Commemorating

Five years ago today, good friends of mine, Tree and Dan, got married. I was a bridesmaid in the wedding and thrilled to get to be a part of the special day for a couple I so admired. It was a special day for another reason- it was my boyfriend Josh's 21st birthday! He came up to Chicago for the wedding with my parents, and we cut out of the reception early to go have dinner in downtown Chicago. I had packed a few gifts for him- a candle in a scent he liked, a magazine subscription he'd been wanting, maybe a DVD?

The details are fuzzy because, by the end of the night, none of my silly gifts mattered- Josh brought ME a gift on HIS birthday- an engagement ring.

That was 5 years ago. I'm not sure, that night, where where I pictured myself in 5 years. My mind was racing with wedding plans, not life-plans. Tonight, I stand in the kitchen in a dress (to dress up to celebrate Josh's 26th birthday) and an apron, preparing a meal of steak, green beans (from my garden) and mashed potatoes (also from my garden). My dog lays lazily beside me, watching me work. We live in a house that I love, that we finally feel is "put together" and ours.

Life is so good, and to think it all started 5 years ago, this night.

* Go wish Tree and Dan a happy 5-year anniversary!
** Read our engagement story!
*** The picture above was taken 5 years ago tonight, at the wedding reception. I love it. Tree and Dan are on the left of the frame. Josh and I are dancing in the middle, and the look of love on Josh's face makes my heart melt. I had no idea what was coming. 


Books could be written on how amazing my husband is, but I'll stop before it gets mushy.

Awaking a Sleeping Giant

The American church is a sleeping giant.

So many in America claim to be Christians. Relative to so many countries, we have so much wealth. We have the opportunity and ability to make a gigantic impact.
And yet.
We sleep.
We do nothing.

We have allowed atrocities to take place around the world, and neglect to go on under our nose. What can rouse this giant?

Yesterday, I observed the giant stir.

At 8pm Tuesday night, a local foster-care ministry got a call saying in the next day or two, a plane with 300 Haitian orphans would be headed to Indianapolis. Could they quickly find foster families?

Around 11:30pm, an email went out to my church of more than 6,000 people. "Could any families take in two or more non-English-speaking kids for a month or more, potentially to adopt?"

Half an hour later, they had found homes for 92 children. I sent off a tweet to a blogging friend who I knew was an adoption advocate, and she knew the right people to contact. Twitter lit up. By 10am Wednesday, Safe Families was receiving eight emails a minute about wanting to host children or help in some way. Throughout the day, because of the overwhelming response, they required that applicants have a current background check and home study and agree to take in two children and be a potentially-adoptive home- and even with that requirement, at 1pm they cut off applications, saying they had plenty.

Wow.

God's people stepped up. Hundreds of families in less than 24 hours were willing to radically alter and rearrange their lives in a permanent way to make space for "the least of these". Wow.

Reports are that the airplane headed to Indianapolis isn't as looming as was reported, and fewer children may eventually be on it, when and if it is put together. That fact is disappointing for many families, but misses the larger picture: Thousands of people in our little area were ready to deploy for the Kingdom. The church stirred, and was ready to make a difference in a big way.

Where to go from here? The hundreds of emails demonstrated to me that there are hundreds or thousands of empty beds and bedrooms in Hamilton County and the Indianapolis area, and thousands of families who love children. As a local adoption agency tweeted in the midst of the day yesterday, the orphan crisis isn't just today, it's every day. There are parentless children that could fill all those beds and hearts, not just from Haiti, but from China, Ethopia, Ukraine, and our own neighborhoods.

Hopefully, this event sparked some good conversations in families in the area, and fostering and adoption will become priorities. Or the plight of Haiti won't be forgotten, because yesterday it became personal and, very literally, close to home. Or the "least of these" living next door or a few miles away will be served with the same life-altering willingness.

Let's hope the giant doesn't drift off again.

This is How the World Will End

From The Elms, a video filmed in 2008 in Haiti:


When the dollar made with blood is spent,
When an enemy can't become a friend.
When the better man won't lend a hand,
Baby, this is how the world will end.
When a day of hope is a rarity,
Or a diplomat hasn't time to see
That a child lost is a true offense,
Baby, this is how the world will end.

CHORUS:
Bring a chair up to the table.
Bring a message to the crowd.
Where's a common trust to deliver us from the wretched and the proud?
Sing a tune about the promise.
Speak on that which we depend.
And if a certain light don't shine again,
Baby, this is how the world will end.

When the poorest kid is fending for himself,
Or the widow cries, but she gets no help.
When we know what's true, but we still pretend,
Baby, this is how the world will end.

I'm still overwhelmed at the loss in Haiti. Friends of mine were just there a couple months ago, and reported back on the abject poverty they saw- before the disaster. Check out their articles on World Next Door both before and since the earthquake, especially Barry's post Heartache. This CNN article tugged at my heart as well, and made me aware and concerned for the orphans in Haiti- the orphanages that were full before the quake, and the many, many more beds needed in those children's homes now that so many more parents have died. My heart breaks.

