I've watched two different shows on the travel channel about destination "restaurants." One, a hot dog place in Chicago. The other, a hamburger place in Conneticut. Both places do not allow ketchup in the restaurant and consider it heresy to put ketchup on the hot dog or the burger. What's up with that? I think ketchup is a good thing and never knew that it was "suspect" among authentic burger and hot dog places.
Speaking of food, I've had some fun pregnancy dreams but there are none better than the dreams I've had about food. In the past 2 months, I've gone from hurling to hungry...and I will dream of food at night. The best dream was two nights ago...a huge piece of chocolate cake and a glass of ice cold milk. In the dream, I savored every bite. And when I woke up, I didn't have "chocolate cake" guilt. The best of both worlds!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Moments that are larger than you
I experienced one of those moments in life that felt larger than me today. UrbanLife planted the Easter flowers at First Church -- our gift to the church. Our efforts were directed pro-bono by Jackie Caswell, owner of Jackie Grows It. Jackie donated her services in memory of her husband, Dr. Jim Caswell, who died last summer from cancer. And everything about this event -- from how the idea originated, to the people who joined us, to the execution of the plan -- it all seemed so God inspired and Jim-directed (he was the v.p., so to speak, of organization and administration). So if you get a chance, drive by Ross and Harwood and see our work. I think there are angels standing all around those flower beds--that's how much larger today felt for me than just planting some flowers. And I stood in the middle of it all watching God work.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Checking in with the Blog World
I haven't updated my blog in about 2 weeks. It's been an interesting two weeks as we get closer to the big day...the day that life changes for the better. It's still strange thinking of myself as a parent. I'm not sure I'm mature enough for that one.
First, let me update you on UrbanLife. We are in a good place heading into my maternity leave...a solid core group that will be a good launching pad for growth in 2008-09. We finally got to a design for our website that works, so the techies are fast away building that. When our website is up and running, I will begin writing a separate blog for urbanlife that will be more daily devotional-based and this blog will become more of my personal blog. Don't worry--you can still read both.
UrbanLife will also have permanent space at First Church when I return from maternity leave. It only took a year--not bad in Methodist-time. We are moving into the 1st floor of the Oglesby building, which is the white building at the corner of San Jacinto and St. Paul that the church owns.
So all is good with UrbanLife and we will be fine while I'm learning to raise this little one. And, speaking of this little one, I'm showing signs of possible early labor so I'm on a modified work-rest plan until I reach 37 weeks (April 6). Not that far away and easily doable. Yesterday was my first day of this new work-rest plan and I felt much better at the end of the day than I have felt in a few weeks.
First, let me update you on UrbanLife. We are in a good place heading into my maternity leave...a solid core group that will be a good launching pad for growth in 2008-09. We finally got to a design for our website that works, so the techies are fast away building that. When our website is up and running, I will begin writing a separate blog for urbanlife that will be more daily devotional-based and this blog will become more of my personal blog. Don't worry--you can still read both.
UrbanLife will also have permanent space at First Church when I return from maternity leave. It only took a year--not bad in Methodist-time. We are moving into the 1st floor of the Oglesby building, which is the white building at the corner of San Jacinto and St. Paul that the church owns.
So all is good with UrbanLife and we will be fine while I'm learning to raise this little one. And, speaking of this little one, I'm showing signs of possible early labor so I'm on a modified work-rest plan until I reach 37 weeks (April 6). Not that far away and easily doable. Yesterday was my first day of this new work-rest plan and I felt much better at the end of the day than I have felt in a few weeks.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
The slow work of God
Above all, trust in the slow work of God.
We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay.
We would like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new.And yet, it is the law of all progress that it is made by passing through some stages of instability - and that it may take a very long time.
And so I think it is with you;
your ideas mature gradually - let them grow,
let them shape themselves, without undue haste.
Don't try to force them on, as though you could be today what time, (that is to say, grace and circumstances acting on your own good will) will make of you tomorrow.
Only God could say what this new spirit gradually forming in you will be. Give our Lord the benefit of believing that his hand is leading you,and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete.
--by the Jesuit priest, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ
We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay.
We would like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new.And yet, it is the law of all progress that it is made by passing through some stages of instability - and that it may take a very long time.
And so I think it is with you;
your ideas mature gradually - let them grow,
let them shape themselves, without undue haste.
