Priceless

You know how you sometimes wish you could really savor the truly priceless things in life? And by priceless I mean they don't cost a penny! Since we've been doing Financial Peace University (and so glad we did it before the economy really went bust) we've been using only cash for everything other than church and bills. Unfortunately, I have five lonely dollars left until Friday.

So, what to do about my birthday today? I had thought about a pampering day - manicure, pedicure, lunch out - but woke up chanting my debit card mantra: Swiper, NO SWIPING! And honestly, I feel way too guilty about spending money frivolously, especially on myself.

I got up mostly on time and saw the full moon in the west and the beginnings of sunrise in the east. My wonderful husband wished me a happy birthday and left several wrapped presents for me to open with the kiddos before he hopped a plane to DC for business meetings this week. The kids got ready without too much hassle (the bakery cinnamon rolls I bought on the day-old rack for 80 cents was a great incentive) and the kitchen was clean when we left the house. Priceless.

A friend offered to watch Matthew and Jacob for me this afternoon and they have a blast playing with her kids. I had to completely convince myself that it was really okay to use my free combo meal coupon from Taco Bell on my birthday. I did. Fresco style. It was good. And priceless.

My childhood memories of my birthday are snow days, cold, dreary, find something to do inside days. Not that I didn't enjoy my birthdays - my mom always had some fun project or surprise for me - but today's weather was incredible. Can't remember a birthday with 75 degree sunshiney bliss. So I headed to a wooded park near my home and took a walk, hiked a trail, watched some folks play frisbee golf (okay, that's just a really interesting sport) and made my own trail up a hill that didn't look like it would make my thighs fall off as I stood at the bottom optimistically. I watched a cardinal, woodpecker and two little finches hop from tree to tree. I even got really adventurous and climbed out on a huge tree that was growing over an embankment near a winding creek. Priceless.


Unfortunately, my end goal was to sit out on this beautiful tree and enjoy my surroundings. It should have been how I was going to get back to solid ground. I was up a little higher than I anticipated (not sure the pic does it justice) and once I realized it might be a little difficult to climb down, it was hard to concentrate on what I was supposed to be enjoying. Still, priceless.



I picked the kids up from my friend's and got the older ones from school. Lots of happy birthdays from them and their friends. Once we were home, Emilee and her friend made me a birthday cake - heart shaped strawberry. While it cooled we rode bikes to the park down the street (yep, even me!) where I tried my skills on the monkey bars (failed), pull up bar (failed), twisty slide (moderate success), and crooked tunnel that Jacob looked back at me and said, "C'mon, Mommy. Can you fit?" Army crawl = success! Priceless.



Fixed a quick dinner while the kids decorated the cake. Emilee did "Happy," Matthew did "Birthday," Grant did "Mom" and Jacob, well, he tested the chocolate frosting. Oh, that is most definitely priceless! (And strawberry cake with chocolate frosting doesn't taste a whole lot like chocolate covered strawberries, but it'll eat.)

The kids singing me happy birthday, Jacob belting it out and then helping me blow out the candles: Priceless.

So, pennies saved. Joy multiplied. Mind refreshed. God encountered. Absolutely priceless.

