Searching for God

In case you’re looking for God, here’s a heads up that He’s been spotted in a spud, baking pan and fish stick.

Why I’m mad at Erwin McManus

McManus'  latest book, “Wide Awake,” hit shelves earlier this month to much anticipation. His earlier books sketched an image of Christianity that was wild and adventurous - certainly not the tame, mundane facsimile it has become. His latest book promised to challenge believers to embrace the idea that our futures, our potentials, already laid dormant within us just waiting to burst forth into a myriad of colors, sounds and experiences.

I threw the book on the floor after chapter 1. 

McManus begins his book talking about why we need to chase after our dreams, boiling the idea down to this central theme: the world needs us to fulfill the potential God placed within us. If all of humanity lived like we were created to live, then many of society’s ills and the world’s plights could be solved. What frustrates me is that I don’t have a dream to chase. I feel like McManus is encouraging us to throw off all inhibition to chase after our futures, and I’m standing at the start line trying to figure out what I’m supposed to be running toward. I have my running shoes on, just no path to follow. 

I want to chase a dream. I want to think there’s more to this life than a 8.5 hr. job consumed with answering emails and filing papers. I want to think there’s adventure awaiting me around the bend - but there’s no trail in front of me, let alone a bend. I want to think that when it’s all said and done, I can leave this planet satisfied that I’ve impacted at least one life. Maybe even have improved the world a bit through my existence. 

It’s a defeating moment to see others strapping on their shoes in preparation to run off into the horizon when I have yet to figure out where I’m going.

Slow Build Up

I’m going to steal from a great man’s blog, but at least I’m confessing it up front. Johnathan Acuff crafted a blog post about how temptations don’t swoop in and bang you over the head; they creep in like a slowly rising river. He says it better though …

"On the evening of January 31, 1953, a father and his 9-year-old son were walking along a large dyke. The father noticed that the water was higher than it should have been. With a watch and a worrisome look he took a rough measure of how high the water would be soon.

In a controlled panic, he and his son woke up the mayor of the small town. They woke up the town council and for hours discussed what they should do. Ultimately the council decided that they should not ring the church bell and wake up the town because nothing serious would happen. The reason they believed everything would be OK was that the dyke had never failed before. Their town had always been safe and so they trusted that what had never happened would not ever happen.

The next morning, the father and son started searching for survivors among the more than 1,800 dead.

Chances are, you and I will never feel the rush of water as a damn breaks and a town disappears. But in many ways, we all know what it’s like to stand on top of a wall as the water slowly rises. To see the warning signs in our life and know that perhaps someone should be warned.

Maybe it’s slow, the daily build up of rain washing against your walls. Maybe it’s unexpected, a storm colliding against you with waves and water you never dreamed could be so deep. But in that moment when you stand on the top of your damn and can see the water rising, don’t try to go it alone. Reach out to a friend. Wake up your neighbors. Ring the church bell.

Because in this damn life, it’s just so easy for never to turn into first time ever."

So how are the dams in your life?

A world where everyone matters

I just finished reading a book (“The Red Letters”) that challenges believers to intentionally focus our lives on ministering to and helping those around us. The author has a particular fondness for any ministry that seeks to alleviate the suffering of AIDS patients and AIDS orphans in Africa. I was challenged to realize that I’ve become too entombed in my own world to even pause when I read horrific stories of suffering, genocide, starvation, or violence. I’m so used to reading about the Darfur crisis, the unrest in Palestine, bombings in Afghanistan, earthquakes in the Pacific Rim and AIDS in Africa that I barely scan newspaper headlines before turning the page. But I don’t want to be that person.

I want to be someone who sees that my little life in Virginia can impact the life of a child in India. That I don’t have to be Ghandi, Billy Graham or Mother Theresa to help someone. And distance isn’t an excuse. Plenty of organizations are working in countries that I may never visit, and they need my support.

But the worldwide concern goes beyond a desire to do good and help others. It’s rooted in the knowledge that if I truly believe all people are created in God’s image, then all people are worthy of dignity, justice and compassion. Everyone. Even Bin Laden.

Today, I read a heart-wrenching story from Italy. Two Roma girls drowned near a beach, were pulled on shore and covered with towels until emergency personnel could arrive. Meanwhile, beachgoers continued to eat, mingle and sunbathe within feet of the girls’ corpses. I’m tempted to be outraged at their complacency, but to accuse them would be to condemn myself, too.

Heidi Goes to the Groomer

Before:

After:

My favorite detail is the lion-like tuft at the end of her tail. I know, I know. I need a hobby.

Motown Philly

Mike and I had a few extra days off from work for the Fourth of July, so we headed north to Philadelphia. The first afternoon we toured Independence Hall and enjoyed a Phillies baseball game. Saturday we toured the city and got to see some interesting sites - including a house that was used in the movie The Sixth Sense. We also caught a Boys II Men concert and fireworks show. Sadly, I have to say that I left the city not really feeling the Brotherly Love. Nothing specific happened ... except the constant club thumping we could hear from our room from midnight until 4 am each night ... but I never did feel a connection to the city. Sorry if that offends any Philly lovers :) I did like their cheese steak subs!

Mike in the room where the founding fathers signed the Constitution.

At the Phillies game.

Near the Rocky statue at the art museum.

