Bits for Sunday, November 18, 2007

I spent a good portion of my weekend finishing the scrapbook of my baby pictures. I wanted it to be done in time to take it to the family Thanksgiving dinner so I could get the journaling of others included in it. So my fingers are covered in ink and my table is covered in paper scraps, but I successfully made it to a year old.

Last week I gave you a break from the big list of 25 for 2007, but this week my life consisted of stories at work that I do not care to relive, much dealing with leaves in my yard, much working out, and much scrapbooking, so I guess I’m back to the list for writing material.

The fourth area I worked on this year was the area of stewardship. I grew up hearing about stewardship in connection with money – and it is about money. But it’s also about more than just the green stuff. It’s about whatever you have. Luke 12:48 says “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” I began to realize that I’d been entrusted with some things that could stand a little bit more attention from me. So here were my commitments for the things God has given to me.

1. Save monthly. Mom and Dad raised me to understand the value of a savings account, and I appreciate that. But as I sit at my desk every day and pilfer through the files at hand, I listen to Money Matters by Crown Ministries, and I have learned that I have some improving to do in the world of money. It was becoming a little too easy for me to slip some extra into the “spending” part of my paycheck world and not quite as much into the “saving” part of my paycheck world. So I made a goal to save every single month – even if it meant less Hobby Lobby money.

The verdict? It’s been a good discipline for me. I’ve achieved it every month – and the months when money was tight, something extra always came in so I could meet this commitment.

2. Do weekly housecleaning. I also grew up in a home where weekly housecleaning was taught by example – and I learned early how to do my part to pitch in. I usually pitched a fit about it, but I pitched in anyway. I see the wisdom in it now – four year olds are much closer to the floor, so dusting baseboards is really a perfect task for them. But even though I was raised to clean well and clean often, I was slipping in this chore in my own home. My housecleaning became the victim of my “too busy” schedule and if I had to let anything slide, this was cut from the plans. God was nice enough to provide me with a place to live – the least I can do is honor Him by taking care of it – clear down to dusting end tables and scrubbing toilets.

The verdict? This one is still tough – still the one I want to cut corners on each week. But I find it much less of a hassle to clean when I do it on a regular basis.

3. Tune up the car. I am such a girl when it comes to cars. Only recently has my knowledge of them surpassed the level of color identification. But while I’m very dedicated about putting gas in my car (only had to run out once to learn that one!) and getting my oil changed, I hadn’t done a great job of checking up on the rest of my car’s health. My car has been good to me – a reliable little critter – and I decided this was the year to pamper it. Early in the year (thanks to an annoying puncture wound) I wound up replacing the tires, and just a few weeks ago, I sent it to the shop for a little checkup.

The verdict? I’m still such a girl about cars, but I feel good knowing my little car has been given the thumbs up for car health.

4. Work on yard improvement. I’m very fond of working in the kitchen. I’m quite happy when painting and decorating the rooms. I’m not so thrilled about outdoor work. But there’s no reason why I can’t get out the door and do what I can to make the house look presentable from the outside. So this year I got my hands dirty and put in some edger stone in the backyard, worked hard to stay up with the mowing and trimming, and more recently, I dedicated my time to leaf cleanup (a maddening task made much simpler by the new leaf blower/vacuum my Dad bought me).

The verdict? There were weeks when knowing I had to report on this task was the only thing that got me out the door and in the yard. But I’m very happy with the way the yard looks – though I don’t quite keep up with the landscaping neighbors.

5. Get new carpet for the stairs. Oh the carpet on the stairs. It is the color of an interesting diaper deposit (sorry, Dad) and is older than any carpet still in use should be. Last year I went through a rather extensive overhaul of the stairway room – and this was the one final step that I never completed. I don’t want to enter 2008 with that project still unfinished – or rather I’m just anxious to do the scrapbook page with the before and after pictures. So this week I went to the store and scheduled an appointment for the carpet boys to come and measure – and I am finishing the redecorating project.

The verdict? I’m excited to see something neutral instead of the olive color that was great in its day – but its day has long gone. The only thing that makes me sad is that I know no matter how great the carpet is that I get, the lasting power will never match whatever power they put into this carpet!

Only one more area to share with you – that will be next week!

To Be Responsible or to Have Fun

I think it's entirely possible that the week went flying by without me. How'd that happen?

One good thing about it is that work has been so insanely busy that at least the work hours move quickly. Too quickly. Can't get everything done. Our students are trying to register for classes, which means if they need help paying a bill, they need our office. I haven't had anyone cry on me yet - but I imagine it's not far. I need to put a new box of Puffs on my shopping list.

And after work...well...it's the weighing of the "do I have fun tonight or do I do chores?" I've tried to have a good balance of each. Take out the trash...and go to Bible study. Stay after to work late...and go to a ball game. Run to my favorite place on earth for things I need to buy...and watch TV. Work out...and work on the yard. Switch the clothing seasons and do laundry...and assemble Christmas cards.

It's no small wonder that at 2 this morning, I was still tossing in bed (trying valiantly not to disturb the carefree kitties snoozing away beside me) with a racing mind. Thankfully today is Friday, which means extra sleep can be mine this weekend...unless I decide to work on the leaves...and clean the house...and...and....

Good Job, Brad

I know I've admitted on here before that I like to watch The Bachelor. I gave it up a few seasons ago because I got sick of the stupidity. But I wandered back to watching it...and I just have to say that this season has my favorite bachelor.

Yeah, yeah he's good looking. But most seasons, once you got past the looks, you were done. Kudos to Brad for having good sense as well. Tonight when I watched him take the tough questions from the women he sent home, I thought he gave them genuine and meaningful answers - not just beat-around-the-bush quips to save face. I like that.

I am torn on which woman he'll pick. I think either of them would be good for him; it just boils down to what he is looking for most in a life plan. But regardless of how it ends, I'm glad for a season that included real conversation and not just hot tub parties. Good job, Brad.

Bits for Sunday, November 11, 2007

This week I’m taking a break from “list-reporting.” You were probably ready for a break two weeks ago, and I actually had something writing-worthy happen, so for those two reasons, I take a temporary leave from my lists to bring you the following breaking news from Bekah-land.

I went Christmas shopping.

Okay, I promise there’s a little bit more to it than that. Yesterday my Mom and I went on our annual Christmas shopping extravaganza. Normally we go in December when the sales are roaring, the Christmas music plays in the malls, and I am in desperate need of a day off work. This year we went on a Saturday to preserve my vacation days, we played our own Christmas music in the car (I do a rather interesting impersonation of Russ Taff singing “What A Wonderful World,” by the way), and we found sales even before Thanksgiving.

But along the way I made the following observations about holiday shopping, so I thought I would share them with you.

* You should always take a stroller. Not for a baby. For packages. I had quite seriously contemplated calling up some random parent-friend of mine to see if I could borrow the big old travel system for the day, but given that we were shopping on a Saturday, I figured the stroller-owning parents might actually be using their strollers. But I’ve noticed that in the mall, the moms carry the babies and push the presents. It’s ingenious, really. A place to stash the stuff, and cup holders on the side!

* Parking may be the riskiest business of the day. Mom and I had to park a couple of states away from the mall, and halfway through our shopping, we had to trek back to the car for a deposit of the back-breaking sacks. Mom decided to change shoes while we were out there, so I spread my papers out on the trunk, alongside my calculator, to see how I was doing on the old budget and how much more shopping I needed to do for each person. This poor guy parked his truck a few feet away, thinking we were about to leave. He finally got the drift that we were just gearing up for round two and he drove away. As we hiked back into the mall, we nearly saw a four car pileup in aisle six as someone tried to pass someone else (hello, it’s a PARKING LOT, not a FREEWAY) and then another car backed out at the same time. I thought we were all goners. All for the love of a close parking space.

