Sometimes I Write

I spent the whole day yesterday in bed. No children, no cleaning, no errands to run. I just slept and read, and watched t.v. To you mothers out there, this sounds glorious doesn’t it? Well, it would have been if it hadn’t been accompanied by nausea, and other body functions gone wrong. It was not the day of rest that I daydream about, but it was rest. Benny was awesome keeping the kids busy so I could be sick. He periodically brought me peppermint tea in my favorite cup, and I think I ate about 6 saltines all day. YUK! I was just thankful they weren’t paired with 7up, those are the “sick foods” of my childhood, and I’d rather just starve for the day.

It’s amazing what a day in bed can do for your thought process. I read a bit in my newest book, The Naked Christian, which was very thought provoking and challenging. I’m not even halfway through it yet, but I know it’s one I’ll be recommending when I’m finished. I also had plenty of time to think more on the movies I saw this weekend – Elizabethtown & Luther. I know I mentioned the first one in my Jennifer post. Saturday night she and Jonathan – her husband- came over to watch Luther with us. What a great movie!!! There’s a lot I didn’t know about Martin Luther, but what a man! He had qualities that I want to be known for. Conviction, honesty about his doubts, determination to do the right thing against all popular opinions are just a few characteristics this man held to tightly. There were so many scenes I found myself tearing up and identifying with him in the things I felt and believed. It’s a powerful movie about the beginning of faith away from the corruption of the Catholic church and it’s dominance and mistreatment of the people and rulers of that day. I’m probably one of the last people to see this movie, but if you haven’t seen it either, you need to. It’s REALLY good!

My favorite lesson from Elizabethtown was that just when you think it’s the end of life as you know it, another chapter begins. The main character is Drew, played by Orlando Bloom, (I still like him better as Legolas). He screws up his professional life in a big way and decides to end his life. Then he gets a phone call from his sister telling him his dad has died, and they need him to pick up the body in Kentucky and bring him back to Oregon. He encounters a young woman on the plane to KY and his new purpose and adventure begins. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions and realizations about himself and his family. I’ve been thinking about so many points of this movie and how they apply to my life. Here are just a few:

I will never truly know my parents the way other people see them.

Life is a journey and I have to take the time to think things through and enjoy the experience, not just rush from birth to death.

Failure is o.k. It’s just the present absence of success. It’s not final.

When meeting a stranger, I never know how that person may impact my life. Case in point – read my last post about Jennifer.

Grief is meant to be shared.

There is more to life than just reaching my destination, it’s about all the people and the stops along the way. What does God have to teach me? How is he teaching others through me?

Love is a great companion for the journey.

I love watching movies! It’s just one more way God speaks to me, and for that I am extremely thankful! I’m also thankful that I’m feeling a little better today. I’m still spending most of the day in bed resting, but I’m over the nausea – praise God! Have I mentioned how great my husband is? He just took all three kids with him to run his errands for the day. I have to be healed by tomorrow, Wednesdays are busy DB days. So I’m off to watch a few more movies and maybe do some reading. Oh, and another online meeting for a camp I’m not sure I’ll be a part of this summer. More on that another time.

Please pray for fast healing and renewed energy for my tired aching body. Go see Elizabethtown and rent Luther and let me know what you think.

Wednesday Jennifer and I took the kids to the Museum of Nature and Science. Our favorite exhibit was called Grossology: The impolite science of the human body. It was all about phlegm, boogers, passing gas, and all the other gross stuff you can think of. Max loved it! There was a giant nose game that had two cannon guns. The players had to shoot small white balls into the nostrils then periodically the nose would make a sneezing noise and shoot the balls back down into the shoot that loaded the cannon guns. Another favorite was the giant “operation” game. Do you remember that game? The tweezers that you use to get the bones out were a pair of silver tongs. It was cool. They had a giant slide where the steps were a replica of an esophogus, then you slid down into the stomach. Just below that was a tunnel to climb through. It looked like intestines. Along the walls and hanging from the ceiling were little known bodily function facts like: On average it takes a man 45 seconds to pee, a sneeze can be equal to 170 mile per hour winds which is why you sneeze with your eyes closed, and in some countries mothers suck the snot out of their baby’s nose. Have I totally grossed you out yet? It was pretty educational. There were booths that explained digestion and how our body deals with gas – yes going both ways. There was also the skin crawling climbing wall that told about bacteria and what happens when we get a cut or scrape. Benny wants to take Max back there to check it out himself. Go figure. LOL

Today we had a Jennifer/Niki date. We started with a trip to a bagel shop, then the ARC store (Colorado’s version of Goodwill) for their half price day…we always find the best books there. Then we went to see Elizabethtown. It was good,funny, and very thought provoking. Orlando Bloom is always fun to look at AND I think he’s a pretty good actor. Though the circumstances were not something I hope for, it made me want to go on a roadtrip. After the movie we went back to my house and she and Jonathan stayed for supper. Bob and Cheeto (former street kids) came over to eat with us and hang out for a few hours. We all had a good time, and everyone loved my chicken fried steak.

