean, really, in this day where most of America is obese, isn't there some kind of more useful product that they could use to teach the values they're trying to impart?

For instance, a kid from our local high school came by recently selling mulch. What a brilliant idea. Selling mulch is a good way to beautify the community and to not make people fat. Rather, spreading mulch is physical activity that promotes health. You get your heart rate up a bit, and definitely work out your arms and back. Not to mention the benefits of spending time outdoors.

So, why can't the Girl Scouts do something that's a little more beneficial?

Never Too Old to Learn

As my 29th birthday fast approaches, I'm feeling the weight of age in various. I look in the mirror and see maturing eyes. I get out of bed with a back ache. I get more weighed down with life and find less care-free fun.

But my recent trip to Huntsville reminded me that we never get too old to learn new things.

Here's some of the knowledge I have after this last week:

1. You need your driver's license for more than just driving.
I went to Huntsville this last week to find an apartment. We sold our house last week (how's that for a big announcement?) and I was eager to have a new home to look forward to. Unfortunately, all the apartment complexes require a photo ID before viewing their apartments. No one could tell me "WHY" they needed one; it was just company policy.

A photo ID was also required for me to use a guest pass that my friend, Kristin, got for me at her gym. So, I didn't get to work out this week, either.

2. The Ohio River Valley isn't the worst place for sinuses after all.
The Tennessee Valley, however, is. Headaches abounded in the Chia clan.

3. Built-in U-turns are ingenious.
The designers of closed-access roads everywhere would do well to learn from those who put together Memorial Parkway in Huntsville. Here, you have the best of both worlds with interstate overpasses and side streets that run parallel to the highway. But the problem comes when you really need to turn into a business on the other side of the interstate. Wait! No, problem at all. Simply continue to the next traffic signal and get in the U-turn lane.

4. It's not worth it to say what you're feeling when you're overly tired.
Let's leave it here: It's harder to heal hurt feelings than it is to just keep your mouth shut in the first place.

5. Christians aren't the only ones that do things wrong.
With Billy being in church leadership, a lot of our conversation has to do with ways the Church reaches out. Billy reads a lot of different blogs, and we've both read books on "doing church" (I detest that phrase, by the way). The frustrating thing about saturating oneself in such content is that you have to filter through so much stuff about how crappy the Church is -- from not understanding non-Christian's needs (uh...last time I checked, they needed Jesus) to not marketing itself to today's generation (whole websites are devoted to this concept). So, when we had to drive around in apartment complexes for 5 minutes before we found signs for the rental office, it was a relief to see that the problem is a "humanity issue" not a "Christian issue."

Book Meme

Freezing Jessica over at Pianomomsicle tagged me to do a book meme. How fitting, since I just so happen to love books.

Here are the rules:
1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

" 'I know intellectually that God loves me, but I've had great trouble feeling that He cares on an emotional level. It took me well into midlife and the experience of a significant crisis before I came to believe in my deepest heart that my God really loves me.'
"In truth, God is a comforting, responsive parent."

--The Power of Mother Love, by Brenda Hunter PhD

I tag Misty, Kara, Katie, Trish, and CS (who doesn't have a blog, but I know you read mine, and you can comment!!!).

A Return to the Day

Back in the day, I used to wear a Harley Davidson wallet on a chain -- oh yeah, I was hardcore.

Sometime nearing my college graduation, I decided that growing up included ditching the chain.

This weekend, I lost my wallet.

I have looked everywhere for this wallet, to no avail.

If it doesn't turn up in the next couple of days, I guess I'll have to replace it, and I'm seriously considering bringing the chain back.

Are You For Real!

Remember "magic brownies" from your college days? They are now available in stores!





Can't wait to try these!






HT: My hippie mom

Statues in the Station

How weird would this be?



HT: Jim

And the Winner Is...

So, none of you knew that I was having a contest. Heck, I didn't know it until today, but Misty awarded me with an Excellence Award today. So keeping in tradition, it's now my turn to send some love out, too.


My first award goes to Billy, as the hottest blogger award.

Next, is Stuck in Stuff by Dave Bruno. He gets the award for the most inspiring challenge. Go check out his ideas.

