Shut Up, Get Over Yourselves, and Start Talking

As I have pondered the political process these past few weeks, and as I have struggled to make some sense of my own views and frustrations, one thing has been consistent: our nation's polarization is it's biggest problem. As a committed Christ following citizen, and as a parent trying to hear the heart of a child, it has been frustrating to watch and experience as I myself have gotten caught up in this wave. It has been the struggles closest to me that have made me realize (with the help of a couple of co-authors of a book - "Common Ground" by Cal Thomas and Bob Beckel) that the majority of Christ following voters on both sides of the political divide really have common beliefs and goals: the sanctity of human life, reasonable access to healthcare, equal access to a good education, relief of poverty. But as long as we get swept up in the tide and behave like the polarized politicians representing us, all we accomplish is making a lot of noise, and we do a great deal to tarnish our witness. As long as the unbelievers among us see us going right along with the loudest voices - accusing each other of sympathizing with baby killers or of being greedy, uncompassionate powermongers, they won't be seeing Christ in us. I believe what we really need to do is to be still and know that God is God, to seek and listen to His voice and His Word, and then - as I heard on Grey's Anatomy last night, we and our politicians really need to Shut up, get over ourselves, and start talking to find solutions.

Conquering Generational Curses!

My lovely daughter, with the patient prodding and help of her wonderful husband, is learning to conquer the chaos. Yes, she has inherited the curse of clutter from both of her parents. I tend to like to hide my clutter in drawers and closets, but it is still there! Anyway, she and her hubby conquered the piles of her clothes in their bedroom and got them ALL folded or hung and put away! I am so proud of her! I was also inspired by the video on her blog on how to fold a t-shirt - I tried it, it worked, and it was really easy!! So, I thought to myself - I wonder if I can find a video to teach me how to fold my fitted sheets - I am frustrated by that task every time I try it and usually just end up kind of wadding the thing up and flattening it out - doesn't make for a very neat looking closet. I was so excited when I found several videos on YouTube- so I watched a couple of them and now I am the proud owner of a neatly folded fitted sheet in my closet - after 49 years I have a neatly folded fitted sheet - and it was really pretty easy!! YAY!

The Mountains Make My Heart Sing!!!!!

Kim and I went to Colorado to check out Colorado Christian University this past weekend. We had a great time, and yes, Kim loved the school! I just can't describe the feeling I have when I am in the mountains - the most I can say is that they truly make my heart sing! We drove on Thursday (yes, Kansas is in driving distance of the beautiful Colorado mountains - definitely one of my favorite things about living in Kansas), visited the college and played a little on Friday, played all day Saturday, and drove back home on Sunday. The drive takes about 7 1/2 hours - 8 when you add meal and potty breaks. Broken into 2 1/2 hour segments it is kind of like this: the 2 1/2 hours between Wichita and Hays, Kansas is kind of pretty with the farmland and some rolling hills and a really cool and extremely large windmill farm;



the 2 1/2 hours from the Colorado border to Denver or Colorado Springs is pretty as you see the plains begin to roll and then the mountains to pop out; but the 2 1/2 hours in the middle is some of the most boring driving and landscape you can imagine! - FLAT and nearly Treeless and not particularly colorfull. Right after lunch on Thursday that middle segment seemed nearly impossible - lunch in my belly and a perfectly straight, flat, boring road made my eyelids kind of heavy! Thanks to my IPOD and some great music and podcasts, we made it!

I think Kim has posted about the school, so check her blog out for that. http://kimjoythoughts.blogspot.com/

I will just add that it really did seem like a place where a diverse group of young adults are seeking to learn and live the christian life in an incredible Christ-following community. I like it for Kim.

After visiting the school, we drove down to Colorado Springs to play on Friday afternoon and Saturday. We hiked in a park called North Cheyenne Canyon Park, drove to the top of Pike's peak, walked around in amazement at the Garden of the Gods -a park which was given to the city by a family fulfilling their father's wish that the area be "forever free to the public" (It was really incredible) and basically just enjoyed being in the mountains! We also got to shop at Whole Foods Market (one of the places we really miss here in Wichita) and even ate our dinner there Saturday night with a spectacular view of the sun setting over the mountains. Did I mention that I love the mountains? Colorado Springs was really a neat place, and yes, we did drive into the parking lot of Focus on the Family - just to see it, but we didn't make time to go to the visitors center (it was already closed when we drove through the parking lot).

