Day 14: I pledge...

At the school I work out we say the pledge of allegiance as part of our daily routine.  Once a week we have a chapel and everyone says it all together all at once in one place.  It is fantastic to hear.

It makes me think every time I say it if I really believe what I am saying.  Do I really pledge my allegiance here or is it just a chant.

I think that when I was in school it was kind of a chant.

Allegiance, liberty and justice are all such grand words. They are words that make me think. They are words that hold emotions.  

No one country is nor can be the perfect country.  The reason is that each country is made up of its citizens and no one country has perfect citizens.  But wouldn't it be great if such a country existed?  Where all the citizens were cared about and cared for; where justice truly was blind and would not be swayed by corrupt motives; where people could truly live in freedom.

The Bible says that when God had finished creating all of earth and the first two citizens of earth that God said, "It was very good." (Genesis 1-2). This sounds pretty perfect to me.

But then the Bible says that something went terribly wrong. The citizens rebelled against God, the Creator.  And ever sense then we've been longing for that perfection, only to come up short. (Genesis 3, Romans)

But one day it will all be made right again.  

 

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” (Psalm 46:1-11 NIV)

Day 13: Many Hands

I believe greatly that many hands make light work.  I believe that we work better in community.  Even as an introvert I know that I am a better person when I am part of a community.

“God sets the lonely in families”

(Psalm 68:6a NIV)

Day 12: Looking for a New Me

It's January and everyone is looking to become a newer version of themselves.  

During this month of beginnings I want to remember truth from the Bible:  the Creator of the universe made me!

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!”

Psalm 139:13-17 NIV

Day 11: Monday

EI tried looking up Monday quotes, but I started feeling really sad.  Most of the quotes had something to do with a disdain of Mondays.  

It's sad really, that Mondays have such a bad rap.

And then I stumbled on this:

"Oh!  Hello Monday, you're here..."

I used to really like Mondays when my kids were home.  The weekends were nice, but Mondays put us back on schedule without all the work.  Mondays lacked meetings and tests and ball games.  Mondays were where we could slow down again and reset.  They were a fresh start to a new week.

Now, on Mondays, we have friends who come over for a simple meal and conversation.  It's a great way to start our week!

Day 10: All You Need Is Love

Here's my quote for today:

"We are not born knowing how to understand and express what is inside our souls. That kind of knowing ourselves requires contemplation and reflection. We have to learn to notice and be aware of our internal experiences, to search our hearts and find words for what is inside us. Being fully known and understood requires that we say aloud to someone else what is going on within our souls."

Milan Yerkovich, How We Love: Discover Your Love Style, Enhance Your Marriage

I think this might be one reason why we take vows to be married for a lifetime.  I think it will take a lifetime to accomplish this. 

(Dave and I went to "How We Love" Conference this weekend.  We are learning how to love each other and love others better.  I'm glad.)

  

Day 9: Grace on a Saturday Night

"It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren." Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Sometimes it's just us, Dave and Beth.  Most of the time it's us together in a larger community.  But tonight it was just us.

I like us.

Day 8: Tea is Always a Good Idea

I am so cold!  I told Dave today that I'm done with winter and I'm ready for summer.  He reminded me that winter had just begun.

So, when I got home I made myself a cup of tea to warm up. 

I've found that steeping my tea in hot milk is just perfect!

Unless you forget to turn the heat on.  

Here I was carefully stirring the milk with a whisk so it wouldn't scald thinking about how wonderful it would taste...and I forgot to turn on the heat!

Sometimes turning the heat up is a good thing!

Day 7: I'm Beyond Proud of You!

Thursdays we have Physical Training with Victoria.  It was our Christmas present to each other.  Dave calls it torture and Victoria laughs.  Our friend, Michelle, who works at the Y waited after class today to tell me how proud she was of me and my work on a bosu ball.

Dave and I are both trying to grow old gracefully together.  Part of that is realizing that we need some help strengthening our bodies so we can continue to live the life we love; hanging out with our kids & grandkids; hanging out with the teens at our church (he's the youth pastor), at my school (I teach), and just about everywhere (Dave teaches a Bible class for a religious release period at our local high school and we both volunteer at youth camps throughout the year), hanging out with people and loving them and telling them about Jesus.

