Abundant Life

When I was growing up my family had this pretty awesome video of a Christian comedian named Mark Lowry.  There are a couple things that I remember very clearly from the video.  One was that he named his bed “the word” so that when his pastor, who was something of an early bird, woke him up with a phone call he could say, “I’m sorry John, I can’t talk right now; I’m in the word.”  I also remember his description of abundant life.  In John 10 Christ says that he came not only that we may have life, but that we might have it abundantly.  Mark didn’t have visual aides like the ones I’m about to show you, but he waved his arms around in the air to express this idea:

This is life:

And this is life, more abundant:

pretty cool, huh?  Well, it always stuck with me.

Today I was thinking about this, and I was feeling pretty exhausted.  I was struggling to worship God and serve Him in the midst of my exhaustion.  And I remembered that Christ commanded us to, “love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, and all your strength.”

I suddenly realized that these two things are connected.  If we delight in and praise God in the peaks of abundance, and also seek Him and depend on him through the troughs, then we are worshiping Him with the full capacity of our heart, mind, soul, and strength.  When my daughter wraps her arms around me and kisses me the overflow of my heart worships God.  When I’m sleep deprived, exhausted, and overwhelmed the utmost of my strength worships God.

How amazing is it that as Christians God gives us an abundant life that allows us to worship Him in the way that He desires to be worshiped?

Fingerless Fashion

Here I am working on the gloves that I made for my sister as a Christmas gift for my sweet sister!

Ta da!  I found the pattern in a book I got at the library and I loved it.  I might have to check it out again and make a pair for myself

The RimRest B&B

So way back in a previous century, or possibly two months ago, Andrew and I spent 2 days on the road to get to my parents new Colorado digs.  Mom’s had a lot of fun fixing up the place and it is looking good.  I snapped a few pics of the rooms, so here they are:

This is the room where Andrew and I stayed, with the crib my parents used for all four of us kids set up for Rori.

Mom and Dad’s room.

Taking the family on a hike.  I think Bronte spotted a deer

Cousins!

This was the first time Andrew and Rori got to meet David and Jenny, my uncle and aunt.  We just wish we could have spent more time together!

The Perfect Man

I couldn’t read the first book of the Twilight series, and although I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the series, I considered it extremely dangerous material for the impressionable young female, and here is the reason why.  We females tend to desire perfection from the men in our lives.  All on our own we tend to develop extremely demanding expectations.  And Twilight presents us with a man (well, Vampire) who is able to satisfy all these dreams and wishes.  Every time Bella’s eyes flutter open after some tormented dream Edward is right there, adoring her, watching over her, protecting her.  He’s been around a couple hundred years, so nothing is as amazing or fascinating as his Bella.  Later on when the two are legally wed and Bella has joined Edward in vampire-dom they closet themselves and make love for days at a time, never growing tired, never needing to eat, always blissfully sublimely happy.

As little girls we long for the perfect daddy.  We want to be the center of their universe.  We want them to delight in us, protect us, believe in us, provide for us.  As we grow older we begin to long for those same qualities in the man we will marry.  We imagine a man who will adore every eccentricity and quirk.  A man who will understand us better than we understand ourselves.  A man who is strong, and hopeful, and attentive and helpful, and a hundred different things.

But men are not ever all of these things all the time.  It’s simply not possible.  Our daddy’s are distracted, overwhelmed.  They fail to listen, sometimes they fail to protect us.  Our husbands are exhausted, made anxious by unfamiliar responsibility, struggling and growing as much as we are, and I’m starting to believe that this is a good thing.

To demonstrate this I am going to tell a story, but first, a disclaimer.  My father loves Andrew.  Just today he told me (a few times) that Andrew is one of his favorite people in the world.  But when we first started dating, Dad didn’t really like Andrew.  He wasn’t so sure about the guy who had, in a matter of weeks, completely changed his daughter’s plans for the future.  But I was sure, and Dad’s concerns really upset me.  I needed my Daddy’s approval, and he wasn’t giving it.  But in this God was able to speak to me.  It was one of the clearest times I’ve ever heard from God.  He reminded me that Paul Douglas might be my father here on Earth but He was my true Father and He was giving me His approval.  It wasn’t long after this that Dad’s opinion of Andrew started to change, and by the time Andrew officially asked him for his permission to propose to me Dad didn’t hesitate to give it.

And this is the point I’m trying to make.  If the men in our lives met all of our needs, well, then all of our needs would be met.  Sometimes we need to experience our own uncertainty so that God can flood us with His provision.  When the men in our lives are less than perfect, when we realize that one of our needs isn’t being fully met, we can then realize that God is waiting patiently to completely satisfy that very need.  This provision, and passion, and protection allows us to be better daughters, wives, mothers.  Certainly less demanding.

Wearing Dad’s Hat

In honor of Rori’s new favorite word- “hat”

15 Months

We just got back from Rori’s 15 month check up and immunizations.  She is:

23 lb 10 oz (68%)

32 inches tall (90%)

47 cm head circumference (82%)

She’s my growing girl!

