The Fish Tank

I got home a little after noon and started making myself some lunch. I pulled out a glass plate and put my leftovers in the oven. I decided to fry an egg to put on top of my stuffed acorn squash because everything is better with a fried egg on top. As I was cooking, my cute blue plate caught my attention. I realized in that moment that I was having a yummy warm lunch on a fancy plate. The house was quiet and I was able to eat my food in peace. I didn't have to share with the little birdies who used to be at my feet begging for my undivided attention. I didn't have to stuff my face quickly before the baby's next feeding or because I was on the go. I was eating off a real plate instead of paper and I hadn't reheated my food a thousand times. What a grand moment; one to record for sure. Every month I meet with a friend for lunch. I love this girl and like to check in with her to see how life is going. She's got three young boys at home and a traveling husband. Every

Scott and I had the opportunity to go back to our roots, California, to attend and be a part of the wedding of a friend of mine who is dear to my heart. We were able to see some family in our brief visit which was wonderful. We also had the privilege of meeting new people, like the guy who kept asking Scott if this was "his song" every time the DJ at the wedding played a hip-hop tune. On Thursday night, I got to meet a really engaging guy at the rehearsal dinner. He is one of those people that you want to get to know more than a brief conversation at dinner. He was funny and kind and endearing. He has a ton of brothers so we were able to connect with the boy-talk laughing about the antics of living in a house filled with boys. I walked away feeling encouraged and thankful that I randomly sat next to him. He was just a really cool person. Our conversation got me to thinking. This guy does not live the ideal Christian life-style that we like to confine ourselves to. In fact,

It's no surprise that I am the more vocal (let's be honest, loud) one of my marriage. I knew exactly who Scott was when I decided to marry him but that has not stopped me from trying to mold him into what he is not: me. Over the years I have recklessly tried and failed to make Scott's faith look like mine. I have struggled to morph him into myself socially. And I hit wall after wall trying to get him to be on the go all the time. He doesn't thrive on conflict, nor does he pick fights with me. Oftentimes, he goes along for the ride even if he is completely uncomfortable or annoyed. We end up having talk after talk hashing out the common theme over and over: Scott is not me. It's taken me years to realize what I was doing. I don't think I was pushing Scott to behave more like me consciously. Instead, I would subconsciously expect him to react a certain way, demonstrate certain behaviors, and be excited to go hang out with 100 people he didn't know. I knew he

We hear it. We see it. We feel it in our bones. The heart-wrenching, unexplanable, horrible, awful things unfolding in our world have taken us over. We see hopelessness more than hope. We celebrate lost lives more than victories. We see a crumbling world where God seems so very far away. But is He? I thought I'd turn the tides, so to speak, and talk about the good stuff. Maybe this will increase our hope a smidge and help us to not fret; God is still so very near. Last week nine beautiful souls proclaimed their allegiance with Christ. With a gun pointed at them knowing their fate if they give that answer, the still said yes to God. I often wonder what I would do if put in this situation. Would I say yes? I like to think that it takes supernatural power to say you believe when you know your fate is death. As horrifying as the Oregon tragedy was, these heroes spoke boldly for their faith and Jesus' name was proclaimed into millions of households when the news broke the story. T

Hands. Shoes. Planes. Salt. Hand Sanitizer. Pillows. Rocks. Freon. Plastic bags. What do all these things have in common? They are all tools people used to murder another human being. What is my point? People will use any means necessary to hurt or kill another person when they are deperate. Yes, I am going there. I am going to talk about guns and Jesus and yes, I am going to talk about them in the same sentence. Scott and I arrived at the airport fairly early. When we sat down to eat our breakfast, Scott picked up the newspaper that was left behind. Yes, young techies, newspapers still do exist in print and not just online. The cover story was of course about the horrific shooting rampage that occured in Oregon. The article was interesting. The writer took the last six or so mad men who participated in a mass shooting and looked at their profiles, the weapons they obtained, and how they obtained them. The findings were not surprising. The guns were acquired legally. The men were rec