After more than 11 years of having my driver's license, today I learned how to change a tire for the first time. Sad? Possibly, but better that I learn today than not at all. And here I thought we were done having car issues. We finally got both cars to pass the emissions tests so we can now get our license plates (which expired March 15th, so we have temporary permits) and here we have a flat tire. In the grand scheme of things, I know this is not major, and I know that we are blessed to be able to afford a car for each of us. However, I'm done with messing with cars for a while.
Peace out.
Mar 25, 2007
Mar 22, 2007
New Orleans
Last week Jeff and I took a vacation with our sisters down to the New Orleans area. We worked Tuesday through Thursday and then headed down to the French Quarter to play for the weekend. We spent St. Patrick's Day down there, and even got to be in a "parade!" (Ok, so we joined a wedding party processing down the street, but whatever!) Below is the family we worked for in Slidell, the Atlows (minus Brandon and Erica, who were working).
We were blessed to work with Carl Bauer, a man from Ft. Wayne, Indiana, who was in week three of the six weeks he planned to be in Slidell helping with hurricane recovery. In the picture, he's holding up the baby he found in the King Cake that Megan brought for us. That means he's throwing the next Mardi Gras party!
There is still so much clean up and restoration to be done that it truly is overwhelming, even a year and a half after the hurricane. The good news is that the two women whose houses we worked on in September had been moved back into their houses before Christmas! There are moments of hope in the midst of the devastation. It makes me proud to be a part of an organization that has promised to be there for the 10-12 years predicted to recover. (UMCOR, the disaster recovery agency of The United Methodist Church, has made the commitment.)
I'm so glad we made the trip with our sisters, truly one we will talk about and remember for years to come. We made some good memories!
We were blessed to work with Carl Bauer, a man from Ft. Wayne, Indiana, who was in week three of the six weeks he planned to be in Slidell helping with hurricane recovery. In the picture, he's holding up the baby he found in the King Cake that Megan brought for us. That means he's throwing the next Mardi Gras party!There is still so much clean up and restoration to be done that it truly is overwhelming, even a year and a half after the hurricane. The good news is that the two women whose houses we worked on in September had been moved back into their houses before Christmas! There are moments of hope in the midst of the devastation. It makes me proud to be a part of an organization that has promised to be there for the 10-12 years predicted to recover. (UMCOR, the disaster recovery agency of The United Methodist Church, has made the commitment.)
I'm so glad we made the trip with our sisters, truly one we will talk about and remember for years to come. We made some good memories!
Mar 8, 2007
Jeff and I have been on Atkins for a little over two months now. Jeff has lost about 26 pounds, and I have lost 10. Woo hoo! Even though I had read the book and can see and feel the results, there was still that guilty part of me that thought "most of the world thinks this is bad for me." But then, deet-de-de-dee (imagine a trumpet), lo and behold yesterday a study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association that says women like me achieved better weight loss and health results while on Atkins. Not that I doubted before, but it was just nice to see more support. Dr. Mary Vernon, a family friend, is kind of the new Dr. Atkins and you can read her blog here. Also, you can read the report from her blog here.
On an unrelated note, Jeff and I are getting ready to be on vacation, which means that we have bunches of things to get done before we leave (which I am currently not doing). We're going on a trip with our sisters, and this will be the first trip that the four of us have taken together. I'm really excited! Kayla will have a live-in buddy for the week, so that's a plus since we won't have to feel guilty about her being in the kennel. In the meantime, trying to cram two weeks of work into one is exhausting. Makes me really long for the vacation!
On an unrelated note, Jeff and I are getting ready to be on vacation, which means that we have bunches of things to get done before we leave (which I am currently not doing). We're going on a trip with our sisters, and this will be the first trip that the four of us have taken together. I'm really excited! Kayla will have a live-in buddy for the week, so that's a plus since we won't have to feel guilty about her being in the kennel. In the meantime, trying to cram two weeks of work into one is exhausting. Makes me really long for the vacation!
Mar 1, 2007
Why?
Why do you do what you do?
Monday I led Dalit. I was originally going to lead last Monday, but we had technical difficulties and no one to lead this week, so we postponed me. So Monday we watched Nooma 004--"Sunday." It asks the question why we do the things we do--what are our intentions? Rob Bell, who leads the series, uses the example of bringing flowers to his wife. If he acted like it was no big deal and it was his duty as husband, she no longer wants th flowers. He equated this with God. If we only give to God because we're suppose to, it isn't genuine, and God doesn't want it. If we only do things, at home or anywhere, because we have to, where is the joy? Don't get me wrong--we have to do some things, we don't have a choice, and we don't like them. But can you find joy in them?
Why do you go to church (if you do)? Why do you go to your church? For all the things that bug you, why do you keep doing them? Are there empty rituals in your life? How can you bring meaning back to these routines and rituals?
A seminary professor of mine had one suggestions. Several of us were talking about how we didn't feel like we had time to pray and fulfill our spiritual needs. He suggested reclaiming time for daily prayer or devotions in other ways. He suggested using your time in the shower as a personal renewal time--renewal of baptism or some other form. As you're washing, you can think of giving yourself that rejuvination for your soul as well as your skin.
I don't think it is bad to have routines and rituals--we need them as humans. It is when we have lost the meaning in them that becomes dangerous. There is a certain comfort in not having to think about what it means when we say the Lord's Prayer--you just say it. But we also need to be reminded of what we really are saying and what it means.
Why do you do what you do?
Monday I led Dalit. I was originally going to lead last Monday, but we had technical difficulties and no one to lead this week, so we postponed me. So Monday we watched Nooma 004--"Sunday." It asks the question why we do the things we do--what are our intentions? Rob Bell, who leads the series, uses the example of bringing flowers to his wife. If he acted like it was no big deal and it was his duty as husband, she no longer wants th flowers. He equated this with God. If we only give to God because we're suppose to, it isn't genuine, and God doesn't want it. If we only do things, at home or anywhere, because we have to, where is the joy? Don't get me wrong--we have to do some things, we don't have a choice, and we don't like them. But can you find joy in them?
Why do you go to church (if you do)? Why do you go to your church? For all the things that bug you, why do you keep doing them? Are there empty rituals in your life? How can you bring meaning back to these routines and rituals?
A seminary professor of mine had one suggestions. Several of us were talking about how we didn't feel like we had time to pray and fulfill our spiritual needs. He suggested reclaiming time for daily prayer or devotions in other ways. He suggested using your time in the shower as a personal renewal time--renewal of baptism or some other form. As you're washing, you can think of giving yourself that rejuvination for your soul as well as your skin.
I don't think it is bad to have routines and rituals--we need them as humans. It is when we have lost the meaning in them that becomes dangerous. There is a certain comfort in not having to think about what it means when we say the Lord's Prayer--you just say it. But we also need to be reminded of what we really are saying and what it means.
Why do you do what you do?
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