Lastly, my great friends Amanda and Wes get an award for the least frequent posting.

Top 3 Sentiments that Made Me Fall in Love Over E-mail

With Valentine's Day coming up, I have been thinking about love. With Billy in Alabama, I've been revisiting our days of long distance dating.

Put those two together and you get a quick post to see what exactly I fell in love with 2 1/2 years ago.

These are 3 of my favorite sound bites from e-mails that Billy sent me during the summer of 2005.

#3

"I think we both kinda have the idea that you don't date someone with out it being a preparation for marriage. Like we'd be intentional about dating as to focus it to prepare in that way. It would mean respecting each other and not having sex and if we felt we didn't want to marry the other person to break off the dating. (I'm really sorry for talking about marriage I know that freaks you out.)"

#2

"So the end point of this is that you are 1500 times cooler than ever imagined a girl could be. You are intelligent and funny and your faith is amazingly dynamic. Through the stories you share I see that you are forgiving and caring and even in like the four pictures that I've seen of you, you are very beautiful. (I really mean that, I know there's an insecure girl inside of you that doesn't think so. She probably tells you that you don't look like the models on TV. I don't really go along with the world's definition of beauty. I've kinda got my own and I don't know how to describe it other than you are it.) "

And the #1 reason I fell in love with Billy over the internet was the following sentence that he wrote as he was debating when to move our relationship forward to a face-to-face meeting. It kept me laughing for literally months afterward.

#1

"The romantic kid would drive all night to come see you; unfortunately so would the creepy, obsessed internet guy. "

Giving Girls a Real Choice

Sorry if my blog has been too full of abortion talk lately. But between raunchy celebrations of death and animal rights activists who won't defend the unborn human, it's been on my mind.

It's really sad that organizations like Planned Parenthood and NOW play abortion off as a women's rights issue. We're inundated with the message that they just want the woman to be given a choice.

But the truth is that most women who get abortions do so because they feel like they have no other choice.

I saw this a couple years back, as I volunteered as a crisis pregnancy counselor.

There were 3 main fears that push a girl toward having an abortion:

1. She was afraid her boyfriend would leave her if she carried the baby to term.

2. She was afraid her parents would kick her out of the house if they found out.

3. She was afraid that she would never be able to see her dreams to fruition.

I will admit that these are hard possibilities to look in the face. But I have a healthy handful of friends who have triumphed over fears and chosen to carry their baby in spite of it.

I myself did it, too.

What we've found is that motherhood (and particularly unplanned single motherhood) does more to show the strength of a woman than abortion politics ever could.

We've found:

1. That our relationship with the controlling man or the irresponsible father wasn't healthy. It was holding us back from finding fulfillment.

2. That education and single motherhood are not mutually exclusive. It's hard, but I finished school, and so many others have, too.

3. That being a parent is the most difficult and rewarding occupation.

It takes more energy, more creativity, more understanding, more sensitivity, more discipline, more determination, more of everything than any other field.

It also yields more love, more strength, more confidence, and more purpose than any other field.

4. That dreams don't have to die. They need only be modified to include more people.

5. That your natural family may desert you when you don't live up to their standards, but the family of God is loving. And there will always be people in a church somewhere that want to patiently help you succeed.

6. That hard working single moms deserve the government assistance that they get. And it's not a shameful thing to take charity for the sake of your family.

Women need to be told that they do have a choice, and it's not limited to sacrificing their child to the goddess of women's rights.

For another voice on this topic, check out Laura Anne's guest post on helping girls make an informed choice.

On the Murder of Cats

The other day, a neighbor of mine that I had never met stopped by to ask if I had seen a grey and white cat in my yard. I told her I had, as well as several others and I was afraid they were living in my crawl space.

She hoped that I would rescue these cats and allow them to be placed with a good family in a barn. She was quite attached as she'd been feeding its parents for a year already. The rest of the family had been captured and relocated; this grey one was the only one left.

I explained to her that I'd already called Animal Control, and they had a cage in my back yard. Honestly, I didn't care if Animal Control killed this cat or not. I just wanted it to stop living in my crawl space, defecating on my property and stinking up my house in the meantime.

