I once dated a guy who, when asked what he thought my biggest character flaw was, said I wore too many t-shirts. Seriously. The relationship didn't work out for unresolvable intellectual differences. :)
But I have been thinking about the t-shirt thing lately and am sort of curious why it is so noticeable that I wear them almost everyday. I also wear jeans and underwear everyday and that's not note-worthy. Why is it strange that I would wear a t-shirt everyday when it is apparently not strange to wear cute stupid functionless high-maintenance shows-too-much shirts everyday?
It is not that I don't care what I wear. I have actually thought this out and have several good reasons why I choose t-shirts over "girly" shirts:
1. T-shirts are not form-fitting...no stumbling over my outfit! Girly shirts are known to be a source of struggle for men.
2. T-shirts go with jeans, which is almost all I own. Girly shirts require the additional purchase of girly pants, which require the additional purchase of special underwear that doesn't show lines...it all just gets very expensive.
3. T-shirts do not show sweaty armpits as quickly as tighter girly shirts do.
4. T-shirts are versatile and appropriate for any daily activity in any season. I can go for a walk, run to Wal-Mart, visit my neighbors, go to a movie, grocery shop, rake leaves, and meet someone for coffee all in the same day and never have to change my clothes, even if I break a small sweat (see #3 above).
5. T-shirts are inexpensive, long-lasting, and they wash easily, making them a very economical choice. Girly shirts have special washing instructions, and often cost more than t-shirts but wear out faster.
I'd be interested in hearing some good reasons why I should NOT wear a t-shirt everyday. Anyone?
November 09, 2005
October 28, 2005
God does have a sense of humor...
Every once in a while I am reading along in the Bible and come across some phrase that just strikes me as hilarious. I've found I am usually the only one who sees the random humor in it, but just in case, I thought I'd post one such example today. This is from Jonah 2:5, as Jonah is giving this long, dramatic prayer to the Lord, recalling his circumstances in the fish and his deliverance from said location. I just picture him being so wrapped up in his retelling, much like a really excited I'm-trying-to-be-serious-and-you-laughing-at-me toddler would be in retelling how fast he went down the slide or something. And if I'd been there when Jonah was reliving his experience, I for sure would have wrecked the mood by busting out in laughter when he got to this part:
"The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head."
Hahahahaha...I'm picturing a turban of seaweed plastered to his head...hahahahha
"The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head."
Hahahahaha...I'm picturing a turban of seaweed plastered to his head...hahahahha
October 27, 2005
I am in LOVE!!!
I'm in deep. My feelings of love and desire are growing greater everyday, intensifying with each interaction. Sometimes my heart seizes upon sight and I am rendered speechless, overwhelmed with awe and amazement coupled with humility and the understanding I am in love with one from a higher social status than I...it is a classic fairytale romance and I am the lowly servant girl in love with the dashingly handsome...Chevy Trail Blazer.
Yep, it's pretty bad. Nate will testify to it...I am CONSTANTLY watching for them as we drive down the road, plastering my face to the window when I see one and staring after it until it is out of sight. It's rediculous, really, but I'm being completely honest here. I love them. I want one. I dream of them day and night and spend time thinking how I could possibly ever afford one.
Naturally, this would all worsen during this current time of financial stress. I'm not writing this to evoke feelings of sympathy from you, trying to woo you into sending us a sizeable check. I am just making the statement that Satan in not wasting his opportunity to try to convince me that what I can't have is better than everything I do have...for sure not a new tactic. Just call me Eve, huh?
Anyway, this morning in my devotions I was reading through the Psalms and the end of the 27th caught my heart (it usually does...that's why it's underlined in my Bible): "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." It sounds so poetic and romantic and it just stirs up this sense of strength and loyalty in my mind...but my heart has trouble following suit. I still worry. I lose sleep at night wondering why getting a job is taking so freaking long, how much longer we can go on what we saved up from the summer, how I can cut back in our grocery bill and other sacrifices we can make...I don't think there is anything wrong with those thoughts specifically; it is the attitude behind them that is wrong. It's not trusting. It's not being strong or taking heart or waiting patiently. It's not being content in any and every situation. It's not in line with a host of other Biblical principles, which ought to be sending up red flags of concern rather than green streaks of envy.
I confess I do not like being in this spot. I feel like I shouldn't have to be struggling financially right now. I've always managed my money well so I wouldn't have to be in this place, yet here I am. I feel cheated out of a "better life," whatever that is supposed to mean, and like it is asking too much of me to put me through this right now. I am such a weenie! I KNOW these times are meant to deepen my walk with the Father and that because I am His child, everything that happens in my life He will use for good, but I still struggle to walk through it with a good attitude. I still want the Trail Blazer I can't afford because there are other stupid bills to pay.
By the way, according to Kelly Blue Book, a 2002 model (the first model out) in decent condition with 100,000 miles on it is going for about $14,000 right now. You may make your checks out for any ammount. :)
Yep, it's pretty bad. Nate will testify to it...I am CONSTANTLY watching for them as we drive down the road, plastering my face to the window when I see one and staring after it until it is out of sight. It's rediculous, really, but I'm being completely honest here. I love them. I want one. I dream of them day and night and spend time thinking how I could possibly ever afford one.
