mixed emotions

I use Google Reader just about every day to keep up with my blogs. Recently, there have been some vast differences in the events taking place in each of blogs that I follow.

MckMama has had some pretty intense stuff going on with one of her little ones (please keep her family in your prayers). Jenni is remembering… April and her hubby are thinking about adoption again. Jamie is reading to her kiddos. Heather talks food. Jasmin is showing some love. Crystal lost a loved one.

I don’t know what it is, but I just felt effected by this today more than usual. And I am sure there is so much more going on in the lives of the other bloggers I follow.

It is interesting how this whole blog world can bring so many people together who would have never met before.

I have been taken back 10 years…

I really feel like I have. I have read all of the Twilight books (please tell me some of you are with me).

I am kind of torn. I REALLY liked the Harry Potter books. I mean, Rowling is an incredible writer. I have to say, Stephanie Meyer is no J.K. Rowling. However, something about the Twilight series just pulls you in! I guess it was just the intensity (and unrealistic-ness) of the romance. I will admit, I have always been a fan of vampire fiction. I am not sure why. So I liked these.

I even went to the movie store last night and rented the movie. Boy did I feel silly, b/c I have already seen it in theaters.

Anyway, just wanted to see what you all thought about the book/movie.

Do you ever? / Self-discovery

Do you ever wish you were something different? Man, I do all of the time

I wish….there is so much I could write here. I wish away my life it seems. I am too lazy (no really, I am) to just LIVE IT!! Do you ever do that? I have actually done that all of my life. No joke. I have lived through other people it seems. So now, I don’t really know what my interests actually are. This is not a fun place to be, and feels kind of odd since I am 25 years old and don’t know half the things I really like.

I know that I love my husband. Goodness, I love that man! I love the prospect of adoption (not for a couple of years though). I love my dogs . I love coordinating events. I love kiddos. I love pictures (looking at them, not so much taking them). I love travel. I love long Sunday afternoon drives. I love the outdoors. I love going to the movies.

Ok, so maybe I do know somethings that I love. I guess I just get confused b/c I am wishing for someone else’s life. Not because mine is bad. Not at all. I have a good life…a great life . I guess it all comes back to the lazy thing. I am not seeing the work each person had to put into actually enjoying what they are doing. I guess it is time to get off my tail and start living life! This year, that’s what I will do. I will live my own life and try to stop being so lazy!

Haitian Creations

Have I ever told you that I have a purse fetish? Well…I do. I love purses. Honestly, they are the only thing that I will buy multiples of when it comes to buying for me. I am not a girl who tries to dress in the latest fashions. I don’t get mani’s or pedi’s. I barely even wear makeup. But I do love purses. I don’t know what it is. Anyway, I will get to the point since I have begun to ramble.

This week I have come across a great ministry: Haitian Creations. The product of this ministry is, you guessed it, purses. The purses are handmade in Haiti, by the women of the Heartline Ministries Sewing Program. This is such an awesome concept.

Aaron wrote about it this week from his visit to Haiti:

“These women then sell their purses (through Heartline) and are able to make a personal profit off their products. They end up owning a sewing machine, keeping a portion of the profit and saving some in a personal banking account. In every practical way, they are learning skills and crafts to provide income and savings for themselves and their families. And they are incredibly skilled at it.”

Check out some of the designs! These are great!

*By clicking on any of these purses, it will take you to the artist and her other designs.

My week…

I have felt guilty for neglecting you, my lovely blog. So, I thought I would give you a week overview to keep you happy.

• I actually worked out once this week. Does it count if I only work out once every couple of months?
• I am really tired. All week I have been. No fun.
• I got to see a calf (baby cow, not baby whale ) just after it was born. It was so sweet.
• I made a fool out of myself, as usual. My boss was just going to a meeting but needed something from his car. He asked me to go get it as he stepped into the meeting. I went out and searched where he told me it would be, but did not find what I had set out for. I interrupted the meeting to let him know. So he left the meeting to look for the said item. That’s when I discovered I had searched the wrong car. Oops! (Who leaves their car doors unlocked?)
• I have watched a whole lot of Jon & Kate plus 8. (side note: every time I watch that show, I end up becoming more forceful, aggressive, pushy with Tim. I wonder why…)
• Because of watching that show, I have been thinking (and wanting) about being a mom a lot! It won’t happen for a couple of more years (at least in our planning), but I can’t wait!
• I watched a horrible movie about a girl who was tortured and killed. I honestly did not realize it would be this way. It messed me up quite a bit for a couple of days. And it made me realize that I need to start being more careful with what I watch.
• Still thinking about how I need to do my taxes. Maybe I will do that this weekend?
• Have I mentioned I am tired.
• Got great responses (more so on Facebook) on a note I wrote this week about the Economy & the Church. Very encouraging.
• Discovered I left my favorite (and only) hair dryer at the resort from girls’ weekend right after I got out of the shower while getting ready for work.
• Started drinking Diet Coke again. Well, ok. I’ll be honest. Started drinking it more frequently. I never really stopped.
• Tried a new recipe: Turkey Meatloaf. I didn’t like it too much, but Tim ate it just fine. He is really not a picky eater though. At least it wasn’t a waste
• Discovered some new things about my Mac (I use a Mac laptop at work and am not too big of a fan of it). So that’s good news.