Can you see the head of one of the Boys II Men singers? Hint: it's illuminated.

Pretty fireworks!

Spain Wins!!!!

GOOOOOOOAAAALLL! And with a score of 1-0, Spain won Euro 2008. The excitement is more than we can bare.

Soccer Ecstasy

In case you've just emerged from a bunker, today was the final game of Euro 2008. Some have described the Euro games as second only to the World Cup. Spain and Germany are in the final (game is still going on) but I think we're enduring all the stress, ecstasy and joy we can handle :)

Oooh, Torres just scored. Go Spain!

Eating Rubber

In the past few days God has laid before my eyes the story of the woman caught in adultery. I read it in a devotional, heard it in sermons and came across it in various readings. So you'd think I would have been asking God, "Why are you teaching me about not judging others?" You'd think.

This week we had our company's trustees in the building, and I immediately was on edge. I've not always agreed with some of their decisions, and I tend to fear them. Part of me wanted to skip our weekly meeting because I assumed I couldn't benefit at all from hearing from the guest speaker, one of our trustees. I really had to eat humble pie afterward, though, because the speaker was not just inspiring but he also was humble, spot-on and deep.

So I really put my foot in my mouth this week with some of my judgmental thoughts and words. It would have been so much easier if I had simply learned the lesson when God tried to teach it to me from His Word.

Love is ...

Last week Mike and I had an intense conversation - not quite a fight - probably tied to me losing my ring. And it's not why you think. Mike wasn't upset that I lost my ring; he was upset that it took me 3 days to tell him. There's a really long answer for why I hid the mistake from him, but the short answer is that it has something to do with insecurities.

But that's not the point of this post. After our intense conversation, I worried the next day about how Mike would respond to me: would he forgive me, resent me, suspect me? I was tense and uptight ... until Mike called me at 9:30 to ask me to meet him at the front desk. He had gone and bought me my favorite drink, a grande caramel macchiato. 

The moral of the story: it's possible to fight with respect and love. And I am easily bought.

Current favorite photo

A friend spotted this lovely shot just as the sun illuminated this single flower. So nice :)

Lost and Found

This past Wednesday, I did something that's even clumsy by my standards. I lost my engagement ring at the gym. I had placed them in my shoes thinking, "surely I'll see them there and remember to put them in my bag before I leave." Somehow I remembered to get my wedding band but not the diamond ring. Thankfully, a kind, compassionate soul found the ring that night. She left a message with the gym for them to pass her phone number to whoever came looking for the ring. Problem - the gym lost her name and phone number. 

The gym allowed me to post fliers in the ladies' locker room on Friday, and by Saturday morning I received a call from Jennifer. Thank God for kind finders who take pity on hapless losers.

Special Olympics

Thanks to a friend, Mike and I got connected with the Special Olympics' summer games which were held in Richmond June 6-7. We had the extreme honor of escorting a group of 11 pentathletes to their various events, and even with the brutal heat we had an awesome time! Here are some shots from the days.

Jo-seth clearing the high jump bar.

Tony (in back) and Amir run for the finish line.

Carlos the kangaroo. This guy was awesome! He ran the 100 in 13.1 seconds, jumped 4'7" and won every event in the pentathlon. 

This guy was last in his heat during the 100 meter race, but the crowd cheered as though he were the first to cross the line.

Katie (in back) and Abria head for the finish line.

Shakib, Danilo, Jonathan, Carlos and Michael - friends more than competitors.

Camera fun

I'm trying to learn how to use the aperture and shutter speed features on my camera, so I took it out this evening to see what I could capture.

My only complaint with the Canon Powershot is that it tends to focus on what it wants when I zoom in. Not so great when there are multiple objects in the shot and you are wanting to focus on only one item.

Night of the Bat

You can't make this stuff up! Last night we were chilling in our living room with Ethan the intern, when lo and behold we were swooped upon by a bat. Yes. A friggin bat. We have no idea how the thing got into the house. But thanks to Ethan's quick thinking and a pair of sturdy work gloves, he was able to remove the bat from the house.

I should mention that my husband ran from the room like a girl. I hid under a blanket.

My Doppelganger

This video is great for 2 reasons:

1. the lady looks like me on a bad hair day

2. the lady makes things up, just like me :)

Language Barrier

I think what we have here is a failure to communicate!

Hiking Ft. Pickins

We rode the sea doo a few miles from our hotel to an old fort that originally was constructed during the Spanish-American War. Ft. Pickins also played a role in the Civil War and WWII (it's interesting to see the varying construction/architectural details from each era). Sadly, the fort also served as a jail to a few dozen Apache Indians during the late 1800s. Here are some shots from our excursion ...

As a note, to obey the cannon's orders to "keep off gun" I crawled beneath the cart it is sitting on and stood up in just the right place to be photographed. I also didn't actually touch the gun just in case it was rigged with alarms :)

Photos of Beach and Croquet

Mike's Transition to the Sea

Hit that ball!

Yay, mom!

Dad distracted by Willie

Group shot

We played 3 rounds, and I think my dad won 2 of them. Yeah, we won't hear the last of this for a while.

Fatal Dinner

I inherited my odd sense of humor from my dad. That should tell you something about him. Anyway, last night we had some excess spaghetti sauce, so my dad decided to create a safari. Here are the results.

Unfortunately, one didn't survive.