it feels like i haven't blogged in quite a long time, and since there's so much going on i've decided to give a "bits and pieces" report. it will be sterile, sans depth, emotion, sarcasm, technique, or skill. it's a plain yogurt report without flavor or color, but hopefully it won't leave such a nasty after-taste.
*beach weekends and time with family*
this summer has been sprinkled with time at wrightsville beach, nc, with jed's visiting family. the weekend after we got back from NYC, jed's sister and family came south to visit jed's brother and wife in nc, and so jed's parents plus jed's youngest brother plus me and jed went up to wilmington, nc, to struggle in the waves as a family. quite a fun weekend, full of sand, late nights, and lots of laundry to bring back. good memories...
*green shadow's show*
on august 15th and 16th, the green shadow participated in an end-of-summer show with katie coston from illyria pottery (the hostess) and christin pratt from just between you and me. what an awesome experience! i'll be posting all the discounted stuff that didn't sell on my etsy site so check back soon (www.greenshadow.etsy.com). not only was it my first show, but the other artists taught me a lot about marketing, demand, and the entire art business. super good fun! and, we're looking at doing a christmas show on november 7th and 8th - mark your calendars!
*jed's acl reconstruction*
the 19th of august marked surgery day for jed. no eating or drinking after midnight the day before so we made sure to stay up and eat and drink right up until midnight. poor guy. it was a hamstring transplant acl reconstruction so there are 4 incisions and lots of bruising. he's such a trooper, though! after gnawing through the pain the first two days, we've got it under control now and he's doing a bit better. he's the best patient a wife could ask for. my mom always told me (along with every other woman i've known) - "guys don't deal too well with pain so beware!" however, i think i'm more of a wimp than jed. he's just great. his 7-day appointment is tomorrow so we're hoping for lots and lots of good news. the best news he could hear at this point would be that he didn't have to sleep in that hot, bulky, tight immobilizer any more.
*back to school*
for the first time since i've known him, jed's not starting school this fall. no new correspondence course, no new classes to attend, no nothin'. wow. however, my li'l sis and bro are coming down to sc to ring in a new year at college. it'll be preston's junior year, and he's glad to be back because he'll get to see his girlfriend. abi is starting her freshman year at *sniff* COLLEGE! i'm so old. i remember when she was born. i remember when she used to terrorize me and i would boss her around. now we're both old enough to be ashamed at such acts, but we each think it still. it'll be so great to have them both here. good chance to spend time with them before heading up to the city! they get here on thursday and it's party time 'til labor day. wish me luck - i can never keep up with my wild family.
the end.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
brooklyn, nyc
well, we've been back in greenville for approximately 65ish hours and my goodness do i miss the city. we miss the city. there were many prayer requests before going up there, but a specific one of my own was that God would give me a deeper burden for the people of the city, not just the city itself. one of the goals of williamsburg church was to have us conduct surveys of the people of williamsburg and greenpoint that would give them a better idea of the constituency of those neighborhoods. we asked questions like "if you could tell christians one thing, what would it be?" and "what is your spiritual condition?" and "how would you define religion?". the answers were very revealing since new yorkers typically share their opinions without too much nudging, and God used those surveys in my own life to show me how much people need him.
jed and i left the team a couple of times to go walk through a few potential neighborhoods of interest. one common theme was people. and they were everywhere! i think i can say that we wouldn't ever run out of people to minister to. now that we're back in south carolina, the one thing that we miss the most about new york is the people. did you know that i can leave my house in the morning, go to work, take a lunch break, and go back home at night after work and only come into direct contact with about 30 people? in new york, i could run into that many people by about 10am. it's amazing. the unique thing about urban settings is that the people come to you. no hunting out in the bushes for people to minister to, God brings them right to you!
our hearts grow more impatient by the day, it seems. we long to be up there more than ever. there are many things that still need to be tied down, but we often wonder if january will come soon enough!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
it's official
i believe i have definitely joined the ranks of "the old". if you are old and reading this, please understand, there is no animosity here. possibly a spirit of disillusioned resign, but no animosity.
the reason i think i'm officially in the old category now is based on one thing alone: my recent and new-found love for mornings. growing up, i would hear my grandmother talk about waking up the birds in the mornings and watching the sun rise. as a young teen with full ability to sleep 'til high noon, it baffled me. how on earth can you actually enjoy getting up early?! isn't your day wrecked? don't the bags under your eyes sag and darken? is it possible to act humane after getting up that early? i've never understood.
that is, until now. recent events and schedules have awakened in me the necessity to get my exercise in the mornings instead of in the evenings like i previously did. (i talk about it like it's a regular thing, but please don't be fooled. we're workin' on it.) the winter months were grueling. getting out of bed to step onto a cold floor, shuffling into exercise clothes, and then getting slammed with the rudely cold morning air was not always something that bred sanctification in me. but the summer months are amazing!
i get up with the sun. yep, i said it. up with the sun. the morning air isn't rude, but alive and somehow wispy. the birds are chirping like it's going out of style and the whole world is a shade of green that you don't see in the daytime. and the sky. wow! the thirty minutes that i spend outside under the morning sunrise are the most beautiful and special thirty minutes of the day.
i do have hope though. my parents and my in-laws talk of waking up before dark and not being able to go to back to sleep for some unknown reason. "kids, it's part of getting older" is the reason i hear most. i, however, can sleep 'til 11am very easily on saturdays and not feel any older. and, to give further hope, i spend the first five minutes of the day in a completely schizophrenic experience.
