Dozen

A dozen eggs.

A dozen cookies.

A dozen cupcakes.

The Dirty Dozen.

A dime a dozen.

Baker's dozen.

Nineteen to the dozen.




Happy 12th anniversary, Dan! It's been a delightful dozen years.

Both Hands

Our friends Guy and Christine Pinkman are preparing to meet their 6th child (3rd from China) sometime this summer. Ameilia (Meia) is 11 years old and has been writing the sweetest letters to her new family. They recently participated in the "Both Hands" project to 1.) help a widow in need, and 2.) raise some of the funds needed to complete their adoption.

Please take a moment to look at the video of their workday last weekend. If you feel led, please consider contributing to their fundraising attempts, or at least commit to praying for them as they complete this adoption.

Click for video.

Thanks!

Why Do I Care So Much?

I've been invited by a friend at church to participate in Shaunti Feldhahn's study of the "Life Ready Woman" this summer. It's been a lot of fun getting to know some new ladies from church, and generally fellowship with other women in a way that I can't during the school year.

This study is refreshing, because it speaks to women wherever they are in their lives: stay-at-home moms, homeschooling, working outside the home, single, childless, widowed, divorced...you name it. Sometimes I feel like there are a lot of black holes in an Evangelical church setting for women who don't fit a typical mold.

The very first night of the group, I felt so empowered as a full-time working mom that I am EXACTLY where God wants me to be, even though I may not want to be there myself. We got to talking about expectations...what the world expects of us, what the church expects of us, even what our families expect of us. When we don't meet those expectations, there can be a lot of grief, anxiety and loneliness.

My friend Julie shared one of those simple, yet profound statements that I have really been digesting lately: "We have conversations with other people in our minds that never actually happened."

Do you do that? I know I do...I get myself so worked up about an encounter with someone I *think* is disappointed in me, or I *think* may disagree and therefore encounter conflict. I hate conflict. But...I wonder how many of my struggles with others come from this whole area of expectation, or even imaginary conversations.

And even if a certain person really is ticked at me, or disappointed, or angry and spreading rumors. Why do I care so much? Why are their opinions more important that God's?

Contentment

This is one of those rare, God-given seasons where I find myself genuinely at peace, happy, and contented with where I am. I know that a storm may be brewing around the corner, and God may be shoring up my reserves right during this season. But for now, I'm enjoying this season...my family...my home...my lot.

*insert contented sigh*

Kids Bowl Free

My friend Kari is the queen of finding things to do in the summer. She introduced me to Kids Bowl Free this summer. It's not too late if you're interested. In a nutshell, Dayna gets 2 free games EVERY DAY this summer. All we pay is her shoe rental (about $2.00 each time.) Dan and I decided to add the family pass for about $25, which gives us 2 free games per day, including our shoe rental. We were also able to add my parents to the family pass. The first time we went as a family, we would have spent $23 just for Dan and I. This has been a great way to use those hot summer days and spend some time together with friends and family. Enjoy the pictures of Dayna with her buddy Eli.

Hero Training Camp

This summer at church, we're doing a new kind of VBS. It's called "Hero Training Camp." On Sunday mornings, while the kiddos are learning how to be superheroes for God, the parents are learning how to raise superheroes.

Since we've started this program, I've noticed Dayna is much more eager to lend a hand and help out without being asked. For example, a few weeks ago, we were having a tough morning getting started (okay...I was having a tough morning getting started) and there was a lot of nagging going on about getting Dayna's bed made. After the umpteenth time, I went upstairs to check on her, only to notice that she had made my bed as well. When she is asked to do something, it is the rule, not the exception that she does so with a cheerful attitude. On the rare occasion (now) that she doesn't respond cheerfully, she catches herself and fixes the attitude on her own.

It's been wonderful watching Dayna desire and learn to be a hero. She's learning how to praise God through her work and bless others. I've seen her be less selfish and more thoughtful.

I don't know that I've become much more of a superhero's mom, but I'm sure hoping that these positive changes will begin to impact my parenting as well.

Blue Like Jazz - My Take, Part 2

Another issue with society in general and this book in particular, was the attitude toward people who don't agree with the author. I see it on Facebook, on other internet forums, in online news commentaries...it seems to be everywhere: the attitude of superiority and sometimes downright hatefulness to those who disagree. And while I see it on both sides of politics, it seems that the left side seems to paint the right with a broader brush than the other way around. It is for this reason that I really try to leave my politics off of Facebook; I would rather focus on what my friends and I have in common than to become divisive. Having said that, I sometimes wonder if some of my friends would still be my friends if they knew how I really felt about some of the issues on the table. We live in an age where agreeing to disagree agreeably seems to be a thing of the past.

Having said that, here are some quotes that I felt were divisive and close-minded toward others who take a different view than the author:

p. 132 I felt like, by going to this particular church, (although he really paints all Evangelical churches in this light throughout the book) I was a pawn for the Republicans. Meanwhile, the Republicans did not give a crap about the causes of Christ.

p. 188 There's not a lot of work in the Christian market if you won't write self-righteous, conservative propaganda.
(I have read many, many, many books through the years from the "Christian market"...and if they were full of self-righteous, conservative propaganda, they would have been promptly returned to the store. I don't read for propaganda...I read to consider new things and hopefully become a better person from the experience.)

The book was laced with other remarks that were less than open to the opinions or beliefs of those who consider themselves conservative, Republican, or Evangelical. And when the attitude pervades that "I'm right, and they're wrong", and yet I find great irony and hypocrisy when the author repeatedly calls those who disagree with him "self-righteous."

Now, do I think Conservatives have all the answers? No. Do I think Liberals have it all together? Absolutely not. There is only One person who has the answers and who will never let us down. I choose to let Him reveal Himself to me through His Word, while the author of this book draws his conclusions about God from his own fickle experiences.

p. 226 My friend Julie from Seattle says the key to everything rests in the ability to receive love, and what she says is right because my personal experience tells me so.

Despite the theology that just didn't match Scripture, I had a hard time reading the book. While some love the "honest", "fresh", "transparent" tone of his writing, I found it self-indulgent and short-sighted. It really read more like the rambling journal of one adolescent male trying to apply universal truths to his own personal experiences. And much of his writing smacked of self-pride (i.e. p. 213 "She had probably never met anyone fascinating like me before.") and condescension (i.e. p. 211 "They were cute, these little Christian people.")

One last episode that just left me scratching my head: on page 208, Miller recounts a time in his life when he was living "in the wild" and befriended some hippie friends (his term) who were working at a resort. He thought it was cool that these friends were like Robin Hood...stealing food from the rich resort owners and giving it to the poor (himself.) Did he not catch that by eating the stolen food that he was stealing himself? He was hardly starving and destitute...and I got the impression that this was an ongoing thing...not a one-time meal.

I have a lot more underlined and written in the book, but these are the main thoughts that have stuck with me since finishing the book a few weeks ago.

Anyway...these are some of my thoughts. Take them or leave them. I do appreciate that Miller was able to make me rethink what I believe about church and Christianity. I believe my own convictions are stronger, and I hope I have become a little more like the woman Christ wants me to be as a result of wrestling with some of these things. We are all, after all, a work in progress. At the end of the day, though, I want to know that my worldview and beliefs about God and Christianity come from the Bible and not exclusively from personal experience. I want to know that I serve and worship a God who created me in His image, and not a god I have created in mine.

If you've read this far, thanks for indulging me. I don't often write book reviews, but I felt I really needed to express my thoughts on this one.

And if you disagree...I hope we can disagree agreeably!