She gave me the number of a woman who would come out to save these cats instead of kill them, and I agreed that I would call this woman.

Here's a bit of our conversation:

Jamie: Hello?

Me: Can I speak to Jamie?

Jamie: This is Jamie.

Me: Hi, I got your name from my neighbor who said you could come out to trap this cat in my yard.

Jamie: Are you the one with the cage in the yard?

Me: Yeah, I called Animal Control and they brought that out.

Jamie *sneering*: They're just going to kill it. Is that what you want?

Me: I don't really care. I mean, my neighbor wants them to be saved, so if you want to come out, you can. She said you could get these cats for me.

Jamie: Well, I can't come tonight, and I don't know how you can want these cats to be killed.

Me: Well, I don't want them to be killed. But I already have this cage, so if the cat goes into, then...

Jamie: I can put these cats in a home and you just want to call animal control and have them killed.

Me: Look, I'm telling you...you have my permission to come in my yard and save the cats if you want. But I have to get this cage back to animal control, and if the cat's in it in the morning, then I'll let them take it. If you want it, you can come and save it. I don't care either way.

Jamie *growing in intensity*: I don't understand why you want to let animal control kill this cat.

Me *getting flustered*: Oh my gosh! I'm not an evil person. I didn't invent stray cats so I could kill them! I just don't really care what animal control does. I just want them out of my crawl space.

Jamie: Don't you have a cover for your crawl space? Can't you shut it?

Me: Yeah, I do, but you know...the plumber that got in my crawl space last fall didn't tell me that he didn't close it. So, look...you can come or you don't have to. I don't care. I already have the cage, and it doesn't matter to me who gets the cat.

Jamie: I could take that cat to a home, and animal control is just going to kill it.

Me: Well, you know... 4,000 humans are killed everyday through abortion.

Her response?

"I DON'T CARE."

Something is seriously wrong with that picture.

Strange Things are Afoot at the BMV

So...I went to get a license plate for my new van today.

I found it funny when I saw identical twin women working there. I'm not sure why, but I always think of identical twins as 2 blonde-headed 7 year olds. It may have something to do with reading Sweet Valley Twins as a child.

The next thing that struck me as funny was the tight security that the BMV has its bathroom under. I kid you not.

This poor man had to use the restroom, and they made him sign a sheet and they walked him to the restroom and waited. How crazy is that? How can you go when there's a woman waiting outside the door for you???

This is what our taxpayer money is going to. Bathrooms under the security of the Wakefield twins.

How to Get to My Site

Recently, Misty did a post about some of her blog stats, and I thought I'd take a look at my own referrals to see if any kind of humorous post could result.

Unfortunately, it seems like most people get to my site by searching for Rob Bell or Meal Mixer. That's not funny.

I did, however, crack up when I saw this one:

Kentucky Law Regarding Showering - I'm #6 on the results thanks to my derogatory post.

I also found it humorous that people world-wide have come to my site over an infatuation with the bicep picture. I mean, we're talking England, Texas, Canada, Massachusetts, Ohio, Portugal, Turkey, Brazil, Evansville (which was searched, by the way, in an Arabic language...interesting), and Kuwait.

And that's just this week. Nice...

More on God Room

I thought this was an interesting read, considering my post yesterday on God Room.

God Room

I mentioned a couple of days ago that I was reading Franklin Graham's autobiography, Rebel with a Cause.

Part of the DNA of Franklin's organization Samaritan's Purse, which was founded by the late Bob Pierce, is to promise more than they are humanly able to provide. Pierce called this "God Room."

It was a hard concept for Franklin to buy into. It remains hard for most people, including myself.

There's something so mystically appealing to me about having a faith that trusts that God will come through. Somehow, though, logic and math tend to get in the way often.

There was a time in my life that I saw God work every day. I saw need around me and saw God provide for that. It was in my own life and in the lives of those who I spent my time with.

I miss that time. And I miss those people. But I have a new energy for God's sovereignty, and it's encouraging to talk to new people that have this passion.

A Lesson on Love from Expressway Dodge

I often get caught up in the culture of entitlement. It's all around me, and it's hard to avoid. It's hard to refuse, sometimes, too.

