How is my vacation going so far? Well, part of me wants to say that it is totally awesome and another part of me wants to point out that it is hard to be joyful when sadness and grief hit so close to home. Isn't that life? Always this contrast between the joy and the pain. I can't imagine the kingdom that Jesus has for us. A kingdom where it is ALL LOVE and ALL JOY and no more pain and suffering and sadness.
But, for now, we live in this present darkness. The world. The place where evil exists. Death exists. And, therefore, grief and sadness and so many other horrible things exist. ANd, isn't it strange......although it is certain that each of us will die....and each person we know and love will pass from this earth.....it does't make it any easier when it happens to someone?
Because, we live in a fallen world. It is not paradise. We will have sadness. We will have disappointment and grief and pain. We can not avoid it. We can only praise God that we have the promise of eternity spent without those things. It is in that hope that we can endure the disappointment of this life.
Timm's uncle died suddenly Friday night. Heart attack while driving. He was in his 50's. Young. He leaves behind many family members who are grieving. And what can we do? Nothing. We can grieve. And we can pray that somehow, in their sorrow, people will lean on the only sure thing there is, the only absolute, the promise of hope in Jesus. That is my prayer today.
And, in the meantime, this life goes on. And, I count my blessings as I sit here at my brother and sister-in-laws home in Georgia feeling OVERWHELMED with how God has blessed us. I am enjoying this time with family, looking forward to time in Florida, and thanking God for his ridiculous mercy and love and provision and protection and direction and grace.
How's my vacation going? Pretty good.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
woop woop
All I can say is...WOOP WOOP! We're heading on a road trip......Southern bound.
First stop, Atlanta GA. Time with family, enjoying the cousins playing together for a few days. Probably a trip to the coca cola museum in Atlanta.
Then, onward to Venice, FL. Time with my mom and dad, and their heated pool, and the beach for sunsets. We even decided to splurge and do a trip to Busch Gardens!!!! YAY!
Really wish Daddy could come....but he doesn't have the flexibility with time off. So, it's girl road trip this time. His highlight will be having a Daytona 500 party while the girls are gone.
One more busy day here in grey, gloomy, cold, wet Michigan. Then, tomorrow we are off. Wish I could bring you all with me! I am SO BLESSED to have a place to go and get away each winter for FREE. It really is ridiculous.
First stop, Atlanta GA. Time with family, enjoying the cousins playing together for a few days. Probably a trip to the coca cola museum in Atlanta.
Then, onward to Venice, FL. Time with my mom and dad, and their heated pool, and the beach for sunsets. We even decided to splurge and do a trip to Busch Gardens!!!! YAY!
Really wish Daddy could come....but he doesn't have the flexibility with time off. So, it's girl road trip this time. His highlight will be having a Daytona 500 party while the girls are gone.
One more busy day here in grey, gloomy, cold, wet Michigan. Then, tomorrow we are off. Wish I could bring you all with me! I am SO BLESSED to have a place to go and get away each winter for FREE. It really is ridiculous.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Mushy
No, I'm not talking about the weather. Although, it is pretty wet and mushy out there in the land of melting piles of snow that had reached heights of over 3 feet!
Instead I'm referring to the feelings I have for a man. A man that God brought into my life over 16 years ago. And I feel so incredibly blessed to be his wife. I'm not much for celebrating valentine's day. Whatever. I don't really know it's origins, but I sorta group it in with something like sweetest day, just another way for the insanity of commercialism to creep into the emotional crevices of our lives. Blech. I don't need a hallmark store to command for me to acknowledge my feelings of love for someone. I can do that all by myself whenever I want to. Why should I wait until a specified date that some marketing geniuses decided was the day of the year we should purchase things for loved ones?