Naturally, this would all worsen during this current time of financial stress. I'm not writing this to evoke feelings of sympathy from you, trying to woo you into sending us a sizeable check. I am just making the statement that Satan in not wasting his opportunity to try to convince me that what I can't have is better than everything I do have...for sure not a new tactic. Just call me Eve, huh?
Anyway, this morning in my devotions I was reading through the Psalms and the end of the 27th caught my heart (it usually does...that's why it's underlined in my Bible): "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." It sounds so poetic and romantic and it just stirs up this sense of strength and loyalty in my mind...but my heart has trouble following suit. I still worry. I lose sleep at night wondering why getting a job is taking so freaking long, how much longer we can go on what we saved up from the summer, how I can cut back in our grocery bill and other sacrifices we can make...I don't think there is anything wrong with those thoughts specifically; it is the attitude behind them that is wrong. It's not trusting. It's not being strong or taking heart or waiting patiently. It's not being content in any and every situation. It's not in line with a host of other Biblical principles, which ought to be sending up red flags of concern rather than green streaks of envy.
I confess I do not like being in this spot. I feel like I shouldn't have to be struggling financially right now. I've always managed my money well so I wouldn't have to be in this place, yet here I am. I feel cheated out of a "better life," whatever that is supposed to mean, and like it is asking too much of me to put me through this right now. I am such a weenie! I KNOW these times are meant to deepen my walk with the Father and that because I am His child, everything that happens in my life He will use for good, but I still struggle to walk through it with a good attitude. I still want the Trail Blazer I can't afford because there are other stupid bills to pay.
By the way, according to Kelly Blue Book, a 2002 model (the first model out) in decent condition with 100,000 miles on it is going for about $14,000 right now. You may make your checks out for any ammount. :)
October 14, 2005
We're home!!
We are just finishing our first week back in Marion...it is good to be home! It's been so great catching up with friends and meeting neighbors and just getting back into the swing of life here. We have so many people to reconnect with that we have shared a meal with someone every day since we got here, which is so cool! Our apartment is starting to look normal (by normal I mean a low packed box to unpacked box ratio) and we are actually planning to start painting it this weekend already. Crazy!
We are both still looking for jobs, but I (Maria) am spending my mornings babysitting for the family we rent from...Todd is SO cute and so fun to hang out with...definitely watch for pictures to come!
Anyway, we just wanted to catch you all up and let you know we are still alive and functioning; blogging has just sort of taken a back burner for now. :) Have a great day, everyone!
We are both still looking for jobs, but I (Maria) am spending my mornings babysitting for the family we rent from...Todd is SO cute and so fun to hang out with...definitely watch for pictures to come!
Anyway, we just wanted to catch you all up and let you know we are still alive and functioning; blogging has just sort of taken a back burner for now. :) Have a great day, everyone!
September 30, 2005
Cloud Peak!!
This last Monday and Tuesday, Maria and I and our good IWU friend Paul Kind had the privledge of taking a quick trip to the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming. We went to climb Cloud Peak, which is the highest mountain in the Bighorn Range at just over 13,000 ft. It was by far the hardest two day hike Maria or I have ever attemped.
The first day we drove from Rapid to the trail head, around a 4 1/2 hour drive and then hiked the 8 or so miles to the place where we set up camp that night. It was a chilly night, probably around 10-15 degrees or so. We woke up early on Tuesday to hike the final four miles to the summit. The final four miles however proved to be about the hardest four miles I have ever hiked. We gained about 3000 ft. of elevation in those miles and the final 3 miles were all spent hopping across boulder fields. No nice trails or switchbacks to climb this mountain, just lots of boulders and hopping from one to another. All in all Paul was actually the only one to make it to the summit, Maria and I stopped around 200 ft. or so from the summit. There are good reasons for this and you can ask us sometime, but for now we will just leave it at that. We then turned and headed back down the four miles to where we had set up camp the night before, and then back the 8 miles to the parking lot, and then drove the 4+ hours back to Rapid to complete the trip. It was a crazy good time and will prove, I think, to provide some great memories for the rest of our lives. The scenery was awe inspiring and the conversations with Paul (and also with the hitch hiker we picked up) were charitable and thought provoking. Even more to be able to share this adventure with my wife is a treasure I cannot express in words!! I have included more pictures here for you to check out.
Blessings,
NL
September 25, 2005
Half Time
Okay, before you read this, I need to clarify that Nate is normally really good about not watching TV all night long or sitting at the computer for hours on end like lots of men do. Football season may prove a bit different, but for the most part, he is not at all a couch-zombie husband, as is evident by all the photos of our outdoor adventures. :) End of disclaimer.