* Never wear rings. When Mom and I were on our way to the car for that mid-shopping deposit, she kept saying to me, “I have a free hand, do you want me to carry a bag for you?” I kept saying “No, my hands won’t move!” As soon as I dumped the bags into the trunk, my still-curled-up fingers resembled candy canes and were so swollen that I don’t think I was in any danger of losing a ring. Usually I forego the jewelry altogether on a shopping trip, but I forgot this time.

* The receipt trail is longer than Santa’s naughty/nice list. Mom and I were in line at Penney’s when the receipt started printing out…and kept going…and kept going…and kept going. Mind you, I had only purchased two things. The receipts could serve as gift wrap for them both. And this is what I’ve learned about holiday shopping. One printout was my notice that if I shop online from now through the end of the month and spend over $49, I can get free shipping. The next one was my actual receipt. The first three inches of it were the logo/address. The next three inches were the actual receipt part. Then there was the message about taking an online survey to receive 15% off my next purchase. Then there was the notice of how I paid…followed by my associate’s number, followed by my holiday portrait offer, followed by the exchange policy, followed by their website information, followed by a bar code. THEN I received the two gift receipts – each printed separately for my gifting convenience. While the lady was gathering and folding my receipt, Mom and I were blessed to hear the story of the man at the next register. He had purchased queen size cream colored sheets, but the pillowcases were too short for his king size pillows, so he bought the pillowcases separately but when he washed it all, the sheets faded to white and now they don’t match the pillowcase and could he just make an even exchange for this sheet set? The lady asked him if he had a receipt. He said no. She did the exchange anyway. SO WHY AM I ACCEPTING SIX FEET OF RECEIPT TAPE???? DOES IT EVEN MATTER? When I came home, I counted fifteen receipts, eight gift receipts, and six supplemental advertisement receipts, which leads me to my next point…

* The after-shopping takes longer than the shopping. If I were to take advantage of all possible offers thrown my way yesterday, then my future holds a busy schedule. I need to drive back to Borders next weekend, spend $10 or more, and get something 30% off (minus anything in the 2 ½ inch list of exceptions). After that I can spend two consecutive nights at a Country Inn and Suites and get a $15 gift card. I can order a delicious turkey feast at Target for just $59.99. Of course don’t forget about the aforementioned free shipping from Penney’s as well as the survey/15% off offer from them. I can go to Kohls online and offer my feedback on a survey – FOR NOTHING. I don’t think so. I can drive back to Kirkland’s (a great store) next weekend for 20% off a single Christmas item. Dicks Sporting Goods offered me $10 off my next purchase of $50 if I rushed home and completed an online survey. For shopping at Sears, I can take a survey and perhaps win a $4000 gift card. I can also “por favor tomate el tiempo para proporcionaros tu informacion y participa…” oh wait. I think that is the same thing. Unfortunately I have dial up internet, so I’d still be completing these surveys at Easter.

* And finally – watch that weight. On the way home, Mom and I stopped for fast food. By this time, my back was breaking from all the carrying of sacks, my feet were screaming, since I dressed for looks over comfort and didn’t wear my best shoes. We’d been gone for almost 12 hours and were getting a little loopy. We stood in line for our burgers at an establishment run by the twin sisters of Frick and Frack of the Wal Mart photo booth. We waited a while before they took our order, and when Frick (or was it Frack?) came over to the register, she said to my Mom, “I’m sorry about your wait.” I rolled my eyes. This woman could have made two and a half of my mother. I wanted to say “Really? Cause I’m not half as sorry about her weight as I am about yours.” Someone please tell these customer service people not to say that!

But all in all – a successful day was had by both of us. And I would tell you more, but I have some surveys to complete.

For Blogger Deb's Mom...

Blogger Deb's Mom taught one of my English classes in college. Knowing that she occasionally stops by always makes me nervous that something I write will end up on the "don't do this" example sheet in her classroom. While I do my very best to make sure my posts follow the rules of the English language, I like for this space to be somewhat casual. I try not to go too crazy with the proofreading.

Last night I was watching TV and saw a commercial for some random prescription medication that everyone should discuss with a doctor. The chipmunk-sounding list of disclaimers at the end included this phrase: "Patients taking aspirin and the elderly should not use this medication." I called my father (a wording guru) and told him he might want to avoid taking aspirin and the elderly at the same time. :)

(At this time you're free to guess how many times I've read this post to hunt for errors...and I just know I've missed something.)

Making the Plan

Mom and I are going Christmas shopping this weekend. I'm stressing (not bad, but a little) because I am not sure when I'm going to formulate "the plan" prior to that trip. Last week when I hid from trick or treaters, I pulled out the budget and made the list of people to buy for and divided up the money appropriately. So I know WHO to buy for and HOW MUCH to spend on them and I have LISTS from most of them...and that's where I'm stuck.

Worst case scenario - I'll ask Mom to drive so I can spread out all the papers in the car and make the plan on the way to shopping. But I'd really like to have it done before then. I don't like to go into these trips and find whatever I find. I want to go after certain purchases and find the best possible deal. That is my goal.

I'm probably too OCD about the shopping trip just like I OCD about every other aspect of this holiday. But I like to have just the perfect gift for everyone. And I like to have 90% of them purchased in one trip flat. Shoot - I might even have everything wrapped before I put up the tree. (Or then again - maybe not. Why be overly ambitious?)

All of this has stemmed from the year I failed to shop for ANYONE until Christmas Eve. Dad was my chauffeur and Mom ran around behind me telling me who was still on the list. They made me promise to NEVER pull that stunt again.

Think I've successfully transformed?

Bits for Sunday, November 4, 2007

Ahh…the world is right again…all the time zones back in their proper places. What a great weekend!

It’s probably a good reminder for me to share the third/fifth of my list this week, because I didn’t have much enthusiasm in this department this week. But it’s too far into the year to give up now, so maybe explaining it to all of you will motivate me to stay on track.

My third area of commitment this year was the area of ministry. Last spring I spoke at a one-day women’s retreat for some of the ladies at my parents’ church, and the key verse for the day was the one that hovered over this area this year. 2 Timothy 1:6 says “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.” That day we talked about how each of us has different gifts and how we’re expected to use what we’ve been given, rather than doing what comes more naturally: sitting around wishing we had the same gifts as our neighbors.

Using our own gifts can be scary because the things we’re really good at are often the things we’re most passionate about…and that can bring about a big dose of vulnerability. It’s scary to think about opening up your soul and having people laugh at you – or shrug their shoulders and roll their eyes. But regardless of the reaction, we’re supposed to fan those gifts into flame, so here were my specific covenants to do so this year.

1. Finish writing and seek publication of Advent project. Last year, during December, I started writing about Advent and lives that had been changed after encountering Jesus in the flesh. Though I write all the time, I decided it was time to at least attempt to take something I’d written and move it out of the confines of the journals only I see. This year I picked up that project (I’d somewhat abandoned it as the holidays closed in last year and I became busy) and finished it. I’m in the process of trying to find a way to publish it. That’s a very uncomfortable adventure for me, but I’m forcing myself to stick with it and keep trying until the right door opens.

And even though I’m done with the Advent book (minus the ever-elusive title) – I’ve also started making a small group study out of it. That’s pushing me back into my own words and causing me to learn even more from the study of a year ago.

The verdict? I guess I’ll keep trying until I’m successful – and I have plans for the next ten years to write more book-length works.

2. Habitually (weekly if possible) meet with Olivia. Olivia goes to my church, and probably four years ago, we started meeting for coffee one night a week. We’ve done some Bible studies, we’ve done nights of just girl talk, we’ve gone out for breakfast, we’ve had scrapping days…we’ve had fun. It’s exciting to me to see Olivia run after God’s plan for her, and I’m so thankful for all that I have learned from her.

I noticed last year that I was slipping into a habit of postponing our meeting a day here or a week there because I’d allowed my schedule to become too crowded. So this year, I made the commitment to be available every week if I possibly could. This semester we’ve had to get a little creative and meet before work for breakfast because it is the only time we’re both available at the same time. And though you know me and mornings, I love those mornings. I love spending those minutes with her and just knowing that we’re both learning and growing.