Anyways, that's not the point. The point is, I am so lucky that I don't need a valentine's day or a sweetest day to feel special. My husband makes me feel loved all year long. He respects me, trusts me, honors me with his words, compliments me, and takes care of me. He listens to constructive criticism and instead of getting defensive, he is able to admit when he has an area that he'd like to improve. You see, he isn't perfect. But, the beauty of it is....he knows he isn't perfect. One of the traits that drew me to falling in love with him is his confidence (as well as his sense of humor, intelligence, sensitive nature, and more). But, I thank God because that very trait of confidence could turn into a negative thing in marriage. But, because Timm seeks God, he is able to remain humble. That's the key. Thank you God! THank you. Thank you. Thank you. Marriage works if you let God work in it!!!! He will bring out the best in you, if you allow him too. And, I am honored to be trying to offer my husband my best...and I am glad that he tries to do the same. Without God intervening to help, we'd just be a couple of independent, self absorbed, score keeping, unsure people. Again, thank you God. I love my husband.
Instead I'm referring to the feelings I have for a man. A man that God brought into my life over 16 years ago. And I feel so incredibly blessed to be his wife. I'm not much for celebrating valentine's day. Whatever. I don't really know it's origins, but I sorta group it in with something like sweetest day, just another way for the insanity of commercialism to creep into the emotional crevices of our lives. Blech. I don't need a hallmark store to command for me to acknowledge my feelings of love for someone. I can do that all by myself whenever I want to. Why should I wait until a specified date that some marketing geniuses decided was the day of the year we should purchase things for loved ones?
Anyways, that's not the point. The point is, I am so lucky that I don't need a valentine's day or a sweetest day to feel special. My husband makes me feel loved all year long. He respects me, trusts me, honors me with his words, compliments me, and takes care of me. He listens to constructive criticism and instead of getting defensive, he is able to admit when he has an area that he'd like to improve. You see, he isn't perfect. But, the beauty of it is....he knows he isn't perfect. One of the traits that drew me to falling in love with him is his confidence (as well as his sense of humor, intelligence, sensitive nature, and more). But, I thank God because that very trait of confidence could turn into a negative thing in marriage. But, because Timm seeks God, he is able to remain humble. That's the key. Thank you God! THank you. Thank you. Thank you. Marriage works if you let God work in it!!!! He will bring out the best in you, if you allow him too. And, I am honored to be trying to offer my husband my best...and I am glad that he tries to do the same. Without God intervening to help, we'd just be a couple of independent, self absorbed, score keeping, unsure people. Again, thank you God. I love my husband.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
minivan anyone?
It won't be long before we are liquidating many assets, including our vehicles. And, today made me think I am READY to get rid of my vehicle right now. Why? You might ask....Did it break down? Leak oil on your garage floor? Did you get your brand new white sweater all dirty when you rubbed against it's dirty frame? No, none of that. I simply tried to park it in the city of Detroit. I'd like to express a little bit of my frustration with this seemingly simple act.
But, first, I must express the positive. I simply MUST. We had a fabulous trip to the DIA today. The girls and I headed down there with my sis and 3 of her kids. What a great place to visit. If you haven't been there recently, what are you waiting for? We even got free passes from our local library. And, the people working there were above and beyond courteous and helpful! That was so refreshing. It was so fun to watch the kids eagerly scampering from exhibit to exhibit reading the descriptions and making comments. As a home school mom, it is so rewarding to be there watching my kids take in the world or art and make connections to periods of history that we have studied and get excited about it! Very very cool. On that end, it was a perfect day.