Don't try to force them on, as though you could be today what time, (that is to say, grace and circumstances acting on your own good will) will make of you tomorrow.
Only God could say what this new spirit gradually forming in you will be. Give our Lord the benefit of believing that his hand is leading you,and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete.
--by the Jesuit priest, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Just a fun day
Today has been a fun day after a good night's sleep following 2 days of not sleeping well at night due to heartburn-from-hell. And I needed today to be good--lots going on as I'm trying to wrap-up life (as much as you can do that) before the next chapter of our lives opens in less than 8 weeks!
I called Troy today to remind him that we really are having a baby -- that complete strangers comment that I look like I'm due anytime now. He always laughs when I have these reality check moments and call him to tell him that we are having a baby. When we first found out we were pregnant, it was so strange to say, "I'm having a baby." Then, in January, I had to make peace with the idea that, "I'm a mother." In February, I had to come to terms with, "I'm a parent." All these new vocabulary words that define my life...a great and beautiful time!
I called Troy today to remind him that we really are having a baby -- that complete strangers comment that I look like I'm due anytime now. He always laughs when I have these reality check moments and call him to tell him that we are having a baby. When we first found out we were pregnant, it was so strange to say, "I'm having a baby." Then, in January, I had to make peace with the idea that, "I'm a mother." In February, I had to come to terms with, "I'm a parent." All these new vocabulary words that define my life...a great and beautiful time!
Saturday, March 1, 2008
What do I really want?
I love when two things are pushed beside each other in such a way that one makes sense of the other when you look a layer deep than what is on the surface. That happened for me yesterday on Leap Day. I was driving to this small jewelry shop in East Dallas to sell some jewelry that was past its day. I turned on the radio, and a woman had just won tickets to a concert where she would sit in the front row AND have the opportunity to meet the band backstage. This woman was very excited and thrilled and screaming into her phone across the radio, "Oh my gosh, this is the best thing that's ever happened in my life....this is all I ever wanted...I've wanted to meet them more than anything else in the world." I don't know what band she won tickets to, and, in a certain phase of my life (junior high) if I had won tickets to meet Jon Bon Jovi, I would have responded in kind to her.
The DJ congratulated her and commented on her enthusiastic response and told her to have a great time. And then the next song cued up. It probably wasn't on purpose, but it was one of those times when two things pushed up against make one not make much sense. The next song was Mercy Me's "I Can Only Imagine." Strange song for a secular radio station. I have always loved this song that projects what it will be like the day someone meets Jesus. I wonder if the woman who won the tickets, who said this is all she ever wanted, changed her mind just a little bit, listening to the words, "Surrounded by your glory, what will I feel...will I stand in your presence, or to my feet will I fall, or will I be able to speak at all?"
Now I know my clergy and religious friends who are a little cynical of pop Christian culture probably don't like this song. So much of this world is about that one person we all love the best, "I." And it is a little presumptuous to consider the day you meet Jesus and make it all about "me" and how "I" will feel. But there's some truth to this song, and when you listen to it at 11 am on a Friday morning after hearing a woman scream that winning band tickets is all she's ever wanted, it reminded me that there are higher things to crave in this life than the latest rock star. Like the kingdom of God. What if that's all that any of us ever wanted?
The DJ congratulated her and commented on her enthusiastic response and told her to have a great time. And then the next song cued up. It probably wasn't on purpose, but it was one of those times when two things pushed up against make one not make much sense. The next song was Mercy Me's "I Can Only Imagine." Strange song for a secular radio station. I have always loved this song that projects what it will be like the day someone meets Jesus. I wonder if the woman who won the tickets, who said this is all she ever wanted, changed her mind just a little bit, listening to the words, "Surrounded by your glory, what will I feel...will I stand in your presence, or to my feet will I fall, or will I be able to speak at all?"
Now I know my clergy and religious friends who are a little cynical of pop Christian culture probably don't like this song. So much of this world is about that one person we all love the best, "I." And it is a little presumptuous to consider the day you meet Jesus and make it all about "me" and how "I" will feel. But there's some truth to this song, and when you listen to it at 11 am on a Friday morning after hearing a woman scream that winning band tickets is all she's ever wanted, it reminded me that there are higher things to crave in this life than the latest rock star. Like the kingdom of God. What if that's all that any of us ever wanted?
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