reverie

I started writing this post nearly a year ago, prior to the 2016 presidential election.  And while we know the results of the election, everything else in this post is still relevant.  Actually, it feels quite timely at present. No matter if you vote for or against the circus peanut or the pantsuit, your vote won't save the world.  The next president will not have the power to enact racial reconciliation, justice, equal access to quality healthcare, life, liberty or the pursuit of happiness.  No matter the policies your preferred president puts forth, the power to bring about meaningful change in the world will remain where it's always been, with you. I hope you find that more encouraging than daunting.  The choices you make day in and day out and the way you treat the people you encounter have greater power to change the world than anything Washington decrees. So what does that look like?  It begins where slacktivism ends.  That means what you do i...

We have a habit of single-handedly bringing back awesome things to the public sphere in my family.  If you've enjoyed a box of Cap'n Crunch's Christmas Crunch in the past 10 years, you're welcome.  I'm certain our scouring of grocery stores and the interwebs and our hoarding of this sweet seasonal treat has everything to do with the relative ease with which it can now be located during Christmastime. Fun fact: one year, prior to the resurgence we ushered in, I found Christmas Crunch at the Ralph's near my first apartment in Los Angeles, so I stocked up on it, filled my carry on, and brought it to our family Christmas celebration in Texas.  Just in case you didn't believe me, we are serious about this. Another thing I'm serious about?  The most whimsical and delightful holiday that most people know nothing about: May Day!  You've maybe heard of May Poles, or if you're a Gilmore Girls fan even a "maybe not pole!"  Thank you, Kirk.  Bu...

On Sundays, I tend to do my Bible reading before bed.  Sunday mornings prove to come to quickly and too early for me to manage it then.  Tonight as I headed for bed, I saw my Bible sitting there and I didn't want to pick it up.  I just wanted to watch some tv and fall asleep.  I didn't want to read and then pray the same prayer about what God has in store for friends and for me in terms of marriage.  What if no answer is the answer, right? I picked up my Bible anyway.  Thanks for the nudge, Holy Spirit.  I turned to 1 Corinthians where I've been reading, and found where I left off.  Oh good, a short chapter, I thought with my still bad attitude.  Then I realized what chapter it was, 1 Corinthians 13.  The love chapter.  The chapter that you've probably heard at weddings, "Love is patient, love is kind . . ." It was like simultaneously Jesus was saying, I see you and I love you, and the Holy Spirit was saying, don't be a brat!...

I was born in the wrong decade, or maybe even the wrong century.  I am sure of this.  Just as sure as I am that God doesn't make mistakes.  How can both be true?  How am I living in the age of social media when I feel so much more drawn toward the age of sock hops?  Very often in this life we are called to live in the tension between what should be and what is.  The tension between the eternal and the temporal, the holy and the worldly.  This tension allows us and encourages us to approach the world how it is and do what we can to make it a little more like how it should be. In a world where courting has devolved into "talking" or "hanging out" or "hooking up," those of us who are old fashioned can try to help pull things back from that ledge.  I'd rather be single and steadfast in my values than get caught up in a world where guys are afraid to say the word date let alone actually ask a girl to go on one.  Hopefully by expecting to be trea...

I take comfort in knowing that if God has marriage in mind for me it will be better than my daydreams.*  If He doesn't, that will be better too.  It's been a long road to get to a place where I trust God enough with my future and my heart that I can write this, believe it, and not delete it out of fear it may actually come true. God knows my desire to marry and raise a family.  If you've been around here much, you know it too.  But I know that God can shape and refine the desires of my heart for my good and the good of His kingdom. I'm realizing that it's no mistake that we often talk about comfort in terms of "finding" or "taking" it.  Comfort isn't something that accidentally appears in your life.  Comfort requires action.  Sometimes that action is on the part of others through prayer, hugs, shoulders to cry on, or ears to hear. I wrote that first part over a year ago.  As it turns out, I could write it, but not quite post it y...

Me about 11:50pm this evening: Lalala, I'm just going to go take the sheets out of the dryer and dry the next load. *Open dryer.  See cockroach inside.* Ahhhh! Being nearly midnight at the time, my "Ahhhh!" was whispered.  I ran back to my room to regroup, leaving the dryer open and only briefly considering how much worse it would be if the cockroach relocated. Several minutes later I put on some shoes, regrouped, and went back to face my foe.  The nasty creature was still in the same place.  I won't go into details, but I was victorious.  It helped rather significantly that the cockroach was already dead.  Dry roasted, as it were.  Perhaps a delicacy to some.  *Heebie jeebies.* Is tilting at cockroaches character building?  I think it might be.  Though, I wouldn't be sad if I had a husband around who wouldn't be mad that I woke him up at midnight to vanquish a bug.  Do men like that exist? I'm kidding. Mostly. Prior...