Fearful - or, A Really Anticlimactic Post about The Dentist

I like to think I'm not terribly fearful.

I mean, I like to think I take most days in stride. When a crisis happens, I go into "level-headed mode" and push emotions out of the way and just deal with it. It's little things, though, that I "don't prefer." Like, I don't prefer to empty the mousetrap, so I offload that responsibility to Josh.

I also don't prefer the dentist. I'm not alone in my "dental anxiety"- up to 75% of people have at least a mild fear. For me, it meant not scheduling dentist appointments at all, as soon as I (and not my mom) was in charge of it. Not the best move, but it was a way of not dealing with my anxiety about the dentist. I have heard about he whole sedation dentistry thing, but I'm not a fan of non-necessary medications, and thing just seemed like an overreaction. I know my anxiety is unfounded and irrational- and I like to be rational, so, if the need to visit the dentist ever arose, I'd talk myself through it rationally and be fine.

Well, a month or so ago, Josh stepped in for me. He scheduled an appointment for himself and me for Jan 14th. I put it on the calendar and didn't think about it for a long while. That was probably a good move. As I saw the calendar event approaching, I started brushing more thoroughly, worried about what this new dentist would think of me. I even wonder if I should start looking for best skin care I could find to take care of this pimple that popped up on my chin- I wouldn't want them to have to stare at it for the hour I'm in their chair!

Seriously. These things went through my head. I was getting self-conscious about imagined criticisms I was going to theoretically get from someone I don't even know. A confession: Sometimes I go longer between haircuts for the same reason- I don't like to be told all the problems with my hair/scalp I ought to fix, because I take it as criticism about who I am or what I've done up to that point. Irrational, I know.

Josh's appointment was before mine, and I sat in the waiting room, reading the obligatory waiting-room magazines, and thought about my past dentist experiences. The poking. The prodding. The bleeding gums. The monthly trips to the orthodontist's chair to get braces tightened and create sore teeth for a couple days. The rubber bands I had to wear on my braces so I couldn't open my mouth even half-an-inch. The only cavity I've every had, when the dentist said "Oh, that's not too deep; we won't have to numb you" and started drilling and I could totally feel it. The shot felt way better than the drilling. It all came back. I described all this to Josh, and he said "No wonder you're afraid of the dentist." No wonder! Wikipedia says that the fear of the dentist is more like PTSD than a true phobia, and that makes sense to me now.

I quizzed Josh about his visit over lunch between our appointments: What was it like? Were they gentle? Did it hurt? Did they ask you about your medical history? Were they gentle? What did they do? Did it hurt? He said everything was fine, nothing hurt, they were able to fill these minicavities right there, during this appointment without numbing. My mind went back to my previous not-numbed-while-drilling-cavities experience, and I got worried. But I had to get through the appointment.

...

And, I did. It really was fine. They really were gentle. The technology this office had was better than my previous dentist, and nothing traumatic, or even uncomfortable, happened. I was able to go back to work afterwards. Everything was OK. I felt kind of silly. Thinking through why I had anxiety about the appointment beforehand- rather than just worrying- made me about to be more rational, and give this new guy a chance.

This is the result of most my fears- totally unfounded and irrational. I'd like to think I'm not fearful, but I am in many ways. If I were bold, courageous, tenacious- I think my life would look very different. One at a time, eventually, I'll get over these fears. I started at the dentist's office.

Top o' the Mountain

For the long New Year's weekend, Josh & I took off for a quick trip to the Smokies, and had an amazing time.

Typically when we travel, we like to stay in bed & breakfasts, but, for the holiday weekend, most B&Bs were booked or had high holiday rates. We knew we could go up to 8 hours away, and we wanted to go south, so we started searching for a cabin. The one we ended up with was called Top of the Mountain, and warned that four-wheel drive was needed to reach it. Wow, they weren't kidding- good thing our Volvo has four wheel drive! I tried to capture the hills, but I'm not sure the steepness was adequately communicated. I was white-knuckled the whole way up. The pictures of the car driving are all on the driveway up to the cabin- note the guard rails on the driveway. We were thankful for the absence of ice.

[Click for a bigger view]


Once we got there, we played games, cooked dinner, enjoyed birthday cake, and watched the New Year's Twilight Zone marathon. We ventured out to check out the shopping and to tour the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Beautiful. Check out the album full of pictures:

New Years 10

When we came back to 'real life,' we decided this was one of our favorite vacations ever. Josh said we should do all our vacations like this one. I made the observation that we did nothing we couldn't have done at home- shopping, driving, games, and cooking are all very 'normal' activities. Because we were away, though, the change of scenery and lack of schedule and responsibilities helped us relax. Also, I'd have to say, the scenery in Tennessee beats out anything we have in Indiana!