Recently, Billy and I purchased a van from a local dealer. We went in with trepidation because we all know those stories, right? Well, we thought we were getting away with less than a major headache when the car salesman put in writing everything that we talked about and that he promised, which included several high-dollar repairs.

What we've run into has been beyond headache and is edging up toward ready-to-fire-a-revolver-at-the-next-person-that-puts-me-on-hold (after they spoke to me in the most sarcastic voice possible of course). Billy and I have both had the run around several times.

But the last couple of days, I've been battling with a burden on my heart for these horribly angry and unhappy people. I don't want to have that burden because they are mean. But I have it nonetheless because they are so hurting.

I realize that when I left behind my old nature, I entered into a bit of a paradoxical life. On the one hand, I'm free. But on the other, I'm a slave to Christ.

When I gave up my life for Christ's life through me, I did this not just to save myself and to secure my own destiny. It doesn't work like that. Because Christ isn't like that.

When I took advantage of the Grace of Christ, I acknowledged that that grace was something I wanted to offer to others.

Same with his humility.
And his servanthood.
And his love.

It is impossible for me to have a love relationship with Christ and to not find myself desperately loving the people that I wanted so desperately to hate.

Christ's love is too compelling, and it can't stop with just me.

A Tragic Anniversary and Morbid Parties

No matter how, you spin it, today's 35th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade should be a sad thing. Even for those who choose to say the case was about a woman's right to choose.

The death of over 4000 unborn a day should be something to mourn, regardless of whose choice is at stake.

I find it unbearable that people on the "pro-choice" side (you know...the ones that don't go celebrating the anniversary of women's suffrage) have parties to celebrate this morbid decision.

I found several Planned Parenthood invitations online that toted lines like, "Come and celebrate 35 years of safe and legal abortions."

Right now, I feel like puking.

In Spite of It All

I've been spending some time the last week or so reading Rebel with a Cause by Franklin Graham. He's the oldest son of Billy Graham, and I was interested in reading his autobiography because he runs one of my favorite charities, Samaritan's Purse.

The book is easy to read, and it's been cool to have some insight into who this man is and what kind of journey he's traveled.

Today, though, I read something that I had to roll my eyes at.

He was describing one of his best friends and told about a time when this friend played Christian music outside a porn shop and told people walking by, "You're going to hell. You need Jesus."

Graham was using this as a positive example of his friend's heart for God and lost people, and my immediate thought was, "Dude...if any good comes from that, it's because God works in spite of your friend."

Billy and I talk about this kind of thing a lot. We each have our own ideas about how church should be done, and what The Church should look like and focus on. We each have our own opinions of what priorities should come to the forefront and what tactics are beneficial to the cause.

Sometimes, we start to think that we can do something that will cause a person to come to Christ. What I forget is that all my efforts are filthy rags, just like everyone else's.

No one has ever been closer to God because of me. But sometimes, God chooses to work in spite of me.

Reality Check

I have a favor to ask, but some of you may not like it too much.

Can we please stop pretending that the New Testament Church was this amazing organism that functioned properly and healthily?

I mean, really...I can't begin to keep track of the number of times I've heard a rant about the modern church quickly followed by, "We just need to get back to the way the New Testament Church was."

Verses such as Acts 2:42-47 get whipped out as evidence of community and mutual love and respect and growth.

But here's the thing...

Acts 2:42-47 happened immediately after a mountain-top experience during Pentacost.

Imagine standing there with multitudes of people, gathered because of a loud raucous-y wind that was none other than the Holy Spirit descending on mere man. As the crowd grows, a man stands up, and you hear preaching in your own language, even though you are a foreigner. Through Peter's compelling message, you turn your heart toward God.

What happens next?

You come home from the gathering (i.e. the summer camp, the women's retreat, whatever it may be) and you start living in a way that is honoring and worthy of God.

And then what?

Then, the high wears off... And the body of Christ stops relying on God and begins to return to their own ways.

It's all over the New Testament, guys.

I was just reading 1 Corinthians today, so here's a perfect example.

1 Corinthians 11:17-19 "In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval."

Still sounding functional and healthy? Not so much. (For more dysfunction, check out these verses.)