Spending time with Jennifer is always fun and I really enjoy our differences as well as our common interests. Our friendship is proof that first impressions aren’t everything – She couldn’t stand me when we first met. I was the mean head counselor and she was a camper. She later interned for Shaun, one of Benny’s best friends, and we became friends at Zenith. Then we all met again through Dry Bones. Our lives have been intertwined off and on for 12 years. She has been such a blessing to me since we moved here. It’s amazing how God keeps providing a friend for me as we get settled into a new home, and sad that He then moves them away. I’m thankful for the time we have had together, and sad that they’ll be moving to Texas a few days before Christmas. I’m going to enjoy her as much as possible while I can, and I know in my heart, and from lots of experience that good friendships don’t end because of distance. It’s awesome how much our friendship had grown in the past 5 months. She’s great and I’ll miss her.

John is the only one of the twelve who was
at the cross. He came to say good-bye.

By his own admission he hadn’t quite put
the pieces together yet. But that didn’t
really matter. As far as he was concerned,
his closest friend was in trouble and he came
to help….

John teaches us that the….greatest webs of
loyalty are spun, not with airtight theologies
or foolproof philosophies, but with friendships;
stubborn, selfless, joyful friendships.

I sort of look at bumper stickers like I do church signs. I don’t get the point. How can you sum up your life’s philosophy in ten words or less so that everyone who reads it will know where you’re coming from and understand? It’s definitely a cheap way to advertise, sort of like seeing the christian fish symbol makes you assume that the occupants are followers of Christ. Do you ever get irritated when these people cut you off in traffic and think, “And you call yourself a Christian?!” HaHa I have to admit, I’ve been there.

I got irritated the day I saw a sticker of the Calvin character peeing on everything from the Ford symbol to bin Laden. How disrespectful is that??? How about the sticker that says, “My other car is a broom” or ” They finally found someone who can do the job of 5 men…one woman”. Shouldn’t stupidity like that be kept in the brain and not shared with the world? We laugh at the dumbest things sometimes!

When I worked for the USPS, my brother sent me two bumper stickers for my car:
“Guns don’t kill people…postal workers do” And, “Back off…I’m a postal worker”. Stinker! Somehow I never got around to putting them on my car. I haven’t seen as many vehicles with bumper stickers here in Colorado as I did in Indy or Wichita. Who knows what that means…

I flew back to Denver on Monday night. The flight home wasn’t nearly as pleasant as the flight to Indy. There was snow on the ground, but 10 minutes west of the airport it was just wet and rainy. I was so glad to be home with my family and I was right, I got covered with kisses. 🙂 Benny and the kids had been sick most of the time I was gone, and there’s nothing like a momma’s loving when you don’t feel well. Tuesday morning I woke up feeling crappy. YUK! There is no such thing as a sick day for mothers. Shouldn’t there be an emergency service for that or something? I bet I could make a fortune starting THAT business! People could pay me to come over and clean house, do their homeschooling lessons, play with the kids, cook all the meals, vacuum again after their toddler grinds cheerios into the carpet, paint seasonal decorations with the kids, conquer their Mt. Washmore, mail off the somehow neglected health insurance bill (ironic), and bathe their kids before reading the same night-night story three times and tucking them into bed, pray with them, then threaten dire consequences if they get up one more time. I know how to do all that really well. As a matter of fact, I’m an expert!

I’m sure we’ll shake whatever is plaguing our family, hopefully before I have to call in my hippie friends to see what kind of strange green drink will cure us all from our ailments. 😉

I had my first online meeting with the Z-team this morning. (Catchy, huh Adam & Brock?) It was a bit confusing playing musical chairs with Benny and remembering to type in who was talking since we were both signed in under my name. We had a few mix ups, but it was fun. We’re trying to choose our theme for our Senior High camp next summer. My favorite suggestion so far centers around MERCY. I started looking up scriptures and just marveling at the vastness of the topic. We’re definitely going to have to focus in and narrow it down a bit. If any of you have a favorite scripture pertaining to MERCY, please share it with the rest of us via leaving a comment here. I’ll pass it on to my Z-friends.

I keep hearing stories about the ZOE conference and how great it was. That is one thing I miss about being the paid y.m., getting to go to conferences on someone else’s dime. There’s no way our budget will allow for stuff like that at this point. Oh well, I’ll live vicariously through you world travelers out there. Keep sharing your stories and encourage those of us who weren’t there with you.

Tomorrow it’s back to BSF, and getting my family back on a routine. Things function so much more smoothly when the kids know what’s coming next. Imagine that…my kids needing to know the plan…where’d that come from? 🙂 Hope you all have a great week. It’s going to take me that long to catch up on all your blogs. Bless you!