The verdict? As long as she’ll put up with me…or for as long as we live close enough to do so…I would love to continue this tradition. And when the time comes for our meeting together to end, I would love to start up with someone else.

3. Finish spring Bible study with enthusiasm and pray about fall. For the last five years, I taught the Ladies Bible Study at my church, and I noticed that I worked hard to prepare in the September-December months, but from January-May, I started to lose steam. I determined this year I would study hard and do my best even at the end of the season.

At the same time, I started to feel that God was pulling me away from this group. I love these ladies and could not imagine not preparing and teaching each week. But God confirmed to me that it was time to step down – so I did. I’m not 100% sure of all the reasons, but for now I know that releasing that duty has given me more time to write, and it’s allowed me to be involved in a short-term Bible study that I desperately needed right now. So I know it was a good thing.

The verdict? I’d love to lead a small group again…guess I’ll wait on God to say!

4. Entertain once a month. I inherited the hospitality bug from my Mom, and it’s something I really love to do. I love inviting people over for dinner or a game night (well, depending on the games…) or a movie night. But I noticed last year that I did a really lousy job of actually picking up the phone and making the invitation. So this year I made a commitment to have people over at least once a month. Sometimes it’s a full meal, sometimes it’s just snacks, but it’s always a chance to hang out with good friends and have fun.

The verdict? I am hopeful that in the future I will keep up the good habit of inviting people over, even though it won’t be a specific commitment anymore.

5. Do something purposefully encouraging to someone once a week. I realize it’s a little ridiculous to have to make this a priority. But I would think of things to do for someone – a card, a flower, a batch of cookies – and the thought was the end of it. I needed to push myself to actually do it. So every week I’m on the lookout for a little something fun I can do to cheer up someone’s week. The things don’t always take a lot of time or cost much money, but I love seeing (or hearing about) the reactions when the little gifts are discovered.

The verdict? I have something similar to this planned for next year, with a slight twist to it.

Ministries don’t have to be flagrant to be important. Don’t be afraid to use whatever has been ingrained in your heart. God gave it to you for a reason, and He wants you to use it!

We Survived!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a beautiful message up there on the DST ticker - "Don't forget to set your clocks back tonight!" Don't you worry, baby. Don't have to tell me twice.

I celebrated my last day of this ridiculousness by sleeping in until 11. I intended to get up at 9, but it was a rough night, thanks to this stupid cough. Since my list of chores today didn't have any particular time attached, I decided to not stress out about being up at 9 and went back to sleep.

Today was very busy. Starting next weekend, the holiday rush begins, so I enjoyed this one last uninterrupted Saturday to do chores around the house. I used my new toy (thank you Mom and Dad!) of a leaf blower/vac to work on my yard. Best invention EVER. I planted the mum I won at the church dinner a couple of weeks ago. I cleaned out the fridge (nasty job) and took out the trash promptly afterwards. I bought new workout shoes, as my old ones have many miles on them and are starting to get thin on the bottom. I stopped by the bookstore sale and had my free cup of coffee and used my coupon on a new book. Oh - and I enjoyed probably my last exercise outside until spring. It was too beautiful a day to let that pass.

So now I've just had my little dinner and I'm about to clean the house and CHANGE THE CLOCKS!

This is the best weekend EVER.

Ick to Sick

So this is week two of being sick and I'm so over it. Too bad I can't actually be OVER it.

Fortunately, so far I've not had to miss work. I thought about it yesterday because I had this annoying cough that even I was sick of hearing, so I could only imagine how everyone else felt. But unfortunately, I can work with a cough. I wasn't throwing up, so I reported for duty. Had I known our system wasn't going to report for duty for more than five minutes at a time, I might have rethought that coming to work thing. Also unfortunately, I was raised under the teaching that if you're too sick to go to school/work, you're too sick to do anything else after hours, and I had to grocery shop last night. I was completely out of food that didn't require significant hours of preparation. So in the interest of shopping, I came to work.

Never fear though - the weekend is upon me. Surely that will get me at least an hour's rest. (Sometime after I work on the yard, probably.) And if all else fails....at least I get an extra hour of sleep on Sunday! WOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Catching Up on the Tornado

It has been a while since I posted a Kansas update, so today I went crazy and you'll find several posts below showing some updates from the land of great wind.

Sunday marks six months since the tornado hit, and although I'm sure it still feels like a massive task ahead to those in the middle of it, so much has been done in these six months! You'll see in the pictures below that new buildings are in progress and temporary housing is in place and functioning.

Just as a note...this month's issue of Guideposts magazine has an article about another minister in Greensburg. Not my brother-in-law, but one of his friends. I think he is/was the Methodist pastor. I've not seen the magazine yet, but Lori said to be sure and look at it!
Secondly - tomorrow night (Halloween night) - the Discovery Channel's Storm Chasers episode is supposed to be about the Greensburg tornado. It's an hour long program that runs from 10-11. I was on the Discovery channel website today and saw that if you miss it, you can catch up with it at 2 a.m. the next night or a few other times in the coming days. I'm not sure what all it will entail, but I know it will be on.

And speaking of the Discovery channel - they're preparing a documentary series which I think has 13 segments - about the rebuilding of Greensburg. My brother-in-law had an interview with somebody about that. Don't know if it was a footage interview or just facts that will be relayed. I haven't been able to find anything out about when it will air - probably not for a while. But it's out there in the future.

And to start your little photo tour of the post-tornado Greensburg....a rosebush from in front of the Mennonite church. It came back to life!

The Old Has Gone

Here's what is left of their old house. Once it was determined that the basement would not be reused, they tore out the walls and now it's just a hole in the ground.

And the New Has Come!

TA DAAAAAA!!! The new house! What...you don't see it? :)

Just kidding. But this is the future home of...the future home. In case you didn't know/didn't remember, they will not be living in the same location they were before the tornado.

Every good Kansas home has a basement! This we learned! Here's Lori with her brand new basement.


And after the basement floor, of course, comes the addition of the basement walls as seen here.

And then the floor joists - or as they called them in that one conversation Lori heard, "floor joyces."

Here's Jeff holding some Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF). They're apparently the latest and greatest in "building green." I'm sure Leonardo DiCaprio will have something to say about that.

FEMA-ville

There are lots (I forget the exact number, so we'll go with the ever popular "lots") of FEMA trailers in Greensburg. Lori calls it FEMA-ville. Here's a glimpse:

GPS - But Not the Thing that Finds You

Greensburg Portable School!

The school "complex" is located in twenty some trailers/portables/whatever you want to call them. THis is one of the elementary school trailers.


The dark trailers in the back are for the high school. The large building on the right is the practice gym. Official games are held in a nearby town in a school that is no longer used. (Right, Lori?)

Town Sights

I promise...you're almost done!

When Lori said their hospital resembled the M*A*S*H unit....she wasn't kidding! This is the current hospital in Greensburg.

This is the John Deere dealership. As you may remember from previous posts/pictures, many of the pieces of equipment were "resituated" on the lot - one ended up in a pond!

And every town needs a convenience store! This is the Kwik Shop. Fairly soon after the tornado, it operated out of a semi trailer. It has upgraded to a real building now.

Sunday Afternoon Naps

After I took my nap yesterday afternoon (on the couch during a Lifetime movie), I discovered I'm not the only one who enjoys a good nap on Sunday!


Kaegan had claimed my bed, which was (embarrassingly) unmade. I never skip making the bed, but my decision to go to Sunday School was last minute (due to not feeling well), and this just didn't get done. He didn't seem to mind, though.

Braeya had claimed the guest room bed. She was NOT happy to be awakened by my photo shoot. Wonder who she gets THAT from? ;)

The Weekend in Pictures

Saturday I went to the wedding of one of our former student workers, Stephanie, and her amazing now-husband, Nick. I l-o-v-e-d their wedding. The ceremony was incredibly personal and told so much of the story of their love and who they are as individuals and as a couple. It reminded me very much of what I hope to someday have in my own wedding.