So, that was our weekend adventure. And by the way, I really love the mountains : )

Just a quick update

Since it's been a little while, just thought I'd put a few words on here. We just spent an awesome weekend with our sweet eldest daughter and her wonderful hubby- they flew out here Friday night and back home this afternoon. It was SOOOO good to see them and spend some great time together. It had been a little strange for Elaine to never have seen the place her parent's now call home - so now she has a point of reference when I tell her about sitting on my patio, feeling the Kansas breeze on my skin and listening to the sound of my fountain - and Keith figured out the grid system that makes Wichita so easy to get around really quickly!!! We had a pretty busy weekend - walked the nature center early Saturday morning, then on to Old Town to check on the farmer's market (pretty slim pickins - getting toward the end of their season), then on to Wichita's Chili cook off for lunch. We tasted lots of chili, and only had to dump one sample in the trash can! Then back home for a little rest and some dinner before heading on to the Wichita Symphony for a performance with Cherish the Ladies for a really fun evening. Elaine, Kim and I headed back to the nature center to take pictures this morning before church, and squeezed in a quick shopping excursion after lunch ( Mom likes the chance to spoil her kids - and they don't usually turn it down!). All to quickly the weekend was over and we were on our way to take them back to the airport to head home - but it sure was great to have them here!

Quirks

My sweet daughter tagged me on her blog to list 6 quirky things about myself. While I think it would have been far easier for her to come up with 6 quirky things about me, I did manage to come up with a list:

1. I am a nurse Certified (that means I have taken special training and passed specific testing) in Wound (self explanatory), Ostomy (those surgical bypasses to our human plumbing system that create the necessity to wear a pouch to contain bodily wastes), and Continence (those issues that make it difficult for some to control their plumbing system) nursing – and I love my job!
2. I am a nerd at heart. I love studying and learning. Just the other day I got really excited when I figured out one of Kim’s algebra problems (its been a REALLY long time since I took algebra), and I can remember my uncontainable excitement when I learned the amazing series of events that takes place in the human body when it is wounded and begins what we call the wound healing cascade. See, I told you I was nerdy.
3. I have a horrible sense of direction, but somehow I think I can always find a better or shorter route – makes for a lot of time lost (that is why even though it drives the rest of my family crazy – I love my GPS).
4. I can’t stand to be tapped on the shoulder – don’t know why, just know it drives me crazy!
5. I have a place in the middle of my back that if someone runs their finger up my back it makes me just about wiggle out of my skin – Steve knows exactly where it is ; ) .
6. I get really nervous when the rules aren’t being followed. And perhaps my biggest pet peeve is when the “unwritten” rules aren’t followed – you know, like the unwritten rule that when deplaning an airplane you always let the people seated in front of you out first without rushing past them, things like that make me nuts!

So, I guess I’m fairly quirky – I even thought of a few more I didn’t put on here.

So now, I tag:
Youngerdaughter
Brandie
Debbie
Chip
(Oh dear, do I even know 6 other bloggers who know I read their blogs??)
KayeC
My Niece and her hubby (their blog is private, so you won't be able to link to it here)


And the rules:
Here are the rules:
1. Link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. Tell 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. Tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking to them
5. Leave a comment for each tagged blogger to let them know they've been tagged.

Out of Egypt - for GOOD!!

OK, so I have been thinking about posting this all week, so here goes. As some of you know, I spent the week last week at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City. It was an awesome time. I went with my agenda of things I wanted to study, things I wanted to spend lots of time in prayer for. Well, God totally blew my agenda out of the water (well, not totally, i did spend lots of time praying for people who are dear to me) and He totally blessed me with His agenda. He showed me wounds I had forgotten I had but that have totally shaped who I am, and began the healing process. Early on in the week, as we were participating in the Global Bridegroom Fast, I was overwhelmed at the spiritual smorgasboard that lay ahead of me - I didn't know where to begin. But God focused me, and by the end of the week I was able to see things more clearly.

One of the things I love is when God shows you something in scripture that has been there all along, but somehow you have glossed over it. That happened several times last week, but the one that blessed me the most was what He showed me from Exodus 13. We were singing about freedom and God parting the seas and our own Exodus - so I decided to meditate on Exodus 13 where God leads the Israelites out of Egypt. There it was in verses 17 and 18:

17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, "If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt. So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle."

God really does not want us to be tempted to go back to Egypt ( into bondage). In fact, He will lead us into the desert, into the wilderness, take us the long way if it will keep us from being tempted by something we are not up to resisting. God knows us and loves us, He knows what our temptations are, He knows our ability to resist some temptations and not others. And He will allow us to take the long, lonely, wilderness road if it will keep us from facing one of those temptations we are unable to resist. God knew that war would send the Israelites high tailing it back to Egypt, so He sent them to wander the wilderness for 40 years instead!! All along, doing things for them like parting the sea, just when they thought they were doomed. He taught them to trust Him the hard way rather than letting them run back to Egypt. He does the same for me and you! 1 Corinthians 10:13 says that no temptation has overtaken me but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, He will not allow me to be tempted beyond what I am able to deal with, and with temptation He will provide the way of escape, and I will be able to endure it.

I am so thankful that God loves me enough to gently show me my Egypts and to not want me to go back, and that He will allow me to endure the wilderness if that's what it takes to keep me from going back into bondage, and that He ALWAYS provides a way for me. God is so good, and He is so faithful.

Through the ages

1958
1966
1968
1980
1996


Well, Elaine has been having some fun with this, so I thought I'd give it a try too! Ever wonder what you would look like in a different era - these are supposed to be 1958-1996
Hmm, I think I remember having some of these hairdoos!