"you feel like trash. go back to sleep!"
"what, only to wake up to the alarm twice today? yeah right."
"thirty more minutes will make you feel better."
"have you ever fallen completely back into rem after waking up to the alarm? seriously."
"so this is worth it? c'mon."
"but remember how i felt yesterday after i got back? amazing!!"
"but look how you feel now."
and on and on and on for a good few minutes, and then i snap out of it (not because i take meds, mind you). walking outside in the mornings is like a secret garden experience, opening the door to the undisturbed world waiting for me. waking up with the rest of the earth is such an exhilarating gift. everyone i pass is peeling junk out of their eyes too. it's a great world at 6am in the summer.
the reason i think i'm officially in the old category now is based on one thing alone: my recent and new-found love for mornings. growing up, i would hear my grandmother talk about waking up the birds in the mornings and watching the sun rise. as a young teen with full ability to sleep 'til high noon, it baffled me. how on earth can you actually enjoy getting up early?! isn't your day wrecked? don't the bags under your eyes sag and darken? is it possible to act humane after getting up that early? i've never understood.
that is, until now. recent events and schedules have awakened in me the necessity to get my exercise in the mornings instead of in the evenings like i previously did. (i talk about it like it's a regular thing, but please don't be fooled. we're workin' on it.) the winter months were grueling. getting out of bed to step onto a cold floor, shuffling into exercise clothes, and then getting slammed with the rudely cold morning air was not always something that bred sanctification in me. but the summer months are amazing!
i get up with the sun. yep, i said it. up with the sun. the morning air isn't rude, but alive and somehow wispy. the birds are chirping like it's going out of style and the whole world is a shade of green that you don't see in the daytime. and the sky. wow! the thirty minutes that i spend outside under the morning sunrise are the most beautiful and special thirty minutes of the day.
i do have hope though. my parents and my in-laws talk of waking up before dark and not being able to go to back to sleep for some unknown reason. "kids, it's part of getting older" is the reason i hear most. i, however, can sleep 'til 11am very easily on saturdays and not feel any older. and, to give further hope, i spend the first five minutes of the day in a completely schizophrenic experience.
"you feel like trash. go back to sleep!"
"what, only to wake up to the alarm twice today? yeah right."
"thirty more minutes will make you feel better."
"have you ever fallen completely back into rem after waking up to the alarm? seriously."
"so this is worth it? c'mon."
"but remember how i felt yesterday after i got back? amazing!!"
"but look how you feel now."
and on and on and on for a good few minutes, and then i snap out of it (not because i take meds, mind you). walking outside in the mornings is like a secret garden experience, opening the door to the undisturbed world waiting for me. waking up with the rest of the earth is such an exhilarating gift. everyone i pass is peeling junk out of their eyes too. it's a great world at 6am in the summer.
Monday, July 14, 2008
in no particular order...
things i wish for:
- a green thumb
- three-day weekends
- never-ending supply of desserts (pudding would do)
- a yearly trip to europe
- long saturdays
things i need to get rid of:
- excess hair concoctions that i never use (pomades, cremes, waxes, etc.)
- cynical/sarcastic outlook
- box of sewing ambitions (who am i kidding)
- ugly wedding gifts that i'm holding onto because they were *sniff* wedding gifts
things i'm thankful for:
- an uber-wonderful husband
- all that i need
- good health
- God's creation
- family (even the odd ones)
- hope in life everlasting, a hope that will not disappoint
- friends that still hang out with me
- ice cream
- ice cream
- the word "crap"
- doing nothing at all
- excuses
- doing nothing at all
Friday, June 27, 2008
newest fave
i often have lull moments at the office where i jump around from blog to blog snooping in on what's happening in the world. last night, fellow blog-addict and dear friend, susan, showed me her newest find - city girl meets cowboy and turns into the pioneer woman. and yes, it's amazing.
city girl, a.k.a. ree, blogs about her new photography business, unbelievable food experiments, thoughts, and just hilarity in general. last night while at susan and dan's home for dinner, we had ree's crash potatoes and pots de creme and (can i get a witness) they were incredible.
thanks susan for the introduction. i look forward to many more entertaining experiments and laughs!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
not so hot
recently, it has definitely not felt like june in south carolina. maybe the end of july, but not the beginning of june. as i drove home from work yesterday at 5:30, it was actually 103 degrees out. there was no "ease your way into summer" - it was just BAM! hello summer.