Now, back to my desire to get rid of our vehicles. How annoying can parking be? After driving around the block, we located a spot about 1-2 blocks from the DIA. Cool, all we had to do was drop some change in the meter and walk in the blustery cold for a few minutes. However, although I dropped enough change in the meter to last 2 hours, the meter read 45 minutes. Crap. Lost some money on that deal. So, after 45 minutes, I grab my coat from the coat check and head out to the 5 degree cold to move my van to a new meter that works. No problem, I park on Woodward and proceed to figure out where the meter is and drop another dollar in, then it tells me I have reached the max time-one hour. Dang. Oh well. After 50 minutes pass, I run BACK OUT INTO THE COLD....this time I decide not to grab my coat, even if it is 5 degrees. What is that I see? A parking ticket? What the crap? So, I go back to the meter and try to put in MORE CHANGE. It's this digital thing that won't let me press the right button. Probably frozen. ANYWAYS.....I'll make this long story shorter....I call the person on the parking ticket trying to figure out what to do to avoid adding more money to a meter that doesn't work anyways!!!! Then, my hand freezes and I have to literally RUN back to the DIA before I risk my skin integrity and frostbite. Of course, the person on the phone only offers me this: You can fight this ticket in court by sending the ticket with a written explanation, then appearing in Detroit for a hearing. In the meantime, you should move your vehicle to a meter that works or you will get ANOTHER TICKET! OK, the museum is now closing in 35 minutes. The people working there were beyond nice to me. I had to get my coat from coat check again to get my keys and run back out into the cold, then the valet guy insisted I park for free right in front of the building. It is because of the people working at the DIA that I will gladly return.
However, I don't see how I will fight this ticket. By the time I pay for the stamp to send the letter in, pay for gas to drive to Detroit, pay for PARKING while I am in the court building, all the while dragging my kids with me.....I don't know how that can justify "winning' even if I don't end up paying the fee. Because, if I pay a fee within the next 10 days, it is only $10.
But, it's the principle of it, ya know?
But, first, I must express the positive. I simply MUST. We had a fabulous trip to the DIA today. The girls and I headed down there with my sis and 3 of her kids. What a great place to visit. If you haven't been there recently, what are you waiting for? We even got free passes from our local library. And, the people working there were above and beyond courteous and helpful! That was so refreshing. It was so fun to watch the kids eagerly scampering from exhibit to exhibit reading the descriptions and making comments. As a home school mom, it is so rewarding to be there watching my kids take in the world or art and make connections to periods of history that we have studied and get excited about it! Very very cool. On that end, it was a perfect day.
Now, back to my desire to get rid of our vehicles. How annoying can parking be? After driving around the block, we located a spot about 1-2 blocks from the DIA. Cool, all we had to do was drop some change in the meter and walk in the blustery cold for a few minutes. However, although I dropped enough change in the meter to last 2 hours, the meter read 45 minutes. Crap. Lost some money on that deal. So, after 45 minutes, I grab my coat from the coat check and head out to the 5 degree cold to move my van to a new meter that works. No problem, I park on Woodward and proceed to figure out where the meter is and drop another dollar in, then it tells me I have reached the max time-one hour. Dang. Oh well. After 50 minutes pass, I run BACK OUT INTO THE COLD....this time I decide not to grab my coat, even if it is 5 degrees. What is that I see? A parking ticket? What the crap? So, I go back to the meter and try to put in MORE CHANGE. It's this digital thing that won't let me press the right button. Probably frozen. ANYWAYS.....I'll make this long story shorter....I call the person on the parking ticket trying to figure out what to do to avoid adding more money to a meter that doesn't work anyways!!!! Then, my hand freezes and I have to literally RUN back to the DIA before I risk my skin integrity and frostbite. Of course, the person on the phone only offers me this: You can fight this ticket in court by sending the ticket with a written explanation, then appearing in Detroit for a hearing. In the meantime, you should move your vehicle to a meter that works or you will get ANOTHER TICKET! OK, the museum is now closing in 35 minutes. The people working there were beyond nice to me. I had to get my coat from coat check again to get my keys and run back out into the cold, then the valet guy insisted I park for free right in front of the building. It is because of the people working at the DIA that I will gladly return.
However, I don't see how I will fight this ticket. By the time I pay for the stamp to send the letter in, pay for gas to drive to Detroit, pay for PARKING while I am in the court building, all the while dragging my kids with me.....I don't know how that can justify "winning' even if I don't end up paying the fee. Because, if I pay a fee within the next 10 days, it is only $10.
But, it's the principle of it, ya know?
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