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that we should be happy to live in disunity and such. Quite the contrary, I agree with Paul when he urges us to keep after the prize.

I think passages like Acts 2:42-47 are great encouragers to remind us of what we are called to. Other passages are throughout the New Testament also.

So, please, let's keep pressing on and being faithful to God, but let's not pretend our humanity is some new problem that the New Testament believers didn't fall prey to, also.

New Year, New Church, New Car

I realize that I've been conspicuously absent from the blogging world lately. But I have a good reason, really I do.

You may know that Billy's been looking for a new job for the last several months. It's been a trying process, but the dedication has paid off.

This weekend, we were busy traveling to Huntsville, Alabama, to visit our new church Chase Valley. Billy will be moving down soon, and I'll stay here for a bit longer to tie up some lose ends that need finishing with the house and my part-time job.

You can find out more about the situation on Billy's blog.

Because of this new development, we've also been busy buying a second car. We got a "new" minivan - it's a 2001 Grand Caravan in a lovely shade of shiny olive green. It has a few repairs that the dealership is working on, but we should be in possession of that this week. Unfortunately, Billy gets to take it with him to Huntsville so he can move things down with him.

Things are hectic, but good.

Hope you all had a happy new year.

Top Six Christmas Tunes

Sometimes Christmas music can get really annoying. You know...same songs year after year...and never any other time. But there are some really good, fresh songs out there, too, so here goes my favorites list (in no particular order, except the one in which I thought of them).

1. Mary Did You Know? - Mark Lowry
2. Celebrate the Day - Relient K
3. Mary's Song - Amy Grant
4. Joseph's Song - Michael Card (this one is particularly moving for Billy)
5. O Come, Emmanuel - arr. Billy Chia
6. You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch - recorded by New Song

And the #1 Christmas Album of all time is....

A Cabbage Patch Christmas

Cheeseburger in Paradise

Last night, Billy and I got to spend a little time together away from the house and without the girls. My mom babysits the girls once a week so that I can either clean or have a date with the hottest man alive.

This week was date night.

We never really know what to do, so we usually end up at Starbucks, which is fine, but last night, we decided to hit up Cheeseburger in Paradise.

I hadn't been too eager to go previously because I'm quite an anti-fan of Jimmy Buffet. But I'm also quite picky about restaurant food, and since no other place sounded appetizing, we thought trying something new could be fun.

I was starting to regret it when we walked in and saw fish painted everywhere. I hadn't thought about the abundance of seafood in a place like this, and I cringed, hoping to find something I liked.

Our server was Irl, a friend of Billy's from the worship team at church. He made a slew of recommendations, and I ordered the Chicken Satay.

I am now in love with Cheeseburger in Paradise.

This chicken was so amazing, but it was also the Coconut Curry dipping sauce that sealed the deal.

I highly recommend you try out the joint if you've got one near you.

YUM!

Sarah McLachlan and the Spiritual Journey

Though Sarah McLachlan, has never publicily claimed a religion, her songs have been infused with spirituality from the beginning, and her continual popularity speaks volumes to the spiritual seeking of my generation.

As years went on in McLachlan's song creation, the spirituality coming through sometimes became more religious, including a beautiful rendition of "The Prayer of St. Francis." Also, some more Christ-centered Christmas songs, such as "What Child is This," appeared on her Wintersong album last Christmas.

Some of the songs that have spoken most deeply to me and played a part in forming some of my own theologies are "Full of Grace" from Surfacing and "Fallen" from Afterglow.

Other songs have reinforced convictions and turned into their own posts right here on this very blog.

In fact, I would unabashedly say that the most uplifting spiritual songs that I have depended on have come from Sarah McLachlan.

So, it was strange to hear her "newest" single, which was re-released on the House soundtrack a couple of months ago. This single was originally released in 1996 on Rarities, B-Sides & Other Stuff.

In a cover of the XTC song, "Dear God," McLachlan's message is emphatically one of anger and hatred toward the Creator she'd often shown reverence for. And while her version is far superior to the original, it's a confusing choice of song.

I'd love to hear her spiritual story, wouldn't you?