The reception was super fancy. I had to cheat off my neighbor to know the right fork to use. But her table decorations were SO CUTE!!! She always wanted a fall wedding, and she sure had one! The pumpkins told us our table numbers, and the little mini pumpkins at each place had the menus tied to them.

I am not sure that most of you know (because why would this be a normal writing topic?) that I have an INSANE phobia of public restrooms. I'm the laughing stock of my office because if I go down the hall to the bathroom and there's someone else in there, I have to come back to the office until the person/people leave and then I return. In addition, I refuse to use port-a-potties and random "community bathrooms" scare me.

SO...it was a huge deal that I agreed to use this "community bathroom" in Brown County. Unfortunately, it absolutely REEKED. Every time I went in, I tried to hold my breath, because every accidental whiff made me sick to my stomach.


Now THIS is my kinda store!!!

At last - the road rage picture. I have enlarged it some (keep in mind we were at the opposite end of the block by the time I took this) but it's still a little far away. The lady in red to the left of the car is totally cussing out the driver. You can see the two walking people in the middle of the street staring - there were more gawkers, but they aren't in this shot.

Bits for Sunday, October 28, 2007

Happy day before Hermit Day! Just glancing at my calendar, I see that tomorrow is Hermit Day. Don’t know what that means, but I can assure you that as I face an early alarm tomorrow after a week of vacation, I think it’s a day I just might need to observe!

The week of vacation gave me extra time to think – extra extra time since I was sick four of the five days I had off work! I realized the end of the year is rapidly approaching, and there are still a few of my covenants (the one-time sorts of commitments) that I still need to complete before the end of the year. Time to kick it into gear.

So to push me into action, here’s the second fifth of my commitments for the year – the area that was probably the most challenging of all.

Area Two: My Temple – My theme verse for this area was “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own…” 1 Corinthians 6:19. I always read that verse in a rather exasperated tone – as though Paul was saying “Hello! Get with the program, you idiot!” Thankfully, I think Paul was much nicer than that, and I think the tone was much more pleading and merciful – “Don’t you know? If not, let me be the one to tell you what a treasure you have…”

2007 became my year to wake up and realize that this body I have is something I only get one time. If I didn’t start taking a little bit better care of it – I could be in big trouble later. And if I couldn’t find it within me to take good care of it for my own sake, then I needed to do it for the sake of the Holy Spirit. So here were my commitments regarding the temple.

1. Exercise five days a week. What a shock to my poor body that had only seen about five days of exercise in life prior to this year. I have been a textbook case of resolving to exercise, doing well for a week, and then giving up. I tried my very best to think of all the reasons why I quit so I could be prepared to combat them. My commitment was to spend anywhere from ½ hour to 1 hour each time that I exercised, and I’m excited to say that so far, I’ve kept this commitment each week. I’ve done Tae Bo (a comical event, should any of you ever need a good laugh), I’ve walked (giving me a comical tan line at the ankle), I’ve worked out on the elliptical machine I invested in earlier in the year (unloading it piece by piece from my trunk was a comical workout in and of itself) and more recently, I’ve added one day a week at the gym, sweatin’ with the skinnies. While I worried that this was too ambitious a commitment, it’s worked out well. I take a day of rest from it every Sunday and then I’m allowed one other day a week to be too busy, too lazy, or too tired. Other than that – no excuses. Not even my spur of the moment trip to Kansas after the tornado or my week of sickness kept me off the schedule!

The verdict? I think this has sufficiently become a habit for me. It’s not going on next year’s list, but I don’t have any intentions of giving up in this department.

2. When offered food choices, choose the better choice. I hate diets. They don’t work for me, because I’m not willing to stay committed to them for life. So my goal was to employ the general principles I learned from Gwen Shamblin’s “Weigh Down” book that I read a few years ago. Everything is permissible…but exercise moderation. I tried to stop eating like six construction workers and start eating like a lady. I didn’t give up the things I loved, but I tried to have smaller portions or healthier versions. You’ll still find me in line for fru-fru coffee drinks, but you’ll find me ordering them with skim milk and sugar free whipped cream. I still love my bread – but I try to eat wheat now more than white. Four cookies instead of six. Cheerios instead of a bag of M&Ms. It’s worked well. Not a quick melt-away-the-pounds eating plan, but definitely one that keeps me from chewing on pens in between meals.

The verdict? Like the exercise, I think this one is an ingrained habit now. I don’t need to keep it on the list, but I plan to keep practicing it anyway.

3. No pop. Hands down, the hardest one on my entire list of twenty-five. They don’t make a patch to get you through carbonated beverage withdrawal. For a couple of years, I’ve given up pop for Lent, and for this year I did it simply because I wanted to do one thing out of the whole twenty five that represented a genuine “this might kill me” sacrifice. And for me, that sacrifice was the self-denial of pop. Going from drinking a 32 ounce full fledged (no diet, no caffeine free, no sugar free business) Coke every day to drinking water and iced tea every day – that was big. And try as I might to convince myself it was just a long Lent, 365 days is a far cry from 40 days. One time I even dreamed that I messed up and had a small glass of Coke. Boy was I relieved to wake up from that!

The verdict? Unsure. I don’t know if it’s best for me to keep this one or if I’m strong enough to just have a little taste now and then without falling back into the pop-drinking pit. I’m going to have to think on this for a while.

4. Find and apply verses of physical worth in God’s eyes. It’s hard to be a girl sometimes. Especially on the days of sweatin’ with the skinnies. It’s hard to look in the mirror and not immediately gravitate toward everything you hate, even if what you hate is something that no one else even notices. And I know I’m not alone in those thoughts. You’ve had them, even if you don’t want to admit it. So this year, I bought a little spiral bound set of index cards and every time I ran across verses that talked about how God views me, I wrote those verses on the cards. And then on the days when I feel like running around with a paper bag over my head, I carry those verses with me and I read them over and over to remind myself that no matter what I see or what the looks or words of others say that they see, it’s what God sees that’s important.

The verdict? I’ll probably turn it into a writing project.

5. Floss daily. You can stop laughing now. I know it’s a bit of a ridiculous thing to put on a covenant list. But you do not understand. My teeth are so close together, flossing requires not only the floss, but a hammer as well. It’s quite exhausting. I’ve never liked to floss and I’ve been sitting through the dentist’s lectures twice a year about how I need to do it or I’ll be sorry. Finally she flung at me the dreaded phrase of “gum disease” and told me I was in the beginning stages of it – and if I truly didn’t start flossing, I’d be losing my teeth eventually. I happen to like my teeth – and I’d really like to keep them for a good long time. So I broke down, bought some floss, and started flossing every single day.

The verdict? After a glowing report at the last dentist visit, I’ve decided to keep up this practice for the sake of the pearly whites.

I would say that of all five areas, this one has given me the greatest sense of accomplishment, because it was the biggest area of overhaul, and required the most lifestyle change. I wasn’t sure I could make it – but so far, I have!

Road Rage

And for once - it wasn't me.

Yesterday, Marie and I went to Brown County for the day. It was my first day to be up and around for more than five hours at a time, and today I'm feeling the effects of that. But we had planned this trip forever ago, and unless I was throwing up, I was going. So off we went.

We were actually nearing the end of our day - a leisurely trip filled with shopping and eating and meeting up with one of my former co-workers and her new baby. Marie and I had gone into a candle shop that was in a pretty long building. As we entered, I noticed there was a sign for the building behind the long shop that said there was a rubber stamp store back there. Well of course we'd have to go there too! So we left the candle shop through the front door and began our walk down the alley beside the long building to get to the little store behind it.

We happened to notice that to our left were a couple of cars in a predicament. An older lady was parked in the alley facing the same direction we were going. And coming toward her was a sports car driven by an older man. Now by "older" I don't mean little eighty year old grandma and grandpa people. But I do mean way old enough to know better. I would imagine both drivers were sixty-something. The man inched toward her and Marie said to me "Is he going to hit her?" So we started walking more slowly to take in the situation which was just about to get interesting.