Why I like and hate the Bachelor(ette)

When the bachelor first aired I thought it was the most ridiculous thing to ever hit the small screen.  Well maybe the most ridiculous prime time thing.  Well, maybe not.  Wasn’t there a brief TV show on Fox called Temptation Island or something ridiculous like that?

But still, pretty low brow.  Then came the first Bachelorette season, and the first time I watched the show.  The guys were hilarious, instead of catty and mean like those territorial females.  At one point they moved an entire bed, complete with drunken occupant, into the front  yard for a laugh.  My then boyfriend and I both picked our favorite contenders and my guy (Ryan, of Trista and Ryan) made it all the way.  This became a habit.  I would watch the first couple episodes, pick some likely lady or fellow who seemed to have a soul and watch until my favorite was sent packing.  Then completely ignore the rest of the season.  But somewhere along the line I just started watching it.  And now it’s one of my favorite guilty pleasures.

I tend to always enjoy the bachelorette seasons more than the bachelor.  I like to see men fighting for the woman of their dreams.  The show does kind of force typically recalcitrant blokes to bare their heart and soul in a few weeks time.  I mean, if Tim is telling the girl how deeply and ardently he loves her and John is just saying she sure does seem neat, who do you think is going to win the girl?

Despite the catty jealousy that runs rampant on seasons of the bachelor, it’s starting to grow on me.  I think it reminds me of the regency romance stories I used to read.  All the young girls hitting London wearing their finest, hoping to snatch a rich groom.  Of course those girls were all carefully chaperoned, and these girls are not.  Not at all.

One of the things that really bugs me about the show is how physically intimate the central figures get with all those trying for their hand.  I mean are you really getting engaged to this one person when you slept with someone else three nights ago?  That just seems wrong.

I had high hopes this season when Elizabeth asked Jake not to kiss her until he was ready to kiss only her and no one else for the rest of their lives.  Sweet right?  Jake assumed it was for religious reasons, so when Elizabeth offered to explain he assured her it wasn’t necessary.  Only it turned out it was for no reason at all.  It turned out it was some kind of power play and that she thoroughly enjoyed tormenting the poor man whenever she had the opportunity.  So I was actually really glad when he sent her home.

Then there was what’s her name, the model, who was evidently on the show to boost her career, because once she got a rose she started fooling around with a staffer and got asked to leave.  It all seemed kind of funny and strange to me.  So it’s totally ok for the star of the show to make out with and sleep with multiple people, but not the co-stars?  But if being intimate with someone mattered as much as it should she would have come forward on her own and said, “Sorry Jake, but I met some one else while you were busy with all these other girls.”  Now that would have been awesome.  But it also would have curtailed her brief bout of fame, and that would never do.

So Bachelor.  I will keep watching you.  I will keep rooting for Ella, and Tenley (who is pregnant? what?  still waiting for an explanation on that).  I will keep rolling my eyes at how you dramatize all the drama.  I will remain flabbergasted by men and women’s ability to pretend that intimate things can be treated lightly.  I will keep wondering about those few girls who are always quiet and in the background, the “wait, who is she?” girls.  I will keep watching because I like you.  Against my better judgment.

The Mystery of the Disappearing Housewife

Hello all.  I’m sorry you haven’t heard from me for awhile.  It seems there has been an event called Christmas taking place in my home, and I’m not even sure it’s over yet.

P.S.  Why does it seem like everyone is in a hurry for Christmas to be over and done with?  Not so long ago people didn’t even get their tree until Christmas Eve and of course you kept it up at least till New Years.  I thought the “official” end of the season was 3 Kings Day which isn’t till January 6 (12 Days after Christmas).  I mean there’s a song about it and everything.  But people are taking down lights and all the signs are up for tree recycling.  I’m afraid I’m guilty of un-decorating the Christmas table, but that’s only because I needed the craft space.

eeew gross

I was sitting at the computer trying to think of a good subject for a blog.

Then I realized that Rori was poopy.

As I opened up the diaper I imagined the title for my entry “how to change a poopy diaper” complete with pictures.

But then I realized there was no way to document and share the smell, and without that you can’t really appreciate the full experience.

maybe another day.

Happy Mid Road Trip Meal

On our most recent road trip, when we found ourselves needing to stop (which happened far more often than the car needed gas) we found ourselves straining our eyes for a sign of those golden arches.

McDonald’s is cheap, fast, and kid friendly.  Pretty much guaranteed to have a changing table in the bathroom.  (I’ve gotten so tired of pulling over at a place I’d like to eat when Rori needs a change only to discover that I’ll be changing my darling daughter on the bathroom floor or on a bit of counter space next to the sink.)

But Rori is getting big, and eating grown up food, so all of a sudden there we were, offering Rori her very first (chopped up into small pieces) happy meal.

You can tell she feels like she’s getting away with something.

Please mommy, will you open my milk?

We took the toy back because, well we didn’t really have much use for a strawberry shortcake stamp, and they gave us two free apple pies.

Sweet.