Steve Fee Promotional Photo

Does anyone else see the irony in this banner?

Not Somehow...

But Triumphantly!

This is a point my pastor has been emphasizing lately.

The Christian life isn't about pulling through the tough times "somehow." It's about the power of Christ pulling us through the tough times triumphantly.

My friend, Elaine, is passionate about this, and over the months that I've spent meeting with her, it has been an eye-opening and encouraging truth to talk about.

There's a problem in the church (and everywhere else, by the way) of people wearing masks and pretending everything's fine when really everything is falling apart.

It's become trendy to talk about being "real" and "transparent." This is a good thing...

Except for when the definition of real becomes a description for pouring out negativity and doubts.

You don't hear about transparency and realness when people are happy. And this is a slap in the face to God.

In the classic over-compensation, church-whiners today are forgetting that the power of God is real, and that victory is ours.

So, let's be real about the hardship, but let's allow that realness to include the triumph of Jesus being manifest in our lives.

Slavery in 2007

Think slavery in America was abolished during the Civil War?

Check out this 5-minute video concerning human trafficking in San Francisco.

via: HourChallenge

Too True

HT: MyStarbucks

Pray for the Persecuted Church

"Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering." Hebrews 13:3

Today is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, and since our local church is very involved in overseas missions, we had a special emphasis on the suffering that our brothers and sisters around the world go through.

Over 100,000 Christians a year are martyred for their faith, and even more are starved, burned, thieved, or otherwise tortured and unjustly treated.

It is difficult to even imagine what life under these type of circumstances would be like. We live comfortably, but the Bible calls us to suffer with our brothers and sisters.

So, please pray right now for our fellow Christians to persevere and for us in free countries to remember their cause.

If you'd like more suggestions on how to suffer with the persecuted church, Rick McKinley has a great couple of chapters on this in his book This Beautiful Mess.

The Movie to See

If you only see one movie to see this holiday, Billy might encourage you to see The Golden Compass.

But I'm leaning more toward this one:



HT: Will Samson

God is an Artist

I came across this amazing photo on NASA's picture of the day website. It's a great reminder of what an amazing Creator we have.

Review: Nooma "Name" by Rob Bell a Disappointing Release

I've long been a fan of Rob Bell. Billy and I played his video, "Flame," at our wedding, and Velvet Elvis was a great read.

But last night, we watched his new video "Name," and not only was I less than impressed, I was beyond disappointed in the psychobabble that Bell felt is necessary for spiritual direction from a Christian perspective (a position the Nooma website totes as its own purpose).

1. "Name" begins with Bell talking about a meeting with his counselor, and the relativistic question that his counselor poses to him.

"Don't worry if it's normal for people. Is it normal for you?"

Well, folks...hearing the "voice of God" through his neighbor's dog seemed to be normal for David Berkowitz. Somehow, I don't think that's quite right, regardless of how normal it is.

True, Bell discusses a verse in which Jesus tells Peter not to worry about whether the other guy is following, but this doesn't quite make the leap to "is it normal for me?" If anything, it asks the question, "Is this healthy?" After all, if Peter had asked the question, "Is this normal for me?" he would've come up with the answer,

"Wanting fairness and flying off the handle over it is normal for me."

But of course we know that Peter wasn't healthy in this particular emotional element of himself.

Jesus was drawing him out of what was normal for him and into what was healthy for everyone.

2. Bell also talks in depth about the story of Jacob becoming Israel.

Here, his point is that we must come to terms with all the things about ourselves that we hate before we can move forward and be used by God. Sure, that's my paraphrase, but that's the message that comes out.

Bells says, "You don't have to like your past, but you have to claim it." He also says this about our body shape.

And while I agree that we need to come to terms with "who we are," I feel like a more productive idea (and a more "Christian perspective" since that's what we're presenting in these Noomas) would be to focus on who we are in Christ.

There is room for "coming to terms" kind of stuff. But I feel like this is not about claiming our past so much as accepting Christ's love and forgiveness and believing that that love and forgiveness is truly sufficient.

After all, doesn't God (through Paul - who by the way didn't change his name, but simply started going by his Greek name since he was a missionary to the Gentiles) tell us to forget the past?