The lady rolled down her window and said "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? I WAS TOLD I CAN PARK HERE FOR JUST A MINUTE! THE SIGN SAYS I CAN BE HERE! DO YOU EXPECT ME TO MOVE?" Well, apparently by his inching toward her, yes that was exactly what he expected her to do.

The lady continued her tirade with multiple expletives and "DO YOU EXPECT ME TO BACK INTO THE STREET?" (If you need a pretty accurate comparison to the sound of her voice, and you've ever watched The Nanny, she sounded just like Fran's Mom. Kind of looked like her, too, come to think of it.) At one point, the lady (or maybe it was her passenger, I'm not sure) actually got out of her car, walked over to the sports car, pounded on the guy's window and delivered more choice words directly to his face.

By this time, it was raining, and Marie and I were standing in the alley, in the rain, cracking up. People everywhere were staring. In the end, the guy lost and had to back all the way through the alley and leave another way.

It was hysterical. Best road rage I've seen for a while. Definitely picture worthy - which is why I took one. I'll see if I can't get it enlarged a little and post it. (I didn't have the guts to mess with zooming. I was afraid that lady would be after me next.)

Midnight Mac n Cheese

I love vacation. I love it because I get to do things that "responsible Rebekah" wouldn't do.

Things like eating mac n cheese at 11:30 at night. That's not meal time! But I'm on vacation, so I can do it if I want.

Things like buying those iced sugar cookies from Wal Mart. I love those things but I refuse to pay whatever they cost - because I could make them much cheaper myself. But I'm on vacation, so today I threw a box of them in the cart. (I paid for them too, fyi.)

Things like stopping my work at 3 pm to take a nap or watch Dr. Phil. (Two things I never ever get to do on a real day.)

Things like staying up to watch the Tonight Show in its entirety - because I can. I'm usually awake at the time the Tonight Show goes off the air - but I'm trying to be responsible, so I make myself leave the TV off while attempting to fall asleep.

So there's part of why I like vacation. I'm still scrapping away - I think I'm up to being four months old in my baby book. If I work really hard tomorrow, I might be able to finish up through my first birthday. That would mean forfeiting the 3 p.m. nap, though. Tough call.

Meanwhile - here's some pictures from the recent adventure I like to call "Mama bought a camera." Actually Daddy bought the camera for Mama for their anniversary and her birthday and I forget how many other holidays. For Mom to learn how to run anything above a disposable camera is a great accomplishment.


I was so mad in this picture that I refused to smile until Mom said she would quit trying to take pictures if I was going to be "that way." Not wanting to impede progress, I stopped being "that way" long enough to flash a "kind but insincere" smile. This is my sister Julie, by the way, with me.

I was slightly happier here - mostly because I was on my way home. Not sure why I was so grouchy that day.
Julie was teaching Mom to use the timer. I'm gonna guess she's forgotten that lesson. But she did do a GREAT job on their vacation - she had lots of pictures and people had heads and EVERYTHING! (Family joke is that every picture Mom ever took of us growing up only got us from the neck down. We thought digital would cure this and so far, it seems to be working!)

Scrapping, Sickness, and Sleeping In

I'm thoroughly enjoying my vacation despite GETTING SICK! Who has time for that? Apparently I do. :( I actually figured this would happen - once I stopped going 200 miles an hour. That's when I usually get sick. So I consoled myself with a pan of macaroni and cheese and a pork chop. Well, I didn't eat the WHOLE pan of mac n cheese at once - but the part I had was very yummy. Mom asked why I didn't just have chicken broth. Excuse me? Chicken broth? I'm sick, not being punished! Bring me some FOOD!

I've been able to catch up on sleep - which has been amazing. This morning I caught up on it a bit more than I intended (though I was still up by 10, thankyouverymuch) because yesterday when I reset the clocks after a power outage, I got the AM/PM reversed on either the clock or the alarm. So here about an hour ago - the alarm went off. Scared the snot out of the cats. I thought it was funny.

My baby album is coming along. That would be the album of MY baby pictures, not any sort of announcement of babies to come. (I do NOT need any rumors going.) In the album, I'm actually born now. :) I'm working on the page of when I came home from the hospital. I was 10 days old when I came home - life started out a little rough for me. Thankfully it's gotten much better since. I decided to get all the junk out of the way at the beginning.

I had to stay so long because I couldn't keep my food down (a problem I have long since corrected). While I was there, I also sustained my first life-scarring event. Literally. I wasn't even a whole day old when someone scratched my face. The nurses told my mom that I did it, but given that I didn't have any ripped nails (some things never change), Mom didn't believe them. They told her that the scratch would go away, and it did - but it left behind a nice inch long scar on my cheek. You can still see it. There are some things makeup won't hide.

Anyway, here's a picture of Dad n me on my first night at home. I would have posted the ones of my sisters with me, but given that it was the 70's....and Christmas is coming...I'll just post this one.

Bits for Sunday, October 21, 2007

Last week, I told you that I love lists – to a rather ridiculous degree – and this week I thought I would share with you the first bit of that list-o-twenty-five that I have for this year. I share it with you partly so you can see what I’ve been learning and partly because outside of hitting a remnant of a skunk with my car this week, I’ve not really had much story-worthy news to use for writing material.

So here it is. The first of my five areas of commitment for 2007. Here were my covenants and commitments, how I’ve been doing, and what I’ve been learning.

Area One: My Relationship With God – I decided to choose a theme verse for each area, hoping that it would remind me that there really was a spiritual purpose behind my determinations for the year. I made this particular area the first one because it should be first in life no matter what. My verse to accompany the area is this: Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. – Proverbs 4:23

1. Do daily faith study. In 2006, the Wesleyan denomination challenged all its members and attendees to read through the Bible in one year flat. I’d never done that before, and I love a good challenge, so I did it. I would say I hated it, but that starts to sound like I hated reading the Bible and that’s just not true. But reading it so fast did nothing for me. I’m a “chewer” of Scripture. Reading the whole Bible through in one year was overwhelming. I got reader’s TMJ. So this year, I respectfully asked God if it would be okay to back down a bit on the daily volume of reading. I sensed that I needed to study up on the subject of faith – though I didn’t know why – so I researched how many times the word “faith” appears in the Bible. I discovered there were enough verses that included some version of that word to read one verse Monday-Saturday and two on Sundays. I had no idea what God wanted to teach me through this, but I felt there was a good reason, so I did it.

I was so excited to discover that the first mention of the word “faith” in the Bible comes from Genesis 24 – the account of Abraham’s servant going out to find a bride for Isaac. He stumbled upon a woman named Rebekah. I knew it was going to be a good year when that was the start of the faith study. And while I’ve learned so much from reading through the faith verses bit by bit, it’s an added blessing to be able to wrap up my year by attending a Bible study about faith. It’s an intense study with much homework, but it’s building quickly upon the foundation that I’ve been slowly construction over the year.

The verdict? Someday I might come back and do a more in-depth study on this topic, but for now, I believe it was just what I needed to study hard this year. Next year, my daily devotions will move on to a new study pattern.

2. Spend Tuesday lunch hours in the prayer chapel. In 2006, I finally fulfilled an assignment God gave me several months earlier. That assignment was to go to the prayer chapel on campus every Tuesday and pray during my lunch hour. I have written before about that first assignment and the great things I learned during that seven week stretch. In late 2006, I began to sense the call to pick up that practice again.

So for the last year, I’ve spent every Tuesday’s lunch hour parked in a pew in the tiny chapel – praying hard. Some weeks I leave with goose bumps because God has really spoken clearly. Other weeks I leave thinking “Well, I showed up, God. Hope that counts for something.” Sometimes it’s been hard to go – because I’ve had to turn down a lunch invitation to keep this commitment. But I know that these moments in quiet prayer are not in vain. I don’t know everything God has been doing behind the scenes, but I know He has used the discipline of that time – the quietness of that time – to work in me.