25 Random Things About Me

1. I was a crazy kid and ended up in the ER every other year from age 2 to 14. Included in those visits was a boiling water incident that is still vivid in my memory, a broken back from a fall from a garden hose wrapped in a tree (ahem), and a tetnus shot from a cute little field mouse that I caught but it decided to take a bite out of my finger.
2. I met my husband on a mission trip to Israel. I knew I was falling in love with him when we were standing on a stairwell leading up to the homes on top of the Old City in Jerusalem. Ohh, his eyes when he looked at me. *sigh*
3. My favorite room in our home is the study at midnight. I turn on the bookcase lights, the piano light and practice away. It's serene and peaceful.
4. I feel guilty that I have a home with a study. Most of the homes I've seen around the world have 8 people living in a space the size of my study.
5. I have never tasted beer, seen Chicago, or worked a full time job for more than 6 months.
6. I have white water rafted, been in the crown of the Statue of Liberty, stepped in the Jordan River, and had a non-paying 24/7 job for the last 11 years.
7. My greatest fear is that I will make too many mistakes with my kids. I second-guess every decision I make that involves them. My dad says there are three things you can do to help your kids: 1. Pray 2. Pray and 3. Pray again.
8. I would sell everything I have tomorrow and take my family to Honduras if God told me to. Or any other poverty-stricken country where I could hold the hands of children, encourage the people, and give relevant, tangible love that changes the course of that nation.
9. I'm self-diagnosed with Child-Induced ADD and Placental Drain. (My theory is that during pregnancy all the good brain cells go to the placenta. The placenta goes in the trash. I've done that four times.)
10. I once started a book on procrastination.
11. My brother said I should've been a stand up comedian. My mom thinks I should've been a lawyer (because I can talk my way out of anything). I disagree with both, but is there a difference?
12. My dad is the smartest person I know, the most diplomatic, and the most humble. He was a chemist with Halliburton for years, has over 400 patents and turned down an invitation into Mensa. But I asked him why the sky is blue when I was 8. After a half hour my eyes were spinning and I heard him say something about light and dust particles. He's also drawn me the molecular structure of Splenda and trans fats (which was really cool, by the way). Ironically, the only B I got in high school was in science.
13. My greatest struggle is with pride. Need to learn from my dad some more. But I've heard it said to humble yourself - before God does it for you. Continuous challenge, but I try.
14. I've collected quotes since college and have a notebook where I write them down. I have plans to make a border of all my favorite quotes in the powder room. It will be reading material for all our guests.
15. The most numb I have ever been was when I was lying in the hospital 4 months pregnant and the doctor said I had malaria. I never thought I'd have to make the choice between me or my baby and there I was facing the unknown. But at the same time knowing that somehow God was going to make it okay. Even if He took my baby. He didn't. And we named him Jacob, because I wrestled with God over that whole ordeal. Which is all about control, which is a direct descendant of #13.
16. I carried my Bible everyday of high school and wore a homemade sweatshirt that said (front) "Jam with me cuz..." (back) "I'm jammin' with Jesus." Oh, dear God, please forgive me.
17. One of the best compliments I've ever received was the first semester (okay, only semester) teaching 1st grade. Little Derek was holding my hand skipping down the hall to the bus and said, "I'm gonna remember you all the way to college!" All I could think was, "I hope you make it to college, little buddy."
18. I went to Oklahoma Baptist University and roomed with my best friend since jr. high, Jan. I was one of two females in the Intro to Ministry class, and the only non-Baptist. I asked a lot of questions. The professor didn't like me a whole lot.
19. When I was 20 and went on the mission trip to Israel, meeting the man of my dreams was the last thing on my mind. We started falling in love about a week into the trip. We were talking marriage on the plane home. We were engaged within 2 months and married 7 months after that. We've been married for 15 years. *smile*
20. I love to cook, but hate cleaning up the mess. And I sneak all sorts of veggies in our meals. My favorite is butternut squash in mac and cheese and spaghetti noodles. The kids even ask for it now.
21. I eat spoonfulls of brown sugar every time I bake with it.
22. I'd bungee jump if given the chance.
23. I love surprises - planning them and experiencing them.
24. When I was a kid, I wanted the Tooth Fairy to come but I hadn't lost any teeth. I went out to the field next to our house and found a part of a cow jaw bone. I put it under my pillow. The Tooth Fairy left a buck when the going rate was a quarter. Ingenius!
25. My brother is one of my biggest heroes, even though he fed me cat food and tickled me til I hyperventilated when I was a kid. I'm just uber proud of him and think God has gifted him in incredible ways.

Grace and Peace

Finally getting a quick blog in here. I'm really sorry. Not that I haven't had anything to say. Believe me, I have! Just haven't had time to get it all down.

Something struck me this morning during my nice, quiet, Bible-reading time. Decided to start reading the book of Galatians. Usually I skip over the intro and get to the good stuff. You know, where Paul is supposed to tell me something profound and eye-opening.

I got stopped at "Grace and peace to you...."

A quick glance at my footnotes and I find that "grace" was the word used in a common greeting in Greek. And "peace" was the common Hebrew greeting. Big wooo, right? Woe there, Nellie. What? Greeks and Hebrews. Jews and Gentiles. Paul is crossing cultures. Not they I didn't already know that, but what this means is that not only were Jews and Gentiles believers, they were worshiping together.

I have been so focused on breaking down cultural barriers (not so much physical barriers as those created by ignorance) that I couldn't help but realize that God is in the business of making us truly One Body. So, the liberal Christian, the conservative Christian, Chinese Christian and Honduran one. The Palestinian Christian and the Messianic Jew. The Christian neighbor and the Christian homeless man in the tunnel. Yep. One Body.

Grace and Peace.

Blind Enough to See

I continue to process my Honduras mission trip and how that changes my perspective of the Christmas season. I feel like there's so much that I've been missing because of all the stuff that's distracting me from the heart of God. Oh, how I want to be blind to the distractions instead of blind to the reality.

That thought reminds me of a dream I had last year. I love to analyze dreams and try to figure out what God might be trying to show me. I don’t put too much stock in it, but it is interesting how God can use them.

I had arrived a little late to church, during the first song, slipped into a seat and realized it was Carolyn Roach next to me. She had dark glasses on and a metal walking stick. She was sitting with a man who was describing things to her. She was blind. Her head was back, her arms swept back behind her, her voice aimed directly at the throne of God.

When Carolyn sings, the angels must look around to see who’s missing. She truly has a voice that captures the essence of “the voice of an angel.” Aside from her obviously extraordinary gift, you can just feel that she’s singing from the depths of her soul; and that moves me to sing that way, too. Forget the world; forget who’s next to me; sing for my Creator and Him alone; be blind to the distractions; see only reality.

It makes me think of my grandmother who was going blind from diabetes. We knocked on her door one Thanksgiving, and as I hugged her on my way in I asked, “How are your eyes?” And her chipper, smiling response was, “I can see good enough to walk!” I will never forget that. I want to be like that. No matter what happens in my life, I want to pick out that glimmer of hope that is steeped in Truth and not just hang on to it, but flaunt it! I guess that’s what I saw Carolyn doing in my dream. Singing her heart out because of her blindness. I need to do that this Christmas season – sing as if only my soul can see!