See the story of Jacob isn't about claiming your past (there's more I could say here), but it's about God giving a new identity. This true story is a symbol of the internal, spiritual workings of who we become in Christ. We have a new birth, don't we?

3. Bell discusses loving your neighbor as yourself.

While talking about this concept, Bell commits the ultimate annoyance.

He says something along the lines of, "You can't love your neighbor until you learn to love yourself." I think we've all heard this before.

I understand the sentiment, but the issue I have with this reasoning is that it's focused on the self and not on God. (Well, actually, so was the whole "Name" video.)

The message was not, "God's love makes you worth-while. So take that love, claim it, embrace it, cherish it."

The message that Bell is sending is the same mumbo-jumbo as Oprah's universe-worshiping guests.

"Love yourself. Accept yourself. Don't apologize any longer. Oh yeah, and maybe God might do something, but mainly it's up to you.

If you'd like to watch "Name" for free. It is available until noon on Friday on Nooma's MySpace.

And We Have Hot Water...

...just not much.



Showering was not as enjoyable as I had hoped it would be.

How to Shower, Part Deux

Last week, Billy encouraged readers to take Navy Showers as part of the Blog Action Day campaign to save the Earth.

This week, we're experimenting with Kentucky Showers, which is the long-lost technique of bathing without actually getting more than 2 parts of your body wet at any given time. It is so named due to the similarity it has with back-wood Kentucky mountain dwellers' bathing patterns.

Something is mysteriously wrong with our hot-water heater, so today I thought I'd brave the cold shower. As I tested the water with my hand, I quickly realized that this was not bravery, but rather foolery that rivals the polar bear club.

So, rather than actually stepping into the stream of water, I simply bent over the tub to wash my hair. Washing my body was similar to that of a Navy Shower, except I learned that you don't actually have to be wet to get a good lather.

Rinsing was probably the only challenge, so after splashing handfuls of water from the faucet onto my body, I did finally turn the shower head on for 5 seconds. It was probably not worth it.

It seems Billy opted out of the process for today.

Celebrity Death Match > Driscoll vs. Osteen

Last night I was watching Billy go through his Google Reader (yes, folks...this is my exciting life), and a couple of posts about Joel Osteen came up.

One of them included this video:



Needless to say, it sparked some discussion around here.

So, let me begin stating my opinion by saying that I'm not a "fan" of either of these guys. I think Driscoll's jerky, and I think Osteen is creepy.

And in the end, I think they are both wrong.

Osteen's side is simply stated: We are victors and that is evidenced in our physical and mental lives. We will be taken care of as children of the King to the extent that our physical ailments will be healed and our mental anxieties will be quenched.

Driscoll's take is also simple: Osteen paints too pretty of a Christian picture. Driscoll's rebuttal focuses on how bad life is in the interest of discrediting Osteen's health and wealth gospel. He uses Jesus as an example of how disheartening earthly circumstances can be.

My Authoritative Verdict:

Osteen, of course, is glossing over the truth of John 16:33, which reminds us that we will have trouble. Not all of our problems will vanish simply because we are children of the King.

However, in all Driscoll's passion against Osteen's "heresy," he ignores the truth that is preached from the pulpit of Lakewood Church.

While I think Osteen's application of truth may extend too far, the fact is that he is basing his teachings on promises of scripture, such as 1 Corinthians 15:57, Romans 8:28-39, Matthew 6:33, and Philippians 4:6-8.

But what does Driscoll say about verses such as the ones above -- with the truth that we are more than conquerers (a.k.a. victors), we will have all our financial needs met, and we shouldn't be anxious? In this video, he neglects that Osteen's ideas come from scripture, and he gives all the reasons why these truths are not true.

See, I am not defending Osteen's implications (and at points, his outright statement) that God will heal all physical ailments. But I think this is simply an over-compensation, swinging far from people who are constantly reminding us that this life is hard.

I think Osteen's message is popular because we aren't called to be defeated, and people know this inherently. We aren't called to always focus on how screwed up the church is. We aren't called to simply accept hardship and remain in a victim mentality.

We are called to live with Christ's victory. We are new creations, and we are in Christ.