but we like summer. i told jed yesterday that i'm addicted to the season changes. i, of course, have my favorite depending on where i'm at (summer in FL, fall in the city, winter in the north, and spring everywhere), but all in all every season shatters the fatigue from the previous season. so exciting!
not so excitedly though, have i been about waking up in the night and feeling really hot or having to take two showers a day to feel good. you would think that a girl from africa wouldn't really flinch until the 120's hit, but that's all going to change.
today i read a priceless blog posting of a friend who is enduring her first summer in nyc. after reading her dehydrated story full of sweltering expression (and after laughing just a bit), i have, with her help, come to the conclusion that it's all perspective. if you expect not to be hot but to be cool and comfortable, then it's going to feel horrible when you're not cool and comfortable!
like exercising. when i used to work out, i expected to somehow enjoy it or not feel like throwing bricks. that is, until a wise woman told me that it's all about learning how to be uncomfortable. you have to learn to be okay with sucking air until your sinuses hurt and coaxing each muscle into going one more lap. if you're not okay with that, then don't exercise.
likewise, if i'm not going to be okay with sweating like a pig, then i might just not enjoy the life until it's sweater weather again. personally, i'm not willing to give that up, so the only other option was to like - no, embrace - sweating. as it gets hotter, i will thank God that i'm not an orphan in siberia. when the first sweat of the day breaks, i will thank God that i had a few moments of clean irish spring smell up until that point. and when the first good hair day turns into a complete grave yard, i will thank God that i even have hair to look bad.
so for now, i say "cheers to summer!"
but we like summer. i told jed yesterday that i'm addicted to the season changes. i, of course, have my favorite depending on where i'm at (summer in FL, fall in the city, winter in the north, and spring everywhere), but all in all every season shatters the fatigue from the previous season. so exciting!
not so excitedly though, have i been about waking up in the night and feeling really hot or having to take two showers a day to feel good. you would think that a girl from africa wouldn't really flinch until the 120's hit, but that's all going to change.
today i read a priceless blog posting of a friend who is enduring her first summer in nyc. after reading her dehydrated story full of sweltering expression (and after laughing just a bit), i have, with her help, come to the conclusion that it's all perspective. if you expect not to be hot but to be cool and comfortable, then it's going to feel horrible when you're not cool and comfortable!
like exercising. when i used to work out, i expected to somehow enjoy it or not feel like throwing bricks. that is, until a wise woman told me that it's all about learning how to be uncomfortable. you have to learn to be okay with sucking air until your sinuses hurt and coaxing each muscle into going one more lap. if you're not okay with that, then don't exercise.
likewise, if i'm not going to be okay with sweating like a pig, then i might just not enjoy the life until it's sweater weather again. personally, i'm not willing to give that up, so the only other option was to like - no, embrace - sweating. as it gets hotter, i will thank God that i'm not an orphan in siberia. when the first sweat of the day breaks, i will thank God that i had a few moments of clean irish spring smell up until that point. and when the first good hair day turns into a complete grave yard, i will thank God that i even have hair to look bad.
so for now, i say "cheers to summer!"
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
lyrics
music happens to be one of the biggest ways for me to meditate and remind myself of God's goodness and perfection as the one who is in complete control of his creation. jed came home several weeks ago after work and insisted that i hear this song. it has been awesome to think on for the past few weeks! i'm guessing that for most people, it's a conclusion that is hard to come to, but yet it's the most freeing conclusion as well. see here for ordering info on come weary saints.
as long as you are glorified
by mark altrogge
shall i take from your hand your blessings
yet not welcome any pain
shall i thank you for days of sunshine
yet grumble in days of rain
shall i love you in times of plenty
then leave you in days of drought
shall i trust when i reap a harvest
but when winter winds blow, then doubt
oh let your will be done in me
in your love i will abide
oh i long for nothing else as long
as you are glorified
are you good only when i prosper
and true only when i’m filled
are you king only when i’m carefree
and God only when i’m well
you are good when i’m poor and needy
you are true when i’m parched and dry
you still reign in the deepest valley
you’re still God in the darkest night
© 2008 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI)
as long as you are glorified
by mark altrogge
shall i take from your hand your blessings
yet not welcome any pain
shall i thank you for days of sunshine
yet grumble in days of rain
shall i love you in times of plenty
then leave you in days of drought
shall i trust when i reap a harvest
but when winter winds blow, then doubt
oh let your will be done in me
in your love i will abide
oh i long for nothing else as long
as you are glorified
are you good only when i prosper
and true only when i’m filled
are you king only when i’m carefree
and God only when i’m well
you are good when i’m poor and needy
you are true when i’m parched and dry
you still reign in the deepest valley
you’re still God in the darkest night
© 2008 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI)
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