The verdict? While this won’t be something that I will covenant to do each week again next year (unless God says something about it between now and then) – it has taught me a good discipline of making a place of prayer, and I know I will go back to that chapel when I have to really pray.

3. Go on one personal retreat. Shannon Ethridge wrote Every Woman’s Battle, which was the book used in a Bible study I attended around this time last year. Toward the end of the book, she said “In addition to putting aside some time each day to rest in the arms of God and converse with Jesus, I recommend that you schedule a sabbatical alone with God at least once or twice each year. Based on the word Sabbath, a sabbatical is an extended amount of time set apart for the further cultivation of a love relationship with Jesus.” I decided to try it and see what would happen. So I booked a hotel room out of town and at the end of April, I packed up my car and drove a couple of hours to spend a day and evening enjoying a time away with God.

I wrote about that experience earlier this year – it was definitely one of the most pivotal moments of my spiritual life. I never knew that God could totally saturate a hotel room and time of Bible study/conversation like He did. It was amazing. I agree with Shannon – every woman should make that a priority.

The verdict? I’m sold on this and plan to make it a yearly practice. Because it is so ingrained in me now, I won’t put it back on the commitment list. I know it will happen even without being there. If finances permit, I’d like to do two a year instead of just one.

4. Increase listening time. I realized I did a lot of talking to God, but rarely did I make the practice to STOP TALKING AND START LISTENING. I’m sure God was trying to answer my rapid-fire question, but the line of fire didn’t stop long enough for Him to get a word in edge-wise. I wanted to make a habit of finding places in my day where I could cut out my own talk (or other noise…music in the car, TV, whatever) to specifically listen to God. I knew I would have to find the best times to do that through trial and error, but I wanted to have more moments where I became silent and offered Him the opportunity to speak. It has been a good thing. I still probably talk more than I listen – which is not a good thing – but I have definitely increased my silent time.

The verdict? I think I’ve learned how to actually practice this without keeping it on the itemized list. Making a point of doing it this year has created a good habit.

5. Put on armor daily. Earlier this year I shared with you that this was one of my commitments. It was born from a challenge Marie gave me…a challenge someone else had given her. Every morning, I get up, go to the bathroom to get ready, and as I fight with my hair (a battle requiring armor all its own), I read through and pray aloud each piece of the armor of God as described in Ephesians 6. While there is nothing magical in the words, reading them aloud, turning them into prayer, and forcing myself to think about how those words apply to the person I am that day and the situations I’ll be facing that day, really makes a difference. This very week, in fact, some things would have gone very differently for me, had I not been acutely aware of my need to be suited up with that armor. Though it didn’t eliminate the struggle, I was in much better shape to do battle for having completed that commitment.

The verdict? Much like listening, this is now a habit. I will keep doing it and perhaps add to it the practice of daily praying other Scripture as circumstances demand.

So there you have it. Area one – the first five of my twenty-five commitments.

It's a Scrapfest!

I have several scrapbook projects running simultaneously. That way, when I'm bored with one book, I can just move to a different one for a while. This weekend I began my baby album. My Mom did a great job of making a baby album for me - saving all the newspaper clippings and shower invitations in addition to all the Polaroid pictures.

But the newspaper clippings aren't laminated...and you know, I am getting up there in years. So it's time to preserve the yellowing paper. Plus, when I was born, all the albums were the "magnetic" pages that have since been condemned by scrapbook authorities worldwide. It was just as well. Mine had lost their magnetism and had all fallen apart anyway. So I've gathered up everything and started the scrapping project. So far, I'm still in the womb. Probably in five or six pages, I'll start making appearances in photos. (Although I did find a very fascinating one of Blogger Deb that I debated posting...but hesitated to do so if it would lead to her hating me.)

At the last minute, Mom found this picture, which I'm glad she found so that I have an excuse to use my "Baby's First Bath" stamp.

Having said that - I'm impressed with her patience. I would have returned me to the hospital and asked for a refund.

Like Mother...Like Daughter

Since I'm working on this baby scrapbook, I asked Mom if I could borrow baby pictures of everyone in the family. I need them for one of the "family tree" pages. She sent this one of herself - sorry that my scanner was being weird and cutting off the top of her head.


Guess this shows that right from the start...I looked like Mama:

Burned Popcorn, Residual Skunk Smell, and Other Adventures

Someone just burned popcorn - that will make a fun smell for the rest of the afternoon. Kind of like last weekend when I accidentally hit some remnant of a skunk on the road. For days...that thing hung onto my front left tire. I think it's finally gone - or maybe I just got used to the smell. But this popcorn smell is going to linger for a while. I'm on the tail end of my lunch hour, counting down the hours...minutes?...until vacation begins for me.

This has been a very long week, and for once, it wasn't because of work. It was just a long week for my heart. I've been in a Beth Moore Bible study for the past six or seven weeks and I knew at some point, things were going to get really serious and I was going to "feel" the effects of what I'm learning. This week was my week. Proverbs 3:11-12 says "My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline and do not resent his rebuke,because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in." He must love me a lot because I've been disciplined more than once this week. And it has hurt like crazy - and left me crying in the Wendy's drive-thru yesterday, actually - but it has been a good hurt. I'd rather hurt and know He's refining me than not hurt and wonder if He loves me at all.

So between being SO DONE with daylight savings, being exhausted from the discipline, and being sore from having my way-too-tight back worked on yesterday, I'm ready for time off work.

Happy Dictionary Day!

If you're looking for yet another reason to have an office carry-in or you need to justify a trip to Dairy Queen - never fear! Today is Dictionary Day!

According to an article I found online, this esteemed holiday was established in honor of Noah Webster, who was born back in 1758.

To honor this day, I would like to share with you my "word of the month." Being a writer, I like to think I have a decent vocabulary. Every now and then I try to toss out a "big word" just for fun. And then I'll encounter a situation that reminds me I have much to learn about this English language.

One of the components of my job is to read thank you notes that students submit for scholarships they've received. Most of the notes are great and are able to be forwarded to the scholarship donors. But occasionally we'll find a note that could stand some content rewording...or worse...a complete grammar overhaul.

A couple of weeks ago, one of the girls at the front desk brought me a letter from a student whose letters always intrigue me. He's a great writer and his stories are fascinating. I sat down to read his letter, and when I reached the second paragraph, I found a word I did not know! That wouldn't be so unusual - but English is not his native language. I wrote to my supervisor and said, "How is it that someone who grew up speaking something else now has a better command of the language I've spoken my whole life!?!?!"

He came in the office a few days later and I told him he'd stumped me. I'd been forced to look up the word (just to make sure he'd used it correctly...although why did I doubt him?). He laughed and said "Isn't that a great word?" Yes, yes it is.

So just in case this is a new one for you too - here you go. My word of the month, shared with you in honor of Mr. Webster's birthday:

Ebullient: overflowing with fervor, enthusiasm, or excitement; high-spirited.

Bits from Bekah's Life

I love lists.

Last year, in leading the Ladies Bible Study at my church, I chose to teach from Gracia Burnham’s book To Fly Again. The first chapter in the book was called “Unfinished Lists,” and in it, Gracia talked about stumbling upon a list she had written the weekend she and her husband were kidnapped by terrorists. The list she found included all sorts of little household maintenance items – but she never had a chance to cross anything off the list. Gracia and Martin were in captivity for a year and eleven days before he was killed and she was rescued and brought back to the States. To this day, Gracia doesn’t know if the items on her list were ever completed by someone else – but that particular day, the priorities in her life shifted. Her daily list stopped including bookkeeping, planning menus, and cleaning and instead took on tasks like surviving gun battles, avoiding jungle diseases, and finding enough food to have strength for the next day.

In Bible study, we always had a question of the night, and that week the question was this: Where do you keep your lists and are you one of those people who writes down something you’ve already done just so you can immediately cross it off the list?
That would be me. I love the sense of accomplishment – and I frequently write down at least one thing I’ve already completed. Crossing off something immediately fuels me to complete the rest of the list.

