Now for some fun

26 October 2008

So I went all crazy working on that project these last two weeks (I refer to it as a "project" because just calling it a "flyer" makes it seem so mousy and easy, when in reality... well, you read the post). Now, the craziness is over, the printer has taken over, shiny new flyers will be posted to teens all over Ireland inviting them to a youth retreat, and I bask in the glow of a job finally done and being able to be just a tiny part of God's bigger plan.

Now, for some fun. Me mum has arrived from the States for some good times with the grandkids, and perhaps a few girls-day-outs.  I'm going to take a wee break from work for a few days, and then, on to the next project! 
 
And now, a fun pic for your viewing pleasure. Sometimes it really is all kicks and giggles.









"I sense you don't have the experience..."

21 October 2008

This has just been one of those weeks. 

You know, where you are faced with a big task that you know you can complete with hard work, tenacity, and a wee bit of luck. So you set to it... you hit a wall, you find your way over it, you set to it again... and then you hit another wall. You work through it, feel a small sense of accomplishment, get back to work again, and then... another wall. This wall is taller and a bit more jagged, and looks difficult to climb, but you do it! Hooray! Mini celebrations abound! You can do it!

And then, yet another wall. One wall too many.

This is the point where you just wanna crawl back into bed and pretend your life has gone back to normal. I would say that this last wall may be the one that does me in for good. "I sense you don't have the experience..." is what a professional recently told me. Perhaps, he is right.
 

Birthday girl, take 2; or Will my kids grow up to hate me?

04 October 2008



Today my girl Ella Cate (The Artist Formerly Known As "Eleanor") turns 2. She got her first princess dress today, her first purse, and her 2nd-3rd-and 4th baby dolls. I will also tell you that she was angry for most of the day, we didn't get a single picture of her opening presents, we forgot to sing happy birthday to her, and she didn't blow out any candles. But that was all OK... having a full house of new friends made up for it.

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Last night husband and I were reminiscing (regretting?) how many changes/transitions our kids have had to endure over these last 5 years. In Ella's two short years, we have moved 6 times. In Jackson's five years, we have never lived in the same place for more than 2 years - the shortest of which only being 6 weeks. It seems like we have packed them up, dragged them around, shown them off, and wiped away their tears of confusion more times than I would like to count. All because we wanted to follow God wherever we thought He wanted us to go.

No doubts about it, we know He wanted us to go to Ireland and He consistently confirms this fact to us, but I wonder if He didn't make the path a little bit straighter than how we chose to follow it. I wonder how much crap we piled on top of that path, until we could no longer see it clearly and didn't know where to step.

Perhaps the winding road we followed instead was exactly the one God meant for us to be on. But I can't help but wonder: will our children, who never chose to follow this path and instead are along for the ride, end up resenting us one day because of it...?

My one and only post about the election

03 October 2008

There's been a lot of consternation in our household lately. Surprisingly, it has less to do with the value of the dollar (yay!) and more to do with the upcoming presidential election (nay!). Here's the dealio-yo: I just cannot fathom voting for either candidate. I can't do it. I just can't. I'm not going to get into all the details, but if you are investigating the who's who in this election, you know what they are, and most likely you are struggling too.

It's not that I dislike them. In fact, all four people with their names on the ticket seem likable enough. I can see myself talking to them about life, gardening, school schedules, Dwight's latest antics on The Office. But I just cannot seem to make my convictions compromise - either way - with their policies. I'm really trying to figure this one out folks. In fact, sadly, I think this is the first time I have actually prayed about voting beforehand. I'm wanting God to take charge of this like I want Him to take charge of all things in my life. But He's not leading me in any particular direction this time...

I feel about voting for a democrat the way I feel about joining an Emergent church: I'm just not cool enough. I am not too cool for school. They are not my people. Or, rather, I think they don't want me to be their people. The Republicans, I feel, want me to be their people too much. I have the right label (Christian) and I love the not-yet-born babies. They want me and my Christian conviction (shame). 

I don't like what the election process turns my elected officials - and my family and friends - into: stark, raving, mad lunatics! I don't like what it turns my pastors back home into: convenient sound bytes. I don't like what it turns voting into: if you don't vote, you don't care, and you will never, ever again get to ever speak about anything at all in the public square, EVER! I don't like the fact that we can ignore issues for 3 years, sit on our bums not doing a thing about the world around us, and then for 1 year only get all nutso about biblical principals in government. 

So here's what I think I'm going to do: I'm not going to vote in the booth, but I'm going to vote with my life. I'm not going to choose a side, because I don't think God has. I believe He's on everyone's side. And if I'm on everyone's side, I should choose to be by their side every day of the year. 

Don't get me wrong - I'm just beginning this "journey". Voting with one's life takes A LOT of effort! Arguably, a lot more effort than ticking a box on a form. I don't think I'll ever adequately vote with my life the way God intends for me to... but let's just call this an experiment: a daily vote. Ticking the box that says "walking along this road with you, following after Christ." We can see what the results are in the next four years, or 40 years, or maybe in heaven... I'm not sure.

Sometimes voting your conscience is impossible... sometimes it means simply not voting at all. Perhaps there is no biblical mandate on voting. Perhaps, God is in control either way. 

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Kudos for this blog go to: 
Relevant Magazine and their "How to vote without losing your soul" cover story / All of my friends who are different political persuasions than I am (at this time) and who I love anyway - I would rather serve along with them in life than vote against them in the booth / Anne Lamott who has proven to me, through her books, that I am definitely NOT cool enough to be a democrat, but she's trying very hard to love people like me anyway...
 
 
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