This morning I had the opportunity to attend a church service that was also the church's 25th anniversary celebration.  Such a joyous celebration of God's glory, faithfulness, and provision seemed so fitting for Palm Sunday.  Maybe it's just me, but it seems Palm Sunday is so easily overlooked.  I remember celebrating Palm Sunday as a child with palm leaves in church and shouts of "Hosanna!"  People celebrated Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem.  And even though things would take quite a turn over the course of the week to follow, I think it is important to remember all of the parts of Holy Week. This is a week that starts with joy, moves toward fear & sorrow, and ends with hope.  Because of Jesus' crucifixion, death, and resurrection, we can have hope.  We have the hope of salvation.  This can be a heavy week as we reflect on the sacrifice Jesus made to save us from our sins, but it's also a week of joy and hope.  I love this week because God...

Prior to this week, I can't remember the last time I listened to Copeland.  That's kind of crazy to me considering how instrumental Copeland's music was to me surviving the earlier days in LA .  Near the end of my time in LA, my older younger brother and I got to see Copeland at a tiny & wonderful venue there.  Not too long after that Copeland was no more . . . until now that is. On April Fool's day Copeland announced that they had reunited to put out a new album.  My older younger brother informed me of this news, however we weren't entirely sure if it was a cruel prank or a delightful surprise.  The fact is if you have actual news to release on April 1st, you're going to have a bad time.  And the recipients of your news are going to have a bad time trying to figure out if you're joking or not. Well I am quite happy to report that Copeland's news was real.  Hazaa!  You can check out & purchase a new song from the upcoming album here ....

If you've been around much over the past (almost) 10 years of the life of this blog, you've probably seen me extol the virtues of February a time or two.  Holy cow!  Can you believe it's been 10 years?  That also means that I have been friends with Shauna (who is the coolest) for 10 years.  Wow!  What a blessing.  Shauna is the lovely friend who got me into blogging. I digress, back to February.  It's a delightful month full of wonder, whimsy, and willy nilliness.  Wonder as in, "I wonder how many 'R's are in February and where you put them."  Whimsy can be found in weather-predicting rodentia.  And no one can deny the willy nilly nature of the number of days to be found in the month.  All of these things and much more make February unique & fantastic. Other highlights include the triumphant return of baseball.  My Red Sox enter the 2014 season as reigning World Series champions.  That feels great. And of course ...

"The world is full of evil and lies and pain and death.  And you can't hide from it, you can only face it.  The question is, when you do, how do you respond?  Who do you become?"  - Phil Coulson, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I loved this speech from last week's episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.   Coulson's world has been turned upside down, and when he delivers news that should be similarly devastating to someone else, she reacts in an altogether surprising way.  A way that restores some of his faith in humanity.  That's powerful. So who do you become?  Do you let the fallen world destroy your soul, or do face it and cling to Jesus?  He has defeated evil and lies and pain and death.  He endured them all and won.  He won for you.  So if you are searching for good and truth and joy and life, I recommend going to the source.  Who you'll become when you do, well it just might astound you.  I hope you'll dive in and find ...

The beginning of November marked 4 years since I moved to Texas.  Were it not for my nieces' and nephews' unwavering and increasingly successful quest to best my height, it would seem nearly unfathomable for that much time to have passed. Just before I left Los Angeles, I had the delightful opportunity to see Flyleaf in concert for a third time.  I finished my last day at my job, took an unknown but efficient route to the airport to pick up my youngest brother who was going to help me drive to Texas, and then we headed to the concert.  We parked in the parking garage and headed down the elevator toward the venue.  Somewhere along the line I dropped one of our tickets, but luckily it was found as we retraced our steps.  Phew!  We met up with a couple of my friends, one of them the dear friend who introduced me to Flyleaf in the first place.  Flyleaf put on an amazing show as always.  Afterward we headed to Pink's for the best hot dogs in the worl...

I heart Trader Joe's. I also heart bacon. So you can probably imagine how much I really love Trader Joe's bacon.  Their uncured applewood smoked bacon is the best ever.  I'm fairly certain it could bring about world peace, you know if everyone in the world was allowed to eat bacon under their religion. The bacon duct tape above was part of my sister's birthday present to me.  It's particularly fantastic because as I was planning my birthday dinner I thought, how many bacon items would be too many?  I ended up going with 2 only because there weren't enough people to warrant an abundance of bacony goodness.  In case you're curious about the correct answer, though, there's no such thing as too many bacon items.

I believe in love letters and birthday cards and notes just because.  I believe that there are few things more thoughtful, more personal, more caring than a handwritten letter, note, or card.  I believe in snail mail.  I have been horrible about putting this belief into practice over the last several years, and I am working to rectify that now. Awhile back I bought supplies for an address book.  To most people this would mean a little book labeled "Addresses" with alphabetized sections and lines on which to write friends' and family's information.  Being me, I had to do things my own way.  After a significant amount of contemplation, I decided the supplies I needed for an address book were a 3-ring binder, photo binder pages, 3x5 index cards, sheet protectors, and Sharpie pens. I am not a paid spokesperson for Office Depot.  I have been a long-time Sharpie fan, and I was ecstatic when they came out with pens a few years ago.  The pens do n...