Frugal Fun: Game Nights

Thanks to friends of ours, we have become board game connoisseurs, and even have a whole room devoted to the activity. A good board game can be pricey, but if it is played over and over, it makes for cheap date nights for years to come! During certain parts of the year, when we need allergy relief to step outside, other cheap date night ideas aren't possible. Games are a year-round activity!

While Scrabble is my old favorite, we play newer games more often. Most of these are somewhat complex and not for little kids, but they provide a good challenge and lots of replayability. Yes, that's a word.

• Settlers of Catan - This game and the next couple are "entry level" eurogames- fairly easy to learn and play. This one involves managing and trading resources to build cities and roads.
• Carcassone - Like Settlers, players build cities, roads, and farms, this time by laying down tiles and claiming the cities or farms.
• Ticket To Ride - This "train game" involves building rail lines to different cities across the US or Germany by collecting cards to buy rail segments. As a bonus, it helps with geography knowledge.
• Power Grid - This reminds me of Ticket to Ride in that players are buying segments between cities on a map, but in this game the segments are power lines, and money must be managed to buy both the power plants and install line in new cities.
• Puerto Rico - Like Settlers and Carcassone, this is a farming game where resources are grown and shipped off for points.
• Agricola - This is the ultimate in farming games, released in the US with much anticipation a couple years ago. More aspects of farming are simulated in this game than any other- building a house, fences, and stables; making room for animals, pasture, and plowed fields; planting and harvesting; growing your family; baking bread. And that's just in the easy "family version! As the complexity of the game grows, the amount of room needed for set up and the amount of time to play grows.
• Fluxx - This has been a favorite since college. This is a card game where the rules and goal of the game continually changes, such that anyone could win on any turn, with the right combination of cards. We love this one so much, we have 2 copies of the original, plus EcoFluxx and Zombie Fluxx.
• Bohnanza - Another card game, another farming-themed game. In tis one, the players trade cards, trying to collect as many of one type of bean for their bean field as they can before they decide to harvest and plant another type of bean. Sounds silly, but it's really a lot of fun. This is another that's easy to teach people new to games.

Classic card games like Skip Bo, Uno, and Phase 10 make an appearance when we want something a little more mindless and quick. Simple two-player games like Othello and Mancala get dusted off if we want something different.

So, now who wants to come over for a game night?

* I've been asked a few times in the last few weeks about a list of favorite games- here it is! Links to Amazon are affiliate links, but the post isn't written to sell you stuff- if you want to borrow any of these to try out, let me know!

Christian Tourism

As far as "religious tourism" goes, I could list the obvious sights to see- all in the Middle East. Perhaps even cathedrals and Reformation-related sites in Europe should be added to the list. In the US, I had heard of the new Creation Museum near Cincinatti, but didn't know the Christian tourism industry had contrived other must-see places to visit. I passed a few ads for these attractions this weekend, but, sadly, didn't get a chance to stop at any of them.

When I think of things that belong in museums, I think "dead", "past", or "extinct" rather than "living and active," so the Bible Museum was hard for me to understand. Also, the fact that it's stuck in a random strip mall was a little bizarre.


Also, I think of museums having a place aspect to them- Abraham Lincoln museums, for example, appear in Illinois, where he lived, and Kentucky, where he was born, but not, say Idaho [Apparently "More than any other state, Idaho is related to Abraham Lincoln." Bad random choice on my part. Thanks, Twitter.], which wasn't even a state when he was alive. So, a Christ Museum in Tennessee? Seems a little out of place. Also- Christ is alive, see above.


This next one just made me wonder 1) Who says "Jesus talk"? 2) I wonder how many takers they have to come share a song on their TV station? 3) Unnecessary quotation marks are a pet peeve.


This last one was a Big Deal, and had a huge building next to the big Black Bear Jamboree show. Jesus looks so clean cut and ... white. Also, they have camel rides. Show tickets are only $38.17 each!


As for us, we went to see God's real attraction in the area... the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. I'll take God's creation over a dusty museum any day.

Decades

In the '80's, I was born, and started school, but just barely. We'll call these the "Littlest Years"

In the '90's, I trekked through elementary, junior high, and high school- 5 schools in 3 states. We'll call these the "Formative Years".

In the '00's, I started driving, went to college, fell in love, got married, got a job, and bought a house. We'll call these the "Young Adult Years."

Today, on the dawn of a new decade, I turn 26. TIME calls the '00's the "decade from hell". It treated me all right, so if I can handle the last decade, I can handle the one to come, right? I'm out of the Young Adult Years (maybe?) and on to a new yet-to-be-named decade full of new sorts of adventures. I'm a little anxious, but ready to see what lies ahead.

Bring it on, '10's!