A couple of weeks ago, I went list crazy. One of my friends usually writes back and forth with me quite a bit but she had a busy week and wasn’t able to talk as much as usual, and in her absence, I started making lists. I wrote to her and said Come back! I’m starting to make lists like Izzie made muffins! (That last part refers to an episode of Grey’s Anatomy when one of the characters, Izzie, grieving the loss of her fiancé, coped by baking muffins. Her roommates came home to find every square inch of the kitchen covered in muffins and Izzie poised at the mixing bowl, whipping up yet another batch.)

My lists were not about tasks that needed to be accomplished this week, nor were they rosters of Christmas card recipients or suggestions of gifts to give or receive. Mine were goals…covenants…commitments. Things to accomplish in the coming year and in the next decade as well. (Told you I went list crazy!)

Some of you might remember that at the beginning of this year, I created a list of 25 covenants and commitments for the year 2007. Some of you know what those 25 things are, because I’ve shared that list with you. Some of you (Mom) have raised an eyebrow and tried to avoid calling me crazy for being (overly?) ambitious.

It seems strange to me that this year is almost over, and the list I’ve stared at during accountability every week will be a list of the past. A new list is ready to take its place. And I’ve decided in the weeks to come that I will share more about those covenants and commitments that I made last December. But today I want to just explain to you why I did what I did.

About five years ago, I taught the book A Woman After God’s Own Heart to my Bible study ladies. I was pretty young to be teaching a Bible study – but I learned more from this book than any other I taught. The author, Elizabeth George, has a driven approach to life that isn’t easy, but it’s definitely doable. One particular piece of advice she gave stuck with me so much that I used it as a model for my covenants and commitments this year. Elizabeth wrote:

…Select five areas you’d like to become an expert in and label a file for each of them…What do you want to be known for?...such personal spiritual growth is all about preparation for ministry. It’s about filling yourself up first so that you have something to give in ministry!

So I did a version of that very thing this year. I selected five areas that needed discipline in my life. Five areas where distinct improvement was sorely needed. And in each area, I chose five things that I wanted to make a commitment to do. Some items are a daily assignment. Some are only done once throughout the course of the year. Some are much more random. But each needs to be addressed before 2008 drops into Times Square.

As for the “covenants and commitments” part…I did that because I can break New Year’s Resolutions with the best of them. I can sit down at 11:00 on December 31st and throw together a haphazard “this would be nice” goal list and within 24 hours, I’ve usually messed up everything on the list.

But last year I started early. I was purposeful. I prayed about the areas I felt God wanted me to improve and I made specific goals for how to accomplish those items. I set up an accountability system (which has been an incredible blessing). I found Scripture to back up each area – to remind me that the things I intended to do were not just “nice things to do.” They were things that I purposed to do for God. And for that reason, I called them my covenants and commitments. I take them extremely seriously because I’ve not just made a hopeful goal – I’ve made a promise to God.

Over the summer, I met with another friend who wanted to know more about my “five fat files” of commitments, and I was excited to see her take an adaptation of them into her own life. I look forward to celebrating with her at the end of the year when she looks back over her commitment to change and sees her success!

So that’s my latest adventure with lists. I know that all of you are probably more…normal?...than I am, and a list of 25 things may not be necessary for you. But while you still have a couple of months before the new year begins – maybe you could think about a list of your own. I promise that the rewards of accomplishing it (and by that I mean really accomplishing it – not crossing something off before you begin) are huge!

Come Quickly, Meijer!

I have this habit of checking the newspaper online every morning to make sure I'm not in the obituaries. If I am, I want to go home before putting in a full day's work! Usually that's my only check of the paper each day (unless I'm awaiting breaking news of some sort) - but yesterday I happened to check back later in the day and saw the best news EVER.

We're getting a Meijer.

Mind you, I probably won't shop there. I like Meijer, but I'm too cheap to shop there. But my philosophy is this: if we have one, it will clear out some of the Wal Mart crowd and then maybe I can actually shop there without bordering on a stroke.

Today I went to Wal Mart. I'm having company for lunch tomorrow and needed to buy cake pans for the pumpkin spice cake I want to make. And then I had just a couple of other things on the list too: milk, hairspray, that kind of stuff. And of course, everyone had descended upon the store, bringing with them their unruly children.

And I made the terrible mistake of failing to caffeinate before going shopping. When I say I'm addicted to caffeine - I mean addicted. Just ask my co-workers who accidentally speak to me pre-coffee in the mornings. But on Saturdays I don't always have coffee or tea early in the day because I sleep in really late and figure that will override my need to caffeinate. Today I was wrong. So there I was, in Wal Mart, with some kid screaming his fool head off one aisle over, a lack-of-caffeine headache brewing above my eyes, and I ran into Deb. (As in blogging buddy, Deb.)

She was so kind and actually admitted to knowing me - but her first words were about the new Meijer and when it might actually be ready to open. (Turns out that tomorrow is good for both of us.) I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who feels this way.

So....Meijer? Welcome! Welcome and HURRY!!!!!!!!!!

Question of the Day

So I'm taking an unofficial poll and welcome all opinions.


I was telling my story from the restaurant to the girls in the office next door yesterday, and they all said I should call the restaurant to tell them what happened. They said if they owned a restaurant and people were being harassed inside it, they'd want to know. It could kind of kill business, you know.



But it feels weird to call them up and say "So I was eating at your fine establishment until I ran out when the creeps of the world came in...."



Call? Or don't call?

Various Holidays

A very HAPPY "Take Your Teddy Bear to Work" day to each of you. I checked online to see what this one was all about and found the following explanation on the emotionscards.com website: "To honor all that our Teddy Bears do for us, citizens of the world are encouraged to show their appreciation by bringing their beloved Teddy Bears to Work with them on October 11th. Teddy Bears the world over will be proud to meet their owners work associates and their teddy bears."

Well my teddy bear is actually a Build-A-Bear Bunny (yes, you read that right) - and I didn't bring him today. He's home on my bed keeping an eye on the cats. That's a full time job for him. Had I brought him to work, I might be tempted to curl up and take a nap - especially considering it is a take-a-nap sort of day.

In other holiday news, happy happy birthday to my Dad, who turns the big 7-5 today! Dad is 75 going on 30 - with far more energy than I ever hope to have on any given day. He still does crazy stuff like staying up until 4 in the morning working on hobbies, climbing around in trees (cutting wood), and working harder in one day than I work in one week. I hope today is a NOT work-filled for him!

And if you haven't been here in a couple of days and need a good laugh - do scroll on down and read the next post. Go ahead. Have a laugh at my expense.

Just Never A Dull Moment

As I've said before - life is comical.

This evening I went to dinner with Rachel from my office. (Rachel is also the one who works out with me - you've read about her in other posts.) She took me to dinner as a thank you for some random times when I'd given her a ride to and from work. Since she was thanking me, she let me pick the culinary destination. Those of you who know me well will understand that for me to actually choose a place to eat is a long and agonizing process. In very unBekahlike fashion, I decided pretty quickly on a place I rarely get to go, and she'd never been.

We went in, ordered our food, chose our table, and had a great dinner. Food was good, conversation was good, life was good. This particular restaurant has a couple of separate dining spaces and we'd chosen the one that was empty - at least when we got there.

Toward the end of our meal, a couple of rather questionable looking, greasy guys came in. I couldn't say for certain how old they might have been - but it wasn't their age that bothered me so much as their general look. I was a little uncomfortable but kind of forgot about it. They milled about and then one sat down at a table behind us (so my back was to him and Rachel could see his face). The other guy, a great big guy with frightening eye issues approached our table. In a voice that sounded kind of like Roz from Monsters Inc. (if Roz happened to be drunk and slurry) he initiated the following conversation.

Eye Guy: Anybody in here wanna smoke?

(Rachel and I ignore him and continue our conversation.)