Step 1: Purchase delicious and nutritious coconut oil from Trader Joe's. Step 2: Consume the entire contents of the jar--probably not all at once.  I recommend making scrambled eggs, eggs over easy, roasting vegetables, and making pie crust.  Coconut oil is a fantastic 1:1 replacement for shortening, just make sure to refrigerate the coconut oil long enough for it to solidify.  You can also put a tablespoon of coconut oil in your morning tea or coffee for an energy and brain boost.  I know it sounds weird, but just try it.  It'll make your lips nice & soft too.  My sister and I also discovered on Sunday that you can apply a generous amount of coconut oil to corn tortillas to make them pliable enough for homemade taquitos.  The taquitos were delicious, not greasy, and did not taste coconutty. Step 3: Once you've used every bit of coconut oil you possibly can, soak the jar in hot water for about an hour.  The hot water and any remaining b...

In my nearly 9 years of blogging, I have only missed my first day of February post once.  If you're new around here, first of all welcome and thank you for stopping by!  Secondly, February is a cherished and beloved month for many reasons, but primarily because it's my birthday month!  :)  Some other cool people I know have birthdays in February too.  I just started to list them, and then I realized it's actually a lot of people.  Woohoo February birthdays! I love celebrating and birthdays are no exception.  Life is a gift and our days are numbered, so what possible reason would I have not to enjoy it? Here are a few other things I'm stoked about this month. Psych FINALLY returns!  This is one of my very favorite shows.  It had a doozy of a season finale last April.  Yes, that's right last April.  Nearly an entire season of baseball, the postseason, winter meetings, and the start of spring training will have taken place befor...

I have a Women of the Bible devotional that I recently started re-reading.  When I bought it several years ago, I sort of skipped around and did more of a topical study and never completed the whole book.  This week the book caught my attention and I decided that I would go through it in order this time. Naturally, the book begins with a study of Eve.  Last night the reading was on the fall of man.  Having grown up going to church, I've heard this story about a million times.  It's easy to assume you already know everything there is to know about a Bible story when you've heard it more than once before.  Of course, that's a bad assumption because God can always reveal something new to you in scripture, no matter how many times you've heard or read a certain passage. Last night I was really struck by Genesis 3:21.  "The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them."  In context, this is right after God explains what bei...

Like the rest of America, I was shocked and heartbroken by the events in Newtown, CT this past Friday.  The loss of such young children in such a horrific way is unfathomable.  The president addressed the nation on Friday afternoon and I did not watch, but I heard reports of people either being moved by his tears or offended that he faked crying.  Whether he was moved as a father, or faking good leadership doesn't really matter.  I have been left with the question of why these children matter more to Barack Obama than children born alive after a failed abortion.  (He voted against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act as a state senator in IL.)  Why do these children matter more than babies in their mother's wombs, at any point during their gestation? Others have drawn the similarity between abortion and the tragedy in Newtown, and some have been outraged by it.  How could anyone draw such a comparison?  It's simple, either you believe the lives ...

I have been unemployed for nearly 4 months now.  That is, I have been without a full-time job for 4 months. I am still working as an Independent Scentsy Consultant, but as you might imagine that does not bring in the same sort of income as a 40 hour/week office job.  I hope to be able to grow my Scentsy business into a sustainable full-time gig, and with any luck I will not have to return to the doldrums of a job just for the sake of a paycheck. I was sitting in church this past Sunday, listening to a sermon that I felt largely disconnected from.  It was mostly directed toward parents, and as that is a joy I have yet to experience (though hopefully someday), I was not in tune with most of the message.  At one point, though, the pastor was speaking about being thankful and that he tithes because he is thankful for salvation.  Jesus paid the price to redeem us, and it costs us nothing.  Our salvation isn't dependent on our tithing, but it is something we ca...

This week has been draining for me, as often happens when things don't go how you hoped/planned/imagined/expected.  I was met with sleeplessness, topsy turvy emotions, and most of all questions.  How?  Why?  What now?  Ultimately these questions are about seeking what is true and what is right, which has left me also pondering lies. What lies are you willing to buy?  Of course my initial reaction is that I don't intend or want to buy any lies.  The more thought I've put into it though, the more I realize that I am willing to accept a lot of things that I know to be wrong.  And really isn't accepting what you know to be wrong or untrue the same as buying into the lies?  When we decide to acquiesce, we've given up fighting for truth.  We've given up taking a stand for what is right. What's more, by accepting lies we may be inadvertently telling others that it's okay to buy into the lie as well. What happens to the world when we di...

For many people the election ends today and they will go back to their normal lives and a "normal" amount of politics, which seems to be little or none for most.  But for a political nerd, this is just our biggest holiday.  Imagine if Christmas came once every 4 years.  In between there are smaller holidays, other elections, but this is the big one. The thing is, after today the election isn't over for us.  Whoever wins, we still work, we still fight, we still pray.  Winning an election is only part of it for us, even if our preferred candidate comes out on top.  The most important work happens next--keeping candidates, especially the ones who earned our votes, accountable. After today we stay immersed in political news everyday.  We listen to talk radio, we read as much as we can possibly get our hands on, we catch the highlights on Twitter, and we know what the MSM isn't reporting. For political nerds, today is a highlight (hopefully), but...