That’s all I’ve got for you right now. At least that’s all I can think of at this moment. I feel pretty brain dead right now.

the Church and the Economy

I know the Economy is a hot topic right now. So let me just forewarn you, if you are coming here from words of an expert or words of wisdom, you have come to the wrong place. I am just typing out what has been on my heart in the past couple of months.

The economy is scary right now. Truth is, our comfortable place to live is being threatened. (I have no care in the world to discuss why I think this is. I am just not going to do it.) People all over are losing their jobs. I work at a place that essentially serves/ministers to other ministries and non-profits. I have seen so many people come in who have lost their jobs due to lack of donations/support or the loss of grant monies. I have also heard, through my Church, friends, and the news, of so many other people losing their jobs. And they cannot find new ones. Honestly, at this point, I am not scared for myself. What will happen, will happen. My God is good and will take care of me (even if that does not add up to what I think is taking care of me…keeping me comfortable). I know most of these people serve the same God, the God who has rescued us already. But for some reason I can’t help but worry for them. The situation is not great at this point, and from what I hear will not get much better. So what do we do?

For the past several months I have thought about the original Church and how they lived amongst one another. Here, let me show you…

Acts 2:42-47 (The Message)

“^41-42That day about three thousand took him at his word, were baptized and were signed up. They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.

^43-45Everyone around was in awe—all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person’s need was met.

^46-47They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved.”

Living together, taking care of one another, worshiping God together (not just on Sunday mornings), meeting each other’s needs. I know that there are a lot of you who meet these to some extent, but I really feel there is so much more!

I was thinking about how much income my husband and I bring in yesterday. How much of that do we really need to live on, and how much of that could we use to meet someone else’s need? I have a deep desire to take care of everyone who is struggling (more often it is focused on their physical needs and not their spiritual needs as it should be). When I talk about supporting someone else with our own income, I am not only talking about supporting missionaries or sponsoring children living in poverty, like I know that many of you already do (which by the way I feel that is definitely part of the Great Commission, that is just not the subject at hand). I am more so talking about supporting people who might be fellow members in your Church congregation who have fallen on hard times.

Of course while you are “pooling your resources so every person’s need is met”, they are definitely working their tails off to find another job. And when they find another job, it would be amazing if they helped to take care of someone else, while you as well took care of yet another family (yes, the movie “Pay it Forward” has all of a sudden come to mind…sorry).

I know that all of this sounds a little out there, but I really think if we took care of each other in this way (as instructed), we would have no reason to worry (not that we do already b/c our – believers & followers of Jesus Christ, our risen Saviour – hope is not in the economy, money, our house, or anything else here on this earth). And most of this is just me rambling.

I just want to point out once again, I am not anyone who knows a lot about this topic, or really knows enough to talk about it. I am just putting this out their because it has been on my heart and mind often. And because I want to know what you think. So please leave a comment!

What if we did it? What would happen?

What are your thoughts?

Monday, Monday, da da, da da da da

I really don’t know if the “da da”s are right for the lyrics of that song. Oh well. It fits…for me at least. This post is basically just going to be bullets points of the weekend/day to save me (and most definitely you) from having to type out tons of paragraphs

• This past weekend was Girls’ Weekend in Gatlinburg. Katie Beth and myself have not seen each other in months. And because she just got back from an amazing three month trip to Italy, it was about time we played catch up! (Pictures to come later, but not very many b/c I am a horrible photographer apparently!)
• I got some really great pin striped pants from the Banana Republic outlet store. They are a tad too big and a tad too long, but hey, I figure it is better than a tad too tight!
• Tim and I had a great night last night. When I got home he talked me into going to the gym with him. I agreed, but only because I could walk on the tredmill and get by pretty easy. We got there, and no joke, the darn thing wouldn’t turn on. So, I did 20 minutes on the olyptical. My legs were like jello later on! (I am SO out of shape)
• Tim and I, along with the rest of our Community Group, are going through a marriage work book. It is pretty interesting. We will see how it goes. More than anything, I am enjoying sitting down with Tim and going through it together.
• I wore my hair wavy today. I hardly ever do, but I like it  
• My driver’s side window on my car has great difficulty rolling back up at times if you choose to roll it down (it is electric). This morning I swung by Pal’s to get some sweet tea and a sausage biscuit. I am lazy and it is cold, so I decided to risk it and just roll down the window. Yeah, it didn’t roll back up. So I had to make the thirty minute drive w/ the window down, with it snowing and the temperature at 19 degrees! Holy cow! Thankfully I got it to roll back up around 10 this morning.
• Talked to Bethany today about Interim Care. Not that we will be choosing this any time soon, just looking at our options. (No, we are not serious enough right now to set up any appointments. The building I work in has a Bethany office, so I see them every day. Just a convenient chat
• Going to the doctor today to get my second round of Hep. B shots for our Ethiopia trip in June
• I am really starting to get worried about my memory. I seem to have no short term memory. But then I can remember some of the most random things to the detail. It is really odd. And embarrassing at times.

Ok, I think that is all I have going on right now! Busy, busy! But fun times!

How was your weekend/Monday?