When this truth permeates our Christian circles, we won't need to have extremists like Osteen remind us that we are children of the Most High God.

When we trust that our position is truly what the Bible says it is, we do have victory, even though we may still have physical pain.

Don't Know Whatcha Got

So, they say that you don't know what you got till it's gone. It's that whole idea of taking something for granted until you lose it, and then it hits you--that thing that you didn't value meant a whole lot more to you than you ever admitted.

I know that a lot of women have husbands that just don't communicate. I've gotten a little taste of that today.

Now, wait...this is not about our latest fight.

Today, Billy got a wisdom tooth pulled. So, for the rest of the day, he's been unable to talk. This is not as fun for me as one might have thought.

See, usually Billy talks and talks and talks and talks. I mean, really...it's obnoxious. Or at least, I used to think so. But all this quiet is really unnerving, and I miss his handsome voice. So, I'm learning to appreciate him more and more.

We've been using Google Docs to converse. Billy types something, and I respond vocally. It's kinda a slow process, but it's worked so far.

His inability to speak hasn't stopped Billy from interrupting me, though--he simply doesn't wait for me to finish -

Hey wait a sec. This is Billy (I've hacked into Sarah's Blog.) I do not interrupt her. I have no idea what she's talking about.

- talking before he starts to type again.

The Rest of God

I've been taking a look at this old school book called Lord, Make my Life a Miracle, by Ray Ortland. I'm not a big fan so far. I find his tone to be quite condescending, and I typically feel like condescension doesn't go too far to spur on results. (I know that my last post probably fell into the condescension area, so I'm not claiming that I'm past that, yet.)

Anyway, I try to look past his tone to see if he has any valid points, and the truth is that he really does.

One thing that he's been talking about is practicing the presence of God (an idea popularized by Brother Lawerence in his book of the same title). He talks of how he tries to enter God's presence every hour, and how that brings him into a habitual state of focusing on God. So, I've been doing that the last few days.

It's been cool.

In addition, I've been reading Hebrews 4 over and over and over, and thinking about the rest that God offers. This has been bringing a lot of peace to me.

So...I don't know. I guess I don't have any higher purpose for this post to just let you know what I've been doing with God lately. It's been cool. :)

Let's Get a Little Creative, Please

I'm a good, obedient blogger. So, when I heard about blog action day, where bloggers are supposed to come together and blog about a topic all on one day, I thought that'd be fun. And here I am doing it.

But when I found out the topic, the only thing I could think was, "Oh, c'mon...can we please be a little less generic?"

I mean, who doesn't hear about the environment five times a day every day?

Now, you guys know from past posts of mine that I try to do my share to conserve energy and cut down on unnecessary fumes from my car. I've definitely had my kicks of going green, and I tend to think of myself as a concerned steward.

But really... isn't there something better out there we could make people aware of? I mean, you get all these people together to create a huge global voice, and environmentalism is all ya can come up with?

What would you have chosen if you were heading this up?

New Parenting Blog!

I've recently started a new parenting-focused blog so that Evansville Parent would link to me. This one over here is pretty much my own little random spiritual thoughts and struggles, which wasn't what they were looking for.

I'm trying to find a way to syndicate the new blog over here. But for now, you can check it out at http://parentingthroughthegreatunknown.blogspot.com.

Hope you enjoy!

God's Plan

So, today, I had a friend ask for an update on a situation I had told her about a few weeks ago.

My answer was, "Oh... it didn't work out." I was disappointed.

She replied smiling, "It wasn't God's plan!"

My first thought was that this was naive.

So, I began revisiting some old wonderings:

Does God have a specific plan for every situation we ever face?

And when he does have a plan, does it always come to fruition, or could this situation not working be complete against God's plan because someone involved was acting outside of His will?

Does praying over a situation ensure that God's will will be done?

What do you think?

Volunteer or Servant?

I came across this quote recently:

In a day when women pursue balance as rigorously as they work out, God and his work are relegated to a percentage of time. A culture of volunteerism has emerged, but a heart for ministry has been lost.

Any thoughts?

I'm just glad my husband shaves.

Shaun Groves and Grody Brody