We want our love to abound more and more with each other.  That's one reason that we are doing this training together.  Victoria tries to make our training fun and something that we could do together.  Most of our training is together and most of the time we end up laughing.  We tend to make Victoria smile a lot.  And that makes us both very happy.

P. S. On Thursdays I'm going to write about random things that I like.  Today I was writing about marriage and my quote was Philippians 1:9.

Day 6: I'm Tired

Today has been a long day.  

"Take time to be thankful for everything you have.  You can always have more, but you could also have less."

I'm thankful for the first day of a new semester of teaching.

I'm thankful for food to feed my friends.

I'm thankful for a group of girls that I got to hang out with this evening (Shout out to CrossCurrent Youth Group high school gals!).

I'm thankful for a husband who will do laundry and change the sheets so guests can stay.

I'm thankful for a full day where I think I've used up all of my words.

P. S. Wednesdays I'm going to try to write about gratitude.

Day 5: Imperfect Progress

Today's quote is credited to Tim Keller and Abigail Van Buren.  I really couldn't figure out who said it first, but here is, "the church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints." (On Tuesdays I'm going to try to write about the church.)

I was thinking about this quote today when I went to the local YMCA for a Refit class led by my friend, Susan.  I had texted her yesterday asking if I could still come even though I had tweeked my knee and it still isn't at it's full strength.  She said, "sure!"  I knew she would.

I didn't want to miss the class because I knew that it would just be easier next week to miss.  And then I'd end up never going back.  I know myself.  I had to just go.  I couldn't do everything, but my knee is a little bit better so I did more than I thought I could do.  I always concentrate and watch Susan because (1) I will get confused and trip myself and (2) I don't want to see myself in the mirror.  I got a little confident and looked at myself.  You those moments when you think you look one way and then the reality of how you really look hits you.  Well, I had one of those moments during the class.  

I had to fight back thoughts of embarrassment of how I looked and just keep up with Susan instead.  Before class, Susan had asked us to write something that we wanted to give up.  I had written "excuses."  And then she had us write what characteristic we wanted to add this year on a name tag and wear it during the class.  I wrote "joy."  In that transparent moment of seeing me as I am in the mirrorI realized that I could really give up the excuses and choose joy.  I was at the class and finished the class.  I plan on going back next week.  I'll make better choices on what I eat.  I'll give up the excuses and enjoy life!  

Sometimes church can feel like going to the gym...you know, you only want to go if you already have your life in shape.

But the church is meant for us to love each other and encourage each other and take care of each other.  “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  All the believers were together and had everything in common.” (Acts 2:42, 44 NIV)

Day 4: When Company Comes Over

On Mondays I'll try to write about food.  I'll try to give a recipe.  I'll try to talk about hospitality.

Tonight we started fellowship groups at our church.  We have a small group of three couples who have decided to join us on Monday nights for dinner and some time to get to know each other.

We had dinner around our now empty table (grilled chicken, roasted vegetables*, salad) and dessert (Dave's favorite: Alden's chocolate-chocolate chip ice cream (http://www.aldensicecream.com)).  We moved to the living room and talked and talked and talked.  Our new friends shared their life stories with us.  Our new friends got to know each other as well. 

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*ROASTED VEGETABLES

1) Heat oven to 425 degrees.

2) Clean veggies appropriately then cut into small bite size portions.  (Tonight I had 1 baking potato (cubed/skin on), 1 sweet potato (skinned/ cubed), 1 large head of broccoli crown (sliced small, stem skinned and cubed).

3) Drizzle with oil (I used olive oil), season with minced garlic (I used 1 heaping teaspoon), salt and pepper to taste.  You could also use any herbs that you like.  I didn't tonight.  

4) Mix so the veggies are tossed in the oil and seasonings.

5) Put in lightly greased baking sheet (I used a casserole dish).

6) Put in oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the veggies are soft.