So Nate is into this Fantasy Football thing, and while we don't have a whole lot else to do at work these days, it seems to me that he spends an awful lot of time glued to the computer screen with the occasional outburst of, "Argh! Put him back in! I need points!" or "Grr! Are you kidding me?!?!" or "YESSSSSSS! *insert Napoleon Dynamite fist pump*".
First, this makes me nervous because it is quite similar to what caused our coffee table to ignite a few weeks ago. But second, in my failed attempts to talk to and/or have any sort of meaningful conversation with my husband while he is engaged in such an activity as accumulating fake points with a fake team in a fake football league, I am reminded of just how powerful of a thing media can be, and I am starting to realize all the little ways it works its way into our lives. We can't go anywhere without our cell phones. The first thing we do when we get to work is check our e-mail, read up on our friends' blogs, and scan for the latest world news report. The radio is almost always on in the car. As soon as we get home at night we check the answering machine. We will interrupt dinner and/or quiet time with the Lord to answer the phone.
I see this need to be connected to the world robbing us of precious time with God and with other humans. Nate and I do not talk to each other very much if the radio is on in the car, and we do not talk to each other when we are staring at separate computers at work. I cannot have a serious conversation with the Lord if I keep getting up to talk to someone calling on the phone. I cannot show Nate he is important to me by listening to what he has to say if I choose to watch TV as he speaks or answer the phone in the middle of his sentence. So often we as a society choose to make machines and gadgets a higher priority than a face in front of us (or one that is trying to be in front of us, if we would stop looking at the computer or TV screen). As one whose primary love language is quality time, I am really sensitive to being given what I call Half Time, meaning either you are only talking to me because there has been some sort of break in what you were watching/playing, or if it isn't in a break, you are only half-listening to what I am saying or half-looking at me, with one eye still on the game.
I do not mean to make a cheesy devotional out of this, but as I sat here typing, I wondered if God doesn't get sick of the Half Time I give Him. How many times have I knelt in prayer only to be half talking to Him and half making a mental list of things to do that day? How many times have I committed to change something or committed to do something He is asking of me, only to half carry it out? To obey some parts but not others? To let go of part of a grudge but not the whole thing? I could sit here all day and tell you all the ways I rob God of my time, my energy, my love, and in turn I rob myself of blessing and deeper intimacy with Him.
I am seriously considering a media fast in the near future. I think it would really help me re-evaluate my time spending habits and teach me a few things about the kind of time and attention I give to others.
So Nate is into this Fantasy Football thing, and while we don't have a whole lot else to do at work these days, it seems to me that he spends an awful lot of time glued to the computer screen with the occasional outburst of, "Argh! Put him back in! I need points!" or "Grr! Are you kidding me?!?!" or "YESSSSSSS! *insert Napoleon Dynamite fist pump*".
First, this makes me nervous because it is quite similar to what caused our coffee table to ignite a few weeks ago. But second, in my failed attempts to talk to and/or have any sort of meaningful conversation with my husband while he is engaged in such an activity as accumulating fake points with a fake team in a fake football league, I am reminded of just how powerful of a thing media can be, and I am starting to realize all the little ways it works its way into our lives. We can't go anywhere without our cell phones. The first thing we do when we get to work is check our e-mail, read up on our friends' blogs, and scan for the latest world news report. The radio is almost always on in the car. As soon as we get home at night we check the answering machine. We will interrupt dinner and/or quiet time with the Lord to answer the phone.
I see this need to be connected to the world robbing us of precious time with God and with other humans. Nate and I do not talk to each other very much if the radio is on in the car, and we do not talk to each other when we are staring at separate computers at work. I cannot have a serious conversation with the Lord if I keep getting up to talk to someone calling on the phone. I cannot show Nate he is important to me by listening to what he has to say if I choose to watch TV as he speaks or answer the phone in the middle of his sentence. So often we as a society choose to make machines and gadgets a higher priority than a face in front of us (or one that is trying to be in front of us, if we would stop looking at the computer or TV screen). As one whose primary love language is quality time, I am really sensitive to being given what I call Half Time, meaning either you are only talking to me because there has been some sort of break in what you were watching/playing, or if it isn't in a break, you are only half-listening to what I am saying or half-looking at me, with one eye still on the game.
I do not mean to make a cheesy devotional out of this, but as I sat here typing, I wondered if God doesn't get sick of the Half Time I give Him. How many times have I knelt in prayer only to be half talking to Him and half making a mental list of things to do that day? How many times have I committed to change something or committed to do something He is asking of me, only to half carry it out? To obey some parts but not others? To let go of part of a grudge but not the whole thing? I could sit here all day and tell you all the ways I rob God of my time, my energy, my love, and in turn I rob myself of blessing and deeper intimacy with Him.
I am seriously considering a media fast in the near future. I think it would really help me re-evaluate my time spending habits and teach me a few things about the kind of time and attention I give to others.
September 20, 2005
Recent Adventures
Below you will find some pictures of our adventures so far in the Black Hills. There have been some more fun things we have done, but I don't have pics from all of those, so these are the ones you get!!! Enjoy!!
NL
NL
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
