This is Your Life!

Switchfoot's reverberating song lyrics say "This is your life--are you
who you want to be?"
Asking yourself this question could mean the difference between living
a regret-filled, un-remarkable life, or living your life to its full
potential, realizing & pursuing your dreams.
I LOVE the simplicity of this question, but although the question
itself may be simple, adequately answering it is probably not easy.
Anything that causes you to think long and hard about your life is
never easy.
But I think questions like this one, "are you who you want to be?",
and wrestling with the answer is a healthy and valuable exercise to
perform every once in awhile. Just like taking your car to the
mechanic for a tune-up, or your child to his yearly physical exam,
occasionally analyzing your life is something you can do to keep
yourself in top form.  A self tune-up, if you will.
And they don't have to be complicated questions, but things like, "Do
I have regrets or recurring guilt about an event, opportunity, person,
or situation in my life?", "Do I know what I want to do or should do,
but am too afraid to do it?", "Do I have unfulfilled dreams, and if
so, can I do anything to make them happen?", "What's holding me back
from making this area of my life more fulfilling to me?", or "Do I
have a gift or talent that I'm not using, and if so, why not?"
So, even if you don't have some clear, life-altering gift to bless the
world with, or even if you don't have any clearly-defined dreams that
you dream about, I would encourage you to find something, anything,
that you enjoy doing to add a little extra purpose and meaning to your
life.  I had an acquaintance in college who recognized her love and
skill of writing encouraging notes & thank you cards.  She simply
called herself an Encourager, and she was right. She randomly sent me
a little uplifting card in the mail once, and it made my week, let me
tell you!  I had it pinned to my bulletin board for months because of
her sweet words.  Her kind gesture may not have changed my life, but
it sure made my week.  And I remember her to this day because of that.
And, if you find and follow a passion, however small and
inconspicuous it may seem, you could impact someone's week and be
forever remembered by one action.  Heck, you could impact someone's
life!  Believe it!  It happens everyday.  But, even if I only ever
change someone's week, and by the following week I'm forgotten, I'll
know that I did something worthwhile.  Hey, I'll take it!

God's Unexpected Provision

I firmly believe that God always provides and that He "will never break a bent reed." What's interesting, though, are the ways God chooses to help and provide. I would prefer God just end this time of darkness in our lives and take away our problems, and do this by helping my husband get a lucrative job where all of our needs (and wants) can finally be met.
God, it seems, has other ideas. God's version of "provision," and my version, are very different, as things usually are when I compare myself with God. He has been financially providing for us, all right, by occasionally having members of our families give us money. This money is extremely useful and we are sometimes desperate for it. We use it to pay bills, buy groceries, and sometimes have a little fun, like buy souvenirs on vacation. We are extremely blessed with a wonderful family, there's no doubt about it, and I only hope that I can be as selfless and generous with my money as our family is with theirs. They truly are an inspiration, but it's very humbling and slightly shameful to have family give you money. I know they are glad to help us out, but we always feel a bit ashamed that we need their help in the first place.
God is fulfilling His promise to always care for our basic needs, and not let us "be destroyed", and as usual, we are getting by.
One day, of course, we'd love to actually have a bit of money to save, spend, and donate to improve others' lives. Will that day be soon? Oh, how we hope & pray so. But if not, we have to be content in the fact that God will bless us in whatever ways He deems prudent, whether we'd prefer it or not. Part of our job right now, it seems, is to accept the donated money gratefully and humbly, and to use it wisely. Thanks be to God for His unexpected and unusual provision!

My Thoughts Are Like TV channels.....Huh??........

I read and enjoyed Elizabeth Gilbert's best selling novel "Eat, Pray, Love", and also saw the movie starring Julia Roberts.  The part of the movie that struck me as the most memorable was when the author was bickering with her friend, Richard, at the Indian ashram.  He was encouraging Elizabeth to pursue meditation as a strict discipline, and she was doubting her ability to focus, saying that her thoughts always took control and ran away with her.  
Richard said something along the lines of, "You've got to choose which thoughts you let into your mind to think about."  

As someone whose mind runs away from me as well, Richard's words present a profound and novel concept:  the idea that I can pick and choose what I want to think about.  This concept of meditation or "emptying the mind" is typically associated with Eastern philosophy & religions, like Buddhism, yoga, and the culture of India, however, I am becoming more & more convinced that this practice would be a worthwhile pursuit in our normal, everyday, American existence.  I've read scientific studies describing how participants' blood pressure and stress levels decreased drastically when meditation was practiced several times a week.  I've even read scientists' speculations that disorders of the brain, like Alzheimer's, might be prevented or reduced by regular meditation.  It seems as though the scientific community is saying that having a few prolonged quiet moments throughout the week will make us all a little healthier by directing effecting our bodies and brains!   

So I was thinking of an analogy of meditation that our media-obsessed, American culture could comprehend, and I thought of television channels.  Meditating and thus choosing your thoughts is like picking which tv channel you want to watch.  How is it there's 600 satellite tv channels and there's still nothing on?   

So I have been trying emptying my mind and being "in the moment" as I'm trying to fall asleep and my mind is buzzing with thoughts about how my day went, what I have to do tomorrow, and such.  And you know what?  It works!  When my brain is quiet, my body is able to realize its fatigue and drift off to sleep.  

So now, if a thought enters my mind that's negative, self-bashing, or fearful, I think of television, and I change the mental channel.  

Oscar Playing Falls Off Couch

This is Oscar, our 2-year old playful ferret! (We have 2 ferrets total now!) Enjoy his cuteness!

I'm a Mountain Girl!

I have family roots in Gatlinburg, Tennessee (my Dad's side of the family) and we would visit the area a couple times a year when I was growing up. I have grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins who live there now, and it's a gorgeous area! I always assumed that I would live in Tennessee someday, working during the week and going into the mountains on weekends.

Now that I have seen the majesty & beauty of WA state, my plans have changed. WA state has 2 mountain ranges (the Olympics on the coast & the Cascades inland), and the Pacific Ocean, which I had never before seen until Eric brought me out there the first time. The weather is mild because the area is a temperate rain forest, (ironically, just like the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee!), and because the weather is milder than the Midwest, there's more time of the year to be outside and actually enjoy it. Plus, there are so many trails, parks, mountains to climb, bike-friendly roads, farmers' markets to buy fresh, local produce, and a health-conscious culture.
(The State of WA should be paying me for all the positive publicity I give them!) :)

I've always loved the mountains and have always been a mountain girl, so I know I will fit right in in Seattle!
I look forward to having such majestic, rugged landscape in such a close proximity, and being close to Eric's brother's family, our newborn niece, and my parents-in-law.
I love the ocean, but if I had to choose between the ocean and mountains, I would always pick the mountains! (But that's just me)

Seattle Vacation!

My hubby & I are super excited about leaving on Friday for our 2 week-long vacation in Seattle, WA! I had never been there until I met my husband about 3 years ago, and he has since taken me out there 4 times. I loved it so much that I heartily agreed to move out there whenever the time came for my husband to pursue a different job. Well, that time has come and he is applying for positions in the Seattle area. We're hoping to get out of Ohio by winter.
These are pictures from the last time we were there, last July.

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