7) Eat warm from the oven. (Well, let them cool a bit, don't burn your tastebuds)

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I was going to take a bunch of wonderful pictures of our time together, but I remembered about the pictures about the same time my husband started the dishwasher. Oh well.

"There is no love more sincere than the love of food."  EXCEPT the love of a friend!   “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” (1 John 4:7 NIV)

Day 3: Can You Ever Have Too Much?

"You can never have too much beach."

I came across this quote when I was looking for quotes about the beach.  I don't know if I agree with it though. 

I was telling someone this past week that if I had chosen a different path for my life it might have ended up with me having a small cottage by the beach somewhere where I could teach during the day and come home to listening to the waves while grading papers and reading books. The thing wrong that I see in my own scenario is a lack of community.  

I like the rythmn of the beach.  I like the heat of the sand and the smell of saltwater.  I don't really like cold beaches, but since moving to Idaho I'll take the cold beaches of Oregon and Washington over no beaches. 

Here's what I read in Ecclesiastes: “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 NIV)

I don't know if I lived my life at the beach all the time if my life would be meaningless, but I do know that is not where God has me right now.  So for today I'll chose to be content and enter into community even when my soul is tired and longs for the rhythm of the beach.  God has me in this community right here right now.

“A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?” (Ecclesiastes 2:24-25 NIV)

P.S. Sundays I'll be writing about the beach.

Day 2: You Can't be Sad When Riding a Bike

Today is Saturday.  Normally, on Saturdays Dave and I take some time to rest.  A lot of Saturdays we read, bike ride and spend time exploring around where we live and enjoying quiet at home.

Lately, we haven't had much time at home to rest. Rest is important. It refreshes our souls.

Rest allows me to reset.  When I reset I find my soul is at peace and when I am at peace I feel happy.  

Today, we explored all over Boise in our car because my knee just isn't healing as fast as I'd like it to.  Besides, Dave told me that today would be a horrible day for a bike ride.  You see, even though it's a beautiful sunny day, it was only 17 degrees, with wind, when we were exploring this morning.

I like riding our tandem bike with Dave.  I don't think I've ever been sad on that bike yet...except today...but it was because we couldn't ride.

Normally we ride on the Boise River Greenbelt.

It's a lot of fun.  (More details here: https://parks.cityofboise.org/media/228316/15–0701-greenbelt-map-lo.pdf)

Right now I'm having some tea therapy, icing my knee and planning when I can take my next ride.

P.S. Saturdays will be when I write about everything bicycle.

Day 1: #Write365 #Shoot365

This is an experiment!  I was looking at my blog and I haven't blogged consistently for such a long time.  A friend on FaceBook challenged a bunch of us to a photo challenge (to take a picture everyday for a year) which led to a writing challenge (to write everyday for a year).  So I took the challenge and here I am on Day 1: 1/1/2016.  I decided to help my writing/photo challenge by coming up with topics.  To help me write better I'm going to find a quote and then write from that perspective.  To help me with the photo challenge I'm going to take a picture or two or more that I'll add to my writing.  I hope that I'll finish well.  I chose to write on this blog as my forum because I'm not always home and then I can start the blog and then post it on the right day.

This blog is about living in a fish bowl so the themes and the writing will be about what I'm learning at this point of my life.

This year actually has 366 days so today is an intro post.  Tomorrow I'll start with the topics, but for today...here's how I started my new year.  Welcome 2016! 

This is my view for a lot of my life in ministry with my husband. He helps drive the bus for our area youth events along with a few other pastors in our area. This was last night.  We rang in the new year by making sure that everyone got home safely!

This is us this morning...we would have slept in, but we had my friend's out-of-town guests hanging out at our house.  They are part of the wedding party for her son who is getting married.  We went to get coffe at one of our favorite spots, Java.  Then we went for a walk...

At TLC I hurt my knee.  I still don't know what exactly is wrong with it...it just doesn't work too well right now...so I'm slow at just about everything.  We wanted to take a winter walk...so we walked slow.  

I was humbled that Dave would be so patient with me and walk slow.  We went to the top of Camel's Back.  It was beautiful!