shopping trip

Last Christmas, my sister bought shopping carts (buggies, as they say in McDowell County) for her kids. They push them around the basement, collecting odd toys, stray dolls, playdough creations, and other sundry non-food related items. But recently, we decided to give the carts a real run for their money at a grocery store. We loaded all 4 kids and buggies into the suburban and let them lose down the aisles of Bueche's. You can imagine the smiles and stares of fellow shoppers. It was a bit chaotic, but fun (as is usually the case with these kids). And as an added bonus, we managed to make it through the checkout with everything we needed (and only 4 extra packs of gum.) 4 cheers for kids shop fest 2010!

1 minute until Florida

Living with my sister and brother-in-law is kinda a 'win-win.' They get help with their children any time they need, and I get a free trip to Florida with them! (There are other perks for me too, like being with my family, getting to invest time and energy in my nieces and nephew, and enjoying this new season of rest and relationships.) But Florida is nice too. :)

We've been counting down the days until we leave and today was the day before departure. 1 day left. Except that the kids get somewhat lost in tracking time. Anything in the past is 'yesterday.' As in "Merilee, remember when you forgot to to pack my underwear for the YMCA yesterday?" "That was a month ago, but yeah, I remember." :)

Anyway, one of the little girls reminded us today that we have 1 minute until Florida. She meant 1 day. I love her. Florida, here we come!

March Madness

After not having a T.V. for the five years I lived in West Virginia, I am now loving watching it again. But not just anything. March Madness, in particular. It brings such joy to my heart. I do love basketball. I grew up on the NBA, but while at IWU switched over to watching college ball.

And I love it that my bracket always ends up at the bottom of Gail's bracket group. People who choose Cornell (just because Andy from 'The Office' went to Cornell) end up beating me. Ahhh. I love it...

Church

As I try to find a place, a people, a community of worship, I thought I'd share a few things I've noticed...

• Most churches, in mid-Michigan anyway, are excited to have visitors (which also means that it might not be the norm)
• People ages 20-35 do not go to church. Unless they have kids. Then they're definitely there. But unmarried adults or young married adults without kids are not a high attending group. (Maybe that's why they were so excited to have me...)
• I need to give up on Sunday school. I kept hoping I would find a class, but I think Sunday school classes for people like me were abandoned when people like me also stopped going to church. Small groups during the week, however, are a very real possibility.
• In visiting 5 area churches, I have always been greeted. But I think what's been even more powerful were the times when people just came up to me and introduced themselves and started conversation. That's beautiful, I think. And it's happened at almost every single one of the churches I've visited.

One thing that really surprises me is how at home I feel in the body of Christ in any church here. I mean, they're still strangers, but brother and sister strangers at that. It's been a really good, meaningful adventure in finding a local church.

And while I still haven't found a brick and mortar building that will be my particular church home for ever more, I am beginning to find and know a people to whom I can belong to. A community. A worshipping throng. A few sisters and brothers. Some sacred place and people. Or however one might describe Church.

elbow room

Since moving to Michigan, I've been on the look-out for a part-time job. Well, not at first. (I was having too much fun to work!) But now that I'm settled, I wanted something to do where I could learn a new skill, earn some cash, and still have time to help my sister at home. So a friend of my family helped me get a part-time job at a local coffee shop, the Elbow Room.

I never thought I'd work at a coffee shop, but I always thought my friends would for some reason. Huh. But now I'm making drinks, chatting up the regulars, wiping tables, and enjoying this gift of a job. It really is amazing.

soccer

After a long hiatus of 7 years, i'm back to playing soccer again. My sister told me about a rec. league some of her friends are in, so I joined their team. It is pretty recreational, but surprisingly I am not very good myself either. It seems that my skills have either deteriorated or weren't that great to begin with. :) Either way, it's just fun. And I do score some goals occasionally as well. :)

Our last game, however, wasn't exactly the garden of dreams. I accidentally tripped, and while my hand was on the ground, an opposing player stepped on it. With her cleats. We both heard a "Crunch"... But I can still move my fingers, and the swelling is going down now after a couple days. Funny how you never think of hurting your hand while playing soccer. After all these years...

Here's what an un-injured hand looks like on me:

And then there's this one:

Welcome to a new year

The arrival of the new year and everyone's resolutions always make me think of that Dare You to Move song by Switchfoot, "welcome to existence...everyone's here...everyone's watching you now...what happens next...what happens next?" Kinda like there's some big great anticipation of what you will personally accomplish during the next year that the whole world is waiting for. And I never really want to believe that, you know? It's a little too much pressure. I'd much rather settle for ordinary living, easy expectations, shallow-end goals. I'm just being honest. I'm not always into change.

Maybe other people feel the same way. What motivates us to make changes? Is it the example of others? An honest look back at the past? What motivates a person to want to set goals? I've kept a journal sporadically throughout my life, starting in junior high. I remember feeling like I had nothing much to say when I was 13, but my youth pastor encouraged everyone to journal. I've been on and off for 15 years. Now is one of those off times. But I remember once during college when I started journaling again and kept it up regularly for the next few years. I think it started with an anxious day 1. and day 1 led to a less awkward day 2. When day 3 rolled around, i was started to be okay with writing. Weeks rolled into months and a pattern was set. I think the lesson for me was that I'm really motivated by the very act of doing it. Writing produces a desire to write. Memorizing produces a desire to memorize. Learning produces a desire to learn. Sounds paradoxical to me. But I wonder what I should be doing now, in order to motivate me to actually want to do it later, and keep doing it...

"the tension is here...the tension is here...between who you are and who you could be...between how it is and how it should be..."