Eye Guy: Anybody in here wanna smoke?

(Rachel and I realize he is now standing beside our table looking - potentially - at us, and we must respond. We shake our heads no.)

Eye Guy addressing me: You don't smoke?

Me: No.

Eye Guy again addressing me: That your daughter?

(At this point I can see Rachel trying not to laugh and I'm trying not to punch him. WHAT? She is FOUR YEARS YOUNGER THAN I AM!)

Me: Uh no. (Beginning to gather up my stuff to leave.)

Eye Guy: Oh so you guys are college girls.

(Rachel and I remain silent and she begins to clean up her stuff too.)

Eye Guy: I was on a campus once and really felt God there.

Me (Mentally): Really? Is that why you offered us a smoke a second ago before insinuating that we were MOTHER AND DAUGHTER???

Eye Guy: We don't very often see pretty girls here in this town.

Creepy Guy Number Two From Behind Me: Yeah and you're real pretty. Both of you.

Me (Mentally): Right! Cause the back of my head is ultra sexy and that's ALL YOU'VE SEEN!

Eye Guy (to both of us): What are you doing this weekend?

Rachel: We're married. (At this point, we both stand up to leave.)

Eye Guy: Oh come on - you guys don't wanna do some boogie woogie? (Though I was unsure of what his version of "boogie woogie" might entail, he demonstrated some sort of unattractive dance move which gave me a small hint.)

Me: I'm married and I have to go. (Hey, I'm part of the Bride of Christ, thankyouverymuch.)

Rachel and I ran out at this point and I was moving so fast I stepped on her shoe and it came clear off her foot! We were SO creeped out, but we laughed all the way home about how he thought she was my daughter! Later tonight she called me and when I answered the phone she said, "Hey, Mom, wanna go work out?"



I am calling for a hair dye appointment again.

Bits for Sunday, October 7, 2007

I’m a Quaker turned Wesleyan who attends a Baptist Bible study. If you can figure that one out…good for you.

This morning I went to the homecoming service at the church where I spent the first nineteen years of my life. (That would be the Quaker church, in case you’re lost in my multi-denominational loop.) I’d visited a couple of times over the past decade, but this was the first time in more recent years that I had been inside the building, and I was excited to go.

Don’t get me wrong – I love the church I attend on a regular basis. The past decade spent there has been one of growth and learning and teaching and new friendships that I need and love. But there’s something to be said for going home.

Of course there were the moments of vanity leading up to today. I had to go for a “trim ‘n thin” so that my hair wouldn’t be some monstrosity garnering unwanted attention. I pondered buying a new outfit, but given that nearly everything I own has been purchased within the last decade, that seemed an unnecessary purchase. Then there was the laborious poring over the recipe file to decide what dishes to take to the carry-in dinner. I narrowed it down to two and took them both.

But once I put all that aside, I looked forward to seeing people I hadn’t seen for a long time. And even though I was sure some of them would be people I have seen, since for the most part, we all still live in the same general area, I was excited to see them again in that particular environment.

And I did see so many people that I used to spend time with every Sunday. My high school Sunday School teacher, Jamie, was there – and I remembered all the weeks of sitting in her class, learning from her perspective. There were only a couple of us in the class, but she came every week and taught just the two of us. She put up with our “creative” methods of giving Sunday school offering and allowed class to stop so we could giggle when we heard the ushers being bombarded by a deluge of coins falling out of whatever trap we’d constructed that day.

I saw a couple of my fellow nursery worker buddies. Bonnie and I worked together every second Sunday, and Iantha and I covered every fifth Sunday. Some of those kids we used to chase around were old enough to be running the sound booth and working in the nursery themselves – and even playing in the bell choir. I tried not to dwell on what that meant about my age. (I’m not old, you know.)

Until I saw the tables set up for the bell choir, I’d completely forgotten that I used to play in that. I managed the tiny little bells on the end that just received a random note now and then. It was nice to see that now those bells are taken over by other kids who are just about the age I was when I played them.

Some things hadn’t really changed. The ushers still picked on me. For part of the service, I sat with friends I used to sit with 20 years ago, but we’re all much taller now. The red hymnals are still in the racks, and the pew cushion still leaves a little criss-cross pattern in your wrist if you rest your hand on it too long. I remembered the little wooden offering plates and the great big pulpit that easily hides three people.

After the agonizing decision to leave a decade ago, I wrote this: The first Sunday after I left, I visited a Mennonite church where my best friend attends. During the sermon, I looked at the bulletin. The front of it said, “Even the sparrow finds a home.” I flipped it over to look at the back, which had a responsive reading, a reflection, and a prayer on it. The reflection part opened by saying, “When I was a child, our family moved frequently, yet we didn’t change homes – only houses. Home was wherever Mom and Dad were – a place of refuge and safety.” The writer went on to say that everyone needs a home – a spiritual home. The end of the reflection read, “Each time we meet with other believers, there is a very real sense of ‘coming home.’ Home is where God and our brothers and sisters are, a place of refuge and safety.” I became excited as I read, because I felt that these words were God’s promise to me that I would find a new church home.
And I did. And I love that home.

But I also loved coming home. Coming home to the place where I was dedicated as a little baby. The place where I sang my first (and last) solo. The place where I first taught children’s church. The place where I spoke in front of a group for the first time. The place where I went to youth group and survived all the typical crushes and conflicts of such an age. The place where I learned all the songs that taught me the books of the Bible. The place where I learned to pray out loud without giggling. The place where I always dreamed of getting married. (That hasn’t been entirely ruled out at this point.)

Even the sparrow finds a home…and though I have found my new home, visiting my first home and my extended family there was a welcome blessing.

Hitting the Floor

Many years ago, I was driving along in my car, listening to the radio, when the DJ started pondering the seriousness of her own prayer life. She talked about times when she "just prayed" and times when she "hit the floor" and prayed. Those were the times when she was really serious and she wanted to see something conclusive happen in the given situation.

This week has brought about a resurrection of the "hit the floor" kind of prayer for me. You know me...I'm a chatterbox. I talk to God incessantly about most anything and everything. I think He likes that, so I don't really worry about it. But this week has brought the need for the more desperate, serious kind of prayer. The kind that drives me to make lists and read them to God so that I know my thoughts are coherent. The kind that sends me searching to see what changes I need to make to ensure I'm doing all I can to stay on the right path, yet sends me to stillness to make sure I can hear any answers and be free to follow whatever God might have to say.

Last night in particular, I was thinking about something I heard Beth Moore say in this Bible study series of hers that I'm doing. She was talking about the "popular" Prayer of Jabez, and she said that sometimes people ask her about her view of that prayer. She said she thinks it's a great thing to pray - but maybe some people need to start making good use of the territory they have before they ask for more. Good point. Worth pondering.

So that's where I am for this week. Hitting the floor and pondering if I'm making the best use of the territory I've been given before I pray for more.

Happy Friday!

Not only am I NOT Smarter than a 5th Grader...

...I finally gave in and join the wellness program at work. The thing holding me back was the required physical, but I forced myself to get one last week. I was told it would be no big deal. Well of course my blood pressure was up due to office stress prior to going in for the physical. That's something I've come to expect. And then I had to put on a paper shirt. Anything involving paper clothing crosses the "no big deal" line in my mind.

We established that although my father had prostate cancer, I was probably safe from getting that. We established a few other things that I'll spare you for my own dignity's sake.

I dropped off my medical clearance form and picked up my "tracking card" so I can keep track of my exercise. THEN the lady gave me the form that tells what exercise is worth on the point system.

Later that evening I sat down to read it and within 20 seconds, I determined I'm too stupid for the wellness program. I had to have someone in the office explain it to me. I'm not sure I entirely get it. I didn't see a category for "nearly died on the elliptical" or "was almost killed by co-worker in the gym."

So I've decided to work out a deal with Rachel (from my office) every day. I'll tell her what I did and she'll tell me how much it's worth.

Good thing that wasn't my test for employment!